A strange type of chemistry

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Jargo

Enough talk. Witness.
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@AkikoYukito

It was... how many years again? Blah, did time actually hold any meaning now? Probably not. Most definitely not, he could control the ageing of his body for the most part, should he needed to, ergo Alexei needed not concern himself with the meaningless matters such as the movements of the clock, so aptly placed on the pale wall for him to stare at. Just the processed inside the cells, though, the scars of his escape were quite permanent - an inerasable memory of what he had been through... and what he had now become.

No, time was one of the many concerns of the pathetic insects around him. Just as his behaviour was a concern of theirs, not his - not anymore, at least. Alexei was a theoretical physicist and an avid paranormal investigator in his free time. The latter being sot of influenced by the first and vice-versa. Huh, that all seemed like another life now... even... another person's life, to be precise. When the opportunity to explore an anomaly so grave, as the one continuously being reported in the Felsong Woods presented itself, he had taken it and thus opened a door for such terrible vistas of reality he had previously hardly deemed possible even in his wildest dreams. Sure, he had had sightings of paranormal events before, but never had he been a participant, apparently for the better, judging by how this one went.

Upon returning home, Alexei was indeed a shadow of a man - nefarious whispers haunting him to a level of paranoia that bordered on insanity. Considering he had always been a rather unusual fellow, even perhaps bordering on sociopathic, it took little for his colleagues and even friends to assume that he had made the jump form conspiracy and paranormal into insanity, thus resulting in him being sent at psychiatric ward 55.

And that was hell. Actually, to say it was hell would be an understatement. It had long been his belief that these places do nothing but destroy people and his stay had certainly reconfirmed this assumption. At the start of his stay, he had to not only deal with the malicious whispers of the soul residues lingering around him, but also bear the attitude of those pathetic creatures thinking they had the slightest understanding of what was going on with him. The medication was the worst, until he had learned to combat its effects, at least. At first only the thought of murdering everyone in this hospital kept him going - same as it had been while he was imprisoned and change by them... The only difference was, he didn't do it this time and instead utilized the long period to be able to put the whispers to rest, or to a level where he could freely ignore them at least. Alexei also managed to learn a lot of his new powers and what he had become - actually controlling managing to take control of himself, as opposed to being controlled, either by something external or by his own wild emotions, which were now more vivid than ever.

It was at this point, that he realised he would never be allowed to get out of this hospital - his past jailors wouldn't allow him. All the doctors were being either directly or indirectly controlled, something he started to suspect when he sensed their twisted magic in the pills that were fed to him. Soonafter, Alexei had come to realise that all of ward 55, patients and staff included, was actually his new prison cell, albeit within the human world this time. He was also not sure if it was really his former jailers that were keeping him bound right now - this entire situation looked... too human to be orchestrated by beings whose way of thinking as so much apart and so highly occult.

One things Alexei was good at, was finding out stuff that were not supposed to be exposed. That, and taking revenge on those who have crossed him, which was basically all the... how were they even called again in their own telepathic language? Blah... who the hell cared anyways what some future corpses called themselves, if they even had a concept of racial name. Those beings who had, even since medieval times, managed to so expertly elude and take advantage of the blind humanity, the latter burning its spiritual eyes' retinas with the cancerous sparks of what they had called necro-science and necro-technology. He had not yet fully understood what was meant by that, despite making a few deductions of his own.

Getting out of this prison had proved quite challenging and even quite impossible for a single person, especially when that person was the only dangerous criminal in the whole place. And it was at that moment, that destiny smiled upon him. He had purposely volunteered to go on the TV show in order to be able to influence some of the viewers into helping him, but what he had found was a billion times better! He had found one of his kind and not just anyone. Whilst Alexei had technically saved every one that was imprisoned at that paranormal "facility" by going on a rampage on his own tormentors and then breaking apart the magic of the whole prison, there was one person in particular that he had helped more than everyone else. Some girl - too feeble and weak to make it out on her own. She must had been a special experiment, because when they decided they couldn't contain, they only tired to take her away. He could have just let them take her away and run, without risking his own life and, even worse, his continuous safety, but something deep inside had pressed him to save her. A deep connection was made between their souls at that time, and such connection was impossible to erase. Most likely, her watching TV at that time was not a coincidence either - he needed help and she must have surely felt it burn in her chest. Even if she didn't recognise him, he was certain she would find him, even if she had just noticed him for a split second on some seen at a TV store. It was just a matter of time and Alexei was now a very, very patient man.

