CHAPTER NINE
"What's going on, Ripley?", Danielle walks over to the bed and quickly checks the equipment connected to Call.
"Nothing… I mean… I don't know… why isn't she waking up? Hasn't it finished filtering my blood?", the clone asks, confused and nervous, pointing to the completely white fluid slowly flowing out of Call's body, into the device, and then back into the young woman's stream.
The chief scientist takes a moment of silence, examining the machine's data on the monitor. Her blood freezes; Call has been finished disposing of the clone's blood for half an hour already. The titanium nanorobots have separated from the more common ones normally found in her bloodstream, and now join the supplies inside the machine, sharing vital information about Ripley's DNA.
The Auton's involvement ended and she should have regained consciousness by now. After pressing a few buttons, the doctor examines her friend's brain activity. She tilts her head to the side, intrigued by the data her eyes are looking at.
"What?", Ripley asks, in concern.
"I don't know exactly how to interpret the data I'm reading", the other replies, unsure whether to give an opinion or not.
The hybrid leans over, turning her gaze to the monitor, where a line runs slowly and sinuously, with more or less evident peaks, but never sharp or excessively busy.
"Please, Dani, will you tell me what's wrong?", the woman involuntarily raises her voice and immediately raises the palm of one hand in an apologetic gesture.
"I mean... I know how to read them, but it's... unexpected, to say the least", she points out, before hurrying to bring it to a close. "The ripples in the track... it looks like she's... dreaming!"
"What a fucking little shit is she, then?!", Ripley exclaims instinctively, suddenly caught by a relief that brings tears to her eyes. A sob escapes her throat, leaving her breathless.
Danielle suppresses a laugh, keeping a straight face and checking the electrodes she personally applied to Call's body hours earlier. "I can't be sure", she adds, to curb her enthusiasm, noting that she's done a masterful job and the data scrolling across the monitor can only be correct.
"Yeah, I know, it's just…", her friend pulls up her nose in a mixture of despair and hope.
"Let's give her a little more time, okay?", she proposes in a soft, controlled voice. "Maybe she's just getting over the shock of the treatment", she speculates uncertainly.
She walks over to Ripley, who has sat down next to the bed and now gently holds Call's small hand between her own and won't take her eyes off her.
"I'll stick around, okay? Let's wait a little longer", she reiterates to reassure her, before silently walking away, after seeing her nod to her benefit.
*.*
"Okay, Call… what the fuck are you playing at in there?", the tremor in her own voice makes her even more nervous.
It's been ten minutes, Call shows no sign of recovering, and she's growing increasingly more anxious. She closes her eyes, bringing her hand between hers to her lips, totally missing the sight of the young woman who, with effort, lifts an eyelid a few millimeters.
"Get angry later", her words come out so softly that for a moment she's afraid she's only imagining to hear them, but suddenly she feels herself grasping her face vigorously and wet lips cover her forehead, her cheeks, first one eyelid and then the other, her forehead once again, the corners of her lips, the tip of her nose and then they start again, in a messy cascade of lips and tears and choked sobs. Each touch is a flash of colorful, blinding light. An absolute marvel!
"Damn you, you wretch!", she hears her sobbing again and wishes she had the strength to calm down, but more than anything, she wishes she could tell her what's happening, but all those external solicitations are overloading her system and she can't concentrate enough to formulate any sort of syllable. So she waits patiently for Ripley to calm down, praying that it will happen soon.
In the fury of the moment, Ripley realizes she's ripped some electrodes from her forehead and prays she hasn't messed up. Heavy tears line her face and wet Call's skin as she fills her face with kisses, in between sobs. In a corner of her brain, a small voice mocks her with amusement, calling her a wimp, but she ignores it decisively.
After endless moments, the clone finally calms down, Call feels her wipe her wet face, feels something hard against her forehead and a soft breath on her lips, a warm palm covering her entire cheek.
