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Chapter Text

"Someone help me

Understand what’s going on inside my mind" - The mind electric

What?

Where am I?

This doesn't look like my room... Or my house.

Wait...

I know this place.

No... It can't be...

I escaped from this place a long time ago...

How did I get back here?

I feel numb.

I look at the wall, as if something important were stuck in it.

Someone opens the door.

"Child, could you accompany me to the room, please? "

I got up from where I was standing.

I followed him, obediently.

"How do you feel, young Markovich?"

" ... Numb... "

"Don't worry, it'll pass. "

A few walks seemed like hours...

We reached a room.

"Sit here, please. "

I impulsively followed the order.

" Test No. 3. Subject No. 130. Name: Skip Markovich. "

"That's right."

" ... " 

Little by little, I regained consciousness. 

I realized that I was trapped. My wrists and legs were tied tightly.

"What are they going to do to me...? "

They continued their work.

"Let me out! Please! " 

"Don't worry. It won't hurt."

It's a lie! It's all lies! I know it will hurt!

I feel tears welling up in my eyes.

"Somebody help me!"

"No one will listen to you here. "

"That'll make the test harder... "

My nervousness was growing.

"Turbo! Whiplash!"

My heart was beating a thousand an hour.

" Burn! Shadow! " 

My abnormal breathing... Smelling that nauseating odor. 

" Smoove! Chet! " 

I felt like I was about to faint. My stomach churned with nausea.

"Somebody! Help me... please! "

" ...Shut his mouth."

Here they come, approaching and putting on a gag. There was nothing I could do but whimper even more.

People around me were monitoring, and one of them was putting things on my head 

I see a woman holding a clipboard and writing something down.

"All set to start the operation. " - A man said

That's when it started.

Electricity pulsed through my body. 

I couldn't hold back my screams. The pain was unbearable.

My heart was about to explode.

I don't know how long it lasted, but when it was over, I felt dizzy. My arms and legs were wobbly and my head was light. My vision was blurred. I couldn't feel anything. 

A cacophony of voices sounded in my head...

Someone... Anyone...

Please...

Save me...

I don't want to stay here...

I don't want to go through this again...

I'd rather die than be here again…

I scream at the top of my lungs, falling from the ceiling and remaining on the floor in a fetal position for a long time trying to stabilize my breathing.

(The strangest thing is that I can sleep in many different ways, but it would be impossible to sleep floating in the air, which is the case for me now.) 

My eyes are still closed, crying and thinking that I'm still in that horrible place.

But when I opened them... A dim blue light greeted my eyes. 

I had been in my room all this time. It was just a nightmare. Phew!

It took minutes for me to calm down, wipe away the tears and convince my mind that I was home. Safe. Far away from that place. 

Lucky no one heard anything. (Soundproof walls, duh!) 

A few days ago I started having these dreams.

All these dreams are too vague, I never knew what I was doing or why I was there.

Was it a memory?

Also... How did I manage to float?

Chapter Text

Everything seemed to be going well after that dream… 

He thought it was just another one of those crazy dreams he has...

Days come, days go... And those dreams became more and more obvious...

Weeks have passed since the event in which he woke up floating in his room.

It was a wednesday morning. After the service they do at Dos Bros Tacos, everyone was doing their hobbies. He's fixing an exhaust on one of the friends' cars.

But Skid feels strange.

His mind is a mess.

He's started having constant nightmares.

As well as having severe headaches.

What's happening to him?

He doesn't know either. He just ignores it as usual.

After fixing the exhaust, Skid feels a bit tired and has a headache, so he goes into the kitchen to get a glass of water. He then sits down in a nearby chair.

He thinks for a moment about his nightmares. They were very vague dreams... But that didn't mean they didn't send shivers down his spine every time he woke up. Especially the dreams that involved electricity...

His heart leapt and he felt a chill just thinking about it...

"Hey!" 

Skid came out of his thoughts and heard a voice behind him. He turns to see who it is.

"I honestly thought you weren't here." - It was Chet, pushing back some of his hair that was in the way. - "I thought you were looking for some cryptid out there..." 

"Hi to you too, Chet." - He smiles - "I'm not really up for it today..."

Chet was surprised by what he said. It was strange for Skid to refuse this kind of thing. He loves doing it.

"Who are you and what have you done with Skid?" - I said jokingly.

"Hehe, I'm just not in the mood today, that's all. " says Skid, scratching the back of his head.

"Are you sure you're not an alien?"

"No, it's me!"

"Oh no! Are you starting to get sick?!" - Chet backed away a little, looking scared and disgusted at being "contaminated".

"I'm fine! It's just a mild headache, it's no big deal. "

"Right... Just in case, you'd better take some painkillers. "

" Thanks for the advice, doctor. "

They both laugh.

"But seriously, what's wrong with you these days? It's weird. I mean, weirder than usual..."

"I..." - Skid stops, his smile slowly crumbling. - "I really don't know what's going on with me. Maybe it's lack of sleep... I couldn't sleep properly last night..."

"Working late again?"

"No..."

"Nightmares?"

"..." - He ducked his head, embarrassed.

"I'll take that as a yes. Don't worry, it's okay to have nightmares from time to time... I have them sometimes too..." - Chet puts his hand on the boy's shoulder. - "If you're not feeling well, you can go to your room and get some rest. I'll tell the others you're sick."

"You don't have to, Chet. I'll be fine, really." - Skid smiles, trying to ease his friend's worry. 

Chet smiles back, but deep down, he knows there's something going on with the other.

"Right, I need to go now. Take care." - The older boy lightly squeezes the younger one's shoulder, before leaving Skid alone in his thoughts.

The black-haired boy sighed and rested his chin on his hand, feeling lost in things he didn't know how to explain.

It wasn't long before Skid noticed some blood dripping onto the table.

"Hm? What's that? "

When he touched his nose, he was startled. There was now blood on his hand.

He gasped in fright, then ran to find a mirror, and when he did, he saw that blood was coming out of his nose. Wiping the blood off with his own shirt, Skid noticed that the blood was still coming out. So he ran to the bathroom.

"What's happening to me?"

~Hours later...

"Hey guys!" - Turbo announced to the bored group in the living room. - "How about we do a bit of parkour to stave off the boredom?"

Everyone accepted, excited.

"Sure. Why not?"

"I was getting really bored..."

"Come on!"

Skid, who was sprawled out on the sofa, had one foot on the ground. What if he were to fall ill during the race? He didn't want to worry his friends even more... It was already getting boring and he felt uncomfortable with the worried looks on his face all the time. Everyone asked if he was all right, and he answered yes almost instantly. 

Perhaps this will dispel the doubts and confusion in his mind. It would also show others that he was fine. After all, everyone has bad days...

A little run wouldn't hurt him, right?

"Hey, Skid! Are you coming?" - Shadow called out, smiling.

"Ah. Yeah, yeah! I'm coming with you!" - He stood up slightly.

The six of them headed for the location, determined by Turbo, who led the way.

"Are we there yet?" - Skid complained.

"We're almost there. I've found an amazing spot for exactly that."

"Really? Where specifically?" - Whip asked the young rookie.

"Here! We're here!"

It was a new place, very different from the one they were used to. It was located in a neighborhood close to where they lived. Every alleyway, wall, roof and railing seemed to be extremely designed for them. It was surprising, how had they never been to this part of town?

"Wow!"

"Not bad, garden snail."

"Really, it's a perfect place for it, bro." - Smoove said.

"Right guys, you know the rules. The first to arrive will be the winner."

"Will there be a prize this time?" - Burn asks, interested.

The older man rolls his eyes at the question, before pulling out a five-dollar bill from his jacket pocket.

"5 dollars." 

Everyone is interested in a prize, even if it's a small one.

"So, what are we waiting for?" - Turbo says excitedly.

Everyone gets into position, side by side, waiting for the older man's signal.

"Three, two, one... now!"

Whip, as always, takes the first step. Everyone then starts running.

They've done it several times before, but for them, it's like the first time. In splendid synchronicity, they leap from rooftop to rooftop, performing agile movements and incredible acrobatics. From Burn's graceful and sensual leaps to Shadow's thunderous impacts when he hit the ground.

For a moment, Skid felt a little better. He could feel the adrenaline pulsing through his veins, his feet pushing him to go further and further. The boy jumped over a wall using the strength of his arms and legs. On top of the wall, he turned back to extend his hand to Smoove, helping him up.

Everyone had this sense of companionship and camaraderie during the parkour races between them. It's not just a race to overtake and beat others, it's about having fun above all else.

The orange-haired boy with extraordinary powers, full of daring, uses his super speed to overtake Whip in front of him. 

"You can't catch me!" - Turbo, now in first place, teased Whip who was close behind him.

"Careful you don't celebrate too soon, kid." 

"Why?"

