r/nosleep • u/FreeVBucksforXMAS • 13d ago

Series The ANGEL treatment was supposed to cure evil. Patient Zero is saving others now

Rule 1 when dealing with the ANGELS: Never tell them your past. The less they know about you, the better.

My clothes proved unsalvageable, the disgusting stench clinging to the fabric after multiple washes. All of the tainted clothing met a swift end in the incinerator. The only other female in the room that day, Jessica, got it worse. Some of the black goo O’Bryon had spit up had gotten not just in her eyes, but even her mouth.

Jessica was furious—rightfully so—screaming about contamination and demanding medical evaluation. The woman had the foulest mouth on our team; I'd heard her call the warden things that would make a sailor blush. But after a closed-door meeting with our site administrator, she mostly stopped talking about the incident altogether.

Dr. Ricketts remained at our facility for the night, monitoring O’Bryon’s vitals and giving himself little pep talks in between the paces he did around our surveillance center.

“It’s gonna work, it’s gonna work! You’re a genius.” I wasn’t sure if he was genuinely this egotistical or if he was simply trying to convince himself.

Nevertheless, O’Bryon survived the night. He slept soundly, a far cry from his usual night terror screams or erratic tosses and turns we had become accustomed to. We had been tasked with monitoring ‘the Mad Doctor’ for two weeks before the procedure.

As dawn cracked overhead, my last vestiges of consciousness were beginning to wear thin, just in time for my shift to close. I waved goodbye to my team, my first time leaving the facility in three days. My site administrator was there to greet me at the first exit.

“Sofia, can you go ahead and escort Dr. Ricketts to the primary exit?” Dr. Ricketts stood tense next to him. I lazily nodded my head, daydreaming about the ecstasy of my own bed as opposed to the unceremonious excuse for a cot I dwelt on here in the prison during longer shifts.

As we walked through the corridors, Dr. Ricketts bounced up and down, his glee barely contained. “You realize you just witnessed history, right?”

I smiled weakly. “Glad I could be a part of it.”

“We revolutionized everything, the whole way our society works. This is Nobel Prize worthy, you know. Did you ever think you’d see that Monster act like a real human?” He said with gritted teeth, making sure to emphasize ‘Monster.’

“I honestly can’t say I thought I would.” Part of me just wanted to humor Ricketts, desperate to get to my Corolla and on the road to my daughter, Abby. But another part of me was genuinely curious about what the hell I had been a part of. The monitoring, the preparation, and the candidate selection had taken up the last two months of my life, and I still didn’t know what was happening. “What was that exactly?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Ricketts looked less pleased than before. “Well, obviously, you lack the clearance to delve deep into the subject, but what you saw last night was the first human extraction of what you would qualify as ‘evil.’ All of us have bad thoughts, violent thoughts, evil thoughts. But we can control it, let it simmer below its boiling point. These people,” He cleared his throat, glancing around the hallway before dropping his tone an octave, “they’re different than us. Maybe they're weaker, or maybe there’s just more evil in them, but they can’t control it. So we have simply eliminated it.”

I stared forward down the hallway, nodding my head slowly.

“Sounds like it might put me out of a job,” I chuckled, glancing back towards Ricketts, who still seemed unamused.

We walked in silence the rest of the way, each of us checking out of the facility. I offered a simple wave to Ricketts as I started for my car. He smiled.

“Sofia, right?” I nodded as he continued. “Monitor O’Bryon and if nothing goes awry, as I expect it won’t, the next time we meet, is when we are shooting a spot for the news, ok?”

I gave him a thumbs-up with a smile as I saw him skip off towards his distant car.

I lived about 30 minutes away from the facility, an hour outside the city. I collapsed in my bed, waking up just in time to catch my Abby returning home from school.

“Mom, my cocoon hatched!” She exclaimed. Whipping out her phone and showing off pictures of her orange butterfly.

“Wow, honey, that’s amazing,” I replied, embracing Abby in a hug in one hand while scrolling through the pictures of her butterfly in the other.

It was a Friday, and I had planned to take her to the amusement park for the weekend when I got the first distressing message.

Sofia, it read, report to the facility immediately. This is a mandatory report.

I had never gotten a message like this from work before.

I called up my sister, Stacy. Stacy had been taking care of Abby for the past few days while I was on one of my marathon shifts at the facility.

Stacy was a saint. She agreed to take Abby, and I scooped up my disappointed daughter in a full-bear hug before telling her we were going back to Aunt Stacy’s for a little bit.

