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John: Wake up.
What the actual hell.
The sickly copper smell wafting through the air is the first thing that hits your senses, serving almost the same purpose as a smelling salt. You slowly gain your sight back but there's not much to see around you--your glasses are missing. You can make out plenty, but most of your surroundings appear as a blur to you. There's something currently restricting your arms and legs, and you come to the conclusion that you're strapped to a medical table.
WHAT THE HELL.
How the hell did you even get here? You've had your head knocked around enough to know you're not missing any information (you hope), but you're not quite sure how you got from point A to point C.
Point A: You're traveling with Rose across the countryside like the two of you have been doing for awhile.
Point B: ?????
Point C: You're strapped to a table with no way of getting yourself free. The scent of blood is heavy in the air. It is creepy as fuck in here.
You lift your head as much as you can to get a good look of the room, and immediately you spot something on the wall, written in smeared blood: WE'RE COMING FOR YOU.
Talk about your creepy advertising.
. . . . . . Yup, you're definitely fucked.
A clashing sound erupts from an unknown origin and you feel your muscles grow stiff.
Shit shit shit shit shit what the fuck is that shit shit shit shit shit
What are you supposed to do in this kind of situation? Part of you hangs onto a sliver of hope that the origin of the noise is human, specifically of the alive variety, and that the alive human in question is Rose coming to your aid. You know she's pretty damn clever, but you also know for a fact that you're being highly unrealistic. You know damn well what the noise is, and you can't do shit about it.
Think Egbert think damnit how can you get out of this you have to have something stop being so fucking useless fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck--
"Oh no."
A figure flashes past the open doorway and you hold your breath, hoping it didn't catch sight or scent of you. The flash of decay reappears back in the doorway and you start saying your 'Hail Mary's, knowing that unless you can magically unbind yourself, the life of a Mr. John Egbert is going to terminate indefinitely.
The sack of morbid, decaying flesh inches closer and closer to you, its grunts and moans slashing through the air as rot fills your nostrils. You plug your nose and begin spewing macaronics as you desperately try to think of any last minute ideas. And what comes to your mind, exactly?
blankety, Blankety, BLANK.
"Oh god, Rose is gonna kill me," you whine as you shut your eyes tightly, rocking back and forth on the table in a last effort attempt to not die.
"Damn right I will!"
A shrill shriek pierces the air and black blood scatters around the room and onto you. Standing where the zombie once stood is your girlfriend, healer extraordinaire, Rose Lalonde.
"Heeeeeyyyyy Rose," you grin sheepishly at her and she stands in place, her arms crossed as black blood drips off of her combat knife.
"Why do you insist on getting yourself into these situations, John? I swear, you and Jade have a knack for almost dying and scaring the shit out of everyone. It must be genetic." She reaches over and slashes the straps holding you into place, freeing your limbs. You sit up and kick your feet over the side of the table, rubbing your wrists.
"Thanks." She rolls her eyes at you but her mouth twitches upward into a small smile.
"Anytime. Now let's get going, okay? I'm not about to get eaten after performing the most daring rescue of my life." Rose tugs on your arm and you slide of the table in response, gaining your footing once again.
"Do you happen to know where my weapon is?" you ask her after scanning the room briefly.
"You lost your weapon?!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, you must have forgotten the part where I blacked out, woke up on a metal table, and ALMOST GOT KILLED!" Rose rubs her forehead with the tips of her fingers, exasperated.
"Alright, alright, let's just get out of here, okay? Stick close by me so that I can cover you in case of imminent danger." You nod your head and stick by her side as you exit the room, creeping slowly down the damp, dark hallway of the building you were thrown in. It's seemingly deserted save for a few vermin and one hundred percent, downright spooky.
"So, you happen to at least know where my glasses went? Those I kind of really need," you whisper to Rose.
"Right, those I have seen. Here." She digs into her pocket and hands you the spectacles. "Now be quiet until we get the hell out of here." You shut up and place the glasses back onto the ridge of your nose, the world around you becoming a lot clearer. Rose grips onto your arm with caution as you descend a flight of stairs, the amount of light becoming dimmer and dimmer. There's still enough light that you're able to see, but it proves to be very difficult. Rose's breathing becomes more pronounced in the quiet and you realize that she's just as scared as you are. A clatter arises in the distance and you feel yourself pulled tighter against Rose's side, her fingernails digging into the delicate flesh of your arm.
"Did . . . you . . . hear . . . that?" you grunt each word out of your mouth as softly as you can manage.
"Yes," is Rose's only response, but she says nothing more, still tugging you alongside her as you try to make it out of the creepy medical facility.
She stops the both of you when the clatter erupts again, and suddenly you go absolutely stiff as you listen for anything that might hint at what is hidden in the pitch black of the building. Your heart continues to race and race, practically bounding out of your chest, and you feel a hot, damp sensation on your neck, sending chills up your spine. You try to not make any sudden movements, moving your hand and tapping it on Rose's thigh. You feel her jump beneath your touch but then she relaxes as she processes your message. She releases her death grip on your arm and you wait in solemn silence before a burst of wind flashes behind your head, the sound of a screech bursting through the air.
Rose places her knife back in its sheath and then grabs your arm, pulling you into a sprint as you run for the door. She lets go of it a second more as she pushes forward, a pair of double doors spreading open, light flooding your vision. You get a quick glimpse behind you, noticing that it wasn't just one behind you, it was dozens.
"Holy shit," you pant as soon as the two of you stop to rest when you figure you're far enough away from the site. Rose nods her head in agreement, arching her back and resting her hands on her knees.
"Agreed." You take a moment to regain your breath before Rose starts searching your skin for signs of any bites as a precautionary. Her skin is somehow cold to the touch, and it sends shivers down your spine, but she soon finishes, her eyebrows furled.
"What is it?" you ask her with concern.
"You have sharpie marks all over you. Dotted lines over your stomach and back as if . . . "
"As if what?"
"As if someone was preparing to remove your organs," she finishes, meeting your gaze.
"Why would someone want to remove my organs? Isn't it a little too late in the game to be concerned with organ transplants?" you arch your eyebrow.
"I'm not sure, but something tells me it's not for organ transplants," she answers you, biting her lip afterward.
"What the hell would someone want to do with my organs, then?"
"I'd like to figure that out." You pucker your lips a moment as you mull that information over, but then return your focus back to her, your mouth twisting in to a small smile. You reach out for the side of her face, your hand resting on her cheek and your fingers twirling a strand of her hair.
"I'm glad you found me." Her eyes soften, a Mona Lisa-esque smile adorning her face as she places her hand atop yours.
"I'm glad I was able to find you. I'm not sure what I would've done if you . . . " She refrains from finishing her sentence, but you don't urge her to continue. Your hand snakes around her neck and you draw her lips to yours, your other hand threading fingers through her loose vanilla blonde locks. Her hands rest on your shoulders as she leans into the kiss, sucking on your lower lip softly. The kiss doesn't last too long because the two of you have a busy schedule to attend to, but she kisses you chastely once more before breaking contact, dropping her hand to the side to intertwine her fingers with yours.
"Let's go," you decide aloud, and Rose couldn't agree more.