Gabatrix: The Silver Rain

"Yeah, but I still don't know why Kole wanted me to research her, though. Damn, I wish we had more time than that shit storm yesterday. I would have asked why if I had the chance."

There was a pause as Zalika put the coin into her pocket. She shrugged her arms as they continued to walk together.

"One final day here," Zalika said as she tried to keep in good thoughts. "To be honest, I don't want to be here any longer than we should."

"They are waiting to get a ship and shuttle to come and pick you up. At least you have me to help you."

"Bekra.....if it weren't for you or the marine team, we would have been dead.....all of us."

"I can say the same thing for you. Everybody did something to help one another out. It was how we survived."

"Thank you,.....for not leaving me behind."

Bekra smiled a little bit as her crested head tilted a little bit to her side. "I would not leave the one I care about to handle this alone. I need you to be there for me, as well. We can face against whatever horrible things come after us."

Zalika could feel some sense of warmth and relief being with her. They were nearing the end of the walkway as she considered about the future events of the day.

*******

The white light of the room was blinding. Turning on the lights only seemed to cause Zalika to recoil a little bit as she squinted her eyes.

"Doctor.....fuck....I don't need it to be that bright," Zalika said as she looked over to Bekra, that was sitting on a chair at the edge of the room.

The room that Zalika and Bekra were in was relatively small in size. It consisted of an inclined dark blue cushioned seat that Zalika rested comfortably on her back. There were a couple of light blue cushioned chairs that were on the other side of the door. The only way in the room was a sliding door that led out to the hallway. The inside also consisted of a large rectangular desk and chair where the counselor sat. He sat comfortably overlooking Zalika on her seat.

"It is alright, Zalika," the doctor's voice echoed in the room. "Your eyes will adjust."

Zalika looked at the doctor. He was dressed in a light white and gray suit as he was tapping a display panel on a projection from his right augmented hand. He was a man with a large black beard and a dark complexion. His hair even seemed to flow down almost to his shoulders. His ascent was definitely that of a man from Cebravis.

"Garrison, I am not in the mood for this," Zalika said as she sighed and looked over to the wall. She was looking at the various pictures on the wall. The overhead lights seemed to be getter less and less bright as her eyes adjusted to it.

There was a picture on the wall of the UHN emblem with the words. "Suicide is not the answer. If you suspect fellow staff of having thoughts of it, please contact the UHN Suicide Prevention hotline."

Zalika looked away from it as she tried to look over to Bekra. The Aksren woman was sitting comfortably dressed in a red and green dress. Her tail flowed out from the chair and down the side. Her smaller frame gave her plenty of room to sit in whichever way she wanted. There was also a table next to her with water and snacks resting on it.

"Zalika," the counselor explained in a calm, friendly, and professional tone. "My goal is to help guide you and Bekra's recovery of the recent events."

"Yeah, and how are you going to help me, doc?" Zalika asked him as she turned her head to look at him. She felt a sense of annoyance and unease as she questioned the man.

"Zalika, please," Bekra told her. "It is important."

"Garrison, I don't believe anything could help us.....not after the shit we went through. Not anything. One second of seeing it would drive you crazy."

The doctor waved his finger at her. "That is never true. I read the report of what you two went through. Being the only survivors of a creature that can manipulate the body into what it wants to do. You have the reason to be feeling what you did."

Zalika closed her eyes as she pointed her head up to the overhead lights of the ceiling. "I don't.....I don't know how such a thing like that can exist."

"We are heading out into space. We follow the dreams and ambitions of Gabatrix. There will be other things out there that we will encounter. The Emphra was bound to be discovered eventually."

"Not like this.....not like this. How you can have something that can.....just......fuck!"

Garrison nodded his head. "I see your frustrations. Explain to me why you feel this way."

"Why?.....so you can tell me what is wrong with me? How about the fact that my friends are dead? How about the fact that a good marine team died for nothing?"

