Chapter 9: Calm before the storm
Had he really been here for only 5 days? It felt like a month of so had passed since he had first awoken in that creepy operation room..
..Since he had spoken to his father...
As the soft, white light filtered around him, a somniferous haze dissipating slowly, Dib could feel a disturbance hovering over him, like a vulture or shadow. A hand inched down until it touched the blanket at the foot of his bed. Slowly the hand closed, the blanket clenched within it. There was a little tug, pulling the cloth down, just a bit. Dib's first reaction was to grab his end of the blanket, to hold it fast against the tenacious pull, but he could feel his strength waning even now, after days of rest.
After a moments hesitation, the shadow tried again, and Dib, apprehension rising, could feel the fabric sliding down once more, until it was off of him completely and fell onto the floor next to his hospital bed. The heat in the facility was on, of course, but even so the cold began to creep in. He had been warm under the crisp, cotton blanket, his body used to the protection the cover had afforded him. It was like someone was stripping away his defenses, and that notion was very unnerving to Dib, who made a noise of detest as his nearly naked body was finally exposed to the sterile air about him. The blanket certainly couldn't protect him from the shadow's bidding, but it had at least offered some psychological comfort.
Clothed in only a white pair of bed shorts, he fought the urge to shiver..his face paled in fear as the enigmatic persona reached his hands over Dib's face, as if to smother him. He tried to pull his own hands up in retort, but they failed him again; they felt cumbersome, dead even, to him. Everything was blurring up around him as the oxygen mask was finally removed from his face..he hadn't even known it was there in the first place.
"Leave..leave me alone, please.." he pleaded weakly, eyes lolling about in his head like loose marbles.
"Its okay, Dib Membrane," a steely voice, tinted with an English accent, emerged from the mist, cold fingers touching the skin on his face. Icy fingers that made his skin blanch like a sickened animal. "We're not going to harm you.."
"Like hell you aren't.." Dib muttered, animosity rising. The events of the other day were returning, and with that came also his rage towards his father, to these people..all that had harmed Nel, made her who she is... "I swear if you don't let me go-"
"You'll do what?" the scientist scoffed, pushing silver framed glasses back up the ridge of his slender nose. His eyes, an unnaturally light shade of blue, bore themselves into Dib like spears of evil. "Just so you know, it is ~your~ fault that our subject is being st even here in the is ~you~ fault that our subject is being neutralized again, youer nose. e also his rage towards his fathererilized again, after months of successful testing."
"Maurer..perhaps we should leave? We've checked on the boy's status," a fellow scientist tried to interrupt, "Mr. Maurer?"
"Shut up, unless you're attempting to compare you're mandate against mine!" the scientist labeled Maurer silenced the man as if he were an interloper, face intensely severe. The man a very intimidating manner, but it did nothing to quell Dib's irritation. His face white with fury, Dib began to feel his vigor intensifying. He thought that he could perhaps lunge at the scientist, buy time for his escape, but as he did a once over of the room, he soon noticed, disappointingly, that the bitter man was not the only person present. Dib counted 6 more lab personal, and who could know how many waited outside of his room?
It was too risky.
He had questions that needed answering, and if he ever wanted to see Nel again to get this done, Dib would just have to be patient and see things through quietly. Not the most auspicious or favorable circumstance, but it would have to do for the time being, unless another opportunity struck.
"If you're trying to make me feel guilty for treating Nel like she should be treated, you better get over your inflated self, because it isn't going to happen," Dib ground his white knuckles into the bed mattress, eyes slit behind his glasses. "How can you go around, acting like she's some machine? She's more human then you are!"
"Something has greatly misled you to believe that I give a shit about that ~girl~," Maurer bit back with twice the malice Dib could ever hope to fabricate, and the boy withdrew his sword. The man's tongue was obviously sharper than his own. "All I care about is the money your father and his associates are paying me to examine that pitiful creature you call 'Nel'. To us, it's just a cash- cow waiting to be milked, nothing more, and nothing less."
