Chapter Text
Driving was always a moment of rest for Avery— he constantly enjoys sleeping on his way to the destination.
This was different.
He restlessly bounces his knee, staring at the black faded parts of his finger, accented by that familiar gold. Avery lets out a nervous sigh, using his thumb to caress the areas anxiously.
Derek knew Avery’s worried tendencies, prompting him to gently take his left hand and place it on Avery’s thigh; primarily towards his knee. Avery’s jittering came to a slow stop, although he never made eye contact with Derek. The quiet acknowledgement was enough to reassure him.
“Why don’t you get some rest, Avery? You haven’t had any sleep since..” Derek pauses to find the words, “..everything,”.
“Derek,” Avery mumbles, not really taking in Derek’s words.
“Yes?”
“I’m scared,” he states, a gentle shake in his voice.
Derek doesn’t answer, a strong feeling Avery still had more to say.
“..What if he’s still alive? What if he hurts you?” With subtle breath for air, Avery continues, “you would have gone through all that pain.. for nothing. I.. I can’t let you die for me.. not again,”.
Derek’s hand tenderly rubs small circles on Avery’s thigh, syncing his movement with slow inhales and exhales. His right hand steers the wheel of his car, guiding them through the highway.
“Avery, when I looked through those gates I saw everything. You’re aware of the pain I endured, but through that pain I saw gorgeous places; scenery, sculptures, so many incredible things. Of them all, you stood out to me,” Derek explains. “You are the most talented, most interesting, and most extraordinary person in the universe, Avery, and you are capable of amazing things,”.
Avery’s left hand slides on top of Derek’s own, still sitting on Avery’s thigh.
“You’re so much more than you give yourself credit for, and I know we can get through this. If Hastur is alive, it gives us more of a reason to live longer,” Derek finishes, his eyes meeting Avery’s for a moment before returning to the road.
A brief pause echoes throughout the car, allowing Avery to catch himself from bawling his eyes out then and there. Rejecting the urge to jump into Derek’s arms and hug him as tightly as humanly possible was also relatively difficult. Instead, Avery replies simply.
“Thank you, Derek,”.
In response, Derek squeezes Avery’s leg gently; a reassuring action that implements a sense of security within Avery.
—
Pulling into the parking lot of the DMS, the property is intimidating, but underwhelming. The fence surrounding it with barbed wire is the worrying part— not to mention the vast amount of security guards patrolling the premises. Aside from the fencing, the actual infrastructure of the building wasn’t too special. It was a sleek gray, black tinted windows along the sides of the walls. As soon as they arrived, a guard dressed in heavy gear guided their car to a designated spot; for being in the middle of nowhere, the general area was well kept and surprisingly nice.
Avery felt a sort of disappointment when Derek pulls his hand away, shifting the car gear into Parking. Before Avery can even open his door, the security guard does so for him. He thanks the robust man timidly, shuffling off to the side next to Derek for his own protection. Derek takes Avery’s hand gently, pulling him along to the entrance of the building.
2 security guards stand in the doorway, roughly moving aside upon seeing the two entering. They’re promptly greeted by a strictly dressed woman sat behind the front desk. She ushers them forward, a sharp tone to her voice.
“Name and reason for your visitation,” she click-clacks a few words on the keyboard of her computer before staring at Derek intimidatingly.
Derek doesn’t seem affected, the yellow in his left eye gleaming ever-so-slightly brighter to accompany his stern expression.
“Derek Hutchins, I’ve visited this facility prior to our current one; experimentations on ███,”.
Avery hesitates, fiddling with one of Derek’s fingers.
“Avery Miller, I haven’t.. visited before, but I’m uhm, with him,”.
“We’re having similar symptoms, in short,” Derek clears up.
The woman takes a moment, staring at Derek’s golden veins, his general features and then flicking her eyes towards Avery. After momentary judging, she proceeds to write down a few more items on her computer. She doesn’t ask for an ID, but Derek assumed, more so knows, the government has access to those details anyhow.
“A staff member will see you shortly, process to the seats provided, on your left,” she says, not sparing them any more glances and continuing to work.
