ch:10
Days had passed since Eddie and Waylon had been reunited. Waylon had been keeping a close eye on Eddie. Still fearing he would sneak away at some point to attack Artisan, or Beth. Eddie would come close to doing so. Waylon knew when Eddie would when he stood by the door. Glaring at the barn out the near by windows. To stop him, Waylon would call Eddies attention for almost anything.
Beth had become the telephone wire between Waylon and Artisan. Also doubling as their spy on Murkoff and supply gatherer. She had been telling them both that murkoff was slowly regrouping and leaving the area. This news was a surprise to both Waylon and Artisan, worrying them.
Artisan had talked to his doctor friend. Telling how Waylon had been, confined, starved, and injected with multiple narcotics. Artisan managed to get a container of strong vitamin powder mix from the doctor. Being told it would help Waylons body against the negative narcotic effects and bring his energy back.
Today was the first day Waylon was to start taking it. When Eddie asked about where it came from, Waylon lied. Explaining that Beth had it in a cupboard. If Eddie knew Artisan brought it, he would have spread it across the front lawn thinking it was poisoned. Waylon also got the idea that Eddie should be taking the mix with him. He wasn't the only one fed or injected with toxins.
Waylon let out a sigh as he opened the powder container. He looked at the smooth white powder with a feeling of nausea. Remembering murkoffs disgusting tar cement powder mush. Waylon requested Beth to be with him during this. She had been watching and helping him through the instructions. His nausea stopping him from continuing with the mix. Beth smelled the powder after the lid was popped off. Waylon not daring, being too afraid to know.
"doesint smell bad, smells like vanilla." she said, measuring two cups and putting them in a blender. Waylon just made a groaning sound of sickness as he watched. She added milk to the mix before thoroughly blending it. Once done she poured the mix into two small glasses.
"ready to take it?" she asked Waylon. He stared at the glasses silently, looking sicker then he was before.
"it wont be that bad. It'll just taste a little dry." she said, grabbing one of the glasses and taking a small spoonful of it.
Soon after taking it she made a surprised gag. turning around to spit it out in the sink. She snatched a glass near by, filling it quickly to wash her mouth out. The reaction didn't help Waylon feel any better.
"not bad." Waylon grumbled. Beth spat out more water in the sink before speaking.
"i think this batch is rotten." she coughed, looking at the cups with disgust. Waylon sighed, he knew he had to take it at some point.
"maybe if I drink it with coffee." he said, rubbing his face as he made a cup. Beth nodded as she leaned on the counter. Eddie walked in curious of the noise, first seeing the blender with left over mix.
"what is that?" he asked, raising a eye brow. The remaining mix was clumping together, looking like watery cottage cheese.
"its the vitamin powder mix we should take." Waylon said as Eddie inspected one of the cups.
"its disgusting." Beth said as she left through the back door.
"oh?" Eddie said, smelling it before gulping it down. Waylon and Beth watched in shock as Eddie drank it all with no problem. He set down the empty glass on the table.
"doesn't taste that bad." Eddie said. Waylon stared at him with a mixed feeling of confusion and curiosity.
"want coffee to help swallow it?" Waylon asked, setting his cup in front of him. Eddie took a drink of it, setting it down with no reaction. Waylon had no time to add sugar or milk. the coffee still being plain and bitter. Eddie didn't seem to notice or mention it.
" is the coffee too sweet? Ooor, anything?" Waylon asked.
"its okay." he said with a shrug.
" … can you taste anything?" Waylon asked.
" not much." Eddie said.
"you cant taste anything? Since when?" Waylon asked.
" hm, since the doctors shoved tubes down my throat. It was also hard to breath with them till they switched them with other tubes." he said. Waylon thought back to a certain file he read at mount massive. It noted that Eddie had a build up of fluid and developed rashes. It all stopped when they switched away from latex tubing. If Eddie was allergic to latex it could cause him to stop tasting.
the thought of losing taste seemed depressing. Then again, hed love not to during the Murkoff muck and at this current moment. At least one of them could drink the powder just fine. Waylon looked at his glass, swallowing down his nausea. He took a deep breath and quickly swallowed down a thick mouthful.
He covered his mouth when he gagged on the taste. It was like vinegar with a very temporary taste of vanilla at the beginning. Good thing he decided against lunch in case this happened. Although gagging, the taste was still ten times better then Murkoffs "vitamin" puree slop. Even better was the fact that it didn't settle in the stomach like concrete mixed with black tar. He took another quick chug from his glass. This time he didn't gag as badly as he did the first time. He paused before his next drink when he noticed Eddie was glaring out the window again.
" uh, do you want more vitamin mix?" Waylon asked, trying to grab Eddies attention away from the window. Eddie let out a annoyed growl when he saw Artisan walking out of the barn.