"You're a monster.." the boy hissed, cheeks ruddy and throbbing. It was apparent that not all of his father's scientists were as passionate about their "project" as he was.
"So what if I am? I'm going to be rich, and that's all that matters..who cares about the subject and it's feelings of isolation? I want to rip that ~thing~ apart every time it has one of her relapses!" raising a tightened hand, the scientist, his brown hair cry and coifed, started for the door. The other lab technicians followed him, but made sure to keep their distance...they seemed intimidated by this man...scared. "It's a bloody hassle. I don't see why your father and his soft-hearted acquaintances keep her on life support when she's about to go under; we've reaped all that we could from it...there's nothing left for us to research."
"Stop calling her an 'it' you bastard!" Dib's reserve finally snapped, just as the door closed being the cruel researcher, leaving one last clang reverberating in the now empty room. Dib could hear the cabal's footsteps echoing outside.
His mouth was dry, tongue like a piece of stale bread, and Dib was struggling to contain himself. His ever-growing ignorance about a girl he ~thought~ he had known was frustrating him to no end. What had happened in his bedroom? Why is he being kept here for almost a week? And most importantly, why was Nel here, of all places?
He knew she was an artificial being to some degree, but why would that be so important; everyone knew that cloning was right around the scientific corner. Was there more to this experiment then his father had let on? Dib could feel his body being sapped of his energy, his sudden rage taking its toll on his stamina. Crumpling into his bed, lifeless like a rag-doll in a fetal position, Dib tried with his might to fight back the encroaching sleep that preyed on him.
"Monster.."
A knock came at the door.
~Just leave me alone...God Damnit..~
Again, this time more earnestly.
~I don't need anyone...everything has been..been a lie! ~
"Dib?"
The quiet voice barely penetrating the metal alloy in the door, Dib pressed his head into pillows. He knew who was there.
A faint click sounded out as the handle was lowered mechanically, the door sliding ajar. Footsteps like that of a deer in newly fallen snow pattered across the linoleum tiles, as a meek girl, dressed in her oversized, battered sweatshirt, walked over to Dib's side, sleeves dusting the floor. Cautiously, mustn't startle, she tapped a finger on his head, right about his ears, rustling a finger through raven-black hair that sagged with exhaustion.
~Why didn't you tell me...didn't you trust me?~
No matter how hard he tried, Dib couldn't bring himself to loathe or even mildly hate her...there were no such feelings in his heart for the girl he loved with his all. It pained him to know that she had kept such harrowing secrets from him, secrets he thought he could have handled..but had she done it out of betrayal, was it really a scandal? Maybe he was less a person then she...
~ Dib, you can't treat her like a human!! She is our experiment!~
She wasn't human, but she had given him hope, love, compassion..more then any other "human" had ever offered. In the end, what defined humanity and inhumanity, what clarified sentience and independence from the creator?
~ I must ask you to never speak with Nel, again...~
Could he really go on, without her, without Nel? What piece of his heart, what cavity freshly carved in his soul would be lost when she disappeared from his life? The solitude would quickly settle back in, all those nights alone and waiting for a second chance...Dib wondered if it would even come.
The hand continued to comb through his greasy hair, his skin tingling from her very touch. Her presence alone was more comforting then a thousand warm thoughts.
~ She was born here, about three years ago~
Dib could care less if she was born yesterday; she would always be his Nel! Quickly shifting his position so that he could finally see the girl with his own eyes, what he saw instead was a travesty of the girl he once knew. Tired bags lay beneath brown eyes as soft as rain, and her hair, normally prim, every strand in place, was a horrid mess now. All health had vanished from her being, as if someone had sucked the life out of her with an industrial strength vacuum. Arms sagging, back hunched solemnly, Dib wanted nothing more then to take the depraved Nel into his arms, squeeze her tightly, and feel that she was there.
"Nel.." Dib whispered in pity, a tear tumble down his colorless, ashen cheeks. "If they find you here..."
