Aw gawrsh you guys I'm happy to have gotten some new reviews, thank you. And like I said, this will really mark the beginning of the M rating, so please, small children, y'all better skedaddle.
I'm sorry to all the Bunnymund fans ahead of time, I love the guy too but well... you'll see.
Jack
"Ouch! Watch it, Jack, or I swear I'll throw your stupid stick out the window."
I grimaced, I'd just frozen Ace's foot for the third time tonight. If she wasn't already dead I probably would've given the poor girl frostbite by now.
"Sorry." I whispered. I couldn't help it, this place made me edgy. Bunny had decided to explore the eastern wing of the building, while Ace and I got stuck with the even more dilapidated west wing. Of course you know, whatever it was that North said was coming couldn't show up in like a Chuck E. Cheese or something. It just had to be in this abandoned hospital in the middle of the woods.
Although I'd originally been excited to do some urban exploring, that all quickly vanished when we began to actually do some adventuring. Some of the stairs had completely broken down and rotted away with age, along with the wood in certain areas of the floor, which made for huge holes that you could look through and see the floor beneath. That wasn't the worst part though, this place was more than just creepy, it was... strange. It wasn't empty, for one, the wing Ace and I had been exploring seemed to hold mostly offices. Among the random discarded clothes and broken beer bottles there were old, termite eaten desks and chairs, and even a few moldy couches. That explained why this area seemed more worn than the rest, it could be a squatter's paradise. Bookshelves and file cabinets still stood in a few of the offices, though most of the books and papers were scattered around the floor and burned, for warmth I suppose.
That's what unnerved me the most though, the building wasn't just abandoned, it was absolutely deserted. It was like everyone just picked up whatever they could carry on their backs and left. But left from what? There was nothing here, we were in the middle of nowh...
Wait. Shit.
"Hold on," I said, catching up to Ace, who was looking through an empty file cabinet," I just realized, this place looks like it might have once been a hospital but... if it was, why would they build it so far away from any neighboring towns?" she froze for a moment, then turned to look at me, her green eyes wider than normal.
"Oh gods," she said," I didn't even think about that."
CRACK
We both looked down. The floor beneath Ace's feet began to give way, but before she fell through I managed to grab her and pull her out of the way. Jeez, two sinkholes in one day.
"You okay?" I asked, looking down at her, her arms were wrapped around me tightly and her face was buried in my chest. I don't think I'd ever been so physically close to her before, she felt so small in my arms, so skinny, but still soft. Ace looked up at me, and I suddenly felt a bit lightheaded. Huh, I'd never noticed with all her hair in her face all the light freckles scattered across her nose, or the small rings of brown that surrounded the pupils of her eyes, or her long, dark lashes. She smelled like freshly fallen rain and pine trees and- oh god she was mad.
"The fuck is wrong with you, boy? Let go of me, you jackass, I can fly too." Ace said. I made a face and unceremoniously dropped her, which would've made more of an effect if she couldn't fly.
"Sorry for trying to help you." I fired back. Ace just rolled her eyes.
"Please, I don't need your help. I can take care of myself," she tried to walk away from me, but I grabbed her hand before she could," hey let-"
"Ace, I know you can take care of yourself," I said sternly," but you're a guardian now, you're part of a team, and that means you don't have to be alone." she jerked her hand out of my grasp.
"Maybe I like being alone." I smirked, not buying it.
"I was alone for 300 years, there is no way anyone would like to be alone for that amount of time and not be some sort of psychopath." Ace crossed her arms over her chest.
"What's your point?"
"My point is you don't have to push us away." Ace looked down at the floor.
Silence. I leaned on my staff, cocking my head to try and see her face.
"Sorry, you're right, I'll try to work on being more of a team player."
Hold on, I'm right? I'm right, and she ADMITTED it? I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear, until Ace gave me a hard shove.
"Don't let it go to your head, kid." I snorted.
"And while we're at it, quit calling me "kid" and "boy",I'm about 5 minutes younger than you." Ace laughed
"I'm twenty, how old are you?" Crap. I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly.
"Eighteen."
"AHA!" I scoffed.
"Come on, I'm not that much younger, I'm an adult!"
"You're a babbyyyyyy-"
"I'm legal!" if she wasn't looking I would've smacked myself. Ace raised an eyebrow and snickered.
