Hallucination
Simon's soothers work really well. Mal has been able to regain at least a pretense of normal sleep patterns. Kaylee still keeps close tabs on him; so does the rest of the crew, for that matter. This is what makes his bunk so appealing. With a not-too-happy-with-life grin, Mal muses, Can't imagine that they all have the same reasons for keepin' track o' me.
"Can you blame them?" a voice calls from the corner, just before Mal falls over his chair to the floor in shock.
The...specter was the only word Mal had for it, laughed riotously. At any other time, he would have - should have - been on the cover of some magazine for The Latest Trend (R).
Mal doesn't see it that way at present.
"Wha--David, how--"
"Speak English, Malcolm, 'less you forgot how."
"You're dead."
"How observant, Malcolm." David moves toward Mal as Mal rights himself in his chair.
"You should be dead too, you know."
Mal swallows his fear and stands eye-to-eye with David.
"No. I fought. There ain't any reason why I don't deserve to live, you hun dan."
David's eyes, oh-so-green in life, flash red for a split second. "What about those you promised to protect? What about the ones you made a promise to and broke that promise?" David gains ground as he sees Mal's stony expression falter. "God, Mal - you really have no damned idea, do you?" David moves forward quickly, forcing Mal against the bulkhead.
"You'll lose. You'll always lose; you already have lost."
David vanishes, and all that's left of the encounter is Mal, staring at absolutely nothing.
"Can you blame them?" a voice calls from the corner, just before Mal falls over his chair to the floor in shock.
The...specter was the only word Mal had for it, laughed riotously. At any other time, he would have - should have - been on the cover of some magazine for The Latest Trend (R).
Mal doesn't see it that way at present.
"Wha--David, how--"
"Speak English, Malcolm, 'less you forgot how."
"You're dead."
"How observant, Malcolm." David moves toward Mal as Mal rights himself in his chair.
"You should be dead too, you know."
Mal swallows his fear and stands eye-to-eye with David.
"No. I fought. There ain't any reason why I don't deserve to live, you hun dan."
David's eyes, oh-so-green in life, flash red for a split second. "What about those you promised to protect? What about the ones you made a promise to and broke that promise?" David gains ground as he sees Mal's stony expression falter. "God, Mal - you really have no damned idea, do you?" David moves forward quickly, forcing Mal against the bulkhead.
"You'll lose. You'll always lose; you already have lost."
David vanishes, and all that's left of the encounter is Mal, staring at absolutely nothing.