His thoughts circled back towards the beginning of it all. Subconsciously he noted that thinking about it would strengthen the impulse that she had caught from him, even if by just a little bit. The ones taking her away had put the toughest fight of all and their voices still emerged into his consciousnesses from time to time, which made him positive they must have been the ones running the whole things. It was one of them that had warned him not to kill them - "When you murder something with as pure essence as us, you must be pure yourself, so as not to be affected. Some of the heroes in your old stories were, but you are not. You are not like any of them and are only able to do this, because we had failed to notice." is what they had spoken in syndromic telepathy straight into his head. "NOTICED WHAT?" he had yelled at them "You are a demon - you drink blood and eat violence. One of your kind can never walk unchecked and will never be...." the pair couldn't continue their story as he had murdered them both, laughing "Looks to me like I just did!" he had said to their dead bodies.

And now he had, for real. He just had to wait a bit. Alexei stretched over his bed upon the last though, thinking of taking a short nap.

"Mr. Chernev, you have a visitor. Please report to the visitor's room." - the fat nurse's voice over the intercom in his room almost made him jump.

Heh, that was fast...
 
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"God... What am I doing here?" Cael grumbled inwardly and forked her fingers through her mess of copper-blonde hair. She was walking a few paces behind the nurse from the front desk, who had offered to show her to the visitation room. The woman was a few inches shorter than she, so she was just looking at the top of the brunette's head. Like the other nurses, she wore scrubs, which were blindingly colorful against the stark white of the walls and floor and ceiling of the hospital. There were pictures of cartoon animals on her shirt that were more suitable for a children's hospital rather than a mental one. The chipper, smiling chipmunk with wide eyes on the back of the shirt laughed at Cael and mocked her for her ignorance.

"I don't even know this guy. He could be a serial killer or a complete psycho and I came running all the way out here on a three, nearer four hours-long bus ride to meet him! I didn't tell Elle I was leaving or where I was going. I didn't even leave a note. What if something happens? No... If I'm not back tonight, surely Elle will know something is up and will call the police. She's a bit careless, but she's got some sense." She rolled her hazel-green eyes, shaking her head in irritation at her own lack of thought. Surely her roommate would call the authorities and not write it off, right?

"But what do I expect to find out from him? What do I say? If I even bring up the idea that he was staring at me through the TV, they probably won't let me leave this place. Not that the idea isn't completely insane - it is! It's totally insane! The fact that I came out here to a place I don't know to meet a guy I don't know who happens to be in a loony bin is insane! Oh GOD! What am I doing?! I've lost my mind! Maybe I should be in here." Cael dropped behind the nurse with steadily increasing distance as she stumbled to a stop in the middle of the hallway. Her eyes were fixated on the floor; the not-so-white toes of her tennis shoes looked blue against it.

"I should turn around and leave while I still can. Maybe I can just slip away without the nurse even noticing? Catch the next bus home and maybe even get back before Elle? It'll be like I never even left. But if I leave, I..." Her whirlwind of anxious thoughts came to a grinding halt as she recalled again the voice. A precarious sense of calm washed over her then; however, the expression on her face must have been horrible because she snapped out of her daze upon the sight of the nurse standing in front of her.

"Miss, are you alright?" The nurse eyed Cael strangely.

"Y-Yes! Ahem - yes, I'm fine. I'm just - I - I'm perfect... -ly fine." The young woman nearly shrieked at first, clearing her throat and stammering as she struggled to regain her composure. From the look in her eyes, it was clear the nurse thought something was up, but she merely turned and continued on down the hall, bidding the visitor to follow.

"C'mon, keep it together. You have to do this. Maybe this guy has answers and you can finally fill in the blanks." As she took up pace behind the nurse again, Cael thought back to the camping trip she couldn't really remember.

"Maybe this Mr. Chernev will know why I hear his voice in my head."

They soon came to the room, where there was a table and chairs set up. Taking a deep breath, Cael stepped in as the nurse opened the door. She had changed since that camping trip, though more in the practical sense. Once undersized and thin and awkward, she was taller and had filled out. It seemed whatever had happened agreed with her.
 
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Aleksei immediately felt her insecurity and confusion, bordering on fear, as she entered the room. He grinned, revealing two of his dog-like teeth that were unnaturally extended. As she was moving towards the table where he was sitting, he quickly hid his grin, as he had realised what was happening - he was feeding on her fear, enlarging it in the process! Alexei was quite happy that he had caught the process in the beginning - the predatory instincts which were instilled into him by his accursed captors had not had any chance to manifest for the past years that he was kept locked up in here - after all, they wouldn't allow their minions to be affected by him, that would render this prison inadequate... and yet, now he was experiencing the negative effects of that solitary confinement in a sterile, even if hostile, environment. He had still not managed to learn how to properly exert his willpower over all of the changes that were made to his character and body chemistry. A staggering discovery, of which he had not though previously and which almost forced him to reconsider his escape plan. But no... it was too late - the wheels were already in motion and he would hardly get another chance if he let this one go - he would just have to manage thing as they came along... kind of like he had always done.

