Twenty-one
Rick found Marla in the back of the main office where
he had left her. She sat at a desk in a glass-enclosed cubicle. At first
he could see nothing wrong. She sat as if frozen in place with a look of
horror on her face. Only her feet still kicked. She seemed to be trying
to stand, or to throw herself out of the chair.
Rick drew closer still. The overhead lights
glimmered across something shiny creeping across Marla's face. The
substance, whatever it was, had already covered most of her body. Moving
so swiftly and thickening as it went, Marla would be encased in it within
a few more seconds.
She was suffocating. He lips turned blue even as
he watched. Rick grabbed a paper stapler from the desk and smacked it
sharply against the side of her arm. The strange substance broke easily
enough, like brittle glass, or crystal. He snapped a large section off
her hair with his bare hand, then crushed it gently to ensure the sharp
edges wouldn't cut skin.
He then concentrated on pulling larger plates of
crystal off her face and clothing. It hissed as it hit the floor and
shattered into sparkling dust.
And melted together, and began to grow again.
The transparent debris on the floor spread and
crawled with a life of its own. It reached Marla's foot like an exploring
tentacle, then rapidly shot up her leg.
Rick smashed the last crystal plate with a fist and
pulled Marla from the chair. He hoisted her into his arms to clear her
feet from the creeping substance. The crystal started up his own legs to
reach her. With Marla in his arms, he had no way to brush of strange
material away. Within seconds, his legs were covered in it.
He dropped Marla to her feet and pushed her away.
"Run! It's after you, not me!"
Marla stumbled a few steps, then turned and watched
in paralyzed horror the advance of the gleaming crystal across the floor.
It reached her feet and spread rapidly up her legs again.
But the growth had stopped on his own body. Rick
freed himself, using his fist to break the thinner sections, and the paper
stapler to shatter the thicker areas. By the time he reached Marla, the
crystal had again spread to cover her face.
Within, her lips turned blue for a second time.
Rick pushed her over backward, risking injury to save
her life. She struck the floor, again shattering the crystal into
sparkling dust.
The back of her head rapped hard against the tile,
momentarily stunning her.
And with that lapse of unconsciousness, the crystal
evaporated. Within the span of a single moment, it melted away into
nothingness.
Rick scooped Marla into his arms and rushed out into
the corridor. He hurried toward the front of the building a safe
distance. When she stirred to life, he set her down on her feet.
She clung to him fiercely and refused to let go.
Rick pondered the mystery in a trance-like state of
shock. In his mind's eye, Becky's dog lunged at the windows.
The black dog.
The white dog.
He hadn't wanted to believe. His mind had refused to
consider the evidence. Now, he had no choice.
Marla whimpered and brushed at her clothing.
Rick shook her violently, forcing her to focus on
him. "It's over," he said. "I think we were dreaming."
Marla gazed at him, but without her usual hostile
cynicism. "What are you talking about?"
"Becky noticed it first," Rick said. "She thinks
this is still part of the virtual reality of the psych evaluation. We're
still dreaming, all of us."
"Make her stop," Marla said, her eyes still dark with
shock.
"She's not the one doing it," Rick said. "We're
doing it to ourselves."
Marla shook her head frantically. "No! I was
awake! This is real!"
Rick shrugged helplessly. Dimly, he began to sense
the extent of the danger Becky feared so greatly.
Marla embraced him again. She hugged him fiercely,
trembling from head to feet. "Make it stop," she whispered into his ear.
"I'll be nice to you. I'll listen to you. I'll do anything you want.
Just don't let it happen again."
"What happened?" Rick said gently. "What was that
stuff?"
She hugged him all the tighter and buried her face in
his neck. "I don't know. It was nothing. Just help me stop it from
coming back."
Rick had no way to reassure her, and no way to help
her. The crystal-like material growing across her body had a personal,
private significance, but Marla had never been one to share her problems
with friends.
"We have to go find Becky and Mort," Rick said. "We
can help each other when these things happen."
"I don't want her," Marla said, embracing him again
and holding tight. "Just you and me. Please."
Despite her need, nothing had changed between him.
Marla had needs, but nothing to give. She had never been taught to value
other human beings. Rick suspected the source of the crystal to be that
empty spot in her life. The crystal represented the barrier between
herself and the rest of the world, a barrier that threatened to isolate
and suffocate her.
Marla was in big trouble. They were all in serious
trouble, if their personal failings and deficiencies had gained the power
to kill.
