Chap. 9: Misery In Sickness
Kasey snapped awake rather painfully when she slammed against the floor with a thud. It was dark in the room, and she coughed, then trembled, the flu still raging inside of her body. She was still in the living room, and had just fallen off the couch. Which was weird, because usually she had perfect balance while sleeping. But a lot of her senses had become clouded when she received the flu, so maybe that was why. She sighed, not even bothering to lift her weak body off of the floor. She had fallen asleep somewhere in the late afternoon prior to her sickness and had woken up late at night... maybe close to midnight or even past, she assumed.
Well, it didn't seem like she was going to return to her slumber now, even if she was sick. But there wasn't much to do, either. Not when she had an achy, feverish body. So, instead she just lay there wide awake, the room silent except for the sound of breathing. Her breathing, and 625's breathing. He was still in the room, asleep on the floor, where he had been relaxing earlier because Kasey took away the couch. She cringed as the noise of his snoring began to make her throbbing headache worse.
"I hate my life." She whispered under her breath. She lifted herself up, her body shaking with fever. She crawled along the floor until she bumped into something, or rather, someone else. Then she shouted as loud as her scratchy throat would allow, "625, stop that snoring before I throw up on ya!"
625 quickly sat up. "What? Ohh..." Groaning, he laid back down. "Why'd you make me do that for?! You made me feel a sharp pain in my stomach! That really hurt!"
"Oh, stop complaining! You would've felt a worse pain than that if you kept up that horrible racket! You were hurting my head." Kasey massaged her temples to prove her point.
"You first threatened to throw up on me, and now you're threatening bodily harm? I suppose you expect me to choose my punishment." 625 stated.
Kasey examined her claws. "Well, it would make things easier for me, yes."
"This is ridiculous. You haven't been able to keep anything down, so what would you throw up on me? Huh?" 625 wanted to know.
"Well, I still have my bodily fluids..."
"Eww, this conversation is disgusting!" 625 buried his head in his pillow. "You just gave me my punishment, thank you very much."
"I knew that would work..." Kasey said with a satisfied smile. "I had a feeling you were squeamish. That's one thing we don't have in common."
625 turned over. "Now look what you've done! I can't get back to sleep."
"Join the club. Neither can I."
"I'm hungry..."
"So what else is new?"
"No, I mean, like I've never been before! I hate being sick. I can't eat anything because I'll throw it back up. And then I'm left with that awful taste in my mouth. And you're no help, either!" 625 stuck a finger accusingly at Kasey. "You take away everything else that makes me comfortable! Like the couch."
"Well, no one's using it now." Kasey pointed out.
"But I don't feel like getting up." 625 whined. "I'll just stay in this very spot until the sickness is over."
Kasey cocked her head. "But wouldn't your muscles get cramped?"
"It doesn't matter, because I'm suffering already anyway." 625 replied. "WHY did you have to give this awful thing to me?"
"Well, I didn't want to repeat myself and get you another box of chocolates." Kasey joked.
"Be serious! I'm in misery here. My head feels like someone pounded it with bricks fifty times, then got hit by a helicopter's blades and ran through a coffee grinder." 625 explained.
Kasey nodded. "Well... that's one way of putting it." She started to crawl towards the galley. "I'm going to get some water. You want anything?"
"Yeah. Your head in a blender." 625 replied with a snort. "But for now, water will be fine, I guess."
"Got it!" Kasey saluted. She made her way to the galley, still crawling. By the time she made it to the sink, she stopped and just lay there, getting some rest. She felt so achy now, as if she was being punished for moving. But she only expected to rest a little while. Not fall asleep! But yet, that's what she did. She never did get that water.
The next morning, 625 had finally made it up to the couch. Now he was trying to get some sleep, as it had shunned him the night before. But just as he was about to fall to sleep, Gantu's voice boomed through the room.
"Where is she?!" he exclaimed, snapping 625 awake.
"Where's who?" 625 grumbled.
"You know who! That slack-off girlfriend of your's!"
"Who?"
"Kasey!"
"Who?"
"Nevermind..." Gantu grumbled. "The flu has made you senile."
"And who are you?! You look like some sort of morph of a biped whale." 625 remarked.
"I can't find her anywhere!" Noises of Gantu trashing the next room were heard. "Usually she's with you!"
"Well, I'm pretty sure she's not!" 625 shouted back, then looked thoughtful. "Wait. Was she that freaky creature that threatened to throw up on me?"
"..She threatened to throw up on you?!"
"...Yeah. I remember her now. The last I saw of her, she went to go get us some water. LAST NIGHT." 625 told Gantu.
Gantu came back into the room. "Well, I already checked the galley. She's not in there."
"Well, I don't know what happened to her!" 625 said in an annoyed voice. "Why are you looking for her, anyway? Another experiment on the loose?"
"Yes, and I want to get to it before the girl and the two abominations get to it first. Ever since they've added Susan to their team, they've been able to lure a lot more experiments. Why couldn't we have gotten Susan?! Instead, we get stuck with the female version of you."
"Not my problem." 625 said with folded arms. "But aren't you forgetting something, Blubber Boy? She's sick too, ya know. If you take her with you, she'll upchuck all over you. Although not like I wouldn't pay to see that."
"Yeah, that's right. She probably went to go visit Susan again. The next time I see her, I'm going to punish her for being irresponsible." Gantu headed toward the exit of the ship.
