Special dreamers? Elmer looked at Mary in confusion. What in the
world was she talking about? Before he could think about it, though,
Lona's fingers dug into his hand once more and he was forced to focus his attention on her. The little girl was still stroking her forehead and it did seem to somehow be easing the pain slightly but things were happening way too fast and too strongly.
"Listen, I would love to help you with this séance, really, I would," Elmer said as he looked up at them for a moment before turning his attention to Lona again. The pain had eased and her eyes were closed as Mary stroked her forehead, easing away the tension once more. "But I really, really need to get her upstairs now, so if you could just tell me how you got in..."
"You can't go," Mary said again, a hint of desperation in her voice as she looked up at Elmer. "You're one of the special dreamers. We need all of the special dreamers to stop the earthquake and save everyone."
"Special dreamers?" Lona murmured as her eyes opened, taking in the rather assorted group assembled in her lab. The pain had left her totally drained of all energy but she could slowly feel her strength returning under the little girl's touch. Just then she spotted Christa and Abel and things fell into place. "Special dreamers. The Sandman positive subjects." She shook her head as she realized what the little girl was talking about, only to suddenly have her expression turn to confusion a moment later. How did that child know about the Samdman idea? She certainly didn't recall any small children wandering into the lab and certainly no large anteaters.
"Sandman?" Elmer said as he looked at Lona in puzzlement. He had heard that term before but he couldn't quite place it.
"The dream experiments, Elmer," Lona murmured. "You, Christa and Abel tested positive for..." Her words were suddenly cut off as another pain hit, her body feeling as it was suddenly being cut in two by the force.
"Oh, my...." Elmer closed his eyes for a moment as what Lona was trying to tell him sank in. They needed him to.... His eyes shot open,
going automatically down to Lona's stomach as a few implications suddenly hit him. The last two times he had taken part in Lona's sleep experiments,
he had ended up somehow dragging her along for the ride. Oh, no. No, this wasn't good. Of all of the places that he didn't want his firstborn child born, the morgue definitely topped the list! And Lona, in her condition if she ended up drug along, who knows what damage it could do to her? If anything happened to her or the baby....
"We don't have much time." Mary whispered as Elmer looked at her.
"You have to help us get the second bell back before...."
"Couldn't you just buy another bell or something?" Elmer muttered.
What did she really need another bell for anyway? She was already wearing one. The little girl was helping Lona and he hated to refuse to help her but.... He looked down at Lona once more as he grip on him suddenly tightened. The way this thing was moving, shouldn't the baby have been here by now or something? This was just.... Something wasn't right about this!
"Elmer..." Hook said as he gave him a look. The building started to tremble slightly once more as he spoke. They didn't have time to argue about this.
"Listen, I'm perfectly willing to help but...." Elmer looked frantically from Lona to the door. Didn't they see that this just wasn't the best time for a séance? "Could we maybe do this later?" He winced as he heard a loud crashing from the hallway as the shaking increased. "Okay,
later might not be the best idea but could we do this somewhere BESIDES the basement?"
"They need the scanner. They can't do it anywhere else," Lona murmured, letting out a moan as the pain seized her once more. She felt tears starting to sting her eyes as the pain increased until she could feel nothing but the agony. Nothing was normal about a pregnancy that came to full term overnight but.... Her free hand moved down to the swell of her stomach. She could feel the baby but its movements were so weak like it was.... She closed her eyes the pain started to ease, a tear slipping down her cheek. She was losing the baby and.... Okay, this pregnancy was so unplanned it wasn't funny but she didn't want to lose her baby!
"Elmer might be right about needing to get her out of here,"
Christine said quietly as she looked up at Hook. She shifted the blankets covering Lona slightly, her eyes widening as she saw the blood beginning to stain them.
As they talked, Mona wondered over to the door and peered out. A moment later, Antubis lumbered over to her to see what she was looking at.
'Doesn't look like anyone's going anywhere.' the anteater said as he turned back to the group, nudging Mona away from the doorway with his snout. 'There's some sort of energy out there blocking the hall.'
