by Nate Johnson
“Oh God Nolan,” she said without thinking. It wasn’t as bad as his back, though, his jeans had given him some protection.
When she finished washing his legs, he turned to his side, hugging a pillow to his chest his muscles relaxed a little, and she backed away giving him some space and hoping he would be able to sleep. Picking up the now red towels she took them to the bathroom and washed them out in the tub, but no matter how many time she washed they kept that faint pink color, screaming about what had happened.
.o0o.
Nolan woke later in a fog of pain and aches. He was undressed and lying in the bed covered by a sheet. His stomach turned over when he remembered Marla tending his wounds. Cracking his eyes open a hair's breadth, he noticed her sitting in a chair next to his bed, watching his face.
“You’re awake, how do you feel?” she asked in a tender voice.
“Like sausage feels after a hard weekend of partying. For some reason, my head is killing me.” He said reaching up and rubbing his temples.
“You’re dehydrated,” she said, jumping up and running and getting him a glass of water from the bathroom. She helped hold his head up as he brought the cool, wet water to his parched lips.
“Thanks, Marla,” he said, handing back the empty glass. He turned onto his back and winced. “Jesus, that hurts.” Her eyebrows narrowed, and her forehead creased in obvious concern.
“What can I do?” she asked. “Are you hungry, there're some cold soup and sandwiches? They brought more a couple of hours ago,” she said, obviously babbling because of her nervousness. Her eyes continually roamed over his sheet clad body, searching for any sign of something that needed to be fixed.
Smiling he said, “Not now, how long have I been out?” and indicated she should sit back down.
She sat back down on the edge of the chair and leaned forward to take his hand. “Why?” she asked as big tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I think they were….” He was interrupted by the TV on the dresser coming on, and Gray man Cheevers face appeared on the screen. A shudder started at his toes and traveled up his entire body when he saw the man. His fists clenched in anger as he imagined putting his hands around the man’s throat and squeezing until his fingers met in the middle.
Cheevers came on the screen, his bulbous head and gray skin looking like a cadaver crossed with a light bulb. Those dark, deep-set eyes seemed to hold unspeakable secrets.
“Mr. Reed. So nice to see you again. Ms. Jackson,” he said, nodding to both of them.
The two teenagers stayed frozen in position, neither moving. Then Marla jumped up and ran at the TV, her fists raised in claws as if she was going to scratch his eyes out.
“You bastard, what did you do? He needs medical attention immediately. What kind of sick animal are you?” She said as she stomped back and forth looking for a way to attack.
Cheevers actually leaned back for a moment as if he was frightened but then seemed to relax and leaned forward.
“Please sit down, Ms. Jackson,” the monster said.
She balked for a moment, seemed to hesitate, but then came back to sit on the side of the bed next to Nolan, making sure to stay between him and the TV.
Nolan reached out and put his hand on her side and gently moved her enough so that he could see the television.
After she had moved, he left his hand on her side. Marla felt a warmth from where his hand rested on her hip. She could only hope that some of her energy was seeping into him. Anything to help him. They both looked with anticipation at the evil menace on the screen.
Cheevers stared through the screen at them, assessing them and then said, “It appears you are seriously injured, I forget how fragile you humans are, How …”
“Well at least were not monsters,” Marla yelled as she stood up ready to attack again. Nolan pulled her back down on the bed and began to rub her back.
“Settle down Simba,” he mumbled. Marla seemed to relax a little but remained focused on the television.
“Are you sure. My reading of your history shows a propensity to hurt and maim each other all the time,” Cheevers said, then looked over at his computer again. “Very well Ms. Jackson, Nolan will be cared for if you both cooperate.”
“What do you want, you didn’t have to do this, we would have answered your questions,” Marla said. Nolan squeezed her side to stop her from jumping up again, the constant up and down made the bed bounce and his backlight off like firecrackers.
