Disclaimer: Anything that has to do with the game Parasite Eve that Square has already taken credit for is obviously not mine. I do own Ellen Lone and her family, Fremont and Monteifore Hospital. Don't try and copy anything of mine unless you politely ask me first, as I do have the ability to sue you. Thank you.
Author's notes: This story is written as if Parasite Eve 2 never happened. Like I always say, if you flame me, it had better be a good, reasonable flame. As with all authors, I thrive on reviews, so please, after you read my story, review it. Also, if you decide to read this story, I strongly advise you to read my other two first, things will make more sense that way. Thank you.
Dedication: This story is dedicated all the readers that leave reviews. Thanks, you guys keep me going.
Hidden Menace - Part 3
Infection
Written by Alloy
October 19th, 2008.
1:47 AM
The Eve infection...Ellen thinks as she rolls over in her little bed. Her form is drenched in sickeningly moist perspiration. Her hand goes up to wipe the beads of sweat off her forehead. Ellen turns slowly over onto her side. Her hands fold behind her head and she kicks at the remainder of the comforter that remains on her bed so that it falls carelessly to the floor. Her usually pallid face is flushed and hot. Her lids, halfway closed hood her eyes. She is at the border of sleep, but she cannot quite make it. Ellen glances at the electric alarm clock by her bedside and swipes a hand over her sore eyes. Her palms glisten with sweat and Ellen grimaces at the stench of herself as her hand passes her nostrils to wipe her face yet again.
"That's it. I am going to go outside. It has got to be cooler out there." Ellen mutters angrily to herself. She slowly sits up on her bed and sighs with weariness. She gropes for the ponytail by her nightstand and fumbles around in the dark for her t-shirt and shorts. Ellen's feet sweep the floor in a search for her slippers. Once she finds them, she straightens and smoothes a hand over her hair. Stumbling in the darkness, Ellen feels around for whatever will help her to the patio. As her fingers pass over the tips of furniture in her way, Ellen's thoughts stray to Eve.
Who is Eve going to hurt? What if she hurts Aya...Maeda said that...Argh! I can't! I won't think about this!
Ellen chides herself. She knows that continuing to contemplate over the Eve matters will slowly drive her mad. Her fingers graze the door to the patio and she opens it soundlessly.Ellen feels a great relief on being outside. Her breath comes easier and her eyes loose the panic they held inside her boiler of a home. Gradually exhaling a breath, Ellen paces the length of her patio anxiously. She decides to rest on the ground, hoping the cool cement will lessen her raging warmth. She wishes that she had some way of contacting Maeda. Not that it's his fault I can't contact him, Ellen scolds herself. She wants to ask him all the questions she is only thinking of now. Her mind strays to the afternoon seven hours ago when she had fled after Maeda revealed what he knew about Aya Brea and of...Eve.
"Infection? Aya?" Ellen asked stunned.
"Yes. It is serious." Maeda said sadly.
"Serious..." Ellen's voice trailed off dazedly.
"Miss Lone, you will help me look for information? Yes?" Maeda said squinting through his glasses hopefully.
"Where have you been all this time?" Ellen asked abruptly. Maeda shook his head ruefully.
"I have been in Japan, my home country, for these past nine years. It was last year when I decided to come back. I wanted to...visit with Aya again." Maeda had admitted blushing furiously. Ellen knew that Maeda held Aya in high regards and cared for her a great deal. She knew it by the way he spoke of Aya. A wistfulness, perhaps even a little sadness, entered his brown eyes and his face would get a look that was so poignant in its own simple way, every time he uttered Aya's name. Ellen shook herself mentally and called herself back to her present task, and that was getting out every bit of information about Aya out of Maeda.
"What happened to Aya? She couldn't have always been like this...this creature." Ellen says insistently.
