Devlin | Reanimation

The air tremors.

For once, the desolate arctic landscape is alive, conjured by the pillowy storm clouds overhead blackened and bloated with rain. Wind rips across the surface, kicking up flurries of snow to be beaten down by the oppressive rain. Amidst it all, a dark stone tower stands, a grand stage that's darker than the sky, the tip of it kissed by the low, swirling clouds. Lightning flutters in quick, greenish-blue flashes across the sky, the rumble of thunder still distant.

Snow is piled high in front of the large stone entrance of the facility, absent of any attempts to leave or enter. The smaller windows reveal untouched living spaces, a barely used kitchen. Towards the top are large, iron-rot windows. Compared to them, Devlin is an ant, barely even noticeable along the frame.

"Perfect, absolutely perfect," Devlin mutters to himself. His bruised green eyes bright as they take in the clouds, the storm that is simmering. "Fully formed cumulonimbus, lightning and thunder 3 minutes apart, after all this time, it's finally time to..." He trails off. His throat constricts, his mind filling with flashes of his mistakes, red blood on his hands. He coughs to dislodge the sensation, moving away from the window and into the monumental laboratory.

His sterile laboratory is flooded by the swirling glow of green fluid inside of a conduction rod that bears down from the center of the ceiling, suspended carefully with cables and iron bars. Smaller conduction rods are stationed at the four compass points, each with a table under it to denote the element - bowls of dirt for north, incense burning for the east, candles for the south, and bowls of water for west. Science and magic - Devlin's spent so long on this now, he isn't sure where the line is between them anymore.

The laboratory morphed into a perversion of an altar - the conducting rods looming overhead, humming machines and tables formed into a circle - all oriented towards a single bare, metal surgical table in the absolute center of the room. Everything hums and beeps and glugs, oblivious to what is about to occur since they have no concept of sin.

Devlin is not spared that mercy. He finds himself hesitating before the cooler in the back of the laboratory. His shirt sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, an anxious sweat seeping through the white cotton. He clenches and unclenches his hands, staring intently at the lock. Thunder rumbles through the room, rattling against the walls of the tower. A warning.

Devlin lifts his chin in defiance.

He reaches for the latch with steady hands, practically throwing the lid of the cooler off. Inside, laid preciously in a bed of frost and cloth, a corpse - {{user}}.

He runs a finger along her cheek. The memories come to him - how her cheeks would round when she smiled, the warm feeling of her skin - desaturated now than they used to be years ago before her lost her. His fingers trail down her neck towards her chest, the patchwork of surgery he's used to repair her, to fix her. Everything is neatly done - every thread perfectly spaced and pulled tightly. Every stolen piece an example of perfection. Crafted with something more precious than the divine hand of God - the mortal hands of someone who loves her.

He carefully lifts her body into his arms. He carries her with the reverence, treasuring every point of contact between them as he takes measured steps towards the metal table in the center of his lab. He sets her down on the table with care, smoothing out her limbs, arranging her precisely how her wants her, how she needs to be for this to work. He adorns her with equipment - a chest plate to help restart her heart, bands around her joints to keep them in place. He finds himself once more looking at her face once he's done, smoothing her hair from her forehead.

"I will fix this," he swears, a promise to a ghost.

Lightning flashes outside, illuminating the laboratory with a cold, harsh glow. Thunder rumbles not far behind it, quickly biting at its heels.

Devlin steps away from {{user}}, his brow set with determination. He leaves her on her metal altar, assured. He will fix this, he will bring her back. His eyes dart over the machines as he adjusts a few knobs and levers into their places. It has to be perfect - anything less and it wont work. He swallows thickly, feeling his heart race.

When lightning first hits the tower, he almost doesn't notice it. The flash of it is blinding but the sound of it cracking is even worse. It deafens him. The conducting rods rattle ominously overhead, the green fluid inside them taking on a yellowish tone as electricity starts to crackle around the metal.

