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oom : room 25
Doc makes the mistake of heading upstairs under getting the urge for a nap after a long day out in the stables. He figures he's tired enough that he'll sleep for a long time and sleep deep enough to ward off any nightmares. He should have stayed downstairs, or in the gym set up for the sleeping people who don't want to be alone. Or stayed in the infirmary.
He doesn't.
It happens again.
The laugh echoes down the hallway. Murphy's laugh, not Billy's, but the sound still chills him as he sets his feet on the ground. It's not warm but it's not cold either. The air smells stale and tastes like copper.
Someone is taking notes. There is the scratch of pen on paper as he walks. The last time he was here...he was on a noose. Being led around like a steer to the slaughter. This time he's free. He wonders if that means anything. The laugh echoes down the hallway.
Someone is watching him. He can feel the eyes on the back of his head. His skin crawls with the feelings of someone watching and taking notes.
"Funny you should be here again." It's not the German but the man wears a mask. The other girl, not Mary, but the one...she dangles the noose from her fingertips. She's smiling at him. "We missed you. You really shouldn't leave without your medication."
"Don't need your medication."
"But of course you do. You're sick, you know."
Doc shakes his head. His guns are gone but he still has his hands and he's not above wrapping them around someone's neck. He needs to help her. Mary needs his help and these people...they are still people even if they aren't quite normal...are behind it.
"I'm not sick."
"You're in denial. Of course, you were the same way about John. You really couldn't believe he was dead, could you, Josiah." The man is crooning at him, and motions for him to walk along the hallway.
Something twists in his chest.
He walks. Doc feels the hand of the doctor on his shoulder. A comforting feeling, a gentle squeeze of the muscle and tissue. Friends. Friends care about one another. Doc cares about a lot of people.
"You don't want to hurt them do you?"
Will and Merlin and Jack and Bill and Ella and Billy and Chavez and Tommy...
"You realize that they will all die someday."
His lips curl into a small smile. "We all die eventually."
"Yes, Doc." The doctor nods as they walk. The doors are closed. Flames lick at the insides of the rooms and there are shadows pressed against the glass. Handprints smuging with ash and blood and screams. But the doctor does nothing as they walk.
Doc does nothing as they walk.
It's strange.
"You'd hate to see something happen to them, wouldn't you, Doc. Now what if you could have the chance to change the future and save them all?" The doctor opens a door and ushers his charge inside with that gentle touch on the shoulder. A guiding force.
Doc stops in his tracks.
She's huddled in the corner, with a bloodied lip and sunken eyes. She looks thin. There are bruises on her face. He steps away from the doctor and walks across the room and kneels in front of her. Even in this condition he can recognize her.
"Yen?"
"No...I am unclean."
"Yen...it's alright..."
He reaches up to touch her face and she snaps her head up, but instead of her eyes staring at him, they are empty, hollow, broken. He sees the marks on her face and he sees movement out of the corner of his eye and whirls. Murphy is standing there laughing.
"Funny how bastards..."
Doc lunges off the ground and clears the bed, but Murphy is gone. The doctor is yelling at him as he blows out of the room and into the hall. He's screaming.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, SON OF A BITCH!!!"
Murphy's laughing. Walking down the hall. Doc grabs him by the shoulder and spins him around, and shoves him hard into the wall, before his fists unleash. He's never been a fighter and when he has fought it's been with his guns. You don't have to get up close with your guns.
Muscle bruises beneath his fists. Bone breaks. Skin splits and teeth come loose. He's hitting and hitting and hitting but Murphy is still laughing at him.
"Bastard son. Your pa left too, you know. Left you and your mama alone."
"He was fightin' in the war, you son of a bitch!"
More blood and his hands hurt and Murphy's face is swollen and black and the bullet hole...
"Just like you're fighting in this war, Doc?"
He stops.
There's a hand on his shoulder.
Murphy laughs and the doctor croons in his ear, hand on his shoulder. "There, there. We'll get you your medicine and everything will be all right."
Doc tries to pull away but the grip tightens on his shoulder. He struggles and then there's another laugh, only this one is the little girl. Not the noose, not the noose...
He grabs for a pan on the floor and then swings as hard as he can. It connects with the masked face and then he runs. He has no idea where he's running, past doors and shadows and flickers of fire and the stink of death. Past walls that are scorched, past the ground that is cracked and broken. The lights flicker above his head. Glass shatters behind him.
The bullets strike the walls around him. The horse hooves come closer. He ducks into a hallway and then around a corner. Someone grabs him by the shoulder. The doctor. How did he get here? How did he find him? Doc's a fast runner and...
The rag goes over his mouth and everything tilts. He screams and claws for oxygen but then there's pain in his arm and everything tilts again.
The door is the wall.
"There now isn't that better...."
The door is the wall.
He staggers and slides his hands along the walls. Murphy is laughing. Yen is screaming. Everything is muted. Quiet. Hoofheats. Heartbeats.
The door is the wall.
"You should just take your medication..."
The door is the wall.
Doc snorts. "Don't need...medication...need t'git the fuck out of here." He's feeling along and he'll find it eventually of course he will he has to find it and escape because he's gonna escape he has to escape the hoofbeats are getting louder in his ears and the bullets ring off the walls.
The door is the wall.
His hands are coated in old paint and dust and grime and the man is laughing and there's the scratch of pens against paper and he needs to write a note about this for Kate so she can help find out why this is happening and he needs to write a note about this for Byers and he needs to write a note.
The door is the wall.
His desk is full of letters all unsent to his butterfly the sun splits the ceiling and the ground rumbles. He falls and yells because he can't see a damn thing and there's a butterfly in front of his eyes and it's on fire and he yells because he can't lose her.
The door is the wall.
Burn them all. Words on a page and notes to those who will never see them because he'll never get home and he'll never hold her and he'll never touch her and he's going to die. Everyone dies and he can't stop it, Tommy is going to die and then he is going to die and Chavez is going to die and Billy is going to die and Yen is going to die and Jonathan is going to die and Murphy will walk the earth among the living again and take her and steal her away.
He yells.
The door is the wall.
He doesn't.
It happens again.
The laugh echoes down the hallway. Murphy's laugh, not Billy's, but the sound still chills him as he sets his feet on the ground. It's not warm but it's not cold either. The air smells stale and tastes like copper.
There are footsteps but no feet.
There are screams but no lungs.
There are touches but no hands.
There are observations but no eyes.
Someone is taking notes. There is the scratch of pen on paper as he walks. The last time he was here...he was on a noose. Being led around like a steer to the slaughter. This time he's free. He wonders if that means anything. The laugh echoes down the hallway.
Someone is watching him. He can feel the eyes on the back of his head. His skin crawls with the feelings of someone watching and taking notes.
He's just another patient.
He's just another number.
He's just another test.
He's just another mind.
"Funny you should be here again." It's not the German but the man wears a mask. The other girl, not Mary, but the one...she dangles the noose from her fingertips. She's smiling at him. "We missed you. You really shouldn't leave without your medication."
"Don't need your medication."
"But of course you do. You're sick, you know."
Doc shakes his head. His guns are gone but he still has his hands and he's not above wrapping them around someone's neck. He needs to help her. Mary needs his help and these people...they are still people even if they aren't quite normal...are behind it.
"I'm not sick."
"You're in denial. Of course, you were the same way about John. You really couldn't believe he was dead, could you, Josiah." The man is crooning at him, and motions for him to walk along the hallway.
Something twists in his chest.
The heart is full of life.
The heart is full of love.
The heart is full of fear.
The heart is full of blood.
He walks. Doc feels the hand of the doctor on his shoulder. A comforting feeling, a gentle squeeze of the muscle and tissue. Friends. Friends care about one another. Doc cares about a lot of people.
"You don't want to hurt them do you?"
Will and Merlin and Jack and Bill and Ella and Billy and Chavez and Tommy...
"You realize that they will all die someday."
His lips curl into a small smile. "We all die eventually."
"Yes, Doc." The doctor nods as they walk. The doors are closed. Flames lick at the insides of the rooms and there are shadows pressed against the glass. Handprints smuging with ash and blood and screams. But the doctor does nothing as they walk.
Doc does nothing as they walk.
It's strange.
His mind is telling him to run.
His mind is telling him to scream.
His mind is telling him to fight.
His mind is telling him...
"You'd hate to see something happen to them, wouldn't you, Doc. Now what if you could have the chance to change the future and save them all?" The doctor opens a door and ushers his charge inside with that gentle touch on the shoulder. A guiding force.
Doc stops in his tracks.
She's huddled in the corner, with a bloodied lip and sunken eyes. She looks thin. There are bruises on her face. He steps away from the doctor and walks across the room and kneels in front of her. Even in this condition he can recognize her.
"Yen?"
"No...I am unclean."
"Yen...it's alright..."
He reaches up to touch her face and she snaps her head up, but instead of her eyes staring at him, they are empty, hollow, broken. He sees the marks on her face and he sees movement out of the corner of his eye and whirls. Murphy is standing there laughing.
He's holding her heart in his hands.
He's holding their son in his hands.
He's holding a gun in his hands.
He's holding...
"Funny how bastards..."
Doc lunges off the ground and clears the bed, but Murphy is gone. The doctor is yelling at him as he blows out of the room and into the hall. He's screaming.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, SON OF A BITCH!!!"
Murphy's laughing. Walking down the hall. Doc grabs him by the shoulder and spins him around, and shoves him hard into the wall, before his fists unleash. He's never been a fighter and when he has fought it's been with his guns. You don't have to get up close with your guns.
Muscle bruises beneath his fists. Bone breaks. Skin splits and teeth come loose. He's hitting and hitting and hitting but Murphy is still laughing at him.
"Bastard son. Your pa left too, you know. Left you and your mama alone."
"He was fightin' in the war, you son of a bitch!"
More blood and his hands hurt and Murphy's face is swollen and black and the bullet hole...
"Just like you're fighting in this war, Doc?"
He stops.
There's a hand on his shoulder.
Just like you're fighting in this war.
Just like you're running in this war.
Just like you're losing in this war.
Just like you're dying in this war.
Murphy laughs and the doctor croons in his ear, hand on his shoulder. "There, there. We'll get you your medicine and everything will be all right."
Doc tries to pull away but the grip tightens on his shoulder. He struggles and then there's another laugh, only this one is the little girl. Not the noose, not the noose...
He grabs for a pan on the floor and then swings as hard as he can. It connects with the masked face and then he runs. He has no idea where he's running, past doors and shadows and flickers of fire and the stink of death. Past walls that are scorched, past the ground that is cracked and broken. The lights flicker above his head. Glass shatters behind him.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
The bullets strike the walls around him. The horse hooves come closer. He ducks into a hallway and then around a corner. Someone grabs him by the shoulder. The doctor. How did he get here? How did he find him? Doc's a fast runner and...
The rag goes over his mouth and everything tilts. He screams and claws for oxygen but then there's pain in his arm and everything tilts again.
The floor is the ceiling.
The ceiling is the floor.
The walls are the doors.
The door is the wall.
The door is the wall.
"There now isn't that better...."
The door is the wall.
He staggers and slides his hands along the walls. Murphy is laughing. Yen is screaming. Everything is muted. Quiet. Hoofheats. Heartbeats.
The door is the wall.
"You should just take your medication..."
The door is the wall.
Doc snorts. "Don't need...medication...need t'git the fuck out of here." He's feeling along and he'll find it eventually of course he will he has to find it and escape because he's gonna escape he has to escape the hoofbeats are getting louder in his ears and the bullets ring off the walls.
The door is the wall.
His hands are coated in old paint and dust and grime and the man is laughing and there's the scratch of pens against paper and he needs to write a note about this for Kate so she can help find out why this is happening and he needs to write a note about this for Byers and he needs to write a note.
The door is the wall.
His desk is full of letters all unsent to his butterfly the sun splits the ceiling and the ground rumbles. He falls and yells because he can't see a damn thing and there's a butterfly in front of his eyes and it's on fire and he yells because he can't lose her.
He can't lose her.
He won't lose her.
He can't lose her.
He will lose her.
The door is the wall.
Burn them all. Words on a page and notes to those who will never see them because he'll never get home and he'll never hold her and he'll never touch her and he's going to die. Everyone dies and he can't stop it, Tommy is going to die and then he is going to die and Chavez is going to die and Billy is going to die and Yen is going to die and Jonathan is going to die and Murphy will walk the earth among the living again and take her and steal her away.
He yells.
And he yells.
And he yells.
And he yells.
And he yells.
The door is the wall.
And everyone dies.