"Good for you, mister 'I've been alone for 300 years', too bad you haven't made use of it. Come on, it's nearly been three hours, let's go back to the lobby."
I felt my face heat up, and I was suddenly very happy that she was in front as we made our way back from where we came from. That was so embarrassing. She was right, I hadn't made use of it, over three hundred years and I was still a virgin. Even worse, a virgin stuck in my late teens. During my life sex was something taboo, only to be done after marriage, and god forbid you spoke about it. I didn't even learn what it was until years after I became a spirit, but times have changed, and so have I, along with my hormones.
Now here I was, centuries later, with a snowball's chance in hell of ever getting lucky. Curse missed opportunities.
Only I would ever think about sex in some horrifying abandoned hospital. Good one, Jack.
To my surprise, Bunny was waiting for us when we made it back.
"There you two are!" he said, looking excited," come on, I found something."
Ace and I exchanged glances before following the kangaroo deep into the east wing. He led us down to the end of a long hallway to a thick glass door.
"I couldn't open it myself," Bunny said," it's one of those doors that locks automatically when there isn't any power supplied to it. Whatever's in there must be important."
'Oh!," Ace said," If electricity is the problem then I can open it!"
"You can?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah," she said, like I was a moron," stand aside babies."
We watched as Ace took the cover of a nearby power grid off. She cracked her knuckles, then stuck two fingers into the grid, sparks flew off as the lights in the hallway switched on with a low hum. My jaw dropped, why couldn't she have just done that before?!
She gave us a smug look before walking in front of the electric door.
And nothing happened.
Bunny and I looked at each other and snickered.
"Alright, I... miscalculated," Ace said," but I can still hack the door. Turn around."
"Why?" Bunny asked.
"I can't do it while you're looking, turn around!"
I looked at Bunny, he just shrugged before we both turned our backs to her. All I heard was a grunt and the sound of breaking glass.
My god, did she really?-
We whirled around to see her standing there next to a big brand new hole in the glass door with a big smile on her face.
She did.
"Ta-daa!"
Bunny just facepalmed.
Amazingly, this place was still just as creepy with the lights on. This area having been sealed off for so long was in better condition than the rest of the building, but still showed the obvious signs of neglect. Everything was left here too, only this time what was left was more interesting. Old computers covered in dust along with carts full of various medical equipment, lab coats, gloves, syringes, test tubes, so it was a hospital after all. The three of us were just in awe, it was like stepping into an old photograph, everything just frozen in time.
Yet, I could sense a heavy tension in the air, and I think the other guys felt it too. Bunny's fur was all fluffed, Ace kept rubbing her arms like she was nervous, and as I looked closer I saw goosebumps on her skin. I couldn't blame her, I did too. As we walked further into the wing I kept picturing someone stretching a rubber band, the material getting thinner and more and more taut, until it-
Suddenly, Bunny stopped in his tracks, causing Ace to knock into him, and me to knock into her.
"Why'd you stop?!" I hissed, but no answer came. I walked up to him about to drag his furry butt forward until I saw him. He was just standing there, staring blankly ahead, mouth open to catch flies, and so was Ace. I frowned and followed their gaze to a sign above the next door we were just about to enter.
Caution! Authorized Personnel Only- BSL 4.
Next to it was the biological hazard symbol.
Then came the snap.
Everything made sense now, we had stumbled into the hot zone of a disease research lab. That's why it looked like a hospital, and why it was built so far away from any towns. Sad thing is, that wasn't even the worst part.
The door was already opened.
"W-we need to leave," Bunny said, covering his mouth and nose," we need to leave NOW."
Ace was the first to move, so she was the first one who saw him. Someone was already blocking our path, and for the first time in centuries I felt myself grow cold.
This man, this- thing, looked human at first glance, he was tall, thin, and dressed in an old white suit, but that illusion was shattered when you really looked at him. His suit was in tatters, rotted and torn in places, his skin was sheet white, whiter than mine, with deep red cracks that reminded me of dry earth all the way up to his face. His mouth was wide, way, way WAY too wide, it was like someone had taken a knife and cut the sides of his cheeks open all the way to the ear, his nose was thin, and long, his silvery white hair slicked back against his head, and his eyes... they were black, and I don't mean the iris, I mean the entire eyeball was a deep, dark black.
