Starship of Lost Souls

                                    

                                          


Starship of

Lost Souls

By

 Jennifer Cypert























Episode 1



Torrine woke up in the middle of the night, subtle pains in her stomach. She could feel it was almost time. Excitement and a small looming fear gripped her at once. 

“Jorn. Jorn, wake up.” She spoke quietly and in a stern voice.

“What is it?”, her husband asked the grogginess in his voice. 

“It’s almost time.” Torrine replied with more urgency. Jorn jumped out of bed now, fully awake. He dressed quickly then helped Torrine into her housecoat. 

They walked the long corridors, silently remembering rooms of family and friends that death took, as they quickly walked by. Sorrow filled the husband and wife with the lonely memories of the past of years gone by. Brothers, sisters, mothers gone in an instant, generations broken into bits. An invisible mausoleum that only the living truly understands. The houses get completely wiped of the past families; belongings distributed among those that are still alive.  New families in to take up that space. If there is nothing left of the families, what remains is auctioned off, sold to the highest bidder, amongst the high officials. A sort of mockery the wealthy indulged in. The poor knew that it went on yet had no choice but to sit back and let it happen. Friends of the families were not allowed to claim anything that belonged to those that were lost. It was a rule set by the rich. A sick part of the game they got to play.

Even in death, the rich still owned a piece of them. The houses of the rich were cluttered with the trophies of the dead in piles, like spoiled children once they played with their toys for five minutes, then scattered to the floor. It was a sickening thought that often went through the minds of the less fortunate, knowing that eventually it would happen to them too. The other thing that plagued them was the fear of being forgotten. When enough people die, no one cares if you exist at all.







Episode 2

They reached the exam rooms. The long hall filled with the stench of too much blood and death, dried underneath doorways.  Jorn did his best to coax Torrine to an empty exam room. He couldn’t help but think about how many were left in the life center. He couldn’t help the panic bubbling within while trying to keep her calm, not knowing whom they had lost now. Or why there seemed to be so many dead.  Jorn helped Torrine to her bed, kissed her forehead and hurried off down the hall. He tried not to think about the putrid odor in his nostrils, fighting the urge to vomit, as he took large steps down the corridor. Jorn had never seen so many rooms filled with the dead, through the doors agape by the impact of death. He tried to quell the thoughts plaguing him of questions he longed to avoid. Jorn soon reached the button on the wall that led to where he needed to go. 

 Around twenty angry and frantic husbands were yelling at each other, yelling at the guards by the life center. Through the garbled noise, Jorn found out there was only one left. Jorn watched as a fight broke out amongst the husbands, the guards doing their best to stop it. 

At that point he turned, running past the blood and the stench overpowering his senses to the flight captain. Another guard stood attention at the door barring the entrance. 

“I need to see the pilot.” Jorn rushed out, catching his breath.

“I can’t let you do that.”, the guard replied haughtily, smiling in a way that power gave him permission to do so.

“It’s an emergency, let me in!”, Jorn yelled. Losing his temper, panic nearly rising to the surface.

The guard shook his head in a lazy manner, a conceited smile on his face, knowing no matter what, he was safe, “That’s not going to happen.”, as he said this, Jorn, having enough of this enraging nonsense charged after him even though this guard might kill him. To his surprise, the guard didn’t see this coming and wasn’t prepared. Jorn tackled him to the ground, his head hitting the hard floor. He was nearly unconscious as Jorn slammed his head repeatedly. Once Jorn made sure he was completely knocked out, he took the guard’s weapon.  

Episode 3

Tarse sat casually in the cockpit, twiddling his thumbs as the ship gracefully floated, as chaos and despair permeated amongst the stars. He heard the grappling but paid no mind to it. The guard could handle anything that came his way. He was nearly asleep when Jorn burst in, stricken to madness. He noticed a charged energy pistol hanging loosely from his hand, which woke him from his bored stupor. 

“Tarse! How long do we have left until we get to another home base?”, Jorn asked out of breath, shaking. Tarse looked at the deck then back at Jorn.

“We have 5,000 miles to go, why?” Tarse knew why. He knew the situation, but he had orders. Those orders were to fly slowly. There would be a huge advancement in pay and status if he did what he was told. 

“You can go faster than this. It’s urgent! If you don’t, we are going to die. Don’t you understand? Die. I will no longer exist. Go faster!” Guilt plagued at Tarse, it had since the offer was made. He knew that Jorn and Torrine were to be expecting soon. The money was not the issue, but the status... the status was the diamond in the crown. It would mean so much to his families’ survival if he simply followed orders. 

“Please!”, Jorn yelled, violence in his voice. 

“I would Jorn. I would, but I… I have orders.”, stammered Tarse, not looking his friend in the face as he said this.

“Fuck your orders! What is wrong with you!? They got to you, didn’t they? I bet they waved something shiny in your face for you to bite at.” Guessed Jorn. Jorn remembered the day Tarse told him during a lunch break two years ago about the new position and the rigorous training. The training that all lead to this moment of them standing on opposite sides of the uniform. Tarse bent his head in shame. Jorn took this moment to step closer banging his friend’s head with the side of the pistol, hoping that when he woke up, Tarse would come to his senses. Jorn located the planet that they were slowly flying to and found the controls, remembering which ones that made the ship go faster from Tarse’s secret flying lessons. The doors flew open, Zel, a fellow coworker of Jorn’s burst in. 

“Torrine is calling for you.” Zel rushed, out of breath. 

“Okay. I need you to guide this spacecraft safely.”, Jorn ordered.

“What? Are you crazy?”, Zel asked, the shock in his voice evident.  

“Yes. Make sure to push this green lock button within fifty feet of the planet so we don’t crash.” Jorn replied and ran out the door. As he sped through, he could hear Torrine calling for him, asking the air where he was. He had been gone way too long. 

“I’m here Torrine! I’m here!”, Jorn stormed in the exam room. 

“Where were you? Where’s the baby?” Torrine asked between gasps of air. Her stomach was starting to get puffy. 

“I went to the life center. There was only one left and twenty of us fighting over it. We are on our way to the next planet.”, answered Jorn, quickly regretting this decision. Torrine’s face grew pale as the blood left it. All the fear came back in droves, and she quit breathing, passing out. Her stomach swelled faster, threatening both of their lives. 

“Torrine wake up!”, Jorn screamed. He shook her body violently. He had never touched her in this manner, but this was life and death. She slowly opened her eyes, coming to, not realizing what had just happened. 

“You must keep breathing. I know you are scared and beyond stressed out, but you must focus. Do you understand? Jorn commanded.

“Yes, more than you know. What if we don’t make it? I’m so scared, Jorn. We are the last ones in both of our family tree. After us, we will be erased.”, Torrine whimpered, tears spilling from her eyes as she breathed. This was the conversation Jorn didn’t want to have. This was the fear that plagued him every single day. Their future family lines ceasing to exist. He remembered when they started dating and looking up at the night sky talking about the struggle of being alone; like a hollow pit that refused to break.

