Marvel: The Sandman Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Risen from the Sand (2/3)






"This body is not mine."


This was something I learnt the moment I opened my eyes in this world.


My chest and shoulder were broader, my arms were thicker, my calves were massive and I had an unbelievably thin waist in comparison.


This was possible only with steroids but I know that is not the case.


I do not suffer from any issues. 


I went to a doctor to get tested and they found nothing on me.


But weirdest of it all was the fact that I had so many scars covering my body.


It was as if I was part of some war.


But even that was ruled out as I found nothing that could link me to the military or anything similar in my belongings.


I might have inherited the body and a tiny fraction of the memories, but my mind was blank when it came to knowledge about this body.


It was as if all records of this body were actively erased.


It was extremely suspicious, I was aware of that but there was nothing much I could do.


Quickly gulping down half a gallon of milk from the container, I decided to go to work.


There was a little bit of time but I wanted to be early.


The quicker I could finish the work, the quicker I could get back. And it did take a while to make the food preparations so I had to hurry.


And to be honest, it did not take much effort for me to get ready.


Splashing some water, I knew that I had a pretty decent face.


There was not much I had to do with such a face and almost anything that I wore looked good because of this well built body.


Especially formals, which I preferred. 


So, I quickly put on a black shirt and a matching pair of shoes and pants alongside a nice looking belt.


I had both a silver and gold watch as a choice, but I went with the most expensive watch that I owned.


A black chained watch that was custom made.


People say that you can know a lot about a man from the watch they wear, and they weren't wrong.


But I didn't have that much free time to appreciate my looks, so I quickly took my keys and walked out.


"I hope I don't end up stuck in another shitty situation."


Being made to work at night was already a hassle.


…

…


[Georgia]


Through the unlit alleys of the rat infested garbage dumping area, a man ran with shaking hands.


His hands were soaked red with blood, as he teared up from memories of a horrifying event that he went through.


No, he was the perpetrator –the one responsible for the incident.


"I-I killed someone…" 


He was horrified at what he had done; he was disgusted.


He did not know how he was going to show his face to his daughter and his wife.


"I killed a man…"


By killing someone, he had not just destroyed his own life but also the life of his family.


He was the breadwinner of the family and if he was to go to jail, his family would be out on the streets.


His family would be made an outcast, his wife would be criticized and his daughter would possibly be bullied.


He was disgusted at himself.


He did not know what to do but there was one thing that he was certain about.


"I-I need to lose the police!"


He had cops running after him, blocking the roads in order to have him restrained. 


So, whatever he was going to do –he had to do it fast.


"Where do I go…"


He was scared, however he knew that he had to keep pushing himself.


He had not eaten in a while, he felt weak. Yet with whatever strength he could gather, he pushed his body.


"Where…" His eyes were blurry, "Where do I go?"


He looked around, but there was no place that he could hide at.


The only things that were visible were factories dumping their waste and a laboratory looking place that was at the farthest corner of the place.


With no hope, he finally decided to walk towards the laboratory.


Unaware of what was there.


…

…


It was a lot of effort.


Preparing the ingredients, seasoning them and making sure that they were of the perfect proportions.


But it was the effort that counted. And it was also the effort that made sure that the final product was flawless.


Especially when making something like honoré.


Honoré is a French pastry, which of course means that it is delicate and can be fucked up quite easily.


Which was not something that I could afford.


I had already prepared the brioche dough using ingredients like flour, yeast, eggs, sugar, milk, and butter. 


Then I had to knead it and let it rise till it was twice the size.


And I also had them baking a while ago, so now I am left with making the cream filling.


Which isn't difficult but proportion is key when it comes to filling.


Too much filling and it will overpower the base, too little and it will be dry and won't be as tasty.


Thankfully, the filling wasn't that difficult as it was simply a mixture of whipped cream and pastry cream mixed in equal amounts. And to enhance the flavor, I decided to go with a touch of vanilla extract.


And while I was making the filling, I heard a 'ting' sound, announcing that the brioche was done baking.


Thus swiftly taking them out of the oven, I sliced them in half and covered the bottom layer with a thick layer of the filling, before putting the top half back over it.


It was pretty much done and the guests were not here yet. So, I had time.


But I knew they were going to be here soon and thanks to the excellent creations made  by the top inventors of our company –I was blessed with a warming device which was much better than the traditional food warmer. Especially since this device made sure that the food did not lose even a fraction of the original taste.


So, I decided to complete the dessert by dusting some powdered sugar over it and placing it inside the food warmer.


The main course was already done and with this, the dessert was done as well.


Which meant I was done with the work. 


"Sadly, I cannot leave yet."


I had to be present till they tasted the food or I won't be getting paid. So, I had to wait for at least twenty minutes before I could say I was done.


"What to do though?"


The network around this place was utterly useless so I couldn't be on my phone either. The machines ran on broadband and I did not have access to connect to it.


So, sadly all I could do was to roam around the place.


And that's exactly what I did.


Moving around the chambers of the men that were supposed to be my seniors, I made my way towards the rooms that were usually not allowed to enter without permit.


Of course, it was out of protocol but the placement of the cameras made it relatively easy to sneak inside without others noticing.


I thought of telling the authorities about it, but there wasn't really a necessity. 


Not like I worked in this high security area.


For now, I was merely a tourist who was curious about what the superiors were working on.