"I don't care, I had to come here, I had to see you!" she exclaimed, her radical display of emotion dramatic and unexpected. She threw herself into Dib's arms suddenly, like a bird falling from its nest into a caring person's hands, as she choked out a muted sob. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot; she had been relentlessly crying even before coming to see Dib, he knew that much was apparent. "I saw the men leaving your room."
"Yeah, a charming bunch they are," Dib said haphazardly, sarcasm painting his words, a sardonic smile playing on his lips. Nel forced a smile, but it wasn't enough to appease the boy, bed-ridden and lacking the verve to return her tender embrace; all he could do was hang in her grasp, lean his head into her slender shoulder, let the tears roll down the already sodden fabric of her sweatshirt.
"We have to leave, Nel. I don't know what they plan to do to you, but I don't like it," he continued, careless grin replaced with a grim frown, "we have to leave as soon as possible..."
He thought she might have been excited, scared even. Dib would have been content with any show of sentiment, any sort of reaction..a flinch of her eyebrows would have sufficed at this point.
But there was nothing now.
If someone were to paint the girl's portrait at that very moment, he could have completely neglected to fill in her face and gotten away with it. Her cheeks lost their rosy color brought on by constant crying, and she had shut her eyes, closing that window to the soul. Blond eyebrows seemed to become frosty white and then transparent. Even her lips managed to blend with the rest of her skin well enough to seemingly vanish.
Where had the ardent girl of two minutes ago gone to?
"I...I can't leave," said Nel, still motionless, mouth barely moving as she spoke to Dib, who was thunderstruck by her proclamation. He felt as if someone had knifed him in the stomach; someone might as well had the emotional pain was so great at this point. "If I leave.."
"You'll be happy! Don't let yourself be taken, Nel!" Dib cried out. He couldn't fathom how one spirit could be so crushed, so innocent, so hapless. How could "humans" do this to something so pure? "Please don't say that!"
"I'm sorry..." holding back the torrent of tears with all her resolve, Nel backed away from the bed, "I came here to say good-bye..you will be leaving today."
"Nel! You don't have to be their puppet! Their plaything!" he begged, clawing for her hands, trying to pull her back to him. "I thought you loved me! Only I understand what you really are!"
"I was not made to love, Dib..I could never even hope to understand that facet of human emotion," her voice mournful, Nel stepped just out of Dib's reach, "I can only understand pain and research."
"Don't say things like that!" frustrated beyond measure, Dib leapt out of the bed, fists clenched, knees threatening to buckle under the sudden weight. "If you want to go back to those tests and those scientists, go back to being some, some ~doll~, then go ahead! But is that what you really want?! Is it?!?"
Like a ghost leaving the world of the living, Dib realized that Nel was quickly slipping away from him.
"Why did you say you loved me? You're not as inhuman as you think you are!" with one last surge of energy, he leapt towards the girl, but faltered halfway, heart clenching in his chest, a throbbing pain emitting through every fiber in his body.
His body was shutting down.
"Dib, please try to forget me...all the things I said..it would be for the best."
The door closed once more.
"Nel, I thought you loved me...you must have loved me..." throat ragged, Dib managed to force out one last sentence before collapsing on the floor, a small pool of spittle collecting around his mouth.
The door slamming behind her back, Nel couldn't keep herself collected anymore. It was too much to bear..to much pain that she had caused. Falling onto her knees, legs sprawled, Nel clapped her hands over her mouth, forced the aching sobs back down her throat, laboriously straining her eyes to hold their tears in place.
"You did the right thing, Nel," a grave and somber voice spoke to the shuddering girl, as Professor Membrane placed a single, gloved hand on her tussled head, "You do know that, don't you?"
She did not reply, but simply sat motionless, unmoving, as if her limbs had all but died on her. The professor sighed.
"Why am I being kept here? Why do you lock me in my room at night?" she finally said, her submissive tone splitting the silence. She slowly stood up from the ground as she continued wantonly. "Was it true what my mother said, that I only cause others pain? What have I done to deserve this?"
She sat there, cheeks now flushed with fervor. The professor was almost impressed by her abrupt zeal. But he knew that he could not answer her questions. No matter how much he wanted to liberate the girl he himself had created, he could never set her free.
