"….This is what I was afraid of," exclaimed Kat. Only moments ago, Sky had found her talking with Commander Cruger and Eric in the Command Center and had told them that his father, Commander Wes Collins, had woken up with the belief that not much time had gone by, maybe only a few days or a couple of weeks at the most. Sky, exhausted, had retired back to his room, though everyone suspected he didn't want to partake in the conversation dealing with his father. He wasn't ready to deal that his father was back after fourteen years of believing he was dead.
Eric was still coming to terms with the reality that his best friend, the man he had once called his brother, had come out of a coma that no one thought he would ever wake from, but they were wrong …. And he foresaw more problems likely to follow in the next couple of days, because eventually the time would come when they would have to tell Wes the truth about how much time had really gone by. Everyone knew it was going to come as a big blow to him and might even hurt him more than the injures he had withstood some fourteen years earlier. ….Not to mention the fact that they would at some point have to let the rest of the world and even the neighboring planets of the alliance know that Wes Collins was alive.
"What do you recommend we do then, Dr. Manx?" asked Commander Cruger, knowing that she would be the best suited to make decisions in these type of situation. He would be able to hold things off a little while before word began to spread through the academy that one of the greatest Rangers who had ever walked these halls was alive and recovering amongst them.
Kat turned to Eric, knowing they all knew in this very room what would have to be done. "….We take it slow the first couple of days, tell him very little, until I know he's strong enough to hear the truth." Her eyes saddened, knowing how difficult this most be for Eric. "This will hurt him…" Fourteen years is a long time and a lot has changed.
"…Which is why, when the time does come," Eric stepped forward, sighing heavily, "I want to be the one to tell him." He looked the two in the eyes. "I owe him that much." He knew it wouldn't be easy, but deep down it would be better coming from him. Wes's father was dead, Lisa had remarried and started a family, and Sky… it probably wouldn't be best having him be the one to tell Wes, since Wes would be expecting to see a little boy and not a young adult. He was the only one who could do it.
Both Kat and Cruger agreed that it probably would be best coming from Eric, than from one of them…..
Kat entered into Wes's darkened room, a room that had no mirrors or windows, not even a TV. Even though she for the last couple of days had known that he was alive, she still felt a little shaken to know he had come out of it, that he was awake and talking, …asking questions, that she knew she would have to find some way to avoid, to push back from having to tell the truth a little longer.
"…Hey." Wes smiled faintly as he opened his eyes, sensing a shadow hovering over him. He felt a sort of relief come over him from seeing a familiar face. "…Now there's a face I never thought I'd see again." His voice was a little hoarse, but it was coherent enough to be understood.
"You gave us all quite a scare," answered Kat, as she began to read over the monitors, checking his vitals, wanting to make sure just what the extent of everything was.
"….The kid that was in here with me ….he said Eric was okay, that he made it out?" At the moment that was all that really concerned him, was that his friend was okay, that along with his team. He just wanted to make sure that everyone had made it out okay…
Kat smiled faintly, but knew she couldn't let on she knew more than she was telling. "Yes. Eric's just fine, he wanted me to tell you hello and that he'll check in on you later…."
Wes nodded his head and watched as Kat went over to the counter to get him some water and helped him take a sip. It felt as though he had not had something to drink in forever, because it felt like the best water he had ever tasted. "…Never thought water could taste so good." He laid his head back down on the pillow. "…How's Sky holding up? I didn't mean to frighten him."
Kat didn't answer right away and was thankful there was little light in the room, so that Wes could not see that distant look in her eyes. "He's a tough kid."
"…Is he here?"
"….He….he's sleeping, it's been a long week for him." It wasn't so much a lie, but it wasn't really the truth either; Sky was in his room sleeping and it had been a long week for him, but not so much in the way she was leading Wes to believe. "…But I'm sure he'll be happy to know that you're up."
Wes smiled back at her, already starting to feel sleep once again take over. "…Will you tell my dad and Lisa that I love them ….And Sky too."
"…I will," answered Kat softly, watching as her old friend closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. She had been around for over a hundred years, had seen a lot of things in her life, lots of death, pain and suffering, but what she knew was ahead for Wes - who had lost fourteen years of his life, watching his son grow up, his fathers funeral and everything else that would go along with it …somehow didn't seem to compare with anything she had ever been through.
