Chapter 8: Tempest
He heard a voice, softly at first, deadened by his morning stupor. His ears tingled between the pillows and bed sheets, the sunlight just pouring onto the floor, billowing along the carpet like an effervescent cloud of golden light.
The sound was pleasant. The sound was sad though, and it was this that woke Dib as morning came.
He wasn't sure how long he had been aware of it. It seemed to him that he had been listening to it for a long time. At first it had seemed far away, just a vague undercurrent running in the background of his mind, but slowly, as he had regained his senses, it had become clearer. And the more he heard the more closely he listened. It was not just a sound, it was a voice. Yes, it was the voice of someone singing, softly, as if to no one in particular. But it was not a voice like any he had ever known. There was some other quality to it. Although he could not understand any of the words, he somehow knew that it was more than just a song. There was something incredibly soothing about it. It seemed almost alien, the long drawn out syllables climbing higher and higher. Like a drink of water given to a man dying of thirst, the song seemed to suffuse him, to fill him with rejuvenating energy.
There was something intoxicating about it, and beautiful.
Dib opened his eyes, his mind stirring now but his body refusing to follow suite; his legs were sore as all hell. He turned his head towards the source of the singing, and found Nel, back turned to him, staring out of his lonely bedroom window, the light spilling around her like an aura.
Naked still, but not shivering, Dib was content to just watch and listen as she sang to herself. Though he could discern no words from her sweet melody, it made no difference; the sound of her voice was as pacifying as the ocean lapping around feet that had been standing on sun-scorched sand. And though he could not clearly see her face (only the faintest reflection from the window's glass), Dib could imagine her peaceful expression as she serenaded to the morning's dew.
Dib could not think of another moment in which he had been this happy, this ~whole~. He fought the urge to call out her name, disturb her, in fear that she would stop singing. She stood straight as a board, shoulder's square, her lissom body as pale as it was the night before; his hands shook, yearning to touch her, glide his hands along her skin, and feel every inch of her.
~Am I a pervert?~ quietly as a stalking panther, he reached for his glasses, only to realize that they were on the bed sheets, still intact, an amazing phenomenon considering the events that had transpired the night before. Placing then onto his face, Dib finally decided that there were no dirty, impure thoughts in his mind, in his actions. He was not acting solely on lust of infatuation, but rather on something else, something he couldn't quite place and define. The feelings he held for Nel were clean, rare and reserved, saved only for her. He had no desire to ravage her for the simple, disgusting pleasure it brought upon him, but rather wanted to love her with all the passion he thought never existed in him.
He sighed, louder then he had expected, and Nel immediately stopped. She spun around quickly, as if she had forgotten about her special audience, her brown eyes sparkling like jewels, their color deeper then all the voices of a rose. Her hair was a tussled forest of brown and golden strands, cheeks still holding a healthy flush. Dib was almost breathless by the sight of her. He had never seen anything more beautiful. Not even the dull, red rents lashed across her body could detract from this undeniable truth.
Neither one of them uttered a sound now, the ringing of Nel's voice having left Dib's ears, her lips shut tightly. A shiver fell over them both.
"Good morning.." she finally spoke, broke the silence. Her eyes slowly batted twice as she stroked a hand through her hair. Dib furtively wished it were his hand raking along her flaxen tresses as he rose out of the bed, the blood and energy returning to his limbs.
"Likewise!" he exclaimed in return. She smiled, one that warmed him like no piece of fabric or flame could, "How did you sleep?"
"Better then ever before," Nel nodded, striding up to him, wrapping her lithe arms about his frail form, enclosing him like a ribbon, as she nuzzled her head into his shoulder, causing Dib to sigh once again.
"Nel, I never knew you could sing like that.it was.amazing." Dib said in whispered tones, still shocked by her striking musical talent. He closed his eyes as he kissed her forehead lightly, as he felt her heart beating against him. "Like nothing I've ever heard.."
Her back became rigid once more as the words escaped Dib's mouth, her arms slackening their grip. She pushed away, a hand covering over her mouth, eyebrows strained; Dib started to panic, assuming that he had said all the wrong words. Had he been insensitive?
"Y-you heard me sing?" she cried out, her feet carrying her backwards a couple steps, speaking through loose fingers.