“This is why we must try like hell to survive, Torrine. Fight. Fight for you and for me.” He said this with way less determination than he really had. 



Episode 4

Staying strong for her was his goal. Jorn looked at the wall which contained a display of an odometer, three thousand miles to go. 

“Tell me a story, Jorn.” Torrine said, while taking deep breaths as her stomach began to shrink back down to a moderately normal size. 

“What do you want to hear?”, Jorn , already knowing the answer to the question. He rehashed the details hundreds of times before, but like a good husband, he always asked without complaining. He took her hand in his, gently squeezing it in unison as she breathed, like a gentle reminder not only to listen, but to stay focused on the task. Like all their species, they often became easily sidetracked by things that made them feel happy or sad. 

“Tell me about the night we met.” Torrine smiled. 

“Well, I think you were eighteen and I was nineteen. It was on that red planet with the yellow sky. That evening, a large group of us decided to go out where there were trees in the shape of a circle. In the middle of the circle the was a pond that took up a third of the land inside the circle. We all separated into our groups and got into that pond. I was with the guys, and I just happened to look over to see the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Her hair was the most brilliant of cerulean, and she had a laughter so gorgeous that I stopped in mid-sentence just to introduce myself, because I needed to hear what her voice sounded like. My face was flushed with sweat as I waded in the water, my heart raced. I think that my palms started sweating, even though they were in the water.” At this point, he had to take a deep breath himself so the remembered fear wouldn’t seep in and lose focus. 

“Then what happened?”, Torrine pushed for him to go on after each breath.

“Our eyes locked and all I could see was you. Then something from the bottom grabbed onto my feet and pulled me under. It was deep and I couldn’t see, couldn’t kick my legs. Whatever it was had a death grip on me and was probably going to have me for an evening snack. After fighting and nearly giving up hope, I saw your blue hair and your lovely face diving toward me with a bright light globe. You had your hands stretched out in front of you and a determined look on your face, fire in your eyes. When you got closer you dropped the light globe distracting whatever it was, as it let go of me, I took your hands. You had quite a grip on me, as if I were your will to live, to not walk your life without me. Everyone formed into a sort of rope, holding on to one another to pull us out. After all of us were out of the water, we never went back in again. After spitting out half the pond and everyone made sure I was okay, you and I spent the rest of the night talking. You saved me that night and you continue to save me every day of my life. Thank you for always fighting for me. You are more than what I could ever ask for. I love you so much Torrine.” 

“Oh, Jorn, I love you too.”, Torrine sobbed.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry. Please don’t cry.” Jorn panicked. 

“It’s not the story that makes me cry, it’s what you say afterwards. You told this story on our wedding day and the words at the end were the exact words that you just said. I know that you don’t remember, but I do.” Torrnine gushed, tears still rolling down her face, the sparkle in her eyes in her eyes that showed all the love a man could ever want.

“You and your memory. You have always had a great one.” Jorn marveled, squeezing her hand. 

“It’s what helps you remember to eat your lunch. Someone has to help keep you a live.” Torrine giggled her beautiful lilt of a laugh that only she possessed. 



















Episode 5

Jorn looked at the odometer. One thousand miles left. As he was about to stare into his wife’s face, the door flew open, two guards bursting in. A heavy set one spoke, “You are under arrest for assaulting an officer! You are coming with us!” Jorn lunged at him, wrestling him to the ground, knocking off his helmet. The skinnier one joined the fight trying to get Jorn off his partner. Jorn clocked the man on the ground in the temple, knocking him out, before the other attempted to drag him off. Another helmet fell to the ground and a loud bang. A fellow co worker from across the hall heard the commotion, knocking out the petite one with a chair. The two fathers to be dragged out the guards. As Jorn looked across the hall to tell him thank you, his body swelled like a balloon, combusting all over the hall and the guards, and Jorn. 

Jorn got up quickly, to get to Torrine. Her stomach double the size of what it was earlier.

“No!”, Jorn yelled. He looked at the odometer. Five hundred miles to go.

“Hold on, Torrine, breath!

“I don’t know how much longer I that I can!”

“You have to make it! You don’t have a choice! We are almost there, Torrine. Please baby, just keep it up. If anyone can do this, it’s you.” Jorn coaxed, almost begging her to stay alive for them both. 

Many women on the ship were in different stages of labor. A ticking time bomb before the inevitable happened. The husbands held the hands of their wives, as sweat beaded on foreheads, each exam room filled with heavy breathing. For some, it was already too late. Their wombs slowly swelled up like balloons, at a certain point the pain of the contractions becoming unbearable as pain becomes the new distraction, breathing stops their screaming begins as they writhe and contort their faces into something unrecognizable. All the husbands can do is watch in cold acknowledgment that this is the end. Then they  look at one another for the last time. Tears of anguish filling each other’s eyes. The mother’s womb then exploding, leaving the exam rooms in a bloody mess, the women lifeless upon the beds. The remains of husbands mixed in a bloody mess with the rest of the wives’ remains. The cleaning crew would have their work cut out for them. 















































Episode 6

The spacecraft glowed brightly in fiery green light as it descended to the earth of the planet at speeds pushing past its limits. As the spacecraft landed, it locked onto the new world, creating an industrial city, full of homes, places of work, roads, and large dome shaped buildings. 

***

Hyatt laughed at something Crysyline said as they strolled through the forest. Her wittiness was something he wished he could capture and take home. They stopped and stared at each other, hearts beating in anticipation as they leaned into each other. Without warning, roaring filled the air. Hyatt and Crysyline ran out of the forest to see what was going on, only to find themselves being dissolved before each other’s eyes, reaching for one another, however futile. 

There was much shouting and confusion as Hyatt formed back into himself. He looked around finding himself in familiar surroundings, but deep down, like everyone else knew this wasn’t their home. Everyone was appearing at random in various stages of activity. Some had been in the middle of bathing, so they appeared nude, many were out in the fields working. Using various tools for different crops. Others in the throes of passion. Many reappeared still arguing trying to get the last word. 

Hyatt and Crysyline were separated. They called for each other, despite the sounds of shock coming from everyone else. They spotted each other in the large mass of their community, pushing through the multitude of people almost reaching. A hollow noise filled their new environment as the couple locked eyes. Hyatt, along with a few others found themselves being lifted once again, but this time their souls were sucked out of their bodies, while the bodies shriveled up into a black seed. Everyone watched in horror, as their bodies were frozen in place by some force within the dome. Doors opened and beings unfamiliar to them came in, weapons in hand. A beam from the ceiling illuminated the seeds. After they were in front of them, the laser dissipated. They took the seeds with them, closing the doors, the prisoners becoming unfrozen once again. 