"Good luck. You will definitely need it." 625 shouted after Gantu. Then he tried to get back to sleep again, but for some reason, he couldn't. His conscience wouldn't let him. No matter how hard he tried, he found himself worrying about Kasey. What had happened to her? Why had she suddenly disappeared---and to where? But maybe Gantu had been right. Maybe she had just gone to visit Susan. But while she was sick? Well, you could never tell with Kasey. But because his conscience wouldn't have it otherwise, he decided to phone Susan to make sure.
"Hello? Who's calling?" Susan asked when she picked up the phone.
"Yeah... this is Kasey's boyfriend. Is she over there?" 625 asked.
"No... unless she's over here spying again. But I'm pretty sure she's not, since she's sick. Why? Don't you know where she is?" Susan questioned.
"No. She disappeared last night when she went to go get us some water." 625 explained.
"Well, are you sure she isn't hiding or something? Or maybe she fell asleep somewhere." Susan suggested.
"I don't think she'd be hiding for that long. And besides, Gantu totally trashed the place, so if she was anywhere here I think she'd be found by now." 625 told Susan.
"Huh." Susan sounded stumped. "It isn't like Kasey to just disappear without a trace like that... well, except for when she goes off to spy on people." Susan still sounded miffed about what had happened before. "But, like I said, she's sick. What reason would she have to go off somewhere when she's not feeling well?"
"That's what stumped me." 625 agreed.
"I think there's only one logical explanation for this kind of disappearance, 625. Someone else, not her, is responsible." Susan guessed.
"Are you hinting... that she could've been kidnapped?!" 625 exclaimed.
"You really do care about her, huh? Well, I'm only saying it's possible that that might've happened. It probably didn't. A thief coming to take a mutated creature and not anything else isn't very logical."
"Okay then, if that isn't what happened, then what else could it be?!"
"Well, uh..."
"See, you're speechless. She was kidnapped! I knew it! Now what?"
"625, wait---"
But 625 hung up the phone. He was now positive that something terrible had happened to his girlfriend---that she had been kidnapped. But what could he do? Was there anything he could do?
"Hold on! I'm here!" Susan suddenly rushed into the room. "Don't be so quick to assume the worst!"
"Speaking of quick..." 625 looked a little perplexed. "How did you get here so fast?! I just got off the phone with you!"
"I'm radioactive."
625 raised a brow. "Uh... okay."
"Anyway, I came because I don't want you to be too hasty. Kasey might not have been kidnapped." Susan told 625.
"Then what else could it be?! You still didn't answer me on that."
"Maybe... she sleepwalked." Susan suggested. "She did once before."
"That's ridiculous. Why would she sleepwalk when she's sick? She's definitely been kidnapped! And we've got to find her!" 625 exclaimed, determined.
"I can't. My date with Stitch is in fifteen minutes. And besides, how could you look for her if you feel like vomiting at the slightest motion?" Susan wanted to know.
"We'll figure out something! I just wanna'..." 625 looked at his paws. "You know... make sure she's okay."
Susan smiled. "Well, look at that. You really do have a heart. And when you talk about Kasey, you have that same look as when you talk about sandwiches." Susan looked delighted. "I really do think she'll always be well taken care of when she's with you. And you obviously make her happy. Vice versa, as well."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." 625 grumbled. "But if I take care of her so well, then why has she been kidnapped?!"
"Will you stop saying that!" Susan exclaimed. "I told you, you don't know for sure!"
"Oh, yeah? What would you do if Stitch suddenly disappeared? Huh?" 625 questioned, folding his arms.
Susan sighed. "All right, all right. You've made your point. Since when did you start playing hardball?"
"I knew you would see things my way." 625 smiled.
"Okay, but can't we take Stitch with us? This was supposed to be our date, and I don't intend to spend it with my cuz's boyfriend. Do you KNOW how jealous she gets?!" Susan asked. "I'd be lucky if I could still stand up! Not to mention you'd be lucky if you could still see daylight." She chuckled. "Trust me. Never give her a reason to be jealous."
"Okay, Stitch can come." 625 gave in. "But you'd better not kiss in front of me!"
Susan shook her head. "Fat chance of that happening. Any kissing that'll be done will most likely be done on my part and not on his."
"I thought you guys were a couple now?"
"Not officially. We're just going out to see if it feels right, see if he feels anything for me. Only if he does will we really be a couple." Susan sighed.
"So pretty much nothing has changed?" 625 looked amused.
Susan sighed again. "Let's just go look for your irresponsible girlfriend."
625 shrugged. "Works for me."
The three of them, Susan, Stitch, and 625 were standing on the sidewalk next to a store window. Susan was busy writing something in a small book, probably her diary. Stitch and 625 both looked a little impatient.
"How is this helping us find her?!" 625 demanded.
"I want to record everything in my journal. But, don't worry about it. I'm keeping an eye out for alleged shady kidnappers and Kasey." Susan explained.
"Well, good, then." 625 looked in a restaurant window. "Will you hurry it up? These restaurants are making me hungry. They have sandwiches in there!"
"Well, I apologize for the neglection of your favorite organ, but this is important." Susan continued to scribble fiercely in her journal.
625 peered into Susan's journal. "'And there we were. All of us. The three of us all alone on the sidewalk. Watching. Waiting. Thinking... where could she be... in this hopeless place we call Earth. Is all lost, or is it just an illusion... watching, waiting, thinking.' What are you doing, writing a mystery book, Sherlock? Or filling out your application to get on a greeting card?"
"No and no. I'm---" Then Susan suddenly gasped.
"What is it?"
"Is that Kasey?" Susan pointed somewhere.
