CHAPTER 15
Floating ... paralyzed again ... the walls of a narrow corridor speed past her blindly staring vision. Not as intense ... she dazedly thinks, contemplating the degree of paralyzation. At least my legs and feet don’t hurt this time. Ragged breathing symptomatic of her sinus condition, she gasps for life-sustaining oxygen; the paralysis contributing to her respiratory distress.
Blackout! Consciousness returns after unmeasurable passage of time, and the walls of a (the same? different?) corridor wind sinuously by. Another blackout, and suddenly PAIN! Fully conscious now, she becomes aware of joints screaming for surcease of whatever force binds her physical form.
Spinning and spinning ... arms and legs akimbo ... a sudden jolt signals the cessation of movement. Spreadeagled, an officiary offering to propitiate whatever gods inhabit this Godless place, she seeks her Center, rallying her inner strengths to withstand the physical onslaught. Heavy weight ... a large form bearing down upon her ... a sensation of penetration ...
... Interrupted by the sensation of a mechanical instrument or device ... followed by a blessed release of consciousness.
Awake once more, she feels Hands! I’m being moved again! she realizes. Passing through a doorway, she and her captors enter a room resembling a laboratory. How strange! she thinks ... I’m being placed in a dentist’s chair! Two men, appearing human in every aspect, stand resolutely near the foot of the chair. Peripherally, a woman can be seen standing near her head, on the left-hand side. She must be a nurse Lynne mentally states.
DON’T LET HER SEE THE NEEDLES! one of the men vocally declares. An adrenalin surge sickens Lynne’s stomach as the words impact upon her consciousness. How weird ... she briefly muses. I’ve never been afraid of needles ....
A sharp pain in her back alerts her to the start of a new procedure. Implants! Why do I keep thinking of implants? she questions the figures in the room, although no sound issues from her throat or mouth. There is no response.
While the human-appearing woman hovers near Lynne’s left shoulder, the two men Why are they cutting there? appear to remove a small object from an area just above her left inner ankle. She watches in mute horror, curiosity mingled with unreasoning fear. Tell me what’s going on! she vainly begs. Why are you doing this? Still there is no answer to her pleas, and she continues watching as a cup-shaped device is either used on her leg, or used to contain the object removed from the ankle area.
GROUND CONTROL! The apparent leader emphatically speaks to the woman Lynne considers a “nurse”. Lynne fixates on that phrase, as if it were the single-most important group of words she’s ever heard spoken. I will remember this! she promises herself. As if the phrase is a mantra, she soundlessly repeats it, placing it deeply within her subconcious memory.
The alpha male continues speaking: The Program is being implemented much sooner than expected!
What is the timeframe? the woman queries the male. TOMORROW! he responds in a tonal quality leaving no doubt of the seriousness of the situation. Silence falls upon the expectant air -- the tension greeting his staccato expletive is palpable.
The other man continues manipulating Lynne’s left leg during this exchange. A moment (or a second) passes, and he, too, speaks. It has expired inside. Confusion overwhelms Lynne’s senses -- confusion, fear, a desire to be away from these people. A foreboding sense of dread fills her mind ...
... and she mercifully fades to black again. Time passes, and she regains consciousness, to find herself lying in a bed, her feet upon a pillow. Lynne’s head rolls, and she sees to her right another bed, with a still female form lying supine upon it. Positioned correctly upon this bed, with head lying upon a pillow is OH, MY GOD! IT’S LAURA! IT’S MY SISTER!