Chapter 107 - Hidden Attribute
When the lift stopped at the 3rd floor, the doors opened up. Stepping out and still pulling Tiffany along, Alex lead her to the four large rooms.
"...you...you know," she began seeing that he still hadn't let go of his hand. Shaking her head from thinking it meant something else, she gave a small smirk and walked beside him.
"If you wanted to hold my hand that badly, you could have asked," the woman stated looking at him.
"Knowing you, you would have brushed it off," he replied still not letting go and walking forward.
"...well...maybe...I mean...your just not a person that does things so forwardly."
"I was talking about your wounds."
"...oh..." Tiffany replied with losing her smirk.
"Besides...you would have either teased me or mocked me for asking to hold your hand."
"..." she responded. As much as she wanted to counter him, keeping her mouth closed seemed best. Collecting herself, she tried to behave how she normal was.
"Initially maybe," the woman answered. Crossing her arm over her torso to hold his arm that was holding her hand, she leaned a little into him.
"But if you asked sweetly enough...I might have."
"..." he snorted then looked at her. Looking back forward, he continued walking down the hallway.
"So tell me. Other than taking me to the area with the victims, why are you holding my hand?"
"Because I don't like seeing your face looking beat up. I'm going to make sure that at least the cut and bruise is taken care of."
'...don't...say that...' Tiffany thought staring at him. Resisting herself from enjoying that statement, she looked at the ground and gave a sad smile.
"...dunce..." she muttered.
"Huh?"
"What's this?" she reacted with a mocking smile and pressed herself on his arm more. "Being all sweet to me behind your wife's back. You two timer."
"H-H-Hey!? Knock it off," he whispered harshly and gave her a stern expression. It only made her laugh at him while they walked down the hallway.
"Mmm-hmm...whatever secret lover," she teased.
"...shut up..." Alex responded. Sighing irritated, he let go of her hand; however, she didn't let go of his arm.
After a couple of minutes, they reached the holding area for the VR victims. Checking in with the makeshift admin desk, they found that Renee was placed inside not too long ago. Stating where her daughter was, the teen was placed next to Mr. Felmort's daughter. Nodding and parting away from the desk attendant, they went toward one of the large rooms. Just from passing by and looking a little inside in the others, Tiffany looked shocked.
"...there are so many already..." she observed.
"Yeah...kind of depressing to see," Mr. Ainsley added with a mild sad expression. Getting to the right room, both entered. Seeing that it was not as occupied as two other rooms, they found both female teens near a corner of the space. Tiffany let go of him when they got at the foot of the beds and went to her daughter's side.
"Hi honey. You'll be in good care. I'm here with you too," she stated softly and held her hand. While holding, she glanced at Derek's daughter. Grimacing a little from how thin she looked, she turned her head back to him.
"If she was that thin at the end of her coma, she is going to go right back being super stick thin again."
"...yeah..." he agreed with a nod.
"How did she get into a coma in the first place?" Tiffany asked looking at him. Seeing him stare and blink, he shook his head.
"...I don't really know..."
"Derek never told you?"
"..." Alex commented with a small pause. "...we are not friends...I don't ask about his family or business nor does he of mine."
"...I see..." she said with a small nod. "I'd probably do the same thing given how I thought of him way back when."
"Anyways, let me find a med-kit. I thought I saw one in this room," he stated then started heading toward the opposite side of the room.
"..." Tiffany responded with a small smile. Turning back to her daughter, the expression turned into a sad smile. Shaking her head, she leaned in to whisper to Renee.
"I don't know about you honey. But I think your friend's dad is trying to make me take interest in him," she began then looked down at her hold her the teen's hand. "Those years of me picking on him...to think he still will be caring...it feels...nice and comforting. Ya know?"
"Maybe given our luck with our current relationship...you meeting Jin...and me reuniting with Alex...maybe it is a sign," the mother continued gripping the hand a little firm. "Maybe...this is our chance to get something better...and wholesome."
"I found it," Alex spoke after walking back to them. He saw Tiffany look up at him and smiled. He looked back with a raised eyebrow.
"...what?"
"Nothing," Tiffany mentioned then smiled a little wider. "You going to play doctor on me?"
"..." he responded with narrowing his eyes. Grabbing a chair and placing it behind her, he grunted and pointed.
"Oh my...so aggressive," she mentioned with mirth. He placed the medical supply box on Renee's bed near her feet. Opening it up, he got out some pain relieving ointment.
"If you have that much energy to joke, then you must be fine overall," Mr. Ainsley commented and approached her. Getting the cap off, he stopped seeing her let go of her daughter's hand. Sitting back with her legs closed, a sly smile was on her face still.
"I don't know doctor, maybe you should give me," she began and moved one leg to open her sitting position a little. "A full examination to make sure."
"..." Alex reacted with blushing a little and staring. Shaking his head and looking irritated, he put some of the ointment on finger.
"I'm pretty sure you are just fine," he remarked and started applying the medicine on her cut.
His comment made her smile wide and giggle which threw him off again. Getting most of the medicine applied on the cut, he put more on his fingers. Moving to the bruise on her cheek, he started rubbing it. Seeing her close her eyes, he started to relax a little. It didn't last long when she spoke again quietly.
"This type of pressure is good for wounds...but not firm enough for other things."
"..." he reacted with mild grunting. Ignoring her giggling again, he leaned back straight. Sighing and shaking his head, he put the ointment back into the box.
"Who did that to you? If you don't mind me asking that is," Alex asked and turned his head toward her.
"..." Tiffany answered with putting her hands together on her lap. Only giving him a small smile, she looked away from him.
"Just a little tussle with my boyfriend...it ain't serious," she began then looked back at him. "Why? Are you worried?"
"...w-well..." he responded nervously scratching his cheek a little. "I know you use to get into fights back in the day...but I know you have changed a bit since then...so...yeah. It worries me. Nobody should be hitting anyone unless they are asking for it."
'...just calm down...what he says doesn't mean anything...' the woman thought quickly feeling her vitals increase a little. Trying to ignore the warm it gave her, she also suppressed wanting to give a hug.
"That's true...those days are long gone now. Had to grow up sometime...well, not completely," she commented and saw him give a relaxed smile.
Watching him go put the med-kit back, the smile on her face grew watching him. Seeing something in her peripheral, she turned to her right. Looking at Renee, she suddenly became rigged and was shaking in place. Not enough to move around the bed, but in a way that indicate she was disturbed seeing her skin litter with goosebumps rapidly. Feeling worried, she called Alex to come back quickly.
When he arrived, he noticed the same things. Looking at Ami, she oddly looked composed. With her hands facing down on the bed, her fingers slowly curled to grip the bed sheet weakly. Touching Tiffany's shoulders and telling her to keep an eye on them, he indicated he will go find a doctor. Just as he exited the room to be in the hallway, his cell rang.
"Hello?" Alex stated after answering the call.
[It is me Alex. The doctors will transfer Jin to the same room with my daughter]
"That's good. Tiffany and Renee are already in the same room as Ami. Hey, Tiffany's daughter is acting kind of odd. Her body is trembling or something. Ami is not emitting the same behavior."
[How does her daughter appear to you?]
"...Frightened...disturbed I guess...why?]
[Just between you and me...Jin's skin feels cold and clammy]
"...?" Alex repeated with blinking. "Was cold water dumped on him?"
[Possibility...though in the doctors, nurses, and techs defense, they were no where near him when it happened...it just occurred all the sudden]
"Is his life threatened from the change?" he asked worried
[...no...for now...anything else?]
"...I don't think so. Why?"
[I will be meeting you in some minutes. A doctor will be with me] Derek stated then ended the call. Closing it and pocketing it, he turned around and went back into the large room.
'kkkkiiillllllllhhheeeerrrrr...sLaUgHtEr-SlAuGhTeR-SLAUGHTER!...d...e...v...o...u...r...c...o...n...s...u...m...e...i...n...j...e...s...t...BUTCHER EVERYONE! BUTCHER EVERYTHING! UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT!...tHiSwOrLdShOuLdDiE!...go ahead Jin...dddddoooooiiiitttt...end that SHE-DEVIL WHORE AND FREE YOURSELF!'
'...wha...wha...!?' Renee thought her voice have an echo.
Upon contact with Jin, the environment morphed into something horrid. All around him and her, there was nothing but a pulsating dome around them of rotten flesh. Spaced out evenly on the curved walls were distorted mouths that shouted malice and atrocities. All of her senses were on fire of wanting to run away and escape. However by being petrified with fear, she just continued to embrace him and remain still.
