Chapter 8: The Recluse’s Nightmare

She was back again. The flames, the heat, and she was running. Her father now gaining ground as she fell behind. She felt the temperature rising, something was about to attack. She turned around saw a looming shadow towering over her. She held the baby close and deep down she knew if they kept running, it would be in vain. They couldn't outrun the shadow chasing them.

"I don't care what you are! I won't run! I'm not scared of you!"

"Dorothy!"

The shadow now took form, but it was still obscured by smoke. But Dorothy saw the head forming. Winged-like appendages appeared at the top, its arms like Big Fau's but much more massive. Whatever this was, it was far bigger than Big O, but it was definitely a Big. She now turned facing it, her last act of defiance. If she was going to die with her child, it would not be while running. She would face her death.

"Dorothy!"

Was that her father calling her back? But why? There was no point running. A giant glow now emanated from above her, the area now bathed in red light. She saw the sphere of light coming toward her and she knew this was it and held the baby close.

"Dorothy… OW!"

Dorothy startled awake, drenched in sweat and looked over at Roger, who was wide eyed, gasping in pain, clutching his wound. She threw the covers at once, trying to move his hand.

"Roger, oh no, Roger! What happened? What's going on? What…"

"You… nightmare… tried to wake you… thrashing… got hit…" he gasped.

Dorothy rolled over to her nightstand and hit buzzer on the unicorn bust.

"NORMAN! NORMAN!"

"Miss Dorothy! What's wrong?"

"Roger's hurt! I don't…"

"I'm on my way dear!"

The buzzer clicked off.

She went back to Roger, who was still clutching his side.

"Roger, please, try to relax. Where did I hit you?"

Roger moved his hand above the bandage. She breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't hit on the wound itself, but close enough to make it hurt.

"Please let me take a look, okay? I'm so sorry…"

He nodded, stretching out, trying to relax as the waves of pain subsided. She unbuttoned his shirt and took a look at the bandage, peeling it back carefully. No blood, no stains. She checked the wound. It looked fine. She carefully put it back and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry… I…"

"Dorothy… you're fine. What happened?" Roger asked, still breathing hard.

"I don't… know…"

"You were having a nightmare. You woke me up, muttering in your sleep and then when I tried to wake you, you went into like fight or flight mode and well…"

Norman knocked on the door and entered with the first aid kit, wearing a bathrobe and night cap.

"Forgive the intrusion, Master Roger, Miss Dorothy, but I brought the first aid kit."

Dorothy nodded. "I… hurt Roger…"

Norman looked confused.

"By accident, Norman. She was having a bad dream and I tried to wake her. She tried fighting me off in her sleep and well…"

"I see. Well, Master Roger I'll need to take a look at the area, if you don't mind."

"The bandage and the staples appear fine," Dorothy said, "However…"

"I think I should still check, just to be sure," Norman replied, putting on a stethoscope from the first aid kit on and checking Roger over around his midsection, listening carefully.

Dorothy sat in silence, while Norman gave Roger cues to breath in and breath out. After hearing nothing on the stethoscope, he began moving his hands around Roger's abdomen, pressing down, trying to feel for anything unusual. Roger grimaced off and on while Norman completed his check up.

"I'm not feeling anything out of the ordinary, sir. What about you?"

"Aside from the fact I just had the air knocked out of me, I'm alright. I'm not feeling anything."

"All the same, I believe some Tylenol and mentioning this to Dr. Plebanski tomorrow would be wise."

Norman noticed Dorothy sweating.

"Perhaps I shall make a strong cup of chamomile tea, to relax the nerves?"

Roger nodded. "That would be great. Thanks Norman."

Norman nodded, bowing, then excusing himself, shutting the door. Roger took Dorothy's hand into his hand and gently pulled her close.

"What happened? Talk to me. Have you ever had a nightmare that bad before?"

"I… Roger… I don't want to relive it."

Roger sighed and pulled her close, holding her. She began to tremble and buried her head in his chest.

"You're alright. Whatever it is, you'll be fine. You're safe…"

"NO, I'M NOT!"

