Dystopyum (The D-ot Hexalogy Book 1) (17 page)

Jan looked back at Ziba, who looked lost in wonder at the mention of
the Guide. Jan went on, “I’m sick of all this, I’m sick of everything. It’s
never going to change. I wish Barab would’ve finished the job. Fuck ‘em
all!” He unconsciously probed the bandage that covered the saw wound
on the side of his neck.
“What? Barab did this?” Ziba got up, and now she was angry. “That
waste of air! We should have never let him back into this school.” She
looked at Jan with no little intensity. “I’ll take care of Barab!” she said.
Then she settled herself, came over to the bed, and patted Jan on the head.
“I don’t know why, but I feel that you are one special guy. I know Rachel
well, and told her how much I think of you. I told her to take good care of
you.” She lightly rubbed his crest now. “Don’t let this get you down. You
will heal, and you will get over this in time, mark my words.” She then
gathered the bulky green bag she had with her, and put a book she had
been reading into it. “I really must go now Jan. The doctors have said that
all they could find were some small internal contusions, and a few bruised
ribs. Nothing was broken — you’ll be fine.”
Jan, still gaining his awareness, observed Ziba as she was leaving.
She looked like she was about ten years older than his mother was. He
was thinking,
Ziba’s OK. I’m glad I know her.
After Ziba had gone, Jan started scratching his left thumb, then the
right, thinking about what she had said about the LERN signal, when he
gradually realized Rachel had returned and was watching him from the
room entrance. Her vision was zeroed in on his hands, and he stopped
immediately.
Rachel smiled at him with a sideways smirk, and asked, “So how are
you doing, big guy?” as she strolled over to Jan to check his pulse again.
She holds my hand so warmly,
Jan thought. He smiled, grasping her
hand a bit more boldly and said, “I’m doing fine, now that you’re here.”
This isn’t like me — it’s this buzz juice they have me hooked up to.
He could see her ears turn a bit red on the edges now.
She’s really something else.
Jan noticed that she had almost no sores,
very unusual.
I wonder if she’s using that new vitamin extract bath,
he
mused. It was new, and very expensive. She looked like she pampered
herself well.
“How’s the pain level?” Rachel asked, as she looked at his chart.
“It only hurts when I’m awake,” Jan said with a small grin. Rachel
gave a chortle, and Jan started laughing too, but when he did, it caused
extreme pain. He bent over because of it, making it worse, and he went
into a temporary abdominal spasm.
“Oh brother,” Rachel said, “Why didn’t you tell me? You need a
boost of this.”
She went over to the cabinet, retrieved a medication, and prepared it
for injection into his IV. “This will make you feel better for sure,” she
said.
“What is it?” asked Jan, who had picked up a natural distrust of hospitals from his father.
“It’s something we give all the time for —” she stopped and glanced
at him, “For what you’ve been through.” Then she stopped a moment,
turned completely toward Jan, and said, “I know what they did, and I’m
sorry.” Then she looked down, sadly, and said, “Every day I see the
things this world dishes out.” Then she drew a long breath, let it out
slowly, and said, “Oh well, let’s get you feeling better.” She then injected
the drug into the IV, and he shortly started feeling that “floaty” feeling
again.
“What is that you gave me?” he asked.
Rachel said, “It’s a hypnotic. It will help you to relax, and she patted
him on the tummy.
“It sure does,” Jan replied a little incoherently, as it was taking effect
quickly. He watched her as she moved the chair back into its place, and
started cleaning the room a bit.
“That’s a sweet tail end you’ve got,” he said as she bent over to pick
something up, not even surprising himself at his boldness. He didn’t care.
Rachel turned and smiled with a measuring look. She said, “That’s
the drug talking, but sweet, just the same. Thanks.” It didn’t stop her from
bending over again.
As he continued to fall deeper into the drug-induced trance, he could
have sworn she came over to his bed and kissed him on his cheek before
she left.
In the morning, Martha and Griswolt were on their way to visit Jan.
They were both on a tight schedule, so they took a taxi. They were sitting
on the outside, in the back, as was their long time habit.
“You treat Jan too softly, I have said that for years now,” Griswolt
baited.
Martha just gave Griswolt a sidelong look, and with a smile, said,
“Don’t start, we’ve been over this — if you want to train him, go ahead.”
