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 Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:44 am
Introduction The smell of the milk chocolate cookies wafted through the room; Norman breathed in deeply, enjoying their scent. Beside him the plate of cookies lay on his desk, still warm. A small clip stood beside the plate; A few words, written in fresh blue ink, said: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Headmaster Norman. *heart* Norman did not smile at the words, nor did he look at the cookies. His eyebrows were knotted slightly in a thoughtful frown. Norman was deep in thought, and the Headmaster did not even notice the three light knocks on his door. “Sir? Are you there?” asked a young man’s voice after the knocks. Silence. “Headmaster Prinwaltz?” Louder this time, and perhaps a little annoyed. Norman jumped a little in his black leather chair, then sat back and turned his chair to face the entrance. Shuffling his hair back a little, he cleared his voice and replied, “Come in, Advisor.” The door opened, revealing a feminine looking man in his late 20s. The man smiled gently and bowed slightly. “Excuse me for the intrusion, sir.” “Not at all, Herei. Any news from the outside?” The younger man nodded grined. “Headmaster, you're really being impatient. But sure, I'll get straight to the point. “Batch B239 of the search team connected with us in the late afternoon of December 26th, 2020, nearly one year after their disappearance. They claimed they have detected signs of human civilization across Northern Greenland...one of the crew members has also brought a boy with him. The boy’s IQ is incredible and far exceeds the requirement of the school. Should we admit him, Sir?” Norman waved impatiently, “Advisor, you know my answer, so please go on.” Herei smiled playfully, “Yes, of course headmaster. I’m assuming that’s an A.b.s.o.l.u.t.e approval.” Taking out of a pen from his long sleeve, the advisor scratched something off on his paper, and mumbled something in his native Chinese tongue. “Second report on Lady Javelin’s current mental stability….” Another wave. “That’s not important, and I have a headache already…on to the next one.” The younger man blinked with his mouth open, then chuckled and crossed another line off from his report. “The school’s network is back on-line as you heard last time, sir.” “And?” “The mall is going well. Construction might be a little delayed due to the party, though.” “That's fine.” Another nod, and another line crossed off. “And, Sir…” Norman was far ahead, head snapping up to the first real semblance of attention since Herei had come. “Any news on ‘them’?” “That’s what I was about to tell you, Sir....Batch M09 has reported that they have found some kind of mysterious things happening in China…they are requesting for more people to check out the area. I am not sure if this is the Aliens’ doing or another race's…Suggestions, Sir?” Norman sighed. He'd heard the report some time ago, and he was not surprised. China was in ruins after the war. A few days ago he had received a call from one of his close friend’s wife who, as she was weeping, told Norman about her husband’s death doing research in China. Another virus? Or could it be something else? Norman wasn’t sure. According to the woman, nearly 400 researchers had been sacrificed in the country. Something was wrong, and Norman wasn’t about to release any of his students for this task…it would be way too dangerous for them. “You knew...didn’t you, Headmaster?” Norman blinked and looked up to find the young man smiling at him expectantly, then shook his head. Nothing escaped Herei’s eyes…ever. The two advisors were just…too brilliant for him. Sometimes he wondered if Herei was really a human. Standing up and walking closer to Herei, Norman asked solemnly, “Yes, I knew. But I wanted to gather other opinions before I responded. What do you think of this matter? What did Lorioth…uhm, Doctor Manneth…” “Doctor Manneth is not happy about the report.” Herei said without any hesitation. “With his personality, he’d do anything to get over to China and find out what’s going on.” “This is too dangerous.” Norman snapped, and turned around to face the window. “Lorioth is not to leave the school. Understood? We cannot afford to lose him right now." “Well……..” The younger man looked around in thought. “There is one person who’s fit for this job…” “Who?” Herei flipped through a few pages on his notebook, then, “...The new doctor.” Norman’s eyes went wide, “you mean……….” "Yee-up." Nod. “If you do not want to sacrifice who we have, Headmaster, then perhaps the newcomer would be the best choice. From what I’ve heard, he wasn’t too happy about coming to this school either. This would be the perfect chance to test him.” Herei smiled darkly, and closed his notebook. “Your approval, Headmaster?” Norman looked at the young advisor. The two stared at one another for a while. Finally...Norman nodded slowly, acquenscing. “I’ll take that as a yes, then…Headmaster.”
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:47 am
"What is the time now in precise measure?"
" Four-thirty am in Bejing time, sir, and uh... 49 seconds."
"I see."
Leaning back on his not so comfortable seat, Kenth let out a heavy but masked sigh. He had been on this helicoptor for over 7 hours, and he was bored...incredibly bored.
Not that he really wanted the helicoptor to arrive in that death zone, but this boredom was torturing him so much that he wished he could just land somewhere.
" How long until landing?"
"About an hour and 18 minutes away, sir."
Kenth looked out of the helicoptor window. The distant land of green can already be seen from the cloudy view. The young man huffed and shifted up the frame of his glasses up to his eyes. That pair of icy blue eyes silently calculated the landscape, while his mind tried to reason out what could happen in the future.
Chance of death by this so-called-mysterious-virus-disease: 80%
Chance of dying by suicide in case he can't stand this place: 15%
Chance of being murdered by someone else: 4%
Which leaves 1% chance that Kenth could survive and successfully solve the puzzle.
The corner of Kenth's mouth curved up a little. This is fun, REALLY fun.
In a sacrastic way of course.
================================================================
The dim lights of the laboratory was just enough to let a normal human being to be able to see the surroundings. The hallway was erriely dark, and the blue emergency lights illuminated the hallway with a depressing coldness, ready to panically turn red when needed.
The situation was no better inside of the lab room, where Jonas, the head researcher resided. Right now, this doctor was sitting beside his desk, moping for the loss of his co-workers. No one else was around, reasonably enough. Since everyone treasured their precious lives, nobody cared to come to the lab building anymore. Jonas, being the persistent human being that he was, stayed behind in his office today for one single purpose: to wait for help to arrive.
At least that's what he heard, that someone was dispatched from the higher level to help him get rid of his headache.
Suddenly the door slammed open, and a middle aged woman, a fellow worker, rushed inside.
" Doctor White, we have just received signals from Dr. Kenth's helicoptor. It is due in less than an hour."
And with that, Jonas jumped up. With excitement written all over his face, the doctor grabbed the woman and almost hissed.
"Tell the others to gather infront of the lab building."
The woman nodded, after a seemingly shocked expression from the sudden grabbing. She left with haste, perhaps out of the same excitement or just pure eager to leave this diseased place. Jonas watched as the woman leave. Then he kneeled down on the floor, his hand above his head and reaching for the sky. At last! He was saved! Maybe not from the disease, but at least from the responsibility, this burdern that was dragging down his reputation. Getting up from the floor, Jonas searched around for the file that was sent via mail this morning from the international health board on this Dr. Kenth. He hoped that this man, however experienced he was, could finally find out what was happening around this place and prevent further people from dying.
An organized packet slipped out of the yellow envolope. On it wrote:
Kenth Larine
Age: 22
Nationality unknown
Doctor degree in general medicine, clinical medicine, and toxicity.
Ph. D in Sociology and Forensics sicence.
Graduated from Oxford in the year of 2013.
......
Jonas stuffed the packet back into the envolope. He wasn't sure if he was so happy anymore. A strong jeaulousy rose in his mind as soon as he finished reading these lines. The man grind his teech, a snickering sound escaped his mouth as he walked our of his office.
You are a genius on paper, Kenth Larine, now let's see how smart you really are....
What now....?
From where she stood outside the lab, Lina looked skyward--towards what, she had no idea. No conception.
This man was a genius, she'd heard, a medical marvel. Something to rival the House main character she'd watched through midnights of late-night sitcoms and lonely nights of cookie dough.
What would become of them now?
Time would tell, she supposed, and brushed a wisp of white hair behind her ear.
Cel looked around and wondered what the hell he was really doing here. He was on almost constant medication to keep himself from going insane.
In the back of his mind he remembered his mother asking what was wrong with him. A wussy boy afraid of germs going to be a big doctor. What about the germs around him? The germs that would crawl inside and rot him from the inside out.
No one said she was going to win mother of the year.
He had gone through therapy this one.. to conquer his fears. He just didn't tell his mother that. He didn't want to hear THAT session of pure bitching. Wasting his money and whatnot on just someone to say he was messed up.
It was his money and he could do whatever he wanted with it.
He looked around at his coworkers and murmured. "I wonder how many of us will die before this thing is neutralized.." He wondered aloud. He knew the looks he would get, but it didn't stop him from being curious. He glared back at those who dared to glare. "You were thinking it, and I felt it was necessary to voice it." He explained simply before glaring again.
He touched the perscription bottle in his jacket. Almost out. Gotta visit the pharmacy soon.
By the time Jonas rushed out of the building after taking every precauscious measure possible, the sound of the rumbling helicoptor could be heard from the sky. Didn't the woman say in an hour? Or did he take 'that' long to get out of the lab building? Either way, the doctor was on time as the helicoptor slowly descended, creating a whirlpool of wind gust that made everyone present turn away.
As soon as the helicoptor settled, a bearded man with the age of approximately 40 first came out of the helicoptor. A speakerphone hang beside his ears. Jonas assumed that the man was the pilot, and rushed up to him.
"Is the doctor inside?"
The man nodded, but then shook his head. "Dr. Kenth does not wish to approach the building upon his initial arrival. He wants you and your fellow workers to move to some place where no death has occured so he can meet you there without any risk of getting killed on his first day."
A causcious man, isn't he?
Jonas frowned a little, but nodded. If you were going to obey the new man, better do it now.
"Then we can meet Dr. Kenth in the worker's dorm just across that bridge over there." Jonas pointed in the direction where a silver bridge hang between two hills, connecting the lab building with the place where the workers sleep in. "No death has been reported there yet, as far as I know."
"Very well, I will fly the helicoptor over there." The man bowed politely and returned to the helicoptor.
Jonas watched as the machine depart again. He then turned to his co-workers. "Well? Sorry to wake you up this early in the morning. Perhaps we should go back to the dorm together?"
==========================================================
Everything to Kenth was a clue. He had been actively listening to the conversation between the two men outside of the helicoptor, and the information he'd received was a pretty good start in his opinion.
So there's something that only effect the workers within the lab.
Bringing his hand up to his chin, Kenth looked out of the helicoptor window at the silver-gray lab building below him. Everything look so...extravagant, so modern. He didn't mind the moderness of the building, yet he wondered the condition of the people that actually belong to this land....
Not that he cared personally. Kenth scuffled, and turned his head away from the view.
"Is that him....?"
From where she was in the group of people, Lina tried to stand on her tiptoes over them, trying not to get swept away, eyes wide and curious.
So that was Kenth...wow. He was...wow.
"AHH--!! OW!"
The feet trampled over her form as she fell.
Note to self: Standing in middle of stampeding people going the opposite direction of her = BAAAAAAD idea.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:49 am
Cel grumbled something about big shots and their inability to get their hands dirty. That was quickly silenced through. He was going to save the world. Give the man a change. His hand ran through his hair before looking around him. "Well.. let's go meet this miracle worker, eh?
His eyes moved over the pilot. He mumbled something. Somewhere where the diseasse hadn't spread? Did that mean he wasn't infected yet. That worked in his mind and was saved in back for later.
The germs'll come inside and rot your insides, Boy!
...Shut up Mother.
The cool water felt good. Alexis glanced out the window of the hut she was washing her hands in, making sure the children were still cleaning off the herbs as she had instructed. She looked back down to her dirty fingers, absently rubbing them together in the basin, her mind wandering as it often did when she was working with plants. Sure, she'd just been weeding, but she couldn't stop the dark thoughts that creeped into her mind: would the disease spread to the plants? The animals? The earth itself? She could feel her jaw starting to tighten. Her palms started to itch, yearning for the familiar weight of something to bash the heads in of the stupid space--
Something snapped her out of her revere. She looked at the kids; they were standing, looking up, pointing. Were those alien bastards here? Quickly wiping her hands off on her jeans, she ran outside, looking towards where the bewildered locals were pointing. Alex heard the drone of a machine, one she hadn't heard in a long time.
A helicopter?
"" she said sternly to the gawping boys, before taking off down the village trail towards the modernized lab. She ignored the cold stares of the locals; if she thought too much about the fact that she'd bandaged most of these people, thought too much about the notion that she'd saved more than one child when they had fled, thought too much about how they were going to treat her like an outsider, and that the disease might as well be her fault, well...she might start thinking of other, slightly more violent things, and that wasn't acceptable. Her boots kicked up minute amounts of dust and rocks as she sped towards the lab, avoiding the increasingly thicker throngs of people that were stopped in the middle of the road, staring.
Everyone was wondering who it could be. Alexis was wondering why the hell they hadn't come sooner.
She had barely reached the outter portion of the crowd when the helicopter started to take off again. Alex made a mental note to chase it down and beat the snot out of the person inside if they tried to leave. Sure, there was a crisis here, but someone who still had a helicopter, someone who had the MEANS and the MONEY to get one and travel here...it had to be a scientist. Or a doctor. Someone who could help!
With this in mind, she trotted around the group of people and nearly tripped over someone who had been knocked down. She stumbled and caught herself, turning around quickly, looking down at the fallen woman, "" Alex spoke in Chinese, simply out of habit from being here. " She extended her hand to the woman, suddenly thankful she'd washed her hands.
"Ehhhhh?" was Lina's profound answer as she stared up bemusedly at the woman.
But she slowly accepted the proffered hand and pushed herself up with Alexis's help.
"...You don't look like a native," Lina said as she started back towards the dormitories, motioning for Alexis to follow. "Where're you from, stranger?"
Alex blinked at the woman. She wasn't expecting a friendly response! With a smile, she followed the woman, continuing to speak in Chinese. "" she said honestly. "" Alexis kept an eye on the helicopter as she followed the woman.
Lina blinked again.
"<...I'm sorry. I do not speak Chinese well. Do you know English?>" she asked, hoping the one line she had managed to memorize was said correctly.
Alexis smacked herself in the forehead. "I'm sorry," she said in perfect English, "I hardly know what I'm speaking anymore." She had to think about her words; it had been a while since she had spoken English. Most of the rural towns she had visited knew little about any culture outside their own. Her travels had made her something of a polygot; she wasn't well versed in some of the languages, but she knew enough to get around.
"I've travelled for a great while," she said, pushing her glasses up her nose, "and I found myself just north of this area, shortly before everything went downhill. I've been staying in an...abandoned hut, just outside the village." If someone was lost in the fear that gripped the area, and later found dead, did it still count as abandoned? Sure. Sure it did.
Lina nodded. "I'm not much of a traveller myself. I can't be. ....Oh, name's Lina. Lina Bakura. Yours?"
In the middle of a crisis, and we can't even be bothered to remember we have names! Alexis laughed inwardly at how quickly she forgot such mannerisms when faced with a large burden; it was comforting to know someone still had their head on straight, because goodness knows she didn't always have hers on her shoulders. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Bakura. My name is Alexis Falcone. You can call me Alex, if you want. The kids call me Lex."
Lina gave a pleasant chuckle. "No need to be so formal, Alex. You can just call me Lina. So when did you get here? I've been here about a month already, running tests on some of the blood samples taken from victims."
"Hmm," Alex mused. "You know, I'm not sure how long it's been! I was passing through the northern county, when I started to see people fleeing into the area, looking haggard. They said something about death and dirty blood, and that's when I came down to help evacuate." She paused, then added sheepishly, "I don't really notice the passing of the days."
That sounds real professional, Falcone. Good job, she chastized herself. "Have you found anything conclusive in the samples, Lina?" she asked, curious.
"Mmmm...I don't know if I'm at liberty to say anything about it yet," Lina said, biting her lip. "Sorry."
But she smiled at Alexis nonetheless. "No one really does, do they? It's only thanks to the passing on my calender and the daily reports I submit to Jonas-sensei that I'm able to know what day it is at all. This place will do that to you," she said, voice trailing off into a murmur and face becoming more speculative, distant.
"No need to apologize. I know things here are still a little..." she waved a hand in the air, crinkling her nose a little, "...crazy." She started to ask who Jonas-sensei was, surmising that they were Japanese, but Lina fell silent and left Alex feeling a little bewildered. She'd seen worse...heck, she'd dragged worse through the woods! The disease was unknown, and that seemed to be spooking a lot of people. Alex had come to realize that it was becoming very difficult to be surprised by anything.
"The helicopter," she said out loud, as if she'd forgotten about the loud machine, "who is it? Are they here to help?" She sincerely hoped the answer was positive, because she wasn't going to return to the village and tell them it was a false alarm.
It was hot in the cab, but Morgan said nothing. She'd stopped just short of having to offer sexual favors to get the sullen driver to allow her to tag along; she wasn't about to complain about the temperature, lest she be summarily kicked to the curb in the middle of this wasteland.
Conversation, though...she couldn't stand the silence. They'd been on the road for 5 hours already, and the most he'd done was grunt replies into a walkie-talkie.
"You worked since how many years for Red Cross?" She knew her grammar was less than perfect, but despite her predominantly Asian features, she also knew she'd never pass as anything but an American anyhow.
They always knew, even before she opened her mouth. It was hard to [pinpoint exactly what gave her away, but something did. She smiled too readily at strangers, she suspected, laughed too loudly on public transportation.
"Eight years."
"That's a very often time," Morgan commented, injecting as much warmth and admiration into her tones as she could. It wasn't totally fake; she did respect relief workers. She just, apparently, didn't always like them personally.
That elicited no response. If this was a wild goose chase... ("I don't know, Caz. Could be totally off base, but they told me there were researchers here. RESEARCHERS...Uh huh. I dunno if it's the ones we're looking for, but it's a start...What?...Sorry, you're cutting out...WHAT?...")
The police had been little help. At first she'd thought it was stubborness, but daring to push her luck a smidgeon, she realized it was more likely due to ignorance.
Well, if the b*****d wouldn't talk, then she'd catch up on some more sleep. She crammed her small suitcase between her and the window, and had just gotten comfortably snuggled against it when the driver decided he would, after all, say something.
"We're here."
The reporter had just taken in the ultra-modern lab set against a background of modest houses when the unmistakable whirr of a helicopter hummed overhead.
Money.
"We can drive over the airplane, yes?" Morgan queried excitedly. The relief worker could hardly have been blamed for replying with only a blank stare, but the woman grew impatient. "The airplane. Drive over it," she repeated, as though it were the most obvious request in the world.
