Benefactors

Chapter 28: Frick...

August 18; 1227 HRS

Crypt HQ

I woke up to a damp, musty smell that drifted its way through my nose. Where am I?  I blinked, a dull throbbing in my head. I looked around me, the only light being on the other side of steel bars. A grey brick surrounded the other three sides of me. I picked a few pieces of straw from my face to realize my hands were still cuffed. Instead of the normal, metal kind, these glowed a turquoise color. I tried to use my super-speed to build up the momentum to break them, but all I did was a couple weak, powerless shakes. The cuffs must've neutralized my powers. I attempted to get up, only to realize my legs were chained to the wall with the same neutralizing bonds. As I made my observations, the dull throbbing in my head turned into a massive headache. I laid my head back down on the straw, trying to subdue the pain. I stared at the ceiling, wondering where I was.

My consciousness came to, but I still hadn't opened my eyes. I noticed the headache went back to a dull throb. I heard a clinking sound outside my cell and opened my eyes to look at it. A month ago, I would've freaked out, but here I was, staring calmly at a centaur. "What's up?" I asked through the steel bars. He lifted his head from what he was doing and turned to me. "Pondering why I stay here, young one." he said. I got up, struggling with the chains and went as close to the bars as they would let me. I sat down again, peering at him, "What's your name?" I asked. 

He looked at me with sad eyes and turned back to his work. "I am Chiron. I'm a prisoner here, just like you. Horkos only lets me roam free around this lab because of how useful I am with my abilities."

Chiron, I pondered. "In the myths, you have magic and healing. Is that true?" 

"In that time, people saw my healing ability as magic. I can work with any medicine and find all cures but a few."

"If you don't mind me asking. Have you ever tried to escape?"

"If I did, it would mean only death. He'd kill anyone just to find me, including my family. Even you, surprisingly."

"Why is that surprising?"

Chiron paused, unwilling to speak the words I wanted to hear. "I cannot tell you more, Horkos may be watching." he said in a quiet voice. 

I slumped my shoulders in disappointment as I looked to the camera. It blinked with a red light, showing it was on while it moved around on it's axis. A few minutes went by and the camera finally stopped and powered itself down. 

"You may want to see this." He said and went to the other side of the room.  There he grabbed a tarp hanging loosely and tugged it off to reveal a cell just like mine. That's when my eyes rested on Noah Barnes, my first real look at him since his mutation. "Chief." I murmured, my heart wrenched with desperation when I looked at him. He looked at me with dull eyes, like there was nothing intelligent behind them. His mountainous figure compared to his old self was like Dwayne Johnson compared to Steve Urkle. Granted, Steve Urkle was much funnier. 

 I noticed Chief was locked up like I was and clothed in rags, he looked utterly lost. "Can't you do anything to help him?" I pleaded Chiron. "All I can do to help him is give him my own rations. The mind serum coursing through his brain can't be counteracted except by the turquoise formula you see in your bonds. Although, even that won't do much to help him." He lowered his voice, to the point where I could barely make out his words. "What?" I asked. Chiron held up a turquoise liquid entrapped in a test tube. "It has Omnesium in it. Along with Neon, Nitrogen and other light elements. Although highly volatile, there's a good chance it can counteract any thing tampered or original versions cause. If it doesn't, well, we may have a bigger problem. Besides, it needs to enter the bloodstream and he can't take it orally or through injection. His skin's impenetrable and untreated Omnesium doesn't act too nicely when in contact with the hydrochloric acid in the stomach."

"What about inhalation?" I asked. "I'm not sure. Chief's mutated form keeps his body heat at below freezing temperatures. And with the Nitrogen in it, it could expand his lungs and kill him."

 A memory rushed through my mind "What happened to the officer and the civilian Horkos used to get me here?" I jolted. Chiron looked at me, surprise obvious in his features. "Horkos set them free. He's the master of all deals. If he was to break a deal, he'd have to step down from position and be cast to the underworld." I nodded, relieved, they're safe. I also thought back to the note I left the others, they'll be here. 

I looked back to Chief, his gaze rested on me as a zombie would. Just mindless staring. Like he was trying to figure things out but failing nonetheless. "Is he even there anymore?" I asked Chiron. "Maybe a part of him is. He'll never be the same." He answered. 

"Chiron! Open up!" Yelled a voice through a steel door on the right side of the room. Chiron rolled his eyes and grabbed a syringe filled with an odd clear agent inside. "The door's unlocked." Chiron shouted back. The door flew open anxiously as Horkos stepped inside. "I'm guessing you came for your medicine again?" Chiron asked, holding up the syringe. Horkos shook his head, walking towards Chiron in a rocky motion. "Why must you wait until the last minute?" Chiron asked him. Horkos just looked away, turning to my direction. "Because you're stubborn, you ape!" Chiron yelled, stabbing the syringe precisely into his vein. 

Horkos' state seemed to be getting better. Shakily, he got up and stomped lightly towards my cell. "What do you want from me?" I hissed, backing into my dark corner. "Your powers." he growled. "Well you can't have them, they're mine to control." I snapped back. "Precisely, which is why I'll use the same method on you that I used on your low-life boss."

Last night I'll ever remember. The dark throught protruded into my brain. 

Frick...

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HEY WATTPAD LOVERS, WRITERS, AND READERS! There you have it, will this be the last night our character will remember? I'll have to fix up the next chapter so you can find out!

BYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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