"Dr. Feinstein, how long will this procedure take?" Nordis asked, once he had finished signing all of the paperwork.
"Depends on the condition of your appendix, Andrew," Dr. Feinstein replied. "Normally, this procedure takes less than an hour. I have had times when it lasts as long as two hours."
Nordis nodded. Not that I felt it, but I could still see, and I felt a slight sense of dizziness that came when my Yeerk nodded my head.
Another medical professional placed a mask over my head. "I'm going to ask you to count backwards from thirty," she told us. "You'll probably be out by the time you get to twenty, but we like to be sure."
I was aware of Nordis beginning the countdown...and then sleep took over.
When I woke up, I couldn't see anything.
(What's going on?) I asked Nordis.
(I'm not sure,) he answered.
(Were you out, when I was?) I asked him.
He gave me a mental head shake. (No, but Yeerks don't need as much sleep as humans-OUCH!) he suddenly yelled.
(What?) Suddenly, I felt very alert.
And all too aware of being helpless.
(Shagurat!) Nordis yelled.
Even though I couldn't see, I could hear. The sound of...something. Wait. A scissors. Or, maybe, a knife.
Also, talking.
Nordis screamed again, something in Galard. Probably more profanity.
It hit me, then.
We were awake.
Oh, God. We were being operated on while fully awake.
The horror sank in, and it was worse than how I'd felt when Nordis had infested me. Because, then, there'd been no pain. Not really. Just the twinge when he'd entered my ear. The loss of control, oh, that had been bad. The knowledge of alien parasites had been even worse. But really, as time passed, I'd more or less gotten used to Nordis. I didn't like him, not really, but I knew that there were worse Yeerks out there.
Now, as he screamed, over and over, I realized that his hold on my senses hadn't slipped. He'd kept me from feeling the pain before. Was he intentionally doing so now?
(You better believe I'm doing it on purpose!) he growled at me, having heard my thoughts.
I mentally shrank back. (Okay, but why?)
Not that I wasn't grateful, but I knew that Yeerks could withdraw from their host's minds if they wanted. Not just to give them control, but if the host body was near death, they'd withdraw so they wouldn't feel the pain. Also, so they could leave the host's body.
(Your body feels the pain,) he managed, sounding weaker. (Not mine. If I let go, you'll remember it. I won't-when...)
(When you're back in the Yeerk Pool?) I asked.
(Or in another host,) he answered.
It made sense, kind of. Most Yeerks would have withdrawn by now. Leave the host body completely, even. Enough hospitals were overrun by Yeerks that...
Wait a minute.
(Nordis, if you left me, they'd know something was wrong!) I told him, excitedly.
(NO!)
(Why not?)
(Because, human, they might not be Controllers, and more importantly, you'd feel every single agonizing cut they are now making on your body,) he growled at me.
Oh.
Right.
(We're gonna wait it out, then?) I wondered. (You heard the doctor! It could be two hours...)
Nordis sighed. (There's no other option-dapsen!)
Back to swearing. It must hurt.
Well, of course, it did. They don't put you under for kicks. Except, of course, we weren't under.
(Can you try to move? Anything?) I asked my Yeerk.
He muttered under his breath, then spoke again. (What do you think I've been doing since the damn anesthesia wore off?)
Fair enough. I hadn't been able to tell, of course, but I should have known that anyone-Yeerk or human-would first try moving. And fail.
I noticed something else, too. Even as Nordis was keeping an iron clad grip on my mind, I could feel him struggling. Not to the extent of letting me feel pain, but there were moments when I almost felt-something. Pressure, maybe.
(Sorry,) he told me, more gently. (I'll try harder. You shouldn't feel this.)
For the first time, I felt a little sympathy towards him. (You shouldn't, either.)
(Better me than you.) His voice became gruff again.
(Should I-I don't know, try to fall back asleep? Try to trick my mind into that, and maybe it will force our body into the anesthesia?) I guessed.
Not knowing what I was talking about, of course. I was hardly a surgeon or an anesthesiologist.
(I think,) Nordis began, (that we should concentrate on remembering everything we can hear. Because we will sue this damn hospital for every penny they have, once this is over, and being able to relay their conversation will help our case.)
I gave a mental nod. (I'm on it. You can-) I trailed off.
Continue to suffer, instead of me? Yeah, even for a Yeerk enslaving you, that seemed a little harsh to say.
Especially since he was, after all, enduring the physical pain instead of me.
He was wrong about one thing, though. I'd be sure to have nightmares about this for the rest of my life.
(Probably,) Nordis agreed. (But they'd be worse if you felt any of this. And yes. Focus on the conversation.)
So, that's what I did. I didn't speak to Nordis, trying to ignore his periodic cries as best as I could, while the medical professionals talked as they sliced me open and removed my appendix. The nurse had a sixth grade daughter who was going to get braces next winter. The anesthesiologist-who should have been doing her job and pumping my body with the anesthesia-talked about a skiing trip that she and her husband were going to take.
Idiot.
(Yes...) Then, Nordis let out an ear piercing scream.
Even though I couldn't feel anything, at that moment, I almost felt like I could.
I could certainly smell the chemicals on the operating table.
(Sorry,) he mumbled, and tightened his hold on me.
A part of me wanted to laugh. My Yeerk, the Yeerk I'd hated for imprisoning me for the last several months, was making sure I didn't feel anything-and it wasn't like I'd stubbed my toe or even broken my leg. (I'd done that twice. Both times, it hurt like hell.)
Another part of me wanted to thank him, because if he hadn't been there, it would have been me screaming in my head, praying to God (who I did still believe in, even if I didn't always make it to church...) to either take me now or let the pain become so overpowering that I lost consciousness.
(Not...a...bad...idea,) Nordis said, slowly, as though he was speaking these words and out of breath.
I felt...something in my head.
But remained alert.
(Daspen,) he growled. Then groaned again as I heard more cutting.
It went on like this for ages. Neither of us knew at what point my body had woken up during the operation, and we certainly had no way of detecting how much longer it would go on. I vaguely remembered reading somewhere that an appendectomy took about an hour, which was really a pretty short procedure, but even a few seconds had to feel like an eternity when you're in the kind of pain Nordis was experiencing.
And I knew that he wasn't faking it. Yeerks cause pain, but they can take it pretty well. After all, when you're a Yeerk in a host, everything that the host experiences is experienced by the Yeerk.
Nordis had once told me about nearly being eaten alive when he'd had a Taxxon host.
(Don't remind me,) he snapped.
(Sorry! I can't help what I think!) I apologized, and meant it.
(Try!) he answered, shortly.
At some point, we must have blanked out. Or, maybe, the quack doctor whose sole job it was to keep us asleep actually looked at the heart rate monitor and realized was something was off. Whatever it was, I could feel the darkness set in, not unlike when I fell asleep at the end of a long day.
I welcomed it, and I was sure that Nordis welcomed it even more.
When he opened my eyes, I was aware of soreness, so the operation must be over.
Author's note:
I've had a part of this written for awhile, but drew a blank because I'm not great at writing torture, and I honestly didn't want to write a variation of Nordis swearing for about an hour.
I do plan on continuing this, and hopefully ending it, at some point. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed (if that's even the right word!) this chapter. If so, please leave feedback?