Chapter 65 - Breaking Bad: Side B
“Stop squirming Bob, the bullet won’t remove itself; now will it?” Bob only continues to fidget as I dig into his knee with a pair of needle nose pliers. “Click click, click click. CLICK!” With one final pull, I fish out the last bit of shrapnel in Bob’s kneecap. “Now, was that so bad?” The expression on Bob’s face is a forced fusion between pain and shame. “Click.” I cauterize the wound, this isn’t needed but I can’t sit idly by without giving my patients my undivided attention. “You’re just a big ol’ baby Bob,” Bob licks his wounds, ripping off my surgical gloves I spin around in my chair to get started on table one.
“Now for you table one, you’re a unique one. What intrigues me is your thick hide, I -.... Table two, get off of table one’s back!” Table two jerks her head to me with pleading eyes, her chin stained with his blood. “But I was just helping, look!” Kicking off the floor propels me across the lab in my wheely chair. Table two eagerly pulls me over to the operating table. “I just had this....overwhelming urge to lick his wounds and look! They’re closing up!” I reach into my breastplate pocket of my lab coat, pulling out my glasses and putting them on.
“Fascinating, just truly fascinating, I must study this further. Table two, open your mouth and stick out your tongue.” She does so while saying ‘Ahhh’. Collecting her saliva with a few cotton swabs. With haste I place the swabs into the scanner and immediately start running tests. “That’s a good girl, now, unmount yourself from table one’s back.” Shooing her off, I stand up so I may get a better look at table one’s back. “Just as I thought table one, your skin has hardened into a thick hide. The rounds from the magnum barely penetrated into your muscles, it’s going to take something with a lot more oomph in it to punch through your natural armor.” The puncture wounds made by the two daggers actually managed pierce through his hide and into his dense muscles.
“Table one and two, we’ve struck a bargain and you succeeded in your part of it, I am a man of my word so you two are free to go.” Table one continues to lay face down on the operating table, table two reclaims her perch on top of him. “I was mistaken. At first, I thought what you’ve gave me was a curse; but after what I’ve experienced being just a taste of it’s potential, I now view it as a gift.” Table two goes back to mending table one’s wounds, lapping up the dark blood from his back. “If Obliterator is staying, I’m staying.”
“Click click, click click, click.”
“I concur Bob. Obliterator is a suitable name for his sub-species.”
“Click, click click; click?” Bob does have a solid argument there. My previous accusations about table two being just a courier seems to be erroneous. “Click!” Bob flails his hands about, snapping his fingers as he does. “Click?”
“Nourishers? Interesting choice Bob, very interesting indeed.” It seems that I, for once, was wrong on one of my experiments. Table two isn’t a courier, just a late bloomer. “Oh, where are my manors? Here I sit, neglecting my guests as I bloom with new ideas. You all must be terribly hungry, no?” Table one jerks his head over to me, Bob quickly stands up and rushes over to my side. “Bob, take our new brethren to the mess hall.” Table two clings to table one’s back as he and Bob work their way to the door.
“Who, or what, are you?” Table one asks, I swivel around to face the hulk-like Horror standing behind me.
“Oh there goes my manners again. We never did exchange pleasantries, did we? I, my fine muscular friend, am Doctor Warwick Freeman, at your service.” I extend my hand for a handshake, table one grabs it with his massive one; dwarfing mine in caparison.
“Rex Taylor, professional bodybuilder.” Table two sticks her head out over Rex’s large shoulder.
“I’m Katie Smith, nursing student!”
“So Doc, what do you plan on doing with the PDA?” Rex asks, the corners of my mouth curl upwards.
“Hidden away in the Solid State Drive on this PDA are codes; codes that will bring any nation down to it’s knees. Primarily the U.S and the U.K Missile Defense Grid codes. With those in hand; I shall bestow my gift onto the entire world. My spectator is most likely just as confused as you are, now, go have a good dinner; you’ve earned it.”
I wake up wrapped in a blanket to my surprise; I’m baffled that I didn’t sense the person while I was asleep. I’ve must’ve been more tired than I originally thought. Sleeping on the hardwood floor didn’t do wonders for my bruised and battered body, crick in my neck, stiff back, hip still on fire; haven’t felt this bad in a long while. I struggle to rise to my feet, Tail has to assist me greatly; eventually I make it, popping every possible joint in my body as I stretch out; Tail grabs hold of my horns, pulling my head to pop my neck for me.
