Heath met with Nick and Jarrod in the kitchen where all three ate a filling breakfast. Heath’s leg was almost completely healed but Dr. Merar hadn’t given him the green light for bronco busting. He had to settle for light chores for at least another week.

“In case you’re interested, Lobo’s and Billy’s cases are being reviewed by a Federal court judge today and if eveything goes accordingly, they’ll be released within the week.”

“That’d be great, Jarrod,” Nick enthused. “I never believed those two were criminals, not after what they did for me and Heath.”

“I was thinking of inviting them to the ranch to spend their first days of freedom with us?”

“That’s a great idea.” Nick turned to Heath who was sitting taciturn and playing with his food. « Aint’ it Heath? »

“Yeah, sure,” Heath answered abstractedly. Jarrod’s mention of Billy and Lobo released a stream of horrific images that began taunting him.

“Are you alright, Brother Heath?” Jarrod asked.

“Fine,” Heath breathed out with a strained smile.

“Alright then. I’ll discuss it over with Mother tonight.” Jarrod wiped his mouth clean with the napkin and stood from the table. “Well, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I have a full day waiting for me. So I will take my leave right now.” He scooped up his hat on the chair, put it on and bent over to reach his briefcase on the floor. “See you tonight.”

“Get back to us with good news.”

“I’ll try, Brother Nick.” Jarrod closed the kitchen door and walked to his horse. A ranch hand rode in the barnyard with a buckboard loaded with a huge wooden crate full of tools Nick had ordered. Jarrod instructed him to unload the box by the barn door, that Nick would want to look at the implements before storing them.

As Jarrod mounted Jingo, Heath and Nick exited the house.

“Hey Jarrod, wait up! » Nick shouted.

While Nick and Jarrod were conversing with each other, Heath’s eyes caught a glimpse of the wooden crate that bore a striking similarity to the iron box he’d been locked in. He tried to shake the vision away, convincing imself that it was merely a wooden crate but the emotions came gushing out. All he could see was the sweatbox waiting for him. His breathing grew heavier and erratic and his heart pounded out of his chest. He broke out in a cold sweat as every fiber in his being relived the martyr. Unable to dam up the torrent of emotions, he leapt on the back of the first available horse and took flight at a full gallop.

“Hey Heath!” Nick shouted.

“Where is he going?” Jarrod asked.

“ I don’t know and I don’t like this.” Nick and Jarrod bolted to their horses, swung on their backs and hightailed after their brother.

Heath flew on the wings of the wind, hurtling through the air on an aimless path across the fields, trying to escape the memory-etched images that pursued him. He was fleeing a demon that kept persecuting him. He spurred his horse repeatedly, eventually breaking through the skin, which provoked the animal to bolt upright and throw Heath on the ground. The horse continued on, kicking and neighing in pain while Heath picked himself up and took a deep breath. Rizely’s taunting laugh still resounded in his mind. He crumbled to his knees and thwacked his head with his fists to silence the voices. “ No, no, no! Get out! “

“Heath!” Nick shouted in the distance.

Heath jerked his head around and panicked at the approaching riders. He bounced to his feet and scurried for a tree, behind which he unsheathed his gun and cocked it. His back pasted to the trunk, he closed his eyes and licked his trembling dry lips with the hopes the riders hadn’t seen him.

“Heath! Come on out. It’s me, Nick!”

Heath recognized the voice as unfriendly. ‘One of Rizely’s men,’ he thought, coming to get him. The sound of spur-jingling steps drawing closer triggered an adrenalin rush that prodded Heath into action. He sprung from behind the tree with his gun drawn on Nick. “Not another step closer or I swear I’ll shoot,” Heath warned with the same terrorized look that Nick was all too familiar with.

Nick held out his arm and edged up toward Heath. “Heath, calm down. It’s me, Nick. Big Brother Nick. Now put the gun down. No one’s gonna hurt ya, Heath.”

Heath steadied his gun with two hands as Nick continued to make his way to him. “DON’T come any closer,” Heath threatened, sensing a stranger instead of his own brother.

Jarrod dismounted. He had trouble making sense of the scene unfolding before him. His only hope was for Nick to get through to Heath without any bloodshed. Just in case, he pulled out his gun.

“Heath, look at me, straight in the eyes. It’s Nick. Put the gun down.” Nick minced every word to send the message across to his distraught brother.

‘No he’s lying. That’s not Nick. Nick is in that prison. This can’t be him,’ Heath’s mind screamed at him. Overwhelmed by the voices, Heath finally pulled the trigger on Nick who fell back. Then he ran off.

Jarrod flung his gun in his maniacal brother’s direction who was scurrying away. He steadied his aim at his legs, hoping to wing him and thus slow down his course, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger. He thrust his gun back into its holster and bolted to his wounded brother, writhing in pain. “Nick! Where did he get you?”

“In the shoulder,” Nick heaved out between gritted teeth before his lips curled up in suppressed torture.

Jarrod fell to his knees and gingerly propped Nick into a sitting position, with his head leaning against his shoulder.

Nick was huffing and puffing, taking deep breaths to dull the pain. “Damn it hurts!” he yelped in agony as he thrashed about in Jarrod’s arms, blood seeping out through his fingers clawing at his bleeding wound. “He got me good.”

Jarrod peeled Nick’s body off his shoulder to peer at his back. He sighed with relief at the sight of an exit wound, evidence that the bullet whizzed straight through. “The bullet is out Nick, but judging from the pain you’re experiencing I’d say it grazed a bone.” Jarrod untied his neck cloth and put pressure onto the wound, making Nick wince in pain. “Sorry about that, brother. Let’s get you home quick!”

“No, not now Jarrod. We have to catch Heath.”

“We’ll find him but right now you’re in dire need of medical attention.”

“No!” Nick barked. He tried elbowing himself up with his good arm against Jarrod’s stomach, but to no avail.

Jarrod drew him back against his shoulder. “Don’t try it Nick.”

“Please Pappy,” Nick pleaded with a gulp. “Help me up. We…we’ve got to find him quick ‘fore…’fore it’s too late.”

“I’ll find him. You stay here.”

“No!” Nick licked his parched lips and summoned up his last speck of energy to hoister himself up onto Jarrod’s torso. “Help me.”

Jarrod grungingly lifted his weak brother up and held a tight grip on him until he regained his balance. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Stick close by just in case.” Nick clasped his shoulder and tottered onwards.

Heath was scuttling through the bush like a hunted rabbit, scrambling from shelter from the echoing voices murmuring in his ears. He tripped over a rock that caused him to dive head first into a hillock where he tumbled down the steep slope until his body came crashing with a thud against a hollow tree trunk. The blow dazed him momentarily. He lay on his back and stared blankly at the sky with the blistering sun shining down on him. He drew in a few deep breaths to avoid passing out. Gloomy thoughts and whispering voices began crowding in on him. “No!” he bawled, thumping his fist against his skull and eventually driving his fingernails into his scalp as he twisted in pain. “Nick, help me,” he wailed. “Make them go away, please!” His harrowing cries wafted up the hill to where Nick and Jarrod were now standing.

“Heath!” Nick shouted. Oblivious of his own pain, he hurtled down the slope, picking up speed as he went down, until his knees buckled underneath the weight. He landed on his wounded shoulder, which blunted the edge of his pain and sent him into the throes of agony. The darting pang surged through his right side, spurring him to clutch his shoulder. He dry heaved a few times and gulped down the wave of nausea that threatened to gush out before crawling over to his brother. “Heath, I’m right here,” he panted heavily, retching from the excruciating pain that was hampering his movements. He managed to cradle Heath in his left arm, stiffening the right to temporarily throttle the smart. “Jarrod, go…go back to the ranch and…and get a wagon out here.”

“I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“Pappy it’s obvious we won’t make….make it back on horseback. Go on! Get…get the wagon. We…we’ll be alright,” he spoke brokenly between gasps.

Jarrod’s gaze dwelled on Nick’s haggard expression as he dithered over whether to acquiesce to his brother’s suggestion. He stood in dread of having to leave his injured siblings to their own tending.

“Go on!” Nick snapped at Jarrod to spring him into action.

Jarrod ran his hand through Nick’s hair and let it travel down to the back of his neck where he gave a gentle squeeze before he stood and and climbed back up the hill.

