Short stories

Story Two: Apathetic

Credit to the cat crew for the character concepts of Jeison, Kirateko, and 'Boss'

Credit to Hunapo for the character concept of Rye.

2:46 pm

Experimental facility: Kawasaki, Japan

It was silent, outside at least. The building was rarely this quiet, either angry or friendly chats usually filling the hallways. At least between the best friends Fox and Kirateko. But Kirateko paced the hallway anxiously, already having the idea of helping Fox taken from them.

His back lifted off the table in anguish, held down by the straps. His head was thrown back as Jeison dug around with the scalpel; gloves pulled up and mask covering their mouth and nose. "FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU MANIAC" Fox shrieked; the blade being forced further into the wound.

This was his punishment. He had lashed out again, destroying everything in his room. Shards of glass and wood being dug into his flesh. When the staff found out Boss was fed up. Jeison was too, and there was nothing Octavious or Ryan or Kirateko could do now. Each shard and splinter were being removed with painful precision. This was the punishment, feel every result of his actions.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING GOD?!"

He roared at the light-haired scientist who couldn't hold back their laugh. "Oh, Miss Mia.." He drew out the last syllable a bit too long. A bit too happy. A bit too hushed. "Playing God? What about me makes you think I'm merely playing?" The scientist wiped the blood from a cut, listening to the teen's whimpers. Manic gaze fixated on him. "I'm acting as a god, defeating him, remolding god. Wiping away the face of imperfections like you. Creating something better, in my image."

"You're-" The blade dug back in. "FUCKING INSANE" He pulled his back off the table again, screaming in agonizing pain. Tears pooled on his cheeks and Jeison watched them roll down his skin. The teen's body gave out, becoming sensitive to each prick. Fox yelped as Jeison traced their thumb down his chin.

"Shh It'll be over soon" They cooed, tone enough to make Fox's stomach knot like a sickness. When the scalpel cut through to retrieve the final piece of glass, he leaned his head off the edge of the table. Vomiting violently into the trashcan full of discarded wood and glass.

The scientist stepped back, looking over the teen who was heaving with each breath, disgusted. He was weeping, trying to re-grasp control of himself. 'Fuck you- fuck you-' Fox chanted under his breath, volume growing to a scream when Jeison wiped a bleeding area of his arm.

He shuddered, looking away helplessly from the eyes of the scientist. Though it had never happened before, Jeison hesitated. Silent for the rest of the procedure as they wrapped bandages around each puncture.

Their gloved hands reached onto a metal cart, a bag labeled sterile encased a syringe. Alprazolam in a bottle beside it on the tabletop. Absorbing the dosage into the plastic body of the cold syringe, Jeison looked down at the boy who was eyeing the needle. Injecting the liquid with a dead-eyed expression and watching Fox struggle for a moment before falling limp. The scientist undid the straps and left him to lay there.

As Jeison walked out, the medicinal smell of sterilization chemicals fled from the top of his mask. He pulled it off and peeled the gloves off as well, taking a breath of the new air and tucking both items into the nearest trashcan.

The light-haired teenage Kirateko ran forward towards the room, pushing past Jeison. "Get the hell out of my way you old bastard!" This time he didn't bother to stop them, what was done was done.

They walked through the hall, heading to get something to eat from Rye in the cafeteria. Octavious was there with his usual sugary granola bar as a lunch, leaning on the wall just like every day. But one thing was different, Octavious wasn't smiling. Octavious didn't come over and swing his arm over Jeison's shoulders. Obnoxiously howling about the most recent news or a cute guy he saw at Trader Joe's.