She snuggled up to Griswolt, taking his arm and hugging it warmly. Then
she said the same thing she had had said many times, “He’s just a good
kid — it happens sometimes.”
Griswolt sighed, and never did have a good comeback for that.
Which
is why I hear it so often,
he thought. He swiftly had another thought, “It’s
because of love.” He waited, wondering if there would be a reaction.
Martha usually clammed up shortly after love was mentioned, but she
would say something now — “What do you mean?” she asked, stiffening
a little, and paying a higher level of attention.
Let’s really test her.
“Well,” Griswolt said, “You must admit that they
never quite got all of the love out of you thirteen years ago. I see remnants
of it, but I just don’t say anything.”
Martha, heart rate increasing just a bit, continued listening. She let
Griswolt talk, giving her time to come up with a believable denial.
Griswolt continued. “It’s not like you are trying to do it, but it does
slip through, and that’s why Jan is so soft.” He was unexpectedly sure of
what he had just guessed, which surprisingly frightened him.
Why? She
might tell me the truth. What truth? No, why would I think that was the
truth? That’s ridiculous!
Griswolt abruptly decided to change the
conversation before Martha could answer. “I’ll get him trained,” he said
with finality.
Glad that he had dropped the subject, Martha started thinking about
how close he was to the truth.
Maybe, maybe he would accept the fact that
I am in LERN,
she thought. As the escape was gaining more reality for
them, she would catch herself feeling guilty for leaving Griswolt out of it.
Abandoning him, in spite of her love for him left her with a guilt-ridden
conflict that was difficult to deal with. Still, she put the thought of telling
him out of her mind.
I have to think of the others, I can’t risk their
capture,
she thought.
The rest of the ride to the hospital was pleasant. They were upwind of
the primary smelting plant of Justilant, and the air was sweet.
That same morning, Jan felt a little better upon awakening. He was
less frustrated and angry as the day before, but yet could not shake it.
The doctor came in, checked Jan over, and told him, “I believe your
damage was primarily superficial. No organs appear to be seriously
damaged, and we know there are no fractures.” He paused and examined
Jan’s face, probing it. “The swelling in your face has gone down
amazingly well, but I am going to keep you here one more night, just to
see how your internal organs react to bodily movement. I do want you up
and walking around today.”
As the doctor was leaving, Martha and Griswolt came in together.
After they were there for a few hours, Rachel started her shift. She had
already become friendly with both parents for the few days that Jan was
unconscious, and they were all delighted that Jan was awake and looking
much better. Jan was able to get up, and walk around with them, dragging
his IV along.
Jan told them, “The doctor said that I need to stay another night.”
Griswolt responded, “That’s only because I have insurance. I want
you out of here before you get a disease.”
“Oh, Griswolt, said Martha, “Be polite.” She was referring to the
nurse Rachel, who was walking with them. “Besides, you don’t know
what might be damaged. Let’s keep him here in case something happens.”
Rachel was quick to agree. “Yes, it’s best that we be careful with this
guy,” and she looked at Jan with an expression that said she was very
happy to see him stay.
Griswolt had to get back to work for another late night, so he was
about to leave. “I’ll be here to pick you up tomorrow,” he said to Jan.
Martha stayed on for a few more hours, and they ended up back in
Jan’s room, but she was to be at long meeting later.
Jan told her, “Mom, thanks for coming. When I’m alone I get so
pissed off at everything. I feel like everybody is out to hurt us, kill us, rob
us — the NOV, neighbors, students,
FUCK
!” He threw his hands up in
dismay.
Martha had nothing, but she tried, “Jan, I have something to tell you.
The escape —”
“The escape?” Jan barked. “I don’t want to hear anything more about
the stupid escape. The only escape from here is death — period.” Jan
started falling into his funk again. “You’ve been talking that gendra shit
for my entire life,” he said, crossing his arms.
“The escape is real, Jan, Ziba told me,” Martha insisted, speaking
more soothingly now. She didn’t want to upset him, but she had real
reason for hope, and wanted to give him some of it. Especially now. She
walked over and gently touched the row of stitches on the side of his
head. “This will heal, Jan, and so will you. I love you.” Martha bent over
and gave Jan a kiss on the forehead, but had to leave to get to her meeting.
A minute later, she was gone.
