The Beginning of the End

Welcome all! This is my first entry here, although many people may know me from Spellbound+! Beginning of the End is an already completed fanfic that I'm fixing up and reposting on here. So enjoy!

"I never had it." The words echoed in my ears as my head spun. I knew there wasn't enough antidote. Why did I take mine? Why did Woods take one, when he knew he had destroyed his? Heck, why was any of this happening? As the odorless gas continued to fill the dark, musty room, I kept my gaze firmly fixed on Matt. He really was the dad of the group, wasn't he? And now... he may have made the ultimate sacrifice. I desperately shoved that disturbing though out of my head and watched as he stiffly settled down next to Woods.

"Woods?" He said.

"Matt?"

"It's ok."

Woods seemed to think about it for a minute, then looked at Matt with a tortured expression on his face. "No, it's not OK!" This is all my fault! If I hadn't destroyed my antidote, if I hadn't gotten us locked in here, if I hadn't pressed that stupid freaking play button, none of this would be happening! You wouldn't be-" he broke off, unable to say more. Tears filled his eyes as Matt looked at me. "Sam, come here."

I sat down next to him and he tugged us both close. "Look at me. Both of you. There isn't time to blame yourselves, or each other." Was it just my imagination, or was his breathing getting heavier? "Whatever happens next, promise me- don't blame yourselves for whatever happens to me. I made this choice." His voice was definitely getting strained. "And one... more thing. I... I love... you guys."

And then his head dropped.

Woods and I scrambled away in terror, bumping into Quinn (who I had completely forgotten was there in the heat of the moment) as we watched in horror. Matt was shivering, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. His eyes rolled back in his head as he began to moan, low and long. He pulled his body in towards himself and rocked back and forth, leaving streaks in the dust on the ancient floor. "Matt?" I whispered, panicked. There was no reply, only another bone-chilling groan.

What was happening to him? Could I have done anything? Should I be doing anything now? What was going to happen next? I was dimly aware that the timer had stopped going off, and that there was no longer a hiss of gas coming from the serum bomb in the corner. What would happen now? The guy on the tape had said he would have to experiment on us instead. Would he take Matt away? Would he take all of us away? A vision flashed in my head of a tall man in a dark lab coat and an eerie glowing red mask striding confidently and quickly into the room to take Matt away. I shivered. I was now leaning against the grimy table with the open safe on it, gasping for air, but it barely registered. And what about us? I mentally worked through the papers we had found so far. We weren't exactly safe either. The antidote was only proven 65% effective, and the records had files on patients with amputations, comas, blood clots, insanity...

I felt myself spiraling back into panic. But no. I couldn't. Matt needed me. I forced my mind back to the present, looking around for a way out. Suddenly I noticed the door was open. I guessed that since the gas had finished "dispersing", we no longer needed to be held in. We could get out, maybe. There was still the matter of getting out of the maze of a base that made up Syntec location #3. One thing at a time. I ran over to Woods, who was still slumped against the table on the other side of the room from the safe. "Come on!" I said. "The door just opened. We gotta get out of here!" Woods didn't respond. Worried, I began to imagine all of the terrible things that could be happening to him right now. But then I noticed he was muttering something. I leaned in close to hear it:

"It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault." Over and over and over again, he muttered it.

I sighed. This had to stop. I needed Woods to help me get Matt out! "Woods.", I whispered. "Woods." Louder now. "Woods! Woods!"He looked up at me, finally, with a look of confusion and shock on his face. He looked around, and it slowly contorted into a look of guilt and shame I had never seen in him before. Again he whispered, "Sam, it's all my fault."