#first draft 2022

Original

[old draft, messy] / AO3

Nurse Andrews flipped through his notes. Of course on his last day Dr Shapiro piled up so much the clamp could barely hold it. He came to a stop beside the first habitation cell. The lamia within took zir time slithering over. A lanky lamia towered over him, making him feel like a child in comparison.

A whistle drew his attention to the smug lamia. “you forgot something.”. Zir luminescent pinkish-orange tongue flicked in and out invitingly. In his lower periphery something wiggled. Nurse Andrew’s gaze dropped to zir hand in an OK gesture, “Gotcha.” Peaches snickered.

He rolled his eyes, like he definitely didn’t see that coming. “Oh darn.”

He muttered beneath his breath. A soft snort came over the light chatter from neighboring habitation cells.

Flipping through his patient files, one of them floated to the ground.

Subject 071? Vanilla? He’d been transferred years ago, how was he still in the system… hmm

Pronouns: he/him, they/them

That isn’t Vanilla, then who is it? Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me? How childish could you possibly be?

Previous Occupation: monster fuck boy

“you okay, zeek-a-reeno?”

His tongue felt like sand paper reading what came next. He might as well have a dozen gallbladder stones clattering around his body.

Items of Note: wears gawdy black and white clothing that gives him a slutty Halloween look down to his disgusting fake bleach blond hair.

“what is..”

‘Additional notes’ read in Dr Glover’s neat handwriting. Nurse Andrews crumpled up the trash, tossing it away, only for it to drift upward and out of view.

Paper crinkled.

“g l o v e r.”

Nurse Andrew hurriedly flipped through the rest of his notes. He desperately scanned each page.

Subject Patient: 069 Peaches     ze/zir

Previous occupation: [redacted]

Items of Note: collects shoes

Subject Patient: 404 Ocean   any/all pronouns

Previous Profession: [redacted]

Items of note: can’t stand being alone, never show him your back

Additional notes: needs more stimuli

Subject Patient: 999 Crimson   he/him

Previous Profession: engineer

Items of note: only lamia from original group still in treatment]

Nurse Andrews flipped through his notes at the speed of light.

No, no, no! He’d taken months collecting all those.

“ay, zeek? earth to zeek? listen, s’alright, we can—"

After the nurse took a photo of Crimson struggling to open up a pickle jar, many patients insisted that they’d only take the psychological eval and additional tests if they also had theirs taken. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Nurse Andrews found himself with a scrap book’s worth of photos.

All gone.

Every. Single. One.

The entire wing seemed to go silent.

“is it just me, or is dessert on the menu?” A husky voice rumbled beside Nurse Andrew’s ear.

Ze followed the low rumbling purr.

How long was he  standing there?

Enticing hooded sockets crease in pleasure at the attention. “cuz i just realized i got a sweet tooth.”

The nurse blinked owlishly. Like he’s suddenly being pulled out of quick sand.

“Took you long enough?..”

“and i wanna eat you up.” To drive zir point home, zir long thick tongue slid out. Dizzyingly bright and dexterous with a single row of bumps that dissected it down the middle. So dumbstruck, he nearly reached out and touched it. “heh, you got something on your tie.”

Zir phalange hooked around it through the ventilation holes, giving it a light tug. There, Peaches held it. The two staring into each others eyes.

Bit by bit, pieces came back into focus. He was looking at the files, right? The one he dropped is curiously absent. He dismissed it, instead vying to flip through Dr Glover’s report on Peaches. Absently, he tugged back his tie like one would an offered flower.

Noticeably, Dr Glover removed nearly every privilege Peaches had after yesterday’s incident. Zir habitation cell was bare except for what Peaches wore. A sunset hoodie that advertises some mountain resort the nurse visited as a tot. It only reached zir midriff. Usually, ze’d be sporting a loose-fitting beige skirt as well.

Nurse Andrews chewed on his cheek. Peaches curled zir body over zir pelvis using zir tail. Nurse Andrews would need to find another one on his lunch. Finding one large enough in a short span of time would be challenging but possible.

“Dr Glover gave me the impression that your spirits were exceedingly low. Peaches, is that the case today as well?” In an obtuse way, the way zir smile faltered almost seemingly apologetic aside from zir relaxed manner.

Peaches lightly taped on the glass.

No spinner.

Of course they took that too.