"….No, it's okay, I'm glad you called," said Z into the phone. She was all snuggled up on the couch. She and Syd had been watching a movie when Bridge called, and the young green Ranger was concerned that he had called too late, but Z had assured him that it was just fine. "Did Kat or Cruger say anything more, other than…."
Syd continued to watch the movie while Z talked to Bridge, trying not to eavesdrop, especially when the conversation mentioned someone she was trying not to think about altogether, which was something she was finding harder and harder to do.
"….Is he okay…."
Syd turned her head, watching Z as her friend nodded her head, playing with her hair at the same time. There was a brief moment when both of their eyes met. Z knew that Syd was still plenty upset, hurt and angry because of certain events that had taken place over the past few days.
"…Yeah, I'm sure it is… Syd?" Z gave her friend a faint smile. "….No, she went to bed early, I'll tell her in the morning." She nodded her head, still keeping her eyes locked on Syd. "…Yeah. See you in the morning, Bridge. …Bye." Z hung up the phone.
"….Commander Collins woke up?" Syd had gathered that much from the conversation.
"Yeah," Z answered, then licking her lips and bowing her head slightly. She couldn't help feeling saddened by the whole situation, and though she had never known Wes Collins she still felt bad…. "…But he doesn't know that it's been fourteen years, let alone that everyone thought he was dead."
"….That's awful." Her pretty blue eyes seemed to twinkle in sadness, like Z she too had never known the man, her father had, but he rarely ever talked of him. She couldn't even be sure if they had even been friends. "When are they going to tell him?"
Z shrugged her shoulders. "…Bridge wasn't sure; he thought maybe in a couple of days, just depends on how he checks out with Kat."
The young pink Ranger nodded her head, seeming to agree. "…Well, I'm going to head to bed." Syd got up and started towards her bedroom.
She kept waiting for her to ask about Sky, how he might be feeling ….because it would be so like Syd to ask how everyone was feeling, that's the type of person she was. But she never even mentioned Sky's name, in fact she hadn't since they had all gone to see him when he had first woken up. ….And while she couldn't blame her for not wanting to ask about him, it just broke her heart that Syd acted as though she didn't care at all about Sky, even though deep down she knew that she did. "…Aren't you going to ask about him, Syd?"
Syd stopped; she turned to face Z, now all teary eyed. "…I can't." There was a lump in her throat. "….It hurts too much." She did care. She knew how hard this must be for Sky, but with everything that had happened between them. ….She couldn't be there for him, it just would be too hard.
"You're still in love with him….." Z didn't need her to answer back to know the answer, it was written all over Syd's face. Despite everything that had happened, how he treated her and let her down, she still loved him with all her heart, which made their breakup all the harder.
"….How you holding up?" asked Eric as he walked into Sky's room. It was nearing ten at night. He had just gotten off the phone with Hayley, letting her know that Wes had woken up and that he probably wouldn't get back to the apartment until later on that night.
"How do you think?" Sky exclaimed as he turned away from the window, looking at Eric. ….He didn't think it was possible that this week could get any worse, but it had. He didn't know what to think. "….He didn't have a clue who I was." Sky pushed himself out of his chair and began to stumble towards his bed; Eric rushed to his side, but Sky pushed him away, not wanting his help or pity.
"….In time he'll know. We just need to wait a couple of days."
"And then what?" Sky asked him, looking him hard in the eyes. "….What happens next? ….We just go on like nothing ever happened?"
"That would be up to you. …I can't tell you what to do here, Sky." Eric wished he could have this grand speech and everything would make sense, but he didn't. He himself was having his own problems, of how he was going to tell Wes the truth. It was not something he was looking forward to, in fact he could think of a thousand other things he'd like to do besides having that conversation. He gripped Sky's shoulder…. "Sky, I..."
"-I'd like to be alone Eric….." Sky sighed heavily as he looked the man who he once upon a time called his uncle. "I'm tired."
"…Okay." Eric smiled faintly. "….There's something I need to take care of tomorrow, but I'm sure Hayley will come by to see you. The kids have been asking about you."
The next day, Eric stood at the front door of a two story fenced-in yard house that stood in a nice neighborhood. As he had driven down the streets he could see it was a good place to raise a family. He saw parents and their kids riding bikes or rollerblading, a group of friends were playing basketball in the driveway. It was homey…
It had been a good four to five hour plane ride and then a little over thirty minute drive from the airport, but it did give him some time to think about what he was going to have to say to his old friend when he got back…. He didn't know how much time had gone by while he had just been standing there staring at the door, with his arms still. But someone must have taken notice of him, because the front door opened to reveal a young eleven year old boy.