"I did..but I didn't mean to offend you...I'm sorry......" Dib did not front the timid girl, the flesh on her face becoming wan and pasty.
"It's not that...it's just that..." she fumbled over her own phrases, unable to connect her thoughts. "I don't think you should listen to my singing..ever..."
Her seriousness was somewhat unsettling, and Dib was trying his hardest not to rouse up any more bouts of distress. He grabbed a mislaid sheet from the floor and slowly approached Nel, her shoulders slumped with anxiousness. Her face looked so forlorn it hurt. What was so harmful about having such a melodious, perfect voice? Dib couldn't sort the riddle out; this was like putting together a puzzle made with all white pieces. He slung the sheet over her, so that only her small, shy face was exposed, peering out nervously.
"You shouldn't be bashful about singing with a voice like yours, Nel.." he assured, holding her face in his hands, kissing her on the lips tenderly and waited for her to reciprocate his affection. For a second, she remained in deadlock, eyes still open, breaths short and constricted by a tightening in her chest. The air around them grew stagnant.
Dib withdrew himself, noticing her apprehension, and immediately Nel rushed forwards, embracing him tightly as if he were leaving this life, and leaving her as well. Now Dib was the one with wide eyes, shocked by her sudden gale of ardor. But the invitation would not be left unopened, and he soon partook in the exchange of affections, his needy hands finally given the permission to caress her hair and shoulders, and he let his lips move down to kiss her neck gently. He could feel Nel shudder, and it only urged him forwards, feeding off of her reactions, the little whimpers she made when he let a hand travel down her spine to the small of her back, or the hushed moans that would expel if his fingers lingered closely to her chest.
"Nel..I love you..." he spoke with urgency, knowing that he would never proceed any further if she would not allow, hoping that her response would come without hesitation.
"I love you too, Dib...so much...so very much." Dib thrilled at her quick reply, as her arms moved like feathers along his backside, her little touches like kisses from a sparrow's wing.
"Will you sing for me? I want to hear your voice." moving both of them to the bed once more, Dib lay on the soft mattress, placing Nel to his left side, stroking her cheek with the back of his right hand. This time however, at the mentioning of her singing, Nel did not withdraw and hid within herself. She sat on the edge of the bed, holding on of Dib hands in her own. Dib carefully eyed her curving back, how graceful she always seemed; never knowing what was on her mind that made him love her so. He was still learning why he loved her; they had so much ahead of them.
Before he could even prepare himself, ready his ears for her harmonious, but yet almost melancholy, voice, Nel opened her mouth, and the same, luxurious sound escaped from deep within her. Supported by some unknown strength, she sang like a mournful dove, notes sliding effortlessly from one to the next. The tune escalated up higher, but never sounding strained or nasal, still full and sorrowful. Dib felt a stinging in his eyes and realized that he had begun to cry, as this angel of music sang on, expelling forth this hymn without earthly words. He wiped them away, only to have fresh tears replace those removed, until he had a continuous flow of water flowing from his brown eyes, dripping onto the mattress.
Suddenly, Dib began to hear something new arise from within her voice. Very latent were new notes, coalescing with those already being sung, as if there were more people behind her, forming a harmony off of her song. At first he thought it might be the effects of drowsiness, but dismissed this notion knowing that he was indeed awake. Straining his ears, the curiosity in Dib's mind grew to blatant wonder as these undertones become stronger, deviating from Nel's singing, until they were actually forming their own, independent lines of music. Shocked by this spectacle, Dib realized that this was all coming from Nel herself; there were no other songstresses, no other sources of sound around them.
~I feel so light...~ pressing a hand against her chest, heart beating rather slowly despite his bewilderment, Dib could sense an odd fuzziness begin to fabricate in the back of his head, slowly moving forward, enveloping his conscious mind as he labored to concentrate.
But something was taking him quickly, and Dib wasn't sure what, as Nel continued to sing her multi-phonic refrain. He was being swamped by this almost comforting stillness, his mouth becoming slack, hands unable to clench. The bed seemed to sink underneath him. A cold feeling pressed against his skin. Nel nonchalantly glanced over her shoulder, softly singing, at Dib, just as his eyes began to close, lips turning a ghastly shade of grey.