"Eddie!" Waylon snapped, demanding his attention. Eddie glared for a moment longer as he turned to walk over.
Waylon quickly poured the last bit of mix for Eddie to have. Happy that he could pull Eddies attention away from Artisan. He thought for a moment, thinking of what their next plan should be. Murkoff was disappearing from the area, which raised some red flags. Something must be coming.
"maybe their going to bomb the city." Waylon thought.
"no, that would be too stupid. Every town near by would notice it. A big smoldering crater where a town was." he thought.
"we're gonna have to try and leave while Murkoffs gone." Waylon said to Eddie while staring down at the glass in his hand. Eddies attention was snapped to Waylon.
"you can't leave, your still healing." Eddie stated.
" we have to leave, this mite be our only opportunity. Murkoffs leaving and who knows why." Waylon said, growing agitated.
"no." Eddie asserted. Waylon let out a grumble of anger.
Eddie had been treating Waylon like he was the most delicate of all china dolls. Although, Waylon probably had not helped that image. Sometimes the only way Waylon could grab Eddies attention from Artisan was to act hurt. He had been doing it at least 10 times a day sometimes.
"we cant stay here. Its not safe. What if Murkoff finds us. Ill just get worse if they catch us." Waylon said. Eddie stayed silent, seeming to be torn on what to do. Since the grenade explosion Eddie wanted to keep Waylon inside and safe. Waylons got a point though. If Murkoff did catch them, they would be separated and Waylon would suffer more then if they had just traveled.
"why do you think Murkoffs leaving?" Eddie asked, disregarding Waylons push to leave.
"i don't know and I don't want to know. They could be dropping a bomb here for all I know." Waylon spoke with aggravation showing. Eddie stopped listening after Waylons first sentence. Attention caught again on Artisan as he talked to Beth near the tree line.
"Eddie you need to pay attention! Artisans not going to do anything! just drop it already!" Waylon snapped. Eddie whipped his head around with a bitter expression.
"how could I?! Hes the one who locked me up! HE sent me to that damned lab! HES THE ONE WHO GOT YOU HURT! AND HE took-!" Eddie growled till he suddenly froze. staring ahead silently as if he remembered something important. Waylon was worried, feeling slightly scared at Eddies negative reaction. The feeling growing after Eddie froze up.
" … Eddie? … Want something to eat?" Waylon spoke quietly. Trying to get Eddie out of his thoughts. Eddies body twitched slightly when breaking his concentration.
"maybe later." Eddie spoke as he left to the living room. Waylon sighed as he finished the last mouthful of mix.
"Waylon, I saw Murkoff with a big truck pull into town." Beth said quietly to him as she entered through the kitchen back door.
"truck? Like a van truck or a semi kind of truck?" Waylon asked quietly.
"like a army cargo truck. The back container looked super enforced. Thick metal with a iron girder like frame." she said.
" cant be weapons in there. Sounds like a transport for something. They used to use cells like that for the extremely powerful patients." he said.
"that doesn't make sense though. Murkoffs really going to bring another patient out here. One that they cant control. It would cause havoc on the town, word will spread." Waylon said.
"they blew up a bridge, nothing spread from that." she said.
" yeah, ... why not though? How are they keeping information about all this in." Waylon questioned.
"maybe its because this is a apple town." she said. Waylon recognized the term, but hadn't recalled from where.
"apple town?" Waylon said, confused.
"back when America was testing nukes. They used "apple towns". Those fake little towns with dummy's that they would bomb. Our town is like that. Its mainly for looks. Any one around here wont say a thing for one reason or another. Illegal aliens that could be deported, people with a high criminal record that cant get a job anywhere, homeless with no families, that sort of stuff." she explained.
"why doesn't anyone do something about this?" Waylon asked.
" the town and Murkoff have a neutral standing. The town acts and looks nice to keep suspicions low and the people are allowed to live here with a "small" money bonus. If anyone talks they're taken away." she said.
"why do you and your dad keep living here?" he asked.
"my dad had a alcohol problem after he and mom got divorced. Tons of DUIs and no body would hire him since he had no drivers license. And I also did a little street scamming." she said, speaking the last bit a little mumbled.
" He heard about Murkoffs deal and we moved here. NOW, my dads trying hard to get us out. That's why hes away on business. Trying to grab a job over seas and move us there. If Murkoff notices that hes planning to leave they'll get rid of him." Beth spoke in a sad tone. Waylon nodded in understanding.
"well, nothing we could do. Cant leave with Murkoff still lingering around." Waylon thought while rubbing his head.
"should I try and get more canned food today?" Beth asked.
"no! not till I know what Murkoff is doing. They could be trying to take people away and search their homes." Waylon said. She nodded in agreement.
" I need to talk to Artisan. Make sure Eddie doesn't notice." Waylon whispered.
" me?! what am I suppose to do?!" Beth whispered back.
"just distract him for a little while." Waylon whispered.
"what if he finds out?" Beth asked.
"then ill take care of him." he said while walking out the back door. Once the door was shut he ran over to the barn. Finding Artisan inside with a large road map on the wall with marks and pins on it.
"whats the map for?" Waylon asked as he walked in.
"its a map of the town. Ive been keeping the best track I can of Murkoff. They've been setting up a large road block out of town, massive set up." Artisan said while putting up a few pins.
"do you know whats in the large container they brought in?" Waylon asked as he scanned over the map.
"no idea. It cant be guns or anything. Why make it so enforced if it was? Could it be that Walrider project?" Artisan questioned.
"no way. The project was still horribly flawed and the research was greatly compromised. if not entirely lost after the Walrider broke out. They had to almost entirely start from scratch, if it were not for me collecting their damned files." Waylon growled.
"could it be a different project. Did they work on anything besides the Walrider?" Artisan questioned more.
"they worked on other things, but nothing that could help them now. They made a few super patients. Very huge and lots of muscle, but completely uncontrollable and extremely aggressive." Waylon explained as he subconsciously began to pace.
"how about anything out of mount massive? Murkoffs pretty big, they could have other labs." Artisan said.
"i don't know. Everything was kept very secret and locked down. I was only kept long enough on their computers to fix them. Then I was quickly shoved off to fix something else." Waylon spoke, flipping through all the time he was kept busy to stop from asking questions at mount massive. Artisan growled in frustration.
"so what should we do? Try and sneak away tonight?" Artisan asked.
" no, no. that wont work. Murkoff still has patrol's wandering all over the place. Mite even have cameras set up or watch posts." Waylon shook his head.
"we cant keep staying here. And with most of Murkoff gone we mite have a chance to slip away while they're off somewhere else." Artisan stated.
"and then what? Run past the large blockade out of town?" Waylon replied.
" we would think of something when we get there. A distraction maybe." Artisan said, letting out a tired sigh.
"get back to the house. Ill think of something. Hopefully by tomorrow." he said. Waylon nodded as he went back to the house.
Waylon had gotten back in with no trouble. He shut the door quietly until Eddie startled him. Waylon jumped at his voice, turning around to face him with a small gasp of surprise.
"why were you out side?" Eddie questioned.
" I uh, was getting some fresh air." Waylon lied. He had almost forgotten how quick and silent Eddie could be when moving.
" you're suppose to stay inside while your lung heals." Eddie said.
"i know, but inside air gets a little suffocating. After a while." Waylon said.
"mm." Eddie hummed with a look of suspicion.
"iam gonna go to bed early." Waylon tiredly mumbled as he walked to the stairs.
" Do you at least want dinner first?" Eddie asked.
"no, maybe after a few hours of sleep." he said tiredly as he reached the top of the stairs.
He laid down on the bed,covering himself with blankets. He had hoped that the mix would work quickly. Besides helping his body remove the last of what ever chemicals Murkoff injected. It was suppose to bring his energy up. He knew he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up for it though. It was gonna be a few days before it really kicked in.
*hours later
Waylon woke up in the night with a uncomfortable feeling. He listened and heard nothing, assuming everyone was asleep. When he looked over for Eddie however, he was missing. Waylon found it abnormal for him, Eddie would usually join him in bed for sleep. He quietly got out of bed and opened the door. The house was pitch black. even the constantly on bathroom light was off.
Waylon grew worried and tried to flip the bedroom light on. No luck in it working.
"is the power out?" Waylon thought as he walked quietly down the carpeted halls.
"Eddie?" Waylon said quietly, getting no answer. He continued on down the hall, opening the door to Beth's room.
"Beth?" Waylon said, calling her name. He opened the door to her room. Finding that she was missing as well. Waylon was now becoming extremely worried.
"what if Eddie got in a fight with Artisan, and Beth went out to stop him? Oh god, I should have kept a eye on him." Waylon thought in panic while rushing down the steps. He winced and hissed in pain when he hopped over the last step. Putting a little more stress on his sensitive ribs.
He ran over to the front door, yanking it open to run out straight to the barn. He stopped two feet past the doorway when he saw a ominous glow. One side of the forest had the bright orange glow of fire. Waylon couldn't see the fire from where he was and he knew it must be far.
Waylon wanted to see what had caused the fire, but needed to find the others first. He continued to the barn, finding it entirely empty. he looked back at the bright orange glow with worry.
"Eddie wouldn't start a fire to harm Artisan … would he?" Waylon thought while he built up to a jog towards the fire.
