The Eyes of Justine

by Riley, Marc J.

  “I was in the middle of a rant on my failures trying to explain to her why it wasn’t working when she said, ‘Don’t bother with the technical stuff, Doc. When it comes to science, I’m more blind than your lab rats.’

  “In an instant I knew…I knew why the alloy failed. All of my subjects were healthy, normally sighted people. The ocular sheath covering the optic nerve was perfectly healthy in these subjects. The alloy, interacting with a healthy nerve-sheath caused an allergic reaction as their immune systems tried to fight it off.

  “But what if…what if, Justine, the subject’s optic nerve was damaged…the sheath diseased or absent all together? In that situation the interaction wouldn’t occur. There’d be no allergic reaction, no resulting hemorrhage or blindness.”

  Roland took a breath as he remembered the flush of discovery. In that moment he’d been so certain he’d found the answer; so sure that this time he’d have success.

  “So I’m your first blind test subject, is that it?” Justine was surprised at just how calm and controlled her voice was as she asked him that question. “I got this job because you needed a subject for your experiment? Someone who was already blind?”

  “Not just blind,” Roland explained reluctantly, “Blind in the right way. Blind because of degeneration in the optic nerve. Someone whose eyes were otherwise normal and healthy.”

  “So…how did you find me? Did you just troll schools for the blind looking for a new rat for your lab?”

  Roland knew the next part would be even harder than what he’d said so far; knew that as unforgiveable as his admissions had been so far, she would never forgive him for what had happened. In the same instant he knew he’d gone too far to turn back now. She deserved the full truth.

  “I…I didn’t find you, Justine. Mina did.”

  “What? What do mean ‘Mina did?’ Justine felt her stomach drop as her skin went cold.

  “Mina…is my handler…my liaison with the agency funding my research.” Roland found his shame and guilt overwhelming as he rushed on. “It was she that found you. She that brought you into the program.”

  “But…but she’s my…friend,” Justine lamented in a whisper as she recoiled at his accusations. “It can’t be true. Mina wouldn’t do that. She’s…she’s…” Justine drifted to a halt as she remembered how Mina had come into her life a few years ago. “Her little brother is blind! I’ve known her for years! She can’t be a part of this!”

  “It’s true, I’m afraid,” Roland affirmed. “It’s because of her brother that she wanted this assignment. She wanted me to succeed. It’s why she pushed me, threatened me when I wanted to quit after my failures. And it’s why she suggested you apply for a position at the Academy even though you thought it a waste of time.

  “Because she knew you’d have no problem being accepted. She brought you here, Justine, so I could experiment on you.”

  So much had happened in the last half hour, so many harsh cruel truths revealed, Justine found herself incapable of any more feeling. Betrayed by her friend and lover, lied to by the man she wanted, treated as nothing more than a specimen for their experiments, Justine wanted to run; wanted to leave; to forget all of this.

  Except…if what Roland said was true…there was a way, a hope. It was that hope that rooted her to the spot.

  “Can you give me back my sight?” Her voice broke as she spoke the words. So often she’d asked that question to the legion of physicians and specialists she’d seen over the years; and, always, the answer had been the same.

  She’d given up hoping.

  Until now.

  Roland remained silent as he watched her; watched hope bloom on her face; watched and his heart sank.

  Mina had known, he realized, had known that given a chance Justine would risk everything to regain her sight, even death.

  He owed her this one, final truth.

  “It might…or it might kill you.”

  Justine didn’t even pause, “I’ll do it.”

  The preparations did not take long. Roland’s home also served as his lab. Everything he needed was there, had been there and ready for weeks as he delayed subjecting Justine to this risk as his feelings for her deepened.

  “I’ll need to strap your arms down as well,” Roland informed Justine as she lay on the modified padded table. Already he’d affixed immovable bindings to her skull preventing her from moving so much as a fraction.

  “As I explained,” Roland repeated, “The procedure cannot be done under anesthetic. It’s going to be painful, I’m afraid. The straps prevent you from harming yourself until its over.”

