Lost in the Dark

“Well this is awkward,” said Ororo, after the Professor had left. Easy for you to say, he wasn’t hitting on you, I thought, forcing a smile. Mort rolled onto his back, looking over at her.

“So…how did we get all…like this again?” He looked around, realizing that Ororo and I were in our underwear and that he was completely naked. I thought I saw his cheeks darkening from embarrassment, but that could’ve been the way the light hit his bruises.

“There wasn’t any sex, if that’s what you’re asking,” I said. “You were unconscious and we had to get you warm, and…this happens to be the best way to go about doing that.”

“Oh. Thanks, I guess.”

“Where were you, Mort? What happened to you?” asked Ororo. It kind of popped out of her, and Mort turned to her, arching an eyebrow. Almost like he was asking why she cared. Ororo and Mort had never really gotten along. She came from a country where she was revered as a goddess, and he was raised Catholic. I don’t think that really made them hate each other, though. Jean and I were close even before we started dating, and she was always suggesting that we all go on a double date. Ororo hated the idea. I guess Mort hated it too, but he never complained about it.

“But Jean, he’s gross! What if he tries to kiss me or something?”

“Relax, he won’t.”

“Look, why does it have to be a date? Can’t we all just go to the movies as a group of friends? I don’t care if you and Scott make out or anything.”

“You know I’d never do that in public!” cried Jean, turning to Ororo. “Neither would Scott.”

“Yeah,” I said, looking up from my book. “That kind of thing’s gross.”

“Come on, Ororo, it won’t be so bad,” said Jean. “Look, all you have to do is sit next to him, OK?”

“I can’t go on a date with him if I don’t like him like that! I don’t even like him, period! And what if he tries to kiss me or put his arm around me?” Ororo shuddered slightly, shaking her head as if it would push the thought out of her mind.

“You know he’s too shy to do anything like that,” said Jean. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Mort groaned and cleared his throat. “I don’t know,” he said. “It was somewhere in Canada, I think. It was cold. And it was underground; there weren’t any windows or anything like that. I don’t know how long I was there…a few weeks, maybe.”

I looked at Ororo. I was thinking of Alkali lake; after all, it was in Canada, and it was mostly under ground. Come on, I told myself, we were just there. There were no traces of him at all. Not even a security video or a file.

“There were men,” he said after a while, “and they put these metal…things…in my mouth, and they wouldn’t let me move my tongue. If I tried to, it would hurt, like a sting or a burn. But something was wrong with them; they broke or something…I guess they hit me too hard or something.” He smiled and chuckled dryly. His teeth were crooked and dioredored, and his gums were red and swollen. “So, they had to take them out. That’s how I escaped, I think. They gave me something, like a drug or something, and it made everything all…blurry, like looking underwater. But, I got a gun, and…and I think I killed someone. But I got out, and I ran away.”

I heard the door open and looked up. The Professor wheeled in, closing the door behind him. “I’ve just gotten off the phone with Erik,” he said, moving closer to Mort. “He’ll be here in an hour.”

“Is Vic coming too?” asked Mort, suddenly perking up slightly.

The Professor nodded. Yes,” he said, “and so is Raven.” He looked at Ororo and then at me. “I think Mortimer is warm enough now,” he said. Ororo slid out frndernder the blankets, putting her skirt and blouse back on as if no one else was in the room. I always found that weird about her; she was so comfortable with her body. She could have a two hour conversation with you in nothing but a pair of panties and act like it was nothing.

“Come in.”

I opened the door. “You ready to – oh my God, I’m sorry!” She turned to me, her hair pulled back away from her neck and shoulders, revealing a plain white bra.

“It’s OK, Scott, come in.” She turned and opened up her dresser drawer, pulling out a pair of gray panties. I was still in the doorway, peeking at her through the cracks in my fingers. I’d always pretty much accepted that her hair was naturally white, but it was still strange to see that the carpet matched the drapes. She had a great body; delicious curves and all. I felt awkward as I stepped into the room, still holding my hands over my eyes. She laughed. “You don’t have to do that, Scott.”

“No, um…I just…” I pulled my hands away slowly. She was standing there in her gray panties and white bra, holding the denim skirt that she was about to put on.

“I have nothing to hide,” she said, smiling. “I’m not embarrassed.”

I didn’t really say anything. I just stood there, watching her finish getting dressed and trying to pull my shirt down to hide my erection. She never made a comment on it, so I don’t know if she noticed it and didn’t say anything or just didn’t notice it. I watched her as she picked up a coral-colored blouse and buttoned it up.

“Come on, let’s go,” she said, walking past me, slipping her sandals on as she went.

“Do you need us for anything else, Professor?” asked Ororo as I slid off the table and put my clothes back on.

“Yes, actually,” he said. “I need someone to help me here.” ‘And I need someone else to go upstairs and make sure that Kurt doesn’t come anywhere near here.’ He turned to Mort. “I’d like to take a blood sample, if that’s all right with you.”

Mort merely stuck his arm out. “OK,” he said. I went to get a clean syringe as Ororo left the room, heading up the stairs. I started to wonder what Kurt had to do with any of this, but the Professor looked at me as if to say, ‘forget about it for now.’ I helped Mort off the table. He was completely dry now, and seemed able to stand on his own. The Professor and I cleaned him up and got him into some dry clothes.

“Mortimer,” said the Professor, motioning for him to sit down. He sat, extending his arm to me as I drew the blood necessary for tests. He looked twitchy, like he was having trouble staying awake and focusing. There were probably traces of some sort of sedative or painkiller in his bloodstream.

“I suppose you want to read my mind,” said Mort suddenly.

“Yes. I want to find out what happened to you.”

Mort shrugged. “You won’t like it,” he said softly. “Can you maybe erase it?”

The Professor shook his head. “I can erase what your mind knows, but I can’t erase what your body knows,” he said. “I also don’t want to risk leaving you brain damaged.”

Mort nodded. “OK.”

“Mortimer, this is something you can get through,” he said, placing his hands on Mort’s temples. “I’m going to help you.” Mort only nodded and closed his eyes. I put his blood in the freezer; tomorrow it would be tested for substances and diseases. I left the room, pacing out in the hallway, waiting for the Professor.

I knew what happhappened to Mort. I had seen the bruises and the cuts; they were all over the backs and insides of his thighs. He’d been sodomized, and it hadn’t been in a friendly, consensual way. He’d been raped, repeatedly, by the looks of it. It made me sick to think about it. You know, he was probably in a prison of some sort, I found myself thinking. He’s a wanted man, hell, he’s considered a terrorist. We’re harboring a fugitive. Hell, he should be imprisoned…but he didn’t deserve to be raped. We can’t turn him in if this is going to happen to him again. We have to protect him.