Euphoria

Chapter Twenty-Three: What Doesn't Kill You

Jackie had been standing outside of the police station for some time now, watching his brother load ammunition into his revolver like it was just another criminal they were busting. "How can you do that so calmly? We're about to rob some small-town police station!"

Jameson chuckled, stopping what he was doing to look at the nervous hero. "Say it any louder, and we won't have to break in Nimrod."

"Well, I'm sorry! I'm just... I've never done anything bad before. Not like this." Jackie pulled his cloak tighter around himself, shivering in the bitter night air, his breath crystallizing with every exhale. "You, on the other hand, you seem like you've done this a thousand times, and there's nothing remotely bad about what we're about to do. I don't understand how."

"All you have to do is keep in mind who we're doing this for. It's times like these you can't afford to be selfish." Jameson spun the cylinder of his gun before popping it back safely into the frame, holstering it again. "If it bothers you that much, I'll just go in by myself and do all the shooting before you come in."

This time, he didn't have the speed to grab his handkerchief before he fell into a fit of coughs, bent over with his hands on his knees, a dark red liquid dripping down his chin he quickly wiped away with his hand, unable to look at his brother.

Jackie's expression hardened, and he turned his head away, keeping himself from saying something he'd regret, worry twisting and writhing inside of him, meshing with a burning sensation. "You're not doing this alone. I'm coming in there with you, but we're not going in guns blazing. We're going to try and sneak past first."

Jameson stood up straight despite his dizziness, wiping away the residual blood before nodding. "We'll do it your way then. But if that fails, you know what will eventually have to happen." He rested his hand on the holster of his gun when the hero looked back at him, searching his gaze for disapproval, surprised to find that there was none. "Let's do this."

"Ladies first." Jackie said, a strained smirk on his face.

Jameson knew that Jackie was trying to pretend like he didn't just cough up a lung, and it made him feel better knowing that he respected him that much, chuckling as he walked through the back door of the police station, keeping the door open for Jackie before crouching down to the floor.

The lights were dim, boxes lining shelves which were positioned just well enough for them to sneak by whoever might walk in on them, but after that, they would have problems grabbing the key for the evidence locker as it was usually hanging on an officers belt or the wall behind the desk in the central area when the said officer clocked out for the night.

Jameson glanced at his brother, his heart pumping just a little faster. "Careful where you step. This might get messy."

-

Anti's head lolled to the side, third-degree burns riddling the left side of his face, and most of his chest, the gash in his abdomen still bleeding, the stitches were torn and poking out of his skin. He couldn't move, barely able to see out of his left eye, blood staining the sclera, the cut on his forehead painting lines down his skin. He could still smell the singed ends of his hair from the steam swirling off him before.

"You're finally awake." Dark sat in front of him, a syringe in hand, grinning like a madman. At this point, Chase had started to pound and scream to get out, wanting desperately to help his brother. "Chase cares about you, you know. He loves you despite how horrible you've treated him."

A groan escaped Anti, his lips partially stuck together on the left side, the red and irritated skin from the top and bottom half-melted together, allowing him to open his mouth a small amount, almost like he'd stitched them together. His hands were clenched into fists, his eyes flicking up, focusing on the deranged man in front of him as he growled lowly.

"Oh, I know you want to kill me, but you won't get to. Not before I absorb you. After that, you can try."

Anti's eyes wandered to the wire holding his wrists to the chair, wriggling to get free, a bit of the fight still left inside of him, the skin already torn apart from the tossing he did in his sleep, dried blood dyeing the wires a new color.

"You see, I only used your brother for a host after Mark threw me out in the snow. I lost my power. So, I needed a new meat suit. And your weak-minded brother was perfect for what I had in mind." Dark laughed, leaning back in his chair. "And once I absorb you, I'll have enough power to stand on my own. But before I do that, I'll make you watch as I compel your brother to blow his brains all over his wife and children."

Anti searched the room before his eyes finally landed on Chase's family, all huddled in the corner. The mother had a deep gash on her arm; knife marks riddling her body as she held onto her children for dear life, staring at the two of them with a horrified expression, mumbling something under her breath.

His eyes gleamed an intense and malicious green at the sight, turning his gaze back onto Dark, straining his vocal cords as he screeched, the sound demonic and unnatural. His canines were already sharpened, blood dripping from the gums, fighting harder to get out of his binds now, face twisted into a snarl as he glitched and lagged.

Dark's eyes widened at the sight. He'd never seen Anti like that before, and he couldn't help the disruption he felt inside of himself. Something felt off, and he didn't understand what it could be, shifting in his chair uncomfortably before a strained smirk stretched across his face.

"It's so much easier to treat you like an animal when you act like one." He chuckled, raising the syringe and sticking the needle into Anti's neck while he thrashed, injecting him with the transparent substance. "I'm sure you know exactly what this is. I figured I'd give you some relief before your sudden departure. Enjoy the euphoria while it lasts."

Anti recoiled at the sharp pinch he felt, his eyes growing pinpoint. It took him a moment to realize what Dark had given him, but once he did, his heart sank.

Heroin.