625 squinted his eyes in the direction she was pointing in. Shielding his eyes from the sunlight, he saw a blurry image of a purple creature walking along the beach in the distance. "Well... it kind of looks like her."
"It KIND OF looks like her?! Don't you know your own girlfriend?!" Susan snapped.
"Well, yeah, but I never get a good look at her." 625 told Susan. "Her face is always in the way."
"Can't you be serious for once in a while even in a situation like this?! I think that's her. How many purple creatures walking along the beach do you see every day?!" Susan exclaimed.
"Counting now... one." 625 replied.
"Well, we're going over there!" Susan decided. "C'mon, Stitch!"
"Get a clue, Shorty. He just took off." 625 informed Susan.
"Huh?" Susan then noticed Stitch running off in the distance. "Stitch! Watch out for that tree! ...Ouch. That's gotta' smart."
"Well, look at it this way. If he takes it up professionally, he can become the next George of the Jungle." 625 pointed out. "Or get a flat nose. Whichever comes first."
"Hey! Going searching for your missing girlfriend was all YOUR idea! You were acting like it was the most important thing in your life a few moments ago!" Susan reminded 625. "And I thought you were sick! How come you're not nauseous?"
"I am a bit, but I'm beginning to feel well enough to stand up. No thanks to you. And we'd better go after your alleged boyfriend before he hits somethin' else. Like that phone booth over there. ...Whoops! Too late." 625 started to walk off in the direction of the beach.
Susan sighed, and followed them, Stitch in the lead, going so fast that he bumped into numerous objects, people included. One lady spilled a box of cookies and proceeded to scold Stitch, mumbling under her breath that no one has consideration for the cookie deliverers of America nowadays and that anyone who defies the powers of the cookies should be placed in court among fellow cookie lovers and sent to jail, for infringement on the rights of a cookie. Anyway, basically they got to the beach before the purple creature disappeared from view. And once they got there, Stitch pounced upon the creature, tackling it.
"Stitch! Get off of whoever-they-are, now!" Susan demanded. She sighed. "Oh great. My boyfriend is an animalistic, maniacal lunatic."
"And you just figured that out, eh?" 625 remarked.
"Nevermind! We have to find out if this creature is really---" Susan went over to the fallen creature, and when she saw it's face, she gasped, "--- Kasey! It IS her!"
"Are you sure?" 625 went over to Kasey and looked at her face. "Yep, it's her, all right. She appears to be asleep." He looked around. "So---where are the kidnappers?"
"Don't you get it, you moron?!" Susan snapped. "I can't believe she could actually fall in love with someone like you... but anyway, to clear things up for ya, there WERE NO KIDNAPPERS! She was sleepwalking. Like I said. Remember? You said it was ridiculous?"
"Oh... yeah. I vaguely remember now." 625 recalled. "So... should we wake her?"
"Are you kidding? You're never, EVER supposed to wake a sleepwalker." Susan told 625.
"Why? What will happen?"
Susan thought for a moment. "I... I don't know! Just something, okay?"
"Well, she's not walking now. So, technically, it isn't sleepwalking, right?" 625 pointed out. "Wake her!"
"I don't think we'll have to bother. She's beginning to wake up as we speak." Susan pointed to Kasey, who was beginning to stir in her sleep. Then she groaned, and slowly opened her eyes.
She blinked. "Where am I? It feels like I'm lying on sand..."
"That would be because you are." 625 pointed to the ground.
Kasey stared at the sand around her. "How... in the world... did I get here?"
"You were kidnapped." 625 said calmly. Kasey raised an eyebrow, and Susan sent 625 a Look. "Okay, okay! You sleepwalked."
"Sleepwalked? Again?" Kasey sighed. "This could be bad. What if I do something irreversible while sleepwalking?"
"Like walk off of that cliff you almost fell off of one time but were saved by the heroic act of moi?" 625 said proudly.
"625!" Kasey and Susan said in unison.
"What?!"
Susan shook her head. "Well, usually, sleepwalkers have a REASON for their sleepwalking habit. Do you eat spicy foods before going to bed? Is something worrying or bothering you?"
Kasey looked thoughtful. "I... don't think so..."
"Well! There has to be a reason! It's just hidden in your subconscious." Susan told Kasey.
"I hope my subconscious knows that." Kasey joked.
"This is no kidding matter! 625, you have to make sure that Kasey doesn't sleepwalk tonight." Susan declared.
"What do you want me to do, boil some water?" 625 asked sarcastically.
"That's for pregnant women, you dolt! Not sleepwalkers." Susan rolled her eyes. "But you made a good point. You can't do anything to stop her, can you? You'll probably be sleeping the night away. That's it! It's up to me now. I'm going to sleep over at your place and make sure Kasey doesn't sleepwalk."
"To do that, you'd have to stay up all night, wouldn't you? You'd probably fall to sleep." Kasey told Susan.
"I'll drink some coffee." Susan said simply.
"Coffee?!" Stitch exclaimed.
"Okay, Stitch. We'll get some coffee." Susan looked to Kasey and 625. "After all, this is supposed to be OUR date. And yet again, these two jinxes seem to mess it up somehow." Then she walked off with Stitch.
When it was time for bed, Kasey was yet again going to sleep on the couch, but this time Susan was going to sleep on the floor. 625 was standing in the doorway.
"Well, I guess I'll just leave you ladies to your girl talk. I'm feeling well enough to take the long, grueling trek down the hall now." 625 announced.
"That's nice." both girls said simply.
625 walked down the hall, grumbling about how no one has any sympathy anymore. Susan and Kasey laughed a little.
