by A. M. White
Lori squinted her eyes. “I have heard that before.” She backed away from the bed. “Could we talk at the table? It may be more comfortable, for both of us.”
“Yes, just give me a minute.” I peeled myself from the damp sheets and grabbed a new tunic. I made for the UV closet to change.
Lori walked to the other end of the room. I heard her pour two glasses of water and take a seat at the table.
I emerged from the closet to find Lori exactly where I expected her. Her hands were folded on the glossy surface of the table. She lifted her eyes to meet me.
For the first time, I noticed that she was in her off-duty uniform. She was in a khaki smock. There was no mask or lab coat. I wondered if she was truly off the clock?
I took a seat across the table from her.
“Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.” She started in a respectable tone.
I looked around the room. “I suppose I have you to thank for the new accommodations?”
“I put in the report that you were not fit to be in the general prisoner population.” She smiled shyly. “I am a woman of my word.”
“I can appreciate that. Thank you.” I forced a smile back.
“How are you feeling?” She took a sip of water.
It was odd to be addressed in such a casual way, after everything that happened. I nodded. “Well, except for the dream.” I glanced at her to try and read her expression.
“That may have been a reaction to the withdrawal of the medication. Would you mind telling me about it?” Her eyes were almost hungry for details.
“The capsule that was put in Alex’s leg caused an infection. She almost died. The doctor saved her, only because I threatened him. In my dream, he wasn’t there to save her. I watched her die.” A cold shiver ran up my spine.
Lori shook her head and closed her eyes. “He was always a selfish man.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Did you know him well?”
“The man was a genius, but with that came serious social repercussions. Yes, I suppose you can say I knew him well. I worked alongside of him several times.” A puddle of condensation from her glass marked the table. She put a finger in it and dragged it into a line.
I watched her movements as I spoke. “We had that experience with him, also. It never made sense that he wanted to stop the machines, because of his selfish personality.”
Her finger glided across to make an “I”. “Did he ever tell you why he left us?”
“He told us that when he realized that the capsule was going to hold information to get the machines up and running with human energy, he escaped.” I shrugged.
She dabbed her finger back into the puddle. She smirked. “So, he didn’t tell you about the quarrel that he had with the Superiors about payment?”
“No.” I answered.
“Doctor Jameson made demands that the Superiors couldn’t give him. He wanted to become the Superior of medicine.” She wiped away the “I” with her hand. Lori quickly wrote “will” and then placed her elbows on the table to hide it.
“That explains a lot. We didn’t know about that.” I rested my hand around the cup in front of me.
“I believe you.” She rested her head in her hands. “Please excuse me, I have been up for 18 hours straight.” She yawned for effect.
“No problem.” I picked up the cup and took a swig. “Will I be able to see the others soon?” I changed the subject. I was anxious to see them. I felt responsible for them.
“Yes, let’s talk about that.” She took another sip. “You will visit your sister first. She has been the most defiant. You will be given enough time to tell her the orders of the Superiors and that is all. Do you understand?” Lori wrote “help” as she talked, then moved her cup to cover it. Her eyes met mine, to see if I comprehended her messages.
I tilted my head. “When will I see Alex? Is she doing better?” I rubbed my chin in worry.
“Tomorrow. She is awake now. I need to tell you that she suffered drastic injuries during the explosion.” Lori yawned again and put her hands flat of the table.
I rested my head in my hands. “What kind of injuries?”
“I am not allowed to say.” Her eyes were filled with sympathy. She drew a “U.”
My chest tightened and my fists clenched.
“That is why.” Lori gestured to my change in posture.
I took a deep breath.
I pushed back my chair. “I am done. I would like you to leave, now.” I wanted to punch the wall.
“You will see her soon. She needs you to stay on an even keel.” Lori stood and came around the table. She placed her hand my back. I flinched at her touch. She left.
I shuffled back to my bed. There was nothing for me to do, but sleep. I flopped down on the mattress. Hopefully, tomorrow would come quickly and I would be able to see Alex.
Cara
I heard the door open behind the white curtain. I sprang up. “Don’t come in here, unless you have answers for me!” I yelled.
The curtain parted and Timothy walked into the room. I was stunned. My jaw hit the floor.
He rushed to me. His hands were cuffed, so he lifted them over my head and squeezed the air out of my lungs. I immediately became a blubbering idiot.
My own cuffs kept me immobile. I couldn’t return the hug. I just sat there and allowed him to squish me into oblivion. I was so happy to see him that I didn’t care that he held me for what seemed like forever.
Finally, he pulled back. “Are you okay? Let me look at you.”
Through sobs, I managed to speak. “I’m fine. Are you okay?” He had a pink scar from the bridge of his nose across his cheek. “Really? You two have matching scars?” I rolled my eyes.
Timothy looked embarrassed. He brushed off my comment. “I’m a little better now.” He answered with tears in his white eyes.
“Have you seen the others?” I asked cautiously.
“No.” He shook his head. “I have been told that Alex has serious injuries. I am going to see her soon. Jason is in critical condition. I can’t stand it Cara.” He had bags under his eyes and looked like a deflated apparition of himself.
