New Idea

CHAPTER 6

-PART SEVEN-

The black had a velvet quality, like the air had been thickened somehow. Without an upwards glance I knew it was star speckled and cloudless. Even in the velvet dark there is the light of the stars, perhaps a promise that even when we yearn for the light of the sun there will be those stars to bring hope of the dawn. It is always the light we crave,

for without it what is our world?

Would be become creatures of the night forever to scuttle and hide from predators imagined or real? Either way we seek the light, the chance to stand up and be strong, to see beauty and be beautiful. For the ability to see others and ourselves, to see nature and its stunning variation is a great gift to each and every one. Without my glasses the starry night was a brilliant Van Gogh, everything bigger and brighter, blurred in the most fantastic way. Just gazing at the midnight blue canvass above stole every thought from my mind, the usual carousel of worries simply forgotten. There were the heavenly stars above and a crescent moon to smile down;

what else was there to know about?

Somewhere in the starry night was a beating human heart and lungs that took in artificial air. Held my hand up to the sky as if to feel my life energy in my fingers, how precarious is existence seemed now, but perhaps no more than those left behind. We all depend of life support systems. The idea of putting a price on a starry night was once nonsense; now we have to travel so far from pollution to prove stars aren't only in the myths and stories of old.

How crazy my ideas were?

The trip alone is so costly that most use it as a wedding, taking that moment under the brilliant constellations to make their vows, hoping that the spiritual moment carries them through the caustic town life that awaits their return. The street lamps reflections in the Sol y Luna stretched out like flaming stilts, ruffled by the cool breeze. It must have been a night just like this that Van Gogh got his inspiration, the natural light above, the man-induced glows igniting the cold water. Bathed in the light of the sun, the moon was more beautiful than even the stars around. The moon came to the sky as a mother comes to sing a soft lullaby, to ease her children into a star-filled night. The moon graced the sky as if she'd had some bright idea, something brilliant needed to shine upon the Earth. Reflected the pure rays of the sun, and in doing so became as beautiful as our star of the daytime. In my monochrome musings the moon is a deep silver, as if she were a rock alone in space, turning pirouettes for no applause. Yet when I look for real and open my eyes that tiny bit more, I see an orb with the company of the sun, reflecting light, not silver, but with a buttermilk glow. It is there, close to our Earth, keeping us company while it may.

On that very moment when I leave my twins on the laboratory and go straight here at the nearest veranda, relaxation flows on my body as I stared at the starry night of November. At the middle of my so-called leisure time during the middle of the night, my phone suddenly rang.

"Yow! Gray Williams on the phone, how may I help you?" I quickly answer his call after a few rang and greeted on the mouthpiece

"Gray!" He speaks while panting out of panic attack

What's happening?

"Yow! Knight-lock what's happening? Where are you?" an urge of senses that tell me he's not okay at all.

"I'm struck with a cyanide!" His voice was cracking in pain

A cyanide?

Shit

"who did that?" I ask him as I walk towards the elevator to go to the Laboratory

"Fucking help! Mate! all symptoms were striking!" He shouts out of fear

Calm down idiot!

"Okay! Okay! Don't panic stay calm Lock, where are you? Lycko was well-experience about this kind of stuffs, just stay calm" I say as I walk as fast as I can

Jesus Christ it seems too far to go down there

"few blocks from Sol y Luna" he keeps on panting and chasing his breath

"ugh! Lycko's missing! They had a fight and the leave! Fuck it's fucking hurt" he's having a panic attack

What? Missing?

"Hey! Hey! Calm down! Lycko's here she's asleep! Calm down! You're too close at Sol y Luna! I'll fetch you outside! Don't hang up!" walk with a mixture of running was the movement I make just to arrive quicker on the elevator.

"uh-"he's trying to utter a word yet he couldn't

Fuck that's painful

As the elevator bump on the floor I want to reach, immediately go towards the Laboratory and wake them up.

"Hey! Guys wake up!" I shout as I panic hearing Lock's Panting.

"Wtf! Twin?"- Price

"What happened?"- Lycko

"Lock…"

"what's with Hermano? What happened?" Lycko seems to be worried as I utter his name

"he's struck with cyanide" I stated

"where is he?" Price ask as he stretch his arms out

"few blocks from here!" I answer while my right hand was touching my forehead

"Is he okay? Let's go outside" Lycko immediately go and we follow her, like any scene in movies running at the hallway until we reach the location of the cart seems to be easy but in the reality it was freaking exhausting.

I'm terrified

"Hey! Speak up! I'm riding the cart now!"

"where are you?"

Fuck! He's not even responding

"Hey Lock!"

Lycko bites her nails out of worried

"come on speak!"

"I'm with Lycko now!" as I said those lines I handed my phone to Lycko.

"Hermano!" – Lycko

"I'm glad you're safe Hermana"

…

"I'm with Lycko now!" Gray handed me his phone at that very moment

We're all worried

"Hermano!" I speaks as I reassure him that everything was going to be fine.

"I'm glad you're safe Hermana"

As he said those lines the sounds become chaotic

"He passed out!" I said as I jump through the cart and hurriedly jump on my motor bike and pulled it out of our Villa.

As I reach his location, the car seems it rolled over, lights swirled like crazy Catherine-wheels and the noise of the metal being bashed over the concrete was almost deafening. The seatbelt tugged on his skin with every lurch and the air bag was already deflating.

His car crashed on a tree.

I froze for a second but I neglect that senses of mine and immediately run towards him? As I take a peek on the car window I saw him laying with another man.

Kelley Reed?

Opening the car, his body lays upon my direction right on time to catch him,

"Hermano! Wake up! It's me Lycko" tapping his cheeks makes him awake

Thank goodness he just passed out

"The moment the car hit the tree, I assumed I was dead. Then I kept myself waking and waking. I liked to be unconscious rather than awake. Because when I was awake I could taste the coppery blood pooling in my mouth. I could feel it grazing my teeth and soaking my tongue. I felt the aching and cracks in my bones. I sucked in cramped air, feeling my lungs caving in on themselves. I saw the spots in the corners of my vision, making my head feel like the only thing inside of it was static. I heard a buzzing noise, filling my ears. I felt like I was there for hours, fading and waking and fading and waking. My agony was the only thing keeping me alive." He continuously utter while hugging me tightly.

"Shhh! Rest Hermano, you're safe now" I hugged him back, he's voice seems to be cracking. He's holding a syringe with a label 'CN'

Sodium Cyanide

"Price help me with Hermano!" I shouted as I saw their cart going on our direction. "Gray give a hand to another man!"

Price quickly jump off to the cart and help me manage Knight-lock

"Damn! Who's this idiot?" Gray utter

"Comrade of Peterson" I said as we lay Lock at the cart seat

"get that at my bike! I'll handle him" I stated to gray as I jump on to my bike. As everything was settled, we immediately go back and bring the two to the laboratory where Peterson was resting.

As the so-called fifteen minutes have passed we reach the laboratory, regardless of how tired we are and how restless we are, we make on time. Price lay Knight-lock to the laboratory bed and inject dextrose and an antidote as a first aid treatment while Gray manage to remove Reed's tied ups, and manage to take care of its wounds and bruises.

"Sweetheart! Seems Knight-lock go through a series of fights… having a bruises and blood on head seems very serious one" I stop from preparing the treatment and look at the direction of Price, he's cleaning and treating Lock's bruises and sore wounds.

"Seems Knight-lock drank a first dosage of antidote based on the symptoms and his color, he's just pale and sweaty yet his veins are barge and bloated seems to be angry" Price utter as he come to my direction and help me manage the cure.

"The poison was made to mimic an efficient virus, to spread illness rather than kill the host fast. It made the host aggressive and emotionally indifferent to others, enough to make them a sort of social poison machine. A few drops here and there and the decay set in, a sort of race to the bottom, survival of the nastiest." I utter as I prepare the kit that I will be needing for his medications

"what do you mean?" Gray asks while sitting on the couch

"The poison targeted the prefrontal cortex, taking out their self-control, empathy and logic. They became a sort of retarded, others may know as primitive monster. If the criminals found someone inconvenient they shot them, but if it was a vendetta then they used the poison. Even a saint would turn into a demonic predator once it took effect, it was the poison we all feared, the stuff living nightmares are made of." I explain everything to them

"Fuck! How can you be this smart in this kind of situation?" he utters as he stares at the face of sleeping Knight-lock

"It was the ultimate in state control, remote control poison capsules. If you displeased the state, you were terminated. But in this case, Knight-drain displeases the so-called Supremo and in return he manipulate everyone." I quickly utter while checking the vital signs of the unconscious Lock

"And who's that Supremo" Price added, he's done injecting basic first aids

"and that's for us to find out" I said seriously

"Cyanide Toxicity" I whisper when I finally determine what type of poising did the morons do to Knight-lock

"What?" Gray utter

"Cyanide Toxicity was the type of poising that the man uses to our Knight-Lock" I stated

"Hell yeah! You're good at everything" he seems amaze as he states those lines

"Can you please be quiet? she needs to focus" Price exclaimed at Gray's face

"Nah! Guys it's okay" I utter

"Cyanide poisoning may result from exposure to a number of forms of cyanide. Early symptoms include headache, dizziness, fast heart rate, shortness of breath, and vomiting. This may then be followed by seizures, slow heart rate, low blood pressure, loss of consciousness, and cardiac arrest." I utter attentively

