Monsters Beneath.

Unintended

My brain seemed to have blocked out whatever happened after Judy started crawling towards us. When I asked Micah about it he looked at me like I was crazy.

"How could you manage to forget?" He asked and I shrugged, I told him that when something scares or hurts me enough my brain blots it out in order to protect me from the pain associated with it. I told him I just wanted to know if she died in that room or if they took her to treat her. Micah looked at me, he seemed confused and concerned before shaking his head.

"Treatment."

After that we stopped talking, we weren't sure what to talk about anyways. Deep down I knew that I wouldn't be able to look at Judy the same way again. The fear that I felt due to her condition will always impact that interactions I have with her from now on. The brief memory I was granted to have was always going to linger in my mind, it will always be how I thought my best friend was a monster.

We were currently sitting in a different room, it seemed like we were supposed to wait for someone to come talk to us. For some reason, some of the doctors were unfamiliar. It doesn't make sense to me, it's not like I managed to get a good look at some of them so why was my brain bothering me about it?

The room we were in was just as sterile as the rest of the facility. We sat on white cushioned chairs at a table, there was food and water in front of us but neither of us could eat. Micah was pushing his food around on his plate, staring off into the distance, entirely in his own world.

I glanced back down at my own plate and felt the nausea return. I pushed it to the side, and rested my head on my arms on the table. Praying that my stomach would settle, dry heaving was just as unpleasant as vomitting and I'd rather avoid that option.

I heard the door make a near silent woosh as it opened and I slowly raised my head to see who entered the room. It was a younger woman who looked remarkably similar to the woman who helped Micah but she was.. different.

"Hello Micah and Keigo." She smiled at us but when she noticed out plates she looked worried. Her sterile white pants and shirt sleeve shirt was the typical attire of the Shelter staff. I numbly picked at my own sterile white shorts, the fabric was stiff and uncomfortable. She sat down at the table with us and set down a clip board she had been carrying with her before uncapping a pen and flipping through a few pages.

"I can see that neither of you have much of an appetite." She wrote something down before looking up at smiling at the both of us again, "this isn't an uncommon symptom we have noticed but it's probably especially hard for you two to eat after what you've witnessed with your friend."

She tried to appear sympathetic but something about her wasnt allowing me to relax in the slightest. Micah looked up at the woman, staring at her, openly trying to figure out what her deal was.

"Sorry ma'am," he apologized his eyes narrowed in distrust, "neither of us are really interested in talking right now."

The woman tilted her head slightly in acknowledgment and observed the both of us. Something about her gaze reminded me of my mother's. It was cold and calculating, it felt like she was trying to look deep into your soul to pry out all your secrets.

"I'm sorry but I will need you bother to actively participate in our discussion. Every single student and staff member have been part of a long running experiment. Your input is needed to make sure there aren't terrible long term effects." Her voice was cold and her gaze even more so, she was no longer the friendly woman who walked in. She was now a scientist, willing to do whatever necessary to further her own research.

"Sorry ma'am. We just aren't feeling very well after.." I trailed off as my mind began to wander back to Judy before the memory was viciously slammed shut. I felt myself tremble, the  left over fear from the experience lingered. She hummed, adjusting her glasses as she flipped through the papers on her clipboard.

"I'm going to read out a list of symptoms thst seem to be appearing amongst the other groups." her gaze left her clip board once she found the page she was looking for. She looked between the two of us, she seemed to be trying to figure something out before  proceeding.

"Clearly the two of you are experiencing a lack of appetite." Our plates remained untouched, I guess it was a running trend going on with all the students that survived.

"Disorientation? Depressive feelings?" She asked listing two symptoms, I quietly raised my hand and so did Micah.

"I've been feeling quite disoriented ma'am." I spoke up, a slight tremor in my voice was present no matter how hard I tried to suppress it. Micah nodded in agreement and put his hand down quickly. The woman hummed in acknowledgment and continued to read out some symptoms, checking boxes or leaving them blank as she went.

Throughout the session there was a steady ringing in my ears that seemed to get louder and louder as time went on. My tongue started feeling heavy in my mouth and I felt extremely fatigued.

"Keigo?" Micah asked, his voice was distant and muffled. I heard a sigh and suddenly it felt like my world was spinning, I hit the ground I guess I must have fell out of my chair.

I heard the woman's shoes tap against the floor as she approached, a light shine into my eyes, I didn't even realize they were still open. Everything was muffled now and I could feel myself begin to succumb to unconsciousness.

My heartbeat was as loud as thunder as it slammed against my rib cage.

Was I dying?

Is this what happened with Judy?

Is Micah okay?

---

The sound of beeping startled me awake. My vision was black and I was panicking, did i go blind? Or was I actually dead?

I touched my face and felt the rough texture of cloth. I tried to pull it off my face but it refused to let go of the death grip it had on me. I could feel myself being to hyperventilate as I panicked more and more. Suddenly there was a bang followed by the sound of something scrambling across the floor towards me. I could feel fear coursing through my veins as I tried to get away from whatever was approaching me.

Suddenly I was falling and a small shriek forced it's way out of my mouth. The fear of not knowing what was going on or where I was made it easy to believe I was about to fall to my death.

But I hit the ground not even a second after I fell, the floor was cold and hard it felt like tile under my hands and I tried to push myself back further.

Panicking, I tried to pry the fabric off faster, it was hard to breathe and I just wanted to see.

I felt something grab my arms and yank them away from my face and I screamed. I tried to kick and yank my arms free but it wasn't working! Why wouldn't it let go! I don't want to die!

I-

Suddenly it pulled me in close and reached for something behind my head. I was frozen in fear, any fight I had left in me drained out of my body and I went limp. My breath was leaving me in ragged gasps and I could feel myself shaking hard.

It continued to mess with something on the back of my head before the right cloth was loosened and fell away in layers.

The light was overwhelming and it blinded me.

It wrapped it's arms around me again and rubbed my back as I cried I could feel it's heart beat against my face as I tried to calm down. Because clearly whatever it is didn't want to hurt me.

"Your okay Keigo." A familiar voice pierced through the endless static that filled my head and the second time I tried to open my eyes I looked up and saw Micah.

He had a bruise forming on his cheek and was disheveled. My eyes widened when I realized what I did.

"Micah?! Is he okay?!" A raspy feminine voice called out followed by a cough. Micah sat up straight and looked towards the source.

"He's fine, just scared." He looked down at me and checked me over to make sure I wasn't hurt. His typically stoic face looked relieved when he seemed to be satisfied making sure I was fine.

"Well.. that was a rough start to a day, but good morning Keigo."