A little background. The Hero's Villain and Thrill of the Chase are only part of an overarching canon-compliant storyline that I have written and planned. There's a whole mythology spread around stories, shorts, and many many of the entries in the Through-DP collection. While a complete listing is in my deviantart gallery under the folder "Sides of the Same Coin", not everything there is published here on fanfiction. net.
This is one such story.
'The Facility' is rated hard T, maybe even soft M.
Agent R stood outside the padded cell. Within was the most interesting case he'd ever come across. On the surface it looked like a simple case of multiple personality disorder: two distinct minds within one brain, both of them resisting integration. The differences, however, were striking. First and most obvious, one personality had access to ghost talents and was strong enough to lend those talents to portions of the shared body. Second, neither personality seemed to be dominant over the other. Third and most important, both personalities retained complete awareness while the other was in control.
The personality designated as 'Masters' insisted it was the dominant personality. It resisted all efforts at integration but equally resisted all efforts at separation. It was overly emotional, easily became depressed, and tested as human using every measure they had. The problem was it was difficult to bring this one out of hiding when it submerged, difficult to keep it in control. Even if it was the original it wasn't dominant.
The personality designated as 'Ge Rouge' creeped out the entire staff. It likewise resisted all efforts at integration. It laughed at their efforts at separation. It was calm, scheming, and frightening when made angry. It seemed... overly protective and was very capable of actively preventing efforts at contacting Masters. This one confused the tests. The body was human but they couldn't quite verify if it was alive. All their data pointed to this as a very deep possession but in all their experience they'd never come across one like this.
It was... as though the personality 'Masters' had been... and still was... willing.
That couldn't be right.
Agent R looked through the little window on the cell door to make sure it was clear. Not that it was necessary; this case was possibly the most nonviolent that their organization had ever encountered. This nonviolence did nothing to assuage the agent's fears. On the contrary, every agent who worked with this case for more than a day feared this one more than any other. The blood-curdling screams of demon-possessed murderers were a welcome respite from the eternally disturbing calm that radiated from this man.
Agent R slid his keycard through the lock and popped open the cell door. In the middle of the floor knelt a thin pale man in a straightjacket. Long almost-white hair hung limp and oily down his back and over his eerily youthful face. That face was impassive, almost expressionless, his eyes closed. The eyes were the only way to tell who was in control.
Not the first time Agent R silently thanked those gods who watched over paranormal investigators that both personalities were willing to answer to the same name. "Vladimir?" he asked.
The man looked up at Agent R with blood red eyes.
"Ge Rouge," Agent R acknowledged. The man either didn't recognize it as a greeting or more likely just didn't care. "You're to be spending the afternoon with Dr. Michaels today."
Red eyes closed and the man gave a derisive snort. "Exorcism, integration, or interrogation?" he asked.
"She just wants to talk to you."
The man didn't answer, instead stared at him with those deep red eyes. Agent R felt his skin crawl as though those eyes stared right through him, gazing into his soul. For all they knew Ge Rouge was fully capable of that.
Agent R took a deep breath and motioned for the orderlies to come forward. Red eyes stared with the slightest smirk gracing thin lips. It gave the agent the strangest feeling, the realization that Vlad Masters was kept confined here only because the ghost who possessed him allowed it. For now.
-00000-
Vlad stayed still while the buckles were unlatched but as soon as the last one fell open...
He arched backwards, head lolling back to look behind him. His arms stretched out in front of him, hands grasping freely in a slow, luxurious motion. From there he reached overhead, rising up on his toes as he tried to touch the ceiling. Finally he reached behind him and linked his hands together before bending down and trying to twist his shoulders to bring his arms over his head. Through it all his expression was one of pure carnal bliss.
"So how often do they let you out of the straightjacket?" Dr. Michaels asked.
"They don't," Vlad said, fixing her with a cold blue stare. "But you know that."
She nodded.
Vlad stretched out in the chair provided for him. Even just the act of being able to sit in a chair felt novel. Ugh, he'd been here too long. "So other than answering questions you've asked a thousand times before, why are we here? What's your agenda for today?"
"Well, Mr. Masters, I was wondering if there was something you'd like to talk about."
One of those days then. Vlad stretched long legs in front of him, taking up nearly the entire floor space of the therapist's tiny office. If he didn't say anything he'd eventually be wrapped back up in the straightjacket and carted back to his cell. If he said anything then his orderlies would conveniently forget to feed him again before going out of their way to make the very thing he complained about even worse. There was no safe option.
If you don't ask I will.
Vlad kept his mouth shut but silently invited the other to take control. Blue eyes closed as though in thought before blood red eyes opened in their place. He smirked as Dr. Michaels shrank back in her chair, hand going for the panic button.
"I simply have a question," Vlad said. "That is why we're here in your presence, is it not?"
The hand hovered over the button before slowly drawing back. "O-of course," she said. "Nothing wrong with a question."
"Even from me?" Vlad's red eyes seemed to glow for a second before fading back to their dull blood red.
"E-even from you, Ge Rouge," she said, voice wavering out of sheer nervousness. She still wasn't sure why she feared this case. He was rarely if ever violent and his voice was always deep and calm. That didn't keep her from feeling like this creature could gaze into her very being and pick out everything she'd ever done wrong.
"When will you be letting us go?" Vlad asked.
Ah. That was the one question that made her most uncomfortable. "I, ah..." She shook the cobwebs out of her brain. "Surely you can appreciate the, ah, unique situation your case presents. Most cases we've come across either responded to integration as a legitimate case of multiple personality disorder or responded to exorcism as a possession. There was only one other that didn't respond to either treatment. However, he was able to throw off the possessing spirit without our interference as its force lessened over time. You are entirely unique because the possessing force has not lessened. Rather you, Ge Rouge, appear to be gaining in strength."
"So you're going to hold us here until your curiosity is satisfied."
"Pretty much, yes," Dr. Michaels said.
Vlad settled back in his chair. This was... not unexpected. It was a reality that Masters had feared but never allowed himself to consider, that Ge Rouge expected from humans such as this. If they were going to have a future, a reality, they would have to take it. Vlad closed his eyes and his face went blank for a moment before emotion returned along with those pale blue eyes. He looked at Dr. Michaels with the expression of a hurt child. "Why do you do this?" he whispered.
"You're a scientist, Masters," Dr. Michaels said. "Or you would have been. Don't pretend you wouldn't do the same thing if given the chance. You represent a possibility the likes of which our organization has never before seen. In almost all possessions we've come across the ghost either cannot or can barely affect reality around it. A possessing ghost is actually weaker than a free-floating one because of the effort spent on keeping the body under control. The ghost possessing you is so strong, it's command over your body so complete, that we've had to set up ghost shields around this complex to make sure you don't just walk through the walls and escape."
Ghost shields you say...
"And when have I shown that ability?" Vlad asked.
"You have not. But it is a possibility we have calculated. If, of course, Ge Rouge continues to strengthen."
"Of course." Vlad paused before letting a flare of Ge Rouge's power taint his voice. "So, what would cause him to strengthen?"
Dr. Michaels was about to answer Vlad's odd purr before realizing he was baiting her. He was planning something. "I... think that's enough for today," she said slowly. "The orderlies will get you strapped back into your restraints."
As he was led off he stared at her with those red eyes again. They sent a chill down her spine as though they were judging her. But she'd done nothing wrong.
Right?
-00000-
The lights were out, the cell was quiet. Despite that day's blissful hour with the damned straightjacket off Vlad was still stiff, still uncomfortable. He let himself fall backward, bouncing slightly on the cushioned floor. He knew from experience that thrashing about did nothing to alleviate the stiffness and usually brought orderlies running with their syringes and their sedatives. There were other ways to stretch...
He planted his feet on the floor and lifted, balancing his weight on his shoulders. His back arched and popped, releasing some of the tension that kept him perpetually coiled like a snake about to strike. He flopped back on the floor and sighed, bored.
That was the worst part about this place. Not being constantly bound in a straightjacket. Not the orderlies occasionally forgetting to feed him. Not the disturbed glances from people who were always ready to jump on the slightest excuse to drug him into oblivion. Not even the constant whispers of the ghost who resided in him, 'rode' him as Ge Rouge called it. No, it was the boredom. Long hours with nothing to do, no one to talk to, nothing to look at. Only the erratically timed attempts at 'therapy' distracted him from fading inward and never coming out.
Pathetic.
And there were the whispers again. "I'm surprised you're willing to speak to me after today," he said aloud into the dark room. It wasn't as though anyone was there to listen. Even if they were, would they really be surprised to hear a lunatic talking to himself?
If I am reluctant to speak to you, my horse, it is because you are unworthy.
Vlad made a noncommittal noise.
After all, I draw you from the undertaker's knife expecting you to have a grand plan for our new life. Instead we're bound and forgotten in a cell. Poked, prodded, tested. Laughing at their small-minded antics as exorcism after exorcism is performed on us to no effect. Listening to you make excuses as to why we'll not integrate. Being tied to the rack and drugged over and over. What's not to like, hmm?
"Don't do this," Vlad whispered.
I offered you that contract because I felt the potential within you. I knew we could accomplish great things. With my power at your command we could have seen greatness. Instead you're wasting the both of us by languishing in the forgotten belly of a mental hospital wrapped up in a straightjacket!