"Nel, you have endangered another human life," he said remorsefully, "Dib...my son..was in a coma for nearly five days."
Mouth forming a small "o" of helplessness, Nel slumped back onto the ground. All hope was lost.
"I know."
The words that fell from barely parted lips were infected with loneliness, a bitter sadness that made Professor Membrane tremble with unease. He removed his hand slowly, looking at his feet while he brushed invisible dust off of his lab coat.
"Then you also know that you will never leave this building again. Even if we are almost done researching you, you must never set foot outside these walls."
"I know."
Goggles misting with anxiety, the tall, brooding man could not produce the words of consolation that could offer her solace. What could he say to her in an effort to assuage her pains and torment?
To what purpose had he brought this girl into such a miserable life?
"Remember, that I am thy creature."
Professor Membrane's head jolted up as Nel's voice rose once again. He was startled to actually hear her speak again, had expected her to remain silent and dormant in her infinite unhappiness. He stared at her huddled form, head hung low, hair falling in front of her face so that even her large, once shining eyes appeared dull, dreary like a worn down animal tired from the hunt.
"What did you say?" the scientist gasped, mouth slung open stupidly. He took a step forward, and was doubly surprised when Nel continued to speak.
"Remember, that I am they creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed," she spoke in monotone, voice devoid of all sensation, a deep, sad edict torn from her shattered soul. "Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous."
Speechless, as if the ability to speak had been ripped from his larynx with a pair of pliers, Professor Membrane nearly fell over in disbelief at the girl's defiant, brave sentiment. What could one say in the face of such a statement, especially when you knew you had a hand in that person's grief?
How do you help a lost soul you helped to create?
"You're.." he began to speak, nearly fumbled over his own blasted words, "you're needed in the clean room 42 B."
No words could illustrate the intense desperation that Nel felt as she was left alone once more, abandoned in the hallway by her guardian, watching him become smaller and smaller as he walked down the corridor. He soon blinked out of sight, but the sadness remained, the reality of her situation, her life, coming into focus.
"Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone?"
And then she cried..more then ever before, an ocean of wretched misery falling about her freely. She climbed to her feet quickly, feet heavy with guilt, as she propelled herself into a nearby closet, smashing the door behind her. She bowed down into the collection of cleaning tools, buckets and mops, not caring that her hands and knees were rapidly becoming filthier by the moment.
A pair of glowing, effervescent blue eyes suddenly shone next to her, faintly illuminating her piteous face.
"Wha-" Nel barely managed to speak before a small, knee-high robot bumped into her, nearly tripping over her cowering figure.
"Hello?!" it exclaimed in a childish voice, taking Nel distinctively by surprise. "Want pie NOW! Do you have PIE?"
"What are you?" she nearly stuttered, eyes wide in disbelief, "I don't have any pie..."
"Me like pie! Pie is GOOOOOOODD!!!!!" squealing with delight, its turquoise eyes shimmering with delight, the infantile automaton, unexpectedly jumped onto Nel's lap. "PiePiePiePiePie!!!!"
"I don't have any pie! I don't even know what pie tastes like!" Nel shrieked in fear, trying to push the robot off of her, but it was far heavier then anything she could ever hope to lift. Suddenly the robot became still.
She drew her breath in as the robot's voice lowered, eyes fading to red. Nel swore she heard the small creature beginning to snarl.
"Must apprehend target, SIR!" it declared ferociously, its jovial attitude morphing into something terrifying. Its metal hands flew around her neck, red eyes glaring into her own, an inhuman glow that scared her to the bone. It has taken her by surprise like an assassin nailing the unknowing, ignorant target. Nel couldn't scream or even gasp as she quickly lost consciousness in the closet, her body quietly slumping onto the ground, her assailant glowering over her...
"When come back..bring PIE!!!!"
[Author's Note: Of course, many of you may recognize Nel's speech from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the little Weeble and Bob reference I just had to stick in... I could never claim either of these. I hope you enjoyed this sad chapter...sorry it's so short though! Please read and review!]
