Chapter 5: Lazarus Syndrome.
She was, that's all she knew. At first there was nothing, no sensations, no thoughts only a presence in a huge void. Soon though, sensations began to assault her consciousness in an ever-increasing deluge. The most disturbing of which was the sensation of breathing a foul viscous fluid and then there was the realization she was inside something smooth, hard and without any hint of light. She became afraid and tried to escape, her instincts telling her she was trapped and drowning. She thrashed in the pod violently trying to escape while sensors and tubes retracted quickly to prevent damage. Presently the slimy fluid drained from the pod leaving her coughing the horrible gunk from her lungs. The strange liquid had burned her throat coming back up. It made swallowing difficult and extremely painful. An abundance of scents assaulted her senses, and not pleasant ones at that. She tried to crawl forward out of the pod and the goo that still clung to her legs and lower body. It became clearly apparent as she fell that she was missing her left arm that she fully expected to be there. She splashed down in the sickening ooze that composed the ground. It reeked of decaying plant life and other horrid things, she tried to rise but her body felt like it weighed a ton.
"What the FUCK?!!!!" She screamed into the vast darkness but no one answered. She struggled with remaining conscious but faltered as her nostrils took one last smell of the putrid air. As she slipped into the vastness of unconsciousness, she wondered how the hell she wound up here in this god-forsaken place.
Time passed, how long she didn't know, but finally she awoke again. Memories flooded her mind; confusing, overlapping, out of order, recent, past. They were all there, all mixed into madness. She trembled in fear, the darkness now seemed vast and it enveloped her. She remembered seeing an eerie green glow illuminating the darkness but it was just a dim remnant of its former brilliance now.
She could still make it out though in the sea of blackness that surrounded her. Putting her madness aside and concentrating on reaching this speck of luminance she crawled through the sea of filth. With her senses so overwhelmed, she choked on its vile contents, spewing forth what was left in her stomach, the fluid from the pod adding to the foul cesspool. She found it hard to crawl with only one arm but as she progressed things began to sort themselves out in her mind; organization and realization were beginning to take hold. She slowly became aware of who she was but didn't understand how she got here, or where even here was. Her memories were still a jumble, faces flashed in her mind's eye but she couldn't place them. Her paw suddenly hit something hard and smooth; she had found the object from which the illumination originated. With all her remaining energy she pushed herself up and collapsed upon a pod of sorts, it had an extremely smooth surface. A faint green glow emanated from its interior, illuminating a giant creature within. It had a face she seemed to recognize some how.
Its head resembled a large cougar, two large pointed horns intersected the huge muzzle on either side. They seemed suitable for assisting in tearing flesh from bone. She could make out the faint tips of rows upon row of large sharp teeth. Close to them were giant protruding serrated fangs. Its eyes were closed as if in a deep sleep, she pondered hitting the smooth transparent surface then stopped knowing she would probably wind up dinner for such a beast. Everything about this creature reeked of strength and power, in some small way she felt it was kin. The crawl across the putrid ground had taken a lot out of her and again her eyelids grew heavy and soon she fell under the great veil of slumber.
Visions plagued her dreams; voices, sensations both pleasurable and agonizing. She remembered the pain the most; it seemed never ending! She grasped her chest, crushed bone moving below the skin, echoes of voices reverberated through her mind.
"What have you done?" "Surprise kids, Mother's home!" "Stop it, you lie; it's not true!!!" "Your little game with us is over Mother!!!" "And this time you lose!"
She awoke instantly screaming to a vast darkness. She did not move for she was terrified. What and who was that? Her mind screamed her thoughts erratic and confusing. Did that really happen? She could feel the pain lingering behind, what kind of a nightmare was this? To her horror the green glow had completely dissipated leaving her alone in the vile darkness. She trembled, for she had no idea where she was or even a clue on how to get out of this place. She searched her memory but found nothing. She closed her eyes and smelled the putrid air around her, this place had to be getting fresh air from somewhere she thought. She tested the air many times, searching for that one bit of freshness and then she had it, a scent like no other, it was very faint but it was fresh.