“You have to find a way to tell me, once you see them.” I choked on my breath.
“I will try.” He promised.
“How did you get them to let you see me?” I wondered aloud.
Timothy took his arms from around me. “I had to make a deal with the Superiors. For us to live, we must comply with them. They want to do research on us, so they know how our kind will adapt to life above.” He leaned in close to my face. “You have to play nice. Let them.” He eyed me with deadly seriousness.
I sat back a bit and contemplated what he said. I slowly nodded. “To live, we have to do what they say?”
“That is exactly what I am saying.” He held my stare. “Cara, you have to. Can you do that for me?”
I took a deep breath. “For you and the others.”
“Good.” He pressed his lips together. “Thank you.”
The door clinked open out of sight. “Timothy.” A firm voice called.
He kissed me on the cheek. “Lori will help.” He whispered quickly into my ear. He stood back and raised his eyebrows.
“I trust you.” I stated.
“Timothy.” The voice repeated.
He turned away and disappeared behind the curtain.
Jason
I knew that I had been given anesthesia. I wasn’t tired, but had been forced to sleep. When my mind cleared, there was a tight bandage around my head. It squeezed the bridge of my nose uncomfortably. My eye sockets burned. They had a different fullness to them.
Hours passed. I couldn’t take this anymore. I had to end it. I wanted to die. If I could cry, I would’ve drowned in my own tears, long ago.
Then, hands lifted my head. Fingers pulled at the gauze and scraped my scalp. The wrap was unraveled. With each layer, my vison filled with a red light. At last, my eyes were freed. I could see again!
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A masked face hovered over me. I blinked and saw the light disappear and reappear. My eyes darted around the room. There were other people in lab coats and masks.
Things seemed different. I could see details that I hadn’t been able to in the past. I squinted and bet I could count the eyelashes on the medic across yards away. A tiny string hung the sleeve of a worker that rushed around the table. My eyesight was stronger and more focused than I remembered.
Someone held a piece of paper over my face. It read:
You have been given new eyes. The blast damaged your eyes, vocal chords, and ear drums. Your spinal cord was severed. Blink twice if you understand.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.” I said in my head. It was a good thing they couldn’t hear any of the other thoughts that followed. I deliberately blinked twice.
The team of lab coats congratulated themselves. They shook hands over my body and patted each other on the back.
Another paper was held for me to view. This one said:
We are so excited, because this was our first attempt at an eye transplant. Would you like to see them? Blink once for no, twice for yes.
I thought about that for a minute. I tried not to blink to give a false answer. I resolved that I better get used to them and blinked twice.
A mirror was placed in front of me. To my disbelief, the eyes that stared back at me weren’t eyes like mine, at all. They were mole eyes. My breath picked up speed. There were no pupils or color, only white orbs inside the sockets.
A note replaced the mirror abruptly. Scribbled upon it was:
There was a donor from our kind. No surface dwellers eyes could be harvested. The bodies were ruined after the machines shut down.
I wondered if this was part of my punishment. No one would ever know that I was a human from the surface, like this. I was sentenced to a life of somewhere between the races.
The room cleared suddenly. I closed my new eyes. They began to ache.
A woman appeared next to me. She laid a hand over my forehead and put a clipboard on my chest.
Her scent wafted over me. She smelled of a mixture of herbs and roses.
She wasn’t dressed like the other medical personnel. She wore a simple smock. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun. Her fingers ran through my hair.
The awkwardness of a stranger’s touch and closeness should have made me nervous, but there was something about her face that calmed me. It was lined, like a worried mother’s. My new eyes focused on the number of pores on her nose.
She raised the clipboard for me to read:
My name is Lori. I am the medical supervisor. I am a friend of Timothy’s. He will come to see you soon. I will make sure you are taken care of.
So, Timothy was alive. I wanted to know about the others, but had no way to ask.
She smiled sweetly. Lori used a hand tool to inspect my eyes. She listened to my heart.
Lori wrote more on the paper:
I don’t know if I will be able to restore your vocal chords. You inhaled a lot of heat.
Tomorrow, we intend to perform an experimental procedure to give you the ability to hear. My team is hard at work to solve your mobility issue.
I crinkled my nose. I was in bad shape. I had never heard of anyone able to recover from the injuries I had sustained. However, sight was a step in the right direction.
I was in this woman’s hands. If she was a friend of Timothy’s, I had no choice, but to trust her. I had no idea about what transpired outside of my tiny room.
Lori brushed her fingers over my cheek. I had to admit, it felt good to feel a gentle touch, after my seclusion in darkness.
Her mouth slowly formed the words, “I will be back.”
Timothy
My face was mushed into the pillows when the door opened again. I heard the wheels of a cart pushed into the kitchen area. Plastic plates thumped onto the surface of the table. I covered my head with the blanket to avoid small talk with the delivery personnel.
The smell of food invaded my blanket fortress. The aroma of bacon called to me. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate solid food. Mostly, I had been given nutrition tablets and bars. Real food, especially bacon, sounded delicious.
