3034: The Awakening

The Price

Z P.O.V.

I am nothing short of stunned, the talisman of life was no more real than the person being immortal, and yet here it is before my very eyes. The talisman has always been a sought after treasure by those that believed in its power. I was never one for folklore and myths, but the way my skin crawls and grows goosebumps the thick blanket of power it goes off in droves. There is absolutely no way I can deny that the feeling this talisman is giving away. The talisman is in fact real. 

"I take it by your silence and wide eyes that you know that what I hold is indeed the real thing, " he smiles a wicked grin tossing the talisman in the air and catching it back into his hand. 

Watching him I clear my throat and cross my arms.  " Why show this to me now? And how did you….when did you acquire such a treasure?"  He has indeed raised a lot of questions. Neese was the kind of man I had thought to be genuine and good, not one who would acquire power and have such an ill tone and darkness converging on his heart.

Pocketing the talisman, he runs a hand through his smooth slick hair, pushing a few loose strands back into place. Something is very off about him, for knowing Neese over a hundred years this isn't the person I know. Cautiously he takes a few more steps in my direction closing the gap between the two of us. 

Leona senses the change in him as well, already on her guard ready to swap with me at any moment. I can feel how tense and on edge she has become. The air seems denser, like a giant wave of this overwhelming mass has just been dropped on top of us. 

"I show this to you Z for the mere purpose of bringing Emily back. This little stone that I hold close to me has the power to give life, the question is can you or the girl handle the consequence that would arise once she breathes?" 

"I suppose that is the bigger question isn't it, for something of equal or greater must be given up in return, such as the balance, " 

Of course, everyone knows that to tamper with life and death there will always be a greater price to pay. Life is precious after all and to upset the scales of the living and the dead it is such a hazardous thing to do.  I have no choice, I need Emily back. 

Neese looks at me again, his gaze unwavering, I am sure he can pretty much know what I am thinking, how I am feeling. He knows that I  won't refuse the power of the talisman, no matter the price that must be paid. 

"What is the cost of such action?" My voice is frigid as the ice that encases surfaces of outer planets in space. 

" That my dear Z will be revealed when the girl draws her breath once more, then the talisman will collect its payment" he stretches out his and waits to meet mine for an official shake. 

I don't hesitate there is no more time for such games. Getting Emily back is a top priority, without her, a cure for specimen X goes with her. And with it the one true love that we share. 

"When do we start?" 

He smiles widely not trying to hide the happiness he feels. How proud he is that he convinced me. 

"Right now" 

Neese pulls the talisman out of his pocket and places it over her heart. The red stone begins to glow in a strobe light kind of manner. It doesn't take long before I can see the color start to pour back into her body, all of her wounds, the gaping holes that spread through her body were beginning to close at record time. Her body had completely changed back to the girl she was before. 

I waited anxiously to see her draw her first breath, my heartbeat quickened. Leona's presence intensified in my body, she was right there with me. She had the same feeling I had as well, our mate would soon be back with us.  The stone is soon absorbed into Emily's torso and her chest begins to gently rise and fall. Her eyes pop open and she sits up quickly sucking in a deep breath.  Everything in me wants to run to her side, just to feel her in my arms.  I don't move as Roland begins checking over her vitals spilling out comforting words to her as he lays her back down.

Emily P.O.V.

As I watch Neese and Z exchange words, I am taken back when he reveals to her that there is a way to bring me back. As he tells Z that he has the talisman of life and that it has the power to bring me back, I become torn when he adds in the type of fine print you would expect to see on a well-written contract. The part no one reads or cares about until it is signed and sealed. I would have never anticipated that Z would sacrifice something to save me, even blindly agreeing to do so. 

Something is still off about Neese, the normal gentle type of personality he portrays as, left him. The Neese that we knew has turned into the Mr.Hyde version of a darker and sinister being. Z please don't go through with it, tell him no, just let me go. Whatever the price is, it is not worth it to save my life. There will always be another way to find a cure for specimen X. I plead in my own mind as if she would hear me. It seems so foolish of me to plead or try to have any thoughts at all. Here I am invisible, no one to talk to or hear me. Even in death, I am a helpless human. 

As they shake hands and Neese walks over to the corpse I watch on as the stone begins to glow. Wait…. I feel… I feel different. A warmth tenderly grazes me. What is this, could it be my life returning? 

Everything goes black, and there is no light, but this time it feels different. I do not feel cold or scared. I feel radiant heat this time and everything seems to be lighter. What is going on? Then it hits me. My spirit is pulled down by this beam of light, sucking me out of the air and down to my body. Laying me effortlessly over it. Gushing my spirit back where it belongs. Sitting up I inhale quickly making me feel as if I am drowning. My vision is first to come to be followed by my hearing. 

Looking around I feel off, I remember...I remember being at the shop, what happened to me? My head feels cloudy as if I had too much to drink and was waking up with a severe hangover. Roland approaches me, he still hasn't lost his softness. His eyes are always caring and his very presence comforting. 