Nick winced in pain once more before he began to rock his brother gently back and forth.

“Mama where are you?” Heath cried out with wild eyes bulging and his clenched fists digging into his chest.

“Shuuuuuuuuuu. Heath you’re gonna be okay. Just take it easy. We’ll take you home,” Nick mollified in a hushed voice.

“I don’t wanna die.”

“You’re not gonna die, Heath.” Nick brushed his clammy cheek against Heath’s and whispered close to his ear, “ Stay with me, brother. Don’t leave me. We’ll make it all better, I promise.” He lifted his head back up and glanced up the slope. “Hurry back Jarrod,” his mind urged his brother who was probably halfway back to the ranch by now.

Numbness was slowly creeping over Nick’s wounded shoulder, deadening the pain to some extend, but the profuse loss of blood was nudging him dangerously close to unconsciousness. To remain alert and by the same occasion try to prevent Heath from slipping further while waiting for Jarrod to return, Nick talked reminiscently of joyous times. Right now the only pain he experienced was the one he felt for his brother.

By the time Jarrod and two ranch hands rode up with the wagon, Heath had passed out in Nick’s arms. The three men slid down the hill and no sooner had they arrived at the bottom, that an anemic Nick was instructing the two hands on how to handle his little brother. He then leaned on Jarrod for support as the two began their long trudge up the hill.

They rode home as fast as they possibly could, mindful not to take up too much speed that could make the wagon jerk violently. Victoria and Audra dashed out of the house and met with them at the front door. Victoria open the door wide for the hands to carry Heath upstairs, while Jarrod held on to a feeble Nick who could barely lift his leaden feet off the ground.

“Oh my God, Nick!” Victoria exclaimed in horror.

“It’s alright, Mother. I’ll…I’ll be fine,” Nick mumbled weakly.

Audra followed the men to Heath’s room while Victoria led the way up the stairs for Jarrod holding on to Nick. He started steering Nick to his room but he stopped him. “No, I wanna…I wanna see to Heath first,” Nick breathed out with a ragged breath.

“Nicholas, I want you to lie down right now!”

“Mother, please. I…I just want to see that he’s…he’s alright.”

Victoria let out a long-drawn sigh as she looked at Jarrod who gave a slight nod of the head. “Okay, just for a minute.”

Jarrod helped his brother shuffle his feet down to Heath’s room where Audra was already sponging his face with a damp cloth. They slowly approached the bed where Nick reached for Heath’s hand to give it a squeeze before he collapsed into Jarrod’s arms.

Audra remained with Heath while Jarrod carried Nick to his bedroom with an anguished Victoria following close behind. She began stripping Nick down to his underpants while Jarrod headed downstairs to the kitchen to instruct Silas to put water to boil. He returned to Nick’s bedroom with a jug of fresh water, and poured half its content into a washbowl. He dipped a washcloth in the water, wrung it dry, and handed it over to his mother who was perched on the edge of the bed, examining the festering wound. Thankfully the bleeding had stopped. She took the cloth and flattened it against Nick’s burning forehead. As Jarrod dunked a second cloth into the bowl at Victoria’s request. Nick’s body broke into shudders. His lips started twitching and his teeth chattered uncontrollably. He grew increasingly agitated, his head tossing back and forth, his arms flailing about with his hands gripping the sheets, heightening the already throbbing pain shooting up and down his right arm. “Heath! Hang on I’ll get you out,” he wailed in gasping pants. He was floundering in the haunting vision of his brother encased in the sweatbox, which walls appeared to be closing inwards.

Victoria grappled Nick’s hands and held them down to his chest. “Nick, calm down.”

“Heath!”

“Nicholas wake up!” Victoria coaxed. She glanced up at Jarrod, her eyes requesting his assistance in subduing her thrashing son. He squatted down by the bed and began shaking Nick. Nick, open your eyes.”

Nick was roused out of his delirium by a stinging clap on his flushed cheeks. “Mother?”

“Breathe easy, Nick. Calm down. That’s it.” She breathed in rhythm with his pants, gradually decreasing the rate to help him regulate his own.

Nick’s eyes frantically raked the room as he wrung Victoria’s hands of all blood. “Heath! Where’s Heath?” he asked in a quavering voice broken by an involuntary gulp.