'CUT OPEN THAT HELL SOUL AND FEED ON HER ESSENCE!...YoU dId So WiTh ThE fAtHeR oF mAnKiNd...nOw Do ThE sAmE tO tHe TuRnEd MoThEr Of ThE dAmNeD...what are you waiting for!? JUST KILL HER! KILL HER! KILL HER!...mmmuuurrrdddeeeerrrrtttttthhhhheeeeemmmmmmJJJJJJiiiinnnnn...rrrrreeeelllleeeeaaaasssseeeeyyyyooouuurrrrhhhhuuuummmaaannniiiittttyyyy...'
'...ggggrrrrrnnnnnnn...' Jin groaned while gritting his teeth. Still staring at the ripped apart body of Eve as she was struggling to stay alive, he still had her in a death grip. The voices surrounding him made resisting the urge to kill her very difficult. Also, knowing that Rogue was trying to reach him made things more cumbersome.
'...cOmE oN JJJJiiiiinnnnn...BE THE BLIGHTER YOU HAVE BEEN ASCENDED TO!...wwwwwhhhhhooooo...iiiiiisssssss...tttttthhhhhiiiiiissss?' one of the dark voices cooed with viciousness. The male teen felt her body flinch hard and pressed herself even more into him.
'...no...leave...her...alone...' the sophomore muttered and her his voice bounce multiple times.
'STRANGLE HER! LYNCH HER! BURN HER! SCORCH HER! MURDER HER! DESTROY HER! ANNIHILATE HER! CUT HER! SLAY HER! DISMEMBER HER! MUTILATE HER! KILL HER!' hundreds upon hundreds of morbid voices shouted at them. In a distorted chorus, it made the air around the two heavy, thick, moist, and disgusting. Out of nowhere, black tentacles shot out of the ground and wrapped around the thief. It made her scream.
'...LET...HER...GO...' he shouted at them.
'STRANGLE HER! LYNCH HER! BURN HER! SCORCH HER! MURDER HER! DESTROY HER! ANNIHILATE HER! CUT HER! SLAY HER! DISMEMBER HER! MUTILATE HER! KILL HER!'
'Jin!' Renee cried out holding onto him for dear life. She could feel the slimy appendages trying to rip her off of him.
'I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE! HELP ME!'
'STRANGLE HER! LYNCH HER! BURN HER! SCORCH HER! MURDER HER! DESTROY HER! ANNIHILATE HER! CUT HER! SLAY HER! DISMEMBER HER! MUTILATE HER! KILL HER!'
'SHUT UP! J-J-JUST SHUT UP!' Jin barked back at them. The walls began to close in on them as his tensed claw hand was shaking violently.
'STRANGLE HER! LYNCH HER! BURN HER! SCORCH HER! MURDER HER! DESTROY HER! ANNIHILATE HER! CUT HER! SLAY HER! DISMEMBER HER! MUTILATE HER! KILL HER!'
'JIN!' she screamed again feeling her grip becoming loose. All the sudden, complete horror radiated out of Jin as he was growling in a disturbing and enraged voice.
"YOU WANT ME TO KILL! FINE! I'LL MURDER EVERYONE! EVERYTHING! AND BURN THIS WORLD TO ASHES!" Jin raged out loud and closed his hand. Eve exploded into bloody bits that flew everywhere.
"..." Selbith and Han-Ko reacted with surprised eyes and froze. Seeing his power and the monstrous yell he did shook them. Turning their heads to them, his expression was of murderous wrath.
"JUST SHUT UP!" he bellowed and gripped his head with his hands. Curling his fingers to claw, he pulled them down on the sides of his head. Black blood oozed out of the fresh skin wounds he inflicted on himself.
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SSSHHHHUUUTTTTTTTTTT UUUUUUUPPPPPPPPP!" he screamed and raged at the top of his lungs. At the same time, a black sphere suddenly expanded from his center rapidly. Knocking the three woman away hard, they impacted with the far wall. Cratering into it, Rogue went through it from being behind him and receiving the brunt of the blow.
"...!?" Han-Ko reacted recovering quickly.
