A/N: Thanks to all my readers, reviewers, followers, and favorites! You guys are awesome!
Enjoy!
"A Lichtenburg figure? That's incredible." Vanessa Calder gave Artie an approving glance through the Farnsworth screen. "Sometimes you get all the luck."
"Oh, you know me," Artie said. "Girl falls into my Warehouse and she turns out to be the first person I've met in thirty years who has a negative reaction to a Tesla blast."
"It's so unusual," Vanessa said. "Usually they show up after somebody gets shocked by lightning… or bites a power line. That was a long night."
"Well, so far there's been nothing about this girl that's normal," Artie said with a rueful chuckle. "Kanner's syndrome, an absolute savant with optic neuropathy. And she's got some sort of energy transfer going on with Claudia. It's all very… odd."
"A Kanner's savant?" Vanessa whistled and leaned back from the Farnsworth in awe. "Oh, Artie. They are the rarest of the rare."
Artie looked over at the two girls, sprawled on the floor. Claudia had her mouth open and a string of drool was running down the side of her face. Adelie was curled up in a ball. "Vanessa."
"Hmm?"
"Would you like to come here? And meet Adelie?" Artie was surprised as the words fell out of his mouth. He felt impulsive, rash, and a little dizzy.
"Oh." Vanessa flushed. "Oh, Artie, that's very generous."
"It could be good for both of us," Artie said, aware that he was rambling. "You… you could meet your first Kanner's savant… and I could figure out what the hell she keeps doing to Claudia. And… um… we could have dinner."
"I would like that," Vanessa said. She thought, her eyes darting off to one side as though considering the amount of work she still had to do. "Oh, what the heck. Armadillos with leprosy can just research themselves this week!"
"Wonderful," Artie said. "I'll… um… make reservations."
"Don't have all the fun without me," Vanessa said.
The Farnsworth beeped.
"That must be Pete and Myka," Artie said. "I'll see you in a few hours."
"Until then," Vanessa said, and disappeared.
Artie closed and reopened the Farnsworth. "What?"
"Artie, does this look familiar?" came Myka's voice. "We found it in the closet in Adelie's hospital room."
The Farnsworth screen bobbled as Myka turned it downwards.
"What… bring it closer," Artie ordered.
Myka obliged.
"It's a music box," Pete said from off-screen.
"Tell me you didn't play it."
"You act like this is our first rodeo," Pete said, sounding a little miffed.
"Pete totally wanted to crank it up," Myka said with a laugh. "No, we didn't play it, but we opened it."
Pete lifted the lid, being careful to hold it up with his purple-gloved hand. The music box had inlaid mother-of-pearl mosaic patterns on the outside, but the inside was unfinished wood. A metal frame was fitted into the middle of the box, holding a thin wire handle parallel to the base of the box. The handle was connected to a small glass cylinder, and the cylinder was looped through…
"What is that?" Artie asked, lifting his glasses.
"We think it's a roll of parchment," Myka said.
"Hmm," Artie said. "That's rare. Most music boxes I've seen have a metal cylinder with raised knobs that rotates, creating a tune as the cylinder passes by a stationary arm."
He looked over at the computer. "I'll have to do some research to figure out where this music box could have come from."
"Should we neutralize it?" Pete asked.
"Uh." Artie thought about it. "If it's connected to Adelie… after what happened with the Tesla, I'm going to err on the side of caution. No. Just bring it back here so I can take a look at it."
"Okay," Myka said.
"But if anything seems off about it, neutralize it and we'll deal with the consequences later."
"You got it."
The Farnsworth flipped shut and they were gone.
Artie watched the girls sleep. He checked on them repeatedly, concerned that neither of them was waking. Claudia seemed to be fighting off something; her fists moved fitfully and several times her breath seemed to catch in her throat as she drooled. Adelie was still, but each time Artie checked on her he could see the Lichtenburg figure changed, growing, spreading across her neck. It was just inches shy of touching her right ear, and what had previously just been a red patch had become scaly and scabbed.
It looked like it hurt like hell.
Research turned up nothing about a music box with glass inner workings or a parchment music scroll. The computer was likewise unhelpful about Lichtenburg figures as a result of Tesla involvement.
"You are a mystery, my dear," he said.
To a casual observer, it would have been impossible to determine which girl he directed his remark to.
"Adelie," Claudia said, "show me why we're here."
Adelie was still at the piano. Beautiful music was spilling out from beneath her fingers. The bright white gauze on her wrists seemed to dance in the dim light of the hospital's music room. Her breathing was timed exactly to the music – at every musical juncture she let out a small huh. It didn't seem odd or forced; in fact, it felt right. Everything felt so right.
It worried Claudia.
On top of the piano the cup of raspberry sherbet was melting.
"Adelie, show me why we're here," Claudia repeated.
"Piano."
"I know. This is your piano. What else can you show me?"
Adelie turned her head as though to ask What else is there?