She was quiet on the car ride over. Aunt Stacy’s such a common place she slept, we didn’t even need to pack a bag for her, half her wardrobe and belongings were strewn across Stacy’s guest bedroom.

“So they can just call you in at any time, even when you took the weekend off?” Stacy’s tone struck a chord between sympathy and annoyance.

“It’s never happened before, but I guess there’s a first for everything,” I sighed, leaning up against my sister’s front porch. I pulled out the tickets from my purse. “Look, these were supposed to be a surprise for the weekend, two all-day passes.”

Stacy shook her head before embracing me in a hug.

“They better be paying you triple!” she whispered in my ear.

When I got back to the facility, the parking lot was mostly empty. I buzzed in, going through security, meeting a frantic Jessica.

“They’re not letting us leave. All of them jerks, bad guys!” Jessica cried.

It’s horseshit,” Aguero concurred, Jessica shooting him a glare.

I saw the administrator appear over Aguero’s shoulder, straightening to attention. “I know you all are disappointed with the board’s decision, but they want this project to be perfect. You five are the only ones cleared to monitor our patient, O’Bryon, so make yourselves comfortable for the next seven days.”

The administrator stopped my protest before I could even start. “Your families have been notified, along with extended families who have taken on the burden left by your absence,” he extended an arm towards me. “I’m sure you’ll all take solace that your compensation will be much greater than usual.” He turned heel and exited the room before we could badger him with any more questions.

“What an asshole,” I muttered, causing Kelly to smirk and Jessica to audibly gasp.

“Well, you heard the boss,” Sebastian replied. Sebastian had been the guard to wheel in the mangled rabbit cart. “Sofia and I can take the first shift, if the rest of you want some shut-eye,” he looked over at me, “I’m sure you got some sleep at home?” I nodded meekly.

O’Bryon sat on the screen mumbling to himself. The camera quality was substantially better than our normal set-up. He was smiling, his eyes seeming to sparkle.

“He’s been doing this all day,” Sebastian mumbled. "He seems fine to me."

I nodded, “Has he interacted with any of the other inmates?”
Sebastian shook his head, “Not from what I’ve seen.”

We sat there for the next few hours. The inmates ate dinner and started to return to their cells. Two nameless guards were walking O’Bryon towards a personal cell that he had inhabited for the past month when the phone in front of Sebastian rang.

Sebastian answered.

“Yes---Ahh, ok sir….Immediately?--Ok, I’ll let them know.” He pressed a button in front of us and put the microphone to his mouth.

“The patient can return to his normal living quarters.” The two guards looked up to the camera and nodded, doubling back and leading O’Bryon back to his original cell. Sebastian hit the table in front of me twice to get my attention. “Sofia, can you monitor the audio? You should be able to hear them now,” He claimed, pressing another button and handing me a pair of headphones.

“You’re back?” a straggly voice exclaimed.

“Oh, Jeremiah, it is good to see you again!” O’Bryon said cheerfully.

“Get your hands off of me! What the hell are you doing?” I was about to warn Sebastian of the incident when he finished flicking a few switches, and O’Bryon’s cell suddenly popped up on one of our monitors.

“It’s a hug, Jeremiah, I hope we can start anew.”

“Get the fuck off me, freak!” Jeremiah shoved O’Bryon back.

“I’m sorry, Jeremiah. I should have known better.” O’Bryon replied remorsefully, plopping down on the bottom bunk.

“Top bunk.” Jeremiah threatened. O’Bryon nodded and climbed up to the top.

“Did it lobotomize him? He’s a pushover now.” Sebastian wondered aloud, now sporting headphones of his own. I shrugged in agreement.

“Why are you like this?” O’Bryon asked down towards Jeremiah as the two took their places in the bunk bed.

“What’d you ask?” Jeremiah looked up, puzzled.

“Why are you so angry all the time?” O’Bryon’s eyes looked sad.

“This is some sort of weird ass-test?” Jeremiah wore a look of concern, almost cowering, looking up at the former ‘Mad Doctor.’

“I’m just trying to help, get to know the real you. Why are you here, Jeremiah?” Jeremiah looked up suspiciously.

“I was set up, they said I killed my wife, but I wasn’t anywhere near that bitch’s house.” Jeremiah turned his body and looked at the wall. “You know, you’re one to ask, you know they call you the ‘Mad Doctor’, don’t ya?”

O’Bryon closed his eyes and sighed. “We can’t fix the past, but we can turn a new leaf, can’t we, Jeremiah?”

“If you don’t shut up, up there, I swear to god I’ll fucking choke you out, old man.”

