Hybrid Helper - Part Two

I watch as Mrs Mawab takes a deep breath, her hazel eyes closing in deep thought for a moment. The whistling from the window grows sharp and loud as wind pounds the window, a slight pitter patter of rain beginning to build against the glass as well.

After almost a minute of sitting in silence I watch as Mrs Mawab's eyes snap open, her gaze darting to the needles as she searches for some kind of distinguishing marks. Finally she snatches one from the desk, giving it a more close reading before she hops to her feet with an unsteady jiggle rippling through her body.

"Okay..." she chuckles, waddling around the desk and towards me. "So... I think you would be great as our new embedded student support. We can't just hire back a teacher that we recently fired simply due to their... You know, you understand" she explains, waving her hand in a circular gesture as her words falter while the large needle jostles unnervingly close to my face. "And getting rid of Mr Lowe this way? No no, that was a terrible idea."

"Uh..." I wheeze, my eyes glued to the large shiny metal casing of the syringe. A string of numbers and letters are printed on the side, their meaning lost on me entirely as I struggle to read them in the poor light filling the room. "Can I... what about..."

"I suppose we could make you an assistant to one of the lecturers" she says with a smirk, glancing back over at the needles on the desk as she looks for one in particular. "I'm sure you'd love dong all of their photocopying and handing out papers or reading material day in day..."

"Fine fine, not that one I..." I begin to grumble back, only to be cut short by a phlegm filled chuckle from the older woman beside me.

"Well if you don't want to shuffle papers all day then we simply can't make you our new office administrator. And I suppose that would be a large part of working in the student hub and as a club officer for..." she explains, smiling the whole while as she seems to enjoy slowly breaking down my rapidly diminishing options.

"But how can I..." I begin to ask, only to freeze up as she taps the needle with one of her long pointed finger nails. "I mean..." I start with a deep breath, struggling to think as my gaze remains locked to the needle inches from my face. "They'll know I'm not a student, I taught some of them before I was made redundant. Besides, what does this job even pay?"

"Enough" Mrs Mawab practically purrs, reveling in the situation. "It pays enough, more than you're earning now at least. Don't worry about your identity, we'll set you up with a new student ID in the meantime. We can set you up in one of the old flats down by the arts center, though you may need to give it a bit of a clean."

"So you want me to live here as well? What about my..." I begin to complain, freezing up as Mrs Mawab narrows her gaze at me from behind her glasses.

"And how long can you afford that place?" she asks, her harsh tone suggesting the answer. "Fine, if you don't want to I can't force you. It was a pleasure to see you again Mr..."

"Fine" I croak, my blood running cold as I answer.

"Fine... what?" Mrs Mawab snaps back, inching the needle down and closer to my neck.

"I... I..." I blurt out, leaning to the side and craning my head away as I inadvertently expose my next. "I'll take the job, please just tell me what you're making..."

My eyes go wide as I feel something quickly puncture my skin, the slender pricking needle quickly piercing my skin as it pushes deeper in. A pained gasp slips from my lips, my eyelids fluttering as I feel an achingly cold liquid quickly begin to pool deep beneath my skin.

"May have tapped the artery there..." Mrs Mawab grumbles, pulling the needle away with a little flourish. The whole thing shifts as it comes out of my skin, the more dangerous elements quickly being covered by some sort of locking mechanism inside the case. She sighs to herself as she grabs my chin, moving my head around as she seems to look for something in my expression.

The freezing cold sensation quickly begins to race further and further up, the strange liquid inching closer to my skull with each of my rapidly hastening heart beats. As I feel the sensation reach my head my vision begins to suddenly blur, my head suddenly growing heavy as a pressure and weight builds inside my skull.

"This is going to make things..." Mrs Mawab grumbles, walking around in front of me. "Up!" she barks, smirking as I clumsily stagger to my feet.

My whole body feels almost laggy as the world around me seems to throb and warp. The yellow walls begin to bleed and run with chromatic streaks, the sound from the window whistling leaving the air pulsing and rattling. My mouth hangs open, my arms falling to my side and twitching as I feel the cold sensation in my head begin to send an almost pleasurable buzzing through my delicate grey matter.

