I know this chapter took a little while, but homework. well. it's there.
And thanks to it, writing's a bit of a slow process. I wouldn't count on
seeing the next chapter very soon. Anyway. enjoy. ^ - ^
Chapter 7
The Calm Before the Storm
I could hear the humming of the scanner as it was swept over my head, looking over at my father sitting nervously in the corner. I was still shaking from what happened, not to mention the fact that I had developed a terrible migraine from the experience. It wasn't one I wanted to repeat ever again.
I looked around the office at the arrangement of assorted medical tools, waiting for the doctor to tell me that he couldn't help me. There was never a doctor that knew what to do with me, so why would this one know what was happening to me now?
"Your synaptic activity is unusually high..." said the doctor. "From what I can see... there aren't any abnormalities... none that should concern you."
"What do you mean?" my dad asked, obviously alarmed.
The doctor kept calm, hoping that would relax him. "As I told you, her neurological impulses are high above normal on the charts- it's something I can't explain, but..." he turned to me, and said, referring to not only the readings but also my quote-unquote "visions," "apparently all this is normal to Xyrillians?"
I nodded. "I think," I told him quietly.
"Would you like me to run further scans?" he asked me.
I took a moment to think about it, but I knew from the start that he wouldn't be able to help me, or even know what he was doing to begin with. "No."
He smiled at me and said, "I have another patient I have to see, but I'll come back in a little while to check on you." Then he left the room.
"So how long has this been happenin'?" my dad asked me after a few seconds.
"They started today." I already told the doctor that, but he probably didn't hear it in his panic. "They kinda happen at random."
"I wonder if this is normal..." he said, more to himself than me.
"Who knows..."
He stopped to take a long look into my eyes, as if he were trying to search for the answer to his question in them. "What'd you see?"
"I couldn't make anythin' out the last time. It was just too much."
"What about before? When we were with Hoshi?"
He knew. "How'd you know...?" I asked pathetically.
"It was kinda obvious once I put all the pieces t'gether. You looked kinda confused. An' scared."
I looked away. "Yeah..." It must have been a look he knew all too well.
"So what'd ya see?"
"It was nothin' important," I lied. But I couldn't lie for long. I could stand his glare for about three seconds before the truth came out. I sighed, which got his full attention. "I saw a memory of you and Jon."
"Lemmie guess..." he said dejectedly. "At home, havin' a big argument, you just a toddler in my arms."
I cringed. "Yeah. That was a pretty good guess."
"You're forgettin'- I was the one havin' the memory at the time."
"Oh... I didn't realize it worked that way." I had no idea. Then again, I had no idea that this whole thing could even happen to me.
He ran his hand back through his graying hair. "Yeah. I think I've got this figured out, but... 'm not sure."
Just then, the doctor came back in the room, sighing. "Hello again."
There was an awkward silence, thankfully one unnoticed by the doctor, because he continued anyway, "I realized... that in all this rush and panic, I barely asked you how you're feeling."
"I'm fine now," I said, avoiding all eye contact in the room. It was pretty embarrassing for me, even though it probably shouldn't have been. It was just that I was an unusual case, as I always had been.
I could feel his eyes on me, but I dared not look up to meet his gaze.
I heard him sigh again. "I'm not sure how much I can do for you... I'm not exactly an expert on Xyrillians, and if this is something normal... I can't exactly cure you."
I hung my head in defeat. I was starting to get very tired of hearing "I'm sorry, I don't know, there's nothing I can do."
"Y' think there's anyone she can see that might know how t' help 'er?" my dad asked quietly from the corner.
I looked up at him. He almost blended into that corner, not that he was trying, but just that he had become so used to it being his place, and his eyes were so sad that it hurt to look into them. I was tired of hurting him.
The doctor shrugged his shoulders. Why couldn't he just say no? Why couldn't he just let us down quickly and simply- with just a little sympathy- rather than letting us hope? "I think the only doctor with any experience is Dr. Phlox," he told us, and at hearing his name, my dad sunk deeper into the corner.
"That's what I thought," he mumbled.
"He's on Denobula now, isn't he?" My father nodded, and he continued to both of us, "Maybe you can try to contact him."
"I'll try," I told him. "Thanks for your help," I said, as though it had become mechanical- automatic and without any real meaning to me anymore.
He gave me a sympathetic smile, silently wishing me well, and I got up to leave, my dad already standing, waiting for me. It was all routine.
I stood up too fast, however, when I hopped off the bed as if nothing had happened, and my shaky footing helped me none as I felt the room start to sway. I don't know why I pretended everything was alright, but now it was obvious that I was not. I began to stumble, the ground beneath me swaying with the rest of the room.
