Fourteen
Later that day...
Lotus Lab 1 was bustling with activity when Lucas entered. Nathan Bridger and Kristin Westphalen were already there as they said they would be, and conversing with Dr. Smith. Jarod gave him a knowing grin and a thumbs up, which Lucas returned, but had barely an idea why. The logical explanation pinned it to last night's club escapade, but it was all speculation from there. He blamed it on the cushion of alcohol that effectively smothered his memory.
He paused at the doorway, blue eyes resting on the chair--the instrument of public humiliation and pain, the highest seat of the human guinea pig--and swallowed nervously. Even though it was an inanimate object, Lucas could have sworn it took on the anthropomorphic characteristic of malicious intent.
The urge to turn and run was stronger now that he knew what would happen once he sat in that chair. It may not be exactly the same, but it was like getting bit by a dog. You don't go back to the same dog the next day and try to feed it again. That would just be stupid. He took a step back.
What are you doing?
Getting out of here. I've had it, he thought as he started walking back up the carpeted steps of the auditorium.
But what about us?
We'll find a way out of this on our own, he insisted.
"Lucas."
Lucas abruptly stopped at the sound of the captain's voice. He swallowed, not turning. "No, captain, I'm not going to let Profesure Snape do this to me again."
Light footfalls padded across the stage and the carpet. "Kristin told me about your conversation last night. For that, all I can say is I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well sorry doesn't erase what I went through," he snapped.
"No, it doesn't," Nathan resigned. He placed a hand on Lucas' shoulder and saw the boy visibly flinch. He could only wonder what it had been like for the young man to watch himself move, to hear his own voice speak words unborn from his thoughts, and watch the world through eyes he couldn't control.
"This isn't the only way," Lucas turned and faced the captain. Don't make me go back there.
"No, but it's the best way."
"Oh, and you found all the options? You said if it didn't work, we could try something else."
"And if it doesn't, we will. I gave you my word on that, but give this one more shot, that's it." He saw Lucas look away. "Come on, kiddo."
Kiddo. The captain only used that word when he wanted to show the youth more personal feelings in his own comfortable way. It had made Lucas feel less like an outsider when he did, and more like family.
Why am I considering this? Why am I even sticking around? Get real, Lucas, he called you Kiddo. My dad didn't even call me Kiddo. So I'm staying because of a word. Nice. He noticed oddly that through all his mental ramblings, Samantha kept to herself. It was good to know he wasn't just talking to himself like a nutter.
Lucas's ice blue eyes drifted from the smooth glass wall of the aquarium side of the auditorium to the captain's face. If only he could believe this second chance would work, but that would require precognition--which he was more than lacking.
I'm going to regret this... He bit his lip and scratched an itch from his nose. "All right."
"That's the Lucas I know," Bridger wrapped a reassuring arm around the teen's shoulders with a grin.
"What, the one who can't run when he wants to?" the youth quipped as they descended the steps.
Nathan quirked a grin. "Only if he's the same that refuses to quit."
That small compliment reassured him that the captain wouldn't leave him to the wolves.
The first wolf--Professor Maybrid-- motioned to Lucas to take a seat. Lucas paused slight before finally settling in the same chair as before, only now the restrains had been removed. It was a small relief.
"Well, Lucas, are you ready?" Dr. Maybrid asked. The captain's discussion group split and he and Westphalen joined them.
Lucas watched the captain with remembrance of the night before when Samantha had felt saddened at disappointing them. He stood. "No, not yet. I have a few suggestions first."
Maybrid seemed intrigued. "Please share."
He looked to Bridger and Westphalen, fully serious. "First, I wanna apologize for last night. I know it wasn't me, but Samantha feels awful and because of that, so do I. We let you down and I'm sorry."
It wasn't Lucas' fault, Bridger knew but he accepted the apology anyway. "It's all right. Apology accepted."
Samantha's relief flowed through to Lucas, making him exhale and run his hand through his hair. At least she had been forgiven, and to her that meant a great deal.
Lucas walked over to Maybrid's computer and typed in a simple sequence that called up the experiment's previous data. He pointed to the screen. "Professor, In your attempt to separate us by amplifying the brain wave of the person currently in control of...me, " he began awkwardly, "you hyper-elevated the frequency. Sure, Sam was completely in the foreground, but I was repressed to an extremely high extent, that--even though I was awake--her frequency was so 'loud' that not even she knew I was there. For me it was like a waking dream."
"So what are you suggesting?" Bridger stood behind him.
Lucas stuffed his hands in his pockets. "We alter the emission harmonics and lower the amplification level. It won't be as drastic, but it should get the same results."