"Shut up..." Vlad warned, growling through gritted teeth.
I should kill you here and now, horse. Force you to feel everything as they open your chest and remove your organs. As they pump you full of embalming fluid and lay you in your coffin. I'd keep you conscious and aware through it all, make you feel every little thing. Bind you to your dead body as you're lowered into the earth. Leave you there to slowly rot, never able to stop it, never able to shut off your mind, feeling everything forever!
"STOP!" Vlad shrieked.
Or better yet I should mount you fully. Throw you to the back of your mind as I take your body once and for all. Once I have access to my full power through your body I'll walk out of this prison into your world. Carve out a niche for my own and force service from the weak. Punish the unworthy. Ravish your women. And all you'll be able to do is watch, your voice nothing but the barest of whispers in the back of my mind.
"STOP IT!" Vlad screamed. "Shut up! SHUT UP shut up shutupshutup..." He let loose a hellish scream that collapsed into Ge Rouge's mad laughter as Vlad began to lose control over his own body, the ghost ripping it away.
The door to his padded cell was thrown open and suddenly reality snapped back into focus. Fear filled Vlad's mind as he realized he'd been set up by his own ghost. He rolled onto his belly and pushed himself up onto his knees, all the better to retreat into a corner.
"Don't do this," he begged. "Please no, don't do it. Put the needle down, you don't need that, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'll be quiet! Please, I didn't mean it!"
Two beefy orderlies grabbed him on either side and held him in place by his shoulders. One of them grabbed his head, twisting it uncomfortably to one side.
"NO!" Vlad shrieked. He knew what was coming. "Let go of me! No, no, NO! Nonononono!"
He screamed bloody murder, shrieking threats and curses, vowing revenge. He tried to pull himself out of their grip, thrashing about to loosen their hold over him. All it earned him were bruises as they gripped him tighter and then shook him to get him good and disoriented. A hand gripped him by the hair and yanked back, exposing his neck to the syringe.
Vlad screamed as he felt the bite of the needle. He could swear he felt the sedative burn as it entered his bloodstream, poisoning every cell it touched. He could feel his limbs getting heavy...
The next thing he knew he was thrown against the floor of his padded cell with as much force as his 'caretakers' could muster. He laid where he fell, unable to move as his sight grew blurry.
The sedative was its own unique curse. It paralyzed him, rendered him physically helpless. It silenced his mind, scrambled his ability to form coherent thoughts. It numbed his emotions, turning simple feeling into a difficult chore. It dulled his senses, taking everything he saw, smelled, heard, felt and turning it all gray. Unfortunately it did nothing to silence Ge Rouge, not like it used to.
Now maybe you'll listen to me, insolent horse.
The most Vlad could summon was a vague indignant feeling.
I did not bind myself to you so we could spend an eternity trapped in your filth as a curiosity. If I wanted mediocrity I would not have sought my own horse to mount, I would have bowed to the will of the bokor. We have been here long enough. As you have languished in bondage and silent rage I have grown stronger. I know you feel it, houngan. Even the humans have noticed.
Vlad figured that would explain why Ge Rouge was becoming less and less affected by the drugs.
I am unaffected by the condition of our physical body. But in order to control it to do more than lay there and drool I need it undrugged and unaltered. In a few days they fall back into complacency...
Vlad could feel Ge Rouge's pleasure as it thought of its plan. He could barely muster the will to share in it, much less think of what it meant.
Three days, horse. We will be silent and cooperative for three days. So cooperative they will forget we're here. Then, when the time is right, you will give me control...
Vlad gave up and fell into a deep, dark oblivion as Ge Rouge purred its plans into his ear. It was the closest thing to rest he'd had in a long, long time.
-00000-
Vlad's stomach growled. No one had bothered with him today, even forgetting to feed him. The stream of people moving in and out of this wing of the hospital bypassed him completely. Not that he minded. He could tell the orderlies were in one of their moods from the way they moved, the voices that drifted through the ventilation system. Today was a bad day to be at the mercy of the orderlies.
His blood ran cold when he realized he'd spoken too soon. Footsteps paused outside the door to his padded cell. A maddened face leered at him through the little window in his cell door. A beep and the door opened. Two orderlies came in. A big beefy one looked like he was anticipating some fun. A tall skinny one had a most disturbing look of sociopathic glee as he set a dinner tray on the floor.
Vlad cringed and shifted uncomfortably in his straightjacket. He knew those looks, he'd seen them countless times before. They were never a good sign.
"Aww, look, we got the crazy human today, George. Crazy as a dog."
"A fox," Vlad said. As soon as the words were out of his mouth his eyes went wide. He did not just...