Thankfully, my dad caught me before I started to fall. I smiled at him, a silent thanks for catching me, and balanced myself. However, he had triggered another telepathic memory. It was much less traumatic than the last one, thankfully. My eyes glazed over and I could feel myself start falling. My eyes stopped focusing, and I could feel the fear in my dad's eyes, though I was unable to look directly at him.
I could hear the doctor coming back, worried for me, saying, "She's having another episode..."
Episode. That's one way to put it...
I was laid back down on the hospital bed, and for a while, my eyes stayed open to the real world, lingering for my last few moments in the present, hearing my father and the doctor talk to each other.
"No! Don't touch 'er!" I heard my dad say in fear.
"Don't worry, I won't," the doctor said, trying to calm him down.
There was a silence, one filled with repressed panic.
"...Is she gonna be okay?" my dad asked quietly, his voice wavering.
"Eventually."
//You don't know that,// I thought sadly. //How would you?//
I could feel my dad clasp my hand tightly, then speak to me in a soft voice. "I know I might be makin' these visions worse by holdin' your hand like this... but I don't know what else t' do for ya. But yer gonna be alright, K'Ela... don't worry."
But the truth is, I wasn't worried. I was at first, but the fear just started to drift away. A strange calmness swept over me as my father's face was replaced with darkness, and I slipped into whatever memory it was that brought me my newest torment. I could feel my hand fall from his, and I was alone.
So many things went through my mind, at first my own fears and worries, but then thoughts that were not my own flooded my mind. Thankfully, unlike the time before, the thoughts weren't jumbled together, but it still was uncanny to feel someone else's emotions.
I could feel my eyes open gradually, fluttering and dismissing the darkness. At first I thought I had woken up without ever really having a memory, because there in front of me once again was my dad's face. Only... he was about twenty years younger than the man I saw holding my hand seconds earlier. And it didn't take me long to realize that I was staring into a mirror, which frightened me more than words can describe.
I gasped, backing away. But then I realized... *I* had backed away. If I was looking through the eyes of my dad in this memory, how would I be able to back away, when clearly, that was my own action? This was different from the first memory; we were completely separate entities this time.
Just then, a sudden flash of dread went through my thoughts. I guess we weren't *completely* separate- at least not our brain waves.
I looked around. Nothing was familiar here, wherever we were. I then turned back to my dad. He looked so worried about something, but I couldn't tell why. Nothing was happening, I was just there, waiting. That's when I realized that whatever memory I was having... I wasn't getting out of it any time soon.
Wondering what's going to happen? ^ - ^ You'll see.
Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought!
Chapter 7
The Calm Before the Storm
I could hear the humming of the scanner as it was swept over my head, looking over at my father sitting nervously in the corner. I was still shaking from what happened, not to mention the fact that I had developed a terrible migraine from the experience. It wasn't one I wanted to repeat ever again.
I looked around the office at the arrangement of assorted medical tools, waiting for the doctor to tell me that he couldn't help me. There was never a doctor that knew what to do with me, so why would this one know what was happening to me now?
"Your synaptic activity is unusually high..." said the doctor. "From what I can see... there aren't any abnormalities... none that should concern you."
"What do you mean?" my dad asked, obviously alarmed.
The doctor kept calm, hoping that would relax him. "As I told you, her neurological impulses are high above normal on the charts- it's something I can't explain, but..." he turned to me, and said, referring to not only the readings but also my quote-unquote "visions," "apparently all this is normal to Xyrillians?"
I nodded. "I think," I told him quietly.
"Would you like me to run further scans?" he asked me.
I took a moment to think about it, but I knew from the start that he wouldn't be able to help me, or even know what he was doing to begin with. "No."
He smiled at me and said, "I have another patient I have to see, but I'll come back in a little while to check on you." Then he left the room.
"So how long has this been happenin'?" my dad asked me after a few seconds.
"They started today." I already told the doctor that, but he probably didn't hear it in his panic. "They kinda happen at random."
"I wonder if this is normal..." he said, more to himself than me.
"Who knows..."
He stopped to take a long look into my eyes, as if he were trying to search for the answer to his question in them. "What'd you see?"
"I couldn't make anythin' out the last time. It was just too much."
"What about before? When we were with Hoshi?"
He knew. "How'd you know...?" I asked pathetically.
"It was kinda obvious once I put all the pieces t'gether. You looked kinda confused. An' scared."
I looked away. "Yeah..." It must have been a look he knew all too well.
"So what'd ya see?"
"It was nothin' important," I lied. But I couldn't lie for long. I could stand his glare for about three seconds before the truth came out. I sighed, which got his full attention. "I saw a memory of you and Jon."
"Lemmie guess..." he said dejectedly. "At home, havin' a big argument, you just a toddler in my arms."
I cringed. "Yeah. That was a pretty good guess."