"Zalika, it is alright. The matter remains that discussing it is the only way of getting it out of your system. You feel upset, and it will only hurt you or the others around you."

"I am already upset. I feel that this is pointless."

Garrison shook his head. "According to Bekra, you have stated your desire to hurt others physically, struck others with no warning, and have been intoxicated numerous times."

"Yeah, and what about it?"

"According to your former Staff Sergeant, he has had to place you on report. You play games that can get you hurt or somebody else. You take unnecessary risks."

"Kole.....you mean Kole."

"Bekra has had to speak out to defend you multiple times. This Kole has tried to come to your defense when you were brought before your CO, though. He believed that you were capable of becoming an excellent marine despite your troubling record."

"I....didn't know about that.....when it came to Kole."

"As your doctor and psychologist, it required of me to explain the things that I had looked up when it came to you," Garrison explained.

"I don't want to fucking talk about the events yesterday...." Zalika said.

Garrison nodded. "I am afraid that I must bring up one issue that happened yesterday. This, in combination with the events that occurred with the Emphra, according to the recordings and Bekra's report, you were talking to someone on the Paul Jones."

"I don't know what the fuck you are talking about," Zalika replied calmly.

"Hmmm....not according to the recording. You very well knew whoever this was, and it was talking to you. As the first step in this, I must ask who this person was?"

Zalika felt frustrated as she shook her head. "I can't.....I won't."

"Is this person the one that is causing you pain?"

"No....no, it isn't. He is of no concern."

"Zalika, please," Bekra pleaded. "Don't let your past haunt you. I am here. Tell us what it is, and we can help you."

Zalika took a deep breath. "Fine....it has to do with my childhood."

Garrison looked at her as he closed up his hand. The display screen's projection from his augmented hand faded into nothingness as the doctor leaned back and listened to her.

"My brother and I were orphans. Cast out like garbage at such a young age....it was like we were meant to die. My brother was more innocent than I was. I had to look out for him. Oshun is like it is. It is a place where millions upon millions live on two very small continents--such a stupid idea. I don't know why they decided that. So many new possible places to live and they choose that. It was a joke that the native population likes to call paradise.....paradise for some.....crowded squalor for the others."

She had a small tear fall from her eyes. Garrison took note of it.

"So, it is those memories that are haunting you?"

"Yeah.....maybe.....I don't fucking know. I just know what I knew then. As a child, I was just a nobody. It was normal for us to operate like we did. I would feel hungry, and I would steal food when I needed to. My brother and I were the top priority and nothing else. The others stole. Why should I hold back?"

"You were just trying to survive," Garrison affirmed.

"Exactly. As children, you don't know that sort of shit. Gangs start to form. They called us the forgotten--a hidden product of the economy. We were the 1%, and we were a part of it. Just like the stories with Dragon's Eye.....another story that I don't wish to talk about."

"Who was this man then? The one that you were talking to on the Columbus?"

"He is.....a monster.....a monster in all but name. A few months before Oshun announced its changes, I met an adult. He promised to take care of us....to give us food and shelter if we did his bidding. The evils that a man can do to children that are desperate...... it's fucking sickening."

"Did this man rape you or your brother?"

"No.....thankfully.....thank all the heavens that it never fucking happened, but his crimes would never be heard from. What he did was horrible. We moved in with him, and he gave us a list of things that we had to steal. I learned that he was doing this with other children and teenagers. Promised food, medicine, care, home if you agreed to steal valuables or firearms from people's houses. I became an expert at breaking into the homes, raiding safes, and stealing guns. Oshun is one of those colony worlds that allow the right to bear arms and all that. The man that I worked with simply wanted to be known under one simple name as if to protect himself in case me or the other kids ever get caught. He called himself the 'Skiver,' and at the time, we didn't know why he choose that name until much later on."

"Why steal guns if Oshun sells them regularly?"