“I’m too old to be sleeping on the floor like that. Daylight is burning, must get a move on before the Don sends assassins after me.” I laugh to myself at that amusing thought.
“There you are Horror, come, the laboratory is ready.” Tail gives my horns another pull, forcing my stiff neck to turn in the direction of Razor.
I use Tail again as a makeshift cane, favoring my left side I lean on Tail heavily. Razor leads that I haven’t been down before, he comes to a stop at a ordinary looking wall, he reaches under a nearby table and pulls on a hidden lever. The wall slides open, revealing a stone staircase leading deep into the bowels of the castle. Razor descends down the staircase, I on the other hand am a little reluctant.
“Horror, come.” The order has been given, I fight through the pain, walking down the stone steps for several flights. Small torches guide our way down the spiraling staircase, why these gryphons are so obsessed with spiraling staircases is beyond me. On the stone landing is a large metal door with a small window near the top. Razor pushes hard against the heavy door to open it.
“In you go Horror. Everything is provided as you requested.” I step foot into the massive underground dungeon. Crystals hang on the bleak, stone walls, the light that illuminates from the crystals give the large dungeon a well lighted look. A vast assortment of herbs fill the back wall, most of them I’ve never seen before; some resembling similar plants back on Earth and others more alien looking. In the corner is a large bed; large enough to easily fit two of me, also there’s a toilet built into the wall; glad they didn’t just leave a bucket for me to use. There’s several wooden tables setting in the middle of the room, perched on top is a whole arsenal of beakers, burners, measuring cups, and every possible tool needed; it’s every alchemist’s wet dream come true.
“What about the test subjects I asked for?”
“Those will take time to come up with.” My task for making a new drug is an easy one, but I tend to use this opportunity to finish something that I started back in Unyasi.
“No need, pigs will work.” There’s only one human on this strange planet that I now call home. Pigs are the only creature that I know for sure that have similarities as humans.
“Results are the only thing we care about, don’t care how you obtain them. You have one week, you’re not permitted to leave until this time period has elapsed, food will be brought to you; no distractions, meaning no Silver Wing.” Razor pulls the door close, locking it. “We’ll be having a guard get a status report every few hours.” With that, he ascends back up the stairs, leaving me alone with my theoretical hard on.
“I’m like a nerd in a computer hardware store, I don’t even know where to start.”
“I might be of some assistance.” My horns hum with a light green, I look down to my chest to see Lighting Charmer popping out of my chest... I didn’t feel a thing but it was one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever seen or experienced.
“P-Phantom Shadow?!” The oddly colored pegasus spreads his wings, giving a couple of flaps before greeting me with a neutral expression.
“Oh, hey, sup` stallion?” Needless to say, I’m confused beyond belief. “Were you expecting somepony different?” Yeah, you can say something like that. “So, Crazy Lighting said you’ll be needing some help, what’s the plan, Candyman?”
“The plan is to manufacture a new kind of drug for the Don. Problem is that I don’t know what kind of drugs this world already has.”
“Whelp, I’m the wrong pony to be asking that kind of question; I don’t dabble in party drugs, but my younger sister does.” He looks around the room, then back at me. “Too bad my baby sis` ain’t here, I -. Hey, what’s that over there?” He points behind me. I, gullibly fall for it and turn around only to see the door. “Ha! Look’s like my big bro just pulled a fast one on you, Creepo!” Okay, I swear they’re all just fucking with me now.
“Rough Shadow, what a pleasant surprise.” I’ll humor them for now. She’s standing there twirling a strand of her mane with her tentacle.
“Whatever. Like, my big bro, said you are gonna be makin a new kind of party candy. So, yeah, like I’m here to help you, I guess.”
“I would be extremely grateful if you did help me. I j -.”
“Bullout; which gives you the strength of a minotaur. Dash; makes you go reeeallly fast! Or slows everything down around you, I can never remember which. MX; makes your body go numb, I don’t like MX. Then there’s the generic alcohol, painkillers, the boring stuff. What Equestria needs is something that makes you experience unworldly things!”