"You're forgettin'- I was the one havin' the memory at the time."
"Oh... I didn't realize it worked that way." I had no idea. Then again, I had no idea that this whole thing could even happen to me.
He ran his hand back through his graying hair. "Yeah. I think I've got this figured out, but... 'm not sure."
Just then, the doctor came back in the room, sighing. "Hello again."
There was an awkward silence, thankfully one unnoticed by the doctor, because he continued anyway, "I realized... that in all this rush and panic, I barely asked you how you're feeling."
"I'm fine now," I said, avoiding all eye contact in the room. It was pretty embarrassing for me, even though it probably shouldn't have been. It was just that I was an unusual case, as I always had been.
I could feel his eyes on me, but I dared not look up to meet his gaze.
I heard him sigh again. "I'm not sure how much I can do for you... I'm not exactly an expert on Xyrillians, and if this is something normal... I can't exactly cure you."
I hung my head in defeat. I was starting to get very tired of hearing "I'm sorry, I don't know, there's nothing I can do."
"Y' think there's anyone she can see that might know how t' help 'er?" my dad asked quietly from the corner.
I looked up at him. He almost blended into that corner, not that he was trying, but just that he had become so used to it being his place, and his eyes were so sad that it hurt to look into them. I was tired of hurting him.
The doctor shrugged his shoulders. Why couldn't he just say no? Why couldn't he just let us down quickly and simply- with just a little sympathy- rather than letting us hope? "I think the only doctor with any experience is Dr. Phlox," he told us, and at hearing his name, my dad sunk deeper into the corner.
"That's what I thought," he mumbled.
"He's on Denobula now, isn't he?" My father nodded, and he continued to both of us, "Maybe you can try to contact him."
"I'll try," I told him. "Thanks for your help," I said, as though it had become mechanical- automatic and without any real meaning to me anymore.
He gave me a sympathetic smile, silently wishing me well, and I got up to leave, my dad already standing, waiting for me. It was all routine.
I stood up too fast, however, when I hopped off the bed as if nothing had happened, and my shaky footing helped me none as I felt the room start to sway. I don't know why I pretended everything was alright, but now it was obvious that I was not. I began to stumble, the ground beneath me swaying with the rest of the room.
Thankfully, my dad caught me before I started to fall. I smiled at him, a silent thanks for catching me, and balanced myself. However, he had triggered another telepathic memory. It was much less traumatic than the last one, thankfully. My eyes glazed over and I could feel myself start falling. My eyes stopped focusing, and I could feel the fear in my dad's eyes, though I was unable to look directly at him.
I could hear the doctor coming back, worried for me, saying, "She's having another episode..."
Episode. That's one way to put it...
I was laid back down on the hospital bed, and for a while, my eyes stayed open to the real world, lingering for my last few moments in the present, hearing my father and the doctor talk to each other.
"No! Don't touch 'er!" I heard my dad say in fear.
"Don't worry, I won't," the doctor said, trying to calm him down.
There was a silence, one filled with repressed panic.
"...Is she gonna be okay?" my dad asked quietly, his voice wavering.
"Eventually."
//You don't know that,// I thought sadly. //How would you?//
I could feel my dad clasp my hand tightly, then speak to me in a soft voice. "I know I might be makin' these visions worse by holdin' your hand like this... but I don't know what else t' do for ya. But yer gonna be alright, K'Ela... don't worry."
But the truth is, I wasn't worried. I was at first, but the fear just started to drift away. A strange calmness swept over me as my father's face was replaced with darkness, and I slipped into whatever memory it was that brought me my newest torment. I could feel my hand fall from his, and I was alone.
So many things went through my mind, at first my own fears and worries, but then thoughts that were not my own flooded my mind. Thankfully, unlike the time before, the thoughts weren't jumbled together, but it still was uncanny to feel someone else's emotions.
I could feel my eyes open gradually, fluttering and dismissing the darkness. At first I thought I had woken up without ever really having a memory, because there in front of me once again was my dad's face. Only... he was about twenty years younger than the man I saw holding my hand seconds earlier. And it didn't take me long to realize that I was staring into a mirror, which frightened me more than words can describe.
I gasped, backing away. But then I realized... *I* had backed away. If I was looking through the eyes of my dad in this memory, how would I be able to back away, when clearly, that was my own action? This was different from the first memory; we were completely separate entities this time.
Just then, a sudden flash of dread went through my thoughts. I guess we weren't *completely* separate- at least not our brain waves.
I looked around. Nothing was familiar here, wherever we were. I then turned back to my dad. He looked so worried about something, but I couldn't tell why. Nothing was happening, I was just there, waiting. That's when I realized that whatever memory I was having... I wasn't getting out of it any time soon.
Wondering what's going to happen? ^ - ^ You'll see.
Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought!