Illegal

After a burglar breaks into Plague's house, Matthias and Plague go in search of the substance Gralg.

I opened my eyes to the dark room. Turning over I saw that Plague was close by me and I sighed. Even though we now lived in a house, Plague insisted he wanted me to sleep in the same bed so that he could watch over me. Somehow I think his intentions weren't that noble. But I really didn't mind for a reason I couldn't yet comprehend.


I sat on the edge of the bed and wondered why I trusted Plague. For the two weeks we had traveled together I hadn't thought I should trust him so much. Or was I trusting him the right amount? It didn't really matter since I was stuck with him for awhile. Possibly for forever.


My stomach growled and I remembered that there were some leftovers in the fridge. Just as I got outside the bedroom, I heard the sound of someone breaking in. I looked around and was frustrated that there were no weapons around me. Add to that was the fact that the burglar had just entered the house.


Deciding to do the insane, I slowly walked to the back door where it sounded like the burglar had entered the house. The burglar stopped moving as I came closer. When I was finally able to see him by the moonlight, I had to dodge a bullet. The sound was quieted greatly since he was using a silencer.


I lay still as the man came closer and closer towards me. His face was covered and I imagined his face showed no emotion because he felt none. I shivered and hoped that the burglar wouldn't get nervous and shoot at me again. When the man was close enough I kicked at him and he fell down with a grunt. For a few seconds we hit and kicked each other. It seemed like the burglar was weaker than I thought, but he still managed to win the fight.


As the burglar stood up he picked up his gun and looked at me. The gun shook so slightly in his hands that I thought I was imagining the movement. I closed my eyes so I could prepare myself for the end. Even though I hadn't been able to really experience life, life didn't seem to care. I heard a gunshot and then the burglar yelled while falling down.


I opened my eyes and looked at Plague who wore a look that would make the Devil cringe. Luckily it was directed at the burglar and not me. "Thanks." I said to Plague and then looked at the burglar.


I walked over to him and took off his mask. The burglar's middle aged face was in pain from the gunshot wound.


"Please," He moaned in fear. "I only need money for the cure for my wife. Please understand."

"What cure?" I asked the burglar.


"Gralg." The burglar said and I remembered the advertisement that I kept with me. "My wife, she's suffering from some type of depression. I woke up one morning and she was trying to kill herself."


"How-" I started to ask but Plague cut me off. I realized that the memory hurt the man. I decided to take another questioning route. "Couldn't you afford counseling for her?"


"I tried that." The burglar cried out. "But it didn't help. I decided to get Gralg. It was supposed to be the one thing that would save my wife."


"What does this Gralg look like?" Plague asked and I noticed that he was angry.


"It's a green pill. It's very hard to get." The burglar replied.


Plague nodded. "Watch over him, Matthias, I'm going to call the police."


"Okay." I replied and he walked out of the room.


Watching the burglar I started to feel sorry for him. Never mind that he would've killed me just a few minutes ago.


"Please, let me go, I need to save my wife. I don't know if she's alive or not. I need to help her." The burglar begged me.


I thought about disregarding Plague's orders but I felt he had his reasons for turning the burglar in. Mainly that the burglar broke in, entered, and was willing to kill both me and Plague. I shook my head and he moaned louder.


Plague walked back into the room. "I called the police. They'll be here shortly."


I nodded and we all waited. Finally the police came and took the crying burglar away.


"Who was he?" I asked Plague.


"It doesn't matter." He said. "What does matters is that he was going to buy an illegal substance."


"Gralg is illegal?"


"Yes. It was originally created to help those with mental disabilities. But it had some side-effects that were very damaging."


"What were the side-effects?"


"I don't know. But they were bad enough to make it illegal." Plague said.


I thought about Thomas Savan and the green algae. Maybe there was a connection between Gralg and the green algae. Or maybe I just needed more sleep.
*            *            *
I ate the pancakes that Plague had prepared that morning for breakfast. The thoughts about Gralg kept on going through my mind and I found that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was sad that I had lost the Gralg ad to the police. The fact that I had been carrying an ad for the illegal substance probably hadn't earned me any points from them.