“Do your other... ‘family’ members know that you’re addicted to drugs?” Her whole head shifts to the side, luminous yellow eyes are at a low, hateful burn, and her tentacles move in a snappy Z formation.
“Oh. No. You. Didn’t! I ain't a druggy, I’m a mare who likes to party! Call me a druggy one more time and I’ll tell big bro on you!” Tail cutely mimics Rough Shadow’s snappy Z formation. I ignore him, which irritates him greatly. “Hop to it! Make me a new kind of treat, Candyman!” After he, well, she says this I decided to take a closer look at my herbs. Before I switch over to mad alchemist mode, I need to categorize every last one of these herbs; I don’t wish to squander this opportunity.
“WWWhhat are you doing?!” She whines.
“Patience is a virtue my dear. Rome wasn't built in a day you know.” I fly through the passcode checks, going into the camera function again I begin taking pictures in 1080p; not the highest resolution setting; but it gets the job done.
“Are you done yet?” Her whining only worsens. I’ve been writing a detailed descriptions for the plants I do know. The ones I don’t know, and what their uses are; I just leave a reminder to come back to them later. “How about now? You done now?” Tail gives a helping... tail. Leaving my hands free for the typing and picture taking. “When are you going to start cooking me some candy?” Her whining I can tolerate, her constant pestering is something I would expect from a child, not a young adult.
“Would you kindly stop whining?” I can feel her eyes burning a hole straight through my horns and into the back of my head.
“I’m not whining, I’m complaining. TTHHIIIIISSSS is whhhiiiinning!” She lets out a high pitched, nasally whine; like dragging a rusty nail down a blackboard.
“Stop, please stop.” She huffs, kicking a hoof against the stone flooring. “Take a nap, or do something that will help you pass the time while I w -.” I stiffen as I feel a tentacle tracing the curvature of my spine, leading all the way down to my waist line and slowly working it’s way into my pants.
“How about we go take that over-sized bed for a test trot, Demon baby?” Another tentacle slithers around to my front, dragging across my skin as it does. “What’s wrong Demon baby? Didn’t you miss little ol’ me?” The second tentacle worms its way into my pants, the shock of the sudden surprise wears off before Hyper can go any further.
“Maybe later Hyper, I got a deadline to meet.” Hyper sighs, his hot, moist breath warms the scales on my lower back. “But I’m glad its you here instead of Rough Shadow. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a sweet girl but a lit -.”
“Spoiled? We know Demon baby.” He wraps his tentacles around my waist, resting his head against my scales as he awkwardly hugs me like Fade. “You let Crazy Lighting in you whenever he wants, and for prolonged periods too; why don’t you love me like him, Demon baby?” This is a really awkward position to be hugged by someone who’s significantly smaller than me
“Love? This doesn’t have to do anything about love sweetheart.” Oh jeez, now he’s got me doing the whole nickname thing too. “What he and I have going on is strictly platonic; I promise you. The sooner I get all the categorizing done, the sooner I can take a break.” He nuzzles my lower back before breaking the hug, returning to the bed to lay down.
Time seems to stop while I meticulously work my way through each and every single herb before me. With no windows nor clocks in this dungeon it’s impossible to judge what time it is. The digital clock built into my PDA displays military time but I doubt it’s accurate time with this planet’s time. Hyper, offers a helping hand a time and again, but I politely declined his offers. He did take a short nap, played around with some of the equipment on the tables, and last but not least, made another pass at me; gotta love that flamboyant pony.
“Dinner time.” A voice from outside the door calls. The small window opens up, sliding in a tray of slop.
“It’s already dinner time? Wait, why didn’t they bring me lunch?!” I knew I spent ample time taking notes on the herbs, but I didn't realize I spent that much time on it.
“Look Demon baby, it’s your favorite; a hot, thick liquid. And if that doesn’t fill you up, I know what will.”
“No comment.” Tail grabs the tray of steaming, brownish slop. “Over the teeth and past the gums, look out stomach, here it comes!” Opening wide, I down the goop in one sitting.
“Soooo? How is it?”
“Actually, quite bland; don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.” The eager look in Hyper’s eyes fade away into disappointment.
