Rudy was glad that he was feeling better. The cold he had the other day wasn't too bad, but it prevented him from going to school and from going into ChalkZone. He had wanted to speak to Snap more about what was going on with him. He and Penny had tried, in vain, to get him to talk more, but there hadn't been much progress with him.
It saddened and worried him. Snap was usually more talkative than this. He wouldn't hide things from his friends like this. If he was upset, he'd let them know it. For him to suddenly stop talking..it had to be something serious. And it disappointed him that he couldn't talk to him more today. At least Penny was well and she could go speak with him. He hoped that she would make some progress with him.
When he finally got to talk to Penny again earlier that day, he was happy to hear that Penny was able to get something out of their friend. It hadn't been easy and Snap was still being reluctant. When Penny detailed him swiping her hand away, Rudy felt a little angry with Snap. After all, Penny had just been trying to help. He didn't need to push her away like that.
He also wasn't happy when Penny mentioned that Snap just wandered into class and was acting so carelessly. Snap knows better than to just walk into the real world like that, and he knows how he should behave when in the real world to avoid suspicion. It didn't help that Snap deliberately started a fight with Reggie and that just wasn't like him. While he understands Snap is upset about something, he felt he should have controlled himself more. He could have made things a whole lot worse for himself.
His anger disappeared when Penny said she noticed a bruise on Snap's face. When she had asked about it, he said that someone had attacked him. He hadn't said who it was, but the fact that someone was hurting Snap made Rudy angry. And if he hadn't been telling them this...more had to have been done to him than just being punched. Whoever did this to him, they must have been threatening him and forcing him to stay quiet. That would of frustrated Snap and also make him afraid, thus accounting for his behavior towards them. He hadn't meant to be this way. He was just scared and confused.
Then things got worse. Penny mentioned that, when she was with Snap the other night, before she had to go back home, she had noticed a cut on Snap's hand. It didn't look too bad, but it was enough to unsettle the two children. Someone had sliced Snap's hand open. Suddenly, the situation had gotten worse. Whoever was hurting him...they had to be stopped. Snap didn't deserve getting hurt like that. Somehow, they had to figure out who was hurting him and take actions against that person. Rudy was not going to allow his best friend get hurt day by day like that.
Since he was feeling better today, he wanted to go into ChalkZone with Penny and talk to Snap about what was going on. Maybe, now that they know he was being hurt, he'd be more willing to talk to them. They were his best friends. Surely he would trust them enough to talk to them. It wasn't like he could lie anymore and say nothing was wrong. The bruise and the cut were proof that something was wrong.
Rudy narrowed his eyes. He tried to think of who hurt Snap. There were some bullies in ChalkZone that might have done something to him. There was Butch, that motorcycle creepazoid that ran over Snap during Penny's first visit. He might have done something to Snap. He wouldn't doubt it. He had no qualms about running him over with a motorcycle; Snap could have gotten hurt worse than he was. There was also Bullynerd, which he had drawn when he was eight years old, on the same day as he drew Snap. Because he was created as an archenemy for Snap, it would make sense that Bullynerd would be the one to hurt Snap. Rudy felt a pang of guilt as he thought about this. If he had known about ChalkZone, he would have handled Bullynerd differently.
A lightbulb popped up in his head. The thought of Bullynerd made him remember when Penny had said about Snap's behavior towards Reggie. He had seemed...more challenging to him. Maybe he was angry with Reggie because...because Bullynerd was the one who hurt him. It started to make sense now. That would explain why Snap was so willing to challenge him to a fight, why he had spoke to him the way he had. Bullynerd was the one who attacked Snap. Why that...that jerk... How dare he hurt Snap that way...
He would take care of things as soon as possible. Once he goes into ChalkZone, after the chat with Snap, he would make sure that Bullynerd doesn't hurt Snap again. He would have a word with him, or at least, try. Bullynerd didn't like him either, so getting him to do anything was going to be a problem. Still, he was not going to allow him to keep hurting his friend. He had to be stopped.
