The Hum of Life - Part Two

"Read, read, read. Read everything - trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window." 

                                                                       -William Faulkner

             Her entire body burned on the operating table. Her arms and legs twitched under the bonds that prevented her from flailing. The room spun with voices and the only solace Mary found was the ever present hum. She focused on it and allowed everything else to fade away.
           "We're loosing her!" A voice reached Mary's ears, followed by the suspended wine of a machine.
           "Mary! Open your eyes! Mary, look at me!" She heard a familiar voice.
           "Come on, Midge, please. You can't leave me now." Mary struggled to understand why he sounded so worried.
            "Focus on my voice, Mary! Follow my voice!" She did as he said, trudging through the fog and muck in her mind.
            "We made it. And I need you to be here with me. I need you to remind me to be positive to help me adjust to Earth." Mary continued to follow his voice and as she did, the noises of the room became audible too. 

            "Joey," she tried to speak. She must have been too quiet. She tried again and there was still no response. Growing frantic she sucked in a breath of air and yelled. 

            "Joey!"

            "Midge, I'm here!" She felt his cool hands on either sides of her face and tried to open her eyes. 

            "Joey," she cried breathlessly. "What’s happening?"

            "We are sort of at a speed bump in our best case scenario." 

            "Wha…what’s wrong with me?"

            "They're removing the parasite. It seems to be fighting back." A wave of pain washed over Mary and she could not fight back the tears. 

            "Hey, we’ve already come so far. Don’t give up on me now," he said. She felt him plant a kiss on her forehead. Suddenly, the humming turned to shrieking. 

            "That’s not a pleasant sight or sound!" she heard Joey yell.

            "You can hear it too?" she exclaimed.

            "Mary," a female voice was speaking to her now. "We were able to extract the organism. We are going to put you under so we can clean some of your insides and stitch you up. Okay?"

            "Where’s Joey?" she asked.

            "He’ll be here when you wake up."

            "Okay." Slowly, a cool sensation trickled into her veins. The pain in her stomach subsided and her consciousness of the table against her back faded away. Joey’s words echoed in her mind.

            "We made it," he had said. With a smile on her lips she drifted off to sleep.

            About the size of two cupped hands. A small, pudgy center. Pale, mossy flesh. Two red receptors, which, now that she was back on Earth, she likened to the eyes of a fly. In shape, the organism almost resembled a human baby, but every horrid memory of it and it’s origin prevented her from having any maternal feelings towards it.  

            "What will you do with it?" Mary asked.

            "Study it," the scientist shrugged. Mary tried to suppress a shiver.

            "But it’s dead for sure, right?" Joey asked.

            "Oh yeah. This little guy died as soon as we disconnected it from its life source…you." The scientist gestured to Mary with a chuckle. She felt Joey’s grip on her hand tighten.

            "You ready to go?" he asked. She looked up at him and nodded.

            "Thank you for your time, Sir," Joey said, as he extended a hand to the man.

            "Sorry, have to avoid cross contamination," he said holding up a gloved hand. Joey retracted his own.

            "Thank you," Mary said, tugging Joey away. As they walked down a long corridor, she let out a sigh.

            "Sometimes I think our little spaceship of human refugees knew more about being human than people who actually grew up on Earth," she said. Joey slowed so he could plant a kiss on her forehead.        
            They were near the exit when a familiar humming filled her ears. It was quiet and dull, but undeniable.

            "Joey…" she said, slowing to a stop. His eyebrows lifted.

            "Do you hear that?"

            "Hear what?" he asked. She peered into his green eyes for a long moment.

            "Nothing. Never mind," she said. They walked out of the facility hand-in-hand.