Day 1- Spreading the Sickness
(Kay so imma just update this later cause this took more time than I realized and boi you betta believe I’m writing for our lil Magician’s week.)
So since I’m shit at art but have so many ideas in my head, I’m writing it out! Hurray! lol! Basically, this is like a y/n type story soooooo enjoy!
The lights had shattered. They didn’t blow out, surprisingly I didn’t hit one by mistake...again. They simply shattered. Each and every single bulb. Shards of glass rained down on both of us. I covered my nose and mouth along with Henrik. All the lights contained mercury. Someone was supposed to replace them but he kept pushing it to the side. Thankfully, Henrik had a mini flashlight hooked to his keys. It turned on, lighting up the floor. I couldn’t see too well but I couldn’t really complain either.
My eyes wandered over to Henrik and..he had an unsettling look on his face. Something was off. The past few weeks were odd. He seemed more irritable and..something else that I really couldn’t place. A bit more cautious I suppose? Don’t get me wrong, that isn’t a bad thing. Between the both of us, he’s a lot more calmer and careful when handling fragile things. However, out of nowhere, he decided to move to a new location. I remember walking into his office in the hospital. For such a small room he had a lot of stuff. Boxes and crates filled the room. I mean, I wanted to stay back there..but his offer?
Studying for years only to end up with a low paying job at an overworked hospital was grueling. Yet, the chance to become famous? Everyone wants that, right? The chance to discover something new and learn its properties could change the world. How could I not accept? I know it sounds crazy and to even accept it so quickly...but he chose me. Think about it. The other nurses, the doctors, th-the people who understood much more fields of health and science. That was such an honor to be chosen and just like that, we both appeared in this warehouse he moved into.
I let out a small squeak as he jerked my body over to the right, snapping me back into reality. Without hesitation, he shoved me through the doors. I stumbled in and rubbed my now tender arm, thanks to him. He didn’t care though. He locked the doors and slipped out his phone from his coat pocket. His back was turned against me, hiding, always hiding. He left me constantly to work while he wandered off doing who knows what!
“Take this.” He handed me a mask.
“Thanks.” I drew in a breath and slipped the straps behind my ears, adjusting it. It wasn’t exactly the best mask for Mercury filled air but it would have to work for the time being.
“So.” I said, sitting down on one of the unopened crates. “I guess we’ll have to get new bulbs huh? Maybe something more efficient and less poisonous?” I mean I tried. I had good intentions. He’d been so bummed out, I wanted to cheer him up or get some sort of positive reaction from him. He wasn’t interested in conversations though. He paced around the room, grabbing beakers, test tubes, rifling through all the boxes in a frenzy. I watched him, curiously..that was when I noticed something. I stood in front of his path and pulled a jar from his hand. I could feel his eyes on me but he kept silent. I turned the glass jar over and mouthed out the words on the label. It suddenly sunk lower into my hand, feeling heavier.
“...Where did you get this?” I held my breath, seeing the other containers. GHB, Uranium, Francium, Chromium, Astatine, other labels that I only could remember reading about in history.
“Nevermind this.” He took it back from me and set it down by an old rusted sink.
“How does this even exist?” I reached for a container labeled ‘Triatominae’, that is, before he slapped my hand away.
“Don’t touch that!” He shouted. “Put on some gloves! Du dummkopf! This isn’t gradeschool Y/N!”
My body tensed up. “Yes sir.” Let it be known that I don’t have a great temper. I become petty while simmering with rage. “Gloves are on....or did you want leather? Wool? Maybe some cotto-”
“Enough.” He spoke strictly, shooting me a glare. His shoulder slumped down and he hung his head low. “I offered you this position. If you are to continue this behavior then I will have to ask you to leave….permanently.” I pursed my lips. This joke of a doctor, was threatening my job? He rarely did much when we were both working anyway. He’d get nowhere. I slipped off my gloves and threw them onto the concrete floor. “Fine.” I walked past him and headed for the doors. “Auf Wiedersehen, sayonara, adios, arrivederci, au revoir, good riddance.”
I pushed through the doors and instantly my heart dropped. A shrill scream rang through the empty building. My throat dried up and I could feel my body begin a cold sweat. No one was allowed here. Hell, even we weren’t supposed to be here. The warehouse was to be condemned and taken down but the date got pushed back. Schneeple raced past me and slammed the door shut. He quickly pushed boxes over to barricade the door. “Henrik...”
“Help me!” He breathed out heavily, pushing a table in front of the doors. “But the mercury!” “It’s fine!” I wanted to question him. I wanted to get out. I wanted to go home but I found myself pushing the table along with him. I stared at the metal doors, quivering. “Y/N, move! I need your help now.”
“No one’s supposed to be here.”
“Exactly.” He hissed, pushing away my concerns. I turned to him and saw how frantic he became. He was shaking too. “Henrik. Someone or something forced her here. She’s going to die from the mercury.” “No one’s going to die if you just help me.”
I sighed in defeat. “Here.” I took the beaker out of his hand and measured everything out. Impressively, I was doing well...until the bang. “No!” He gasped. He grabbed the tube from me and tried to keep it from spilling.
“Where’s the back door?” I demanded, my breathing becoming rapid.