Her strength and courage had returned enough for her to move about and to sit up. It was the first time she had a chance to really explore her body. She felt her left side where her arm should be but felt only an empty space, but something didn't feel right. She probed further trying to get her fingers beneath her fur. Her eyes opened wide at her discovery. Her arm was there, it was draped across her chest, everything seemed to be there but it all lay beneath her flesh and fur.
It felt strange, trapped. She wasn't sure in this darkness if it could be corrected or not, however the point was moot if she couldn't escape this tomb. She stood and took hesitant steps, feeling out each and every one. Soon water lapped at her feet in surprise! The fresh air scent was coming from a direction in front of her as she took a step into the water. She knew this could be her only way out of this burial chamber.
As she proceeded she found the water incredibly warm and slimy. The odour rising from it she was sure had to be toxic. Moving further and further out in the darkness beyond she found the water beginning to rise, it wasn't a good sign. Soon she had to swim, it was difficult but she managed to find one of the cavern's walls and began to follow it to where she hoped it would lead her to an exit.
The walls of the cavern seemed endless; she grabbed roots to pull herself along. As the time passed she noticed something, details began to emerge along wall's surface; it was getting lighter. In the far distance she saw a sunbeam, it wasn't very big but it meant the surface was close. The water began to recede as she moved closer and closer. Soon she was walking on land again and in front of her was a very small tunnel. To her dismay, she realized it was going to have to be dug out for her to fit. It, however, was going to have to wait; she was exhausted and sat down onto the muddy floor, she just couldn't go any further. For a time, she slept.
Awakening with new vigor, she began to dig. She was glad that she had rested because it had given her renewed energy. The earth was soft, wet and easily removed. It took her what had to have been hours to make the hole large enough to be able to crawl through. When she finally emerged, lush trees surrounded her on every side and everything looked the same. She collapsed onto the ground; the air around her was hot and heavy. Her mind drifted into the realm of sleep now knowing that she had escaped from certain death. Again her dreams were of the black and white creature shouting at her and coming within inches of her face, again she awoke suddenly every time feeling the pain that seemed always to linger with this horrible memory. Who was this creature? But she had other worries at the moment because to her sudden horror she was now somewhere else entirely.
Revelations
The air was humid, thick and the smell she was emanating was like something out of a dung pile. She blinked then putting up her paw to cover her eyes from the bright sun. Before her were trees, everywhere and in every direction. This wasn't her home, so where the heck was she? She sat up and looked down at herself and saw she was covered in mud and goo. The bright yellow fur barely shone through the hideous smelling crusted and caked on mud. "My fur isn't yellow," she thought, then she noticed the arm she could just make it out below her fur covered chest, she was horrified. "EWWWWWW!" She screamed.
She took a deep breath, then thought back to the last thing she could remember. This whole thing was insane. She was in her cabin; the snow was heavy for this time of the year. She could see her breath, for the temperature was bitterly cold; nothing like this vast jungle heat. How did I get here she thought and what's happened to me?
She began to remember that she was, Alison Kincaid, a loving wife and had an adoring husband. She loved kids but never bore any. She stood up and started to remove some of the dried mud from her fur. She had to figure out what had happened, this was obviously not anywhere she should be. As she thought the strangest thing happened, a voice from out of nowhere began to speak to her. She didn't at first think she had heard it but it spoke again.
"You had best mark our position, so we don't get lost and that we can find this place again.
"Who said that?" She announced to the forest, she couldn't see anyone, anywhere.
"I'm not out there, I'm in here."
Suddenly she felt a gut-wrenching jab to her innards. "OW!!!" Alison doubled over and grabbed her stomach in pain. "That hurt!" She was stunned and it took her a moment to recover. Then she realized that something was inside of her. She was pregnant! 'How in the blue blazes did this happen?' she wondered briefly, 'Better yet, *when*?' Outwardly, she asked, "What is going on here?"