“don’t know what you expect, hun.” Peaches leans against the plexiglass, taking advantage of zir full height over Nurse Andrews. Not very challenging since most were taller than him. Nurse Andrews struggled to make eye contact, craning his neck far back.

“A minute of effort.”

Zir words take on a musical undertone. “said i was sorry, didn’t i? what more do ya want?” Zir gaze wandered a little lower to inspect the offered lolly.

One of Peaches’ long phalanges dipped through the ventilation hole, tugging on the lolly. Yet Nurse Andrews held tight. He whispered. “Don’t pinch panties if you want the Nelsons guard’s help. Call me next time.”

Peaches stared at Nurse Andrews like he’d grown another head. Zir smile grew crooked. “ya think they’ll give calls when ya leave, huh? heh. didn’t think didn’t ya say ya were a realist?” Zir laughter comes out stale.

Yesterday’s magic level assessment dug into the nurse’s mind like a rusty nail. “Arrangements have been made.” He uttered only half paying attention to the charts. Peaches pops the lolly in, noticeably a lack of tongue. Still, Peaches hummed like ze can taste it via thoughts and prayers alone. “has anyone toldja you’re a sweetheart, doc, cuz ya take the cake.”

His heart palpitates along with a rush of dopamine. “Not a doctor.”

“still a doc in my book.” Peaches hums. Zir gaze drifts in the direction of zir brother. “I know Ocean’s a handful—”

The nurse’s eyes burned as holes into his clipboard. “Don’t be dramatic.”

“When I’m gone, make sure he isn’t alone--”

“--Dr Shapiro would like you to answer this survey.” He interrupted him off with a glare as he leans back.

Peaches’ sighs, smiling in the dopiest manner a person could.

Nurse Andrew’s lip quivers for a moment before he gets it under control. “Once your released—“

“I Didn’t Know You Were A Comedian, Doctor Andrew.” Another lamia teased from the cell behind him. The complex battle formation and arithmetic covered the glass of his cell framing their face. “Was It Something I Said?”

“No, Wine. I leave the humor to you.” Nurse Andrew replied curtly.

A warm breeze blew over Nurse Andrew’s neck, setting all his hairs on end. Yanking up his coat, ruckus laugher errupted from behind him, passing from cell to cell like the common cold. “sorry, hun, ya looked a lil cold. couldn’t have ya turn inta a zeeksickle.”

“Unfortunately for you, Peaches--” Dr Andrew struggled to sharpen his tongue. “—The ambient air temperature is perfect. Now, Dr Glover requests that you refrain from any further harassment. Unlike me, they think you can actually be rehabilitated.” He punctuated the thought with a click of his pen.

“aww, zeekster, your gonna make me blush.” The moment Nurse Andrews turned; he could feel the lamia’s gaze take a generous pass at zir behind. (The lab coat wasn’t necessary for his work anyway.) Not that he’d allowed Peaches the satisfaction of knowing, he had other patients to see after all.

The next several patient’s exams passed uneventfully. Wine, while forthcoming, continued to derail the survey with small talk and little passive aggressive comments whenever Nurse Andrews had the audacity to cut off his chess rant.

Error blipped into the antivoid as long as his control collar allowed.

The “Pied Piper” as everyone called her, went so far as to approach the glass. Nurse Andrews could never see more than her teeth beneath her hood but progress is progress. Plus, her new spring tune had a rejuvenating quality that even Nurse Andrews couldn’t deny.

For once, Posca took notice of him. Though, it only after Nurse Andrews admitted to wearing the loose-fitting black dress pants for a high wasted look. 

Posca raced across the cell. His arms legs and face were somehow all covered in marker. The heterochromic skeleton’s eye flashed a heart and swirl, “Ezekiel,” He tsked. “You Should Wear It Below Your Waist More Often. Something Like An Unsaturated Orange Or Pink. I Know You Don’t Like Color But It’d Really Compliment Your Bleach Blond Hair.” Nurse Andrew resisted the urge to facepalm but Ink still picked up on his displeasure.

Was it really that obvious?

Was he losing his touch?

“All I’m Saying Is Don’t Be Shy With Showing Off What You Got. I’m Sure You Know You A Superb Ass. It’s A Shame You Don’t Have Any Good Fits.”

Nurse Andrew clicked his pen rapidly. “That will be all for today, Posca.”

Nurse Andrews eyed the yellow line. The paint below it read as follows:

“Please remain six feet from the glass at all times.”