"I don't fully know. I just remember that it was important for him to get it. I managed to do my part and do it. The Skiver would do his part. My brother and I would break into places, steal what we could, and get out. I wasn't the best at it, but I wasn't the worst at it either. I remember the Skiver always patting us on the head every time we accomplished the mission. I remember hearing about the idea that he was a member of some syndicate that worked on the small island known as Dragon's Eye. It is the third island continent of Oshun, if you even call it that at all. It is more of a tiny island in the middle of nowhere. He was just a guy that worked for it."

"This Skiver, he haunts you?" Garrison asked.

"Yes. The.....the Skiver.....we started to learn that he was psychologically insane. I ended up learning that he randomly would pick a child that did the worst. He grabbed the little girl......I still remember hearing her screams from our room." Zalika was breathing hard as if she was reliving the events. "The word for skiver has two meanings. One is that of a person who skips school, and the other is that of sheepskin. The name that he was trying to call himself was skin.....because he loved it."

"What?" Bekra asked.

"Skiver was a man that enjoyed removing flesh from children. The ones that did well in their jobs were rewarded well. Those that did badly.....he would skin them. My brother and I learned that, and we managed to escape from him despite the threats he made to my brother. He never found us, but we never found out what happened to him. I just.....I just remember the fact that he acted innocent. You wouldn't know he was like that until it was too late. I don't know what happened to the other children, though.....It still haunts me that I couldn't do anything for the others."

"Were you able to report all this to the police?" Garrison asked.

"Once the orphanage took me and my brother in, yes. I admit that I felt comfortable and safe with the orphanage program. New Olympia offered the idea of wonderful homes....but I feel after those events that I simply had a hard time trusting those that acted innocent. Children flocked to them....but I wasn't going to go. Oshun was my home."

Zalika took a deep breath. The wave of emotions hit her as Garrison nodded.

"This Skiver.....he isn't here," Garrison explained. He is in your mind, and it is here that you have control of it. "You had to deal with a monster that didn't hesitate to do the same things as that person did. You might not have had control with the Emphra, but the shadow of that man is gone. You have the power to wish it away."

"Ugh.....I wish it were the case," Zalika said. "I hadn't seen it in a long time.....except just recently."

"Zalika, you are not crazy. You were trying to survive in a harsh environment, both on Oshun and on the Columbus. Each day we will work on this. Always remember that you are in control of your mind and body."

"Yeah......" Zalika nodded. "I just.....wish I can shake it off. I don't want to have to be given pills, doc."

"We will do everything we can to avoid it."

"I know that you have been able to fight it," Bekra added. "I know that you can win this."

"I just wonder, you know?" Zalika asked, looking at Bekra. "The Emphra....I wish it were the Itreans we were fighting on the Columbus. We would have won.....most of would have made it back. Not have to go through that fucking hell."

"Well, I can tell you this, Zalika," Garrison remarked with a small smile. "You will have to get used to it. They are coming."

Zalika felt a wave of uneasiness. "Doc, that isn't funny."

"I know, but that is the truth," Garrison said. "Now, if you excuse me. I need to pause this session so I can use the restroom."

"Fine......," Zalika replied as she watched the man stand up. He walked over to the door as it slid open. He stepped out as Zalika shook her head.

"I think we are making progress," Bekra said as the door closed.

"I feel like I am going to be sick."

Bekra waved her hand. "Nah, it's alright. You just need some food, that is all."

She watched her go and pick up some of the snacks from the table. She stood up from the chair as she walked over to Zalika. There was a sense of happiness on her face as her tail would wag a little bit. She found a nice area to sit by Zalika's side as she held onto what looked like crackers of some sort that were wrapped in packages.

"I don't know...." Zalika said. "I just don't feel hungry."

"I disagree. You need more food."

"What?" Zalika replied as she looked at her closely.

"More food. That is what you need," Bekra said.

