SAinNE

That night I had a terrible nightmare. There were horrible, indistinct shadows hovering above me, their hushed voices whispering words that I couldn't make out. Over and over again, I witnessed the grotesque scene in Iggy's lab. Many times I caught a glimpse of him, just standing there, observing me, before he was replaced with another horror.
After what felt like forever, I woke up. It took me several minutes to remember where I was, to realize that it had all been just a dream.
But I also remember the events of last night. That is enough to throw me back into a state of fear.
I absentmindedly scratched at my neck while contemplating all that had happened thus far. Iggy was toying with me, that was for certain. But why? Certainly if he had wanted to poison me, he would have done so by now. But if he really did want to do such a thing, why would he show me the poison? Why would he give me any reason to suspect him?
I thought back to the times where he would torture animals just for fun. That's it. He finds amusement in my suffering. A quick, sudden death is too boring for Iggy. He would rather make his prey writhe in agony before he finishes them off. That's why he showed me the poison. To cause me distress and suspicion.
But why me? His own brother? I didn't have to think long for such a question. Iggy is insane. It wouldn't matter who I am, just as long as he can find entertainment in my death.
I noticed my claws were beginning to leave red marks on my skin, and I immediately stopped. I got out of bed and made my way to the kitchen for breakfast. My stomach was growling after having so little to eat the night before, and I predicted that some food would help me think about the problem at hand.
However, when I arrived, I found Iggy there, waiting for me.
I took a deep breath before entering, knowing that I would have had to confront him sooner or later. It was as good a time as any.
"Good morning!" he called to me amiably.
I waved off his greeting and sat across from him, staring him down, scanning his face for anything that might betray what he was really thinking. He's good. He didn't look guilty in the slightest.
"Last night," I began, getting right to the point. "you tried to poison me, didn't you? Or you tried to make me think you did."
Iggy chuckled as if I had just told a clever joke, but I could see a glint in those snakelike eyes of his. "Poison you? What are you talking about? Oh-is this about EX-59? Ludwig, I'm surprised at you, jumping to conclusions so quickly. That doesn't seem like you."
I stopped for a moment, letting his words sink in. He was right. That wasn't like me. I always thought things out logically and rationally. I always thought of every possibility. But not this time. This whole ordeal...it was different. Something about it made me think hastily and illogically. Something about the possibility of death blew rationality out the window.
Or was it the poison? Could it possibly be affecting my mind without my realizing it? I knew absolutely nothing about this poison. How farfetched would it be to consider that it was tampering with my thoughts as well?
"Right..." I said slowly. Try as I might, I could not slow my thoughts to a reasonable pace, or attempt to think of any other possibility. Accusations and paranoid thoughts crept into my brain, one by one, until they were all spinning in a frenzied whirlwind.
"You need to lighten up and calm down, Ludwig." he said, pushing past me. I recoiled at his touch.
I watched him leave, carefully analyzing every movement he made, to see if his body language would give me any indication as to what his true thoughts were. As I suspected, I gained nothing from this.
Iggy is insane. Insane enough to kill me. I suppose I had always known he was that crazy, but I had refused to truly accept it. I had pushed the possibility to the back of my mind because I was too afraid of it. Too afraid that someone so heartless and cruel could truly exist. That that very person could be my own brother.
I have a memory of when Iggy was little, barely five years old. I had been sitting alone with him in our father's study, a place he rarely visited himself, but always forbade us from entering. I had found my way in there several times, motivated by curiosity, and driven to return by the countless dusty old books that had never been read.
Iggy, at that age, was inquisitive and followed me like my own shadow. Although I never spoke to him much, he insisted on going wherever I went, watching and observing whatever I did. The same applied to whenever I visited the study. However, he would grow bored of watching me read books after some time and would begin messing around with other things.
One particular day, I found myself reading an interesting novel while Iggy tinkered with various pieces of machinery and such. He had been making quite a racket, and when the noises paused for a moment, I took the opportunity to warn him that he was trying my patience. Any words I had planned to utter were caught in my throat as soon as I saw the object in his hand.
It was a gun. It was crude, but the shape, the design, was unmistakable. He held it firmly in one hand, the barrel pointed at me. His hand was not shaking. It was as still as one with the intent of killing would hold one.
He grinned at me as if this was all a big joke, and I saw his finger gently squeeze the trigger ever so slightly. My face must have been frozen in terror.
"BANG!"
I winced, but the sound had come from Iggy's lips. I opened my eyes to see him giggling. Then he simply grabbed his tools and began to disassemble the weapon.
I took a deep breath, the memory still fresh in my mind after so many years, as if it had just happened yesterday. Iggy could not be trusted. He had to be up to something.

7Z7Z7Z7

I planned to sneak into Iggy's lab. Although he never seemed to mind if I was in there or not, I predicted that the actions I would take would not please Iggy in the slightest.
I waited several hours until everybody was asleep for the night. I, myself, lay in my bed until I was sure nobody else was awake. I never felt my eyes droop. There was absolutely no way I could sleep with so much to think about.
I left my room and made my way to Iggy's lab. On the way, I decided to make a detour to Iggy's room. Opening the door just a crack, I was able to spot his form snoring away peacefully. Satisfied, I closed the door quietly and continued to my destination.
I carefully walked into the lab, not daring to turn on the lights in case anybody may see them and suspect something. I felt my way through the lab and grabbed the key to the door at the back and unlocked it, just now noticing how sweaty my palms were.
I pushed open the door to find the same chill as last time, now joined by a suffocating darkness. I flipped on the lights, too unnerved to continue in the darkness.
The cage with the rats was gone. This I had suspected, but I couldn't help wondering just what Iggy had done with them. I quickly pushed the thought from my head. I probably didn't want to know.
I stood before the safe that held the lethal poison, EX-59. I remembered the combination Iggy had used to open the safe, burned it into my memory as soon as I had seen him punch it in. That was not the issue. My problem was what was on the other side.
Did I really want to open it? Of course I did. But would it still be there, that hefty container carrying the unknown substance? Somehow this thought scared me. I assumed that if it was still there, than that meant that Iggy was innocent and that I had just been jumping to conclusions. But if it was missing...
I took a shaky breath, trying to calm my racing heart. I forced myself to input the passcode. I pulled the safe open and peered inside.
The container was still there. For a brief moment, relief flooded through me, but then another thought froze me.
What was really inside that container? Automatically, I grabbed the large metal cylinder and held it in my hands, staring at it in wonder. What was this secret substance that Iggy had teased me with? What was in this that proved deadly enough to create that horrible mess I had witnessed? What was this poison?
I could not stop myself from what happened next. The curiosity had grown to an unbearable level. I had to know what it was. I had to understand. I felt as if I would rather die than not know. Whatever was inside, I had to see it.

With trembling hands, I hastily unscrewed the lid and opened the container.