Dorothy pulled away from Roger, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I'm not safe, okay? Stop telling me that I am! You can't protect me! I can't protect myself! I can't protect you! None of this would've happened if I just remained an android. I could've stopped that fight! You wouldn't had been stabbed! It doesn't matter if I'm human or android, they still want me! It's these memories in my head that they want, the ones that won't let me sleep at night. The ones that keep me up, make me question why they're bothering me, and won't leave me alone! It's not fair that you got hurt protecting me! You shouldn't have to do that! Why can't I… do this?"

She brought her knees to her head, covering it, sobbing. Roger knew it was survivor's guilt that was making her talk like this, but all the same, the words still stung his pride. He had been feeling like he could've done more, but her words felt like the knife was stabbing him in the gut once more and wrenching the wound open. He stared at his feet for a while, listening to Dorothy sob, trying to find the words to comfort her. He pulled her close again, Dorothy not resisting, and kissed her on the head. She laid on his lap, sobbing still, while he stroked her hair.

"Dorothy, you have to accept what happened, happened. There's nothing we can do to change that. You hate feeling vulnerable. I get it. It's not the most pleasant feeling in the world. Feeling that terror, that you could lose someone close to you, and never see them again… you weren't the only one that felt that, that day."

Dorothy's sobs slowed down, indicating to Roger that she was listening.

"I thought… I thought I wouldn't make it in time, y'know. I nearly ran into a car, trying to get to you. And then… well… during the fight… when I heard you whimpering and I saw you struggling when he had you in that choke hold, and then seeing your movement slow down… I don't know what happened. All I wanted to do was to make sure you were safe, and that became my strength. Dr. Plebanski said if I hadn't moved as much as I did with the knife, I probably wouldn't be in as bad of shape as I am now. When I woke up, I was terrified that they had kidnapped you, so when I saw you rushing in the bedroom, the amount of relief I felt… I was just glad you were safe."

Dorothy gently rose from his lap and wiped her eyes before hugging him tightly. Roger winced at first, but then embraced her. He slightly pulled away and gently bump her head against his, giving a small smile.

"No more crying, okay? Channel that energy into something else, remember? Like your anger on the mat? Same concept here."

Dorothy nodded as Norman knocked and entered the bedroom.

"Your tea. Is there anything else I can provide?"

"No, Norman, thank you. Don't worry about the dishes. We'll get 'em tomorrow. Get some sleep."

Norman set the tray by Dorothy's nightstand and bowed, before exiting the room. Dorothy reached over to the tray.

"You want your cup?"

"Please, I could use the sleep."

Dorothy smiled, noticing Norman had brought coffee mugs instead of the teacups, but they had some time to cool. She handed Roger's mug over to him, who drank deeply. Dorothy took a drink from her mug. It was the perfect temperature.

"He got the good stuff," mumbled Roger, smiling contently and closing his eyes.

"The good stuff?"

"Norman grows chamomile in the spring and dries it before winter. He should have some planted already for the garden, as seedlings. This stuff will knock out a megadeus, that's how strong it is. When I had my nightmares, with the R.D. case, I nearly cleaned him out of his stock, he told me."

Roger drank deeply again, eager for sleep to find him.

"I don't know if this will be strong for my nightmares."

Roger held his mug for a moment, wondering whether he should gently press Dorothy to continue talking. He decided to slow down drinking his tea, just in case Dorothy needed to get something off of her chest.

"How bad is it?"

Dorothy looked at him, before taking a sip. "Remember how you described your nightmares?"

Roger nodded, taking a sip.

"It's like that, except it's me. It's just me, my father, and apparently, my baby."

Roger coughed, choking on his tea. "A baby?" he asked weakly.

"Yeah, I'm not sure why. I know I had a son before from different memories I've experienced, but… I dunno. We're running, I assume trying to get to safety. But father gets ahead of me and there's this looming shadow. This time, I stopped, and I turned to face it. It's a Big. One I've never seen before. It's bigger than Big O. It looks like it has a… the hat that Prince John wears in Robin Hood."

"A crown."

