The Restoration Project

4.21 - Skillet

"It's going as planned, shouldn't be much longer," a voice called out in the darkness.

Skillet didn't recognize it, but it sounded high pitched and nasally. And somehow, he couldn't really tell why, like it belonged to a man that didn't get enough sun.

"How much? I didn't think it would take this long." He recognized this voice. It was Charley, with real anticipation laced through each word. He wanted to fling his eyes open and see what she was waiting for, but he didn't have the strength. It was like his mind had recuperated faster than his body.

He shouldn't be having these thoughts at all right now.

He was a Baldie, and Baldie's didn't think. At least, he didn't while he was transitioning. Perhaps he was a full Baldie now, and this was what it felt like being one. You can hear everyone around you but you can't see them or interact with them. You're like a passenger, or prisoner, inside your own body. It made him angry and he wanted to yell. So he did.

"Was that supposed to happen?" This question came from another voice, younger. A little girl. He vaguely remembered a little girl playing a video game, something he wanted to grab and destroy because it sent shooting pain through his head with every bleep and bloop. When he tried, he remembered someone pointing a gun at him and Charley having to step in to wave them off.

"I think so," Nasally Voice replied, a mixture of curiosity and surprise, like even he wasn't expecting results this fast.

Skillet tried to shout again but this time he couldn't do it. He spent all his strength for now.

"What should we do?" Charley asked.

"We need to meet up with the others," another voice—it was getting hard to keep track—sounded from the other side of the room. It was a grown male, and Skillet couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy when he said 'we'.

"We can't leave yet," Charley replied.

"You need to understand that it was not a suggestion," Impatient Man replied. Skillet didn't like him already.

"I'm not going anywhere without him and he doesn't look like he's moving yet, does he?" Charley asked.

Skillet finally understood they were talking about him, although he couldn't do much to swing the debate. He tried to open his eyes again but still lacked that control.

"I'll stay back with him and follow once he gets up. If he gets up," Impatient Man said and Skillet wanted to lunge across the room at him. All he managed to do was move a leg, a feat that created a moment of silence among the people watching him.

"If the pulse is gonna make it so dangerous out there, don't you think we should wait and stick together? Splitting up would be a bad idea," Charley pointed out.

"I can't protect you here on my own, "—which he didn't need to do because Skillet was there—"and when people start learning about what happened, I don't know how it's going to be out there. We're all here now, there's no better time to get moving. I don't want to be sitting here with our thumbs up our...tushys," Impatient Man said.

The little girl giggled.

"It won't be like that. Once he's better we can leave," Charley said.

Skillet's heart warmed with Charley's defense of him.

"And how long will that take?" Impatient Man said, but didn't wait around for a response. His footsteps echoed as he padded out of the room. "I'll be out back if you need me."

He could go out back and then keep walking for all Skillet cared. He hoped he wouldn't have to meet this guy. He seemed like a real peach.

After Impatient Man left, no one else spoke for a while. Skillet tried to turn towards Charley, but his back did not cooperate. Or at least it didn't feel like it.

"He's moving now," Charley said, confirming that he actually managed to move some part of his body. "Should we wake him?"

"Do you wake a person while they're sleepwalking? We have to let him come out of it on his own. Be prepared that there may be cognitive issues. He may not know who you are," Nasally Voice said.

That was the line for Skillet. Not remember Charley? Impossible. He mustered all his strength and muttered, "I'm fine." The words came out mumbled, as he was unable to open his mouth fully, but gave him strength. He opened his eyes shortly after that and pushed himself into a seated position. The movement felt like he were under twenty feet of water, with a constant pressure holding him down.

Before he could even blink, Charley lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tight. "I wasn't sure it would work, but it did. You're back!"

And that was true. He hadn't felt like himself for days, but now his thoughts were clearer and his impulses more easily controlled. Gone were the urges to navigate toward electronics or unhelpful blackouts. Even though he just opened his eyes, he felt like himself.

"Yeah, I'm OK," Skillet said. The words were still slow and hard to force through his lips. "What happened?"

Charley studied Skillet, either preparing what she was about to say, or debating saying anything at all. "I think you need to just lie back down now. There's plenty of time to fill you in later. For now focus on getting your strength back."

"I want you," Skillet said, surprising even himself with those words.

"I know," Charley said, looking into his eyes. Her eyes gleamed with tears.

Skillet then did something his old self—his pre-Baldie self—never would have considered. With effort, he leaned toward Charley, puckered his lips, and kissed her. After a brief stint of surprise, she kissed him back.

Life was good.