The Beginning of The End

Spread the Sickness

Schneep had fallen asleep at his desk again. His head resting on his arms, completely at ease. Papers filled with medical mumbo jumbo surrounded the sleeping doctor, scattered not only on the desk but the floor and bed as well. Soft snores filled the room mixing with the scent of several mugs of coffee from the previous night.

The door creaked softly as Schneep began to throw off the thick blanket of sleep. He lifted his head, peering at the door with bleary eyes. A blurry figure wearing a red hoodie stepped into the room.

"Good morning, Chase." mumbled Schneep as he blinked. A small yawn forced its way out of his mouth. "Vat time is it?"

"Nearly seven," Chase replied, " I thought we should wake you up." He grinned cheerfully at the tired doctor. "Jackie made a pot of coffee if you want some."

Schneep nodded, pushing himself away from the desk. "I vill be down in a minute."

Chase gave him a quick thumbs up before turning to leave. He closed the door softly behind him. With the vlogger gone Schneep stood up. Dressing quickly, he grabbed the stack of forms he had spent the night on and stuffed them into his bag. Running a hand through his hair Schneep headed towards the kitchen. He was thankful Chase had woken him up, even if he was still tired, but the other egos tended to let him sleep later than he would have liked.

***

The kitchen was reasonably relaxed in the morning. Chase was leaning against the counter chattering away about a new camera or something, a cup of tea in one hand and a slice of toast in the other. He smiled at Schneep as the doctor walked in, gesturing to a mug of coffee on the table without stopping his constant dialogue.

Jackieboy was washing the dishes from his own meal. Listening politely to Chase even though even though Schneep knew he had no idea what the vlogger was talking about.

The doctor grabbed two slices of bread and dropped them in the toaster and slid into the chair next to the coffee mug. He had just taken his first sip when JJ trotted into the room. He beamed at the other egos before grabbing a bowl and some cereal from one of the cupboards.

"Good morning," Schneep murmured as the younger ego settled down next to him.

"Good morning," JJ signed in reply. He dug into his cereal and, after grabbing his toast, Schneep tucked into his own breakfast. The two sitting in comfortable silence as Chase finished his lengthy story and lapsed into silence.

***

The cozy silence, however, did not last long. Marvin, his shirt rumpled and his hair tangled in knots beneath the cat mask he had pushed up past his forehead, entered the kitchen.

"What time did you get home, dude?" Chase questioned, "you look like a zombie."

"Past midnight," Marvin mumbled, "The show ran a bit late and I missed the bus home." He fumbled with a plate and nearly dropped it before Jackie tugged it out of his hands.

"Why don't you sit down," the hero suggested, guiding the half asleep magician to the table and handing him a cup of coffee. "Drink this and then try making food."

Marvin nodded complacently and sipped at the drink in his hands. A bit out of the ordinary, Schneep noted. Marvin wasn't a huge fan of coffee, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Once again the kitchen lapsed into comforting silence, punctuated only by the soft klink of cutlery and dishes.

***

At seven forty five, on the dot, Schneep and JJ were walking out the door. Leaving behind the septic house which, with the ego's fully waking up, was becoming it's usual chaotic self.

"Good luck today!" called Chase from where he sat on the couch. Somehow texting his crew and fiddling with the settings of his camera at the same time. Jackie poked his nose out from his room.

"Could you pick up some milk on the way home, Schneep?" He asked, tugging on one of the sleeves of his costume.

"Of course Jackie," The doctor replied before turning to JJ who had been tugging on his sleeve.

"We should get going," The smallest ego signed, "We don't want to be late."

The last thing Schneep noticed as he was pulled out the door was Marvin, slumped on the table, asleep again.

***

The sky was a clear blue and the sun was golden bright as the two egos traveled down the sidewalk. Now that both of them were reasonably awake they carried on a pleasant conversation. The morning chatter flowed easily from one topic to the next. JJ's excitement for the next scene of the film he was working on, moved to the friends confusion about Chase's camera, which moved to quiet chuckles over Marvin's antics that morning, and continued on to musing over the idea of getting a cat, just to compare the two. The time flew by and before they knew it the two had reached the bus stop.

"So long my friend," JJ signed as he walked towards the open doors.

"Until this afternoon," Schneep called with a wave. The bus pulled away and he continued the walk, enjoying the soft breeze and the warm august air. The sidewalk was almost empty, save for a few joggers and the odd businessman hurrying to the office.

Schneeps thoughts were abuzz with the medical mumbo jumbo from the night before. In particular, the fact that he hadn't finished the forms. He contemplated stopping at a coffee shop and finishing them quickly but pushed the idea from his head. He had a bit of extra time, but not nearly enough to finish his work. His mind began to formulate an explanation for his coworkers but he was interrupted by a crash from an alleyway a few meters ahead of him.

It was probably nothing, he told himself. However, the earlier conversation with JJ had left him curious. If it was a cat, maybe he could take it home to show Marv before bringing it to a shelter. Carefully, he turned into the alley.

***

Much to Schneeps disappointment whatever had made the crash was gone. A silver garbage can lay on its side at the end of the alley. Without thinking the doctor walked over, bending over he picked the can up and set it right side up. As he straightened up a strange buzz filled his ears.

Panic filled his chest. The alley, which moments before had seemed open and safe, now felt dark and constricting. Schneep spun quickly, ready to make a break for the exit. Instead he froze. Before him was his worst nightmare.

Shadows and glitches flickered around the figure, silhouetted by the light from the street. In Schneeps mind he looked like a demon blocking the way to heaven. Run! His mind screamed. Get away! But there was no way to escape.

Stumbling backward, more on instinct than hope. His hand fumbled in his pocket, pulling out his phone. Fingers scrabbled desperately for the call button, but it was too late. In an instant the figure was directly in front of him. Grabbing his wrists with sharp, claw-like fingers.

"C͚͌o̲͠m̠̏e̠̋ ͆ͅn̤̈́o͕͗w̱͝ ̡̒d͖͘o͔͒c̺̃t͙́o͈̾ŕ̝," the glitch hissed, "T̪́h̗͌i̳͠ŝ̘ ͖̏w̪͗ǒ̻n͚͠'̖͑t̮̿ ̻̃h̠̚ŭ͕ř̜ẗ̡́ ̦̂a̲͝ ̪̊b̟̐ǐ͈t͚͗." Static filled the air around them as sharp nails pierced fragile skin. Schneep screamed in pain and horror as glitches and static forced their way into his bloodstream. The doctor shook and pulled, trying harder than ever to get away. He could feel his body relaxing as glitches took control of his limbs.

Schneep opened his mouth to scream again, but the glitches had reached his jaw. Body still and calm despite the pain that coursed through his veins. Eyes full of terror were quickly covered in a static film.

"W̺̍e̩̅l̫̽ľ͙ ̭̃t̩̒h̬̾e͖͌n̮̑ ̮̕p̻̉u̫̿p̪̈́p͍͝e̦͑t̪̚," Anti giggled, "L̬̐e͙͋t͉͗'̪̀s̏ͅ ̯̑ĝ͉o̥͑ ̧͊s̩͛p̘͊r̰̿e͉̔a̛̠d͍̈ ̳̍ṯ̓h͉̋i̢͘s̗͠ ͔̏s̤͒i͕̐c̪͗k̠͝n̻͋e̛̬ş̉s̄͜ ̱̚à̙r̤̍ö̟ù͙n̳͝ḋ̰."