Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beeeep.
As the rhythmic beeping became one with the silence, Damian's hands dug further in his scalp. Daring not to look up at her, elbows stuck on his knees. The cold sweat on his back and the dirt on his hair; the flickering light on the ceiling and the brazening wind of the tropical night. His brain reached for all these things, but he could not escape.
He could not escape the reality in front of him.
The door unlocked behind Damian.
"Professor..." the doctor addressed him.
"Will she live?" Damian asked in a rough scratch of this throat.
The doctor paused, looking at the woman on the bed. Grimacing, despite all he'd seen in his career. He took a deep breath, brows pressed together in compassion charred with disgust.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"The insurance will cover it."
"That was not my question." Damian cut him off, and the doctor stopped. But the professor understood:
Only through the machines.
"Will she ever... walk again? See? Speak?"
The doctor did not have the heart to answer, even without looking him in the eye.
Damian remained silent. Holding back tears that scraped him from inside.
"Leave us alone, doc."
Without another word, the doctor complied.
The beeping and the silence were one and the same, once again.
----------------------------------------
"Alright, professor. We've confirmed the machines are operational. Here is the instructions booklet. And this is our emergency number if there's a problem."
One of the young men and women in medical wear addressed Damian before leaving the house. He nodded, silently, and waited until they were gone.
Damian looked upon his wife with utter despair. Softly placing a hand in the unburnt side of her cheeks. The tenderness in his eyes full of tears, slowly burned up into a new sort of light.
"My love..." He called, even though she could not hear her.
And in silence, he marched into the lower floor, grabbing his white coat from a hanger in the hall.
"All systems starting. Welcome, professor."
The underground laboratory lit up in countless hues, and the soft hum of machinery filled everything.
"...I'll give you the world that was taken from you."