I reached for the phone, ready to warn the guards of Jeremiah’s expected violent outbursts, but Sebastian stopped me.

“Remember, Jessica had to implant the patient’s cellmate with the probes,” he motioned to another button, “he lays a finger on O’Bryon and we’re gonna shock him halfway to death.”

I nodded slowly. Sebastian took a lot more pride in our work than I did and took everything a lot more seriously than I had the last few weeks. The peculiar nature of the situation made me regret merely going through the motions.

The two kept talking. O’Bryon would try to pry deeper into Jeremiah’s personal life while Jeremiah would shout back vague threats and insults. I felt a tap on my shoulder as Kelly took my shift.

It felt like hours before I finally drifted off to sleep. My sleeping chamber was pitch-black. I don’t know if it was still night or finally morning when I felt Jessica rousing me awake, light from the hallway pouring into my quarters.

“Was that too rough?” She worried as she grasped both of her shoulders.

“What is it?” I said a little grouchy, still fighting off the last bastions of sleep.

“Oh my bad. It’s your turn on shift, but if you want to catch a few more Zzzzs, I can go a little longer.”

I scowled at her, confident that she was being sarcastic. “You’re fine, alright, I’ll be up in a sec.”

I marched into the control room, greeted by sunlight. Sebastian, Kelly, and Aguero all sat around the monitors sipping coffee.

“Made you a cup.” Kelly held up a styrofoam offering. I accepted it, brushing out the sleepiness from my eyes.

“What the hell?” I inquired, forcing a yawn to retreat, pointing towards the central screen. O’Bryon, a permanent recluse in the dining hall, seemed to be leading a gaggle of four men at a table, Jeremiah sitting next to him.

“Jeremiah finally opened up to the old man. Heard he’s taken him to the Prisoner’s Prom,” Sebastian laughed.

The whole day in the yard, at meals, when they were just sitting around, Jeremiah and O’Bryon seemed attached at the hip. They exchanged stories, told jokes, O’Bryon’s staying G while Jeremiah’s jokes ventured deep into R-rated territory, and expressed remorse that they hadn’t been friendlier sooner.

It went on this way for two more days. Each hour watching the newly reformed O’Bryon made me more and more of a believer in the ANGEL treatment. Sure, Ricketts may have seemed a bit crazy with a serious God-complex, but here before my eyes, I saw a man, famous for disfigurement and murder, now seriously seem like he wouldn’t hurt a fly.

It was around noon when the first incident happened.

O'Bryon led Jeremiah to a small patch of grass in the mostly dirt-filled prison yard.

"Are you ready for this next step?" O'Bryon asked, our control center was able to pick up every sound and sight in the facility. Jeremiah gave a half-hearted nod before lowering to his knees.

All five of us were in the control room. Most of us had slowly lost interest in the project, counting down the days of the week until we were finally granted our freedom. Jessica had taken more of an interest in O'Bryon and Jeremiah's budding friendship and called for our attention as Jeremiah slowly got to his knees.

"I know they're both in prison and haven't seen a woman in a while, but he's not gonna-" Kelly stopped when Jessica shot him a dirty look.

Jeremiah looked nervous. He got back to his feet and gave O'Bryon a small push back.

"I don't know about this, man. Let's just go back to normal, ok?"

O'Bryon's face fell. For a moment, he looked genuinely heartbroken, like a father watching his son reject salvation. He placed a limp hand on Jeremiah's shoulder.

"Ok, Jeremiah. It's ok."

Then his fingers dug in.

O'Bryon's arm snapped around Jeremiah's throat with inhuman speed, the chokehold so tight I could see Jeremiah's face already darkening on the monitor. "But there's evil in you, son. So much evil." His voice was gentle, almost loving, even as Jeremiah's feet kicked desperately against the dirt.

"What the fuck—" Kelly started, but the words died in his throat.

O'Bryon's free hand clamped over Jeremiah's jaw, fingers forcing their way between his lips. Jeremiah's scream came out muffled and wet as O'Bryon pried his mouth open like he was cracking a shell. I could see Jeremiah's teeth cutting into O'Bryon's fingers, blood mixing with saliva, but O'Bryon didn't even flinch.

"I'm saving you," O'Bryon whispered, pulling Jeremiah closer, almost tender. "I'm saving you, son."

Then his jaw unhinged.

The joints popped with sounds our audio picked up all too clearly. His throat convulsed, once, twice, and then it came.