"He has a point," Dr. Smith piped up. "In the moment the N.P.I. was activated, his pattern spiked severely before dropping into Delta. At least this way the possibility of neural damaged is reduced."
"But won't he still have some control?" Bridger asked.
"If it's me in the first place," Lucas pushed hair out of his eyes, "No. The level should be high enough to inhibit any control, but still allow awareness."
Maybrid nodded. Normally he wasn't the kind of man to just take advice first without questioning it, but this wasn't any normal situation. Plus the kid had proven to be exceptionally bright. So, as the good scientist and eager to see this thing through, he was open to anything. He slapped his palms together with an enthusiastic grin. "Let's get started shall we?"
"We'll give you a hand. Besides, there's something I want to try." Lucas removed the transmitter from his temple and laid it on the countertop.
Moments later, the transmitter modified and a brief fight with Maybrid about Lucas' logic ("Don't argue with me, it's my brain you're messing with."), Lucas sat down and watched the others at their tasks tapping his fingers against the arm rests. "Dibs."
"What?" Nathan cocked one eyebrow.
"I call Dibs. It's my turn to drive."
The captain grinned slightly.
Moments later, Professor Maybrid announced that he was ready. "All present and accounted for?"
"Har har," Lucas quipped, and gripped the arm rests. "Let's do it."
Maybrid replaced the transmitter.
Lucas felt the sting to his temples and inhaled as the tingle again swept over his body. This time, he made sure he was the one in control. The tingle ceased just as suddenly as it had come, but this time it was different. Nothing pounded him against a wall, but he could sense Samantha being forced further back out of the way. It seemed to take a millennium when only thirty seconds had passed. Lucas lifted his head and blinked, then took a deep breath. He heard the captain ask how he was.
"Much better." He flexed his fingers in a test to make sure it had worked. "I can still feel her, she's awake, but beyond control." He looked to Kristin, concern in his voice. "You sure she'll be ok? This won't damage her at all being in that state?"
"It shouldn't, no. You weren't."
He snorted. "Better work on a new definition."
Samantha didn't bother fighting the shield that had arisen between her and Lucas' motor functions. Though she wasn't happy about it, she felt he deserved as smooth a ride as possible since last night. He still wasn't feeling one hundred percent better.
Lucas glanced to Wendy as she placed the transmitter on his temple again.
"Once more for luck," she said. Her eyes flicked to a readout screen. "Vitals are normal, EM field holding, brain waves stable," softly, she placed a hand to the side of Lucas' head, "and no sign of any complications I can detect. Can you still hear her?"
Can you hear me, Lucas? I like her hair. How does she get her bangs to do that?
"Yes, I can," Lucas stood. "She likes your hair."
Wendy smiled. "Hm. Thank you."
Maybrid rubbed his hands together. "Success! Absolute success! We can now move onto step 3."
"Step 3?" Bridger and Lucas asked simultaneously.
Instantly, Lucas spun with a pointed finger at the captain. "Jinx! You owe me a soda," he grinned almost sheepishly.
Nathan harrumphed. That must be part of Samantha's personality that leaked into Lucas'.
Maybrid, on the other hand, seemed clueless, but just as gregarious. "The most important step yet."
"Making sure Samantha's body is healed enough to accept her." Westphalen turned to Bridger. "Professor Maybrid and Dr. Smith will need a day at least to set up."
"Do what you can." Nathan turned to the youth, who was combing his fingers absently through his hair. "Come on, Goldilocks."
Lucas brought his hand back, wondering where that little motion came from. "There was a knot," he defended, but all he could do was lace his fingers together and follow the captain out of the lab.
Jarrod used the monitor he was at to hide his frown as his brown eyes followed the blond youth and the captain to the door. He hadn't gathered as much information about the SeaQuest as he would have liked last night, but if he played his cards right, eventually the right hand would present itself. This Wolenczak boy had to have some kind of higher evolved mental capacity other than his exceedingly high I.Q, or perhaps that was part of his ability. Jarrod had his reservations about the secrecy of this project, and knew there were people at Chatton and elsewhere who would place a high priority on harnessing the 'dual retention' gift for purposes other than research. Most notably, the one who funded his schooling with eager enthusiasm.
Maybrid glanced his way and the young psychic grinned, handing a pen to Dr. Westphalen--who had just opened her mouth to ask for one.
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Later that day...
"Jarod, I need to talk to you," Lucas ran to catch up to the young brunette psychic as he crossed the wide lawn to the three storied Aspen dorm building.
