and falling on his knees next to his bed, his hands clasped in prayer but his mind unable to dismiss Shotzen’s words and the possibility that they might be true.
F rank Belgium watched from the sanctuary of his computer terminal. He’d returned to Red 14 after spending half an hour in the bathroom, feeling the urge to vomit but unable to.
Belgium knew it was a physical response to fear. When the demon awoke last week, that was frightening enough. But his voice—soft, low, almost seductive—was the voice of a thousand nightmares.
Though he sat far enough away from the speech lesson to be unable to hear Bub, watching proved disconcerting all by itself. There was something upsetting and grotesque about a demon watching a children’s television show. Bub’s blank stare made Belgium wonder if he was indeed learning how to conjugate verbs, or if he was wondering how the child actors tasted.
The doctor shivered, nibbling on his lower lip.
Get a grip,
he told himself. The demon seemed to be cooperating so far. Maybe it wasn’t his fault he was so frightening.
Andy stood, stretched, and said something to Sun. She stood as well, answered him and nodded, and they walked out of the room.
Bub watched them leave. His stare lingered on the door for almost ten seconds, then his eyes locked on Belgium.
Belgium tried to swallow, but couldn’t.
“Fraaaaaank,”
Bub said, loud enough to be heard from across the room.
“Fraaaaaank Beeeeeelgium…”
Belgium turned away, wondering if the demon would leave him alone if he pretended to be working.
“Fraaaaaank…”
“I’m busy,” he said, trying to make his voice sound unafraid.
“Fraaaaaank…… what does Craaaaay computer dooooo?”
That seemed like an innocent enough question.
“Umm, The Cray? It stores and processes information.”
“In Englisssssssh?”
“In computer language.”
“Dooooooes it… taaaaaaalk?”
“Talk? No no no. Computers don’t talk. But we can use them to talk to others who have computers with an Internet connection.”
“Internet coooooonnection?”
“The World Wide Web lets people with computers access all the information available in the world.”
“Would the Woooorld Wide Web help me learn Engliiiiiiish?”
Belgium hunched down lower and ruffled some papers on his desk.
“Sure. The Internet has everything on it.”
“I waaaaant Internet coooooonnection,”
Bub said.
Dr. Belgium turned around and ratcheted up his spine. He didn’t quite stare at Bub so much as stare in his general direction.
“You’re too too too big. Sorry. You couldn’t use the keyboard.”
Bub didn’t answer, and Belgium hoped the conversation had ended. Being alone in the room with the creature was freaking him out. He got up to leave.
“Come heeeeere,”
Bub said.
Belgium stopped, mid-stride, his mouth going dry.
“Coooooome heeeeeere, Fraaaaaank.”
Relax,
Belgium though.
He’s behind the Plexiglas. He can’t hurt me.
He changed direction and approached Bub.
“Yes? What is it?”
Bub extended a claw and touched it to the Plexiglas. Then there was a shrill screeching sound and his finger became a blur, moving faster than any human being possibly could.
It was over in an instant, and Dr. Belgium was amazed to see that Bub had etched the entire English alphabet, both upper case and lower case letters, onto the glass in a space less than the size of a credit card. So impressed was the doctor, that it didn’t occur to him that Bub had written it as a mirror image, which allowed Frank to see it the normal way.
“Well, I guess typing wouldn’t be too difficult for you then. Remarkable small muscle control. Yes yes yes.”
“I waaaaant Internet cooooonnection,”
Bub said.
“I I I don’t see how. We’d have to rig something up. Maybe we could use, um, a wireless router.”
Bub moved closer to the Plexiglas, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile. He moved quite well for such a large creature, thought Belgium. Like
F rank Belgium watched from the sanctuary of his computer terminal. He’d returned to Red 14 after spending half an hour in the bathroom, feeling the urge to vomit but unable to.
Belgium knew it was a physical response to fear. When the demon awoke last week, that was frightening enough. But his voice—soft, low, almost seductive—was the voice of a thousand nightmares.
Though he sat far enough away from the speech lesson to be unable to hear Bub, watching proved disconcerting all by itself. There was something upsetting and grotesque about a demon watching a children’s television show. Bub’s blank stare made Belgium wonder if he was indeed learning how to conjugate verbs, or if he was wondering how the child actors tasted.
The doctor shivered, nibbling on his lower lip.
Get a grip,
he told himself. The demon seemed to be cooperating so far. Maybe it wasn’t his fault he was so frightening.
Andy stood, stretched, and said something to Sun. She stood as well, answered him and nodded, and they walked out of the room.
Bub watched them leave. His stare lingered on the door for almost ten seconds, then his eyes locked on Belgium.
Belgium tried to swallow, but couldn’t.
“Fraaaaaank,”
Bub said, loud enough to be heard from across the room.
“Fraaaaaank Beeeeeelgium…”
Belgium turned away, wondering if the demon would leave him alone if he pretended to be working.
“Fraaaaaank…”
“I’m busy,” he said, trying to make his voice sound unafraid.
“Fraaaaaank…… what does Craaaaay computer dooooo?”
That seemed like an innocent enough question.
“Umm, The Cray? It stores and processes information.”
“In Englisssssssh?”
“In computer language.”
“Dooooooes it… taaaaaaalk?”
“Talk? No no no. Computers don’t talk. But we can use them to talk to others who have computers with an Internet connection.”
“Internet coooooonnection?”
“The World Wide Web lets people with computers access all the information available in the world.”
“Would the Woooorld Wide Web help me learn Engliiiiiiish?”
Belgium hunched down lower and ruffled some papers on his desk.
“Sure. The Internet has everything on it.”
“I waaaaant Internet coooooonnection,”
Bub said.
Dr. Belgium turned around and ratcheted up his spine. He didn’t quite stare at Bub so much as stare in his general direction.
“You’re too too too big. Sorry. You couldn’t use the keyboard.”
Bub didn’t answer, and Belgium hoped the conversation had ended. Being alone in the room with the creature was freaking him out. He got up to leave.
“Come heeeeere,”
Bub said.
Belgium stopped, mid-stride, his mouth going dry.
“Coooooome heeeeeere, Fraaaaaank.”
Relax,
Belgium though.
He’s behind the Plexiglas. He can’t hurt me.
He changed direction and approached Bub.
“Yes? What is it?”
Bub extended a claw and touched it to the Plexiglas. Then there was a shrill screeching sound and his finger became a blur, moving faster than any human being possibly could.
It was over in an instant, and Dr. Belgium was amazed to see that Bub had etched the entire English alphabet, both upper case and lower case letters, onto the glass in a space less than the size of a credit card. So impressed was the doctor, that it didn’t occur to him that Bub had written it as a mirror image, which allowed Frank to see it the normal way.
“Well, I guess typing wouldn’t be too difficult for you then. Remarkable small muscle control. Yes yes yes.”
“I waaaaant Internet cooooonnection,”
Bub said.
“I I I don’t see how. We’d have to rig something up. Maybe we could use, um, a wireless router.”
Bub moved closer to the Plexiglas, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile. He moved quite well for such a large creature, thought Belgium. Like
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