***
As Dagen kept watch, it was taking everything that was left in him to stay awake. He needed something to do and with Varin asleep, he finally saw a moment to read the tag he pulled off of Varins chain mechanism. Problem was, it was too dark to make out the words. He covered a flashlight with a corner of the blanket, and used the small hue of light that made it through to read. Leaving the light on just long enough to read it.
Name: ?
Number: 02 - 11
Code: Black
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Skills: Death dealer
Section: 02
Rank: Undetermined
Notes: Received 4 preparatory solutions and 2 inducers.
Extra Notes: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Do not enter holding without taking appropriate precautions.
'So, he's 2 years older than me.'
'Huh? What the hell is a "Death dealer"?'
'I mean… "Extremely dangerous" seems accurate.'
'So… he had actually received 2 inducers before the bastard guard injected him? Green received 2 inducers and he mutated pretty badly. Now, Varin has been given 3 inducers!'
Looking over at Varin, Dagen truly began to wonder, and worry about what was going to happen to him. He also had time to wonder about what was going to happen to himself. What was an injection made by a madman that was meant for a madman, going to do to him?
A few hours passed with no disturbances. The only sight being the woods around them and the only sounds being the wind, crickets, and occasional owl hoot. It was actually quite peaceful, until Varin awoke with a jolt, giving Dagen a mini heart attack.
Varin snapped into a sitting position and was clutching his chest with his right hand. It seemed like he was having trouble catching his breath.
"Varin what's wrong? Breath!"
Scooting over to him, Dagen stopped Varin from clawing at his right eye with his other hand. His left hand was shaking and… cold.
All Varin could say as he tried to take deep breaths was:
"My… heart… cold."
In a panic, all Dagen could do was keep hold of Varins left hand and tell him to breathe. Also taking deep breaths to try and stay calm.
After a few minutes that felt like an eternity, Varin was finally breathing steadily. Feeling Varins left hand relax, Dagen slowly let go and tried to relax himself.
"Varin? You still with me?"
Varin looked up and was shocked by what he saw.
"Hey Dagen… is it brighter out?"
Dagen was confused by the question, since Varin fell asleep its done nothing but get darker. All he could see was Varins basic outline with very little detail.
"Uh… no. It's still dark out. What are you talking about?"
Looking around in amazement, Varin held up his hand and put up 3 fingers in front of Dagen.
"How many fingers am I holding up?"
Squinting and straining his eyes, Dagen said:
"I don't know why you're asking me this all of a sudden but it looks like 2, maybe… 2 or 3. It's too dark I can't really tell."
"Why?"
Varin couldn't believe his eyes.
"Because I can see everything in perfect detail right now, even though you say it's really dark. It looks as though the world is being illuminated by a dimmer blue hued sun, sorta."
Varin and Dagen were simultaneously amazed and worried by this development. While being able to see in the dark was cool and all, it didn't seem worth the pain he was going through. It also solidified the fact that Varin was indeed changing, and perhaps Dagen would as well.
Still recovering from the pain, Varin looked to Dagen and said:
"I'll take watch from here, you also need to get some rest. I wouldn't be able to fall asleep again anyway."
Unable to deny how tired he was, Dagen grabbed his blanket and gladly let his consciousness slip into the sweet embrace of sleep.
Varin had to look himself over after that last episode of pain. Aside from his new sight, everything else felt pretty normal. Except, he may have felt colder, although it was hard to tell himself.
Also, he didn't know if his new sight was playing tricks on him or what, but the tips of his fingers looked dark and it got lighter as it spread up to his knuckles. The sight made him panic a bit.
'Have I lost blood flow to my fingers? They're not going to fall off are they!? Gods I hope not.'
Unfortunately, the only thing to do is to wait and see what becomes of them. Even if they found a hospital, what could regular doctors possibly do? After all, whatever is happening to them is FAR beyond the realm of what normal doctors are used to dealing with.
Varin was done with doctors poking at him anyway, he would rather kill himself while he is still sane before being locked up again. If the change and pain don't kill him first that is.
