[Drabble/Writing||Incident in Bouden||Didier’s Accident]
Most people, at least those with sense would leave something they do not understand alone. Even banish it to a place where eyes do not fall. Yes, that would be the most sensible course of action. There would be no one to blame and hardly any risks taken.
What would one do if struck by curiosity? Perhaps an idea would form. Hands would seek its power - aching for an answer only they had the question to. Many would call it foolish to dabble things that would be a gamble, although the fair few who participate merely call it ambition.
At least that is what I came to believe, until my future became paved with the very mistakes I had made. Each one carefully laid for when the time came, it would all crumble beneath my feet. Are these regrets? One could say that, yes. Though even if it is a heavy burden to bear, it is one I do not mind sharing. I imagine you all have many questions to ask. half those concerning my delicate cheekbones and my good posture, I am sure.
It had started back when the Bouden district was still in tact, it was an industrial site where most of our facilities were made. To name a few: the dormitories for the fellow worker, offices, warehouses etc. Yet that was just one of the jobs the district had been tasked with. The other being liquidation. Oh? I apologise, allow me to explain. As the sole guardian of this zone, many of the items found have to be approved by me. Found for no use, they will get melted down into 'inky-black-nothingness'. Give the regards to the Bouden factory incinerator.
For a while it sated my needs. Business was well, we were managing to stay afloat with the curious eye of the passerby. Noticing the trends of the populace, it had made it a lot easier to narrow down our profits. A lot of the demands were high for certain objects and in turn, the factory continued to burn. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Months down the line, there was a stock shortage no-one foresaw and there was a struggle to keep our clientele.
Desperate, I called a staff meeting in front of the fountain in Fortuda. It was not planned, as many of the anxious whispers were confirmed upon seeing my person. With not having slept for three days, hair tussled and a shirt smeared with grey ink. I would have been worried too, if I were down there too. With a clear voice, I announced our situation:
I wonder what I was expecting that day. I can tell you one thing, it certainly was not suggestions. Many lips flapped and only panic wafted through the air. Who could blame them? They had been working a ridiculous amount to pay for what little accommodation had. My failing goals cemented their way of life, how were they going to live now? Would any other Zone take them? Through my eyes, it had only taken five seconds to ruin over five hundred lives.
I was not done, I called for their attention once more. Only to suggest a scavenger hunt, anything and everything must be pillaged. Not one stone can go unturned. The only rule I had set was that it must appear to have some value before taking it. That had meant that everything that I had worked so hard to build - would be taken apart in order to keep my ambitions alive. There were some tell-tell signs that my staff were not pleased by this, though I assured them through lying teeth that I would take care of it.
With a few weeks having passed by, the little that had been scraped out of our zone had barely kept us going. Yet good fortune fell upon us! A wealthy sponsor came to our aid. Unknowing of how dire our situation. They had called for a few replacement materials, yet seeing most of our other wares - they were tempted to empty their wallet. Once more, I called the staff however this time, in front of the offices. Announcing that our crisis was finally over, hours would be cut to the standard although they could expect to have a rise in their wage.
The night was filled with laughter and drunken banter from the elsen. Services provided by myself, I slipped away to continue with my own work. There was a lot to do and so little time after all. Many were receipts from the previous customers lavish spending, it would have done me some good to review my groundbreaking success. Only, I did not make it to my office without noticing something odd. In short, it had been completely stripped apart from the desk, a chair, papers and the necessary stationary.
So why was it, that there was a stone on my desk? I could not remember putting it there... its previous uses were just a doorstop and a paperweight. Yet I could have sworn to put it with the collection to be sold...
Putting it out of my thoughts, I settled and continued with the paperwork. Yet I found myself disrupted, it was within the corner of my eye. My brow furrowed as I pushed it out of my sight. Eventually, after twenty minutes of getting nowhere. I put the dark rock within my palm, rolling it around as I mused. It was not a particularly interesting mineral, it had no shine nor was it smooth. In fact, it was rough,rigid and chilling to touch. Though despite being hit by the door a good number of times... there had not been a single scratch.
What in the graces of Eloha's name was this! Why was it on my desk when I had been using it on the floor prior? No one had come into my office since, security was made certain of that. I should have felt dread or a chill. Though I was too swept up within my own curiosity to even register another emotion. There must be another property to this stone that I had not yet explored. Though what I could possibly try that I have not done? Turning the jagged stone within my fingers, I exhaled in frustration.
Since selling it was out of the question and it was basically useless. I had been left with one option. Liquidation. How it had been the last thought on my mind, I will probably never know. I can tell you in confidence that my eyes must have sparkled because it was only then an idea came to me. 'Perhaps there was something within', I thought 'Yes, yes! How could I have ever been so blind. Not everything is what they seem.'
Some childish glee must have come over me as I threw aside the receipts and began making plans anew. Equations, theorems and predictions were scrawled upon several pieces of paper. Running my hand through my hair, inspiration struck me at each glance. I must appear mad to become so obsessed with something one would deem insignificant. However at the time I could not bring myself to care - it had to be perfect and that was all that I cared about.
At last, I had finished. My wrist throbbed a dull ache from writing with such earnest. I do not know how long it took me to come to my solution - though the sunrise gave me a faint idea. I was eager to announce my plan straight after, though I had suspected that my workers would have trouble hearing over their nightly reminder. I may be strict with my Zone however I will admit mercy to those who earned it.
Stacking the papers with some semblance of tidiness, I dragged myself reluctantly to my sheets. Tomorrow had never felt so far away... I tossed and I turned until the excitement wore me to the realm of slumber.
That was the first mistake.
Allow me to move along in time - to the day of reckoning. Even if I did pitch my idea wholeheartedly, it still took some time to prepare and a few tests. I assigned a team from the research department in the Degeu district. They - like me - pushed a lot paper and had a much keener insight than I. Perfect for the job, they had time to squander as I did not. Do not get me wrong, they were diligent and worked to the utmost haste to meet my standards. Yet it did not heed my patience, I wanted it to be complete right that second. The waiting game was always the one that I loathed in particular.
The systems were ready, our machinery had been built for this very moment. In the depths of the Bouden factory, I stood along with twenty of my finest staff. All clad with a white coat and a mask on hand. We could not be too careless with a substance we had yet to identify. Bernard, the elsen I handpicked for this operation, had been the core leader of this project. If it were not for him, most of our facilities would still be downgraded. Nevertheless, he was all the more paranoid and very cautious which had slowed the initial project to begin with. Often he would delay me and I did all I could not to have him fired.
Needless to say, I was pleased I did not. Even with his panicked mutterings - the monitoring of the stone began. Having it placed within the incinerator, we marked its current condition. There, we found something quite strange. There was a substance radiating from the inside - the readings said it was giving off heat and yet we had not even started firing up the machines. Odd, I thought. It was definitely cold to touch when I brought it here... were there more conditions I had yet to realise?
The team dared not to touch it and meekly looked at Bernard to continue with the experiment. In turn, Bernard was exasperated with sweat beading down his forehead - staring up at my person for some guidance. I simply sighed and irritably waved a hand to go ahead. Embarrassed, the rest of the team scrambled to their stations - monitoring the condition once more to proceed with the next step. Gradually, warmth ghosted its way through the pipework, filling the chamber with an almost welcoming embrace.
The levels spiked ever so slightly, the output I recall being a grand eighteen percent from its original three. As the soft light brightened the factory, my head felt heavy as my eyes winced to a close. A sudden headache? Now? ...No. That was not it. I cannot describe to this day what it was that enraptured me so only that its glow was nostalgic, only I could not and I still can not understand why. It was inviting, like a lover sprawled in bed awaiting my presence.
As soon as my head cleared, the output had already leaped to forty-nine percent. Almost half way, I took a closer look from the heat radiated glass. Among the brightness, I could see the specks of black slowly rising and dispersing from the stone. Cracks were forming of a scarlet and white variant. Curious, I strained my eyes to get more than just a glimpse however I was pulled back from thoughts by Bernard's frantic warbling.
"I beg of you boss, you have to stop the experiment - we cannot identify the fumes its giving off! For all we know it could be toxic... please... it's not worth the risk!"
My sight flickered from the stone to the elsen. I honestly could have cared less at what substance it was exuding, I wanted to know what was inside that thing. Gas is just gas, I had reasoned. Besides, the masks were there for a reason - it would be a waste to not use them. Which is what I had told him. At this, everyone was told to attach the masks before continuing onward. Now that the safety inspector was put in his place, there would be no reason to halt the experiment further.
There it be, the second mistake.
It had only taken ten minutes for me to notice something was wrong. The stone had not shrunk, rather it had expanded and the smog it had gathered was now clinging to the glass. There was a shrill cry from one of the workers on the monitors.
'Eighty Nine Percent, Boss. I... I can't breathe...! The mask... the mask i-is broken? How can it be broken... I...'
Tearing away from the glass, I went to make a round to the dramatic one until they had rose from their seat, twitching and desperately pressing their mask against their face. Pleas for smoke as he wheezed. There was an annoyance surging within me, I went to grasp him by the shoulders and tell him to get a grip, to stay focused. We were so close, we could not deal with an emotional meltdown right now.
Yet as soon as I made contact, my hands sunk right through his shirt - I could feel the narrow outlines of his shoulder bones. My mouth ran dry as the layers of flesh encased my hands in thick rivers of silver. I pushed back from the man, only for the dollops of his chest splash to the ground. His face... I still remember, the mask had been attached, glued on as it were... only to slide down and reveal his skull.
I was pulled out of my shock when a cacophony of bloodied screams were sounded around me. I did my best to turn away from the pulping mess, yet my eyes betrayed and were mesmerised by such a perverse sight. My stomach twisted, tears forming as I so desired to wretch. As a few moments passed, I bore witness to something more horrifying.
The men I had previously worked with were all becoming figures of disgrace. A few were scratching at their throats as a plasma of sorts forced itself out of their bellies. Their legs giving way to a puddle beneath them as these spectres splashed about in their entrails like a pig in heat. Whilst others bones stabbed through their skin, breaking their tiny bodies to an unrecognisable beast. Their cries... oh Vader, their cries remixed into a despaired inhumane howl, their pain - heard by no-one but me.
I took a step back, only to bump into another. I felt myself holding my breath only to see Bernard, his arms stretched around him like rope. In an attempt to take his life. His hands were choking at his throat, causing his eyes to burst out his skull like bubbles of tar. Smoke forced itself out of each socket as if two hungry worms burying to the sky. His cries were eventually drowned by his own smog. Oh Bernard.... if only I had heeded your warning, none of this would have happened to you...
Yet I could not grieve just yet. I was still in danger, I forced myself through the metallic double doors and up the stairs. Desperate to find survival in the clear air outside. Though in the final stretch. I found myself weary, the energy sapped from my thighs as shock overcome me. I stumbled and grasped the nearest surface that could hold me. I was safe enough here, I thought. Lowering myself to the metal floor - it gave me time to catch my breath and wipe the sweat off of my face.
But it was not sweat, no. It was skin. My skin, with clumps of white hair within. The blood within my veins went cold, my chest tightened all while I braced myself to look in the reflective surface I was holding. The first thing I noticed, half of my face was gone - the sphere of my eye was slowly lapping down my face as my vision blurred. Though mixed in with my flesh, was a steaming black liquid, that burned the skin and clothing away.
I did not realise it at the time, I was shouting, screaming hysterically all sorts of profanities as my hands were hitting the surface of my reflection. Only then did I notice all the joints in my hands... then just its skeletal structure. I stopped, then I let my body sink into the ground. Tears I wanted to shed came in blotches of shadow and rotting flesh. This was my fault, this was my goal and... I succeeded only by killing myself in the process.
...Hm? I am not dead you say? Oh you are quite the intelligent one are you not? Let me brief you, I was hanging on by the thread of my life when the head of security pulled me out. The black acid had mixed in with my blood you see, so it burned it terribly. I do feel oh so bad about that. They had sent me off to another zone that specialised in medicine to treat me... all that fun little details that are often left unsaid.
A moral to this story? Well if you insist, always know when to stop - even if you are getting to a good part. The crash is much harder than you would imagine.
