Terrestrial Alien ✔

Chapter 28: Lies Fit no Locks

My voice is caught in my throat.

The lady stares at me with almost the same helplessness that I stare at her, lost for what to do. I don't think she expected me to wake up. In a way, I guess, that helplessness is what nudges me to try to push past this turmoil of feelings that have me frozen in place. I try to say something.

"He..hello..." I finally manage, my voice no more than a hoarse, soft whisper. Even to myself, I sound a little bit scared. I think I am scared.

A trickle of tension seems to seep from the nurse's shoulders. I can still hear her heart pounding away in her chest—or maybe that's just my own.

Does... Does she know what I am? The thought settles coldly across my body, and I try not to think about it.

I don't know how I manage to hold the conversation that follows—the long, terribly slow conversation that follows—but somehow I do, and the nurse stays just a little longer, even though she seems inclined to go. I don't know yet if this is a good thing or a bad thing; though, the jitters in my stomach want to say a bad thing.

She tells me her name is Ms. Romera, and that she's my nurse for the duration of my stay here. (How long is that supposed to be? I wonder, though not aloud.) She tells me not to hesitate to ask her for anything I need. A multitude of needs come to mind as she tells me this, but I don't think any of them she can help with, so I mention none of them.

Nurse Romera seems ready to leave after that, having said what needed to be said, but for some reason she hesitates. I try not to hold my breath as she brings her gaze up to mine.

"Your friend told us your name is Seth. Is that right?" She asks me. I blink at her.

Friend.

Joshua.

The name brings a whole host of conflicting emotions crashing down on me, and I find it hard to answer her at first, as simple as the question is. Don't think about it, I tell myself firmly. Not yet.

"I..." My throat feels tight. "Yes. That's me."

She nods, as though she only wanted to confirm, and her gaze retreats to the clipboard in her hands.

"Seth..." She says, as though trying out the name. For some reason, it feels wrong to hear her say it.

"Seth," she says again, and this time I can see her visibly debating whether or not to add something else. I find myself silently hoping she doesn't ask whatever it is she's considering, but she seems to decide she should, because she asks, finally, "Can I ask you a question? Regarding... well, you."

Paling, I stare at her. My bed had felt like place of safety before, but now it feels like a smothering snare, and I'm trapped. Nowhere to escape her question. I can probably tell her no, though that doesn't really occur to me right away. I can only think that she knows. She must know, and answering or not answering her question won't change that any.

For I know, without even having to guess, what it is she wants to ask me.

She's watching me, waiting for me to give some sort of response. Swallowing the knob of terror in my throat, I muster a tiny nod, not trusting my own voice not to betray me. The sound of my head sliding against the cotton of the pillow sounds too loud in my ears. My hands against the sheets tremble slightly, so I grip them tighter.

Nurse Romera asks, "You're not... human, are you?"

My breath escapes my chest in a shuddery sound, the only other sound in the room aside from the faint ticking of the clock on the wall. It's as though the all air has been sucked out of the space around us.