"DMT", she manages to mumble, before getting distracted by the endless intertwined spirals that cover her entire view and rotate slowly and unstoppably. She tries to open her eyes and in the moving pattern she catches a glimpse of her familiar features.
"Yeah, yeah, baby, it's DMT's fault I'm not so badass anymore", Ripley retorts, finally a little more herself. Call lets her eyelids close again, in frustration.
"No", it's so hard to get two fucking letters out of her brain and through her voice.
"No?", the hybrid asks, puzzled.
"It works" -please, Ripley, get me!- It seems like hours go by before she finally hears her utter an exclamation of amazement.
"Oh…", a heavy, resounding sigh of relief seems to come out of her and she allows herself to relax completely, so much so that for a moment her legs give out and she is forced to sit back down.
A wide smile unexpectedly softens her features. She doesn't know how this is possible, doesn't even care to know, at the moment. All she can think about is how Call has always good-naturedly envied her and how happy she is that it's her turn now.
"I get it, baby", she reassures her, finding enough strength in her legs to stand up again and move closer to her so she can whisper and thus disturb her surely heightened senses as little as possible.
"Do what you have to, I'm not leaving you", she whispers lovingly, but before she sits back down, waiting for the young woman to have her experience, she speaks to her again. "Home", is the only word she murmurs in a sleepy voice.
"Do you want to go home?", would make sense, actually. Her surroundings are important, even if she seems immersed within herself. She knows better.
"Hmm, hmm", must be terribly exhausting, having to answer her, however, Ripley doesn't want to take any chances, and forces himself to ask her one last, crucial question.
"Are you going to be okay?", she can't help but affectionately stroke her face.
"I swear", Call forgives her, for all those questions.
"All right, I'll take you home", she reassures her, rising to her feet. She starts to free her from the electrodes that escaped her attack moments before, not noticing the sudden new presence in the room.
"What do you think you're doing, Ripley? She still hasn't recovered!", the woman turns around surprised, in the direction of the voice. She doesn't remember the name of the man in scrubs, it's an unusual name, though, him being of Ghanaian descent, if she remembers correctly.
"Speak quietly! You're disturbing her!", she whispers to him in an admonishing tone, hastening to cover Call's ears with her hands.
A vague dreamy smile paints itself for a moment on Call's lips, who, from the meanders of her consciousness, softens at that loving and protective gesture. "You can't take her off the machine!", Traoré whispers, displaced, more than by the woman's reaction, by his own obedience.
"I don't, but you can! Come on, help me!", the clone urges him with renewed energy.
"No way!", the man backs away a step, raising his hands and cursing mentally, having forgotten to speak softly.
"SHHH!", Ripley glares at him, just as he notices Danielle rushing in at a quick pace.
"Danielle, will you get her off the machine for me? I'm taking her home. She's just stoned", she cuts in realizing how ridiculous she must sound after what she just said.
"What?"
Call chuckles, unable to eclipse herself from the skit that seems absurdly hilarious to her.
"So. Fucking. Stoned!", she confirms in a slightly firmer voice than just before.
"What the hell is going on here?", Dani exclaims, hearing herself simultaneously silenced by Ripley, Traoré, and then, sadly, Call as well, before she slips into another dreamy giggle.
Ripley rolls her eyes, stifling a laugh in turn. Damn her! She covers her mouth with both hands, as if to regain some semblance of seriousness and authority.
"She' s on residual DMT in my blood", she watches Dani frown, probably wondering how this is possible.
"That's impossible, drugs don't work on us Auton", Dinesh interjects. He has just made his entrance, intrigued by the scene. Call is right, this young man is such a fucking bumpkin.
"Well, MY drug is working on her!", the hybrid retorts, moving two huge strides forward and towering over him, raising an eyebrow as if daring him to open his mouth once again. She just couldn't help it! She just couldn't resist that urge!
Dani rolls her eyes and starts pulling the ivs out of her young colleague's arms.
"Now that's marking territory!", the doctor comments under her breath in amusement, to Call's benefit only.
"Yeeeah", her friend replies with a wide, vague smile.