Crysyline ran and knelt to where Hyatt stood, a cry of rage filling the air as with others from their loved ones that vanished. They screamed for hours without stopping, words in their language not enough to express what happened. Those with sharp objects tried to kill themselves, but in the dome, no one could die. Wounds healed as if they had done nothing at all. Some climbed as high as they could go to plummet to their deaths but failed in ending their lives. 

***

Jorn ran with all his might to the life center, stabbing a syringe into his vein, drawing up the blood to mix with his wife’s blood for the first stage of new life. It was like gold, like currency. Something so valuable, it could easily be broken if he wasn’t careful. He gingerly put the tube into the slot and closed the door. Jorn took the first life he spotted, the tube with its precious contents mixing with the  glowing bright chartreuse and minute specks of radiant yellow soul inside the tube. He put the specimen into the opening in the dome next to the new aliens. The contents were then dispersed into one of the pods at the top of it. The pod was then cut from the vine with a mechanical saw and placed in a holding cell for the transformation phase. The pod slowly began to glow the bright chartreuse vibrantly as the tiny soul transformed the pod into what would be their flesh and blood. 

Within seconds, the offspring was transferred to another opening where Jorn could take it out. He quickly grabbed it, running at full speed, nearly dropping it because it was so slimy from the pod. Under normal circumstances, the baby would have been washed, cleaned and then presented to the mother. Due to the situation at hand, the pod sludge remained.

  Jorn neared the corner where the exam rooms were, suddenly slipping on blood from one of the dead. The baby slid and crashed into the wall. Jorn quickly ambled to his feet, flying to the baby. 

He opened the door just in time to see Torrine's belly swelling to the size of a large melon. He rushed over, almost throwing the offspring in her arms. Her stomach going down inch by inch. 

After the pain and swelling subsided, Torrine was able to focus. She looked at her new baby at first with wonder, the realized something was way off. Instead of her newborn being a lovely fleshy peach, her son had a diaphanous and liquid quality to it, which alarmed her. “What’s wrong with the baby?”, Torrine asked horrified. 

Episode 7

A guard stormed into Dr. Brone’s office. He was hunched over his microscope analyzing the blood of the beings from the life center. Before the guard had time to speak, the scientist said in a gravely annoying voice, “This had better be good.” His lips formed a thin line marking the disturbance as he looked up from the specimen. 

The guard’s mouth went dry, and his eyes grew wide. Dr. Brone had always made him nervous, and it was evident in his voice as he stammered, “I’m so sorry to bother you. I know yyou are busy with the new lifeforms. I know you ddon't like to be disturbed. This will only take a minute of your time.” 

“Stop groveling and get to the point.” The scientist was more than irritated by this. He was looking up at him, eyes raised above his glasses. 



“I’m sorry. Of couse. You’re going to want to see this, sir.” The guard handed him a portable screen. The doctor pushed play as the screen conveyed to Jorn knocking out the officer standing patrol of the cockpit.

“Why does this involve me? This looks like something your men should have handled.”

“Kkeep watching, sir.”, the guard stuttered, his head bent down. 

Dr. Brone sighed and growled simultaneously, touching the screen to fast forward one level. He didn’t have time for this foolishness, he thought to himself. Yet after watching this screen, he said,”I am going to show this to Dr. Crim. 

Dr. Crim’s laboratory was down the hall. At this time, loud whining opera singers could be heard. When Dr. Brone opened the door, the smell of the dead lifeform greeted him. It was one of the better smells, for this one reminded him of toasted nuts and earth. On the operating table, the being lay there unconscious, tubes protruding from his mouth and other orifices, clear, fluid like, yet solid. He could see the creature’s heart beating, lungs pulsating with air. Dr. Crim was about to inject a serum into it when Dr. Brone hastily got her attention, shoving the screen  pressing play. 





Jorn sighed, looking at his beautiful wife. Sweat staining the contours of her face. Her hair clung to her head in large blue, unbrushed ringlets and splayed on the pillow; eyes bloodshot, deep with the fight between her womb and death itself. He took a breath then answered, “I was running to you as fast as I could, but I tripped and the baby…” he didn’t have time to finish. The door broke open and the room was filled with as many men as it could hold. Jorn was seized from behind. Torrine started screaming for him, tears pouring from her eyes, one arm reaching for him as she tried to get up to chase after him. “Torrine, no matter what, I love you!” he yelled before he disappeared from her sight.

 Fear and rage entangled him as he was whisked away through a door leading him to the new outside world. The sunlight blinded him. It had been several weeks traveling through space in the darkness with nothing but stars. The guards had helmets but did not extend the courtesy. He didn’t expect kindness. Not after the stunts that were pulled. The guards shoved him into a vehicle slamming his head onto the top of the patrol unit. Jorn became instantly high from the mold that grew somewhere in the depths of his temporary confinement. His throat and nose felt thick and fuzzy as if he swallowed the bathroom rug whole. His brain began to tingle, like tiny bugs were crawling in it, licking his brain.  As they drove, a high pitch buzzing infiltrated the small space.

They drove for what seemed like hours, the ride and the pain from his head causing him to grow tired, yet still awake due to anticipation and madness, not being able to escape the tyranny that plagued his senses. Yelling at the top of his lungs was his only solace. All his thoughts were of Torrine and what she may be feeling. He couldn’t imagine how scared she must have been seeing him torn away from her. 

Fight left his body. Jorn’s limbs, head and eyelids grew heavy. The darkness swam in saturated swirls gracefully flowing around him. He laughed at the darkness in mad cackling tones, echoes filling the confined space. He tried to follow where they would lead, hoping they would lead out of this place. He tried to lift his arms, hoping the swirls would pull him out of there, but they disappeared as he moved them, taunting and frustrating him. Jorn wept bitterly, hearing his sobs reverberating back in circles as the noise laughed at his misery. 

Finally, the vehicle stopped. Bright, piercing light now filled the small cavity. Jorn was found lying in the fetal position in a tight ball driven mad. They dragged him from the floor, to standing position, forcing him to walk to a looming, black, ornate prison. The guards lead him through the doors of the ornate building. He was then taken to a desk with protective glass. The guards checked him in while he remained in a stupor, the words not making sense to him. The prison reeked of raw sewage and urine. Cleaning crews could be seen mopping up blood from cells of those who couldn’t take much more, their bodies in bags by the door of their cell. The cleaning crew looked at the new prisoner seeing their comrade being taken to a cell, forlorn looks on their masked faces. They looked at each other, then looked back at him, crestfallen. 