It seems that Whip foresaw what was going to happen at that moment. Turbo missed the jump, causing him to fall from where he was climbing. 

"Whoa!"

Luckily, Whip himself caught him before he hit the ground. The boy smiled embarrassedly at the older man.

"I told you so."

The older man put him down, patted him on the head and ran away, taking first place again.

"Hey!" - He runs after.

As the race went on, laughter echoed as they passed through the alleyways, clearly having a great time.

But with each passing minute, Skid began to feel ill. Suddenly. But why? He'd felt so good minutes ago... He didn't understand that either.

With every step he took, his vision blurred.

But he shook his head quickly and resumed running.

Everything seems to be fine now... 

... Until he almost trips over Smoove.

"Oops! Careful there!"

"Sorry, Smoove..."

"You okay, bro?" - The tall brunette asked, holding him so he wouldn't fall.

"I'm... I'm fine..." - He says, gasping for breath.

"Hey, guys! I don't think Skid's feeling well..."

He calls out to the others, and they quickly return to where the two of them were.

"What happened, Skid?"

"Guys... I'm fine, really."

"It doesn't look like you're okay to me..." - Shadow said, worried.

"It's true. You're even paler than usual." - Burn said

"Come on... You don't have to worry about me..."

One thing the group knows very well: Skid can be quite stubborn when he wants to be...

"Skid." - Whiplash's authoritative voice sounded in his ear - "Can you tell us what's going on with you? You've been different for a few days now..."

Skid froze. He looked down, embarrassed that he was throwing a tantrum instead of telling them what was wrong with him.

But how? He doesn't know what's going on in his mind either...

"It's just a headache, that's all..." - Skid said, running a hand through his black hair.

"We'd better get back..." - Turbo advised the group.

"You're right, garden snail. Let's go."

"Wait a minute! You don't have to come with me. I can go back on my own."

"Are you sure?"

Skid shook his head and turned around. He didn't want to spoil their fun just because of a stupid headache.

"Have fun, guys." - He waves to them.

He walks away from the group, leaving worried faces behind.

Walking through the streets, he wonders what is happening to him these days. A confusing kaleidoscope of memories coming to him in his dreams, objects floating into his room more often for no reason, things he used to enjoy doing - like watching for strange creatures - no longer being as much fun as they used to be...

He stops for a while to relieve the headache that was coming on once again. Putting his hands on his head, he took several deep breaths, hoping that it would pass soon.

"Damn... Stupid headache... Mental note: I need to go to Chet's and ask for some of his headache pills, since I'm running out. " - He mumbled.

He hardly realized that he was in an area belonging to the richest part of the city.

"Look, guys, it's that weird guy! " - He heard a voice, arrogant and overbearing.

"Are you on the moon again, silly?" - The second voice said, mockingly.

When Skid took his hands away from his eyes, he saw three people, luxurious clothes, impeccable hair, nice shoes... but stupid and selfish. 

Richie, Cameron and Tyler were their names. Both he and his friends didn't get on well with these three.

"Bad time for those three to show up... Why don't they show up another day?" - Skid snorted, annoyed.

The "slugs" (as he put it) laughed at him.

"You'd better not make me angry... "

"That's what we're going to do!" - Cameron says.

"I'm serious... Don't do this... You'll regret it, I'm warning you." - Warned Skid.

"Why? What are you going to do, by any chance?"

Skid didn't say anything, just put his hand on his head. The pain was too much for him.

The trio laughed.

"Me? Being afraid of a weirdo like you? You'd think so! "

"Go on, answer me! And what are you going to do with us, eh?"

They laugh again. Skid was already getting annoyed. This time, he's not going to let it go...

"That's enough!" - Grunting, Skid has already lost patience with them. He grits his teeth. - "They deserve to be taught a lesson. "

He glares at the boys in all his rage. Suddenly, Tyler starts to get up from the floor.

"Hey! What's-?"

A strange force pushed Tyler telekinetically, and he slammed into the wall. The others were startled by this.

"What kind of witchcraft is that?" 

And that same force controls and breaks Cameron's arm 

"AAAHH!!! MY ARM!!! " - Cameron screams, falling over in pain.

Richie despairs.

"O-Ok, that's enough! You crazy freak!"

"I told you, didn't I?"

Skid approaches him, as he walks away.

"So. Tell me. Do you think that's funny now?" - He asked coldly, his dark blue eyes reflecting his coldness. For a moment, his voice sounded like someone else's... a darker version of himself. - "Tell me..."

