A/N: So this is my first ever fanfic...
A HUGE thanks to Tumblr user 'erika-youknowtheangel' for helping me out with this!
It's based on a little fan theory I came up with a while back...
So enjoy.
…oOo…
Kevin had had just about enough of Lauren Mallard.
Lauren had always pushed him around, correcting him when he did not need correcting, 'helping' when help was not wanted, giving unnecessary and unwanted feedback on almost everything he says...
And she was always there, almost as if she didn't trust him to do his job. He was Strex's best employee! He should be trusted enough to run things himself!
He felt that maybe she just had too much power... Too much of anything is bad for you, even productivity. Too much productivity in a day and you'll be too tired for the next day. You, therefore,cannot reach your full productive potential. He remembered the pillow his grandmother had sold him. The one with "reach your full productive potential!" embroidered onto it... and how his 'wonderful' StrexPet had decided to tear it to shreds it with its adorable, gnashing teeth.
He sighed softly to himself in irritation, his obsidian-eyes narrowed as the green LED lights on his blood-spattered desk lit up beneath the animal intestines that were scattered on his desk. There was a knock on the window to the control booth. He looked up, being pulled from his world of thought and grinning the same wicked grin he always had. Lauren waved at him from the booth and held up two fingers.
Two minutes until he was on the air.
Kevin simply nodded and pulled his chair into his desk, putting on his headphones. He bent down and picked up a small black box that had been left under the desk for him. It had various swirling designs carved into the sides. he thought it was some kind of wood, but had never actually asked about it. throughout the pattern, there would be the occasional carving of a human tooth. the lid had an orange triangle with the letter 'S' in the middle.
It was there everyday and contained the same thing each time. A syringe containing either a sick-green liquid or a deep purple liquid. but one day it had contained a thick black ooze, one that was quite painful to inject. thankfully, that only happened once.
For as long as he could remember, he'd been the recipient of this wonderful medication from StrexCorp. It was to help him to increase his productivity and keep him cheerful and motivated. He needed to inject one syringe of this unusually productive medicine first thing in the morning, just before his show, just after his show and last thing before bed. If something went wrong during his show and the effects began to wear off, one of the interns would bring him a fresh syringe during the weather for him to inject. if he was still busy talking, the intern would then inject it for him. Just a small prick on the wrist.
Kevin remembered the day he missed a dose. He'd begun to shake and everything seemed to ache somewhat. Later, he began to have unusual and horrifying visions, like a nightmare, but just a little flash every now and again, fading as soon as they'd appeared. But this happened during his show, causing him to gasp and jerk back from the mic, even mid-sentence. He had to cut to the weather a full twenty minutes early to catch up on the missed dose. It was the next day he received the black serum.
Kevin remembered the day he missed a dose...
He didn't want that to happen again.
He opened the delicate black box and removed the small syringe from its casing, carefully taking the clear cap from the tip of the needle. He smiled. It was the purple liquid this time. It was slightly stronger than the sick-green, but nowhere near as powerful as the black ooze.
Thirty seconds until he was on the air.
he located the vein on his right wrist with ease. there was a tiny scar from the many times he had used the medication. Nothing more than a pin-prick. He gently inserted the needle and injected the liquid, instantly feeling revived and quite cheerful.
Three. Two. One.
The 'ON AIR' Light came to life, figuratively, of course. Strex had made sure it wouldn't actually come to life after the incident in Night Vale two weeks ago. They'd lost three interns to that light.
"Good afternoon, Desert bluffs!" Kevin chirped into the microphone, his sweetly sinister voice sounding as pleased as pleased could be.
He seemed to ignore his previous irritation...
No... Not ignore...
Forget.
…oOo…
Cecil had also had enough of Lauren Mallard, but also, of StrexCorp.
Lauren. Ugh. Oh, how he hated her. He never allowed this to show, of course, that could have disastrous consequences. But she was always... cheerful. More often than not, sternly cheerful.
Then there was her constant attitude towards his niece, Janice and his boyfriend, Carlos. Sweet, sweet Carlos. She also kept interrupting his broadcasts! Something he was not happy about at all. She could at least give him a few minutes notice or something...
He took a sip of his coffee which had been brought to him by the stations newest intern, whose name he cannot remember. The name badges were too expensive to re-print with different names each time they got a new intern, so they all just said 'Intern' in big bold text. She was short, she was not thin or fat, and Cecil was fairly certain that she was a she.
