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Six forehead glistened under the warm, yellowish light of his bedside table as pearls of sweat ran down his cheeks, tossing and turning, tangled in bedsheets. Usually, he didn't have very vivid dreams, or he wouldn't dream at all. But that night was different from any other dreams he had before. As the nightmare started to take hold, his face turned grim.
He saw himself standing in a dark cemetery. The sky was overcast, and a chilly drizzle started to fall, adding to the somber atmosphere. Before him, a small crowd had gathered around an open grave, their faces hidden by black veils and umbrellas. The air was filled with sadness, and he felt a weight pressing down on his chest.
Six's eyes were drawn to the casket resting on a set of straps above the open grave. His heart pounded in his chest as he realized whose casket it was. Rebecca Holiday's. The funeral director gave a solemn nod, and the mechanism proceeded to lower the casket into the ground. Six tried to move, to rush forward, to stop what was happening, but his feet felt like they were rooted in place. He could only watch in horror as the casket descended, inch by inch, into the cold, dark earth.
The silence was broken by a sob, and Six turned his head slightly to see Beverly clutching a white lily. With trembling hands, she tossed the flower onto the descending casket. The white petals stood out against the dark wood, a reminder of the finality of death.
One by one, others followed suit, tossing flowers into the grave. Roses, lilies, daisies—each a tiny token of love and loss—falling in slow motion onto the casket. Six struggled to breathe as his eyes welled up with tears. He felt like everything was falling apart around him.
At the head of the grave, his gaze shifted to the tombstone. It was a piece of granite with words that cut into his soul.
Rebecca Holiday
Beloved Sister, Friend, and Partner.
He was hit hard by the end of the dates. His mind was screaming in denial, but no sound could escape his lips. He fell to his knees, feeling the damp earth soak through his pants, mixing with the rain that now fell in earnest.
When the last flowers were placed and the casket was placed at the bottom of the grave, the gravediggers stepped forward with shovels in hand. They began to fill the grave, each shovelful of dirt a brutal punctuation mark on Rebecca's life sentence.
“No!” Six finally found his voice, a hoarse, broken whisper. “No, this can’t be real. This isn’t real!”
But the scene didn't stop, and dirt kept covering the casket. Six's vision became blurred with tears, his heart breaking with each clump of earth that fell.
“Rebecca!” he cried out, reaching a hand toward the grave, but it was no use. She was gone, buried beneath layers of soil and sorrow.
Six was jolted awake and drenched in sweat, his heart racing. The darkness of his bedroom was a stark contrast to the vivid nightmare, but the pain remained sharp and relentless. He sat up, running a hand through his hair, trying to calm his breathing. The nightmare had felt so real, the loss so profound. He reassured himself that it was only a dream. Just a dream.
But, as he lay back down and closed his eyes, the image of Rebecca's tombstone was etched into his mind, a haunting reminder of how fragile life truly was.
After a minute or two of trying to calm himself, he bolted upright in bed again. He was still struggling to catch his breath, the images from the nightmare still vivid and raw in his mind. He stared into the darkness for a moment, setting out to overcome the overwhelming sense of loss and desperation.
Without hesitation, he removed the sheets and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He was still wearing his pajamas, and his feet were slipping into a pair of flops. He didn’t even care. The need to see Holiday, to make sure she was alive, consumed him.
He stumbled out of his room and into the hallway, the cool air from the hallway hitting his clammy skin. Each step felt sluggish, as though he were moving through water. The hallways were long and wide, with walls closing in and then stretching out again, creating a strange visual illusion.
“Holiday,” he whispered to himself, his voice trembling and hoarse. “I need to find her. I have to make sure she’s okay.”
The nightmare replayed over and over again in his mind, a chaotic swirl of fear and urgency. The casket lowering, the flowers falling, the dirt covering the wooden box. Rebecca’s name on the tombstone. The thought of her being gone was unbearable, a wound that felt all too real.
Even though he felt like he was moving at a snail's pace, he kept pushing forward. His flops slapped against the cold floor, the sound echoing eerily in the empty space.
“Holiday,” he called out again, louder this time. His mind repeated the same mantra: She has to be alive. She has to be okay.
He finally reached the entrance to Rebecca's bedroom. His hand trembled as he reached for her door, knocking softly. He was almost afraid of what he might find on the other side. He heard footsteps coming as the door opened, and stepped in without asking if she had given him permission to enter her bedroom. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the woman returning to her bed.
The room was dimly lit by a small lamp, which cast a soft glow. Holiday's shoulders were shaking with silent cries as she sat on her bed. Tears streamed down her face, glimmering in the soft light emanating from the lamp beside her. She looked up and saw him standing there, his pajamas covered in sweat, and his eyes filled with fear and relief, as if he weren't expecting to see her again.
“Six?” she whispered, her voice trembling. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Six approached, and the door closed behind him. His fear momentarily forgotten as he saw the anguish in her eyes. She stood up to meet him, and he reached out to brush the tears from her cheeks with his fingers. “What’s going on?”
