The Peace Offering

THIRTY-TWO

Maxine

"Hey," Gabby cooed as soon as I opened my eyes. She stroked the top of my head gently, smiling down at me by the side of my bed. "You're up again."

"Did they... find me at the corner of the room again?" I managed a weak smile.

Gabby nodded. She reached down to hold my hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," I muttered, glancing down at my bandaged hand. I noticed that my skin hadn't gone back to its natural form. "Besides feeling like some kind of alien. Where's Britt? And River? Did you call my dad? I really hope you didn't."

"I did. He said he'll call me again once the plane tickets are booked," Gabby replied. "I told Britt to rest at home today. She hasn't slept for days now looking after you. River will be here soon. She's missed you."

I smiled. "I've missed her too. Speak of the devil."

River popped her head at the glass panel from outside. Her eyes lit up when she saw that I was awake. Gabby squeezed my hand lightly before getting up from her seat and letting my girlfriend in. She then excused herself to get some coffee. I slowly sat up in my bed with the help of River.

"Aren't you scared of me?" I teased her. "I might be an alien, for all you know. The government's testing me for it. They took a lot of my blood."

River grinned at that, before her expression changed again. "Gabby told me the nurses found you at the corner of the room again, this time rocking back and forth too. You're hearing them again?"

"The different voices calling me? Yeah," I shrugged indifferently. "I'm not only an alien. I'm a crazy alien, Riv."

"Don't say that. We'll get you fixed, I promise," River said, scooting over closer to me on the bed.

I leaned forward and lifted my bandaged right hand to her face, caressing her cheek with my thumb. "And if we can't, it's not your fault. You need to remember that, no matter what happens after this. I don't know how much time we're left with, but I want you to know that the amount of time I've spent with you, I've never regretted a single beautiful moment of it. You're the best I've ever had and I love you with all my heart, Riv. If I don't make it out of this alive, I want you to carry on with your life."

"And if you do, you'll make the brunch you promised me?" River smirked. I laughed and she did too, before a tear escaped her left eye and another from her right. I wiped the tears off her cheek only to have her cry even more. Sighing, I held her tightly in my arms as she buried her face in my right shoulder and wept for a decade.

After all that crying, River removed herself from my hug and went to wash up. She brought some food that Emma had cooked specially for me and we ate dinner together in my ward. I asked her to stay with me for the night and we watched movies on my iPad, eventually falling asleep to one.

I woke up in the middle of the night with River curled up beside me on the hospital bed. Feeling the strong urge to pee, I got up gently from the bed and made my way over to the en-suite bathroom. As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, I heard a light knock on the room door. I glanced over at River and she was still in deep slumber. I heard the knock again and as I was about to reach for the doorknob, a low female voice startled me.

"It's time, Maxine," the voice whispered in my head. "It's time."

I gulped hard. My mind began to feel disoriented and I stepped towards River with the intention of waking her up to tell her I was hearing those voices again, but I jumped at another knock on the door.

A deeper male voice rang in my head. "It's time, Maxine. Free yourself."

I grabbed at my hair with both of my hands, digging my nails into my scalp. The voices started to overlap each other and the knock on the door amplified by each passing moment. I tried to call out for River but I felt a force suppressing my voice. Unable to take it any longer, I turned the doorknob and dashed out of the ward.