Wes and Scott had been working together in Wes' office putting the finishing touches on the mask, not long later and it was done. They needed to get this to Ben as quickly as possible. Wes grabbed the bottom half and Scott grabbed the goggles and they raced down to the room Ben had been staying in. Deb was already there having just given him his, hopefully last, dose of pain medicine.
His breathing was strained and he could barely see anymore. Serum dribbled out of him. He clutched the arm that had been injected as the pain ebbed away. He heard the sounds of someone, or rather two someones, running on the hard floor, and it was getting closer.
"What's happening?" He asked.
Deb placed her hand on his shoulder and he startled, not expecting the contact.
"Wes and Scott are here. They finished making the mask to help you." She explained.
She helped him sit up in the bed and Wes fastened the mask and goggles to Ben's face for the first time. Instantly he was able to breathe easier. No more wheezing breaths. The other thing he noticed instantly was the red tint to his vision. His vision. He could see again. He took a moment to just take a few deep breaths, inhaling a little bit of the serum each time.
Scott, Wes, and Deb all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that it was helping.
A thought nagged his mind. 'What do I look like?'
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood. His legs were stiff from laying down for so long but he made his way over to the mirror on the wall. When he saw his reflection he froze. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The red tint to his vision made sense now. Over his eyes was a pair of glowing red lights. Then there was the actual mask itself that covered the entire lower half of his face. It was… weird seeing himself like this.
It was now that it really hit him. He would never be normal again. He'd always have to wear this mask just to stay alive. Anger flooded his mind. Anger at himself, at the experiment going wrong, for it happening in the first place. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and his breathing sped up. Without really thinking he yelled and punched the mirror, breaking it and getting glass everywhere, pieces of it stuck in his hand. Deb, Wes, and Scott were all in shock of what had just happened.
"Get out." Ben demanded, caught off guard by how much more intimidating his voice sounded now.
He turned towards them and saw them hesitant to leave after what had just happened.
"I said, get out!" He yelled.
They still seemed hesitant but they did as he had said and left him alone in the room.
Once the door was closed he realized that he had no idea why he had pushed them away, or why his first instinct had been to punch the mirror. He looked down at his bloody hand for a moment before getting to work getting the glass out of it.
(This is the end of the book)