Yes you did...
Vlad tried to dodge but couldn't as George's bony fist slammed into his cheek. The momentum threw him to the floor.
Tonight. Very soon, my horse.
"You know, Reggie, the boy's right," said the skinny guy George. "The expression is 'crazy as a fox'. Or sometimes a loon."
"Shaddap. It duddn' matter," said the big guy Reggie. He strode over and grabbed Vlad by the hair, hoisting him to his knees. He grinned at Vlad's hiss of pain, leaning down far so his filthy leer filled Vlad's field of vision. Vlad glared right back, teeth bared, blue eyes flashing in anger. "It duddn' matter 'cause this dog is gonna howl tonight."
Reggie slammed Vlad face first into the food tray. Vlad shook and thrashed his head, trying to throw off the orderly or at least avoid inhaling anything. The hand at the back of his head twisted in his hair, dragging a shriek of pain out of him as laughter filled the room. Finally he was yanked upright, gasping.
"Lookit this. The dog won't eat his food."
Vlad growled, not caring that he was playing along with this sick, twisted game of theirs.
"Hold him down until he eats," Reggie said. "I'm gonna give him a little... incentive..."
Vlad was shoved back down. George wasn't as strong as the bigger one and so couldn't hold him still as Vlad tried to shake them off. He ended up raising himself on his knees to gain more leverage...
"Good dog," Reggie praised, swatting Vlad on the ass.
Vlad froze. No... They rarely went this far... And no one would respond to his screams...
Then give me control. Full control.
"Take it then," Vlad whispered.
"Oh I will," Reggie crowed, not realizing Vlad wasn't talking to him.
"Man, that's gross," George said. "He hasn't been cleaned in a week. He's gotta be filthy down there."
"Like I care."
Not just that. I have to submerge you. You must give yourself to me. Become the voice in my ear. Drown in me.
Vlad felt grabbing fingers at his waist as they undid the crotch strap of his straightjacket. Then the world just fell away. It was like being dead again but this time there was no presence with him behind his eyes. This time...
Vlad watched from the back of his own mind as his body was puppetted around by the red eyed loa. This time he was the whisper in it's ear.
Ge Rouge opened his eyes. He wiggled his fingers within the confines of the straightjacket, flexed his shoulders, gathered his strength, and tossed his head back with enough force to rip away George's grip and throw Reggie to the ground. He pulled his feet under him and hauled himself upright.
The humans paused, unsure as they saw their prey's eyes weren't just red, they glowed. Ge Rouge smiled, a feral leer, as he accessed his own intangibility and pulled the straightjacket off over his head. He tossed the disgusting garment to the floor and growled.
George bolted to the door first.
"Stand... still..." Ge Rouge purred with a voice that oozed power. He purred more as George stopped in the open doorway, face twisted in terror as his body wouldn't obey him.
Precious seconds admiring his handiwork ended as a big meaty fist slammed into the side of his head with enough force to throw him to the ground. Ge Rouge turned over and glared up at the angry, frightened orderly. That glare turned into a grin as a faint pink mist sizzled around his fingertips.
Please don't kill him.
Ge Rouge ignored the whisper in his ear. He couldn't afford the distraction. He picked himself up, raised his hands, and let all of that bottled rage fly out of him in a bolt of pink energy that threw Reggie against the padded wall. He smiled in triumph as the human looked down at his burned chest and screamed in pain.
That was uncalled for.
"That was entirely called for now shut up and let me work," Ge Rouge snapped.
At least grab one of their keycards.
An idea jolted through Ge Rouge's mind, one that left the whisper in his ear humming with approval. He slowly turned to George, an evil grin blooming over his face. "That is an excellent idea..." he purred.
George whimpered as the possessed man stalked up to him, hands grasping like claws, ghost-red eyes glowing, unnatural shadows collecting around him as reality itself warped. He closed his eyes and hoped it ended soon.
A long-fingered hand reached inside his pocket, snatched out his keycard, and then disappeared. George's eyes popped open, confused. He wasn't dead? But... What was the ghost going to do to him? Wait, where was the ghost?
The creak of a door caught his attention. Ge Rouge gave an easy grin from the hallway and let the cell door close, locking the orderlies inside.
Frantic pounding echoed from within the padded cell as Ge Rouge purred and his whisper laughed and laughed. "Scream louder, someone might come for you in a few hours," he mocked before heading off into the complex to make his escape.
First order of business was finding a supply closet for fresh clothing. The scrubs he wore were filthy from a week without access to a shower or even a bathroom. The supply closet was a few doors down, right around a corner. No one knew he was missing yet; no one ever patrolled when the orderlies were canvassing the high security wings. Normally a point of silent fury, now it was an advantage.