Cheevers laughed and shook his head. “The earlier session was for other purposes. I believe I have a good set of data, so hopefully, we won’t have to repeat it. The recovery time slows things down so much. Now then, we can conduct these experiments here in your room, or we can do it in the lab,” his bushy white eyebrows raised in question. The man continued to look at them like rats in a maze.
Nolan winced at the idea of returning to the Lab. He could feel his skin tingle and constrict in anticipation of another blow and almost blurted out a NO!
Marla cut him off and said. “Here would be fine. But you have to send Nolan medical attention first. I refuse to help you until he is taken care of.” Nolan felt his chest swell with pride at her fierceness and tender mercies.
The door opened, and the three torturers from the lab walked through, each wearing their motorcycle helmet. Marla jumped off the bed again. Nolan winced, obviously feeling a shooting pain through his back. She chastised herself but then rushed towards the people in the helmets. She’d fix Nolan, but she needed what they had.
Frick and Frack stood by the door guarding it while the woman walked toward Marla and handed her two of the leather helmets with extremely long wire bundles curled up and hanging from the back. The woman walked to the dresser in the living room and pulled two big cables from the bottom drawer, she pulled these cables across the room and plugged them into each of the tethers hanging off the backs of the helmets. The woman didn’t look towards Nolan or Marla, In fact, she had to work not to see them. She simply turned and left followed by the two giants.
Marla examined the helmets and looked at the TV quizzically.
“We will conduct our experiments and if everything goes well, then I will give you some medicine. In fact, this medicine will work wonders on your friend Ms. Jackson. Now, please put on the helmets. You may sit in the chair Ms. Jackson.” Cheevers said.
Nolan looked down at the contraption in his hand and shuddered with memories of the lab.
Taking a deep breath, he levered himself so that he was sitting up in bed and placed some pillows behind his back for support. His lips grimaced with pain. Dropping the helmet on the floor and totally ignoring the being on the TV, Marla rushed to Nolan and helped him shift to lay on his side.
Once Nolan was comfortable, she stepped back. Her face turned a little pink when she looked down at his bare chest where the sheet had fallen away. She quickly turned her back and retrieved the helmet.
Marla twisted in her chair to face the TV and draped the long cable over the back. Nolan reached over and held her hand while they waited. Finally, Cheevers looked up from his computer screens and nodded his bulbous head.
“For this experiment, the computer will say some things into Ms. Jackson’s ear. I need Mr. Reed to repeat what she hears, as close as possible if you please,” Cheevers said.
Nolan’s face turned white, and his eyes grew, “NO!” he said, wincing as he sat forward.
Marla’s eyebrows rose in confusion, then turned red as the realization of what it could mean sank in.
Taking a deep breath, she set her shoulders and said, “It’s okay Nolan, we have to do this.”
Nolan wondered, not for the first time, how the gray man’s neck was able to keep from snapping. He also thought about how nice it would be to be the one to snap it, He could imagine the sound it would make, something like a turkey wishbone getting snapped at Thanksgiving.
Nolan could see how upset the idea was to her, and it was giving
him chills. What if he saw the truth, someone like Marla, perfect in every way couldn’t help but think badly about him, his criminal record, terrible home life, less than attractive hulking appearance, and the minor fact that he invaded people’s privacy on a routine basis. There wasn’t much to like.
.o0o.
Marla stared down at her hand resting in his. I can do this, she thought. Focus. Take another deep breath.
She looked at Cheevers and nodded her head. A mechanical voice sounded in her helmet. The number Seventeen, the Number Seventeen, The Number Seventeen. It kept repeating itself. She thought of the number seventeen, projecting it to the inside of her forehead. Concentrating, forcing the image to stay in place. But, somehow the image of his chest popped into her mind.
Marla gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. Throwing Seventeen back onto the inside wall of her mind and nailing it in place with six-inch spikes. She prayed to herself, Please God, don’t let him see that and then realized he would see that thought too. Her face grew hot as she lowered her eyes in embarrassment.