Jarrod clawed at Nick’s hands to peel them off Victoria’s so she could cupped Nick’s head in hers. “Nicholas, look at me. Heath is okay. He’s in his room.” She softly rubbed her thumbs against his clammy crimson cheeks.

Nick’s adled mind seized a moment to register and process Victoria words. “He’s…he’s okay?” he asked in a shivering breath.

“Yes he is.”

Nick’s left hand slid out of Jarrod’s grasp to raise it up to his sore shoulder, and gulped in a few deep breaths in an effort to palliate the pain. He held the last one as he searched his memory of the shooting incident. “Heath shot me.”

“Yes,” Jarrod answered grimly.

“Poor kid. I saw the signs and didn’t do a damn thing about it.”

“What could you have done? What could anyone have done to prevent this?” Jarrod stated.

“I knew about the night terrors.”

“What night terrors?” Victoria queried with a strangled voice.

“Last night was the worse. Heath roused in the middle of the night, came to my room and huddled in a corner where he whimpered. This morning he forgot what happened.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Victoria chided, utterly appalled by Nick’s revelation.

“Because I thought that if you knew, you’d start treating him different and that’s just what the Doc warned us not to do.” He paused to draw in lungful as Victoria removed the cloth off his forehead and gave it to Jarrod to have it refreshed. “I guess I was wrong.”

Victoria began stroking Nick’s cheek to alleviate the anguish she knew was eating him up inside. “We’ll mention it to Doctor Merar. Hopefully he’ll know what to do.” She smiled reassuringly and leaned forward to kiss her pallid son on the forehead. “You rest now. The doctor should arrive shortly.”

Nick gave a tiny nod of the head and closed his eyes. Victoria placed the damp cloth on his forehead and exchanged a despondent look with Jarrod. A feeling of despair crept over her at the thought of her blond son hag-ridden with nightmares so horrifying that they would push him to the brink of insanity.

Minutes dragged on as they anxiously awaited Dr. Merar’s arrival. Jarrod met him at the door and ushered him straight to Nick’s room. After a thorough examination, he desinfected the wound and bandaged it up. “He’s an extremely lucky young man, Victoria. A couple of inches lower and there wouldn’t have been a thing I could do,” Merar informed solemnly as he washed his hands. “A few days rest and he’ll be as good as new.” He dried his hands on a towel and took his medical bag. “Make sure he stays in bed for a least two days to give the wound time to heal properly.”

“It will be hard but we’ll try,” Jarrod assured. “Mother I’ll say here with Nick while you go with the doctor to see Heath.”

Victoria threw Jarrod an appreciative smile and squeezed his hand gently before she and Howard walked down to Heath’s bedroom.

“Has he regained consciousness at all?” Dr. Merar asked Audra.

“No but he’s been moaning and mumbling something about Strawberry and his mother.”

Merar sat on the edge of the bed to check Heath’s eyes before he took his pulse.

“Mama?” Heath drawled in his sleep.

Victoria roosted herself on the rim of the mattress and clasped Heath’s hand to assure him of her presence. “I’m right here, son.” She stroked his cheek when she sensed him tense up.

“Mama!” he wailed once more, his eyelids batting frantically as he searched for the sweet soothing voice coaxing him awake.

Victoria leaned in closer to her son’s face to establish eye contact. Her deep concern for Heath made her oblivious of the fact that he was calling her ‘Mama’ instead of ‘Mother’. She greeted the glazed blues with a beaming smile that alighted the room. Her brow knitted slighty with worry when Heath appeared to be eyeing her warily. “Mama? You changed your hair?”

Puzzlement registered on Victoria’s face as she glanced up at Dr. Merar, sitting with an eyebrow raised in a question mark. “Heath, do you know who I am?”

Heath studied intently the doctor’s chiseled features, carefully reflecting upon the question before answering curtly, “I’ve never seen you before.”

Victoria took alarm at Heath’s answer.

“Heath, do you know this woman?” Merar asked, pointing at Victoria.

Heath’s smile widened as he squeezed her hand. “She’s my mother.”

“And what’s her name?”

“Leah.”

