Chapter 9

Isaac's return to consciousness began as a painful throbbing inside his head, followed by the stinging of a parched throat. Spurred by the need to cough he forced himself upright and opened his eyes, only to be blindsided by sunlight as it poured in through the window. He looked around and saw the apartment was dead quiet, he was alone.

What happened?

To his dismay, he couldn't remember much of what had happened the night before. The time he had spent alone with Ellie was a complete blur, but as he looked around, bits and pieces started coming back to him - along with the awareness of a coppery taste inside his mouth, and a burning sensation near the back of his tongue. Curious, he reached into his mouth with his finger, and dragged it gently along the side of his tongue until he felt a small dent that was painful to the touch. When he pulled his finger back out, he saw the tip of it was red with fresh blood.

"Ow."

He sucked the blood between his teeth with a grimace, figuring a trip to the bathroom was in order. He rose from the bed and headed for it, rounded the corner of the doorway toward the sink on the other side. Feeling a nagging twinge of nausea rising up, he braced his arms against the sink and leaned forward, spitting the blood out of his mouth into the basin as he gently rocked back and forth on his wrists. He then turned the faucet on, collected a mouthful of water to rinse, another to swallow, then a handful or two to wash his face.

As he looked up into the mirror, he observed a bruise along the left side of his temple. He gazed at it, noticing it was dark and fresh, but he couldn't remember how he had acquired it. This, along with Ellie's unexplained disappearance, sent the anxiety in the back of his mind festering into panic.

What the hell happened here?

He stared uncomfortably at his sallow-eyed reflection in the mirror, trying desperately to remember anything of the past several hours... but unable to think of anything other than the Marker. After an indeterminate period of time Isaac finally shook off his dead stare, pulled back from the sink and stepped out into the living room, looking all around for anything that might give him any clues. For the most part the apartment was still clean and in order, so it was obvious that no real chaos had ensued, which was assuring in a very mild sense.

His eyes then fell upon the table in front of the couch, which in total contrast, was nothing but chaos - it's top was completely covered in a layer of paperwork, crumpled and scattered all across its surface in hastily assembled, partially collapsed stacks. Thick, frantic black lines marked each page, indented into the paper so deep that tears were evident even from a distance.

Oh, no.

Isaac took a few steps closer to the table, and as he neared it, the deep, black scribbles revealed themselves to be what he had feared they might be - symbols of the Marker language, flowering across the pages in long, spiraling, systematic patterns of varying sizes, and obviously written in a fluster. Peering out darkly from beneath the crisp, crudely tied ligatures were large red blobs like spilled ink somehow shaped and scratched into multiple portraits of the Marker at various perspectives, each one detailed enough to clearly represent even the symbol-laden crevices. As his eyes feverishly scanned the table, Isaac noticed there was only one black pen still lying there, leaving him to question from where he had managed the red.

Did Ellie see any of this?

As frightened as he was by the prospect that he had again lost control of himself, Isaac was also curious to understand what he had been writing - something he had absolutely no memory of doing. He slowly approached the table and started sifting through the papers strewn across it, sweeping some aside. The deeper into the piles he went, the more detailed and foretelling the underlying pages revealed themselves to be, and he finally stopped when he came across a page that was completely cornered from top to bottom with an endless stream of mathematical symbols, written small enough to encapsulate hundreds of them on a single line, and many of which he did not recognize. As he looked at it, he very briefly forgot his most immediate concerns.

Hmm. He had been struggling with this part for a while. How did he come to this conclusion? Had he tested it, at least in a theoretical projection?

Isaac lifted the page and glanced underneath at a labyrinth of strange symbols, number combinations and crude, wireframe sketches of various Marker designs. He had no memory of having documented such things, but he knew exactly what it was. What he had been designed to do.

"Oh, hey you!"

Isaac's heart leapt up into his throat as a voice suddenly came at him from behind. He shot a wide eyed look over his shoulder and saw Ellie was standing in the living room, looking at him expectantly. He evidently hadn't heard her come in, judging by the startled look on his face.

"Jeez. Relax. You look like you just woke up to grenades being tossed at you."

He continued to stare at her, frozen in place, until the coy smile upon her face began to slip out of concern.

"I'm sorry. I, didn't mean to scare you. Really, you ok?"

As her face took on a more serious expression, he slowly turned around to face her.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Is, everything..."