Richie shudders with fear and is speechless.

"Stay away from me!"

"You'd better leave now... Otherwise..." - He slowly puts his hand around the other man's neck, for a second imagining his fingers squeezing his neck... Seeing him squirming to scream until he finally loses all his breath. - "I'll break your neck."

Richie ran, screaming with fear. Skid just watched, both the one who ran in fear and the other two who were now together, Tyler was bleeding and holding Cameron's arm, both terrified.

"What's wrong?" - He asked normally.

" N-nothing! We're G-going to leave now! "

They run, and he sighs.

" ...Idiots... That's for making me eat half the garbage in town... " - He says, heading back towards the city.

That event was a long time ago, but he still remembers it. He remembers the laughter and the mockery, he remembers when they played on his naivety (and stupidity), and when he spent two days sick afterwards. He remembers everything. 

But that's okay, as long as those assholes don't come back to mess with his life so soon. At least a slight dizziness isn't a big problem for him.

But then he felt very nauseous and had to stop to vomit... Lucky there was no one around to see what happened.

After the nausea subsided, a thought came into his mind...

Did I... really do that...?

Arriving home, Tito was resting for a while after a long job cleaning the premises. He looked over and saw Skid coming.

"Ah, hello, little amigo! Weren't you out with the others?"

"Hi, Tito. I decided to come back..."

Tito also noticed a few weeks ago that the boy was very different from what he used to be... He tried to talk to the boy, but he always avoided talking about it.

"Are you all right? You look a bit pale..." - His voice sounded worried. - "Are you hungry?"

"No, no... I'm fine... I think..." - The last part came as a whisper.

Skid walked straight past Tito, before he could ask him anything else.

Again.

"Dios mio... What happened to him?" - Tito asks himself.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Except that Skid avoided all his friends so that they wouldn't mention it, staying in his room for the rest of the day.

-P.O.V. Skidmark-

~The next day...

I wake up feeling worse than yesterday.

Why does my head hurt so much even though I've taken the pills…?

It feels like it's going to explode at any moment.

Honestly, I don't intend to get up today and just lie there, waiting for it to pass, but I don't want others to worry too much about me.

But... It'll be much better if we tell them... right?

No... I don't think so...

They'll think I've gone mad for good...

They won't believe me...

They never believe us...

~Minutes later...

After an internal struggle between telling or not telling, I went into the kitchen (because I was hungry), hoping that they wouldn't be there.

But I was wrong. They were all still there, talking about who knows what. They noticed me and all looked directly at me.

"Look, I know you're worried about me, but-" I began, in a tired tone of voice.

"We just want to know what's going on with you, Skid." -Turbo began to speak, disrupting my speech.

"It's nothing, it's serious! I'm fine! I swear!"

"You don't look 'fine'. You look... different..." - Smoove commented.

"What do you mean? I'm still the same Skid you know... It seems I can't change my ways since you're already weirded out..." - I replied a little offended.

"It's not that... It's just that you... how can I put it..." - The tall guy slurred his words.

"You avoided us for the rest of the day yesterday." - Burn argues.

"I was tired."

"But did you have to do that?"

"And what does it matter? You wouldn't believe me if I told you what was happening to me. You always do."

"Not always..." - Shadow corrects

"Only when you go too far with the conspiracies." - Chet says.

"We've seen you act differently for weeks. But now, it seems to have gotten worse. You don't hang out with us like you used to, or go around saying that some bigfoot is nearby... You've... just changed..."

Turbo approaches me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I lower my head, turning away from the worried eyes.

"Just tell us. We won't judge you this time, okay guys?" 

"This time"... And then what? Are they going 

to start judging us again...?

Silence!

But it's the truth! 

Looking up quickly, I saw their gazes. Shadow worried, Smoove a little confused but compassionate and Burn looking away, bewildered by the situation. All three nodded in agreement.

Only Whip had his usual cold, reflective look.

"I... I don't know..."

I don't know why, but I feel like I can tell them... 

I can hear the sound of their laughter...

"... I can't... I'm sorry..." 

I let go of Turbo's hand on my shoulder, ready to turn around and leave for my room. 

Until I heard a loud crash on the table. My body stopped instantly.

It was Whip who had hit the table, getting up from where he was sitting. He sighed deeply.

"All right, Skid, either you tell us what's happening to you, or we'll force you to do it ourselves." - Whip, in a serious tone of voice, spoke bluntly.

"..." - I couldn't speak. 

They kept pushing me to speak...

