Categories > TV > Life On Mars > A Better Future
Disclaimer: Life on Mars is owned by Kudos, and I don't own them (although I can dream). I'm just playing with the characters and concepts. No harm is intended.
Credit: Huge thanks to Saganami Dreams without whom this story never would have gotten this far. Also big thank-yous to Sophie and Golden Starfish for their insightful comments while polishing this fic. Any mistakes and inconsistencies still present are, of course, my fault for not listening to these people.
A Better Future
A feeling of relief spread through Sam Tyler's mind. This was it. Finally, after all this time, he could let go. No more imaginary world, back to reality. He would be getting out of the `70s, back home to 2006. Or however much later it would be. It'd be home, in any case.
Sam closed his eyes, anticipating the transition. As he did so, the voice of a little girl intruded on his consciousness. The girl that had tormented his dreams for all this time. For just an instant, the terror she used to inspire manifested itself again. It set his heart racing and blood pounding in his ears. He had to fight to hear her words. But when he heard what she was actually saying, resentment smothered the fear.
"Where are you going, Sam? Don't you like it here?"
He forced himself to ignore her. She was trying to make him stay, and if he let himself get angry with her, she would succeed. Then his attention would be turned back to the world he had constructed for himself, while all he wanted was to go home. He also ignored the little nagging voice deep in the back of his mind that seemed to be screaming, "She's right, don't go." That was just his fear of change. He had after all made himself reasonably comfortable here. It still couldn't compete with his real home.
He squeezed his eyes further shut, willing himself to wake up. He put so much effort into it that he felt dizzy; static first spreading across his vision and then tingling through his body; the unseen world around him spinning and sounds distorting. Yet still he could hear what was being said to him.
"Sam. Open your eyes. You're home now." The distortion doubled the words and overlaid them, as if two people were speaking at once. But then the static changed into a pinkish glow and the distortion resolved itself into his mother's voice.
"Sam? Wake up, sweetheart; I know you can do it."
Yes. Sam wanted to wake up, open his eyes, greet the woman standing next to his bed and give her a big hug. Right along with whatever medical staff might be standing around. So why couldn't he?
His eyes seemed glued shut. Well, he had been squeezing them tightly. Now Sam put all his effort into forcing them open. Without much success. The tingling sensation had been replaced by numbness, as if his body all of a sudden was no longer inclined to listen to his brain. The beeping of hospital machinery was clear now, but he still couldn't open his eyes. He redoubled his efforts, fighting the sluggishness of his own synapses.
A few points of whiteness broke up the pink. Progress. His eyes were very dry. That made them even harder to open. And now he also felt pain in his throat. Come on, Sam, keep at it. Slowly the white dots joined into a line. Shadows. He could see shadows moving now. And he heard someone murmuring. Who was it? Not just his mother. The white line broadened. So bright. He closed his eyes against the brightness. Opening them again was just that little bit easier.
Now he could see a little bit of the room around him. White was the dominant colour. A man in a white coat appeared in his field of vision. A doctor, probably.
"Sam? Can you hear me?"
Sam tried to nod, but he could barely move his head. Something was hindering the movement.
"Just blink twice if you can hear me, Sam." When Sam did so, the doctor continued. "You've had an accident, Sam. You've been unconscious for a while."
Yes, he knew that, Sam wanted to say, but he couldn't get the words past the constriction in his throat. Before he could wonder about that, the doctor anticipated his reaction. "You can't talk at the moment, Sam. We've had to put a tube in your throat to help you breathe. We'll take that out soon, though. Do you understand?"
Sam blinked again. Odd, how tiring it suddenly was to do something as simple as blinking. From the way he felt, it was as if he'd run a marathon or something, not like he'd been lying on his back in a hospital room for however long he'd been in a coma. So he closed his eyes again. He vaguely heard the doctor murmur something to someone else, and then the last thing he heard before he fell asleep was his mother's voice.
"You rest now, Sam. You're back with us; that's what's important."
--
Credit: Huge thanks to Saganami Dreams without whom this story never would have gotten this far. Also big thank-yous to Sophie and Golden Starfish for their insightful comments while polishing this fic. Any mistakes and inconsistencies still present are, of course, my fault for not listening to these people.
A Better Future
A feeling of relief spread through Sam Tyler's mind. This was it. Finally, after all this time, he could let go. No more imaginary world, back to reality. He would be getting out of the `70s, back home to 2006. Or however much later it would be. It'd be home, in any case.
Sam closed his eyes, anticipating the transition. As he did so, the voice of a little girl intruded on his consciousness. The girl that had tormented his dreams for all this time. For just an instant, the terror she used to inspire manifested itself again. It set his heart racing and blood pounding in his ears. He had to fight to hear her words. But when he heard what she was actually saying, resentment smothered the fear.
"Where are you going, Sam? Don't you like it here?"
He forced himself to ignore her. She was trying to make him stay, and if he let himself get angry with her, she would succeed. Then his attention would be turned back to the world he had constructed for himself, while all he wanted was to go home. He also ignored the little nagging voice deep in the back of his mind that seemed to be screaming, "She's right, don't go." That was just his fear of change. He had after all made himself reasonably comfortable here. It still couldn't compete with his real home.
He squeezed his eyes further shut, willing himself to wake up. He put so much effort into it that he felt dizzy; static first spreading across his vision and then tingling through his body; the unseen world around him spinning and sounds distorting. Yet still he could hear what was being said to him.
"Sam. Open your eyes. You're home now." The distortion doubled the words and overlaid them, as if two people were speaking at once. But then the static changed into a pinkish glow and the distortion resolved itself into his mother's voice.
"Sam? Wake up, sweetheart; I know you can do it."
Yes. Sam wanted to wake up, open his eyes, greet the woman standing next to his bed and give her a big hug. Right along with whatever medical staff might be standing around. So why couldn't he?
His eyes seemed glued shut. Well, he had been squeezing them tightly. Now Sam put all his effort into forcing them open. Without much success. The tingling sensation had been replaced by numbness, as if his body all of a sudden was no longer inclined to listen to his brain. The beeping of hospital machinery was clear now, but he still couldn't open his eyes. He redoubled his efforts, fighting the sluggishness of his own synapses.
A few points of whiteness broke up the pink. Progress. His eyes were very dry. That made them even harder to open. And now he also felt pain in his throat. Come on, Sam, keep at it. Slowly the white dots joined into a line. Shadows. He could see shadows moving now. And he heard someone murmuring. Who was it? Not just his mother. The white line broadened. So bright. He closed his eyes against the brightness. Opening them again was just that little bit easier.
Now he could see a little bit of the room around him. White was the dominant colour. A man in a white coat appeared in his field of vision. A doctor, probably.
"Sam? Can you hear me?"
Sam tried to nod, but he could barely move his head. Something was hindering the movement.
"Just blink twice if you can hear me, Sam." When Sam did so, the doctor continued. "You've had an accident, Sam. You've been unconscious for a while."
Yes, he knew that, Sam wanted to say, but he couldn't get the words past the constriction in his throat. Before he could wonder about that, the doctor anticipated his reaction. "You can't talk at the moment, Sam. We've had to put a tube in your throat to help you breathe. We'll take that out soon, though. Do you understand?"
Sam blinked again. Odd, how tiring it suddenly was to do something as simple as blinking. From the way he felt, it was as if he'd run a marathon or something, not like he'd been lying on his back in a hospital room for however long he'd been in a coma. So he closed his eyes again. He vaguely heard the doctor murmur something to someone else, and then the last thing he heard before he fell asleep was his mother's voice.
"You rest now, Sam. You're back with us; that's what's important."
--
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