It was a laughable rule, especially among habitation cells without ventilation holes. The intercom was turned on manually. In Crimson’s case, the team replaced the glass monthly due in part to all the scratches obscuring view of him. Not to mention his magic had a tendency of weakening even the most impact resistant glass over time. Nurse Andrews strutted up to the glass, careful to remain a few inches from touching it.

The fog, as per usual, as thick as pea soup. He’d be lucky to catch a glimpse of his illusive patient.

“Greetings, Crimson. You’ll be glad to hear that Nurse David will make a full recovery. The report neglects to mention whether or not you warned him about biting off his nose but I’m sure you did. Still, in the future, I’d advise utilizing verbal methods a touch longer.”

A low rumbling chuckle crackles over the intercom. He must’ve hotwired it again as he was nowhere near the panel. Instead, he dwelled somewhere in the thick fog that pervaded his cell. “what can I say, doll? man’s gotta eat.”

Nurse Andrew snorts. “Your Vegan.”

…

“lettuce say ‘ve bean branching out.”

His lip curls ever so slightly despite his best intentions. “Peas branch out elsewhere for all our sanity.”

…

“was that a… heh, it was, wasn’t it?”

Shit.

Nurse Andrew held up the clipboard, covertly covering his face. His white makeup could only conceal so much of his burning cheeks. When Nurse Andrew finally dropped the clipboard, something moved by the bean bag chair. The elaborate maze of things made it difficult to make out any clear shapes.

“admit it. yer dying ta break out in puns. like a moth ta flame.”

“If you wish to regain TV privileges, I suggest you…” Nurse Andrew mumbles, the fog parts just enough to reveal the silhouette of someone behind the bean bag chair.

He revealed himself willingly. This should be great.

“Thank you Crimson, as I was saying…”

Suddenly, it darts from the other side of the habitation cell.

“Charming.”

Why am I not surprised? Oh well, cat and mouse it is.

Nurse Andrew walked toward the far end of the cell where the fog was the thickest.

“As I was saying, TV privileges will be reinstated when and only when you reveal yourself.”

Some days he should really mind the yellow line.

A massive set of fangs lunges out of nowhere. Crimson’s hairy legs slam against the glass, his webs sending gusts of dust filling the air. His red eye lights glowing like demons in tiny cones of light. He lets out a horrified scream, stumbling back. His goggles fell off and clip board skittering across the floor. Breathing felt like running up ten flights at full speed.

An unhinged laughter silenced the entire cell block. “oi, level bait, don’t go falling for me just yet. ya might even get me hooked.” He cackled. His sharpened hook arm dragged along the glass while his spider legs arched up against the glass, making him look even taller.

Frantic flute noises cut through his laughter. Each time he tried to speak, a shrill tone filled the air. Pied leans against the adjacent cell wall. An oversized hoodie covers all but his silver fanged smile.

“can it, kazoo!” Crimson snaps.

Morse code beeping echoes across the hall. “NOW THAT’S JUST RUDE!” Ocean chided from the furthest cell back. “YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER. NO DOCTOR WILL WANT—"

“Ocean,” Nurse Andrews coughed. Hurriedly, he put on his glasses again, taking care to keep his eyes closed until doing so. “You’re up next.”

“awww, c’mon, doll. was only joking.” His grin sharpened, showing off a shiny golden tooth, “A little.”

In several quick strides, Nurse Andrews roughly yanked out the food tray, slamming it shut with a photograph. “Don’t bite this one. There won’t be another specialist.”

Nurse Andrews raised his voice. “That’s a shame. I’d hate for the warden to hear of this. He’s particularly keen on finding that bean bag chair.”

For a beat, Crimson misses his cue. His clawed prosthetic gingerly running over the far sleeker and lighter model in the picture. He nodded, slowly putting his mask back on.

Crimson slammed his fist against the glass, cracks immediately spiderweb across it. “yer bein’ awfully sensitive over a lil joke. cut a pal some slack. not like we met yesterday, bait”

“5 days, 6 months and 3 years. 26 more including my training. However, I thought you grew out of this… juvenile behavior.” Dr Andrew added with a hint of bitterness.

Crimson shoves the photo in his vest pocket. “Don’t let it happen again.”

Nurse Andrews marched over to Ocean’s cell, feeling a strange lack of sins crawling up his spine.

What was wrong with everyone today?

Perhaps there wasn’t enough monster food in their diet. Nurse Andrews scribbles into his notebook. ‘check diet.’