Isaac's lost gaze and nervous inquiry betrayed his attempt to act as if everything were normal. Sensing his confusion, she nodded reassuringly.

"Yes. Everything is fine. Don't worry."

She sidestepped into the kitchen, slipped the knapsack she had been carrying off her shoulder and placed it down on the counter.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up. I tried to wait for as long as I could, but I needed to pick up a few things. I hope you haven't been wondering."

"It's ok. I just got up a few minutes ago... I think."

He just watched her through a detached stare as she opened the bag and began pulling items out of it. He eyed her body language, and too afraid to ask her directly, he waited for her to say something. She eventually paused, keeping her eyes on the bag.

"So... I umm, I'm glad you're alright."

She pulled out a small box of bandages and a bottle of wound cleaning solution.

"I got these... to wrap up that bruise you've got there."

Unsettled by her words, Isaac reached up and touched the bruise on his head.

"Yeah... about that. What happened? I hope nothing uhh, nothing... untoward..."

Anticipating his fears, Ellie immediately shook her head.

"No, no. Nothing like that. You were just fine. You just... well, you had a seizure."

Isaac blinked in surprise.

"What?"

Ellie tried to remain casual as she sorted through the items in her bag.

"Y, yeah. I mean, that's what I think it was... I'm not a doctor, you know. You have a history of those?"

Isaac shot a skeptical glare at her.

"No... not that I'm aware of."

Not knowing what else to say, she shrugged.

"Ok... Umm, well, you... you seem to be doing much better, now. It wasn't that bad... actually. The seizure, I mean."

"Not that bad? Where'd this bruise come from?"

Though she wasn't aware of it, her chest started to blush beneath her tank top.

"You umm... You banged your head against the table. You started having convulsions, and I tried to keep you from falling off, but... you're a really big guy when you're flailing around like that. There wasn't much I could do but... wait it out."

She nibbled at her lip, looking a bit more apologetic.

"I also think you bit your tongue. I did manage to get you to bite down on -"

Having heard enough, Isaac smiled in an attempt to express gratitude.

"Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm sorry you had to deal with that. It wasn't my intention to throw that on you."

Ellie just smiled in return, knowing that the words weren't necessary. Her eyes traveled across his disheveled clothing, then she turned back to the knapsack and pulled out a set of clean, brand new clothes.

"Got these for you. Figured you'd want to change out by now, hope I got the size right."

She picked up the first aid kit, and gazing over Isaac's sad, tired gaze with amnesty, she motioned to him.

"Why don't you come sit down, over here. Let me take a look at that thing."

Without a word he kept his eyes upon her as she walked past him, and directed him to sit down. He obeyed her breathlessly, happy to receive her attention, and took a seat quietly on the couch while she opened up the first aid kit. She pulled out some gelpacks and bandages, then briefly examined the bruise on his head, which was still marked with lines of fresh blood.

"It's not as bad as I thought. Just a little gash."

She carefully started to dab a swab around the wound.

"So, you don't remember anything about what happened?"

Keeping his eyes forward as she worked, Isaac barely shook his head.

"No."

"What's the last thing you do remember?"

He paused for a moment.

"... I remember coming back here, right after the restaurant."

She glanced up from her work at him.

"Really?... That's it?"

She saw as his eyes shot toward the mysterious pile of papers upon the table, and his brow creased even deeper. Clearly, he was as much an unaware observer of his work as she was.

"I mean, it's alright. You did say it had been a while since you drank, so... I just, I was hoping..."

"Hoping what?"

She briefly glanced at him then away again, trying to force back a smile.

"... Well, we had a nice talk last night. I learned a lot about you. I just hope you can remember what you learned about me."

He weakly attempted to smile back.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You don't even know me."

Ellie raised an eyebrow.

"... Who are you?"

They both fell silent as their eyes met, each trying to read the other, until Isaac looked away.

"I'm really sorry. I'm nothing but trouble, I told you that..."

Ellie would have none of it as she prepped one of the bandages.

"Stop apologizing. I know this hasn't exactly been an easy experience for you. You're okay now, that's all that matters."

He didn't seem eased by her attempt to placate.

"No, Ellie. Sleepwalking. And now seizures. I've never done any of this stuff before. And the visions aren't going away. Something is wrong."

"It's just like what you showed me last night at the restaurant. Whatever it is, there has to be a... reason for it."

She made a very quaint, albeit odd expression as she stated this, perhaps an unconscious act. But Isaac noticed it, and suspecting it masked something deeper, he kept his eyes upon her as she finished applying the bandage to his head.