And then he smiled, showing a mouthful of razor sharp teeth.
"Noooo..." he said, with a smooth, deep voice," don't leave just yet, we haven't been properly acquai..." he froze, his gaze stuck on Ace. He looked confused for a minute, then started laughing. I covered my ears, his laugh was terrible, like nails on a chalkboard.
"Ohhhh this is just MARVELOUS!" he said," How have you been? I've been really busy, being dead. But you would remember, wouldn't you Acenath, since you killed me."
Hold up.
Bunnymund and I both whirled around to face Ace, who was staring straight ahead with a hard look on her face.
"You know this guy?!" Bunny shrieked.
"You killed him?!" I asked.
"No, I have no idea who the hell this guy is!" she spat.
"I wouldn't think so," he said, moving closer, Bunny and I backed up, but Ace stood her ground," after all, you were human. Maybe this look will jog your memory."
The red cracks in his skin disappeared, and were replaced with millions of little white, pus filled bumps. Ace's face fell, for the first time I saw her look honestly terrified, and that scared me worse than anything.
"Oh my g..." she whimpered.
"I thought that would do it." the man said, smiling once again, and in the blink of an eye his long black fingers were around her throat.
"LET HER GO!" I screamed, gripping my staff. He turned to me like he'd just noticed me for the first time.
"Oh, hello, who's this, little Ace has a boyfriend!,"he lifted her up in the air while she just hung there limp like a ragdoll, come on Ace MOVE," I'm shocked, he must have some guts to put up with such a stubborn, ugly little thing like you. Here, boy, I'll get rid of her for you-"
A boomerang sliced through the air, cutting into his wrist and causing him to fling Ace across the room into one of the tables.
"Naw I don't think so, mate," Bunny said, catching the boomerang," if you want her, you're gonna have ta get through me."
I could kiss him right now.
"And me!" I said. The man shrugged.
"Okay."
I didn't expect what happened next.
Black tendrils shot out from the wrist cuffs of his suit, grabbing both Bunny and I and lifting us into the air. I struggled in his grasp to point my staff in his direction but another tendril grabbed and tossed it across the room, fuck. I looked at Bunny in a panic, I could freeze him but if I did I'd also freeze Bunnymund, and I couldn't do that. Unlike me, he was still alive, he could still be physically hurt.
All I could do was watch as the man in the suit brought Bunnymund up close to his face.
"You know," the man purred," in some countries, rabbits are viewed as pests." Bunny spat in his face
"You'll pay, you bastard. I've been through the extermination of my whole race, whateva' you do to me is nothing in comparison."
I raised my eyebrows, damn, Aster.
"I'll see about that."
I screamed along with Bunny as the man in the suit clenched his jaws onto one of Bunny's ears, and with a sickening RIP and a torrent of blood and cartilage,tore it clean off. He tossed the ear and a passed out Bunny off to the side and turned to me.
"Now, as for you-" he didn't get to finish his sentence before I grabbed onto his tendrils and froze them solid, he gave out a loud yell as they shattered into a million pieces of ice. The look of shock on his face was extremely satisfying, I smiled at him.
"Hello," I said," Jack Frost here, at your service." the main in the suit scowled at me, panting heavily with pain.
"You're powerful," he said," I could use you." I groaned. Not again.
"Oh yeah, because knocking out and mutilating my friends is the way to get me on your side. You can kiss that chance goodbye."
"What a shame, then. To have to exterminate such remarkable power."
This time he grabbed me by the throat but I was ready, I... I... I couldn't move?! I looked down, he didn't grab me with his tendrils, this time he used his actual hands, the long, black nails dug painfully into my skin. My entire body was paralyzed, I felt weak, my vision was getting more and more blurry and- oh god it felt exactly like I was dying again-
I felt myself fall to the ground as an explosion of bright blue light filled the room. There was talking, but I didn't know who, my ears were muffled like I was deep underwater, and I was weak, so, so weak.
Then came the heat, and the fire, and the sound of breaking glass and the ground hurling up at me alarmingly fast, and then nothing.
*coughs
Well, that was a doozy. But I managed to move the plot along and introduce the main villain! All this while I have college and work, YOU'RE WELCOME/ sarcasm.
Anywayyyyyyys lemme know what you thought, and thanks to everyone who followed this story, you warm my little potato heart.