WARNING: MINOR GORE.
Thanks to people who reviewed the last chapter:
Erik-is-my-angel1234, DeadLuck666, NightmareOnElmStreetFan and Iamkatieisme.
To Guest, erm I will not be making a lemon in this story sorry.
"I think we should try and find Sebastian, I think he's trying to kill Ruvik." Sparrow said as she was being dragged around the corridors by Leslie. "I wish Wren was still alive." she muttered the last part. The surge of power that once coursed through her veins was the reason Wren was dead and the guilt continued to eat away at her.
Laura did warn her but Sparrow thought she could control it, that another dose of power wasn't going to hurt. Little did she know that it was going to become a drug to her very quickly.
Sparrow shook the thoughts from her mind, thinking about what could have happened and what did happen was not going to solve the current situation.
Sparrow's brow narrowed as both she and Leslie passed by the same abandoned gurney they did just ten minutes ago.
"Leslie wait." Sparrow said pulling Leslie to a gentle stop.
"Wait wait wait wait." He repeated as he took Sparrow's hand and pulled it up to his forehead, something he usually did when he wanted her to ruffle his hair.
"We've been wandering these halls for a good half hour, maybe we should go this way instead." Sparrow said as she went to pull away from Leslie but his grip on her hand increased, making her stop and look at him with concern. "Leslie?"
"I know, I know, I know." he repeated before looking up and gazing into Sparrow's eyes. "I know he needs my body." Sparrows eyes drifted to the floor, appalled at herself because she actually contemplated helping Ruvik get Leslie's body. If it weren't for her well timed flashback then she didn't doubt she would be leading Leslie into a trap right at this moment.
"He won't get you Leslie, I promise," Sparrow said with determination. "Even if I have to die to stop it I will." The corner of Leslie's mouth twitched but didn't turn into a smile, making Sparrow frown.
"How did you choose?" Leslie asked fluently as his eyes wandered from her eyes, to her nose then back up again. "How did you choose between us us us us?"
Sparrow was sure he meant him and Ruvik but she had to make sure. "Do you mean you and Ruvik?"
Leslie nodded tentatively as he held his hands together and waddled back and forth. "What made you want to save me instead of him?" He asked quite fluently, either his speech was getting better or this place was getting to him. Sparrow wasn't sure why but she preferred it when he repeated certain words or stuttered, to her it was like confirming that this was the real Leslie. Especially after Ruvik disguised himself as Leslie.
Looks like Leslie knows more than he is letting on, Sparrow thought as her eyes wandered to the floor again.
"There was nothing to choose between, you're my best friend and friends always come first." Sparrow said as she walked closer to Leslie and placed her hand upon his cheek. "And plus I've known you the longest."
"But but, friendship isn't built on who you've known the longest," Leslie said as he mirrored Sparrow and placed a hand on her cheek. "it's about who stuck by you the longest."
"Exactly," Sparrow smiled, "we've always stuck together haven't we?"
Leslie leaned into her hand and smiled back, "We have." He said before sighing, making Sparrow frown. "Thought… thought you'd choose him, him."
Sparrow shook her head and smiled at him again. "No Leslie, never." She replied making Leslie smile.
Sparrow couldn't help think about what Ruvik said, about how he wouldn't protect her ever again. The ache in her chest increased every time she thought of him.
"I saw you got into a fight today with another patient." Ruvik said as he sat at his desk in the hospital. Hearing his door open, he knew only one person would be visiting tonight.
15 year old Sparrow sighed as she walked towards him expecting yet another lecture on her behavior before she looked over his shoulder to see what he was doing. The bandaged man felt her gaze and turned towards her.
"Apparently he was picking on your friend, Leslie. Is that correct?" He questioned and she nodded in reply. Ruvik turned back towards his work and scribbled down a few notes before she heard him speak again. "Then, good punch." he muttered.
Sparrow stared at him in shock for a while before a smile erupted on her face.
"His name is Franklin Thompson right?" Sparrow nodded in return and a sadistic smile appeared on Ruvik's face, but it didn't faze Sparrow at all. "You won't have to worry about him anymore." he simply said.