The guards put their key cards to the door. They walked him past the threshold, then pounded the back of his head with the back of a pistol. When he came to, it took him a few minutes to realize where he was and what had happened. In front of his bed there was a twenty-four-inch screen, with a remote control next to it. The image on the screen was Torrine frozen, on pause. Jorn immediately took the remote and pushed play. He watched the guards closest to the hospital bed hold her down while someone else took the baby. She screamed louder thrashing with all her will. It took four of them to hold her, as she raged on fruitlessly. Two scientists in white lab coats entered the room. The one who held a syringe, crept to Torrine’s side and the other one held the baby at the foot of her bed. When Torrine saw her child, her eyes locked onto it, instantly quieting her. The scientist with the syringe saw the signal from his partner, a nod to inject Torrine with a foreign substance. A peaceful smile appeared on Torrine’s face as if she were looking straight at Jorn and their new arrival. With her laser focus on the baby, she didn’t notice everyone clearing out, leaving her alone with the male. Scientist.









Episode 8

“Jorn, the baby is perfect!”, Torrine exclaimed.

“He is perfect, just like you.”, the scientist replied.

“Jorn, stop. You really know how to make a lady blush.” Torrine laughed.

“What? Why is she calling him my name?”, Jorn asked the screen in confusion. 

“No. No… No Torrine! That’s not me! It’s not me. Can’t you see that it’s not me you are talking to? Please baby, look! Look at his face, look at his hands. Those aren’t my hands!”, Jorn yelled knowing full well that she couldn’t hear him, couldn’t see him. He cried, as he watched the love of his life stare into the eyes of another man, as she laughed her beautiful laugh. 

***

Jorn sat on the white tile floor, staring at the TV screen at Torrine, as they left the hospital ward. He watched as the scientist drove them to his home.

Watching her make dinner and listening to her favorite songs. He marveled at how graceful she was in everything she did, whether it was chopping vegetables or slicing meat. By the looks of it, it was his favorite stir fry. Saliva filled his mouth as his brain remembered what it tasted like when she cooked it. The moment was ruined when the scientist walked in holding their son. 

“Oh, Torrine that smells so good! I do love your stir-fry. Do you think that instead of adding fresh ginger we could add the powder kind? Maybe some olives as well? I think would give it a nice fusion.” The corners of the scientist’s mouth threatened to turn into a laugh. 

Jorn covered his mouth to hold in a scream. It came out as a squeak instead. “How dare you. How dare you come in and ruin my favorite dish with those black atrocities!”, he yelled inside his head. Whispers flooded the outside of his cell, making him jump out of his silent litany of curses. He looked up to see his coworkers doing their best to get his attention without alarming the guards

“Hey man. We heard about everything that happened. It’s pretty messed up. We want to help you and Torrine.”, Jommy spoke as low as he could. 

“How are you going to do that? It seems like they have her under some pretty heavy surveillance.” Jorn answered, turning ghost white at the notion. 

“That’s for us to figure out.” Verm answered.

“You mean to tell me that you don’t have a plan? You decided, while you were at work to bust me out of here.”, Jorn asked incredulously. 

“Yeah. Pretty much. We talked about it during lunch. We will come back in a couple days with the plan.” The two of them smiled in unison. 

The days pass slowly as hope builds within him. He can almost smell clean air as he holds Torrine in his arms in his imagination. He explores the new world with her and their son taking in the new wonders. He could see the look in her eyes. Her special look that let him know he was going to get lucky that evening. He missed that and everything else involving their life together. These thoughts twirled around in his head like a kaleidoscope filling him with more excitement that he could possibly contain. 

On the final day, his screen went black. Those few seconds were like time had suddenly turned into ice. After it came back on it was split into three sections. The top sections were of two jail cells like his, the third one being his wife. Guards opened the barred doors with Jommy and Verm in each cell. Both with bloody faces and barely alive. 

A menacing voice blasted through the intercom, “You didn’t think you were really going to escape, did you?”. The top sections of the screen fast forwarded to his two friends glued to the screen. His screen zeroed in on to the screen they were fixated on. Guards burst into each home, shooting Jommy and Verm’s wives and children. Jommy and Verm both took guns from the right side each taking their lives, blood cascading their cells. 

“Noooo!”, Jorn yelled at the screen. If he wasn’t already sitting, he would have collapsed to the floor. Words failed him as a tumultuous wave of emotion took over. He punched the ground repeatedly, feeling pain radiating in shattered bones. A deep laugh echoed over the intercom. He didn’t care that they could see his weakness. Jorn fainted from the pain.









“He’s got my eyes and my nose”, the scientist smiled haughtily, looking straight at a camera hidden in the room. 

“What the fuck ever.”, scoffed Jorn. The bitter taste of hatred filling his mouth. 

“Oh, he really goes! I didn’t notice that until now. They must have changed without my paying attention.”, chortled Torrine. 

“I saw them change. I was holding him while you were sleeping last night.”, he replied. 

“No, you weren’t. You were jacking off your pathetic penis, WHILE she was sleeping. Don’t get it twisted.” Jorn retorted, rolling his eyes. 

As the days passed, he wouldn’t eat or sleep. He watched as she slept, watched her get up to take care of the baby. At these moments, he tried to make the volume go up so he could hear her breathing. He gave up, learning that the volume only went up to a certain point, which was barely audible, driving him to a new kind of insanity. Prisoners coughed, wheezed, or cried, knowing the same torture. He wanted to yell at them in the back of his mind, but he didn’t. That urge never reached the walking point; it only poked the echoes of his brain. 

Jorn laid by the TV, trying to match his breathing to hers or envision that he was with her. When their son woke up, he would pretend to get up for her to feed their son. She was a natural with him, as she gently took him from his crib, soothing his every need. It warmed Jorn, somewhat to hear the baby coo, even though the ache in his chest grew a little more with each passing week. He longed to be with his wife and newborn so much, so that it felt like he would die if he didn’t. 







Episode 9

There was no way to bathe. From the putrid smell of his own body to those that were imprisoned with him came in constant waves. He could hear others retching and crying in their shared sorrow. The cell was supplied with a lavishly furnished bed fit for government standard. A window decorated with a filigree frame captured the moons and the suns, so that one might look out to escape their reality. Fabricated families smiled glassy smiles in pictures, adorned in intricate frames on both bed side tables. The finest literature filled two bookshelves on the left side.

On the right side of the room, there were shelves, lined in tiny bottles, containing different types of poison. Sharp knives of various sizes littered the walls hung on hooks, as well as ropes twisted into nooses ready for hanging himself. Several hooks for him to choose the place he would like to end it by strangulation on the ceiling. The food that was given to him lay piled on the floor, dumped there by the guards. No bowls or silverware included. They weren’t viewed as citizens any longer. They were now meant to be caged animals eating off the floor; left to be neglected for worse or ware. They were given everything yet desired nothing. Wet, runny food rotted the slippery white tile. It seeped into his ironically white clothing and dried onto his skin. 