Had he really been here for only 5 days? It felt like a month of so had passed since he had first awoken in that creepy operation room..
..Since he had spoken to his father...
As the soft, white light filtered around him, a somniferous haze dissipating slowly, Dib could feel a disturbance hovering over him, like a vulture or shadow. A hand inched down until it touched the blanket at the foot of his bed. Slowly the hand closed, the blanket clenched within it. There was a little tug, pulling the cloth down, just a bit. Dib's first reaction was to grab his end of the blanket, to hold it fast against the tenacious pull, but he could feel his strength waning even now, after days of rest.
After a moments hesitation, the shadow tried again, and Dib, apprehension rising, could feel the fabric sliding down once more, until it was off of him completely and fell onto the floor next to his hospital bed. The heat in the facility was on, of course, but even so the cold began to creep in. He had been warm under the crisp, cotton blanket, his body used to the protection the cover had afforded him. It was like someone was stripping away his defenses, and that notion was very unnerving to Dib, who made a noise of detest as his nearly naked body was finally exposed to the sterile air about him. The blanket certainly couldn't protect him from the shadow's bidding, but it had at least offered some psychological comfort.
Clothed in only a white pair of bed shorts, he fought the urge to shiver..his face paled in fear as the enigmatic persona reached his hands over Dib's face, as if to smother him. He tried to pull his own hands up in retort, but they failed him again; they felt cumbersome, dead even, to him. Everything was blurring up around him as the oxygen mask was finally removed from his face..he hadn't even known it was there in the first place.
"Leave..leave me alone, please.." he pleaded weakly, eyes lolling about in his head like loose marbles.
"Its okay, Dib Membrane," a steely voice, tinted with an English accent, emerged from the mist, cold fingers touching the skin on his face. Icy fingers that made his skin blanch like a sickened animal. "We're not going to harm you.."
"Like hell you aren't.." Dib muttered, animosity rising. The events of the other day were returning, and with that came also his rage towards his father, to these people..all that had harmed Nel, made her who she is... "I swear if you don't let me go-"
"You'll do what?" the scientist scoffed, pushing silver framed glasses back up the ridge of his slender nose. His eyes, an unnaturally light shade of blue, bore themselves into Dib like spears of evil. "Just so you know, it is ~your~ fault that our subject is being st even here in the is ~you~ fault that our subject is being neutralized again, youer nose. e also his rage towards his fathererilized again, after months of successful testing."
"Maurer..perhaps we should leave? We've checked on the boy's status," a fellow scientist tried to interrupt, "Mr. Maurer?"
"Shut up, unless you're attempting to compare you're mandate against mine!" the scientist labeled Maurer silenced the man as if he were an interloper, face intensely severe. The man a very intimidating manner, but it did nothing to quell Dib's irritation. His face white with fury, Dib began to feel his vigor intensifying. He thought that he could perhaps lunge at the scientist, buy time for his escape, but as he did a once over of the room, he soon noticed, disappointingly, that the bitter man was not the only person present. Dib counted 6 more lab personal, and who could know how many waited outside of his room?
It was too risky.
He had questions that needed answering, and if he ever wanted to see Nel again to get this done, Dib would just have to be patient and see things through quietly. Not the most auspicious or favorable circumstance, but it would have to do for the time being, unless another opportunity struck.
"If you're trying to make me feel guilty for treating Nel like she should be treated, you better get over your inflated self, because it isn't going to happen," Dib ground his white knuckles into the bed mattress, eyes slit behind his glasses. "How can you go around, acting like she's some machine? She's more human then you are!"
"Something has greatly misled you to believe that I give a shit about that ~girl~," Maurer bit back with twice the malice Dib could ever hope to fabricate, and the boy withdrew his sword. The man's tongue was obviously sharper than his own. "All I care about is the money your father and his associates are paying me to examine that pitiful creature you call 'Nel'. To us, it's just a cash- cow waiting to be milked, nothing more, and nothing less."
"You're a monster.." the boy hissed, cheeks ruddy and throbbing. It was apparent that not all of his father's scientists were as passionate about their "project" as he was.
