Kid Kthulhu: The Awakening, Chapter 25: Kris's Secret, Part 3

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If you haven't already gone over and admired Thomas Perkins' retro "Kid Kthulhu" comics covers, which were the inspiration for these stories, well, I feel sorry for you. And if you haven't read any of H. P. Lovecraft's works, you should.

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Kris came awake in stages. The first time, she was barely aware of actually being awake…just a bright light and an awful feeling of heaviness, as though she could barely move. She almost immediately lapsed back to sleep.

Finally, she came fully awake enough to see Aidoann drowsing by her bed on a small couch. "A-aidoann?"

Instantly, the Scots girl was by her side. "Doon't try to move, Kris. Ye've been through hell, and ye're by no means out the other side. But yer on the way." She smiled, and Kris could see she was pale and drawn looking, as though she hadn't slept in days…and had probably cried in several of them. And even now, Kris thought with a wry smile, I'll bet she has to fight the boys off with a stick.

"Wh-where's…Cal?" It was almost the exact request Aidoann had made when she rejoined the waking world, not all that long ago. But Kris didn't think about that right then. Something was different…something about herself…

"He's alright, Kris. I'll tell you this: he's alive, and recuperatin.' So you just try'n do the same."

Kris felt herself lapsing back into unconsciousness. "The…the voices. They've stopped."

"Huh? What?" Aidoann leaned closed to hear the whispered words.

"The voices…in my head…they…they're gone."

"What voices, Kris? What voices?"

"The…the voices. I…I don't hear…the voices…"

Rehabilitation began the day she fully awaked to the painful reality of recovery her life had become. As before, Aidoann was there, helping her, making sure everything was placed where it should be, and that she had the assistance she needed to begin her exercises. (And listening to Kris complain that bedpans must have been designed by a certified sadist.)

Kris hooked a thumb over her hospital gown and looked down at her chest. There, along the line of her rib cage, was an incision, expertly opened and stitched shut. "That's gonna hurt when those stiches come out," she winced.

"They may."

"So…I guess you guys solved the heart thing? There was a suitable-* Oh, no." No wonder she hadn't seen Cal!

"Oh, yes. Seems we both owe yuir boyfriend our lives an' possibly more. 'Tis his heart that beats in yuir chest right now. He's turnin' into a regular supply depot."

Kris winced. "He…he's not…not really my boyfriend."

Aidoann stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Kris, hands on her hips. "He's not? An' why do ye say that?"

"Well, I mean…he's like…I mean, we've never, you know, actually talked, talked about it…and God only knows what he thinks about me now."

"Oh! Well! Let me see!" Aidoann stopped in the middle of the room, and struck a thoughtful pose, her finger on her chin. "He gave you his heart. Not just figuratively, but literally. He gave you his heart. Now, I'm wonderin' what the significance o' tha' gesture could possibly be?" She adopted an expression of mock frustration. "Well, 'tis too much for my wee brain to figure out. Perhaps when ye're feelin' better, you could Google it?"

Kris turned away, blushing and laughing quietly at the same time. It hurt to laugh, but it also felt good. She hadn't expected to feel anything ever again. "I never figured you for the sarcastic type, Aidoann."

"An' I never figured you for the stupid type! Kris! If ye doon't see how he feels about ye now, you're just blindin' yourself. You need to have The Talk. Or do I have to lock the both of ye in a room somewhere until you do?"

"Okay, okay! We'll…make that I'll do it." She sighed. "I just hope he doesn't want his heart back." She glanced back down at her chest, underneath the gown. "I'd have a hellava time getting it out."

Aidoann came over to her, smoothing out her hair. "Somehow, girl, I think ye've had it for some time now."

The End of this Part.

The Beginning of Another.