Psycher Chronicles

Chapter 14

Not Again

(Andrea)

“Hi mom.” Andrea spoke into the phone.

Just hearing her daughter’s unbridled fear and apprehension in her words caused Julie, Andrea’s mother, to instantly go on alert.

“What is it?” Julie asked, now fully awake despite the late hour.

Silence.

There was a brief pause, just long enough for a mother’s instinct to activate, “everything okay?”

“No,” Andrea replied in a dried soft sob that sounded like a combination of a sad laugh and her choking on her words. “It’s not alright. Today, well…”

“What is it?”

“Today was the field trip, and there was an accident.” Andrea managed to somehow get out without fully choking on her words.

“Didn’t we agree she wouldn’t go on that stupid trip?” Julie asked, only realizing afterwards that her words might come across as insensitive.

“We did, I even set up reminders for it. But I apparently got the date wrong or something as I have it as tomorrow in my phone and everything. I, I even had leave scheduled for tomorrow so I could spend the whole day with Misha.” Andrea said, then with a resigned chuckle she added. “Good thing too, as Misha is once again in the hospital.”

Sharp gasp!

The soul sucking sound of her mother breathing in deeply, and unable to speak could be heard.

“Is she okay?” Julie asked.

“Yes, well no.” Andrea said then shaking her head, she began pacing about the hospital parking lot. “She is fine, perfect even. Her vitals are fine, and apparently despite having to be dug out she is alive and doing well.”

Vroom.

The sound of two cars racing by wildly could be heard off in the distance.

“Where are you?” Julie asked.

“I’m in the hospital parking lot.”

“With Misha?”

“No,” Andrea said, and that was the question that seemed to break her as tears began falling. “I needed to get away. She is still in a coma. Apparently, she was found under a pile of dense rock that had somehow melted onto her.”

Even the description that Andrea was given seemed to not make sense.

“Melted?” Julie asked, incredulity in her voice.

“Yes, well at least that is what the medics and firefighters who managed to save her said.” Andrea said.

“This was on the University tour?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry, I’m still waking up. Can you walk me through what happened.” Julie demanded.

“I still don’t know everything that happened. Apparently, they went to a room where a meteorite was being held on display. All the kids went up and touched the rock, then something happened, where the teacher and all the students escaped, leaving behind Misha and the professor who apparently stayed behind to try to rescue Misha. At least that is what I was told.”

“And the being buried?” Julie asked, by now, Andrea could tell that her mother had put her on speaker phone as her mother was clearly banging around in her bathroom. The echoing chamber, along with the random uses of the sink told Andrea that her mother was using this time to wake up.

“I don’t know. Apparently, all the students and the stupid teacher left her there. Then when they returned, they found her completely covered under a layer of dense black rock that had molded to her skin. While the professor that was giving the tour had third degree burns on her chest and hands.” Andrea said, spewing off facts that she had gathered.

The professor was also unconscious, and had been taken into the same hospital, but her room was at the far end of the hospital, well away from her Misha.

Having seen the passed out form of the woman, rage built up within Andrea’s chest, and had it not been for how serious her own daughter’s injuries were, she would have gone over, and well it was best that things had turned out the way they had.

“Oh, that is terrible.” Julie noted.

“Serves her right, I don’t know how, but I am certain that she is the one responsible for all of this.” Andrea said venomously.

“I see.” Julie said, then with that it seemed that Julie had apparently made up her mind as she began moving a bit more in her own end.

Click.

“What huh?” A distinctly male voice could be heard talking in the background of Julie’s line.

“Phil, get up.” Julie said in her matriarchal voice that demanded there would be no argument. This was the type of voice that was seldom used, but was always obeyed.

“What, why?” Phil asked, a bit groggily, but apparently trying to come to his senses after having been in a deep sleep.

“It’s Misha, she’s in the hospital again.” Julie stated.

“What again?” Phil asked, as he spoke it was clear that he was getting up, as his voice seemed to be more direct.

“Yes, and we are going to be with her.” Julie said forcefully.

“What happened?” Phil asked.

“Apparently she was burned.” Julie stated.

Hearing that, Andrea realized something had been misunderstood from their conversation. Honestly, the entire thing caused Andrea to wonder about her own sanity as well. Still, this was the time to fix any preconceived errors.

“No, Misha wasn’t burned, that was the Professor.” Andrea clarified.

A pause.

“Then what happened to Misha, was she just buried, and they are keeping her for observations?” Julie asked.

