Stories From the Lab- DELED Lore

Sue Neitlesworth

 Sue doesn't normally remember what life was like before the visions.

Before the light.

Before the darkness.

"Patient S-78 Visionary enhancement successful. Mixed results. Log Number 5."

The words were pronounced with complete clarity into the handheld recorder. The first logs were taken outside of the room, or there would be too much noise. Still, you could hear the screams from through the door to the hall where the recording took place.

Sue remembers pain. And fear. And light. And people. She remembers the people the most. Soon after the light, all she could see was the souls of the dead begging for help, roaming in her vision and then disappearing completely from existence. This is what awaited them all.

"Under orders from Kareenah, Overseer in second tradition, we have sewn her eyelids together since last log. Studies undertaken from Dr. Himmel have shown direct correlation to Sight and pain for patient S-78."

Sue remembers the first time she felt true pain. It was the first day she could see the souls. It was the day that the enhancement took place. The day that she started to scream. She couldn't stop it. She couldn't breathe, but she needed to scream. It was terrible. For three days, her lungs burned from screaming, and her stomach hurt from lack of eating. She didn't sleep, because she couldn't close her eyes. They burned, and the 'dread doctors' would have to put drops in her eyes every time her tear ducts ran dry.

"Currently, the patient is quiet. S-78 hasn't spoken one word since the sewing process."

After the light was darkness. She saw a machine. It looked down on her like an unstoppable evil that she was not allowed to deny. How could she?

"The patient has returned to a healthy status and is eating and maintaining a healthy life without vision."

Everytime her eyes were open, she saw demons. She saw death. Sue only saw the most horrible evils a twelve-year-old could imagine. So, they sewed her shut. For once her eyes were closed. The pain stopped. And everything was peaceful. But it was dark. She couldn't see anything. Adapting to the blindness was the worst part. Bruises covered her legs when she first began to move from her environment. Being with other kids was the worst part. They had given her the nickname 'Sew' which was the most evil they could accomplish in such desperate times. They all had problems with their enhancements, but the ones who were less affected felt they had more power over the more affected.

The only other person that Sue remembered that she could trust was Beya. She couldn't even remember much about her besides her name, but it echoed in her mind every day. Beya. When she asked others about Beya, everyone seemed confused. Nobody knew her. Nobody else remembered the name. That scared Sue the most.

After realizing the other kids weren't worth her time, Sue had kept in her room. She locked herself away from the world. Blind. Alone. She spent her days trying to recall Beya. Maybe the person was imaginary. But it didn't feel like that. The shadow of a memory still held on and it was certainly not fake.

Sue would walk around her room every day and trace her hands against the walls, developing a picture of this room. She already knew it, but it was interesting to see around her without eyes. The doctors brought in food on regular intervals and made sure she ate while they cleaned her room, and checked on her. Sue would be led every morning to a bathhouse and shower carefully. The doctors would make a voice log that updated her status and sent that to the info library.

Today, like all days, Sue was listening to what the doctors had to say about her.

"Initiating week one check in of visionary enhancement. Removing stitching in five minutes. Leaving second log after process. Dr. Merrick and Dr. Himmel are coming in currently and will begin the preparations."

Removing stitching? Five minutes? Sue felt hands grab her and lift her onto a table. There was a small crackle of energy and when she tried to move her arms or legs, she couldn't. She couldn't even move her head. It hurt to try, so she relaxed. Then the pokes started. A pin prick on her forehead. A squeeze on her neck. A tick of a clock. A mumble of voices overhead. Then a tug on her eyelids. And darkness turned to dark light and pain. The screams returned. Doctors shouted, but she couldn't hear. She only saw the faces. Pained and sad, dying and looking down on her. They seemed to be reaching toward her slowly and began crying acid on her face that she couldn't feel. They said words that she couldn't hear.

"Sue! Sue can you hear me? Can you tell me what you see honey?"

Sue could hear the doctor, but she couldn't speak. She was only overcome with fear and screams. Always screams.

"Stitch it back up! Now!"

Needles in her eyelids. A feeling of worms sliding through her eye and then, everything was dark again. The faces were gone. The screaming was gone.

And then, the next week was the same process.

And the next.

And the next.

Sue became miserable, and her vocals hurt constantly from the weekly screaming. She couldn't even help it. The indescribable torture flooded her life. She couldn't stop it. Her eyes hurt. Her lungs hurt. And Sue still didn't remember Beya.

Two years later...

A name in the darkness was thrown away. A throw of a knife. A stab of a sword. The swing of an axe. A carefully aimed spear.

Sue was thrown back into the world of pain and screaming. However, something was different. The faces were gone. All there was were the whispers. Sue was not screaming. She could see a dark wasteland of orange in front of her. Spiked cliffs staggered on the horizon. Small desolate buildings stood up from will alone nearby. But the whispers were the most notable.

"Beya."

"Beya"

"Save us"

There is no life."

"Beya"

And then, the doctors.

"Sue! Sue do you hear us honey? We need you to tell us what you see! Sue?"

Sue said the first words in two years since her enhancement. "They need help. The spirits are lost. Beya."

More whispers, but these came from the doctors.

"How does she know?"

"We need to report this. Close her up."

"We shouldn't this is the first time she's ever said anything."

"So? We can't have D1-V8 resurface. We need a banishment memory removal on her and do not let her out of this room. Sew it back up, finish this, and report it to Kareenah."

Sue heard everything. How could she not? With the vision being blacked out, she began to hear the real world clearly. The memories began to come creeping back. Beya was a little girl... like her. She was her friend. Her friend. Who was gone. Beya was gone.

A poke in her arm. What was she thinking? Bea? Beatrice? No. Bell? What was it. It was a name. It was important. It was gone. Something had been lost. And Sue was alone.

She was never let out of her room without a doctor. She often lost track of where she was in her room. The darkness seemed to hurt with no pain, and they never opened her eyes again.

Where was she?

What was she here for?

What is her name?

The kids call her Sew.