“That’s no fun. Speaking of fun, lets have some.” He trots over to the bed, his tentacles pulling back the covers before he jumps in. “My tentacles are just itching to play, come on now, don’t keep me waiting.” I’m really not in the mood to play with Hyper again; I don’t mind sharing a bed with him but if he tries anything than one of us is going to end up on the floor tonight.
“Not tonight Hyper, I’m not in the mood.” He doesn’t express any signs of disappointment, he just simply lays there.
“I understand Demon baby, can we cuddle at least?” I can give him this much at least.
“I don’t see a problem in that. Let me just double check my notes real fast, okay?” I crawl into bed, leaning against the rough, stone wall of the dungeon. Hyper claps his fore hoofs together and the crystal’s lights dim down it just a low glow. The backlight from my PDA’s screen allows me to read my notes.
Recap on the basic herbs: Blues stems apply to more helpful potions; Yellows act as enhancers, if used correctly they can boost any potions, salves, poisons, anything made by alchemy; Reds primarily used for poisons, but with a skilled hand at work, could have medical uses, such as numbing agents, antibiotics, and if given enough time I could make chemo.
I haven’t had time to experiment with any of the new herbs that the Don has provided; but I’m excited to jump head first into my studies on the advance herbs that follow: Purple, hybrid of blue and red, the outcome of potion can vary on a certain of things, what’s mixed, how it’s brewed, etc... It would be safe to assume that the potion can be used for either a powerful poison, beneficial, or both. Green, Nyuel used these a lot in her prototype healing potions that she tested on me; without my consent might I add. Furthermore, green stems are strictly used for healing based creations. Pink stems, they gave off this weird bitter-sweet fragrance when I touched them, an almost intoxicating scent. Every breath I drew in the scent made my head spin; side note, handle these plants with caution. There are two more, rarer herbs: White stems and Black stems, both kept far apart from each other; I’ll be doing extensive research on both of these. There’s also a handful of fungi, not certain how they’ll affect the outcome of any elixirs they’re used in... Getting up from the bed, I navigate through the dark dungeon and back over to the fungi section, using the light from my PDA I scan over each fungi until stopping on a small rye plant with a purplish-brown moss covering it.
“Demon baby, come back to bed.” His voice is muffled from the pillow his head is buried in.
“Rough shadow wants something ‘unworldly’? I’ll make something that will knock her socks off.” This specific fungus goes by the name of Ergot, the key ingredient in LSD, or Acid in layman's terms.
“I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear that. The bed is getting cold, please come back.” I turn off my PDA and slip it back into my pocket. Sending out a bursts of clicks, using the mental layout of the room I navigate my way back into the bed. My tired head hits the pillow, hard, Hyper snuggles up close to me and I wrap my arm around him; Tail pulls the covers over us and eventually fall asleep.
“Jesus fucking Christ, this hurts almost as bad as beating off with Bengay.” Ice’s arm spasms uncontrollably, the nanites make haste in repairing the damage.
“He has... very cororfur ranguage.” The ancient chinese doctor idly stands there, staring at Alex from behind his thick glasses.
“Damn it Arkis, give me a smoke, wouldya?” I do what he requests, lighting a cigarette before handing it over to him. “Thanks bro.”
“Old man, you checking me out again?” Alex asks while she slips on a new pair of boots.
“Guirty.” He snorts, pushing his thick glasses back up with his index finger.
“Who can blame him Alex? You’re prancing about wearing that number, it’s kinda hard not to notice.”
“I know, hey old man we’re going to need some serious firepower; alright if I go raid your arsenal?” The old timer softly smiles and nods at Alex, she struts off through the doorway, disappearing into the next room.
“God DAMNIT! Why don’t you just cut my dick off why dontcha`?” Ice cries out, he clinches his arm as it continues to twitch.
“Stop being such baby, be gratefur that your humerus, ulna, and radius only have minol fractures.”
“Doc, we don’t have much time to waste, how long should it take before Ice Cube is ready to go?” The doc carefully examines Ice’s arm before jabbing the end of his cane into it.
“Done, such a big baby.” Ice balls up his fist while he flexes his arm.
“Hey doc... How long will these nanites be inside me?”