"So what if I am? I'm going to be rich, and that's all that matters..who cares about the subject and it's feelings of isolation? I want to rip that ~thing~ apart every time it has one of her relapses!" raising a tightened hand, the scientist, his brown hair cry and coifed, started for the door. The other lab technicians followed him, but made sure to keep their distance...they seemed intimidated by this man...scared. "It's a bloody hassle. I don't see why your father and his soft-hearted acquaintances keep her on life support when she's about to go under; we've reaped all that we could from it...there's nothing left for us to research."
"Stop calling her an 'it' you bastard!" Dib's reserve finally snapped, just as the door closed being the cruel researcher, leaving one last clang reverberating in the now empty room. Dib could hear the cabal's footsteps echoing outside.
His mouth was dry, tongue like a piece of stale bread, and Dib was struggling to contain himself. His ever-growing ignorance about a girl he ~thought~ he had known was frustrating him to no end. What had happened in his bedroom? Why is he being kept here for almost a week? And most importantly, why was Nel here, of all places?
He knew she was an artificial being to some degree, but why would that be so important; everyone knew that cloning was right around the scientific corner. Was there more to this experiment then his father had let on? Dib could feel his body being sapped of his energy, his sudden rage taking its toll on his stamina. Crumpling into his bed, lifeless like a rag-doll in a fetal position, Dib tried with his might to fight back the encroaching sleep that preyed on him.
"Monster.."
A knock came at the door.
~Just leave me alone...God Damnit..~
Again, this time more earnestly.
~I don't need anyone...everything has been..been a lie! ~
"Dib?"
The quiet voice barely penetrating the metal alloy in the door, Dib pressed his head into pillows. He knew who was there.
A faint click sounded out as the handle was lowered mechanically, the door sliding ajar. Footsteps like that of a deer in newly fallen snow pattered across the linoleum tiles, as a meek girl, dressed in her oversized, battered sweatshirt, walked over to Dib's side, sleeves dusting the floor. Cautiously, mustn't startle, she tapped a finger on his head, right about his ears, rustling a finger through raven-black hair that sagged with exhaustion.
~Why didn't you tell me...didn't you trust me?~
No matter how hard he tried, Dib couldn't bring himself to loathe or even mildly hate her...there were no such feelings in his heart for the girl he loved with his all. It pained him to know that she had kept such harrowing secrets from him, secrets he thought he could have handled..but had she done it out of betrayal, was it really a scandal? Maybe he was less a person then she...
~ Dib, you can't treat her like a human!! She is our experiment!~
She wasn't human, but she had given him hope, love, compassion..more then any other "human" had ever offered. In the end, what defined humanity and inhumanity, what clarified sentience and independence from the creator?
~ I must ask you to never speak with Nel, again...~
Could he really go on, without her, without Nel? What piece of his heart, what cavity freshly carved in his soul would be lost when she disappeared from his life? The solitude would quickly settle back in, all those nights alone and waiting for a second chance...Dib wondered if it would even come.
The hand continued to comb through his greasy hair, his skin tingling from her very touch. Her presence alone was more comforting then a thousand warm thoughts.
~ She was born here, about three years ago~
Dib could care less if she was born yesterday; she would always be his Nel! Quickly shifting his position so that he could finally see the girl with his own eyes, what he saw instead was a travesty of the girl he once knew. Tired bags lay beneath brown eyes as soft as rain, and her hair, normally prim, every strand in place, was a horrid mess now. All health had vanished from her being, as if someone had sucked the life out of her with an industrial strength vacuum. Arms sagging, back hunched solemnly, Dib wanted nothing more then to take the depraved Nel into his arms, squeeze her tightly, and feel that she was there.
"Nel.." Dib whispered in pity, a tear tumble down his colorless, ashen cheeks. "If they find you here..."
"I don't care, I had to come here, I had to see you!" she exclaimed, her radical display of emotion dramatic and unexpected. She threw herself into Dib's arms suddenly, like a bird falling from its nest into a caring person's hands, as she choked out a muted sob. The whites of her eyes were bloodshot; she had been relentlessly crying even before coming to see Dib, he knew that much was apparent. "I saw the men leaving your room."