Rebecca's hands reached out to hold his face, her touch gentle but urgent. “I can’t sleep,” she admitted, her voice breaking. “Beverly… she’s been cured of being an EVO, but… I don’t know how to approach her. She’s back to being human, and I’m so scared. I have these nightmares about losing her, about not knowing how to be there for her. What if I’m too overprotective? What if I push her away because I don’t understand her anymore?”
Six’s heart ached for her. He knew how scary it is to lose someone you care about a lot. He held her hands in his, his thumbs touching the back of her hands. “Rebecca, it’s okay,” he said softly. “You’re going to figure it out. Beverly knows you love her. She knows you’re trying. Just be there for her, listen to her. You don’t have to have all the answers right now.”
Holiday nodded, her tears slowing but not stopping. “I’m just so scared,” she whispered. “I don’t want to lose her.”
Six reached up and gently wiped away her remaining tears with his fingers, mirroring her earlier gesture. “You won’t lose her,” he said firmly. “You’re too strong for that. And so is she.”
Holiday looked at him, her eyes searching his face. “But what about you? Why are you here like this?”
Six hesitated for a moment, then sighed. “I had a nightmare,” he admitted. “I saw… I saw you being lowered into a grave. I thought I’d lost you.”
Rebecca’s eyes softened, and she reached up to caress his sweaty, short hair. “Oh, Six,” she whispered. “I’m right here. I’m okay. And we’re both going to be okay.”
The following day, the base was bustling with activity as Beverly returned to Providence. She was excited to see Rex and enjoy her new life as a person, while Holiday looked at the interaction from a distance and sighed deeply. Six's mind was still clouded by the nightmare and the emotional conversation he had with Rebecca the night before, but the sun was shining, casting a warm glow over Providence. By observing the distance between the two sisters, whether intentionally or not, persuaded him that it was time to intervene and help them both.
Six watched from a distance as Beverly chatted animatedly with Rex in the common area, while he gathered his thoughts. He knew he had to talk to her to help them understand each other better. He approached the two teenagers, his usual Stoic expression softened by the gravity of the conversation he was about to start.
“Beverly, can we talk?” Six said this, his voice steady but gentle. Beverly nodded, surprised, but curious. She knew that man had helped her sister save her life, but she had never talked to him before.
“Sure…” She spoke with apprehension, looking at Rex, who gave her an encouraging nod before stepping aside to provide them with some privacy.
Six directed Beverly to a quieter area of the common area. He turned around and looked at her with serious but kind eyes. “I need to talk to you about your sister.”
Beverly’s expression shifted to one of concern. “Is she okay?”
“She’s struggling,” Six said. “Last night, she was up crying. She’s having nightmares and is deeply worried about you. She doesn’t know how to approach you now that you’re back to being human. Holiday fears being too overprotective and pushing you away.”
Beverly's eyes widened and she looked down. “I… didn’t realize she was feeling that way. She didn't say anything to me, I thought she was happy. She was smiling and laughing when she first held me in her arms.”
Six continued, his voice softening yet still firm. “Your sister loves you more than anything, she’s just afraid of losing you again by being too controlling or not understanding your new way of thinking now that you are free to live once more. You feel like yourself again, but she doesn't know how to handle having a sister. Someone she feared was gone forever.” Six took a deep breath, wondering whether he should share his experience. He had never been so open before, but he promised to help Holiday. Realizing how much he loved that woman and how willing he was to do anything for her. “Last night, I had a nightmare too. I dreamt that I lost her. And it reminded me how important it is to care about each other before it's too late.”
Beverly looked up, surprised, tears glistening in her eyes. “I… didn't know. I didn't know how you both…”
“And that's okay, you have recently been cured, and it's understandable that you didn't realize it at first. You two need each other. It’s okay to be scared, but you have to talk to each other. She needs to know you’re there for her, just as much as she’s there for you.”
Beverly nodded, wiping away her tears. “Thank you, Mr. Six. I’ll talk to her.”
Later that day, Beverly found Rebecca in the laboratory, sorting through some files. Beverly walked in, drawing her sister's attention. Rebecca's eyes widened with surprise and a tinge of worry as she looked up.
“Bev,” Rebecca said softly. “What’s up?”
Beverly walked in and sat down beside her sister. “Six talked to me earlier. He told me about last night, about how you’ve been feeling. About how he is feeling, too.”
Rebecca’s expression softened, and she looked down, a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Beverly. I have been so worried about doing the wrong thing that I may have been doing just that.”
Beverly reached out and took Rebecca’s hand. “I didn’t see how much you were struggling. I want us to work together through this. And I don’t want fear to get in the way of that.”
Holiday looked at her sister with a teary smile. “I missed you so much, Beverly. I love you so much. I just want to protect you, but I know I need to let you live your life.”
Beverly nodded. “And I need to remember that you’re always looking out for me. We’ll figure it out, together.”
They hugged tightly. Six observed from afar, experiencing a sense of relief. The emotional turmoil of the previous night and the nightmare had led to this moment of understanding and connection between the sisters.
As the day went on, the base felt a little warmer and more optimistic. Six was aware that there would be challenges ahead, but seeing Rebecca and Beverly taking steps to understand and support each other reassured him that they would be able to face whatever came their way. Together, they were stronger and that made a big difference.