A Fatal Madness – Part II

The strange man burst into laughter, strolling proudly around Abe, “Because, Abe, I am not just any scientist. I am the one who has been watching you all your life. I am the one who knows every detail about you since your birth.”
“You tricked me,” replied Abe furiously.“You pretended you did not know me just because you wanted to drag me to your cursed lab. What do you want from me?” He asked, his voice still trembling.
“BRAVO, BRAVO!!” yelled the man, clapping his hands. “I know you are a smart boy, Abe. You have been smart from birth, cheeky boy.”
Then he added, pointing at Abe’s blond curly hair, “By the way, did you notice you have the same curly hair as your dad? That is what we call genetics, my son. Ah, your dad Jacky. Jacky, Jacky … Poor Jacky. He was a nice guy. Yes, your dad was a nice guy, my son. He was …”
“How do you know my dad?” interrupted Abe nervously.
“Your dad? Jacky? Who in this damned town does not know Jack, the Biology Professor at Cambridge University? Do you know something? I used to appreciate your dad a lot while I was teaching Physics at the same University. I will tell you a secret, Abe. I let your dad know about all my research and plans.” He stopped talking for a while, gazing strangely at the boy’s pale face, and then he added. “Ah, the poor guy! His death was a real tragedy. Police could not recognise him as if he was devoured by a monster. They spent days collecting tiny pieces of his body and his clothes, spread everywhere into the car park of the University.”
He continued talking, staring into space as if he were chasing his lost memories, “Your dad was a great guy, a very caring dad, Abe. However, he liked to talk a lot. Sometimes, it is good to keep your mouth shut. Eh, isn’t it, my boy?”
All of a sudden, the young boy noticed a cut paper stuck in the wall as the madman vanished in his memories. His heart started beating fast when he saw the photo of the scientist, looking younger.
He stuttered as he read the black bold lines, his eyes wide with fear, “Dr Bill White is declared to have disappeared after being discharged from Cambridge University because he had researched to invent cannibal robotic bugs to…”
“You are a MADMAN!” He screamed in horror.
“Yes, they called me like this.” sniggered the man. “You know what? I like this name, Abe. You must be mad, my son, to have a heart of stone.” He added.
“In science, there is no place for mercy, for pity, Abe. How could you pretend to have mercy and kill animals? Heh? Tell me. These weak, poor animals we use for experiments, we kill them with icy blood, my boy. Sometimes, we massacre them before death, you know? Did you ask yourself how scientists created vaccination? Eh? Drugs? Cosmetic products?”
He continued talking, waving his palm indifferently, “These hypocritical scientists called me mad. At least I do not pretend to have mercy. I had invented robotic cannibal bugs to kill people. My precious babies will decrease the population on Earth. There are a lot of people who consume resources and produce nothing, Abe. We have to kill plenty of them. My experiment will be valuable for Humanity because, in the end, only strong and high-level people deserve to live. THIS WILL ENSURE FAIRNESS!!” he shouted arrogantly, raising his box machine.
Abe tried opening his mouth, but he could hardly mutter a word as the hot breath of the scientist reeked in his nose.
The poor boy knew he had painted himself into a corner. He had to escape immediately, but his legs could not move anywhere.
“Let me go, please, Dr. White,” he pleaded, still breathing hard.
The cruel laughter of the man echoed through the room, “Haha!! Poor Abe, I have chosen you to witness my unique, successful experiment.”
Then, immediately, he opened the bizarre metal box to let a loud, sharp sound emerge into the dusky air while plenty of black, tiny robotic bugs spurted from every corner, starting to move swiftly with their sharp jaws.
“Go away!” screamed Abe as the bugs approached him. “You are not a human, Dr. White. You are A DEMON!!!”
The eyes of the madman sparkled from beneath his bushy, white eyebrows with a chilly gleam of villainy. “Everybody has a Demon inside him, Abe,” he grinned. “Do not worry, my son. After the first bite, you will not feel anything. You will be anaesthetized, and then, my babies will devour you alive without feeling any pain.”
Abe’s heart pounded in his chest as the robotic bugs crawled closer. He stumbled backwards, tripping over a loose wire. As he fell, one of the bugs bounced onto his left shoulder.
A sharp pain shot through his arm, but then, as the mad scientist had declared, the pain disappeared at a glance. The young boy felt a strange sense of calm spread over his arm. He stayed still as he watched the other bugs crawl over his body.
The mad scientist cackled loudly, “I told you, Abe. After a few seconds, you will lose control of your whole body. Oh, my brave boy! You remind me of your dad. He also did not feel any pain while dying,” he added. “AHH!! Look at me, Abe! Look how, with this small, hideous machine, I can manipulate these merciless bugs. I can guide them to attack who I want, where I want, and how long I want. I went through fire and water to achieve my goals. And from now on, I will spread horror everywhere I go! I will see how people will beg to survive! I AM THE GENIUS WHO WILL CONTROL ALL THE HUMANS!!!” he shouted madly.
“NOT ME!!” screamed Abe, throwing the bugs violently from his body.
Then in a flash, he leapt up with all his might, “You have lost the plot, MADMAN!” he yelled as he suddenly grabbed a bottle filled with a mysterious blue liquid and smashed it on the man’s head.
The liquid splattered everywhere. In a few seconds, a tiny fireball erupted, spreading its flying wings onto the curtains.
The scientist let out a piercing wail as the flames spread rapidly. “What have you done, villain boy? This is a dangerous, inflammable solution,” he cried in horror. “MY BABIES! YOU BURNT MY BABIES!”
As the flames began devastating almost everything, he screamed wildly, racing towards his machine, ravaged by fire.
“MY MACHINE!!”
Without thinking, he squatted, trying to amass the furious bugs inside his pockets, “Do not panic! I will save you, my babies.” He wailed in grief whilst, all around him, the rapid flames had spread beyond control.
“You are crazy. They are going to eat you, man!” screamed Abe, staring in terror at the scientist’s arms and chest covered with pouring blood, before he ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the narrow, long corridor, leaving the madman buried under his enraged bugs, busy munching on him.
BOOOOM!!!
A gigantic fireball blasted as Abe escaped from the vast waste depot.
The young boy stood frozen for a while, looking at the yellowish waves of flames sending out an enormous cloud of dust and dark smoke while behind him, a large crowd gathered in panic.
Still dazed, his mind raced like a flash. All the eerie thoughts passed swiftly in front of his eyes. He started sobbing in despair as the man’s devil words about the death of his dad still whizzed through his ears. He then closed his eyes for a while and took a deep breath before he let out a long sigh of relief, “OOF!” He suddenly smiled, wiping his tears with his shivering hands. “Calm down, Abe,” he whispered. “No more troubles again! Now, call it a night, cheeky boy. Tomorrow will certainly be a better day!”