Zalika felt her heartbeat began to increase as she watched some mercury-like substance began to drip out of Bekra's eyes. Bekra herself seemed calm and composed like nothing was happening.

"What the fuck?" Zalika reacted with shock and horror.

"Mooore fooood," Bekra said as her eyes slowly turned to a silver color.

"No! No!" Zalika said as she tried to jump out of bed.

Bekra's face changed a little bit as her reptilian face was seemingly possessed. She pressed her hand to Zalika's shirt as she pinned her to the chair. The mercury substance began to leak out of her fingertips.

"Ah! Ah!" Zalika screamed as she could hear a sizzling sound come from her. She immediately began to feel a pain hit her. She was slowly being dissolved as more the silver substance was starting to cover her.

"No.....hell no," Zalika said as her hand went to Bekra's arm. She could feel the strength of the Itrean woman combined with the Emphra's will. She was stuck as more and more of the liquid was coming out of her. The pain was unbearable.

"Fooood......mooore food," Bekra said in a slightly different way. A look of dumbfounded happiness radiated from the silver mercury as it controlled her. She watched in horror as the Itrean woman began to melt a little bit. The head was starting to concave a little bit as the substance moved in on Zalika.

"Get it off of me! Doctor! Somebody help me!" Zalika screamed.

Nothing was happening. Her screams were becoming unheard of. She didn't know what to do as the mercury began to reach her neck and then her mouth. The Emphra were going to claim her.

She tried to scream one last time, but the substance went into her. She felt a new wave of thoughts hit her as it went up to her nose and into her brain. The desire was strong. She felt something as it began to control her. She wanted more. She wanted to have more food as her eyes began to turn silver.

*******

"Ahhhh!" Zalika screamed at the top of her lungs.

She felt a four-digit hand press down to her as she could see a familiar face.

The lights turned on to reveal a room. It was the barrack's room, and it was some time at midnight. Zalika could see that Bekra was beside her. The warmth of her body and the color of her normal eyes began to tell her immediately what was happening.

"Zalika!" Bekra tried to calm her down. "You were having a nightmare. Calm down."

Zalika could tell that they were both naked together and underneath the sheets. Her heart beat like crazy as she felt like she had hot sweats. It wasn't just a nightmare. It was a night terror. Zalika simply cradled onto Bekra as a source of protection. She used her one arm to hold onto Bekra as firmly as she could as her breathing began to calm down more and more.

"It is alright...." Bekra said as she was patting her arm. "It is alright. I heard you mumble just before you screamed."

"God.....I want it to stop. It was just like the night before. It won't go away."

"It will....it will. One day at a time. One day at a time."

Zalika was regaining her composure as she looked at her. She took a final deep breath before she felt her pulse began to slow down.

"I want to do something....." Zalika said. "I feel the need to do something. This is my last day on this planet before I see the shrink. I don't want to think about it. I want to do something."

"Like what?" Bekra asked as she cocked her crested head to her.

"Sex would be nice.....but not yet. I want to do something amazing. I feel like causing trouble."

Bekra seemed to frown a little bit. "It is currently 2203. If you wish, we can get those thruster packs delivered to Minerva and Doctor Ericson."

"The thruster packs? Ah, the thrusters from the power suits."

"We have this night to do it, or I can try it alone some other time during this week."

"That....hmm.....currently the shop is all locked down. Major has made most of the place off-limits unless we break-in."

"Let's go get them."

"Aren't you the one to tell me not to do this?" Zalika asked her. "You are the one to tell me not to get in trouble. Why the change?"

"According to Kole, he wanted us to do it. The Staff Sergeant gave an order, and we are to follow it."

"Ha," Zalika started to chuckle. "Daammn. That actually makes sense. I wouldn't mind doing that to piss off the Major. Why not? Minerva and Ericson will get a big surprise when we come to see them at this time of night."

"Then, I will get dressed."

"Me too, let's do it!"

The End (For now)