Sparrow smiled, thinking that he was just going to give Franklin a lecture.
"I've killed a lot of people for you." Ruvik's voice echoed down the dark hall, making Leslie run behind Sparrow essentially using her as a divider.
Sparrow's eyes widened as she saw Ruvik's cloaked form emerge from the darkness, his expression was emotionless and she felt her heart start to beat quicker, but not because of her unwanted feelings.
"And yet you still choose him over me?" Ruvik gestured to the cowering boy behind her. "I don't think that's very polite, do you?"
"So you're trying to make me feel sorry for you, is that it?" Sparrow shouted back with some new found confidence, confidence that Wren probably harnessed and passed onto her. "Well it's not going to work so you can stop trying!"
Before seeing or hearing his reaction, Sparrow quickly turned with Leslie's hand in hers and sprinted down the hall away from Ruvik, much to his displeasure as he started to walk towards them. Knowing that Ruvik was going to make them keep running down the same hall until they became tired, Sparrow decided to slip into one of the rooms. She found herself in a large room filled with large tanks of water with another door at the end of it.
Quickly she pulled Leslie behind one of the large tanks and covered his mouth with her hand while whispering soothing words into his ear as she tried to calm him down. Suddenly a blue glow flushed over the room as the door she came through bashed open revealing a tall skinny figure with a bloodied and stained white cloth draped around the top half of its body, only revealing its unnaturally long legs fitted into red heals. The most captivating part of it was the giant light for a head, like a cross between a studio shutter lamp and deep sea helmet.
The light it projected was incredibly bright and acted as a search light as the monster peered into the room.
"Lessslie." it almost sang as it stepped into the room. Sparrow clutched Leslie closer to her in a protective manor. What monster had Ruvik sent after them this time? Leslie whimpered as the bright search light drifted over to the water tank that they hid behind. As Sparrow peeked around the other side of the tank she couldn't help feel a familiar feeling set in her stomach as her gaze lingered on the monster before turning back.
The lighthouse, she thought as the search light dragged itself away from their water tank to the one next to them.
Suddenly the clip clop sound of heels drew closer and Sparrow crawled further around the tank to avoid the monster. The long narrow room they were in had become darker giving them more cover as they stealthily slid past to the other side of the room and hid behind another water tank.
"Sparrrrow." the monster sang her name, sending chills up her spine. The light lady's heels continued to make clip clop noises that echoed between the walls of the room. It almost reminded Sparrow of the familiar noises the nurses would make as they walked between rooms; those sophisticated noises would alert Sparrow when to hide whenever she tried to get to Ruvik's room after they were sent to their rooms.
Who knew I would have to avoid them now of all times, She thought. Suddenly the light lady focused on some sort of logo on the wall and as Sparrow watched, her eyes widened as the logo flickered and a door appeared. The light lady pummeled into the newly made door and it swung open before she disappeared into the next room.
"That was weird." Sparrow stated before getting up with Leslie and deciding wisely not to go through the door the light lady went through, despite her curiosity.
Before Sparrow could take another step, a loud screeching sound invaded her ears, making her keel over and clutch her head. She let out a yell of frustration as the screeching got louder and louder, with every ounce of increased volume it seemed to put more pressure on her brain to a point where it felt like it was going to leak out of her ears.
"Sparrow!" Leslie exclaimed as he knelt down by his friend and put his hand on her head gently as if trying to get rid of the obvious pain she was in. The scenery around them changed without them noticing until the screeching suddenly stopped.
Sparrow opened her tear-filled eyes to see Leslie's worried expression. "I'm okay." she sniffed before taking Leslie's hand off of her head and looking around.
The room was dark with only a few candles illuminating the place; the room reminded Sparrow of Ruvik's old bedroom at the hospital. Old rotting white cabinets lined one side of the wall and opposite it stood an antique mahogany desk with piled paper stacks and an old fashioned ink and quill. Sparrow and Leslie couldn't see the middle of the room since the candles were positioned on both walls, but movement in the dark space was evident along with a rasping voice.
Sparrow put her finger to her lips signaling Leslie to be quiet before taking one of the candles on the mahogany desk and using it to light up the mysterious figure.
"AHHH!" Sparrow let out a gasp as her eyes widened in horror as the candle dropped from her grasp. The candle flopped to the floor as the newly melted wax leaked onto the tiles and stuck fast. But against her will, the candles flame grew, defying physics as the light illuminated the whole room.
In the middle of the room stood the upgrading chair except it seemed battered and broken. A patient sat strapped to the chair with blood seeping over the seat, down the legs and pooling onto the tiled floor. The figure wore the same clothes as Sparrow and Leslie but with blood stained into the fabric around the neckline. Their pale fingers twitched occasionally along with their toes but what scared Sparrow the most was its messy and blood matted short black locks, with bright blood shot aqua green eyes staring back at her.
Sparrow wasn't sure if it was Wren or another version of herself but she was staring at the top of its head. The subjects head had been cut open, a perfectly sliced circle exposing the brain, only the whole brain wasn't there and instead there was only half a brain.
Sparrow cautiously stepped forward and gripped the name tag.
"Sparrow Cleo Newberry." She read out loud, not fazed by the confirmation of this being her considering her appearance was a dead giveaway. Suddenly, as she looked up, she gasped seeing a bandaged Ruvik staring at her corpse twin.
Ruvik didn't look at Sparrow as he put a hand on the exposed brain of her dead doppelganger, creepily caressing the bloody flesh.
"With Wren gone, there's an emptiness inside you." The younger version of Ruvik spoke before walking to one of the white cabinets and taking out a large jar filled with green gel and half a brain inside. A large label swung about as Ruvik carried the jar back to the deceased corpse in the chair and Sparrow briefly saw the name Wren on there.
"What?" Sparrow asked as she backed away slightly, bumping into the waddling Leslie behind her who was surprisingly calm just watching Ruvik.
"Losing half of your personality is like losing half your brain." Ruvik started as he unscrewed the jar and took out a rather disgusting looking half a brain that seemed to have shriveled up and turned to an unhealthy white and gray color. "And when that part of you is dead," he held the half-brain up to his eye level, "you can never go back."
"What are you trying to say?" Sparrow urged, frustrated with the man for not answering her questions.
"But you can substitute that part for something else." Ruvik continued as he reached up and started unwrapping his bandages around his face until he exposed one side of his head.
Sparrow held her breath and stepped back as Ruvik threw the 'Wren' half of her brain away with the jar before using both hands to pick at the side of his head. The sick sounds of squelching echoed off the walls for a while before Ruvik eventually ripped something from his head, making blood squirt and spray everywhere.
The thumping in Sparrows chest got louder and louder as her palms got sweaty. Ruvik held a fresh pink brain in his right hand whilst smiling fondly at it, as if it were his own child. Sparrow felt a sick stirring inside her stomach that threatened to shoot through her throat to the nearest exit but she held it back, trying to see what this version of Ruvik was doing.
"And with the part that is compatible you will be able to go back." He continued to say as he carefully slotted his own half-brain into the empty space beside the dead Sparrow's brain. "You will come alive in that world again." With those words, he disappeared the exact time the dead Sparrow took a gasp of breath and began breathing steadily.
Sparrow gripped Leslie's hand tightly to give herself comfort that she wasn't alone. The now alive but bloodied Sparrow started chuckling before lifting her head to pierce her gaze into her identical twins eyes, her brain still exposed but now whole.
"Do you understand now?" Sparrow's eyes widened as she heard Ruvik's voice instead of her own come out of the dead-ish Sparrow. "You're the possible vessel."
"What?" Sparrow shook her head back and forth as if trying to wake herself up out of a nightmare.
"She's right." Leslie's voice echoed from behind her as the boy gave her a knowing look. "When Wren left, she also left a slot open, a slot Ruvik can fill."
"Leslie?"
