The Catalyst

Chapter 30: Nathan Reed

Chapter 30: Nathan Reed

He dreamed.

He dreamed of an utter darkness that threatened to swallow him whole. A cliff where he teetered on the edge, and looked down at the black, bottomless chasm. Tendrils of darkness that reached up, twisting themselves in ever-growing intricate patterns as they dragged him down, down into the gloom and obscurity.

He dreamed of monsters, monsters with hooked noses and slavering jaws. Monsters with eyes that burned and bled. And when they opened their mouths, he saw a darkness blacker than the deepest night. They stabbed him with knives of ice and struck him with whips of fire in an unrelenting attack that left bleeding wounds that covered his body.

He dreamed of a rage, a rage fiery and icy at the same time, a rage that threatened to swallow him whole because he teetered on the edge of falling into it, and never being able to climb out again.

"...transported to DC soon enough but we can't be sure. Every time I try to view his file it come up as some kind of super level of classification. For God's sake, I'm the chief of Enforcement in the whole damn megacity!"

"I'm sorry about - "

"No you're not. None of this makes any damn sense, and believe me, I'll be glad to have this fella off our hands. Crudden psychopath if there ever was one. Believe me, he'll be facing some pretty hefty jail time. Possessing an unlicensed Enforcement gun, nearly killing someone..."

There was silence for a while.

"Will you need consent from his aunt and uncle?"
The officer snorted, "Sorry, I don't need consent from anyone. Mister Steele is a legal adult, and unfortunately when the order's coming from the Director of the Department of Biochemical Research - that's as good as a government mandate, eh? Anyways, seems to me like you're playing the guardian well enough."

"I - well not exactly, but that's - "

"Lemme guess. Classified. Well Ms. Wyse, since you're hanging around and our deputy of healthcare's on a lunch break, would you like to oversee the administration of the S-gel?"

"I thought it was a constant flow?"

"Nah, we're just a normal Enforcement Headquarters, we're not equipped with the proper drugs. If we keep him on the S-gel stuff for much longer, he could end up getting addicted. It's not really meant for keeping people in an induced sleep for extended periods of time. That's why he needs to be transferred to a hospital as soon as possible. There're special wards for this kind of...situation. It's just strange that they want to transfer him to the DC hospital is all."

"I still can't believe that this is legal! Do you realize it's been two weeks?"

"Unfortunately I am apparently not qualified enough to know why we're being requested to keep him in the induced sleep, but that's just the way it is. I hope that they explain it once you reach the Washington D.C Hospital. I dunno, still don't get why you and that sister of yours are required to accompany him...crudden waste of money is all...you think maybe they want to see him in a federal court? Doesn't make sense but that's the only thing that I can think - "

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"What's that?"

"Crud. Oh crud. Remember how I said that the S-gel sleep drugs aren't meant to be used for more than two weeks in a row? So we've started dosing it out in less frequent intervals, and lighter amounts. Unfortunately that creates a risk that he could possibly wake up at any - crud. He's conscious. Maybe just pretending to be asleep, or he's only half-awake. Either way, we just need to administer another dose of S-gel...there we go...he'll fall right back asleep now..."