The 'ON AIR' sign came to life, literally. It grew four long, jagged, glass-like legs and a crack formed horizontally through the centre of its 'body'. Shards of glass and wires, still crackling with electricity, were moving around freely in it's newly made maw. The signs mouth opened and it let out a horrific screech, as several wires shot out of the gaping hole and snatched up the newest intern, wrapping around her waist and crushing her before tearing her body in two like she was nothing more than a soft bread roll (a wheat-free bread roll, of course.) before devouring each half separately. The sign then returned to its place on the wall in Cecil's studio, re-connecting its own wires to the open wires in the wall. Cecil made a quick mental note to close the door in future.
"Really?" He said, sighing. "Again? Lauren told me that Strex had this sign issue sorted out! Ugh. They can't do anything right... Like Steve Carlsberg."
He shuddered. Lauren Mallard and Steve Carlsberg... He couldn't stand either of them. He took out a piece of parchment and a makeshift 'not pen' and began to write a note to Strex, saying that the sign had claimed its fourth intern in the past month, and that the issue needs to be dealt with soon, as the sign would not be doing this if it was being properly fed by the station management. He stopped writing for a minute. They'd probably want to know the interns name...
"Oh dear," Cecil murmured to himself.
"What was that interns name? S... it started with an S... Sophie? Stephanie? Steph?"
He repeated these names along with several other female names beginning with S. It dawned on him that she had been the only intern with a name starting with S. Perfect!
"Intern S." he finally concluded, smiling and nodding to himself, proud that he had figured it out.
"Intern S. will be missed."
He stood up and closed his studio door, only taking a second to glance at the blood stains from Intern S' final moments.
He sat down at his desk and took another sip of coffee before putting on his headphones.
The 'ON AIR' sign lit up, and Cecil spoke into the Mic, his voice sounding low, calm, and maybe even a little hypnotic.
"Hello, Listeners. Before I get started, I have an announcement to make. As you all know, there have been some technical difficulties here in the station. The 'on air' sign has claimed its fourth victim. To the family of Intern S, we offer our deepest condolences... And now, the news."
…oOo…
Each hosts' separate shows went on fine. No accidents, no strange swirling vortexes opening in the studio walls, no pteranodon rampaging through the stations, everything was going great. But during the weather, each host noticed some interference in their own signal. There were flashes, of some other signal that was jamming their own. Neither of them knew what it was or where it was coming from at first...
"St-" it tried to break through.
"C-" it continued.
"Bel- ... Sm-... G-..." it was beginning to work its way through. Each host began to try to block the signal out, changing their frequency slightly to avoid it or loose it, but it didn't work.
"StrexCorp. It is everythi-" it tried again.
Kevin was confused, Cecil was outraged.
"Why would they try to put an add right in the middle of the weather?" Kevin whispered to himself.
"Not a very productive way to advertise..."
"First they take the small businesses," Cecil muttered through gritted teeth. "Then our studio... then Night Vale as a whole. That just isn't enough for them, is it... They wont be satisfied until they take everything, even the weather from our radio station! The station they already own!"
The weather on each station was abruptly ended by a very familiar voice coming over the air. A certain nagging, and overly cheerful voice.
"Hello, Listeners," Lauren Mallard said, her voice so sickly sweet you could almost hear her forced smile.
"This is Lauren Mallard, vice president of StrexCorp. I would like to take this opportunity to let you all know that-"
"Lauren?" Kevin cut across her. He looked to his left. The booth was empty. "Why aren't you here in the booth?"
"You two!?" Cecil nearly shouted, furious that his show had been interrupted by them.
Lauren chuckled before she continued.
"Boys, please, I have a very important message from StrexCorp for the listeners of the Night Vale and Desert Bluffs metropol-"
"Don't you dare," Cecil interrupted, the faint sound of a fist pounding a desk in the background. "Don't you dare try to link Night Vale with that wreck of a city!"
Kevin was shocked. Why would Cecil say that about Desert Bluffs? He remained silent.
"Cecil," Lauren's voice came across the air, cold, quiet and coated with a sickly sweet attitude that only she can pull off.
"There is no need to be rude. Now. As I was saying, StrexCorp would like to announce that there is going to be an area-wide, free medical check-up day tomorrow in the new StrexCorp facilities built in Desert Bluffs. Night Vale citizens will be taken by helicopter or bus, depending on which they fear the most, to the facilities. This service is totally free and also mandatory.
So be sure to clear your schedules for tomorrow."
she paused slightly before going on.
"and every day after then. You Will be informed when you may re-fill your schedules with necessary and productive activities."
