There's a Certain Loneliness in Your Company

Give Me Drugs, Give Me Drugs

When they finally pulled the mask off of Glitch's face, she found herself tied down to a chair in the middle of what looked like an old warehouse. A single light shone down from directly above her, casting ghostly shadows of herself that seemed to bleed into the darkness around her. She glanced around frantically, but there was no sign of anyone. Not even the person who dragged her in here. She began to panic as she tried to claw at the rope around her wrists tied behind her back. They were starting to cut off the circulation.

"I'll untie you if you promise not to run." A voice from somewhere in the shadows called out to her. It was impossible to tell where it came from as it echoed off the walls. She held still as a set of hands began to undo the knot. When she was freed, she quickly stood up from the chair and whipped around with her hand on her gun. As she turned, she noticed a red dot dancing on her chest. She immediately froze.

"I said don't run. And don't shoot my team. They don't want to kill you, but they will. You're one of them now." He was oddly calm. "Turn back around slowly."

She did as she was told, taking deep, shaky breaths through her nose. When she was turned toward the original direction the chair was facing, she saw ONE standing a few yards away from her. He kept a straight face as he began to walk toward her. She started shaking violently but didn't dare move. He was now just a foot or two in front of her, and to her surprise, he smiled.

"Toxic Glitch." He said her name, pronouncing every syllable in a way that made her cringe. "Did you think I wouldn't find you? You seem surprised." He began walking slow circles around her, inspecting her. She straightened her back and stuck her chin out almost in military form from the old world. Of course, there was no military now. Just BL/ind. "Did you enjoy your last day with everyone? I see you made new friends. Very foolish. A waste of time for you, really."

"We were getting supplies." Glitch managed to speak up finally without her voice shaking too much. He chuckled and continued pacing around her.

"Looks like you were getting a little more than that. Fun Ghoul, was it? He was pretty hands-y."

She stiffened up at his words. He had been watching her. But how did he see them in the hall? There were no windows. She knew his team was good, but she didn't know the extent. She saw no point in denying it now.

"Just some fun before I left. That's all." She wasn't sure what he wanted to hear, but she needed to make him think it was nothing. She kind of needed to think that herself.

"Hmm... interesting. Nevertheless, here you are." He finally stopped in front of her, watching her with interest. She flared her nostrils in frustration.

"It was too early. You said 23:00."

"I couldn't risk you running off. I wasn't sure you were going to meet me for our discussion."

"You said I had a choice."

"Let's be honest. You didn't really have a choice." He was quiet the smart ass. Glitch balled up her fists and began to grind her teeth. She knew he was right, but she never had the chance to get away. She wondered if she ever would now.

"So how does this work?" She decided it was best to play along for now.

"What do you mean?"

"How do I become one of you? I just go out and kill random, innocent people? No mercy?" She almost spat at him.

"If you're referring to the first night in your apartment, you were not innocent. No one is that we target." It was the only time he seemed to raise his voice at her. It was only slightly, but enough that she noticed.

Glitch paused at his words. What had she possibly done? She was a hermit who didn't bother anyone. She actually avoided confrontation at all costs. She had hardly used her gun before today. Her mind drifted back to the recent memory of Ghoul’s hands guiding hers, his smooth voice dancing over her skin was still vivid, sending shivers down her spine even now. She did her best to block the image of his burning gaze from her mind and focus on the condescending pair of eyes in front of her.

"How so?"

"You shoot up crank. It's makes you slow, weak, ... dumb." He was very serious as he scratched the stubble on his chin. She bit her tongue as he continued. "I need my team to be quick, agile, quiet, and most importantly, smart. I need them to think on their feet in case things go Costa Rica. You need to be able to track and hunt with skill. We're wiping out the ones who serve no purpose. The ones who selfishly put their needs above the greater good. When we rise again, we need to start off strong and intelligent. Once BL/ind is out of the picture, we can start over and make it right.”

“So why save me? You could have killed me.”

“I should have.” He was back to being nonchalant though his words were biting.

“What changed your mind?” If he wanted her dead he would have done it by now. She decided to push her luck with him.

“Despite your selfish decisions, there was something about you. You took down Red Thorn, even in your weakened state. I don’t usually go with them on their hunt, but she was new. I had to make sure she was ok. She seemed so promising …” He drifted off, shaking his head in pity at the girl Glitch had killed in self-defense. She tried not to think about it for fear of getting sick. He snapped back to attention. “Thorn hesitated and you didn’t. You have a fight in you that is dying to come out. I can help you own that power. You could be great. I’m taking a risk doing this for you. I saved you.”

“You saved me?” She scoffed.

“You should be more appreciative.” His voice was menacing, quiet. She kept her mouth shut this time. “The first thing we have to do is get you clean.”

She blushed at this comment, looking down at herself. She didn’t think she looked dirty. Did she smell dirty? She heard him laugh, causing her to stare up at him once more.

“Your appearance is fine. I’m thinking something along a different line.” His eyes trailed down to her arms and she shuddered. She was already feeling withdraws from not shooting up today. She did her best to ignore it, though it never left the back of her mind. Even after what happened in her apartment and her pledge to stay away from that stuff, she couldn’t help but feel a need for it. Mentally, she knew she didn’t want it, but her body didn’t know that. She swallowed the lump in her throat and crossed her arms over her chest to hide the scars.

“I’m fine. I’m not doing that anymore.”

“I’m not stupid. It’s only been a day. I know you want it.” He retrieved something from his back pocket and she stiffened up. The light danced off the amber liquid sloshing inside the needle, the point of it glistening dangerously under the minimal lighting. She bit the inside of her cheek to take her mind off of the burning sensation coming from her arms. He held the needle up to the light to inspect it. “You say you’re not using, that you don’t want this, yet I can see the sweat on your upper lip from here.”

She instinctively reached a hand up to wipe at her mouth. She was embarrassed to find a light sheen of sweat starting to cover her face. He lowered the needle and smiled at her, nodding for her to come take it from him. She swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head in protest.

“Now see, this isn’t what you’re used to. This is a special concoction I’ve had made. It’s from a reliable source, been tested on several people, and yielded promising results. Think of it as an anti-drug. The only one I will ever allow you to take. You will only take it once, and it will hurt from what I understand, but once it has coursed through your system I will take you on your word when you say you don’t want this stuff anymore.”

“I don’t need it. I can do it on my own.” She began to shake once more, her mind running with several different emotions. Mostly, she was scared.

“I knew I liked you. You’re strong willed, too. We need that.” He lowered the needle and she stopped herself from audibly sighing. The feeling of relief only lasted for a second, though, as she felt a set of hands once more pulling her down into the chair, strapping her back down. She began to kick and scratch, but the hands were too fast. She was unable to see their face, but she watched on with wide eyes as ONE approached her, the needle still dangling by his fingers.

“I want to believe you. I really do, but I know better. And so do you.” She opened her mouth to scream as he lowered the needle to her skin, but something was quickly shoved in her mouth as the needle pierced her flesh. A white hot pain trickled down to her finger tips and up and around her shoulder while she somehow managed to gurgle and cry past the gag.
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Sorry it took a little while to get this up. I've felt so busy lately, and have nothing to show for it :/ Nonetheless, here it is. Cheers