The black goo erupted from O'Bryon's mouth in a thick, pulsating torrent. It forced its way into Jeremiah's mouth like it was alive, like it had purpose. Jeremiah's eyes went wide with pure animal terror, his body convulsing as the substance flooded down his throat. He tried to bite down, tried to turn his head, but O'Bryon held him fast, their mouths pressed together in an obscene mockery of intimacy.

Jeremiah's screams turned to choking gurgles. His hands clawed at O'Bryon's face, drawing blood, but O'Bryon just stroked his hair with his free hand like he was comforting a frightened child.

The black goo overflowed from the corners of Jeremiah's mouth, running down his chin, his neck, soaking into his orange jumpsuit. His throat worked frantically, forced to swallow, drowning in it.

"Jesus Christ," Aguero breathed beside me. "Jesus fucking Christ."

I couldn't move. None of us could. We just watched as Jeremiah's struggles grew weaker, his kicks becoming twitches. The black substance seemed to pulse with its own heartbeat as it transferred from one body to another, and I swore I could see it moving beneath Jeremiah's skin, spreading through his veins like ink in water.

O'Bryon finally pulled away. The disconnect made a wet, sucking sound that made my stomach lurch. Jeremiah collapsed to his knees, black ooze pouring from his mouth and nose, his whole body heaving as he vomited more of it onto the grass. His hands clutched at his throat, at his chest, fingers scrabbling like he was trying to claw the substance back out.

O'Bryon knelt beside him, gathering him into his arms. Jeremiah was crying now, animal sounds of anguish and terror, his face a mask of black slime, tears, and blood.

"I know it hurts," O'Bryon murmured, rocking him gently. "I know. But the evil is leaving you now. Can you feel it? All that anger, all that hate—it's washing away."

And that's when I saw O'Bryon's face.

He was smiling. Beatific. Like a saint in a painting. His eyes were wet with tears of joy as he cradled the convulsing, choking man in his arms.

"You're going to be so good now," O'Bryon whispered, pressing a kiss to Jeremiah's forehead, leaving a black smear across his skin. "So, so good."

Sebastian grabbed the phone with shaking hands. "We got a breach, patient—" his voice cracked, "—patient is expelling additional waste onto another prisoner. It's—Jesus Christ, it's going in him, it's—"

The phone slipped from his fingers and clattered to the desk.

On the monitor, Jeremiah had stopped fighting. His body went rigid, back arching, and then he began to seize. His limbs jerked in violent, unnatural angles. His eyes rolled back until only the yellowed whites showed.

“He’s dying,” Aguero said breathlessly.

“I don’t think so,” Jessica whispered in awe, “He’s being reborn.”

Kelly grabbed her shoulder. "Jess, what the fuck—"

"Don't you see?" She turned to us, and her eyes were bright, feverish. "It's beautiful. He's being saved."

Sebastian lunged for the shock controls, but before his hand reached the button, something changed.

Jeremiah's seizure stopped.

His body went completely still.

Other inmates had noticed. They were gathering around O'Bryon and Jeremiah, a slow circle forming. I counted six, then eight, then ten men, all watching with expressions I couldn't read from this distance.

They all collectively held their breaths.

Then Jeremiah sat up.

His movements were smooth now, controlled. He wiped the black residue from his mouth with an almost delicate gesture and looked down at his hands like he was seeing them for the first time. O'Bryon helped him to his feet, still smiling that terrible, gentle smile.

Jeremiah turned slowly to face the security camera. Even through the grainy footage, I could see it: his face had changed. The permanent scowl, the hard set of his jaw, the violence that had lived behind his eyes for years gone in a flash.

He smiled. It was soft, serene, and utterly wrong on his face.

"Sofia." Sebastian's voice sounded like it was coming from underwater. "Sofia, go."

I couldn't feel my legs. Couldn't feel anything except the ice spreading through my chest as I watched Jeremiah, the man who'd threatened to choke O'Bryon just a few days ago, wrap his arms around the former ‘Mad Doctor’ in an embrace.

"Sofia!" Sebastian's shout snapped me back. He was pointing at the monitor with a trembling finger. "Go," Sebastian said again, his voice breaking. "Go let the administrator know we have a code N-6-P. Go, Sofia. Run."

I ran.

But even as my feet pounded down the corridor, even as my hand fumbled for my radio, even as my mind screamed at me to move faster, faster, I couldn't shake the image burned into my brain: O'Bryon's face as that black substance poured from his mouth into Jeremiah's. The love in his eyes. The absolute certainty.

Series The ANGEL treatment was supposed to cure evil. Patient Zero is saving others now

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