Victoria endeavored to maintain her composure before Heath who kept scanning her features with great perplexity. His eyes momentarily averted from her gaze as they began darting the room. “Where are we?”

Victoria’s words caught in her throat. She looked over at Dr. Merar for advice on how to handle the delicate situation. “You’re at the Barkley ranch, son. You know the Barkleys?” Merar asked Heath.

“Of Stockton? Yes I’ve heard of them. Mama, what are we doing in Stockton?”

Victoria tried to speak but no sound would filter through the incessingly growing lump in her throat.

“You and your mother were passing through Stockton when your wagon broke a wheel and you were hurt. The Barkleys were gracious to lodge you both while you recuperated,” Dr. Merar continued to fib, going with his best advisable course of treatment for this type of mental regression.

“That’s nice of them. Where are they?”

Dr. Merar motioned to Audra who stood stock-still behind him and staring aghast at her brother. “That’s Audra over here.” Merar clasped Audra’s arm to bring her closer to the bed. “Do you recognize her?”

Audra fashioned her best betwitching smile at Heath who simply shook his head “No. I’m sure I would’ve remembered such a pretty face.” Heath avowed as he reciprocated her engaging smile.

“Heath, don’t you rem….”

Dr. Merar interjected with a warning look. “Audra! Don’t! Not yet.”

“When can we go back home, Doc?”

“Not for another few days, young man. You were badly shaken up. You need plenty of rest before you’re in any condition to travel.”

“I feel fine.”

“Uh-huh that’s what they all say until they strain themselves and aggravate their condition.”

“We can’t impose on these folks’ hospitality. I can rest at home.”

“We’re staying here for a few days, Heath,” Victoria chimed in to set her son’s mind at ease about overstaying their welcome at the ranch; his home that he’s obviously forgotten.

Heath latched on to Victoria’s troubled countenance and frowned with concern. “Mama, are ya aw right?

A twitching smile played on Victoria’s lips as she lovingly stroked Heath’s cheek. “I’m fine sweetheart. You get some rest.”

The gentle feathery touch of her hand against his cheek cajoled him into a peaceful somnolence. When Heath appeared to be drifting off soundly, Dr. Merar beckoned the two women to step outside the room.

“Howard what is happening with Heath?”

“Regression. It’s a defense mechanism. A patient’s troubled mind returns to an earlier period in order to escape the painful reality of the moment. Have you noticed any odd behavior lately? Has Heath been proned to hallucinations or nightmares?”

“Nick said that he had night terrors during which he would get out of bed and curl up in a corner of his room.”

“Nick’s room?”

“Yes.”

“How long has he experienced those?”

“You’d have to ask Nick. I wasn’t aware of them myself until Nick told us.”

“I see.”

“Doctor Merar I don’t understand, why is Heath mistaking mother for his own?” Audra asked.

“Didn’t Heath mention that Victoria was the spitting image of his own mother?”

“Apparently I am,” Victoria sighed. “Howard what do we do? How do we handle this?”

“At the moment I recommend you to humor him. Act out the story I told him.”

“For how long? We can’t keep pretending forever! He’s bound to discover the truth, if not from us than from the neighbors.”

“It’s important that you don’t let anyone tell him who is he or where he lives.”

“Who he is?” Victoria exclaimed in shock.

“It’s obvious he thinks he’s Heath Thomson and not Heath Barkley. You must treat him as Heath Thomson, a guest at the Barkley ranch…for the time being anyway. I’ll wire a colleague in San Francisco. He’s treated numerous former war camp survivors with similar symptoms. He’ll be able to advise us on how to proceed with the best course of treatment.” Merar smiled and placed a comforting hand on Victoria’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright Victoria. And I have a feeling from what you told me that Nick will be instrumental in his brother’s recovery.”

She raised her hand to his and tapped it lightly. She heaved a dismal sigh before she nodded with a strained smile.

“I’ll come back tomorrow to check on them both. I left a flask of laudanum in Nick’s room. If he should wake up in pain during the night, give hima spoonful.”

“Thank you Howard. I’ll show you to the door.”

The second Dr. Merar crossed the door, Audra voiced her concern about her inability to play the part of the gracious hostess. “I don’t think I can do it, Mother.”