"You two certainly have a very... interesting relationship." Susan laughed.
"And what about your coffee date with Stitch? Go well?" Kasey questioned.
"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore." Susan shook her head, but then she smiled. "Oh, but he gave me a little peck on the cheek when it was over."
"You should try kissing someone with an overbite." Kasey snorted, remembering her and 625's less-than-glamorous first kiss.
"Oh, please. I don't ever want to imagine what it would be like to kiss a jerk like him. How do you put up with it?" Susan asked.
Kasey looked embarrassed. "Well, don't EVER tell anybody this, especially him, but... I enjoy kissing him because he's just so adorable..."
"Yeah, whatever." Susan yawned. "Hey, I'm tired. Let's go to sleep, okay? And don't sleepwalk!"
"I'll try not to..." Kasey sighed. And those were the last words they said before dropping off into slumber.
A loud, thunderous crash was heard. Then real thunder, as the peaceful sounds of pelting rain were heard. Not long after came the noise of an ambulance. And Susan had heard it all. She had woken up 625, and they were both in the living room. Kasey was missing.
"625, I... fear that Kasey sleepwalked again." Susan looked dreadfully worried.
"You mean... you fell asleep?!" 625 exclaimed. "How could you?!"
"It's a perfectly normal bodily function!" Susan shot back. "And, what really concerns me, is... I heard a crash, followed by the sound of an ambulance. What if Kasey had something to do with that crash?! She could be hurt!"
Now 625 began to look concerned as well. He started to head for the ship's exit. "We'll just have to find out, then!"
"Wait, 625! You don't know what you'll see out there." Despite this comment, Susan followed him out into the rain.
Although it was rainy, the air was muggy. As if forecasting a horrible time ahead of them. They stood there for a moment, getting drenched, then they headed for the ambulance's flashing lights in the distance. What they would find there, was unclear to them.
When they got there, they witnessed a horrible sight: a smashed, terribly beat-up car, and paramedics lifting people upon stretchers into the ambulance. But there was no sign of Kasey, yet. At least, it didn't SEEM like she had been involved in the crash...
Then the two overheard what a guy was saying to one of the paramedics. "There was this... creature in the middle of the road. I don't know what it was. It was purple, though. Sounds crazy, but it was!"
"Kasey?" 625 asked, to no one in particular.
Susan was busy peering at something behind a bush. She looked close to tears. "625, I don't know if I should show you this..."
"What? Did you find..." 625 came over to the bush and looked behind it. "...Kasey..."
Limply, Kasey was lying behind the bush, looking scarred and bruised, bleeding a little bit in some places. 625 lifted her body up, which was also dense from the rain. 625 looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't get the words out.
"I know." Susan nodded. "I know."
"Why?" 625 managed to say. Then he heard the screeching noise of tires against the road, and looked. The ambulance was taking off! "Hey, wait... what about... her?" 625 looked to Kasey, looking like he couldn't bear to say her name.
"They probably couldn't find her, 625." Susan guessed. "Or... they just didn't care." Rainwater dripped from the tip of Susan's tuft of hair, trickling onto the ground idly. She blinked, moisture forming at her eyes that was hard to tell if it was tears or just simply rainwater.
"She's breathing." 625 reported, his ear to Kasey's chest. "Her heart sounds okay, too. She's just scarred up. I think she'll be fine."
"Still... I would feel better if she received medical attention. That's my two cents." Susan said softly. "She could have internal injuries. You don't know."
"Don't you think this is hard enough for me as it is?!" 625 exclaimed. "I could lose the one I... ever truly cared about. The one that ever truly cared about me. Do you know how hard it is for me to say that?!"
"I don't see why." Susan grumbled. She sighed. "We have to do something quickly. She has to receive medical help."
"Oh, and I'm sure there's a lot of doctors on Earth that specialize in the care of illegal genetic mutations." 625 said sarcastically.
"I wish Jade were here. She'd know what to do. She could help Kasey..." Susan frowned. "We need someone that, as you put it, 'specializes in the care of illegal genetic mutations'. And since our creator is dead... what about your's?"
"Jumba?" 625 questioned. "Actually... that's not a bad idea. Maybe he CAN help Kasey. I hope." 625 stroked Kasey's fur, looking sadly down at her. Rain continued to pour, and the three of them were completely drenched by now, although they hardly noticed.
"All right, it's settled, then. Off to my house we go!" Susan stood up. "Think you can carry Kasey, or do I have to?"
"I'll do it. After all, I am her boyfriend, right?" 625 smiled weakly. He lifted Kasey up into his arms.
"Finally, you take some responsibility." Susan smiled. "Now, follow me."
"Yeah, but she's heavy." 625 followed Susan whilst complaining. "What if I drop her?"
"Aren't you supposed to have Stitch's abilities?" Susan questioned. "Shouldn't you have super strength, like him, then?"
"But I haven't been working out."
"Figures. Well, we should be almost there. Just hold on." Susan looked behind her, then noticed that 625 had stopped walking, and was staring down at Kasey again. Noticing the look on his face, she said, "Don't worry. She's going to be okay. All right?"
625 nodded. "...All right..." Then he continued to follow. But every once in a while he would look at Kasey's limp body. With a look of complete sadness that he never thought he was capable of before. First, they were just sick. Then Kasey seemed to develop a minor sleepwalking problem. And now... he was carrying her lifeless form in his arms, on the way to the Pelekai's to get her medical help. It all seemed like a bad dream. A nightmarish, awful dream that he could not seem to wake up from.