Morse code chirps fill his ears. He distantly notices the repetition of his name but keeps writing.

‘peaches skirt.’

Less pauses came between sentences.

‘set up appointment for prosthetic fitting + sea tea for abrasions’

“There.” He sighed. Everything was in order.

Looking up, the habitation cell before him looked straight out of an aquarium. A scaffolding ladder lead up to the water level. Below, all manner of underwater toys lay strewn about from diving torpedos to suspended rings to swim through. Pressed up against the glass, a starry eyed dolphin siren beamed. In one acoustic meatus a ear piece poked out.

That’s good. It must be working well if he hadn’t taken out this one.

His finger never left his clicker. Yet, he didn’t say a word. Ocean cocked his head and brow-bone tense with a story to tell. He hurried taps into his tiny data pad attached to the glass.

Words appeared in cyan font on an identical screen on the other side of the glass. “DOCTOR, YOU DON’T LOOK SO WELL… VERY PALE. YOU KNOW, I HEARD THAT HUMANS ARE MADE OF 75% WATER, YOU MUST’VE PERSPERATED TOO MUCH WITH CRIMSON. WHY DON’T YOU TAKE A BREAK AND WE CAN CONTINUE ONCE YOU’RE WELL?”

Buttering him up or not, Nurse Andrew could already smell the fear sweat. He’d been at it for nearly an hour, it hardly warranted a break but they couldn’t fire him on his last day.

Nurse Andrew considered the potential ramifications. Dr Shapiro could fire him. Granted, if  he was out by the end of the day, what was the point? Plus, Dr Shapiro wasn’t the sort to waste labor when it was available, even if she wanted it gone. “We’ll resume in 10.”

“I LOOK FORWARD TO IT!” Ocean’s tail slapped against the water, sending a bit of spray across the glass.

Nurse Andrews popped through several thick security doors.

“Ezekiel, done so soon?” A despondent soul crooned. “Did crazy ol 999 scare you again?” They sniffed. Their vulture instincts served them well.

“Actually, Crimson and I had a delightful conversation about his ambition to open a repair shop. I’ve seen a great deal of progress. If it weren’t for my absence, he’d have been out by the quarterly review. What about you, Doctor Glover?” He hummed. “I heard Peaches was quite.. insistent the other day.”

Dr Glover stiffened at his smile.

“Don’t worry, I told zem to… give you some space. Ze was quite accommodating. It’s amazing what happens when you don’t confiscate zir undergarments.”

Dr Glover body checked the nurse into the crumbling asbestos wall. Dry wall dusted his hair and shoulders. The nurse coughed. Blood covered his elbow. Their hands slipped around his collar like a glove, hefting his short and stout frame high off the linoleum. “it doesn’t even have genitals! Why would it—”

“They say a smile is worth a million words, don’t you agree-ack!.” The corner of his lips twitched.

“Where is it?” Their head swiveled around. The shit for brains doc finally locked on the hole in the wall. Their breath hitched.

“Don’t worry… I have… copies… for the whole family.”

As if nothing happened, they dropped him, brushing off his shoulders while they’d rather break him like a twig. “You know as well as I do they’re a luxury. We got other mouths to feed and 69 needs the motivation. You can’t just give it anything it wants willy nilly. It’ll get entitled. Self righteous.”

Whatever they saw on the nurse’s face seemed to disappoint them. “Don’t think I didn’t see the bean bags.”

“Bean bags?” Dr Andrews hummed contemplatively. “Ah yes, I remember now. Those awful lumpy chairs. I honestly cant understand why anybody would choose that shade of brown. It’s a blessing in disguise. Whoever it was did.. whatsername a favor.”

The sound of drywall crumbling draws his eye to the hole fist embeded in the wall. “Derek and you better not forget it, snowflake.” For such a sculpted person, build to tear someone limb from limb, it was difficult to see why a tank wanted to do the work of surgeon. However, given time, the nurse saw glimpses of that soft underbelly. For once in a very long time, Nurse Andrews saw he misjudged the fellow enby. Someone as independent and focused wouldn’t harbor such fire at the slight on behalf of a jilted friend or bedmate. Though, the idea that someone as strong willed as Dr Glover could be brought under Shapiro’s spell..

He shivered.

Dr Glover smirked. “I don’t care how far you go. Nobody will hire your unscrupulous ass from Seattle to New York. Unlike you, Derek’s friends back him up. You could learn a thing or two. Too bad you picked with the freaks.”

