Alienus

Chapter Fifty Two

When my eyes snapped open, I tried to remember when I closed them. The only thing that came to my mind was pain and then blackness. Was I being drugged? Was I ill? What was happening? 

I was determined to find out what was going on. I sat up, careful not to jostle Ryx, who was softly snoring beside me. I got up to search for the only person who could give me answers. Rafe. 

He seemed to know I was awake, because he looked up from where he was sitting on the raised platform with his arms resting on his knees, his chest heaving. I stopped, realising he'd been...working out, for the lack of a better term. A thin layer of sweat coated his skin. He stood as I walked closer. 

"What's happening to me?" I asked him straight to his face. 

"I have been thinking about it," he said slowly, lifting his hand to rub his thumb along my cheek before dropping it immediately, "And I have a theory." 

I raised an eyebrow, "Enlighten me." I said, when he didn't continue. 

He nodded his head towards the sofa that was pressed against the wall, "You might want to sit down for this." he said. 

I followed his instruction, crossing my legs and looking up at him expectantly. 

He cleared his throat, coming to a stop before me, "It would seem that Humans are capable of surrendering too."

My eyes widened, "Are you saying-?" 

"That you surrendered to me? Yes."

I blinked, "What? How?" I asked, "Neither are our brains as evolved as yours, nor do we have the mutated DNA that requires a mutually symbiotic relationship."

He pointed one finger at me, "Exactly. Which got me thinking, how can your brain possibly be displaying behaviour that your species has never exhibited before?" He said. 

I prompted him on with my hands to go on. 

"At first, it made no sense, because there seem to be two of you." 

"Two of me?" I whispered.

Rafe held up a hand, "You need to keep calm no matter what I say. I think some kind of extreme emotion triggers the shift between the...both of you." 

The shift? That's what we're calling it?

"You're saying..that every time I thought I've been falling asleep I haven't actually been falling asleep... but I've been turning into someone else?" 

Rafe held up one hand, "You need to calm down." he said and kneeled before me. It wasn't helping. It wasn't helping at all. I could feel the pressure on my lungs that stopped me from taking in air. 

"Will you let me control your heartbeat?" he asked me in a soft voice. 

I gasped, my heart beating faster. 

"Amour, you are becoming the opposite of calm." Rafe said with controller urgency. 

I shut my eyes trying to take deep breaths, but it only became harder with each breath I tried to force in. Hands cupped my face and I snapped my eyes open and realised that he was breathing a little hard too. 

"Will you let me help?" He asked, his voice a little strained, but I could have imagined it over the ringing that had started in my ears. 

I nodded, my lungs squeezing. Rafe held my eyes and almost four seconds later, my lungs expanded, the fog in my head clearing and I took a deep breath in, relief spreading through my limbs.