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[Main Storyline]
"Mummy?" A little girl with soft, golden hair tugged at her mother's pant leg.
"Not now, sweetie - Mummy's talking on the phone. Sorry about that, my youngest wanted something. Please, go on..."
The girl's shoulders sagged, but looking around she spotted her teenage sister slumped back on the sofa and ran over with eager hope in her bright blue eyes.
"Ken you bwaid m--"
"MO-OMM, Katie's blocking the telly again!"
"Excuse me - Katie, don't bother your sister. Now, where were we? Oh yes, you were telling me about your baby. How far along is it, eight months...? The doctor said you should drink lots of water... It's to avoid constipation. Yes, yes, I know... but-"
Katie ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door, grabbing her teddy bear off of the bed and sitting down in front of the little mirror that came with one of her dolls.
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"Sweetie?"
The girl's mother slowly opened the door and peeked inside, and had to stifle a laugh when she saw her daughter's hair - Katie had been trying to braid it, but all she'd managed to do was weave a tangled mess held together by bright, colorful clips sticking out every which way! Katie made a face that was supposed to look defiant - but with all of those clips, and holding that teddy bear... it was just too cute! Smiling with a sigh, her mother sat down and began fixing Katie's hair, pulling out the clips and straightening out the mess before putting the soft, golden locks into neat little braids. Before long, Katie had forgotten all about being upset, and soon afterward her mother was tucking her into bed with her teddy bear, kissing her on the forehead and wishing sweet dreams as she turned out the light, leaving the doorway open a crack and the hallway light on.
"Goodnight, my little angel..."
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"What do you mean, 'it won't work'?! How are we to tell Her Majesty that we have failed, when we promised her eternal life?! You're absolutely certain about this?"
"Indeed, sir - positive, I'm afraid. From the test results, only one of us believes it will have any effect at all, and it isn't the effect we'd intended."
"What effect do they think it will have?"
"He says it will freeze the progress of the soul, of all things, but not the body - and only those that still hold 'the flame of youth', as he puts it. He claims to be a priest. Personally, sir, I think he's a cultist."
"Heresy! He will need to be dealt with... but the project! What can we do? Is there no way to salvage this disaster?"
"I'm afraid not, sir. The decision was unanimous - the virus will be put into storage, and we will have to start from scratch."
"... Oh, very well then. But we mustn't give up! Her Majesty will be most displeased if we fail..."
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"Sir, it's an emergency!"
"What?! Oh, it's you - the priest. What seems to be the problem?"
"It... it's the virus! There's been a spill, and it's managed to get into the water system!"
"Is that so? Well, I'll have someone look into it. In the meantime, I think you should go home."
"S-sir?"
"You heard me. Go home. We no longer require your services."
"But sir--"
"DID I NOT MAKE MYSELF CLEAR? GO HOME. IMMEDIATELY."
"Y... yes, sir..."
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Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock!
"Coming!"
KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!
"I said I'm coming!"
Katie's sister opened the door to find the young priest looking terribly distressed.
"Uncle Kuri? What's going on, what are you doing here? Has something happened?"
"I must speak with your mother! Where is she?"
"Umm, I think she's giving Katie a bath... Come inside, I'll go get her. Hey, mom! Uncle Kuri's here! He says he needs to talk to you."
"A bath?!" Kuri whispered to himself. "I hope I'm not too late..."
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The priest ran to the bathroom, but the door was locked. He could hear heavy splashing on the other side - was Katie being held underwater?! He pounded on the wooden door.
"Katie? Katie, are you in there? Are you okay? Katie?!"
The splashing had stopped, and now someone was coming to the door. Kuri held his breath as it was unlocked and slowly opened...
"What's going on?" Katie's mother leaned in the doorway. "I was just-- Hey!!!"
Kuri pushed the door open, looking for the little girl... and found her with a fluffy pink towel, in the middle of drying off.
He was about to breathe a sigh of relief when suddenly he found himself being pulled down by the collar to face a very angry mother.
"And just what do you think you're doing...?" she snarled. "GET OUT!!!"
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"Goodnight, my little angel..."
Katie's loving mother walked into the living room, her smile quickly fading at the sight of her brother sitting solemnly on the sofa. She stood over him, crossing her arms.
"Explain."
"I can't tell you much... but I can say that by this time your water probably isn't safe."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm sorry, but there's no time. I have to try to stop this before it gets too far out of hand..." Kuri rose to his feet, throwing on his coat and striding grimly towards the door with fists clenched. "I'll fix this... I have to."
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Feelings of doubt flooded Katie's mother's mind but her instincts told her what her brother had said held some truth to it. Had some kind of poison leaked into the water systems? How would a mere priest be connected to all of this...?
Creaking from the hallway distracted her thoughts and her eyes darted up to see the little girl partially hidden behind the wall, clutching a tiny paper cup.
"Oh, my sweet little angel. Trouble sleeping again...?"
"I'm sowwy mummy... I got tuwsty..." Katie stepped forward into the light. Something was horribly wrong. It was eerie, deformed, twisted. The disgusting creature stepped forward again.
"I got tuwsty... mummy...? What's wrong mummy...?"
Water splashed across the floor as the little paper cup was smacked out of her hand and crushed as her mother stepped forward with malice in her eyes.
"DIE, DIE, YOU HORRIBLE LITTLE DEMON!" Katie's mother shrieked, lashing her terrified daughter's bleeding face over and over as tears streamed from both of their eyes.
"STOP IT!!!" Katie cried. "YOU'RE HUWTING ME!!! STOP, MUMMY, PWEAAASE!!! MUMMY!!!!!"
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Screams of children burned into the night, echoing through the empty streets... Even the thick walls of Kuri's private laboratory couldn't keep them out. He knew he had to find a way to stop it. He knew... the horror had only just begun.
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