Sixth Son

In the aftermath of the party, Erik takes the sample for analysis. Some otherworldly discoveries are made about the sample. A new student reveals himself.

Everyone was sat around the still uncleaned house, thinking about what just happened. Jacob placed a slight hand on where his bandage was, not wincing or even thinking much of it, but instead looking in the same direction as everyone else was. All eyes were focused on the spot of blood in the centre of the room where one of the students was previously lying unconscious. Each of them made their police reports, saying what they saw and what happened. When the ambulance came in to examine the student, he was still responsive, reacting to pokes, prods and opening his eyelids. However, when the responder took his pulse, everyone was shocked. All signs pointed to him being dead. He had no pulse, a cold skin as if dead for at least a few hours and yet he still drew breath in front of everyone. Nobody wanted to talk about it and the silence was maddening. There were so many questions to be asked about this. How was it possible? Why did it even happen? More importantly, what was the cause of it? The entire host of questions that the five had were answered all in one by Toby.

“So. What do we make of this then?”, he asked quietly, barely able to let out a whisper after the prolonged silence. Nobody replied and, as he expected, the silence continued. Nobody wanted to say or do anything but it was impossible to figure out what individual thoughts were going through everyone’s minds. Soon though, Max got up and went out to the kitchen. Only Erik’s eyes followed him but quickly returned to the spot on the floor. Erik was looking just as pale as the student that was once lying in that same spot. He was standing against the wall, for fear he might faint from looking at the mixture of blood and black ooze they were all gathered around. Toby was looking too but he seemed more analytical than the rest, trying to figure out what it might be. Vincent was the same but trying to show no fear, as usual, calculating a plan of action in his head. Eventually, Max returned, wheeling a mop and bucket in front of him. He dipped it in and began mopping up the stain, causing a spill of red liquid going across the floor. Erik gave in and ran to the now empty ice bucket, vomiting heavily into it. Vincent noticed and a small, closed mouth laugh escaped him, but his smile didn’t last very long.

“That’s nasty as hell”, Jacob said, finally breaking the silence.

“Yeah well it wasn’t going to clean itself”, Max replied as he kept mopping. Vincent went over to Erik to pat his back and make sure he didn’t collapse or accidentally aim away from the bucket. The mixture looked grotesque and the black stuff wasn’t easy to clean. 

“So, are we going to try and figure out where this guy came from and what the hell happened?”, Vince finally asked after helping Erik get away from the bucket and to a seat on the sofa.

“Should we? I mean, this is way beyond anything we know. Erik is the haematologist in here and he can’t stand the sight of blood”, Toby said as he looked over at Erik. Everyone looked in his direction and he gulped, taking deep breaths before speaking.

“The discolouration of the blood means that there was a significant lack of oxygen in his body. The black stuff though… I have no idea. I’d need to take it to the labs to analyse it”, he said, still gagging slightly. Max nodded and went to the kitchen, bringing out a small glass dram vial and a spoon. Carefully, he spooned up the black ooze and placed it in the vial. It was weird because it seemed to slide into the vial like a solid and yet still retained liquid properties. Max handed the vial to Erik who grimaced and quickly placed it in his pocket. The black stuff was still there and Toby leaned forward to look at it.

“Maybe its some kind of alien s**t… like the things, you see in movies”, he said as his finger extended to poke it. 

“Don’t touch it, idiot! You don’t know what it is and we have to wait for Erik to analyse it!”, Max hissed as he placed his hand in front of the extended finger. Toby retreated and Erik tried his best to regain his composure.

“Okay, Erik, you tell us what the stuff is after your lecture, we’ll all meet up in the library at 5. Who has the last lecture tomorrow?” Vincent asked. Max raised his hand and everyone appeared to be in agreement. Jacob, however, seemed less so.

“Shouldn’t we just leave it to the police to solve this?”, Jacob asked. It was a good question. None of them were detectives and a freak accident wasn’t something that they needed to jump upon so swiftly.

“Yeah, but, I’m sure we are all extremely curious as to what the hell happened here”, Vincent replied. He looked over to the others for some kind of confirmation but got none from Max and Toby.

“I’ll just take this to the lab and see what I get, but we aren’t gonna go investigating anything, right?”, Erik said in a more questioning way rather than making a statement. Jacob nodded emphatically and Vincent rolled his eyes. 

“Well then, goodnight ladies”, Vince said as he walked outside and got into his car. Erik and Jacob followed behind, leaving Toby who planned to help Max clean. Erik got into the front of Vince’s car and Jacob mounted his motorbike, putting on his helmet and they both drove away.

