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Cecil rested his head against Carlos’ shoulder.
Carlos held Cecil’s hand in his.
He looked down at the purple tentacle tattoos that scaled up Cecil’s arms. Spreading from his wrists to his shoulders.
He glanced down at Cecil.
Cecil had fallen asleep on Carlos’ arm and all three of his eyes were closed.
Cecil had told Carlos once that he used his third when he recorded, he had said that it allowed him to see what people in Night Vale were up to, part of Carlos had wanted to say hoe impossible that was, but then he remembered, he was in Night Vale, anything was possible in Night Vale.
Carlos gently stroked Cecil’s blonde hair and pale cheek and slowly Cecil woke up, blinking groggily.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Carlos said.
“Don’t worry, you didn’t.” Cecil said, his voice tired and croaky.
Carlos smiled and kissed him gently on the head.
Cecil blushed and smiled at his beautiful scientist.
They remained like that for a moment, Cecil resting on Carlos’ shoulder looking up at Carlos and Carlos smiling back.
Then slowly, Cecil sat up and stretched.
“I should probably start work, I have to be at the station soon and I still don’t have a story.”
“Yeah...I feel like I should get to work too. There is this void thing in the park and I am going to run some experiments.” Carlos said.
Cecil stood up, smiled, and kissed Carlos on the cheek before grabbing a notebook and pen and leaving to explore Night Vale with excitement in his eyes.
*****
“The City Council reminds citizens not to approach the hornet nests in the middle of the roads that definitely do not exist...Now for the news.
“Today a strange void has been reported in the park, not the Dog Park, the Dog Park is not real and should not be approached or thought about so forget it was ever mentioned.
“The scientist that wormed his way into all our hearts, Carlos, my perfect, beautiful Carlos, has gone to investigate this strange void.” Cecil paused and took a long sip of the coffee that the new intern had brought for him.
Cecil’s third eye opened, in front of him he saw a clear image with fuzzy edges. He saw Carlos holding some test tubes and other scientific tools, that Cecil didn’t know, and was observing the void and trying to take samples whenever he could.
“At this moment perfectly imperfect Carlos is trying to take samples of this void using a bundle of complicated tools. He is looking at the void with interest and curiosity. He is now poking his hand through the void, he is probably trying to see how much he can feel by putting his hand in the void.”
Cecil laughed as he watched Carlos bring his now goo-covered hand with a disgusted look on his face, his nose cutely scrunched up in revulsion.
“A strange goo has emerged on Carlos’ hand.
“We can’t help but wonder, dear listeners, what this strange goo is and where on earth, or more likely not on earth, this goo has come from?” Cecil laughed silently to himself. “And now the wea-”
Cecil froze.
His blood ran cold.
“I’m sorry, listeners. I have to go. I-Carlos is in trouble. Goodbye.” Cecil’s words were panicked and his breaths were quick.
He jumped from his seat, knocking his microphone to the floor along with his chair before sprinting out of the station.
*****
“This is so gross…” Carlos muttered under his breath as he pulled his hand out from behind the void.
A thick goo had covered his entire hand, it was shining and green and felt like a family of slugs were crawling across his hand. He was beginning to regret not using gloves.
“The void has produced a grotesque green slime.” He said, speaking into his recorder. “So far it has not proved to be dangerous, but I will take a sample to analyse at home...and then wash my hand because this feels disgusting.” He turned off his recorder and grabbed a cotton swab. Slowly, he peeled off the green slime and scraped it into one of his many test tubes.
Once the slime had been removed, he picked up his recorder again.
“I have completed my first test, now I think I should start examining whether-”
All of a sudden he felt a pair of strong hands grab him and pull him backwards, he opened his mouth to cry out, but before he could a black hood had been pulled over his face.
He kicked and flailed, trying to free himself from the hands grip, but after only a few seconds he slipped on some mud and dropped to the floor, cracking his head against a rock, knocking himself into unconsciousness.
*****
Carlos woke up, slowly.
He groaned.
His head was spinning and it ached where he had hit it against the rock.
Slowly, he lifted his head. The room was blurry at first but soon came into focus.
He was in a dimly lit room made of metal, thick, soundproofed metal. Around him, tall people in black hoods and robes watched him.
Panic gripped him.
He had heard of people being taken by the Hooded Figures and never returning, he had to escape. He had to.
His breath became rapid and he struggled to free himself from where he sat, but his hands were tightly tied.
He couldn’t move.
Couldn’t escape.
He closed his eyes.
‘Think, Caros. Think. You have to get out of here, now. Come on. Think. Think. Think.” He thought, ordering himself to come up with some sort of plan.
The Hooded Figures were closing in now.
He had run out of time.
His heartbeat was rapid and scared.
Tears welled in his eyes and slowly ran down his cheeks.
“Bye, Cecil.” He wept in a quiet, broken voice. “Goodbye.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and hung his head as he felt the Hooded Figures boney hands grasp him.
“LET HIM GO!”
Everything froze.
Carlos felt as the hands slunk away.
He looked up.
Cecil was standing at the end of the room. His eyes were hard and his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white as snow.
The Hooded Figures stared at him.
“I said. Let. Him. Go.” Cecil snarled through gritted teeth.
The Hooded figures stared at Cecil and slowly they all let out a low hiss.
“I don’t care. Let my Carlos go. Right. Now.” Cecil growled.
Carlos had never seen him this angry before...it scared him.
The Hooded Figures said nothing, or rather they made no incoherent hissing sounds.
“Fine.” Cecil said.
He closed his eyes and slowly the hooded figures began to close in on him.
Soon, Cecil couldn’t be seen. The only thing Carlos saw was a wave of black cloaks.
“Cecil!” Carlos screamed.
A long, snake-like sliver of purple light leapt from Cecil’s body in a sudden burst.
The tentacles of violet light grabbed the hooded figures, lifted them into the air and flung them into the walls.
They dropped to the floor.
Motionless.
Carlos stared at Cecil with wide eyes.
Cecil stood at the end of the room.
His face was hard and concentrated and the tentacle tattoos around his arms were glowing, shining. His hands were splayed out in front of him and his hands were shaking as the tentacles seemed to be sucked back into his veins.
Cecil raced over to Carlos.
“Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” He asked, frantically.
Carlos shook his head, the shock made him feel like he had lost the ability to speak.
“Thank god...Ok, let’s get you out of here.” Cecil jumped behind Carlos and began to untie the ropes around the scientist's wrists. He snarled when he saw the raw red bruising that they had caused.
Carlos stood up. Waving his wrists in an attempt to try and unstiffen them.
“Ok, we need to go now. I am sure you have a lot of questions, but they aren’t going to be down for long so-”
Before Cecil could finish his sentence, the Hooded Figures slowly stood back up. Their bones clicking and cracking. Carlos winced at the sound.
“Damn it.” Cecil cursed under his breath.
He turned and looked into Carlos’ eyes. “I love you, my beautiful Carlos...and I am so sorry.” He kissed Carlos on the forehead before turning his attention back to the Hooded Figures. “Now stand back.”
Carlos took one step back.
Cecil hunched his back and spread out his arms protectively.
The Hooded Figures were getting closer.
“If you want to get to Carlos, you will have to get through me first.” He snarled.
The Hooded Figures kept walking toward Cecil.
Cecil’s tattoos began to glow, but now it wasn’t just the tentacles around his arms that shone. The purple glow seeped through his shirt now too.
Cecil screamed and dropped to the floor.
His whole body was tense and his arms were shaking. He screamed and groaned and made strained grunts.
Carlos watched, horrified and concerned.
Then they appeared.
Long purple tentacles shot through Cecil’s skin, ripping his white shirt.
They were long and slimy and covered in suckers, just like the tentacles of octopus’ or squids.
Cecil looked forward to the Hooded Figures, his eyes were now deep deep violet, his pupils were gone and so were the whites in his eyes.
He looked almost animalistic now, crouched on the floor on all fours, snarling and growling at the Figures.
“So, who’s first?” He roared. He didn’t sound like himself anymore. His words were low and gravely instead of the smooth voice that he usually spoke with.
One of the Hooded Figures stepped forward, a black ball of shadow forming in his hand.
Cecil jumped up onto his knees and flung one of the tentacles at the Figure. It coiled around them and flung them across the room. The Hooded Figure crashed against the back wall, their body twisted into unnatural positions.
They weren’t getting up anymore.
Cecil let out a low, menacing laugh before leaping to his feet and lunging at the figure to his right.
He pinned the figure on the right to the floor and his face seemed to widen, his jaw stretching down to his neck. His teeth had been replaced by long, drooling fangs that lunged into the Hooded Figure's face, tearing out a chunk of their cheek and sending blood spurting across the room.
Cecil turned and grinned at the three Hooded Figures before leaping at them from the floor. His tentacles coiling around their waists and necks.
Carlos stared, horrified as Cecil strangled the three Hooded Figures, relishing every moment.
Tears were streaming from his eyes. He covered his mouth.
He felt sick.
Flashes of peaceful evenings snuggled up beside Cecil and going on moonlit walks in the park suddenly vanished and were replaced by the blood-thirsty creature he saw before him.
Cecil dropped the three Hooded Figures, letting them slump to the floor like sacks of potatoes or rag dolls before opening his jaws and jumping at the last two, who were cowering in the corner of the room.
Carlos could only Cecil’s back, he didn’t want to see more.
He could see blood and flesh flinging across the room from Cecil’s claws and a disgusting, squelching, chewing noise was the only sound Carlos could hear over his rapid heartbeat.
After a minute, Cecil turned his head and stared at Carlos...grinning.
His face was covered in blood, and flesh hung from his teeth.
Carlos froze.
His throat was dry and his breath was quick and frightened.
Cecil skulked towards him.
Carlos stared, petrified.
Cecil stood in front of Carlos now, grinning down at him.
Carlos whimpered.
Cecil brought a hand down to Carlos’ face.
Carlos winced, he remembered the blood and flesh that had flung from the Hooded Figures...he had no doubt he would meet the same bloody and violent fate.
He waited for the claws to sink into his flesh.
But he waited in vain as Cecil tenderly stroked his face.
Carlos looked up, his eyes glistening with tears.
Cecil smiled at him.
“Carlos.” He said in a low growl, but it wasn’t a vicious snarl like the way he had spoken to the Hooded Figures, it was almost...tender. “My perfect Carlos.” A tear rolled down Carlos’ face and gently, Cecil wiped it away.
Then Cecil screamed, an unholy, deathly screech. His fangs slowly sunk away and along with them so did the tentacles and claws.
Cecil stood in front of Carlos. Not the monstrous Cecil, the normal, slim, pale Cecil.
His pupils and the whites of his eyes had returned and the dark purple had lightened to it’s natural light purple.
Cecil’s legs wobbled and his eyes rolled back. He collapsed forward and Carlos caught him as he fell.
Slowly, Carlos lowered himself and rested Cecil’s head on his lap.
He stroked Cecil’s hair and used his sleeve to wipe away all the blood from around his mouth.
Carlos was shaking, his whole body trembled. His throat was dry.
He didn’t know what to do.
Cecil had just murdered the Hooded Figures...he had been monstrous and violent...but now he lay, unconscious on Carlos’ lap, blissful and tired and defenseless.
Cecil slowly blinked awake.
“Carlos?” He croaked.
“Y-yeah...I-I-It’s me…” Carlos stammered.
Cecil looked confused at first, then he saw the blood on his hands and a dawning look came across his face as he remembered what he had just done.
“I’m sorry, Carlos…” He cried. “I just...I had to protect you…” Carlos’ face softened and he relaxed slightly.
“I know. I know.” He comforted.
Suddenly, he didn’t see Cecil as the monster he had just turned into, he was just back to being normal, caring, awkward Cecil. Carlos smiled at him. “I know. It’s Ok.”
“Please don’t leave…” Cecil begged, fearfully. “I don’t want you to leave…”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Cecil smiled.
Carlos smiled back and lovingly ran his fingers through Cecil’s sweaty hair as Cecil slowly closed his eyes in a restful doze, letting his weak body relax for a moment.