When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

25. The Team

Cathy stared at herself in the mirror. Her face looked healthier than before but somehow more pale. The cheeks weren't sunken in anymore and the eyes weren't dull. Yet her entire demeanor seemed quite sad to her. Almost involuntarily, her hand reached for the wound on her chest.

She took off her shirt and stared at the purple scab on her chest, right below the collarbone. It was like a withering flower tattooed on her pale flesh. And the dark veins that radiated around it were like roots growing out of a stem. She touched it with a finger. The purple epidermis was dry and rough to feel.

It was such a strange thing to have on one's body. Her system had assimilated something that she hadn't been born with. It was an uncanny feeling. As if what she carried was obviously foreign yet somehow had always been a part of her.

Cathy was busy contemplating the scab when the door creaked open behind her. She perked a little, covering herself with her shirt quickly.

"Oh, sorry!" Lisa said. "I should've knocked." She was already backing out.

"It's okay." Cathy said. "I was just...nevermind."

Lisa looked at her, a bit worried. "Are you okay, Cathy?"

The girl nodded, putting on her shirt. "I'm more okay than I should be after going through what I've been through. I just feel...weird that I'm still alive."

Lisa stepped closer to her. "It's okay to feel that way, Cathy." She said. "Feeling something is better than getting numb towards it." She gently touched her arm.

Cathy swallowed hard. "I don't know, Lisa. My memories just feel so strange. I remember the things I've lost. The people I'm never gonna see again yet...I feel like someone else when I remember it. As if, these memories don't even belong to me anymore."

"It will pass, Cathy." Lisa said. "As bad as it may seem, it will all pass on. Just hang in there, honey."

"But it feels so difficult." Cathy said. "I...I just wanna be normal, Lisa."

Before Lisa could respond to that, there was a knock at the door. Cathy instantly pulled away from her touch, as if embarrassed. Lisa frowned sadly. Cathy was too young to endure all she had been through. She hoped she could talk about this more with her later. Then she opened the door. It was Erik.

"Morning, girls." He smiled at the two of them. "I hope you two aren't too busy."

"We aren't." Cathy said immediately.

"Why what happened?" Lisa said.

Erik smiled wider. "Let's go for a walk. There's something I need to tell you two. It's quite important."

#

Marie was still in bed but not asleep. She gazed at her son sleeping soundly next to her. She had never seen him this peaceful. And he deserved every bit of peace he was getting. No twelve year old should've seen the things Zack had seen.

It all felt like a dream now that she had time to think of it. They'd spent months in what was nearly hell, after living in the constantly lurking threat of death and after almost dying, running into Gemma and coming to Mathesdale was nothing short of entering a dream.

She smiled and placed the softest kiss on Zack's brow while he slept. Then the door to their room opened. Clint walked in and climbed under the covers next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

Marie was surprised but welcomed the affection.

"I love you." Clint whispered, pressing his lips to her cheek.