"Yeah, a charming bunch they are," Dib said haphazardly, sarcasm painting his words, a sardonic smile playing on his lips. Nel forced a smile, but it wasn't enough to appease the boy, bed-ridden and lacking the verve to return her tender embrace; all he could do was hang in her grasp, lean his head into her slender shoulder, let the tears roll down the already sodden fabric of her sweatshirt.
"We have to leave, Nel. I don't know what they plan to do to you, but I don't like it," he continued, careless grin replaced with a grim frown, "we have to leave as soon as possible..."
He thought she might have been excited, scared even. Dib would have been content with any show of sentiment, any sort of reaction..a flinch of her eyebrows would have sufficed at this point.
But there was nothing now.
If someone were to paint the girl's portrait at that very moment, he could have completely neglected to fill in her face and gotten away with it. Her cheeks lost their rosy color brought on by constant crying, and she had shut her eyes, closing that window to the soul. Blond eyebrows seemed to become frosty white and then transparent. Even her lips managed to blend with the rest of her skin well enough to seemingly vanish.
Where had the ardent girl of two minutes ago gone to?
"I...I can't leave," said Nel, still motionless, mouth barely moving as she spoke to Dib, who was thunderstruck by her proclamation. He felt as if someone had knifed him in the stomach; someone might as well had the emotional pain was so great at this point. "If I leave.."
"You'll be happy! Don't let yourself be taken, Nel!" Dib cried out. He couldn't fathom how one spirit could be so crushed, so innocent, so hapless. How could "humans" do this to something so pure? "Please don't say that!"
"I'm sorry..." holding back the torrent of tears with all her resolve, Nel backed away from the bed, "I came here to say good-bye..you will be leaving today."
"Nel! You don't have to be their puppet! Their plaything!" he begged, clawing for her hands, trying to pull her back to him. "I thought you loved me! Only I understand what you really are!"
"I was not made to love, Dib..I could never even hope to understand that facet of human emotion," her voice mournful, Nel stepped just out of Dib's reach, "I can only understand pain and research."
"Don't say things like that!" frustrated beyond measure, Dib leapt out of the bed, fists clenched, knees threatening to buckle under the sudden weight. "If you want to go back to those tests and those scientists, go back to being some, some ~doll~, then go ahead! But is that what you really want?! Is it?!?"
Like a ghost leaving the world of the living, Dib realized that Nel was quickly slipping away from him.
"Why did you say you loved me? You're not as inhuman as you think you are!" with one last surge of energy, he leapt towards the girl, but faltered halfway, heart clenching in his chest, a throbbing pain emitting through every fiber in his body.
His body was shutting down.
"Dib, please try to forget me...all the things I said..it would be for the best."
The door closed once more.
"Nel, I thought you loved me...you must have loved me..." throat ragged, Dib managed to force out one last sentence before collapsing on the floor, a small pool of spittle collecting around his mouth.
The door slamming behind her back, Nel couldn't keep herself collected anymore. It was too much to bear..to much pain that she had caused. Falling onto her knees, legs sprawled, Nel clapped her hands over her mouth, forced the aching sobs back down her throat, laboriously straining her eyes to hold their tears in place.
"You did the right thing, Nel," a grave and somber voice spoke to the shuddering girl, as Professor Membrane placed a single, gloved hand on her tussled head, "You do know that, don't you?"
She did not reply, but simply sat motionless, unmoving, as if her limbs had all but died on her. The professor sighed.
"Why am I being kept here? Why do you lock me in my room at night?" she finally said, her submissive tone splitting the silence. She slowly stood up from the ground as she continued wantonly. "Was it true what my mother said, that I only cause others pain? What have I done to deserve this?"
She sat there, cheeks now flushed with fervor. The professor was almost impressed by her abrupt zeal. But he knew that he could not answer her questions. No matter how much he wanted to liberate the girl he himself had created, he could never set her free.
