Chapter 2: The Shattering

A tense silence filled the room. Whatever volatile reaction that was happening earlier had finally subsided. Lisa waited on baited breath, hoping for any sign of success; or at the very least a sign of Lincoln's safety.

"Li-Lincoln?" Lisa asked hoping for the best. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah...I feel...ok." Lincoln replied not entirely sure.

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief. At the very least he wasn't adversely affected. But now that his safety was confirmed, the big question remained.

"So, do you feel any smarter now?" Lisa asked, hoping for a positive response.

"A little." Lincoln replied then pointing to a whiteboard adjacent to them. "The answer to that equation there is 24.7714."

Lisa looked at the equation he mentioned and worked it out. He was right. Something that she had to use a calculator to solve, took Lincoln only a glance.

"It worked. IT WORKED!" Lisa cheered as she hugged Lincoln with all her strength.

Lincoln returned the hug naturally, but it felt different. He felt an unfamiliar yet welcoming warmth. Like for some reason this hug, in comparison to all the hugs he's ever received, felt...right. He began to notice certain things about her more than usual: the suppleness of her skin, the inviting warmth of her embrace, the muted fragrance that wafted from her hair. Everything seemed so pronounced. Lincoln and Lisa became lost in the moment. Lisa especially, given that this was possibly the best moment of her life. Her hard work paid off and it helped her more precious than life brother; what more could she ask for? But then the moment was interrupted by a groan.

"Come on Lisa, I'm trying to sleep. Can't you wait till morning?" Lily groaned trying to go back to sleep.

This caused Lisa to jump back instinctively as if to prevent any suspicions of her almost obviously love fueled embrace of her brother. Upon release, Lincoln felt odd. Like he was robbed of something wonderful without fully realizing what it was. Like he felt incomplete.

"Well Lincoln, I suppose we should get some sleep. It is rather late."

"Ye-yeah you're right. Goodnight Lisa." Lincoln said as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Lisa went back to her desk to bask in the glow of her serum. The glow was now not only beautiful and soothing, but now it was also invigorating. All that's left to do is see how Lincoln holds up in the morning. Eventually she fell fast asleep with a smile on her face.

Morning broke. Everyone in the house were rising out of bed to get ready for the day. Lisa picked up her voice recorder to add another entry to her logs.

"Log Date: 11-30-27: The LUCY serum appears to be a success. I have tested it out on a willing participant who was showing symptoms of cerebral degradation. The participant showed almost immediate results, solving a complex mathematical equation at a glance. The full extent of the serum's effects have not yet been realized. More time is needed to observe the participant for further development." Lisa said as she saved the recording.

She left her room along with Lily to go to the bathroom line. However when she went there, Lincoln wasn't there. But she didn't pay too much attention to that, simply thinking that he must be sleeping in or already got a head start.

Half an hour later, she went downstairs for breakfast. Once again Lincoln was not there. This made Lisa begin to worry. She decided to cut breakfast short and check on Lincoln. She ran upstairs and beelined to his room. While at the door, she picked up the distinct smell of feces. Fearing the worst she opened the door.

The normal bustling in the Loud house was suddenly interrupted by a loud scream. The entire family rushed upstairs to see what the reason for the screaming was. To everyone's horror, they found Lisa trying to shake back to life an unconscious Lincoln, laying with his face turned to his left, with his pants soiled with his own stool and urine. Whomever wasn't frozen from the shock or trying to rustle him to life, was calling for an ambulance to get help. While they were waiting for help to arrive, a silver line shone in their dark cloud: Lincoln was breathing. Not in a frantic way like he was deprived of air, but calmly. It was almost as if he was sleeping. Soon the ambulance came and rushed him to the hospital.

The Loud family filled the waiting room, consoling each other while waiting to hear what the doctor might say. Everyone was worried about Lincoln, but not as much as Rita, Lisa and Lily. Lisa had it the worst. Not only was her beloved brother in the hospital, but she most likely was the reason.

"I don't understand. How did this happen? I did everything right. Lincoln even became a genius, so what could have possibly happened? What if everyone finds out that it was the serum that has him like this? What if he...NO! Don't think like that! He'll pull through this! He's stronger than that! He has to get better." Lisa thought as the tears she'd been fighting to hold back began to flow. "He has to."

Eventually the doctor came out to speak with them after a 6 hour wait.

"Well Louds, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I have some good news and bad news." Dr. Letterman said.

"Is our son gonna be ok!?" Lynn Sr. asked fearing the worst.

"Well, good news is your son's vitals are perfectly stable. Physically he's healthy."

"Oh thank God!" Rita exclaimed.

"However, that's only physically." Dr. Letterman said, causing what little joy the family had to ebb away. "The bad news is, his cerebrum is compromised. He doesn't remember anything and can't even speak verbally. Also he's unable to express emotion at the moment."

This caused Rita to lose all strength in her legs, simply crumbling under the weight of the revelation. Everyone did their best to process the news without completely shutting and breaking down. Their only son, their only brother, essentially a husk of his former self.

"However there's still a silver lining." Dr. Letterman said.

"Really? *sniff* What is it?" Lori asked.

"I think it would be best to show you."

Dr. Letterman led the family to a room in the psychiatric ward in the hospital. There Lincoln was with a nurse who was holding a card with a complicated math problem, while Lincoln was sitting at a table, writing the answers to the problem like a machine.

"What's going on with him Doctor?" Lynn Sr. asked.

"Your son seems to have an astronomically rare version of Savant Syndrome. While he may have lost his memory and speaking skills, he seems to have gained mythological levels of intelligence." Dr. Letterman replied.

"So does that mean my little man can go back to normal?"

"It may be possible. Our main concern is trying to repair whatever damage happened to his brain." Dr. Letterman said as he began to write a prescription. "These pills should help strengthen his mind. He'll also need to eat foods rich in protein and Omega 3 fatty acids, supplemented with some gingko extract."

"So we can take him home?" Rita asked hopefully.

"Not yet. We'll get his regiment started and run a few more tests to check for progress. But once he's released to you, you'll have to try to jog his memory and do speech therapy. Also he'll have to see me once a week for examination. I can see that you're a tight knit family, so I'm sure you'll spark something in him. Just have patience."

"Thank you doctor." Lynn Sr. said. "Come on family, let's go home and wait for Lincoln."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Well guys, here's chapter 2. Hope you guys like it. Your reviews are highly appreciated so please leave yours. Until next time