HUM by Dan Hawley (chromebook ebook reader TXT) 📕

* * *

“So you’re gonna hook me up to the Kraken are ya?”

Jason eyed the large machine that sat ominously beside his bed. Dr. Luu laughed sincerely, “Oh, no, Jason, that machine is quite old and a little outdated. It would work, but for your specific circumstances, we will use the wireless probes. Please, have a seat.”

Jason sat down on the side of the bed, and Dr. Luu took a seat in the short, blue chair across from him.

“Basically, Jason, we’re going to monitor your brain with our sensors while you sleep and hopefully catch any abnormalities that may be causing the disturbances. We will also monitor you physically by way of the cameras on the ceiling.”

Jason looked up at the cameras and suddenly wondered if they could see him in the bathroom. Better remember to close the door next time, he thought.

“Sounds good, Doc.”

“Do you normally wear pajamas to bed?”

“Actually, I usually sleep naked.”

Dr. Luu raised an eyebrow.

“Well, you’ll have to wear at least the shorts we asked you to bring.”

“No problem, Doc.”

“So, if you will kindly change, a nurse will be in shortly to attach the probes.”

Jason stood up and grabbed his bag.

“Just…one more thing Jason, if you would.”

Jason stopped, waiting for the doctor to continue. “Please remain in this room now and until you are dismissed in the morning.”

Jason frowned, curious.

“It’s for your safety and the safety of our other patients and, of course, the staff.”

“Sure, Doc, no worries.”

Jason turned to go to the bathroom to change but paused and looked back at Dr. Luu.

“What if I sleepwalk out into the hall?”

“Well, that’s a whole other thing entirely, Jason.” With a nod, Dr. Luu turned and left, leaving Jason standing in the doorway of the bathroom, wondering what the hell the doctor meant by that.

Jason had thought the nurse would be in right away to attach the probes to his head. Instead, he was sitting shirtless in bed, looking down at his blue gym shorts. The waist fit more snugly than the last time he had worn them. He hadn’t been to the gym in months, and it showed. His normally flat abdomen had piled on a layer of fat and hung lazily over his waistband. His chest sagged and looked unhappy from above. “Ok, it’s friggin’ gym time tomorrow. This is getting out of control.”

Jason poked and squeezed at his chubby pecs and belly, but he suddenly stopped when he remembered the cameras. His eyes shot up to one of the dark, ever-seeing lenses—its dim, red light sitting sentry as it stared at him. Unblinking, always watching.

Could they hear him?

Jason pictured some lab coat on the other end of the camera feed, smiling and laughing at the fat boy spectacle. What kind of creepy bastard watches other people sleep anyway?

Jason got up from the bed and went to his bag. It opened with a loud ziiiiiiip. He removed a plain, white t-shirt and pulled it over his head.

Peep show’s over, creeper, he thought and walked over to the window.

The large single-pane window was old. Not as old as the building, but every time the wind picked up, Jason could hear a quiet whistle as the air pushed through cracks.

He looked down at his SUV. The reliable machine that had delivered them safely all the way across the country. Over the plains and through the mountains. Who drives across the country in the middle of winter anyway? Jason mused as he eyed his vehicle with a smile. He pulled his phone from his pocket to text Sam.

“At the clinic, just waiting for them to come hook up the machine. How are you?”

Jason opened the news app and scrolled before receiving the reply: “Oh ok. Just had a bath, in bed relaxing.” And a heart emoji.

Jason longed to be there too, with her, in their bed, their body heat mingling under the covers.

I gotta do this though, he thought. Hopefully, it works, hopefully…

His door opened, and a nurse walked in, pushing a cart. The cart was a chrome cornucopia of technology. Red and green lights blinked sporadically on computer panels and instruments, and black wires traveled up and down and in and out. On top sat the probes, eager to get to work.

“Hi-tech!” Jason called as he walked towards the bed.

“Good evening Mr. Steele. May I ask that you put your mask on while I set you up here? You may remove it when I’m gone.”

“Whoops, sorry about that.” Jason grabbed his surgical mask from the side table and slipped the straps around his ears.

“Still not completely used to that yet.”

“Not a problem at all,” the nurse said.

Her green eyes sparkled above her own mask as she spoke. Jason’s eyes locked with hers until she broke the connection by looking down at her cart. She continued in and around the side of the bed. Jason moved slowly out of her way, unable to stop his eyes from taking in the way her red scrubs hugged all the right places of her body perfectly. Each plump cheek rose and fell as she walked, half bent over the cart she was pushing.

Jason forced his eyes away partly because it was rude to stare, partly because he knew the cameras were watching.

* * *

Samantha lay in bed, thumbing through her phone. News, weather, social media. She sighed with boredom and looked over at the empty side of the bed. Jason’s side was cold and dark, and loneliness poked at her heart. She thought about how long it had been since she slept alone. When she first started dating Jason, she supposed. What was it like then? What would life be like now if she had never met Jason? She wouldn’t be all the way out in Seattle, that’s for sure. Away from everything and everyone she knew.

She would talk to Jason about moving back home, she thought, finally allowing herself to admit she was truly unhappy. She was