 It was tempting, yet Jorn couldn’t bring himself to end his suffering. He saw how painfully violent death already was. It didn’t matter how disgusting his surroundings got. He couldn’t pry his eyes away. Not wanting to miss a moment of his wife or his son. He felt the pressure bruises on his elbows as the tile threatened to break his skin. His knees looking the same way; purple and red bruising on knobby bones. Day by day he grew thinner. His hip bones now showing. His face sunk in, while his eyes bulged from their sockets. Stomach acid eroded his gums, yellow decay outlining his teeth. He clung to hope in his madness; the inner workings of his mind sending messages that he needed to hold on to hope. Hold on to anything tangible that would keep him alive, even though he occasionally looked at the right wall. 

Occasionally, Jorn heard shots fired, wet explosions as brains decorating walls of other cells. At night, cell mates drank poison, throats choking and sputtering, their bodies would shake violently. All went quiet. All went dark in his hall. Only he remained. Soon, his hall wreaked not only of putrid filth, but of death as well. Jorn dry heaved uncontrollably while trying to keep the rest of his sanity intact. At one point in the night, he noticed how quiet it was without the coughing, crying and heaving of the others. He could hear his wife breathing and full conversations instead of missing every other word. In his own way, Jorn felt relief for the silence. 

Dr. Brone’s footsteps made loud pit falls down the hall of the prison. He checked himself in as usual, giving the receptionist a warm greeting. He had an extra spring in his step, for today was the last and final day, hoping to finally hear some good news from the observation crew. 

Screens buzzed as they showed the prisoners in different stages of misery. Bangs from guns, choking and sputtering from some drinking poison or prisoners slitting their wrists littered the screens. Others cried, hollering out the names of their families as they watched them live their lives without them. This brought smiles to the observation team’s faces like they were children celebrating their favorite holiday. Less mouths to feed, less paperwork keeping records of the state of the prisoners. They could stamp in the prisoner’s file DEAD, closing the file forever. 

As Dr. Brone entered through the observation office, he was greeted by the team. He noticed that their smiles were more nervous than usual.

“How is prisoner 1883 fairing today?”, a jovial smirk spread across his face. 

There was a pause, then a high-pitched squeak from one of the team. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to talk, only to shut it again.

“It.. would be better if you look for yourself.”, another team member spoke. 

The food that once littered Jorn’s cell was thrown about outside. It stuck to bars of the other cells. Only dried spots from food he could not clean up remained. The scientist fast rewound the footage to seeing Jorn eating and sleeping or reading. His guns, ropes, knives and poisons were emptied from their places were also outside of the prison cell. 

“Okay. Give him cleaning supplies and keep feeding him.”, Dr. Brone ordered, his tone clipped. 

“Alright..”, the team said in unison. 

Episode 10

Dr. Brone met Torrine at the door with a silver ball room gown,” I have called a sitter. Go shower and put this on. We are going to go get your make-up and hair done, then I have a surprise for you.”

 Torrine’s mouth gaped open after he while he was speaking to her. He had never been so forward. They could never afford the luxury of surprise. She found her words, “What has brought on this surprise? Where did you get the money for that dress?”

Dr. Brone to think fast. He forgot to factor in Jorn’s monetary status, “I got hired as an assistant to work in the science department.” Torrine’s face lit up and she let out a loud whoop in excitement as she jumped up and down. 

“When is the sitter coming?”, Torrine asked remembering the baby, speaking in a lower voice. 

“She will be here in five minutes. Now scoot or we will be late.”, Dr. Brone said looking at his watch, then looking at the excited woman. 

Right on time, a woman with green hair cut in a bob knocked on the door. Her arms were folded tightly around her lab coat. 

“I hope you know what you are doing. I was knee deep in brain matter, examining their cerebral cortex.” Dr. Crim complained.

“It’s good to see you too, Dr. Crim. Please come inside.”, Dr. Brone smiled as if to say please curb your yammering skull cave. 

Torrine walked out with the baby, a vision in a silver floor length gown. The gown fit her body perfectly. Jorn gasped at the sight of her in it, wishing desperately that he could have been able to afford something like that. It wounded him deeply not to be with her in that stunning material. He longed to run his hand over it, feeling it glide down her hips. 

“Thanks for the loaner.”, Dr. Brone said to Dr. Crim under his breath. 

“You cheap son of a bitch!”, Jorn yelled at the screen. 

“Would you like to hold the baby?”, Torrine asked Dr. Crim all smiles still walking toward them. She was struggling with holding on to the baby and walk in heels.

“Babies make me break out in hives.” Dr. Crim answered forgetting herself. Dr. Brone elbowed her in the ribs.

In a high-pitched voice she said, “Why of course I do!”

“That ugly little imp better not tear any beads from this dress.” Dr. Crim mumbling as she stared at the baby pulling on a strand of beads, a fake smile plastered on her face.

“It’s a baby, not a monster, Clarise. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Don’t forget to take urine, stool and blood samples.” Dr. Brone reminded her.

“I won’t. Everything is in the pocket of my lab coat.”, answered Dr. Crim gritting her teeth. 

They left the house, driving to a hair and make up salon. There was cool Jazz playing in the background. A tall, slim lady welcomed them in, nearly pushing Torrine into the stylist chair. 

“I think a cut and color should spruce you right up, don’t you think?, “suggested the scientists.

Before Torrine could get the words out if her mouth, the tall stylist agreed forcefully getting right to work leaving Torrine in an overwhelming state as she watched her cerulean hair fall to the floor in cascades. By the time the cut was all done, it was jaw length, with bangs. The beautiful blue color was replaced by an unsightly bright yellow, with makeup to compliment the color; neon fuchsia on the eyebrows and a blue very similar to the color of her hair, just for mockery. Jorn gasped at the image of his wife in disgust. Torrine tried to cover up any disappointment because of the occasion with a smile, but her eyes were full of sorrow. She had always been so proud of her beautiful hair. 

“What do you think?”, asked the hair stylist?

“I think she looks astonishingly magnificent”, Dr. Brone said before Torrine could say a word, where Jorn could see his face. There was an air of arrogance as if he had strategically won a small victory. Torrine looked down at her hair in total loss as it was being swept up by a broom and dustpan, then placed in a trash can right in front of her. 

After Dr. Brone paid the hair stylist he quickly rushed her off in his transport unit.

The restaurant buzzed with employees rushing with orders and the exchange of smiles when they entered. All eyes were on Dr. Brone and the lady at his arm as they walked past his colleagues in secret knowledge. 

“They are all staring at us.”, Torrine pointed out. She could feel her heartbeat in her throat pounding in a fast dance. 

“You look beautiful tonight. Let them stare at you.”, Dr. Brone answered. 

“Do you really think so? I feel so unlike myself.”

“Oh don’t be silly, you look stunning.” Dr. Brone replied.

“You’ve made her look like a deranged clown is what you have done.” Jorn mumbled to the screen.

As soon as they were seated, a waiter came to their table, “Would you like your usual, Dr. Br..” The scientist arched an eyebrow in warning, as if to imply that if he said another word, he would come unglued. Luckily, Torrine was too busy looking up at the sparkling decorative lights hanging from the ceiling her expression deliriously happy.

