It was pitch black in the bedroom, and the owner doesn't like it pitch black. He usually has a little night light, but the bulb blew and he was too busy to buy another for it. Arthur rolls in his bed, unsettled and conscious of the entire black room. He holds back a whimper and forces his eyes to close; that just made it look darker to him. He finally sat up and turned on the table lamp beside him. Damn darkness, bloody bulb, I hate having a fear of the dark. He just sat there staring at his wall, wishing he could just sleep in the dark like most of the other adults he knew.
He sighs and turns his head, catching a glimpse of the group photo sitting on his bedside table. He smiles and reaches for it; as he grabs it, he stares at the other four men in the picture with him. Mr. Alfred F. Jones, an obnoxious, yet brilliant American scientist; Mr. Francis Bonnefoy, a perverted Frenchman who has great lab ideas; Mr. Yao Wang, the kindest and youngest looking scientist that can get anything done; and Mr. Ivan Braginski, the creepiest scientist that loves dissecting anything. Arthur shivers as he remembers the love on the Russian's face as he was cutting open a shark they found a month ago; his face was filled with enjoyment. After looking at the four men, he glanced at his own face. He had a scowl plastered on his face since Alfred had his arm raped around the Brit's shoulders. He shook his head at the silly man.
His daily job is being a scientist that does lab experiments for the government, but since they haven't had orders in a while, they've been doing whatever and taking care of the animals they experiment on. Arthur hates hurting the animals, but it was his job. He'd take care of the cats, dogs, rabbits, mice, and other animal except one; the gorilla. His face pales as he thinks about the creature he fears. He never had a good experience with gorillas; especially the one in the lab. It was years ago since the experiment gone wrong happened, but it still frightened him.
When he was a kid, he went to a zoo. His father was being his usual silly self, but when they went near the gorillas, something happened. His father had some food and was teasing the big black mass of fur; that was a bad idea. Arthur was closer to the cage bars and stared at the giant beast; when the gorilla had enough of the teasing, it went for Arthur. Usually animals are really calm, but that gorilla was new to the zoo and disliked humans since they hurt and separated him from his family. The gorilla's hand had grabbed Arthur's arm and yanked him into the bars. If his father and a fellow zoo care taker weren't there, Arthur's arm would have been ripped off.
The Brit swallowed his saliva and clenched his arm. The only thing that showed he was harmed was an imprint of the gorilla's hand on his arm; also, the beast almost broke his arm, but merely fractured it. No matter how many times he was being reassured, he still won't go anywhere near that one specific animal; only if he had to do an experiment with the gorilla. He shook his head and stood up. I won't be able to sleep now that I remembered that. He checks the clock and sighs. Might as well get ready for work; it's six in the morning. He went to his closet and set out his usual attire for work. As he gets dressed he thinks about the one gorilla in the testing lab.
He remembered it clearly, the day he first went near the beast. The gorilla was just shipped in, and it was being ever so aggressive with the scientists, especially Arthur. Alfred had showed him the new animal they could test on and also shared where it came from. "Now, this one," Alfred had pointed at the creature with a look of dislike, "this one came from a zoo." Arthur had flinched when he said "zoo". He was scared about just who the gorilla could be, but threw the thought away, saying it would be too much of a horrific coincidence for the gorilla to be the same one that terrified him. "The care takers and zoo manager said that this one was always scaring the little kids and trying to hurt them, but after the first kid got hurt, which I heard was about seventeen years ago, they placed him in a ground pit with no trees." Arthur had he could do not to freak. This…this can't be the same one. He went pale as he glanced at the sedated creature in the cage. "You know, when I heard that a kid got hurt by this gorilla, I was shocked. They said the kid was only six or something. His father upset the gorilla and it went after the kid since he was smaller and easier to get to. It almost makes me wonder, why hurt kids when it was adults that hurt it, but I think it wants to hurt the most precious thing to most adults; their kids." He chuckled as he put the clipboard under his arm. "What a smart gorilla, huh?" Arthur was paler know and looked sickly when Al glanced back at him. "Dude, are you okay?"