Looking at where Jin was, he was gone. All that remained in the spacious room was the gigantic cylinder hole he made through the walls. Also, the mutilated body of Eve on the floor. Moving away from wall and quickly heading toward the she-devil, she saw how dead the demon was. Kneeling down and touching the body, the nightmare hell being looked shocked.
'...by hell's domain...she is actually dead...' she thought in marvel. Thinking about if she was truly gone, then there would be one place that she could devour even more souls. Getting out her large black pearl, an evil grin formed on her face.
"...my Jin...I am so in love with you..." Han-Ko stated tenderly looking at her portable torture prison.
"...!?" Selbith said feeling in pain. Shaking her head and slowly getting herself free from being stuck in the wall, she saw the nightmare demon open a rift. Blinking in surprise, the look on woman's face looked too foreign. Without hesitation, she saw Han-Ko walk into the portal rift and vanished.
"...did he...actually?" she began and headed over to the ripped apart corpse. Getting next to it and kneeling down, the gunslinger put a hand on the body. Concentrating hard on it and ignoring it still bleeding out, the "Stalker" window popped up. Reading it then again, wild wonder washed over her.
"...he killed her...and severed her connection," Ami stated with eyes widen a little. Standing up, a bright smile came on her face. Blinking and feeling odd from the sensation, she patted her face with her hands.
'...this elated emotion...feels different...' she thought noticing that the corners of her mouth curled up a bit.
'...I didn't realize that from what Jin did...to which I have longed to do...makes me feel...happy?'
'Is this what the emotion is suppose to feel like? It feels...weirdly warm and lighter...how strange.'
Looking back to see where the thief was, there was a hole in the wall. Walking towards it and peering through it, she found her lying on the floor. Getting her whole body into the next room, she kneeled down. Looking over Renee, she was knocked out cold. A trickle of blood came down from her head. There was also tears coming down from her eyes.
'Strange...we have been in contact with Jin when he was a Blighter earlier. Touching him them and going through the teleportation...was a bit peculiar to say the least.'
'...but she...appeared to be pass the point of being terrified after embracing him.'
"Curious thief," Selbith stated looking at Rogue's grimacing face. "What did you see that caused Jin to react that way?"
"..." Renee replied only breathing a little faster.
When Alex walked back into the large room that Tiffany was in, he saw her closer to her daughter's face. Seeing the look of worry on her face, he walked quickly over to her. About to ask her what is the matter, all the sudden Renee began to shake a little. Seeing Tiffany become alarm, she looked at other patients and became more worried. Turning his head and looking at the others, all the patients were doing the same thing as her daughter.
'...what in the world...' Mr. Ainsley thought feeling concerned. Hearing other parents and family members start to vocalize their apprehension, Alex turned to Derek's daughter. Oddly, she did not shake like the others.
"A-A-Alex...what's going on?" Tiffany asked looking at him.
"I'm...I'm not sure," he answered and went to her side. "Derek called me and said that he and a doctor or two are on the way."
"...okay..." she spoke turning back her daughter. Grabbing her hand, she tried to calm her down. Both parents saw tears suddenly coming down Renee's jaw line which elevated their worry. About to say something, some with heavy footsteps entered the room. Turning to the sound, it was Mr. Felmort as he headed toward them.
"They are all shaking again," he commented then looked at his daughter. Seeing that she was not mimicking what others were doing did not lower his tension.
"Shaking again?"
"Yes...I don't know why either," Derek replied. He saw a woman stand up and stayed next to Alex. Staring at each other, neither said anything.
"Ahem," Alex spoke clearing his throat. "Derek, this is Tiffany. Tiffany, Derek."
"Well well...you have changed," Mr. Felmort commented with a small smirk.
"You haven't changed much," she remarked with a neutral face.
"A-Anyways, are the doctors going to place Jin in here?" Mr. Ainsley questioned.
"They were...when his body started trembling all over while transporting him here."
"Just like the others?"
"No...his were stronger...and then some," Derek stated then crossed his arms over his chest. "To be honest Alex, I have never seen a person capable of being able to dig their nails and penetrate their skin while making a fist."
"...?" both Tiffany and Alex responded with confusion.
Suddenly, all the patients stopped shaking. It was as if something stopped and made them go back to being normal. Observing around them, they tried to make sense of what happened. Hearing something being wheeled in, there were a couple of people talking outside. Seeing a gurney, it was Jin.