“Why not ask your partner?”
“Arkis, what is the old coot talking about?” Ice looks up to me in confusion.
“I have nanites in me, ever since I returned from the bunker.” Ice opens his pack for another smoke, only to see he’s out.
“We need to stop by a gas station or someplace, I’m out of smokes. You came back from that mission beaten up and bloody, but I thought you were cleared of infection?”
“Yes and no. You know I’m a stubborn sonofabitch to kill.” I wait for Ice Cube to stop laughing before continuing. “Our friends have... persuaded me to undergo nanite injections; an insurance policy. Nanites’ shelf life is approximately two to three times that of normal blood cells, so about twenty one days total. But they’re programmed to construct an exact copy of themselves before they expire; so, you’ll have nanites for the rest of your life.”
“When were you going to tell me that you were infected? I don’t want to wake up with a horrified Arkis standing over me, who would want that?!”
“Wasn’t planning too, I’ve been infected for a while now and have shown no signs of mutation. I -.”
“Hey boys, look what I found!” Alex comes strutting back in, strapped and armed to the teeth. “I know you don’t like using guns Arkis, unless it’s a high caliber sniper rifle, but I found something extremely special for you!” She purrs. “Twin vorpal blades!” Just the thought of holding a vorpal blade gets me all hot and bothered, but twins? I might need to go change my pants before we go Horror hunting.
“Mad dibs!” I unsheath one of my new toys. It’s a black kris-like blade with a dark red sheen to it, the blade hums silently while I grip it. “It won’t be Jabberwock blood that you’ll be drinking my friend, but something almost as good.” I whisper sweet nothings to the blades, they only hum in response.
“Are you talking to them Arky?” I don’t even dare tear my gaze off of the blades to reply.
“Problem Al -.” A warm, wet sensation runs down my neck; forcibly ejecting me from this most pleasant memory.
Waking up to a Hyper Cracher gently licking my chest, I panic, pushing myself away from him. He falls off the bed with fleshy thud, I scoot up against the stone wall, my horns clatter against the rough stones. “Why’d you wake me Demon baby? I was having such a good dream too.” He whines while he climbs back into bed.
“D-Dreaming? You were dreaming?! You were licking my chest!”
“Your chest? I thought I was licking something else entirely different.”
“And I was having a good memory myself. That is until you woke me up with your tongue.” Hyper doesn’t lay back down, he sits up in the bed looking at me.
“Memory? Do you not dream?” I shake my head in disagreement. “If you’re shaking your head, I can’t see in the dark as well as you.”
“No, I don’t dream. The Abyss won’t allow me to dream; a price I’m willing to pay.” Hyper moves in closer to me, I set up in the as he approaches me.
“The Abyss?” He asks, he takes a seat in between my legs.
“Long or short version?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
“Long, and hard please.” I stand corrected.
“The Abyss gave birth to the man that I am today. It is Alpha and Omega, life and death, the beginning and the end for me. In my time of need I draw power from it, but at a very steep cost. I fight so very hard to keep my loved ones safe, but no matter what I fall short. It’s not the world around me that I try to protect them from...myself. I took my mother and sister’s lives. I loved them so very much but the Abyss demanded payment and they’re the ones who had to pay. I had an older brother once, I pray that I didn’t take his life too. There’s one person that I allowed to get close to me, and not a day goes by that I don’t fear for her life. The day that I die, I willingly give myself to the Abyss, may it guide my actions and protect me.” He sits there quietly, not moving, not saying a word, just sitting there, staring at me. “What is it exactly that you see in me? Most people, or in your case, ponies would instantly label me as a monster; mainly because of my appearance, others for good reason.” He props himself up on me, placing his fore-hoofs on my shoulders.
