Reflections of Light

Would It, Should It, Will It?

"... So, what you're saying is, the three of you have been making some kind of... medicine for him?" Nyx asked, looking at Evelyn to confirm she was correct.

"In essence, yes." Evelyn nodded. "It's experimental, and not without risk-"

"We haven't got an other option." Jocelyn said from her position at the cupboard door.

Nyx glanced between the door; the wood shaking and echoing the sound of it being rhythmically kicked. "And you think... it'll fix this?"

"In theory. It's a chance."

Nyx thought about it; then slowly nodded. "Here's hoping it works."

"It's going to be difficult to get it to him; that's the only thing." Evelyn said. "He's going to rip the needle out the moment we get it anywhere near him."

"There's a needle?" Nyx exclaimed, already dreading how this was going to go.

Evelyn chuckled humourlessly. "There's an intravenous infusion."

Nyx glanced back at the door, behind which the screeching of babble had started back up. "Right... Any chance we can knock him out somehow?"

***

Blinking awake, his bleary eyes came to focus on the bedroom ceiling. Confused, he peered around; he was laid on the bed, seemingly innocuously tucked up in clean sheets; but as he tried to move, he found he was restrained to the bed frame. Looking down at himself, he saw a needle in his arm, attached to a plastic tube feeding red liquid into his vein.

Alarmed, he yanked on the bonds at his wrists, snapping them easily; and reaching across, tried to pull the needle from his arm.

A hand reached out and snatched his wrist, stopping him.
Blindly, he lashed out; shoving them violently away from him. "Get away! Don't touch ME!"

Evelyn caught herself on the table, cussing under her breath. Immediately, Jocelyn backed off, giving him space; pushing Nyx defensively behind her as she did so.

"It's okay." Jocelyn said carefully, like she was trying to calm a spooked animal. "We're not trying to hurt you."

"Leave me alone!" He yelled in a way that made Nyx's heart break; crumpling in on himself and burying his face in his arms.

"Okay, we have to stop." Jocelyn said. "This isn't going well."

"It was working." Evelyn hissed from the corner of the room.

"IT'S NOT WORKING!" He screamed deliriously, ripping the sheet off the bed and whipping it harshly at Evelyn before leaping to his feet. "Leave. Me. Alone!"

Turning his head, his eyes came to lay on the figures of Jocelyn and Nyx; and slowly, like a coiling spring, he stepped towards them.
Jocelyn was the first to react, stepping up to meet him. "Jonathan, you don't want to do this."

He shoved her harshly; the childish action sending her stumbling back. Swiftly, she grabbed his arms, preventing him from lashing out again.
"Let me go!" He struggled against her, twisting and pulling to get his arms free; as she guided him back towards the bed. "LET ME GO!"

Reflexively, they flinched at his high-pitched screech, full of panic and pain.

Nyx couldn't just stand by and watch any longer. "Stop it, you're making it worse!" She cried at Jocelyn, rushing forwards a few steps.

"He started it!" Jocelyn grunted, struggling with the flailing man.

"He's panicking." Nyx said. "He doesn't know where he is or what's going on!"

With a look of realisation, Jocelyn let him go; backing off but preparing to react at a moments notice. The fight seemed to have left him now; he just sat there, on the edge of the mattress; eyes wide open, unblinking, as he stared off into the unseen. Questioning glances were shot between the three women as they waited expectantly; silence hanging cloyingly heavy over the assembled group.

At last, very tentatively, Nyx steeled her nerves and took a step more towards him; speaking in a soft whisper. "Hey..."

Tiredly, he raised his head to look at her. Suddenly, with the speed of a vipers sting, he snatched her wrist;  yanking her roughly towards him. Evelyn made a sound of alarm, Jocelyn moving to intervene, as... he pulled her onto his lap and buried his face in her neck, arms locking like a steel trap around her torso.

Nyx looked equally as lost as the rest of them.

He was shivering from head to toe, she could feel him; every muscle clenching and twitching in turn. Slowly, she reached around and began to brush her fingers through his hair soothingly; looking at him quizzically as she did so. There, on the back of his neck, she saw it; dark veins of black pushing their way to the surface before sinking back below his skin, a veritable pulsating spiderweb of them seemingly spanning all over his body, rising and falling and rising again at random. His breath came in sharp, shallow pants; his lungs seemingly struggling in his chest.

"Can't you see it's torturing him?" Nyx got out, her own breath suddenly being knocked out of her as he tightened his grip on her further.

"But it is working!" Evelyn insisted. "Everything says that is should work!"

Suddenly, he released his right arm from around her; Nyx taking a deep breath as his grip loosened, wriggling back onto the mattress slightly to give herself more breathing room. Reaching out, he grasped the needle from where it was hanging down, still attached to the clear piping. Trembling like a leaf, he took her hand in his other, pushing the needle into her grip; closing both of his securely over her fist, resting his tired forehead against hers, as he spoke in a hoarse whisper unlike any other tone he'd used that night. "It will work. Put it back in."

And there, she saw it- just for a second, before it faded away in to darkness- his eyes were green.

It will work. Put it back in.

Merry Christmas everyone! Meant to have this out earlier, but so much was happening, I could barely find a minute to breathe! (All jolly good Christmas things happening, mind. So I've no complaints here. XD) Hope you all had amazing Christmases too!

And of course, hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter!