Piercing the Veil CHP 2 {Sanders Sides Fanfiction}

J.M.J

CHP 1 RECAP: Thomas Sanders enrolls in an experimental drug trial designed to prevent magical veil piercings from healing. After getting pierced as an adult despite the risks, he falls unconscious and wakes in a hospital bed attended by a strangely familiar person who disappears when the doctor enters. The doctor informs him he received the placebo and his veil will heal normally, then clears him to leave. Ignoring advice to call a cab, Thomas chooses to drive himself home.

Thomas backed the car out of his parking spot in the hospital parking structure slowly. The entire hospital ground was a labyrinth of confusingly labeled buildings pointed to by poorly designed cartoonish maps and the parking structure was no different. It was five stories tall and annoyingly cramped, not to mention full. He was forced to park on the fourth story on his way in, and it was even more crowded now.

A few cars were trying to leave like he was, but the majority were looking for parking spots. Thomas had to keep pulling to the side to let someone go past him. There was also the occasional pedestrian, mostly parents and their children. It reminded Thomas that St. Luke's was a children's hospital. Eventually the concrete walls opened up and Thomas felt something in his chest unclench.

He validated his parking, smiled at the attendant, and turned onto the street. The roads were mostly open. It was late enough that most people had gotten to work, but still early enough that the lunch rush hadn’t started. Thomas maintained a slow pace, erring on the side of caution.

Eventually, his carefulness dulled with the repetition of driving. It was slowly getting more busy, but he wasn’t far from his house at this point. Thomas was surprised at how tired he was. The visit had taken more out of him than he’d thought. He would need to go back to sleep when he got home.

No, wait. That was wrong. Thomas gripped the steering wheel tighter. He didn’t feel like sleeping. He felt tired. His mind was still sharply aware of what was going on around him, but for some reason his hands felt tight, his breathing was heavier than it should be. His head hurt. Goosebumps had formed on his arms.

Thomas furrowed his brow, he looked down at his arms, how odd. He wondered what had-

It felt like he’d only glanced away from the road for a second when a loud blaring interrupted his musing. He stared blankly at the black truck hurtling toward him. It felt like his body responded to him sluggishly, or maybe that time had slowed down, or maybe it was just adrenaline that made it seem like the world snapped into sudden, perfect clarity. It felt like seconds passed between him ordering his hands to jerk the steering wheel to the left, and his body actually doing so.

Then everything sped back up. His car spun out of the way, its tires squealing angrily as Thomas slammed on the breaks and the car skidded to a stop. The other driver swerved out of the way before stopping as well. Thomas and a terrified teenage boy locked eyes and gave each other a fair approximation of the same shellshocked expression.

It was the boy who broke eye contact first, he fumbled for his phone and began to frantically talk to someone on the other end of the line. Probably his parents. Thomas turned away and had to force himself not to hyperventilate. He carefully pressed on the accelerator and inched the car toward the curb. The second Thomas was no longer obstructing traffic, he tugged his keys out of the ignition and laid his head on the steering wheel.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that. But eventually a small voice in the back of his mind told him that he needed to get home. When he looked up, the teenager and the truck was long gone. Thomas started the car again, and began to drive home. Traffic was heavier, the lunch rush had fully started at this point, between that and Thomas’s increased caution, it took him almost thirty minutes to complete the fifteen-minute drive back to his house.

He pulled into his driveway and pulled his hands off the steering wheel, flexing them a few times to get rid of the stiffness from his death grip on the wheel. He pushed open the car door and stepped out into the sunlight. His head spun slightly as he stood and he had to lean on the car for balance.

After catching his breath he wandered up the driveway and into his house. He kicked off his shoes and slunk down the hallway. He entered the living room, flopped down onto the couch and groaned, he pushed a heap of dirty laundry onto the floor and pulled a stay blanket over his head.

“Thomas.” A voice said,

Instantly he began scrambling to free himself from the blanket and grab the nearest available weapon (the TV remote).

