Enjoy :)
Sometimes I'm confused by what I think is really obvious. But what I think is really obvious obviously isn't obvious...
-Michael Stipe
Desmond stood next to the edge, where the water lapped gently against the edge of the small crop of rock he was standing on. Setting down the water, soap, and towel, he unstrapped his blade, watch, and removed the earpiece, which he placed on his other side. Desmond undid his sweater, fingers fumbling on the small zipper. He was shaking.
Once undressed, Desmond emptied half the bottle over his body. No sense in washing his hair - there wasn't enough water. He rubbed soap all over himself, quickly; it made him feel uncomfortable standing there. He kept jumping at shadows, thinking someone was watching him.
"This way!" Desmond heard a voice and nearly jumped out of his skin. It was coming from the opposite end of the Sanctuary, from the outside. Without hesitation, he dived headfirst into the disgusting sewer water, successfully hiding himself.
Two men emerged from the tunnel. Desmond stared, his jaw agape. It was La Volpe and Machiavelli. Desmond shook his head hard, attempting to blink water out of his eyes, but when he opened them, they were still there.
"Your turn to swim," Volpe chuckled. He definitely wasn't a ghost like the others, his body was clearly defined and solid.
Niccolò rolled his eyes. "Piccino,(1)" he muttered, but began removing his robes, exposing his bare chest. Desmond nearly fainted.
Machiavelli's entire torso was crawling with maggots. Where the white worms weren't wriggling, rotting flesh was shown. The stench hit Desmond almost immediately, despite him being across the room and neck-deep in sewage.
Volpe didn't seem to notice anything unusual about his partner, instead watched smugly as Niccolò poised to dive. With horror, Desmond noticed all the water had turned to stone within a ten-meter radius of the man. If he jumped...
Machiavelli looked back. "You sure this is necessary?"
"Very." Volpe grinned.
Machiavelli dove, seemingly not noticing the neck-breaking hardness of the rock beneath him.
"No!" Desmond cried out involuntarily, betraying his position. As soon as the noise escaped his lips, Volpe's head whipped around, spotting Desmond instantly.
Machiavelli's neck snapped with a crack as he hit the bottom of the lake, hard. His head broke open, and the maggots changed course with glee, eager to feast on fresh brains.
"Infame! Codardo! Bugiardo!(2)" Volpe growled, taking no notice of his fallen partner. He took a few steps toward where Desmond floated, until he was stopped by the water.
Desmond gasped as the water was sucked up, evaporating at the ceiling, nothing stopping Volpe from attacking him. He landed hard on the soles of his feet on the dry lakebed, falling to his knees - still naked.
Volpe jumped down and walked past his fallen comrade, who was now totally consumed by the maggots. Seeing it, Desmond was completely repulsed and emptied the contents of his stomach - not much - in front of him.
Meanwhile, Volpe had withdrawn something from the folds of his shirt. The Apple, glowing harshly. He raised it in front of him, smiling triumphantly. That was when Desmond started to scream.
Breaks us, he makes us hate us
He gave us nothing but no trust
"What the...?" Shaun muttered, then spoke up. "Anyone else hear that?"
Lucy raised her head. "Yeah... sounds like screaming." She looked around, alarmed. "Where's Desmond?"
"He went to wash up," Rebecca said. "You don't think...?"
"Desmond!" Lucy gasped, jumping up and sprinting down the tunnel, Shaun and Rebecca on her heels.
"There!" Rebecca pointed. Desmond was treading water, screaming, his back to the group. He thrashed around, as if fighting off an unseen enemy.
"Desmond?" Rebecca called warily. He didn't answer or even acknowledge they were there, leading Lucy to rip off her jacket.
"He's in trouble! I'm going in after him." She dove, ignoring the foul smell and taste from the water, swimming strongly towards her thrashing companion.
The water bubbled back up under Desmond's feet. It was like lava. He screamed louder and thrashed, trying to reach land.
"Desmond!" Lucy's face swam in front of him.
"Kill me now," Desmond moaned, twitching weakly. He let the boiling water drag him under, welcoming its blackness.
And I am so fucked up
So let this gun bind us
And once we are just dust
He'll know that he left us
He heard snippets of voices:
"Get him back to the Sanctuary!"
"What the hell happened?"
"...won't...able to without..."
And then he faded out again.
1 - child
2 - Sneak! Coward! Liar!
Okay, so obviously Desmond was hallucinating that Volpe and Machiavelli thing. They've been dead for 400 years, they're not just going to pop out of the Animus like that!
...right?
Review please :)