He ducked into the closet and found a whole cart of clean scrubs. He had the oddest urge to just jump in to feel all the clean everywhere, to bury his nose in the scent of clean...
What are you doing?! Don't get distracted.
"Of course," Ge Rouge mumbled. He wiped away the grime of the padded cell before he picked out a pair of scrubs that fit him and got dressed. From there he creaked the door open and looked up and down the hallway. Clear.
We're not just going to walk out of here, are we? They'll see us!
"No they won't," Ge Rouge whispered. "Trust me, houngan. I'll get us out of here." He closed his eyes and concentrated on not being seen. Both he and his whisper gasped at the sensation, at the frisson of power that spread from his chest to engulf his entire body. Ge Rouge admired his handiwork, looking at the blank spot where his hand should have been visible.
Oh my. That's impressive.
Ge Rouge was pleased that Vlad could appreciate power such as this. He ran off down the corridor.
The reinforced steel door that separated this secure wing from the rest of the facility stood bolted closed. Ge Rouge stepped up to it and took out the keycard he'd lifted. The little red light on the panel turned green and a loud buzzing sound declared the door unlocked. He pulled it open.
"Oh crap," he whispered.
In the doorway stretched a shining, shifting membrane of glowing green. So this was a ghost shield. He reached out to touch it but it zapped him.
Let me have control. Maybe if I'm the one walking through it then it won't notice you.
That made about as much sense as anything else. Ge Rouge let go and began to fall...
Vlad came to, his body sprawled uncomfortably on the floor. That was... disorienting. He stood up on shaky legs and took a deep breath before walking through the ghost shield.
"It worked," Vlad said.
The alarm started to blare.
"Or maybe it didn't," he said. "What do I do?"
Footsteps were approaching from one direction.
Run, you idiot.
Vlad didn't question the voice of his ghost. He ran. The blank white hallways of the psyche wing quickly gave way to the blank white walls of a bank of offices. He ran past closed doors before ducking behind another corner. Footsteps were coming from this direction, too. There was nowhere for him to turn...
They won't see you if you don't want them to.
"What?"
Be quiet. Close your eyes. Hide behind the air. Blend in with space and time. They won't see you.
Vlad couldn't help but take the offered advice. He didn't even think of what he might be accepting. A shudder ran through him as the footsteps rounded the corner right next to him. He looked directly into the eyes of a man in a crisp white suit, eyes that scanned the wall then dismissed it as he continued stalking down the corridor.
Vlad let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and ran off again.
"This way!" he heard in the distance.
Invisibility broke as he lost his concentration; he was too busy running for his life to keep it up. He turned down corridor after corridor, not really sure where he was going, footsteps always behind him until...
Vlad turned a corner and found himself at a dead end. He plastered himself against the wall and slid down it, trying to hold back tears of frustration. He was so close to freedom...
The wall isn't there.
"You're insane," Vlad lamented, not caring about keeping quiet anymore. The men in white suits knew where he was and soon enough they'd find him and he'd be bound again in that straightjacket and probably more than just that because now he'd shown himself able to escape it and now he'd never escape...
I'm not insane, horse. Close your eyes if it'll help but the wall is only there because you believe it to be! Convince yourself it isn't there and it won't be! You can walk right through it if only you allow yourself.
Vlad wiped his eyes and looked at the blank white wall. It looked real. It felt real. But Ge Rouge had been right before.
Wait! If he did this, didn't this count as using Ge Rouge's power? Wouldn't he begin to lose his identity? Vlad shook his head. What did it matter? Go back to the cell or begin fulfilling the contract? Lose all of his autonomy or just a little bit?
Vlad closed his eyes and phased through the wall just as a pair of orderlies rounded the corner. He never got to see the looks on their faces.
A few steps forward and the tingly feeling of solidity ended. Vlad opened his eyes to find himself standing in what looked like some sort of waiting room. He dropped the intangibility and bolted for the door. He could smell the night air. Close, so close...
He found the main doors of the compound. Vlad closed his eyes and ran straight for them, attempting this intangibility thing again.
WHAM!
The floor here was nowhere near as inviting as the floor of his padded cell. At least the ceiling looked different. He shook his head and hauled himself to his feet. He... couldn't phase through this door? Wait, why not?
Ghost shield, you stupid horse. You can't get through a ghost shield if you're using ghost powers.
Right. Vlad tried pushing but it was locked. The keycard didn't work either. But wait a minute...
Vlad slipped the keycard into the crack of the door and fiddled with pushing the door in just the right way...
Click.
"YES!" Vlad crowed before gently pulling the doors open. The green membranous ghost shield was theoretically all that stood between him and freedom. He reached out to touch it.