Jan was now alone, and he got bored, so he spent some time walking
up and down the hallways of the hospital, still pulling his IV stand with
him. As he walked down the various hallways, the odors went from
chemical to outright nasty in some areas. One hallway smelled like
something was rotten, another area smelled like old stinky people. He
noticed the new, shielded ultraviolet lights in all the hallways. His dad
had heard about those on the news. Some big shot sued the hospital
because his wife died of an airborne infection she contracted while there.
He dug up evidence that hospitals did not install them because they made
a lot of money treating those infections. The doctors themselves were
amazingly unaware of all this. The ultraviolet lights sure didn’t get rid of
the all the smells though.
Jan was back in his room in time for dinner. He was still in a bitchy
mood, and the food was stale tasting. He was feeling some pain returning
because of all the walking he had done that day. After eating, Jan decided
to read a magazine that his mom had left there for him, and was planning
to do that until he went to sleep. In the evening, they lowered all the lights
in the hospital rooms automatically, but he was still able to read with a
small light beside his bed.
A little later Rachel came in to check on him. “How’s it going, Jan?”
she asked sweetly. She came over to check his pulse again.
Jan immediately became aware of the perfume she was wearing.
I
hadn’t noticed that before.
He answered her, “I was doing better this
morning, but I was walking around a lot today, and I’m a little sore now,
but it’s not bad,” he replied, enjoying the attention — and the perfume.
“Well, there’s no need for that,” she said, and got an injection ready.
“I really don’t think —” Jan started to say.
“Nonsense, there’s no need to suffer, and you’ll sleep better before
you leave tomorrow,” Rachel said, as she injected the drug into Jan’s IV.
After she wrote something into his chart, she asked, “Well, are you
feeling better now?”
“Much better,” Jan replied, smiling dreamily at her.
“Well, let’s get this IV off of you now, I don’t think you need it anymore,” Rachel said. She removed the needle, dressed the puncture, and
put the IV stand in the corner of the room. She turned to Jan in the dim
light and asked in a low voice, “Would you like a massage?”
Wow,
Jan thought,
this is great!
“I would love it,” he said, and started
rolling over onto his stomach.
“Wait,” Rachel said, as she came up against the bedside, “Let’s do the
front first.” She pulled his gown off while rolling him over on his back.
He was utterly naked, and because of the drug, could not care less.
Jan saw the look in her eyes.
Rebecca gave me that very same look.
Somehow, it was welcome, coming from Rachel.
Rachel leaned over, rubbing against him, and stroked his head. Her
ears were turning redder by the second, and Jan noticed that her crest was
becoming more red as well. Jan could take a closer look at her amazing
crest now. Along the top of her crest, she had a small natural split,
dividing the peaks into right and left mini-peaks. The fragrance of her
perfume combined with a steamy musk she was now emitting, and
together were tantalizing.
She worked on his arms and chest, leaning over, and looking into his
eyes, kissed him on the forehead, then the cheek, then, pausing, kissed
him fully on the lips.
Jan found himself aggressively returning the kiss.
She gave a hungry smile at that.
Rachel then rose up, and slowly unbuttoned her blouse, exposing all
four of her beautiful breasts. The lower pair was as large as an average
female’s top pair.
Jan never saw anything so captivating — he was hers.
Rachel then slowly reached over, rubbing her nipples lightly against
his bare chest, and after turning off the reading light, climbed in. She had
thirty minutes before the shift change, and did not want to waste a minute
of it.
Jan fell into a hypnotic sleep after Rachel departed for the evening.
She left so quietly he did not know she had gone. He fell asleep very, very
happy.
Deeply, profoundly into slumber he fell, and he dreamed —
At first, Jan dreamed of Rachel. She was radiant, like an angel, floating in front, and a little above him. She was filled with a beautiful light.
She was pointing to her left, and he looked in that direction.
When Jan did so, he immediately found himself in what seemed like
outer space, but the stars were sparse. Rachel was not there. There was a
door in front of him, and it was about four feet by four feet square,
suspended in the dark nothingness. He felt like he had a choice to make
— whether to open the door, and go through it, or turn back. He
intuitively knew that this was important — there may be no turning back,
once he had gone through the door. There was no pressing need to go
through the door, but he was curious. Jan took the risk. He opened the
door, and climbed through it.