Link to article: A Lover, An Immortal and A Healer walk into a Hospital Room.
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[[>]] [[module rate]] [[/>]] [[include :scp-wiki:theme:black-highlighter-theme]] [[include :scp-wiki:theme:midnight-rush]] White cauterised lights lit the hall as blank professionals streamed through the hallways. Their faces, although alive, showed no humanity, just hardened attitudes and a clean scientific demeanor. Olivia rushed past them, and as she pushed them aside, they seemingly just readjusted themselves and continued as if nothing ever happened, if nothing ever occurred. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever, just a loop of white lights and floor tiles. It was infuriating; she needed to get to him, needed to help him, and needed to save him. Pushing past two tall lab coats, she found the room she was looking for—the same room where she met him. Fergusson, the usual guard, stood watching the door, his rifle holstered on his shoulder. He noticed Olivia and donned a painful expression as if the mere sight of her had upset him. //"Kid, you shouldn't be here. I know he meant something to you, but site director Sha-//. //"I don't care what he says; he can kiss my ass for all I care. I need to see TJ, please.".// Fergusson reached into his pocket almost instinctively, and Olivia backed away in fear. He held up a hand to reassure himself while he pulled a keycard out of his pocket. The draw-stringed card magnetically anchored itself to the keypad, fulfilling the code. The blast door slowly creaked open as Fergusson stepped away and gestured towards the room. //"Listen, five minutes is all I can spare. Make your little love talk quick, and I'll retrieve you with no problem."// Olivia rushed into the room, charging past Fergusson, which surprised the guard. Olivia barged in, expecting a clean, furnished room with paintings and trinkets. Yet all that greeted her here was a bone-white bed with her beloved on it. His breathing was shallow yet strained; ventilators and complex machines surrounded him while needles pierced his frail skin. His beautiful jade eyes were no longer visible—the ones that allured her all those years ago. He remained unresponsive and catatonic, not even reacting to her bursting in. Olivia rushed towards his bedside, tears streaming down her face and damaging her mascara and makeup. //"God, what have they done to you? TJ. D. Don't worry, I'll get you free; you just have to take the damn pills again."// She reached into her pocket, retrieving a black pill bottle. With determination, she wrestled and twisted the bottle, making a furious effort to unseal it. However, before she could fully access its contents, the pill bottle ruptured, scattering small red pills across the floor. Swearing beneath her breath, she hunched down to gather them, but like elusive mice, the glossy pills slipped through her fingers. An uproar raged outside, and even within the confines of a soundproof room, she could discern the furious shouts and screams. Just as she finally clutched the first pill, the blast door was forcefully kicked ajar by a violent force. A tall wiry man akin to a whippet, Director Shaw, loomed over the broken door; his face bore a furious expression as he turned towards Olivia. Shaw's golden jade eyes burned themselves into her mind as if glancing at floodlights. He gripped an ivory revolver, his veins almost popping out of his hands while grasping the weapon. //"Get away from SCP-590, Olivia Kramer; you have no right to see him after what you've done".// She refused to budge and stood confidently, slipping a red pill into TJ's cold hands. Shaw's eyes reddened as his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets from rage. He pointed the gun between her eyes, and with his words tinged with venom, he screamed at her. //"GET AWAY FROM MY FUCKING BROTHER; DO YOU UNDERSTAND WITCH? I WILL PUT A FUCKING BULLET THROUGH YOUR SKULL UNLESS YOU SIT DOWN NOW".// Her body acted out of a mixture of fear and instinct, immediately planting her bosom upon a seat. Shaw held a leg up and smashed the red pills into dust, rubbing them into the tile. With his free hand, he gently opened up TJ's hand and took out the pill, flipping it into his mouth with a sickening gulp. He appeared to whisper something into TJ's ear, causing the young boy to stir and slightly move. //"Elias, how could you do this to your own brother? You're a fucking monster. I was only trying to help him, for God's sake."