"No...I have only seen her like this when...This is getting a bit off the subject, eh? I will tell you a story. Come." Maeda commanded with his tranquil grace. He supported her elbow with his hand and gestured that she sit with him in the two ripped easy chairs that faced the west wall. Ellen reluctantly let herself to be led by him to sit. After they were fairly comfortable, Maeda began the story of how he had accompanied Aya and her partner, Daniel, to go fight the battle against Eve when no one else could. Ellen sat enraptured by the tale he spun. Her admiration and respect increasing for Aya with every word that Maeda disclosed. Her head spun with all the twists that Maeda revealed. Maya...Daniel...The Mitochondria. For some odd reason, Ellen kept thinking of the mitochondria as a proper noun, as if the Mitochondria were a person to be reckoned with. Shivering as the story came to its conclusion, Ellen thought to herself that they almost were, in a frightening way, human, though it was Eve who led them. She turned away from Maeda and closed her eyes. Her hands rubbed her arms, trying to warm the internal coldness that began to seep through her. A tiredness she had never known trickled through her, wrapping around her limbs caustically.
"Ellen?" Maeda questioned softly.
"Hm?" Ellen murmured distractedly, opening her eyes.
"You are okay?" Maeda asked in his accented English.
"No...No I'm not." Ellen said sharply.
"We can help Aya. Like I said, there is a cure." Maeda said sadly. His hands wrung nervously on his lap.
"That's wonderful, but why the downcast face?" Ellen inquired worriedly.
"We might have to hurt Aya." Maeda responded.
"Hurt her? I don't want to hurt her! Isn't there some other way to help her?" Ellen cried.
"No, I am afraid that there is not..."Maeda replied vaguely.
"Wait, what are you planning to do?" Ellen demanded concisely.
"We will have to lure Eve out of Aya." Maeda explained.
"How could that hurt her?" Ellen asked. Her hands ran through her hair and she nervously gnawed her lip.
"Well..." Maeda had begun hesitantly.
"Eve is strong, and to let Aya conquer over her own body, we'd have to hurt Aya." Maeda said.
Ellen stood abruptly and walked away from Maeda and away from learning more of Aya's troubles. Ellen stood at the edge of Monteifore and closed her eyes, imagining. She was imagining a world where Aya had never existed. Where Eve had been destroyed utterly. Where Eve didn't have to keep coming back. Her life was twisted now. She had to help Aya. Something in her wanted her to. She couldn't refuse. She had to go to Aya. She had to find Aya Brea to stop her reign of destruction. She had to go to Aya Brea to hurt her...But she needed help, she needed others to back her up. She couldn't go against Aya without someone's help. Maeda perhaps...A rustle had startled her and she had looked behind her. Maeda had crept quietly behind her and stood with his hands held motionless by his sides. Ellen offered a grim smile. She held her hands up helplessly and shook her head with defeat. What could they do against the terror of New York? Maeda seemed to sense her surrender, for he put his hand on her shoulder, a sign of quiet comfort.
"What was she like to you?" Ellen questioned softly.
"Mm...She...very beautiful. Inside, as well as out." Maeda sighed wistfully. He turned and his back stooped.
"She sounds lovely."
"She was."
They were both silent and the only sound that was heard had been the soft tweeting of the robins, rarely seen in the remote city, let alone a crumbling hospital.
"How can we help Aya?" Ellen asked.
"I don't know yet, but we'll have to somehow make Eve want a stronger body than Aya's. Meaning we'll have to weaken Aya's body to the point that Eve will believe that she is going to die. Eve will then search for another body. The problem is, no one is as strong as Aya." Maeda said.
"Can't we just infuse someone with Aya's cells?" Ellen asked puzzled.
"Of course, but how would we get it? This hospital was destroyed because it was the only one that contained any remains of Aya's blood. Eve knew that and...Well, to make sure another Aya would not be formed, she...demolished the hospital." Maeda explained.
"How monstrous that Eve is." Ellen spat.
"Mm." Maeda nodded his head in agreement.
"How did Eve gain control of Aya's body in the first place?" Ellen asked.
"I don't know, but I think that Aya had to have been sick. That's the only way that Eve could have taken over."
"I still don't understand, I thought Eve was destroyed." Ellen said shaking her head.
"She was. I don't understand how she was revived." Maeda replied, sighing.
"Where do you think Eve is now?" Ellen asked.
"There are only four places where Eve would want to go. The Museum of Natural History, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building...and..."Maeda trailed off.