I looked at Plague as he ate and wanted to tell him something. As he ate it, it didn't appear like he thought that much about what had happened last night. Of course, he was probably used to such instances. However, I wasn't.


Plague looked up at me and sighed. "Matthias, please tell me you aren't thinking about Gralg."


"Plague, think about it." I said. "Isn't it strange that the substance Thomas ate was green algae? And the fact that Gralg is green and algae put together? The fact that Gralg has side effects so bad that it's been made illegal and what Thomas ate made him go mad?"


"You're just over thinking things. People have complained about me thinking about things too much, but you're going way further than me." Plague took a bite out of one of his pancakes. "I think I know the real reason you want to go looking for Gralg and solve a mystery that isn't really there."


"Why?" I asked.


"You've been inside this house for a long time now. I don't think you were born to stay in one place. A true wanderer." Plague shook his head. "I guess this would relieve some stress and make you see reason. I'll regret this later, but we'll find some Gralg and you'll see that your worries aren't real."


Hours passed before Plague and I spoke again. Not because he thought I was crazy, but because we were both researching in two different directions. When Plague came back he said, "Get in the car. I found a place that might have some Gralg."


I looked outside and noticed that night had come.


I was excited as I got into the car and felt like I was finally on my way to doing something. The ride there was quiet as Plague kept close attention to the road. I had never seen him so concentrated before, but I hadn't known him long, either.


The house we got to was a trailer and in the middle of nowhere. Well, there were houses near, but far enough that a slight disturbance wouldn't be noticed for awhile. Plague and I got out of the car and suddenly there was a shot fired at us.


"Noir, get your slimy a*s out of here!" A voice said and another shot was fired. "That goes for your butt buddy too!"


I managed to not get shot, though the bullet had scared my ear as it went by. Looking at Plague I saw him pointing to the trailer. If we left now then we could live without the chance of dying. However, then I probably wouldn't have another chance to get Gralg again. Would I risk the life of my only friend and myself just to get my obsession?


I nodded to Plague and went deep in the shadows as Plague drew the fire of the owner. Each second that I got closer to the trailer I felt horrible for what I was doing to Plague. However, I couldn't go back now.


Plague managed to get the owner away from the trailer and allowed me in. I felt scared as I entered the trailer and raced to find the Gralg. Hours seemed to pass before I found the Gralg. It was labeled in pill bottles under towels in the bathroom.


I took all the pill bottles and raced out of the trailer. In my fear I could only focus on running all the way back to Plague's house. I felt a bullet go through my hair at one point but I don't know if that really even happened.


I fell down on Plague's doorstep and passed out.

Forever and eternity passed as I waited in front of Plague's house. Night turned into early morning before I saw Plague riding a motorcycle. He was driving erratically and when he got closer I could see why. He was covered with blood and I hoped most of it wasn't his.


Racing to the front of the driveway I waited for him to stop. When he did I helped him off. No words were spoken but grunts were made by both of us. I sat Plague down at the table in the kitchen.


"I'm sorry." I said as I raced to get the First Aid Kit that was in the house. Guilt flooded me as I went over the whole house since my memory had left me. I could possibly become the reason Plague died. Finally, after eons had passed, I got the First Aid Kit.


"How are you doing?" I asked Plague as I started to use the kit.


For a moment he was silent and then asked, "Did you at least get some of the Gralg?"


"Yes. Yes I did." I said and finished using the kit on him. Luckily the majority of the blood wasn't his or came from cuts that weren't that deep.


"Pretty good for your first time." Plague said and managed a small smile as he looked over my work.


"I panicked. I got you hurt, Plague."


"Matthias, it's common to panic on your first time out."


I nodded sadly and decided not to argue anymore. "Did you get anything besides wounds?"


He nodded. "Yes. After I managed to knock the person out I got this." He said and went into his pocket to take something out.


"Who was that person? How did he know you? And what's a butt buddy?" I asked.


