Author's Note (Monster): Hi guys! Just a longer chapter to make up for the short ones. If you haven't noticed, this story is a very slow burn but it'll be worth it, promise. I have a lot planned for this story. Enjoy!


Previously on American Tragedy;

Danny reads into the files of patients he's supposed to meet this week and gets the experiment schedule from doctor Aquaines.

Johnny scratched a pebble over the stone wall opposite of the steel door. He was sitting on the pillow of his bed. He preferred to lay facing the door. Just in case anyone would invade his cell while he slept. He briefly felt the hairs on his skin raise but ignored it. He noticed the pebble drew a white line into the dark grey rock. Johnny sighed and let the pebble drop to the ground. It gave a sound when it hit the surface and was launched under Johnny's bed.

He wished he could draw. Johnny had never been one to draw, not one to work with paint, to sculpt or draw. He'd been someone to play guitar every now and then, but even that was a hobby he never fully indulged himself in. Though since he'd been at the 4C, he had found himself furiously wishing to be able to draw. The stray pebble he had found when he first got into this cell, could draw white lines on the rock wall opposite of the steel door and the white lines would vanish if he rubbed water over it whenever he was allowed to drink.

If he'd been able to draw, he could've…

Johnny dropped his forehead against the wall.

He could've drawn their faces.

Just to remember what they looked like when he could still see them. He scraped his mask along the wall when the familiar ringing ran through the hallway. The cell door unlocked and swung open. Johnny took a deep breath, got up and stood in the door opening. He stopped to chuckle when he saw Charlie. Charlie was carefully feeling around with his feet to make sure he wouldn't trip over something while he held out both his hands. "Don't fucking laugh, the light's bright!"

Johnny dipped into the cell to take Charlie's arm and pulled him into the hallway. "Come here, you dumbass."

Charlie gladly grasped the arm, head shifting in all directions but he couldn't see anything with the light fully turned on. They followed the stream of subjects into the subjects' exit of the floor, dipping them temporarily in darkness. Johnny could hear Charlie draw in a relieved sigh. "You look tired, Johnny."

"I am tired", Johnny said. "Bad night."

"Bad dreams?"

"Bad dreams", Johnny confirmed. Someone turned on the lights of the staircase and Charlie was robbed of his sight once more. Though the lights weren't as bright as they were on the fifth floor so through the sunglasses, Charlie could still catch some of his surroundings. Mostly contours. "Did the guys leave the floor without us?"

"They think you're slow", Johnny chuckled. "You kinda are."

"Next time, take my bandana to blindfold them and we'll race downstairs, alright?"

Johnny laughed at the comment. "Sure thing, I'd love to see that."

"Have them try stairs when blind", Charlie huffed. They reached the outer doors, sided by special force officers and found themselves on the courtyard. At the end, J-Dog and Funny Man were seated on the familiar bench and table. Johnny pointed their way. "There they are."

Charlie directed his face at Johnny. "Wow, thanks, Johnny, I can absolutely see which way you're pointing, asshole."

Johnny took Charlie's wrist and pulled him along as he strode over to the guys. "Hey, dumb fucks, thanks for waiting."

"Half our time outside would be over if we had to wait for you", Funny Man replied. "Where's Kurlzz?"

"Didn't see him", Johnny shrugged. "Infirmary?"

"I didn't either so he must be", J-Dog mused. "Have you guys met Murillo yet?"

"Yeah", Charlie chuckled. "He's afraid of me. For sure."

Funny Man nodded at Johnny. "Cigarettes?"

"Lighter?" Johnny asked in response. Funny Man looked around to see if none of the other subjects were spotting them and when they didn't, he tossed him a lighter. "I fucking love the weekends. Less security, no experiments, no doctors and Mary gets visited by family so she gets us shit."

"And then Monday came", Johnny huffed. "Back to work."

He took out the cigarettes from between his waistband and took one out to light it up. He tossed the box at Funny Man. "I didn't talk to Murillo and it made him uncomfortable."

