Nightmare Rising: Nightmare Series Book 6

Chapter 6: Revelations

“You realize I’m not a doctor?” Gould asked, as Denny pulled her shirt over her head.

Three days had passed since the terror attacks. The Task Force was in limbo, awaiting some sort of directive from up high. In the meantime, Frankie had continued to train with Collier, while Gould pressed on with his research. Denny had overseen the transfer of the prisoners to civilian hospitals. Then she had turned to Gould, demanding a medical from the physicist despite his protests.

“I don’t care,” she said firmly. “I don’t know any of the medical team here, and I certainly don’t trust them. But I need a second opinion on Jabba. Do tests like Zoffany would – do your science stuff. Tell me what’s going on.”

Gould clucked and tutted as he examined the symbiont, which was now like a dark thread of glistening tissue, a fraction of an inch across. After insisting that he was indulging in ‘educated guesswork’ and that ‘Harriet would know exactly what to look for’, he asked Denny to put her shirt back on.

“So, what’s the verdict?” she asked. “Will I ever sing at Carnegie Hall, doc?”

“Very much doubt it,” Gould replied with a weary smile. “But you seem to be in excellent health. And your little friend is very nearly gone. What remains is mostly Interloper protoplasm, with very little in the way of nerve cells.”

Denny looked dubiously at the scientist.

“But I can sense emotions, read thoughts, the way I could before,” she said. “So Jabba and I are one now, I guess?”

“Very much so,” Gould said, looking slightly evasive. “Of course, we don’t know if your psychic abilities will last. As I keep saying, and I know it’s tedious, Harriet would have a solid hypothesis on the matter. I am blundering around and guessing.”

Denny stood up and laid a hand on Gould’s sleeve.

“You’re doing a damn good job, Ted,” she insisted. “She’d be proud of you. And she’d say she taught you everything you know about biology.”

Gould nodded, seemingly only half-listening. Denny recalled that she had not scanned her allies for nearly a week. When she suggested it to Gould, he agreed and held out a hand. Denny removed a glove and touched Gould’s fingers.

As before, deep sadness and frustration over Zoffany’s fate colored all the man’s thoughts. Denny felt pity, but also frustration. She could tell that Gould had been distracted from his research by his lover’s abduction. While this was perfectly natural, she wished her could focus more on the big picture.

God, I’m getting Loper ruthless, she thought, half-remembering an old quotation from a college professor. Fight with monsters, become a monster – something like that.

Gould, who had been looking down at Denny’s ungloved hand, suddenly flinched, stared at her. His expression was comical, but she did not laugh. Gould’s horror coincided with a weird, crawling sensation all over her body. It was like the tingle that Jabba emanated when the creature was hurt or excited. But this time it seemed to emanate from her face, rather than her spine.

“What’s wrong Ted?” she asked.

Gould did a double-take, shook his head.

“Sorry,” he said. “It was just – for a second there, while we were touching, you looked a lot like Harriet.”

It took a moment for the scientist’s words to sink in.

Oh, Jesus Christ, Denny thought. Oh, God, no. That can’t be happening.

“I won’t mention this to the others,” Gould said, his voice lower. “I might have been mistaken. We’ve no proof.”

Denny stared at the scientist.

“I felt the proof,” she said. “I felt the change beginning.”

A couple of Task Force agents passed in the corridor outside, talking loudly. Gould put a finger to his lips.

“We need to talk about this in private. This, and maybe some other things.”