"…Can I help you mister?" he asked, as he pushed his little sister and brother away, who were trying to poke their way through to see who the visitor was. They looked like they were maybe five or six.
"….Um," Eric started to say, but his voice was overtaken by a woman's voice coming from around the corner.
"Colton, who's at the door…." Her son was about to answer when she made her way up to the door and came face to face with the man standing there. Her eyes widened as she stared at him for moment, as if she didn't recognize the face at first. "….Eric?" she uttered, not even sure if the man before her was Eric, someone she had not seen in years.
"Hey, Lisa." Eric smiled faintly. "…It's been a long time."
"Yeah. It has," she answered, still not believing that Eric Myers was standing at her door, especially after all these years. He was the last person she'd ever expect to show up at her doorstep.
"Mommy, who's Eric…" asked Lucy, as she came around and tugged at her mother's leg, looking up at the man with dark black hair.
"Eric's an old friend of Mommy's." She didn't know why Eric was here, they hadn't talked to each other in over ten years, but from the short time she had known him she knew he wouldn't be here unless it was important. She turned to her oldest son, Colt. "…Colt, can you please take Lucy and Luc out back and keep them occupied while I talk with Eric?"
"Sure, Mom." He nodded his head and then took his brother and sister by their hands towards the back door.
"…Please come in." She led him towards the living room where they could sit and talk, catch up on old times. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked.
"No, I'm fine." He took a seat across from her. "Thanks…"
"…So." She folded her hands in her lap, and right away she could see that Eric was uncomfortable, probably just as much as she was. When she had left the Collins home Eric was still in a coma and that was the last time she had seen him. Though this felt awkward, it was a nice change to see him up and around …and looking just as strong and bold as she remembered him. "…How is everything?"
"…Things are good."
"Good." Lisa nodded her head, glad that the edge she was feeling was starting to wear off. "…I read in the papers that you took over Bio-Lab after Alec died."
"…Yeah, I did."
She sighed heavily. "….I would have come to the funeral, but…."
"It's okay."
Lisa nodded her head and smiled faintly. Though she knew she had no right to ask this question, she had given up any of that all those years ago …but a day had not gone by that she didn't think of him. The little boy she had cared for very much, but had to leave behind. "How is he?"
"…He's all grown up now, but still just as stubborn as he was back then." He could tell this was hard for her, asking about Sky, and he knew that it was only going to get harder, especially when he said what he had come here to tell her. "He's been at the academy ever since Alec died. He graduated with honors, became an officer and last year he was chosen to be the blue Ranger, but has since been promoted to red Ranger."
"….He always wanted to be a Ranger, ever since he was a little boy." Lisa was happy that Sky accomplished his childhood dreams.
"Yeah." Eric's eyes wandered to the window, where he could see Lisa's children playing ball in the backyard, laughing and having a good time. "…You have three good-looking kids there."
She turned to watch them. "…They take after their father, Mitch." Lisa turned back in her seat to face Eric. "How's Hayley, did you two have any more children?"
"Hayley's good." He licked his lips, knowing the time would be coming when he would have to tell her, he had put it off for as long as he could. "…We ended up having two more: Erin, who's twelve, and a little boy who's seven…" He bit his lip. "…We named him Wesley."
The sound of her dead husband's name did sadden her a little, because even after all these years a part of her still hadn't stopped loving him even though she was very much in love with Mitch, the father of her children. It didn't surprise her that Eric would have named his son after him. She would have almost expected him to. "…He would have liked that."
"Yeah…" Eric cleared his throat, feeling his heart pound against his chest. This was going to be hard…. It wasn't every day you told someone that someone they had loved was back from the dead, that they hadn't really been dead in the first place.
"…Eric, are you all right?" she asked, getting concerned. He looked as though he was going to get sick. "You're shaking."
"Lisa…." He smiled faintly. "…This isn't going to be easy for you to hear, but I thought you should hear it from me before it gets out in the news and the papers…"
"What are you talking about…." She didn't like where this was going or even the sound in his voice, it scared her.
He bit his lip and sighed heavily. "…About a week ago, we learned that Mirloc had someone trapped inside of him…." He looked her in the eyes, knowing that she would begin to see where he was going with this. "He's alive …Lisa…." he told her. "Wes is alive."
"What?" Had she just heard him right? "….You didn't just say Wes is alive, did you?"