“The night we spent together answered so many questions, it also raised so many more. I usually learn everything from my partners just by the time we spent together, but you, you I can’t even place hoof on.” He stops, tracing the scales on my chest with his tentacle; not any in particular, aimlessly wondering about my upper chest. “Scars are typically hideous, but you pull them off effortlessly. You wear them with such pride, like they’re medals of honor; each one their own story. You’re such a beautiful creature, why do you hide yourself away behind this armor?” He moves in closer, close enough where I can feel warmth radiating off from his muzzle. “But it’s your mystique: you're tall, dark, shrouded in mystery, and your eyes; your dark, green eye that seems to glow, and your right blue eye, like somepony captured lightning in a bottle. The way you carry yourself with such a powerful sense of confidence; even when you’re hurting you still hold your head high and carry on like nothing was wrong.” He pulls himself even closer, his heart races, its vibrations thrums against my chest; his muzzle nearly touching my mouth now. “I can tell that you don’t like to be the center of attention; out of sight, out of mind. Why are you so fixated on how ponies view you? The first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were a kind, thoughtful creature. Silver is a lucky girl for having you Demon baby, I wish I was that lucky.” He passionately kisses me, I don’t fight it, I just let what he said soak in while he tenderly kisses me.
Hyper Crasher takes the lead, locking his tentacles around my horns. His tongue darts into my mouth, exploring my teeth, paying close attention to my caines. A suggestive tug from him motions me to follow, without effort he pulls me down on top of him. He gently pushes me away with his hoof, leaving a bridge of saliva between our mouths. “That’s the Demon I know. No holding back this time, got it?”
“P-Please... J-Ju -.” Table three violently coughs, her last cough sends blood splattering onto the floor. “Kill m-me, th -.” Another coughing fit, her wheezing is raspy, dry and jagged, her lips blue, eyes puffy and red, blood staining her chin and shirt. “M-My head is k-killing me!” She dry sobs.
“By chance, do you know what Dioxin is?”
“Oh! Oh! I know! Pick me!” Katie shouts, her hand high in the air.
“Yes Katie?”
“Dioxin is a general term that describes a group of hundreds of chemicals, the most toxic compound is two, three, seven, eight - tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or TCDD! Pretty much the most toxic chemicals known to science.” My jaw gapes, my glasses slide down my nose, my pen slips through my fingers and onto the floor; rolling under table three’s operating table; needless to say, I’m blown away by Katie’s precise knowledge on Dioxin.
I quickly regain my composure, pushing my glasses back up the bridge of my nose. “Very impressive Katie, such a clever girl, aren’t you?” She beams with glee as I pat her on the head. “Well my dear, I have good news and great news, which one would you like to hear first?” More blood splatters onto the floor, her body shakes as she dry heaves. “No responses? Very well then my dear. Good news first. The previous quacks that diagnosed you overlooked the fact you were poisoned, why? I haven’t the slightest clue, but I know by what; Dioxin, very pure form - stays in the body for years, can cause cancers; in your case lung cancer, diabetes, and cardiac arrhythmia; I took the liberty on running more tests on your blood samples and you don’t have diabetes, or any heart problems; you’re in the clear, and body degeneration; sadly to say, your bones have deteriorated rapidly.” She continues to stare up at the ceiling with a blank expression. “Great news is, that my genetically tailored Horror virus eradicated the cancer that plagued your body my dear. You have a clean bill of health now, a second chance!” She struggles to raise herself, Katie eagerly jumps off of Rex’s back and rushes to table three’s side and helps her set up. “Easy now dear, easy now. Take your time, the Dioxin is still in your system, no need to push yourself.” She looks up to me, a sliver of hope shimmers inside her eyes.
“W-What? H-How!?”
“This is your x-ray before I introduced my virus to your system.” I pull out an x-ray of her chest, several small white star-like spots branching throughout her lungs litter the x-ray. “And this my dear is after.” I hold up another x-ray, free of the star spots. “Your biopsy came back negative. The Horror virus, my Horror virus is the cure all to all illnesses, not even cancer, nor Dioxin can hinder it! Embrace the Ho -.” Table three vomits up more blood, her projectile vomit soaks the bottom half of my pants and my shoes. “Excuse me for a moment.” I quickly strip down before hopping into the detox shower; it’s scalding hot water washes away the blood on my lower legs. “Bob, would you kindly incinerate my apparel?”
“Click, click click; click.”
“Wait, I understood a bit of that.” Rex mumbles.
“Click? Click, click click click?” Bob gathers up my staind clothing with his slim tail. “Click click click, click.” I vigorously scrub myself down, ignoring the hot water as it singes my skin.
“I’m starting to understand Bob too!” Katie overly cheerful voice rings out.