"I'm fine;" he lied, "just…I don't feel good right now." He quickly got out of the room and went back to his station with the cat he was testing with that day.
Arthur shivered at the less violent memory, and buttoned his last button. He looked himself over quickly in the mirror then grabbed his bag, heading out to his car. I wonder what will be the great discovery today, if we have any. He opened his car door, threw his bag in the seat next to him, started the car, and drove off to work.
As soon as he pulled into his parking spot, he was greeted by his American friend. "Iggy!" Arthur got out of the car and grabbed his bag before walking to the entrance. "You're really early today." Arthur walked into the building with Alfred behind him. "You usually come at eight." The Brit went to the elevator that went down to their lab stations and swiped his card through, putting in his code then getting on the elevator. Alfred walked on with him and glanced at his face. "Why are you so early?"
Arthur sighed, glancing at the annoying lab partner. "I could ask you the same thing." He stated. "You usually get here hours after everyone else does. You're lucky that you're bloody smart, otherwise our boss would've fired your ass years ago." His companion chuckled.
"Yeah I guess I am." Alfred turned to the elevator door and shrugged his shoulders. "I couldn't go to sleep last night so when it was three in the morning, I gave up trying and just came to work." Arthur's eyes went wide. Three in the bloody morning? Isn't he tired? "I had my coffee like always," Arthur rolled his eyes. Of course, how could I forget the only coffee drinker on our crew? "But I was still bored as hell. So when I saw your car coming in, I jetted right up here." He turned his smiling face to the Brit. "I hate being alone when it's quiet, so I was glad to see you coming in." Arthur blushed a bit and Alfred did, too, when he realized how the Brit took the sentence. "Well, I'd be happy to see any of you come in; not just you specifically." The smaller man nodded. "So, why are you here so early?"
Arthur sighed and shook his head. "Just felt like coming in earlier." It was the truth but it covered up the real reason. I needed to get out of the darkness; I needed to get away from those memories. The elevator stopped and the door opened. Arthur quickly went to his lab station and Alfred followed him. The Brit was getting annoyed; he knew the American liked to follow him when learning new things, but this time it was just annoying. "Stop following me." Alfred frowned. "Go talk with the animals or something."
"But I want to talk to you." He whined and Arthur scowled. "It's no fun being with all the animals; especially since they're agitated this morning."
Arthur set his bag down in his chair and furrowed his brows, looking at the younger man. "Agitated?" The American nodded. "Why are they all agitated?"
Alfred shrugged. "I really don't know, but if I had to guess, I believe it's because of Alistair." The Brit shivered as the name was said. Alistair is the name of the gorilla, but what makes it worse is that it's also Arthur's eldest brother's name. "He's been real quiet this morning and it's freaking me out. Usually he acts like the wild animal he is, but today he's…quiet…and he's pacing in the cage watching the door." Alfred shivered. "When I walked through the doors, his head whipped right around to see who it was; when he saw it was me, he snorted and started pacing again. It's like he's waiting for someone; making a plan for them."
Arthur went pale. He had a feeling that it was him who Alistair was waiting for, but he didn't know for sure. He knew that the gorilla remembered him because he could smell the same sent from Arthur when he was younger; also because he stared straight at the Brit intensely for the hour that Arthur was in the holding room. After that, Alistair would ram against the cage when he saw the Brit. He didn't really know why the gorilla did that when he was around; he didn't do anything to Alistair, so why was the gorilla upset at him? Arthur thought back with all the tests they did on the wild beast and remembered that all he did was stitch a cut that he got (no one else wanted to do it, so Arthur volunteered to do it even though he was also frightened of the gorilla) and give him a shot to sedate him while they worked on him. Arthur glanced away, pushing the thoughts out of his mind, and picked up some papers on his desk.
Alfred just watched him as he took a seat beside the Brit. "Hey," Arthur glanced at the man quickly then looked back at his papers, letting the American know that he's listening, "do you know who the kid was that the gorilla first attacked?" The Englishman's eyes went wide. He turned around and went to a closet, tripping over his own feet and dropping his papers. Alfred stood up and quickly went over to him. "Dude, are you all right?"
