MF1.0 - 53 - Measure of Monster

Stef coughed and spat blood onto the floor.

''Not dead. I think that’s good.''

She retched and more blood came. Painfully wheezing air into her lungs, she took a stock of her body parts. Head was in working order, so much as it usually was. Her chest hurt, shooting pain ran through her like the lights on an arcade machine. She twitched her fingers and toes – no sign of paralysis.

Goody.

‘Oy, newbie, you alive?’ came a voice from her pocket.

She opened her eyes and looked up into the darkness, then numbly slapped at her vest pockets. She found a headset, similar to the Bluetooth one, and stared at it – she hadn’t remembered it being there before. She brushed the hair away from her ear, feeling blood there, and touched the button on the side. ‘Alive.’

‘Call in and get yourself shifted to the infirmary.’

She grunted as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. ‘No…I’m…ok, I’ll make my way back up.’

‘You should be dead,’ Curt replied, actual concern filtering through the headset.

The sound of heavy breathing behind her finally registered.

‘Rags. Big pile of rags. Should be glad they don’t clean down here.’

‘Check in when you start moving.’

She removed the headset, removed the battery and placed it on the floor. She pushed the hair from her eyes and wiped the blood on her pants. ‘Hello Beast,’ she said without turning.

Require: um…one of those little square lights.

A small, square lantern appeared and she clicked it on. Pain shot through her eyes, so she turned it off. ‘Photosensitivity, it that a sign of concussion?’ She listened as the Beast shuffled around in front of her. ‘Are you what really broke my fall?’

‘By accident.’

She hung her head forward and put her hands flat on the floor to keep the room from spinning. ‘So…’ she said after a moment. ‘Is there a way back up?’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘You shouldn’t have come here.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Had to. Dunno why, just had to. Your promise to the Professor…you’re not going to keep that.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Circumstances beyond my control are not my fault.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">She barked a short laugh. ‘You brought this on yourself. You brought the Solstice in. You perpetuated everything.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">His blow sent her flying back into the wall.

Ok…now one of those ribs are cracked.

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘I did what I did to save my love. She is the mother of the child I carry, can’t you understand that I would do anything…’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘So why are you cloning her?’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Your word means nothing to me.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Right, you still got zeppelins. Copy, the mirror’s only going to make a copy, why would you do that if you loved her?’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘To be with her.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘A copy isn’t the original.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘I would rather an echo than to be alone.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Then I guess you are a monster.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">She closed her eyes and braced herself for the next blow, but it never came. Cautiously opening one eye, she found herself surrounded by bright light.

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">Oh crap, I can’t play a harp…

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">Then a doctor came into view. ‘Your partner couldn’t contact you, so we shifted you here. Have you lost consciousness?’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘At least once,’ she replied. ‘And photosensitive. And body sensitive. And blood.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Ah.’ He smiled. ‘Welcome to the Agency. These are typical of first injuries. There’ll be no permanent damage, you’ll be fine to go back to work tomorrow. For now…’ he injected a clear liquid into her arm. ‘Sleep.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">She opened her eyes and let them focus on the white roof. The pain was gone, and her hair felt strangely clean. She sat up and looked around, the clock above the middle door leading out of the infirmary informed her that it was five in the afternoon.

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">Then she noticed Ryan sitting beside the bed. He silently placed her headset on the bed and gave her an expectant look.

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Shouldn’t you have your gun out or something?’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘I want to give you the benefit of the doubt.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘The Beast was there. I wanted…just to talk to him.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘If Agent Taylor were in my place, he’d be accusing you of working with a leech in order to obtain the mirror.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘I’ve got no use for that thing. I don’t…wishes are dangerous things. I just wanted to talk to him, I was working with him first, he’s…lost everything, I know what that feels like. I needed to be able to rationalise the…’ She flopped back onto the pillow. ‘Do I have to write lines or do I get my internet privileges revoked or something?’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Were you able to make peace with yourself? The first is always the hardest. Aspects of this job take getting used to, many recruits cannot handle it, despite apparent aptitude or doing well on the tests. Practical field experience really is the only telling test.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘The save the world thing I’m not so much into, but Disney fairy tales don’t involve cloning.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Is that a yes?’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Have you ever seen a Disney movie?’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘That’s hardly relevant.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">She looked at him and smirked. ‘I have a concussion, I’m allowed to ask stupid questions.’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">He shook his head. ‘You are healthier than when you came in. And you do not have a concussion. Anymore. Was that a yes?’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Yes.’