***
As the sun began to peak over the horizon, Varin took one more look around, seeing that everything was clear he looked over to Dagen, a mischievous smile appearing on his face. He moved over to Dagen and gently shook him by the shoulder as he whispered:
"Rise and shine princess."
Dagen barely moved.
Looking down at him, Varins smile widened. He took a deep breath and…
"WAKEY WAKEY BLUE!"
Dagen just about jumped through the tarp as he shot up ready to fight something.
"WHAT! What happened!"
Meanwhile, Varin was about to fall over laughing.
"What the hell man! That's not funny! I knew you were going to be the death of me!"
Tearing up from all the laughter, Varin crouched down and started rolling up the blankets.
"Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. The sun's rising and we need to use all the daylight that we got. Now help me pack up sleeping beauty."
Varin took a gulp of water and a piece of jerky and threw the bag at Dagen.
Dagen was not amused, catching his breath he also took a drink and a piece of jerky as he began to help Varin pack up the tarp and camo sheet.
'Somebody's in a good mood.'
"How do you have the energy to fuck around? I'm still exhausted and I got more sleep than you."
Untying one side of the rope and tossing it to Dagen, Varin moved to the other side and lightly scoffed as he said:
"Oh I'm still very much tired, but I'll be damned if I spend what may very well be my last few days, sleeping. Speaking of, how are you feeling?"
While bundling the rope, Dagen did a mental scan of himself. He didn't really feel any different, and everything appeared normal. He did feel a little warm but other than that, normal.
"I don't notice anything different so far. I just feel a little warm. Are you sure you're up for the hike we're about to do?"
Dropping the other end of the rope, Varin said:
"Yeah, we need to move while we can. Who knows how much worse off we'll be in a day or two. Speaking of worse off, do I feel especially cold to you?"
Dagen put on his duffle and climbed up to where Varin was. Putting his hand on his forehead, Varin did feel oddly cold. Remembering the chill of his hand last night, Dagen looked down to Varins hands.
"You are kind of cold… Oh my gods, are your hands okay!? It looks like you dipped your fingers in charcoal."
Looking at his hands, Varin wiggled his fingers around and said:
"Yeah, they feel fine so far, they just look bad. It happened a little after you fell asleep last night."
Dagen looked up and noticed something else that was different about Varin. His left eye is still a deep blue, while his right was practically glowing in comparison.
Noticing Dagens confused stare, Varin said:
"What is it? Is there something wrong with my face?"
Taking a second to make sure it wasn't just the lighting, Dagen replied:
"I guess you have heterochromia now too. Your right is a lighter blue than your left."
Varin wished they had something reflective enough to see for himself.
"Heterochromia huh, that's kinda cool."
***
Continuing on the clearest path down. Varin and Dagen decided to come up with some rules for themselves. While kinda cheesy, they felt it necessary if they were going to survive and attempt to live their new 'normal'.
Dagen:
"1) If we feel any changes we must tell the other as soon as possible, even if we think it's nothing of concern. (No lying to each other.)"
"We can only help each other cope with these changes if we know what's happening. After all, it's not like we have other people to go to about our little predicament."
Varin agreed, for it was true. Who else could they go to?
Varin:
"2) If one begins to lose their mind and doesn't end themselves, the other must put them out of their misery."
"Although I feel like this is a little one sided, I feel it necessary to say this. You know who is most likely to lose it first, don't you Dagen."
Dagen didn't like that question or tone at all.
"Don't say stuff like that, you don't know what will happen. But if it makes you feel better, I agree. You better not give up though!"
Varin gave a smirk and continued.
"Not a chance."
"3) Don't tell another soul about what happened in that place, or what is happening to us."
"This one is kind of a no-brainer. We don't need to be locked up or experimented on again. Also, it wouldn't surprise me if that place was being supported by something or someone. It's unlikely that the doctor could fund that place himself. So we need to stay off the radar."
Dagen nodded in agreement. It definitely wouldn't be a good idea to announce that they might turn into monsters, and who would believe them anyway?
"Good, now let's see if we can get out of the woods, literally and figuratively. We need to find a town or something, but I don't think it'd be a good idea to be around people too much. Just in case…"
Dagen knew what he meant. They might become a danger to each other, let alone others.
"Yeah."