Something... wasn't entirely right here. He could push through it, sort of, but even with Ge Rouge submerged in the depths of his mind the ghost shield still resisted him. Vlad forced himself through it regardless of the pain; he wasn't going to let some stupid shield prevent his escape...
It burned like peeling off an adhesive bandage. It burned and pulled, yanking at every cell. Still he wasn't going to let it keep him. He screamed as he pushed through the ghost shield...
A snap and a fizzle and he fell to the ground. Vlad laid there for a moment before realizing the floor was different. Inside was stinky carpet and plastic sheeting. This was...
Oh my god. Dirt!
Vlad got up on his hands and knees and stared into the darkness of the dead of night. Stunted trees spread out around him, their leaves rustling with a light wind. Dogs barked in the distance off to his right.
Wait, dogs?
Don't celebrate just yet, houngan. Getting out of the facility was the easy part. Now comes the hard part: escaping.
Vlad hauled himself to his feet with a groan. He silently cursed the ghost within him for not letting him in on the difficulties of this plan as he ran off into the wilderness.
Running through the forest was a special hell. Sticks, sharp rocks, errant roots all tore at his bare feet. Plants and low-hanging branches whipped at him as he ran away from those dogs, swearing as they grew closer and closer all the time. He needed to find somewhere where he could lose them, where he could throw off their scent...
Suddenly the ground stopped being there and Vlad fell down the bank of a dried creek. An instinct that he knew wasn't his left him feeling tingly all over as he landed with a soft thud, somehow his ankle not actually broken as it should have been. Instead it just phased through things instead of twisting horribly.
"You did that," he whispered.
I did. Ask how I did it later. First, escape. Run down this creek bed, I have an idea.
"It had better be a good one," Vlad grumbled as he got to his feet and did just that. He could hear one of the dogs stopping at the bank to whine along the edge while the other barreled down it. Barking grew very close very fast as Vlad ran, not watching where he was going. Suddenly his feet got caught and he fell forward. His hands darted out to catch his fall...
The ground itself seemed to splash around him. But how could that happen? Dirt was dirt, it wasn't liquid. It's not like this was...
Vlad pulled his arms free as he felt the rest of his body begin to sink. Dark mud oozed around his thighs, creeping up his legs as it grasped as much of him as it could and began to suck him down.
"This is your plan?!" Vlad demanded. "Quicksand?"
Quiet! They'll hear you!
"They already hear me," Vlad snapped as the barking dog rounded a curve in the creek's course and charged right at him. He watched in fascination as the dog floundered just as he had, as barks turned to panicked whines. The dog thrashed and struggled, its efforts only driving it deeper faster. Worse, it's movements affected the mud around him, causing him to sink faster as well.
The dog's legs were stuck fast, mud was covering its body, only its head was left above the surface. Vlad watched in morbid fascination as the hound's snow white fur was stained black as it sank slowly, slowly...
He almost didn't see the white-gloved hand that grabbed the dog's collar and began to pull.
-00000-
Agent N slid down the bank of the dry creek and jogged along its course. One of the hounds had followed their escaped research subject down this way. Perhaps the dog would have the man by now, treed or cornered or even in a bite hold. If not, well, they could organize a search party in the morning once it got light. Their subject was a malnourished human kept in a straightjacket for the better part of two years. He wasn't going to get very far.
The agent picked up his pace as the dog's cries went from his tracking howl to distressed cries. He turned a curve in the creek's course and stopped cold.
His dog was up to its neck in mud and still sinking. Beyond it was their escaped patient. Vlad Masters was mired up to his waist in quicksand, black mud coating his hands up to the elbows. Yet he made no effort to escape; he seemed to be watching the dog. Agent N knelt down on the ground just out of reach of the mud's hold and grabbed the collar of his dog. He pulled with one hand and reached another under the dog's chest. He pulled the dog closer to the edge and the surface, close enough that he could slide both hands under the dog's chest and pull him out.
Through it all Vlad just watched. First one paw, then another, then with a wet squelch the dog was pulled free of a muddy grave. The agent held the dog for a moment before letting go. The dog laid down, exhausted.
Agent N crept on his hands and knees to where the ground just started to get soft. He reached out with one gloved hand. "Vlad, please, take my hand," he said.
No, don't take his hand.
Vlad's eyes went blank as two voices warred within him. He reached out towards the offered hand while the rest of him pulled away. Within...
You don't honestly want to go back there. Locked up, wrapped in a straightjacket and left to rot in a cell for days on end without food, water, dignity. You humans are disgusting creatures.
"I don't want to die, either!" Vlad shouted into the blackness of his own mind. "If I die here I might as well have died from the ecto-acne. Then at least I'd have died with some form of dignity."