"Indefinite time off work?" Kevin said, confused.
"but that isn't very productive, Lauren!"
"Well, Kev,"
there was a soft growl from Kevin. Lauren did not correct herself.
"You see, if people are sick, they cannot be productive. That lack of productivity can also spread to other workers. StrexCorp simply wants to force- I mean, help everyone feel better... Even emotionally... even spiritually... everyone in the Night Vale and Desert Bluffs metropolitan area is mandated to attend. Even you two will have to go for your checkups."
she laughed a little. it sounded light-hearted, but Cecil and Kevin knew it was nothing of the sort.
"Anyway, I'll leave you two to your shows. I'll return to the studio soon, Kev. I think I have something that belongs to you." she said, speaking a little slower towards the end.
And just like that.
She was gone.
Neither host could hear the other anymore and neither could their listeners.
…oOo…
"Night Vale," Cecil said quietly, gravely. Someone walked into the studio behind him. He paid no notice.
"I do not know what we will face in those facilities tomorrow... but I know that it is not to be tru-" he suddenly stopped, very quickly contradicting himself as the person who had entered not moments ago, held a gun to Cecil's left temple.
"not to be mistrusted. I'm sure everything is fine! After all, a free medical check up will save us all some money!"
the gun was lowered from Cecil's head and the StrexWorker left.
"and with that, I leave you.
stay tuned next for Koalas casually chewing on Eucalyptus leaves, firing assault rifles and then chirping.
Goodnight, Night Vale.
Goodnight..."
…oOo…
Kevin had simply ended his show there. He wanted to get out of the station. But he didn't move from his spot. He looked down at the black box by his feet. He shouldn't feel worried. The medication was designed to make sure of that... maybe he needed a pick-me-up dose. Yeah. That's probably all. He finished typing an e-mail he had on his phone. Oddly enough, it was for Cecil. He sent the e-mail and put his phone in his pocket.
He heard clicking footsteps approaching. The door to the studio was opened and Lauren stepped inside, holding a box, like the one currently by his feet, only this one was Silver.
"Hello again, Kev!" she said, cheerfully.
Kevin's 'smile' faltered for a second.
Anger.
"I told you not to call me Kev, Lauren!" he snapped.
Lauren's cheerful façade vanished. She held the silver box in one hand and closed the studio door with the other, locking it.
"Now, Kev," she said, quietly, sternly. "That is no way for a StrexCorp representative to act!"
She almost sounded like an angry mother scolding her child, only with more hatred. No... A total absence of love.
Kevin felt himself tense as Lauren opened the box, grinning. He had never seen her grin quite like that. It was cold, uncaring, even cruel.
Lauren reached inside and pulled out an unusual metallic collar. it had a hinge at the back and a clip at the front with a circular yellow light, currently switched off. A small red LED was beside it. Around the inside of the collar, were several needles. Not thick by any means, but they looked very strong, and unlikely to snap.
They were about 2-3cm long, if not more. but definitely no longer than 4cm, anyway.
"StrexCorp has noticed that you haven't been as cheerful as you should be, Kev." Lauren said, her normal tone returning.
Kevin's fists clenched, but immediately unclenched when she called him Kev.
"So we decided to get you this. Call it an early birthday present. This is a StrexCollar," she smiled, stepping towards him.
"This wonderful little device will make sure you're getting the right dosages of your medication to keep you motivated. If you need a top up, it does it for you! It also has a tracking device attached, so you wont be able to get awa- to get lost," she quickly corrected herself.
"like if you get caught outside in a sandstorm or a pack of wild dogs tries to take you away..."
"Why thank you, Lauren." Kevin grinned, his black eyes seemed to glisten slightly.
"That's very thoughtful! Am I the only one getting one of these?"
"Right now, yes. But don't worry. Soon all StrexWorkers will either be taking their medicine like they should, or have one of these if they're particularly productive and mightn't have time to take it themselves. Even those folks in Night Vale... and that other radio host. Cecil... what was his last name?" she said, more to herself than anyone.
"Palmer." Kevin replied, still grinning. his grin seemed to be a permanent feature of his. It was quite unnerving until you got used to it.
IF you got used to it.
Some people never got the chance.
Like the Shawns from sales in Night Vale...
"Ah yes, Cecil Palmer." Lauren repeated.
"Thank you, Kev."
Kevin's eye twitched ever-so-slightly, only making the manic grin look more deranged.