// Shaw soon begins to devolve into maniacal laughter before breaking into a half-sob. //You... help him. YOU'RE THE REASON HE'S IN THIS STATE IN THE FIRST PLACE"//. Shaw readjusts his ambient necklace and heaves a deep breath. He places the gun on the bedside table, gently placing his hand on TJ's forehead to calm the comatose patient. //" I had to do this to save him; otherwise, your father would've crucified him for the whole of Site-19 to see. And it's all because you decided to enter his life."// Shaw digs into his pocket and produces a light manilla folder, throwing it towards Olivia. The folder hits Olivia square in the face before falling towards her lap. After removing the paperclip, a sheaf of papers began to spill out. Each was littered with murder methods for SCP-590, which included acid baths, decommissioning, and exposure to SCP-097. Each page is cleanly signed in red by one Honourable O5-2 Oswald Kramer. Olivia's blank expression soon soured as Shaw simply nodded in bitterness. Her own father, the scientific mind she admired and the dad she loved, how could he organise such brutal events? //"The moment Kramer heard his little princess was consorting with a humanoid anomaly, he blew his top, both literally and figuratively. He wanted to do heinous things to TJ; he held enough power and influence to do them. Thank God O5-2 is allowed to do things my way."// Olivia simply baulked. //"And your best way to solve this was to put your brother into a coma; surely there was another option".// //"I thought so too, but nothing except this or death would persuade the bastard. I did what I had to do, and he no longer has to feel our pain. I bargained with the Oneroi collective; he'll be safe within his dreams; no more pain, no more suffering."// Olivia dropped the folder to the floor as her face turned gloomy and melancholic. The floodgates of her mind broke upon her; she injured whom she cared for most; she did this to him. Shaw met her eyes; the bitterness remained, but it subsided. She attempted to speak, but words would not force themselves out of her throat. It was as if there was everything to say but no way to say it; words couldn't comprehend her emotions. Shaw gestured towards the door as Fergusson peaked his head through the door, and his face mirrored the same sadness. Body like a marionette, each step she took was just something subconscious that guided her away, as Fergusson took her hand and ushered her out. Fergusson turned towards Shaw. //You didn't have to go that harsh, sir; she's a good lass. "Listen, I know it's"-// //It's best if you leave Martin Fergusson, lest I revoke your level 3 certifications and assign you to 682".// Fergusson quickly scattered, slamming the wreckage of the door against its hinges, providing the illusion of a door existing. Elias cradled his younger brother's hand, gently holding it towards the amulet. A thought etched into his mind, Elias could use the amulet to help him, infiltrate his mind and heal him, let him escape, and live on through him. But then TJ would completely be gone, with only a husk of his body remaining, and Elias almost retched in revulsion at the thought. TJ stirred once more, gripping Elias's hand tighter as he pulled it towards him. Elias smiled once more, and TJ's teddy bear muscle was acting up again. He dug into his shirt once more and produced a white bear with a yellow scarf, tucking it into the boy's hand as the boy seemed content. Elias plopped himself down and let out an anguished sigh. //"God... TJ I wish I could do more for you. I truly am sorry things had to come to this. Listen, I know yelling at your girlfriend was a bit selfish, but she wouldn't completely understand if I told her."// //"Things have been difficult for the family; Mikell's still on his deathbed in the ICU recovering from the accident. Cousin Alva's been drinking herself to death, and Angela's almost worse off than you in some cases. Sometimes I think our family's cursed, ever since we first made contact with the paranormal. What I wouldn't give to live a happy life with you guys. My little brother, TJ, I should've done everything for you; it's just... I couldn't lose you too, not like dad or mum." TJ remained unresponsive".// //"I love you, TJ. We'll make it through this together, and maybe if fortune smiles upon us, we'll all be better. I must leave to more important matters. Goodbye, TJ".// Elias kissed TJ's forehead and snuggled him into his blanket. Elias took his time, rearranging the heart monitors, propping up the tubes, and polishing the bedframe. He silently left the room, tears streaming down his face and dripping onto the floor. He strode out of the room, flicking a switch and reinforcing the door. Leaving Thomas Jefferson Shaw once more alone, alone within his dreams. Alone with his slumbering pain and anguish.