He obliged her by stopping the vehicle entirely. Morgan swore under her breath, and nearly forgot her luggage as she bolted from the vehicle, sprinting through the town while tracking the path of the helicopter overhead. It was leaving the research facility. No!
She stumbled once, cracking her shin, but the adrenaline rush prevented it from hurting much at the time. The helicopter, it seemed, simply hadn't liked its original landing spot; because it soon descended once more.
Morgan stopped short, panting. A trail of people were straggling off in that direction, too. She should talk to them, but wheezing in their faces wouldn't be the best approach, she didn't think. Not with talk of disease...
She'd follow at a distance till she caught her breath. That shower and hot meal she'd been fantasizing about would just have to wait.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:51 am
"Yes. This man...well, he's supposed to be like...have you ever seen the show House? The main character? He's a lot like him," Lina said, brightening again. "Brilliant man from what I've heard. And right now he's our last lifeline."
Alexis scratched her head thoughtfully. House? It must have been before...before her time. "I haven't heard of it," she said truthfully. "If it was before the...2006, then I wouldn't know about it. I was only five or so at the time." She was glad Lina was happy again. "He's important, then...but what is he?" Alex wanted to meet this man, but she had a distinct feeling from the throng that was still milling about, that she wasn't the only one.
Over the whir of the helicopter, she heard the slam of a door in the distance. She glanced briefly over her shoulder - it was a cab, strangely enough - before turning back to Lina. "I hope they clear out this area. The population has more than doubled." Spectators, she growled inwardly.
Min’s searching had revealed an interesting insight. Rumors had spread about some big shot scientist coming to town to whisk away the death. While it was amusing that these rumours had taken on a more supernatural flavour Min suspected that something about this man must be important for him to have been called in.
Adjusting his collar, he wondered when this figure would arrive as the information he’d gleaned had been patchy at best. His eyes turned skyward then, pondering the possibilities of arrival. Would it be land or air? Air was faster but more obvious and if someone had a vendetta against the labs then that might draw too much attention.
He chuckled, he was already over thinking the situation. He just wanted to offer his help after all. No point in getting worked up just yet. Slinging his familiar rucksack over his shoulder and setting out, he headed down to the labs on the off chance that this amazing scientist would arrive today. Something tugged at him, drawing his attention upwards. A helicopter was coming in low, low enough that it appeared to be getting ready to land.
“Well now, that’s interesting.” He murmured as he continued forward, hurrying his steps only a little. He didn’t want to miss anything but neither did he want to seem too eager. Upright and confident with an easy smile, he settled by the front porch of a nearby building to watch the proceedings. He’d already decided to let the excitement blow over and it proved a good thing too as he watched a woman get caught up in the ebb and flow of the passing crowd.
Today was the day. After weeks and weeks of badgering the foreigners, they had finally agreed to allow him to visit their work site, the laboratory. It wasn't all too far from his village, just down the road, so they had told him to come around later after things had settled down slight. That day had arrived.
Shigo had slipped into whatever pieces of clothing he saw first and grabbed his small travel pack as he raced down the stairs of his home and into the ground floor that was the family restaurant. He was short but that did not mean he was a small guy. He had fairly broad shoulders and large biceps from working out and was well toned so his footsteps on the wooden stairs were like thunder causing his family to look up at him.
"I'm going down the road now."
"But you need to help with..."
"I already told you I was going to go no matter what."
"Shigo! You listened to me..."
"No. I'm going. Bye."
He walked out the door without bothering to look back as his father turning a deep raging red and his mother an off-grey of worry that he too might be in danger. They had all heard about the deaths and disappearances. How could they have not. There were only so many restaurants in the small village. The three sisters looked at one another worriedly but continued their chores, their brother was a stubborn smart fool.
The young man felt a pinch of guilt tug at his heart as he walked down the dirt packed road. He should not have been so short with them. He should have stayed home and helped. He should have... there were so many things he should have done but had not. Shaking his head of dark curling hair, Shigo held his chin up to remind himself that he was finally doing something he wanted to do.
Since he had been a boy, he had always been inquisitive and thirsty for knowledge. His favorite and first word when he had been young had been the word 'why?' To know the way things functioned. To understand the motives behind each and every action and word. It excited him and motivated him. It made him want a future outside of his small little village.
His mind kept on reeling with thoughts before taking in his surrounds and stumbling on a small boulder. Landing with a loud thump, Shigo ended up on his rear and was sure to have a brightly colored bruise of purplish-blue the next day. The young man stood up and brushed the dirt off him when he heard a strange sound.
Looking up into the sky he saw a helicopter. His dark brown eyes were round in surprise. Not many helicopters came around to the small village or the area. Most visitors came up through the dirt roads. His mouth would have dropped in awe except he was too busy protecting his face from the small dust storm being created by the helicopter's incoming approach.
He watched the short interaction of the man in the helicopter and the man from the laboratory building. They didn't speak for long before the transport device was back in the air causing Shigo to frown. Where was it going? It had only just arrived. Turning his eyes away from the chopper, he watched as the foreigners gathered and made their way towards another building away from the laboratory.
His curiosity peeked, he followed them from behind. He was doing nothing that was wrong. He had been invited. Or so he kept telling himself as he kept himself distanced from the group of researchers as they made their way towards the dormitory building.
For about the seventh time, Leon took out his spare rag and meticulously cleaned his Gleason .45 semi-automatic. Unlike the last six times, the driver only gave him an annoyed, if nervous, look. Leon returned the look, sans the nervous part, finished cleaning the roscoe, and stashed her back in his shoulder holster. So much for the entertainment part of the trip. Leaning back as far as he could in the cramped little flivver, he adjusted his fedora.
"" He said, frowning down at the wrinkles. It was murder getting the suit to look presentable every morning.
"" was all the crumb said. Leon sighed, wishing his pack of cigs hadn't run out about an hour back, and settled in for the long haul. Back at the HQ, this racket had seemed like a good deal. Get out of the country, see the world, help some quack figure out what was fitting all these researchers in Chicago overcoats. Right now, the only 'world' he could see was endless rice patties. Those had stopped being novel after the first 20 miles. Leon knew it was just the anticipation getting to him. He never had been able to stay calm before a big case, even back as a G-man.
Ah, what the heck. He took the Gleason out again to go over it once more. Couldn't hurt. Of course, the crumb up front chose that time to say,
""
Leon looked skeptically out the window, then quickly put the Gleason away. The Crumb was right! Now where had this village come from? Looking out the back, Leon could just see the edge of a rice patty. Cornfields right next to the burbs, eh? He clawed his way out of the cramped flivver, taking a deep breath of the first air that didn't smell like rotting leather in a long time. He leaned down, and rested against the window ledge.
"" he asked, poking a thumb back towards the trunk so he could get his bags.
""
"Eh?" Leon replied and turned to look where the driver was pointing. A few miles away, a whirlybird was ascending through some trees. Leon noted the direction, retrieved his bags, and threw some cabbage at the driver. ""
The crumb roared out of there. Leon threw the receding bumper of the flivver an annoyed look. If the crumb had driven that fast getting here, he would've been here days ago! Nevertheless, Leon hoisted the bags and flatfooted it towards the whirlybird.
Twenty minutes later, he'd puffed his way onto the complex within eyesight of the rather large crowd assembling around a particular building. Leon wondered what was so special about it until he saw the whirlybird descending towards a clear space some yards away from the building. That had to be the Big Shot. Leon flicked through a mental notebook. Dr. Kenth, or something. Leon wondered exactly what the good doctor specialized in, as he approached at a more leisurely pace. The suit was hot, but the fedora kept most of the sun and dust out of his face. Stopping several yards away from both whirlybird and mob, Leon took the chance to look the crowd over, and winced. About as much organization as a bunch of dead hoofers at a clam-bake, and a few didn't look too friendly.
Leon casually slipped the roscoe out of her holster, and loaded a few rounds into her. Things might get ugly with a group like this, and Leon always felt better when he was packing iron.
The dark green colored helicoptor had just shut off its engine when Jonas and the crowd following him arrived at the Scientist's dorm building. The pilot climbed out first, and was immediately greeted by Jonas, who was losing his patience at the obviously hauty attitude of the new Doctor. The pilot, possibly sensing the man's anger, bowed deeply and smiled with a hint of apology.
"Dr. Kenth would like all of you to take off the lab coat or whatever you were wearing inside the lab building. This is to make sure that you don't carry this disease on your clothing. "
Jonas opened his mouth in both shock and frustration to protest. What kind of man is this, asking such a rude question? Not to mention the coldness in this early spring, and the fact that he was probably the only one who was in that lab building...
Grinding his teeth, Jonas nodded hard and took off his lab coat. A shiver ran down his spine as soon as the coat left him, even though he was wearing a thick layer of sweater underneath. The lab coats, he knew, was specially made to be wind-proof. In other words, it was probably the most warm clothing he had at this place. Looking up at the other man, face red with the feeling of insult, Jonas asked.
"So, is this all mighty doctor willing to show himself now?" Jonas did not bother to hide the sacrasm in his voice. The pilot, feeling awkward, nodded. His attempt of replying Jonas, however, was halted by a voice behind him.
"I do not believe this is the way to talk to the man who will save your life."
Jonas gasped and stumbled backward a little. He hadn't expect a blunt answer like this, and the fact that Kenth creeped up unoticed behind the pilot scared him. The pilot however, did not react the same say Jonas did, for he clearly got used to working with this arrogant young doctor. He turned and bowed to the young man that was behind him, and walked back to this helicoptor without further words.
The young man nodded to the pilot, and turned to Jonas, his light gray hair flowed around his shoulder. The pair of icy eyes locked deadly into Jonas's, making the other man flinch.
"I take it that you are the leader?"
Jonas gulped, and straightened himself a little. The young man in front of him looked...well, very young. But there was an a sense of power within him. His face was angular and handsome, yet his expression was cold and his eyes fierce. Jonas knew at the first sight that this man was not an easy one. He was more than a doctor, he was...a warrior, a ruler. He was someone who had full confidence in himself and judged everyone according to his own laws. The way his collar was tightly and neatly closed around his neck showed order, but the way he rolled up his sleeves showed boldness. Jonas now looked at this young man in front of him with almost admiration. Immediatly realizing what he was thinking, the man blushed in embarrassment and coughed.
"Why, yes. I am Dr. White, Jonas White."
Jonas extended a hand to the young man. His guesture of friendliness, however, was ignored. The other turned his head and looked instead around the older doctor, scanning each person in sight. Finally, after he was done with the scanning, the young man replied.
"You all should know my name by now. I am Kenth Larine, the man who's supposed to save all of you here."
It was Kenth's habit to speak his mind in a most blunt way. He cared less about what others thought (which was evidant as a lot of people looked as if Kenth was bragging). He was merely telling others what his duty was here. "Helping to solve the mistery, find a cure to the disease" are just too rounded and unnecessary...at least according to his opinion. If you are going to save these poeple from dying, that's equal to saving these people's lives.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:53 am
"WHAT IS THAT RACKET OUT THERE?!" The furious girl flung aside the dusty curtains glowering outside. First the stinking helicopter chopping around obnoxiously, then all these stinking people crowded around that stupid lab. Whatever happened to the peaceful serene China with the cranes gracefully flying everywhere and some random stream gurgling through the village? No. Now it's stinkin' helicopters and stinkin' bunches of people.
"How DO you live here, Grandmother."
The feeble woman sat in her rocking chair, eyes locked on a television set showing a soap opera, oblivious of Kip's presence. Just as she'd been since Kip had arrived.
The girl growled furiously, storming outside. Mysterious deaths? She'd show them what mysterious deaths were.
Leon grinned.
"Not one to booshwash, are ya?" he asked, though it wasn't really a question.
He'd approached the whirlybird once he was certain the force of the wind wouldn't knock his fedora off. As it was, his suit had been hopelessly wrinkled, which left Leon in an evil mood. Until the Big Shot came out, that is. Leon knew immediately he was dealing with no Joe. Even as a G-man, Leon knew that he would've only seen men like this in positions higher than his own.
"Aces." Leon remarked, shaking his head, good humor restored know that he knew he wouldn't be following the orders of some crumb pencil pusher. Still, several tin ears in the mob hadn't been so appreciative of the Dr.'s speech. Leon slid a practiced eye over them, trying to pick out which one would be most likely to cause trouble. He spotted a miffed dame making tracks out of one of the local caves and heading towards the mob. Leon moved smoothly to intercept her. Just one dame, but, you'd be surprised by how much trouble dames could 'cause.
"Hey, dollface. What's the dangle?" he asked, holding out a hand to bar her way.
He had asked the cab driver to drop him off about a mile and a half away from the grounds. He wanted time to think or maybe more so to think over things. Weiyuan's face was stern, set on getting this done as soon as possible. The funeral would go on as planned whether he was there or not.
Onyx eyes gazed up at the building. His hand tightened around his duffel bag's strap. He had to end it.
The male trudged up the pathway, his normally stern look cut short by the sight of a crowd. He raised an eyebrow passing close enough to the crowd to here what was going on.
The male snorted, turning away from the crowd intending to head towards where ever he was supposed to stay. Genius doctor, eh? He didn't give a damn as long the disease was eliminated. He looked back at the crowd, just barely catching the center of attention. Those eyes were cold.
Weiyuan turned away, happy with what he saw in that genius doctor. That guy seemed perfect for the job.
Cel watched with slight amusement. This guy was cocky, yes, but Cel could understand where this man was coming from. He -was- going to save their asses. He'd allow such a man to speak to him so. He was going to save them all.
So he began stripping. His lab coat and jacket. He looked around at the others and rubbed his arms a bit. It was.. cold. He grumbled softly. "Can we move somewhere warmer now?"
"....So that's him....."
Lina had been searching fruitlessly for Alex when her eyes landed on Kenth--erm, Doctor Kenth. Yeah. There was NO way she was thinking of how sexy he looked...the emo aura that seemed to shout at him....just....something about him she liked.
Realizing she was staring, she blushed and bent her head, discarding her coat and extranneous clothes, muttering something about this month's episode of the popular child's show "My Pretty Balrog."
Oooh man ... some model researcher he was turning out to be! First day here and Calen was late to "work" so to speak. But he wasn't used to the time difference yet! And it was the first time he'd really been anywhere overseas.
He was at the back of the crowd at the moment, having scrambled to get there and now stuck behind a group of people. And he couldn't see a damned thing. He stood on tiptoes and tried to peek around people for a few minutes - not that it worked. Finally, he just started to try and thread his way through the crowds with muttered apologies, though he wondered if anyone around here even spoke English.
Jonas felt his face getting hot at the mentioning of "save lives". He knew he failed to do so, but this man's outward claim just made him feel more frustrated. As an older man he was able to control his temper, but oh god...how would he able to stand Kenth for more than a week? Feeling cold, angry and almost guilty, Jonas asked as controlled as he possibly could at the moment.
"So, Dr. Larine---"
"Dr. Kenth. Do not call me by my last name." Kenth interrupted Jonas' question abruptly, eyes suddenly glaring at the man in front of him. He despised the name of Larine. It reminded him of someone he did not want to remember...
But that's another story. Kenth repeated his words so it sounded more polite.
"I'd preferr if you call me by my first name. Saves the trouble of all formalty. Now, what were you going to say again?"
Jonas blinked. Kenth seemed to have just lost something when he called him by his last name. The older doctor wondered if the last name was one of Kenth's weakness. He celebrated inside of his mind for this discovery. Although for now, mentioning of this weakness didn't seem to be very good.
"I was wondering if you would like to chat inside of the dorm buidling."
Kenth nodded. "Of course. Before we do so, however, please disregard that lab coat to Mr. Winson, he'll take care of them accordingly." The young man gestured at the helicoptor and where the pilot now stood. "That's Mr. Tom Winson, by the way."
"But, Dr. Kenth---"
"I have brought new lab coats for you, so don't worry about it." Again, Kenth interrupted Jonas' words. This time, however, he didn't bother to be more polite. It was appearant that he too, was losing some of his patience in the cold. Looking at the crowd behind Jonas, Kenth waved.
"Those of you who were in the dorm or never entered the lab building before, please go into the dorm. Dr. White and I will be there shortly."
The male stopped moving, hearing Dr. Kenth's words. That was fine enough for him. He hoped that he wouldn't have to share a room with someone else. He had no use for some one who might pry into his business. He never really kept a journal before but he had an inkling that he might start using one now if he had to work with so many people and stuff.
He was glad to not over not been inside of the crowd. The boy shivered, zipping up his jacket. Though it was thin, the inside was lined with a soft substance that kept good insolation.
He heaved the his duffel onto a shoulder and waited for people to start moving so he could figure out where said dorm was.
Kenth watched as the crowd slowly moved into the dorm. On the other side, he watched as Jonas and a few others handed Winson their labcoats, who stuffed them into a black sealed bag.
Good. First possible evidence.
Kenth sighed. He wondered how many people in that crowd would actually be able to take up the responsibility that would later face them. Jonas was certainly not one of them, or else this disease would not have killed so many people. Yet, Kenth could not dispatch the older Doctor so easily. Useless he may be, he would be the one who will provide most clues to Kenth.
Jonas turned his head to look at Kenth after he finished what he was doing. Shivering in cold air, the older Doctor gestured Kenth to lead the way. Kenth complied without further words, and signaled others to follow.
Once inside of the dorm buidling, Kenth looked around at the crowd. He had noticed people of variety. Researchers, natives...and others of unknown origin. Kenth cleared his throat intentioanlly to gain notice from the crowd. He then announced loudly.
"If anyone treasure their lives, go back to where you belong, now."
Jonas gasped behind Kenth. What was this man thinking?? The way he phrased his words sounded as if he didn't want anyone here. The older man did not know what Kenth's intension was for this seemingly inconsiderate announcemnet. He watched anxiously as the men and women withint the crowd, looking equally confused, started murmuring within themselves.
One more time.
"If anyone think their life is more important than solving this mystery, go home."
There was a brief silence in the crowd. Then, a few people started making their way out of the area. Some of them were reasearchers who went back to their rooms to pack, and others who didn't live here squeezed their ways out of the dorm building. At the beginning Jonas attempted to stop one of the researchers from leaving, but his action was interrupted by Kenth.
"Let them go, they have done nothing wrong."