Their goggles slipped from their forehead, perfectly landing on their nose. “It’s only a matter of time before you’re behind bars.”

A whisper of a memory tickles Andrew’s ear. “i can’t sleep. i can’t eat. the only thing that makes me feel anything was fucking and now i can’t even do that.” Peaches curled up into a ball, covering the bruise ze got from slamming zir head into the wall. “i’m just a defective whore who never should’ve been born.”

Nurse Andrews’s hands formed into fists. Taking the goggles off and setting his clipboard aside, Ezekiel opened the cell door. He kneels in front of Peaches.

Peaches rubbed the tears from zir eyes. “A freak of nature, you know bitties aren’t even supposed to get this big. Much less lamia.” Ze hiccuped. “My magic’s all fucked. Freakish. Perverted.”

Ezekiel reaches out. Something told him he should hold hands but it was like a thick force field surrounded the trembling lamia. “If you keep this up, you won’t leave any more freak for the rest of us.” Peaches’ gasps pause, he pops up like a prarier dog.

“b-but y-your normal.” Peaches sniffles. “y-you’re good.”

Something sickly crawled along Ezekiel’s back. His own thoughts ready to drown him at a moment’s notice. Carefully, Ezekiel eased the hairnet securing his wig in place.

“whole and.. and..”

More of the sickly crawling sensation writhed over his shoulders, head and neck. The thoughts ready to spill over the dam he  so carefully constructed all those years ago.

“zeek i—” I held up a finger, silencing him.

Ezekiel carefully worked off the special effects make up covering the side of his face, covering the whole in his ear.

Finally, he past to the hardest part. Unbuttoning the first two buttons on his shirt, just enough that Peaches could see where his original flesh ended and other began. If he’d shown the other side, it would’ve gone all the way through.

“Babies born as witches get their…” He trailed off, the words not coming to him.

All of a sudden, Peaches’s arms encircled him, yanking him into the tightest hug of his life. He gasped. Not frightened, just the shire surprised mixed withs something else, relief?

“us freaks need to stick together.” He whispered into the side that didn’t have an ear.

“What the hell are you smiling about?!”

Nurse Andrews sighed. “There’s one thing you can always trust in our line of work and that is the gossip mill. It’s unfortunate you didn’t learn that during our friendship. Otherwise, you’d have a leg to stand on. As it is, you’ll finish Crimson’s exam for me today.”

She sneered. “You’re insane.”

“Maybe but you make time for Derek. He too will let you slip out for lunch, correct? You two really should keep it to the bedroom. Board rooms are notoriously insecure.”

Nurse Andrews waved a USB drive. “Don’t worry, this isn’t the only one either.”

The moment Dr Glover veins on her forehead popped, Nurse Andrews muttered. “Good grief.”

“It’s your lucky day, monster fucker!” Dr Glover grabbed him by the lab coat, throwing him into the laundry shoot. “I’m taking you out with the trash!” They gave him another solid shove before stalking off.

“Bloody Brilliant.” Nearly thirty minutes later, Nurse Andrews managed to escape the clutches of the tube. He checked himself in the bathroom. His back screamed. Pulling off his shirt, there was already a lovely little bruise forming. Plus, he chipped tooth. “Fucking perfect. The Blue menace will eat me alive.”

Sure enough, Ocean gasped the moment he was within eye shot, exclaiming. He darted to the glass, typing into his data pad. “DOCTOR! HOW IN THE STARS DID THIS HAPPEN? LET ME LOOK AT IT. I AM AN EXQUISITE HEALER."

“Greetings Ocean.” Nurse Andrews continued staring at his clipboard, gritting his teeth. The damn ear prosthetic kept itching. “Dr Viola informed us what happened when she helped you with the radio. Unfortunately, it was not good news.”

Faster than Nurse Andrews would’ve expected, a storm cloud extinguished his starry eyes into empty voids.

“VIOLA? OH! VI, YES, I SO SO SO AM TERRIBLY SORRY. MY RECIPES AREN’T MEANT FOR HUMANS. I DID WARN HER MY TACOS CAN BE UNPREDICTABLE.”

“Interesting, Ocean. How very interesting... I wasn’t aware cookies involved cyberizing my colleagues.”

“Wait… so you don’t mind I poisoned her?”

Nurse Andrews sent him a flat look. “If every person who poisoned Dr Viola were held accountable, we wouldn’t have any nurses.”