He ran by trees, climbing over small hills of landscape while trying his best to stay silent. He finally reached the fire, most of it had burned out. He looked across the area, noticing the trees were burned purposely. Bursts of fire had been let out at certain points in a consistent pattern. Larger circles of trees and dirt burnt down every 10 feet.
"Eddie?!" Waylon yelled out, but not too loudly for it to travel far. Still no answer. He began to carefully follow down the burn trail. He didn't walk for long till he found the end of it. Trees were still burning brightly around the place.
He stopped shortly past the burning area. Freezing when he heard the loud clunking and scraping of metal. He suddenly turned when he heard the sound of crunching leafs and twigs. He tensed when he saw a large figure behind him. Unable to tell its features because of the bright fire behind him blinding Waylons eyes.
The figures head whipped to the side when it saw Waylons head movement. It seemed to have not immediately spotted him. Even when they were only 4 feet apart. The large figure let out a groaning hissing noise and the smell of gasoline hit Waylon hard. The strong smell almost made him choke. The figure brought up his hand towards Waylon in a flash of movement.
The abrupt movement of it startled Waylon. having him jump away in reaction, thinking he was going to get shot. He move just in time as a cloud of bright fire shot out from the figures hand, burning everything near. Waylon fell down a small steep hill side. Landing at the bottom painfully on his ribs.
His body stiffened in pain and was unable to get up as quickly as he wanted. When he stood completely he had to lean on a tree to catch his breath. He again heard the loud clanking metal. He turned to look at the revealed figure slowly stepping down the less steep part of the hill.
Waylon froze at the sight of it. His first fear was that the engine was over running his brain again, but not this time. This time it was a truly real horrific monster.
A practically dead looking corpse of a mangled human. The thing was emaciated, stitched and stapled together. Practically no muscle with the skin hugging the bones tightly. It had no feet attached to its legs being replaced by long sharp metal poles that stabbed and sunk into the ground. Anything covering the ground would crunch and groan under its weight. the thing must have weighed a few tons.
Its arms were almost entirely replaced by blackened poles. Only a thick slab of useless skin bolted and twisted around it to attach them to the arms. Useless black boney burnt hands hanging at the ends. The ragged body was framed and weaved into thick metal parts. certain parts connecting to certain areas like the hips and legs. being the soul support for the thing to even be able to move at all.
Gears and pieces were moving around a huge piece of metal on its entire back. The item that made the thing weigh so much and most likely a gas tank for the fire. Multiple thick tubes sprouted from the tank. weaving into the body's chest to only sprout out the ends of its arms to attach into the tubes.
Waylon froze up at the thing being near, still fearing this to be the engines fault. It just had to be the engines fault, this abomination couldn't really exist. The monster slowly looked around with the help of turning gears at its neck. It looked at Waylon, being in clear view for it.
The creatures eyes were sunken in and a pure milky white. Contrasting with the dark circles around his eyes. The creature had no skin around its jaws to hide its jagged broken teeth. Black exhaust fums floated out of its mouth like hot breaths in the freezing cold.
The creature wheezed in a long deep breath causing a loud hissing noise. Waylon stayed frozen, staring at it, unable to move. It breathed out a huge cloud of black fumes. The metal parts revved to life, clunking and turning to have the creature turn its head forward to walk. It walked only a few feet in the darkness before setting a area on fire. Lighting the nearby surroundings for it to continue.
"it didn't see me?" Waylon thought, letting out a breath of scared relief.
"Its eyes were bad. Probably from constant bright light, and poisonous fume exposure in its face." Waylon thought as he shakily snuck away.
He was keeping a close eye on the creature behind him. Watching it slowly leave his view in the forest. He had not been paying attention to the space in front of him. If he had, he would have noticed the near by figure sneaking up to him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw some movement. He turned in time to see a arm reach to grab him. He was roughly yanked into a tight hold with his mouth covered to keep him from yelling for help.
thank you for reading and please comment. =]
AT LONG LAST! A NEW CHAPTER! no promises for another for a while.
some of you may or may not have noticed this is ch: 10. when before i had 12 chapters. i didint delete or change anything, i just merged a few chapters so its more organized.
i hated that we reached ch 12 with not one main bad guy fight, while in the original escape we had 2 by now. so i merged chapters to make it seem less drawn out and more "on schedule".
cadillacslim3: thank you, glad you like it. :3
labelca: yeah i try not to make sex scenes go on too long or go into deep scene details. to avoid it just turning entirely into the focus of the chapter.
onekind53: well .. i updated. XD no promises for a chapter so soon after this though. ill try to keep the time under a month for the next one though. =]
bluekanto: i already answered this in PM a while ago. :3
i came for Eddie: thank you nice person. 8'D
shortfangirl: close enough? and that was quickly fixed. XD
sashimilove: i hope to get more of it in next chapter. i wanted to get it in this chapter, but couldn't find the right time for it. X3