The next day, everyone was scattered around the campus for the day. Vincent was already in the library, doing some extra research for his politics and sociology course, reading up on his human rights textbook and taking notes for his assessment. Jacob had a free period and elected to spend his time outside polishing his motorbike, spending time with his new friend from class and discussing the previous night’s events. Max and Toby were both back at the dorms, doing their own singular work for the day whilst Erik was at his lecture. In the biochemistry lab, Erik was taking notes on biological redox reactions. For a man who was quite squeamish when it came to human bodily fluids, he was more than capable in the chem labs and one of the best students in his class at fluid analysis, hence his interest in becoming a haematologist. Erik’s obsession with blood wasn’t much a result of his obsession with the emo subculture but stemmed more from his parents’ interest in medicine. His father, Quentin, was a first responder and his mother Laurie was a lab technician for Apex Medical, a very large pharmaceutical company that was, coincidentally, in partnership with multiple companies, including InterLink.

As Dr Pierce finished up his lecture, everyone was packing up and Erik stayed behind. He looked into his bag and picked out the black substance from the party last night. In the back of his mind, he felt the need to just ask the doctor to look at it himself. Then again, what if he asked where it came from? Or what if he took it upon himself to ask for lab space and the doctor asked why. Erik was not the very best liar, even when he desperately needed to be, but he didn’t have much choice since everyone else had now left and he needed to say something.

“Excuse me, Dr Pierce? I was wondering if you could help me analyse this substance?”, Erik asked in his usual quiet tone. Dr Pierce looked at him and the vial and put on his glasses, taking the vial.

“Huh… never seen anything like this before. Where did you get it?” he asked. Erik gulped and could feel the first formations of sweat beginning to take root at his hair. Were it not for his hairstyle, Dr Pierce would’ve seen his sweat beads already.

“I got it at home. My dog chewed on something and when I tried to retrieve it, he only spat out this stuff”, he replied quickly. Terrible lie. Everyone knew Erik was allergic to dogs. Dr Pierce raised his eyebrow and stared at Erik. He was definitely caught. The doctor had that searching look on his face that everyone knows. The kind that penetrates your brain, searching for the truth. The kind that knows you’re lying but gives you ample opportunity to explain yourself with only little consequences. Erik tried to hold it but gave in.

“It was… actually a student. A friend of mine. He was feeling really sick and spat out this stuff. I thought it was yellow flu stuff but, obviously not”, Erik said again. Better this time, it was only a half-lie. Dr Pierce raised his head, looking down at Erik from his rather long nose, his glasses now tipped to the very edge of his nose. He examined that black substance and scratched his scraggly, pointy beard and said, “Well, let’s go and see what strange virus your friend has contracted.”

The two made their way down to the nearby chemistry lab and began getting all the basic equipment ready. The first step was to place it under a microscope to see what its chemical structure looked like. Dr Pierce went first, placing the black substance on a slide and taking a long look. There were a few seconds of turning the wheels each side before he stopped and his expression seemed to change. He was concentrating hard, frowning as no man had ever frowned before.

“What is it, Dr Pierce?”, Erik asked. There was silence for a moment before the retreated from the scope.

“Whatever your friend has Mr Quinn, he needs to be in a hospital right now. Go take a look”, he said in a slightly worried manner. Erik went to the microscope and was stunned by what he saw. According to what he was looking at in the microscope, this was blood plasma. This was the component in the blood that carried the blood cells and proteins in the body. Despite raising the question of how in the hell Sam’s blood plasma was separated from the blood and the further question of why it was black instead of yellow, Erik had another pressing question. Where were the blood cells? He stepped away from the microscope and looked at Dr Pierce.

“I think this requires a bit of a closer look”, he said as he removed the slide and carefully placed the sample in a petri dish. In the back room, where he lead Erik, was a huge machine with loads of buttons and a computer on it. Erik marvelled at the sight and Dr Pierce looked back, smiling widely.

“Allow me to introduce you to our prototype chemical analysis machine. Latest in cutting-edge medical science, this little baby will let us analyse every single chemical compound in your sample with a few buttons. I call her Nora, she’s a genius”, Pierce said before quickly placing the plasma in the machine. Erik was impressed but the fact that he’d named the machine after his late wife was saddening. Still, Erik keenly awaited the results. The machine hummed and vibrated a little before humming again.

“And here we go. Let’s see what this scientific anomaly is…”, Pierce said as he pressed on the computer pad. He looked at the screen and scoffed, shaking his head and pressing the same buttons again. Then, his smile quickly went away and he looked extremely worried.

“All the blood cells are gone, but that's not the strangest part. The blood plasma is full of nitrogen, way more than should be present since we both know nitrogen can only be found in the amino acids in the red blood cells, too much nitrogen in the bloodstream is toxic. But the only compounds left present in the plasma are nitrogen and an unidentifiable compound. I have absolutely no idea what it is but whatever it is, it’s responsible for the elimination of the red blood cells”, Pierce explained. Erik was speechless. He’d never come across anything like this before. He searched his mind for everything he could think of that could not only kill but completely erase red blood cells and couldn’t think of anything that sensibly fit these parameters. Erik thanked Dr Pierce and went to pick up the sample as the doctor left the lab.