The man from the hospital was standing in the mouth of the entrance hallway, near the stairway. He held up his hands in a pacifying gesture as Thomas prepared to throw the remote. He lowered his weapon slightly, more in surprise than out of some kind of trust.

He looked exactly the same as he had an hour or so ago. Black shirt, blue tie, thick black rimed glasses. Maybe it was because he wasn’t groggy from sedatives, but Thomas realized exactly why the man had seemed so familiar.

“You have my face.” Thomas whispered,

The man furrowed his brow slightly and pursed his lips in confusion. “Y-e-es, I do.”

“Why do you have my face?” Thomas tried, was he hallucinating? Hadn’t hallucinations been listed as a symptom?

Understanding flickered across the stranger’s expression. “Oh. I think there has been a misunderstanding. My apologies.”

“Okay?” Thomas said, standing up properly, but not releasing his grip on the remote, or looking away from the man.

“Hello, I am your veil manifestation.” He said, holding his hand out for a handshake.

Thomas stared at him, and he lowered his arm awkwardly.

Thomas blinked. Nope. Definitely not. “You're human.”

“Yes.” The man said, adjusting his glasses with a slight smug smile. “Your memory says that the more human-like a manifestation is, the more power it is likely to have, so I chose to present myself in this form.”

When Thomas didn’t respond, he cleared his throat slightly and continued “First impressions are important afterall.”

Thomas kept just staring at the man- or manifestation? He could be lying and was trying to take advantage of him, somehow, or was a hallucination, or- or… something.

The… guy… frowned and crossed his arms. “You don’t believe me.”

“Uh.” Thomas said, lowering the remote. “No…?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I didn’t expect this.”

Thomas suddenly felt slightly guilty.

The guy seemed to come to a conclusion. “I believe that I can prove my identity,”

“Okay.” Thomas said, and when the man didn’t do anything, he added “...Go ahead.”

“Please do not be alarmed.” He said,

He blurred, then vanished from existence with a soft pop that wasn’t quite a sound. Thomas flinched and stepped backward, tripping on the couch.

A small tuxedo cat jumped onto the coffee table.It had a pair of glasses that were clipped onto the bridge of its little nose, and instead of a normal collar it had a miniature shirt collar with a blue tie hanging from it. No way.

“You were alarmed.” He said, “Perhaps I should have given you a better warning.”

The cat’s mouth didn’t open, and Thomas wasn’t sure how he was speaking, but he was, undoubtedly speaking.

“You’re a cat now.” Thomas said, feeling a little stupid afterward. Yes, he was clearly a cat now.

He tilted his head, “Yes. You like cats, but are highly allergic. Due to me not actually being a cat, I will not trigger a reaction. I assumed that you would find this form more suitable.”

Thomas blinked, actually, yes, this was a bit better than talking to a clone of himself who looked like he worked at the Business Store… somehow.

“You kept the tie and glasses.” Thomas said, then winced internally, wow he was on a roll today.

The cat sat up a bit straighter. “Yes, neck ties represent seriousness, and glasses signify intelligence. They are visual cues that express that the wearer is responsible and able to be relied upon.”

Was he… quoting from somewhere? It didn’t matter. “Alright.” Thomas said, “You are my manifestation. Nice to meet you.”

He felt awkward. Manifestations were usually no smarter than animals, if they had any intelligence at all.

“It is my pleasure, Thomas.” The cat said. His tail swished. “Now, we should get down to business.”

“Ah… alright?” Thomas said, what business?

“I have a strong suspicion that your piercing was done unsafely, and your veil’s structural integrity is in jeopardy due to the experimental inhibitor.” The cat said,

“Uh. cat… mister cat?” Thomas tried

“Please do not call me that.” the cat said, his tail twitching in annoyance.

“Noted. Uh, well, I feel tired, and kind of stressed right now, but I don’t have any symptoms of veil damage, and besides, Dr. Pocket said that I received the placebo.”

He looked exasperated. “I don’t think that you did, Thomas.”