[He remembers the video Tim posted, "Entry #77," like he'd taken full control of the narrative, like the owner of that channel wasn't right there, bound with zip-ties on his goddamn floor--]
[Breathe. Fucking...calm down.]
[He remembers how it felt, plastic biting into his wrists and ankles, muscles straining to pull himself upright, the sheer fury, the complete and utter confidence that Tim had gone out of his goddamn mind, that he was dangerous and Jay was right.]
[He remembers cutting himself free, the feeling like he couldn't pull enough oxygen into his lungs, that he was choking, but that if he could just get into Tim's medicine cabinet he could--]
[He remembers the spray of static across the screen, watching himself in third-person when he finally got access to a computer. Could have meant a lot of things, but he could see what was in focus when frames dropped and the audio cracked.]
not the only one
[He doesn't know the rules. Doesn't know if this means he's infected, that he's a carrier, like Alex seemed to believe. Doesn't know if this means he's going to spread it, like Tim seems to believe. Doesn't know if this means he's really Jay Merrick anymore, or that the guy he's talking to is still Tim Wright. Maybe they've become something different, something you're not supposed to name.]
[But they haven't caused George to collapse into a coughing fit or Clem to spray static across the screen. He's checked the footage. They're clean, by the only metric he's got. The only times it's changed are when that thing decided to show up.]
[If they're...monsters now, or whatever Tim seems to believe, they're not the same kind.]
we haven't made anybody sick here not directly not when it's just us
no subject
[Breathe. Fucking...calm down.]
[He remembers how it felt, plastic biting into his wrists and ankles, muscles straining to pull himself upright, the sheer fury, the complete and utter confidence that Tim had gone out of his goddamn mind, that he was dangerous and Jay was right.]
[He remembers cutting himself free, the feeling like he couldn't pull enough oxygen into his lungs, that he was choking, but that if he could just get into Tim's medicine cabinet he could--]
[He remembers the spray of static across the screen, watching himself in third-person when he finally got access to a computer. Could have meant a lot of things, but he could see what was in focus when frames dropped and the audio cracked.]
not the only one
[He doesn't know the rules. Doesn't know if this means he's infected, that he's a carrier, like Alex seemed to believe. Doesn't know if this means he's going to spread it, like Tim seems to believe. Doesn't know if this means he's really Jay Merrick anymore, or that the guy he's talking to is still Tim Wright. Maybe they've become something different, something you're not supposed to name.]
[But they haven't caused George to collapse into a coughing fit or Clem to spray static across the screen. He's checked the footage. They're clean, by the only metric he's got. The only times it's changed are when that thing decided to show up.]
[If they're...monsters now, or whatever Tim seems to believe, they're not the same kind.]
we haven't made anybody sick here
not directly
not when it's just us
might count for something