Question I, Monster.

Alright, testing this myself. In an effort to spare the staff at the site effort, I'll be moving my fan-fics as soon as I'm able. Expect some editing and very long posts, as I won't be breaking them up by chapter this time, at least not to start. So without further ado, off we go:

Chapter 1.

An interesting thing about life; no one get's out of it alive. People get shot, stabbed, thrown off cliffs, poisoned, and all manner of things involving a lack of morality each day. Yet one of the most surprising things about life is, what ends it the most often.

You hear plenty of people picketing and protesting, wanting to ban guns, nuclear weapons, and cigarettes. Guess what device being banned would save the most lives? The bathtub.

That's right folks, more than guns, more than car accidents, more than all the nuclear weapons ever used combined, baths are lethal. It isn't even close. But you never see grungy people protesting the leading cause of death multiple years in a row. Come to think of it, a bunch of Charlie Brown pig pen like people waving signs outside a capitol would be rather amusing.

You never hear of anyone asking to ban what killed me either; the internal combustion engine driven demon commonly known as the car. A Gremlin in my case, of all things. There I was, walking home from the movie theater with my best friend Reg.

Reg (or Reginald, though it meant a fight if you called him that) had been my friend since kindergarten. Maybe even since preschool, though my memory didn't go back that far. We had just gone to see the movie monster marathon at the Globe, an old time theater. It was October 29th, 1976 in Silo, Iowa.

Yes, they named the town Silo, I swear, I can't make this stuff up.

Silo was the typical two horse town; a small strip of suburbia placed in the middle of farms, large or small. Corn had more of a presence in the region than people. We had a small grocery store, a small hardware store, and a small theater that was among the oldest in the state. It was falling apart of course, but it still made money. Where that money went no one could say, cause it almost never showed new movies, instead showing grainy insect eaten copies of the classics.

It was also the only source of urban amusement for anyone living in the town. Next closest thing was one of the new malls in Bufordsville, a good thirty miles away. Kids like us could only reach it by parents, or by bike. And biking there on the interstate took way too long in my opinion.

Thad swore my dad was the best amusement in town. My dad was a mutant. A so called “gadgeteer” to be precise, he made strange hi-tech toys for kids. That's right, no cool robots or ray guns or futuristic appliances; dad (Dr. Wexler, or Paul to his friends) was a toy maker.

The toy that most people loved, that was even manufactured by Hasbro, was a walking talking cyborg guy with a light up eyes and a kung-fu grip called Commander Zap. Which was a stupid name, but nobody asked me. It paid the bills anyway, and I had the full line for free. I didn't see the allure though. I was more a fan of simple toys; model planes or trains, things like that.

The unspeakable things he did to my model train set still haunts me.

These wandering thoughts and memories were beneficial; they took me, for a brief time, away from the fact that I lay dying. But again I remembered, the panic setting in this time to stay, the dream of past fun times now tinged with the knowledge of approaching mortality like blood pouring from a wound.

Possibly even from my wounds, though I wasn't really capable of checking that.
WE had just gotten out of the theater, after the marathon, the last of which had been “Bride of Frankenstein”, a pretty awesome movie by 1930's standards, and were filing out into the street with the crowd, when the truck came. A semi without a trailer, driving down the interstate in what for us, was a late hour. It also seemed the driver had never been here before, as he missed the weather-beaten but still bright red stop sign at the intersection before the crosswalk. The crosswalk a good 10 of us were on. The crosswalk the Gremlin was just now passing.

I had looked up from some comment on how hot the actress was, even with stitches, to my friend Thad (who was a bit of a horndog) to see a puke green monstrosity coming at me, seeming to be at least five times larger than it likely was.

And then the sensation of flying; no pain, no impacts with either the truck or the ground. Just flying. My best friend's face swam into vision, sparking off a thousand memories of disjointed moments; stealing cookies from the cookie jar then running when my father saw us, laughing. Playing hide and seek in the woods with other kids. Lying in the warm sun, just soaking it up, next to the creek where we used to launch boats of our own making.

This mixed with a thousand other such moments, all sparkling crystals shining in the river of blood surging out of me with every beat of my overactive heart. Asking Julie Devries to the freshman dance, and her laughter. Actually going with Betty McCallister, and the great time we had, discoing away till our parents broke us up.

Playing baseball with Doug McCallister, her brother, and winning the little league regional that year. My father, on my tenth birthday handing me the wrapped package that turned out to be the train set he later butchered. My mother, her face more clear than it had been in years, staring up at me with a smile I could only classify as melancholy.

More faces, names, dates, and blurs, all circling in and crowding me as my friend's face began to dim; there was no sound save the roar of my blood in my ears, and no sensation other than the creeping cold stealing it's way into me like a thief after my most valuable possession.

And then nothing at all.

This wasn't how I expected death to be. Where were the angels, the pearly gates, the past relatives my grandparents had told me about? For that matter where were my grandparents themselves? They had both died before this I was sure, I could remember being young and going to the funeral home for Grandma's, though I couldn't seem to picture her face anymore.

There we no devils either, no lake of fire and brimstone, no screams of the tortured sinners to serenade me.

There was only blackness, pure and total. No sensation, no pain, no sound, no sights. Nothing. I was all there was. The only thing that existed, though I could only prove I existed by chasing my increasingly muddled thoughts around, as a dog would chase it's own tail. Soon even that started to fade, and I simply was. I was trapped, with only myself to console me.

I made games to pass the time, relived memories till they began to fray around the edges. And still, there was naught but darkness.

Then there was light. It wasn't a clear break of day, the pure light of truth, or a magical epiphany of the hoped for variety. Instead it started out as an ever so perceptible dimming of the pure darkness I was enclosed in. The next thing noticed was sensation. The heat and cold I'd almost forgotten existed impinged upon all that I was, enlarging it.
Almost at the same time another increase in all that I was came to me. Sound. I remembered this from the dances and films that endlessly replayed themselves in myself. But this music was different; new. I had heard some of it before, the classics they were called. Some were remembered clearly from those very movies I could still remember.

But some, and these were the most important by far, were songs I had never heard before, for all that they involved the same old themes of love, loss and bragging. Some voices I even fancied I recognized, like the one that made me dream of meat. To my near endless frustration, I could not understand them. The dulcet tones nor gravelly baritones alike. I knew I should be able to, but I couldn't. The language seemed hauntingly familiar. Perhaps I had lost more of myself than I thought to the darkness?

I mourned, despairing that I would ever know such understanding again.

That led to my next discovery; I 'mourned'! I felt 'despair'! I could feel! All that I was had expanded! But I could not move. I was still trapped, even with the new/old/half remembered stimuli.

There were other voices too, that did not belong to the music, that spoke in soft gentle tones of almost reverence. I had the feeling they were speaking to me, but I couldn't understand them, and couldn't respond. I didn't even know how to. They came and went, unknowing of my plight.

