A wave of fear and shame washed over me as I remembered what had happened. My chest grew tight and my pulse thudded in my ears. My sight narrowed and Samson’s voice seemed so far away as he tried to get me to respond to him. To tell him what was wrong but I couldn’t.

     I couldn’t-

     Suddenly, I felt cold metal on my face and fresh air blowing across it. It took me a moment to realize that Samson had removed his face plate. When he realized he couldn’t get me to respond, he resorted to taking it off to pat and rub my face. It was so weird to be able to feel my face with my hands and to have it feel only the metal and fiber covering them. I focused on the feeling and used it to distract myself from the memories.

     “Can you hear me, Pilot Tomas?” I heard Samson ask me.

     “Y-yeah, I can hear you, Samson.” I finally replied after taking several deep breaths to calm myself down further.

     “Do you want to tell me what is wrong?”

     “Maybe later but not right now. I need to focus on rescuing my friends.” I told him.

     “Fair enough.” He replied, reaching to put his face plate back on.

     “Wait, leave that off for now.” I told him. “I could use the fresh air.”

     “Very well then,” Samson said as he reached over our shoulder with the face plate. I felt his back open up and collect it before closing again.

     “What was that? What did you do with it?” I asked him.

     “I disassembled it and stored its components for later. I don’t need it to see if that is what you are wondering. Its more for your protection and to give aid in giving visuals.” He explained.