Back in Friendly Territory

As tired as he was, Tom would have loved to take advantage of the break and get some rest, but he was too excited about the prospect of returning to the institute and being restored to his former self.

Mrs. Green occupied herself on her phone, occasionally checking on him.

When the pilot announced they would be landing soon, Mrs. Green secured him back in the case, puckering her lips and blowing him a wink and giving him a cheeky wink before closing it.

Inside the case, Tom fervently hoped this was not a trick, or some cruel means of trying to break his will. The next time the case opened, it was his mother’s smiling face that greeted him, her green eyes brimming with moisture.

“My sweet boy,” she breathed, bringing her hands together as the dam burst and tears slid silently down both cheeks of her face.

Overwhelmed by emotion and relief, Tom’s bottom lip started to quiver as he looked up at her, no words he could summon to express how he felt.

Picking him up carefully, Ella held her son close to her breast, “You’re safe now, you’re safe,” she murmured.

Smothered against her, Tom began to fuss, pushing back until she set him back down on the table.

Swiping at his eyes, for the first time he noticed a woman dressed in business attire standing back, hands folded neatly in front of her.

Following his gaze, Ella motioned for the woman to come over, “This is Hedy Smith, she is the one who made all the necessary arrangements and organized your liberation,” she said, introducing the woman unfamiliar to Tom.

The woman smiled and inclined her head slightly, “Very nice to make your acquaintance Tom,” she said.

Tom looked up at her, finding himself abruptly captivated by her soft but keen blue eyes, “The man, the myth, the legend,” he replied, unleashing his smile on her. There was something about her, something lurking behind those eyes, something dangerous, something appealing.

“Oh my god,” Dona said in an exasperated tone, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

“Thomas,” chastised Ella, frowning.

Walking to the edge of the table nearest Hedy, Tom spread his hands apart, “In all seriousness, I don’t know how you were able to find me so quickly, but thank you,” he expressed, bowing gracefully.

“The good news is that you are returned to us safe and sound,” Hedy replied, giving him a smile.

“Yes,” Lina concurred, nodding her head.

“I for one agree with Tom. I cannot believe how fast you resolved this,” Dona stated.

Dr. Holmstrom appeared with her assistant a few steps behind, “All is in readiness, but I would like a moment to examine Thomas,” she said.

Ella looked down at him, “Do you think you’re ready for this?” she inquired.

Tom nodded slowly.

Ella smiled, “Alright then,” she said, turning to look at the doctor before nodding her head.

Within moments, the doctor had whisked him away to a private room where she gave him a thorough examination including vitals. After finishing, she let a breath. “Everything seems within acceptable parameters,” she advised.

“Just do it, do it!” Tom said, mimicking Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The steps Dr. Holmstrom performed were pretty much what Tom remembered when his grandfather underwent the process.

When the light enveloped him, brighter than anything, brighter than looking directly into the sun, and warm, but rapidly getting hotter. Raising his left hand, he tried to shield his eyes from the light. The intensity of the light was becoming painful, blazing down upon his tiny form. Shutting his eyes, he clenched his teeth, the agony now unbearable and worsening exponentially with each passing second.

Then it was gone, the pain, he was without physical form, adrift and floating upward toward the light, no longer painful but welcoming. Somewhere in the void of darkness beneath him, he could hear guttural screaming. Familiar. It took him a moment to realize it was his own voice, harsh and screechy. Above him peace, below him pain. He had become detached from himself, the sensation strange, serene, almost womblike.

He wanted to move forward, toward the peace of the light beckoning him. In his mind’s eye, he could see himself extending an arm to it, but so to could he see tentacles rising up from the voicd, blacker than pitch coiling around his legs and dragging him down. “NO!” he screamed mentally. Struggling against his bonds, he was helpless to break free, sinking into the inky blackness before being swallowed up by it.

Immediately he was assaulted, every nerve ending screaming agony.

“Tom,” he heard, his mother’s voice as clear as day but far away cutting through the swirling blackness and miasma of pain

“He’s back, I have a heartbeat,” he heard from Freja, voice frantic but odd as if speaking into a tin can.

“You can do this,” his mother encouraged.

There was so much pain, pain without reprieve or escape.

“Another ten seconds,” announced doctor Holmstrom, voice muted and distorted.

Ten more seconds of this? It felt an eternity. He counted to ten a thousand times in his mind before it stopped. Then there was only cold. Where once there had been blinding white hot light, now there was only emptiness icy darkness. He felt pressure on his chest, the sensation sending needles into the flesh under it.

Choked with emotion, “Tom, it’s over, my son, you’re whole again,” his mother whispered, tone awash in relief.

Swallowing hard, throat raw from screaming, he opened his eyes, vision blurry, blinking unevenly, “Let’s not do that again,” he rasped, voice deep.

There was a cheer. Lina? Aunt Dona? He couldn’t tell. Trying to raise his hand, there was pain and he felt weak as a kitten.

“We are going to need to get him into recovery,” Dr. Holmstrom instructed.

He felt himself moving, hands touching him, any contact sending electric shocks through his system. What he needed now was sleep.