Necessary Evil of Nathan Miller

Part 6

SIX

I heard voices as I floated in the dark, mostly his but sometimes others. Sometimes I could discern a few words, but they seemed too far away to focus on. The only concept I seemed to be able to hold onto was whenever I heard his voice, there was no pain and I thought, It's okay. I'm safe. In between those times, I fought them in the dark, over and over again.

I couldn't open my eyes to see if any of them – him or them – were real. I was too tired, my eyes too heavy. Or my eyes were open and it was so dark that I couldn't see, just like before. This felt different, somehow. It was warmer here.

I heard his voice as a wordless hum and relaxed in the sensation of safety it brought. Through the contentment in my head, I heard him clearly say, "Alana."

That's my name! My middle name, anyway. I struggled to focus on what he said next. Something about his sister.

"...Never stopped fighting, never let them win. So they broke her and they killed her. How could anyone do that to her?"

How could anyone do that to me?

"I wanted to hunt them down and hurt them for what they did to her. But the police didn't arrest anyone and they could still do it again, to someone else!"

Hunt them down and kill them. Then they'll never do it again.

"I'm sorry, Caitlin. I never wanted to see you hurt. Not like this. I should have helped you sooner..."

It's not too late. Help me hunt them down and kill them. Then maybe I'll forgive you for what you did...

I felt the fury bubble up inside me, but all it did was exhaust me, pushing me deeper into the dark where I couldn't make out what he was saying.