Then my vision began to clear. I knew then, I had to have eyes! And to hear, I had to have ears! To feel cold, I had to have a body! I remembered bodies. Everyone had them, even I had once. But somehow I had one again?

The moon, that was the source of the light. It was almost painfully bright and oh so beautiful; a pure white like the light in my dreams had been. It was a friend, that light, and I embraced it as utterly as one can when one cannot move.

The heights of joy, to have a friend again! A dim memory of a face, almost lost, faded to a complete lack of recognition, surfaced. That was a puzzle; one I could not solve and that made me feel bad somehow. But the moon could be my new best friend, and I would love it utterly! It even had a face too!

A small part of me whispered that the moon would be a very poor friend, having no self to speak of, but I ignored that part of me. I was big enough now that I could ignore the parts of I that I did not like, and that one was a jerk.

And then greater despair; the moon left me. It stole itself away from my new vision, and I was alone again. How dare it move when I could not! I hated it!

Maybe the music would be my friend? It had not left me since I regained my hearing. Maybe it would stay? I listened intently, mourning the loss of the traitorous moon, but while the music itself was pure, and understandable, the words in some of it were gibberish, illusive. But some were beginning to make sense, as if I had heard them before.

The ones made by the meat guy were especially soothing. Something familiar somehow, even when it wasn't. More light came, this time tinged golden, and I expanded again. Memories of sunshine came back, of a thousand days spent in it's warmth. My vision was somehow drawn to it, a lodestone even brighter than the moon. I remembered now, the two chased each other around the sky. One meant the other would be gone or hiding... most of the time.

The rules of existence began to reassert themselves. My vision moved, which meant I had to have eyes. Hearing indicated ears. Feeling indicated a body. When I focused, I could blink... eyelids? Muscles with movement in them. My eyes did not like it, at first. But the pain, the beautiful wonderful pain which made me feel alive, eased.

Even better, my vision began to clear more. I began to make out the details of my new existence; a set of three walls of bare rough cut stone, with large wall hangings on them (I should know that word, I knew I should! Beautiful frustration!) with pictures of animals and things. Mixed with these were posters from movies that I had only a little trouble recognizing, and posters of... boys?

There were shelves lines floor to ceiling with stuffed animals and dolls too; a few of the other things I recognized as having been made by my... father! I had a father! I remembered him, a kooky man who made toys! More emotion; love so deep it swallowed me utterly, mixed with something else, something darker. I did not recognize the stuffed things, or the dolls, except as what they were.

I knew the Commander Zap action figure intimately; I just knew it was mine, the one I'd been gifted with at some point in life. The dolls, the stuffed things, did not have that recognition in their favor; they clearly did not belong, somehow.

Something else intruded on my awareness. Smell. The room smelled musty, of dust and other things not so definable to me. It felt like a tomb, or an unused shrine. How I knew that, I did not know. Maybe I had extensive knowledge of such things?

There was a big fireplace inset in the wall opposite me, and to the side of that closest to the window (a large thing with an arch at the top, all clear glass so clean I could barely tell the glass was there at all) The item on the other side, closest to the door and in it's own cabinet, looked kind of like a stereo system. Though I didn't see any spot to put the 8 tracks in, nor any records.

I was pretty sure it wasn't playing a radio station, as I heard no DJ. It was while pondering this mystery that I was dragged back into the all consuming darkness. I did not wish to go, but the pull was simply too strong. Had I ever sensed those things that were? Or had I simply made them up? Yet again, I despaired.

The jolt shook me awake though. Somehow I was in another place, a place of whiteness, and every nerve (?) I had was tingly and screaming at me. Blue arcs of electricity was arcing across my vision, and there was movement. I wasn't controlling it, but it was movement all the same!

When the arcs of blue stopped, the movement did too. The white settled in around me. Voices began, and understanding followed.

“No response, doctor. Monitors all report no change.”

“Damn, I was sure I'd gotten the mixture right this time!”

“You say that every time, doctor.”

I could do that. Why couldn't I do that? I tried but no sound came.
“Doctor, do you really think this will...? I mean, after so long...?”

“Yes nurse, I really do. Now remove the sheet, I want to check for burns.”

The white came off, and I saw.

I was in a large room, lit by rods of white so intense they seemed pieces of the moon itself, brought to me. There were large, ancient machines of arcane purpose scattered around me; I recognized one as a dynamo, and another as a very large plasma orb, something I was sure was only around for looks. Electricity was arcing along the various massive cables leading from machine to machine; Sure enough, two of those cabled ended above me with giant clips. Electricity then, was the source of the blue I had seen.

Of far more importance than the appearance of the massive room, its play of light and shadow in the dark corners and unease generated by the smell of blood, the fact that I could now feel alternately rough wood upon my back and a sheet upon my front, were the room's occupants.

The one staring at me in shock and alarm, I assumed was the 'nurse'. She was honey blonde, with muted gray eyes set in a pleasant face, clear and unlined. She was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life. I knew she was female because she had breasts; big ones that bounced in a hypnotic way as she jumped away from me, taking the sheet with her.

“Doctor, her eyes are open!”

I tried to speak, to reach out, anything to stop this beautiful creature, this other I, from leaving me. The horror, the sheer stark terror she had at seeing me seared me with cold fire to my core. She took a deep breath, hand over her mouth as she scooted away from me.

My desperation peaked and my hand twitched, reaching towards the beautiful creature as the 'doctor' turned. Breathing! That was what I forgot! A gust of air rushed into me at my request, and the smells assaulting my nose increased tenfold. I idly noted that the chest expansion also affecting my own breasts.

The 'doctor was more lined than the 'nurse', having light brown hair streaked with gray and startling blue eyes. He was still fit, I noted, having an almost gaunt form encased in a white lab coat darkened with stains, and old ratty brown pants, and a gray shirt which might have once been white. I dubbed him beautiful creature number two... and then I recognized him, or thought I did. That faded image that haunted me so, of my best friend's face pulled itself into my surface thoughts in an instant, the gaps filled by the face before me.

My fumbling uncoordinated efforts finally bore fruit; I managed to grab the 'nurse's' arm, and she screamed.

Boy, could she scream! The delightful sensation of my eardrums almost bursting under the assault excited me, and I pushed forward with my attempt to communicate, to show that I was no threat to them, that to the contrary, I loved them and all they represented. But the efforts combined with my flash of recognition and the results got all jumbled.

“Pl...ple...Reg?”

The nurse dropped like a bird felled by a shot, taking me with her, as I would have sooner lost the arm I just found out I possessed than let her go again. Something that seemed a possibility, as it seemed very thin and only held on by a series of fine dark stitches, twined around it's width; the 'nurse's' weight nearly pulled my shoulder and arm off. The pain was exquisite.