Reaching into the machine, Erik carefully slid the sample out. Suddenly, the machine vibrated again, startling him and causing him to drop the sample. Erik tried to catch it but spilled it on his hand. For a split second, he panicked, thinking the substance might corrode his skin, or even make him into whatever Sam turned into, but instead, something else happened. The black substance turned into an even thinner liquid, slowly sliding down his hand and dripping. It changed colour as well, from its pitch-black ooze colour to become clear and transparent like water, but it seemed to shine a little as well, slightly like glitter but also as if it were reflecting in the sunlight. The thing that was even more odd about it was how it appeared to vibrate in his hand, ever so slightly but a trained and focused eye could see it. Erik quickly grabbed a clean vial and got most of the drops of the new substance into the vial. He wiped the rest on his clothes and looked into the vial. It was completely still now and didn’t move, as if it were back into its previous state, but still clear and transparent.

Erik quickly made his way up to the library where everyone else was sitting and talking amongst themselves. He stopped for a moment, wondering how exactly he was going to explain this. Jacob was the only other scientist among them and, considering he was studying physics, trying to explain something that bordered on the supernatural was going to be difficult. Then again, they were all quite different.

“So, what did you find out?” Vincent immediately asked before Erik could even sit down.

“Its blood plasma. But, different. It’s like it was tainted. There was an unknown substance in the blood that caused the plasma to produce insane amounts of nitrogen and obliterated the red blood cells”, Erik explained. Max and Toby both looked confused and Jacob leaned forward as if more interested than the rest.

“Obliterated, how? It killed the red blood cells?”, he asked. Erik shook his head.

“More like erased. It was like they were never there, to begin with” Erik replied with worry in his voice. Both of them sat contemplating what that meant whilst everyone else seemed clueless. Erik then reached into his pocket and pulled out the vial, making sure everyone could see it.

“What’s that?” Max asked. Erik drew a deep breath and focused before explaining.

“When I took back the sample to bring it here, I got startled by some machinery and dropped it. I tried to catch it and it landed on my hand. I thought it was gonna corrode or something but instead, it turned into this. A liquid like water but it sort of sparkled and glowed and it was vibrating. As soon as it left contact with me, it became this. Same as before but more gelatinous than liquid.”

Everyone stared at the substance and, while Jacob and Toby were fascinated, Vince and Max were sceptical.

“So, you discovered see-through jelly. That’s nice…” Max said in a slightly joking manner, but nobody seemed in the mood for jokes. 

“No, but think about it. Maybe this stuff can explain why we are… how we are. I mean, how is it a coincidence that this stuff changes as soon as I touch it?” Erik asked, frantically holding the vial. It was a fair assessment and he seemed to make a believer of Toby but now, even Jacob seemed unconvinced. Vince took a deep breath and held out his hand.

“If it’s true, then put it in my hand and let’s see if it changes,” he said as he kept his hand out. Erik sighed and opened the vial, carefully sliding the jelly out of it and into Vince’s hand. There was no reaction for a few seconds and all of them seemed more unconvinced, but Erik kept his eyes keenly fixated on the substance. Soon enough, as he predicted, it changed again into a liquid as Vince’s hand shook. It glowed and sparkled and began to slightly vibrate. Everyone’s eyes widened and Erik sat back with a rather satisfied and slightly smug grin. Vincent could feel the liquid vibrating in his hand and it was tremendous, almost as if it felt like it should be there.

“Well, what do we do about this then?” Vincent asked. Everyone else was clueless but before they could make a decision, the liquid suddenly came to life, shooting up Vince’s arm. Vince let out a yelp and jumped up from his chair, taking his jacket off and looking at his arm. It was gone.

“Where is it?!” he yelled frantically, but nobody knew and the team began searching around the table for the liquid in case it slid off him.

“What’s going on here?” asked an elderly woman glaring at them all through her half-moon spectacles and holding her arms on her hips.

“Sorry Mary, we were just startled by something”, Erik said timidly. The librarian Mary was a very strict librarian who made sure the rules on silence in the quiet areas was clamped down upon. However, she had a soft spot for Erik and as he gave her a rather elaborated timid face, she sighed and said, “Alright, just keep the noise down or you’ll all be sent to one of the louder areas outside!”

Mary shuffled back to her desk and the group continued searching for the substance. It was completely gone and Vincent scanned his entire body for it, rolling up his jeans to check his legs and showing off some rather surprisingly smooth legs, but that was a conversation for another day. As they kept searching, another student walked up to them, looking over what they were searching for.