THE END
To be continued
Kasey snapped awake rather painfully when she slammed against the floor with a thud. It was dark in the room, and she coughed, then trembled, the flu still raging inside of her body. She was still in the living room, and had just fallen off the couch. Which was weird, because usually she had perfect balance while sleeping. But a lot of her senses had become clouded when she received the flu, so maybe that was why. She sighed, not even bothering to lift her weak body off of the floor. She had fallen asleep somewhere in the late afternoon prior to her sickness and had woken up late at night... maybe close to midnight or even past, she assumed.
Well, it didn't seem like she was going to return to her slumber now, even if she was sick. But there wasn't much to do, either. Not when she had an achy, feverish body. So, instead she just lay there wide awake, the room silent except for the sound of breathing. Her breathing, and 625's breathing. He was still in the room, asleep on the floor, where he had been relaxing earlier because Kasey took away the couch. She cringed as the noise of his snoring began to make her throbbing headache worse.
"I hate my life." She whispered under her breath. She lifted herself up, her body shaking with fever. She crawled along the floor until she bumped into something, or rather, someone else. Then she shouted as loud as her scratchy throat would allow, "625, stop that snoring before I throw up on ya!"
625 quickly sat up. "What? Ohh..." Groaning, he laid back down. "Why'd you make me do that for?! You made me feel a sharp pain in my stomach! That really hurt!"
"Oh, stop complaining! You would've felt a worse pain than that if you kept up that horrible racket! You were hurting my head." Kasey massaged her temples to prove her point.
"You first threatened to throw up on me, and now you're threatening bodily harm? I suppose you expect me to choose my punishment." 625 stated.
Kasey examined her claws. "Well, it would make things easier for me, yes."
"This is ridiculous. You haven't been able to keep anything down, so what would you throw up on me? Huh?" 625 wanted to know.
"Well, I still have my bodily fluids..."
"Eww, this conversation is disgusting!" 625 buried his head in his pillow. "You just gave me my punishment, thank you very much."
"I knew that would work..." Kasey said with a satisfied smile. "I had a feeling you were squeamish. That's one thing we don't have in common."
625 turned over. "Now look what you've done! I can't get back to sleep."
"Join the club. Neither can I."
"I'm hungry..."
"So what else is new?"
"No, I mean, like I've never been before! I hate being sick. I can't eat anything because I'll throw it back up. And then I'm left with that awful taste in my mouth. And you're no help, either!" 625 stuck a finger accusingly at Kasey. "You take away everything else that makes me comfortable! Like the couch."
"Well, no one's using it now." Kasey pointed out.
"But I don't feel like getting up." 625 whined. "I'll just stay in this very spot until the sickness is over."
Kasey cocked her head. "But wouldn't your muscles get cramped?"
"It doesn't matter, because I'm suffering already anyway." 625 replied. "WHY did you have to give this awful thing to me?"
"Well, I didn't want to repeat myself and get you another box of chocolates." Kasey joked.
"Be serious! I'm in misery here. My head feels like someone pounded it with bricks fifty times, then got hit by a helicopter's blades and ran through a coffee grinder." 625 explained.
Kasey nodded. "Well... that's one way of putting it." She started to crawl towards the galley. "I'm going to get some water. You want anything?"
"Yeah. Your head in a blender." 625 replied with a snort. "But for now, water will be fine, I guess."
"Got it!" Kasey saluted. She made her way to the galley, still crawling. By the time she made it to the sink, she stopped and just lay there, getting some rest. She felt so achy now, as if she was being punished for moving. But she only expected to rest a little while. Not fall asleep! But yet, that's what she did. She never did get that water.
The next morning, 625 had finally made it up to the couch. Now he was trying to get some sleep, as it had shunned him the night before. But just as he was about to fall to sleep, Gantu's voice boomed through the room.
"Where is she?!" he exclaimed, snapping 625 awake.
"Where's who?" 625 grumbled.
"You know who! That slack-off girlfriend of your's!"
"Who?"
"Kasey!"
"Who?"
"Nevermind..." Gantu grumbled. "The flu has made you senile."
"And who are you?! You look like some sort of morph of a biped whale." 625 remarked.
"I can't find her anywhere!" Noises of Gantu trashing the next room were heard. "Usually she's with you!"
"Well, I'm pretty sure she's not!" 625 shouted back, then looked thoughtful. "Wait. Was she that freaky creature that threatened to throw up on me?"
"..She threatened to throw up on you?!"
"...Yeah. I remember her now. The last I saw of her, she went to go get us some water. LAST NIGHT." 625 told Gantu.
Gantu came back into the room. "Well, I already checked the galley. She's not in there."
"Well, I don't know what happened to her!" 625 said in an annoyed voice. "Why are you looking for her, anyway? Another experiment on the loose?"
"Yes, and I want to get to it before the girl and the two abominations get to it first. Ever since they've added Susan to their team, they've been able to lure a lot more experiments. Why couldn't we have gotten Susan?! Instead, we get stuck with the female version of you."
"Not my problem." 625 said with folded arms. "But aren't you forgetting something, Blubber Boy? She's sick too, ya know. If you take her with you, she'll upchuck all over you. Although not like I wouldn't pay to see that."
"Yeah, that's right. She probably went to go visit Susan again. The next time I see her, I'm going to punish her for being irresponsible." Gantu headed toward the exit of the ship.