  “I know. You’ve already told me three times. Just get on with it.”

  Roland tightened the final strap on her wrist. Pausing, he looked down her. She still wore the towel she’d wrapped herself in earlier. Bound like this, she seemed so helpless, so innocent and young; smaller than she really was.

  Tearing himself away he prepared the syringe filled with the clear liquid. The procedure required two injections directly into each ocular nerve. The easiest way to do that was to penetrate though the eye socket.

  The first injection, Roland knew from experience, would be easy; almost painless. The pain would start then making the second injection difficult as the subject, Justine, reacted.

  Steeling himself, he paused, the syringe hovering over her, “Last chance to back out,” he warned. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

  “How…” she cleared her throat, “how long before I know…before…before I can see?”

  Roland brushed her bangs back from her face as he saw fear and hope wash across her. “The effect should take a few minutes as the alloy coats the nerve. No longer than five or ten minutes I think.”

  Justine swallowed hard. “Okay…let’s get it over with.”

  Sweat beaded on Roland’s forehead as he gave her a final reassuring pat. Despite his anxiety his hand held rock steady as he lowered the thin needle point toward Justine’s amazingly green eyes.

  Committed, Roland pressed the point into the white sclera as Justine grunted at the penetration. “Not so bad,” she breathed harshly.

  Roland didn’t comment. He knew the hard part was coming.

  With practiced perfection he moved the needle through her eye and unerringly to the minute nerve connection penetrating the ocular cavity. Once he was certain of direct contact, he depressed the plunger with a slow steady pressure as he introduced the nanoalloy.

  “Oh! It’s cold.” Justine’s body jerked as the alloy entered her. Held rigid, her head didn’t even shake so firmly was she secured.

  It took a full minute to empty the first syringe. By that time the real pain had begun.

  Justine’s body jerked again as the cool sensation transformed into a creeping burn. “Oh god…it…it hurts,” she stammered, gasping. “It really hurts. Stop it…please…make it stop!”

  The fire grew stronger. Justine’s pleas ceased, becoming a wordless outrage of torment as she screamed. Her body bucked upwards against the restraints. Her hands clenched as she sought to tear free and pluck the pain from her eye, her brain. Sweat poured from her as the fire consumed her.

  Roland fought the tears threatening to overwhelm him; fought to ignore the pain he was causing her. Focusing, he rounded the table; a new syringe plucked from the tray.

  Despite the excruciating pain ravaging her, Justine became aware as Roland lowered the needle to her other eye.

  “NO! NO! PLEASE! DON’T!”

  Roland eased the point into her eye, a repeat of the previous invasion. With her struggles and screams distracting him, it took longer to make firm contact with the ocular nerve as her cries reached a piercing wail.

  “AAAGGHHHHHH!!!!!!” Justine felt her throat tear as she cried in agony. The fire behind her eyes, raging in her skull grew stronger. Lifting her hips she bucked wildly in outrage. The towel wrapping her flew off in her struggles leaving her naked.

  She didn’t even notice. Perspiration r
an down her sides, along her thighs and over her breasts as the alloy seared through her brain. She’d never imagined such pain could exist. She felt herself going insane with desire to rip her eyes from her head, to tear them out with her own fingers from the sockets.

  Anything to stop the pain.

  Dropping the syringe onto the tray, Roland grabbed her shoulders forcing Justine back onto the padding; trying to prevent her from tearing free.

  Her screams deafened him as his tears fell onto her soaking breasts.

  Justine screamed once more as a new fire erupted in her head. Every muscle in her body stretched and tore as she went rigid. She saw flashes of angry red and scorching white starbursts in her mind. She felt a terrible abyss open inside her, an obsidian emptiness at the center of a tormented sea.

  The pit grew spreading wider and wider as the raging storm overwhelmed her. She flung herself into the quiet void, escaping the unbearable agony.

  She awoke in silence and darkness. The pain was gone as if it had never been. A heavy pressure squeezed against her eyes.

