MEMORIES OF THE PAST

Jonathon felt himself shifting. He was pivoting around a magnetic center point. They could do that. They could control him and change his position by adjusting the electron field. His eyes were opened now He could see as well as hear. There was a finely made young thing out there in the shadows. Her hair was tied back into a no nonsense bun and her lab coat was particularly white and crisp. She studied him with a cold dispatch, just like a microbe on a slide. From time to time she'd tap something out onto a keyboard and certain vapors would be added to his chamber. Then she'd observe his reactions and whisper something into a recorder, all quite clinical. One substance had an immediate effect. It excited him. And she noticed. She stared. It took her about twelve or thirteen heartbeats till she refocused and whispered something into her machine. Jonathon smiled at her. She swallowed and pretended not to see. But she saw. The light coming down from above grew just a tiny bit brighter. And she pushed the cart bearing her equipement just a tiny bit closer to his 'cage'. He spoke. He said - I am called Jonathon. What is your name?.......She did not answer......He said - I am no demon. This is not an exorcism. You may address me. You may use my name....This time she smiled. He could see it. Just a little one, but it was there. He focused on her name tag. God bless his vampiric vision. It said - Dr. Hadleigh Bailey. Jonathon said - How should I address you? Are you Doctor Bailey, or are you Lady Hadleigh?.....She laughed, a small laugh, more like an audible smile. He smiled back, attempting to nod his head in a chivalrous salute, but the electron field made it extremely difficult to do so. The doctor went back to playing with her buttons and he just hung there, waiting for their next interaction......Some time passed. New aromas and substances trickled into his presence. A shiny,little drone hummed its way down from the darkness, landed on his buttock and bit off an ever so tiny piece of his skin. Then it tucked this  precious cargo into a small slot, as it hummed its way back up into the void. Apparently, it was able to escape the magnetic field, for he saw it slowly fly over to his jailer and  come down for a soft landing right into the palm of her hand. She snapped open the lid and sniffed the contents. Then she closed it and put the drone into a drawer on the cart. Jonathon said - I hope it was to your liking?.......She smiled. And this time she spoke. She said - We shall see. We shall see. .... The doctor came closer. She stopped at what he assumed was the beginning of the field. She was about to speak. Her eyes looked different. She wanted to tell him something. But it was too late, for from somewhere in the shadows, he heard another voice. It said - Now, now, Tomas. Are you attempting to 'worm' your way into the good graces of my assistant?.....Jonathon felt the breath catch in his throat. He knew that voice. It had to belong to somebody who knew him as Tomas. An old friend perhaps? Someone from long ago? Who?......And then he found out. One of those electronic scooters, of the type used by humans in their dotage, rolled out of the darkness and into the light. And seated upon it was an old gentleman. He seemed to be approximately eighty or eighty five years old. His wispy hair was long and pulled back like some passed his prime rock promoter. Small glasses rested upon his nose. He wore a bright green, Philadelphia Eagles sweatsuit. The cunning, little vehicle rolled its way up to the edge of the field. The old man motioned towards the young Dr. Bailey and she lowered her head and left. Then he spoke again. He said - Well, Tomas, it has been quite a long time. Hasn't it?......... Jonathon (often known as Tomas) looked into the aged, jowly face and whispered - Can this be? Doctor Franklin? Is that you?......But the old reprobate only chuckled, as he turned around and rolled away......