He tried to help Arthur up, but the stubborn man shoved his hand away. "I'm fine." He lied as he picked up his papers.
He stood up and brushed himself off. Alfred looked him over and saw he wasn't hurt, but he looked really tired. When the Brit's face looked up at the American's, that's when he saw the dark bags under Arthur's eyes. The shorter man went to the closet again, picking up some tubes then walked over to his table. "Hey," Alfred lightly grabbed Arthur's elbow, making the man look at him, "did you get any sleep last night?"
Arthur blinked. He didn't, but he wasn't going to make the other man worry. "Of course I did; why do you ask?" Alfred was about to answer, but a loud noise came from the doors as a certain French scientist came in.
"Arthur!" Francis shouted as he hugged the agitated Brit. "It's nice to see you in the morning Mon Cheri."
Arthur Flailed. "You always see me in the morning. Now get off of me frog!" The Frenchman frowned as he released his fellow scientist.
"Why is everyone here so early, aru?" They all glanced at the small Chinese man. "It sort of weird, aru; we never get here so early, but today we're all here in the lab, aru." Yao scanned the room for a short second then eyed the three others. "Who was here first, aru?" Alfred raised his hand like he was in school. "Second?" Arthur huffed and raised his own hand. "Then that means Francis came third, aru."
He pondered on the information and Ivan came up behind him. "We're all here, and so early, da?"
The small man next to him sighed. "I just stated that, aru." The Russian just smiled at his companion. Yao looked at the three in front of him again. "It may be weird, aru, but let's not worry about it." The small man glanced around the room again and gave a slight nod. "Let's get to work, aru, we are going to be really busy today." He turned around and headed off into his own room with Ivan following him. "Go to your own station, aru!"
Arthur chuckled at the shout and turned to the other two in his room. "I believe that's your cue to leave and start working." Alfred groaned and Francis shrugged.
"You're right." The one blonde headed for the door. "Another long day of work ahead; I wonder if today will be eventful, eh, Mon Cheri?" Francis winked at Arthur and left as the Brit shrugged himself.
I have a feeling today will be eventful, but I have no clue how. He looked at the frowning American. "Are you going to leave?" Alfred shook his head. Arthur sighed. "You need to work as well Alfred."
"I know, but I just feel like I shouldn't leave you alone." The Englishman cocked his head and the other blonde sighed. "I can't explain it; I just…have a feeling about something bad happening to you." The smaller man blinked as Alfred was leaving the room. "Be careful, Artie," he peeked over his shoulder and gave the other a smile, "try not to kill yourself while working on our projects." Arthur chuckled at the silliness, but the American was right to worry about him. Something's not right today. I know it's weird for all of us to get here early, but I just feel like something's going to happen to him; what will happen to him though? "See you later." The Brit nodded at the worried man and went straight to work.
"Today's project is going to be with…" Yao was in the front of the room, reading off a clipboard, sharing what all the scientists will do. He went paler then he already was and held in a groan, "…the gorilla, aru." The Russian merely smiled as the other three cringed. "Now I know, aru, that none of us like Alistair, but today's experiment is really important, aru." He waited for any of the men to interrupt, but none did. He continued. "We are going to test a certain virus on him; we'll be seeing if the vaccine we made will cure this horrid disease." The Chinese man stared at the others. "Is there a volunteer who will inject him with the virus?"
No one raised their hand and Arthur glanced at his partners. Are they that terrified of him? Even Ivan? He stared at the Russian and saw the man shaking slightly. Wow, even Ivan's scared. He waited a couple of more minutes before sighing. "I'll do it."
Alfred's eyes went wide as he glanced at the Brit. "Very good, aru." Yao was happy that someone volunteered; no one really likes Alistair, so they try not to volunteer, but this time, Arthur was being the brave one. "You can start as soon as you have time." The Brit nodded. "All right, aru, the conference is over; you can start working again."