My stomach rumbled as I threw back the blanket. I staggered to the table and wiped the sleep from my eyes. Bacon and eggs greeted me.
“Good morning.” I addressed the food.
I shoved a piece of the bacon into my mouth. It was lukewarm; I didn’t care. It was full of flavor. I couldn’t help myself, I picked up the other two strips and crammed them into my mouth. Before I swallowed, half of the eggs were squeezed in there, too. There was no time to savor it. I just needed the food in me. I licked my fingers clean, at the end.
I poured myself a glass of water. Down here, they only drank water. A glass of milk would’ve been amazing. I guzzled it down, just the same.
“Can I have a shower?” I asked one of the cameras.
I still felt groggy and the bacon made me feel greasy. Plus, stubble had grown on my chin overnight.
I padded over to the pile of clothes on the beside-table. They were all the same, but I wanted to look good when I visited Alex. I plucked a new outfit from the table.
“How weird to think that.” I thought to myself. Alex had seen me at my worst and here I was worried about my appearance. How quickly civilization overcame me.
The door opened and a guard entered. He stood at attention. “Here to transport you to shower.” I had expected Bryce to be my escort. This guard was new, I was disappointed.
“Thank you.” I walked in front of him down the hall.
He waited for me to shower and shave with a blunt safety razor. It was weird to have a stranger watch me shave. I accidently nicked myself and had to put pressure on the cut, until it stopped. All the while, the guard loomed behind me in silence. When I was done, he escorted me back to my room.
I was restless. I had not been told exactly when I would get to see Alex. My heart sank every time I thought about her. I worried about her injuries and why Lori was not allowed to tell me about them.
I decided that I should work out. It occurred to me that I hadn’t done any physical activity. Doing some pushups and sit ups would help to occupy my time.
The new skin resisted the movement. My muscles bulged under the tight skin. I stopped a few times, because the skin prickled. I was determined to work through the pain.
A soldier entered before I completed my last rep of sit ups. “Here to transport you to prisoner.” I recognized the voice. It was Bryce’s.
I grinned and hopped up. The time had finally come. I smoothed down my hair. “How do I look?” I held out my hands for the obligatory cuffs.
“A little sweaty.” Bryce teased.
“Gotta stay in shape.” I shrugged.
Bryce walked behind me, down the winding halls. Alex’s room was much further away than Cara’s had been.
I looked over my shoulder at Bryce. “Is there anything I should know before I see her?”
“No one would tell me anything.” He answered. “Sorry.”
We came to a set of double doors. The sign across the front said, “Critical care unit.”
Bryce pushed aside one of the doors for me. Inside, a team of medics waited. They immediately went into action. There was a whirlwind of wires and devices that were attached to my chest and head.
“What is this for? I thought I was here to see Alex.” My heart raced. I took shallow breaths.
“You are. These are to chart the data of your reunion.” A masked man explained. He caught my eye. “You will comply, won’t you?”
“I guess, but I don’t understand. What is the big deal?” My hands began to sweat.
“Part of our research is to track how you react to stress.” The same medic replied.
I looked over their heads to Bryce. He stood at a distance, to stay out of the way. He flicked his arm, to show he was surprised as me about the commotion.
On
ce they had me all suited up, the medics turned on monitors. The screens flashed and beeped to life. The medics took notes, no doubt base line measurements.
Bryce took me by the elbow. He directed me to the first door on the left.
“You will be given ten minutes. The clock starts now.” The same man announced.
The cuffs were taken off. Bryce let me in.
The room was dark, after the door shut.
I could make out a hospital bed in the middle of the room. Someone sat upon it.
“Alex?” I whispered.
“I’m here.” Her voice melted my insides.
I stumbled toward her voice. “Why is it so dark?” I reached for the end of the bed.
“Did they tell you?” She sniffled.
“No, they wouldn’t tell me what had happened to you.” My hands felt around the corner of the bed. I used her voice to guide me.
“Stop!” She sounded scared.
I jerked to a halt. “Alex, whatever it is, it won’t matter.” I wanted to have her in my arms.
She sniffled again. She was crying. “They couldn’t save my arm.” She cried.
I took two strides and felt her legs under my fingers. “Alex, I swear, it doesn’t matter. I love you.” My lip trembled. I fought back tears.
Her hand hit my chest. “No, Timothy, it is terrible.” She sobbed.
I pushed her hand out of my way and wrapped my arms around her. She collapsed into my chest. She sobbed and I caressed her shoulders. There was an emptiness where her other arm used to be. I didn’t say anything about it. Alex needed to cry and I let her.
“Shh. It’s going to be okay. I have you.” I repeated over and over.
As soon as she calmed, I pulled back a bit. “Turn on the lights!” I called.
“No! I’m not ready for you to see me.” Alex protested.
I took her face in my palms. “Listen, I don’t know when I will be back. I want to see you more than anything in the world. Please, let me.”
She nodded to agree.
“Turn on the lights!” I yelled. I was sure I gave those medics plenty to write down. My heart pounded.