Is it just me, or are their voices louder than usual...?

And also... Their mouths don't even move...

I wonder why he's gone so suddenly...?

They'll say we've gone cuckoo, as usual...

I'm worried about him... 

could it be something serious?

What if... they say ugly things to us?

Being as stubborn as he is, 

I don't think he'll ever tell us...

Stop being such a crybaby! The least they can 

do to us is take us to a mental institution...

Guys... please... keep it down...

Lights flash in my field of vision, even when I close my eyes, I can see them flashing. My hands go to my ears. Trying to drown out the sounds. 

They always expect the worst from us...

They always label us and we're

called crazy all over town...

Why do I feel that something bad is going to happen...?

But... aren't we?

Speak for yourself...

Please, Skid... talk to us... We just want to help you...

The voices keep talking and talking inside my head...

It's nauseating... It's a lot of pressure...

"Guys..." 

I'm afraid it's something beyond what 

I'm imagining... we just want to help... I know 

that most of the time we don't believe him,

but this time... I feel it's something much worse…

I don't care about that... We all know

we're failures... You know that,

right, Skid? We're failures.

" GUYS!!!" - I shouted.

Everyone stops talking immediately, startled and surprised by my sudden shout.

"S-sorry for shouting..." - I took a deep breath before continuing. Thankfully, the voices fell silent... - "I'm telling you I'm fi-ACK!"

My legs suddenly lost their strength, and I fell to my knees. I put my hands on my head, holding it back because of the latent pain.

"Skid!"

Everyone approaches, running.

"Skid? Are you all right?" - Turbo asked worriedly, crouching down.

"Please... Make it stop... " was the only thing I managed to say.

The pain was unbearable...

My vision was blurred and obscured...

And then I felt nothing.

-Third Person-

"Skid? Skid! Talk to me! Wake up!" - Turbo shouted, holding his friend.

A strange thing happens

Things start levitating out of nowhere and are thrown everywhere.

"What the - ?" - Burn exclaimed in fright.

"What's going on? " - Chet says, getting closer to the girl.

Suddenly, a plate is thrown.

"Look out! " - Shadow shouts.

Everyone dodges the floating objects and tries to protect themselves.

"Skid! " - Turbo supports his friend on his shoulders, trying to wake him up, while trying to protect himself.

Things started to get even stranger...

...when Skid started to leave the ground and float in mid-air. The boy next to him was startled.

Not only him, but everyone else got scared.

"Skid is... flying!?" - Smoove says, perplexed 

"This is getting weirder and weirder... " - Burn commented, moving a little away from the scene and positioning herself behind her lover.

"Skid! Whatever you're doing, it's not funny anymore. You'd better stop it now! " - Turbo appealed.

He didn't respond to the pleas. He just stood there, motionless and floating in the air, while the objects around him were being thrown everywhere.

Whiplash noticed something else. The eyes... Skidmark's pupil and iris... Gone!

His eyes were completely white.

"I'm going over there! "

"Whip, wait! " - Smoove shouts.

He runs towards the boy, dodging the objects, sliding across the floor to the other side and jumping after him, knocking them both down.

"Skid! What the hell is happening to you?!"

No answer.

"Answer me!" - His voice wavered little by little.

He was scared too. He had never seen anything like this before.

When he turned around, he gasped in shock.

"Skid... "

He was shaking. Trembling violently. His breathing was labored. And his nose... Bleeding!

Everyone gasped with shock and fear. Their friend was suddenly bleeding. None of them knew how to react.

"Skid! Cut it out, Skidmark! You've got to wake up! " - Whiplash shouted, acting impulsively 

"His nose is bleeding a lot! He's going to lose a lot of blood if he keeps this up! " - Chet warned, terrified.

"Damn it! What do I do? " - Whip thought - "Smoove! Put on some soothing music! NOW! "

Smoove, who was paralyzed with fear, snapped out of his trance and quickly put on the music Whip had requested.

Miraculously, as the music played, Skid calmed down and began to feel drowsy and fell asleep as the objects fell to the ground.

"The objects have stopped floating! " said Shadow, making sure there was nothing else floating around.

Feeling safe, they all came out of their hiding places and went to Whiplash. 

"We need to get him to the infirmary and clean up all this blood. " - Chet orders and runs to get the supplies.

"Let me take him. You clean up the blood and tidy up the mess." - Whiplash says more calmly, holding Skid in his arms and following Chet

"Understood! " - The others reply, a mixture of concern and terror on their faces.

To be continued…