Everyone stood up and headed off to their stations; everyone, but the worried senseless American. Alfred came up behind Arthur before the Brit went into the animal holding room. "Are you crazy?" Arthur glanced at the other man. "You could get hurt. Don't do it. He'll go nuts since he hates needles."
"You're telling me not to do it when no one else wants to?" Alfred couldn't help but show his feelings to the Brit. The smaller man blushed slightly. Why is he worrying over me? I can take care of myself. "Would you like to do it then?"
The American's eyes went wider. "No," he settled down a bit, concealing his feelings once again, "I'm too busy."
The older man nodded. "Then don't interrupt my own work, please." He went into the room in front of him, leaving Alfred standing there consumed in his fright and worry. Be careful Arthur. That gorilla doesn't like you much; I've noticed that he acts more savagely around you, so be careful.
As the door opened Alistair's head turned around and saw the one he was waiting for. Arthur approached the gorilla slowly, trying not to get too close too soon. Alistair just stood there, eyes fiercely staring at the Brit that came in front of the cage. "Hello Alistair." The Brit goes; he's trying not to show his fear in his voice since Alistair can sense fear. The gorilla merely huffed and waited for Arthur to open the door; he knew they were going to test on him today, but he wasn't just going to let them get away with it anymore. Arthur slowly unlocked the door by swiping a card key (all the cages are electrically opened and operated), and opened it. He was expecting Alistair to flail at him, but he just climbed out and waited to follow Arthur into the lab room. The Brit became confused. Why the sudden change? He closed the door and started heading to the lab. There is definitely something wrong today.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Hours later, Arthur finished injecting the gorilla; they were noticing the effects of the virus, and Alistair was really calm. Of course he was agitated because of the virus that was given to him, but he stayed calm through the entire thing. The other scientists with Arthur got concerned over how the gorilla wasn't acting like he usually does, and started fearing for the worst. The Brit was just standing there, watching the helpless animal that he feared shrivel with pain and dying. He knew that he wanted the thing to die, but he was feeling pity. He sighed and announced that they should cure him. The others were hesitant, so Arthur took the lead.
They cured Alistair and watched him again, seeing him get better and the virus disappearing. "We did it, aru!" The men jumped for joy at the great accomplishment, and Arthur returned Alistair to his cage.
"You did great today." He said to the animal. The gorilla snorted and laid in his cage. "I bet you're glad the vaccine worked." Alistair glared at the Brit, and showed a slight smile; a smile that crept Arthur out. The blonde shivered and stood straight. "I guess I'll leave you alone." With a final glance at the gorilla, he dashed out of the room.
He made his way back to his station, and heaved a sigh as he plopped onto his chair. He stared off into space, thinking of why he was the one stuck with the gorilla. Arthur knew that he should be celebrating like the others, but just didn't feel good. He blinked, snapping out of his thoughts, and stood. "Iggy!" He looked at the American and sighed. His friend frowned. "What's wrong?" Arthur didn't like it when the younger man was concerned about him, so he said that he was tired; it was the truth, but a lie at the same time. He was worrying over the gorilla who gave him the most evil grin he has seen, eviler than Ivan's. "Okay." Alfred frowned obviously knowing that wasn't all of it, but shoved the subject to the side as he smiled and hugged the shorter man. "We're going out to celebrate! Want to come with us?"
The American waited patiently, hoping he'd say yes, and the Brit sighed. "No thank you." He usually doesn't pass up party invites, but tonight he felt like going home. "I'm bloody tired since I didn't get much sleep," Alfred nodded, understanding his friend, "so I'm going to go home."
He shook off his lab coat and grabbed his jacket. "All right, but at least let me escort you to your car." The blue eyed blonde smiled dimly and Arthur sighed, saying he was fine and didn't need to be escorted. "Come on Iggy, we're leaving at the same time, so just let me walk you to your car." Alfred was still worried about his British friend and wanted to be by his side at all time, well as much as he could. "Please." The man begged and Arthur gave in.
"Fine! But no funny business, you hear?" The American smiled and laughed. The Brit smiled shortly, but returned to his scowl as he started heading out with an annoying man right on his heels.