“CCCllickk, click?”
“Wooooah, Bob! We’re in the room!” Katie shrieks.
“I... didn’t take you for... yeah...” Rex murmurs awkwardly.
“No no Bob, I’m finishing up now. Take Rex with you to the incinerator, show him around would you?” Bob leads Rex out of the room, I turn off the shower and begin to towel off. I wrap th towel tightly around my waist before stepping out of the shower, as I do, Katie whistles seductively at me.
“Take it off baby!” She hollers, my already redden cheeks hides the fact that I’m slightly blushing from Katie’s cat call. “Doctor Freeman, that scar over your sternum must have a story, mind sharing?” I cover up the scar with my hand, there's a excruciating memory behind this scar; both mentally and physically.
“Ah, yes. I was shot, point blank range. I was lucky, the bullet ricocheted off my sternum and embedded itself into my third rib; missing my pulmonary artery and aorta by a few millimeters.” Table three moans in pain while she holds her head. With haste, I make my way over to my crying patient, standing in front of her I push her head down to see a growth starting to bud. “Dear, how long have you’ve been experiencing discomfort?”
“Since day one while I was here.” Judging by the sheer size of the bud tells me that the horn that’s going to sprout from it is going to be thick in diameter and extensive length.
“Katie, come, I would like you to witness the early stages of evolution.” Katie skips on over, she peeks over my shoulder and ‘ooohs’ at the sight. “Isn't it marvelous Katie? Table thr -. I’m sorry dear, I never did ask your name, did I? There goes my manors again, out the door.”
“You’ve seen my medical file, you know my name.” She mutters.
“Yes I do, but it’s polite to ask my guests their names, may I have it?”
“Krystal Gazer. Air Force - Staff sergeant, active duty as combat control for three years; went private and started working for C.E.L.L in Russia. Diagnosed with cancer, months of hell, en -.” She pushes me to the side before vomiting up more blood.
“There there Krystal, your nausea will pass; it’s your body finally being able to purge itself of the foreign bodies. You’ll be in pain for the next few days, if you like I can administer a morphine drip. “ Krystal latches onto my right hand with hers, looking up to me with a pained smile.
“T-Thanks. Doctor Freeman.”
“On the contrary, I should be the one thanking you Krystal Gazer. You’ve proven to be a valuable test subject. I am eagerly looking forward to working with you, Krystal.” Katie and I lay her back down on the operating table, Katie grabs a wet sponge from a nearby sink and begins to clean the blood off of Krystal. “Get some rest, I’ll be monitoring you very closely Krystal; if you have any requests, please don’t hesitate to ask.” She gives my hand a faint squeeze before letting it go. “Katie, I have to confess, you’ve be -.”
“I know I’ve been infected with the virus. My body is changing, I can feel it. N -.” The speakers from my laptop come to life, alarms blaring from it. “What’s that?” She asks.
I walk over to my laptop with a spring in my step. Looking at the screen I see Arkis and his two friends breaching into my laboratory. “Ahh, my guests of honor are here. What perfect timing!”
“Arkis, he’s here? Why?”
“It’s all part of the plan Katie, w -... A close friend of mine is calling me, excuse me, spectator.”
“You’re swinging for the other team again Lad? I’m disappointed, very, very disgusted with you.” This is an unexpected assault from Friend, one that catches me completely off guard.
“I think it’s adorable Friend. 27 and Hyper make a cute couple, don’t you agree?” Friend vomits a little, butterflies flutter out through his mouth before disappearing into the Darkness.
“I hate the taste of butterflies!” One more flies out, joining its friends. “Never tastes the same going down when it comes up.” He looks over to Fade, who’s poking around with the jukebox. “You’re okay with the Lad cheating on you Lass?”
“Cheating? I know that 27 will never do such a thing Friend. He’s just having some fun, that’s all.” That’s a weight off my chest, I wasn't certain how Fade would feel towards me fooling around with other creatures. “Are you jealous Friend? She teases, successfully shifting the spot lot over to him.
“Me, jealous? HA! There’s three things I only need in this silly little world, me, myself and I!” He laughs, “Oh, and Lad; one down, one to go!” He mocks me before sending me on my way.
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