The feel of her, the smell of her, was more so. She smelled of lavender soap and a slightly cloying perfume, with just a hint of sweat. She was wearing a spotless silk blouse and a denim skirt that did not quite reach her knees. She was soft and warm, and very inviting. I was concerned that she was lost to the self eating darkness, but she came back almost immediately, squirming briefly under me, then stilling.

The 'doctor' was still standing but motionless, his mouth open so far I could count his teeth. There were 14 in the upper jaw and 12 in the lower. There was something in his gaze that I was not sure I liked as he watched me nestle my head on the 'nurse's' breasts to better drink in their appealing softness, but I loved him anyway. Then he spoke, and something that was missing seemed to snap into place, like a puzzle's final piece.

“They called me mad! Mad! Was it mad to wish to try and reach beyond the veil of death, to pluck the very souls at will from that hungry embrace! And now look! Success! IT'S ALIVE...ALIVE!”

As he laughed, I stared into the face of the 'nurse' and smiled. I wanted to laugh with the 'doctor, but I did not know how. So instead I smiled, feeling the pulling of my cheeks as the nurse stared back with... fear?

Chapter 2.

The potential fear rapidly shifted to a sort of amused acceptance when I declined to move further; or at least that's what I felt. Her heart was calming, and she began to smile back at me. Yes I was alive, and away from the darkness, and here (wherever here was) people were warm, and not ghostly imitations of I. She even began stroking my head, which felt nice.

“So, um...can you get off me? Let me get up?”

I considered that. I didn't want to, so simply snuggled closer. I knew the perfect word for this, and after a bit, I remembered how to say it.

“Warm.”

After a moment she nodded her head.

“I suppose I am a bit warm, at that. And you’re ice cold. Alright, I get that, but can you at least ease up a little? You're hurting me here.”

I looked at her again, curious. She didn't want to know she was alive? Maybe she didn't need the reminder? She gently took her hands, and tried to loosen my arms. I didn't want to allow that, but I also didn't want to make her mad... so I moved them apart, a little.

I was rewarded with a smile that broke like the dawn across her features. I tried to return the favor, and she made a weird facial expression. I did not care, I loved her anyway.

“Do you remember your name?”

Name? What was a name? I knew what memory was, a recollection of something old... or something lost. So whatever a name was, I could safely say I did not remember what it was. But I also did not know how to tell doctor this. I was floundering, sure I would disappoint my new friends with my failures when the nurse took over.

“You don't remember, do you?”

I thought back, the right response for assertion of a phrase like that seemed to be to nod, so I did.

“See! She does remember!”

I looked at doctor blankly. Nurse shook her head.

“No, I think she nodded to tell me she doesn't know.”

I pointed to her and nodded vigorously.

“Right, thought so. You don't remember the word 'no', do you?”

As soon as she spoke it, I did. A word used to express denial, dissent or refusal. Also expressed by shaking one's head. How delightful, to have a head to shake, and express these things! I beamed, then shook my head with glee. Nurse made another weird face.

“I think she just remembered.”

I nodded furiously.

“Right, well I'm Gracie, and that is Reginald.”

I looked at them both. Were they trying to mess with me? I had heard their names! I pointed to each in turn.

“Nurse. Doctor.”

“No, those are not our names. Those are more... titles. Um, what we do for a living. My name is Gracie, and his is Reginald. Can you tell me what yours is?”

Doctor was silent. He knew this... name thing, I knew he did. Why did they get two names, anyway? It seemed greedy to me. What happened when someone else wanted a name? Did they share?

“Self.”

Doctor made a funny noise, and leaked water from his mouth.

“What was that?”

I pointed to each of them again in turn, and then to myself.

“Nu... Gracie. Reg. Self.”

She shook her head, which made me angry. How dare she deny who I was? Or had I gotten her name wrong somehow? This was very confusing. Doctor snapped his fingers. Could I do that? That looked like fun! I had fingers! I looked from his to mine, unsure how to make the trick work. He pointed at himself, then Nurse, then me.

“Reginald. Gracie. Mary.”

That... a glimpse of something similar flashed through my mind, of many days answering to something that sounded so close, but not quite that word. Of syllables I could not completely recall, uttered by my... father? I had a father? A parent? What was that? Someone to live with? No, I couldn't get side tracked, this was important! This name thing alone was confusing enough! I started a new round of pointing.

“Gracie. Reg. Mary.”

Even I knew I did not call him Reginald. He would get mad. Gracie's voice held a tone of wonder.

“I think she remembers you, doctor.”

There it was again, was he Reg, or was he doctor? Was he doctor Reg? That was it, wasn't it? They were greedy, and had two names! I didn't really care all that much; the only thing that mattered is they were other 'selfs', and I wasn't alone anymore. But still, I tried to go along, otherwise they might leave me to the darkness again.

“Doctor Reg?”

He made a funny face, then sighed. I heard him mutter:

“And that's why I started insisting on my full name.”

Which didn't make any sense to me; he had been doing that from the beginning! Then he smiled at me and put his hand on my head.

“Can you walk? Come on, let's get you back to your room, away from this drafty old tower.”

I would go wherever they led.

Doctor Reg held out his hand, and after some hesitation placed my hand in his. That seemed to be the correct thing to do, because he nodded; but then he pulled at me.

“Mary, you really should let go of Gracie, so she can get up.”

I didn't want to.

“Warm.”

“Do you know what clothes are Mary?”

Clothes? No, I did not know what those are. I shook my head at Gracie, confused by the... question? Was that right?

“Clothes are these.' she took her coat in hand. 'and they help keep people warm.”

I knew what a coat was. Doctor Reg and Nurse Gracie were both wearing them. How could I not know what clothes were? They were the same thing! Why were there so many words for the same thing, anyway?

“And if you let me up, we can go to your room, and give you some clothes.”

I looked. I wasn't wearing any clothes. Maybe that was why I was cold? I nodded and let doctor Reg pull me up. Without nurse Gracie's warmth I started to cool. I didn't like that. Doctor Reg began pulling me to a door. The door was an opening that led other places, I remembered.

I fell of course. I felt little pain, but nurse Gracie rushed to my side.

“Mary, are you alright?”

I nodded., Then tried again. My body didn't want to work the way I wanted it to. I mean the legs worked, but they didn't seem to be listening to me or each other. Doctor Reg put his arm around me.

“One foot in front of the other Mary, not both at once. Watch nurse Gracie; that's right.”

With his support and an example (nurse Gracie walking very slowly for me, showing me every step in the process) I managed not to fall again. I was too thrilled at being able to just go somewhere else, on a whim, to be sad that I was so clumsy. After all, it was more complex than it looked!

The plain wooden door opened onto another sort of door, which slid open to reveal a small room. There was no other door, and I was confused by this, but I allowed myself to be led in just the same. The door slid closed again, and doctor Reg pushed something on a panel to the right of it. It lit up, and the room began to move!

The room itself was going places!