“Seventeen,” Nolan said, looking at Marla with a blank expression but squeezing her hand as if to reassure her.
“Very good,” Cheevers said marking a check on a piece of paper then pushing a button on his keyboard.
“Thanksgiving turkey Dinner, Thank…” The mechanical voice said.
“Thanksgiving Turkey dinner,” Nolan said before the voice could finish.
Marla’s shoulders relaxed, and she squeezed his hand this time. It wasn’t so bad. She couldn’t feel him. It wasn’t like being invaded or anything. It was only what she broadcasted. What she sent out into the world.
She had feared it would be like sex, the ultimate sharing of souls. But it really wasn’t. More like standing stark naked in front of someone fully clothed. Terribly embarrassing with someone you didn’t know or trust, but sort of cool if you loved the person.
Unfortunately, Nolan was still dressed. It wasn’t fair, she wanted to see his thoughts. To find out what he was thinking about, what did he think of her?
Suddenly she looked at him. Had he just seen everything that had flashed through her mind? The picture of her standing there naked returned and she had to fight to replace it with something, anything. ‘A bowl of red cranberry jelly, no blue Jell-O; there that’s the ticket, she thought as she focused on a huge plate of blue Jell-O wobbling back and forth, with a shimmer. Stay focused.
Looking out from beneath her lowered eyebrows she glanced his way, trying to judge where he was at. What must he be thinking about her?
The Oh My God, ‘he’s seeing this too.’ She couldn’t get away from it. The thoughts started bubbling through her mind. ‘The anger she felt when her mom grounded her last year. The jealousy over Cindy getting her nails painted at Thirteen. Her first period and the cramps that came with it, The time she hit her dog because he chewed up her favorite shirt. The dreams she had about Nolan and her making love….
Reaching up she tore the helmet off her head and threw it across the room. She looked at Nolan in shock and then buried her face in her hands and started to cry.
Nolan sat in shock and didn’t move for a moment. Cheevers continued to stare at his computer screen, not even aware what had happened. Marla sobbed into her hands, all of the stress of the last two days exploding from her. The kidnapping. Her mom probably going crazy with worry. The terrible wounds inflicted on Nolan for no apparent reason. And now, to have him see her innermost thoughts and desires exposed like that, without any control.
It was all too much. She brought her knees up and curled into a ball, keeping her face buried in her hands. She couldn’t look at him, not now.
The silence was deafening, she could hear the buzz from the TV and the hum from the overhead florescent lights. And a slight swish from the bed as he moved.
It was killing her. Spreading one finger she peeked to see what he was doing. As she watched, he slowly moved his legs over the side of the bed, wincing with the movement. And then he leaned forward and gently raised her head to stare directly into her eyes.
“I love you,” he said with a slight smile.
She thought for sure her heart would melt right there and then. Please hold me she thought. But he didn’t move. Had he put the barriers back up? They were going to have to work on his timing.
“I love you,” he repeated. “And just so we are both on the same page, I was having thoughts like that about ten seconds after I met you. So don’t think you’re so weird. You’re the most un-weird person I have ever met.” His look of concern and tender care made her want to crawl into his lap.
She wiped her eyes and said, “I couldn’t control it, I’m not that person, really. It’s just that every bad thing I could think of seemed to pop up. The more I tried to hold it back, the more it tumbled out.”
“I know, don’t worry about it…”
“But it confirmed everything you were worried about, I really am a bad person.”
“Honey, I wasn’t worried about what I would learn about you. I was terrified about what I would learn about me when I looked through your eyes.”
She finally melted and moved over to sit on the side of the bed next to him and buried her head on his shoulder, being careful of his wounds but desperately needing him to hug her and let her know everything was okay.