"It did", Funny Man said before he lit up the cigarette. "I could hear his thoughts from the other side of the hallway. He's trying to find out what your connection to Charlie is because Michaels was onto you two."

"Onto us?" Charlie repeated.

Johnny kicked a stray pebble away. "Murillo doesn't know shit. If he thinks he'll understand us by figuring out we knew each other before the 4C, then he's an idiot."

"I don't know" Funny Man shrugged. "Michaels thought there was a link between you and Charlie's crime, it seems."

Charlie coughed when he inhaled the smoke from the cigarettes and waved it away. "Fucking hell, guys, at least light one for me, will you?"

"Why don't you do it yourself?" Johnny asked.

Charlie grumbled. "Great idea. Give the blind dude a lighter."

Da Kurlzz finally joined the bunch, no one had seen him coming their way. "Infirmary", he said when he walked up to them. "What did I miss?"

"Funny Man smells Murillo's desperation", Charlie said before he took a lit cigarette from Funny Man. "And we've got a lighter. Funny Man fixed us one yesterday."

"Awesome", Da Kurlzz replied before leaning in to take one. Johnny stopped him. "First tell us about your meeting with Murillo."

Da Kurlzz shrugged. "Not interesting. Told him I wanted to eat him."

Johnny took away his arm. "Good answer. Have one."

"How'd he react to your mind reading? Did anyone tell him in advance?" Da Kurlzz asked Funny Man while he took and lit a cigarette as well. Security really didn't care enough to do anything about it. Funny Man had read their thoughts about it.

"No one told him" Funny Man smirked. "Dude was checking me out when he noticed I responded to every thought he had."

"He was?" Johnny laughed. "Oh man, that must've been embarrassing."

"Definitely", Funny Man confirmed.

J-Dog looked up at the sky. The sun was scorching hot over these grounds and the inmates were trying their hardest not to look at the subjects, they could tell. Funny Man lay back onto the table, looking into the cloudless sky. "I wish we'd be informed of experiments sometimes."

"Me too", J-Dog said. "Not knowing when your name's up for something is nerve wrecking."

"Agreed", Da Kurlzz stared down at his feet. "Last week they had me injected with some random shit just to test the efficiency of their new components in the solution."

"After your recent mod developed?" J-Dog asked.

"Yeah", Funny Man said, wincing when he did. "Sorry, I know I should stop replying for someone else but it's hard when I know the answers already."

"Then stop listening to our thoughts, asshole", Johnny punched him. Funny Man tried to punch him back but hit the air instead.

J-Dog blinked at Da Kurlzz. "It sucks they used you for that one."

"Yeah", Da Kurlzz sighed. "I know it was just some placebo and it wasn't going to do much, but I just… I couldn't calm down."

"Pussy", Charlie snorted.

"Strong coming from someone whose mouth is always duct taped during experiments", Johnny teased.

For the rest of the two hours there wasn't much to do. It was a boring day. Usually on a less boring day, someone would get into a fight and they'd start betting stuff on who would win – stuff Mary got for them or Simon Lauren. If they were lucky, special forces had to rip them apart or get involved.

Sometimes doctors or wardens would be present on the first floor in the cafeteria but it was afternoon already so no entertainment from them. Monday was the first day of the work week so the resources had to be replenished at the 4C and the garbage cans were empty. If not, the gang could always see if there were something to find in the storage space beneath the building. The storage space was a space accessible from the courtyard but from inside the building as well.

Though there was no way to escape there because the door was heavily locked and could only unlock with a badge from the staff. It was a small, secluded area with garbage cans for the staff to use, for subjects to use – if Simon got them a snack as a reward for example. Not a lot of staff members used that space when subjects were out though, they were too afraid of subjects waiting for them to attack them.

Like that would happen.

"I wish something would happen around here. Not speaking of experiments but just… entertainment, you know? Do you think we could ask Lauren for a tv? For internet?" Funny Man wondered.

