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βInside the mirror do you see someone else in that body?β
γΙΞΉΞ±ΖΟgΟ Ρ cΟΖΟΡ:#0C94CC β ΡΠ½ΟΟ gΠ½Ρ cΟΖΟΡ #CC0C2Eγ
|| Azalea|| Nano.ripe ||
γΙΞΉΞ±ΖΟgΟ Ρ cΟΖΟΡ:#0C94CC β ΡΠ½ΟΟ gΠ½Ρ cΟΖΟΡ #CC0C2Eγ
|| Azalea|| Nano.ripe ||
There was a large commotion the next morning. "What is happening?" Elise asked, struggling to get up from bed. Serenity frowned, looking pale and unwell herself. The nurses were doing their rounds, passing out medications to suppress the symptoms long enough for the virus to die out. There was no real cure, according to Doctor Julian who had come in last night. All they could do was endure for 48 hours for the virus to die in their bodies. There was no reason to distrust his words. Doctor Julian was a loyal man after all, and he owed a great debt to the Hresvelg family. "I'm not sure." Serenity admitted, trying to get up from bed. "But it's really noisy. I'll tell them to shut up!" There were papers, real papers, strewn about all over the floors. Elise did not know, but these papers were also scattered throughout the non-quarantine wards of the Underground City as well.
It was old-style newspapers, of course, with a single headline. "Sir Ender experimenting on human corpses and monster blood! Experiment residue infected the water supply! More under the cut!" Serenity stuck her tongue out, looking spirited despite their condition. "Let me see." Elise held her arm out to retrieve the paper. A name stuck out to her, one she recognized. "Gordon Grant...?" So he was still working on news media even in the apocalypse was he? "There are pictures of Sir Ender and Doctor Lidia disposing of the bodies, but there is something missing." She frowned, narrowing her eyes. "They would know not to bring the corpses to the river, and even if they did, our treatment plants should be enough to decontaminate." Something most definitely did not make sense here. There were reports of damage and sabotage at the treatment plants too, but who took the bodies from Lidia's research labs to the river?
Whoever it was, would that person be the Chrysanthemum agent responsible for the damage? "That's pretty scary. You think weird things sometimes, El." Serenity laughed, trying to look casual. "It is simply logical." Elise winced as her stomach continued to twist and turn inside of her. How were the others doing? Hopefully Winter was being cared for. "There are snakes hidden in the foundations, there is someone we cannot trust." And with Elise here she would not be able to help coordinate to protect Winter. Clearly, this was all a plot. Someone was trying to get to Winter. She was, after all, the most valuable of the Vassals, so it was quite clear she was the one in need of protection. Hopefully Ezra knew the current priorities. As long as Elise was in the quarantined zone, she was safe. Winter was the one they needed to guard. Ezra was smart, he would not let a trick like this fool him, right?
Serenity fell back to sleep, in more pain than she was letting on, when there was a knock at the door. Before Elise could respond, someome burst in, wearing white robes to show that they were one of the infected. "Gordon Grant... it truly has been a while." Grant looked sickly, but also proud as he nodded. "Grant here, at your service! I did the expose on Sir Ender... so now I'm hiding here. The higher ups will kill me if they found me, can you protect me?" His red hair looked matted and unwashed, and his glasses were cracked. Still, it truly was a marvel that he was still alive after all this time. "Go under my bed, I will move the blankets to cover the gap on the floor." Did Claude know he was alive and kicking? Elise hoped so, those two had been friends, after all.
Sure enough, black robed Slithers checked the rooms one by one, searching for Gordon Grant, wanting to take him in for questioning and for slander. He might know more about what happened, would it be wise to ask? "Who is the real culprit?" She asked aloud after the footsteps of the Slithers faded away in the distance. "You want to know?" Grant crawled out from the bed, looking weary. He was not infected, he had snuck into the Quarantine ward somehow last night, evidently trying to flee the authorities. "It's a bit of a mystery, but you know me, milady. Information is a currency, and I don't want to give for free."
He smiled, looking at her. "Elise von Hresvelg. Idolized actress who earned the hearts of millions with her impeccable acting skill as the Girl in White in the hit horror film, What happened in Innsmouth." He was already in reporter mode, that familiar glean in his eye was back at it. "You belonged to everyone, to all of your fans, but then you vanished. You went into seclusion and abandoned your fans." Wait, what was going on? "That does not sound like a-" He got closer, his smile widening. "And then your show up again, alive, after we mourned for you. Not just that, but we discovered you were defiled. We could accept the engagement with Garrel Lawson, he was a noble and one of your class."
The gleam in his eye was no longer familiar.
"But Ezra? A wild dangerous man? Our precious and beloved Elise must have been tricked or seduced! So as one of your greatest fans, I have to save you!" Was that a knife in his hands? It would be so easy to raise her arm and fight back. But yet, in her chest, something was stopping her. Was it fear? Was it trauma? "I will be your savior! I will keep our beloved black eagle pure!" What was he saying? "The Doctor said he'd be able to save you from Ezra if I helped him, he's waiting for me outside the Underground to take you to him but this is the best way to maintain your purity. I'm your number one fan, Elise!" With a cry he lunged, knife plunging into her throat.
.....
Oliver Ender was not in a good mood. He wanted to confront his father about what was in the news papers that was vandalizing the Underground City on all sides. Experimentation on corpses with monster blood? Was that what was done to Winter? His face flushed from the humiliation but he shook his head. No, that was not important right now. He first needed to check with an authority to see - was the story in the newspaper true? Was it possible for experiments like that to create a virus like this? "Doctor, if you don't answer my questions, I'll have to torture you again." He growled, stepping into the dungeons only to find a dead guard and an open door.
The Doctor had escaped. "Wait..." He reached for the camera, viewing the footage back. "So that reporter did this." Oliver grit his teeth, shaking his head. The Doctor always had a fascination with Winter. "Would she accept my help?" Would she even need it? Kazan grinned, looking at him. "You don't have to make excuses. You love her, so you better rush to her side before Carter steals her heart from you." Oliver groaned, shaking his head. "She would never love me. Not after how I treated her." It seemed being beaten by Winter forced him to grow a new sort of respect. "But I will keep her safe, especially with the Doctor loose."
........
"People really are so manipulative." The Doctor was already halfway back to the Chrysanthemum now. "That silly reporter will take care of a big threat for me, and with luck, the others will die from the infection." He was full of wounds and injuries, but still, he was confident he would make it back. "Merlin, you really did die too soon. You were supposed to be the one I was most afraid of." Merlin was both uncontrollable and unpredictable. He was the only one that would be impossible to truly manipulate. "But you played around with the Nobles too long and that got you killed." Typical, really. Winter even now, was still happily throwing out his trash, without even knowing. "If she kills Sir Ender, then my job really will be a lot easier."