"…..He just came of a coma yesterday."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing, all these years she had gone on with the belief that he was dead and was never coming back, but now today she had learned that he had been alive all that time. It was unreal. She didn't know what to think of it or how she should feel, what she should feel, considering…. "….Does he know that I'm remarried?"
The question was like a knife to the heart, a feeling he thought he would never feel. "…He doesn't think much time has passed, a couple of weeks at the most."
"….Oh God…" She felt her heart breaking into a million pieces, knowing that it would break Wes's heart…. In more ways than one.
"You didn't know…." Eric knew she was feeling guilty, and though years ago he had been angry at her for leaving, he couldn't be now, not for this. "None of us did." He got up and sat down next to her. "…You moved on, Lisa, there was nothing wrong with that. Wes would have wanted you to move on, have a family, just like you did."
"…Still doesn't make it any easier."
He shook his head, knowing she was right, no matter how you looked at it or how many ways you said it, it was still hard. "….I'm sorry, I never meant for you to get hurt." He wrapped an arm around her.
"No, it's okay." She looked up at him all teary eyed. "…I'm glad you told me. I'd rather it be you then some stranger on the news."
A couple of days later….
"We could get in really big trouble for being in here," exclaimed Sam, as he and Megan roamed around in the intensive care unit room where the long lost Commander was heavily sleeping.
"I don't recall you objecting when I asked you to teleport us here." Megan scanned the room, looking at all the machines and wires, trying to make some sense of what it all did as she moved towards Wes, who was sound asleep. "Besides we're already in trouble."
"Exactly, I don't want to get in any more trouble."
"Then teleport out if you want, I'll just sneak out the door." She looked at Wes's battered face, so many cuts and bruises. It just seemed so unreal to her that he was really here. She never thought she would ever come face to face with him.
"So, he's your uncle, in a way." Sam had decided not to teleport out after all, feeling some sort of sense of adventure, not that he hadn't gotten that from their last stunt of time-jumping along with Drake Alexander, a man who resembled the man lying in the bed now.
Megan nodded her head softly. She had been far too young to remember Wes. She wasn't even six months old when it all had happened. All she knew were the things her parents had told her and Sky bringing him up every once in a while. And then there was the picture she had of when she was just a few days old, of Wes holding her like a proud uncle. "Yeah…." And even though she really had never known him, a part of her always had felt like she had. "My middle name actually came from his mother."
"What are you doing?" Sam asked, watching as Megan leaned closer to Wes, almost as if she were checking to make sure he was still breathing.
"Trying to see…."
"See?" asked Sam, as he watched her move closer.
"See if…" Just as Megan was leaning in for a better look, Wes's eyes shot open. "Ahh.…" Megan's heart raced as both she and Sam jumped back, neither one expecting that to happen.
Wes turned his head to look at the two young children. "Sorry, did I scare you? I didn't mean to scare you."
"Scare me?" Megan laughed as she crossed her arms against her chest, acting all bold. "…Nothing scares me." She pointed over at Sam. "…He was the one who was scared."
"Liar," Sam exclaimed. "…You were too scared, you jumped."
"Only to get over to you fast enough to make sure you're okay…"
Wes couldn't help but laugh, even though it hurt his chest a little. "You two are funny. Whose kids are you?"
Sam and Megan stared at each other, neither one were expecting for him to wake up. Megan knew she couldn't say who she was; Wes would be expecting Megan Myers to be just a little baby no more than a couple or so months old. "…Ah…" Megan started trying to come up with something to say, when they heard footsteps coming their way.
"Someone's coming," announced Sam.
"…It's probably Kat, we got to get out of here!" She looked at her uncle. "…Ah, bye, nice talking to you."
"Wait…. I…." But before he could even finish his sentence he watched as the boy grabbed the girl's hand and they disappeared out of sight. What the hell… Did they just teleport out of the room?
"…Everything okay, Wes?" asked Kat as she closed the door behind her, holding a clipboard in her hands.
"…I must be losing it." He looked up at her. "I swear I was talking to these two kids, and then they just disappeared out of sight," But he was sure that was exactly what had happened, that he hadn't just imagined it. "…I think they teleported out." But even that made no sense to him; as far as he knew no human had that ability.
Kat frowned, having a pretty good idea as to who may have been in the room just before she arrived. She would have to deal with those two later…. "…I'm sure you were just dreaming." Kat smiled. "…So let's see how your vitals check out today," wanting to avoid the whole conversation on who his little visitors were.
