Glitch of the Heart

Chapter Seven - Glitch

The next morning, I woke with a start.

Something was wrong.

My head was pounding fiercely, my mouth felt like sandpaper. I clenched my eyes shut, putting my head in my hands. It was so painful, but I felt myself being moved slightly by someone.

I opened my eyes, finding myself in pitch darkness. I could make out a pair of boots next to mine, as well as an outline, but even that quickly faded out as my pounding headache worsened. I gripped my own scalp, it hurt.

Something was wrong.

"Arnold!" A voice cried. "I'm turning on the lights!"

"Huh?" I grunted, trying to place the voice.

"Arnold, wake up!" the voice commanded.

I felt movement around me but I couldn't see anything when I opened my eyes.

Someone's hands landed on my shoulders softly, and there was a voice... But all I could hear was a pounding in my ears. "Hey, are you Ok?" The voice asked, dripping with worry.

I wanted to say yes... But my mouth wouldn't cooperate.

I managed to stiffly shake my head and the hands on my shoulders gripped slightly. "Lister! Lister, wake up! Somethings wrong with Exza!" I think it was Rimmer who was shouting out, but I couldn't focus with the pain and noise in my head.

"I'm on it, I'm on it..." A voice said, padding on the floor as light flooded in, almost blinding me. Other than the light, it was only pitch blackness, it was terrifying. I couldn't see! Was I blind? I didn't understand what was happening.

"Let's get her to the medical suite." I heard Lister's voice, and felt someone justle me. I whimpered, gripping one of the hands on my shoulders.

"It's ok, Exza... it's me, you're safe, I promise." Rimmer's voice came, before he - slower this time - shifted me round and lifted me up.

I opened my eyes again, only to be greeted by the whitest, brightest light I've ever seen. It burned my eyes and I clenched my eyes shut again. My vision was only dark around the edges, fading into a bridge white light in the centre.

I could hear the two of them arguing about what had happened, but neither knew. I didn't even know... A moment later I could hear Cat and Kryten's voices as well, but I couldn't exactly focus much on anything.

I was in a medical suite, I knew it because I could hear the machines beeping next to me. My head was throbbing with a vengeance.

I felt someone's hand softly touch my shoulder, and felt a little better mentally, knowing I wasn't alone. I was sure it was Rimmer. I gripped his hand, winding my fingers with his. I still couldn't see...

"What's happening to her, Kryten?" I heard Lister ask.

Rimmer was whispering reassurances to me, and I tried to focus on his soft, shaky voice to keep myself anchored down from anxiety. "Everything's going to be fine, Exza. You're in the medical suite, you're alive and well."

"She's blind, sir, she can't see anything." Kryten's voice reached me.

"But why?" Cat's voice asked.

"I do not not, mister Cat, sir." Kryten responded, presumably shaking his head.

"She woke up like this." Rimmer explained. "I don't know what happened."

Silence followed, with some quiet argument across the room going on, before the familiar whirring and beeping of the medical equipment started up, making me jump.

"Kryten, what's happening to her?" Rimmer demanded, not liking seeing me so scared. I could hear the panic in his own voice, even though he was trying to be strong.

"Some type of... glitch?" Kryten answered softly, confused.

I whimpered, gripping the hand in mine harder, scared. What did they mean I was glitching? Humans couldn't glitch! I'm not a droid or hologram or computer program...

"Rimmer, she can't see!" I heard Lister tell him angrily.
"That doesn't mean you should take a picture of her, Lister!" Rimmer argued, I could hear the protectiveness in his tone, though I doubted the others could.

"I do not know, sir." Kryten interrupted their argument.

"Lister, can you fix this?" Rimmer sounded desperate, gripping my hand right back. He must have been terrified to ask Lister to help.

"I don't know, man!" Lister shook his head. "This isn't to do with what happened last month is it?" He asked Kryten, the idea suddenly hitting him. "When she... sacrificed herself? Went into that other dimension to save us?"

There was a moment's pause. "It could be..." Kryten mused. "I'll run some tests, sirs, see what results we get."

"Great." Lister said, still sounding on edge. "Rimmer, is there anything you can do?"

I didn't hear a response, his hand was shaking in mine. I could tell he was trying hard not to let his emotions go out of control so he wouldn't hurt me. His hard light strength wouldn't help here... "I-I don't..." he whispered, trailing off.

I gave his hand a small squeeze, moving as close to him as I could to give him comfort, though I couldn't see where he was, I felt him move closer, probably to stop me falling off of the medical cot.

"Look, I don't know what happened when she got to the planet, but we need to find out." Lister said, getting to the point.

"Agreed. Maybe there's some clues on that scrap heap where this all started?" Cat suggested.

"Good idea, Kryten, do your tests, Rimmer..." Lister was giving orders. The pause was probably because of how close me and Arnold were, Lister didn't know we'd kissed the night before, that we'd spent the night cuddled up together... "Rimmer, you stay with Exza. Keep her safe, ok? And take her out of this room, if she's safe to be moved. Medical places scare her, after all, and if we're gonna be a while, we don't need her freaking out."

I wound my hand into Rimmer's shirt material, trying not to shake, and trying to remember to breathe.

"I'm here, I'm here." Rimmer said, his voice quivering.

"I don't know what's happening..." I managed to whimper, feeling his other arm come around me.

He swallowed thickly. "We'll get through this, Exza. Just hold on." He kissed the top of my head, squeezing me tightly.

"I'm scared."

He nodded against me. "So am I..." He answered. "I'm gonna pick you up and take you back to the bunk room, ok? I know how much you hate medical places..."

I gave a small, scared nod.

I couldn't hear the others anymore, other than Kryten shuffling round, so I assumed they'd wandered off to set a course back to the planet where I'd sacrificed myself... I hoped it wasn't to do with that, I really didn't want to be reminded of that time...

Rimmer shuffled around me, lifting me once again with ease and placing another kiss to my head as I curled up in his arms.

"I love you..." I thought once we'd arrived back at the bunkroom, just before the light went out as I slipped into unconsciousness again.