  Fumbling she brought her hand upward finding her eyes bound in a soft but unyielding mask.

  “Shhh…shhhh,” Roland soothed, taking her hand from the bandages. “You’re okay…it’s alright,” he comforted, holding her hand in his own as he sat on the bed next to her.

  Justine’s throat felt raw and torn. Her voice when she spoke sounded ragged and hoarse.

  “Did it…did it work?” She moaned.

  “I don’t know,” Roland confided. “The bandages are to protect your eyes just in case. If it did, I was afraid the abrupt restoration would prove painful. You might be overly sensitive for a while. Better to take it slow.”

  Justine nodded weakly as she took stock of her surroundings.

  “Where am I?” She asked noting the soft coverings atop her body, the fluffy pillow behind her head.

  “I moved you into my bed when you lost consciousness. How do you feel?”

  “Huh! Like I went through a meat grinder backwards,” Justine groaned.

  Justine fell silent for a moment.

  “Roland?”

  “Yes?”

  “Remember when I begged you to stop?”

  Roland winced as he recalled her agonizing entreaties, “I do.”

  “Thank you for not listening,” Justine forgave with a squeeze of her hand in his.

  Silent tears erupted in Roland’s eyes as he stared down at her. A single drop eased onto his cheek as he marveled at the gentle soul she possessed.

  “Don’t cry,” Justine whispered, her free hand rising, wiping the tear from his cheek as it rolled downward.

  Roland froze in shock.

  “How did you do that?” Roland whispered.

  “I…Roland! I saw it! Roland! I can see! Roland!” Justine lifted upward in a single thrust, her arms going round Roland as she hugged him in a fierce embrace.

  “It worked! It worked! I can see! I can see everything!” She shoved herself backward, holding onto his shoulders. “You have brown hair!” She exclaimed with unrestrained emotion. “Oh my god! You’re gorgeous!”

  Roland laughed at her outburst despite the fear creeping into his heart. He grabbed her shoulders just as she spun looking around the room.

  “Justine! Justine! Calm down. Please, breathe! Please!” Roland pushed her backward onto the bed as she struggled against him weakly, eager to explore her new world.

  “What! What’s the matter,” she asked responding to the obvious concern and fear in Roland’s voice.

  “Justine…I…I haven’t removed the bandages yet.”

  Justine’s hands flew to her eyes confirming the heavy padding wrapping her eyes. “Then…how…how…what’s happening?” Justine voice rose in panic as the implications hit her. “I saw through the bandages? Roland! How…how is that possible?”

  Roland grasped both her hands in his as he thought furiously. “It’s the nanoalloy. It was designed to conduct more than just the visible spectrum; more than just the wavelengths human eyes perceive directly. You must be seeing well into the ultraviolet spectrum if you’re penetrating the bandages.”

  “But…but…how can I see in color? Why…why isn’t it all just black and white and green like an x-ray or something?”

  Roland fought to explain, “The brain is just an interpretive tool. It takes in whatever your senses give it and transforms it into something your mind can perceive; forming familiar images out of raw data.”

  Roland’s heart leapt as he realized his research had succeeded beyond his wildest expectations. “We need to find out just how far this goes,” he advised excitedly.

  “How?”

  “First, let me take these off.” Roland quickly unwrapped the padding covering her eyes. “Keep your eyes closed until I’m done,” he advised, pulling the cotton wadding from her eyes.

  Compliant, Justine squeezed her eyelids shut until Roland spoke.

  “Okay. Open your eyes.”

  Justine blinked as she eased back her lids. “You still have brown hair,” she confirmed, turning to look directly at him for the first time since they met.

  Roland smiled at her.

  “And you have a nice smile, even if you do have three crowns in the front,” Justine quipped.

  Roland, confused, “How do you know I have crowns?”

  “Silly, I can see the metal posts holding them to your jaw,” Justine replied. “Oh…man…this is gonna take some getting used to,” she added flopping back onto the pillows.

  “How…how are you seeing that? Is it like layers or something? Do you have to focus deeper or unfocus, what?”