“I want to leave. Now.” I grabbed his arms. He looked back at me surprised. What I didn’t want to see next happened. Guilt washed over his face as I read his mind. “We need to call the police.” I lowered my voice, eyeing up the doors. We could barricade them sure, but they were swinging doors. They moved in both directions. “I’m not-” A cold and deathening knock cut him off. It was small and only one at first, we both questioned if we were hearing things. Then the knock followed with a lot faster and harder pounds. The floor beneath us shook. “He-Henrik.” I stammered. “Get in here.” He wrapped his arm around me and hurried me over to an empty box in the corner. “Jack where are you?” He mumbled to himself as I carefully crouched down into the box.
“Jack?” I blinked. He then folded the box close and ran. Okay, maybe now was the perfect time to panic. Last time I saw Jackie, he was being transferred up to a new hospital. With his clumsiness, it was a surprise to everyone..but, that was miles..hours away from here.
There was a small cardboard tab beside me. The kind of tab you’d push in to have a good grip on heavy boxes. It made a tiny space to peek in. Henrik was worse than ever. His body trembled, dropping a few more of what looked like Uranium into the beaker.
I slipped my phone out from my pocket. Instantly the brightness blinded me and I had to turn it down. My heart raced. If I called for help, both of us would be busted for trespassing. That bang seemed more threatening than some fine though.
“You forgot the assassin bug.” A voice called out. Henrik jerked and turned around. I tried desperately to see but there was only so much that cut out could show me. Henrik seemed hesitant, like he was deciding whether or not to abandon this ass of a partner or stay. He gripped onto the syringe, staring the stranger down. Honestly, I expected him to leave me with whoever this was. I quietly slipped off my mask so I could breathe a bit better.
“Aw, I was expecting a warmer welcome. Where're the drinks? The confetti? Is this any way to treat your own kid?”
“You are no child of mine.”
A figure walked towards him. “Ah right. I forgot. I'm still a test subject to you. Let's make this quick then.” The man held his hand out. He wore dark clothes and there weren’t many details to him. No watch, no tattoos, no markings. The only thing that stood out was the dark green hair. “Make this easy for me will yah?” The man spoke impatiently. They stared each other down. “Fine.” My eyes flooded with tears. The creep swiftly stabbed him. It happened so fast and...where did he even get the knife? Henrik grabbed his arm to stop him but the guy flung him back. “Don't bother.” He muttered, delicately picking up the syringe.
He dipped it into the beaker, filling it all the way up. His eyes caught something and his face turned to delight. “Heeeeyyy!” He lifted up a container filled with bugs. “How's daddy's boy doing?” He pulled one out and held it in his hand. “Aw look at you..so big and bitey.” Schneeple held his stomach in pain. He kicked the man in the legs, making him wobble. “You just can't take a hint, can you?” The man grabbed him by the throat. The veins in his arm bulged out, squeezing the life out of him. With his free hand, he set the bug down and began feeding it a few drops from the syringe. The bug crawled over to taste it. “You like that huh?” The man cooed. “I bet you want more, hm?” He turned to Henrik.
Henrik waved his arms around frantically, desperately trying to keep him away. The tall man smiled, amused. It happened again. In a split second, I watched Schneeple let out a painful cry as the guy forced the syringe into his vein. To make it even worse, the man decided to throw Schneeple against the table, limiting my view. The guy had his hand balled into a fist, holding something. A few more screams followed along with more struggling. “Hey, shhhh. It's all over now. Don't worry, the pain will go away soon.” I forced myself not to cry or hyperventilate. I pressed my face against the cut out as much as possible. This dude was freakishly strong. He held onto Schneeple's shoulders and lifted him up a few inches off from the ground. I felt my body shake. There was no way I could fight him. I'd have to run and hope for a miracle.
“I was really hoping the gas would've knocked you out. But as always, you enjoy giving me challenges. Don't yo-” He stopped. His body tensed up and he stayed quiet, staring at Henrik. He let out a cackle after a minute of silence. “Oh!” He grinned. “Henry you old, old, pathetic bloodhound you...have you been hiding a lady friend from me?” That was it. Chills shot down my neck and through every inch of my body. Might as well accept my fate. The man leaned into Schneeples almost lifeless body. “I don't smell perfume..or that retched scent of the unborn..but I don't smell the stench of a man's many wasted years either..like you. What do you think doc?” He squeezed his cheeks together, pushing Henrik's blue lips out.
“Aw.” He tsked. “Come on, lighten up. You've sure seen brighter days.” The man sighed depressively. He lifted up Henrik's body higher, meeting his eyes. “You always did let me down.” He took two steps back before Schneeples body fell to the floor with a large thud.
Wherever Jackie was, he needed to hurry. My heart jumped, hearing the sharp point of a knife scream past me. “Ooooohhhh how I've missed that heavenly scent.” His shoes clicked against the floor, stopping right by my box. He lowered down and I held my breath. He groaned, trying to pull his knife out from the other box. He took forever and I was too afraid to breathe. I couldn't hold it any longer and I finally caved in. As soon as I allowed the slightest amount of air to reach my lungs I could hear my sides rub against the cardboard. There was a small click and everything froze. “I haven't tasted fear in soooo long.” He whispered. He placed his hand on the exact box I was hiding in. I could feel my hair stand up. His hand was right where my head was and..maybe...I was imagining things but I could almost feel him petting me. The box, I mean. Both, I just-I don't know! He let out a long exhale. “Back to work I guess.” He walked away and shuffled around. I finally saw him by the sink, messing with what Henrik had. “Oh..and wherever you are…” He shouted. “Don't try to run. Daddy needs his little puppet.” He smiled, picking up another syringe. He ran his fingers down the long needle. “.......In one piece of course.”
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