"Dib?!" Nel shrieked out in five different voices, quickly latching her hands onto his shoulders, shaking him violently, but his face remained still, almost peaceful as sleep latched onto his heart and mind. Slapping him rather harshly, Nel felt like beating herself instead....she knew this would happen..Mother had warned her about her ugly, horrific voice, told her never to share it, no one would want to hear it anyway..why hadn't she listened?!
"Please don't go to sleep, you can't!!!" heart racing, her own eyes now forming tears of their own, Nel dashed for the door, go searching for someone to help them, forgetting that she was still unclothed, as was Dib; she had to find someone, before it was too late! "Don't give in..I'm so sorry.."
But there was something blocking the doorway as she tried to leave, almost causing her to tumble backwards onto the rough, blue carpet. She gasped as she leaned her head back to gaze at the tower-like figure before her, a wall of white blockading her advance.
The man looked down on her through a pair of goggles, face masked by the stiff collar of his lab coat, gazing at her like a hawk surveying its prey.
"Nel....I never expected this..."
Leaves..there were leaves on him. He couldn't see them; all was black around him, like swimming in a vat of black paint. But he felt them, little flat objects shuffling about him, touching his skin lightly. Once in a while, a leaf's stem would prick him roughly, and Dib could feel a thorn enter into his skin.
It felt too real..why was he lying in a bed of leaves..why couldn't he see anything..
Another prick and Dib could latently sense a stream of something warm and syrupy dribbling down his hands, slipping between his open fingers; he hadn't the strength to close them, and definitely lacked the vigor to struggle and scream, though pain tore him through and through.
As time went on, slowly, unbearably, Dib could see shapes forming around him like shadows coming out at him from all directions. They were hovering and always moving, quickly, muttering words in an ancient tongue, or perhaps just whispering inaudibly; he couldn't tell, his mind was in disarray. But soon the shadows became ghosts, white in their spectral clothing, touching him softly; silent as they picked him up, moved them around their wraithlike world, which was all smoke and vapors to the nearly unconscious boy. He barely felt the pillows underneath his head, or the mask being placed over his nose and mouth, feeding him fresh, clean air.
And soon those ghosts became, over an immeasurable amount of time, secular beings, draped in lab coats. They were all alike, their faces covered as if they were ashamed, or extremely shy, something Dib highly doubted, as bashful individuals don't usually steal you from your own room and take you to places you know not of. As one of the mysterious hands came down to press a hand against his cold, pale forehead, Dib was surprised to find himself jerking away, as if there was still some verve left in him.
"Where...where have y-you..." his words slurring like those of an eighty- year-old man, Dib tried to unclose his eyes, but found it to be a fruitless endeavor. His body resisted every command he gave it, as the hospital bed he was stretched across was moved along a lengthy, boring corridor. From being his eyelids, Dib felt and sensed the presence of many persons, all of them silent. "..taken me...Nel.."
"He's been saying her name all this time, Lehman.." an urgent voice finally spoke out amongst the nothingness, and a murmur followed soon after. Dib recognized none of the voices, increasing his nervousness.
"Where has she been placed?" another person said, although Dib could not pinpoint the location of the speaker; the sounds seemed to be coming at him from all directions. "In the Rose Room again?"
"We're not sure, Membrane should be looking after her though..."
"Isn't this Membrane's son?"
"Yes, I'm afraid..we've discussed this with him already..there will be serious repercussions."
They sounded afraid, worried to Dib's ears. He heard them speaking about his father, but what would he be doing here? He knew about his father's work, almost everything, but there had been no connection between Nel and his occupation, no mention of her name before now..or had there been?
~~~Was her name..Nel?~~~
Instantly his eyes flashed open, and the world around him snapped into the spotlight. The scientists standing around his bed jumped back suddenly, many of them unable to catch themselves from cursing.
"Dad?" Dib's voice was surprisingly steady now, not a quaver in sight, "Where is he? Where am I?"
"Don't panic...you must remain calm..everything is going to be alright..." a nearby figure said, as he scribbled furiously onto a clear, plastic clipboard. Dib felt sweat flooding his pores, and as he tried to move, realized that there were several medicinal apparatuses attached to his body.
"Where have I been taken?! Tell me!" mouth dry with fright, the raven- haired boy twitched his fingers to test their sensitivity, and found that he was regaining control over his appendages.
"We can't tell you that...not yet..your father has asked that you speak with him first-you must understand."
