Scars and Secrets - Gurney Halleck (Dune)

Part VII

She struck the ground, hard. The action winded and stunned her, and she lay there for a moment, barely feeling the rumbling ground beneath her, barely aware of the intense danger she was now in, barely aware of anything. 

She had crashed right next to the wormhole, the worm still peeking out of the sands, supposedly chomping down on the carryall full of harvested spice. 

The world around her was fuzzy, felt heavy, but she was now becoming aware of it, now finally aware of the danger literally at her side. 

She pushed herself up to a kneel, her entire form shaking. The ornithopter was still hovering above, but she couldn't hear it due to the chaos down here. 

The worm bellowed, a sound which shook the entirety of the spice fields and chilled her to the very core. It was rising out of the hole now. She dug her fists into the sand, trying to ground herself.

"Fear - I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me... I must not fear..."

The worm continued to rise - would it swallow her whole as well? If it had devoured the giant and heavy carryall so easily...

"I must not fear... I must not fear-" 

She stared down it's throat, into dark nothingness. 

"I must not fear!"

Everything shattered, exploding in her panic, and then she knew darkness.

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"AH!"

Lita shot awake, scrambling in the dim, low light.

"My Lady-" Dr. Yueh's voice, always calm, spoke.  "You are safe, you are home."

"Dr. Yueh?"

"Yes, I am here with you. You had quite the shock."

Yeah, it certainly felt that way. "W-what happened?"

"You fell unconscious, brought on by the intense shock. Your brother, fiancé and nephew brought you right here as soon as you returned to the fortress."

"How long ago was that?"

"Several hours. Myself and Lady Jessica have been checking on you." 

"Thank you." She then cursed under her breath.  "I've never felt fear like that in my life. It was unlike anything I've ever experienced before."

"Rest, My Lady. As I said, you are still recovering from the shock."

 She passed in and out of slumber after that. Jessica came in to see her, taking her hand in both her own and squeezing tightly. "We were very worried we'd lost you."

"I was, too. Jess, I thought that was it."

"But it wasn't, and you're  back here, safe. Back home." Her voice stumbled over 'home'. "Gurney's been in a fit all day," she then said.

"That's not like him at all," Lita joked. 

"Would you like me to send him in? Are you feeling up to more visitors?"

"I would like that very much."

Jessica left to fetch Gurney, while Lita pretended to sleep. She heard Gurney's footfalls - Paul wasn't the only one who recognized them - enter the room and stop before her bed.

"HA!" She shot 'awake' aiming to startle him, but he just stared down at her with an amused look, eyebrows raised.

She fell back on the bed. "Are you ever caught off-guard or frightened?"

"Never." He looked tired, worn. "But afraid, yes, as I was today."

"Me too." 

"You should be resting."

"I've done a lot of resting already."

"Dr. Yueh's orders."

"I know..." Then she got an idea. "Play a song for me, will you."

"I can likely manage that." He kissed her head before disappearing, returning a few minutes later with his instrument. He reassumed his place at her side and began to gently strum the strings, filling the medical wing with a soft, sweet sound.

She drifted off to its sweet melody, feeling the most calm she had been since awakening, her love at her side.

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"Aunt Lita!"

"Paul."

"How are you feeling?"

"Well. Still a little shaken up but well, thank you."

"Good." His relief quickly bled into seriousness. "May I speak with you?"

"Of course."  

He came to sit beside her bed.  "I haven't spoken of this to many - I only told Duncan because he was in my vision, but now I will  tell you because you were in my vision as well." She eyed him, puzzled but intrigued.  "I've been having dreams about Arrakis, even long before we were destined to come here."

"What did you see?"

"I saw us coming here, and Duncan dying - so they tell some of what is to come, but not all of it. Most frequently I  see a girl, a Fremen girl, she talks to me, knows my name."

"Have you seen her at all since we arrived?"

"No, not yet... I saw her earlier, when we were at the spice fields,  I had another vision and that's when I also saw you. You were standing in the middle of the fields, dressed in a stillsuit, and your eyes were the same blue the Fremens' are. You were facing a worm, though you weren't afraid."

She took in his words, but couldn't make sense of them.  "Anything else?"

"You looked at peace - at home.  One of the Fremen.  The girl I see, she speaks sometimes of a lost family member..." He looked at her.  "Aunt Lita, I think - I think you're Fremen." 

(And another cliffhanger! ;) Hope you enjoyed this one! More sweet Gurney moments to come ;) 

Yes, I borrowed the fear quote from the book/movie. 

Thank you so much for reading! :) See you all soon!)