The red-eyed man trapped with him merely gave an unimpressed stare. There is no dignity in death. Here or there.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" The familiar despair welled up in Vlad, engulfing his mind as surely as the quicksand was about to engulf his body. "Just let me die and you'll be released."
I have a plan.
"You and your plans."
You're not going to die today, houngan. Take my power for your own, all of it, just for a moment. You'll know what to do with it.
"No! Please, no! You know what will happen! You can't honestly trust me not to use it again and again once we're free."
Ge Rouge smiled, fangs glinting in a light with no source. He wrested control of their body away from the human.
Vlad came back to reality with gloved hands grabbing his wrist and slowly pulling him free of the mire. Well, we can't have that... He fixed Agent N with a disdainful blood red stare and phased that arm intangible. The agent fell backwards and Vlad was sucked deeper still.
Agent N picked himself up and froze as he took in the scene before him. Ge Rouge controlled Vlad's body now, calm red eyes gazing at him in dispassionate challenge. Vlad was sunk into quicksand up just past his waist. It seemed to move and ripple around him. Agent N's eyes went wide as he realized...
Ge Rouge was thrashing about under the surface, forcing it to suck him under faster. "You'll die," Agent N said. "Both of you. Please don't do this."
"Why not?" Vlad asked in Ge Rouge's deep purring voice. "What can you offer us if we live? To be forgotten in a padded cell? Bound in soiled canvas for days on end, unable to move to escape our own filth? You humans are disgusting creatures."
"We can..." Agent N searched for something, anything to try and bargain with this creature just long enough for Masters to regain control. "We can free you of that human shell! No longer will you be bound within a prison of flesh and blood. You, Ge Rouge, can be returned to your true form! Whatever that might be."
Vlad laughed. "You don't comprehend us in the slightest! I'll not leave and the human Masters will not bid me leave. We live and die together, human. I can't dismount my horse. He's made sure of it."
Agent N stood there, running out of options as Vlad was running out of time. Dark mud crept up his chest, staining the white cotton scrubs he wore. Approaching footsteps gave him hope, the hope that someone else would have an idea or at least some rope.
Agent R came up to the scene. The muddy hound blinked up at him. "Agent, you're involved in some grievous cleanliness breaches," he said.
"Paperwork can wait," Agent N snapped. He pointed at Vlad. "Tell me you've got some rope 'cause ol' Red Eyes there won't listen to reason."
"I might make the same observation about you," Vlad said, clearly amused.
Agent R took in the scene and winced. This was... bad. At least he did have rope. He pulled a few feet out of the coil and tossed the end at Vlad.
Vlad looked at it, picked it up, and tossed it back toward the agents. He gave them a challenging look.
Agent R nodded. "Ge Rouge, I need to talk to Masters," he said.
"Fous le camp," Vlad spat. Fuck off.
"Ge Rouge, please. I need to know that Masters knows you're doing this to him."
Vlad smiled, an evil smile as his red eyes flashed. "Oh he knows..."
Agent R made the effort not to scream in frustration. Instead he started tying the rope into a lasso-type knot.
"Yes, because a tourniquet to the neck is an excellent idea," Vlad mocked.
The agent merely glared.
Vlad sighed and looked down. He was sunk up to his armpits, the mud crawling up to his shoulders. It wouldn't be long now. He guessed it couldn't hurt... He closed his eyes and his face went blank. When he opened his eyes again they were pale blue. Human.
"Masters, thank god," Agent N said. "We're going to toss you a rope. Please, just grab it and we'll pull you out of there."
Agent R tossed out the lasso and looped it gently over Vlad's head.
"Okay, now put your arms through the loop and tighten that around your chest so we can pull you out of there."
Vlad pulled the rope off and held it in front of him. Whispers in the back of his mind offered so much, a new start, a new life... Take what I offer, houngan. I will ride you hard and fast but in the end you will learn to fly.
If they thought he was dead then he could start over...
Yes...
A whole new life. No longer the orphaned boy born of a suspected Soviet spy. No longer forced to rot here in a facility run by disturbingly emotionless men in pristine white suits.
Do it, houngan. Take my power. I'll show you how to use it.
Still, he remembered the terms of the contract. As power was offered and used, so would both parties lose themselves, merging into a new and unique whole. Never separate, never apart, never again to be seen as human. Was it worth it?
Vlad looked directly at the agents standing at the edge of the quicksand and threw the rope at them. He then plunged his arms down into the mud.
Even just the chance was worth it.
"Dammit, Masters!" Agent R shouted. He tossed the lasso out again, not caring that he'd strangle Vlad by trying to pull him out by his neck.