"For internet", J-Dog repeated. "As if he would allow us internet. Some of us committed cybercrimes, you know."

"That's true", Funny Man shrugged. The fivesome gave an annoyed groan in unison when the bell rang. "Fucking feels like elementary school's recess with that bell", Johnny huffed. "I'm not a kid."

"No, you're a big boy capable of murder", Funny Man teased but when Johnny glared back at him and he held up his hands in defence. "Murder by glaring, obviously. Not trying to guess your crime."

"Fuck off, Funny Man", Johnny grumbled. They did their walk of shame back inside and upstairs, hurried to by the special forces and wardens. Getting the subjects outside was easy but back inside? Not all of them liked it. They held their heads low, tried not to be noticed by them. Charlie noticed the corridor of the fifth floor's lights were still out when they entered the floor so when Funny Man wanted to split off to his cell, Charlie tripped him.

"Dude!" Funny Man complained. The lights flickered on and Charlie looked around like he didn't know what to point his gaze at. "What? Can't hear you over the sound of I'm day-blind, idiot!"

The other four laughed before J-Dog and Da Kurlzz were back in their cells as well. They had learned it the hard way what happens if they don't go back to their own cells. Charlie still had a scar on his lower back somewhere from when he'd entered cell 3 after two hours on the courtyard.

They entered their respective cells and when the wardens checked the floor, the cell doors shut automatically again. Johnny breathed a sigh, back behind bars. "Hey Johnny?"

"Yeah?"

"You never shared your thoughts on Murillo's personality with me. Since he was listening in and all", Charlie wondered.

Johnny chuckled before he took off his mask. His face was ducked below the window, forehead against the cold steel of the door. "Yeah?"

"Well, what did you think?"

Johnny wanted to smile and reply with something nasty but the smile didn't come when he stared down at his mask. "I bet he became a psych because he likes to think he can help others, since he can't seem to help himself. I bet he's just as pathetic as us, with a void in his heart but working keeps him from thinking about his own life lacking… lacking everything. That's just a hunch I get from him."

"You think that guy has no family at home waiting for him?"

"I'm sure", Johnny's voice nearly reduced to a whisper before he clicked his mask back onto his face. "Or maybe he did at some point, but I bet his work came first."

Johnny shrugged to himself. "Or I'm all wrong."

He turned away from the steel door and heard nothing from Charlie. The floor was void of any sound. No subjects talking. Just Johnny in cell 3, Charlie in cell 4 and doctor Danny Murillo by the door as he had heard everything.


Please review, they're my fuel! OC submissions are still OPEN. I'm looking for doctors, wardens and test subjects.

OC's featured in this chapter;

Mary Maclroy (mentioned) by H.T.
Simon Lauren (mentioned) by Siisilisko

If you wanna add an OC. Please provide the following information;

name:
age (must be 18+):
gender:
Occupation:

- Test Subject: as a test subject, your OC committed an unspeakable crime that you may specify (optional), and was sentenced to death – or worse, test subject. Since the subject undergoes experiments on a daily basis, they may be disfigured, mutilated or modified to your choosing.
- doctor: There are 3 types of doctors needed in this story; infirmary (treats injured/modified subjects and inmates), test tinker (designs and carries out the experiments performed on the subjects) or psychiatry department (regularly evaluates the mental health of the subjects)
- warden: As a warden, your OC keeps an eye on everyone and everything. They are to keep the doctors safe when a doctor enters the cell, walks the hallway, the courtyard etc.
- special force: The special forces are the snipers surrounding the towers of the courtyard, the heavily armed people to break apart riots and separate fights between inmates, subjects or both.
- inmate: inmates are the preys of test subjects. The Subjects envy their potential freedom once they get out since the Subjects are sentenced for a lifetime. Subjects give the inmates HELL.
(optional) anything you wanna add (personality, appearance, ...):

Thanks again for all the OC's currently present in this story (29! Okay fine, 4 of them are mine)