"Good luck. You will definitely need it." 625 shouted after Gantu. Then he tried to get back to sleep again, but for some reason, he couldn't. His conscience wouldn't let him. No matter how hard he tried, he found himself worrying about Kasey. What had happened to her? Why had she suddenly disappeared---and to where? But maybe Gantu had been right. Maybe she had just gone to visit Susan. But while she was sick? Well, you could never tell with Kasey. But because his conscience wouldn't have it otherwise, he decided to phone Susan to make sure.
"Hello? Who's calling?" Susan asked when she picked up the phone.
"Yeah... this is Kasey's boyfriend. Is she over there?" 625 asked.
"No... unless she's over here spying again. But I'm pretty sure she's not, since she's sick. Why? Don't you know where she is?" Susan questioned.
"No. She disappeared last night when she went to go get us some water." 625 explained.
"Well, are you sure she isn't hiding or something? Or maybe she fell asleep somewhere." Susan suggested.
"I don't think she'd be hiding for that long. And besides, Gantu totally trashed the place, so if she was anywhere here I think she'd be found by now." 625 told Susan.
"Huh." Susan sounded stumped. "It isn't like Kasey to just disappear without a trace like that... well, except for when she goes off to spy on people." Susan still sounded miffed about what had happened before. "But, like I said, she's sick. What reason would she have to go off somewhere when she's not feeling well?"
"That's what stumped me." 625 agreed.
"I think there's only one logical explanation for this kind of disappearance, 625. Someone else, not her, is responsible." Susan guessed.
"Are you hinting... that she could've been kidnapped?!" 625 exclaimed.
"You really do care about her, huh? Well, I'm only saying it's possible that that might've happened. It probably didn't. A thief coming to take a mutated creature and not anything else isn't very logical."
"Okay then, if that isn't what happened, then what else could it be?!"
"Well, uh..."
"See, you're speechless. She was kidnapped! I knew it! Now what?"
"625, wait---"
But 625 hung up the phone. He was now positive that something terrible had happened to his girlfriend---that she had been kidnapped. But what could he do? Was there anything he could do?
"Hold on! I'm here!" Susan suddenly rushed into the room. "Don't be so quick to assume the worst!"
"Speaking of quick..." 625 looked a little perplexed. "How did you get here so fast?! I just got off the phone with you!"
"I'm radioactive."
625 raised a brow. "Uh... okay."
"Anyway, I came because I don't want you to be too hasty. Kasey might not have been kidnapped." Susan told 625.
"Then what else could it be?! You still didn't answer me on that."
"Maybe... she sleepwalked." Susan suggested. "She did once before."
"That's ridiculous. Why would she sleepwalk when she's sick? She's definitely been kidnapped! And we've got to find her!" 625 exclaimed, determined.
"I can't. My date with Stitch is in fifteen minutes. And besides, how could you look for her if you feel like vomiting at the slightest motion?" Susan wanted to know.
"We'll figure out something! I just wanna'..." 625 looked at his paws. "You know... make sure she's okay."
Susan smiled. "Well, look at that. You really do have a heart. And when you talk about Kasey, you have that same look as when you talk about sandwiches." Susan looked delighted. "I really do think she'll always be well taken care of when she's with you. And you obviously make her happy. Vice versa, as well."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." 625 grumbled. "But if I take care of her so well, then why has she been kidnapped?!"
"Will you stop saying that!" Susan exclaimed. "I told you, you don't know for sure!"
"Oh, yeah? What would you do if Stitch suddenly disappeared? Huh?" 625 questioned, folding his arms.
Susan sighed. "All right, all right. You've made your point. Since when did you start playing hardball?"
"I knew you would see things my way." 625 smiled.
"Okay, but can't we take Stitch with us? This was supposed to be our date, and I don't intend to spend it with my cuz's boyfriend. Do you KNOW how jealous she gets?!" Susan asked. "I'd be lucky if I could still stand up! Not to mention you'd be lucky if you could still see daylight." She chuckled. "Trust me. Never give her a reason to be jealous."
"Okay, Stitch can come." 625 gave in. "But you'd better not kiss in front of me!"
Susan shook her head. "Fat chance of that happening. Any kissing that'll be done will most likely be done on my part and not on his."
"I thought you guys were a couple now?"
"Not officially. We're just going out to see if it feels right, see if he feels anything for me. Only if he does will we really be a couple." Susan sighed.
"So pretty much nothing has changed?" 625 looked amused.
Susan sighed again. "Let's just go look for your irresponsible girlfriend."
625 shrugged. "Works for me."
The three of them, Susan, Stitch, and 625 were standing on the sidewalk next to a store window. Susan was busy writing something in a small book, probably her diary. Stitch and 625 both looked a little impatient.
"How is this helping us find her?!" 625 demanded.
"I want to record everything in my journal. But, don't worry about it. I'm keeping an eye out for alleged shady kidnappers and Kasey." Susan explained.
"Well, good, then." 625 looked in a restaurant window. "Will you hurry it up? These restaurants are making me hungry. They have sandwiches in there!"
"Well, I apologize for the neglection of your favorite organ, but this is important." Susan continued to scribble fiercely in her journal.
625 peered into Susan's journal. "'And there we were. All of us. The three of us all alone on the sidewalk. Watching. Waiting. Thinking... where could she be... in this hopeless place we call Earth. Is all lost, or is it just an illusion... watching, waiting, thinking.' What are you doing, writing a mystery book, Sherlock? Or filling out your application to get on a greeting card?"
"No and no. I'm---" Then Susan suddenly gasped.
"What is it?"
"Is that Kasey?" Susan pointed somewhere.