"So maybe he has his panic attack when he called because he was experiencing dizziness and fast heart rate" Gray added

"and he's on the seizure stage when we got him" Price explain

"I'm glad we got him right on time" I state and flash a genuine smile in front of my twins

"Cyanide prevents the cells of the body from using oxygen. When this happens, the cells die. Cyanide is more harmful to the heart and brain than to other organs because the heart and brain use a lot of oxygen." I continue to discuss

"Cyanide is one of the most famous poisons from spy novels to murder mysteries, it's developed a reputation for causing an almost immediate death. But in real life, cyanide is a little more complicated. Cyanide can refer to any chemical that contains a carbon-nitrogen bond, and it can be found in some surprising places." I continuously utter

"meaning, this poison was everywhere?" Gray stated

"exactly" I agreed

"So what should we use to treat him?" Price patient less exclaimed

"I may administer one of two antidotes first one is the cyanide antidote kit which consists of three medications given together, doctors may know as amyl nitrite, sodium nitrite, and sodium thiosulfate. The amyl nitrite is given by inhalation for fifteen to thirty seconds, while sodium nitrite is administered intravenously over three to five minutes. Intravenous sodium thiosulfate is administered for about Thirty minutes. Second one is the Hydroxocobalamin, medical terms known as cyanokit it will detoxify cyanide by binding with it to produce nontoxic vitamin B-12. This medication neutralizes cyanide at a slow enough rate to allow an enzyme called rhodanese to further detoxify cyanide in the liver." I explain while injecting his first medication.

It was a relief for me to know that Knight-lock was pretty stable.

Who did this terrible things?

"ugh!" he moans as I inject cyanide antidote kit. Maybe the uneasy feeling of the antidote works?

"shh… everything will be alright" I stated caressing his forehead down to his hair.

"what's happening? He's sweating" Price ask me out of nowhere

"maybe he was too exposed with the poison" I answered back without putting an effort to look back

"should we call him?" Gray suggested

"maybe yes maybe not" I stated as I kiss Knight-lock's forehead and heading to the nearest chesterfield

"that poison was pretty lethal, isn't it?" Price ask me while handing a cup of coffee

I nodded and take a sip on it "Cyanides are fast-acting poisons that can be lethal. They were used as chemical weapons for Wars. Low levels of cyanides are found in nature and in products we commonly eat and use. Cyanides can be produced by certain bacteria, fungi and algae. Cyanides also found in cigarette smoke, in vehicle exhaust, and in foods such as spinach, bamboo shoots, almonds, lima beans, fruit pits and tapioca. Historically, cyanide and cyanide-containing compounds are used in pesticides and fumigants, plastics, electroplating, photo developing and mining. Dye and drug companies also use cyanides. Some industrial processes, such as iron and steel production, chemical industries and wastewater treatment can create cyanides." I stated as I munch a left over burger

"Low levels of cyanides are found in nature and in products we sort-a commonly eat and use, you mean we are all exposed to cyanide?" Gray curiously asked

"Apparently yes, People may be exposed to low levels of cyanides in their daily lives from foods, smoking and other sources. Eating or drinking cyanide-containing foods may cause health effects. Breathing cyanide gas, especially in a poorly ventilated space, has the greatest potential for harm. Lethal exposures to cyanides result only from accidents or intentional acts. Because of their quick-acting nature, cyanides may be used as agents of terrorism." It's like a question and answer sort of question.

"and what happen if we exposed to that cyanide thingy?" gray utter while devouring his microwavable food

"After exposure, cyanide quickly enters the bloodstream. Our body handles small amounts of cyanide differently than large amounts. In small doses, cyanide in the body can be changed into thiocyanate, which is less harmful and is excreted in urine. In large doses, the body's ability to change cyanide into thiocyanate is overwhelmed. Large doses of cyanide prevent cells from using oxygen and eventually these cells die. The heart, respiratory system and central nervous system are most susceptible to cyanide poisoning." I utter as I lay on the sofa facing the ceiling.

"what a productive day for us dearest Twins" Price stretch out his arms on me.

"yeah!" Gray still eating his so-called food

…

"Hey sweetie, wake up! Lock is looking for you"

My eyes take in every ray of light and without a doubt

Did I sleep that long?

"hey! Lock is looking for you" Price stated

"Did I sleep too long?... what time is it?" I utter as I slowly get up and took a stretch

"it's been two hours since you slept… it's already dawn" he utters while giving me direction where Lock was lying

"How long he has been awake?" I asked him while were walking towards his bed

"just few minutes" he affirmed

Lock lies in the bleach tinctured so-called ward on the crisp but thinning sheets. A curtain hangs limply on the chrome railing, with eyes on the polystyrene tiles above he hears the door open and look at our direction.

