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(before we begin just know that I don't create these artworks! these are made by @robinartz_ on Instagram! also I don't use the image exactly, just as a prompt, as it should be)
He could feel it within him. Growing, leeching off his life supply, waiting for the moment to shed it's dying host. His vision hazy, blurring in and out of his surroundings, the laboratory slowly growing overrun with it. The corners of his vision began to be overcome with it, and it would not be long before he drew his last breath. The air smelt honeyed, like it was doused with liquid candy. The lab alarm kept ringing in his ears, the dull tone piercing his hearing. He thought back, wondering what had led him into this brutal end.
...
"Doctor ██████, are you ready?" His young assistant reached for the lever, ready to activate the machine.
"Yeah, go ahead." The two stood back as his assistant flicked the switch, watching the machine turn on.
After some miners found a deposit of a previously undiscovered crystal, dubbed Chlurundium, scientists from around the world rushed over to collect their own samples to experiment with. However, they soon found this crystal was incredibly radioactive, and was lethal to the touch. This dangerous gem soon became the item of interest for scholars around the globe, because there was no indication what could've possibly formed these stones.
He had soon realised that the stone could possibly be used as a power source if it was exposed to heat, and soon had a machine built that would take in input power, but after activating the crystal, would be able to power itself. Theoretically, a Chlurundium crystal weighing roughly 1 pound could last around 10 years powering a whole city with his machine.
At least, that's what it was meant to do.
He had begun to notice something had gone wrong around an hour after turning the machine on. The crystal had been steadily dipping in power, and they were worried that the machine had overclocked the system, causing it to fail. They turned it off, and had someone come in and extract the crystal to examine its properties after the exposure, and determine what went wrong. She wore a thick hazmat suit made to protect against high heat and radiation exposure. Before she went in, he could tell that she was nervous, even though nothing seemed wrong. She ambled into the room with a grabber to be extra cautious about preventing contact. She opened the door to the chamber where the crystal was placed, and called out.
"What in the hell..?" She moved back, then moved in for a closer look. "There's nothing here!"
"What the hell do you mean, there's nothing there?" He was pissed, and began to put on a hazmat suit to check himself. "That was our only sample, damnit!"
He burst through the door, pushing past his assistant to see the apparent lack of crystal for himself. Sure enough, nothing was there. All that remained of the crystal was a dark, virescent goo splattered across the chamber, hinting only at the conclusion that the crystal exploded. Acquiring another bundle of Chlurundium would possibly cost millions, as greedy businessmen had scooped up most of the stuff not long after it was discovered. He had already spent a large sum of his own money on getting one sample, to be able to afford another would throw him onto the streets.
Two more hours had passed. The crystal was still nowhere to be found, and the goo had disappeared entirely. But the crystal was the least of his problems, as several of the staff had begun to report sickness, with symptoms of nausea and fever. An infection had spread across the lab, and without any ambulance arriving in the next hour, things were looking grim. He wasn't feeling any sickness himself, but a heavy unease washed over him.
His assistant fared the worst out of the patients, falling in and out of consciousness, with record high fevers, and screaming awake from nightmares. Just then, he could hear her shrill crying penetrated his ears, messing with his own focus. She had already been restrained earlier, because it was determined she was in a state of psychosis, yet what was more worrying is that more people will have to be restrained soon, given the way of how things were going.
Another hour passed.
His assistant somehow got worse. When she was awake, she spoke, or rather screamed, about the pain of something writing through her body. The ambulance was due in another 15 minutes, yet he worried that it would arrive too late. He noticed that a small, olive bump appeared on the assistant's arm. He watched in repugnance as that olive bump grew into a lump of Chlurundium, protruding through her skin. Soon, crystals began to pop up all over her skin, before finally one last crystal burst through her skull, killing her.
Even as her body went limp, the crystals did not stop its spread, beginning to proliferate on the surrounding walls and furniture. Each new bundle of Chlurundium made it grow faster, like a rapid contamination. The crystals began to spread onto the other scientists and staff, too, and it wasn't long before the laboratory had completely fallen apart, descending into chaos.
And now, here he was. Life, fading. The green gem encompassing the last glimpse of his world. With the last of his energy, he looked at his watch. Damn. The ambulance won't arrive for another five minutes.