"That is what I'd like to know. I crawled up out of that tomb and fell asleep. The next thing I know I'm a child living inside what I believed was my own body!" Mother had deduced that's what had happened, but she was amazed that she could talk with the other host, who now was obviously in control of the main body.
"Your body!" That, Alison deduced, could explain why she was yellow. "It's a horrible mess you know…You should take better care of yourself." She mocked at the voice from within her. It was completely true: this body was a mess and smelled horrible. She was stunned at the revelation of this other voice, but still her main concern was that she looked and felt horrible. She began to pull at the drying mud again.
"Listen you, you …..you're in my body and …" Mother said angrily.
"And what?" Alison said.
Mother stopped in her tracks. She sighed, knowing that she could do nothing from the womb of this creature; or what she thought was… her…body. Waking up and seeing herself floating had been a bit unnerving. The light had been very dim but she could still see, faintly. It had to be the bright sun shining on the body that allowed this; for she knew that it shouldn't be possible for her to see at all. Then again realizing there was another presence around other than herself at work here also puzzled her. She couldn't understand first off how she had gotten into the main body in the first place but now to be transposed from it to this child baffled her even more. The fact that she could communicate with it was a miracle to say the least.
"Ok, it seems we are stuck together, so to speak. Do you have a name?" Mother inquired. It wasn't a situation she wished to be in, but it seemed fate had another plan for her.
Alison had no doubts about who she was, but this definitely was not her body. "My name is Alison, but this isn't my body."
"All right then, Alison it is. To make things clear it really isn't what my body looked like either." 'Although I thought I was to be in control', she thought.
"Seems we are in the same boat. So what is your name?"
"I don't have a name Alison. Most people just called me Mother."
"Ok…., Mother." She thought that very strange. "I never knew my Mother." Alison started into a tale but Mother cut her off, much to Alison's disgust.
"How old are you?"
There was a pause, "Why do you want to know?" Alison asked.
"Just answer the question." The other voice was suddenly surly.
Irritated, Alison almost didn't answer, "I will be 29 my next birthday. Ok, what about you? Most unborns don't talk to their mothers."
"Yes, that is true, I really don't know exactly but lets just put it at old. " She thought about this and theorized. Ok I woke up in extreme agony with this black and white thing staring me in the face and screaming then nothing. Then suddenly I was thrashing about trying to breathe and ripping through some sort of membrane. What happened between then and now?
It was a confusing mess but something in the back of her mind said this had happened before. Not exactly this way but… then a strange idea came to her, though it seemed to be utter nonsense. "I think I died!!!!" she thought. It was a revelation that put more questions a stirring in her brain. If that was the case, what happened? This didn't really explain Alison, though; she was still a complete mystery.
"Alison? Can you still hear me?"
"Yes." Alison was busy trying to get some of the caked on mud off her fur without having much success.
"Do you remember what year it is?" She had a theory but if it was right or close Alison should come up with a very interesting date.
She thought about it, then it came to her. "It is the year 1801." This news startled Mother so much that she began to choke on the anionic fluid that surrounded her inside Alison, which threw her off balance. "Hey Mother are you okay in there?" She rubbed her tummy that had a very distinct bulge, she thought it was kind of cute and began to rub it some more.
Mother regained her composure, "I'm all right Alison." Mother now had a theory as to what might have been happening but it really didn't explain Alison. She was out of the loop so to speak and she didn't know where she fit in. She felt that major memories were still missing that somehow fit Alison into all this but how. She was sure that she would remember more things later. 'However' she thought, 'right now we have to get out of wherever we are.'
As she thought about these new ideas, her vision became blurry then suddenly she could see the outside world and what she thought was her paw trying to yank off a piece of dried mud.
"I CAN SEE!!!!!!!!"
"What!..." Alison said in surprise. She looked around quickly…seeing if she could see anything different about her surroundings.
"WOAH!!!!" Mother cried as the scenery went by so fast she could hardly take it in.
"What!!!"
"Alison I see what you're seeing!!! In that brief moment ago I saw a very blurry and fast moving landscape that threw me for a few seconds."