625 squinted his eyes in the direction she was pointing in. Shielding his eyes from the sunlight, he saw a blurry image of a purple creature walking along the beach in the distance. "Well... it kind of looks like her."
"It KIND OF looks like her?! Don't you know your own girlfriend?!" Susan snapped.
"Well, yeah, but I never get a good look at her." 625 told Susan. "Her face is always in the way."
"Can't you be serious for once in a while even in a situation like this?! I think that's her. How many purple creatures walking along the beach do you see every day?!" Susan exclaimed.
"Counting now... one." 625 replied.
"Well, we're going over there!" Susan decided. "C'mon, Stitch!"
"Get a clue, Shorty. He just took off." 625 informed Susan.
"Huh?" Susan then noticed Stitch running off in the distance. "Stitch! Watch out for that tree! ...Ouch. That's gotta' smart."
"Well, look at it this way. If he takes it up professionally, he can become the next George of the Jungle." 625 pointed out. "Or get a flat nose. Whichever comes first."
"Hey! Going searching for your missing girlfriend was all YOUR idea! You were acting like it was the most important thing in your life a few moments ago!" Susan reminded 625. "And I thought you were sick! How come you're not nauseous?"
"I am a bit, but I'm beginning to feel well enough to stand up. No thanks to you. And we'd better go after your alleged boyfriend before he hits somethin' else. Like that phone booth over there. ...Whoops! Too late." 625 started to walk off in the direction of the beach.
Susan sighed, and followed them, Stitch in the lead, going so fast that he bumped into numerous objects, people included. One lady spilled a box of cookies and proceeded to scold Stitch, mumbling under her breath that no one has consideration for the cookie deliverers of America nowadays and that anyone who defies the powers of the cookies should be placed in court among fellow cookie lovers and sent to jail, for infringement on the rights of a cookie. Anyway, basically they got to the beach before the purple creature disappeared from view. And once they got there, Stitch pounced upon the creature, tackling it.
"Stitch! Get off of whoever-they-are, now!" Susan demanded. She sighed. "Oh great. My boyfriend is an animalistic, maniacal lunatic."
"And you just figured that out, eh?" 625 remarked.
"Nevermind! We have to find out if this creature is really---" Susan went over to the fallen creature, and when she saw it's face, she gasped, "--- Kasey! It IS her!"
"Are you sure?" 625 went over to Kasey and looked at her face. "Yep, it's her, all right. She appears to be asleep." He looked around. "So---where are the kidnappers?"
"Don't you get it, you moron?!" Susan snapped. "I can't believe she could actually fall in love with someone like you... but anyway, to clear things up for ya, there WERE NO KIDNAPPERS! She was sleepwalking. Like I said. Remember? You said it was ridiculous?"
"Oh... yeah. I vaguely remember now." 625 recalled. "So... should we wake her?"
"Are you kidding? You're never, EVER supposed to wake a sleepwalker." Susan told 625.
"Why? What will happen?"
Susan thought for a moment. "I... I don't know! Just something, okay?"
"Well, she's not walking now. So, technically, it isn't sleepwalking, right?" 625 pointed out. "Wake her!"
"I don't think we'll have to bother. She's beginning to wake up as we speak." Susan pointed to Kasey, who was beginning to stir in her sleep. Then she groaned, and slowly opened her eyes.
She blinked. "Where am I? It feels like I'm lying on sand..."
"That would be because you are." 625 pointed to the ground.
Kasey stared at the sand around her. "How... in the world... did I get here?"
"You were kidnapped." 625 said calmly. Kasey raised an eyebrow, and Susan sent 625 a Look. "Okay, okay! You sleepwalked."
"Sleepwalked? Again?" Kasey sighed. "This could be bad. What if I do something irreversible while sleepwalking?"
"Like walk off of that cliff you almost fell off of one time but were saved by the heroic act of moi?" 625 said proudly.
"625!" Kasey and Susan said in unison.
"What?!"
Susan shook her head. "Well, usually, sleepwalkers have a REASON for their sleepwalking habit. Do you eat spicy foods before going to bed? Is something worrying or bothering you?"
Kasey looked thoughtful. "I... don't think so..."
"Well! There has to be a reason! It's just hidden in your subconscious." Susan told Kasey.
"I hope my subconscious knows that." Kasey joked.
"This is no kidding matter! 625, you have to make sure that Kasey doesn't sleepwalk tonight." Susan declared.
"What do you want me to do, boil some water?" 625 asked sarcastically.
"That's for pregnant women, you dolt! Not sleepwalkers." Susan rolled her eyes. "But you made a good point. You can't do anything to stop her, can you? You'll probably be sleeping the night away. That's it! It's up to me now. I'm going to sleep over at your place and make sure Kasey doesn't sleepwalk."
"To do that, you'd have to stay up all night, wouldn't you? You'd probably fall to sleep." Kasey told Susan.
"I'll drink some coffee." Susan said simply.
"Coffee?!" Stitch exclaimed.
"Okay, Stitch. We'll get some coffee." Susan looked to Kasey and 625. "After all, this is supposed to be OUR date. And yet again, these two jinxes seem to mess it up somehow." Then she walked off with Stitch.
When it was time for bed, Kasey was yet again going to sleep on the couch, but this time Susan was going to sleep on the floor. 625 was standing in the doorway.
"Well, I guess I'll just leave you ladies to your girl talk. I'm feeling well enough to take the long, grueling trek down the hall now." 625 announced.
"That's nice." both girls said simply.
625 walked down the hall, grumbling about how no one has any sympathy anymore. Susan and Kasey laughed a little.