Jonas felt like crying. He feared that everyone would leave, and in the end he had to work with Kenth along on this one. Well, he himself wanted to leave this cursed place also, but his position was locked as Kenth obviously did not have the intention to let him go.
By the time the sound of footsteps died down and the building fell silent, only a few people were left, including Kenth and Jonas themselves. Jonas breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god there were at least a few people besides Kenth and himself...
Nodding, and appearently satisfied, Kenth approached to the few people that was left standing in front of him.
"I see there is still a good number of you. I apploud your courage to stay here. But let me warn you about the possibility of dying in this quest. me myself, and Dr. White included, are at risk of losing our lives. For a good cause, of course. If we were to succed, we will possibly save humanity. If we don't succed...those who left won't be alive in the future, either."
Which means you have no other choice than dying. Kenth stopped himself for saying the last line. He had no doubt that these people already know that by now.
"You guys, from now on, will form a new research team with Dr. White and myself. I understand that some of you do not have any experience for science. That is absolutely fine by me. We will teach you all you need to make yourself useful on this quest. For now...you are dismissed. Since many people have left this building, which is not yet infected by the said disease. Make yourself at home here."
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:56 am
Calen moved into the dorm with the others, then bit his lip slightly and looked around as people started leaving in response to Dr. Kenth's words. He didn't leave, though he did shift his feet a bit nervously. What good would it do to go? Then he'd just be cowering off somewhere on his own.
No way would he leave the country and go home, not with the possibility of carrying whatever disease was running rampant here. So he would stay, and do what he could to try and figure this out.
Lina nodded, resolute. She'd come here for a reason, after all, to save the natives, and she wanted to talk very badly to Doctor Kenth. She had some samples from the lab that she'd been looking through, and...well, they weren't at all like she'd expected.
But she liked this man. She had a feeling he'd be more knowledgeable about the issue than Professor Jonas.
Once he'd requested them to be at home Lina's first reaction was to go over the room once, examine the people, and make mental calculations in her head. Then she watched and waited.
Some how he ended up in the crowd and got pushed into the dorm. It wasn't what he preffered to get some place but as long as it worked he didn't give a damn.
His duffel bag slid to the ground with a light thud as he listened to the words of Dr. Kenth, crossing his arms. He wasn't taken a back from the man's words, more so he sneered at the people who left. Did they expect to be completely safe in a place where people have died? It was a silly and deadly thought. He had that kind of thought when his foster father came to work here but now...he knew better.
A hand clutched tighter to his arm. Yes. He may die here, just as his father had. He knew that his mother would not be able to stand it if he did. He wouldn't die! He had to get back to her. And his little sister. He was doing this for them and his father. He had a reason to be here.
He wondered what the others' reasons were.
Cel laughed at the doctor's arrogance. He trusted him, though. There had to be a reason he was so vain. He sighed and looked at the lab. So it's in there...
He looked at the researchers around them. He sneered at the others leaving. Cowards... all of them.. He went into his room, leaving the door open. He began writing notes down.
Kenth watched as everyone started walking around the dorm. He turned to Jonas.
"Perhaps you too, doctor, would like to take a break before we start?"
Jonas mumbled something and nodded. He wished this break would never end. He was sick and tired of the disease...but all the same afraid of it.
Kenth nodded to Jonas as he began to walk around and checking up on the dorm building. the stucture itself was similar to the lab buidling...all high-tech like, with silver colored steel built into the white walls for both supporting and decorative purposes. Kenth wandered to the middle of the building and looked up. The ceiling above his head looked almost like a clock, splitting the round space into twelve pieces. Ah...circles and squares. The most basic form of nature...more specifically the human being. Kenth's eyes traveled from the ceiling down to the people around him. Whatever happens next...will depend on these people.
Suddenly his fleeing eyesight stopped at a young woman not far from himself. Kenth pushed his glasses up a little and squinted at the girl.
"Is there anything you need?"
Kenth didn't ask this out of randomness. He had noticed this young woman focusing on him---of course, everyone else did too--- in the most attentitive way.
Lina snapped to attention.
Oh, God. Oh. God. OhGodohgodohgodohgod.
Kenth...Doctor Kenth was talking. To her.
Lina gulped.
"Ah...no, sir. Um...I'm Lina. Lina Bakura. It's...it's an honor to meet you sir. I've read some of your works and...they're fascinating."
She paused. "Or is it something about the case?"
This place was almost sickening. He would most likely becoming slightly more insane if he really had to spend too much time indoors. Which now brought a bit of problem. Without a doubt, the weather outside wasn't one to his liking. He thought over the things he brought with him. He didn't have that much for the cold.
Weiyuan considered looking for around for the older doctor. He seemed to know the place better. He wanted to know...where it was exactly that his father died. Onys orbs strayed to his bag, knowing that there were things meant for an impromptu shrine inside. His mother knew she couldn't stop a son from wanting to do something like this for his father, so she made sure he had some things for it.
He slowly moved, not caring to observe other people or the Doctor. He wanted, no, needed a room far away from others. His nails were now digging into his hand. He hadn't done all the things he should have since his father's death.
Indeed he did cry and wail after finished the call. He was glad though, that he did remember to bring all black. Six months, he couldn't wear red for six months. He would have to cut his hair then, to get rid of his crimson-tips. He had to be sad in front of others despite his real feelings.
At last he found a room far enough to his liking. Weiyuan settled his stuff upon the unmade bed gently. There was enough of a view to satisfy him.
Idly he wondered what would happen now. His family...had no real son. He was adopted and not even a full Chinese. His brows furrowed and he put his face in his hands.
Just because he wasn't blood! He could and would certainly do the things the oldest son was required to do despite the little genetics problem. But his father's family. That's what concerned him.
Would this be considered a death by accident? Or was it a good death? He hoped his father died in his sleep, that way he could at the very least have a three-blossoms death. He wished his little sister were a little brother right now. It would save his father's family. No, that would be too much pressure on someone that young.
The youth at last opened his backpack looking at the large stack of paper there. He slowly drew things his father might need in the afterlife. He looked outside and wondered if the doctors would go crazy he started a fire. He had to burn the them.
It was old tradition he knew. But he had to. His father. That's why he was here.
"Quite frankly, I thought you'd have something to tell me."
Kenth folded his arms in front of him and tilted his head a little. "Is there something about the case?" He asked the question back at Lina, waiting for the girl to reply.
Jonas, meanwhile, had been wandering around the dorms. He felt like he hadn't been here for ages. He did have a room, but he rarely went into it, espcially after the disease hit. Thinking back, he admitted that he was one lucky man to not have been infected by the disease.
The man's nose tingled at the smell of burning paper. Jonas jerked up his head and looked around. Buring stuff in the dorm was a big no-no. With all these strangers coming into this place, things might get messy.
Hmph, Chinese. They are just...a bizzare race of human beings.
"Alright, who's burning stuff?" Jonas asked as loudly as he could. His voice echoing within the building.
Weiyuan froze hearing the voice in the halls. Of course someone would care if he started a fire. Though, those who were native and saw the scene might understand then. He wasn't really allowed to actually talk about his father's death to people but he wasn't that old fashioned he supposed. Plus, it put a hard strain on his heart since he could not easily mourn with his family.
He looked to his flame. There were a few more things he wanted to burn, though they were more so excess. Without a doubt his mother was burning things for him too. He put the paper into his backpack and let the last peice finish burning. He looked at the pile of fine ash upon the little plate. At least he wasn't rude enough to leave such things unattended. Half way through.
He had to get his mind off the eventual trouble he would get in. The youth sighed and looked at the pair of scissors upon his desk. He dyed the ends of his hair just so he could stand out among his peers, though the fact that he was a whole shade light in hair color was actually enough. He tied his hair back, there were two inches of red. He placed two fingers from where his tied was and where he would cut, he pulled his tye that far.
Snip. Snip. Snip.
His hair fell in a neat bundle upon the bed. He ran his fingers through the new length, it wasn't horrible. He closed his eyes, and continued to snip enough so that it was shorter in the front than in the back. He looked at the little bundle happy to find he had only lost about a centimeter of his brown hair.
Onys orbs look to the little candle and found that the paper had finished burning. He got up and blew it out. He sighed knowing that he shouldn't really hide from doing such a thing. If he was lucky that man might be the kind who would disregard his burning since he was being honest. Either way he really didn't need anything else stressful on his mind.
He stepped out into the hall, catching the sight of the doctor. He blinked realizing that it was the one he was searching for. He vaguely remembered his father talking about this one in a letter. Dr. Jonas, right? He sighed, deciding to speak in english, no matter how awkward he was at it.
"Ah, it was I. Please forgive me. I was just carrying out our traditions of mourning. Again, please forgive." Weiyuan bowed low, trying to seem as sad as he could. It wasn't easy being sad all the time.
Leon stayed towards the back of the room while Kenth made his announcemen, and watched the crumbs slink out of the room. What did they expect? Wasn't like they were automatically saved just 'cause Kenth had shown up.
Leon moved towards the front as it emptied out, and started counting the heads of the people that were left. Well, it looked like there were still enough cats and kittens to turn this into a proper windig.
After the crumbs had left, Kenth addressed everyone left, at the end of which, Leon simply said,
"Keen." tipped his fedora to Kenth, and left to spot out a cave. Been awhile since he'd been in a dorm. He wondered if they built 'em any different in China.
Well, he certainly took things seriously, and Lina blushed a little. "Ah--y-yes. Come with me," she murmured, not meeting his eyes as she walked into the hallway that led to her dorm.
Left, right, left again and her room was the third on the right. Opening the door, one found themselves in a room that, while certainly not slip-shoddy, was not the neatest of rooms, either...well, save for the research area.
"I took some samples of the diseased blood in the victims. I've written down my notes and observations--here--" she handed him a binder with haphazard notes scribbled into the typed margins--"and while the pathological disease is no longer viable, since I think it dies shortly after the victim, I've been able to take some looks at it through this rudimentary microscope. Care to take a look?"
Alex had lost sight of Lina when the helicopter started to land for a second time; between all the pushing, shoving, and general rudeness of the people who wanted to get a better look at this mysery person, she wondered if they were more interested in saving their own hides, or if they truly realized the scope of the disease their little town bore.
Her first impression of the Doctor was neutral. He was arrogant, but who in this field wasn't? He was handsome, straight forward, and from the tone of his voice, he knew that what had to be done was going to have an extremely high cost. He knew, and so did she; they had an understanding, and even though they'd never met, she respected him.
After being shuffled into the Dorm, she realized she wasn't wearing a jacket of any type. She didn't feel cold...maybe she had a temperature? Or maybe you're going to die of the disease first, she told herself sarcastically. It didn't matter if she was sick or not; she had a feeling she wasn't getting out of this alive. At least, if she DID come out of it, she wouldn't be the same. That was fine by her.
People started to leave after the doctor told them what she already knew; if you want a chance to survive at all, chances are you shouldn't be here. She pitied the people as they shuffled out; mindless zombies, knowing nothing outside themselves, knowing nothing of what it means to truly live. She didn't blame them, for life was precious. It was that same sentiment that was keeping her firmly stapled to where she was.
When only a few were left, Alex was relieved to see Lina amongst them. Casting a quick glance around at those she would be working beside - she could see defiance, hope, pride, and fear - she started to move towards Lina. She abruptly froze as the Doctor approached the female scientist. When they started talking, she quietly moved away, not wanting to intrude. She may learn something if she listened, but they had to work together and be more trusting.
Shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans, Alex sauntered down the hallway, looking for an open, empty room.
Kenth followed Lina quietly. Yet, deep inside, he felt excited to actually catch something important during his first day, or, hour here. When Lina handed Kenth a little palstic back of blood sample, he knew that this could be a breakthrough for solving the mysterious disease. Not wasting any time, Kenth examined the blood sample carefully, trying to make out any strange observations.
Of course, without proper equipment, the only thing Kenth could tell was that the clot of blood was tied together loosely, and could easily fall apart like crumbs of bread. Still, this was something unusual from normal blood. And the mere fact that Lina had been keeping it but was not infected by it proved that what ever it was, it was something that cannot diffuse through the microscopic pores of the sealed bag. Either it was a large specie of virus, or it may not be virus at all.
Kenth looked up at Lina. "Where did you find this?"
Bah, Chinese people.
Jonas scanned the boy from head to toe with a disgusted facial expression. Thankfully, the boy looked not as dirty as those other natives that lived around this place. Do these Chinese even take showers? Jonas hated them, and hated approaching them. Which was why he built the lab building far away from the native villagers. He remembered one of the people grabbed him and started yabbering in their language, and didn't let go until Jonas started screaming at the man. You never know what they can do to you. Jonas felt a chill down his spine whenever he thought back about it. Who knows, this disease may have been one of their poisons. Didn't matter. The doctor swore that he'd never approach these natives again.
"Fire is not allowed in this building. Put it off." Good thing the boy spoke in English too. Jonas surpressed annoyance in his words as best as he could. But he wished that, if there were more researchers here, they would be the one to shoo the boy out.
"Or burn stuff outside" Jonas waved imaptiently. Perhaps this boy would be obdient enough to get out of here? He didn't care of Kenth let him stay here again...he just didn't want to encounter any natives.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:58 am
"Ah--" Lina blushed, looking away. "I extracted it from one of the corpses of the Chinese officials. The body I think was about forty-two hours deceased, but even so that seems an awful short time for a blood to start clotting, don't you think so, Professor?"
She hurried on to her experimentation table. "And this is where I've been running tests on different diagnostic tests for different types of antibiotics on the computer...so far each one of them has either had a low success rate or a very high chance of even hastening infection." Lina sighed, rubbing her eyes before moving the picture of her boyfriend to her bulletin board. "Would you like to see a printout of the results, Professor?"
Kenth shook his head. "I do not think that is necessary. Although it intrigues me: you have became close in touch with one of the diseased corpse, and have done all these tests. I am curious as to why you yourself have not been infected by whatever's been killing other people. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that you are connected with the spreading of the disease. I am simply interested in your...immune system."
Kenth paused, and looked at the blood sample again. "Forty two hours of exposing in oxygen was enough to clot the blood most strongly. You did bring up a good point though. The blood here should have a much stronger clot than this." He shook the bag a little, watching the clot fall apart into thin powders. "Whatever's been infecting the people around here, it's been mutating the platelettes."
Folding his arms in front of his chest again, Kenth fell silent for a while, deep in thought. Suddenly he looked up again.
"Now where did you say you found the corpse again?"
Weiyuan bowed again. He could tell from the forced tone in the doctor's voice that even after all this time here he had to appreciation for Chinese. Even the mountain types.
He sneered, starting to not like this man, but he had no choice. He straightened up, putting on a sad face like he knew he should. He had no idea how to ask it without sounding desperate. Damn these traditions!
"Uhm...sir, if it alright with you. May I ask you a question?" He needed to know everything about the circumstances of his father's death if he were to ever figure out what kind of death his father earned. "My foster father...he was a researcher here. But the disease took ahold of his life. Do...did you know him? His name was Honghui Leung." He wanted to ask more in that moment but it would probably not give him the result of what he wanted to know.
Oh great. Now the boy just looked pathetic. Purely pathetic.
Jonas gave an impatient huff, shaking his head and then nodding. Honghui Leung? He wasn't sure if he remembered the man, although he had definitely seen the name somewhere. Perhaps he was one of the lower level technicians? Jonas wasn't sure. He made sure that he was away from all people of Chinese heirtage, even in his lab.
"Well, I am sorry for your loss." Jonas said, after a long time thinking about the man the boy was talking about. He felt awkward, facing this boy. Why did he ask? Why was he here in the first place? To solve the mystery, of course, but Jonas felt as if the boy was aiming for him as if he killed this man. The doctor coughed.
"I don't know about your father too well, boy. This place...is cursed. So many people died here. I don't even know why more people are coming here. I mean, heck, just get out of this place and burn it. " Jonas started complaining, not to the boy, but to himself. Why was he still here? Sooner or later, he's gonna get killed if he stay...
"You better get out of this place while you can, boy. It's not worth it."
"I was serving as an assistant to Professor Jonas while he did an autopsy on one of the members of the Chinese Parliament. We were wearing face masks and the operation was done with the body in a full-body dissection box with gloves that you could put your hands into," Lina murmured, looking over her results again. "The sample was placed into the bag, the air pressed out mostly, sealed, and then passed through an airlock for examinations to be done on it. They wanted to throw it away, saying it was useless, but...I don't know. There's something I feel like I'm missing about the virus...."
"This? They wanted to throw this away?" Kenth sneered, holding up the blood sample. He felt Jonas was not a capable man, but he was surprised that he was this...stupid! "Your lead doctor must have had a fever that day to throw the most basic and important indicator away like that. And this...how long have you been keeping this? Did Jonas know? And where was this Chinese Parliament member come from?" Kenth started shooting out questions like bullets at Lina, not caring about the other's feelings. It was like him. When he was really into something, he'd keep asking questions until everything made sense. He felt that he was close, but Jonas...he might just ruin everything. What else crucial had that idiot throw away? Kenth could never know. He figured even if Jonas was questioned, the answer would be far away from what he wanted. There was only one way to find out what had been missing. But the risk was extremely high.
"Dr. Bakura. What kind of cleaning procedures did you and Jonas' team members use? How many people among those who made the dissection survived the disease?"
The youth pursed his lips. If this man had no desire to be here then he really shouldn't. He tried to to show his frustration as freely as the other seemed to do. Even if the other didn't have any real reason t be here he in fact did. Useless. Was there anyone here that would actually be of help to him? Most likely not.
This guy...annoyed him. "I cannot leave this place. For my family to do well, as the oldest child of the Leung family, I must see through that my father's death was a good one and do all the things that I must accordingly." He bowed and then turned to his room, and looked over his shoulder. Oh screw it. "Which I doubt that you would ever give a damn about. Qu di yu! (Go to hell!)" With that he turned around and went into his room.
"No, no! You misunderstand. They'd run other tests on it and whatnot, and they proved kind of fruitless," Lina said, waving her hands confusedly. "I just asked him if I could get a sample for myself and he said why not, so I just kept one of the samples they didn't use. I've had it for about a week now."
She was quiet for a moment. "I...it was said it came from the Parliament building. We recieved the body within twelve hours of its discovery. ...I don't know all that much about Chinese politics or geography, however. I think it was...Beijing?
"And as for cleaning procedures, we made sure to take fullbody sanitation showers, wore paper clothes that were burnt at the end of the session, and as for the corpse we only did a skin spray. We believed the disease was mostly internal...
"And as for survivors...well, actually, most all of us survived. One man died. He accidentally pricked himself on a needle that had some of the still-semi-moist blood on it...his last name was Leung, I believe...brilliant man. I'd read most of his theories on pathogenic and extraterrestrial diseases. It was an honor to work with him."
A dead person transported all the way from Beijing? Kenth didn't buy that. The girl didn't sound like she was lying however, so Kenth assumed something was wrong at Jonas' end. Kenth made a mental note that he could be easily infected without skin's protection. But then again, if that was the only way to become infected, the mystery wouldn't even exist. A lot more people died than just from a little cut. There was no way that all of the people who died had some damage to their skin.
Without saying much further, Kenth got up from where he was sitting, and walked out of Lina's room. "I am going to check with Dr. White about this." was all he said when he left. Kenth paid no attention to other things at this point. His mind was occupied. He had expected to gain something at first, but he didn't expect to gain this much. He looked down at the bag of blood sample he was holding and frowned.
Careless...Jonas was too careless of a man to be handling this. No wonder so many people died. A guy like that would turn a common cold into a plague. Kenth wondered how he became a scientist in the first place---that guy didn't even have a common sense for a scientist! At least according to Kenth's opinion.
Wandering down the hallway, it didn't take long for Kenth to see a crowd of people gathered in front of someone's dorm room. Kenth sighed heavily. He didn't want a commotion when he first arrived, but now...
"What's going on?" Kenth squeezed his way through the crowd. He didn't need an answer, however, to see what was happening. In midst of the crowd stood Jonas cursing loudly and several others trying to get a hold of him. Jonas, of course, was extremely angry at the way the boy talked to him earlier. He didn't know what the boy said before the door was shut, but he knew it was some kind of insult. What kind of person did that brat think he was?? This was HIS dorm building, and he would not allow anyone like that brat to exist inside! So he started yelling when he couldn't open the door, and reasonably enough, other people heard the noice and formed a small group around him. No one was really fond of what Jonas was doing, but since he was in charge, no one dared to say anything aloud other than a few people who tried to calm this man down.
Then there was Kenth, standing in front of a messy looking Jonas, eyes looking down at him as if he was some kind of pathetic animal.
"...And you call yourself a doctor. What a shame." Kenth said quietly, but enough to be heard by everyone around him.
Seeing who it was, Jonas hang his head low to hide his flushed face. This day...was the worst day ever. Plus the fact that Kenth would be staying here...his day would only get much worse.
"Ah....ah. Okay," she said after him.
With that done, Lina sighed and flipped the computer on, setting the diagnostics test to automatic while she went searching for Alex. She needed a friendly face....
He tried. Oh how he tried. He was going to end up as the new father of this family, he couldn't be so foolish. He heard yelling on the other side of the door. It didn't matter if this man might've been the only way to of know of his father's death. He was a plain old a**.
He looked at the little candle on the desk. How did he end up sitting like this? He shook his head, before putting it in his palm. His father must now be looking down on him in the bad kind of way. He was raised better than this. Though his occasional outbursts were said to his half-American blood. He should apologize, even if he wasn't sorry.
He raised his head, knowing that tears were streaming down his face. Something about what that man said among the string of other curses. He couldn't remember what it was but it was enough to set him off. He stood and flung open the door not caring of how loud a noise it made.
Anger blinded him, not seeing Dr. Kenth there are all. "You worthless pig. What kind of doctor, no, person are you? Someone who trusted your words, your work, who...who trusted you...Died! And you don't even care to find out more about him! You couldn't at least tell my family yourself that he died, I heard it on a TV in the news. Where is your pride, your honor?!"
He took a quivering breath, knowing even more tears were streaming down his face. At least this time when he faced this useless man he wasn't pretending to feel for the loss of his father. The fact that the man who took him in was gone hit him just a few moments ago.
"What kind of man looks down upon another kind? What kind of man disreguards some one's death as if it was nothing? My father hoped that with your help, whatever this illness would be would end. You are nothing like the hero my father thought you would be."
"That is enough. Both of you."
With his middle finger, Kenth pushed the frame of his glasses up a little so the lens were right against his eyes. The coldness of his tone and the equally cold icy color of his eyes were enough to silence most people around him, including Jonas, who attempted to argue back.
Kenth waited for the tearful boy to quiet down. Emotions...he had shut himself away from it a long time ago...ever since he made the decision to leave his family. It wasn't as if he felt no sympathy for the boy, or the wounded pride of the older doctor. He did, but things such as emotion, he knew, would do nothing but conflicts.
"No one is a hero here, understand?" Kenth said softly but firmly. " We are all human beings. We are bound to live and to die. Nobody's perfect." Then louder. "If you are here to solve the mystery, you are not here to cause commotions. Understand? Whatever your feeling was toward this man, and whatever your feeling was toward this boy, drop it. I do not wish to see anything like this from now on. Leave your pitiful emotions after we defeat this disease."
Jonas swallowed hard and nodded quietly. He could not bear Kenth's teachings, yet he knew it was for the best. This man...was a strange man. Jonas was surprised to find himself admiring Kenth's ability to stay aloof. On the contrary, it made him look immature...like a child, even though he was much older than Kenth.
"By the way, here's something you all should pay attention to before we start our investigation." Changing the subject, Kenth turned and faced the corwd. "I have talked to one of the assistance researchers. She gave me the hint that you will have a much higher chance of getting infected if you have wounds on your skin. So make sure to be safe and not cut yourself during our investigation."
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:01 am
Weiyuan took long controlling breaths. He had to get ahold of himself. Gah, it was so shameful to something like that!
He listened to Dr. Kenth's words. A part of him told him that he'd just follow his father's path if he trusted this man but the other told him he'd never be able to finish this business if he didn't. At the very least he respected this man. He was most definately not an idiot.
His sould was smirking knowing that some how he did damage to Dr. Jonas. But he had better things to do than blame someone else on his father's death. He had two objectives. Make a little shrine at the place of his father's death and to find out what had really killed him.
"I understand sir."
He looked into his room, knowing that he should be doing something right now. His eyes glanced over to his backpack. Of course! Those things!
"Sir...my father, Honghui Leung, during his time here. He made quite a few observations about the people in the village. Perhaps some of his recordings would be helpful to your research." He had to finish what his father started.
That crowd had swept him up at some point and deposited him inside the dorm building where he now stood off to the left listening to the goings on and peering at what was indicated.
This man was obviously some sort of genius and he now realized that offering his help wouldn't likely be met with any amount of gratitude. That would be a confrontation he'd rather avoid. Still, his rather pompous attitude rubbed Min the wrong way, making him want to somehow find a way to match or even better the man.
A little competition was always healthy, right?
As Kenth mentioned the wounds, Min looked himself over to make sure his usual scrapes and bruises were closed. They were, nothing that wasn't almost healed anyway. Turning back to the doctor, he watched him carefully.
"A nearby village you say?" Kenth eyed Jonas quickly and then back to the boy. "And did you say your father's last name was Leung...?" He remembered the incident Lina had told him earlier. What a coincidence, Kenth smirked in his mind. Ah, but nevermind, better focus on what the boy have here now.
"I will have all the clues that I can possibly get." kenth nodded. "So yes, I'd appreciate it if you can recite his findings."
Kenth turned to the crowd. "Perhaps I should give you guys the first quest now to go around this place and gather anything useful. Whatever you do, do not go inside of the lab building without any strict protections. We want to keep that place quaranteened as long as possible." although he knew that if he didn't hurry, the disease would likely invade the dorm as well...
...and the neighboring villages? Kenth wondered if any people who lived around here had died because of this disease. Well, perhaps this boy would give him some information.
Weiyuan's heart swelled. Yes, this is what he should be doing right now. He quickly went to his backpack, pulling out the four inch binder. Though he realized that the sickness could of been carried upon those documents. No, he shook his head. He couldn't doubt his actions. Just like his father.
He brother the items back to Dr. Kenth. "Yes, my father enjoyed helping people. The deaths in the village were the main reason for coming here. He mentioned in his letters that the people rarely bathed even though there's a lake not too far from here. They also poorly prepared and cooked their food. If what you said about the open wounds is true, I wouldn't doubt that those people wouldn't know how to care to their own injuries."
His mind was running wild, trying to remember anything else about the calls and letters about those people. Or anything else for that matter. It was important for him to help.
Leon had situated himself in a room that was within shouting range of the main hall. It was good policy to make sure you could yell if you were in trouble, or if you found something...
The dorm room Leon entered showed signs of a recent bleach-down. There was a definite scent of bleach on the air, and there was a discarded gallon of bleach in the trash can outside the door. Also, the bed had been stripped down to the frame, all the bedclothes were gone, in fact, there wasn't a single piece of fabric in the room.
Leon stood in the doorway and looked thoughtfully at the room. Then, he retrieved some disposable gloves from his briefcase, and moved the bleach bottle out of the trash. Beneath it were the missing bedclothes, soaked in bleach, from the smell. Leon's eyes watered from the fumes as he moved the bedclothes aside to look deeper. Beneath the bedclothes were articles of clothing. He pulled out a bleached labcoat, id still attached to the breast pocket, and 'heh'ed in triumph. Apparently, this had been the room of one of the dead researchers. Some enterprising soul had taken upon themselves to disinfect the researcher's room, to reduce chances of it spreading.
A slight bulge in one of the labpockets drew his attention. Pulling a pen from his pocket, Leon poked it opened and peered in.
"Well, I'll be." he exclaimed, carefully extracting the slightly damp recorder. "Guess they were in such a dangle to get the room cleaned, they dumped everything they could get their meathooks on. One heck of a Brodie."
He carefully replaced everything back in the trashcan. You never know what the bleach might have missed, or if the bleach was even really effective. Leon punched the rewind button, and heard a responding whir from the recorder.
"Like eggs in coffee." he exclaimed, and waited until the tape rewound to a halt, then pressed play. After it was apparent that there wasn't going to be anymore noise from it, he rewound it, and pulled a plastic bag from his briefcase to put it in.
"Well." he said, trying to digest what he'd just heard. The comment about 'they' and the Prime Minister interested him especially. He tried to think back to the latest news he'd heard about China political issues, but his memory was sketchy. Well, if he couldn't remember anything, someone else would, and it was his duty to get this to Kenth.
Leon sighed. No rest for the wicked. He headed back towards the main hall, and, hearing a loud commotion from one of the connecting hallways, walked in on the end Kenth's admonishments.
"Kenth." he said, dropping the 30s act for the sake of work. "I've got a bleached down room with everything made of fabric in a trashcan, also bleached. I found this in the pocket of a labcoat there. You're going to want to listen."
Leon held up the recorder, looking quite incongruous in his antiquated pinstripe suit among the more modern clothing of the others.
Alex poked her head into one of the open doors. It was relatively quiet in this part of the dorm, and was close enough to the entrance for her to feel comfortable. After her years of evacuating, she preferred to have her bearings and not be lost in the bowels of this building.
The room was empty. She walked in, looking around cautiously, making sure she didn't see any personal belongings that would indicate that the room was previously occupied. After a quick, satisfactory search, she lowered herself slowly to the bed. She felt momentarily dizzy, her head suddenly feeling heavy. What am I doing here? she wondered weakly. I'm not a scientist or a doctor; even if I stumbled over the root of the disease, I wouldn't know what to do.
And maybe you will, the silent, strong part of her responded to her own tortured thoughts. You may recognize something. You may see something. You may speak a language. And maybe you're worthless. But you're trying...that's more than most people can say.
Her inward struggle momentarily quelled, she laid back against the headboard. She felt a little lost, a little alone, but once she settled down, she was going to do some exploring.
Kai had gotten swept up in the crowd, having only been there to see what the commotian was all about, but he ended up inside the dormatories. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be there, but decided that it was a good as a place as any to find out what was going on.
He peered into one of the rooms, in a seemingly quiet area, and seeing no one in there, set his bag down on the bed. He figured that no one would bother his stuff, and even if they did, there wasn't anything important in there, besides his journal but he planned on taking that with him as he explored the area.
Kenth rose an eyebrow at the two people, each holding an important piece of information in front of him. This mystery...seemed easier than he thought. But he shouldn't underestimate anything, so far, none of the proof really connect to another well.
"What is your name?" Kenth asked the boy directly in front of him. "From what I hear, there are people living around here who were in poor condition, but living nonetheless?" If the natives here were able to survive the disease, then it could be prevented...it's a hope.
"You, do you know about this?" Kenth flashed the documents at Jonas, who was now trying hard to restrain himself from hitting the boy. The older doctor gulped at the documents. How did he miss it?
"N--no, Dr. Kenth. It appears that Leung had kept this information to himself." Or he could be the one who refused to look at them.
Kenth sighed. Jonas was useless. He didn't doubt the man's words, since he had pretty much figured that Jonas wouldn't pay attention to small details anyways. But that matter aside, perhaps he should visit the natives sometime...
"And about the tape." Kenth's eyes shifted to Leon, who held the other item of interest. "Perhaps, sir, that you can play it here so we can all hear what's inside?"
The woman jolted out of bed, startled. She'd been starting to fall asleep...that wouldn't do, not on the first day of being in the dorms! Alex shook her head roughly and, after replacing the clip in her hair and cleaning her glasses, left her room and started her systematic memorization of her temporary abode. The details were more important than people realized. She noted who she saw and what she saw, filing it in her memory for later use.
Where's that doctor? she mused, looking up and down the hallways. Her ears picked up something that sounded like a scuffle further down. She walked quickly, her natural stride already quite impressive, turning a corner to find the good doctor and a few others gathered. She recognized the red-faced man and the one in the old style suit immediately. The doctor was eyeing some sort of...cassette? "I didn't know those even existed anymore," she murmured under her breath, moving slowly towards the gathered to listen to what was being said.
"...you can play it here so we can all hear what's inside?" the good doctor suggested. Good, Alex smiled inwardly, already making progress. She had to remember to thank the doctor when the 'excitement' cooled down.
"They still exist in some parts of the world," Lina said, settling next to Alexis and nodding her head. "Good morning. Have a nice nap?"
Alex blinked, turning to the person who had spoken to her. "Lina!" she exclaimed, pleased, "How good to see you!" She tapped her lip, grinning sheepishly, "I guess I did doze off for a bit. It's been quite a taxing day, and it's hardly started." Alex made sure to keep her voice low, being careful to not interrupt the doctor.
"The doctor seems to have found a lead. Did you get to talk to him about what you found?" Alex recalled that Lina had been working on a blood sample. While she didn't know what it was about, she was certain it was confidential for the doctor. And, seeing as the doctor was here...
Leon watched with interest as Kenth exchanged a few words with the pencil pusher, and one of the natives. It seemed the two had been in a bit of a scrap. Leon had to wonder what that was about, though the kid seemed to have some useful information about the locals.
Just then Kenth turned back to Leon.
"And about the tape. Perhaps, sir, that you can play it here so we can all hear what's inside?"
Leon nodded.
"Certainly." he said, and turned to everyone. "Keep it quiet, alright? I've got the volume all the way up, but there's no guarantee that you'll hear it if you're flapping your gums."
He waited for the small murmurs to quiet down, then pressed the play button through the plastic bag. He let the tape play all the way through, then rewound it, turning to Kenth as he did.
"Anyway we can get some information about recent political issues? Newspapers, maybe?" he asked, wanting to follow up on the questions he had about the Prime Minister. He assumed that Kenth would understand why.
Lina nodded, dipping her head. "Yeah. I did. Kenth doesn't seem to happy with the way Jonas is running things right now, though."
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:04 am
Weiyuan snapped out of his thoughts realizing the doctor was speaking to him. He waited for the tape to finish playing before he spoke."Weiyuan Leung, sir. And uh, yes. In many of his letters he spoke of a native he made friends with. If my memory serves right, that man was around the age of my father and one of the foragers. He wasn't very high up in the village's society. I'm not sure if that guy is still alive or not. My mother is waiting at home to see if there would be another letter closer to the time of his death."
The boy sent a glare towards the old twitch. He held no favor towards this man. Though he was a bit shocked at himself. Unlike his father, he wasn't one to try to help others even if he had to answer to their problem. He felt tired actually.
He mind changed it's train of thoughts, focusing on the the tape's message. He looked at Leon. "I brought a little radio, but I don't know if we would be able to get a good signal out here." Well the radio was more so for him to have music to listen to. He didn't mind sacrificing it
"Huh." Alex listened to the tape thoughtfully. Some coughing, a fever maybe...and an abnormal heart reaction. The scientists themselves said it was tied to sacred ground where they were trying to build apartments. It sounded like the grounds were diseased - which may explain how the people buried there had died in the first place - or that there was some curse, some dark magic.
Lowering her voice again, she turned to Lina to share her thoughts. "It sounds like whatever this is, attacks the...ah, the..." she paused, thinking of the English translation, "respiratory? Respiratory area," Alex made a circular motion by her chest, just in case she flubbed the word. "I do wonder if it's in the lungs or the heart, though...if it's in the blood stream, I'd imagine it's the heart, but that isn't to say there's a lack of damage elsewhere. But whatever they came in contact with, it was at the same time. The disease seems to have a limited amount of time of which it...it..." She seemed to forget her English as she grasped for the word. "...procreates? A time span in which is has to live, before it kills its host."
She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to think. Years ago when she had the flu, a doctor had tried to explain why antibiotics wouldn't work. "It sounds like it could be a virus. I'm no doctor," she smiled at stating the obvious, "but if the surrounding habitat isn't infected, it sounds like the thing can't-..." Alex decided to abandon using complicated words; when excited, she seemed to forget even simple words, "when it can't make more of itself, by itself. Maybe it's reliant on hosts?"
A light crimson started to creep into her cheeks. Alex counted her tanned skin as a blessing of being Italian. "Er, I suppose you and the others would know that already. Being, you know...doctors and researchers." She cleared her throat quietly, deciding to let the professionals do the analyzing. She'd be better to offer the services she was best at, if they were required.
Lina paused, then nodded slowly. "I think...I think it dies when the blood clots. Perhaps there's a sort of delay mechanism it employs...to keep the blood more "liquid" longer."
And if that were the case, did that mean that the corpses could spread the disease to others if it died?
