By The Way, Danplan Oneshots

Cuckoo's Nest (3)

Jay stepped back from the nurses littering the flood like dead flies, feeling his stomach flip. He heard Dan gasp behind him, and pushed him out of the way. Now was not the time to think about death.

"Jay –" Stephen tried to say but Jay cut him off with one cold glare.

"Just stay here." Jay told them. He sighed. "I don't know why you followed me in the first place, and if you are just going to try and hold me back all of the time, then leave me alone." He said. Dan and Stephen said nothing, staring at the wall. They didn't make a move to follow, but stepped backwards, further to safety. Part of Jay hoped they wouldn't, especially Stephen, but it quite clearly wasn't the case.

Jay, with a shaky inhale, strode through the hell of corpses, tearing his eyes away from the blood still pumping fresh from their bodies. They looked like fallen china dolls, pale and cold.

Swallowing thickly, Jay picked up a bloody plank of wood that lay discarded beside a man's head.

He kept walking, holding onto the makeshift weapon tight.

—

The room was silent now, the sky growing darker behind the barred windows. Hosuh's companion had crawled under the counter and stayed there, leaving him sitting next to the dead nurse.

"I wonder what it is like out there." Hosuh said to the corpse. The corpse turned to look at him, jaw hanging. "I mean, I don't really know how long I've stayed here...I don't even know where I am." He thinks back to the last glimpse of the world he saw properly, not restricted by bars. It was fresh and cold and beautiful – only he hadn't realised that at the time. He was too afraid of the doctors swarming him.

"There was a magpie." Hosuh voiced his memory out loud. The corpse blinked at him, shifting. "It was one, funnily – one for sorrow, is it? I think so...I wonder what it would be if you saw eight magpies or more, because that is beyond that rhyme isn't it?" Hosuh hummed in thought, hugging his knees. Blood dripped off his fingertips, staining the fabric. He rocked slightly, trying to find some comfort.

"I guess you must be really lucky to see it? No, maybe not." Hosuh dug his nails into his arms as the corpse stared at him. "Because seven is a secret never to be told...what is worse than a destructive secret? What will the eight magpies bring to you? Doom? Sadness?" Hosuh was shouting, tucking himself into the corner. "Certainly not freedom."

Something moves behind the barred window and Hosuh stands, ignoring the dead woman as she slid off the wall. His hair hung over one of his eyes as he shuffled forwards, holding out his hand. The light cast a beam over him, lighting up the dark room and making his figure stand out from the whitened walls.

Hosuh pressed his palm against one of the bars, not flinching at the sudden coldness, and stared out. The view was limited to a dirty wall with a grimy car park far beneath him, but his eyes didn't dwell on the sight for long.

There was a singular magpie staring at him, hopping.

Hosuh pressed himself closer, eyes widening as more magpies descended from the sky like a tidal wave, their beaks pointed and talons outstretched. Hosuh stared at them as they flew in one great flock, moving closer and closer to the small window.

Hosuh ran backwards, stumbling to the ground as they burst through the walls, squawking, screeching, shrieking. He could see their red eyes blazing, staring right at him.

The silver-haired let out a small cry, yanking the knife out of the corpse. Shaking, he held it up.

"Go away..." he raised the knife higher, pushing himself against the wall. "Go away! I don't want to know it! Leave me alone!"