"What is it, Ellie?"

Feeling the gravity in his voice, she sighed.

"Well, about last night... The notes weren't the only thing."

"Yeah?"

"You were talking. To someone."

He narrowed his eyes upon her.

"Talking to who? You mean someone here?"

Ellie looked down at the unopened bandages in her lap and started to push them back into the package, trying to avoid eye contact with him.

"No. I mean... in your mind. Like, telepathically. I don't know. I think that's why you were writing all that stuff."

Isaac didn't respond to her, and she eventually cleared her throat.

"Ahem... I should probably check your shoulder. And your hand, too."

Struck by what she was telling him, Isaac hardly noticed as she carefully rolled up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal the bandage tacked to his left shoulder.

"What was it that we were talking about?"

Ellie paused, once again finding the precision in his choice of words to be rather striking. It was as if he took his enigmatic conversations for granted, showing more of a concern in the subject matter than in the recipient.

"I don't know, Isaac... Stuff I don't understand. I guess it's about these Codes you were telling me about."

Ellie started gently peeling away the bandage on his shoulder, making her way around until it lifted away. She glanced at the wound underneath, and her eyes brightened.

"Oh - it's healing rather nicely, actually."

Isaac joined her in observation of his shoulder. While he could still see the small, circular dent where the javelin's impact had occurred, thanks to the accelerated healing properties of somatic gel the gaping hole was completely sealed, and the skin had healed over in a smooth layer of pink, freshly regenerated flesh. He flexed his shoulder muscles, watching as the nascent, pocked skin stretched with his movements like plastic putty.

"Hmm."

His view was obscured as Ellie quickly dabbed the area with gel, then wrapped a fresh strip of gauze around and started to fasten it. She worked quickly, and within seconds she had already moved on to his hand. Before he knew it she had the bandage off, prompting him to look at it.

"Hey, look at that."

The hole in the center of his palm had closed up completely, and all that was left of the gaping puncture was a small bulge of fresh, pink skin on either side of his hand. He gently massaged it with the fingers of his right hand, feeling as the healing nerves tingled just beneath the flesh. He nodded approvingly, then Ellie cleaned and dressed it in clean gauze. When she was finished, she took a step back and brushed her hands with satisfaction.

"Looking good! You'll be rid of these bandages in just a couple of days."

Again, Isaac flexed his hand, and feeling a sense of relief in the intermission, he turned his attention to the bag on the counter.

"... Thanks. So, I guess I must've been out for a while, huh? You were busy."

Ellie gathered the discards of her work and tossed them on the table.

"I was only gone for a couple hours. I stopped at Alan's on the way back, just to catch up with him after yesterday."

Isaac paused thoughtfully.

"Oh, yeah. How's he doing? Hope I didn't impose too much on your friend."

"Nah. Alan doesn't mind. He's always been there for me like family, so anything goes. And he likes you actually, thinks you're pretty smart."

Isaac gave a nervous chuckle.

"Well, he didn't turn me in - so he's okay in my book."

Ellie flashed a smile to keep the mood light, fighting an impending weight upon her mind. She slowly came over and sat down next to Isaac on the couch, keeping her eyes on her hands.

"So... umm... we were talking - Alan and I - and, it looks like he found me a job."

Isaac turned to look at her.

"Oh? ... Is that right?

"Yeah. It's uhh, it's right up my alley - satellite crane operator. Independent contract gig."

He sensed the tension in her, how difficult it was to say in spite of her seemingly affable front. But he didn't want to derail her progress; finally, things were getting back on track.

"Oh... well, hey, that's great! Where?"

She finally raised her eyes to meet his, if only briefly.

"... Ceres."

As he comprehended her reply, Isaac's forced enthusiasm began to plummet.

"Ceres?... Off Neptune?"

"Yep."

He blinked in the midst of a most awkward silence.

"Wow. That's... that's pretty far."

Ellie drew a sharp breath.

"You know how it is, Isaac. Gotta go where the work is."

In that moment, Isaac felt totally violated by his own logic and struggled to stay the course. A faraway place like Ceres was exactly where she needed to be... but nowhere near where he wanted her to be.

"Yeah. No, that's good. I'm glad for you, Ellie. You should definitely do it."

Ellie could sense his emotional embattlement, but considering how eager he was to push her away, she still wasn't certain about his true feelings. Still, ever the one to push the envelope, she tried even now to convince him to follow through on what she thought - or at least hoped - he really wanted.

"You know... I could talk to him about getting you on board, too."

To her disappointment, Isaac quickly voiced dissent.

"No, Ellie. I can't do it."

"Who would know? It's not a CEC joint, no employment records, its -"

Isaac cast a slow, sweeping glance of remorse at her feet.

"I can't take that chance. You know that."

She began to raise her voice in argument.

"Come on. You think they won't find you here, Isaac? How's this place any safer than a place like Ceres?"

He shook his head a little more vehemently.

"They can find me anywhere. I don't expect New Horizons to be any exception. That's why I can't have you anywhere near me. Not here, not on Ceres, not anywhere. You understand?"

She flashed him a stern look, then looked down.

"... Yeah. Yeah, I get it."

He saw she was hurting, but he tried to move the conversation forward.

"I guess this means you'll be leaving pretty soon, then?"

Ellie nodded, trying to feign indifference.

"Later on tonight, probably. The position's open immediately, and if I don't take it, somebody else will. So there's no point in wasting any time, right?"

Isaac looked at her.

"Tonight?... yeah, no point in wasting any time."

She saw a cloud over him as he looked down, and she sought to soften the blow.

"You know, Alan told me about the job the day we got here. I just... made the decision today, that's all. It has nothing to do with what happened last night. You know that, right?"

He looked up at her again, his expression blank and unreadable.

"Of course. How's your eye doing?"

Ellie blinked and pulled back, confused by the shift in direction but she rolled with it.

"It's - it's fine. I haven't looked at it yet, but it feels great. There's no pain. I think I'm ready to take the bandage off."

"I thought they said to leave it on for a few days."

The more she thought about it, the more she beamed with the impatience of a young girl about to get her braces removed for the first time.

"I know, but I can tell that it really healed fast. It works just fine, I can feel it. And besides... I want you to see it before I go. I really don't want your last memory of me to be of this stupid eye patch."

Isaac twisted his lip.

"Well ok, if you say so. You want to do it right now?"

Her face brightened even further.

"Right now?... Ok, sure!"

"Here, I'll take it off for you."

Isaac sat up and turned to face her, gently catching her chin in one hand and gripping the eye patch's adhesive strip in the other. She giggled under her breath as he smiled and prepared to remove the patch.

"And... drumroll, please. Introducing Ellie Langford's brand new..."

He softly pulled the bandage off and she immediately opened her eyelid with a broad grin, revealing her artificial implant for the first time. The joking, lighthearted expression upon Isaac's face immediately fell flat into sheer puzzlement as he looked at it.

"... Oh fuck, Ellie."

Her smile evaporated.

"What?"

He tsked, shaking his head disapprovingly as he continued looking into her eye.

"It's the wrong color."

"The wrong color?"

"Yeah. This one's... it's green!"

Ellie stiffened in his grasp.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"

She then stood up and walked into the bathroom to observe it for herself.

"Oh... auuuuughhhh!"

Isaac tried to stifle a laugh behind her back as she screamed at her reflection.

"Aww, it's not that bad, Ellie. It's actually kinda cute. You look like a genetically altered rat."

She scowled at him from behind the bathroom wall.

"Shut up, Isaac."

"Hey, don't take it out on me, now. I told you to go with the better model in the first place. You could've calibrated the eye color on that one."

"Oooooooohhh..."

Isaac finally sighed and threw up his hands.

"It looks fine. You can't even tell it's an implant, at least."

Ellie finally stepped out of the bathroom, bearing a small, girlish pout of insecurity.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. You probably could get them to switch out the color plate for you, but... I dunno. This is an interesting look. More importantly, how does it work?"

His words convinced her she could ultimately dismiss the transgression, at least long enough to test the eye's functionality. She began looking all around the room to exercise its range of movement.

"It's fine. The image is a little fuzzy right now, but it's improving the longer I look at the light."

"See? Then, that's all that matters."

Ellie stepped back into the bathroom to snag one more glance at it in the mirror.

"Bloody hell. I just got Alan to punt me a fresh passport today... I listed that I have an implant, but I marked the color as 'blue'. I hope they don't notice."

Isaac started to laugh.

"It's a fake passport. You're worried about getting the eye color right?"

She just stared at him with her lips folded into a little frown until he got up, walked over and gave her a hug of consolation.

"It's beautiful, Ellie. I told you it would be."