"Yeah and it's arms, they look like Fau's. I can't see its face though. But it's a terrifying shadow. But then, I turn around and I tell it, I'm not running anymore. I'm not scared of it. I don't care what it is or what it's going to do. Father, he's begging me to come back, though that might've been you calling my name, getting me to wake up. But I see this red glow of energy, and I just hold the baby tight. Running is just pointless because no matter what, this Big is going to unleash that energy, and we're all gonna…"

Dorothy didn't finished and Roger didn't press her. He thought his dreams were bad, but to realize you were going to die, there was nothing you could do, and with a child…

Dorothy finished her mug in one gulp and began to feel the effects of the chamomile. Roger took the mug from her and set it on his nightstand.

"So, you think this is a memory of yours, from a different reset?"

Dorothy nodded. "It was the first memory I had once I became human. The others have come and gone, but this one lingers, like it's trying to tell me something important. It hasn't bothered me in a while, but after what happened, it's like… I don't know, Roger. I feel like… I'm trying to remember something useful, but at the same time, I don't want to lose myself over this."

Roger began feeling the effects of the tea as well, finishing his, and setting his mug next to Dorothy's.

"Don't let it consume you. Just, make note of it, and try to put it out of your head, for now."

Sleep began to creep into their minds, Dorothy hitting her pillow first. Roger threw the covers over them and curled up next to Dorothy, finding sleep within moments after laying his head on his pillow.

Created with Sketch.

"Well, at least there's no damage I can see."

Dr. Plebanski was moving the wand around looking at the ultrasound. Dorothy had finished telling her what had happened the night before and Dr. Plebanski went straight to the aorta first.

"I see some stitches, not as many as before."

She moved the wand around, find the area she was looking for.

"Mm… those still need some time."

"So, the staples are not coming out?" asked Roger, frowning.

"Unfortunately, not for another week and that depends on what I see."

"So, how long for recovery?"

"Roger, you're gonna be off your feet for a bit. At least two months. No working out and nothing extraneous in physical labor. The best thing you can do to heal faster is rest and take care of yourself. I'm sorry."

Roger hit his head on the back of the bed in the exam room in silent frustration. Dorothy held his hand, squeezing it.

"What about this expansion project case? The quarterly meeting is coming up soon and we're usually both present for that meeting," said Dorothy.

Dr. Plebanski put the ultrasound away and sighed, cleaning off the jelly from Roger's abdominal. "The staples should be out by then, but that's even pushing it by my standards. Rest. R-E-S-T. I cannot stress that enough. At least until the stitches are healed and/or out. It's only been just over a week, Roger, you're not superhuman. You're just human. Rest, eat right, take care of yourself, and you'll heal just fine."

She grabbed his chart and began making notes on it. Roger sat up, buttoning up his shirt and tucking it in gently, and adjusted his suspenders.

"I'll be sure to drink my milk and eat my vegetables too," he added sarcastically, but regretted his words when Dr. Plebanski turned red in the face, raising her pen to point at him aggressively.

"Roger Smith! If you continue to backtalk me and question my care, I'll add a few more staples to you! This is not a time to be joking with me!"

Roger grinned sheepishly and Dorothy hit Roger on the elbow, frowning.

"I believe Roger is trying to say sorry for the hard time he's caused you," said Dorothy, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Yes, I was. I was just… forgive me, it was a poor joke on my behalf," Roger said, catching Dorothy's eye.

Dr. Plebanski scoffed at Roger. "Mm hm. I wasn't born yesterday. But if you're being your usual self, I guess that's a good sign."

She finished writing on his chart and put it with the rest of the files on the counter.

"Once your stitches are healed on the inside, we can go into more detail about getting you back into your routine. Today's silver lining will be the stitches on your arms. I can take those out today. At least someone listens to my care routine. Thank you Dorothy for being the voice of reason."

Dorothy giggled while Roger scowled, undoing his sleeves so that Dr. Plebanski could take the stitches out his arms.

"If Dorothy were the voice of reason, she wouldn't play that annoying tune of hers," groaned Roger.

Dorothy rolled her eyes as Dr. Plebanski began unwrapping the bandages to remove the stitches.

"You're such a louse, Roger Smith," Dorothy said with a small smile. Roger snickered until Dr. Plebanski pinched him, making him wince in pain.

NO SIDE

NEXT - ACT 31: UNDERGROUND ENIGMA