“Are you guys alright?” he asked. The student was very tall, even taller than all of them. He had crew cut brown hair with one of those weird hair designs shaved into one side of his head. His eyes were a sort of paled greyish colour and he had extremely pale skin, though he looked extremely healthy. He wore very simple clothes, a white t-shirt, blue jeans and a black army jacket. In one hand he was holding a coffee and in the other was a book titled, Warfare and Battle Strategy. He seemed to have an odd look in his eye as if he were both bored and tired at the same time, and yet, he was also constantly thinking. Erik didn’t think much of what he said and Max and Toby were too preoccupied with searching to care that he arrived. Vince and Jacob, however, they were staring him down with uneasy looks on their face.

“Yeah, we’re fine. I just came back from the chem lab with a solution and lost it. It’s a bit toxic so there’s urgency”, he laughed a little, still staring at the man in front of him. The student nodded and gave a half-smile.

“Do you need any help?”, he asked, putting his coffee down on the table.

“Nope, we are fine”, Jacob said immediately, staring him down. The guy stared right back, looking like he was going to say something, but simply smiled and took his coffee back.

“I’m Sebastian, by the way. Sebastian Morris. I came here from Germany, Humboldt University,” he said, this time changing his face to one more inviting and friendly. Toby and Max still didn’t care and Vince and Jacob both continued to stare suspiciously at him. Erik, however, was a lot more friendly than usual.

“Wow, that’s cool! We’re full Sheffield students. I’m Erik Quinn, that’s Vincent and Jacob and… yeah, the two circling around under the table are Maximillian and Tobias”, he said, looking down at the two still searching the floor. Eventually, they were back and both saw the new guy, not seeming unfazed by his presence.

“Ah, yeah. Maximillian Kingston. A pleasure to meet you… erm?” Max asked, extending a hand.

“Sebastian. Nice to meet you. And you’re Toby?”, he asked, reaching for Toby’s hand.

“Yep, Tobias Kamdar. Not originating from these parts, kinda like you”, he laughed. Sebastian smiled and looked over to Vince and Jacob, who didn’t seem so friendly, so he decided to skip pleasantries with them.

“Well, I hope you guys find whatever it is you’re looking for. Bye!”, Sebastian said happily and he turned around to go down the stairs and out of the library. Erik watched him as he left and kept smiling a bit. Vince and Jacob were muttering amongst themselves and then Jacob got up.

“Guys. I think it’s time we went for a hunt”, he said to the other three. Toby went pale and Max seemed to decrease in height slightly upon hearing it. Erik was rigid. He didn’t move or breathe and Vincent got up to explain.

“Something doesn’t feel right here. Jake and I both had a sense about that dude. Have any of you ever seen him on campus before? Even in passing? It seems a little weird that this chain of events just happens. The thing at the party, finding this stuff and then some random student just happens to come up to us and strike up a conversation”, he explained. It was a bit far-fetched that all of this may be connected. The odds of this being a thing were entirely astronomical and the idea that the Sebastian guy was involved was even more ridiculous.

“Plus… we both got a scent off him. It isn’t right. You should all trust our scents” Jake said loudly but was quickly and frantically hushed by Vincent. Max, Toby and Erik looked at each other and tried to exchange thoughts for a while.

“Look, I trust your judgement any time guys, but thinking rationally, it seems to me like this is all just a big load of coincidences. This stuff happens sometimes. I’m sure we’ll all wake up again tomorrow and never have something like this happen again”, Max said confidently. 

Toby looked over at him and nodded in agreement. Everyone looked at Erik, who always hated being in the spotlight. He stuttered for a while, not sure what words to formulate and frantically looked between the two sides of his friends.

“Erik if you don’t want to join, that’s perfectly fine. We’ll just go ourselves. Vince is looking rather thirsty anyway”, he joked and Vince gave him a light punch in the arm. Max and Toby picked up their things and headed off for the mansion where they were going to try cleaning the black stuff up. Erik followed, wanting to analyse more samples and see what the strange glowing stuff was.

“You know, Erik hasn’t come with us on a hunt in a long time”, Jake said quietly, walking off with Vince.

“Are you surprised? I mean, you and Max have gross jobs, I probably have the easiest. Toby… well, Toby does his thing, whatever it is. But I can’t imagine trying to do what Erik does. You’ve seen what he does on the hunts, do you think you’d be able to bring yourself to do that?”, Vince asked, stopping for a while. Jacob sighed and looked down at the floor. He remembered the last group hunt and what Erik did to the poor soul he chose. 

“I don’t know. If it meant surviving, yes. He’s just lucky he doesn’t have to do it as often as I do. I’m hungry everyday…”, Jake whispered before turning around and getting into Vince’s car. Vince sighed and looked up at the sky. It was going to be dark soon and they needed to get ready.