"Hello there, little girl." he spoke, trying to hide his excitement over what was going to occur, however his smile was evident and his tune probably sounded kinda creepy "Well, I suppose you're no longer little, though - I guess I should call you young lady? We're not that far away age-wise anyways, so shouldn't we move on to first-name basis instead - it would save us the awkwardness. You'd have to go first, though, I... I never bothered to remember your name, sorry." he smiled guiltily in the end.

For the next part, he shot a quick glance over the area around them. He knew every inch of the place, so one look was enough to see where the two nurses were - one of them sitting next to the glass door, the other one - outside. Much like security guards, despite their lack of muscle or guns. He was certain each had a syringe at hand somewhere tucked in their clothes and they were probably both much faster than normal humans. Whatever - it would be nice to see what he could do, after all this time of his... what? mutations? changes? abilities?... being chemically-dulled. And by fun he mean there was no chance of failure.

"In fact, could you write it down for me? I believe you picked up a pencil on your way here." Those words he spoke without a smile, but the tune of his voice was enough to betray some of his intentions at least. She of all people would surely understood - after all, that's kinda how they broke free in the first place! The words were said as if to an accomplice, as if he was sharing the details of some elaborate coup d'etat plot. Hopefully the lack of paper or any other writing surface wouldn't make her hesitate - not that he was too worried about her hesitating - after all they couldn't recognise voice tunes for some reason, even if those the most blatant examples of vibration used to shape reality, which was their primary working tool.

And about the pencil? Alexei had sensed her presence in the building the second she had entered it and even if the entire ward 32 was projected as a prison for him, his mental projection had creped all over it, despite all the attempts from the others to suppress it. In a sense, the prisoner had corrupted his prison. And Cael had, obviously, not worked on any occult methods for self-defence and her mind was wide open to an experienced reader to project impulses into. Even if he wasn't at all good in this, the building amplified his latent psychic powers a lot, so he had been able to throw in the impulse of picking a single pencil into her clothes, from the nurses' lounge, immediately as she entered the hospital. Hopefully, it had been successful... hopefully...
 
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As Cael entered, so did the nurse, who occupied a chair by the door. Another nurse that Cael hadn't noticed following stood outside, almost like the security at a prison. This idea didn't comfort the blonde much and she swallowed hard, stepping cautiously towards the table at which the man in question sat. Upon sight of him, Cael's face paled, almost appearing gray with her fear. It was undoubtedly the smile that unsettled her so; although, she only caught a brief glimpse of it. Immediately she tensed, her shoulders drawing back noticeably until they ached; her hands shook by her sides.

"I knew it: He's obviously a serial killer. I'm going to die. Even with those nurses standing watch, there's no way they could do anything in time to stop him if he got it in his mind to kill me. God, how stupid am I?! How did I even make it this far into college with such dull common sense?! Why didn't I listen to mom, all those years of telling me not to speak to strangers gone to waste!" Cael's mind was reeling. If her head wasn't securely fastened, she had little doubt that it would be spinning. Or was it? No, that was just her nerves making the room heave side to side, like a ship in storm.

"U-uh.." The young lady opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a creaky, strangled sort of sound. She closed her mouth again with an audible click of her teeth. "My... name? What is that again?" Cael snapped out of her daze upon being asked to write her name down. She was aware of the scrap of paper with the ward number and Alexei's name scrawled on it still in her hand. But she didn't have a pencil. Without thought or hesitation, she found her other hand reaching for her back pocket. There she felt the pencil, and with wide eyes, she pulled it out and looked at it.

Only vaguely was she aware that she had picked it up off the receptionist's desk when she entered the hospital. There was no awareness beyond that, though. Trying to think of why she took the pencil, the only reason Cael could manage was that it was an impulse. Little did she know where, or rather who, it came from or why. She wouldn't have even second-guessed such a seemingly logical explanation as that on a normal basis, but how could Alexei possibly have known about the pencil if it was simply an impulse? Or was it like his seeing her through the television? "That's.. impossible. He couldn't have known.."

Smoothing out the crumpled piece of paper, Cael jotted down the four letters; and albeit slowly, she approached the table and set the paper and pencil down. Since she wrote it in the palm of her hand, the handwriting was messy, but the name was legible: Cael. She took only a couple of steps back and swallowed hard. The tone of the man's voice was strange, seeming to implicate some ulterior meaning that she couldn't comprehend. She tried briefly to imagine what that meaning could be to no avail. It only made her realize that there were more missing pieces to this puzzle than she initially thought and that he was at the center of it.

"What about you? Since we're apparently on a first-name basis?" Cael was surprised that she could sound so smart, even if her voice did sound terrible to her own ears. Perhaps if she could manage that, she could manage to ask the questions that were nagging away at her. But what did he mean by "first-name basis?" What he said implied that they had met before; although, it wasn't impossible. It was likely one of the things Cael couldn't remember, one of those puzzle pieces. "How is that exactly?"
 
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