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 wasn't unfamiliar with horror movies, books, and attractions.
In fact, I enjoyed the genre. One of my favorite scenes in particular always consisted of creepy zombie hands in between two barely opened doors. Said hands clasping at the material trying to break free as growls and roars sprang out from the other side never failed to send a shiver down my spine. Of course, I would always reassure myself that they weren't real. They were simply machinery or ideas in a writer's twisted head.
Now that I was witnessing the same thing I've seen countless times, I couldn't help but gulp.
There weren't that many infected in there. Maybe around thirty at most. I had a sash that stored the same amount of small vials that contained the cure on top of what I now called my "battle gear". I made sure all of my weapons were strapped on properly before readjusting the tactical headset on my head. I was the only one in the small hallway that went to the door where the infected were, and there was a reason for that.
It was because the infected on the other side were my friends.
Doggy, Bunny, Sheepy, Foxy, and everyone else I encountered throughout my first journey around Lucella pounded on the doors. Even Georgie's family. I specifically asked for them to be gathered because I wanted to cure them myself. I explained to Oliver and Liam that it would be better for them to see a familiar face amidst the supposed confusion they would feel after being cured. That was how Zizzy recalled her experience, at least.
Speaking of the scientist and the soldier, I now had another secret I had to keep from the others.
And this wasn't something I could tell Zee, either.
I was told that I needed to have emergency treatment after I passed out during the blood extraction. According to the medical team, I was having some type of seizure. That was when Oliver and Liam managed to put two and two together. The changes to my eye and my behavior was enough to tell them that I was seeing something they couldn't. So while I was still under, an incision was made in my head, right around where my optic nerves were.
And a miniscule camera was slipped inside. Catherine and a few other scientists were watching me from elsewhere.
I turned to Oliver and Liam, who were separated from me by a wall that contained a giant window. Willow, Georgie, and the others weren't that far behind them. I asked if they could help calm the others down once they were cured, and although their reactions to me going in there were different, they came to a consensus and agreed. Besides, the plan was to bring out the infected one by one in order for me to cure them, so it wasn't exactly anything I couldn't handle.
With one last look, I turned back to the door and grabbed a vial. Then, I lifted my free hand to the microphone.
"Alright. Bring the first one in."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
"It's okay, Mousy. I'm alright. Go and join the others for me, will you?"
