Righteous Indignation - RF! Welcome Home

Chapter 26 - Danger

(Based on actual hallucinations I've had <3)

Walden Darling's Point of View

I had gotten up and ready punctually Monday morning, hoping to see Neighbor at some point. That hope made my steps quite purposeful as I made my way down to my office. I stepped inside, noticing it was already unlocked. Did I leave it open yesterday? Observing my office for any suspicious activity or moved objects, I noticed a cup of coffee and an apple on my desk. I examined the coffee I was left. It was still hot, it smelled fine. It seemed to be my usual dark roast, sugar, no cream, so I supposed it was from Neighbor. The apple didn't seem to be tampered with. No weird residue on the skin. Damn. And it was my favorite type of apple, too. The hell? Do they need something? Probably not. Knowing them, they were probably just being nice. As much as I hate to admit it, their kindness is a quality I do admire. Ah, who am I kidding? Everything about them is wonderful.

I sat down at my desk, haphazardly flipping through stacks of files to see what I had actually done yesterday. Sipping my coffee, I had realized that's exactly how Neighbor makes it. It always manages to be smoother than when I do it myself, it's weird. Maybe they stirred in the sugar in a specific way? Eh, who knows.

I clicked my pen repeatedly in frustration. I can't focus, memories of last Saturday afternoon keep floating back to me. That was probably the best experience I've had in years. Goddamn, they've got me by a chokehold. Hah, imagine if they knew I thought that. Focus, Walden! Paperwork! But daydreaming seems so much more entertaining. No, no, paperwork. I have reports to fill out.

Eventually I got into a nice rhythm, filling out paperwork and signing off death reports, sorting files. Jeremy hasn't died yet. Damn. No, that's a good thing. Someday he'll fuck up and I get to kill him personally. What a fun thought.

Alas, my workflow couldn't last forever, eventually Neighbor walked in and dropped off some more papers to me, flashing their iconic smile. How I adored it.
Again with losing focus!

"Hey, Mr. Darling, how's your morning been?" They asked me, handing me a manila folder labeled 'Confidential'.

"I've been alright. Did you leave these on my desk?" I asked, gesturing to the coffee and the apple.

"No. I didn't. You need to stop drinking that." They said, deadly serious.

"Goddamn it, of fucking course you didn't. Ugh... this is wonderful. Accompany me to the Infirmary, would you?" I asked, just in case I passed out or something dumb on the way there.

"Yes, of course, come on, let's go." They hurriedly coaxed me away, and when I didn't make immediate haste for favor of finishing signing a death report, they reprimanded me with a "Now."

"Yes, yes, I'm coming." I tried to placate them as they grabbed the apple and coffee off of my desk. I felt a bit lightheaded as I stood up, but I brushed it off as having done so too fast.

Neighbor practically dragged me to the infirmary, and Poppy practically had a heart attack when she heard what happened.

"It's not that bad."

"Do you need to see a therapist after this?! Do you want to die?!" She exclaimed hysterically, testing the coffee for anything weird.

"She's right, Mr. Darling, usually you'd be cursing and asking Poppy if you're gonna be fine. Something's messing with you."

Damn. Right after the best day I've had in years. That's an awkward time to get poisoned.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, noooo..." Poppy said, examining some chemical result thing. I shook my head, suddenly feeling drowsy.

"What's wrong, Poppy?" Neighbor fretted, but I really didn't see the big deal. I could sleep it off.

"It's laced with a potent sleep aid that they use on test subjects who can't sleep due to PTSD nightmares. If he doesn't pass out, he's gonna hallucinate like no tomorrow."

She explained, and Neighbor turned over to me, trying to lead me to a hospital bed.

"No... Neighbor, look, you're really cute and all, but I need to work." I chuckled a bit, but for some reason I still allowed them to practically force me to lay down.
"I swear, I'm fine. My vision's a bit blurry, but I can work! I'm fine..." I tried to reason, but I was sobered out of my delirium when I saw the shadows of the popcorn ceiling connecting into something that resembled writing. Like... Cuneiform, but just lines, and radial?

"Nevermind... Neighbor, I'm seeing shit now."

"I know. Poppy said that all you can do is sleep it off." Neighbor said to me, and I sighed, closing my eyes as I felt Neighbor stroking my hair softly.

Apparently whoever drugged me knew what they were doing, because I was asleep in minutes.

I heard one last thing before I lost awareness: "The first damn bitch I'm going to about this is Jeremy, I knew getting him promoted into the lab was a bad decision on Production's part. Sleep well, Mr. Darling."