“No, they…” Andrea began, then paused as the weight of her words hit her. “She was found buried under a wall of stone, but rather than being burned, she is fine. At least physically she is fine, no lacerations, no internal bleeding, honestly the doctors don’t know what is wrong with her.”

“Wait, what is wrong with her?” Julie asked, realizing that her daughter was having a hard time saying this last part.

“She’s apparently suffered trauma and is now in a coma. Which is why we are now in a different wing of the hospital than the professor who caused all of this.” Andrea said.

“That sounds like a lawsuit.” Phil muttered.

“It does, but this is not the time Phil.” Julie said, her voice brokering the fact that there were more important things to worry about.

“Yeah, I got it, I’m getting up.” Phil said, apparently reacting to something Julie was doing on her end of the line.

“Thank you for calling, we are on our way.” Julie said.

“Thank you, but you don’t need to come.” Andrea replied.

“Nonsense, this is my granddaughter we are talking about. Of course, I am going to take time to spend with her, isn’t that right Phil?” Julie said the first part to the phone, then the next to Phil.

“Right.” Phil said, his voice clearly further away than it had been a moment ago. If Andrea had to guess, she would place him as going to the bathroom to get ready.

Just realizing that the two of them were coming made her feel instantly better about everything. For the first time all night it was like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she was finally able to breathe.

“Thank you.” Andrea finally managed.

“None of that. We are family, and we stick to our own.” Jule began, then once again speaking to the side towards Phil, Julie continued. “Who knows, maybe this time we can finally convince our daughter to move closer to us.”

“Maybe.” Phil said, his voice clearly, just replying in a way that would get Julie to stop pestering him while he was still trying to wake up.

“Mom, I can’t…” Andrea began, not wanting to deal with this complication as something else that she would have to deal with now. Right now, she already felt like she was at her wits end.

Eerk.

Just as she was having that thought, a high-end gray sports car raced through the hospital parking lot and parked immediately in the handicapped parking spots at the front. The car screeching to a halt, only a few hundred feet away from the entrance to the hospital.

By this point, Andrea had found her way towards the smoker pit which was a few hundred meters away from the main entrance to the emergency room but was still close enough to see everything that was happening.

From here, she had a full view of a very young and well-dressed woman quickly get up and out of her vehicle. Using movements that clearly indicated that she was not in fact handicapped. That act alone was enough to make it so Andrea made sure to see the face of the handicapped parking space taker.

Then dawning recognition took her as she got a good view of the young woman’s face. It was brief only a second, as her porcelain facial features and dark movie star hairdo only became visible when she got close to the entryway of the emergency room. Right at the part where the lights of the hospital fully covered her and displayed her prominent features. That was when she saw the face of the last person she expected to see here.

“Hello? Hello!” Julie shouted through the phone. Her words instantly pulling Andrea away from what, no who she saw enter the emergency room.

“Yeah, sorry, I just got distracted.”

“Distracted?”

“Yes, I just saw.” Andrea began, but then stopped herself. “I need to go back in and check on Misha.”

“Okay, you do that, and we will be right there.” Julie said, apparently appreciating the chance to likely get dressed and changed for a three-hour car ride here.

“All right.” Andrea said, mechanically, her feet already pulling her forward towards the entry way to the hospital.

“All right love you.”

“Love you too.” Andrea replied mechanically, as she turned the corner to see the woman that she had identified as belonging to the gray sports car in the handicapped parking spot. This was also someone who Andrea identified easily, as she had been involved with Misha’s last trip to the hospital.

Now to see her here this time, it only caused her blood to boil.

As she entered the lobby, she heard a conversation already going on.

“Yes, I am here to see my mother, Dr. Pamela Grier.” The well-dressed model said.

“Pamela, Pamela,” the receptionist began, then stopped after finding something on her screen. “Ah here she is, in the burn unit, room 322. Take the elevator around the corner to the third floor, it will be on your right-hand side as you exit the elevator.” The receptionist said, handing back an identification card back to the young lady.

Seeing the interaction Andrea just paused, not knowing what she would do if the young lady, Misha’s former therapist, saw her. Rage filled her as for a moment Andrea almost felt her muscles tighten so much that she would strike at the distracted woman. All it would take is one look, one moment of recognition that she was here.

Fortunately for her, and the therapist, she didn’t notice her, the therapist didn’t even look back, so caught up in her own apparent grief that she failed to notice the lurking threat right behind her.

Andrea just stood there, fists clinched as she waited for any sign that the girl had gone.

Ding.

After a minute, the elevator dinged open, followed by the unmistakable sound of people entering and exiting the car.

For some reason, Andrea’s senses were dialed up to eleven tonight, which was good as it meant she could hear and almost sense everything around her.

“Do you need anything?” The receptionist called out, her voice echoing over the empty waiting room area.

Hearing her, Andrea suddenly realized where she was, and what she was doing. She was being foolish, standing here with her fists clinched, while staring over a waiting room.

“No thank you, I am just going to go back up to my daughter.” Andrea said, then turned left. This was the same direction as the elevators, but Andrea decided to take the stairs, not for any form of fitness needs. Lord knows, Andrea already got her steps in today with all her constant pacing. No, this was just so she could avoid putting a third person in the emergency room tonight, and likely end up with herself being taken to jail.

For tonight she would be civil, for Misha’s part. The last thing she needed was her daughter to awaken to find out her mother was incarcerated. No, for now she would remain by Misha’s side.

Then finally she would also consider the agonizingly terrible thought of moving back in with her parents. At the very least it was clear that she needed to get Misha away from this area, no, the area was fine. Well mostly fine, there were the crazy in-laws with the unsanctioned cemetery in their backyard. Then there were the doctors, plural, who every time they met with Misha she ended up going to the hospital. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized her mother was right, in that moving was likely the best and only option available for her and Misha.

Not that she would ever admit to her mother being right, as that would cause a whole cascading effect.

This was why, taking a moment to herself, Andrea paused in the stairwell and typed out a four-word response to her mother that spoke of exactly how she felt at the moment.

We are moving home.

No sooner did she hit send and begin her trek up the stairs when she got a response. For a second, she was surprised that her texts would even send in a stairwell, but then once that idea passed, she saw her mother’s response and couldn’t help but chuckle at her reply.

Mom: Oh, that is a big decision. I do agree with your decision and realize you must have spent a long time coming up with this. As such, your father and I are ready to help you in any way you need.

Seeing the response from her mother who knew Andrea would never accept the idea if it came from Julie, only laughed. It seemed that her shallow attempt to take credit for the idea was not entirely unnoticed, still she appreciated her mother’s attempt to help her keep some of her ego. It was clear the way things were going that she would need as much ego as she could over these next few months, particularly with how much crow she felt she would be eating here shortly.

This was why she wrote out a one-word reply.

Thanks.

***

(Misha)

While her mother and grandmother both began planning for an inevitable move. Misha herself was experiencing a deep fundamental change, deep inside her body she could feel the effects of organo-tech slowly working and altering her body’s genetic code and composition.

Misha mentally watched from her closed off command center and was in awe of the way Bakshee technology worked tirelessly to integrate itself into every line of genetic coding she had. Even the garbage coding, the coding that was there to be a buffer to safeguard her main coding was being altered.

All the while her body was undergoing deep fundamental changes, she could occasionally get stimuli from the outside world. From the sound of things, her mother was scared and worried about her.

Unfortunately, Misha was too busy monitoring the changes that were happening at rapid rates around her, to be able to respond. Even mentally recording the changes and the rate of changes was proving to be exhausting for Misha, even with her superior mnemonic abilities.

Then finally after a long time, the changes began to slow down. With that, the strain that was on her mind to keep up and track the changes and rates of changes finally ceased.

That was when Misha, still having root access to the incomplete coding template that had been applied to her body noticed the new system message.

System Upgrade Complete.

Commencing system reboot.

Then there was a flash, of white hot pain, as Misha felt the system try to battle with her mind. This was exactly what Misha had been prepared for, and immediately began engaging her own mental resistances, as the battle for control over the mental control over her newly enhanced body began in earnest.

Fortunately, Misha was a Psycher, which meant they were most suitable for just such a battle.

***

(Andrea)

Flinch.

Andrea almost thought she was dreaming when she saw her daughter move. Andrea was so tired that she had managed to fall asleep with her head against the bed. Which was the only reason she felt the shift.

Waking up, she looked to see that her daughter was moving, her eyes were flickering. For a moment, she thought about calling for help, but remembered that they said there was nothing much they could do for her now, except pray that she wakes up.

Seeing her daughter flinch filled her with such hope. Then to her surprise, she noticed the faint stirring of her eyes moving rapidly from under her eyelids.

“That’s it girl, fight it!” Andrea said, “fight it and come back to me.”