Just as soon as they reached his car, he realized he forgot something. "Bullocks." He said a curse under his breath and sighed. Arthur turned to the other and frowned. "I forgot my bag."
"I'll go get it!" The self-proclaimed hero was about to rush to the lab and get it, but was stopped.
The Brit held onto the younger's arm and shook his head. "It's all right, I'll get it. The others are probably waiting for you anyway; you should head out now." The other blonde frowned, but nodded as he headed over to his hummer.
I feel like something's still not right. He stopped and turned to watch his friend walk into the building. "See you later, Iggy!" He saw the other turn and scowl as he waved and continued inside. "I hope you'll be all right." He sighed and went into his hummer, driving away with a sad, guilty, and mournful feeling taking over him.
Arthur scowled as his friend said goodbye. I'm only going to get my bag, that's all, why does he have to look worried? He paused as he remembered earlier in the day, "I feel like something bad's going to happen to you. Be careful Arthur." The Brit blushed and scoffed at his friends worry. "I'll be fine. I'll prove that by coming to that bloody party if he wants me to e there so badly." His thought process soon faded to his bag as he went down the elevator and into his office.
He searched his desk area then checked behind his cabinet. His bag had fallen behind the metal holder and he growled. "Bloody bag, such a pain in the ass." He reached for it and grabbed the handles, bringing it up and onto his chair. He went through his stuff and saw nothing was taken. He sighed. "At least everything is still in there."
He was about to grab his bag and leave, but the power went out, consuming him in the darkness. "Bloody hell!" He shouted his anger and fright. His eyes whipped from one direction to the next, trying to see anything in his room. He firmly grabbed his bag and felt his way to the door; as he opened it and went down the hall, he heard something. He stopped and listened. It sounded like a light pounding on the floor. He turned slightly since the noise came from behind him. The Brit was too confused as to what was making the noise to notice that the pounding was coming from the holding chamber towards him. Arthur tried to focus on the noise some more and realized that it wasn't pounding; it was the sound of an animal running towards him. "Shit! That's right." The bloody electric cages must be off; the animals will be free to scurry around. As soon as he connected two and two together, he became frightened. What about the bloody gorilla? Did he get out? Panic was setting in as he rushed down the hall towards the elevator.
When he turned around the corner to the elevator, he stopped in his tracks. A growl came from behind him and he knew all too well who it belonged to. "Alistair." Another growl came and Arthur sprinted to the elevator, pressing the button over and over again. Alistair sprinted as well, and the Brit's eyes started to widen. "Come on, come on, come on!" He pounded on the button. "Damn it open you bloody piece of shit!" Alistair was getting closer and Arthur put his back against the door. He stared at the moving animal and shut his eyes. He put full force onto the door, so if the doors opened, he would fall in on the floor. He started to pray for his safety and to get out with at least a few scratches and nothing else. His eyes whipped open as soon as he heard the beast leap off the floor and towards his prey. Help me. His eyes held his fear and his mouth opened even wider as he screamed. "Someone help me!"
Note: And...cliffhanger! It's been a while since i've updated or put a story up, but that's because i've been busy (that and i've run out of ideas ^^") but fear not, for i have spring break! When i'm not busy, i'll try and type some more to my other stories.
Also, I had written this story because when i went to this place i remembered a certain nightmare about gorillas. I had it when i was younger after just watching Congo, it's not a bad movie it's just the silver gorilla's were scary...so i got an idea for a story, but had a plan for it to be a slight horror or thriller, i really suck at scary things (even if i do scare my friends by appearing out of nowhere) but this was just a for fun story.
I had a really hard time deciding who the main character would be, but since i have a strong story streak with England, he wound up being the victim :( i didn't want to write a story where England would (possibly) die, but my mind wouldn't have anyone else...
So i'll stop talking now, but i'll tell you this: if you hate the cliffhanger so badly, say so and i might put another chapter up (warning: if i do, it will have two different scenarios...maybe) and remember i said "might" ;)
Thanks for reading! R&R.
