Three years after Lucinda's confrontation with the mastermind behind the infection, she is forced to risk everything to save Lucella once and for all.
*****
Fifteen-year-old Lucinda Emerson was well aware of the fact that she didn't take TIO down...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I was still smiling as I left the radio room.
It seemed like I would have to add a few additional phases to my plan. I would also be paying the PLZ scientists and the Lucellan and Doveporter armies a visit, too. However, that wouldn't be until tomorrow, so I still had some time to kill. I would use Luciana's journal and my own experiences to conduct more research on TIO. Unfortunately, I would have to wait until later because lunch would be ready in a few minutes.
"I might as well head to the cafeteria already," I thought as I walked up the stairs. "It's closer than my room, after all." As I reached the final step, I noticed Georgie coming down the stairs, most likely from the top floor. He seemed surprised but happy to see me. "Hey, Cindy!" He greeted as I walked up to him. "Are you feeling better now?" I was about to ask him what he was talking about, but then I remembered: staying up all night meant dark circles would be under my eye. When Georgie first noticed it, I told him I just had a bad dream.
"Yeah, I'm alright," I reassured him. "It was probably just a one-time thing." Georgie nodded at me, and seeing him so happy nearly made me forget about all my problems. However, the conversation I had listened to on the radio reminded me that this was the real world, and not just some make-believe one I could escape to. "You can go to the cafeteria," I suddenly blurted out. "I'll join you and the others in a bit."
My best friend nodded at my words before going down the last few steps and walking towards the door leading to the cafeteria. The sounds of chattering voices from above filled my ears shortly after. Mimi and the twins were most likely on their way downstairs. "Zee! Wait up!" I heard Zuzy call out, and a few seconds later, her sister came into my view in a hurry. She rushed up to me with a frantic look in her eyes, almost as though she was asking me something without verbally expressing it.
And I knew what it was, so I smiled at her and nodded.
"You did well," I praised as I rested my hand on her shoulder. "I've got it from here." I felt Zee shiver from my touch, so I didn't keep my hand where it was for long. I understood and sympathized with Zee's dislike for what I had to do. I didn't like it either, but I had to grasp at the opportunity, for Lucella's sake, and for everyone who had their lives taken from them. Zee looked at me with a sad and slightly terrified expression in her eyes at my words. I had to admit that my tone was slightly menacing.
I was about to tell her to go on ahead, when a sudden sharp pain went through my head.
My eye widened before tightening itself shut. A groan slipped past my lips, which were also pressed tightly into a thin line. My hand instantly went to my head in a futile attempt to stop the pain. I heard Zee gasp, and I felt her hands set themselves down on my shoulders. The pain had ended just as soon as it began. "I'm... I'm fine, Zee," I reassured my worried friend. "I'm alright. It's nothing." At that moment, it hit me. I couldn't keep lying to her. Not anymore.