“Audra you must.” Victoria grasped Audra’s shoulders and stared pleadingly into her shaken daughter’s bleary eyes. “It’s in your brother’s best interest that we follow Dr. Merar’s advice. It will be hard but we must try.”

Audra sniffed back her tears and acquiesced. Her body racked with sobs fell into her mother’s arms. Victoria clutched Audra with all of her might as she endeavoured not to lose her own countenance. She pulled back and kissed Audra on the forehead. “Why don’t you go up to Nick’s room and relieved Jarrod. I want to talk to him.”

Audra nodded and climbed up the stairs.

Around midnight, Nick was roused of his deep slumber by a smart in his shoulder, one that quickly dissipated. He slowly turned his head to the left and smiled at the sight of big brother Jarrod sleeping hunched over in a chair by the window, his head resting on his fist.

Nick flung the covers aside and painfully heaved himself out of bed. He snuck out of the room and tiptoed down the hall to check on Heath he hadn’t seen since collapsing, and therefore wasn’t aware of his brother’s mental regression. When he observed a glimmering streak of light shining from under the door, he knocked.

“Come on in,” invited the voice from inside.

Nick slowly pushed the door open and poked his head in to find Heath propped up against his pillow, reading a book. “Hey Heath, whacha doing up so late?”

Heath’s eyes bulged and blazed murderously at the man he associated with a past evildoer he could not clearly evoke. “You…you stay away from me!” Heath warned as he hoisted himself on the headboard in a crouch position. “You get out of here right now!” he spewed out with smouldering eyes, grinding out the words between clenched teeth with his veins throbbing at his temples.

Nick’s brow furrowed in confusion as he inched forward. “Heath, what’s wrong? It’s me, Nick.”

“Get out!” Heath blared out at the top of his lungs.

Heath’s blaring voice jolted the household awake. Victoria shot open her eyes and sprung out of bed. Barely getting her slippers on, she snatched her robe spread on the bottom of the bed and slipped it on as she rushed down to Heath’s room.

A frantic Audra bounced out of her room and met with her mother halfway down the hall. “Mother, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, Audra. But the shouts are coming from Heath’s room,” Victoria answered with a terror-filled voice.

Both converged to Heath’s room where a bewildered Nick was trying to calm his maddened brother. She gasped at the sight of Heath, poised ready to pounce on Nick like an eagle on its prey. The murderous glare in his eyes was mixed with an icy clutch of dread that paralysed her. He was possessed by an inner demon that altered his behavior to the point that she feared him herself.

“Heath!” Victoria shrieked, puling a hand to her chest.

“Mama, are ya awright?”

“Yes, I am, but…”

Heath jumped off the bed, grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. “Stay behind me. He won’t touch ya.”

Nick took a step forward. “Heath, it’s me.”

“Don’t come any closer or I swear I’ll kill ya with my bare hands,” he fumed with his eyes bulging out and his nostrils flaring.

Nick shrunk back in disbelief. Jarrod took him by the shoulders. “Come on, Nick. I’ll explain everything.” He led his shaken brother out of the room.

For her part, Audra stood, rooted to the spot, outraged by Heath’s behavior.

“What are you staring at?” Heath asked politely, troubled by the indignant look Audra was giving him.

“You!” she said with an air of disgust. “I can’t believe you’d treat your own brot…”

“Audra! Miss Barkley,” Victoria quickly interjected. She walked up to her daughter and stared her in the eyes. “Why don’t you go back to your room,” she suggested sternly, her piercing eyes prompting Audra to accede to her demand without flinching.

Audra stared at Heath one last time before she left the room and closed the door behind her.

“I can’t believe he’s a Barkley?” Heath deplored angrily.

“Why are you so angry at him?”

“Mama, that man tried to kill me!”

“When?”

Heath clamped his eyes shut as his face distorted with pain at a past horror that his mind forbade him to summon to the surface. “I just remember his face. I ..I don’t recall where it was, but I know he tried to kill me,” he explained in a heavy panting. He angrily snatched his shirt off the bedpost and put it on. “Get dressed, mama. We’re leaving.”

“Heath, no!” She placed her hands on both his arms to stop him from buttoning up his shirt.

“We can’t stay here.”