"Oh….sorry." Alison said sympathetically but all the while thinking that this is a very interesting new development.
Mother knew this would help her greatly, now she could help or instruct Alison to go where she wanted. Her ultimate goal now looked within reach.
Alison decided that having all this horrible mud embedded into her fur was definitely not to her liking. So she decided to go walking to find a source to wash.
"Hold it! I need you to mark this place."
"I don't understand Mother." To Alison this was weird, she spoke aloud but Mother spoke internally which was indeed odd. It also made for an observer a very one sided conversation.
"I need to get back to this location, it could be to our benefit."
"Why?"
"Well down there in that hole is where we came from and back there is a chamber with a giant creature in it. I don't know the whole story yet but I know we have something to do with that giant creature."
Alison was curious, "A giant creature, you sure?"
"Yes." Mother said not liking that Alison doubted what she had just said.
"Ok…..if you say so." She picked up a rock and scratched X's in all the trees surrounding the hole, then she placed sticks all around the hole in a square around it. She hoped that was enough, there wasn't really much else she could do. "Is this good enough?"
She was not exactly satisfied but there was hardly anything she could do about it. "It'll do."
Alison had been quite pleased with what she had done but it seemed that Mother disapproved. She wanted to argue the point but it seemed not worth the effort. So she considered the new challenge in front of them. "All right which way do we go?"
Now there was a question, a question that Mother really had no answer for. "I don't know Alison, your guess is as good as mine; you'll have to pick a direction."
For a moment Alison just stood there and took in the scents around her, Mother couldn't do that but she knew that's what Alison was doing. "I smell something coming from that way." She pointed to some dense underbrush.
"Fine by me, lets head that way."
As they traveled they soon found that this was not easy going, moving the vines and limbs out of the way was exhausting and they had to rest many times. Alison sat under a big tree that was heavily shaded and rested her weary feet. Her fur was a mass of knots and brambles, not pretty at all. Alison finally got a breath from panting; she felt that she had worn out her tongue. But she was puzzled still as to how she had gotten to be here and tied to a person whom she didn't know. She had hoped that this Mother's memory would have returned by now but it seemed that it hadn't.
"Mother you still have no idea where we are?"
"None, although we have to be close to the equator due to the heat and dense flora." She tried to place these plants but just couldn't. Although her memory was a jumbled mess there was a trace glimpse that she had been here before, long ago.
Alison sighed heavily, "That's too bad, I don't remember this place at all." In truth, she did have a memory of this place, one she couldn't be sure was true or just her imagination playing tricks. She decided it best not to mention it for the moment. Then something caught her nose as a breeze swept by. "Do you smell that?!!!!" Alison said excitedly.
"Ah …no I can't Alison." Mother said drearily.
"Sorry…its water!!! Lots of it!!!!"
"You sure?"
"Oh yes!!!" She got up and began following the wondrous scent. She now had more vigor and smashed through the underbrush. They could hear the rush of the water and it spurred Alison on even faster. Then finally they entered into a clearing where they saw a giant waterfall. It was a spectacular sight.
Alison took a deep breath of the moist air and proceeded to the base of the waterfall. They were astounded at the breath taking sight.
"Alison, find a still pool of water."
Alison looked but she wasn't sure why. "Why?"
"You'll see."
She found one close by and stood in front of it, then she knew why Mother had wanted to find one. There she stood a dirty but obviously pregnant yellow creature. She was small with a round belly and only one arm. She looked horrible; she had two small blunt horns protruding from the sides of her face. Her muzzle was short, Alison brushed away some of the dirt that covered it. Her ears were short, and her eyes were black. She had two small fangs protruding from her muzzle, nothing really ferocious looking. She was a small and insignificant creature. She didn't even have a tail…...well a short stub.
"Well I wondered too."
"Enough, get us cleaned up!" Mother said with disgust.
The water looked too inviting and she was soon splashing around feeling the coolness surrounding her body. Even Mother, inside of Alison, felt the difference to and she smiled, it was soothing.
