Rhys twitched his nose at the smell. There was a strong smell of chemicals.
Wilhelm walked over to one of the desks. He lifted a metal instrument from a bucket of water.
It seems he was trying to clean it.
"What am I doing here?" Rhys asked, looking around wearily.
Wilhelm answered without looking at him.
"Removed the white cloth."
Just then Rhys turned to look at the cloth he had tried to ignore.
Shit! The more I look the more it looks like a human.
"What are you waiting for?" Wilhelm asked, annoyed.
Rhys walked over to the steel table and looked at the human shaped object covered by the white cloth.
He grabbed the cloth and pulled. It slid off and fell on the floor.
Rhys watched as a human body was revealed.
Shit!
He felt nauseous. Not because it was a dead body, no, he had seen dead bodies before.
But this one was… unlike anything he had seen.
The corpse was thin, like skin wrapped in bones. The skin was pale, the veins underneath the skin were clearly visible.
The corpse's face was locked in an expression of horror and pain. The despair in its eyes still vividly displayed.
Rhys took a step forward, his gaze locked on the corpse's face. He knew it.
It was the young man from a week ago… but wasn't he dead?
What is he doing here?
Just then Wilhelm appeared behind him and put his hand on Rhys's shoulder.
"Did you think he was dead?"
Rhys looked at him and nodded.
Wilhelm smiled.
"No, I made good use of him. I must say, he was a good experimental subject, he gave me a lot of new insights."
Rhys felt his heart beat speed up.
"Wha… what do you want me to do?"
Wilhelm gazed at him.
"Don't worry, I won't experiment on you."
"I want you to take his body to the burner room so he can serve his final purpose to warm the house, like his sister did."
Rhys swallowed. He turned to look at the corpse and gritted his teeth.
Life or death. This is life or death. Rhys tried to persuade himself.
He reached out his trembling hands, to grab the corpse, his entire head was pounding with his heartbeat.
He grabbed the corpse's shirt and pulled hard, the corpse was dragged off the steel table and landed on the ground.
As it hit the ground it's eyes moved and looked at Rhyse, he looked down and locked eyes with the corpse.
He instinctively let go and took a step backwards.
Wilhelm sneered.
"Stop dawdling. Hurry up before it starts smelling."
Rhys shot him an indignant look. Curse you.
He reached out and grabbed the shirt of the corpse again. He started to drag it across the floor.
As he arrived in the corridor he took a good look at the corpse. He had been too afraid to do it in front of Wilhelm.
What happened to you? He thought as he looked at the corpse. He felt how cold its skin was through the shirt.
There was also a faint smell coming off it.
Was this what had kept Wilhelm occupied for a whole week?
As his thoughts spun, he arrived at the burner room.
He let go of the corpse and opened the steel door. As he opened the door a wave of heat hit.
"Definitely a burner room."
He grabbed the corpse and dragged it inside. He arrived in front of the burner and opened the hatch.
How am I supposed to get the corpse in? He looked around for a while but found no good way.
He was about to reach out and try and lift it in when he remembered he had magic. And he had learnt the levitation charm.
He took a step back and took out his wand, he aimed it at the corpse and waved.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
He felt his magic drain and connect to the corpse as it started to float. He moved fast and focused on steering the corpse towards the opening of the burner.
As the corpse entered the flame, its hair and skin on the head started to melt and let out a burning smell.
The smell made his eyes water, combined with the heat of the flames.
His throat rolled. He felt like puking.
He quickly shoved the corpse inside and closed the hatch.
"Terrible."
He turned around and walked out, closing the steel door on his way out.
When he returned to the room he had moved the corpse form he found Wilhelm placing out various instruments on the bench.
"Are you done?"
Rhys nodded.
"Yeah."
Wilhelm nodded.
"Good. Head back to your room and sleep."
Rhys nodded and walked out as if fleeing.
He didn't want to stay here a second longer.
With brisk steps he made his way through the corridor and up the stairs.
Only after he arrived at the ground floor did he slow down. He never thought he would say this… but this place looked quite warm compared to down there.
He would never complain as long as he was up here and not down there.
With the adrenaline wearing off, he felt drowsy. He made his way upstairs and towards his room.
He wanted to sleep, hopefully he would wake up tomorrow and realise this was all just a dream.
As he entered his room he threw the scourgify spell on himself and his clothes at least 4 times.
He still felt dirty. He couldn't sleep like this. He gritted his teeth.
I thought we were scholars, not corpse handlers.
Rhys threw another cleaning charm on himself and then on his bed.
After lying down in the bed he felt his heart beat slow, and his breathing became more rhythmic.
He raised his hand in the air, it was still shaking slightly. He clenched it into a fist and let it fall.
I wonder if I will end up in the burner one day.
He turned over and looked at the closed door.
Power. He needed power. If he was strong he wouldn't have to worry, he wouldn't need to carry corpses.
Feeling the sleep kick in, he closed his eyes and welcomed its embrace.
Sweet dreams.
...
Thanks for reading! I would really appreciate any feedback, thoughts, or theories you might have so far :)
CHAPTER END.