#mortimer gray

——

Inky smudges seeped into his peripherals. Black little fingerprints stained every corner of the canvas in front of him. His back was contorted into an almost inhuman shape at this point from how hunched over he was all the time.

It didn't matter what project he was given, he was expected to give it his all. Years and years of being a star student and hard worker led him to being exploited for his talents. Training tapes. PSAs. Infographics. Commercials. He didn't even have time for his own personal projects anymore. Candy Mouse had been shelved for years.

The low buzz of the single light overhead was deafeningly loud. Every little breath he took shook him slightly, no longer being used to movement outside of his arms and wrists. The yellow phosphorescence turned his vision a sickly sepia, deepening by the minute. It was him and his desk against the world.

If he didn't know any better, he'd begin to think he was melting into the floor, merging into a single entity with his work station.

Did he know better?

"Mortimer?"

He let out a yelp and jumped, accidentally spilling ink down his arm as his favorite pen clattered to the floor.

"Shit! Look what you made me do! I'm-"

Alex held up their hands in surrender. "Hey, hey, don't get mad at me, I'm here with the new scripts."

Mortimer blinked, rubbing his eyes with his relatively clean hand to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Who was this person standing in front of him?

"Who are you?" He asked, voice hoarse from lack of use.

"I'm here from the Lankmann Foundation? Umm…."

Alex held out the loose leaf papers and tried to hand them to the man before deciding it would be a better idea to put them down on a cleaner part of his desk. They patted the pile gently twice with an awkward laugh.

Mortimer watched their movements carefully like a predator catching wind of something intruding in his territory. Having human contact for the first time in over 48 hours was refreshing and horrifying all at once. Whoever this intern was was intriguing, and their voice….

The creative gears once again began to turn in his mind after being still and stunted for so long

"This is supposed to be a new script to something or whatever, I-I need to make it back to the asylum. If you have any questions, you should probably try to call Dr. Lankm–"

Mortimer suddenly grabbed Alex by the shoulders with a wide eyed stare. He almost looked like a cartoon.

"You…."

Alex grinned awkwardly and pointed at themselves. "Me?"

"I need your vocal cords."

——

"Say hello to the new voice of the Lankmann Foundation!"

Alex was being lightly jostled by their new friend as he threw an arm around them. Mortimer was insistent on coming back to the asylum with them shortly after their arrival.

Dr. Herbert Lankmann watched from behind the security monitor as Mortimer began to ramble on and on about his new creative directions into the camera on the wall. Nobody was allowed into his office. Not even the caretakers.

"I trust you still haven't regretted your decision on making me the head of the creative department, Doctor?"

The pair of humans was met with silence. Herbert still refused to voice his opinion on anything vocally, but Mortimer had been with the foundation long enough to understand that silence was a good thing.

"Great! Awesome! Perfect!"