Roy leaned against the shower tiles, his back heaving. He watched the blood swirl down into the drain and felt his rage boil inside of him. "NOOOO!" he bellowed, punching the shower wall, hissing at the pain he unintentionally inflicted on himself. Clickity-snick.
"MMMMMMMPPH!" he moaned through barred teeth, slinking down to the shower floor. He brought his hand back up and tried to flex it, the pain excruciating, but there was movement. Roy let out a shaky breath as he wrapped his hands around his neck.
"Why is this happening to me…?!" he whimpered.
He watched the blood wash away from the tiles and felt his stomach twist at the memory of his retching. He had no idea how he could have barfed up all that meat—let alone all that blood! As if the sheer horror of it all weren't enough, the policemen had stormed in and tried to restrain him even more. Of course his instincts had kicked in and he tried to get away from the pain, but the officers proceeded to beat him with their clubs to subdue him to the point that they could throw him in an isolation cell.
Another two skips occurred as well.
The first was right after he was beaten; he was suddenly locked inside the cell and he had bloodied his knuckles from apparently punching the steel door repeatedly. His throat was aching and parched and he deduced that he must have screamed like hell. But still, he had no concept of time nor memory of any of these events happening, only the beating and then standing in the middle of an empty room with pained throat and knuckles.
He stayed in that room for what must have been a day, even if he had dozed off or had a lapse in that time he had remained. As his next skip occurred a few hours later and it was sunset, he found himself becoming more and more frightened of what was happening to him. There were scratches along the walls and horrid, cruel jabs were written alongside cryptic symbols and images. Most if not all of the hateful insults were directed towards himself and it was only when the officers came to tell him he was to take a shower that he came out from under his bed (which he was using as a precaution as to not attack anyone.
Roy crawled over to the corner of the shower where only his toes were sprayed with the water and he brought his knees to his chest. He wasn't about to cry but damn if he didn't feel like it.
His wet hair let down droplets of water onto his cheeks, trailing down his jaw to his chin.
Drip…
Drip…
Dri-drip…
Drip…
He sniffed loudly and wiped his face with his forearm. He stood back up and shook his hair one last time in the jet of water before turning the faucet off. He shook his head wildly, water thrown everywhere. He grabbed the towel outside on the wooden shelf. He wrapped it around his waist and ran his fingers through his bangs, squeezing the water out of them. He walked over to the sink and mirror and froze.
He let his hand drop down to his side as he headed forward towards the mirror. He leaned on the sink and stared into his own face. He furrowed his brows and felt his throat dry.
He looked as though he hadn't slept in days and the stubble grew prickly on his jawline. His eyes were red and dry and his tongue and gums were somewhat white in color. He rubbed his eyes roughly. He leaned in close to the glass and he glared at his image.
"Come on, Roy, why are you doing this…" he pondered aloud, under his breath.
"Maybe because a sorry sack of shit like you needs to learn a lesson," his reflection mouthed to the voice.
Roy jumped at the answer and hurried to ready himself for an attacker. "Who's there?" he asked, humility taking over. "Heh, you're really a dumbass, you know that, Roy?" Roy grit his teeth and stuck his head out from behind the wall to confront the rude man in the shower but paused when he saw he was all alone in the room.
"QUIT HIDING! SHOW YOURSELF, BASTARD!" Roy shouted, his voice echoing dissonantly in the shower room. "But I'm right here, dumbass." Roy whipped his head around and looked around the room frantically.
"Nope! Over here~"
Roy put his hands to his head. The alien voice was so clear and deafening. "SHUT UP!" he shouted, his voice strained.
"Oh, but that would be no fun! I haven't had the chance to talk to you yet either you asshole."
"I DON'T CARE! LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"Ah! So rude and disrespectful! One shouldn't treat themselves so cruelly, ya know."
Roy ran to the mirror and turned on the faucet. He splashed the water up onto his face and he stood gasping at the sink. His head was pounding like a jackhammer. His knees were shaking. He felt sweat glisten on his skin despite the room being chilled enough for goosebumps to form. His heart raced.
He looked up slowly at the mirror and stared into his reflection. His pupils were pulled so tightly that his irises were no longer the dull blackish tint that they usually seemed and they were now a dark blue, their straining pulling the colorful muscles tighter and tighter. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head wildly. He felt his center of gravity shift suddenly and he wobbled on his feet, holding himself up by his upper arm strength against the sink.
He felt his world swirl around him and he shut his eyes.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIII!"
"OH MY GOD!"
"NO, NO, PLEASE, STOP IT! STOP IT! GOD HAVE MERCYYYYYY!"
Roy gasped and his grip on the sink slipped, sending him down to the floor with a thud. He crawled weakly to the wall and hugged it tightly. "W-WHAT THE HELL!?" he shrieked. He looked at the room and felt his head spin as the room swirled and warped and slowly became red in tint. Screams began to echo in Roy's head as though he were in a great music hall.