"I bet if I'd lift one of those eyelids, I'd find a little heart underneath each one of them, instead of a pupil", she adds tenderly.
"Yeeeah!", the scientist rolls her eyes again, all of which is so hilarious as to be almost embarrassing!
Ripley walks back over to Call's bed, waiting for Dani to give her the go-ahead.
"Enough with the protests. Ripley would never risk Call's safety. If he says that she can take her home, she''ll take her home", Danielle declares quietly, but in a firm tone. "Come on, everyone out", she finally orders, dismissing the others.
With a genuine smile on her lips, she watches Ripley loading her beloved into her arms. She thinks about offering her a wheelchair, but she's sure Call is where she wants to be and where Ripley wants her to be.
"If anything happens that doesn't feel right, anything at all, you call me right away, understood?"
"Understood, thanks Dani", Ripley replies with a hint of impatience, clutching Call to her.
"I'll be there in five minutes", Danielle reassures her, before stepping aside to let her pass more easily.
*.*
"Shit, you get heavy after a while, kiddo", Ripley comments, laying her down as gently as possible on the bed. She struggles not to worry, not hearing her answer. During the short but tiring journey, the young woman has eclipsed herself in her own dimethyltryptamine-driven world.
She hurries to fill a glass with water and sets it on the shelf next to the bed, in case Call needs a drink, gently pulls off her shoes and pants, unbuttoning her shirt, kindly removing it, and settles the covers over her.
Then she strips in turn, remaining in her briefs and tank top, and slips under the covers, slipping next to Call's warm body.
To overcome the urge to pull her close, she thinks about easing her in with something relaxing. She turns off all the lights, turns on the TV, playing a virtual bonfire, complete with the sound of crackling wood, a slight warmth and adds a delicate abstract background music. The atmosphere, enhanced by the approaching thunderstorm, awakens Call's senses.
The girl struggles to open her eyes and keeping them on Ripley as she giggles again.
"Hey", the woman greets her with a loving smile.
"Just like over there", the young woman comments, hearing a distant rumble.
"Yes, honey, just like over there", the hybrid confirms with a smile, brushing her cheekbone with a fingertip.
"Would you do something for me, Ripley?", the young woman mumbles, with a vague smile on her lips, straining to keep her eyes open.
"Anything", Ripley assures her, and unable to hold back any longer, she takes her in her arms, caressing her face, waiting for her request. She feels Call's hand cling to the edge of her shirt and takes her in her own, letting her squeeze weakly.
"I would do it, but I can't get there"
"Get where? Just tell me what you need-"
"I need you to kiss me"
If she had not, herself, first lived through the experience the girl is now having, she would think twice before indulging her, seized with doubt that she is not in her right mind. But she remembers very well the lucidity that characterizes DMT intoxication.
So she approaches without hesitation and kisses her tenderly. Another faint squeeze of approval from Call's hand, encourages her to prolong the outpouring, reciprocated right away. There's nothing friendly about their lips dancing together, however, it seems natural. Inevitable. Soft. Very sweet. Sensual, when she feels the tip of Call's tongue brushing against her lips. Another, firmer grip on her hand, and she lets it in, barely suppressing a moan.
Ripley breathes softly, but every time she does, Call's scent stuns her and she can't stop, can't even think anymore. All she can do is obey Call's hand clenches, asking her not to stop, not yet.
The kiss deepens, as a bolt of lightning cancels out the timid red glow of the fake fire for a moment, her arm behind the young woman's shoulders twists to pull her close, and an involuntary moan escapes Call's lips just before a nearby clap of thunder covers the faint crackle of burning wood.
Then everything seems to stop and the room plunges into absolute darkness and silence. Ripley slows down, softening the kiss. Thin raindrops begin to gently tap on the window, the emergency generator kicks in and everything picks up where it left off. Ripley lets go of Call's now relaxed hand and brings hers to her face, small, light kisses linger slow and gentle, like a distant echo and slowly, they dissolve.