"Understand? All I understand is that I'm somewhere where I'm not supposed to be, and you assholes need to speak up!" Dib struggled to restrain his frustration and panic.
But the scientist would not cooperate, and Dib was wheeled away into a white-washed room that reeked heavily of medicine and detergent. The smell bit his nostrils like the fangs of a dog, and Dib now wished that he were back in that bed of leaves, barely awake, all so that he might escape this confusion. The two lab technicians that had veered him into the room soon left his bedside, closing the door behind them. Dib waited for any other noises to emerge. He could hear a small clock ticking across the room and the dripping of a leaking faucet, but no humanly sounds only his own breath and beating heart.
"Dib."
Dib snapped his head towards his right, left, down towards his feet, but saw no one. With his body bound in a myriad of wires, so was his vision restricted.
"Dad, is that you?" his voice cracking with weariness, Dib twisted his neck to the limits, striving to see the face of the person calling his name. "Where are you...I can't see you..."
"Dib, what I'm going to tell you may be too much for you, but I must ask you to be patient..." his hidden father spoke from behind Dib's ears, just out of sight.
"I've been fighting an alien for more then 2 years, been launched into outer space, and had my skool infested by a giant louse..nothing you say is going to surprise me, I assure you," Dib said dryly, wishing his father would just get to the point.
"Son, try not to act so incredibly idiotic here.." his father rebutted quickly, and Dib held his tongue, despite himself. "Nel..Nel isn't what you think she is."
"What would you know about her? How do you know her?" angry that he was being left in the dark, tired and fed up with his father's promiscuous attitude, Dib tried to lift himself so that he could look his father in the goggles, but found his head smashing back into the pillows.
"She.." Professor Membrane paused, as if recollecting his thoughts, "She was born here, about three years ago."
"B-born.."
"Yes, Son, born. Created by science, the byproduct of an experiment."
Dib's mind was clouded with emptiness, scrambled thoughts tightly packed together in his brain. His father had been right all along: nothing could have prepared him for this, it was too much for him.
"I had a hand in this experiment..I was the one who suggested she attend your skool..I was the one who allowed her to leave these labs.." his father spoke rapidly, as if he had been wanting to say these words for the longest time. "The walls in this building were the only ones she knew before then, these floors the only ones she had walked on. The world is a playground to her that had been locked behind steel doors, and I thought that by giving her access to that world, it would better her..I regret all my actions, now more then ever..."
"Why?" said Dib, still incredulous, but now able to speak once more, "If you knew this place was harming her, why would you want her to stay here?"
"Can't you see the danger in it?!" his father's voice rose with stress, as if there was no question to his proclamation, as if Dib's inquiry was a waste of time, "She may have the body of a fourteen-year-old, but her mind is that of a toddler! The synapses between her brain cells aren't as stable as ours are..well, at least mine. Too much information or emotional shock will send her into a mental relapse faster then the speed of light! To be around humans was too much for her...to be around ~you~ was too much for her.."
"Nel was happy around me! That girl is no plaything, Dad, can't you see? You're too busy playing Frankenstein to see the danger in that! Keeping her here is going to kill her!" Dib declared forcefully, trying to lift his hands, turn over onto his side at least. But no sooner had he begun to strain his body did his father snap into view, leaning over the bed like a beast about to attack.
"Dib, you can't treat her like a human!! She is our experiment!"
"But she ~is~ a human! She has every right that you do to enjoy life! Stop treating her like a play thing just because she was born in a test tube! She's not your doll!!!" Dib ground his teeth together, eyes wild with fury, bed springs squeaking underneath his moving body, yearning to launch himself at his father.
"If only you could understand the depth of our situation, Dib, then you would not feel like so." his father's voice softened dramatically, as if Dib had shot the impudence and nerve out of his mentality. "I must ask you to never speak with Nel, again."
"You can't do that!" Dib rebutted immediately, almost instantaneously, "If you do that, you'll just be hurting her even more!"
"I'm sorry." removing himself from Dib's stretcher, Professor Membrane lumbered heavily towards the door, turning his back on his son without another word.
The clicking of the door jam locking in place had never seemed so loud before, and Dib, face red with resentment and desperation, could only listen to the sink dripping and the alarm clock ticking in the background.