He hoped that, after Bullynerd was taken care of, that Snap would return to his original personality. It hurt him and Penny to see him a little more closed off than usual. Even though he acted like he was having fun, smiled and laughed, he couldn't help but sense a bit of fakeness in it. He wasn't able to pinpoint it before, but knowing what he does now, it all added up. He was trying so hard to be happy again. Poor Snap... Yeah, he would see to it that Bullynerd leaves him alone. He wasn't sure yet how he would stop him, but for Snap, he was willing to give it a try.
He heard knocking on the door, then the creak of it opening. He looked over and he saw Penny. He smiled at her and waved for her to come into the room with him. She shut the door behind her and walked up to him. Rudy got up from the window ledge to greet her.
"Hello, Penny." Rudy said.
"Hi, Rudy." Penny replied. She looked at him up and down. "You look better today."
Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah. I felt better when I woke up this morning. It was a pretty minor cold."
Penny nodded. She then looked over at the portal. Her smile faded, replaced with a look of concern. "I hope Snap will be willing to talk to us."
Rudy looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sure he will. He knows that he can't hide anything now. We know what's going on; all we has to do is tell us who did it and we can go from there."
"Yeah, you're right." Penny said. "Come on, we should talk to him soon. School starts soon."
He knew she was right. They didn't have a large window of time to talk to their friend before they had to go to school. He was confident that, since Snap understands that they know he's being hurt, he'd be more willing to cooperate. He believed that, before they went to school that day, they would have a name of who was hurting their friend. His bet was on Bullynerd, but there were others, such as Butch and Boorat, who, far as he knows, is no longer frozen like a statue.
He got out his magic chalk and opened up a portal on his chalkboard. He headed into ChalkZone, Penny following close behind. As usual, Snap was there waiting for them like he always did. They were surprised when they noticed he didn't look quite so happy. Rudy wondered if something else had happened to him, or if he was frightened that he was going to be attacked again. Poor Snap... He would be sure he stayed safe.
The two of them ran up to greet him. He didn't smile at them at first. It took him a few seconds to do so. He gave a small smile and waved quickly at them. Then he just kind of stood there, like he expected them to talk first. This was not like Snap. He would be talking right about now. It boiled Rudy's blood knowing that Snap was acting this way because of what some bully was doing to him.
"Hey Snap." Rudy said, being the first one to talk. He stopped about two feet away from Snap. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"
Snap raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I'm fine. Why?"
Rudy looked over at Penny. Then he looked back towards Snap. "Well, Penny said that you were...being hurt. Is that true?"
At first, Snap looked confused. This perplexed Rudy. Why would he be confused about something that was happening to him? Snap certainly wasn't a very forgetful zoner. It wouldn't be like him to be absent-minded about his own body being hurt.
Snap did seem to remember a few seconds later, though. His eyes brightened a little in realization. He quickly nodded his head to Rudy, confirming what Penny had told him. Although Snap didn't say a word yet, which confused Rudy, he did notice the marks that Penny mentioned. The bruise on his face, the purple mark that he could see from over here. It was a little larger than he expected, though it could have been much worse. Then there was the cut on his hand, which he could see a little bit of from here. The sight of it made Rudy wince. Just how long it was, and the dark red scabbing... He was grateful that it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Rudy and Penny knew they didn't have a lot of time. They knew that, if they wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on, they had to ask Snap now, and try to get him to answer, before it was time to head to school. Rudy didn't want to wait until recess to try again. No, Snap was going to tell him who attacked him, and he was going to do it now so he and Penny could help fix it.
"Snap, I know you are scared.." Rudy said. Snap looked over at him. "But we need you to tell us who hurt you."
"If you tell us, we can help you better." Penny said. She took a step towards Snap. "Please, tell us who attacked you."
Snap stared at them. He didn't attempt to answer at first. Rudy and Penny were worried that he wasn't going to answer at all. He just looked at them, his mouth pressed firmly shut. It must be hard for him to even speak the name of his attacker. Just how badly was he being hurt? Was there even more going on than they realize?
