Walter Wallace - Chapter 107

“NO!” Walter yelled, diving down to the ground. “Stevie!” His friend felt limp in his arms. “He turned to Lucy, “What the fuck are you doing?!”

Lucy was pointing the gun at him, her hand shaking. “We can’t leave, Walter. Not yet.” With her free hand she reached in her pocket and removed the capsule she had taken from the machine. She took another sip, larger this time.

“I thought- why are you drinking so much?”

“We need to go, Walter. Upstairs. We need to go upstairs. Leave him.”

Walter’s blood was cold. His whole body felt like it was cramping up. His reality was crumbling before his eyes. “Lucy, why?”

“I said get up!” She pointed the gun and fired an unsteady round into the corner of the room. She gave off a slight hiccup of a laugh and looked back at Walter, “Let’s go, OK honey?”

Walter felt sick. His whole existence in this laboratory was based on his belief in this woman who he loved. He was there for her and he trusted her when she said his work was saving the world. But she was hooked on the stuff and going insane. He felt his guts tense up to vomit but he was distracted by a twitch from the man in his arms. His eyes shot down to Stevie but he was again limp and not breathing. He rested his friend down and stood up.

“That’s better,” Lucy said, slightly more composed but blinking incessantly. She gestured to Walter to walk in front of her and led him out of the lab. They did not speak as they walked down the corridor and turned to face the elevators. “Up the stairs. We are going to the fiftieth floor and then we will know what to do. We will be safe I promise you.”

Walter remained silent. He urged himself to think of a plan, but he could not think straight. He had failed. He had failed everyone. He could not help anybody at any point, only ruin lives. He could only cause hatred and death and those he cared for most lost the biggest. Exiting the door to the fiftieth floor he gave up hope.

Lucy led him into a room. Sam Tank the man from the charity, who helped him sign a contract to produce an addictive drug through a torture machine; the man who defamed him on television accusing him of driving the trend of unhappiness through the world, the man who fucked the woman he loved and convinced her to betray everything she believed in, that man stood with a grin on his face as Walter entered.

Lucy ran over to him and gave him a hug. “Sammy! We need your help! I brought him just like you asked.

“You did well, Lucy.” Sam said. Just then the building rocked with a massive boom. The floors shook violently before settling again. “Walter, welcome. You made it just in time.”