Wraith

Simple Beginnings Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

The Captain though, couldn't get Wraith's state out of his mind. Instead of heading for his flat in Memory Lane, he went to the Eckerts' on the off chance that she was still there comforting Olive. There was a light on in the sitting room when he arrived, but when he paused to look in the curtains were drawn. Cautiously he knocked on the door, conscious of the sounds of muffled crying. It opened at his touch, having been left slightly ajar, and he stepped warily inside before closing it behind him. The crying came from the sitting room and he hesitantly made his way there, wondering if he was doing the right thing.

The door to the sitting room was also slightly open and after a moment he looked inside. There was no sign of Olive, but Wraith was curled up on the couch and sobbing into a cushion. She seemed very young and lost, and before he knew what he was doing the Captain had crossed to the couch, sat down and started to rub her back soothingly. "Wraith, it will be all right. Whatever is wrong, we'll find a way to fix it." The sobbing died away and he felt her muscles tense under his hand.

Then she raised her head and her green eyes stared into his with unnerving intensity. "Can you change the past? Can you find Olive and tell her honestly that her Dad didn't try to murder his friend? Can you explain why her family are Abusers when she has always believed them to be Users, or why I had to be the one to stop them? Can you explain to her how the proud tradition of generations of Eckert Users has come to be broken? Can you take away the pain she feels?"

The Captain winced as her words re-opened his own wounds and he felt again the sting of his mentor's betrayal. For an instant, he was overwhelmed with all his memories of Volcano and wondered again how he had missed the signs that the User he looked up to was an Abuser. To distract himself he hurriedly asked. "What do you mean, can I find Olive? Isn't she here?"

An anguish that he couldn't explain was briefly unveiled in the green depths of Wraith's eyes. "She knows about Volcano and Adamant and Hank the Mystery Hunk, but she's gone. I can't find her."

"Wraith, why do you care so much? Compassion is commendable, but what you're feeling seems to go much deeper than that." The Captain found the young woman's behavior more worrying than the mystery of Olive's whereabouts. For a minute, he wasn't sure that he would get an answer, but gradually she relaxed her tense muscles.

Wraith turned her face to stare at the door, and her voice when she spoke was low and monotone. Listening, the Captain was certain that he wasn't getting the whole story. "Olive is like a sister to me. We're much closer than most friends and now - it's like I've just lost my whole family."

"What about your real family?" The Captain asked gently.

"They might as well be dead."

He sighed and tried another tack. "Wraith, do you have anywhere to go tonight?"

"No."

"Do you want to stay with Flayme? I'd offer my place, but it's only got one bed."

"No, I'll stay here. Olive won't mind, and she might come back."

"Will you be alright on your own?"

Wraith hesitated and then nodded. "I think so." She glanced at him briefly before retreating back into her shell. "I'll be fine."

The Captain wasn't so sure, but he said nothing more. Instead he started rubbing her back again, and after a while she shifted position and leaned against him. Lost in his thoughts the Captain didn't notice until she had fallen asleep. For a moment, he contemplated waking her so that he could move, but then decided against it. They had both been through a lot that night, and soon he too was asleep.