"You're going to make a wonderful little guard dog, aren't you" Mrs Mawab coos, chuckling to herself as she wraps an arm around my shoulder. "Come on, we need to get you to your kennel before anyone sees any part of the new you."

My legs move on their own, staggering along beside the warmly clothed rotund woman beside me. My knees shake with each step, the muscles twitching and quivering with each of the buzzing pulses inside my skull. I slowly feel more and more of the icy liquid pumping around my head slowly begin to warm up as it spreads back down toward my chest.

I'm practically dragged out into the hallway, the scent of the aging building hitting me all at once. Dust, dirt, the scent of rain and the smell of some food in a far off microwave all race through my mind as I find my thoughts easily growing distracted and my train of thought rapidly switching tracks. I begin to drool as I focus on the scent of food, my stomach growling as I rapidly find myself becoming famished.

"Bad" Mrs Mawab hisses under her breath, tapping the back of my head as I'm led further away from the food and closer towards the intermingled scents of people and rain. "We'll get you some food at your new little den" she states with a chuckle, pushing open a door and bracing herself for the cold outside.

Despite the icy grip of the wind outside I soon find my whole body burning, a heat beneath my skin quickly bringing tears to my eyes. I whimper softly as I'm pulled through the campus, my head hanging low as Mrs Mawab struggles to keep me from the sight of staff and students alike. My skin itches like crazy, every pore and hair on my body feeling like a terrible mosquito bite as I soon find myself shifting and wriggling inside my yellow hoodie and jeans for some sort of relief. My arms flop and dangle lazily by my side, my muscles inside fighting any sort of command as they pulse and twitch in throes of the worst cramps I had ever experienced.

The cramps only grow worse as we pace down the various pathways and halls of the massive campus, Mrs Mawab purposely taking a more circuitous route in order to avoid prying eyes. My eyes burns each time we emerge into the daylight light, the overcast sky still providing a painful amount of light as my eyes simply struggle to adjust.

I barely notice the subtle beeping as Mrs Mawab traces a small blank white key card over a plain light brown wooden door, the whole thing soon swinging inwards as I'm practically thrown into the room. A dank and musty scent clings to the room at large, the sudden shift in the air telling me this room had been closed for some time before.

Staggering forward I collapse to the floor, my face soon landing in the dust covered hardwood floor. The heat building beneath my skin quickly becomes too much, my legs and arms twisting and kicking weakly as I try to remove my clothes in order to cool down. Suddenly, I feel someone tug at my boots, the laces quickly becoming untied before the heavy leather shoes are tugged from my feet by the doughy woman who dragged me here.

"I trust you can get your... uh... your pants Mr Hughes?" she asks, panting slightly as though the walk had winded her. I listen as she shuffles inside, the room suddenly filling with harsh artificial light that forces me to close my eyes.

Despite my darkened vision I find myself easily able to follow along with Mrs Mawab's movements, her rose water perfume leaving a trail behind her in my mind's eye. Cabinets open and close, the seal of a fridge pops as the faint sound of the cooling system in the back comes to life.

"Okay, that should cover you if you need something before I get back" she mutters, slamming the fridge shut before walking back over to me across the aging floorboard. "Come on come on" she grumbles, bending down to nudge my shoulder as I writhe on the floor. "You need to make room for your new... just get the belt off at least... now"

I whimper and whine as I struggle to move on the floor, my whole body aching as it feels like ever muscle, bone, and inch of skin was burning up from the inside out. My fingers fumble over my simple metal belt buckle, a hiss escaping my lips as I feel my nails get caught under the buckle before I pull it undone. The sensation of something hard against my nails leaves me squirming, the sensation sending bolts of lighting up through my fingers and leaving my hands convulsing.

"Stop being a dramatic little bitch" Mrs Mawab sighs, pacing her way towards the door with a slight giggle. "I swear, this will fit you all too well Ms Jackson" she chuckles, calling me an unfamiliar name as she exits the strange room before slamming the door shut behind her.