"He was a man I ran into from a previous case. Who he is isn't important. And, for your last question, that's…" Plague paused for a long time. It seemed that either the term butt buddy was a very delicate thing or he didn't want to admit something. And what if he didn't want to admit something that was obvious to everyone but me? "A butt buddy is a term for a male gay lover. When gay men have sex they sometimes put their penis into the other one's anus."


I nodded, though I was still confused. How could anyone find that enjoyable?


Plague opened his hand and I realized I had forgotten about what he had been doing before. He opened his hand and there was a piece of paper. He handed it to me and I read it.


"So people are trying to grow it now?" I asked Plague and he nodded.


"We should hand this paper, after copying it, to the police as well as the Gralg you have." He said.


"Are you sure they won't throw this stuff away as a hoax?"


"The police trust me. I believe there isn't a high likelihood that they will."


I nodded but was still nervous. I trusted Plague but I didn't trust others as much.

I paced around Plague's living room and thought about everything that had happened. Looking at Plague I saw that his face was clear of all emotions. Well, all emotions but boredom.


Looking at me he said, "Matthias, just relax. Whatever the results will be won't be sped up by worrying."


"I just want to do something." I replied.


As Plague started to laugh there was a knocking at the door. He quickly got up to stop me from racing to the door. He gave me a small smile before going to the door. I stayed in the living room and only heard part of the conversation. After what seemed like forever, Plague came into the living room with a Police Officer.


The Officer was someone that I recognized from the Nuscon Police Station. This being the case, I wasn't surprised that he gave me an angry look. Feeling a little frightened, I quickly looked away and leaned against one of the walls.


"So you have the results?" Plague asked.


"Yes." The Officer said. "It seems Matthias was correct in what happened to Thomas Savan. Gralg is once again a problem."


"What kind of problem?" I asked.


"You saw what happened to Savan, so why don't you tell me? Imagine everyone going crazy like that. All the people fueled on their strongest rage. Sort of like zombies." He replied. "When Gralg was just in pill form it was easy to control. Control the pill supply and you'd control the danger. Now that there are bits of it growing out in the wild, it is much more dangerous."


"But wouldn't it be easy to stop it?"


"Savan found a random piece of it in the middle of nowhere. We don't know how long this has been going on or where to start looking."


"I am sure you have a plan." Plague said.


"Yes, but it isn't much." The Officer said and got up. "I'll leave you now. I have a lot of work to do."


After Plague escorted the Officer out, he turned to me and said, "I think we could both use a cup of coffee."


"Yeah." I replied and sat down at the table as Plague made coffee. The whole preparation was something I didn't consider important at all. Plus it involved waiting, which I wasn't in the mood for now.


"Just drink it." Plague said and put a cup of coffee in front of me. "You'll feel better."


"What do you know about Gralg?" I asked and pushed the cup away from me. Plague sighed and sat down beside me.


"When Gralg is ingested orally it makes people go into rage mode. Some people, though, it doesn't affect at all."


"What about it affecting a fetus?"


"Every woman that was tested was either on some type of birth control or a virgin." He paused. "We made sure that none of the virgins were pregnant."


"Why would you need to do that?"


"Because people have different ways of defining virginity. Anyways, Gralg was originally meant to treat people with mental disorders. A very wide range of them, too. However, the side effects made it ineffective as a form treatment and highly dangerous. Therefore it was made illegal and never heard about again."


"Then don't you want to find out what happened afterwards?" I asked. "Let's go now and maybe we'll be able to get information to help the Police."


"And get myself shot for your selfish reasons again? At least let's have a much better plan." Plague said and I nodded.


For a few hours we discussed plans and looked up information. It took around an hour to  get ready to head out. This time it wasn't going to be quick, but well thought out in advance.


"That should do it." Plague said and smiled at me after we had finished loading the car.


Even though I was on the opposite side of the car, he walked over to me. He hugged me and he seemed to do it in a different way than usual. It was a hug but there was…more love in it. There was more love in it than usual and I liked that. Especially since it was coming from him. When he broke away from me he was smiling nervously. I smiled back at him and both our smiles became larger.