Seeing Snap not answer them was heartbreaking. He wouldn't be the kind of zoner to keep everything in. He let everyone know how he felt. To know that someone hurt him so much that he wouldn't even speak to them..it was an uncomfortable feeling. It told them that something really was wrong with their friend. It confirmed to them that something serious was going on. If only he would just answer them...they could do something to fix things. They could help him feel better. Why won't he talk to them?
To their relief, this time, Snap did not stay quiet or still for long. This time, he opened his mouth to reply, and, unlike before, it was not an attempt to cover up. It wasn't an attempt to say everything was fine. At least, he seemed to be more willing to cooperate.
"It was Boorat." Snap said in a low voice.
Rudy was surprised. Yeah he had suspected Boorat of possibly being the culprit. But he would have thought, for certain, it was Bullynerd as it best explained Snap's behavior towards Reggie. After all, Bullynerd was, more or less, a chalk minotaur version of Reggie. But Snap wasn't one to lie, and Rudy had been wrong about stuff before.
"Boorat?" Penny said, her eyes wide with surprise. "He's the one who hurt you?"
Snap nodded. He lowered his head, his face contorting a little in sadness. "Yeah... He's still angry at me. He's been 'teaching me a lesson' for days now." He took in a shaky breath. They thought they could see a hint of tears in his eyes. "I don't know why he insists on hurting me every day. But he..he won't leave me alone..." He looked up at the two children. "He said he would...k-kill you guys if I told you about what was going on."
Rudy and Penny were horrified by this. They knew Boorat was bad news. They knew how vicious he could be. But they had no idea that they would go that far. They didn't know that he was willing to go as far as to kill them just to teach Snap a lesson. Now, more than ever, Snap's behavior was making a lot of sense. He wasn't just scared for himself. He was scared for them. Their lives had been threatened by this orange-haired rat zoner. He was worried that, if he let it slip out what was going on, he would hurt them. Poor Snap... No wonder he had been so adament about not telling them what happened to him.
Penny went over to Snap and lowered herself a little. She put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him with sympathy. "Don't worry, Snap. He won't be able to get to you. We'll take care of him."
Rudy nodded. He came over and smiled down at his friend. "He won't hurt you again. We'll see to it."
Snap stared at them. He rubbed his eyes, probably wiping away his tears. Then he smiled gratefully at them. "Thanks. I...really appreciate it."
Rudy smiled back at him. He was happy that they finally got somewhere with Snap. He was glad that they figured out what had happened and now they could take care of it. All they had to do now was find Boorat during recess or whenever else they had time to head into ChalkZone. Rudy wasn't sure how he was going to stop Boorat from going after him. He would find a way though. For Snap, he would find a way.
sss
Snap was feeling horrible. He never thought he could feel this bad. He never thought that, someday, he would be laying on the ground like this, unable to really move much. He couldn't even close his eyes to get to sleep. He was tired as heck, but he just could not get to sleep.
How could he sleep? It was impossible, with the way he was right now. He was laying on his stomach, his head facing the cage door. His eyes were shut; he felt too weak to really open them right now. But his brain was not letting him drift off to sleep. His body, it was erupting in pain. So much pain...everywhere... His arms hurt so bad, feeling like they were on fire. His foot was tormenting him. His slashed ankle was causing problems. His neck hurt and his head hurt. It all hurt him, preventing him from sleeping.
His mind felt like it was being torn. It wanted to rest. It wanted to sleep. It was craving it; real sleep that is, not just being passed out from the pain. He wanted to curl up in his bed and head off into dreamland. But as he was right now, that was not going to happen. He..he couldn't even move save for his left leg, and who knows how long that would be. He could barely move his right leg due to the tendon being cut, and his arms were so badly sliced up that any movement sent shockwaves of pain through them.
In short, he was absolutely miserable. Pain radiating off his body from many locatiosn. It still felt like his ear was bleeding, even though the blood stopped flowing about two hours ago. He really wanted to move. He wanted to shift himself, stand up, do something. He wanted to try to stand up. But here he lay, motionless on the ground. There was nothing he could do about it. He was stuck like this.