"This is wonderful," Alison shouted.
Mother answered humbly, "Yes you are right, this is." Alison didn't go too far out, keeping the shore always within reach; she wasn't the greatest swimmer. Having one arm didn't help much but she could relax and float. Now with the grime gone, her fur was the brightest of yellow and shone with golden radiance. She looked at the arm now again as she floated, it was strange seeing it there under her fur.
"Why is my…ah….our arm like this?" She had sat up in the shallow water and stroked the outline.
"I do not know Alison, I know it's a handicap but I think if we reach civilization it can be released from under our fur." Our…it was an odd term but they were as one…sort of…the switching was an interesting aspect of the joining though.
"It just feels funny."
"Yes it does Alison." She had noticed that as well when she was in control of the main body. It itched was more of a description of the feeling. Mother couldn't place this landmark either although there were some feelings like all this was familiar somehow but nothing she could pin point. As mother pondered the landscape Alison screamed and her vision moved to her side where she saw a silver object sticking in her side, it was a tranquilizer dart.
They awoke suspended upside down or close to it. To be more accurate they were in a net high above the ground, it was very uncomfortable Alison noted. From this point they could see a camp and some of its occupants; most seemed to be lemurs. They watched and tried to listen but they were out of hearing range. They seemed most occupied with another captured creature and ignoring them altogether. Then she saw it, a big creature coming out of a tent. It dwarfed all the lemurs that surrounded it, Mother instructed Alison to look at the large creature's face and try to focus. It was a silverback gorilla; they were rare like the taurs and other mixed breeds but this one ….this one she knew. It was a clear memory; one that ran deep into her brain.
"I know that big ape!" Mother exclaimed.
"Huh…you do? Then I'll call to him."
"NO!!!!! Don't…!!
"Why, he could get us down?"
"No he won't, I'll have to play this Alison, don't utter any words at all. For all they know we're some exotic creature and that's the way I want it to stay."
"Ok, but I don't understand."
Mother sighed, "Ok here's what I know; that ape betrayed me a long time ago. I asked him to perform a task and he reneged on it, costing me a lot of money and a lot of very valuable people. All to save his own hide and vanished on me. It took me over 2 years to find him but I did and I put that scar across his face, in fact I thought he was dead but he obviously survived."
"I see." Alison could see that mother was shooting around the facts of the story by only giving an outline. She was going to push for a more detailed explanation but she dropped it. She thought it would probably cause more problems and more lies. Alison really didn't like the fact that Mother was keeping things from her but she knew things would work out in the end. So she settled for what she was told.
Night came and they didn't get released, at least they knew they were safe from ground predators. They did struggle and manage to get into a more comfortable position. It wasn't great but it was better than what they had been in. In the morning things were totally different for now the roles had reversed and Mother now felt the ropes pressing firmly into soft and tender areas. It was not a pleasant experience. She did not know Alison had been so uncomfortable. The camp below was awake and packing things, seems it was moving time. The huge gorilla stared up at them not saying anything then moving on. Mother knew this could go two ways if she told him who she was. It was obvious to her that they were to be sold, he was probably hoping for a small fortune for her hide. She assumed that she would be an exotic and therefore very expensive. If she didn't tell him before being sold then they were dead meat, she would have no way of saving them. This traitor was their only hope and she didn't like it one bit. They lowered the net after many hours but they didn't let her free, the huge gorilla moved over to take a look and put his huge paw through the holes in the ropes to crop a feel between her legs.
"Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape."
He quickly withdrew his paw, "It talks, how interesting and it has quite the mouth."
"Oh you don't know the half of it, Jacob!" She sneered and watched as the giant's eyes grew wide as he took a step back.
Alison had been watching in silence but she could read the fear that now resided behind his eyes. "He's terrified."
Mother couldn't answer Alison for she didn't want to give their little secret away. Although Alison was right he was terrified.
"It can't be YOU!!!!!!" He stepped back even farther putting plenty of distance between them.