“Heath we are guests in the house. Let’s not make a scene.”

“Didn’t ya hear what I just said?”

“Perhaps you mistook him for the man who hurt you.”

“No, it’s him.” He flung his arms free of Victoria’s grip and turned his back to her while he continued fumbling at his buttons with trembling hands. The shock was beginning to take its toll on his fragile state of mind.

Victoria laid her hands on his shoulders. “Heath, you’re shivering,” she remarked with fear.

“I’m awright. Just a bit overwrought,” he quavered unconvincingly. He let out a sustained shuddering breath and shut his eyes. “I have to getta of here, mama,” he said with a voice cracking with emotions.

Victoria gently turned him around to face her. She cupped his chin with her hand to level his eyes with hers. “Heath please, let’s stay tonight. You know I’m a bit uncomfortable riding in the pitch dark.”

He nodded and kissed her on the cheek. She helped him remove his shirt and assisted him back into bed. “Try to sleep.”

“I can’t, not with that barbarian in the house. He swore to kill me if he ever found me again.”

“I will be here to make certain he doesn’t touch you.”

“I’m the one who should be protecting ya, mama.”

“I’ll wake you up if he should bother me.”

“You promised?”

“I promise. Now get some sleep.” She sat on the edge of the bed and raised the quilt up to Heath’s shoulders then kissed his forehead. The feathery touch of her hand against his cheek appeased his aching soul and lulled him into a peaceful sleep.

In his bedroom, Jarrod exposed to Nick the present situation with Heath.

“Regression?”

“That’s what Dr. Merar called it. The ordeal at Rizely’s prison was too overwhelming for his conscious mind to relive on a daily basis. So it block out the present and regressed to an earlier period,” Jarrod explained calmly.

“But then why does he hate me? He was ready to chop my head off in there.”

“You’re obviously a figure linked to that horrible experience. His mind’s perceiving you as a danger, one who can make him remember.”

“Jarrod what do we do?”

“Wait. Dr. Merar said he was going to get in touch with one of his colleagues in San Francsico who is an authority on mental illnesses. Until then we are to treat him as Heath Thomson.”

“How come no one told me?”

“Nick you were unconscious. And I certainly didn’t think you’d sneak out of your room under my nose in the middle of the night either.”

Less than an hour elapsed that Heath began tossing and turning in his sleep, moaning and muttering incoherently. His hands flapped against the mattress before they gripped the sheets. His breath rasped in his lungs as he gasped for air. Victoria bounded to her feet and perched herself on the rim of the bed. “Heath, wake up!” she coaxed by tugging at his shoulder.

“Nick, Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick help meeeeeeeeeeeee, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!” Heath wailed. “Can’t breathe.”

Sick with dread, Victoria urged her son awake with gentle taps against his cheeks.

Heath’s face wrinkled and his body broke into violent shudders. His hands released the sheets to ball into fists that he slowly raised to his chest. “Nick…can’t…can’t breathe. Get me out!” he gasped.

Victoria was bursting at the seams at her son’s desperate plea and at her inability to appease his suffering. Seconds later, Nick breezed into the room, alarmed by his brother’s cry.

“Let me, Mother.”

“Nick, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Mother, I have to help him,” Nick snapped at his mother, an atypical harsh demeanour ruled only by his fright. He sat at the head on the bed and with his good arm, gently lifted Heath’s head to rest upon his lap. He wrapped his arm around his neck and began stroking the side of his head as he leaned in close to Heath’s ear to murmur, “ I’ve got ya, Heath. You can breathe easy now. You’re out of that box. Ya hear me? I got ya out.” The more Heath thrashed about, the more it blunted the edge of Nick’s pain. He merely breathed it away, refusing to loosen his hold on his tormented brother until he was released from this nightmare. “Wake up Heath! I got ya. You’re free. Ya hear me? Wake up!”

Heath whimpered before his eyes fluttered open. “Nick?”

“Yeah.”

Heath gulped down a breath and cracked a strained smile at his brother. “I knew you’d come.”

“And I knew you’d be back.” Nick planted a hard kiss on Heath’s forehead before he leaned his cheek against it. He glanced up at his family with a sigh of relief. Heath was back home.