He felt so weak. Even if the pain didn't stop him from moving, the weakness he felt in his body would. He wasn't being fed properly. The food that he ate...it was rotten. His body was not getting a lot of nutrients from it. He felt a lot of his strength leave him already, his body reacting like he were starving, which might as well have been the case. His body trembled not just from pain and fear, but from hunger. He wanted food...real food... And real water, too, not the tainted stuff that Vice had been forcing him to drink.
And the sickness... He knew it was going to happen sooner or later. He was not surprised, when he woke up, that he realized, eventually, that he was sick. It was only mild at first. A small headache, a slight chill indicating fever. There was also a nauseous feeling in his stomach. It didn't seem like much, but Snap knew better. This was just the beginning. If he kept being fed rotten food, if he kept being denied access to proper sustainence, he was going to get so much worse.
And he knew that is exactly what Vice wanted. She knew that she was feeding him rotten food. He knew, without a doubt, that she was doing it to keep him weak. She wanted him to lose strength so he could be easier to control. Even now, he was already so incapacitated, he could not fight back at all when she had come before to feed him. And for her to use the shot again despite him already being in too much pain to move...that was just cruel..just what he would have expected from her.
He wished Rudy and Penny would get here. There was still a part of him that told him they weren't coming, whether it be because they didn't care or they would never find out. The pain was still messing with him, but Snap was doing a better job now at controlling that fear, trying his best not to allow his pain to mess with him like that.
Still, he didn't know if he would be rescued by this point. It hadn't been terribly long. A couple days. But it felt like he had been here for much longer than that. And he had suffered so much during his stay here. He had lost strength. He was in constant agony. His body was being ripped up. He was getting sick. If his friends didn't realize what was going on, and quickly...he...he wasn't going to make it. It terrified him to think of that, but there was a chance that he wasn't going to make it out of this alive.
It wasn't just him he was worried about. His friends were in danger, too. Through the hazy mist created by the pain he felt, thoughts ran through his head of what could happen to his friends. He knew that Vice wanted to kill them after their use was served. He knew that Sol was probably going to be the one to do that. And there was nothing Snap could do to warn them. He hated feeling helpless. He hated knowing what was going to happen to his friends and not being able to do something about it...
He hoped that they would figure it out in time. He hoped that, by some miracle, they realize that Sol was an imposter and stop him and then, if it wasn't too late, come and find him. Though a part of him, a more cynical part, doubted that things would turn out this way, he did have hope that, somehow, his friends just might figure things out in time.
He heard the cage door open up. Unable to move, he couldn't lift up his head to see. He struggled to open his eyes. He finally managed it as he heard, with his working left ear, footsteps heading towards him. The slight clop to them told him it was Vice. And when he opened up his eyes at last, just halfway, he got the confirmation. She was making her way towards him. Slowly, deliberately. There was a smile on her face, one that clearly indicated she had something particularly nasty in mind.
Snap's body trembled in fear. He wanted to tell her to go away. He wanted to beg with her, plead with her, to leave him alone. But he was still in too much pain to speak. Oh how he tried...how he tried... He wanted to get away from her. The pain and weakness preveted him from moving. He was completely helpless, unable to get out of the way as Vice continued to come towards him, taking her time, deliberately drawing it out just to watch him squirm.
He whimpered and cried as she got closer. Why did he have to do this to him? Why did she have to hurt him so much? Hadn't she done enough damage to him? Hadn't she terrified him enough? What was the point of all this? What was the point of her attacking him like she was? He wished that she would leave him alone. He wished she would give him some solace, some break from the pain. But above all, he wished that she would just let him go already. He..he just just wanted to go home... He wanted to go home...
Soon, Vice was upon him. She smiled down at his trembling form, looking pleased with how scared he was. She knelt down beside him. She reached down and pressed her hoof hand against his chin. She pushed on it, forcing him to look up at her.
"Hello, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?" Vice said.
