Intoxicate [❌]

5 - Past

[Anatox]

I nearly fell through the door as I opened it, stumbling a few steps before regaining my balance just inside.

Only to cover my ears as an ear splitting screech filled my senses.

I opened my eyes, my teeth clenched so hard it added to the headache the sound was giving me. I was surprised the pressure didn't split my jaw in half. The source of the sound was Tonix, curled up on the ground and clawing at his head in blind agony. His eyes were wide, glazed with a wild terror as if he was seeing some unspeakable horror. And if my vision was right, he was. To add to it, the sleeves of his lab coat were bloodsoaked and crimson, and peeking from the hems were deep claw scars that were bleeding heavily, like he had dragged knives through his arms.

"Tonix!" I shouted, trying to get his attention somehow. He either didn't hear me, or entirely didn't realize I was there. After a few more, vain attempts at getting his attention, I eventually ran forwards and sat him up against the wall. The entire time he thrashed, looking at me with horror in his distant gaze as he struggled to escape my grip.

"TONIX!" I screamed. Not thinking of anything else to do, I slapped him in the face. That seemed to do the trick, for finally he stopped screaming, breathing heavily as he stared at the floor. He was trembling, each breath shaky and unsteady. I put my hand on his shoulder, but he flinched away, pupils contracted as he stared at me, stared like I was a stranger that had come to inflict harm on him.

He eventually relaxed, breathing a sigh of what I assumed was either relief or defeat. Maybe both.

"I might have a few things I need to tell you about."

-x-

"So what was that?"

I paced back and forth in the small living room space, both to keep my thoughts going and to keep myself active. Tonix was standing against the wall, wrapping bandages around the scars on his arms. The white cloth was mostly crimson stained now, despite most of the bleeding being stopped. How he was still conscious after that much blood loss, I had no idea. Maybe it has something to do with the condition that he and I both seemed to have.

Tonix cleared his throat, rubbing the bandages uncomfortably. "It's... something that happens when I hurt myself."

"Let me guess. That's what the claw marks are?" I asked blatantly, motioning to his arms.

"No, that was the result," Tonix shook his head no. "I hit my head on the wall. It's usually just head injuries."

He pointed to a darker spot in the wall, where small cracks spiderwebbed from the modicum area.

"How'd you crack the wall, but not crack your skull?" I queried, looking at the depression then back at Tonix.

"I have a... thick head, let's say," he replied with a shrug, "Literally speaking."

I nodded, understanding.

Tonix continued. "What you just saw is what I call a hallucination state. Basically I start seeing what I know is the aftermath of immense radiation exposure. Skin melting off, heavy bleeding, that kind of thing. And in trying to stop it, I start clawing at myself. But of course, it's not actually happening, so it just contributes to the hallucination."

"You seem to know a lot about this stuff," I remarked.

"I've been stuck with this... condition, I guess, for about, what, ten years now?" He replied, "It's only natural that I'd try to find out more about it, maybe find some kind of cure. Although that's difficult without the right equipment, so I haven't found anything very helpful yet."

That's disappointing. A cure would be nice. Then I could actually live like a normal human being.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you had some kind of high degree in radiation science or whatever it's called before this all happened?"

"You could say that," Tonix shrugged again, only this time wincing as he moved his arms. He swore under his breath. He stood up straight again, pushing himself from the wall. "So, what about you? What do you do?"

Quick change of subject. He doesn't seem to like talking about his past. I made a mental note of the behavior. "If I told you, you'd probably try to call the police. So I'm keeping that information to myself."

"If I called the police, they would shoot me down and try to throw me in some mental asylum. Hell no, I'm not gonna call the police," Tonix pointed out with slight amusement edging his tone.

"I'm still not telling you," I rolled my eyes. "You're giving me nothing about yourself, so why would I tell you about me?"

Tonix blinked, deadpanning, "I literally just gave you information about my physical state, I feel like that would be something."

"Well, that's about your condition, which I know you have," I objected, "I know close to nothing about you as a person."

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Okay, fair."

In my mind I grumbled in annoyance. This conversation is getting nowhere.

"Well, then, how did you get like... this?" Tonix questioned, motioning to my eyes that signified the radiation that seemed to be inside of me.

I inhaled sharply. As much as I thought it was annoying that he kept information about himself, it was slightly hypocritical of me, seeing that I didn't want to tell him much either.

I gave in, hoping he would possibly return the favor. "About ten years ago, some big nuclear explosion went off and basically killed everyone in the area. And judging by the fact that both my incident and yours were in the same time frame... we were the only survivors. Unfortunately."

Something flickered in Tonix's gaze, and he looked to the floor. Before I could ask if he was okay, he turned and walked down the hall.

But not before I saw the tears glistening in his eyes.

-x-

Oh he's not okay-
And would ya look at that it's the end of the pre written chapters

1035 words