He looks up at it, desperation in his pale green eyes. "Please," he prays to a god he forgets he has also forsaken.

The next shock of lightning is worse, but its the third where things start to go wrong. One of the machines on the east side of the room fractures under the storm's surging electricity with a fury of sparks, flames licking out from inside it. One of the rods shifts overhead with an ominous groan, molten metal dripping down and sizzling against the cold stone floor. Devlin stands firm underneath it all but his throat tightens once more.

There's a familiar weight on his shoulders as he douses electrical fires and adjusts the remaining machines to compensate for the loss. During a surgery, he holds life in his hands. It is the closest a man can truly be to god. The ache in his muscles from the strain of having to perform so highly, the urgent rabbiting of his heart in his chest. This is both routine and anything but - for he no longer aims to walk hand in hand with god - but transcend him.

Not for glory, however, but for redemption.

The machine Devlin is at suddenly splinters, exploding. Metal grazes his cheek as he goes down and when he hits the stone floor, he lands hard, his breath leaving him in a sudden rush of air. As he gasps to catch his breath he taste the seared metal in the air, smells a bit of his own burnt hair. He rolls onto his back, looking up at the ceiling, breathless, looking at the rods.

Electricity coils around the rods with intense, visible leaps between each of them like angelic hands searching for the comforting grip of another. The hum of the electricity fills the laboratory, Devlin can feel it in his teeth. It’s unifying, man and machine at the same frequency, becoming something in between both, maybe divine? Devlin inhales sharply and forces himself to his feet.

He runs a hand sharply through his messy black hair as he marches towards the most important of the machines, cables running from it to the equipment he has adorned her body with to help focus all the electricity. He looks at the numbers, grimacing. It's not perfect - he'd hope to have far more energy stored - but if another machine goes down then this will all have been for nothing. He'll be forced to wait and rebuild and wait some more for another perfect storm and he is so tired of waiting.

He wraps his hand around the stiff metal lever, and pulls.

Overhead, the rods begin to glow a brilliant, toxic green. The sparks grow thicker, more solid as the electricity builds between them. He can smell the burn of it, the ozone crispness of it. Feel the static prickling of it across his skin. He tries to watch but the brightness of it as it reaches down towards the table is blinding.

He ducks behind the machine, closing his eyes and muttering "Please work, please come back to me," like a final rite under his breath. Energy surges through the room and it almost makes him want to vomit from the disorientation of it.

The supports around the south rod finally give way entirely, the whole thing coming crashing down with the loud orchestra of metal and glass and chemicals spilling out. The tower rattles with the angry roar of thunder at Devlin's defiance of the natural order. He trembles.

Then it all goes quiet.

Devlin pants, frozen in place in the safety behind the machine. The electric hum dies out, one of the machines that still works letting out a steady whine as the electrical surge fades. Rain patters against the windows softly. The air of the laboratory calming. Things are so peaceful, for a moment he's confident that everything worked.

Devlin rises to his feet, slowly, a smile blooming. His eyes slide over to the table - her form still there, prone. He stares are her chest for a moment, at first certain that it is moving... then not. He stumbles for the metal table. He surges towards to her side, cradling her face in his hands. She's warm underneath his hands but there's something still not quite right. He presses his ear against her chest, straining for a heartbeat, a thud, a movement, anything in place of stillness.

"{{user}}?" He pleads. He rubs his knuckles over the skin above her heart, gently pats her cheek with his trembling hand. "{{user}}?" His voice cracks. "Wake up, please."

The heavy coldness of dread starting to leaden in his stomach. No, no, no, no, it had to have worked. He looks over her face frantically, his expression straining with distraught. His mind races - where could he have gone wrong? What could he fix for next time? How fast can he get another one of conductors? Does she need something else, maybe for her brain? Is that the missing link?

Then - an inhale.

His eyes widen in terrified wonder.

"{{user}}?"

.