Confusing Earth - Chapter 16: Spider

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Chapter 16: Spider

A cry rang out. No not a cry. It was a full bellied screech. What is that noise? Nathan dozily tried to make sense of the sounds in the house around him. He rolled over in bed, onto his side, picked up his phone and looked at the time. 5:46. He didn't have an alarm set to go off today but this other sound woke him up either way. Nathan rolled onto his back and watched a spider dangling awkwardly from only one thin strand of web off the corner of his roof. He watched as he tried to wake up enough to make sense of what was going on. Then he remembered… Bella and her family were here and that screech would be the baby. Nathan held his head as the wailing continued, thinking “Why did I sign myself up for this?” Then Nathan thought, ‘I’m helping them but taking care of the baby is Bella’s problem’. He rolled over to try to sleep, figuring the crying would stop soon. It didn’t.

After another half hour or so of lying on the bed with a pillow over his head to drown out the racket, Nathan pulled himself out of bed with a sigh. He looked at his little spider friend, who was still clumsily clinging to that one strand and said to him, “Hang in there little fella”. Nathan yawned and stretched and prepared himself mentally to join the life of fake parenthood.

Chaos was occurring in the lounge room at Nathan’s house. Liam screamed and cried and screamed and cried on Bella’s lap on the couch. Nothing Bella tried would console him. She tried to ask him what was wrong but he just cried. Max and Maree stood near the couches, unsure what to do to help. Then Bella heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She grabbed Liam firmly by the shoulders and said, “He’s coming down now. This is your last chance to tell me what’s wrong. Why are you crying?” Liam just continued to cry. Nathan got down the stairs and saw Bella holding Liam firmly. Bella quickly changed from the assertive stance to cuddling Liam. Nathan saw her.
“At the end of your tether hey, Bella?” said Nathan. Liam continued to squeal.
“Yes” said Bella, “I don’t know what to do. He won’t stop crying.” Suddenly Liam started to pull on his left ear. With his other hand, he put his fingers in his mouth. Bella, Max and Maree stared at the spectacle. They could not understand why Liam would be acting this way.
“I think he’s teething” said Nathan.
“What?” said Bella.
“He’s teething” said Nathan, “When my niece was a baby as soon as any of her teeth started coming through, she would pull on her ears and cry all the time”.
Bella opened up Liam’s mouth and in the side of the roof of his mouth was a big deep red spot where an adult’s tooth would be.
“I think you’re right” said Bella.
“Do you have any teething gel?” asked Nathan.
“No” said Bella.
“Okay well we had better get some then” said Nathan, “Let’s go to the shops.” They left the house, Liam still screaming his in built bodily gas chamber out.

Jack sat in the empty room for consuming nutrition in their house. He took another bite of confectionery nutrition and sighed. The room oozed emptiness. Was the organisation good or bad? Being true to the organisation just made him lose the only Banbazoidians he had ever really felt close to. Well the other ones he really felt anything for. All emotions on Banbazioa were a lot more tame and dulled down than on Earth and all positive ones were aimed at the organisation and all negatives at the outsiders. Jack had never considered he could ever feel or think anything else. He glanced at his crutches leaning on the table. Had he been on Banbazoia and got as broken as he is, he would not have been given things to help him to walk and he wouldn't have accepted into society with him being the way he is. He would have been kicked out of the organisation and had to join the outsiders. He would have been seen as a traitor for ending up in a state that he was not helpful to the organisation. And he would have believed it too. He would have been disgusted in himself for letting the organisation down. Jack glanced at his crutches again. It was not his fault he got hurt. He was in a new situation and didn’t know how to act safely. Why should he be penalised and feel bad for something that he did not do with the intention to hurt others and become unhelpful?

A message from Banbazoia appeared through the portal. Jack grabbed it. He read, “Talking infantile beings have been deemed too high a risk. We have taken away Liam’s ability to talk so he resembles a normal human infantile being”. Jack scanned the message, his brain reeling.
‘So they are going to take members of Banbazoidian society, place them in a strange environment on a new planet and get rid of their ability to communicate with other creatures from Banbazoia?’ thought Jack, ‘That does not seem right’.
Jack had a revelation. ‘I need to find my family’ he thought, ‘They are much better than the organisation.’

PREVIOUS CHAPTERS
Chapter 15: Sister: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-15-sister

Chapter 14: Sprinkle: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-14-sprinkle

Chapter 13: Jam: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-13-jam

Chapter 12: Rite: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-12-rite

Chapter 11: Lovely: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-11-lovely

Chapter 10: Currant: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-10-currant

Chapter 9: Reliable: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-9-reliable

Chapter 8: Caressing: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-8-caressing

Chapter 7: Shades: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-7-shades

Chapter 6: Wonder: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-6-wonder

Chapter 5: Stepping: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-5-stepping

Chapter 4: Stench: @birchmark/confusing-earth-chapter-4-stench