Alex looked at Lina, her expression hard. "Yes...that would make sense. If it clots the blood, then...it goes without saying that the blood is its source of need. So, if the host is dead but the blood is still...edible, then I would imagine the virus-thing would still be active, even if the life of its host is gone." She paused, then added, "Does it die afterwards, though? Is there a remnant of itself somehow?" Another pause, then, "Does it feed off the heart, or does it drain enough blood to stop the heart, or make it work faster so that it would seize or constrict?"
Kenth listened attentitively to the tape. Great, now there were political issues involved with the mystery, too. And what did they mean by the sacred part of the land? Kenth thought sacrastically about the "sared" were pointed at the fact that this place was basically a death poll. Sacred? More like the underworld. But no matter, if that's what the natives believed in, then so be it. Kenth was not going to interfere with other people's believes.
On the other hand, when Kenth thought about the issue, if the natives started calling this place "sacred", it must meant that they knew about this place's condition before the researchers came. The people who believed in science clashed with those who believed in magic and this land's holiness, and that was what the conflict based upon. Yet, who was this "they" the two were talking about? Kenth frowned. His hands were now supporting his chin, deep in thought. The young doctor looked at everyone else briefly and glanced over at Jonas, who seemed more confused than anything else. No use, that man won't help much with any thought processes. Kenth was...pretty much on his own.
The dark skinned woman brought up a good observation though, Kenth had to admit. It appears that the disease were trasmitted through both the resperitory system and the circulartory system. In other words, the lethal element of the antigen must have been able to diffuse across the thin membranes of the lung and cross over into the bloodstream, possibly reaching the heart and paralyzing it in the process. Although it certainly had done some damage to the lungs, since the two victims witin the tape was clearly coughing before the pain started. However it maybe, the speed at which this antigen seize the heart was unspeakable.
The crowd seemed to be unrest and noise grew louder and louder as people started discussing the clues with one another. Jonas, seeing that Kenth was lost in his thoughts, tried to wave people away from the younger doctor. "Leave Dr. Kenth some space please, he cannot handle everything at once." However unpopular he was, Jonas was still a leader of some sort. Or, at least he hoped.
Kenth's head suddenly jerked up and looked around. "How many of you are Chinese who know about this place? Weiyuan mentioned a nearby village from the lab building yes? I'll need someone to be a translator of some sort. My Chinese is not perfect, not to mention the villagers may speak in their own dialects..."
Jonas's face went pale as Kenth showed his intention to interact with the natives. "Dr. Kenth, perhaps there is another way..."
"You stay here and take care of the dorm." Kenth brushed Jonas off impatiently. No wonder no one liked him...since he didn't respect anyone else anyways.
"I will be going down to the native village. You guys can either come with me or explore around the area by yourself. Just remember not to go into the lab building for the sake of your life."
Alex sighed deeply. She knew it would come to speaking with the natives sooner or later; they were already furious at the amount of people here, and she didn't think they'd be too pleased with speaking to the doctor, even if he was going to save their lives.
"Doctor Kenth," she finally spoke up to the man, "I've been living around a few of natives." Those who don't throw rocks and threaten worse, anyway, she thought inwardly. "I may not be as effective as someone who lives here, but I can mostly translate." It'd be safer to say 'mostly.' She didn't think they'd use large words, but in case they did, it'd be safer to cover her butt.
"I helped, ah, evacuate some of the people," she explained, "and retrieve some of the lost. They may not like me, but they know who I am."
Lina cocked her head. "I've seen the village from afar, but...do you want me to come with you, Alexis?"
The woman turned to Lina. "You know," she thought outloud, "I'm sure the doctor would rather have a native show him around. I'm not even sure he can hear me over all this gabbing." Alex crinkled her nose, which turned into a smile. "If you'd like to come, I'm going to go down there anyway. Might take a while for this mob," she jerked her head towards the gathered, "to move anytime soon."
The tension, as Morgan shuffled along to the dorm with the rest of the crowd, was palpable. Dr. Kenth struck her as distinctly brilliant, limited as her exposure had been. He was almost...pretty, in an icy way.
Normally her first instinct would be to head straight to the top, approach him first, introduce herself, get as much information from the horse's mouth as she could. But this man? She had the uncomfortable feeling that he'd not respect her enough to help her unless she'd already proven she was quite capable in her field. Time to listen, then. Time to file away all these bits of conversation around her.
The journalist shifted her back to the other shoulder; it wasn't heavy, really, just awkward as she tried to wind her way unobtrusively closer to Kenth.
"If anyone treasure their lives, go back to where you belong, now."
Those words of Kenth's still echoed through her head as she pressed ahead, still tuning in to all conversations for at least a moment or two before moving on. It wasn't that she wasn't afraid. She was. Damn, was she ever. But her profession drew in the idealists. It called out to people who wanted to make a difference in the world. And if things were this serious, this important...it was her chance to do just that.
A commotion up ahead drew Morgan on further down the hall. Local researcher...Jonas, she thought?...was practically frothing at the mouth, as was a young Chinese man, tears streaming down his face. The reporter whispered a quick mental prayer of thanks as the altercation continued in English. Ah, mourning rites for a researcher? Interesting...
And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the quarrel was extinguished by Kenth's force of personality. Inwardly, Morgan winced. This was a man, she feared, who would even be immune to her usual easy charm.
"You will have a much higher chance of getting infected if you have wounds on your skin. So make sure to be safe and not cut yourself during our investigation," the doctor chose that moment to say.
Morgan herself was acutely aware of the trickle of blood running down her leg inside her trousers, a memento from her earlier tumble. ********.
So introspective were her thoughts that she almost missed the significance of the tape the relic in the pinstripe suit had triumphantly produced. (Seriously, who wore those things anymore?) It was the sudden silence that drew her attention.
Her Chinese was halting, true; but there was no mistaking the sound of someone dying. She caught a name, too: Ming. It was familiar, but she wasn't sure why. She'd have to ask her editor to research it for her next time she spoke to him. She'd like it to be now. She'd like to call him up on the satellite phone, and unashamedly say, "Caz, I'm terrified." But that...that would have to wait. The good doctor, it seemed was heading into the village. And it was long past the time she should have identified herself to him as a reporter. It wouldn't make their interpersonal relationships any smoother, she suspected; but still, it was the ethical thing.
She cast about, seeking eye contact. "Could someone help me translate the recording? I speak a little, but..." She trailed off. For now, she highly doubted anyone would hear her.
As she turned around to leave, Alex spotted a woman looking very lost. She hadn't heard the woman say anything, but it was obvious that she didn't quite know what was going on. Knowing that she herself was feeling that way just a few short minutes ago, Alexis approached the other woman.
"Ma'am," she addressed the woman in English, (That words sounds so strange in English, she thought, amused) smiling, "can I help you? It's a bit of a, ah, zoo right now."
Morgan nearly laughed out loud in relief. A ready smile diffused her distinctly Asian features into her undoubtedly American self; and she held out her hand.
"I'm Morgan Fai, with the National Post, an American newspaper," she parroted instinctively, as years of practice had trained her to do. "I speak enough Chinese to get by, but there were definitely some things on the tape I didn't catch, that's all."
This woman clearly wasn't from here, either; but she seemed to be getting by just fine. "I was just hoping someone could help me translate accurately."
She wondered if the woman would be so eager to help once the stigma of being a reporter was thrown in the way. So many people -- and not entirely without cause, Morgan ruefully reminded herself -- shared mistrust for the media as a whole.
Alexis smiled. She didn't care what the woman was; she was here, and if she could help, then it really didn't matter. She didn't even flinch at the job title. What's a reporter to a vagabond? Just another pretty face behind a desk. Alex took the offered hand and gave a firm shake. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Fai. I'm Alexis Falcone, and-" she glanced over her shoulder to look for Lina, but she decided that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to introduce Lina without her permission; Alex continued her introduction, "-I've been here since this madness began. You can call me Alex. I can understand most of what is said, but Chinese isn't my first language. Or my second, for that matter."
She left it at that. Sometimes being a polygot could be a real pain in the butt.
Lina nodded to Alexis. "Pleasure's mine. Lina. Lina Bakura." She didn't know the proper greeting, so she simply bowed, inclining her head.
Alex smiled at Lina; she didn't know Lina's take on reporters, and Alex didn't exactly want to put her foot in her mouth with so many new people in such a dire circumstance.
"The jist of the tape," Alex said lightly, using enough force to be heard, but not so loud as to be heard above the prattle of everyone else, "is two people talking. On their break. They talk about 'them' and that whoever 'they' are, are here again, but they don't elaborate. I think they mentioned a debate, maybe of a political nature. I'm not interested in politics, so I don't know for certain; they named the person in question as Ming." She paused, thinking to the rest of the bits and pieces that may have been important. "One of them said they weren't feeling well...they had a cough. Another said it was due to...some sort of land that someone is building on. A complex. Something the Ming fellow needs to decide on."
Her face tightened a little. "And then...they die. Their...their chests start to hurt, and that's the end of it."
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:07 am
Weiyuan looked away as Dr. Kenth mentioned going to the village. He wasn't ready to go and meet the people his father tried desperately to save. It...would bring sad memories. He idly wiped away his tears. Now that his emotions were put away he didn't like how much attention was around him.
Oh how he wanted to just hole up inside his room and just be a good eldest son. There were too many questions and answers and clues found and...he just needed to put it to the side.
He looked up into the crowd spotting three girls talking about the tape. It wasn't that interesting most people now were talking about the tape. At least, until he heard that someone was here since the beginning. His eyes widened.
If they were here since the beginning, would that mean that they knew the circumstances of his father's death. The beating in his chest grew, another lead for him. That was good. He memorized their faces, he just didn't have the energy to go asking questions now. He'd find them later. After things quieted down a bit.
Lina nodded. "Right now we're beginning to think it's a disease that's spread by the heart and needs a moist, liquid environment to survive. I've done some tests on the blood, so if you'd like later I can print you out a summary of my findings. I'll have to get it approved by Kenth-sensei, though," she said, her language slipping back into her regular Japanese addressing habit.
The Italian woman took a deep breath, then smiled at the two women she had been speaking with. "It's good to cover the basis," Alex said slowly, "but I'm going to continue towards the village. Someone has to do more than talk, and I'm getting anxious." Her smile faltered a little. "As I said, I speak enough basic Chinese to speak with the natives. I will do my best to translate any questions you may have," she directed the last part to Lina. She wasn't expecting this venture to be simple, but she knew it was time to try.
Lina blinked and looked back at her. "Well, uh, okay. And are you coming with us, reporter-san?" she asked, offering a hand. "And I don't know if I have a name from you yet...."
Alex pressed her back against the wall, sliding sideways in a manner that would appear silly to anyone who was watching her. Forgive me, Lina, she hoped silently, I don't have time for pleasantries. None of us do. She carefully slipped through the small group of people, walking quickly through the dorm and breaking into a jog up the hill towards where she had been staying.
The children came running out to greet her, much to the dismay of their parents. A barrage of questions pelted her, some she understood and even more that she didn't. "" she ordered, feeling awkward to be speaking Chinese after her reaquaintance with English. The children immediately fell silent, staring wide-eyed. She sighed deeply, walking into the hut that she had been occupying. As she gathered her meager belongings into a small, altered rucksack, she thought of the tape and all that had transpired. Something was - or still is - being built on a special plot of land, she frowned to herself as she shoved a few pairs of shirts into the sack, something that everyone knows about but doesn't try to stop. But what does that have to do with politics? Giving a once-over to check for anything left behind, Alex exited the hut to find the children still staring at her.
The woman chuckled to herself. She'd been pondering the great mysteries, and the ones who would know the most were standing right before her. "" she started slowly, thinking about her words and how to convey them to the young ones, "" Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought. "<...made, here? On a place that is...special?>" The children looked at each other, uncertain. Alex smiled and tried again, "
One of the older girls gasped, pointing behind Alex. The woman turned around, looking beyond the small huts assembled. "" she asked, to make sure, "" The girl nodded, chittering something too fast for Alex to follow. The other children made similar gasping noises; some made hand signals for protection. Not good, Alex thought grimly, if the children are worried. "" she announced cheerfully, "" She made her smile as bright as she could, almost painfully so; some of the children looked relieved, but a few of the older looked skeptical. "" she said, "" With that, she waved to the children, telling them to eat their herbs and drink their tea, before she haded in the direction she had been pointed to.
Alex meandered down the road, very mindful of her surroundings as signs of civilization tapered off. The small town she found herself walking into was clean, well kept, and...old. She had the vague sense of walking into a different period of time. Her eyes roamed over the buildings, taking in their details; they were built sturdy and clean, as if they were made yesterday. The other huge point she noted was that there was not a living soul in the town.
The Italian shivered. It was more like she'd found herself in the middle of a horror movie set, or maybe some oversized doll house. As she walked, she would peer through the windows, poke her head in the open doors. All she saw was discarded, unused furniture. Did anyone even live here? she wondered, bewildered. I don't even see any birds in this area... Walking by one of the archaic houses, she spotted something crumpled on the floor. Careful not to touch anything, she looked through the doorway but did not need to enter the abode; it was a pile of clothes. What the hell? She started to feel a little worried. Maybe it's not that no one has lived here...maybe it's more like, they just...disappeared off the face of the earth! Mindful that she was tracking he source of a deadly virus, Alex pulled one of her clean white tank tops out of her rucksack; she carefully fashioned it into a mask, tying it behind her pony tail, making sure the fabric covered her nose and mouth. She chose white to see if it caught any floating residual of anything; it was also easier to tell that it was a shirt wrapped around the lower part of her face, so it would not alarm anyone else who may come by. At least, she hoped it would work that way.
Disquieted, she made her way to the largest building she could find. The doors were ajar, and she wondered if someone had already made their way here. Were the people evacuated? No, her instinct told her, no evacuation is this clean. Chaos and fear is never this clean! Feeling the first trickle of fear, Alex scooted into the entrance of the building, not entirely sure what she was going to find inside.
Kai paused, as he heard the sound of chinese coming from a recorder. It wasn't very clear, but he wrote down what he heard to think about once he was away from the dormitory. It didn't make much sense to him, at least what he heard, but knew that it would more than likely make sense once he looked at it again. He closed his notebook and continued on his way out.
He had heard of an abandoned village in the area, from his uncle, and thought that perhaps it might hold some clues about the deaths. He wasn't even sure that this was something that science could solve, but as they only people who had been killed, it seemed that it didn't affect anyone else.
Kai wasn't sure where it was, but he stopped to ask one of the farmers working in the fields.
"Where is the abandoned village?" He asked, knowing that they spoke the same dialect as him.
"You should not go there." The villager told him. "The spirits are angry."
He filled that in his mind. "I will not disturb anything."
"It is your life." The rice farmer pointed in its direction, after making a sign to ward of evil.
"I will be careful." Kai said before headed towards the village.
It took a moment for Alex's eyes to adjust to the dim room. When they were focused enough to make out shapes, she was startled to find that there was nothing in the room. She took a few steps into the area and stopped as something caught her attention on the floor. It appeared to be a book, with some sort of scroll next to it. It seemed that the scroll had recently been moved; Alex kneeled down and had to squint to see the dust, but she could confirm that the scroll had definitely been moved. She could make out a few foot prints too. Someone was here, then, Alex thought, somewhat comforted by the notion. Someone is already on the trail.
She extended her hand slowly, holding her breath, reaching out to touch the corner of the book. She'd been half expecting it to crumble under her touch. When it didn't do anything, Alex breathed a small sigh of relief into her mask. Very gently, still afraid something may be damaged, she opened the tome and examined the pages. Ah hell, she growled inwardly, I have no idea what this says. I don't even know if it's Chinese. Just because she could speak many languages didn't mean she could read them!
Still moving slowly and deliberately, Alex withdrew a scrap of parchment from her bag, unfurling it with one hand while the other fished around for a pen. After rooting around for a moment, she procured a pen and, with a steady hand, began to copy some of the symbols she saw. Some parts looked more important than others, but who was she to know? After she'd copied a few pages, she accidently flipped the book over and to the back of its pages. She was startled to find clean, neat handwriting unlike the ancient text she'd been writing down. Something struck her as odd; she quickly scrawled down the last few pages of the book, knowing that something important was right in front of her face and there was nothing she could do to desipher it. Maybe I can't help with this, her determination swelled, but I bet Doctor Kenth or one of his people can.
Making sure her handwriting was clear and precise, she rolled up the few parchment she had written on and placed them by her feet. She leaned over towards the other scroll and gently opened it with a finger and the pen. Her eyes widened: it was a map! A map to what? Damned if she knew, and damned if she wasn't going to find out right now! Drawing out one of her last few clean pieces of paper, she copied the map with as much detail as she could, noting her location on the map and the central focus of its creation: the rice paddies and the mountains around the village. The rice paddies, she thought. She felt like something was coming clear that she should have realized long ago; it was just on the edge of her conscious, however, and she wasn't going to wait around for a brain fart.
Carefully placing her book prints into her rucksack, she rolled the old scroll back up and opened her copy. "Where do you lead?" she asked in her mother tongue. "Let's see what story you have to tell, shall we?" With one last cursory glance around the building to make sure she didn't miss anything, she squeezed out of the door once more and started down the indicated path towards the beckoning rice fields.
She didn't have far to go. Alex was no cartographer, but the map was easy enough to follow; she was still mystifed by the finer details, but she'd leave that to someone else. It occured to her that she'd been relying on the talents of other people, rather than charging headlong into the situation by herself. Her adopted parents would be proud! Alex had never been one to let others do what she felt she was capable of doing. I guess this is growing up, she mused with a smile. I can pat myself on the back later, there's still work to do.
Her green eyes scanned the rice paddies for footprints; it didn't take her long to find the disturbed grounds. They hadn't gone too far in, before they stopped by...nothing? Alex had to squint, but she couldn't see why they had stopped. Something was here? she wondered, mildly surprised. She looked around the area, carefully picking her way towards where she thought she the footprints halted. Don't touch anything, don't get wet, she repeated in her mind, a mantra to keep her focused. Pressing her weight onto her toes, she squatted down, observing the paddies around the footprints: there was an indent in the ground. It was definitely there...something light, but with enough presence to make the ground it had been on. Maybe it had been put there when the ground was wet, but she had no way of knowing that, let alone what it was that the other had found.