Snap wanted to growl at her and ask her how she could even ask such a questio. But he was too frightened of her to react with such defiance. When he opend up his mouth to try to say something, he could only let out a few small whimpers. He tried again and again to speak, and eventually, he managed a response. Small, meek, but a response nonetheless.
"..no..."
Vice feigned surprise. Her ears perked up and her eyes widened a little. "No? Well that's a shame. I thought you would have slept well tonight." Snap narrowed his eyes slightly at that obvious lie. "Well I came in here to let you know that I'm going to do things a little different today. I am going to put you on the operating table earlier because I have a special guest coming in later today."
Snap whimpered softly. He managed to shake his head 'no' in protest. His body shook harder as his head swirled with horrific images of his blood splattered everywhere. Why did she have to do this to him? Why...?
Vice chuckled. She reached down and lightly ran her hoof along his head and his back. She repeated this motion a few times, petting him like he were some kind of dog. The gesture made Snap feel very frightened. He knew that, at any moment, Vice could really hurt him. He was vulnerable, unable to move much. Until he could learn to manage the pain a little better, he was frozen. Fear was making this worse. He could feel his heart racing as Vice continued to pet him. He wanted to get away. Oh how he wanted to get way.
Vice's hand went back towards his face. He felt her touch his cheek and caress it gently. She lowered herself down, putting her face close to his. Her eyes stared into his. He shuddered at the sight of them. Normally he would consider eyes like hers beautiful. But on her, with the type of person she was, it was unsettling and frightening.
"Don't worry, honey. I'm not going to do much to you." Vice said. She traced a hoof finger across his lips as she spoke to him. "I'm just going to take Sol's suggestion. You see, I really liked one of the ideas he had to do to you. I am glad he did not do it. I wanted to try it myself. I never thought of cutting someone's vocal cords before."
At this, Snap managed to let out a low cry. He tried to struggle. Fighting against the pain, he managed to move a little bit, trying to get away from Vice. No..she was not going to do that to him. No...he had to get away from her somehow. Out of desperation, he bit down on her hand, prompting her to cry out. She pulled her hand away and glared down at him, her nice facade, for a brief second, gone.
He tried to get way from her. He tried to move. He tried to crawl. He kept freezing in agony, his body continuously shaking. He started to cry harder when he realized there was no way he was going to be able to get out of the way. He couldn't do anything to prevent Vice from grabbing his throat. She lifted him up. He felt himself being raised off the ground. The hand around his throat irritated the injury there, but Vice did not care. She held him up at eye level, staring into his eyes.
He couldn't look away. No matter how hard he tried, he could not tear his eyes away from her. Those eyes...staring into his soul, clearly intending to hurt him... He couldn't get away. He began to cry harder, looking at her pleadingly. He..he didn't want to be hurt again. He didn't want to be cut again. Why couldn't she just call it a day? And why his vocal cords? Why do something so..so drastic? If he couldn't talk...
"It seems I managed to break you already. You're already so scared and frightened. I told you I was going to break you." Vice said with a smile on her face. She ran her hand from his forehead to the back of his head a few times, gently rubbing it. "But alas, I am not done with you yet. There's still so much more... Oh so much more... But don't worry. I will keep you alive for a while. I still have need for you. After all, your...blood...is required for Sol's disguise to work, and I still want to have some more fun with you."
Managing to fight back the pain enough to make another reply, Snap said, "..no..please don't hurt me..." He winced at the pain as Vice tightened her grip on his neck. He let out soft cries and whimpers.
"Let us not waste anymore time, my dear sweet child." Vice said. She put her face close to Snap's again, pressing her hand with some force against his cheek. She stared intently into his eyes, her lips pulling up in an almost psychotic grin. "Let's get this over with."
Despite Snap's attempts to protest, despite his attempts to struggle, he was not able to get himself free. He dangled helplessly in Vice's grip as she carried him out of the cage and towards the operating table. He stared at the operating table in horror, his blood still staining it in multiple places. And soon, he was upon it, his body shaking heavily. He looked at Vice pleadingly, silently begging her not to do it. But he was ignored.