The silence had never been so unnerving.
He heard a voice, softly at first, deadened by his morning stupor. His ears tingled between the pillows and bed sheets, the sunlight just pouring onto the floor, billowing along the carpet like an effervescent cloud of golden light.
The sound was pleasant. The sound was sad though, and it was this that woke Dib as morning came.
He wasn't sure how long he had been aware of it. It seemed to him that he had been listening to it for a long time. At first it had seemed far away, just a vague undercurrent running in the background of his mind, but slowly, as he had regained his senses, it had become clearer. And the more he heard the more closely he listened. It was not just a sound, it was a voice. Yes, it was the voice of someone singing, softly, as if to no one in particular. But it was not a voice like any he had ever known. There was some other quality to it. Although he could not understand any of the words, he somehow knew that it was more than just a song. There was something incredibly soothing about it. It seemed almost alien, the long drawn out syllables climbing higher and higher. Like a drink of water given to a man dying of thirst, the song seemed to suffuse him, to fill him with rejuvenating energy.
There was something intoxicating about it, and beautiful.
Dib opened his eyes, his mind stirring now but his body refusing to follow suite; his legs were sore as all hell. He turned his head towards the source of the singing, and found Nel, back turned to him, staring out of his lonely bedroom window, the light spilling around her like an aura.
Naked still, but not shivering, Dib was content to just watch and listen as she sang to herself. Though he could discern no words from her sweet melody, it made no difference; the sound of her voice was as pacifying as the ocean lapping around feet that had been standing on sun-scorched sand. And though he could not clearly see her face (only the faintest reflection from the window's glass), Dib could imagine her peaceful expression as she serenaded to the morning's dew.
Dib could not think of another moment in which he had been this happy, this ~whole~. He fought the urge to call out her name, disturb her, in fear that she would stop singing. She stood straight as a board, shoulder's square, her lissom body as pale as it was the night before; his hands shook, yearning to touch her, glide his hands along her skin, and feel every inch of her.
~Am I a pervert?~ quietly as a stalking panther, he reached for his glasses, only to realize that they were on the bed sheets, still intact, an amazing phenomenon considering the events that had transpired the night before. Placing then onto his face, Dib finally decided that there were no dirty, impure thoughts in his mind, in his actions. He was not acting solely on lust of infatuation, but rather on something else, something he couldn't quite place and define. The feelings he held for Nel were clean, rare and reserved, saved only for her. He had no desire to ravage her for the simple, disgusting pleasure it brought upon him, but rather wanted to love her with all the passion he thought never existed in him.
He sighed, louder then he had expected, and Nel immediately stopped. She spun around quickly, as if she had forgotten about her special audience, her brown eyes sparkling like jewels, their color deeper then all the voices of a rose. Her hair was a tussled forest of brown and golden strands, cheeks still holding a healthy flush. Dib was almost breathless by the sight of her. He had never seen anything more beautiful. Not even the dull, red rents lashed across her body could detract from this undeniable truth.
Neither one of them uttered a sound now, the ringing of Nel's voice having left Dib's ears, her lips shut tightly. A shiver fell over them both.
"Good morning.." she finally spoke, broke the silence. Her eyes slowly batted twice as she stroked a hand through her hair. Dib furtively wished it were his hand raking along her flaxen tresses as he rose out of the bed, the blood and energy returning to his limbs.
"Likewise!" he exclaimed in return. She smiled, one that warmed him like no piece of fabric or flame could, "How did you sleep?"
"Better then ever before," Nel nodded, striding up to him, wrapping her lithe arms about his frail form, enclosing him like a ribbon, as she nuzzled her head into his shoulder, causing Dib to sigh once again.
"Nel, I never knew you could sing like that.it was.amazing." Dib said in whispered tones, still shocked by her striking musical talent. He closed his eyes as he kissed her forehead lightly, as he felt her heart beating against him. "Like nothing I've ever heard.."
Her back became rigid once more as the words escaped Dib's mouth, her arms slackening their grip. She pushed away, a hand covering over her mouth, eyebrows strained; Dib started to panic, assuming that he had said all the wrong words. Had he been insensitive?
"Y-you heard me sing?" she cried out, her feet carrying her backwards a couple steps, speaking through loose fingers.