"What?" Ellen asked sharply. She recognized most of these places, anyone who lived in New York would.
"The...the Statue of Liberty, where the final battle was held..."
* * * * *
Ellen inhales a lungful of air and rubs a hand over her forehead. Her body temperature has cooled significantly and with a sigh Ellen pushes herself off the ground. Her mind wonders irately, why in the world am I so hot? Ellen shakes her head and looks up at the sky that spawns the glitters of stars, smearing across the heavens. She pulls her knees up and wraps her skinny arms around them. She leans her head on her left knee and closes her eyes, relishing the feel of the subtle breeze that lulls her body to drowsiness. Ellen opens her eyes suddenly and sighs. She thinks back to the afternoon before when she had stumbled away from Maeda despite his pleas for her to return. Stupid, stupid! She berates herself. Ellen looks up once again at the moon, the stars, the heavens, and feels a calm slip over her. Since she was a child, looking at the skies always soothed her.
The moon glows hypnotically, and Ellen stares straight at it, wishing that she had the ability to fly. Her eyes drift over to her favorite cluster of stars. She lazily traces the structure of Cancer. Suddenly a shadow glazes rapidly over Ellen's form. She is startled and springs up. Her breath comes in short, quiet gasps now. She walks backward to her patio door, her gait awkward. Her hand bunches up her t-shirt in a way that proves how jarred her nerves are. Ellen looks up panicked and struggles to open the door. It is locked and she slams her fist against it. The glass shakes and quivers, but does not shatter.
Desperation floods into her body and she cries out, hoping her mother or Lennie will hear her. She makes frantic shouts and glances back every so often to see if the shadow has moved closer.
It has.
The thing wheels over and over, circling Ellen's house with fiendish abandon. Ellen writhes with pain now. A new pain. An indescribable pain. Hot. The first word in her mind. Hot, flaming, fire, burn...These words echo through her psyche as she feels her energy smoldering.
Ellen's mouth opens and a long, piercing shriek severs the dark. Her body temperature soars and her mouth dries of all liquids. Her hand gropes at the air in front of her frantically. Ellen stumbles like a blind woman and trips over her mother's clay pot of nasturtiums. She falls hard and her head thuds against the hard cemented floor of the patio with a thwack. Ellen's muscles relax and she whispers the word "hot" raggedly over and over again. Once she has sucked in a jagged breath and garners enough energy, she crawls towards the patio doors once again and exhausts her supply of vigor by slamming her fists repeatedly on the glass. Sheer desperation makes her wild, and she quickens her pace. She feels the glass splitting slowly. Ellen can still hear the crack of the glass pass the blood pulsating in her ears. She slams the glass one more time, knowing that if she doesn't get in, she will surely die.
Her fist meet with success as the glass bursts in an explosion of flying shards. Ellen crashes through the door and slices the skin on her arms and face. Blood gushes out and paints her white shirt a grotesque crimson. Ellen slams her face on the floor and exhales slowly. Her breathing decelerates, and she is submerged into sweet oblivion.
* * * * *
"Why!?"
"Because it was necessary."
"You hurt her!"
"As I said, it was necessary. She is a threat."
"Eve, you will never hurt her again! I will make sure of that!"
"Ah, Aya, so naive."
"I will not let you destroy her!"
"Aya, Aya, how foolish you can be."
"I will kill you if you harm Ellen."
"And how would you, could you, do that? I see no reason for more threats Aya, this is EVOLUTION!"
"It's monstrous and it must be stopped! I don't give a damn about your evolution!"
"No, you don't now. But soon. Soon you shall see that my way is the way for all mitochondria. For survival."
"I will stop you. Just wait Eve. You think you're all powerful, you think you are supreme. Well, let me tell you, when I kill you, who will be supreme then?"
"I will never lose."
"You did. To me."
"That was inevitable. I decreed the outcomes of that battle. Besides, it was merely a body. A host for me. Easily replaced. You thought I had died. It's not as easy as you think, Aya. I am Eve, I do not die."
"Your freak son did."
"He was a mistake!"