About to feel relieved, Alex saw that there were bandages wrapped around his palms. Seeing him get placed on a bed next to Renee, there were two moderate size blood spots on the wheeled stretcher. The medics pushed the mobile bed away and a doctor and nurse came in. Going to Jin, they setup everything so that he could be monitored and administered solutions and nutrients. After getting everything situated, the doctor turned to the three adults nearby.
"Mr. Ainsley?"
"Y-Yes?" Alex spoke and adjusted his stance a little.
"I am Dr. McCole. I am in charge of the patients in this room and the neighboring one," the man introduced himself.
"Hello. Thank you for taking care of my son and their children," he stated and gestured to the two other adults.
"Do you know what is going on with them doctor?" Tiffany asked still holding onto her daughter's hand. "We saw all of the patients shaking or trembling at the same time."
"Other than assuming that something is happening in the VR world they are trapped in, I do not have a concrete answer of why," the doc answered then turned to the sophomore. "On one note of observation, it seems your son Mr. Ainsley is the most affected by whatever is happening."
"...yes...from has happened so far, it does appear that way," Alex agreed reluctantly.
"Doctor...is there anyway that we can see what is going on...from their eyes?" Derek asked. The medical person nodded his head.
"Yes we can. These VR helmets were originally first designed to help mentally diseased patients. They would be hooked up to a computer and monitor that would display what was occurring in their subconscious mind."
"...are you serious?" Alex asked in surprise.
"Yes...though...the success rate of the helmets was not exactly good enough to be approved by the medical community as an effective treatment," Dr. McCole mentioned then gestured toward the children wearing them. "The military saw use of them as a simulation training opportunity and found a successful correlation of improving soldiers responses in real-time."
"Did it make regular soldiers into killing machines?" Tiffany asked intrigued and worried.
"No. It just aided those that needed extra help to reach the par level. Though there was noticeable improvement, the military didn't approve of these for use," he replied then turned back to them. "And their final usage...is the next stage of video gaming in virtual reality."
"Before you ask how these got approved for children's use...I don't even know either."
"You seem to know much about these...headsets," Mr. Felmort commented.
"I found them interesting and study about them a little."
"Could we see what is happening to them?" Tiffany asked in which he nodded.
"I am a little curious to see what is going on as well. Let me go get a monitor and some cables," Dr. McCole mentioned then left the room. The three adults stood in silence looking at their child.
"How is Samantha doing?" Derek asked turning his head.
"She seems fine though still hasn't waked up yet," Alex responded and saw him nod his head. Both looked back at the beds.
"..." Tiffany commented and just crossed her arms over her chest. Hearing footsteps down the hallway, they seemed not as heavy as the doctor's. Turning toward the doorway, it was Mr. Ainsley's second son.
"There you are dad," Gene stated and went to him.
"Hey there Gene," he said giving a small smile and patted his head. "Did the nurse escort you here?"
"Yeah, she did. Then a doctor asked her for assistance down the hall. He was getting a monitor or something," he answered then saw the other adults. He gave a small wave to them. Tiffany gave a small smile and waved a little. Derek nodded his head. The boy turned his head and saw his brother on the bed.
"Is big brother okay dad?"
"I think so son," he stated with a neutral expression. Hearing small wheels rolling a squeaking a little, the group turned their heads. The doctor and nurse were pushing a mobile cart that had a monitor on top. Moving it to be beside Jin's bed, both stopped.
"Would it be alright if we looked at your son first Mr. Ainsley?" Dr. McCole asked. Seeing him gesture an open hand to him, both medical staffers nodded their heads. Hooking everything up for the TV to have power, the doctor placed the monitor to a USB input setting. Plugging into that port on the TV, the other end of the cord was a small connector jack.
"Okay...we just plug this in here," he stated. Putting the end of the cable to a port that was on the top side of Jin's helmet, a small light indicator turned on. Turning to the TV, he turned it on.
"It may take several seconds for the picture to load as well as sound," he added and was lowering the volume. He continued till the number reached one.
"Why did you lower the sound?" Derek asked moving to stand closer.
"Just call it a hunch," the doc stated and moved back. The five adults watched as the TV screen flickered a couple of times. Hearing white noise come through, the sound made audible clicks. A picture came into view that appeared to show someone running in first person. What was being seen made Tiffany instantly grab Alex's sleeve in fright.