As he was being strapped onto the table, the tray of sharp instruments in clear sight, Snap's mind wandered to his friends. Through his pain, he managed to remember that they were his one chance at getting out of here. He prayed they would find him in time. As Sol raised up the scalpel, all Snap could do was shut his eyes tightly and try to cope with the horrific pain he was about to feel.
sss
Boorat wasn't sure what to make of this place. He wasn't sure what to make of anything that happened lately. He was confused, uncertain. He had no idea, yesterday when he went into the Candycane Forest, that something like this was going to happen.
He hadn't expected someone to be able to impersonate Snap so well like that. He had no idea it was possible to create disguises activated by the blood of the 'victim' so to speak. It was a pretty neat idea to him, but also unnerving. The idea of constantly taking another's blood to look like them... He wasn't sure if he could go through with it himself, even if the person he took blood from happened to be someone he hated, like Snap. There was just something so...offputting about the whole thing.
He was interested to know what this impersonator, who revealed his name was Sol, was going to do. And the fact that he wanted revenge on Snap...that made things better. Boorat wanted some part of it. He wanted a little payback against the blue zoner that ruined his plans to give the magic chalk to his creators. So he had spoken to Sol a second time and the Snip had agreed to take him to where his boss was...Vice he believed he had called her.
And when Sol, on the way to the place, told him about wanting to expose ChalkZone, that just made the whole thing better. Boorat's sole purpose of being created was to help his creators expose ChalkZone. He wanted to fulfill his destiny and he hated letting them down. He felt happy knowing that two other zoners were interested in doing the same thing, in a way. He hoped he would be able to negotiate with them, perhaps strike a deal with him. Maybe get a chance to punch Snap a few times as payback.
But as he was walking down the halls of the abandoned hospital, following the directions Sol had given him to locate the room Vice was currently using, Boorat was feeling a little unsettled with this whole place.
An abandoned hospital? What kind of sick person would use such a place? Boorat was not comfortable walking around here. There was something about these places that give him the creeps, whether or not they were in use. The hospital was so worn that many walls and floors looked grey or black. And many rooms were torn apart and broken. A few areas looked cared for, but that just made the place seem creepier to the giant rat. There was something unnerving about a few clean, cared for rooms and hallways in a building that was mostly falling apart. And the smells... There was all kinds of horrible smells intermixing with his nose, messing with his head. It was hard to pinpoint what any of the smells even were.
Still, he pressed on, moving down the hallways towards where Vice was waiting for him. He tried his best to ignore the smells plaguing his nose. He tried to keep his mind focused on the potential deal, and a chance at revenge against Snap. The little blue zoner was not going to get away with what he had done to him. He would see to that.
As he turned a corner, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He tensed up, letting out a surprised yell. He whipped his head around and saw a black unicorn standing there. He stared at her for a few seconds. For a little while, there was nothing but silence between the two.
Then Boorat, upon seeing the expression on the unicorn's face, realized who this had to be.
"Are you Vice?" Boorat asked, narrowing his eyes a little.
The unicorn nodded her head. "That would be me. You must be Boorat."
Boorat nodded. He leaned in a little closer to her and sniffed her. She was covered in all sorts of smells. He couldn't pinpoint any of them, except for something faint that may have been Snap. So this was Vice. She wasn't what he had expected, honestly. Although..he had no idea what he thought she was going to look like. He noted her graceful features intermixed with the gnarly, twisted horn and the grotesque scarring on her muzzle. He briedly wondered what had happened to her, but pushed the thought aside.
Vice raised up her hoof hand and gestured for him to follow. Eager to get started with the deal making and negotations, Boorat followed close behind. He couldn't help but feel excited by the whole thing. Yeah, the hospital creeped him out, but those feelings were washed away as he thought of the potential the alliance could bring. He finally found some zoners who may be willing to be his allies to expose ChalkZone. And best of all, they had Snap in their custody, so the blue nuisance couldn't stop him this time around.