"Lauren, I've asked you before, and I did ask you nicely, both verbally and in written form through StrexCorp," he said, his voice suddenly growing soft, but harsh.
"Do not. Call me 'Kev.' I'm not fond of that nickname..."
Lauren smirked a little. Kevin didn't know half of what the collar she held in her hands could do. She decided to test him. See how far he could stretch before he'd snap. Not very far, she guessed.
"Oh, but it suits you so well, Kev! 'Kevin' just seems so formal! we're all friends here at StrexCorp, after all! it seems only right to call you /Kev/."
she didn't get to say anymore.
Kevin stood, picking up the closest thing at hand and throwing it at her. It had happened to be a mug with sunflowers painted onto it. He'd liked that mug. oh well. Lauren stepped back, having been missed by the mug which had smashed against the wall behind her. Kevin leapt at her, but she quickly clamped the collar shut around his neck. once closed, the needles had stuck themselves into his neck. He yelped and seemed to growl slightly, his jagged teeth, like an abandoned graveyard, bared. For the first time he could remember, he felt anger. true anger. but Lauren just smirked calmly. She had nothing to worry about.
"DO NOT," Kevin shouted. The yellow light came on. the red LED beside it began to flash. The collar could tell he badly needed a dose... and a pretty big one, too. Anger is far from productivity, after all. The collar instantly knew what was to be done, and began to push a yellow liquid through the needles embedded in Kevin's neck.
"CALL.. Me..." He slowed and lowered his voice, not threateningly. Drowsily. His whole body felt heavy, a thick lethargy pinning him down. He fought against it, but just then, he didn't want to. Everything felt warm. Fuzzy. Hazy. Like he'd been barely woken from a long nap. The kind of drowsiness that makes you want to curl up and allow it to wash over you, so you may fall asleep once more.
and that's just what happened.
His eyes closed and his knees buckled. He collapsed to the floor, a crunching sound could be heard as his head came into contact with the human teeth scattered on the floor. It had definitely been the teeth that crunched. Lauren hadn't bothered to catch him. whether he was asleep or unconscious was uncertain, but Lauren knew he'd be awake soon. She picked up the silver box that she had dropped and left the room, closing the door behind her, leaving Kevin by himself.
…oOo…
Cecil was about to leave the radio station when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and saw that he'd been sent an email. He opened it, at first assuming it was from Carlos or the sheriff's secret police, but it wasn't from either of them.
It was from Kevin.
He hesitated before reading it, but eventually decided that he might as well.
Cecil-
Something's wrong here. In Night Vale, in Desert Bluffs... Strex isn't what I thought
Cecil, I'm not happy. I never was. They've done something to me. But I can't remember or place what or when or how it happened. I keep having dreams of Night Vale. But when I do remember anything, I get another dose of this "happy" medication.
The high is great by the way, it's really addicting.
But that's besides the point.
Lauren, that... that cruel, 'happy' Lauren.. She's been planning this all along. For me. For especially you.
Please, I'm not asking for forgiveness on what I did or said before, I'm asking for your help. For an ally. I will see you soon. It's only a matter of time before they ruin us all. I'm not sure how much longer I have before I'm caught. I don't know if I can fight once they have me under once again and I apologise in advance for anything I do because it's not really me. Please remember that. And please remember for me because I'm not sure how much longer I can hang on to the past.
Lauren.
She's coming. I must go. Before she sees this. I will talk to you later. Hopefully you can help me on this.
~Kevin.
P.s. I honestly don't know where the scientist went. I'm sorry. I would tell you if I could. I don't know how it works. I'll help you find him though, if you wish, and if you will let me. Goodbye, dear friend.
Cecil was shocked. Kevin, twisted Kevin, who always seemed so... "cheerful", was asking to form an alliance with him. This medication he mentioned didn't sound too good either... they'd be able to see each other tomorrow to talk about it anyway... He decided against replying to him through email, incase either of them were caught because of it. He was surprised that Kevin's email had gotten through to him at all. But none of that mattered right now. He had enough to worry about without this bothering him too... Carlos had been missing for a while now... and he missed him. Oh, how he missed his perfectly imperfect scientist. Cecil got into his car and drove home, turning on the radio to take his mind off of everything. The sounds of koalas filling the air around him as he made his way back to his small apartment.
A/N: This is just Chapter one! There'll be more. I'm not sure how many more there'll be, or when they'll be uploaded, as writers block can strike at any time, but there will definitely be more to this.
Kevin's email was written by the fabulously talented tumblr user, 'erica-youknowtheangel'!
Thanks again!