"It's okay." Leslie's voice turned into Ruvik's and both Leslie and the dead Sparrow started talking in perfect sync, both with Ruvik's voice.
"It's the perfect opportunity to be together. I know you feel the same way Sparrow so why don't you accept it? We can be together."
That's when she felt a hot breath against her ear. "Forever." Ruvik's hoarse voice muttered but Sparrow did not dare turn around.
BANG!
Suddenly a gunshot echoed off the walls, startling Sparrow as she turned around to find a clean but empty room; no Leslie, no Ruvik.
The door was replaced with a dark and empty hallway, but it was the only direction the gunshot could have come from. With a new surge of energy from her new discovery, Sparrow sprinted down the hall toward the sound, her bare feet making slapping sounds against the tiled floor.
The hall lead to a large white set of stairs and her bare feet hastily climbed them. Turning the corner, she stopped and stared at the machine before her. It looked like a stem and at the top it held a metal globe with a shining core in the middle of it. Some kind of fleshy looking plant held it up and its roots were situated somewhere underneath a glass floor. Underneath the glass floor there were tubs, exactly like the ones she was put in in the first place.
She pushed against the floor with her feet and even tried kicking the people who had a hold of her but it was no use, they were too strong for her.
Entering a totally different part of the hospital she didn't know even existed; the large circle room was extremely bright, nearly blinding her, and it was very clean as well. All around this large tube were bath tub like chairs and a thin wire where the head rests. A large amount of wires lead to the ceiling and then connected to this long glass tube, and inside it was some sort of brain.
"This is where they brought me." She stated out loud as she walked along the glass and peered into the tubes below her.
"Wren?" Sparrows head shot up to see Sebastian appearing from the other side of the stem before walking over to her confidently. "Where have you been all this time? And what were you doing with Leslie in the courtyard?" he continued to babble on and on.
Why must he always assume I'm Wren? Sparrow thought as her eyes narrowed at the detective before interrupting him.
"I'm Sparrow not Wren. Wren is dead." Sparrow stated seeing Sebastian's posture falter.
"She's dead? How?" he persisted.
"What do you care?" Sparrow said harshly before taking a step back defensively.
"I was just with her for a while, she was very different from other people and I felt like I was teaching her right from wrong." Sebastian explained before shaking his head in disbelief. "She told me all the things that happened in that hospital, what they got away with."
Sparrow scoffed before her gazed became fixed with the core in the middle of the room. "Right from wrong? What use is that now?" she muttered to herself.
"Hey, what happened earlier when you went crazy?" Sebastian asked. She was surprised he was still cool with her after that incident.
"I wanted to use my power to protect Leslie, but I ended up losing control. That stuff was like a drug to me and it was just as easy to get hitched." Sparrow said as her guilty eyes drifted to the glass floor. Before Sebastian could question her again, Sparrow ran across to the room and knelt down on the glass floor. "Look!" she exclaimed, pointing to whatever was underneath the glass.
"Is that Leslie?" Sebastian asked as he walked over to where Sparrow was and sure enough, Leslie lay in a tub full of water. His face could fool you into thinking he was having a content dream.
As Sebastian was about to aim his gun at the glass, Sparrow stopped him. "Wait, look." she pointed to another tub under the glass next to Leslie's.
"That's …." Sebastian trailed off.
"That's me." Sparrow finished as she looked at her slumped form in the tub. Yes, she could remember clearly when she was brought into this room against her will.
"Then…" Sebastian once again trailed off as he walked past Sparrow and continued to walk around the core before stopping above another tub, probably finding himself in there. "What is this?"
Sparrow stared at herself for a while before looking back up to the glowing core in the middle of the room. "I think this is STEM."
DUN DUN DUUUUUN.
GUESS WHAT PEOPLE, LAST CHAPTER NEXT.
INDEED FRIENDS THIS STORY WILL END IN THE NEXT CHAPTER SO PLEASE REVIEW FOR IT TO COME SOONER~!
QUESTION OF THY CHAPTER: WILL RUVIK POSSESS SPARROWS BODY?
AND ALSO HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
THANKS BYE