Chapter III - Putrid Poison

"Hold on a second Electro! That's the nurse's job. Don't get carried away with yourself!" Lord Horror Hill quickly intervened.

Passing the syringe to the nurse, Electro watched amongst the large crowd that filled the room.

"Just a word of warning, this medicine is not guaranteed to work. We have tried everything, and this is our best bet. Are you ready?" The nurse looked at Lord Horror Hill for permission.

Lord Horror Hill nodded; beads of perspiration dripped down the side of his face.

The nurse edged closer towards the hospital bed before leaning over the unfortunate butler. Whilst taking a detailed look at the sorrowful man, she aimed the syringe above the side of his neck. Electro smiled mirthfully, whilst looking around to see the crowd's reaction. The crowd stared in silence. The long pause of the nurse waiting to inject the medicine seemed like an eternity. The crowd had a neutral expression on their faces, not knowing what to expect.

The trusted nurse began to insert the syringe into Butler Burns' neck. Inserting the needle in gently and carefully pulling it out, she took a step back. Waiting patiently around the hospital bed for the effect of the medication to take place, the crowd didn't utter a word. The silence of the crowd embarrassed Electro. Someone had to say something. The nurse attached both ends of her stethoscope into her ears and tilted her head to the butler's chest. Lightly pressing the head of the stethoscope against his clothes, she listened. The only sound to be heard was the faint breathing of everyone else in the room... all except Butler Burns.

"Can everyone please exit the med bay while I conclude if the medicine has taken the effect we wanted or not." The nurse looked extremely stressed as she watched everyone exit gradually.

Minutes passed and the medicine still hadn't taken an effect. The nurse checked his pulse for the final time before exiting the med bay and arriving at her conclusion.

"I am sure we are all in a state of unease right now." The nurse raised her voice in an attempt to get everyone's attention, who were all congregating in the hallway. Lord Horror Hill paced up and down the corridor with his eyes narrowed and a grave look on his face as he listened to the nurse's flustered tone. The discussions and conversations slowly ended as the nurse began to confirm the result.

"I do hope we can get past such grief, but I can conclude, with immense sadness, that Butler Burns has unfortunately passed away." The nurse paused - tears filling her eyes. "This has been a very tragic event in Horror Hill that none of us will ever forget. Now, let us reminisce on such a brilliant life he lived and what a gentle and loving person he was." The nurse guiltily wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

Lord Horror Hill comforted the nurse whilst the rest of the Horror Hillians went back inside of the med bay in order to say their final goodbyes. The atmosphere in Horror Hill had instantly shifted from a hopeful but sombre environment to a melancholic and oppressive one. Gradually, everyone exited the room, leaving with eternal grief for such a caring individual.

Electro Von Poison lingered around in the hallway in front of the med bay door, waiting for the nurse to leave. Watching as the nurse flicked the light switch off and shut the door, Electro decided that he would say his final goodbyes with one act of cruelty. Everyone had gone back to their rooms, but Electro Von Poison stuck around. He double-checked that there wasn't a soul in sight before opening the door to the med bay that the nurse had forgotten to lock. He was plunged into darkness, but a small flicker of a lamp resting on a countertop made his target visible. Creeping towards the hospital bed that lay in the centre of the room, he peered over the Butler's body. Clutching at the bed's metal frame in order to steady himself, Electro drew out a spear point knife.

"Look at you," Electro hissed, his voice barely above a breath. "So still, so calm, as if you haven't destroyed everything I ever had. Every time I close my eyes, I see you - your smug face, your lies, your betrayal." His grip on the knife tightened. "I remember it all, Burns. The way you and your family took everything from me, piece by piece, until there was nothing left! No family, no future. Nothing! You left me with nothing Burns and it's about time you pay!"

Without any delay, he raised the knife into the air and thrust the blade downwards into Butler Burn's eyes. Faster and faster, he violently stabbed in rage as he watched the blood vessels pop and spew in all sorts of directions like a small trickle of a fountain. He continued to jab the knife in quicker and quicker, deeper and deeper, until the Butler's eyes were just a mush of mess cradled by his eye sockets. Letting out a sigh of subdued rage, he covered the hospital blanket back over the body.

Meanwhile, a curious, timid little Horror Hillian liked to roam the corridors. His name was Dr Lazer. His green skin glistened as beams of sunrays reflected off the double-glazed windows. He had scarlet red eyes, which coiled in a spiralling motion - surrounding a small pupil. He wore a jet-black double-breasted suit and a trilby hat. With his hat in his hand and staring at the scenery through the window, Dr Lazer's soft, bald head shimmered gracefully. Out of all the Horror Hillians, Dr Lazer was known to be the weakest physically, as he was unsteady on his feet and quite plump. However, most citizens of Horror Hill respected him as he was said to be the most honest person in the manor.

Dr Lazer hobbled down the corridor towards the med bay. Still traumatised from this morning, he started to reminisce about his good friend Butler Burns. The Butler was liked by all the Horror Hillians - well... so they thought. As the doctor approached the door to the med bay, he spotted Electro exiting the room. Dr Lazer had never been very good friends with Electro as he frequently mocked him of his size.

Crouching behind a large, golden ornament; he decided to wait until Electro had gone before entering and having a wander about. Electro's face was alert with caution while he looked side to side down the corridor. His state of unease worried Dr Lazer. The more he watched Electro, the more his curiosity increased. He stepped into the confined room of the med bay to say his final goodbye to the Butler again, but this time, he was alone. He couldn't accept losing such a great friend so quickly, and saying goodbye earlier just wasn't enough. Dr Lazer wanted to seek the truth; he wanted to know exactly how Butler Burns died and why the medicine didn't work.

Aimlessly stumbling around, he spotted the hospital bed where the butler lay. Lifting the textile cloth off the bed, he leapt back in terror! Suddenly, he found himself hurtling into the medicine shelf behind him. Inquisitive about his horrific findings, he attempted to stand up. The whole shelf of medicine crashed down on the poor Horror Hillian and knocked him back down again like a small artillery barrage. Glass shattered everywhere; thick gloopy medicine dribbled down his face. The ointments oozed out of the glass containers, smothering him in it. He thrashed side to side in panic. Pills and canisters flung left and right as he arose to his feet. Conscientiously stepping over each individual piece of shattered glass, trying not to slip again, he approached the hospital bed and faced his fear. A nauseating wave of grief and terror surged through him. His vision blurred as he blinked rapidly, tears of shock pooling in his eyes.

"Burns..." he croaked. "What... what have they done to you?" His thoughts raced, each one colliding with the next. Who could do this? Why?

A deep, gnawing dread settled in his chest as a single name floated to the forefront of his mind. Electro...

He loomed over the corpse, tears running down his face. There lay Butler Burns, his eyes stabbed out, his mouth wide open, and a white, bubbling froth poured down his chin. His smart, white hair was wildly roughened, creating a ragged perception of the Butler everyone knew. Dr Lazer cried in horror! Gulping, he headed out of the room, shaken by who he thought could have done such a violent act.