"Do you like my taste in music, Roy?"
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!?" Roy cried out, pushing himself farther against the wall.
"I'm you, my friend, can't you see?"
"NO! YOU AREN'T ME!" Roy howled. He pushed himself to his feet and hobbled to the mirror again, hoping to wash his eyes clean of whatever was messing with them. He stuck his hands under the water and splashed himself with the liquid, repeating the action three or so times before freezing. He brought his hands away from his face and stared at his palms.
They were sticky and shimmering with blood. Roy gagged as he felt the fluid ooze down his face and he shoved his head under the faucet, but he sputtered and yelped as he felt warm, thick blood pour over his head. He pulled back and gazed in horror as the sink filled with the red-black substance. Roy moaned as he tried to turn the faucet off, but still the blood gushed from the pipes. The shower turned on suddenly and the floor began to flood with bile and bloodied bits.
"GOD—SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Roy screamed madly. He beat his hands against the door, but to his horror the door was gone, and he was instead beating only a tile wall. He turned his back to the wall and breathed heavily. He looked around frantically for an exit but he froze when he saw the mirror.
His reflection was staring back at him.
It smiled.
It waved.
It flipped him off as its eyes rolled back into its head and blood began dribbling out of the sockets.
"OH MY GOD OH GOD OH GOAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" Roy cried, covering his mouth. He watched in true fear as the reflection began beating on the mirror, the thumps loud and clear. The glass started to crack and shatter.
The mirror broke, shattered, and fell into the rising blood. A body fell from the mirror into the red liquid and it bubbled under the surface. It raised itself to its feet and stared deeply into Roy's soul, the mirror-like eyes piercing Roy's own.
Roy flung himself back against the wall and beat on it with greater ferocity.
"HELP ME! PLEASE, GOD, HELP!"
"Roy, Roy, Roy… You know that he gave up on you loooooooooong ago~" the copy cooed darkly.
The demon rushed out towards the man and his hands tightened on his throat.
"N-no…! Hghh…!" Roy garbled, his air being squeezed out of him. He could feel the man's grip crushing his windpipe and he kicked and pulled and bit to be free. He felt himself being lifted from the ground and he kicked his legs wildly, sending waves of blood and bits every which way. He pulled his leg back and kicked at the demon's chest, a deep 'oomph!' confirming its hit.
Roy fell to the ground, his lungs filling with hemoglobin and bile as he splashed to the tile floor. He pushed himself upwards and looked around wearily for the satanic creature, the red ooze slowly rising to his rib cage. The hair of his copy poked out from the fluid in front of him and Roy seized his opportunity.
He grabbed the ink-colored locks and pulled them upwards out of the pond. He slammed the familiar face into the tile with a crack! He pulled the head back and slammed it back into the tile. The blood ceased rising and instead began to fall back into the shower drain. The tiles began to crack and fall apart as Roy continued beating the demon against them.
"NO!MORE!GAMES!YOU!FILTHY!STINKING!PIECE!OF!PIG!SHIT!" he cursed wildly, the blood from the cracked skull splattering against him. Even as the world began to lose its red haze and the room ceased swirling, Roy beat his evil twin into the wall. Drool fell from his mouth and sweat flew through the air as he screamed. The demon of a man no longer fought back and was instead limp in Roy's grasp.
Roy held the man against the wall tightly as he tried to regain his breathing. He let the hair slip from his hands and the body fell to the now only slightly pooled floor, the blood coming only from the now dead attacker. Roy closed his eyes and gasped for breath. He turned his back to the wall and rested his head against the cool tile.
"It's over… You… Bastard…" he wheezed.
"Oh, you only think that."
Roy's eyes shot open and he stared in horror at the shattered mirror. A single piece remained and Roy's double was grinning devilishly back at him through it. Roy howled as he lunged for the glass. He grabbed the shard and yanked it out of the wall. He threw it to the ground and it shattered into tiny shards.
He stood panting, his hand sliced by the glass and feet bleeding with embedded glass and tile, as he tried to steady his racing heart rate.
"I'm still here, Roy," the voice called out.
Roy grabbed his head and screamed.
"GET OUT! GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!" He heard footsteps running toward him from down the hall and he felt his heart skip a beat in jubilation. He looked up toward the door and he smiled.
Until, that is, he saw that the body had actually been real.
He stared at the dead man and dread began to chill him to the bone. He hadn't killed his evil other self…
He had killed an officer.
He had bashed in his brains.
He murdered him.
Roy's heart quickened its pace and he could feel his lungs thicken with air, which weighed him down like lead. He could barely stand any longer and he slumped down to the floor and sat staring at the body. "You really did a number on him, Roy! I'm very impressed!" Roy whimpered and held his arms to his head, trying to block out the insidious voice.
