Super Glitches 2: The Cursed Ones

The Letter (Of Doom)

"This is astounding," the doctor whispered, checking Loki's heartrate again. "It's... it's..."

"A result on the blood sample, sir," a nurse said, rushing in yet talking with a hushed voice. "It's just as you said."

"What exactly have you discovered, Doctor James?" a man in a suit asked. Loki raised his head wearily and saw a whole troop of these men-in-suits stood at the bottom of his hospital bed. He was in a closed ward, normally used for quarantine or patients who needed ultimate privacy. Loki fell into the second category.

"He... he..." Doctor James spluttered. "Well, forgive me for suggesting this, sirs, but..."

"But?"

"He doesn't seem to exist." Doctor James went red as silence filled the room.

"Explain," a quiet voice said. Four women in smart suits - both skirted and trousered - stepped forwards, pushing gently through the ring. Mutters started up but the lead girl, second tallest with slightly messy brown-blonde hair,  shushed them with one sweep of her hand. Off came her reflective sunglasses to reveal glowing golden eyes. She silenced the entire room with a smile, not breaking eye contact with anyone. Loki avoided her gaze, aware that something wasn't quite right with the intensity of her gaze.

"Well," Doctor James began, "his blood doesn't show up on any of our charts. His pulse is fake, only able to be read on the monitors. In fact, the only part of him that's truly alive is his brain. It appeares he is-" Doctor James stopped talking and frowned. Then he laughed and shook his head. Loki slid his eyes to the right to see the girl staring at Doctor James with her eyes glowing even darker. A muscle twitched in her cheek and her face grew flushed. Loki narrowed his eyes and resumed his examination of his surroundings. He was lying in a narrow bed, white sheets wrapped tightly around the mattress, trapping him beneath them. Various wires were connected to his body and machines beeped. As Loki watched they all turned off as if a plug had been pulled. Leaning to his right Loki spotted a small mechanical cat, a dark purple collar around its neck. A name came to mind: Melody.

"This is preposterous," the girl said with a smile. "I mean, if he were to be dead then he wouldn't be laid here, would he?"

"Of course not," Doctor James said sheepishly. "Sorry for wasting your time, gentlemen, ladies." The procession trailed out of the room, led by an embarrassed young doctor and some silent nurses. The girls walked over to Loki's bed and the lead one sat down on the end. Her eyes finally stopped glowing and she sighed.

"Well," she muttered. "That hurt my head. A lot."

*

I rubbed my forehead and sighed. "Ow," I said for the fiftieth time. "I'm going to have to take a break before I attempt any mind games again. My head hurts and my eyeballs are frying..."

"Quit complaining," Rebecca said, oulling off her sunglasses and replacing them with her normal glasses. Slowly the girls returned to their normal,  school uniform clad selves. 

"Why are you here?" Loki asked, folding his arms. "I am perfectly okay."

"We realised that someone would work out you weren't quite real," Lotte explained.

"So we decided to step in," Sophie finished.

"But honestly," I groaned. "I'm never trying to dig you out of a hole ever again."

"I did not ask you to."

"That's what comradery is for, ain't it?" I snapped. "Now, put something on other than that ridiculous blue gown thing. We're leaving."