"Yes, one that I rectified! So tell me Eve, who is more superior?"
"I will always be superior.
"No. You aren't more superior."
"Don't tell me you believe that you are more superior to I! What a jest! What an arrogant boast so expected from a mortal of your inferior intellect."
"No, I am not more superior to you. But I know of one who is. She will hunt you down and make you wish that you were never born. She will hunt you down and make you wish that you had died!"
"I see no such mortal, Aya. You hope foolishly."
"It's not hope. It's reality. She will come. You will see."
"And if such a mortal exists, when she should come, remember dearest Aya, that should I die, an unlikely occurrence, you shall die along with me. Are you willing to take such bold risks for your beloved savior?"
"I am."
"Mm. Admirable. Where does such a saint exist though? She is not here."
"Yes. She is. Her name is Ellen and she will slay you."
"I laugh at your false bravado. We will see though, in the near future who wins, won't we, Aya?"
"That's easy to determine-Ellen will triumph."
"We shall see."
* * * * *
"Will she be all right..."
"No, we can't determine..."
"What damage..."
"Bruises, arms, face...scarred...life...so sorry..."
"How?!"
"She...contagious..."
"Infected...God no!"
These voices mingle together in her mind. She tries vaguely to make some sense of them, but she cannot, they are too muddled and her brain is not yet fully functional. Ellen wants to turn in her bed, her arms are sore. She starts to roll over, but something is different. She is not in her bed! Something else is wrong...Her arms...they're bound! She struggles and makes sounds of alarm. Where is she?
"Shh...shh..." A voice soothes.
"What am I doing here?" Ellen cries out weakly.
"Lie still Miss Lone!" The voice gently commands.
"Where...am I?" Ellen asks softly.
"You're in Fremont Hospital. It's all right. Just lie still, okay?" The voice says. The voice is deep, but has a distinct female intonation. Ellen sighs and struggles to open her eyes. When she opens them, she sees that the voice belongs to a blonde nurse who smiles at her with open friendliness.
"My mother, where is she?" Ellen questions wearily.
"She's in the waiting room. Do you want to see her?" The nurse asks.
"Uh-huh."
"Okay. I'll go and get her."
Ellen's mind travels back to the events of the night before. What was she doing? She can't quite remember what it was that was so significant about the evening before. She remembers...heat. Intense and hot and burning heat. The rest of the night though, is a chaotic blur. Glass and blood is all she remembers. And a shadow. A frightening shadow that she recognized as...
"Darling! How are you feeling?" Teresa Lone's voice asks uncertainly.
"Fine mom. I mean, despite the cuts and being strapped down." Ellen responds jokingly. Teresa laughs uneasily.
"Why am I strapped down?" Ellen asked suspiciously.
"It's nothing... I'll see what I can do about the straps, okay Ellen?"
"Thanks mom."
"No problem little Ell." A profound silence creeps into the room and Teresa clears her throat.
"Well, I'll bet that Lennie'll want to see you now, so...why don't I leave, hm?" Teresa says with artificial exuberance.
"Yeah, okay." Ellen answers. Teresa dashes out of the room in that graceful way of hers and Lennie glides in.
"Hey there, sis. How ya' doing?" Lennie says. For some unfathomable reason, Lennie fidgets fitfully in Ellen's presence. She strums her fingers nervously on the tray that carries Ellen's disgusting lunch of rotted meatloaf and rolls.
"I'm fine." Ellen replies cautiously.
"Okay, that's great." Lennie says enthusiastically.
"Yeah." Ellen flexes her fingers and narrows her eyes at Lennie. Lennie is unperturbed by this and clears her throat uneasily.
"Uh, say, you want some water?" Lennie queries hastily.
"No thanks. I'm all right." Lennie is evidently uncomfortable in Ellen's presence.
"What is it?" Ellen asks suspiciously.
"What do you mean?" Lennie says cheerfully. Her joy is so forced that Ellen feels repulsive.
"What's wrong with everyone?" Ellen demands harshly.
"Hey, nothing's wrong with anyone." Lennie replies sickeningly jovial.