"What?" Elmer looked from the animal back to Lona, feeling himself starting to hyperventilate as he caught sight of the blood on the blankets.
If they were trapped down there then.... He gently rested a hand on Lona's stomach, feeling the faint movements of their baby. They were going to die down here, they were both going to die and....
Suddenly he looked up at Hook. No, he wasn't going to lose them!
He lost everyone but he wasn't going to lose Lona and their baby! "If I help you, you have to help me save them. If anything happens...." He would do whatever they asked, anything, if in return they would do something to save Lona and their baby.
Michael drifted over from where he had been quietly talking to Sally about her idea for the séance. "The Old Kingdom is where this problem first started." He said quietly as he knelt down, gently running a probing hand over Lona for a moment. "The best chance of correcting the problem may lie in returning there."
"And for that you need the scanner," Lona said quietly. "Elmer,
help me up."
"What?" Elmer looked at her in shock. "No, you need to stay still!" If she moved, he was sure that that would just make things worse,
would maybe even end any chance their baby had of surviving.
"I'm the only one here who knows how to use the scanner. Help me up." Lona forced tears back as between Christine and Hook they managed to get her on her feet. She bit her lip as a sharp pain shot through her stomach with the movement. The baby.... She wouldn't let herself look at Elmer, motioning for him to get under the scanner as Christine helped her into her chair in front of the computer.
"If everyone will please hold hands, we will begin," Sally said as Elmer finally reluctantly moved away from Lona and joined them. She felt for the young man but if any of them were to survive, they had to act now.
Lona felt her eyes starting to slide closed as Sally talked,
explaining what they were about to do. Without Mary there to help her, it felt as if all of her energy had suddenly departed in one gigantic rush.
She forced her eyes open once more as the group joined hands, reaching out and entering the commands to start the scanner. Just as she finished, the building trembled once more, more violently than before, sending her chair skidding across the lab floor. As the chair smacked into the wall, she tumbled to the ground, dimly aware of the trail of blood that followed the chair's path. She felt the cold blackness once again surrounding her as her eyes slipped shut. The last thing she saw was a flash of bright light from the main lab area.
Lona's fingers dug into his hand once more and he was forced to focus his attention on her. The little girl was still stroking her forehead and it did seem to somehow be easing the pain slightly but things were happening way too fast and too strongly.
"Listen, I would love to help you with this séance, really, I would," Elmer said as he looked up at them for a moment before turning his attention to Lona again. The pain had eased and her eyes were closed as Mary stroked her forehead, easing away the tension once more. "But I really, really need to get her upstairs now, so if you could just tell me how you got in..."
"You can't go," Mary said again, a hint of desperation in her voice as she looked up at Elmer. "You're one of the special dreamers. We need all of the special dreamers to stop the earthquake and save everyone."
"Special dreamers?" Lona murmured as her eyes opened, taking in the rather assorted group assembled in her lab. The pain had left her totally drained of all energy but she could slowly feel her strength returning under the little girl's touch. Just then she spotted Christa and Abel and things fell into place. "Special dreamers. The Sandman positive subjects." She shook her head as she realized what the little girl was talking about, only to suddenly have her expression turn to confusion a moment later. How did that child know about the Samdman idea? She certainly didn't recall any small children wandering into the lab and certainly no large anteaters.
"Sandman?" Elmer said as he looked at Lona in puzzlement. He had heard that term before but he couldn't quite place it.
"The dream experiments, Elmer," Lona murmured. "You, Christa and Abel tested positive for..." Her words were suddenly cut off as another pain hit, her body feeling as it was suddenly being cut in two by the force.
"Oh, my...." Elmer closed his eyes for a moment as what Lona was trying to tell him sank in. They needed him to.... His eyes shot open,
going automatically down to Lona's stomach as a few implications suddenly hit him. The last two times he had taken part in Lona's sleep experiments,
he had ended up somehow dragging her along for the ride. Oh, no. No, this wasn't good. Of all of the places that he didn't want his firstborn child born, the morgue definitely topped the list! And Lona, in her condition if she ended up drug along, who knows what damage it could do to her? If anything happened to her or the baby....