"I did..but I didn't mean to offend you...I'm sorry......" Dib did not front the timid girl, the flesh on her face becoming wan and pasty.
"It's not that...it's just that..." she fumbled over her own phrases, unable to connect her thoughts. "I don't think you should listen to my singing..ever..."
Her seriousness was somewhat unsettling, and Dib was trying his hardest not to rouse up any more bouts of distress. He grabbed a mislaid sheet from the floor and slowly approached Nel, her shoulders slumped with anxiousness. Her face looked so forlorn it hurt. What was so harmful about having such a melodious, perfect voice? Dib couldn't sort the riddle out; this was like putting together a puzzle made with all white pieces. He slung the sheet over her, so that only her small, shy face was exposed, peering out nervously.
"You shouldn't be bashful about singing with a voice like yours, Nel.." he assured, holding her face in his hands, kissing her on the lips tenderly and waited for her to reciprocate his affection. For a second, she remained in deadlock, eyes still open, breaths short and constricted by a tightening in her chest. The air around them grew stagnant.
Dib withdrew himself, noticing her apprehension, and immediately Nel rushed forwards, embracing him tightly as if he were leaving this life, and leaving her as well. Now Dib was the one with wide eyes, shocked by her sudden gale of ardor. But the invitation would not be left unopened, and he soon partook in the exchange of affections, his needy hands finally given the permission to caress her hair and shoulders, and he let his lips move down to kiss her neck gently. He could feel Nel shudder, and it only urged him forwards, feeding off of her reactions, the little whimpers she made when he let a hand travel down her spine to the small of her back, or the hushed moans that would expel if his fingers lingered closely to her chest.
"Nel..I love you..." he spoke with urgency, knowing that he would never proceed any further if she would not allow, hoping that her response would come without hesitation.
"I love you too, Dib...so much...so very much." Dib thrilled at her quick reply, as her arms moved like feathers along his backside, her little touches like kisses from a sparrow's wing.
"Will you sing for me? I want to hear your voice." moving both of them to the bed once more, Dib lay on the soft mattress, placing Nel to his left side, stroking her cheek with the back of his right hand. This time however, at the mentioning of her singing, Nel did not withdraw and hid within herself. She sat on the edge of the bed, holding on of Dib hands in her own. Dib carefully eyed her curving back, how graceful she always seemed; never knowing what was on her mind that made him love her so. He was still learning why he loved her; they had so much ahead of them.
Before he could even prepare himself, ready his ears for her harmonious, but yet almost melancholy, voice, Nel opened her mouth, and the same, luxurious sound escaped from deep within her. Supported by some unknown strength, she sang like a mournful dove, notes sliding effortlessly from one to the next. The tune escalated up higher, but never sounding strained or nasal, still full and sorrowful. Dib felt a stinging in his eyes and realized that he had begun to cry, as this angel of music sang on, expelling forth this hymn without earthly words. He wiped them away, only to have fresh tears replace those removed, until he had a continuous flow of water flowing from his brown eyes, dripping onto the mattress.
Suddenly, Dib began to hear something new arise from within her voice. Very latent were new notes, coalescing with those already being sung, as if there were more people behind her, forming a harmony off of her song. At first he thought it might be the effects of drowsiness, but dismissed this notion knowing that he was indeed awake. Straining his ears, the curiosity in Dib's mind grew to blatant wonder as these undertones become stronger, deviating from Nel's singing, until they were actually forming their own, independent lines of music. Shocked by this spectacle, Dib realized that this was all coming from Nel herself; there were no other songstresses, no other sources of sound around them.
~I feel so light...~ pressing a hand against her chest, heart beating rather slowly despite his bewilderment, Dib could sense an odd fuzziness begin to fabricate in the back of his head, slowly moving forward, enveloping his conscious mind as he labored to concentrate.
But something was taking him quickly, and Dib wasn't sure what, as Nel continued to sing her multi-phonic refrain. He was being swamped by this almost comforting stillness, his mouth becoming slack, hands unable to clench. The bed seemed to sink underneath him. A cold feeling pressed against his skin. Nel nonchalantly glanced over her shoulder, softly singing, at Dib, just as his eyes began to close, lips turning a ghastly shade of grey.