  Justine sucked in a breath as she looked around the room, “Hard to say. It’s not like you see on Superman where he crinkles his nose and all of a sudden he sees through a wall. It’s just all…kinda of ‘there’ you know, like all at once.”

  “This is amazing,” Roland whispered in awe. “Tell me, can you see into the next room?”

  Justine turned her head to where he pointed, “…yeah…it’s kinda hazy. Hold on.” Justine seemed to concentrate for a moment. “Okay, yeah, there it is…it’s dark in there. What is it…oh, I see. Its’ your pantry. The door is closed. Man, you sure like chili, don’t you.”

  Roland stared at her in wonder.

  “You have weevils in your rice, too. You should throw it out.” Justine turned to him her eyes wide circles. “Roland,” she gasped, “I have a superpower!”

  “Yes…yes you do,” Roland spoke softly, his hand stroking her cheek as she stared around the room, and, apparently, through the walls.

  Justine rose from the bed pacing around the large bedroom as she wandered from wall to wall oblivious to the fact that she was still naked from the operation.

  Roland, however, was not at all oblivious as he watched her explore her new world. His eyes couldn’t leave the luscious curves of Justine’s pert ass and toned thighs as she moved, pausing now and then to stare deeply at a blank wall.

  He’d been so worried about her; he’d entirely forgotten just how beautiful the young woman was. Her absent minded nudity hit him with potent eroticism as he stared at her. Her slender waist, the broad shoulders and boyish hips that promised so much.

  Her skin fairly glowed with perfection as she moved. Her muscles supple and lithe like a predator as she padded from place to place. Little squeaks of wonder escaped her as she learned to control her powerful vision.

  Roland felt a stirring in his balls as she crossed in front of him. Her breasts bouncing lightly as she moved, the thin trail of strawberry silk between her thighs revealing more than it hid.

  Shifting on the bed, Roland adjusted his growing cock in his trousers as he devoured Justine with every glance. The fact that she seemed so completely unaware of her body only aroused him even more.

  “Oh…Roland…” Justine murmured with delight, “I can see everything…” her voice trailed off as she turned to him, her eyes falling to his lap.

  Ju
stine froze as she stared at him.

  His cock squeezed upward, bound by the tight fabric of his briefs and pants. Such coverings were no obstacle to Justine’s new found sight. Justine saw with perfect clarity the first prick she’d ever seen.

  A gorgeous cock, she thought, as she examined it through his clothing. Warmth flushed the skin of her chest as Roland’s cock spasmed beneath his boxers.

  Beneath his cock sat a pair of large round balls covered in a smattering of dark brown curls. When she focused on them, she saw the heat building in them as they churned with his desire for her.

  “Roland…” she whispered, taking a half step forward, “…you…want me?” Justine’s hand crept toward her throat as she swallowed.

  Roland looked down at his lap, squirming. “I don’t suppose there’s any hiding that from you is there?”

  As she watched, Roland’s cock jumped again causing her flush to spread into her tiny pink nipples.

  Roland rose from the bed and stepped to her causing Justine to look up into his eyes. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this…wanted you,” Justine breathed, her hand going to his cheek as she urged him to kiss her.

  Lowering himself, Roland kissed her, his hands going to her back as they embraced for only the second time. She filled his arms. Her naked body conformed itself to every curve and hollow as he pulled her closer.

  Justine mewled into his mouth as Roland’s hands slid down her back in a long caress. He stroked down her ass, cupping the tiny globes in each hand as his kisses grew deeper.

  With one hand Justine pulled at the back of his neck just as the other tugged at the buttons of his shirt. Slipping inside, she felt the smooth hairless hardness of his chest. Her nails flicked across his nipples causing Roland to tug at her ass even harder.

  Justine felt her mons pressed into his turgid prick and wiggled her hips causing her clit to rub against his cock. Moisture sprung inside her as her heat grew.

  Tugging at his shirttails, Justine fumbled for his belt. Quickly she opened the clasp and popped the hook at his waist.