“That was great,” Cheevers said from the TV screen, his eyes focused on the computer screen in front of him as he rubbed his hands in glee. “I got everything, there’s a direct correlation between Ms. Jackson’s thoughts and Mr. Reed’s. The electronic signatures match exactly. Amazing.”
Nolan reached up and pulled the leather helmet off his head and let it fall to the floor. “I assume we’re done?” he asked the TV.
“Yes, yes,” Cheevers said continuing to scan his results.
You’ll send him medical help,” Marla said her head continuing to rest on his chest with his arm around her shoulders.
“And clothes, we need a change of clothes, toiletries, that kind of stuff.”
“Yes, yes, this is great. Truly new. We had no idea,” Cheevers said to himself then reached over and cut the connection. The TV went blank, and both of the young people looked at each other. Lost in each other’s eyes.
“I really am sorry you had to go through that,” Nolan said. “I promise, I won’t ever do it again.”
“I know,” Marla said into his shoulder. “It’s all right. It wasn’t bad until stuff just started bubbling up.” Then she smiled up at him, “It’s also totally unfair. You get to read me, but I don’t get to read you. It sort of makes me feel exposed, you know?”
Nolan frowned, “I hadn’t really thought of it that way.” Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “I could always tell you what I think, but you’d be pretty bored real fast.”
“No, it wouldn’t be the same. You’d edit it, weed out the really bad parts. No matter how hard you tried not to. No, I’ll just have to come to accept it.” But then pushing away from him she looked him directly in the eye. “However, if I ever think you are scanning me without my permission. I swear to God, I will beat you to a pulp and throw you out with the trash. Do you get me?”
Nolan laughed and nodded his head. He pulled her in close squeezing her, totally ignoring the pain shooting up and down his back.
Chapter Ten
Mrs. Elizabeth Jackson paced back and forth in her living room. She should be doing something, Out looking for her daughter, anything would be better than staying here. But Jake, Detective Washington, said it would be best to stay here in case she called. She looked over at the tall Police Officer where he stood talking on his phone. He had been a rock. She didn’t know what she would have done if he hadn’t been here.
She had been so mad at two in the morning when Marla hadn’t come home. She had called the Detective to give him a piece of her mind. For some reason she had associated this Nolan boy with the police. Therefore, everything was their fault. The fact that she had wanted to
talk to the man again was completely beside the point.
He had arrived at her house within fifteen minutes. He looked like he had stepped out of the office. Suit and tie at two AM was impressive. He had immediately calmed her down, assuring her that this type of thing happened all the time and not to start worrying yet.
Taking down all the pertinent information, he had left her alone for a few minutes to make some calls and then returned to sit with her while she waited.
They had polished off two pots of coffee as the night turned her anger into pure terror. The police had found Nolan’s truck still parked at the movie theater and for the first time, she saw a look of concern cross the detectives face. He tried to hide it but wasn’t quite quick enough.
He finished his calls and walked over towards her. She looked up into his face and could read that there was no news.
“Nothing new, her cell phone is still offline and none of her friends have heard from her. You are sure there isn’t anybody else we could check with?” Jake said.
Elizabeth shook her head. She had racked her brain all night, but couldn’t think of anyone else. Jake had asked her about Marla’s father and listened quietly as she told him the whole sordid story. The unplanned pregnancy. The hasty marriage to a boy way too young to settle down. His constant wildness had directly led to his death. The thought that her daughter might make the same mistake was driving her crazy.
“He’s a good kid, really. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. In fact, I think he’d give his life to protect her,” he said as he could read her thoughts.
“If they haven’t run off, then it’s even worse, right? I mean come on, Marla wouldn’t do this to me, not intentionally.”
“I know, we’re doing everything we can. We’ve got their picture to every police force in the area. Hundreds of cops are looking for them.”
“I know you are, but I should be doing something,” she said.
He reached out and rubbed her upper arm, and it was all she needed as she fell into his embrace. It didn’t solve anything, but it made it a little more tolerable.