Sleepless - A BFB Grimdark

Part Four - The Fall from Grace

Rustling paper. The distant croon of grasshoppers. The clattering of the AC as it puttered alive. Lava bubbling from under a metal grate. Fan chugging along, powering unseen devices.

The various sounds accompanied Golf Ball as she trudged down the steps to her laboratory. The steps were discolored from the lava flow that had drowned the space, but her ingenuity kept everything lava-proof and protected. She muttered, kicking a layer of ash from the last step as she scrunched her glasses up her nose. Though her lab was dark, she knew the layout like the back of her hand...or, in her case, foot. She found her work desk with little trouble. Reaching into her breast pocket, she pulled out a petri dish and placed it on the desk. With a click, her lamp shone a warm glow onto the desk. Golf Ball pulled out a clipboard and began writing.

"Substance #579," Golf Ball muttered to herself. "Description: A dark, powdered substance said to be a form of coffee. However, it's much finer-grained than most coffees I have seen. Also said to have a potent dosage of caffeine," She pulled out a beaker, already filled with water. Carefully, she measured out a handful of the substance and poured it into the beaker. To her amazement, it dissolved on contact but left the water the same color it was before. She blinked, then scrawled in her notes.

"Around 1 oz. of the substance dissolved upon contact with 100 milligrams of water. Water did not change in color or clarity," She continued. She placed the beaker on a hot plate, and with a click and a whirr, the water began heating. As expected, the water boiled at 100℃. Golf Ball muttered under her breath.

"Properties appear to remain the same," She scribbled. She eyed the concoction.

"It was some kind of coffee from another continent, said a handful could keep someone up a whole night," Pencil's voice echoed in Golf Ball's memory. She remembered how Book apparently drank it. She thought.

"Didn't I see her today? Golf Ball asked herself. The factory rang silent in return. "...Yes, with...Taco, yes, that's right..." Golf Ball looked to the concoction again.

"I wonder how she's holding up..."

——

3:30 AM.

Almost forty-eight hours.

Book's covers were thrown off in a heap on the floor, the only light coming from the bathroom. The harsh white light glared down at Book as she leaned over the toilet bowl, breath shaky and lips dripping with drool. Even with the ice-cold tile under her, she felt like she was on fire. Hell, she'd rather be on fire than living through this. She had tried to sleep, she really did, but every time she closed her eyes, they burned like fire. It was as if she were hooked up to some invisible shock system. Each and every time she could feel herself slipping away, a jolt would shoot through her, waking her yet again. She couldn't even keep water down, as much as her body craved it. A part of Book wondered if Pencil had killed her, and she was just living through her own personal hell. But she knew that made no sense. The realization only made it worse.

She stared, eyes glazed, into the bowl, A mix of orange and green drifted. Stomach bile. It was all she could conjure up. Her head pounded like a drum, thundering from within her aching skull. She just wanted to curl up into a ball and die right there.

On its own, her body began to move. Book could feel her grip on her movements slipping away. She felt...unreal. The buzz of the lights was loud, too loud. As she flushed the bile away, she found herself staring into the water. It felt wrong. Everything felt wrong. She felt as if she were a ghost trapped in a shell. With lazy, teary eyes, she looked around.

Knock knock.

The sound was faint, but Book felt her body stiffen when she heard it. It was coming from the main room. A sense of paranoia crept up her spine. Who in their right mind would be up? She thought. Her body turned for the door and trudged out. The sound of her heart thumping filled her ears, drowning out anything else in her apartment. Even with her thundering heartbeat, she still heard it.