#a little scary

Day 3: Monstrous Bugs

Saeran set the slide into the microscope and looked through the lens. “Fascinating.” His heart raced with the new discovery. His paper would surely be published, but that wasn’t the reason he did what he did.

He turned towards the containment room, glass walls with no visible doors.

“Are you sure about this?” his assistant Yoosung asked.

“Sure?” Saeran asked.

“About letting it keep growing?”

“I need to see where it ends.”

“But what if it gets out?”

“It won’t.”

“I’m not so sure about that. We should get rid of it now, before it’s too late.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Saeran glared at the blond, his amber eyes blazing with indignation.

“I apologize doctor. It’s not my place…” Yoosung began.

“Obviously it’s not your place! Science is not for the faint of heart. Are you in this or not? You know where the door is, nobody is forcing you to stay.” Saeran was vehement.

“Of course, you know my place is here with you. Always. As you will.” Yoosung stepped into Saeran and lay his head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.” He whispered.

“No, no. I am the one who is sorry. You should be able to voice your concerns. I’m just…” he wrapped his arms around his assistant, wondering at the fact that the man had fallen in love with him. Of course, it was probably the only way Saeran was ever going to find romance, as he hardly ever left his lab. Yoosung had been a godsend in multiple ways.

Yoosung stepped back and gave the other man a kiss on the lips. “I will always be here for you. Count on it. I…I trust you.”

“I appreciate that, but I know I have a tendency to be hyper focused and lose sight of everything else. I’m lucky to have you by my side, to reign me back.” He stepped back with a sigh, his gaze falling on the containment hold once more. “Perhaps I should reconsider. It’s almost too large for this container as well. I’ve learned a lot from this experiment. So much that it will take years to sift through it.”

“Good. I’ll prepare the canisters of gas.” Yoosung settled behind a computer screen and began to access the program and ready the gas.

A high-pitched sound hit his ears, raising his eyes he watched in horror as the glass walls cracked then shattered. Saeran and Yoosung ducked as glass rained around them. The gigantic beetle clicked, its antennae scanning. The body shifted position and thumped towards Saeran. Yoosung watched in horror as Saeran lay lifeless, the beetle covering him with its heavy body. A low groan reached his ears and his heart began to beat again knowing the other man was still alive.

“Hey! Over here you ugly bitch!” he yelled, throwing whatever he could get his hands on at the monstrosity.

It turned, its green shell shiny, wings fluttering seemingly with anger or irritation. However, it felt, he was glad its attention was off of the prone doctor. The beetle charged at the blond and Yoosung threw himself on the floor, rolling and crashing into a desk. His head spun and through blurry eyes he saw the massive shape stop its charge, unbelievably agilely, and hone in on him again.

“Get the oxygen masks!” Saeran screamed as he jabbed the exoskeleton of the beetle with an metal pole. Yoosung tried to clear his head, there was a high-pitched ringing in his right ear where he’d hit the desk hard. He stumbled to his feet and wobbled his way to the cabinet that held the safety equipment. He pulled out two oxygen canisters and attached the hose of the masks to them.

By that time his head was clear enough to understand what Saeran was going to do. “Here!” he yelled and rolled one of the canisters towards the doctor. Saeran picked it up as he nimbly evaded an attack. Slipping the mask over his face he attached the canister to his belt. Yoosung saw there was blood on his usually pristine lab coat but he couldn’t think about that now.

“You know what to do, I’ll keep it focused on me!” Saeran chanced a quick glance towards his lover. They nodded at each other as Yoosung also placed the mask over his face and attached his canister to his belt. Swiftly he made his way back to the computer he’d been on in the beginning, thankful that it was still functioning. It appeared as if the gas was still operable. Without delay he keyed in the safety code and hit enter, which released the gas into the air.

It came out from beneath the glass enclosure and dispersed through the air. Yoosung had to stop the ventilation system from activating and dispersing the gas out of the room. It was terrifying to watch as Saeran tried to keep away from the huge bug. After a few seconds, the bug began to stagger and slow. It took another swipe at the red headed doctor before collapsing on some equipment. They waited a full minute before reactivating the ventilation. They took their masks off, gulping in the stale air and the remnants of the gas.

“That was close.” Saeran coughed.

Yoosung rolled his eyes but refrained from stating anything. Their wounds all seemed superficial, and he tended to them himself.

“I love you Saeran, but…next time, I’m going to let you die!” Yoosung said.

Saeran’s shoulders sagged at the rebuke. “Smack me on the head if I ever even think of something like this again.”

“Agreed.” They held each other, neither wanting to think about how they were going to clean up the mess they’d made.