Wes didn't know what it was, but he felt like something more was going on here, something she wasn't telling him. He had started to get that feeling the day after he had come out of his coma. "….What's going on, Kat?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, as she checked over the monitors and wrote on her clipboard.
"Why hasn't anyone else come to see me?" he questioned her. His body might be weak, but his mind wasn't. "…Besides those two kids, and the one when I first woke up …you and Cruger are the only other ones who have come to see me." With each day that passed he was becoming more and more suspicious that something was very wrong. "…And what is with the guards posted outside the door?"
"…..You need to get more rest before you can see anyone else." Kat tried pushing it aside; it hadn't even been a full three days and she still felt that now was not the best time for him to know everything. His body was still healing. "That's why the guards are there, so no one will bother you."
"That's bullshit and you know it!" he exclaimed, starting to get frustrated. He knew that there was something that was being kept from him and it had nothing to do with him getting rest. Rest was all he had been doing since he woke up. He had not been allowed outside this room; he couldn't even watch TV or read a paper. "…I'm not stupid, Kat, what's going on here…?"
Kat sighed heavily, as she bowed her head down from a moment. The past couple of days she had known his recovery was progressing, despite a few scratches and cuts along with a couple of broken bones. He was fine - being inside Mirloc all that time, had done no permanent damage. It was a miracle, but one with a heavy price. "…It's complicated, Wes." Her eyes saddened.
"What? …What could be so bad that you can't tell me?" He couldn't understand why she wasn't being truthful with him. Unless... He felt his heart skip a beat. "Has something happened to my family?"
Megan and Sam were running down the hall not looking where they were going and ran smack into her parents. "…Woh…. Where's the fire!" exclaimed Hayley, knowing very well that both young teens knew better than to be running down the halls of the academy, especially on the medical floor. "…Shouldn't you two be in your dorm rooms? It's late."
"…Mom," Megan exclaimed and then spotted her father. "….And Dad. …You're back!"
"Yeah," he answered starting to become a little suspicious. "…Your mother just picked me up from the airport." He crossed his arms against his chest, staring both teens down, knowing something was up. "What did you do?"
Megan gave him an innocent look. "…What makes you think we did anything?"
Do I look like I'm stupid…. Eric smirked, knowing all too well that his daughter was back to her old self, looking for trouble. "…Because I got this thing I like to call dad's radar, that tells me when kids are bullshitting me,"
"….Your morpher can do that," asked Sam ….and he really meant it.
"Sam!" Megan elbowed him, knowing he had blown any chance of them getting out of this.
"….KAT! Please just tell me what the hell is going on here…..!" Wes's voice could be heard down the hall. "I want to see my family now!"
"…Was that?" Hayley turned to Eric and then both of their eyes fell onto their daughter and her young friend. "….Did you two go see Wes? ….How'd you get passed the…" then she shook her head, knowing very well how they would have got passed the guards unnoticed. "..Never mind,"
"…Did you say anything to him?" asked Eric looking his daughter right in the eyes, it wasn't in a mean way, but it wasn't too nice either.
"No. Of course not," answered Megan, she knew enough not to say anything to Wes about who she was. "He was sleeping for most of the time we were in there, and then he woke up,"
"….We heard Kat coming, so I got us out of there," finished Sam.
"And let me guess, he saw you teleport out," Eric just shook his head, knowing that unless Kat could calm Wes down, today would be the day he would have to tell Wes what had happened.
"….Sorry," Megan told her parents appoligicly, she really did mean it. "….I just wanted to see him." Ever since she could wall and talk, she had heard stories from her father about his days as a Ranger fighting alongside with Wes. She just wanted to know what he was like ….with her own eyes.
"….Wes you need to calm down, you going to scare the other patients. It's late," exclaimed Kat. The last thing she wanted was for Wes to accidentally fall and hurt himself or get worked up and raise his blood pressure.
"…I don't care how late it is," he started to push himself out of the bed fully determined to get the answers to all his questions. "…If you won't tell me what's going on here, then I'll find out on my own,"
"…Wes, get your ass back in bed!"
Wes turned his head towards the door and saw someone standing in the shadows. "…Eric?" he was sure that was Eric's voice, but he was a little surprised to see him standing on his own two feet, as if he were expecting him to be walking on crutches or in wheelchair.
"Eric, this might not be the best time…." Kat walked up to him, looking him in the eyes.
