10 Chapter ten: The Red

In the city, life is chaotic for Henry, refusing the pills, the people choking it down his throat. The big bad man Mr. Chadwick didn't want people like Henry to spread 'diseases'. The cure of this certain 'disease' was simple, choking the pills down one's throat, and how to cover it up, just announce to the public that the man was clinically ill, lock him away into a psych ward where no one would hear or see him, the real one at least. There'd be a replacement of course.

The replacement would be an even better Henry, a robotic version. Nearly perfected to seem 100% human. The only way someone could tell that they weren't human was when that person was off the pills. These robots were the security of the city. Whenever someone broke the law; they'd either get executed or, made a copy of their actual selves. No one knew about this and this is how Mr. Chadwick intended it to be, and the pills helped them forget traumatic experiences. It was like paradise on earth, they'd get high, go to work, get high again, brainwashed again by the television, the whole full circle, and Chadwick absolutely loved all of the power he received from the obedience and willingness of the people, and how it was easier to control them with the bots, the pills, drugs, and the promise of a utopia.

Chadwick knew about Owen's existence, a long time ago when the war started he put security cameras in what was left of the city, including the hospital. He spent months spying on Owen and Mason in the hospital. He'd watch their every move. And he was still watching them. Wiretapping the system since they were a bit...outdated. He would listen to Mason talking to Owen in the hospital whilst he was unconscious He even knew about the bite Mason gave him. That was it, that's was how Owen even survived the apocalypse, Owen was one of Mason. As far as Chadwick knew, Owen was just a baby one. Chadwick loved to know everything, he was the all-seeing-eye, he enjoyed every minute of it. Chadwick had plans for them. Big, big plans.

Meanwhile, back again to the boys on the outskirts of the cities, they were in for a surprise that was yet to come, and Mason was bothered, it was true with the fact that he did bite and turn Owen. Even though Owen still thought he was human, which was good since that's what he wanted him to believe. But it was bothering him. Mason would soon start to crave blood again, as well as Owen. He was clever, but it made him feel like a monster. He was the one who killed all those nurses and hospital patients. That's why Mason had locked the doors, sure it was partially because of the gas leaks, but those were also the rooms where there were just bodies laying on top of bodies, rotting and decaying away in the room.

Mason felt like a monster, but, he had his reasons as to why. Mason was just trying to help Owen, helping him to survive while dying at the same time. Mason drained the people dry to fill the IV tubes with blood. It didn't matter what kind of blood, he just knew that Owen needed it, and that'd it'd be dangerous for him to wake up before he was fully developed. Sure he's still a little bit undeveloped because Owen was just a baby, but it'd be okay. At least that's what Mason hoped for. Owen, on the other hand, was struggling. Something felt like a knife stabbing and turning inside his gut. Owen was constantly at war with himself, there was...something, inside of him. Something violent, monstrous, dangerous that was trying to claw his way out. "Mason...We need to stop for a bit." Owen said, he felt weak but strong, and dizzy. Owen's senses starting to go insane, smelling all the blood that was around the two of them. The metallic and dirty smells, they smelled strong, it hit him like when someone would take a whiff of rubbing alcohol, but at least 20 times stronger than what the average human would smell.

"Why? Are you okay?" Mason asked, setting his bag down on the side of the road, carefully approaching Owen. "Somethings wrong-it feels like rocks are rolling around in my head-" Owen said before he fell over, it was almost like a seizure, squirming and moving around on the ground, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, almost until they were all white and could only see a little bit of his pupil, foam and spit pouring from his mouth. And then...he just stopped moving.

Owen just stayed like that for a couple of minutes and all Mason could think was 'shit, shit, shit, shit'. Mason leaned down into a squat like position, lifting up the upper lip, and bingo, fangs, tiny ones, but they were still fangs. Mason sighed as he turned to get some medical supplies in his bag that would help Owen, mostly sedatives and painkillers. The sedatives to help Owen relax and not be all barbaric when he wakes up. Oh, boy, did Owen wake up, sitting up slowly with his eyes still rolled back down to normal, Mason getting a syringe that would keep the sedative medicine in it, he got some gloves on and turned back around, and Owen attacked him. Tackling Mason to the ground as the syringe skidded across the road. A demonic like growl came from Owen as Owen tried to bite Mason, Mason kicking him off him as he scrambled to get the syringe off the ground.

Mason then tackled Owen to the ground as he pinned him to it, stabbing the syringe into Owen's neck as he watched Owen squirm and struggle as he gurgled spit and foam from his mouth as well as blood, it spilled across his chin and the concrete of the street as he went back into a seizure. Owen continued to twitch and move for a while before he stopped. Mason now taking a cloth and wiping the black blood and foam from his chin as well as the foam and spit, his eyes still white, bloodshot. Mason taking his bag and Owens bag on each of his shoulders before picking him up and carrying him into a nearby hotel.

Mason pushed the door open with his shoulder, taking Owen into one of the rooms that didn't smell the worst, he laid Owen into a bed as he took some rope and tied his arms and legs to the bed stands. Leaving Owen there momentarily as he went around the rooms, finding a decaying body, twisting its head off as it popped off, taking a plastic bag from his pocket, filling the blood into the bag that dripped from the hole where he ripped the head off from. Then taking another bag and filling it once the head bled dry, licking the blood from his hands as he zipped the bags closed. Mason then got up, carrying the bags of blood back into the room. Mason set them on the desk before pulling out a chair from underneath a desk that was in the room, sitting down as he sighed, taking his supply bag, unzipping it as he rummaged through it before he took out a flask of whiskey, downing at least half of it, debating if he regretted turning Owen or not, and all honesty; he didn't, because in his eyes he saved him.

At least that's what he thought, the only part he wasn't looking forward to is that he was going to have to tell Owen what he did to him once he woke up because it could either go really well or Owen would try to kill him again, which was a fun experience to go through the first time.