Lab C: Chapter 19 - And we're back

Director 5 hums. “What an interesting story. Thank you for the report.”

Sabine straightens up. “Thank you Director 5. C439 is certainly an interesting asset.”

Director 5 leans over. “Now, we have to talk about Dr. Grimsen. And more importantly, your boss, Dr. Red.”

Sabine smiles, nods.

John and Dr. Tesla run through more hallway like hallways compared to the massive expanses of the containment hallways. John is looking for the Special Requisitions Request room. It sits in a place that can not been seen, unless you know it’s there.

“Special requests, special requisition requests, where the fuck did they put special requisitions requests this time.”

“What are on Earth are you talking about?”

John looked to Dr. Tesla and perfectly understood his confusion.

“You’ll see it when I see it, ok?”

“Isn’t that most things?”

John nods, as this is apt.

Behind them, The Swarm chased Chuck and sometimes caught him, so he had to stay incorporeal, though would still become corporeal at times, so that he could attempt to kill The Swarm.

He was mostly unsuccessful, and when he was, they would just remake themselves, infinitely. It was the second beast, he had ever encountered, that it simply seemed that he could not kill it.

This pissed him off, so much, but he had to find John Grimsen. Because, maybe this time, he’d win. Maybe this time, he’d get his final wish.

John screeches to a halt, and makes a 90 degree turn. He runs into the wall like it’s fucking Platform 9 and 3/4s.

Dr. Tesla stops dead in his tracks and stares at the empty wall, until John’s hand reaches out and he then finds himself at the glass doors of a Green LED lit store room.

Dr. Tesla steps in and sees the walls are lined with just wild shit in it. There’s a candle in a glass case, a used Monkey Paw, a hand drill, a flame thrower, so many things, but Dr. Tesla is immediately drawn to a shotgun that is just on a table with “FREE” spray painted on it.

“Don’t grab it because it looks good” Says John. “Grab something that feels like a shield. Not a shield. Feels like a shield. You’ll know it when you feel it.”

Dr. Tesla doesn’t know what to say.

“You’re more likely to believe in the impossible, than the improbable. And if it feels like a shield then that is probably exactly what you’re gonna need at some point in the near future.”

Dr. Tesla nods, and picks up the shotgun. “Well, I don’t feel like I need a manual for this one.”

John submits a written request form to the Guard behind the counter that Dr. Tesla has just noticed. “Oh, John. You’re back. That’s so cool. How’s the misses?”

“Not this time bud, not this time.”

“Ah shucks. Always rooting for ya. Anywhose. How about this then eh? What are you thinking?”

“Well, Chuck’s out.”

“Ah…”

John nods.

“So what the fuck do you want John? I, I can’t even see half the stuff on this form. I can’t understand what I’m looking at.”

“You know those shock knuckle duster things. And I wrote down some shin pads and grieves. I also put down some impressive steel toed boots that’ll uh…” John things about it, then grabs the paper and scribbles some stuff out. He hands it back, “but those sound heavy. I can’t be heavy. No steel toed boot.”

The guard behind the counter nods, double checks the paper, “Yep, this says enough for that. Let me submit it anddddd… Alright. There we go.” He produces a duffel bag and hands it to John.

John checks its components and nods, satisfied. He says, “Alright, we can hold out here and let them both tire each other out. We’ll be able to suppress The Swarm soon and it’ll be much easier to settle down Chuck. He just has this kind of bravado but his will is just not cutting it these days. I’m wearing him down. He’ll choose to d-”

Dr. Tesla raises his hand to ask a question a during this, and the room starts to collapse the moment his body makes the decision and before he even has the thought, cause the thought to explode in intensity.

John dashes out with out a word, grabbing Dr. Tesla as he does. The door snaps from reality just as John throws Dr. Tesla out. Dr. Tesla bounces against the wall as John is stumbling forward. Dr. Tesla’s grip on the shotgun naturally points it directly into John’s chest.

John’s hand naturally pulls on the trigger just as John puts weight into it to balance himself.

-Click-

John’s eyes pop open and for a moment he sees something beautiful. Through the silence, he comes back to reality, Lily licking at his face her paws on him. He looks at her and lets out a deep breath. Then looks to Dr. Tesla and forgives him.

“You never…” he takes a relieved breath, “grabbed bullets.” He steps back and tilts his head back, relishing life. “They were deeper in the store.”

John looks towards where he believes The Swarm and Chuck are coming from and runs the other way. Dr. Tesla gets up, looks into the barrel of gun, and then pulls the trigger. He jumps, even though he just saw it was empty.

“It doesn’t come loaded?” He holds it for a second and then shakes out his body. He runs to follow John.

“Why did the store disappear John?”

“When there’s a ever a hint of doubt, it can’t exist anymore. Don’t worry about it. It’ll show up again when we need it.”

“Does it say that on some document?”

John clenches his eyes shut, accepting this new requirement. “Now it does.”

“Who do we turn that into?”

John smirks, having found a new loop of logic, “The guard behind the counter. It only appears behind we go in. So, when we get the document, it’ll be the right time for us to find it again. Does that make sense?”

John nods exaggeratedly, and Dr. Tesla nods in agreement. He believes the bit about the document but not about the timing. John does his absolute best to absolutely believe it, so that when the time comes, they’ll both be in agreement about that being what should happen. Hopefully. This is why you need the right partner.

As they run, John tries to put on the shin guards and falls to the floor, catching himself barely. “Fuck it. Better if I just put them on.” And he starts to quickly, but assuredly, checking each thing as he goes, put on each of the items he got from the special requests counter.

In front of him about 20 something feet is Lily, who yawns. He knows they’ve got time.

Dr. Tesla looks at his shotgun that says “Free” on the other side, and he flips it around to make a bat. He grips it tighter and flexes.

“Nope. That’s dumb.” John says, looking at him seriously.

“What?”

“They don’t know it isn’t loaded.”

“Well The Swarm doesn’t give a damn about guns and bullets, and I saw bullets bounce off of him from a bigger gun. So, what do you suppose?”

“Drop it. Be quicker.”

Dr. Tesla grinds his jaw, then tosses it to the floor. He does quick flexes and stretches that look smart, but are not the kinds of stretches people who run would do.

John nods, tugs on his stuff, and then slides on the fat electric knuckle dusters. He gives a body shimmy and rolls his shoulders as it activates. Lighting snaps to for but a moment from the dusters, before immediately settling into a blue hum along their unevenly spiked knuckles.

He smashes them together and they flash for they only spark for a moment.

Dr. Tesla can’t stop staring at them.

John bounces back and forth. “They had Herme’s boots in there.”

“Really?”

“Depends on how you ask.”

Dr. Tesla gets it, and nods. When that form appeared, he was ready to put something down on it. He looks around, no note. Therefore, he prayed to God, that he didn’t need anything yet.

Lily rolls onto her side and gives a big stretch, then relaxes as she watches down the hall.

They all stand at the ready and watch down the way, John because that’s where Lily is looking. Dr. Tesla because that’s where John is looking.

John has a thought. “What if we’re looking the wrong way?”

Dr. Tesla looks back and jumps. It’s nothing. That way is empty too.

Lily perks up, then looks behind to John. He looks down that way just as Chuck screams, followed by a shock wave from a sonic boom.

John and Dr. Tesla pull back. It was terrifying.

John leans over to Dr. Tesla and tells him with total certainty. “My guy can’t kill me. He can absolutely kill you. Can your thing kill me? And can it kill you?”

Dr. Tesla looks to John, and immediately says, “I have no idea.”

John tongues in the inside of his mouth and nods. “Let do it.”

Lily wanders farther down the hallway and stops about 20 feet out, sitting down like a good puppy dog.