Voices

Going with Cib

By the next morning Hafu had left me alone. David opened my bedroom door and woke me up.

"Steve. Cibs here," he said. I perked up at that. In less than two seconds I was out the door with the dogs hot on my heels.

I saw Cib and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back and I felt myself smile. I knew he was smiling to because he was holding me tightly.

"Cib. You came for me," I whispered. For a hot minute there I didn't think he was going to. I thought he was gonna leave me here.

"Of course Steve. I said I would, didn't I?" He asked me. I nodded and buried my face into his neck briefly. This time the dogs seemed relaxed around him.

"Cib. Ready to go?" David asked. I wasn't aware that he was coming too until I realized it made sense. Cib led us to a dropship and we boarded.

I sat down on a seat and let Little Foot jump onto me. I rubbed his ears as DK appeared. David looked over to DK and nodded.

"Glad to see you aren't ignoring us anymore," DK said sarcastically to David. He shot a small, annoyed glare. I wondered why he had something against the ghosts.

"Yeah, we'll see about that soon enough," he said. I had the book in hand and hid it so that David and Cib didn't see.

"Bitch," DK retorted. I could only assume that David had started to ignore the ghosts again as he didn't respond or react. "Anyway, Steve, you ready?" He asked me excitedly. I nodded.

"Yeah. Hang on DK. Cib, does Autumn have a way to get my memories back yet?" I asked hopefully. He remained silent for a moment before he spoke.

"We don't know for certain, but we think she does. We can test it out whenever we get there if you'd like," he responded without looking at me. I nodded quickly.

"Yes please. I hate not knowing what happened to me,"  I said happily. I knew I could trust Cib with my life right now. And that's not something I would say back on earth.

"I know. But you'll see soon enough what happened," he said and I glanced at DK. I didn't want to say anything else and he just sat there with me.

He curled into my side and stared up at me. I wanted to know so much, but I didn't have the energy to ask.

David and Cib both fell asleep so it was just me and DK. And the other ghosts as well but they weren't visible.

"DK, what happened with David and the book?" I asked him. He looked up at me and sighed. I couldn't read him and it bothered me for some unknown reason

"That's not my story to tell. That's his," DK responded. I couldn't tell if he knew the story and was dodging the question or had no idea.

"Fine. Can I try to revive one of you guys now? Please?" I asked. The others appeared and shared glances.

"I think you should. Try with Ellum," 5up said quickly. Ellum looked shocked.

"Excuse me! What if he fucks up!" Ellum snapped and the pink man grinned. Obviously a small rivalry was between them but in a friendly way.

"That's why we're using you," was the reply Ellum got. I got a nod from Hafu and opened the book.

"By earth and air. By fire and water," I started. The ghosts went silent and watched. "So shall you hear my call, Powers of birth and rebirth." I said. I could feel the energy pulsing between me and the air. David shot awake.

He moved to come get me but I needed to finish. "Powers of silence and peace. Bring Ellum back to life," I said. The energy dissipated and Ellum vanished. He wasn't alive. I had failed.

"Where's Ellum? Steve, what did you do? I said not to touch the fucking book. Hand it over," he snapped and tried to grab it.

"No! I couldn't have failed. Did I do something wrong?" I asked and stared at the book. I pulled it out of David's reach and he glared at me.

I glanced at the other ghosts and saw them all staring at where Ellum had once stood. Kojis eyes were watering and he looked close to crying.

I knew it was my fault. Koji reached out a hand to where Ellum had last stood, a broken expression on his face. Tears started to leak from his eyes and Janet hugged him tightly.

"I fucked it up," I finally whispered. David snatched the book from me and I watched as he lit it on fire.

"DAVID!!" Hafu screamed in shock. He looked at her with slight sorrow, regret, but mainly anger. He didn't think through what he just did.

"That book fucks so much up and I hate it. I'm sorry Hafu, but I'm not letting it happen to anyone else," he said and sat back down. The smoke and ash vanished much to my surprise.

The dropship docked and I walked onto the ship I had never seen before. Or at least I don't remember being on.

Cib led me and David to the medbay where me made us scan. Just to be safe. From there I was led into a room with James, Alfredo, and Autumn.

In two seconds I was hugging them happily.

"God I missed you guys so much," I whispered to them. I got greetings back and they all glanced at David.

"Steve, you're alive! We haven't seen you in forever," James said. I flashed him a weak smile and felt Dumbdog hug my waist tightly before they all disappeared.

"I would say the same but, I don't exactly remember anything so..." I said with a shrug. They all laughed and Autumn placed a hand on my shoulder.

"So Steve, are you ready to get your memories back?"