Enchanted, I moved closer to the panel. There were two round things on it, one was bright, and doctor reg had pushed that one to make the room move. I pushed it again, and nothing happened. So I pushed the other one, and it got bright too. Nurse Gracie smiled at me, and I smiled back.

Doctor Reg shook his head and muttered something about “kids.” Did I do something wrong?

The room chimed, then stopped. Nurse Gracie got out first, with Doctor Reg pulling me out quickly. We were in another place; the door slid shut again with another chime, and I hoped I'd be able to go back to the room that moved, but for now I was in a long hall with doors to either side.

So many places to go! So many places that were not self! Things to do! Doctor Reg spoke:

“That door leads to my room. That door leads to the library. And that door leads to nurse Gracie's room. And the door next to it, leads to your room Mary.”

There were many more doors in the hall before it turned to the right, but it seemed I wouldn't get to hear what was beyond them. I was sad about that. But doctor Reg opened the door on my room, and I saw immediately, the same space I remembered from before, with the dolls and toys and window from which I watched the traitorous moon.

It was up there again, hanging there as if it had every right to be there, after the trick it pulled on me. There was no music. I frowned and stumbled to the stereo like device, pulling doctor Reg along. I didn't want the music to desert me too! I wanted to have it all! I didn't care if that was greedy.

I paid careful attention as he pushed the red glowing... button. Yes, that was what it was called. The device clicked, made whirring noises, and a familiar song began to play. I tracked the sound to four small but loud speakers bolted to the corners of the room, and the bass speaker under the device. 'sing sing sing, by Benny Goodman' my mind supplied. I wanted to dance, but I could barely stand, so I settled for grinning madly.

Nurse Gracie was searching some sort of cabinet large enough to walk in. She muttered things I could not hear over the music, but I clearly understood the words:

“Didn't you bother updating this, doctor? Some of these clothes seem to be from the days of hair bands.”

What was a hair band? Was that like Kiss? Wait, what was Kiss? I almost missed his response as I opened the top of the cabinet the device was in and found... was that a television? It looked so small! With a bunch of miniature records in plastic cases place in cubby's to either side of it.

“Well It just didn't seem important after the first few years.”

“Men. Mad scientist types' she eyed me rather piercingly. 'she's going to have enough trouble as it is without walking around in clothes twenty years out of date.”

Her stare made me sad. Then she was there, putting something over my head. It wasn't a coat, but it was long, and had places for my arms to fit into.

“There, no more free show for 'Doctor Reg.'”

Her tone implied laughter, so I smiled again. She wasn't rejecting me after all.

“I notice you updated the television.”

Doctor Reg's eyes got wide a moment. Curious, I tried to widen my eyes too. It seemed to work.

“Well, can't have her waking up to some CRT monstrosity. I went with the lcd a while back.”

Nurse Gracie made a tsking noise. Curious about that too, I tried to imitate it. That one didn't work too well.

“You know, you could have just asked me, I mean I do live here, you know. I dust the place every week. It wouldn't have been a problem to keep her closet up to date.”

Doctor Reg muttered something again. I didn't catch that phrase either; instead I widened my eyes again.

“Whatever you old skinflint; It's not your money anyway, and I'll go tomorrow.”

I noticed a problem. The clothes were not warm. Nurse Gracie had said they would be but I was still cold. I quit staring at the television (which couldn't really be a television, after all it just wasn't bif enough) and walked (or stumbled) over to nurse Gracie.

“No warm.”

That wasn't quite right, and I knew it. She looked over, and I looked up into her eyes, plucking on my clothes.

“No warm?”

“Oh, I'm sorry Mary, it will warm up in just a little bit. It will trap your body heat.. ' She steadied me with one hand while reaching down to my head. 'which of course you don't have. I should have known. Alright then, it's time to get some heat in here.”

Doctor Reg did the wide eyed face again.

“But it's August!”

Nurse Gracie whirled around so fast I almost ran into her; luckily the hand she was using to steady me with didn't move much. I wanted to see her face but I couldn't. Her voice sounded scary though; a bit growly.

“She's cold, Reginald. Your friend, the focus of your entire life, is awake and cold.”

Doctor Reg ran a hand through his hair and blew out air. I mimicked him, and he smiled at me. I'd done it right! I smiled back.

“Alright, it's a bit too early to be turning the heat on, but I'll start a fire in the fireplace. We'll just have to keep her away from it.”

“You think it'll be a problem?”

“She's essentially a kid again. I can see it cropping up, along with hot pans and looking both ways before crossing the street. Especially looking both ways before crossing the street.”

And then he was gone, out the door. I wanted to follow, but nurse Gracie stopped me.

“Don't worry, he will be back. He's just going to get some things to help you feel warm.”
They were both so nice to me. I wasn't even mad that nurse Gracie had been wrong about the clothes.

“So... do you recognize anything?”

Recognition was the identifying of something previously known or seen. Nurse Gracie wanted to know what I knew was mine. I pointed immediately to the Commander Zap.

“Zap.”

“You don't recognize anything else? Look around.”

I looked. I saw nothing I recognized, so I shook my head. Doctor Reg came back with his arms filled with wood. Nurse Gracie gave him an odd look.

He said with... something in his voice:

“I didn't want to turn the gas on without the lines being checked first.”

“When was the last time you used them?”

“Only last year, but no reason to take chances now.”

He piled the wood up and squirted it with something, then pulled out a long match and lit it. The result was captivating. Brightness was pouring from the wood, raising itself high. And the heat! The delicious waves of warmth were immediate. Doctor Reg put some sort of screen in the way before I could get close enough.

“Mary, no. That's fire, and it can hurt you if you get close enough.”

I stared at him. How could such light and warmth ever hurt me? Nurse Gracie took over.

“I've seen that look before. Mary, just trust us; and don't get too lose to the fire; it can... eat your body, and then you won't have one.”

I got as far away from the fire as I could get.

“Mary, it's OK, I didn't mean to upset you. Just stay behind the screen and it's perfectly safe.”

She stood in front of the fireplace and made motions with her hands. Doctor Reg joined her, holding his hands towards the brightness.

“I admit, it is a bit cold in here. It really shouldn't be.”

“You bought a castle, moved it stone by stone to America, and reconstructed it... and expected it not to have a castle's problems? Castles are always cold drafty things... or so I'm told.”

“It couldn't be helped; proper decorum and protocols had to be followed. Therefore the experiments demanded a castle.”

Nurse Gracie shook her head with an exhalation. I mimicked her.

“A drafty castle in the butt end of nowhere, with only the barest of amenities and equipment, is the last place you should be doing your experiments. Especially now that they have succeeded.”

“In part, at least.”

What was an experiment?

“Whaa..?”

They both turned to me, and I felt something I did not like.

“Go ahead Mary.”

I tried again, but it all went wrong when my face did not work right! I felt my mouth stretching and a sound like the one nurse Gracie made earlier come out.

“Oh, you're tired? Come on then, let's get you to bed.”

The bed was right there. I pointed to it.

“Yes, I think you're tired Mary. I know I am, and the doctor probably is. You should climb in the bed, and we can pick all this up in the morning.”

They wanted me to go back to the darkness.

“No.”

“Mary, what's wrong?”

How could I explain the cloying darkness, the mind numbing fear of nothing. The loss of self which even now meant I was less than I was. I couldn't ever go back to that pitch black, and crushing loneliness again!

“No. Darkness.”

Well that was a good start. I hoped. Nurse Gracie cocked her head.

“Darkness? What darkness?”

“Did you forget the lights Gracie?”

“No, not even once. She never spent a night in the dark.”

Doctor Reg looked angry.

“Good, because the last maid that left her in the dark regretted it.”

I made a noise. They didn't understand!

“No! No!”

How could I make them... oh I have it!

I put my hands over my eyes.

“No. Darkness.”

“Um, Gracie, did you understand that?”

“I think I did doctor. I don't think she wants to sleep.”

I nodded so hard I fell over.

“Well I suppose she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to....”

“Doctor, that's pretty irresponsible. One of us will have to stay with her; she could hurt herself or something. Or what if Fido woke up and she was outside her room?”

Doctor Reg put his hand on his chin. That seemed like a fine thing to do, so I did it too.

“A valid point, nurse Gracie. One of us will have to stay with Mary so she doesn't do something unfortunate. I think you just volunteered for overtime.”

Nurse Gracie looked over at my nodding, so I smiled.

“Now wait just a minute, doctor....”

“Unless you'd rather I stay with Mary, all alone.”

She turned back to the doctor very quickly. I tried to imitate that, but fell down.

“That's a pretty low blow doctor. Really low.”

He raised an eyebrow. I wasn't sure I had eyebrows, so I checked. Yep, they were there. I couldn't raise just one though. Moving things was hard!

“Alright, alright. Say, Mary, do you remember how to read? Do you remember what books are?”

I did not.

“What are you doing on the floor, Mary?”

“Fell.”

She helped me up.

“Well on that shelf there are books, you climb into bed and I'll go get one, and then I'll read it to you.”

Hmm. I carefully climbed onto the bed, but waited until nurse Gracie returned with a book. Then I placed myself on her much as I had before. I smiled at her, hoping she would smile back like last time.

“Warm.”

Doctor Reg made funny noises.

“Laugh it up doctor. Care to help me out here? She's stronger than she looks.”

“Oh no, nurse. I feel you have the situation well in hand. Unless you'd rather I be the one to stay with Mary, her body draped over mine....”

“Enough, no it's fine. Pig.”

What was a pig? I thought Doctor Reg was a doctor?

“Mary, if you aren't gentle, I'll get hurt. Then I won't be able to stay.”

I let go in a hurry, only laying there.

“That's better. Now I need my hands to read, so you'll need to let me move.”

I made sure I let her arms go. She covered us both with more clothes.

“Good night, Gracie, Mary.”

“Good night doctor.”

I wasn't sure how to say that, or what it meant, but I could smile, so I did. Doctor Reg left.

“No!”

“Mary, it's OK! He'll be back. We won't always be able to stay here all the time, but you won't have to be alone if you don't want to.”

I didn't want either of them to leave, ever. But Nurse Gracie was staying, and she said doctor Reg would be back. I loosened up again.

“Alright, now let's hear the tale of the cat in the hat, shall we?”

I drifted somewhere during the third story; they were wonderful, about other selves in other places... but for some reason I couldn't stay there.

I would have said it was the little darkness of before, but I wasn't alone. Nurse Gracie's presence had followed me there, and it was warm.

Chapter 3.

I came out of a comforting darkness to the bright warm light. I was not alone; nurse Gracie was there, under me; a comforting warm presence making strange sounds. They sounded almost like growling, but she was still in the darkness herself, so it couldn't be that.

However, she was still in the darkness, so I resolved to stay there, so she would not be alone in it. I remembered to be gentle, even when she moved a little. I did want to explore, to find Doctor Reg... but this was more important.

I didn't have to wait too long... at least I don't think I did.

“Gurgle... snerk....”

Nurse Gracie's eyes opened directly into mine, our noses touching. I smiled, happy now that she was finally out of the darkness, so I could explore. This did not seem to be the right reaction.

“Gahhh!”

She bounced her head off the top of the bed, shoving at me at the same time. While I was gentle, I wasn't about to move. Something in the darkness had scared her!

“The darkness?”

The books nurse Gracie had read before we succumbed last night had proven useful. From the cat in the hat to the sidewalk ending, they all used words like 'the' and 'and'. I knew I wasn't saying things right yet, but I was getting better. I would try harder today.

Nurse Gracie sat up, moving me.

“You can let go now Mary. We need to get up and face the day.”

Now that she was safe, I let go. How did someone face a day? Wasn't it all around?

“First thing is first Mary; we need to shower and get clean clothes. I used to give you baths before, but I think now we can let you do that on your own.”

She looked at me and I smiled.

“Well, mostly on your own. You stay here for now, OK? I need to get some of my clothes. I won't be gone long at all, then I'll teach you how to shower.”

I wasn't happy, but I waited. It was bright, there were things everywhere, and we were safe. To pass the time I explored more. The shelf full of dolls had soft things too, that I was sure I could hug without breaking them. So I picked one, a long eared creature, and tried.

It shrank under my hands, but grew again when I let it go. It did not break. It also had lines like the ones on my arms across it's face, arms, and legs. And it had a nice smile. It wore clothes like mine. I checked... I didn't have the long ears or the short tail either, so it was different after all.

“Found Stitch the rabbit, have you?”
Stitch the rabbit? What was that?

“Stitch the rabbit?”

“Yep, Stitch is her name, and a rabbit is what type of animal she is. Like we are humans, she is a rabbit. That's why she's different. Rabbits have long ears, large teeth, fur, and they hop around to move. The doc picked her up because she looked a bit like you, I guess. You can ask him when he gets up.”

Gets up? What was getting up?

“Now don't you worry about the doc, Mary. He'll be just fine. But we have to get clean before he gets up, otherwise he will try something nasty. And that won't be any fun for anyone.”

I remembered fun. That word evoked all kinds of fleeting sensations, or water, and sunshine, and laughter. It was an action which provided mirth. I couldn't really remember what the activities that led to the fun were, but I knew it was out there in many forms, and I'd discovered one last night.

Listening to nurse Gracie read had been fun.

“Come on Mary, you can take Stitch if you like. She's never had a bath either, and she's waterproof.”

Nurse Gracie took my hand and led me out of my room, and down the hall past the room designated as mine. Two doors over, she opened one. It led to a room smaller than mine, with a cold floor made of some form of white brick.

One section of the floor had a small wall with cloth in front of it. The other side had a table running the length of the room with indentations in it, two of them. There were... protrusions in front of those. Pipes? Something...

Nurse Gracie saw my look and turned something attached to the depression. Water came out of the pipe. At least I think it was water... it was clear like it. She turned the thing again and it stopped.

“Alright, now how we take a shower is first we undress.”

I dutifully took off my clothes as nurse Gracie did the same. She had more clothes than I, so it took her longer. Once done, she once again took my hand.

“Now we get into the bathtub.”

She took my hand again, and led me past the small wall. The floor and wall here were all the same thing. She then pulled the clothes for the 'bathtub' across so we couldn't see the room anymore. I watched as she did something to another thing like the first, and a pipe over our head start dripping water on us.

“Brr, too cold!”

Nurse Gracie kept playing with the... gear? And the water got warm. Then more than warm. Nurse Gracie turned to me with a smile.

“Much better. It's not too hot or anything is it? I like hot showers.”

It wasn't. I shook my head. I hadn't known water could be a source of warmth! Or had I? Was it another thing I had lost? It seemed to me that maybe I had... it seemed a simple thing to know. Those pipes couldn't be magic, could they?

The water felt so good across my body. Such a simple thing, but so wonderful. Though it seemed to do weird things too; I felt less... tense. I think that was right.

“Alright, now that the water is adjusted properly, we take our washcloth' she handed me a grey strip of clothes 'and wet it down with water, then take our soap here.”

She handed me a small brick of something that smelled very nice. The she took her small clothes and wrapped the brick in it, and moved it around. I did the same, and was rewarded with some sort of froth on my clothes. I looked, and it matched hers.

“Then we rub our bodies down with the washcloth, very gently, so the soap gets on us, and wipes all the dirt away.”

She started rubbing, watching me. So I started rubbing. It felt rather nice.

“That's right, just as gently as you held me last night. Almost no pressure at all.”

I started over, even more slow and gentle. I had to ask though.

“Not pain?”

“No Mary, you aren't supposed to feel pain doing this. Not even a little.”

I nodded, more to myself than to nurse Gracie. I had been right in my idea. Nurse Gracie did not like pain, so of course if she did something it wouldn't be to feel it. Feel is a good word to remember, I think. Nurse Gracie stopped me from rubbing my head though.

“Only your face for now... the front part. The top and back of your head are a different step. Well and your ears, but I think I need to show you where those are.”

She was right, I didn't know where ears were. Or even what they were. After I finished, I removed the clothes of, and rubbed down Stitch the rabbit too.

“Next step is hair. We take the shampoo here.' she held up a bottle of blue liquid. 'we put enough into our hand to coat our palm, like this, then we rub it into our hair, like so.”

I watched her as she rubbed the liquid into her head and the strings she called hair. So that was what it was. I wondered briefly why it was there. No doubt it served some purpose. I pondered as the expected froth appeared in her hair.

Nurse Gracie and I were the same in many general ways. We both had two arms, two legs, and a head. She had a protrusion on her face: I checked, I had one too. She was taller than I was, with lighter hair. She was bigger than I was in every way, but somehow I knew she wasn't fat. She had curious lighter patches on her, places where her skin was brighter than seemed normal for her. She also did not have strings in her limbs, like I did.

I had strings in my arms and legs, and in my um, main part. I even had them in my hands. They seemed to close up borders of me that were lined with black. I had lighter skin than nurse Gracie, but no patches. What I did have was faint lines of black visible, winding their way through me. Perhaps the same black that seemed to be holding parts of me together?

“Noticed, huh Mary? Yeah we both look different. I'll show you once we get done here if you want.”

Why did she seem sad? I nodded, I was curious. I found out all about curiosity last night; it was emotion, and I felt it about everything around me. That and it killed cats. I wanted to stop it from killing cats, that didn't seem nice at all. But in order to do that, I had to know my enemy.

She finished washing her head and rinsed the froth out of her hair, and I started my own. Nurse Gracie ended up helping me, and showing me where my ears were. Then I did Stitch the rabbit's head. With our first shower (named after a rain shower maybe?) done, nurse Gracie pulled out a bigger clothes/washcloth and patted herself dry.

While I did that for myself and Stitch, she sat on a weird chair; I heard liquid dripping. It was coming from her! Had she taken too much water from the shower? It came from a small hole between her legs. I had the same kind of hole, was I supposed to leak like that too? If so, why wasn't I? She saw my look.

“Perfectly normal thing Mary. And no, you probably won't need to. You're a little different.”

She dried that area off again with an even smaller clothes she ripped from some sort of bin to the side of the chair, and then clicked another gear thing, that caused all the liquid in the chair to vanish. I was entranced again. Where had it gone? Then it filled again!

“No, you shouldn't stick your hand in the toilet Mary.”

“But....”

“The water went down the hole, yes. It's supposed to, and ends up in a big river underground. But hands and arms can't go down the hole Mary, and you just cleaned yourself. It wouldn't do to get dirty again, and the toilet is filthy.”

The chair (toilet?) looked clean to me, but nurse Gracie knew more, so I deferred to her wisdom. Stitches the rabbit did not seem to need to make water either, as she had no hole for it. For that matter, if my hole wasn't used for that, what was it used for?

“That's not a very nice or polite thing to do Mary. When you're around other people, even just me, you're in public, and it's not a good thing to touch yourself that way in public. Now watch, we need to put on our clothes.”

I stopped, and watched. This interacting with other selfs was hard. They had so many rules!

Clothes called panties went on first, right over the area with the hole. Then a piece called a bra went on next; hooked around my 'waist' then pulled up. Then there was another dress. Nurse Gracie called it a 'sundress', but I saw no sun in it. Then came foot coverings called 'socks' and 'shoes'. Apparently these clothes protected feet from damage. Nurse Gracie said so, and I had no reason to doubt her so far.

The clothes nurse Gracie wore were different; where my dress was white, hers was black with a white piece in front. She wore larger socks that covered her legs, and a hat. I knew all about hats from the cat last night, and she was definitely in a hat. Her shoes were bigger, black, and hard, where mine were gray and soft.

“Alright Mary, I'm going to show you yourself, as I promised.”

She pulled me in front of a wall, then moved a panel and there we were. Rather, Nurse Gracie was there in both places, and someone who had to be me was there with her.

The person had hair so black it was blue, or so blue it was black, with some white on either side of her face. Like the rest of her, her face was smaller than Gracie; I pointed to my face protrusion, and the person did the same. It WAS me! There were two of me somehow!

“That's your nose.”

I pointed lower.

“That's your mouth.”

I moved my hair a bit, and there were my ears; looking just as weird as they felt. I knew what eyes were, and while nurse Gracie's eye was blue, mine were a dark yellow, and had more of those lines in them. I didn't have clothes for one of my eyes like she did.

In fact, my face continued the line trend, showing it's own share of the same dark lines. It also had more of those lines of string; one line per side, and they weren't in the exact same place; I don't know why, but that bothered me a little. I touched one.

“Those are stitches. Like what your Stitches the rabbit is named after.”

The other I's eyes widened. They were stitches! Like Stitches the rabbit had! And like Stitches the rabbit, they had the same function... they were to keep me together! I had been right!

“Stitches!”

When I spoke, my mouth moved. I could see things within.

“Those are teeth.”

I grabbed something in there.

“That's your tongue, you use it to talk.”

I let it go.

“Teeth for...?”

“Eating. Most people need to eat to survive. We aren't sure if you do yet.”

Why did she look so...uneasy?

I didn't want to eat anything. After all, eating was like fire... if I eat a thing, it'll be gone, won't it? If it's gone, it will never exist again, right? Causing anything to simply not be anymore was an idea so abhorrent to me I couldn't express it.

Nurse Gracie had to grab my hand to snap me out of it. She had a weird look, and started to lead me down the hall. I had to try.

“Won't.”

“You won't what Mary?”

“Mary won't eat.”

“The correct term when referring to yourself is 'I'. And why won't you eat?”

“Eating is bad.”

“....what? Mary, what do you....”

A new voice interrupted nurse Gracie.

“If she won't eat, does that mean I can eat her? She smells really tasty.”

Nurse Gracie put her face in her hands while I looked around for the source.

“Just perfect, all I need right now. Go away, Fido.”

The aforementioned Fido dropped... from the ceiling. He was on four legs, all patches of scabrous fur and diseased looking skin. He had a long face, mostly mouth filled with long sharp teeth that seemed too big for him. His eyes, dark and shot through with red lines, did not seem to look the same direction. Fido was a... dog?

“You know you can't eat her Fido, she's off limits. Expressly forbidden by the doc himself.”

“But I get to eat all the doc's experiments eventually.”

“Not this one, and you know it.”

“Sigh. She smells so wonderful too. Barely even dead at all!”

I wasn't sure I followed this discussion, but he wanted to eat me. So he must be a bad dog. I resolved to stay away from him, which of course meant I had to keep nurse Gracie away from him too, since she was holding on to me.

“Come on Mary, we have to get to the kitchen and start breakfast; don't worry about Fido, he won't eat you.”

Fido gave a rather strange grin.

“Come on Mary, he won't hurt us.”

Nurse Gracie pulled me past Fido, who stepped aside to let us pass. Then he started following.

“Alright, so tell me Mary, why is eating bad? Almost everyone has to eat something to live.”

How to explain this?

“If you eat, it's gone. Fire eats, and Mary is gone. So eating is bad.”

Nurse Gracie nodded slowly.

“That does make a certain amount of sense, given what you know.”

Fido, that jerk, just laughed.

“Oh, kiddo, you are precious.”

“Alright, to start with, fire is indiscriminate; it eats anything it can. Living creatures can be more choosy. For example, we are going to the kitchen to cook breakfast for myself and doctor Reginald. We won't be eating anything alive.”

“Just a few things that used to be alive.”

“Shut up Fido, you aren't helping. Yes Mary, some of the things we eat were alive. But they aren't anymore when we eat them... hmm, how to put this. I know! The things we eat have no self in them. They are things that are not people in any way.”

Well that was something, but I still wasn't sure I approved. Nurse Gracie swept open a door then let my hand go.

“Anyway this is the kitchen. Shut the door please, while I get started.”

Fido walked in faster than I could shut the door, so I settled for watching him. And of course, inching away slowly. Then I noticed. He had stitches too! I still had Stitches the rabbit. We were all similar!

“Fido has stitches.”

Nurse Gracie was in buried in another door; some sort of cabinet. She began taking things out of it.

“Yes he does. He is like you that way. For that matter, many things around here are like you in that way.”

“Nurse Gracie doesn't.”

Fido spoke up again.

“Ha. Nurse Gracie, is it?”

“Sure... I am trained as a nurse, and I am her nurse after all.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Gracie.”

How would being a nurse help nurse Gracie sleep at night? What was sleeping at night? I wasn't sure what was going on! Fido had a smile, but it didn't seem like a nice smile, and nurse Gracie's own smile seemed less happy somehow than earlier.

“Good morning.”

Doctor Reg!

“Doctor Reg!”

“Mary! Ouch! Not so hard please. Good morning, did you sleep well?”

He turned to nurse Gracie.

“Did she sleep well?”

There it was again, this sleep thing. Nurse Gracie nodded.

“We both did actually, though it took her a while to go under; she resisted it for a good hour. Once she understood the rules she was very careful about following them.”

Fido chimed in again.

“What's this, the princess has been awake since yesterday and no one bothered to inform me? The princess was sleeping? With Gracie? How does that even work? What gives, doc?”

Doctor Reg sat down at the table as nurse Gracie got out some metal containers and put them on a cabinet with fire in it. She then put the things she got our of the first cabinet in the containers on the second. She was very close to the fire.

“Doctor Reg, fire.”

“It's alright Mary, nurse Gracie knows what she is doing.”

I turned to Fido, still with his grin. I hadn't forgotten what he said!

“Who is princess?”

“Why you are, princess.”

I shook my head. That wasn't my name! I pointed to self.
“Mary.”

Doctor Reg gave Fido a look. I don't think it was a nice look, but I can't be sure.

“Yes Fido, her name is Mary. Calling her anything other than her name may confuse her, at least for now. Antagonizing her may earn you a spot in the Kennel. I expect you and Mary to be good friends, with all the things that implies. And no eating her, any part, for any reason.”

I smiled. Doctor Reg was on my side!

“Gotcha doc, I'll play nice. But you've got to help me out here, her smell alone is killing me! Again....”

“I'll see what I can do.”

I had another question, now that the important eating one was resolved.

“What sleep?”

Nurse Gracie corrected me, while still doing weird things.

“What is sleep, Mary. That's what you mean to say.”

I beamed at her. I'd forgotten that word.

“Sleep is that activity that is a lack of activity.”

Nurse Gracie turned to doctor Reg and gave him another look I couldn't read.

“That explanation was clear as mud, doctor. What doctor Reg means to say, is sleep is a word for the darkness we both were in last night, after we closed our eyes.”

Sleep was another enemy then, and far more dangerous than curiosity.

“how was she last night? She didn't... do anything?”

“No, she was very well behaved. She was just distraught. With me there, she settled right off. How did you sleep Mary? You didn't seem afraid.”

I wasn't.

“Nurse Gracie was with Mary. So Mary was happy.”

Fido muttered something about sugar I did not quite hear. Which made me wonder what sugar was.

“As for why Mary needed sleep, I'm not sure. It indicates she does at least have some biological processes, which validates my work thus far.”

Fido looked intent.

“So, she's a success?”

Doctor Reg answered, equally intent.

“Absolutely. Mary is unequivocally a success.”

What was unequiv – that word?

“Darn. OK doc, you made your point. So what can a growing puppy get to eat around here?”

“It's almost done, just relax.”

“Smells wonderful as usual, Gracie.”

“Thank you doctor.”

I had to tell doctor Reg about my earlier conclusion.

“Eating is bad.”

I smiled; this time I hadn't forgotten a word! I was pretty sure I'd used it correctly. Fido was not impressed.

“You still on about that?”

Doctor Reg spoke before I could ask what 'on about' meant.

“What do you mean, Mary?”

Nurse Gracie put a plate down in front of doctor Reg; it was filled with nice smelling things.

“Fire eats, remember doctor? Eats and then those things are gone? Well Mary remembers.”

Doctor Reg made a face.

“Alright, alright, I'll handle it. Come here Mary.”

He got up, so I followed. He opened the cabinet nurse Gracie had been in earlier, and removed a small box.

“These are eggs. They are cooked, like the ones on my plate.”

He opened the box, and some small things that weren't quite round greeted my vision.

“Can you tell me how many there are?”

I thought. There were more than one, but the box wasn't full. Counting was something dimly remembered, but how to count wasn't entirely clear anymore. So I took a guess.

“Eight?”

“Close Mary, there are six left. And when we are done eating those, there will be another box. See the other box?”

He pointed, and I nodded.

“We will never run out of eggs in the world Mary, there are always more. When we run out here, we can always go to a store for new ones. The same is true for everything in here. The eggs, the milk, the bacon, the beef...”

“Meats might be considered a slightly different case, doctor.”

“Shh, Gracie, I'm handling it. The point it, Mary, that we never eat anything that there isn't more of. There is only one you in the entire world, and only one me or Gracie. Which would be why eating us is bad; we could never be replaced. Do you understand?”

I nodded, solemn. It made a lot of sense. But it also raised another question. I pointed to Fido.

“Fido?”

The doctor grinned like Fido did.

“Oh he's replaceable, I think I could make another one, but the problem is he'd taste bad so no one would want to.”

“Har de har har, doc.”

Wait, what was that word? Taste? What was that?

“What is taste?”

Doctor Reg looked odd for a second.

“Taste is another sense. It's kind of like touch. It's the fifth. You do it with your mouth and tongue.”

I tasted nurse Gracie. She tasted good. Very good. She backed away, making it hard. So I followed.

“Doctor....”

“Relax Gracie, she's only licking you. She's anti eating, remember?”

“Right, right sorry. It's just that after last time, I'm kind of leery of another Romero incident.”

“You taste good. Tasting is nice.”

“Um, thanks, I think.”

I went to taste doctor Reg. He didn't move, and let me. He tasted stale somehow, dirty.

“You taste bad, doctor Reg.”

I went to taste Fido. But his words stopped me.

“Sorry kiddo, you really shouldn’t taste me, I'll taste worse than the doc, easily.”

“Ick.”

“Yeah right, Mary. Ick indeed.”

Doctor Reg got something out of the fridge; it was a small thin glass filled with something dark.

“Here Mary, taste this.”

“Doctor....”

“Relax Gracie, she had some before, remember? There should be no difference between injection and ingestion.”

“But we're heading into the Romero zone here....”

What was Romero, and what was a zone?

“Here Mary, drink this.”

Doctor Reg popped the top out of the tiny glass and handed it to me. I put it in my mouth.

“No, don't chew it! Just tilt your head back, that's it. Now let me have the test tube back, that's right.”

I let him take the small glass back. Apparently I wasn't supposed to taste it all, just the liquid inside.

“Did she...?”

“No, she didn't break it. Her mouth shouldn't be damaged.”

The liquid was salty, heavy tasting, and had a faint tang of metal. It was glorious. It tasted way better than even nurse Gracie! Food was amazing! There was only one word for such a treat!

“Good!”

I grinned. Doctor Reg looked happy, but for some reason nurse Gracie did not. She turned to her own plate.

“More?”

“Sure, that can be arranged.”

“Doctor, are you sure that's a good idea?”

It worked in conjunction with the electricity last time, and she's had to have run out by now. After all we only injected a pint.”

My lower body made a growling noise. It was loud and sounded angry. Nurse Gracie jumped, looking very uneasy.

“See? She's just hungry.”

Nurse Gracie started picking at the things on her plate. She looked sad. Why was she sad? I decided to take a guess.
After all, it had been so good.

“Mary will share.”

She looked even worse, if anything.

“Oh Mary, I can't eat what you do. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so startled. Let me finish mine, and we'll get you all fixed up, alright?”

I nodded and sat down to wait as nurse Gracie and doctor Reg ate. Doctor Reg tried to get me to eat some of his, but it didn't smell as good as what he gave me from the cold cabinet, so I decided to wait. Nurse Gracie finished, then doctor Reg did, and he drank some brown liquid while nurse Gracie took the dishes and put them into a depression like the ones in the bathroom. What was she doing?

“What?”

“Oh, Mary, I'm doing the dishes. I clean them with soap too, just like cleaning us. That way they are clean for the next time.”

She even washed my small glass, after everything else. Fido did not eat anything, he just watched us with his grin.

“Alright, so let's get Mary's stomach taken care of, and then we can see about doing interesting things all day.”

I cheered. Fido woofed. Nurse Gracie gave a smile.

“OK so Mary, in order to get your food I need to go to the cellar lab. You can come with me, or you can help nurse Gracie clean the house. Which do you want to do?”

Food or helping nurse Gracie? Wait, if I went with nurse Gracie I'd get both, right? I ran over to her, only stumbling once.

“Nurse Gracie!”

“Alright kiddo, let's start right away then. This drafty old castle is a big place.”

“Alright, you made a good choice Mary, I'll see you soon.”

When doctor Reg got up to leave, Fido followed him.

“Alright Mary, now let's get started. This' she pulled out some sort of weird puffy stick ' is a feather duster. This one is clean, and what you do with it is, you gently rub it over all the exposed surfaces in a room to remove all the dust build up. We will start in your room to give you an idea of what cleaning entails.”

Cleaning has tails? And when did we use soap on the rooms?

Cleaning my room seemed to be simple. I would dust, and nurse Gracie would sweep with a long puffy stick (longer than mine) called a broom. I guessed to get the dust on the floor. Then she would plug in a machine called a 'vacuum' to remove the dust from the slightly warmer clothes the floor wore called a 'rug'. I briefly wondered why clothes worked for the floor, but not me.

I only had a few accidents with the duster; nurse Gracie was kind enough to show me how to use the feather duster, lightly holding my hand and running me through the motions, and the strength involved. Luckily I did not break anything; I'd have felt bad if I had. Putting a line in miss Callie's face (a 'doll', not a 'plushie', I was told) was bad enough!

So my accidents were more knocking things around after that, and by the time we got out of my room I resolved to be even more gentle!

The next room we went to was the library; it was a home for books, and th