But then she slid off the piano bench and stood hesitantly. Her hands, no longer comfortable, no longer dancing over the keys, flapped awkwardly up towards her shoulders, tapping them as she shuffled forward.
Claudia followed her out of the music room and watched as Adelie found her way through the chaotic room full of screaming, rocking, tapping, crowing children and out into the hallway. The blind girl kept one hand on the wall as she slowly walked down the hall. No one seemed to notice them, despite the presence of nurses, aides, and other patients. The place was a veritable bedlam and yet Adelie walked calmly, slowly, delicately towards the stairs.
She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to look in Claudia's direction. "Piano," she said.
"Later."
Adelie sighed as though bereft of a lover, and slowly started to climb the stairs. Her fingers tapped the banister as she went, and Claudia could practically hear the music resonating from the girl's fingertips.
At the top of the stairs Adelie hesitated. The smell of bleach was overpowering, and from a distance Claudia could hear the familiar refrain – Not today, not today, not today…
Adelie squared her shoulders, as though going into battle, and put her hand onto the wall as she walked down the hallway. At the far end of the hallway she turned left. Claudia followed behind.
The room was small, and though it appeared to be a bedroom, it seemed impersonal. Four identical beds were arranged in a rough square to the left of the door. Each bed had a two-drawer dresser, but that was the extent of the furniture. To the right of the door were a large, open closet and a sink, mirror, and soap dispenser. Four toothbrushes were lined up on the counter. In the closet, four different sections had been marked off, labeled with black marker on masking tape.
Adelie found the sink with her hand and walked its length, finding the closet. She burrowed into the right side of it, pushing aside the hanging clothes, reaching for the back wall. Claudia watched as she tapped the back wall, slid down to the floor, and began wiggling at a panel of the floor. Adelie's nimble fingers pulled out the panel and set it gently aside. She reached into the dark recess below, pulling out a dark, square-shaped object –
"Claudia?"
Claudia whirled around. There, in a place she definitely wasn't supposed to be –
"Dr. Calder?"
And just like that, Claudia jerked awake. She was suddenly conscious of the drool running down the side of her mouth. "Dr. Calder?" she repeated as she wiped her face with her sleeve.
"Hello, Claudia. It's good to see you again."
"Were you in my dream?"
Vanessa smiled. "Was I?"
"Um, I don't know. Artie! Adelie had something, something she kept in her room at the hospital."
"I know," Artie said. "A music box."
"Wait, you know? She just showed it to me." Claudia sat up, feeling a little woozy. "Is it real?"
Artie nodded. "Pete and Myka have it. They're bringing it back here so we can take a look at it."
"Adelie. Where's Adelie?"
"She's having some tests done," Vanessa said. "You know, I take out Artie's appendix once a year and the rest of the time that room doesn't get any attention. All those beautiful machines just sitting around, waiting for data."
"You're… running tests on her?"
"I asked if she wouldn't mind letting me take a peek at her brain."
"And she was okay with that?"
Vanessa smiled. "She was a bit hesitant at first, but I told her the tests would be painless and over quickly, and then she could come back here and have some cookies and play the piano."
Claudia was confused. "Really?"
"She was extremely docile," Vanessa said. "She seems very eager to please."
She turned to Artie. "I'll head back down there to check on her. I've just about finished the ointment, too. You were right about that Lichtenburg figure – first time I've seen one that bad."
"I'll go with you," Claudia said, still feeling uneasy.
"Of course," Vanessa said. "Be happy to have you. From what Artie tells me you two are very close."
"You could say that."
"I've got a lead on the rosary," Artie said, "so I'll stay here. Let me know if you need any help."
"Sure thing," Vanessa said.
Claudia followed Dr. Calder out of the office and down the stairs towards the medical suite. The Warehouse seemed far too big, far too awkward, as though something was off.
Like a fifteen-year-old blind savant lost among the artifacts? she thought before she could stop herself.
"Were you there when Artie Tesla'ed Adelie?" Vanessa asked. Her voice sounded odd, tinny and too-echoing.
"Yes," Claudia said. "She was upset."
"It must be very upsetting to be in a strange place," Vanessa said as they reached the medical suite. "But Artie wouldn't have done it if he didn't have her best interests in mind. You know that, don't you?"
"She got burned. She was just scared, and then she ended up almost dying."
"It's a very rare reaction," Vanessa said. "I've never seen it. Artie's never seen it. The good news, though, is that we came up with an ointment to treat the rash. Some of Joseph Priestley's soda water mixed with powdered neutralizer. Should knock it out in no time."
She pushed open the door. "I think the MRI should be done. I wanted to check and see if her neural pathways are…"
The room was empty. The MRI was whirring and sharp images were still floating over the computer screens, but the patient was gone.
"Shit," Claudia said without thinking.
"Adelie?" Vanessa called. She hurried over to stop the MRI and then strode into the room, checking to see if the small girl was hiding somewhere.
"She's not there," Claudia said, her stomach twisting uncomfortably as she gave name to the fear she'd felt on their walk down. "She's… gone."
And now she's loose in the Warehouse.