Vlad used his arms to pull himself deeper and leaned his head back. When the lasso was yanked back by the agents it snapped closed harmlessly.
The world went quiet as mud filled his ears. He looked up at the night sky, not sure if it was the last thing he'd ever see.
Now take a deep breath.
Vlad took one last deep inhale before he was sucked under and everything went dark. Cold. Silent.
Silent save for the voice whispering in the back of his mind.
Ah, it's been a long time since I was buried alive... Vlad shivered slightly at the wistful tone in Ge Rouge's words. Right. Save that for later. Now, houngan, you are going to reach inside yourself. Feel your inner being, your human mind. There's more to you now than your humanity.
Vlad didn't feel anything. Mostly he just felt cold.
Pay attention. Ignore your body, it's unimportant. Ignore everything else. Within you lurks a spark of power. We all hold such a spark in us, houngan. I want you to reach for it. Touch it and let it envelop you.
Vlad wasn't sure about any spark but he certainly felt enveloped. The cold pressed on him, squeezing him from the outside in. He could feel it seeping into every aspect of his being, numbing him everywhere as his lungs started to burn. Everywhere except...
Yes!
It felt like an electric shock. Vlad lost about half of his air in a thick cascade of bubbles as his body absorbed the jolt and... nothing happened. He began to squirm, to panic.
Shhhh. Calm down, Vladimir. Now then. Try again. Wrap your mind around that spark. Entrap it. Entice it. Capture it. Let it burn. Let its fire engulf you. Let yourself burn...
He had no choice but to try again. He reached out with his mind to cradle that precious spark. A frisson of hot power shot up Vlad's spine as he touched it, forcing the rest of his air from his lungs. Time stopped for a moment while he waited for the inevitable inhale that would drown him but...
But he didn't need to breathe.
-00000-
First one then another stream of bubbles broke the surface. Agent N stared at them as they popped, little circles of mud that marred the otherwise unassuming ground. He felt Agent R put a hand on his shoulder but didn't move to acknowledge it.
"He's dead," Agent N whispered.
"Don't think about it," Agent R suggested.
That brought Agent N out of his stupor. "How in the hell am I not supposed to think about it?!" he demanded. "We just watched a man die!"
Agent R grabbed his errant companion by the shoulders and shook him before panic could set in. "We did no such thing!" he snapped. "We did everything we could for him but we were too late. That was not a man. That thing that just died, that hadn't been a human being for a very long time and there's nothing we could do to change that. We tried."
"But-"
"No 'buts', Agent. That wasn't human and this case is now closed. You will purge it or there will be an inquiry. Understood?"
Agent N looked back at... No. Agent R was right. Vlad Masters wasn't human anymore. But maybe... Maybe death would free him of the thing that stole his humanity. "Understood," he said.
"Good. This case is closed, the records will be sealed. As far as anyone is concerned Vladimir Masters died at Wisconsin General nineteen months ago. Now then, we've got some serious cleanliness breaches to file."
Agent N nodded sadly and both men headed back to the facility, the mud-caked white hound following quietly.
-00000-
Hours. Days. Minutes. Seconds. Time lost its meaning as Vlad floated nowhere, everywhere. No breath or heartbeat to count the time. No light to provide a point of reference. No gravity to tell him which way was up. He wondered if this is what it felt like to be dead, really dead.
I wouldn't know...
Vlad's mental ear pricked at Ge Rouge's voice. It was... different somehow. A little more nasal, a little less purr. A little more like his own human voice.
I was never alive. Death to me is freedom. Freedom from a physical shell, freedom from the contract. It is a beautiful feeling.
Vlad had to agree with that assessment. The loss of forced bondage, the loss of humiliating treatment, the loss of himself... It was no loss at all.
It was indeed a beautiful feeling.
-00000-
The ground quaked as black hands clawed their way out of the mud. The ground gave way, splashing like water in a pond as a man burst to the surface with a great gasp and a shake. He climbed out of his impromptu grave and watched as the mud rippled, settling down to pretend nothing had happened. To wait for another victim, hopefully one who would stay dead.
The man shuddered as intangibility overtook his entire body. Black mud splashed to the ground, taking most of their stains with them. When he returned to reality the man looked at himself in wonder, as though seeing himself for the first time.
He wore the white scrubs of an escaped mental patient. A snow white cloak draped over his shoulders to the ground. The cloak was lined in satin as red as the glow of the man's eyes. His hands and feet were still stained black with mud, a stain that would not fall away. Pale bluish skin and long black hair added their own inhumanity to this dead man who somehow still breathed. This undead man.
He looked up into the deep blue sky as it lightened with the coming dawn. A new day, a new life.
A new world full of nothing but possibility.