"Lay back Emily, it's okay we have you" his voice is low. 

I do as he says and lay back onto the table. My body feels so different I can't place it. When I woke up from stasis I was weak and could hardly run. Now I don't feel weak. I could probably get off the table and be okay. What is this change I feel within me? 

Z P.O.V.

Neese walks back to me in confident long strides. Breathing in he goes to open his mouth but words don't leave him. Emily is alive and that's all that should count. But for perspective, I need to find out what the price we had paid for this wondrous moment. 

" She's alive" stating the obvious he smirks at me. 

" Are you ready to pay the price for the return of the girl?"  

I meet his eyes and lock them with my own. Furrowing my brow and clenching and unclenching my jaw. "No more games Neese what is the price?" 

Scoffing at me not one bit intimidated. "Immortality, while you lose that, Emily gains it. What better a price to pay than the exchange of immortality?"

"She has suffered enough and you choose that? Being immortal is the greatest torture of all!" My tone is sharp. 

I want to drop him to the ground and rip him apart.  While I learned to deal with watching the people I love and care about die...Emily has lost vastly already and now to have her live forever to watch as others will die and she will have to witness it all, that's torture I would never wish upon anyone. Emily, I am sorry that my burden has now become yours. 

" Z I do not pick the cost of an exchange, the talisman picks, and it has chosen to take your immortality and give it to Emily. Perhaps this will benefit us in the future, now that we have her back we can continue on our quest for a cure." 

Patting me on the back he walks out of the infirmary. While it is a good advantage to have her back, it is a double-edged sword at the time. Everything has an advantage and disadvantage. Some greater than others. 

Emily's P.O.V.

 Seconds pass, then minutes which turn to hours and then into days, and on into weeks. I still cannot remember all the details of my capture and my death. I remember being taken by the reptilians and saw my friends unconscious and another wanting to help me but powerless to do so. 

Natasha and Nicole have been babying me also, waiting on me hand and foot as if I was some kind of royalty. I try to tell them there is no need for all the special treatment, all they do in response is nod at me and continue doing it. Fancy breakfast, lunch, and dinners even breakfast in bed. I know I shouldn't complain, it's just not in me to let others do something like this for me. 

Things have become a lot more cordial with Z lately as well. She has warmed up to me more and refuses to tell me what has caused this sudden shift towards me. Also, acting even more precarious Z refuses to leave my side unless it is when privacy calls for it. Other than that it is like we are adjoined at the hip. 

I hope one day she will tell me how she went from thinking I was nothing more than a job and weak human not worth her time to one worth so much guarding. I could just be paranoid or maybe I am actually seeing what I am seeing, the way Z looks at me with this light in her gorgeous green eyes makes me wonder if we are finally sharing the same connection I had thought we had. 

"Emily is everything alright?" Z asks, waving her hand in front of my eyes.

Forcing me to blink, I shake my head side to side moving her hand away from me. "Yes, of course, I am, why wouldn't I be?"

Smiling Z shakes her head, "you zoned out on me, as if you were deep in thought, anything you'd like to talk about?" 

I want badly to ask her what I have asked her day in and day out, it's always the same response. It's best I don't remember is what she says. I believe in a way she thinks by keeping the memories away from me she is protecting me. But it isn't protection. I need its answers. As if I didn't have enough questions without answers I have just added on another load of them. 

Sighing I choose to go with my normal 'I'm okay, just tired excuse. Z nods to me leaving me to my own devices in my room. Typically when I give a short response Z shuts off all communication and leaves me alone. 

Figuring her out has proven to be a challenge one I would have liked to have accomplished months ago.  

Just then the ship begins to shake viciously sending me tossed around like a rag doll. The violent shaking increases rapidly and then stops. Everything in my room has now found its way to the floor. Decorations, clocks, anything that isn't huge and heavy has been tossed around like me. I run out of my room and head straight for the bridge. 

Neese, Roland, and the twins are already gathered. Z isn't too far behind me. 

"What the hell just happened?" I ask, a little shaken.

"It was a type of outer turbulence that typically occurs when there has been a strong shift in the atmosphere around the surrounding planets. Even planets millions of miles away can cause that. " Natasha responds while pulling up different images of the blue and purple looking streams. 

They are so beautiful to the eye and yet can be so deadly by throwing ships violently sometimes damaging the hi severely causing leaks. We are lucky to have made it out of that. 

" So how did we escape that?" 

Nicole looks at me and brings up another screen we jumped and are now about to arrive at Nebula 7. We had hoped to stop here later after we had visited region 4. But since we are now closer to Nebula 7 we might as well dock and start researching specimen X, " 

"Makes sense how long do we have?" 

"About twelve hours till we dock, everyone, get some rest until then" Neese responds to the whole crew.  

We all shake our heads in response and head back to our rooms. It would be nice to finally be off the ship, it is even better now that we are finally going to start researching my disease. 

I lay back and close my eyes, it has been a long time coming and I hope we find answers on Nebula 7. The fate of all these civilizations are in our hands.