This is where I need to make use of the help I've been waiting for, she resigned herself. Tightening the mask around her face, she carefully made her way out of the paddies, heading back to the dorm and, hopefully, to Doctor Kenth.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:09 am
From Kenth's journal mm/dd/yy At 4:33 am in the morning the helicoptor arrived at the research science building. The group of reseachers, as if they were expecting some sort of God, gave their most amuzing welcome. There were a lot of people, although it was uncertain if they were all from around the area. Some of them, aside from researchers, seemed to be foreign. The pilot, Mr. Winson, gave my request to the head researcher to discard any materials that they might carry from the lab building, since that was the place where most deaths occured. The head researcher, Jonas White, was hesitant in agreeing, but eventually gave in and handed the lab coat to Winson, who was told to bring the material to the quaranteen chamber, where hopefully people who knew what they were doing would be able to keep them safe and secure until the day the infectious antigen is defeated. Since the lab building was clearly a source of the disease and therefore off limits, people were requested to move to a safer place for a group meeting. Appreantly the dorm building, which was less than half a mile away from the research center, was not infected. Therefore, it can be concluded that the antigen itself spreads very slowly from place to place, perhaps because of the coldness of the weather outside. Once inside of the dorm building, the number of people present was severly cut down when asked to leave if they did not wish to risk their lives. A few people were left, however, most of them being natives. During the break period, a female researcher named Lina Bakura provided me one of the first important information: a blood sample from the diseased corpse. Several immediate observations were made without using any scientific equipments: -- The blood sample was dry, and apprear normal in color --However, when carelessly handled, the clot easily breaks like bread crumb. --The sample, contained in a safetly plastic bag, was not contagious. The first observation leads to the conclusion that the antigen itself was not colored, or that the antigen had lost its color after the death of its host. The second observation signified that the antigen breaks the cellular structure, especially cellulouse that holds the blood cell and platelettes together. It had mutated the cell so that the clot was no longer bonded together strongly, but rather weak and breaks easily. The third observation further supports my hypothesis that the disease spread slowly. Although it also could mean that the antigen lose its power after the host dies. The possibility that plastic is a kind of material that prevents the spreading of the disease was possible, but to a tiny degree. Aside from the blood sample, a documented record of the surrounding area was also received from a Chinese boy. Earlier today the boy was involved in a immature conflict with Dr. White, who deemed himself, at that moment, unfit for adulthood in my eyes. Looking over the documents, it seemed that the neighboring natives were also dealing with the said disease, although their number of deaths left unrecorded. However, from the boy's explanation, it was noted that the natives who lived around here, although in poor condition, was not greately devastated by the disease. There are several possibilities: -- The village was far away from the lab building, so the antigen had not blown in its full force in the villages yet -- The worse condition of the natives somehow prevented the disease from infecting them. -- The villagers had an active way to prevent the disease. While the first possibility suppored the earlier hypothesis that the disease spreads slowly, it does not explain the few deaths listed in the document. The last two possibilities, however, seemed more reasonable. A recorded conversation between two Chinese workers pushed me into deciding to pay the villagers a visit. My study of Chinese language was not sufficient enough to understand the conversation word by word, however, I was able to make out the general points: --There were some political issues around building the research center. --There were also some conflicts between the researchers and the natives who lived around here. --The natives have a firm belief in some sort of religion, and believed firmly in magic. --The two victims, assuming that they had died because of the said disease, died within a few minutes after the first observable symptom appeared. --The disease had a great impact on the human circulartory and respiretory system, as the two victims first started by coughing, and then chest pains. Up till now, the disease has the following traits: --has a very high death rate -- attacks the host's circulartory and respiratory system and breaks the bonding between the platelette molecules. -- death occurs within a few minutes after symptoms appear. -- Can be infected through cuts in the skin. -- dies or disappears after the host's death. -- is not affected by general antibiotics. A trip is planned tomorrow to the native village. It seemed that some of the eager volunteers had already made their way down to the village this afternoon. Perhaps some will return with useful informations. Kenth
I'm going to drop off my belongings anyway, Alex told herself as she neared the dorm, I might as well see if Doctor Kenth has left or not. Please be there! She felt like she was battling with herself. More than anything, Alexis wanted the deaths to stop, to cease the suffering. There was a war going on out there! They didn't need this working against them too!
The doors ~whooshed~ as she neared, allowing her entrance. She was so set on finding Doctor Kenth that she forgot to put her stuff away; it was just as well, seeing as what she wanted Doctor Kenth to look at was in the bag with her belongings. One of the people walking by looked at her, looked back to something in their hands, then snapped their attention back to her, quite surprised. "" she asked in Chinese. No answer. "Is the Doctor still around?" she tried in English; she still received no response other than confused staring. She stared back for a bit, then walked away, frustrated. It's bad enough you fools sit around waiting to die, she thought darkly, but must you invite someone to want to speed the process up for you?
Alex rounded the bend where she had previous seen Doctor Kenth, but was not surprised to see no one there. Sighing inwardly, she called out in English, "Has ANYONE seen Doctor Kenth? Has he left?" She didn't need the virus to kill her. Her anxiety was doing the job nicely. She turned and started to knock on the nearest door.
Kenth was finishing up his progress report (AKA his journal) in one of the smaller rooms when a Chinese young man broke into his door and started talking in broken English.
"Woman...talk...you..." The young man tried his best to get the point through. When he couldn't remember the word, he started pointing at random directions, trying to get Kenth to understand.
Kenth looked at the young man with slight amusement, his fingers on his left temple.
"I understand Chinese better than you can speak English. So speak in your native language, what is the matter?" Kenth was sure that, although his dialect was off by quite a bit, the young man could understand his request. And from the surprised look from the other, Kenth was most certain.
"There is a strange woman in the hallway asking for you." The young man blushed for embarrassing himself trying to speak English, but in the end said in clear Chinese. "She looked...very anxious."
Kenth nodded and stood up. He had hoped that someone who left earlier than him was able to find something, and he certain was looking forward to what this woman would bring. "Thank you." Kenth said to the young man shortly and stormed out of his room, unable to conceal his excitement and expectation. The young doctor was walking down the hallway when Alex's clear voice echoed through his ears. Turning the corner, Kenth saw the dark skined woman (who was in a strange kind of costume...), looking confused and worried.
"You are looking for me?" Kenth asked as clear as he could.
Alex displayed one of her tell-tale signs that she was nervous: she jumped when she heard Doctor Kenth's voice. Dolt! she chastized herself, He's just a man, calm down! Her mental soothing did nothing to lessen the trip and stutter of her heart. She refused to distinguish if it was because of his status or his alarming good looks.
"Doctor Kenth," she greeted him kindly in English. Alex gave herself kutos for keeping her voice serene. "My name is Alexis Falcone." More kutos for introducing herself before barrelling forward, which she was about to do. She looked him squarely in the eye...and saw her reflection in his glasses. Alex kissed all her kutos good bye, quickly untying her shirt from her face. She would only explain if he asked.
"I ventured into the town that the locals spoke of," she started to tell her abridged story, lowering her shoulder so that her rucksack was by her stomach, "and found it abandoned. Very clean, as if no one had lived there, although there was furniture and clothes in the abodes. In the largest building, there's this...this book. And a map." She fished her copies out of her pack, and handed them to him without any hesitation. "I can't read the script, so I took excerpts. The last page looked relatively new compared to the rest of the book. And this," she drew out the rolled up map from her belt, "is the map. I went to where it indicated, but there was only footsteps. Someone already found this information, so I apologize if it's nothing new."
There. Not too bad, Alex, she comforted herself. She felt as though she would tremble if the doctor scorned her, but her pride kept her firmly in place.
Alex...Kenth thought this woman looked familiar. She was the person who started explaining about the circulatory system back when the tape was played, wasn't she? Kenth gave the woman a light nod as a greeting. Alex had given Kenth the impression of a smart being, so Kenth was relieved that she was the one who was looking for him, instead of some other...slow people (people like Jonas).
Disregarding the awkward looks of Alex before she took off her shirt in front of her face (if she was really smart, there must have been a rational reason for it, and Kenth was not about to intrude on someone's embarrassed moment by asking why), Kenth examined the map first before looking down at what was given to him. The map was drawn on an ancient looking scroll, the ones that he had only seen on paper. He squinted at the route that was drawn. Something looked really familiar, and Kenth was certain that the purpose of the map was to clearly depict the area. Kenth then looked down at the book that Alex handed to him. He opened the copy, and frowned at the language that was written.
What language is this...? Kenth searched relentlessly in his mind, but in the end decided that the language was definitely not used on an international scale. Some form of ancient language, perhaps? There was certainly a character here and there that Kenth recognized, which led Kenth to believe that the character had to be some kind of derivative from the Chinese mandarin. Perhaps it was a local dialect? In that case, a visit to the native people had to be necessary.
But didn't Alex say that the village looked adandoned? For what reason did the poeple leave? It could be that the disease caused them to leave the place, but then...
Kenth looked up and stared into Alex's eyes. Serious, Kenth asked quietly.
"How are you feeling?"
The woman was taken aback by the doctors first question. She was expecting any other question, from her silly shirt to more detail on what she saw, but certainly her well being was not amongst her first concerns! Alex pauses for a moment, doing a quick mental check as she did after an evacuation tour; from her head to her toes, she made sure that nothing felt out of place or otherwise different, and to her relief, nothing was. She didn't even feel tired.
"I...feel fine," she replied, realizing the question may have been to see if she was contaminated. She DID just hand him some documents, after all. Alex almost felt disappointed...almost. "I took as many precautions as I could not to touch anything or...or breathe anything foreign," she revealed her strange appearance without meaning to, "with what I had available to me."
It was then that she remembered she hadn't eaten all day. Her stomach warned her that it was going to start growling. Wait until we get back to the room, she begged her own body, I think I deserve that much. "Ah," she added, "I...did I mention what the map lead to? There was...an imprint. In the paddies. It was very faint, but something was there. The person before me must have taken it, so I assume it was something light and easily transportable."
"Hmm..."
Kenth immersed his mouth in his hands, his mind conflicting over the clues just provided to him. So Alex had not had any symptoms. This means that either she was infected but not sick yet, or she was not infected at all.
"Either way, for safety purposes, Alex, I ask that you do not come close contact with anyone in the dorm. I do not know if you have been infected or not but..."
Things don't make any sense.
The frown on Kenth's eyebrows grew deeper, as the stacked up clues began to shake his hypothesis. Too many questions appeared in his thought. Why did the villagers leave? Did Alex catch the antigen? If she did, then that means the villagers who left probably had some antigen with them, which in the end defeats the sole purpose of moving. If Alex did not catch the antigen, then what was the purpose of leaving the village if the village was not infected? And what do the maps mean? What do these strange characters mean? Were they just random recordings? Or were they belonging delibrately planned out by the natives? If so, for what purpose? Did the natives expect people to come and look for them? Was that the reason why they left, because they didn't want to come in contact with the outsiders? Then why leave this clue to find them...assuming that these were clues to find them? Kenth started massaging his temples to try to clear his mind. After he calmed down a little, Kenth continued.
"Actually...do you mind if we go down to the village together? I'd like to take a look at the place myself." Not that he didn't trust Alex, he wanted to make sure what the surrounding was like to give him a hint to further his thoughts and to rationalize his thinking. Of course, by doing so, Kenth risked the possibility of getting infected. The young doctor fell silent, then started again.
"We don't have much time. There is still a chance that you are infected, but this antigen---virus or bacteria or other things---is still dormant within your body. We will go down there to try to find whoever lived in that village. If you were infected, that's probably the only way to get cured...for I am fairly sure that the natives have some way to cure themselves."
Alex wished sorely that she was surprised. She wished that she would be afraid, or scared, or anything other than the nothingness in her mind. She had already accepted that being contaminated was a possibility; her concern now was that the doctor was not. Alex considered staying near the forest, since she hadn't seen any dead or infected animals. This made her wonder what would happen if her body was consumed if she died of the virus; surely others had died while they fled, and had been eaten by scavengers. The crossed the forest off of her mental list of places to be; she decided to wait and see if she survived the day to worry about living for tomorrow.
"I understand, Doctor Kenth," she replied evenly. "I would be more than happy to accompany you; I would think you would find things that I would overlook. My only specialty is saving and taking lives...I'm afraid that doesn't make much for solving riddles." The doctor's spoken concern of her infection made her think of something else. "Should...you or someone else take a vial of my blood? If it does happen that I'm contaminated, then maybe you can search for signs of..." Alex made a face, "...this thing."
She repositioned her rucksack over her shoulder, content with the way things were going. The doctor was going to look into it himself, and if she was at all a part of making sure he found what he needed to, then she could die with some peace of mind. "If you need me to be some sort of experiment for an antigen, I will not deny the request, UNLESS there are limited supplies of whatever it may be. Then I will insist that you take it." The Queen takes the Pawn, Alex thought to herself. She wasn't trying to impress him, she merely knew the seriousness of the situation. No one would care if she died, but the doctor was going to save everyone. She would die to make sure he did not.
Food will have to wait, she decided. It wont matter if I die on a full stomach.
Kenth was not the type of person to be optimistic about things. However, Alex's extraordinary reaction to the possibility of being infected and the possibility of death slightly amuzed him. The young doctor holded arms infront of his chest and shook his head.
"No need. I'd preferr to think that you are going to stay alive than being dead. Besides, all sicence equipments are off limits as they are within the lab building. Requesting for more equipments from the medical center would just waste time. Without a microscope, your blood sample would be useless."
"And I'd rather to receive help from your brain rather than your body." Kenth added, seeing the serious face that Alex showed, he wondered if this woman would someday become famous...her effort deserved it.
Which reminded him once again of that someone who was always better than himself without working hard at all. That person...Kenth never could admit that he was a lot smarter than kenth himself (heck, he act in the most stupid way a human being possibly could!), and he had held a grudge against that certain person ever since...he didn't remember when. The only reason that he took this task was to prove himself better than that someone. He knew about the unwillingness of the Shinkami School, and he knew that he was only an object for testing. Yet he faced this test, simply to prove that he can be equal or better to that person...
Kenth cleared his throat intentionally to interrupt his own thoughts. The young doctor turned to Alex. "Do you need to bring anything before we depart? I'll wait here if you need to go back to your dorm and bring anything necessary."
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:12 am
The doctor's disregard of her insistance almost made Alex smile. He didn't have to like it, or agree with it; if it came down to him or her, there was no choice in Alex's mind. There wasn't even any certainty that she was infected. She'd wait, for now, and see what happened. Her first priority was to aid the doctor; the rest would come in time.
Alex didn't bother to argue with Doctor Kenth. She liked the man immensely for his simple and straight forwardness. Alex herself wasn't one to pull the punches, and she respected the man before her for the same reason. "I have everything I own in this rucksack," she said simply. "I don't stay in any one place too long. There's too much going out there to pretend there's a permanent residence for us all." The only things she ever stopped for were food and water, and sometimes trade goods like paper. The bigger cities and populations made her nervous. It always seemed like a sitting target to her.
She double checked her utility belt: knife, bandages, the dregs of an antiseptic for small cuts and wounds, flint, a few miscellanous tools and gadgets, canteen and granola bar. Her hand dipped into her pouches and pulled out the granola bar, thankful that at some point before now, she had thought ahead. "I'll just need this snack to tide me over. I'm ready when you are."
Kenth nodded. He took out a hand-sized pocket notebook from his labcoat and flashed briefly at Alex. "This is all I need. Assuming that we can be back here by tomorrow..."
A pen and paper was all Kenth needed to gather any useful information. Although sometimes he'd just remember things in his head. In this case, however, there seemed to be something that he had to write down, something unfamiliar even to him. The best senario would be the two tracking down some native people before Kenth's energy runs out. The young doctor had full confidence in his condition, as well as his ability to not feel hugry for a long time...a result of constantly starving himself for work.
Without further sayings, Kenth walked out of the dorm building. He looked down at the map, and compared it to the surroundings. The day looked a lot brighter in that early afternoon, even though the air was still chilling. Kenth recognized the familiar shape in the map with the actuall landscape, but the lab building's location was nowhere to be found. It could be concluded, therefore, that the map was made by the natives, who did not bother to put down the location of their "intruders".
Holding the map in an upright position, Kenth turned to Alex. "How far is this abandoned village?"
Alex smiled at the doctor as he flashed his notebook. She knew he'd be nothing less than fully prepared for whatever was to come. Alex entertained the idea that under different circumstances, she would have liked to have had an indepth conversation with him. Maybe over dinner. She was certain his knowledge would be as fascinating as his good looks, if not more.
The woman followed him without a need for encouragement. She chewed on the granola bar thoughtfully, eating slowly so her stomach wouldn't pass it through without getting something filling out of it. When the doctor checked the map, she took a moment to survey the land. It must have been beautiful here, once, she reflected, looking over the dead landscape and neglected rice paddies. Her mind wandered over to the abandoned village; the clean, sturdy homes and the ghostly atmosphere, the lack of any disorder or signs of life other than the clothes left behind. If she had hackles, they would have stood on end, just remembering that town.
"How far is this abandoned village?"
Alex looked at the doctor, then looked towards the far mountainside. "It's near the mountain range," she said, observing the paddies as far as the eye could see, "nestled just below the line of the land, so it's not readily visible unless you're on it."
Not very far then. Kenth made a mental note and estimated the time for a trip from the dorm to the village and then back. Alex did it within about 5 hours, plus the time she had spent there to collect the clues.
He might need to stay in that place for the night if necessary. Ah well.
Kenth also noted the rice patties. Someone must have taken care of it...someone in that village before, perhaps? Seeing how the plant was growing, this antigen must have not been able to shed its effect on plants. Of course, that didn't mean the plant was not a carrier of this antigen. Disease that infect only humans were not rare, but from the look of it...if the natives depended on the rice for food, then they are not likely to be carriers of the disease. Afterall, a wide spread of epidemic was not heard of in the native's place according to the boy's words earlier. The plague happened within the foreigners...someone who did not depend on rice for food.
Or maybe the rice had some kind of preventive abilities.
Nothing's sure until Kenth find someone who knows about this place. The young doctor sighed and adjuested his clothing, buttoning up the top of his lab coat, but still not rolling down his sleeves.
"No time to waste then, let's go."
Lina had long since lost the trail of Alexis. Or even time itself.
She had followed the woman down to the village, and had felt a little hungry. She'd taken some fruit that had been sitting outside on the patio of the research center and now...
Now she couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
Another palpitation of the heart and she cried out, grabbing at her chest. She felt hot. Hot all over. Her chest hurt. Her head throbbed.
She had no idea why she was still alive.
She'd felt thirsty, and the water found in some of the rice paddies had certainly tasted good. Was that what was making her sick...?
No.
It was....it was the disease.
She couldn't go back.
So now she was just searching for a place to die. But why wasn't she dead already....?
Alex gave a firm nod and headed off in the direction she had indicated. She thought about the time it had taken her to do all that she had, and was somewhat surprised it hadn't taken longer. With all the precautions she had taken, including moving slowly so as to not overlook anything... Not bad, she thought, coming to the same conclusion the doctor had, unknowingly. "With the two of us, it shouldn't take too long." She may be acting as a guide, but once they got to the village, she wasn't sure what he would need her for, if he indeed needed her at all. "Is there anything specifically you need from me once we get to the village? Other than staying out of your way, that is."
She wondered if she should ask if they should stop by the village - that is, the one that still had people in it. Alex quickly dismissed the idea; the doctor knew what he was doing, and if he didn't want to bother with the natives, then there was no point in asking.
As she walked, she re-observed the land. She'd always wondered how rice paddies could be such a large source of food. In her experience, anything left wet - in the ground or otherwise - would spoil or attract bugs. That's why you're not a farmer, she decided with a smile.
The place look foul.
That was Kenth's first reaction when he walked across the nearly wasted land. The strangly wet climate at the place seemed to draw his attention. It was in midest winter, and as cold as the weather was, the place still had water running. The landscape looked almost tropical---perfect place for all kinds of diseases. Things that normally wouldn't be expected to grow seemed to root themselves even in the harsh winter. Of course, neither of those said plants showed sighs of infection. Or perhaps the mere growth of these plants was related to the antigen itself?
Careful not to let any of the muddy substances on the road get on his skin, Kenth kept his hands in his pockets and chin tucked tightly to his high-collar shirt, as if he was really cold. Kenth walked fast and lightly. The sky seemed to have darkened a bit. Clouds were gathering above his head.
Chances are, if it rains, he and Alex would more likely be infected. Antigen, no matter what, always see water as the most convinent source of transportation.
For half an hour the two walked without a sound. Finally Kenth stopped at the top of what looked to be a small hill. A small mass of houses could be seen from the top. Kenth looked at the map and marked the village with his pen that was always carried in his chest pocket.
"I assume that is the village?"
Lina raised her head. Voices...? Voices. Coming...coming from where....?
She couldn't think. Had trouble breathing.
She let out a scream as her chest constricted tightly again.
Alex nodded curtly to the doctor. She wasn't exactly happy to be here again, but the village still filled her with a sense of wonder. "This is it. Clean as the day it was built." She started to walk forward again, and stopped. Did she just hear something move? She cast her gaze around, scanning the horizon with scrutiny. Wait, was that...?
The scream shattered her mind. It was desperate, frightened, and...dying. Something nagged at her. Even though it was a scream, it sounded familiar somehow. She didn't feel it necessary to alert the doctor to the obvious, so she quickly started to make her way towards where she thought the voice had come from.
"Hello!" she called, catching sight of something in the fields. "Are you hurt? What--" Her throat constricted. She suddenly felt faint as the crumpled body of someone she knew and cared for came into view.
"Oh God. Lina. Lina!" She yelled over her shoulder as she closed the distance to the girl, "Doctor Kenth, it's Lina!"
Lina snapped to attention immediately.
She didn't recognize the face in front of her. Did. Didn't. Waving in and out of view.
"...."
Wait!
"DON'T!!! DON'T COME NEAR ME!" she screamed, weakly trying to back up and failing. "DON'T....don't...."
The familiar sound of the scream made Kenth's head to jerk up from the collar. Before he could do anything, Alex rushed forward to check the collapsed girl. Kenth stopped himself before rushing forward, even if Alex called. In his mind, two thoughts were battling against each other.
If Lina was infected, there is a good chance that Alex and himself will be infected by getting close in touch with her. Therefore, he should not get close to the young woman no matter what.
On another thought, if he didn't do anything, Lina would die (but even if he did, Lina would not live before he figured out the cure). And Alex and everyone else would be devastated, and then his reputation would be slurred...for not helping the dying girl.
Whatever he decides, he needed to decide fast.
For some reason his mind wandered off to that person again. What would he do in this sitiaion...?
Well, kenth didn't need to even guess. That idiot would rush forward and try everything he could to save the girl. He's too...dense to care about his life and his reputation.
And that was why Kenth was different...that was why Kenth was not like him. Kenth...has a logicall mind that was beyond human sentimentality, or rather, he was not able to handle them, that's why he avoided them at all costs. Because he knew, if he didn't control himself, he'd murder someone he hated right away...he'd murder his own kin...because of his jeaulousy.
If only he didn't exist.
If words were powerful enough, and Kenth believed that it probably was, he'd have been dead a long time ago. Killed by his own relative, by the one who shared his own blood. God! If only he wasn't so stupid to try to save him! If only he wasn't part of his family, if only he didn't know about him...
If only Kenth was as strong as him, everything would be fine.
kenth clutched his fist and bit his lips suttlely, unable to control the flood of memory and emotions in his head. He suddenly had an urge to run away...away from this harsh decision for the sake of his own logic, his own life.
After all, if he died, then all those glory would be useless...he'd prove himself a failure to the test.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:14 am
Alex stopped a mere few feet from Lina. "I know sweetie, shh," she tried to soothe her friend, "I wont touch you. Give me some credit, eh?" She smiled as winningly as she could, trying to keep the woman's mind off of the disease that was plaguing her.
She took a shallow breath, trying to collect her thoughts. Lina wasn't dead yet, but it had been so long since Alex had seen her that she knew a large amount of time had to have passed. "Lina, can you tell me what happened? Did you touch something? Are you hurt or cut anywhere?" She cast a cursory glance over her shoulder, and saw Doctor Kenth looking as though he was staring at a ghost that only he could see. So the good doctor has his own demons, Alex surmised, not at all surprised. She may have been disappointed if he was spotless in who he was. This made him more human somehow.
"Just say calm Lina. You have to. Think of what happened, and stay calm, okay?" She didn't want Lina's heart to work too hard. Alex was hoping that once Lina told her what had happened, she could figure out where the disease was coming from, and how to delay its effects. Lina was their hope now, and Alex prayed to whatever God was listening that she didn't fail her friend.
Kenth was a little relieved when he saw that Lina seemed to be okay. Weak, but not enough to the point of dying. Whatever she had done unconsciously must have been saving her life. Kenth walked closer to the two and bent down so he could inspect Lina more closely. Her face was pale, and she was panting heavily, trying to breath.
So the antigen has gotten into her lungs. From the way she screamed though, they are certainly not able to take over her lungs...at least not yet. Making a patient who has trouble to breath talk was unprofessional, Kenth thought of stopping Alex from trying to get Lina to talk. But that was the only way to make any progresses. the young doctor's hand subconsciously reached for the notebook in his pocket while his ears listened carefully about what Lina had to say. <********," Lina spat, smiling weakly. "M'sorry."
She squinted her eyes. "...R'member...eatin...fruit. From....r...r'serch cennnnn..." she hacked a couple of times, trying to hide the red that came up with it.
"...W's...thirsssy. D....drank...ricepaddywat---AH!"
Alex frowned, looking over to Doctor Kenth. "So the food is contaminated, after all. It must be once it's removed from the tree..." She trailed off, staring blankly, before asking, "Does that mean that living plants have the antigen?"
She turned her attention to Lina, biting her lip. "You drank water from the paddies," she repeated, "and...you're still with us, thank goodness. I wonder if the living paddies had anything to do with it."
Alex then looked back to the doctor. "Should I go double check the houses? See if there's any remnants of something that may have been created from the living plants?" To find anyting at all, she added silently.
Alex had a point, as Kenth was suspecting that something was up with the rice patties earlier. He nodded to Alex, "Please do." and turned to Lina, who was struggling still. He wondered if he should take a sample from the water in the rice patties. Although even if he decided to eventually, this was not the time.
Wait, didn't Lina say about fruit in the research center? Kenth suddenly remembered how the two victims were drinking coffee before dying in the tape that was played earlier. Was the coffee infected with teh antigen? If that's the case, then perhaps the fruit was the source, instead of the water from the rice patties.
kenth frowned. So which one was causing the disease? The young doctor moved closer to Lina and stared at her persistently.
"When did you eat the fruit?"
"C--can't--cannremem--"
Then she leaned forward and vomited.
It was only a little, but it was definitely crimson. Lina became paler, her eyes glazing over.
"...go," she whispered, wheezing. "...contaminated. Can't...rissspreadbyair...."
Alex had taken off at Kenth's command. She moved to the small village with the speed of one who knew that something dear was at stake. Her hand clutched her rucksack, which she used to throw open the door to the first home. She quickly searched the room; furniture, some clothes, tables, dishes...nothing out of the ordinary. Alex hissed with impatience. She knew something was here, right beneath her nose! She moved through the house, checking the rooms. There wasn't so much as a speck of dust that seemed out of place.
Annoyed, she moved to the next house. Opening the door, she stepped inside, performing the same search as she had in the first one. Like the first one, there was nothing. She could feel herself become disheartened; it seemed unlikely that if there was nothing within the first three to five houses, that there was nothing at all.
Keep trying, she pushed herself. For Lina.
Just as she was about to exit the house, she noticed a bucket by the front of the door, just off to the side. It was well worn and...had something in it! Maybe it's nothing but swill, she thought as she picked it up, but as she brought it closer to her face, she could smell the unmistakable herbal tang of ginseng. Alex used to drink it in tea when her stomach was upset. An herbal remedy, she could feel herself becoming excited, maybe this is it!
She darted out of the house and back to Doctor Kenth to show him her findings.
So the fruit was eaten a long time ago...at least before today. Kenth felt a little disappointed at the breaking of another one of his hypothesis. He inspected Lina. Nothing on the surface other than her being pale. He also noted the vomit. Hint of red within something that came from the stomach? It must mean that the blood was carried into the stomach as well. So the antigen had impact on the digestive system too...Or it could be that the blood vessel walls around the stomach was infected, making it another symptom of circulartory defect.
The vomit smelled normal though. It smelled of half digested food...the sour taste of the stomach acid. Although there was a hint of some kind strong herbal medcine. Kenth wondered if that was from the rice pattie. If that was the case, would this herbal substance be something that could infect Lina or...
Kenth looked up as Alex approached him with a bucket of tea like liquid. The young doctor's eyes went wider, amused at Alex's findings.
"What is this?" He asked, hoping that it was something related...well, he trusted Alex, so this liquid has to be something related...
Alex couldn't help herself; she was grinning like a loon. "I'm not one hundred percent what it's composed of," she started truthfully, "but I can tell you that there IS ginseng in here. It helps settle upset stomaches, amongst other things." She peered into the bucket again, thoughtful. "Maybe mint? I don't know what would make it green, what grows around here, anyway. Possibly a natural algae-"
The woman looked over at Lina, her grin disappearing completely. "I...I found it by the door of one of the houses. I don't know if that means it's used as an airborn ward or if it needs to be consumed." Her eyes were stuck on Lina. "I'll...go check the other houses. I'll bring back what I find."
And quickly! her mind screamed at her. You're losing Lina!
Kenth nodded and pushed up his glasses with his fingers. He watched the woman come and go, not thinking for a second about herself. Kenth realized how selfish his thoughts were, and for a moment felt ashamed of himself. His eyes were focused on to the crystal clear green liquid in the bucket in front of him. The movement of water drowned his thoughts and pulled his memory back to when he was young.
All the things he had done when he was a child...was for himself. But all the things HE had done when Kenth was young...was for the family, for someone else.
And there was a huge difference. HE was not spoiled like him. HE spoiled him, and loved him, and protected him. But in the end Kenth hated HIM, hated everything HE had done...just because HE was different, and liked a lot more than everyone else.
People adored HIM, and respected Kenth. People loved HIM for his personality (a stupid one) and his openness and liveliness. And people respected Kenth for his...paperworks, his achievements. Sure, they were both smart, but whenever people want to talk to someone, they choose HIM instead of Kenth. The young doctor was left in the background. His name well know on magazines and articles, but no one knew his face...no one knew who he really was.
He was...a sinful devil. And HE was the angel.
And everyone loved the angel except the devil, who hated HIM for who HE was.
Ah, but look, the young doctor was losing his concentration again. Somehow Kenth saw something in Alex that was extremely familiar, something very much similar to HIM. The dark skinned woman reminded Kenth of that angel, and reminded him how selfish of a man he himself was.
Not necessarily a good thing in this situation.
Shaking his head, kenth forced his thoughts to go back to Lina, who appeared to be weaker and weaker. Kenth looked at the liquid, his mind calculating the chances of his hypothesis to be proven true.
If Lina drank the liquid from the rice pattie, then this liquid could well be pushing her to death's door.
But Alex said something about curing stomach problems? On another thought, if the fruit was the source of the antigen, then perhaps this liquid was really a remedy. Then drinking it could save Lina's life.
If Lina doesn't drink the liquid...then she was going to die.
With that thought Kenth stood up and carried the bucket as close as he could without contacting Lina herself. He hoped that the girl had the strength to drink herself.
"Here, Lina, drink this water. It might make you feel better."
Lina reached out gratefully, trying aimlessly to grope at the bucket, missing it as she grabbed air. "Cansseeee....." she groaned.
"...Won'b'ablesaygubyet'Nai...."
Alex had never been a track star, but she made some remarkable time as she darted to and fro from the homes. She had found another bucket in the third house she checked, and she had kept that one on her person; the others she found - there seemed to be no pattern to where they were - she dumped into the bucket she carried, so long as the liquid smelled the same. Alex felt that her antics were feverish, but time was growing desperate: it was Lina's life on the line, and she was not going to doubt herself or the doctor.
"Lina, you best hold on," she murmured as she made a trek through another house without success, "I'm not giving up on you, so don't give up on yourself." Another house; no luck. Another; a bucket. Another; nothing, and nothing in the next. So she continued for ten minutes, a whirlwind of speed and determination. She almost picked up a cup for Lina to use for more water, but decided against it. Alex had no way of knowing where the virus REALLY was, although she had her theories.
Twelve minutes later, with the bucket at least halfway full, Alex returned to the doctor and her friend.
Onyx eyes just stared out the window. He knew he should be doing something but everything he knew he should do...he just didn't have the will to put his all into it. What worth could something be if you didn't put your all into it? The male sighed, leaning against the wall. The best place for him to go to is that village his father loved.
A shiver in his chest. He should go, even if he didn't want to think about his father. He was classically clad in all black, even his gear was in black. He look to his stack of clothing and his empty backpack. He should go.
He slipped on shoes and put some things he thought he might need into his backpack. West. The village was west. Half-willingly, Weiyuan left his room.
~~~~
His hand was shaking as it gripped the strap of his backpack. He gently pulled out a bandana, tying it into a makeshift mask. He moved around the village poking in and out of houses doing his best to dispel any kinds of thoughts of his father.
He failed though. Weiyuan just happened to come across a pair. He immediately recognized Dr. Kenth, though he couldn't tell who the person on the ground was. Female he could tell at least.
He felt everything go black. In her place he saw his father's form, screaming, breathing, trying to live. And then he could see his father's eyes...glazed...dead.
He yelled. Falling back onto his butt, his body shaking. He knew something like this would happen, he should move. Move. Move! Move body move! He couldn't.
Upon the unrecognizable speech Lina gave, Kenth realized that the girl was most likely incapable of drinking the liquid all by herself. The young doctor felt a shiver, and the realization that he had to touch Lina somehow in order to help her made him frown. Plus, even if he did touch her, Kenth had no tools on him that could possibly feed Lina the remedy. And with Alex gone...
An abrupt scream pulled him away from his thoughts. Kenth turned to see who it was, and saw the pale but familiar face of the boy who had helped him a while ago. What was the boy's name again? Kenth wasn't sure anymore, for his mind was far too occupied in the antigen than anything else. Watching the boy shaking on the groung, Kenth's first reaction was to suspect that he too, might have caught the disease. Although there was something different about him...something that told Kenth the boy was still healthy.
Well, whatever condition he may be in, if the boy could stand up, he might be able to help.
"Hey! Can you stand?" Kenth called out as loudly as he could, suddenly realizing that his voice was not as strong as before. Did the antigen get into him as well? Kenth wasn't sure, but the chances were high enough for him. He knew...it was now or never.
"If you can stand, come over here and help me out." Kenth waved at the boy, his eyes turned to look at the green water. Should he drink it? If the antigen really did infect him then he might as well...
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:17 am
"Doctor Kenth!" Alex called out to him, her face drawn. She'd heard the scream, and judging by the fact that the good doctor was just as she'd left him, he hadn't been the one to make the sound. She was a little shocked at how relieved she was. Alex continued to move quickly towards the doctor, holding the bucket completely still as she did so. She knew the contents were important, and could be precious to save a life.
Her green gaze turned to the prone figure that laid further down the road. She quickly noticed that although he was probably the one who screamed, he wasn't near the state that Lina was in. The boy simply looked like he was staring a personal demon in the face. Not unlike Doctor Kenth was a while ago, she noted. What was it about this disease that was making everyone face their fears? Alex counted her blessings that she didn't have much to haunt her; she had no regrets with what she'd done in her life.
"Doctor Kenth," she repeated as she kneeled next to the man, "there's a half a bucket of this stuff." She turned her attention to Lina. Alex suddenly looked a little pale under her tan skin. "What...what do you need me to do?" she asked quietly, her expression calm and serious.
His body was still shaking as he realized that he had to do something. Onyx eyes caught the sight of a new person, he recognized the face. He had intended to find her he remembered.
The male knew he was needed. Slowly, he raised a shaking hand a slapped himself hard. There was a reality he had to get a grip on!
He stood, legs still quivering beneath him. Slowly he made his way towards the group, willing away his nerves. He kneeled down beside the female, recognizing her as well. He felt as if he couldn't trust his voice at the moment but all he needed were instructions.
Lina just saw shapes now....dark shapes.
"....Help......" she whimpered, eyes dimming.
Kenth almost smiled to see help arrive all of a sudden. He grabbed the bucket immediately and settled it between Alex and the boy.
"Do any of you have something that can get the remedy into Lina's mouth?" And make her swallow, of course.
Alex rooted around in her utility belt, pulling out her canteen and some bandages. "You can dump the water if you need," she offered, holding up the canteen, "or soak the bandages and drip it into her mouth." She looked at the doctor expectantly; she knew time was running out, and what was necessary simply had to be done.
Kenth looked at the two things Alex held up and nodded. Both of the items could work if they act quickly. Had Lina's vision been effected too? Or was it just because she was losing consciousness? Kenth took over the canteen and poured some of the green water into it, making sure to fill the container full enough so that a little tilt would make the water flow out of the flask. Kenth realized that at least two of them were going to have to come in contact with Lina. The boy and Alex could do it without involving himself, but...
Kenth found himself breathing heavily. It could just be due to the face that his heart was pumping so fast in the combination of Lina dying and the fear of himself dying...and the responsibility he held, and the choice of him or the other two kind people. Shaking his head a little, Kenth handed the filled canteen back to Alex.
"Here, I'll hold her up, and you can pour the liquid into her mouth. Make sure to pour slowly...we don't want her to choke on the liquid if it gets into her lungs."
With that said, Kenth moved swiftly to Lina and grabbed her by her shoulder. He then slowly descended her frail body on himself, with her head up against one of his knee. Using his fingers skillfully, Kenth tilted Lina's head in a flat but slightly sideway position. He then gave Alex a nod, signaling her to feed the remedy.
"Now, Lina, I know it's hard for you, and I'm not sure if you can hear me but...try as hard as you can to swallow the water that Alex is going to give you."
This could be the only chance.
Alex made a mental note to give the doctor a hug when this was all said and done. She gave him a brief, albeit grateful smile, before moving over her friend.
The woman leaned over to Lina. She could tell by the glaze over her friend's eyes that she was losing the battle between this world and the next. "Hold on Lina, I haven't given up on you," she said gently. Alex lifted the canteen, and very carefully tilted it over Lina's lips, coaxing the greenish liquid out.
As it started to flow into Lina's mouth, Alex knew she'd never forgive herself if she spent all her time gathering this green tonic for nothing. "Try to swallow, Lina," she encouraged the prone woman, "the Doctor and I are here for you."
Lina couldn't really understand what was being said. She tried to struggle away as someone pulled her up, didn't he understand that she was sick and--
She coughed, accidentally spitting some of the green liquid up with her blood.
It was bitter. And really bad-tasting. Her tongue was numb.
Even so, Lina found the strength to accept the stream flowing into her mouth and swallow.
Alex looked at her hand. The one that had been reflexively under Lina's chin, in case she started to choke. The one now spotted with Lina's blood and the tonic. She looked momentarily to the doctor, never ceasing to put the liquid into Lina's mouth, careful not to give her too much.
She found herself wondering if she'd had any cuts on her hand. She also felt herself not caring, as long as this worked. "That's a good girl," she cooed softly to Lina, "keep it up. You'll be fine."
Lina somehow managed to down the liquid; her throat protested at first, but immediately that was dispelled by a smooth, soothing feeling that coated her throat, her burning esophagus.
She sank to the ground, unconscious, but looking a lot more vital than she did a minute ago.
Kenth watched as the brave girl swallow the liquid. He sighed, and observed the unconscious girl. He carefully brushed against her nose with his hand, making sure that she was still alive. Her breathing was more regular now, as well as the color of her face.
So the green water was a remedy after all. Kenth was relieved, and breathed a heavy sigh, feeling horse in his lungs. The icy blue eyes, now looking exhausted, glanced at others around him. Lina was safe for now...although they'll have to observe her for a while. Carrying an unconscious person was not going to be fine.
"Looks like you found the cure, Alex." Kenth gave the dark skinned woman a weak smile, and got up from the ground. Sure, the disease was not killing Lina anymore because of this strange tea remedy, but he still needs to find out where this remedy came from...and why it would have an effect on the disease.
For now, though, it was better to make sure that they are safe and out of death's reach.
"Just in case, let's all take in a little bit of this remedy."
Weiyuan watched this all in wonder. He could easily see the nervousness in the other's eyes. He understood why, someone's life was haning in the balance and they were fighting against an unknown enemy. All they had left was something that they could call an antidote or at least something that could help the person survive. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't even give the person words of comfort.
Alex put the canteen against the bucket, gently resting her hand on Lina's leg. She's okay, she thought with quiet wonder, we found it. It's done. Just like that, everything was normal again.
She made her way into the rice paddies, looking around for a relatively clean puddle to wash her hand off in. Glancing over her shoulder, she commented to the doctor, "I wouldn't have found anything if you didn't come back here, Doctor Kenth." There was no dismissal or negativity in her voice; she was simply stating the facts. "I may not have checked the houses again if Lina hadn't been dying before my eyes. I may put on a brave front, but I wasn't willing to touch anything." She gave her hand a good shake before wiping it on her jeans, which she knew she'd have to burn. "Not until it was almost too late."
The woman made her way back to the two men, looking at Lina's mostly peaceful face. She dug into her rucksack and pulled out a few of her shirts, kneeling down and tucking them under Lina's head to keep her elevated until they could move her. Standing, she looked to the doctor. "This is thanks to you, you know," she said seriously. "Had you not wanted to come down here yourself...if you hadn't used your quick judgement, Lina would have become a statistic."
Knowing very well the doctor had put his life on the line, and still may have it on the line, she added sincerely, "Thank you."
She turned her serene gaze to the other male. "Are you well?" she asked. "That was quite a scare you gave us."
Weiyuan looked up startled, realizing someone was talking to him. Which meant the girl was safe. He looked down to the woman who seemed to look a lot better. His mind was just starting to get back up to it's usual speed.
"Y-yeah...just...just my mind playing tricks on me." He smiled a bit, knowing that the image was going to cause him many nightmares.
Kenth did not reply to Alex's words. Not his reply was really necessary anyways, as seeing Alex started talking to the other boy. Getting up to his feet, Kenth felt the liquid he had just drank burn through his esophagus and down to his stomach as a ball of sour fire. He let out a short goan, and coughed lightly at the bitter taste of the medicine.
He remembered an old Chinese saying, "Liang Yao Ku Kou"----"Bitter medicines are always good medicines."
Did that saying apply to real life too? It must have...at least it made sense to him.
Letting his face tilted up to the sky, Kenth breathed in the humid air that smelled of fresh green grass. It was amazing how all of a sudden this place tranformed itself from dark winter to gentle spring. Kenth was relieved. He left his eyes closed and took off his glasses, letting the cool breeze brush upon his face.
HE must have been relieved when Kenth was oaky...despite HIS severe wounds that almost took over his life. HE must have felt pain...but what remained on his face was...that sincere smile of relief, of seeing his loved one to be safe.
HE was an idiot. HE had no idea what Kenth did to HIM. HE's just...too naive, too loving...too...
The sky darkened, and Kenth's thoughts were interrupted by a tingckling wetness on his cheek. Kenth opened his eyes and rubbed them sheepishly, almost like a child. Putting on his glasses, Kenth looked up and stretched out his hands.
It was raining.
The rain fell soundlessly onto this land. Kenth let the heavenly water to be drentched into his skin, feeling the cool touches.
It was a day like this that he left home without saying good-bye.
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Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:19 am
Alex gave an encouraging smile to the young man. "That's good," she said as she walked back to the canteen, "I don't want to see a case like this again." She started to take a sip, then stopped, looking at the doctor.
He looked different. She had the impression that he had a huge blanket on him; one that kept the wind from touching him, kept people from really seeing him, kept the outside world from affecting him in any way. Now...the man she looked at was being caressed by the wind, and kissed by the newly falling rain. He looked like an angel.
The woman realized she was staring. She quickly busied herself with putting her rucksack over the bucket, as to keep the tonic from being diluted, and to keep herself from gawking at the doctor. Alex took a quick mouthful of the stuff, a slight grimance rippling across her face. "Gah, come take some of this," she motioned to the young man. "Better safe than sorry." She coughed, then murmured, "Oh it burns. That's how you know the stuff is good."
While she waited for the young man to come take some, she couldn't help but steal a few more glances at Doctor Kenth. She felt peaceful as she watched him.
Weiyuan obeyed the woman, taking a drink of the liquid. His nose scrunched up. Burning and scartching. He didn't like it. He wondered if his father knew about this, then maybe he wouldn't of left them.
He shook out that thought. His eyes strayed to the doctor. It seemed the man had his own things to get over, he wasn't one to pry. Everyone needed time. When this was over he knew that he needed alot of it. "I think we need to move her to an isolated enviroment out of here." To his own ears he sounded unsure, he had no experience with this kind of things.
The boy's words drew Kenth back to reality. He shook his head hard, blaming himself for daydreaming too much. Kenth then turned around at the other two and nodded.
"The rain is getting heavier, we should find a place to stay in midest of the rain." Kenth said, scanning around the area. Staying in the abandonded houses seemed to be a good idea other than the fact that they would be stuck and not able to go anywhere during the rain. So instead, Kenth pointed to what seemed to be a small forest not far from the village.
"Perhaps we can find a way to the real village without getting wet there." Kenth continued while checking on the map. "If I marked things correctly, there should be a smaller pathway within the forest that would lead us back to the main road. Hopefully by that time the rain would be gone...and we'll continue on our way." Kenth secretly blamed himself for not bringing an umbrella. Perhaps a weather forecast of the area before his departure would be useful after all...
"You two, can you help me out and carry Lina? We can take turns..."
"Good idea," she agreed with the boy. "You understand the map fairly well, correct, Doctor Kenth?" Alex smiled at him. She looked back to the younger man and said, "Can you carry the bucket without it spilling?"
Alex was reasonably tall for a woman; she wasn't built like an ox, but she was nearly as strong as one. Being an evacuee aid, she was used to carrying people through tough terrain for long periods of time. Rather than explain her history, she said, "I can carry her for a bit. She's a petite little thing; I've carried children bigger than her." She smiled at her friend, even though Lina was out cold. Alex kneeled and grabbed her rucksack, pulling out two overshirts. One she used to cover the bucket with; the other she carefully wrapped behind Lina, gently moving the woman to get it around her and mostly over her head.
"If one of you can help get her on my back, I'll start. I'm still running on some adrenaline, so I should be good for a while." It was true. Seeing Lina dying had spurred her to move faster than she could remember.
She wasn't so sure about going into the forest. While she had thought of staying there when the doctor said she couldn't go to the dorm, she had intended to stay by in, not inside. Spooked by a dark forest, but not a deadly virus? Man, my priorities are little skewed, she grinned to herself. Even so, the doctor hadn't lead her astray thus far. She trusted him.
Alex crouched down by Lina's feet, hoping the guys wouldn't argue with her.
Kenth did not object to Alex's decision. He walked over quietly and held Lina up so Alex could support her without slipping off. The dark skinned woman was obviously skilled and experienced in this, Kenth thought, and he admired the way Alex volunteered pretty much for everything. Or...he was a little jeaulous. No matter how he looked at her, she always reminded him of HIM. Of course, Alex looked far more intelligent than HE was...comparing HIM with Alex would be an insult.
As the cloud gathered, the rain became heavier. Kenth's glasses were covered with water that he could not see clearly. Frustrated, the young doctor simply took his glasses off and stuffed them in his pocket. Kenth's eyes were nearsighted, but fortunately it was still enough for him to see his surroundings. Water started dripping down from his silver-gray hair, and his white lab coat was pretty much wet from the shoulder down.
"Hurry up and bring Lina to the forest. We don't want her to catch a cold in her condition." Kenth said in a tone that was almost demanding. He turned to the other boy and waved. "You guys, too!"
With the doctor's help, Alex shifted Lina onto her back successfully. She carefully tucked her arms behind the woman's legs, her elbows high against Lina's hips. It looked awkward, but there was no other way to keep the prone woman's weight balanced properly. She only had to lean forward a little bit; Lina's arms dangled over Alex's shoulders, acting as an anchor. The Italian woman also had part of the overshirt she had put on Lina grasped in her hands, which allowed her a better weight distribution.
"I'm ready when you are, Doctor Kenth," she said, moving with relative ease to keep up with the man. Alex cast a glance over her shoulder to make sure the boy would follow; it would do no good to lose the tonic before it could be properly identified.
As she turned back to face the forest, she noticed the doctor had removed his glasses once more. She leaned towards him, near enough to touch his shoulder, and murmured, "If you need help, Doctor, just tell me where to go. I still have a decent set on me." As if to prove the point, she winked one of her green eyes at him, shifting Lina on her back to make sure her hair clip didn't catch on the poor woman.
It didn't occur to her that she was trying to take on everything; it was her nature to help those in a difficult situation, even if she was a little overbearing. It probably didn't help that she had a growing fondness for the doctor, either.
Kenth frowned a little and grumbled almost like a little boy when Alex offered her help as a guide. " I can still see fine, thanks." And to prove that he was not near blind, kenth walked straight ahead, beating Alex to the entrance of the forest. He then turned and waited for the others to catch up.
"If you get tired, I'll take Lina over." Kenth said as Alex approached him. A payback of kindness? Maybe. Kenth was not as experienced in carrying pepople as Alex was, but he had a full confidence in his physical strength, as he had competed with HIM when he was younger (of course, Kenth always the loser in the competition, but he'd never admit it). Besides, he was a man after all.
Kenth watched the swift but delicate movement of the dark skinned woman. No matter how he looked at her, Alex always reminded Kenth of HIM. HIS enthusiasm to help, HIS way of hogging all the responsibilities to HIMSELF. On the other hand, Alex acted a lot more intelligent than HIM, so comparing Alex to HIM would almost be an insult.
The forest was thick enough to block the heavy rain, but it also blocked away the light. Unable to see in the darkness, Kenth reached into his pocket and put on his glasses again. However, it didn't help as the forest was as dim as it could get. And with the sound of dripping water and the humidity, Kenth felt as if he was placed in a tropical rainforest---and he knew what that would be like.
"Watch your feet. " Kenth said firmly to others as a warning. Long time humid air would eventually rot the earth underneath it. Kenth walked slowly, and tested the softness of the soil with every one of his footsteps. Suddenly one of his foot sunk into the wet soil, and as a reflex Kenth immediately jumped back. His vision seemed to be better, and as he squinted, he could make out reflections of water on the ground.
...Maybe this wasn't a very good idea after all? Kenth frowned. He hated to admit his failing judgement.
Although at this point, turning back would be impossible, seeing the steps they have made this far. Kenth sighed, and wondered if they should just wait here until the day gets better when the rain stops. Just as he raised his head, however, Kenth saw something directly in front of him. Something solid with eerie light in it. A house, perhaps?
"Alex." Kenth called out. He felt like he was dependent on the woman's judgement and senses. "Can you see what's in front of us?"
Alex laughed as she passed the doctor into the forest, deeply amused by his reaction. Had he just poked fun at her? She certainly wasn't trying to say he had a fault, because goodness knows she admired the man far too much to think so. Still, she grinned good naturedly at him as he took his place in front of the line, feeling strangely giddy. Must be the adrenaline, she told herself, not willing to admit she was fond of the man.
As their surroundings got darker, Alex started to feel a knot of worry in her stomach. Dark forests in a strange land never bode well. She was deep in thought about how to proceed when the doctor nearly jumped on her. Alex stumbled backwards a little, managing to keep her footing without spilling her friend off her back.
Before she could utter another playful jest, the doctor spoke.
"Alex. Can you see what's in front of us?"
The woman blinked at the doctor, then careful moved next to him, peering into the darkness. She drew in a sharp, hissing breath. "It's...a building," she said slowly. "A glowing, old building. I'd have to get close to say for certain exactly what it is. But glowing buildings make me nervous." Her attempt at humor fell short, even to her own ears.
She had a very bad feeling about this. Alex didn't know that the doctor was depending on her; likewise, she was depending on him for his judgement and wits.
Kenth didn't like the eerie glow either. He wondered if he should proceed or not. But still, a lighter area was always better than a darker area, at least in his opinion.
the young doctor was silent for about five minutes, finally he sighed softly.
"Watch the boy and Lina, I'll go and take a look at the place."
Kenth turned and walked slowly toward the building. Nothing could be heard other than the dripping water from the leaves. He felt the muddy soil sinking in and onto his shoes. No time to worry about his cleaness now, Kenth thought. He was already wet all over, a little mud on his shoes won't make that big of a difference.
Finally, Kenth felt the ground was no longer soft. Had he stepped on some kind of stone? From the look of it, it seemed that the area was built on purposely designed stone floors. A strong, sour smell made Kenth's nose tingle. Something smelt familiar...
It took every fiber in Alex's being not to protest and argue with the doctor. Go alone? He's not lead you astray! she growled at herself, Trust him. She didn't like it, but she knew he would be likely to do something like this. After all, he'd put his life on the line for Lina. She had to respect him.
And so she waited, watching as the doctor's form was illuminated by the faint light, then disappearing from her sight completely. What good are you to him anyway? she scolded herself, You have Lina and the boy to take care of, Wonder Woman! Alex sighed softly, realizing she WAS trying to take everything on her shoulders. She was probably annoying the doctor with her seemingly heroic offerings. You're a fool, she told herself, almost feeling self pity. You're not the only one in this situation.
Alex stood in the darkness of the forest, Lina still passed out, the boy cryptically silent, with the fall of rain bringing her little comfort.
Kenth knew the smell was familiar. The sour taste reminded him of the burning sensation he felt earlier. He looked around, and saw some kind of simple plant that looked somewhat like aloe vera. Kenth bent down and waffled his hand back and forth, wanting to make sure that the smell came from this plant. He then carefully snapped the tip of the plant off, and licked it slightly. The same sour bitter taste was felt on the doctor's tougue, although this time the sensation was a lot stronger. Kenth hissed at the strong taste, and felt his entire mouth go numb. This must be a concetrated source of the liquid they had drank earlier.
The discovery made Kenth smile. He took out his notebook and quickly sketched out a brief outform of the plant so he could research for it when he get back to the dorm. Perhaps some sample of it would be good also. All he needed was a container...
And the thought reminded him that Alex was still back in the darkness with Lina and the other boy.
Kenth immediately got up to his feet, feeling disoriented as the blood from his feet were not quick enough to reach his brain.
"Alex, can you come down here? And the boy too." Kenth figured that the woman might needed some help carrying Lina, so he started walking back to Alex, ready to take Lina over from her shoulders.
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