Collided

Chapter 24

Alyssa awoke to find herself back in Boman's quarters, in bed. Swaddled in some comfy sheets, yet she felt very uncomfortable for some reason. Something was wrong.

She felt groggy, like she was still under the passing effects of something. It took much longer to focus as she glanced around, and her arms at her side felt heavier than they had any right to be. But that was not it.

Checking the time on what served as a clock, she saw that it was nearly dawn. At least whatever counted as dawn in space.

She rolled over, half expecting to see Boman lying next to her, but his side of the bed was empty. Judging by how cold that side of the bed felt to the touch, he had not slept in.

Trying to push herself up to an upright position, she suddenly became aware of how incredibly tired she was. Regardless, she managed to find herself staring at her feet.

The view felt strange and foreign, almost like she had not had feet before today or something. She was still yet to put her finger on the problem. She wiggled her toes as she waited for the effects of whatever alien drug she was under to fade completely.

And then it hit her. Her feet! She could see her feet!

That was the problem. Up until now, she could not. Up until now, her view had been obstructed by her belly.

She threw the sheets off her body to reveal a flat stomach under her gown. Frantically, she groped her stomach and screamed as she didn't feel life inside of her.

Curiously, she lifted the hem of the gown up to her chest and looked down. She gasped.

There was a scar on her stomach, one she had never seen before and had no memory of getting. It ran down her stomach almost like a cesarean section surgery had been done on her.

Her babies! Where were her babies?

Suddenly panic hit her in waves upon waves as she tried desperately to recall her last waking hours. After a moment, the fog began to clear.

Her altercation with Boman. Seeing Tinker at the stairwell...Calypso was there. Desmond too...

Desmond!

She remembered him preventing her him taking Tinker away, and in the process, he shoved her, sending her down the long stairs where it all blacked out.

Thinking about it brought a dull sensation in the back of her head to her notice. She had definitely hit her head. But that was the least of her worries. What had happened after is what mattered to her right now.

What happened to her children? Where was Boman? What had he done with them?

So many questions raced through her mind, and the fact that she was painfully unable to answer any of them started to drive her mad, so she jumped out of bed, her unsteady knees buckling as her feet hit the ground.

She sought for something to hold on to, but her fingers closed around empty air, and she went down.

Scrambling to her feet, mumbling a stream of curses but otherwise unfazed, she was determined to reach the door.

She opened it and bumped right into Boman's rock-solid form from behind. She staggered but thankfully, she did not fall again.

Boman turned in surprise, then worried. He rushed forward to hold her, but she shoved him back.

"Where are they?"

He opened his mouth, but no words came forth.

"Where the fuck are my babies!" She repeated herself.

He remained silent, refusing to look her in the eyes. She walked up to him, stepping out into the hallway. There she realized they were not alone. Standing around were Calypso, General Blaze, and Desmond, who she noted was partly hidden behind everyone. Clearly intentionally so.

Alyssa had tears in her eyes, ready to stream down her face any moment now, and her voice was cracking, but she did not care. She did not care that she looked weak, even in front of Calypso. She only cared about one thing.

"Where are my babies, Boman? I know you took them! I've seen the fucking scar! Where are they?"

Boman let out a sigh, suddenly looking worn out.

"Let's go back to bed. You should lie down and rest."

"I have rested enough!"

Boman tried to approach her, but the death glare she shot his way had him rethinking.

"They're gone."

"What do you mean gone? Gone where? Where are you keeping them? I need to see my babies!"

His eyes were unsteady, unable to meet hers. He opened his mouth and closed it repeatedly before he finally spoke. And when he did, Alyssa wished he hadn't.

"You had an... accident," he said. "And I had to choose between the babies and you, and... you're still here."

"No!"

"Alyssa, I'm—" He reached for her, but she slapped his hand away.

"Don't you fucking touch me!"

She pounded his chest with her fists, but he did not react. Giving up on trying to hurt him, she backed away till her back touched the wall, and then she slid to the ground in defeat, her gaze sinking to the floor.

"No, no no, no no!" she sobbed and screamed, clutching her chest like she would rip it out if she could to stop the torture and pain.

Looking to the side, her eyes focused on Desmond. "You!" she said. And then she saw red."You did this! You killed my babies!"

She shot off the ground faster than Boman could react, dove under Calypso's arms that stretched out to block her, and threw herself at Desmond.

She almost reached him, her hands outstretched to claw out his eyes, when someone—Boman, she imagined—caught her by the waist and pulled her back. She struggled against him, but Boman's grip was firm. He held her while she screamed and cursed and threatened fire and brimstone until the fight was gone from her.

"Breathe, Alyssa," he whispered in her ear.

And in an instant, she did, her quest for vengeance quenched, like water poured over fire because it was not Boman who held her.

It was the only person present who she did not wish to viciously murder and dance over their grave.

It was Blaze.

She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck as hard as she could, and sobbed into his chest.

"Get Ada! Now, Desmond!" She heard Boman say. "Tell her to bring another dose with her!"

Everything that transpired next did so in a blur from Alyssa's point of view. She did not struggle when Ada came and injected her with an anesthetic. As her legs gave out and her eyes started to close, she sought out Desmond and, in her mind, made a solemn promise to avenge her children.

She did not let go of Blaze while she was yet conscious, so he offered to tuck her in, which Boman agreed to.

Starting to drift off, she found herself comforted as his face was the last face she would see. She could have sworn she caught him mouthing the words: "I am your friend. You can trust me, Alyssa."