Dark
Daniel took a deep breath. She bit her lip and her eyes wandered over to her colleagues for reassurance. Pammy nodded. David merely shrugged and offered a small smile. She looked back at Imhotep and nodded. “I’m ready.”
“Alright, I’m going to need you to lie down.” Imhotep dragged one of the tables to where Daniel waited and swiftly removed the clutter on top of it. He held out his hand to Daniel, who blatantly ignored it and lithely stepped onto the table. Soon she was lying on her back, straight as a board. “Relax, Daniel. This won’t hurt a bit.”
The young woman felt a pinching sensation on her right arm as the slim needle entered her veins. A flash of anger passed over her face. “After this,” Imhotep corrected himself. Daniel and Pammy shook their heads in unison. Imhotep continued unabashed. “You’re going to feel tired very soon. Don’t try to fight it.”
Daniel’s eyelids were feeling very heavy. She let them win and tuck a sheet of gray over her sight. She could still hear the other’s voices but her comprehension was gradually becoming more and more sluggish.
“Hang in there, Danny,” Pammy’s voice called.
“You’ll be alright...” David reiterated.
Imhotep’s smooth baritone came through clearest. “It’s too bad so many things had to meddle during your visit. I think you and I could’ve been friends, Daniel. Perhaps we still can. You’re amazingly susceptible to these experiments. Perhaps another time? Yes...perhaps another time.”
Daniel tried to reply but all that came out was a small, nonsensical babble. “Don’t try to speak,” Imhotep warned. “The process isn’t quite complete yet. Just rest.”
Daniel could still hear their voices but after the instructions to rest were given, nothing else made sense. Instead it was like a soothing lullaby had been created by the varying speeches. It comforted him. Him. Yes, he felt the changes albeit in a distant manner. While his mind floated peacefully in a sea of senselessness, his body had to be changing. He had to be returning to his old self, he thought. Wonders about his friends now swirled in his head. Where were Jake and Gassan? Would Imhotep help them get home when all this was over? When would this all be over? What did Imhotep mean by “another time?” Daniel knew the answers to none of this but didn’t feel worried or alarmed. He’d find out later. Curiosity killed the cat after all. He chuckled to himself as his vision finally gave in and went completely black.
Written by Flutterbest on 16 January 2018