He sighed heavily, licking his lips; he could feel his heart racing. This would be one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. And that's saying a lot considering everything that's happened in his life. "…There is no best time, not for this."
"….Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" asked Wes. "…You're all acting as though someone died."
Kat and Eric shared a concerned glance with each other. She gripped Eric's shoulder, giving him the nod that she was okay with what he was about to do. Deep down she knew he was right, no matter how long they put this off it wouldn't get any easier. "…I'll give you two some time alone."
Eric remained in the shadows a little longer, knowing the moment he walked into the light …that would change everything. He thought he might have had more time to come up with the right words, but there were no right words or right way to tell him. "….You have no idea how good it is to hear you talking."
"….Eric." Wes wasn't liking the sound in his friend's voice and that scared him a little, because Eric was not acting like himself, which made Wes all the more concerned. "…You're acting like you haven't heard my voice in years."
Eric bit his lips. "….Wes, something… something happened that day …with Mirloc."
"…What are you talking about, that kid said he was dead."
"He is dead…." If only it was something as simple as that, but it wasn't, Mirloc might be gone forever, but he had left a great deal of pain and suffering behind. "…Wes, I…"
"….Eric, just spit it out!" He knew that there was something Eric wasn't telling him. "What aren't you telling me?" He could feel his heart pounding against his chest afraid to know the answer, but at the same time he needed to know.
All right, here goes nothing. "….When Mirloc threw that bomb at you …It wasn't just a bomb, it was so that he could imprison you inside of him and then exchange you with a double, a Mimican who took on your likeness…"
Wes was starting to feel sick to his stomach; he wasn't liking where this was going. "….What are you saying, Eric?"
Eric took a deep breath, knowing it was now or never. He stepped into the light, to reveal an older version than the one his friend would remember. "…It's been a little more than fourteen years." He had a lump in his throat as he watched all the emotions show on Wes's face, because it was so unbearable. "For fourteen years we thought that you were dead…"
"No…." Wes shook his head, not wanting to believe it. It couldn't be true. "….You're lying." …But deep down, he knew it was true. Eric would never lie to him, not about something like this.
Eric shook his head. "….I wish I was. …God, I wish, but I'm not…." He hated this, every moment of this, and it would only get worse. "….I'm sorry, Wes, but it's 2021, it's been fourteen years." He ran his hand through his hair. "…That girl who was in here with the boy, just a while ago…" He paused for a moment. "….That was Megan, my daughter."
Wes didn't want it to be true. He wanted it all to be some bad dream, but he knew… deep down he knew. "…What else?" He knew there was more; he had lost fourteen years, over a decade. A lot could happen in that amount of time. "…What else do you have to tell me, because I know there's more."
Eric sighed heavily as he took a seat, knowing this would take some time, but he'd get the most important stuff out in the open first. "….Lisa, she won't be here. After….she's remarried now, living in Ohio, has three kids, two boys and a girl."
It did hurt to know that she wouldn't be here for him, but he couldn't be angry at her. After all, she had thought he was dead …she had every right to move on and start again. She always did want a family, to have children. He just always thought it would be with him. "….Go on." He was ready, he wanted to know it all.
"Seven years ago, your father had a massive heart attack. ….I'm sorry, Wes, he didn't make it." He could only begin to imagine what that must feel like, being told that someone who in his mind had been alive only moments before, who he loved very much, was now dead …but then he could. Fourteen years ago when he had woken up out of his coma, Hayley had told him that the man now before him had died….
"….He never could handle death. …His heart just was never strong enough." Wes had a lump in his throat, and now only one more question remained, but he was sure he had figured that one out already all on his own. The pieces were starting to come together… He was remembering things, in flashes, Omni, Mirloc, his son.. "…That was him, wasn't it, the officer in here when I woke up." He looked his old friend right in the eyes.
"Yeah." Eric nodded his head. ..Now that was something that he had no idea what it would feel like, to have seen your child ….no longer a child. "…But he's not a officer, he was promoted to Lieutenant a couple months ago. He's also a Ranger."
"He's a Ranger?"
Eric nodded his head. "…Yeah, he's red."
It was hard taking all of this in; he felt like he was going to get sick, because he was feeling so many things right now. "He killed Mirloc….."
"Yeah. He did…." Eric licked his lips. "…It's a long story but it's one you need to hear, along with a few other things that you should know about." He took a deep breath, knowing that it would be very draining on both of them. "….If you're ready to hear it."
"…Don't really have much of a choice."