Jarod turned, hiding a smirk as Lucas stopped for a breath. "Sure."
"Ok, see last night, I wasn't myself--obviously you know that--but anything I did, or said, was way off in left field."
"Hold on," Jarod stopped the other's rambling with a raised hand. "So you're not the world's best hacker, and you didn't break through the security measures of the World Bank with the famed Mycroft?" He pouted mockingly. "I'm hurt."
"What? No, I did, I am, but Samantha shouldn't have said that..."
"And you didn't single handedly save the SeaQuest from certain doom from the crazy ex-captain who commanded her before Captain Bridger?" Jarod cut him off.
Lucas was desperate to defend himself. "Well, no. All I did was stop a virus, anyway..."
"Or rescue some delegates from a hidden room at a UEO summit meeting using rock music?"
"Yes, but..."
Jarod stepped closer, cutting him off again with strong emphasized words. "And you don't think I have a tight butt?"
"I...what?" Lucas' train of thought screeched to a halt, spun off the track, and rolled away in pieces. He was going to kill her. Slowly.
oooooo...uhm, Samantha cringed. He does, but...but just say no.
"I know she can hear what I'm telling you," Jarod folded his arms and waited, seeing and feeling the tension in the young genius. This was rich.
Oh great. "Oh come on, you know that wasn't me," Lucas defended hotly. "I have a girlfriend." Dig a deeper hole, Wolenczak. He's probably enjoying this.
"Yeah, Julianna. I know. She sounds cute. It makes me wonder what she'd think if she knew about Samantha." Jarod unfolded his arms and laughed. "Boy, you should have seen the look on your face!" he socked Lucas playfully in the arm. "Maybe Samantha will make you get in touch with your feminine side. Ha-ha! See ya," he started to walk away, "Oh, Samantha, I had a good time. I'll call ya," he winked. And with that, the young psychic jogged across the lawn into the Aspen building.
He likes me, she sighed happily. He thinks I'm gorgeous. He thinks I'm sexy...
Lucas was poised with a remark, and looked as if his restraint would snap. I think I'm going to be sick.
Abruptly, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. It was easier to ignore her when she couldn't use any part of him, but he wished the N.P.I had shut her up. He walked back to the cafeteria for food, finding his thoughts drifting to Jarod along with jealous feelings he wasn't prepared for. He tried to shake them off and leave it alone, but the thought of Jarod the Psychic going after Samantha made him surprisingly...angry.
Oh, stop wanting to kill him. It's not like he was taking you seriously. She paused, suddenly catching a little of that anger. Wait a minute...You're jealous?
"Don't sound so amused. I just don't like the guy."
All right, whatever you say.
Lucas obviously intended the conversation to end there, so Samantha let it be. She learned long ago that pressing him achieved arguments instead of answers, but in this case, she didn't need words. She could feel it pulse through his body like the blood in his veins. It made her feel wanted to know he thought that much of her.
In kind, she let the day and lunch roll by in silence, broken only when he started humming "Walk on the Ocean" by Toad the Wet Sprocket.
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The Next Day...
"We're ready to begin the procedure."
Kristin Westphalen looked seriously at the small crowd gathered in a corner Chatton medical room. Samantha's lifeless body lay under a downward folded tan blanket on the med bed surrounded at the head by life support systems that emitted a steady cadence of small beeps.
Lucas nodded in assurance, though he felt the exact opposite. He wanted to run far away and hide.
I don't know if I can do this, Samantha uttered softly.
It's the only way. Lucas knew she was frightened and wished he couldn't feel it, but at least he didn't have to ask her what was wrong.
Look at me. I'm dead.
No you're not. This has to work. I wouldn't do this if I wasn't at least ninety percent sure. He stepped up to the side of the bed, but failed to calm his quickly beating heart. He was afraid someone would hear it.
She felt his heart and the breath that slipped past his lips, and swallowed in fear. I can't do this.
Lucas remained silent.
What if I don't make it? What if I die?
Lucas was still silent. What if he did loose her?
Say something. Please.
All he could do was form a thought. I won't let you die.
A voice from behind caught him, but he didn't turn.
"Just say when, Lucas," Kristin glided to the opposite side of the bed and watched the young sixteen year old fight for speech.
His blue eyes ran across Samantha's physical form from head to toe to head. Could he go through with this? Could he give up the one person who knew him as well as he did, the one presence he was sure would never desert him or leave him stranded, or make excuses not to be around him? He'd wanted someone there his entire life; his father, his mother, even some of the crew had never filled the place except the captain. But he never felt camaraderie with authority. With Samantha Kinkade it was different. She was around his age, she understood him, and she was his friend. He'd become so use to her being there, he felt sparks of fear when he thought of what it would be like to be without her.
