A Distant Future

A Distant Future Part 18

Susan saw this, screamed in pain, and almost crashed as it brought painful memories racing back to her. Mitch dived and caught her before she crashed. We all landed and it was a few minutes before she could speak again. This is where I almost died. I was doing something with a rocket of some type and it exploded. All I remember is shock and pain and anger for something. What the hell was I thinking of at the time that I would be messing with a small rocket of some type?"

We looked around and saw numerous scorch marks and lots of dried blood everywhere. A lot of it ended at the stream that flowed through the area but some of it continued out of the immediate area. "Why can't I remember what happened? What led me here? What was so important to me at the time I would risk my life in such a way?" She was crying heavily in frustration as she tried to grasp at fragments of memories just barely out of reach.

Twenty minutes later we finally had her calmed down and were back on our wa yto the pool to relax more. "The memories will return in time Susan. Those chips we removed from your brain were making a mess of everything. Your mind is overwhelmed right now and needs time to essentially catch up bit by bit and process everything. Mitch and I found you here almost dead and in an emergency life support system of some type."

Mitch and I showed her the cave and the remains of the system that had kept her barely alive and stable while she waited for help. After this we went down and soaked in the warm waters of the pool for a bit while she relaxed and tried to grasp at more fragments of her memories. When we finally left the canyons some time later she was on the verge of hysteria trying to remember and not being able to.

We landed at the colony and she almost collapsed from an overload of a sorts as more memories came racing back to her. I grabbed a med kit and gave her a low dose of tranquilizer to calm her down and help her relax. No one in the colony said anything to her as she cried and had to be helped to her place by all three of us.

She fell asleep on her bed after about five more minutes. We came outside and met with Jake and Sarah. "She's in bad shape guys. She is frustrated with so many holes in her memory and when they do come back to her it is in big bursts that about drive her crazy. I think it's going to be a long and tough few months for her as she regains her memories. She's not going to have an easy time of it and her head hurts from the sensory overload.

Flying helps her relax but the big thing is that she needs time and patience. She's sedated and sleeping right now for her own good. She was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. When she gets those bursts of memories it hurts her to know she was so mean at times. She's a completely different person and she is going to be wrestling with a mountain of guilt for a lifetime of being controlled by those damned chips."

Sarah shook her head. "She looks like hell. I'll explain it to everyone so they don't get the wrong idea. This is one time I wish we had a telepath with us to help her ease into the memories and deal with the guilt. Adam said there were other avians on this world, can he get in touch with them and ask if they have a mind healer?" I had not thought of that but it was a good idea. "Worth a try I guess. Mitch knows where they are."

"Not exactly, but I do have a good idea of where they hunt at but it is almost a full day of flying to get there. I was not there for too long before being almost killed by the banta and then waking up in your medical pod. They are hard to find in this jungle and they knew I was there long before I knew they were there. I met Adam's mate there when I rescued her from some banta and nursed her back to health."