"Why is everyone acting so fake? Is there something wrong with me? Come on Lennie, spill. What is wrong with you? What's wrong with mom?" Ellen says firmly.
"I told you! Nothing's wrong with anybody! Everything is perfectly normal." Lennie says. Anger starts to creep into her voice. That same anger transforms Lennie's usually ashen face coral pink. Lennie turns away abruptly and folds her arms across her chest.
"Why am I strapped down!" Ellen's voice shakes with fury.
"Because it's doctors orders, silly." Lennie says, smiling.
"Oh, stop it! Stop pretending everything's okay! Something is wrong with me, and I'm not just strapped down because of some stupid doctor's orders! Now, what the hell is wrong with me!" Ellen hollers.
"I'd calm down if I were you." Lennie says. Her fake smile changes slowly into a cold and cruel one. Her face is mocking because she knows something that Ellen doesn't. Her sister's green eyes glitter and Ellen realizes something.
"You...you're afraid of me!" Ellen whispers, stunned.
"Don't be so ridiculous Ellen! You were always so weird." Lennie turns to hide her fear.
"Yes. You are. You are afraid of me! What is it? Tell me what is wrong with me." Ellen says quietly.
"No."
"Something is wrong! I want to know what it is!"
"No."
"Lennie, tell me, damn it!"
"No."
"Tell me!"
"Ellen, you need to rest. I'll leave now."
"Come back you cowardice! Damn it! Come back here!"
Lennie walks out of the room calmly and leaves Ellen in a screaming fit that ends up making her breathless. Ellen gives a scream of frustration and flails her arms and legs uselessly against the straps. After a few minutes, Ellen's eyes close in fatigue. She needs to rejuvenate, and her muscles can't withstand all the thrashing. She decides that there is no harm in sleeping, and promptly resolves to do just that. Once she falls asleep, her dreams torture her with the face of a blue eyed angel and a brown haired opera singer.
* * * * *
"I'm very worried about Ellen." Dr. Lone says to her fellow associate, Dr. Thomas Backer.
'Yes...it is a rather complex problem. No matter, it will be dealt with quite nicely I'm sure, after the news I've got to tell you." Dr. Backer says with a sly grin.
"Yes? Let's hear this fabulous solution of yours." Teresa says sharply.
"Michel DeHanther, head of Psyche Foundation, has offered to do a...study on Ellen. This is a rather remarkable offer. Keep in mind that Michel is also offering us a large amount of money..." Dr. Backer informed Teresa, smiling.
"Don't you forget that this is my daughter we're talking about? She's not an experiment. She's a human being!" Teresa responded hotly.
"Teresa, let's be reasonable. There's no hope for Ellen! Her body can't handle that power within her. You know that Teresa, as well as I do!" Thomas insisted.
"I know that! Still, she's my daughter! What do you expect me to do? Hand her over to some asylum for money?" Teresa cried angrily.
"She is infected! Do you hear me! She must be institutionalized! At once! If the people of New York knew, what do you think they would do? They would try and kill Ellen! They fear what they don't understand. It's so easy to deduce Teresa! Open your eyes and see that this is the only thing to do!" Dr. Backer pleads.
"I can't! She...she'd never forgive me Thomas." Teresa says mournfully.
"She'll understand after you explain this to her." Thomas cajoles.
"No. I won't do it." Teresa says firmly. Thomas makes aggravated motions with his hand. His eyes are wide and disbelieving.
"What are you going to do then? Keep her at home and pretend that none of this ever happened?"
"That is exactly what I plan to do."
"And what should happen if she loses control over her body? You know that if Ellen weren't institutionalized, even a stupid cold would kill her! Are you aware of the hazards that would threaten your daughter?" Thomas says desperately.
"Well, how is institutionalizing her going to help?" Teresa demands tersely.
"They would keep her mind calm and tranquil. She wouldn't be able to lose control because of the blissful state she will always be in." Dr. Backer explains.
"You mean they'll drug her with some Ritalin-like thing and everything will be okay?! Is that what you're telling me?" Dr. Lone cries.
"Teresa, don't over dramatize, they'll drug her, that's true, but she'll be safe." Thomas states.