The most important person in her life has slipped back of her inner journey, still present, but too busy dealing with the psychedelic world within.
The hybrid loosens her grip, but doesn't let go. The rain begins to pound furiously on the glass of the shabby window that needs to be replaced, she watches the droplets colored by the reddish reflection of the TV sliding down, swallowed by gravity, she listens to the regular breathing with which only moments before she had fed her lungs for a while, and smiles dreamily.
She feels Call regain her muscle tone gradually, in the hours that follow, there are times when she presses on her chest, and warm tears wet her shirt, only then does she hold her a little tighter, but she doesn't speak, doesn't attempt to comfort her. The more time passes, the more she feels her relax, but she knows it's a natural process now, and it's only when she realizes her experience is over and she's slipped into her usual peaceful slumber that she gives in to her own numbness as well.
*.*
The sound of the rain would encourage her to doze off again, if it weren't for the familiar noises that populate the corridors of the Base in the morning, she'd swear it's still very early, given the dimness in which Ripley's quarters are shrouded.
She doesn't need to reach behind her to know that she is alone. She turns her back to the window and slides to the center of the mattress, still warm from her presence.
However, she can hear her speaking softly, right outside the door. From the few words she can clearly catch, it sounds like she is updating Danielle on her status. She should have anticipated that her colleague would run to warn her after receiving her note. She could have been less hasty in that message, now that she thinks about it.
Ripley's slender figure, brightened by the slice of artificial light from the facility's hallways as she walks back in, distracts her from her thoughts. She's wearing only a tank top and a pair of shorts, and her toned muscles stand out against her lightly tanned skin.
The thoughtfulness with which she closes the door behind her and tiptoes into the room awakens a deep tenderness in her, spreading a warm smile across her lips.
She watches as she picks up the clothes from the chair that she must have haphazardly thrown away the night before in her haste to put her down and take care of her.
"You scared the shit out of me, you know that, don't you?", she says in a hushed tone, stacking their freshly folded clothing on the small table.
She had no idea she'd realized she'd woken up. She wished she could have stayed and watched for a while longer before engaging in this conversation.
"You look exhausted", Call murmurs, staying still in her huddled position, watching her approach the bed and sit cautiously in a tiny nook at the bottom foot of the mattress.
"How are you feeling?", Ripley forces an outstretched smile as she turns in her direction and reaches out a hand to one foot, playfully pinching her toe.
Beyond the almost comical humor with which she has dealt with the previous few hours, the full extent of what she must have suffered internally is about to come out in full force now that the apparent danger is over. -How could I do such a thing to her?-
"Come here", Call lifts her torso off the mattress just enough to reach for her hand, drawing her gently to herself. Ripley allows herself to be led, crawling into her embrace, resting her forehead in the crook of her neck. She inhales a deep breath that smells of Call and, against her will, relaxes instantly.
"I'm sorry, Ripley", she exclaims, resting a cheek in her thick hair as she holds her close. The heavy sigh she hears her exhale in response is nothing more than an invitation for a more concrete explanation.
"I had no idea it would take me this long, and I had no idea Danielle would run to warn you-"
"Oh and that's supposed to comfort me?", Ripley cranes her neck back so she can look into her eyes, the betrayed expression Call reads there hurts her, but it was only her fault, thinking about it.
"No, but please, just let me explain, okay?". she tries to soften her, gently stroking one of her cheekbones, before setting about massaging the hair at the base of her neck, right where she knows by now that she particularly likes it.
"But you made me lose ten years of my life, you wretch!", the woman retorts, hitting her in the abdomen in a gesture of frustration. Then she straps her arms around her waist, immediately regretting her impulsive reaction, snuggling even closer.
"I know, and I'm sorry", Call replies patiently, ignoring the blow, which was far from violent anyway.
"Look... for what it's worth, I've been careful, I assure you. Danielle had gotten me thinking, so before I started the actual procedure, I calculated the amount of blood I could handle, and I stayed well below the limit. It was a safe procedure, Ripley. I should have reassured Danielle about that. And I admit I didn't anticipate the reaction to the DMT", she says, as the tips of her fingers gently stroke the scalp in her hair.
