"Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell; And in the lowest deep a lower deep, Still threat’ning to devour me, opens wide, To which the hell I suffer seems a heaven."
Paradise Lost - John Milton
The Outfit (2022): “The Wound Needs To Be Sealed. We Have To Stop This Bleeding.”
[PART 1] [PART 2]
For twelve hours a day, every day, Evelyn had been tested.
They asked him to build from schematics. They asked him to design schematics. They immobilized him in the same chair and had him direct others to build machines.
They gave him drugs. A lot of drugs. They would dose him with something that made him nauseous and faint and dizzy and asked him to complete tasks. Solve equations. Answer their questions. Blindfolded. Ears plugged. Starved. Sleep-deprived. Sedated. Hot. Cold. Dizzy.
Over and over and over.
He was tested under every possible circumstance. Every possible test. Until now.
Evelyn winced as the needle probed beneath his skin and into a vein.
Evelyn wanted to pull away from the needle and the IV bag and everything they were about to do to him, but the restraints kept his wrists, ankles, and chest firmly pressed to the chair. He swallowed hard. The IV needle was taped to his skin and the nurse left the room without even meeting his eyes.
The door hissed and clanged shut.
Evelyn only had a minute or two to try and calm down before the door opened again and someone else entered.
The lady wore a strained smile and a nice suit. She sat down, keeping the table between her and Evelyn. And ignoring him, she began to shuffle through the papers she had brought. After what seemed like ten minutes or so, she spoke.
“My name is Ms. Brown, I am the Assistant Deputy Supervisor at the Bureau of Extrohuman Affairs and Regulation. I am here today to give your official status and category as an Extrohuman, witness your tagging procedure, and answer any questions you have. Do you understand?”
She never looked at him, not once.
Evelyn opened his mouth to speak.
The nurse came back.
Ms. Brown continued. “Evelyn Earl, your tests indicate that you place with the Enhanced Category, subtype Intelligence, archetype Crafter, division Mechanics.”
The saline was cold and Evelyn began to shiver. Of course he was good with machines. That was obvious. Why did they have to test for it? Why?
The lady continued. “Established legal precedents necessitate a procedure to display your status upon your person, this is sometimes called tagging. Once this procedure is completed, displaying this status mark will be used in conjunction with other identification you carry in order to comply with requests for identification. Please give verbal confirmation that you understand this procedure.”
The lady stopped talking and looked up at Evelyn. Staring at him.
Finally looking right into his eyes. Nothing in her expression indicated that she was looking at another human being. He may as well be another piece of paper that needed initials and dates.
Evelyn started when he realized he was meant to speak.
“Oh.” He licked his dry lips. “Right, yeah, I understand.”
The lady made another note on her papers. The room was so quiet that Evelyn could hear her pen scratching.
Eventually, the lady looked up and nodded at the nurse. “You may proceed.”
The nurse wheeled a cart with a machine closer to Evelyn. The nurse turned it on and the machine began to hum. Evelyn only began to panic when the nurse began to untie the front of his gown.
“What are you doing?” Evelyn felt his heart begin to quicken.
The nurse bared his chest and disinfected the skin over his heart.
The lady with the papers got up from the table.
“What is the procedure?” Evelyn asked, panic edging his voice.
“Identification.” Was all the lady answered.
The nurse leaned in close, holding something like a pen, which was connected to the machine by a cord.
“What is that?” Evelyn could not tear his eyes away from the strange pen.
The nurse turned and looked at the lady.
The lady shrugged.
What was tagging?
When the pen first touched his skin, Evelyn thought he had been cut. But when the smell of sizzling, burning, charred flesh filled his nose, he knew this was false.
Evelyn let out a scream and struggled to get away from the electrocautery device. But the bindings held him firmly.
The pain continued and amplified.
Evelyn thought he could hear the pain. Like barbed wire screeching through his ears.
He screamed again. And again. Evelyn felt sweat bead upon his forehead and roll down into his eyes, stinging and hot. He sobbed until his throat became raw. It went on and on, for what felt like hours.
Then, the hum of the machine ceased. The nurse moved away. A crinkling sound
Evelyn was left panting. He cracked his eyes open and saw the nurse was unwrapping bandages.
He could not stand it any longer. He needed to know.
Evelyn looked down to his chest, to the spot over his heart.
Shiny, bleeding burns. The smell of cooked flesh. Skin crackling.
A series of numbers and letters. They meant nothing.
But they were now branded into him. Into his flesh. Tagging. Identification.
Evelyn let out another sob.
(Dark Shadows 1966)
@mediwhumpmay
As soon as Willie woke up, he regretted it.
Every inch of him ached. Stiff and sore. Lying down hurt. Getting up hurt. Might as well get up.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, groaning. His head began to throb. Dawn was just beginning to peek into the room, illuminating the dust and the rot.
Willie looked back to his pillow. A dark red and brown stain lay there. His nose must have bled in the night. He touched his swollen and tender cheek.
The flash of a wolf’s head cane and sharp words.
Willie left the bed and padded over to the mirror on the wall.
He thought about things so far. He thought about the distant past that was a few weeks ago. Before he’d come to Colinsport. Before all of this. Before him.
And nothing had really changed.
And that struck a hollow, empty chord within him.
Willie remembered getting into scraps as a kid. Scraped knees. Busted lip. Talking big only to get hit again. He’d always been covered in scabs and bruises.
When he became an adult, it was the same. The scraps were bigger. Brawls. He just talked bigger and bigger.
The hits got harder.
But he learned how to hit too. And he gave as much as he got.
Willie thought and thought and tried to remember a single moment of this life where he hadn’t been bruised. Or bloody. Or in pain.
He drew level with the mirror, realizing he couldn’t remember.
This was just how it was.
His reflection stared back at him in the dim and cold morning light.
A pattern of cane-bruises marched over his face, dark and thunderous.
Willie’s tongue found a tooth, loosened by the blows to his face. He wiggled it. Opened his mouth. Stuck his fingers in. And ripped the tooth out.
Blood covered his fingers and blotted his lips. He slipped the tooth into his pocket.
Willie smiled at himself, bloody and gap-toothed.
At least his outside now matched his inside.
Looking forward to this!
Welcome to my environmental whump blog! This is a side blog, main blog is @adzeisval.
Here be all thing environmental whump from hypothermia, to natural disasters, to animal attack, and good old fashioned whoops I fell off a cliff.
I'll have prompts and polls and gifs and all kinds of whumpy goodness.
Ask box is open, and I might eventually take submissions, we'll see where this goes. Just getting started so not much to see yet. Happy whumping!
It's May, everyone!! Due to personal and technical difficulties, we're getting the list to you DAY ONE. WOW!
So sorry for the delay, but we have every confidence that despite this short notice, you'll all be able to put out some amazing work this year!
Without further ado, welcome to The Merry Whump of May!
A month-long whump writing event by @wormwriting and @painsandconfusion.
Extemporaneous style this year-!!
Write, draw, or otherwise create content based on the daily prompts! Participants and completionists will receive badges of honor for their work at the end of the month.
Create original content or fanfiction, all is welcome!
Tag each day's post with #themerrywhumpofmay, any necessary content warning (eg: #knife), and the day in the following format: #mwmday1)
Adult topics are allowed, but must be well tagged. Send a message to @themerrywhumpofmay if you'd like a second opinion.
Be kind, have fun!
Day One - “No pain, no gain.”
Compass
Haphephobia
Kitchen
Day Two - “Need a ride?
Wrench
Paranoia
Club
Day Three - “You're not looking so hot.”
Lightbulb
Tension
Alleyway
Day Four - “Two birds, one bullet.”
Chess Pieces
Stubborn
Tower
Day Five - “Do unto others as you would bla bla bla...”
Bow and Arrow
Stalking
Cavern
Day Six - “It's a long story.”
Knife Handle
Gagged
Under the table
Day Seven - “Write what you know.”
Box
Magic
Cell
Day Eight - “Did you read the fine print?”
Circle
Blinded
Field
Day Nine - “We'll burn that bridge when we get there.”
Collar
Lost
Roof
Day Ten - “Hit the hay.”
Key
Forgetting
Warehouse
Day Eleven - “Ready set go!”
Plastic bag
Overheating
Restaurant
Day Twelve - “Tabled for Later.”
Thumbtack
Panic attack
Ballroom
Day Thirteen - “You've made your bed, now bleed in it.”
Sander
Found
Safe Place
Day Fourteen - “Well, well, well...”
Barbed Wire
Starvation
Drain
Day Fifteen - “The power of god and anime”
Hammer
Over-Exhaustion
Hammer
Day Sixteen - “Take a break.”
Branding Iron
Moonlight
Cemetery
Day Seventeen - “Going down in flames.”
Pole
Regret
Fireplace
Day Eighteen - “No use crying over spilled blood.”
Cage
Claustrophobia
Ship
Day Nineteen - “Apples and oranges.”
Chainsaw
Surprise
Home Base
Day Twenty - “A taste of your own medicine.”
Zip ties
Bleeding out
Office
Day Twenty-one - “Devil's advocate.”
Tome
Desperation
Hiking trail.
Day Twenty-two - “You can lead a bitch to water, but you can't make them drink.”
Origami
Amnesia
Attic
Day Twenty-three - “Good things come to those who wait.”
Nine-inch-nails
Isolation
Creepy basement
Day Twenty-four - “Bent out of shape.”
Tent Spike
Dragged
Wrong place, wrong time
Day Twenty-five - “It takes two to tango.”
Hot coffee
Doubt
In line
Day Twenty-six - “Hammer time.”
Pocket watch
Itchy
Waiting room
Day Twenty-seven - “Second mouse get the cheese.”
Knife
Rug burn
Skyscraper
Day Twenty-eight - “A picture's worth a thousand words.”
Chair
Paranoia
Backseat
Day Twenty-nine - “Lost and Found
Blowtortch
Frostbite
Lake
Day Thirty - “Rain check.”
High heels
Strained
The backroom
Day Thirty-one - “Thin ice.”
Lighter
Chronic pain
Dead end
Titles
“Questions? Comments? Concerns? Complaints?”
“Time dies when you're having fun.”
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
“Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.”
“Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match.”
Items
Wine Glass
Hydrochloric acid
Magnet
Teacup
Wire
Conditions
Sensory deprivation
Blindfolded
Acrophobia
Failed escape
Distress
Locations
The Middle of Nowhere
Forest
Void
Sidewalk
Shortcut
92 posts