"They said that they were working on some sort of a reactor, didn't they?" 


This gave me an idea.


"I still have around twelve minutes… maybe I should give that place a visit?"


…

…


Flint Marko.


That was the name he adopted after being tired of the tragic events of his life.


And after today, even that name he might possibly have to give up on.


'I am a fool.'


He cursed himself, but there was nothing much he could do now.


He was a wanted criminal, a murderer and his best option was to hide.


And for now, this laboratory seemed to be the best place to hide.


He didn't know what this place was for. He had never heard about such a laboratory before.


"What are these massive machines?"


He was amazed by the humongous structures of pure human ingenuity that surrounded him. 


He was aware that those people lived in an entirely different plane of existence as compared to him –but he could still appreciate their skills.


Sadly he couldn't explore further, as while he was walking around the place –he heard a certain 'creaking' noise.


His eyes widened at the realization that someone had just opened the door.


'Shit!'


He immediately rushed to hide behind the massive machines.


'Who is it at this hour?'


He was shocked to find people still working this late. But he had forgotten that scientists and researchers did not follow a time schedule and prefered to indulge in their craft till they dropped dead.


However, it was not a scientist or a researcher that walked into the room.


Marko peeked through the hole of the machine and found a handsome and jacked man walking around the place.


"Damn, they had been hiding quite a lot." 


He heard the man say and walk around each machine.


Marko knew that if he did not move, he would get caught.


And getting caught was not something that he could afford.


So, he slowly moved back, trying to back off and possibly exit through the back window.


But there was a grave mistake that he made.


On his way back, he hit his leg on one of the machines that caused a pair of pliers that hung over it to drop to the ground.


'Fuck!'


This immediately drew the attention of the man walking around.


"Who's there!"


For some reason, Marko saw the man being just as scared as him –not startled but scared.


However, he did not have the luxury to analyze the situation and quickly jumped back.


"Who is it!"


He saw the man moving towards him and there was no way for him to escape without confronting the man.


It was easier to enter through the window than to exit.


"Fuckk!"


He cursed as he felt himself being cornered.


And as he felt trapped, he heard the man walking right behind him.


"Who are you?" The man asked, his tone surprisingly changing. "I have never seen you here before."


Marko did not face him, and slowly moved his hand towards his belt.


"Outsiders are not allowed in here." He heard the man say.


He slowly lowered his hand to the gun that he hid.


"I am leaving this place," Marko said, "So move out of the way."


His tone made the man frown, "I 'work' here."


The man put emphasis on the word 'work.'


"So, tell me who you are!"


"Look…" Marko said, "We don't have to go through this. Just move out of the way."


"What?"


Not letting the man speak, Marko pulled out the gun and pointed it at the man because of his sheer nervousness.


His hands were shaky, he did not want to have the blood of another on his hand.


"Move if you do not want to die." He said, making the man's eyes widen and pupils dilate.


"Move!" He yelled and the man backed off a little.


"Y-You don't have to do this." He said, but Marko was too consumed by fear to understand him.


Seeing this, the man walked back a little as Marko walked forward; towards the door.


"J-Just let me go." The man asked, but Marko kept his gun pointed at the man.


Turning to see a machine with a tesla coil attached to it, he asked the man to move there.


"Go there!" Marko yelled.


There was nothing that the man could do against someone with a gun, so he had to comply.


He slowly moved towards the coil, aware that it was dangerous.


And this was something that Marko knew as well. Which was exactly why he asked him to stand next to it.


Unknown to the man, Marko did not have the courage to pull the trigger once again after killing an innocent man.


But Marko also knew that he could not let the man walk out or he would be caught immediately.


So, he had no choice.


"Forgive me… but you brought this upon yourself."


"Wha–"


Not allowing the man to complete his sentence, Marko pulled the massive lever that was stuck next to the machine –immediately providing power to the it.


Doing this, Marko immediately rushed towards the door. But as he moved, he saw a sort of cyclone forming around the man.


It was a cyclone that was formed by the coil which was not the outcome he expected.


'It still works!'


He thought that the man would faint from the massive currents, but now he was trapped inside a miniature cyclone.


Yet what he did not expect was for the cyclone to harm the man in the way that he witnessed.


"Nooooo–"


The man shouted as Marko looked in horror.


The man's clothes turned to ashes and soon his skin started to turn to powder –powder similar to the particles of sand.


"Ahhhhh!"


He cried in agony as soon, it was not only his skin but muscles and bone that started to fall apart and turn to sand as well.


Marko stumbled back, dropping his gun.


He was horrified at the sight.


He expected the coil to shock him or even make him faint in one swift shock.


But he never expected the man to disintegrate into sand in such a horrifying and painful manner.


"F-Forgive me!"


Saying this, Marko tumbled out of the door –not daring to look at the man screaming in agony.


The man felt pain like never before. He was experiencing a pain similar to being burnt alive and stabbed with a million needles.


And within minutes, the man's body was turned to sand which laid on the ground lifelessly –all while the machine exploded and Marko exited the place.


But…


Unknown to Marko, he did not just kill the man.


He did something worse.


He had created a monster.


A monster made of sand.


____________________________________________________________________________________


[[A/N: Guess who just got turned to sand? 👀 



And if we went with canon, it was Marko that should have gone through that event.]]