"Why didn't you talk to me about it first, Call?", Ripley asks, with a hint of disappointment in her voice, struggling to keep her eyes open.
"Even knowing there was no risk, would you have let me?", Call asks calmly, raising an eyebrow in her direction, waiting for an answer that comes even sooner than she would have expected.
"Of course not!", Ripley expounds without hesitation and with a veil of indignation.
"Yeah, I thought so. Because, if things were reversed, I wouldn't have let you do it either", she admits, depositing a light kiss on her forehead.
"Look, every time we go on a recon, a part of me doesn't enjoy the experience at all, because we take a huge risk of being intercepted. You take a huge risk. I'm afraid of losing you, Ripley", -You have to finish what you started-. The memory of that conversation hovers, almost concrete in the air, and leaves them both silent for a long moment.
"But I know how much you love it, and I know that if I had asked you to stop, you would have. And I don't think that would have been quite right", she covers her cheek with the palm of her hand, moving a little closer to her face.
"I was careful, Ripley. I wouldn't have risked it. I was wrong not to tell you. I was wrong not to leave a clearer note for Danielle. I was wrong not to think she would run to tell you. I thought I'd be done in time for our dinner and didn't figure out the reaction to the dimethyltryptamine. But I promise you, the procedure itself was safe", she reiterates in a clear, gentle tone.
"Was it painful?", Ripley asks, finally accepting her reassurance.
"Only at first, then the nanobots started adapting and knocked me out", she explains, trying to push away the memory of Ripley's blood boiling in her veins, leaving her breathless and forcing her to grit her teeth furiously to keep from screaming.
"Nice way to spend your seventy-second birthday!", Ripley comments, flailing in Call's arms, thinking back to the missed dinner and the forgotten dessert in the fridge.
"Fuck! So you really want to make me feel guilty!", Call comments, to mask her surprise at hearing mention of the occasion she hasn't celebrated in far too long.
"Happy birthday, Call", Ripley snuggles into her affectionately, smiling from the relief that everything went well.
"That's it? What about my present?", it's so unusual, hearing that, that a strange embarrassment catches her off guard and the only thing she can do is joke about it.
The clone pulls away from the crook of her neck and squares her with a raised eyebrow and a corner of her mouth curved upward.
"It's in the fridge", she declares in a falsely annoyed voice. "Do you really want me to get up now and go get it for you?", she asks in a stern tone as she points her arms at the mattress and pushes up to lift herself up.
"Don't you dare!", her own reaction makes her laugh and for a moment she struggles to hold it in. But thankfully, Ripley isn't really planning on getting up.
They gaze into each other's eyes for a long moment, as the woman slowly returns to resting cautiously on her petite body. She is light, for her size, Call thinks, or perhaps it is just a feeling she has.
She sinks a small hand into her thick hair and forces her to look at her again.
"Are we a team? You and me?", she asks with a veil of insecurity in the pitch of her voice.
"Now more than ever, Call", Ripley replies confidently, ready to dispel any unreasonable doubts, even her own.
"I promise you... That I will never do anything reckless, or dangerous, from now on, without talking to you first. And if we don't agree on something, I promise you, that I will always look for a compromise"
"I like that... we really need to work on compromises, you and I", the clone replies with a tender smile.
"Yeah!", the young woman confirms playing with her curls. "Come on, I suspect you need to rest..."
"Ha! Are you kidding? After the night you put me through?", the other retorts still pretending to be annoyed. But Call doesn't fall for it.
"You're ridiculous", she giggles rolling her eyes. "Get some rest", she orders her softly. "It'll be your turn in the next few days", she adds thoughtfully.
Ripley closes her eyes with a deep sigh and silently settles back into her embrace.
"Are you sure you want to do this?", the android asks after a long moment. "You know... the whole process might soften you up even more"
"That sucks!"