“Yes, that sounds great.”, Dr. Brone addressed the waiter sternly, throwing daggers with his expression. 

This got Torrine’s attention. Her childlike amazement plastered over her face, “What sounds great?”, she asked. 

“I’m ordering us a bottle of wine, darling, in celebration of my new position.”, Dr. Brone answered.

“Oh! What kind are you ordering?”, Torrine asked with great enthusiasm, scoring a few heads turned in their direction.

“It’s a cherry wine.”, Dr. Brone answered, clearing his throat. He wasn’t sure if it was possible to take her out in public with her incessant squealing. 

At this, Torrine laughed a good hearty laugh. After wiping the tears from her eyes, she composed herself as people shook their heads in annoyance, ”Jorn, are you trying to get me drunk on cough syrup?” Another fit of laughter. Dr. Brone was now gripping the tablecloth in his lap to quell his anger.

“No, darling, it will be better than cough syrup. Much sweeter.”, He answered fighting the urge not to grit his teeth. 

After Torrine took her first sip, her eyes widened in surprise, then took larger gulps, a look of pleasure after each one. Their food arrived by the time she finished the bottle for them both. Dr. Brone nursed his one glass half bemused and embarrassed simultaneously. After their meal, Dr. Brone had to guide Torrine out of the restaurant so she wouldn’t careen into anyone as they walked past waiters or customers. Everyone they walked by stared at them, glad they were finally leaving. 

“Let’s get some water and fresh air, shall we?”, Dr. Brone suggested.

“Yess.. let’s do. I drank a little too much wine.” Torrine agreed. 

“You drank the entire bottle.” Dr. Brone interjected.

“Oops.. it was so good. I couldn’t control myself.”, Torrine giggled.

The burnt orange night sky twinkled like diamonds as they walked along a cobblestone path. Torrine slipped in her heels a few times with Dr. Brone catching her as she squealed with laughter. He laughed too, feeling the smooth satin against her skin. Chirps from insects littered the trees in a rhythmic fashion nearly sounding like music. 

“Will you dance with me, my lady?”, the scientist asked.

“Jorn, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I certainly like it. Yes, I will dance with you.”

He led her into a grassy meadow, twirling her about. Little light bugs spun with both with each twist and turn. After embracing her once more he kissed her passionately. It had been a long while since there was physical intimacy. Torrine lapped up each kiss and touch as if it was pure sustenance and she was starving. 

Jorn had never hated anyone before in his entire existence. Not like he hated this man feeling up his wife. He wanted so badly to rip out his tongue, chop it up, and feed it to him. He wanted so badly to cut off his hands and burn them in a bonfire right in front of Dr. Brone. Yet, he couldn’t look away. 

***



 Jorn watched as they made love, even though it sickened him. During those times, the scientist made sure to have sex with his wife with her head at the opposite end of the bed. The scientist looked straight at the camera as had his way with her.  Most of the time, the scientist took her from behind, the camera zooming in first onto his wife, her face contorting with pleasure, then the camera panning up to the scientist’s face slowly taking on a wolfish grin. He could feel his guts wrenching with each movement they made as she moaned Jorn’s name. The first time he witnessed them, bile rose from his stomach, throwing up everything that he consumed that day. When they collapsed into each other when they finished, the scientist would fondle her until she had multiple orgasms, drenching both of them in her juices.

***

“My, my, my, your skin is turning such a nice shade, darling.” The scientist said this past her and into a camera without her noticing. 

“So it is! Must be something in the water.” Torrine laughed looking at her hand. 

Jorn didn’t want to believe it what he was seeing. He wanted to deny the entire thing, yet he couldn’t. Her skin was showing signs that she was expecting for the second time. A new wave of misery rocked his body, tears threatening to escape from his eyelids. He knew this was bound to happen, due to all the sex that had been happening over the last six months. 











Episode 11

A water hose set on high sprayed Jorn fully awake from a dead sleep, with freezing cold onslaught. Then the hated voice of a guard spoke from the speaker, “You’re going to want to be awake for this.” Jorn got off the bed and found old clothing under the bed to put on. Dr. Brone would have the prison guard wake him with a water hose randomly just to keep him on his toes. 

Jorn sat down in his usual spot in front of the screen. An image of an empty delivery room appeared on it. The door to the entrance opened. Torrine was on the gurney strapped down and blindfolded, struggling to get free as Dr. Brone tried to keep her calm long enough to give her a shot of something. The shot made her drowsy for what seemed like forever but was only a quarter of an hour. When she came to, a large screen was displayed in front of her, the blindfold and straps were removed. 

“Jorn!? Jorn, what’s going on!? You were just with me. I saw them take you away.   Where’s the baby!? What are you doing in a prison cell? Torrine yelled, hysterically at what she saw before her on the screen.”

“You are right. They did take the baby and me away. I have been in this prison for what seems like years. The man you have been with was not me. It’s a scientist. They drugged you somehow into believing what you saw was your reality; that you were with me. I have been able to watch you and the baby through a TV screen every day. He’s really grown, and I am sorry about what happened to him. I really am. I wanted to tell you, but I got taken away. I accidently dropped him before giving him to you. That’s why he looks the way he does. Oh Torrine, I have missed you so much and I love you more than you will ever know.”, Jorn answered in one breath talking as fast as possible. 

“I love you too. It’s okay. He seems to be doing well despite how I first saw him. It was so strange, because when he was brought back to me, he looked so normal. So do you think this mad scientist is going to come with a new baby?”, Torrine asked, worried.

“Honey, I hope so. Let’s try not to think about it. You are here with me now, and now is what matters.”, Jorn spoke, trying to avoid the inevitable yet again. He did know, however. For a few measly he saw the scientist, walk out of the building after giving her the shot and drive away. He could still see what Dr. Brone was doing through the split screen. Jorn wasn’t worried about that. He was more worried about keeping Torrine alive as long as possible, fighting back tears as he spent these last moments with her, “Just breath, my love. Just breath as much as you can.

“Jorn, you look like you are about to cry. Why? Why are you sad?”, Torrine’s eyebrows furrowed. She was incredibly worried about Jorn, even though this was the first time that she was really seeing him after realizing it. She felt like it was her duty to make him happy and it killed her inside that she wasn’t able too. She let out a sigh in resignation, knowing that she wasn’t going to get real answers or that he was holding back tears for some reason and those tears weren’t going anywhere. Torrine breathed, although her thoughts raced, trying to remember what had gone on within the last few months. Her mind blanked to no avail. 

“Jorn, tell me a story.”, she smiled.

“What story do you want to hear, honey?” Jorn sniffed, knowing full well what she was about to say.

“Tell me about the night we met.”, Torrine requested.

“Okay. As long as you keep breathing.”, Jorn replied.

“Okay. I will.”, Torrine promised.