His breaths shuddered and he felt himself finally give in to his emotions. Tears welled over his lids and down his blood-splattered face and he let himself fall to his side. The glass cut deep into his skin, the stinging only adding to the torment Roy found himself thrown into. He could hear the horrified gasps of the other officers and he felt his jaw quiver. He could no longer hold back his cries and gave in to the call.
He wailed, so loud that it echoed throughout the rest of the building, and so terribly that his body shook with pure emotion. The policemen ran toward him with Billy clubs ready, but Roy was so broken that he could not so much as raise his arms in defense when the blows rained down upon him.
He cried out at the dead body of the man who's life he unknowingly ended.
He cried out at the painful blows he felt rain against his naked body.
A defining blow hit him across his skull and then, like the snapping of twig, Roy was out cold.
Roy groaned, his eyes still squeezed shut. His lungs ached and his mind was reeling at his regained consciousness. Opening one eye, Roy looked out upon his surroundings.
He was moving.
Backwards.
On his back.
Through a brightly-lit hallway.
He closed his eye and he tried to wade his way back into intelligent thought.
I'm… Moving backwards… Through a bright fucking hallway… On my back… I'm moving… WAIT—I'M MOVING!? Roy's eyes shot open and he leaned his head back to look where he was going. He found that he was bound in a uniform of some kind and he couldn't move very well in it. He looked up and saw that a rather large security officer was pulling along the dolly that Roy was strapped to with a single arm.
Roy swallowed and turned back around. He looked down at himself and saw that the uniform he was in was actually a very white, very tight, buckled jacket. His heart grew heavy as he remembered the murder and he let his head fall back against the dolly. "Oh… Oh God…" he muttered under raspy breaths. The large man looked down at Roy and frowned. "I see that that club didn't beat you enough for you to stay out longer than a day, huh, Colonel Mustang?"
Roy turned back around to look at his carrier.
"W… What do you mean…?" he asked worriedly. The man scoffed lightheartedly. "Don't take it to heart, little Roy, sometimes the best of us snap. Unfortunately, it seems you've snapped more than just a couple of times." Roy furrowed his brows in confusion. "No… I don't understand… What do you mean?" The guard did not answer and instead pulled Roy along, noticeably faster.
Roy looked to his right as they moved down the hallway, his brain still not working at 100%, and he could only watch as they passed by many a plethora of cells. Some had people, some did not, but all of them were much cleaner and barer than the prison cells Roy had seen previous. The man opened a large steel door and wheeled Roy through it before entering himself. He locked it behind himself and he proceeded to continue dragging Roy through the facility.
Things were so different already.
Almost all of the cells had people in them, and there were even some prisoners walking about, talking to each other. When Roy was wheeled past them, he could see that they were not in prison clothing, but rather, they looked to be wearing hospital attire. He still had a dull pain in his head as he tried to process this information, but yet another door was to be opened and passed through.
And as they entered the final ring of cells, Roy finally understood where he was.
He was in an insane asylum.
He hit his head against the metal cart and gritted his teeth. "Damn it…" he hissed quietly. "You finally come around to seeing where you are, Roy?" the burly man asked, his voice warm and yet stern. Roy nodded regretfully and he turned his head back to his right and watched as they passed by padded cell after padded cell after padded cell. Screams and howls of the mentally unwell chilled Roy with their hauntingly human calls. Roy felt the dolly stop and he watched as the man undid a lock, which led to a padlock, which finally led to a large metal beam that held the cell back from the rest of the world. Roy gulped as he was led into the strange cotton-covered room. He felt his body fall forward as the man undid what simple bindings had held Roy to the metal transport. He hurried back through the door with the carriage and began relocking the door.
Roy pushed himself up to his knees with his legs and forehead, his arms restrained by paradox sleeves. He looked up at the barred window of the door and he watched the man shrug sadly as he began walking off. Roy looked around his new cell.
He was alone now, save for the haunting cries of the ill-minded and the afflicted. The walls, floor, and even ceiling were padded with foam-filled cotton squares. The only light came from the door window, but it was bright enough that it lit the entire room. Roy struggled to push himself to his feet, the soft ground shifting ever so slightly with his weight. He hobbled over to the back right corner and slid down the padded wall to the ground.
He felt sick. Sick with disgust. Sick with anger. Sick with life. He rolled over to his side and then to his back. He was so very uncomfortable now with his arms bound to his sides. He moved himself backwards into the corner and he stared at the strange quilt ceiling as he felt the pain beckon him back into sleep.
Blink.
The white room faded to grey.
Blink.
Thee grey room faded to gray.
Blink.
The gray room faded to black.