Boorat continued to follow Vice through the abandoned hospital. He took note of the damaged areas. Chipping in the walls. A few drippy places. Even a few vines throwing. This place really needed some cleaning up. He wondered why Vice didn't try doing something. If she was going to use this place regularly, why not spruce it up a bit? He also took notice of some dark stains on the walls, dirt probably, a few cobwebs form really worn out places, and some flickering lights in dimly light areas.
Soon they came to a room at the end of a long hallway. The door was open and the light was on. Vice stopped by the door way. She turned to him and smiled. She motioned with her hoof, gesturing for him to walk into the room. Boorat walked over towards her. Before he walked in, he stopped in front of Vice and looked around the room.
The room was black in color. Black floors and black walls. Unusual coloration for a hospital. Then again, it seemed to fit Vice so wall. And it still looked clean. There was a shininess that showed that it was recently cleaned, like Vice was preparing the room for something. Well in this case, she was. She was preparing to meet with him and she wanted to make a good impression. That is what Boorat felt it was anyway; he could be wrong.
He took note of a small table in the middle of the room with what looked like leather straps. It seemed odd and out of place. This is probably where they tortured Snap. He didn't see or smell any blood, but maybe she just cleaned it up so it wouldn't be a distraction. There were also multiple shelfs in the room and a computer desk in the corner. Overall, it seemed a little plain.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Vice said, her voice slightly irritated. "Go on in. We don't have all day for this."
Boorat took a few steps forward, heading into the room. He stopped, standing in the doorway. He looked all around, trying to find any sign of Snap. So far, he couldn't find him, not even a scent. Not wanting to irritate Vice more and ruin the potential deal, he continued to walk into the room. He gave her a backwards glance, staring at her with his red eyes.
"Where's Snap? Isn't this the room where you guys are keeping him?" Boorat asked as he walked further into the room.
"No it isn't." Vice said. She slowly walked through the door way and paused about an inch in front of the door. Boorat looked at her, confused. She chuckled softly. "I didn't want to do this in front of him. You see, I don't like having my...talks...in a room that still smells like blood. It's..distracting, to say the least."
Boorat stared at her for a moment. Well he supposed that made sense. He wasn't sure how well he could concentrate on speaking to her if he was constantly smelling blood. If they had been hurting Snap as much as they said, then there must be a lot of blood smells in there, and whatever else there was. So yeah, he understood why she wanted to meet with him in this room.
He turned his back to her and moved further into the room. He studied it a little more, taking note of the unique black coloration, the way it was shining with the few lights that kept it lit. He looked down at the table, wondering what it could have been used for. Then he turned his attention towards the computer. He wondered if this really was an office, or if it was something else entirely. He had never known an office to have a table like this. Then again, maybe it was a tutorial room.
That idea seemed to be likely when he noticed some papers on the wall he had noticed before. Some diagrams of anatomy. Basic stuff, considering how diverse zoners were. Blood, muscle, bone, all sorts of stuff. Yeah, he imagined that this room was used for interns. Students who were just starting out. The basic fake skeletons in the corner also seemed to support this theory. He wondered if Vice had been a medical teacher once and just quit for some reason. He didn't blame her. He hated the idea of having to keep an eye on a bunch of wild and crazy students. He'd spend half the day trying not to punch any of them out of frustration.
Well he took enough time looking around. It was time to get serious. It was time he and Vice sat down and discussed what they were going to do. He wanted to know more about her plan and what she had in mind. And he wanted to see if there was anything he could do to help. He truly felt he could be a benefit to her.
Before he could turn around to talk to her, he suddenly felt something in his shoulder. Something sharp and cold. His eyes widened in surprise. What had just happened? He barely had time to register before his legs started to grow weak. He tried to stay standing. He tried to fight back against the effects of..whatever was injected into him, but soon he had slumped on the floor.
He managed to turn his head enough to see Vice shutting and locking the door. Confusion swept over his head. What was she doing? Why was she locking the door? Why had she injected him with that stuff? Just..what was going on here?