Ocean let out a breath he must’ve been holding in awhile, his shoulders fell as he leaned fully against the glass.

“I’d like to be frank with you, Ocean. Did you know—”

“Aww, why can’t you be Frank with me?” Peaches whined. “I always get boring old Zeek.”

Ocean snorted. “PERHAPS IF YOU TOOK MORE INITIATIVE. YOUR ROOM

WAS ALWAYS MESSY AT HOME. FRANK ONLY COMES OUT WHEN YOU’RE PRESENTABLE.”

Nurse Andrews shot him a look.

Peaches held up his hands in mock surrender. “Not that I mind.” He waggled his brow.

Ocean kneaded his hands together before typing again. If he didn’t have the mask on, Andrew imagines he’d be clicking his teeth.

“DOCTOR, I DON’T KNOW WHAT I CAN SAY FOR YOU TO BELIEVE ME. I WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING TO HURT VIOLA. WE DISCUSSED THE RISKS BEFOREHAND. SHE CONSENTED TO IT. THEN SHE GOT COLD FEET, WE WERE ALREADY SO FAR ALONG, TO STOP WOULD JEOPARDIZE HER HEALTH!”

“The doctors say she’ll never beath on her own again.” Nurse Andrew pinched his nose. He awaited already getting a head ache and he only got through a quarter of his patients. “Her goggles were missing when we found her, ocean. To take responsibility is the first step to change. We’ll put a pin in it today.” Nurse Andrews remained fixed on the clipboard. He continued writing, neither of them break the silence.

Ocean smile was a few degrees weaker. “You have to believe me.”

His eye lights shrank so small, the faint draft could extinguish them. “I can’t be without my brother again.” His phalanges easily fit through the vent holes, clawing at Nurse Andrews sleeves. He’s so much smaller than the other patients. A hair shorter than himself actually.

Ezekiel bites his lip. “I don’t have the key. I can’t—”

“But you could talk to her! Dr Shapiro knew about Viola’s situation. I wouldn’t operate otherwise. I—” Big tears poured like waterfalls down Ocean’s cheeks. “Please don’t look at me like that. I don’t care what you think of me but you have to believe me.”

Ezekiel leans closer to Ocean’s phallanges, allowing him to tug part of his sleeves through.

He kept fiddling with Ezekiel’s sleeves. Neither of them spoke. The ever hanging storm felt like it was on their door step. There wasn’t anything that he could do without an actual monster doctor or human trained in monster medicine.  After several false starts, Ocean lets go of Ezekiel’s sleeve. “I don’t know how long he’ll last—”

Something tugged at Ezekiel’s goggles. He reaches up to secure them but Ocean’s already got ahold of his other sleeve.

“Ocean, I can’t protect you if you do this. Listen to me.” The goggles rose of his cheeks, forcing him to keep his eyes on the display. Those cyan letters glaring back at him.

“I’m so sorry.” His words so soft.

Ezekiel’s gaze darts up to Ocean’s face. The mask gone.

Oceans sobs shift into sniffles and slowly devolve into giggles.

Ezekiel scrambles to tug his sleeves away. With a buttoned shirt, he couldn’t get it over if head unless Ocean let him go.“Dr Shapiro told me himself that she’d stop feeding you if you exhibited any “maladaptive” behaviors. She’s actively looking for a reason to kill you! I know we haven’t been eye to eye… please, give me back my goggles.”

Ocean wiped away a tear smiling with an elbow. “Zeek, I’ll be confiscating your goggles. Once you learn to behave, you may have them back. Do you understand?”

The words slip from his mouth before he could even think them. “Yes, I do.”

“For now we have work to do, my prince.”

He finally let go. Every bone in Ezekiel’s body screamed to run. Get the fuck away from him. He knew he shouldn’t have reached out.

No matter how hard Ezekiel tried, he resist speaking to Ocean. He needed to hear more. Hear more of that wonderful voice that reminded him of the most gorgeous bells and harp. “Is there any way I can help? I could open the doors? Would that satisfy you?”

Ocean hummed, “it’s a start.” In seconds, Ezekiel unlocked the door separating the tank from the upper platform. He raced back up. Anything to hear Ocean’s call.

“Should I—”

Just as Ezekiel reached the platform, Ocean lunged out. His sharp boney phalanges digging deep into Ezekiel’s sides, drawing a gasp. Everything went fuzzy from there on out.

There were sounds. Doors unlocking. Familiar voices murmured. An alarm blared.