"Lucas," Bridger placed a hand on his shoulder, clearly seeing the battle in the other's features, "let her go."
Lucas took a deep breath and focused his eyes on Samantha's. This was something that had to be done, weither he liked it or not. He pursed his lips, waited a moment more, then spoke. "I'm ready."
Wendy pulled back Samantha's eyelids revealing empty jade-green eyes.
Lucas inhaled sharply, forcing his eyes to remain locked, and concentrated hard. He felt Samantha's energy burn through his arms and legs, his mind, to his eyes forcing him to tear, then as soon as he'd felt every bit of her gathered, he pushed.
She refused to go. It was a moment of suspense that he was unprepared for. He tried again, but nothing happened. "I can't." His eyes closed tight.
"Yes you can," Westphalen insisted.
"No!"
She spoke lightly. "Let her go, Lucas.
"No! You don't understand!" Lucas shrugged away from her and turned. "I won't loose her, too!"
"Lucas, calm down. You're being irrational," Westphalen began smoothly.
He spun. "Irrational? No, I think I'm being perfectly rational. My whole life people just left me alone and hardly thought twice about it. Sure, they write cards or send a few vid calls, but in the end, they always disappear. It's the cold law of reality and I won't add her to that list. Not this time."
"We won't abandon you, and neither will she if you give her the chance to prove it. Look at me." She gripped his shoulders and lightly shook him. "Dammit, Lucas, look at me!"
Lucas looked up and blinked.
"I know you want to keep her and that she feels familiar to you, but you can't live with her for the rest of your life. She needs to live her own. Sooner or later the two of you will merge to form a new personality and we'll loose both of you." Her eyes softened. "Don't leave it like this."
Lucas' breath caught in his throat. He looked from her to the captain and back again. "How do I know she..."
"Just have faith," Kristen urged gently. "Trust her."
Lucas swallowed and forced back every urge to turn around and run. Once more, he nodded.
This time Samantha forced herself to separate from him and waited until Lucas locked eyes with her body again. Kristin was right, and she knew it. It would take the will power of them both to pull this off.
Lucas felt the grip she held on him loosen and locked eyes with Samantha's body again. This time he pushed harder, fearing he'd keep her if he hesitated.
In a rush he felt her energy leave him--yanked as if by strings from his eyes, and his head became light. For a split second, he thought time had stood still. The three psychics placed their hands over Sam's heart and head, and formed a straight path of energy back to her body.
Samantha's determination faltered. She made one last desperate grab for Lucas, catching a small bit of his energy before the psychic path drug her back to herself, taking that small bit with it. Then everything went black.
Lucas exhaled and braced himself wearily on the mattress, wondering if he had done the right thing. His head rang with silence.
Several moments passed, tension filled the air, but Samantha didn't move.
Lucas swallowed. "Something's wrong." He urgently leaned close to Samantha's face. "Come on, Sam, wake up. Wake up," his voice was more desperate with every word. "Don't do this to me, Samantha. Wake up."
He grabbed her eyelids and forced them open, staring hard into her green eyes.
"Lucas, no!" Westphalen urgently forced him back just as Lucas had made the connection,. She had to lock her arms around him to keep him from breaking free
"She's gonna die!" he struggled. "No! Let me go, I have to take her back. Doctor, she's gonna die!"
"Nathan!"
Bridger took over Westphalen's hold and held him back so the doctors could check Samantha over.
"Get him out of here," she ordered.
Lucas had gone beyond speech to just watching. Samantha still hadn't moved, and he was sure Dr. Maybrid had said she was barely breathing.
Kristin left Wendy and Maybrid in order to shoo Lucas outside, and with help from the captain, they managed to get him out the door.
Lucas spun on him the moment the door clicked shut. "Why won't you let me take her back? I nearly had her!" he demanded. Angry, he slammed his palm against the door. He wanted to break through it, break through his own body away from the tight helplessness clutching at his throat.
"Because it took all you had just to return her. If you take her back you may never give her up," Bridger answered.
"But she'll die," Lucas argued.
"You don't know that." Bridger let the pause float between them for a few seconds.
Lucas' poised comeback was barely restrained and Bridger knew to act now or he'd have another explosion on his hands.
"I think you should come with me." He put his arm around Lucas, who--despite his want to destroy the door--accepted the help and walked down the corridor to the arboretum to wait.
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She was barely breathing. God please...
He was sure something had gone wrong.