"Dib?!" Nel shrieked out in five different voices, quickly latching her hands onto his shoulders, shaking him violently, but his face remained still, almost peaceful as sleep latched onto his heart and mind. Slapping him rather harshly, Nel felt like beating herself instead....she knew this would happen..Mother had warned her about her ugly, horrific voice, told her never to share it, no one would want to hear it anyway..why hadn't she listened?!
"Please don't go to sleep, you can't!!!" heart racing, her own eyes now forming tears of their own, Nel dashed for the door, go searching for someone to help them, forgetting that she was still unclothed, as was Dib; she had to find someone, before it was too late! "Don't give in..I'm so sorry.."
But there was something blocking the doorway as she tried to leave, almost causing her to tumble backwards onto the rough, blue carpet. She gasped as she leaned her head back to gaze at the tower-like figure before her, a wall of white blockading her advance.
The man looked down on her through a pair of goggles, face masked by the stiff collar of his lab coat, gazing at her like a hawk surveying its prey.
"Nel....I never expected this..."
Leaves..there were leaves on him. He couldn't see them; all was black around him, like swimming in a vat of black paint. But he felt them, little flat objects shuffling about him, touching his skin lightly. Once in a while, a leaf's stem would prick him roughly, and Dib could feel a thorn enter into his skin.
It felt too real..why was he lying in a bed of leaves..why couldn't he see anything..
Another prick and Dib could latently sense a stream of something warm and syrupy dribbling down his hands, slipping between his open fingers; he hadn't the strength to close them, and definitely lacked the vigor to struggle and scream, though pain tore him through and through.
As time went on, slowly, unbearably, Dib could see shapes forming around him like shadows coming out at him from all directions. They were hovering and always moving, quickly, muttering words in an ancient tongue, or perhaps just whispering inaudibly; he couldn't tell, his mind was in disarray. But soon the shadows became ghosts, white in their spectral clothing, touching him softly; silent as they picked him up, moved them around their wraithlike world, which was all smoke and vapors to the nearly unconscious boy. He barely felt the pillows underneath his head, or the mask being placed over his nose and mouth, feeding him fresh, clean air.
And soon those ghosts became, over an immeasurable amount of time, secular beings, draped in lab coats. They were all alike, their faces covered as if they were ashamed, or extremely shy, something Dib highly doubted, as bashful individuals don't usually steal you from your own room and take you to places you know not of. As one of the mysterious hands came down to press a hand against his cold, pale forehead, Dib was surprised to find himself jerking away, as if there was still some verve left in him.
"Where...where have y-you..." his words slurring like those of an eighty- year-old man, Dib tried to unclose his eyes, but found it to be a fruitless endeavor. His body resisted every command he gave it, as the hospital bed he was stretched across was moved along a lengthy, boring corridor. From being his eyelids, Dib felt and sensed the presence of many persons, all of them silent. "..taken me...Nel.."
"He's been saying her name all this time, Lehman.." an urgent voice finally spoke out amongst the nothingness, and a murmur followed soon after. Dib recognized none of the voices, increasing his nervousness.
"Where has she been placed?" another person said, although Dib could not pinpoint the location of the speaker; the sounds seemed to be coming at him from all directions. "In the Rose Room again?"
"We're not sure, Membrane should be looking after her though..."
"Isn't this Membrane's son?"
"Yes, I'm afraid..we've discussed this with him already..there will be serious repercussions."
They sounded afraid, worried to Dib's ears. He heard them speaking about his father, but what would he be doing here? He knew about his father's work, almost everything, but there had been no connection between Nel and his occupation, no mention of her name before now..or had there been?
~~~Was her name..Nel?~~~
Instantly his eyes flashed open, and the world around him snapped into the spotlight. The scientists standing around his bed jumped back suddenly, many of them unable to catch themselves from cursing.
"Dad?" Dib's voice was surprisingly steady now, not a quaver in sight, "Where is he? Where am I?"
"Don't panic...you must remain calm..everything is going to be alright..." a nearby figure said, as he scribbled furiously onto a clear, plastic clipboard. Dib felt sweat flooding his pores, and as he tried to move, realized that there were several medicinal apparatuses attached to his body.
"Where have I been taken?! Tell me!" mouth dry with fright, the raven- haired boy twitched his fingers to test their sensitivity, and found that he was regaining control over his appendages.
"We can't tell you that...not yet..your father has asked that you speak with him first-you must understand."