"Nel, you have endangered another human life," he said remorsefully, "Dib...my son..was in a coma for nearly five days."
Mouth forming a small "o" of helplessness, Nel slumped back onto the ground. All hope was lost.
"I know."
The words that fell from barely parted lips were infected with loneliness, a bitter sadness that made Professor Membrane tremble with unease. He removed his hand slowly, looking at his feet while he brushed invisible dust off of his lab coat.
"Then you also know that you will never leave this building again. Even if we are almost done researching you, you must never set foot outside these walls."
"I know."
Goggles misting with anxiety, the tall, brooding man could not produce the words of consolation that could offer her solace. What could he say to her in an effort to assuage her pains and torment?
To what purpose had he brought this girl into such a miserable life?
"Remember, that I am thy creature."
Professor Membrane's head jolted up as Nel's voice rose once again. He was startled to actually hear her speak again, had expected her to remain silent and dormant in her infinite unhappiness. He stared at her huddled form, head hung low, hair falling in front of her face so that even her large, once shining eyes appeared dull, dreary like a worn down animal tired from the hunt.
"What did you say?" the scientist gasped, mouth slung open stupidly. He took a step forward, and was doubly surprised when Nel continued to speak.
"Remember, that I am they creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed," she spoke in monotone, voice devoid of all sensation, a deep, sad edict torn from her shattered soul. "Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous."
Speechless, as if the ability to speak had been ripped from his larynx with a pair of pliers, Professor Membrane nearly fell over in disbelief at the girl's defiant, brave sentiment. What could one say in the face of such a statement, especially when you knew you had a hand in that person's grief?
How do you help a lost soul you helped to create?
"You're.." he began to speak, nearly fumbled over his own blasted words, "you're needed in the clean room 42 B."
No words could illustrate the intense desperation that Nel felt as she was left alone once more, abandoned in the hallway by her guardian, watching him become smaller and smaller as he walked down the corridor. He soon blinked out of sight, but the sadness remained, the reality of her situation, her life, coming into focus.
"Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone?"
And then she cried..more then ever before, an ocean of wretched misery falling about her freely. She climbed to her feet quickly, feet heavy with guilt, as she propelled herself into a nearby closet, smashing the door behind her. She bowed down into the collection of cleaning tools, buckets and mops, not caring that her hands and knees were rapidly becoming filthier by the moment.
A pair of glowing, effervescent blue eyes suddenly shone next to her, faintly illuminating her piteous face.
"Wha-" Nel barely managed to speak before a small, knee-high robot bumped into her, nearly tripping over her cowering figure.
"Hello?!" it exclaimed in a childish voice, taking Nel distinctively by surprise. "Want pie NOW! Do you have PIE?"
"What are you?" she nearly stuttered, eyes wide in disbelief, "I don't have any pie..."
"Me like pie! Pie is GOOOOOOODD!!!!!" squealing with delight, its turquoise eyes shimmering with delight, the infantile automaton, unexpectedly jumped onto Nel's lap. "PiePiePiePiePie!!!!"
"I don't have any pie! I don't even know what pie tastes like!" Nel shrieked in fear, trying to push the robot off of her, but it was far heavier then anything she could ever hope to lift. Suddenly the robot became still.
She drew her breath in as the robot's voice lowered, eyes fading to red. Nel swore she heard the small creature beginning to snarl.
"Must apprehend target, SIR!" it declared ferociously, its jovial attitude morphing into something terrifying. Its metal hands flew around her neck, red eyes glaring into her own, an inhuman glow that scared her to the bone. It has taken her by surprise like an assassin nailing the unknowing, ignorant target. Nel couldn't scream or even gasp as she quickly lost consciousness in the closet, her body quietly slumping onto the ground, her assailant glowering over her...
"When come back..bring PIE!!!!"
[Author's Note: Of course, many of you may recognize Nel's speech from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and the little Weeble and Bob reference I just had to stick in... I could never claim either of these. I hope you enjoyed this sad chapter...sorry it's so short though! Please read and review!]