Torrine continued to breath as Jorn told it to her once more, picturing all the events like she had done a million times over. Her favorite part came up and she focused hard on what he said. They talked more about their lives together, telling each other how grateful they were to have met. Jorn touched his screen as Torrine touched the air, as if they were touching hands. 

Although Torrine breathed, the contractions became stronger. At this particular moment, she knew the scientist wasn’t coming back. This was the end, and she knew it. Torrine looked at her husband, tears forming in her eyes, and she quit breathing. Her stomach began to slowly swell. “I love you Jorn.”

“Torrine breath!”, Jorn said out of desperation, yet knowledge of the next moments were swiftly coming.

She stared up at him instead, tear streaming down. “I love you!”, She yelled, the pain so intense it was hard to get the words out. Jorn grabbed a hold of the screen, bawling, struggling to get “I love you too” out. He began to feel his body expand as her stomach grew and grew. They both yelled from the pain simultaneously, as they exploded all over the rooms they resided in. 











































Episode 12

The baby had been silent, but observed everything that happened, never making a sound. Not while he was hungry or needed to be changed or even sleepy. He had waited for Torrine to figure out what he needed, which had not taken long.  and dad were out, but remained jovial even then. He had always known they would be back. Something felt different this time. The air felt different as the lady in the white lab coat was watching him from across the room as he sat in a play pen. His toys didn’t comfort him as they usually did with their different shapes and textures. Even when he put his favorite one in his mouth, it didn’t bring him any joy. Without warning, fear and dread paralyzed him. Although he didn’t understand any of what was going on, he knew the difference between happy and sad. He thought that he had angered the lady in the lab coat. Sometimes that happened. He might make a noise and she would suddenly fling gooey things from the body that lay on the table above his head. The first time it made him laugh, but it started to give off a putrid stench that seemed like it would last an eternity. He watched it nervously to make sure that it didn’t slide off the wall onto himself. The lady didn’t try to remove it until before his mom arrived. When Torrine walked in, she saw her cleaning above the play pen. The lady blamed the mess on him, so he tried to be as quiet as possible from then on. This somehow felt worse than that.

A break went through him. It felt like an invisible cord was suddenly cut. Not in an easy break kind of way. No... It was violent. As if someone was ripping each individual string slowly until it severed from the cord, until everything was completely separated. The child let out a shrill cry so loud that glass burst in sharp explosions. The lady in the lab coat didn’t have time to react. The impact knocked her to the floor, stabbing in several places. The lab was in a mass of destruction with broken tubes and equipment strewn about the place. Little sprouts of foliage sporadically grew from the floor after the child stopped screaming.

After all was quiet, everyone barged through the room. They saw the baby staring wide eyed from the safety of his play pen, lips twitching into a pout. They found Dr. Crim lifeless on the floor in a pool of blood. She was barely breathing, her chest raising in small tight movements. 

Dread filled the team as they approached, observing the glass protruding from her. If an anything escaped and broke the glass to use as a weapon, when touched it would instantly make minute cuts to the skin and cause the being to slowly bleed out without ceasing. 

They had her flown to the medical center. Chaos filled the emergency room as the team attempted to tell the surgeons and nurses about the specific glass located in their lab before being shooed out. Those details fell on deaf ears. As they removed the glass, they tried to stitch the cuts, however the cuts kept ripping open, blood oozing over and over again. In one last attempt to keep her stable, the nurses used rudimentary sources to bandage her up.

Dr. Brone had a nice meal at the restaurant where he had taken Torrine. He felt relief that he no longer heard her high-pitched laughter every five seconds during the course of a meal. The silence was refreshing after months of chatter and that god awful laugh.

After lunch he went to the market. The scientist had to restock his entire fridge. His diet had been completely different for half the year. He was putting the last ingredient for a recipe in his overflowing shopping cart when his communication device went off. The voices were frantic on the other side of the line. It seemed ass though they were all speaking at once. He could just make out that he needed to come quickly and something in the background about Dr. Crim losing so much blood. 

Dr. Brone left everything and ran out of the supermarket, racing to his vehicle. It seemed as though everyone was moving slower. Life was moving far too slowly as his was about to turn upside down. He had remembered when he saw Dr. Crim for the first time in med school. How fierce she was with a scalpel. He had known right then that she would be an amazing asset to the team of other scientists along with him. His heart squeezed at the notion of losing her. Dr. Crim’s mind was one of the things that kept him sane. 

The hospital parking lot was unmercifully full but there was a space in the front that a lower-level family was walking annoyingly slow to their rickety vehicle. The kids were screaming their heads off, the mom looking tragically bedraggled. It was a miracle that she swiftly got them buckled into their units of safety then clamoring into her driver’s seat. Immediately, the children began to fight hitting at one another. Dr. Brone watched the mom turn around yelling at the top of her lungs incoherently from his point of hearing at them. The fear of mom got to them sufficiently, pulled out of the parking lot, nearly hitting Dr. Brone. She grimaced, mad at the world that it inconvenienced her so and sped off, not looking back as if she was on fire. 

Before Dr. Brone could react, someone else had taken the parking spot. He wanted to yell terrible and violent things at them at the inconsiderate gesture. He decided that would only make the situation worse logically searched elsewhere, finally finding a free one after several minutes that seemed like hours.

If his species had allowed him to sprout wings, he would have flown above the sea of vehicles, so he ran like he could instead. His whole team were waiting on him, drinking mediocre hospital coffee waiting for him covered in Dr. Crim’s blood in the lobby.

“She’s in the ICU.” He nodded, briskly walking past the receptionist at the information desk. She started to hail him, but the team told her he was one of them. She continued to argue that he needed to get cleared to see her, however Dr. Brone was far beyond words by this point.  He carefully put on personal protective gear; a clean disposable gown, mask and gloves to keep down any infection that might be floating around. Gurgling came from her throat. Tubes, and bloody bandages covered her body.

Clarise… he spoke softly.

Stronger gurgles came from her throat as she tried to speak, as she gave her last breath. Machines went off to signify the lack of life. Doctors and nurses rushed in, someone pushing him towards the exit, as others tried to revive her. They worked on her gingerly for several minutes trying to not bring more damage to her torn up body. The rips in her skin were more or less irreparable. After there was nothing, they could do, they unhooked her from the machines, filtering out one by one. The last one motioned for Dr. Brone to go back in to say his goodbyes. 



He squeezed her hand gently, looking at her peaceful face one last time, then walked out of the room to go see his colleagues. He found them sitting in chairs in the lobby waiting for him. They stood up at the same time as he came near, looking for any sign that she was going to pull through. He shook his head no. The team lowered their heads with this inevitable knowledge.

“What the fuck happened to her?”, he spoke, anger spilling out.

We have it all on video, Sir.

Dr. Brone took the mobile device from Theon. After watching with amazement and horror he slowly gave it back to him.



“Where is the child now?”, he asked.