Avery lets go of Derek’s hand, briefly holding up his fingers in an L position. It prompts a chuckle from Derek, who was already seated in a chair.
“You’re sure you knew how to read the book and quill I left for you?” Derek comments, shaking his head; his chuckle fades into a sigh.
“..clearly..” Avery mumbles, a giggle escaping his own mouth.
The wait was longer than expected. For such an empty facility, there sure were.. hardly any available employees. By the time they were even allowed back into an office by someone, it was 7:16 P.M. With each passing moment, now awaiting one of the doctors on site, Avery feels anxious bubbles forming in his stomach.
With Derek by his side, it allows him the ability to apply the sweet words he spoke before into action. Avery reminds himself he’s stronger than he thinks— if he could do it once, he can do it again.
A tall man walks into the office, carrying a clipboard, followed by 3 other people lugging along various equipment. They set each heavy object down with ease, then exit the room. The doctor’s eyes are hidden behind the glare of his glasses, he wears a long lab coat; tattered in gray markings, his hair is buzzed short.
How was everyone here so intimidating?
Avery’s confused how they all have the same cold demeanor— must be part of the hiring process.
Derek rolls up his right sleeve, seemingly preparing for something. Avery is tempted to do the same, but pauses until someone tells him otherwise. The men walk over a needle attached to a tube to Derek, followed by an odd arm band that applies pressure to his biceps. They skewer the needle into one of the veins in Derek’s wrist, making Avery queasy ever-so-slightly. He squints his eyes and looks away briefly, but eagerness overcomes him and he turns his head back towards Derek. Soon enough, a man walks the same equipment over to Avery. He reluctantly holds out his arm— no sleeve to pull up— and makes a quiet groaning sound while the needle is inserted into him. Derek uses his left hand to gently squeeze Avery’s right, a reassuring gesture.
Their blood is pushed through the tube, pumping into a sort of monitor. Numbers flash on the screen, prompting Derek to hum in acknowledgement. To his knowledge, it all looks steady; data wise. His eyes flick to the small pulse detector next to the main monitor, watching the heartbeat-like line. Seeming as it got them nowhere, aside from a few irregular palpitations, they decide to take things further.
Keeping the equipment on the two of them, they grab small medal discs from their supplies.
“Uhm.. what are those?” Avery questions anxiously.
“They’re electrodes, they apply them to my head to measure brain waves,” Derek explains.
The men don’t speak, they just act by methodically placing the electrodes on Derek’s scalp. It takes precise movements to arrange them, occasionally marking a spot on Derek’s head with a crayon— looking to be washable. Thin wires connect the electrodes together, then to an amplifier and computer. Once everything is in place, Derek’s brain waves show up on the black screen, presenting as graphs.
The men instruct Derek to take deep breaths, which he is already performing. Avery watches, hoping they won’t have to do this to him. His fingers twitch, fidgeting them restlessly.
They watch for a long while, one man taking note of any abnormalities on a clipboard. Finally, they come up with a sequence of numbers in a code format. Perfect; this was Derek’s specialty. He asks for the clipboard, analyzing the carefully constructed code.
79 6f 75 20 69 6e 73 69 67 6e 69 66 69 63 61 6e 74 20 66 6f 6f 6c 3b 20 61 20 6d 65 72 65 20 6d 6f 72 74 61 6c 20 77 69 74 68 20 73 75 63 68 20 6b 6e 6f 77 6c 65 64 67 65 20 70 75 74 20 74 6f 20 77 61 73 74 65 2e
That’s what the man took note of. Initially, it just looks like a jumble of.. well, nothing special. Avery could never imagine solving it without help, let alone with solely his mind. Despite that, Derek cracked it without any assistance, proving his infinite knowledge useful. It read in full;
You insignificant fool; a mere mortal with such knowledge put to waste.
Avery swallows, his throat closing up. That definitely sounds.. familiar. And by the tense look on Derek’s face— Avery can tell he knows it does too. His pulse quickens, along with his heartbeat.
This could only mean one of two things;
Derek’s brainwaves speak in code, or,
Hastur is ALIVE.