"You two certainly have a very... interesting relationship." Susan laughed.
"And what about your coffee date with Stitch? Go well?" Kasey questioned.
"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore." Susan shook her head, but then she smiled. "Oh, but he gave me a little peck on the cheek when it was over."
"You should try kissing someone with an overbite." Kasey snorted, remembering her and 625's less-than-glamorous first kiss.
"Oh, please. I don't ever want to imagine what it would be like to kiss a jerk like him. How do you put up with it?" Susan asked.
Kasey looked embarrassed. "Well, don't EVER tell anybody this, especially him, but... I enjoy kissing him because he's just so adorable..."
"Yeah, whatever." Susan yawned. "Hey, I'm tired. Let's go to sleep, okay? And don't sleepwalk!"
"I'll try not to..." Kasey sighed. And those were the last words they said before dropping off into slumber.
A loud, thunderous crash was heard. Then real thunder, as the peaceful sounds of pelting rain were heard. Not long after came the noise of an ambulance. And Susan had heard it all. She had woken up 625, and they were both in the living room. Kasey was missing.
"625, I... fear that Kasey sleepwalked again." Susan looked dreadfully worried.
"You mean... you fell asleep?!" 625 exclaimed. "How could you?!"
"It's a perfectly normal bodily function!" Susan shot back. "And, what really concerns me, is... I heard a crash, followed by the sound of an ambulance. What if Kasey had something to do with that crash?! She could be hurt!"
Now 625 began to look concerned as well. He started to head for the ship's exit. "We'll just have to find out, then!"
"Wait, 625! You don't know what you'll see out there." Despite this comment, Susan followed him out into the rain.
Although it was rainy, the air was muggy. As if forecasting a horrible time ahead of them. They stood there for a moment, getting drenched, then they headed for the ambulance's flashing lights in the distance. What they would find there, was unclear to them.
When they got there, they witnessed a horrible sight: a smashed, terribly beat-up car, and paramedics lifting people upon stretchers into the ambulance. But there was no sign of Kasey, yet. At least, it didn't SEEM like she had been involved in the crash...
Then the two overheard what a guy was saying to one of the paramedics. "There was this... creature in the middle of the road. I don't know what it was. It was purple, though. Sounds crazy, but it was!"
"Kasey?" 625 asked, to no one in particular.
Susan was busy peering at something behind a bush. She looked close to tears. "625, I don't know if I should show you this..."
"What? Did you find..." 625 came over to the bush and looked behind it. "...Kasey..."
Limply, Kasey was lying behind the bush, looking scarred and bruised, bleeding a little bit in some places. 625 lifted her body up, which was also dense from the rain. 625 looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't get the words out.
"I know." Susan nodded. "I know."
"Why?" 625 managed to say. Then he heard the screeching noise of tires against the road, and looked. The ambulance was taking off! "Hey, wait... what about... her?" 625 looked to Kasey, looking like he couldn't bear to say her name.
"They probably couldn't find her, 625." Susan guessed. "Or... they just didn't care." Rainwater dripped from the tip of Susan's tuft of hair, trickling onto the ground idly. She blinked, moisture forming at her eyes that was hard to tell if it was tears or just simply rainwater.
"She's breathing." 625 reported, his ear to Kasey's chest. "Her heart sounds okay, too. She's just scarred up. I think she'll be fine."
"Still... I would feel better if she received medical attention. That's my two cents." Susan said softly. "She could have internal injuries. You don't know."
"Don't you think this is hard enough for me as it is?!" 625 exclaimed. "I could lose the one I... ever truly cared about. The one that ever truly cared about me. Do you know how hard it is for me to say that?!"
"I don't see why." Susan grumbled. She sighed. "We have to do something quickly. She has to receive medical help."
"Oh, and I'm sure there's a lot of doctors on Earth that specialize in the care of illegal genetic mutations." 625 said sarcastically.
"I wish Jade were here. She'd know what to do. She could help Kasey..." Susan frowned. "We need someone that, as you put it, 'specializes in the care of illegal genetic mutations'. And since our creator is dead... what about your's?"
"Jumba?" 625 questioned. "Actually... that's not a bad idea. Maybe he CAN help Kasey. I hope." 625 stroked Kasey's fur, looking sadly down at her. Rain continued to pour, and the three of them were completely drenched by now, although they hardly noticed.
"All right, it's settled, then. Off to my house we go!" Susan stood up. "Think you can carry Kasey, or do I have to?"
"I'll do it. After all, I am her boyfriend, right?" 625 smiled weakly. He lifted Kasey up into his arms.
"Finally, you take some responsibility." Susan smiled. "Now, follow me."
"Yeah, but she's heavy." 625 followed Susan whilst complaining. "What if I drop her?"
"Aren't you supposed to have Stitch's abilities?" Susan questioned. "Shouldn't you have super strength, like him, then?"
"But I haven't been working out."
"Figures. Well, we should be almost there. Just hold on." Susan looked behind her, then noticed that 625 had stopped walking, and was staring down at Kasey again. Noticing the look on his face, she said, "Don't worry. She's going to be okay. All right?"
625 nodded. "...All right..." Then he continued to follow. But every once in a while he would look at Kasey's limp body. With a look of complete sadness that he never thought he was capable of before. First, they were just sick. Then Kasey seemed to develop a minor sleepwalking problem. And now... he was carrying her lifeless form in his arms, on the way to the Pelekai's to get her medical help. It all seemed like a bad dream. A nightmarish, awful dream that he could not seem to wake up from.
THE END
To be continued