"Understand? All I understand is that I'm somewhere where I'm not supposed to be, and you assholes need to speak up!" Dib struggled to restrain his frustration and panic.
But the scientist would not cooperate, and Dib was wheeled away into a white-washed room that reeked heavily of medicine and detergent. The smell bit his nostrils like the fangs of a dog, and Dib now wished that he were back in that bed of leaves, barely awake, all so that he might escape this confusion. The two lab technicians that had veered him into the room soon left his bedside, closing the door behind them. Dib waited for any other noises to emerge. He could hear a small clock ticking across the room and the dripping of a leaking faucet, but no humanly sounds only his own breath and beating heart.
"Dib."
Dib snapped his head towards his right, left, down towards his feet, but saw no one. With his body bound in a myriad of wires, so was his vision restricted.
"Dad, is that you?" his voice cracking with weariness, Dib twisted his neck to the limits, striving to see the face of the person calling his name. "Where are you...I can't see you..."
"Dib, what I'm going to tell you may be too much for you, but I must ask you to be patient..." his hidden father spoke from behind Dib's ears, just out of sight.
"I've been fighting an alien for more then 2 years, been launched into outer space, and had my skool infested by a giant louse..nothing you say is going to surprise me, I assure you," Dib said dryly, wishing his father would just get to the point.
"Son, try not to act so incredibly idiotic here.." his father rebutted quickly, and Dib held his tongue, despite himself. "Nel..Nel isn't what you think she is."
"What would you know about her? How do you know her?" angry that he was being left in the dark, tired and fed up with his father's promiscuous attitude, Dib tried to lift himself so that he could look his father in the goggles, but found his head smashing back into the pillows.
"She.." Professor Membrane paused, as if recollecting his thoughts, "She was born here, about three years ago."
"B-born.."
"Yes, Son, born. Created by science, the byproduct of an experiment."
Dib's mind was clouded with emptiness, scrambled thoughts tightly packed together in his brain. His father had been right all along: nothing could have prepared him for this, it was too much for him.
"I had a hand in this experiment..I was the one who suggested she attend your skool..I was the one who allowed her to leave these labs.." his father spoke rapidly, as if he had been wanting to say these words for the longest time. "The walls in this building were the only ones she knew before then, these floors the only ones she had walked on. The world is a playground to her that had been locked behind steel doors, and I thought that by giving her access to that world, it would better her..I regret all my actions, now more then ever..."
"Why?" said Dib, still incredulous, but now able to speak once more, "If you knew this place was harming her, why would you want her to stay here?"
"Can't you see the danger in it?!" his father's voice rose with stress, as if there was no question to his proclamation, as if Dib's inquiry was a waste of time, "She may have the body of a fourteen-year-old, but her mind is that of a toddler! The synapses between her brain cells aren't as stable as ours are..well, at least mine. Too much information or emotional shock will send her into a mental relapse faster then the speed of light! To be around humans was too much for her...to be around ~you~ was too much for her.."
"Nel was happy around me! That girl is no plaything, Dad, can't you see? You're too busy playing Frankenstein to see the danger in that! Keeping her here is going to kill her!" Dib declared forcefully, trying to lift his hands, turn over onto his side at least. But no sooner had he begun to strain his body did his father snap into view, leaning over the bed like a beast about to attack.
"Dib, you can't treat her like a human!! She is our experiment!"
"But she ~is~ a human! She has every right that you do to enjoy life! Stop treating her like a play thing just because she was born in a test tube! She's not your doll!!!" Dib ground his teeth together, eyes wild with fury, bed springs squeaking underneath his moving body, yearning to launch himself at his father.
"If only you could understand the depth of our situation, Dib, then you would not feel like so." his father's voice softened dramatically, as if Dib had shot the impudence and nerve out of his mentality. "I must ask you to never speak with Nel, again."
"You can't do that!" Dib rebutted immediately, almost instantaneously, "If you do that, you'll just be hurting her even more!"
"I'm sorry." removing himself from Dib's stretcher, Professor Membrane lumbered heavily towards the door, turning his back on his son without another word.
The clicking of the door jam locking in place had never seemed so loud before, and Dib, face red with resentment and desperation, could only listen to the sink dripping and the alarm clock ticking in the background.
The silence had never been so unnerving.