17 April 2004
Thoughts of an Unnamed Earth Explorer
By Zuzanny )
Part 4
I watched Harry walking along the edge of a huge gorge, deep as the earth was wide and sharp as though it had been carved out with huge knives. The wind whipped through his long white hair and stirred up his white clothing around him like it was a living thing. He drifted along the very edge like a tight rope walker, looking down as he went. When he finally looked up at where I was there was a small smile on his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes. With out a word he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned backwards. Before I could take one horror filled step towards him he plunged, like a dying bird, into the inky darkness below.
I gasped as I came awake, my heart beating so loud, and sweat coating my back and face. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I realised I was safe in my quarters, my blankets kicked off my bed at my side. I took deep breaths willing my heart to slow down and my nerves to settle. But after that dream they wouldn't. I cursed and pulled myself out of bed and hurriedly dressed in the previous day's track suit. Who cared if it was not my uniform. It was not like we had any superior officers aboard to tell us off.
I hurried to the med bay to check on my Harry.
I sighed with relief when I found him just as I had left him. Actually better than I had left him. He was curled up on his side asleep, one hand close to his mouth like he was sucking his thumb. Gentle snores emanated from him and I smiled as I saw the pain lines were gone from under his eyes. He really was adorable asleep.
I signed in at the door and sat at his bed side, stroking his fine hair gently. It was tied up in the braid again. I sat watching and stroking him for a long time, lulled into relaxation by his gentle breathing, when I noticed the blush on his cheeks was gone.
Shit.
Ice cold. Pain. Panic. Are these tears in my eyes?
Iris, the medic, poked her head in, catching my attention and motioning for me to come with her. I did as she asked.
"What the hell is THAT?" I asked as she held up a jar filled with fluid and something that I would have thought was an ordinary plant bulb if it wasn't about the size of an apple and undulating with it's roots and tendrils like a jelly fish or... some kind of... I don't know. Seeing it swimming around in the jar was creeping me out.
"This," The medic explained. "was what we removed from your, uh, from Harry's intestines."
"Shit." I breathed with disbelief, my eyes widening. Iris placed the jar down on her desk with a plunk. The bulb-thing shot up to the top of the fluid at the bump, then started flittering around again.
"You'll be pleased to know that we got all of it, so there will not be a repeat of yesterday." I nodded, eyes glued to the little... creature. This thing. This thing was what caused Harry to come here again, and to become outcast from his people. I wanted to stomp it to bits. "From the test I've run I discovered that this little bugger stimulates the hormones in such a way to give the appearance of pregnancy."
I peered in closer to the critter. "Plant baby." I said. "What would have happened if you didn't remove it? If it was there any longer?"
Iris didn't even need to think about it. "At the current rate of growth it would have burst Harry's intestines open causing mass bleeding and infection. If Harry lived through that it would have been to immense pain, and his stomach juices would basically would have eaten him, inside out. In short, a long, slow, painful death."
It was hard to imagine that there could have been worse pain than what Harry had gone through last night.
Yesterday...
I showed Harry into my quarters, now OUR quarters, watching as he absently rubbed his belly. He sat down on the bed, and gave me a look that was so defeated, so fearful that it made my heart break.
"Uh, do you mind waiting here for a few hours?" I asked him. "My shift starts soon, and I have to discuss our arrangements with my superiors."
He just ducked his head and nodded, hand still pressed to his guts.
"Is everything alright?"
He sent me a sad smile. "I'm fine." He said quietly, waving me off. "Go do what you do."
I wasn't convinced, but I wasn't going to argue with him. "Feel free to look at and use everything." I told him. "There's some tomato puree on the bench."
He gave me a slightly warmer smile then. I ruffled his hair and left.
My shift at the computer console was particularly slow and boring. Monitoring radiation levels and weather patterns and bio-gasses is only interesting if there are fluctuations. Today it was flat normal.
My superiors barely twitched an eye brow when I checked into the space station out in neutral space several squillion clicks THAT way via com line. They were like "Uh-huh. So you own an Iniri now. Huh. Well. Try not to (vague wave in the air) get it dirty, or what ever."
I was surprised that they were so supportive.
I played "Space Invaders 10,000" while I watched the seconds tick backwards.
I didn't see Ford around, but he was busy catching up on the negociations, and it really wasn't him I wanted to see anyway.
Finally my shift was over and it seemed like seconds later I was back in my quarters. I walked in and the bed was messed, covers thrown on the floor. The vid was showing static, it's movie reached the end, other movie disks were scattered around on the floor in front of the viewer. The tomato puree had not been touched. There was an acidic smell in the air.
"Harry?" I called out, slowly looking about. "Are you here?" A small sound came from the ensuit bathroom. The door was ajar and there was Harry, curled up in a tight ball on his side on the floor in front of the toilet. He was whimpering mindlessly and shivering, lying in his own vomit and waste. The smell almost made me join him in the vomiting. Holding my breath I pulled out some towels and covered him up with them, then ducked out to call in the medics (and breath).
Back in the bathroom I tried to get Harry to talk to me but he continued whimpering. "Have you hit your head?" I knelt beside him and ran my fingers over his scull. Nothing seemed wrong there. I traced down his spine until I reached the middle of his back where he jumped at the contact, making a sharp pained noise. I continued down, tracing down his legs and finding mo broken bones. I pried his arms away from his middle (Which was rather difficult) and he just about jumped through the roof when I lightly traced the hard bulge in his stomach area. I swore to myself and slid my arms under his shoulder to lift him to sitting. Harry gave me a pitiful look, tears and vomit plastering his hair to his head and neck, then vomited all over the both of us. "It's alright, it's alright," I chanted softly, getting an arm under his legs and clambering to my feet. Over to the shower I took us, bracing his legs up with my own knees while I reached out and turned on the shower. I rocked and whispered things to him and lowered to sit on the base of the stall. Harry pressed his face against my shoulder as the warm spray cleansed us both. His eyes were very glazed and I wondered if he did hit his head after all.
Harry continued his whimpering, every few moments bringing up more bile. Black bile. Tinted with red. Not good. I started peeling the clothes from his body when there was pounding at my door. "We're in here!" I yelled and the medics spilled into the room and took over from me. I don't remember much after that, I was shaking so badly I could hardly stand up. The medics asked me questions and I could hardly think let alone answer. I kept my eyes on Harry as he was carted away to the med bay.
And it was all because that little creature currently swimming around in the jar on Iris' desk was shoved up inside him.
I think Iris saw the fury in my face because she ordered me back to Harry's bedside to wait.
But I must say that seeing the little creature also was a relief. Harry had not lost a child. There was never one there to begin with. No wonder his people were forbidden to go down in the valley.
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