"Hey! How are you feeling?" I ask as I sit towards his bed

"I'm fine now, thank you" he weakly flashes his smile

"Can you tell me what happened?" I sweetly ask while caressing his forehead

"on that moment when you left, I was worried and kept dialing your number yet you're not answering any" he says as he starts telling his story

"me and Knight had a fight, I punch him as long as I releases all my anger… then there's this mysterious anonymous caller and tell me a location and the idiotic Knight-Lock go the place where the culprit mention" he states with a serious tone on his voice

As he exclaimed that he and Drain had a fight I feel sudden chills but I remain calm and listen attentively to his story.

"and what happen to that place?" Price utter

"as I bite to that fucking bate he created, I saw the second man, Kelley Reed. He thought that you and Bailey are together and we had a fight until I can manage him… as I put him to the car I saw a silhouette of man, when he saw me looking at him, he bolts out and run… as I hold his arms, I felt somethings odd. It was like I knew that man and that idea makes me froze" he keeps uttering his words

"do you see his face?" Gray curiously asked while giving him a shot of antibiotics for his bruises and wounds

"nah! I froze from that very moment I touch him… that was a pain in the ass as I watch him run through the darkness" he stated and clenched his fist

"how do you come up with the cyanide issue?" Price interrogatively ask

"as I thought that he run away, I decided to go back to the site where I leave Kelley and my car… walking through the woods suddenly I felt an uneasy pain at the back of my shoulder… I didn't manage to look behind because the man suddenly sang a birthday song that makes me dizzy" he stated

"and then" - Gray

"and there was a sudden flash of hallucination way back at my childhood… how my parents die… how I met Chase twins… how my emotions to the two become too deep as if I was their siblings too… it's painful"

The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down through his face. The muscles of his chin tremble like a small child and looking towards the window, as if the light could soothe him. There is static in his head once more, the side effect of this constant fear, constant stress he lives with. Hearing his sounds, like a distressed child, raw from the inside. It takes something out of him

I didn't know he had left to give.

He's very fragile

That's the way it is when people are hard. It's like a theft of the spirit, an injury no other person can see. His eyes drip with tears. His walls, the walls that hold him up, make him strong just... collapse. Moment by moment, they fall. Salty drops fall from his chin, drenching his shirt.

Perhaps these tears will help wash the pain out.

He presses his head against the headboard of the bed, He's anything but innocent.

He's trembling.

He can't-can't stop.

Even as I press my hand against his, it trembles. It's raw, everything, raw tears, raw emotions. He can't stop... He just can't stop. He sobbed into my chest unceasingly, hands clutching at my laboratory coat. I held him in silence, rocking him slowly as his tears soaked my chest. A tiny lapse let him pull away, blinking lashes heavy with tears,

"that song kept repeating inside my head"

"those happy voices"

"those blames"

"because of this stupid poison"

"shh! I'm here, you're safe now" caressing his back to give him a relief

before he collapsed again, his howls of misery worsening. The pain must have come in waves, minutes of sobbing broken apart by short pauses for recovering breaths, before hurling him back into the outstretched arms of his grief. Brick by brick, his walls came tumbling down. He didn't care who saw, he just broke down. The sobs punched through, ripping through his muscles, bones, and guts. He pressed his forehead against my chest and began to let his heart yank in and out of his chest again.

He was hollow.

His life crumbled in his own fingertips.

It is his tears that keep his cold soul alive in the furnace of this pain. He cannot extinguish what has been, yet only carry forward until a time comes when that searing pain is distant enough to forget more than remember, and maybe one-day erase itself from his brain. So perhaps it may be an oddity to thank his tears and be proud to cry, yet if that's what saves him from becoming a monster, a person indifferent to suffering and sorrow, then crying is the smartest thing he can do.

"Lycko, is there any possible that the effect of that cyanide toxicity was merely can make the victim hallucinate?" Price curiously utter

"no. that poison only brings dizziness and the following symptoms I utter a while ago" is stated while comforting him

"but why he experienced hallucinations?" Gray added

"Sadly, I think it wasn't hallucination." I sense that he stops from sobbing and looks at my face attentively

"then what is it?" Gray exclaimed

"it was the memories he'd tried to forget, out of anger and pain that haunted him back" I utter as I look unto Knight-lock's eyes

"so you mean?" – Gray

"what this means?" – Price

"that maybe the guy who sang a birthday song to Knight-Lock was somehow part of his past" I stated

"maybe, the guy was part of you… part of your past"