"I don't think so." Teresa says emphatically. Thomas gives a deep sigh.
"Fine, fine. We'll have it your way." Thomas relents. He rakes a hand through his caramel colored hair. "But if this doesn't work out, the responsibility lies fully in your hands." Thomas cautions.
"Thank you Thomas, but I know that I can make this work." Teresa says confidently. Ellen will be fine, I'm sure of it."
* * * * *
I hate this stupid hospital
, Ellen thinks angrily. She sighs and turns her head over to the vase of yellow roses that Maeda had delivered to her room. The vase is the only thing worth looking at in the room, for everything else is dreary white. Ellen struggles against the bonds that hold her down. She hates these bonds; they make her feel as if she is a criminally insane person. It makes her feel trapped, like a some caged animal that has disobeyed its master. Ellen turns her head towards the door when she hears someone enter. It is her mother, who enters looking anxious and pale. Ellen turns back at the vase."Ellen, dear. How are you feeling?" Teresa asks nervously. Ellen shrugs as a reply.
"Well, you're going to be released soon. How's that for good news?" Teresa beams. Ellen's face, which is pasty white and still, reveals nothing. For some inexplicable reason, she is angry with her mother for not telling her what's wrong with her.
"All right, have it your way." Teresa says coldly. " You should thank me though; I am after all, getting you out of your bondage." Still the emotionless response from Ellen.
"Fine." Teresa says tightly. "Fine." She walks to Ellen's bedside and takes a key out to free Ellen from the restraints.
"There, you're to stay in bed, but at least you're able to sit up." Teresa smiles brightly.
Ellen sits up and clenches her fingers together. She also curls her legs up. This movement makes her feel much better as she now has the ability to stretch her aching muscles. She shakes the hair out of her eyes and then lies down, out of breath. Her arm still hurts, so she doesn't even try to move them. Teresa looks despairingly at her silent daughter and leaves the room shaking her head. A few minutes after her mother leaves the room, a buxom nurse in her mid-thirties sticks her head into the room.
"Hey there Elle." She says in a heavy Brooklyn accent. Ellen smiles and waves to the friendly nurse who is named Mary. Mary is a sweet woman who is Ellen's only companion in this tedious hospital.
"Hi Mary." Ellen says.
"Hey sweetheart, there's this guy waitin' outside of the door. Should I let 'im in?" Mary questions. She glances back at the door every so often to make sure that he doesn't leave.
"What's his name?" Ellen asks, puzzled. She has not had many visitors since she was hospitalized, and so it is strange that a male would want to visit.
"Uh...Kun-hee-koe...Mayday..." Mary says slowly.
"Mayday? I think you mean Maeda." Ellen corrects with a smile.
"Whatevah." Mary shrugs.
"Sure, let him in, Mary." Ellen says brightly.
"Okay." Mary says turning to Maeda who is standing in the hall. "Come on in Mayday."
"Thank you, uh, Mary." Maeda says. He glances around the room and smiles at Ellen.
"No problem cutie." Mary says grinning as she sashays out of the room. Ellen laughs as she watches Maeda's face turn scarlet. He rubs his neck awkwardly and clears his throat.
"Thanks for the flowers." Ellen says once Mary has left.
"Ah, you are welcome Ellen." Maeda returns. He clears his throat once again and adjusts his glasses.
"So, what's going on?" Ellen asks conversationally.
"I have good news, but it uh, is also bad news." Maeda says nervously. He paces the room and runs his hands through his hair repeatedly. His shoes squeak on the linoleum floor and Ellen gets impatient waiting for Maeda to continue.
"Maeda! Calm down! What is it?" Ellen inquires, frowning. A feeling of apprehension within her increases with each of Maeda's footfalls.
"I am not sure that...that you are quite strong enough to take this." Maeda says somberly.
"Maeda, I'm not some weak little girl. I can take it." Ellen says. She holds out her arms and makes a muscle. She gives a grin that fades as soon as she sees Maeda's grave expression.
He turns to Ellen and with utmost solemnity, continues.
"I have located Eve."
To be continued...
Thanks for reading, and as always, please review. =)
-Alloy