"We don't have much time." Mary whispered as Elmer looked at her.
"You have to help us get the second bell back before...."
"Couldn't you just buy another bell or something?" Elmer muttered.
What did she really need another bell for anyway? She was already wearing one. The little girl was helping Lona and he hated to refuse to help her but.... He looked down at Lona once more as he grip on him suddenly tightened. The way this thing was moving, shouldn't the baby have been here by now or something? This was just.... Something wasn't right about this!
"Elmer..." Hook said as he gave him a look. The building started to tremble slightly once more as he spoke. They didn't have time to argue about this.
"Listen, I'm perfectly willing to help but...." Elmer looked frantically from Lona to the door. Didn't they see that this just wasn't the best time for a séance? "Could we maybe do this later?" He winced as he heard a loud crashing from the hallway as the shaking increased. "Okay,
later might not be the best idea but could we do this somewhere BESIDES the basement?"
"They need the scanner. They can't do it anywhere else," Lona murmured, letting out a moan as the pain seized her once more. She felt tears starting to sting her eyes as the pain increased until she could feel nothing but the agony. Nothing was normal about a pregnancy that came to full term overnight but.... Her free hand moved down to the swell of her stomach. She could feel the baby but its movements were so weak like it was.... She closed her eyes the pain started to ease, a tear slipping down her cheek. She was losing the baby and.... Okay, this pregnancy was so unplanned it wasn't funny but she didn't want to lose her baby!
"Elmer might be right about needing to get her out of here,"
Christine said quietly as she looked up at Hook. She shifted the blankets covering Lona slightly, her eyes widening as she saw the blood beginning to stain them.
As they talked, Mona wondered over to the door and peered out. A moment later, Antubis lumbered over to her to see what she was looking at.
'Doesn't look like anyone's going anywhere.' the anteater said as he turned back to the group, nudging Mona away from the doorway with his snout. 'There's some sort of energy out there blocking the hall.'
"What?" Elmer looked from the animal back to Lona, feeling himself starting to hyperventilate as he caught sight of the blood on the blankets.
If they were trapped down there then.... He gently rested a hand on Lona's stomach, feeling the faint movements of their baby. They were going to die down here, they were both going to die and....
Suddenly he looked up at Hook. No, he wasn't going to lose them!
He lost everyone but he wasn't going to lose Lona and their baby! "If I help you, you have to help me save them. If anything happens...." He would do whatever they asked, anything, if in return they would do something to save Lona and their baby.
Michael drifted over from where he had been quietly talking to Sally about her idea for the séance. "The Old Kingdom is where this problem first started." He said quietly as he knelt down, gently running a probing hand over Lona for a moment. "The best chance of correcting the problem may lie in returning there."
"And for that you need the scanner," Lona said quietly. "Elmer,
help me up."
"What?" Elmer looked at her in shock. "No, you need to stay still!" If she moved, he was sure that that would just make things worse,
would maybe even end any chance their baby had of surviving.
"I'm the only one here who knows how to use the scanner. Help me up." Lona forced tears back as between Christine and Hook they managed to get her on her feet. She bit her lip as a sharp pain shot through her stomach with the movement. The baby.... She wouldn't let herself look at Elmer, motioning for him to get under the scanner as Christine helped her into her chair in front of the computer.
"If everyone will please hold hands, we will begin," Sally said as Elmer finally reluctantly moved away from Lona and joined them. She felt for the young man but if any of them were to survive, they had to act now.
Lona felt her eyes starting to slide closed as Sally talked,
explaining what they were about to do. Without Mary there to help her, it felt as if all of her energy had suddenly departed in one gigantic rush.
She forced her eyes open once more as the group joined hands, reaching out and entering the commands to start the scanner. Just as she finished, the building trembled once more, more violently than before, sending her chair skidding across the lab floor. As the chair smacked into the wall, she tumbled to the ground, dimly aware of the trail of blood that followed the chair's path. She felt the cold blackness once again surrounding her as her eyes slipped shut. The last thing she saw was a flash of bright light from the main lab area.