Vice turned towards him. A smile spread across her face as she walked up to him. She stood in front of him, her arms folded behind her back. The way she was looking at him...he felt unnerved by it. He could feel his heart start to speed up a little just from the sight of her expression. There was something shining in those eyes. Something he did not like. And he knew, whatever she had planned for him, he was not going to like it.
"What...what are you doing...?" Boorat asked. His head was getting a little muggy and his vision blurred slightly. It took so much effort just to speak. "How...how are we going to...make a deal...if I'm...like this...?"
A chuckle emitted from Vice's throat. Boorat flinched weakly at how cold it sounded. If it were given towards Snap, it would be amusing. But Snap was not in this room. It was just him and Vice. And unless Vice had an imaginary friend, there was only one person she could be laughing so coldly at. And that was him.
"You are such a fool, Boorat. I never planned on negotiating with you." Vice said as she walked around him, circling him like a hawk. "You see, based on what I was able to find out about you, well...you aren't very subtle, and it's not like you were in the real world long enough to learn anything of value. Adding you on my team would have made things worse. I was not about to let my plans get ruined because you don't know how to shut your mouth."
Boorat stared at her, trying his best to move his head to follow her movements. From the tone of her voice, he knew he was not going to like where this was going.
"Though I bet you wonder why I called you here anyway. Well it's simple really. You already know about Sol and his disguise. You could have went on blabbing about it everyone unless we made a deal with you." Vice said. She continued to circle the downed rat. "True, maybe you wouldn't do that. But why take the chance? It's just not worth the risk. So, here you are. You really should have known better than to trust strangers, Boorat."
Boorat growled softly. He attempted to strike at Vice with one of his hands. But so much strength had left him already. He was unable to lift his arm off the ground. He realized she was right. He had little knowledge about Sol and Vice. He should have thought things through more. He should have learned more about them before he decided to try to talk to them. And now he just landed himself in big trouble.
It was not like how it was with Snap. The worst Snap did to him was freeze him. Yeah it was inconvenient, but at least Snap didn't hurt him. But from the way Vice was looking at him, the way she was circling him, he had a feeling that she was going to do something much worse to him that Snap ever did. He had truly bitten off more than he could chew.
Vice knelt down and, showing a surprising display of strength, lifted him off the ground. He tried to struggle against her, growling as menacingly as he could. But there was nothing stopping her from carrying him over to the table and laying him down on his back. She went to work securing his limbs against the table. The straps were thick and strong. Even if he weren't drugged, he wouldn't be able to break free.
"What are...you going to do...to me...?" Boorat asked, glaring hatefully at the unicorn, showing off his teeth. "You..will...regret doing this...I swear it!"
Vice did not look fazed. "Well you see, Boorat, there is something I have wanted to do for some time..ever since I captured Snap. But do to circumstances..I cannot do it. However, luckily I have you." Her smile darkened. "Yes...you will do nicely..."
Boorat watched as Vice walked over and pulled over a tray filled with tools. Some scalpels but some larger tools as well, including something that looked to be useful for cutting open bone. The sight of the tray caused color to leave Boorat's face, his angry expression fading away to a look of shere horror. He turned his eyes up towards her, his body starting to shake.
"I have an addiction to blood and organs and, well, anatomy in general." Vice said. "I love it. Cutting into my victims, seeing what they look like on the inside... And you know what my favorite thing to do is?" She gave Boorat a psychotic smile. "Vivisection..." Her smile broadened as Boorat's eyes widened even more. "And since I can't do it on Snap...not yet... You can help me in this way. I will get my satisfaction, my drug high if you will...from you..."
"No..let me go..." Boorat tried to protest, but Vice slipped a muzzle over him, sealing his mouth shut and silencing him. All he could do now was mumble and whimper as he saw her raise up the scalpel. He watched, in horror, as it was lowered towards his chest.
"This is going to be fantastic." Vice said, smiling evilly.
Boorat was unable to scream as he felt the shere agony of the scalpel cutting into his chest, blood pouring rapidly from the fresh wound.