Lucas wasn't a religious man, but he prayed anyway. Two weeks ago, he would have thought it strange to talk to someone who wasn't there, but now it actually felt comforting as he leaned on his knees and begged an unseen being to spare the life of a girl--of his best friend. He shuddered a breath.
It had been over fifteen minutes since the transfer and not a single word on her condition had been brought to him. Unsettled, he paced the stone walk of Chatton's arboretum like a runway. Plumes of multicolored flowers and different types of trees and shrubs surrounded the picturesque place of solitude, but he was blind to it. All he could see was her small lifeless body lying on the medical bed. Fear clenched in his stomach in a tight ball; fear of being alone, fear of loosing a friend, fear of being responsible for her death. It caused him to crumble a fistful of his shirt.
He sat on a curved stone bench and ran his hands through his hair. The water in the smooth rock pool reflected his face in a perfect mirror, but he felt hollow as if something had been carved out of his soul. He also felt the pain and loss of emptiness fill him. Some things had gone from him when he pushed her back, but he could tell bits of her had stayed behind. Though it was a small comfort, it wasn't enough to fill the void that swallowed him whole.
A leaf fell on the water and rippled the image.
What would he do if she didn't survive? He bit his lip, staring down into the water. Samantha had been the most irritating person he'd met, she'd countered him at every turn, insulted him, given him a reason to fight for his place on the SeaQuest, but dammit to hell if he couldn't live another day without hearing her voice, even if all she did was insult him.
He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear the smooth doors of the arboretum slide open, or the soft footsteps pad along the river-stone walk. Something in him sparked familiarity and warmth and he looked up, instantly sucking in a breath.
"The captain told me you were out here," Samantha's long white hospital gown fluttered in the light Florida breeze and casually tossed her loose brown hair.
"Sam," breathless, Lucas stood and stepped closer. His heart rose into his throat.
Samantha smiled and touched her own face. "Yeah. It's me. I'm back."
He placed his hand over hers, letting it fall gently to her shoulder. "I thought you'd-"
"Died? Lucas, you of all people should know I'm not that easy to get rid of."
He couldn't help but smile. That void of emptiness had been replaced by soaring joy and he let it fill him as his left hand move from her shoulder back to her face, tracing her features. He wanted to know it was her, to be sure she was real, to be sure she wasn't an illusion.
She inhaled at his touch, savoring the sensation it made on her skin--firm as a man's hand, but soft and strong and familiar. It was the first time she'd known his touch apart from him. "What are you doing," she whispered.
"I'm mapping you," he grin when she smiled back in remembrance, and cupped her hand over his. Lucas embraced her, wrapping his arms around her small body and held on.
"Thank you," she whispered into his neck.
She let him hold her in warm comfort and was perfectly content with the idea of staying there forever. His touch filled something in her she knew had gone to him, and she relaxed. Her hand slid through his blond hair testing gently. She smiled. It was just as soft on her own skin as she remembered from his. Her small hands gripped his shirt in her fists and she held on, needing to know he wouldn't abandon her now.
Lucas exhaled, tightening his grip, then backed away. "Oh, I almost forgot," he reached up and removed the dolphin ring necklace. Gently he placed it around her neck so it hung just past her collar bone. "Thought you might like it back."
She brushed her fingers over the ring and smiled. This ring had been the most noticeable sign of her existence over the past couple weeks, and it had remained around Lucas' neck for ninety-nine percent of that time. In a sense, it was a small link between them.
"I can't believe it's actually over," she breathed.
Lucas nodded in silent agreement, then realized she was shivering. "You're cold. You should go back to the infirmary and rest."
"I know," she shook her head and sighed, "I know, but I had to see you--how you were doing." Her legs still felt too weak to hold her since her body hadn't moved in two weeks.
"You never could listen to other people's suggestions." Seeing her falter, he wrapped his arm around her for support.
She chuckled lightly. "And you never knew when to admit you were wrong."
He smiled. For the first time in a long time, he was truly happy. Relief settled over him like a fine mist and he finally let the past events rest. He didn't know what exactly happened during the transfer, but something told him he would soon find out. Right now, all he wanted was his ever busy mind to dwell on the present.
She accepted his help and walked with him to the door. "Now, about not being able to play the kazoo..."
He laughed and ruffled her hair. "You couldn't teach a flying monkey to play the kazoo."
"Then I guess you are hopeless," she laughed, wrapping an arm around his waist to relieve some of the burden of him having to hold her up. Samantha had never known what it was like to trust someone completely, but then again, she had never before had a true close friend.
tbc