We had one of the assistants take him to a holding chamber where he’s been sedated after watching the footage for ourselves. We didn’t think you would object. 



“Good. Keep him like that until I say so.”, he said after storming off.



















































Episode 13



Dr. Brone continued the research Dr. Crim started, taking several samples of his brain, skin, blood, urine, fecal matter, parts of his heart tissue and intestines.

It all came to the same conclusions Dr. Crim had specified in her notes; he was more alien than he was their species. They watched him grow in his slumbering state monitoring his vital functions, until one day they decided bring him out of the arms of sleep and nullify his abilities, giving him medications that would stupefy his actions, so he couldn’t harm anyone else after eighteen years.



Voices crawled in and out his head. He wasn’t sure if they were part of his dream phases or if they were real. The dream phases were most enjoyable because there he didn’t feel quite so alone. Inside the dream phases he felt like there were others like himself all able to live in harmony. People that he knew he loved or could love lived there. However, the blackness of the void is what drew him to fear. He couldn’t see where he was stumbling. The nothingness of the void, this reality that he seemed to find that he lived in more times than not felt as though he could never catch his balance, always swaying, always falling even though he was standing or sitting in one place.



Those voices seemed to be louder and sharper than ever before this time. They had been more of a gibberish. Now he was hearing them in his void. It was always one voice in particular. Now, he could hear it as clearly as anything. “Hyatt.” It was as if that name had been embedded in him all this time, feeling it as if the syllables lived in his blood. “Hyatt.”



The bright lights burned his eyes as they snapped open. Air filled his lungs as if he hadn’t really been breathing. Machines whirred in his ears in an onslaught of sound. He found himself surrounded by beings never before seen to him.



“Hello Juth, nice of you to join us.”, Dr. Brone smiled a tight smile.



“Juth? Juth? That’s not my name. Those weren’t the right sounds that sang within him. My name is Hyatt”, he tried to tell the man that spoke. He noticed that sounds came out of him as well as the others that surrounded him. It was all wrong. That wasn’t how one was supposed to speak. What they were using was not natural. In the dream phases, it was for other things and sometimes it was deadly. Hyatt immediately put his hands over his head to protect himself.



“Perhaps he is mute, Sir.”, One of the team commented.



“There’s no need to cover your head, son. Nothing will harm you.” Hyatt wasn’t so sure. There was something in the way that was spoken to him that said the opposite.

“What are we going to do with him?”, another man in a lab coat asked.



“I think since he cannot speak, perhaps he can do. We will run a series of tests to determine his skills.”, Dr. Brone answered.



They took him to the skill room to see what he was capable of, everything from the written word to teaching him how to cook. Hyatt failed at all skills presented to him, until they found a dust mop. They showed him how to use it, being that it was a rather simple activity that involved walking and holding something.



“Can you hold this and push it across the floor?” A member of the custodial staff asked. They gave him the handle and he walked with it with ease. They tried to broom and dust pan, but Hyatt tried to push that too. The staff member took those things away from him, giving him the dust mop back.



“You can take this throughout the building and push it. It will gather up any dust and dirt.”



This brought a smile to Hyatt’s face, and he took off. Meandering through the building enjoying not being talked to. Everyone he passed looked at him in wonder, knowing full well that he had just been sleeping for almost two decades.

He came to a stop, very curious about some little things protruding from the wall. 



“Hyatt..” the voice came again. “Hyatt..” He took his finger slowly raising it to the things on the wall. He pushed the top one. Its light came on and there was an opening. Hyatt went through bringing his mop with him. The closed in space scared him and he began to freak out. Thrashing the mop at the door hoping it would make it open. Hyatt hit it one more time and the floating box's door opened. He immediately ran out of there.

“HYATT!!!” The voice had never yelled at him before. This time he recognized it. The memories were all coming back in rapid time. “Crysyline! Crysyline, where are you?”



“Hyatt! I don’t know.”



“Can you tell me what it looks like?”



“It… it.. looks like home, but this is not home.”



“Okay, okay. Maybe if I look through this thing by the wall. Maybe it will tell me see something.” He looked through the glass. He saw familiar places. Little homes within the trees, lakes, rivers. Places that reminded him of his childhood . There were people scattered about, but some of their mates were missing. They looked so sad. He couldn’t understand why. He looked some more and finally found Crysyline.



“I see you!”



“You do?!”



“Yes!



“How do I get you out?”



“I don’t know. Just don’t push anything.”



“They pushed things and made some of us disappear.”



“Maybe if I try to break this stuff that’s between you and I.”



“We tried breaking it, it didn’t work.”



“Well, you are timy and I am the size ofva giant, but I am sure that with all of us using our weapons we can break this. Come on, get everyone together and let them know what to do.”



“Okay.”



At that moment the moving box opened again. Someone Hyatt had never seen came in there.



“You aren’t supposed to be down here.” The being said in a sing song voice. I suggest that you leave.”



“Everyone, everyone Hyatt is here! He wants us to use our weapons.”



“We tried that already. Dozens of times. It didn’t work. Why would that work now?”



“Just trust me. We have to try again. He says that he’s as large as the tallest trees in our forest.”



Hyatt wouldn’t budge, which brought the being a twisted sort of joy. He took a pointy object from somewhere and held it out at Hyatt. Hyatt thought that he wanted him to have it. The being made it make a noise.



“Don’t come any closer. I will shoot you. I told them this was a bad idea. They wouldn’t listen. My sister could never say no to that crazy doctor. If she didn’t, she would still be here. Now I have to look at you and know you are the reason she’s dead. They should have let you die like your parents.”, the man said angrily.



The pieces began to click further together. A flashback formed in his memory of the pain of the invisible cord that was cut. The cry he let out, the lady falling to the floor. He had caused the pain this being was suffering, but it wasn’t all him. This wasn’t his fault. Someone took his parents away from him. With this new knowledge and this rage, he opened his mouth.



A force came from him so violently that the floor beneath him began to shake. The walls cracked. Vines shot up wrapping themselves around the being, swallowing him. One floor above him Dr. Brone felt the floor rumble underneath him as the building collapsed, crushing everyone to their death.



The clear chasm separating him from his people broke.



 Everyone began to use their weapon. One floor above him Dr. Brone felt the floor rumble underneath him as the building collapsed, crushing everyone to their death. The power exerted brought the industrial city to nothing but dust.

Those that did not belong to their planet shot up in vibrant colors, going in different directions to their own planets.

Hyatt’s people walked along their once vibrant planet, using this same mechanism to repair what was lost. Afterwards, the souls of the others were floating around them, waiting. They could have gone on their own to restore themselves but wanted Hyatt to join them. Hyatt led the way to a giant lotus bloom. Within the petals, there was a pool of water. He stripped off his garments, submerging himself into it. The souls followed him, illuminating the water with their chartreuse lights. When everyone emerged, walking out from the lotus, Hyatt and his people were completely restored.