Conundrum

Part 20

JessLainsley

The smile that haunted Robin's nightmares flashed again.
"Hush... it will be alright..."

"No."

"I will keep you safe..."

"No..."

"You will be perfect..."

"Yes..."

"You shall be my best creation... my sweet little R-"

"Robin!"

Robin sat up with a jolt, her whole body drenched in a cold sweat. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and her eyes couldn't focus on one thing for long before it gave her a headache.

"You alright, love?" Chase was next to her, holding out a glass of water, still in his pajamas.

Robin shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Fine."

"Look, I know I may seem naive, but I know a lie when it's that obvious," Chase sat down at the foot of the bed and held out the water closer to her.

She grabbed the water and stared at her reflection in the glass, the only light coming from the hallway and the moon from her window.

"Chase... who are you?"

"What do you mean?" He pulled his legs up to sit criss-crossed and looked at Robin with concern.

"I mean, how do you know... that you're... you? How do you know that you're human?"

"Well, I know it's 3 am, but is it really the time for deep questions?" He tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I... You're right. We should sleep," Robin finally took a sip of the water and felt some of her body relax a little.

"Judging from your shrieks and mumbles in your sleep, I doubt you were getting a good night's rest. Want to talk about it?" Chase moved a little to get more comfortable.

Robin shifted her legs closer to her chest and stared at the water, "I... I see all black. Just hearing voices. I don't know who they are... but part of me wants to trust them, while the other part of me wants to hide or throw myself off a cliff. I... I know the voice, I see glimpses of the face sometimes, it's the same person, I know it is, but my brain won't let me know who they are... It scares me. That someone obviously knew me, and I know nothing of who I was."

Chase stared at her in the dark, the silence in the room was deafening, broken only by their breathing and the sounds of wind rustling the trees outside.

"What did you mean by your question, love? About being human?"

"I don't know... honestly. I..." Robin stared at her open palm of her hand, "I obviously have skin, blood, emotion, the things that make humans... but I feel different from others. I can't explain it. It's an instinct I guess."

"Give me your hand," Chase held out his own, his voice soft and gentle.

Robin hesitantly held out her hand and he took it, stroking his thumb over her knuckles.

"What do you feel?"

"Uh... you? Your hand?"

"More than that, love."

"Warmth... comfort."

"You are feeling something human. What do you feel when someone laughs or cries?"

"I... awkward?"

Chase blinked, "You know, I would be surprised, but honestly, I'm not. But that's empathy. You are human because you feel things for others. Given, you don't seem to have a lot of positive emotion to engage with, but, that's why I am here. I am going to make sure you feel as secure as you can. Robin, you are so special, you are unlike anyone else I have ever met, and seeing you freaked out like this... is worrying me a bit. We'll find who did this to you and you will get answers. You just have to stay strong until we find them."

Robin pulled her hand back, "Thanks... I guess? I am a little confused, but it's late... But I feel a little better, so thanks."

"I will clarify. I know you are scared of whatever happened to you in the past, but that is over. You are you now because of it. You don't have to be afraid of that anymore, you have people protecting you and keeping you safe. Robin, you are not alone."

Robin let out a small smile, so subtle, but so unusual to her muscles. Was she really not going to be left again? Was she finally going to get answers? Have some sort of semblance to a past or to who she was before?

"Wait... why are you up at 3 am, Chase?"

Chase gave a lopsided smile, "Ah, well, I couldn't sleep well, so I decided to get some water to help, then I heard noises coming from your room. I thought it was a game or something, but you screamed..."

Screamed? Robin didn't remember screaming in her dream... she was silent, wasn't she?

"Anyway, I thought you might have been attacked, so I came in and you were struggling in your blankets, you looked so upset, so I decided to wake you up, and it seemed to help a little. I think. It did, right?" Chase's eyes glowed in the faint light.

"Yeah. It did. Thanks, Chase."

"Of course! That's why I am here, to keep you safe from everything that could hurt you, it doesn't matter if it's in your head or not. But... I might talk to the MDA about getting you therapy or something."

"Why?"

"Well, if this is a daily occurrence, that is bad for your health. You need proper sleep and functioning skills, and also to not be haunted by a ghost of the past every night. You would probably be happier and healthier without nightmares."

Robin thought about it. It couldn't hurt, right? Not anymore than what she was facing. Who knows, maybe talking to someone other than the crazed Brit would give her some sense of peace or at least a better grasp on reality.

"Maybe... do you think it could help?" Robin yawned.

"Sure! It helped me out a lot!" Chase's voice was brighter and he seemed more back to his usual bubbly self now that Robin seemed more receptive.

"You went to therapy? For what?"

"Ah... that's a story for a different day, love. Now drink your water and get back to bed. You'll feel better after some hydration and some sleep. See you in the morning, I'm making eggs and toast," Chase stood up and headed for the door.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Alright," Robin stared after him, Chase had never really shot her questions down before, but perhaps this was just too personal for him to disclose to a practical stranger.

She watched as he left out the door and it clicked shut, some of the light in her room going out, leaving only the moon shining through her white curtains. Robin looked at the barely touched water that Chase gave her. She grabbed the glass and downed it, before lying down and staring at the ghostly rock in the sky.

What if she was an alien? Would that be better or worse? Did she have a home out there in the galaxy? Was she truly human like Chase said, or was she some sort of Frankenstein's monster? Who was she...? The end all be all question for Robin. Who was Robin Smith...?

Who was she?

"Mine," a sickly sweet voice murmured in her ear as her eyes drifted closed and her mind let her rest.

A/N: Conundrum will be going on hiatus until January 1, 2023. This gives us, the authors, time to create buffers for chapters and proofread so you, the readers, get quality content. Please feel free to check out my other work and please show support to theSingingDragon and myself.

Thank you so much for the support thus far. See you in 2023!