Author's note: Yay for me, I updated! Pretty short, but all the depression comes later.
Linda: Hey sure, you can put my fic in your website, sorry but you're mail kind of got, um, deleted.
Raven: Don't worry, college and high strung could mix for some very good results.
Tek: Cliffhangers are nice. Or I could just go "She's dead. The end.", which would suck.
Anonymous: Thanks.
Frenchy: Yes honey, the spiked hammock is all the rage, and then some. And hey, I like it on your back, kind of soft and corrosive at the same time. Hey, how's the negative impact of the Californian Gold rush on the American social system doing for you? It kind of sounds better than my 'Health benefits of Spirulina consumption to the obese individual in a dietary scale.' I officially hate cyano-bacteria.
Chapter 5: "Stars and Shadows"
Jill and Chris rushed through the white halls, anxious to see their daughter. It was but moments ago that the haunting words crept into Jill's ear, words that she wished she never did hear. She could still feel her legs buckle and shake just like they did when Rebecca gave her the news. The thought of losing the teen-aged girl was something that neither one of them could possibly handle. After a few more doors, they finally reached the room where Heart was being kept. Once again, Jill was greeted with a vision that she wished she never did see, and the very same could be said for Chris.
Heart was motionless, clad in white, and set up to numerous machines that are instrumental in keeping her alive. Her face was bruised, but not deformed in any way. At the very least, she still kept her beauty, even in her current state. Rebecca stood over the girl; practically unchanged since the Raccoon city incident, save her eyes carry the wisdom of time that was clear in the hands of all the healers. Her lab gown covered almost the entirety of her body. "What happened?" was Chris' immediate question, while Jill took the time to rush by her daughter's side.
"Her car…well, she hit a pole…hard."
"That did this to her?" Chris asked in a somewhat sarcastic tone, revealing glimpses of the nature he once had when trying to survive.
"No, the pole didn't do it…it was something else. We think that she fell asleep on the wheel."
"What do you mean, she fell asleep on the wheel?" Jill asked, unable to control the tone of her voice.
"There wasn't a concussion, meaning that her seatbelt did its job, she got away with just a few bruises…and there's no real internal damage, I mean, lungs, tracts, just a little torn muscle around her radio ulna and some scathing in the gracillis minor…but her system…something's wrong inside of her. It's not physical…I think it's chemical. " Rebecca explained, as best as she could. It tore her inside to see her two best friends like this, so utterly helpless against a new form of diversity.
"Well what is it?" Jill asked frantically, brushing her child's hair.
"I'm…still …we're still taking care of the situation, studying a blood sample and…"
"Why all this?"
"Uh, what?"
"If nothing's wrong with her system then why are all these…things attached to her!?"
"…She's having…"
"What?"
"There's some problems in breathing…and…and…" Rebecca stuttered. It wasn't true that all veteran healers were as cold as stone. At most, they hid behind countless papers and memorized terms to hide their fears. Their sadness. It was protocol not to get too close to a patient emotionally, it almost never turns out well. Rebecca had her share of deaths and personal insecurities, but none of those patients were the child of the people who helped her survive. "…It could be…her system may have been poisoned."
"What? Who…did somebody do this to her!?"
"We don't know."
"Jill…" Chris tried to soothe her, but he wasn't even able to do so for himself, much more for his wife.
"Heart!" suddenly interrupted a familiar voice.
In an instant, Mark came rushing into the room, joining Jill by the girl's side. He had more panic laced into his face than Jill or Chris. "What…?" he was going to ask the same question but Jill immediately cut him off by pushing him away. "You were supposed to be with her!" she cried at the young man, depressing Mark into a further state of subconscious horror.
"Jill, get a hold of yourself, Heart isn't dead, alright?" Chris chided, grabbing Jill by the arms and looking deep into her eyes. They shared the very same sentiments, they just express it in very different ways. "…How can you be so calm right now?"
"Because hysteria won't make it go away. You know that." He replied sternly.
"…" Jill's frustrated expression gave way, little by little, and just a short while later, she broke down, digging her face in Chris' shoulder.
All the time, Mark stood in the corner, unable to find himself any possible way to get inside. These people shared so much together, everyone knew that, and he knew he was now different in their eyes. Ever since he felt a special bond grow between himself and Heart, everything for him changed. Now, he felt uneasy, not only because of Heart's condition, not because of the ramifications that destiny may have held the fifteen minutes they were apart, but because of the fact that this was a matter that he could not comprehend in the level of Chris and Jill.
Mark's eyes soon fell on Heart's slow breathing body. "Oh God, I should have never left her there." He thought as he leaned against the corner, a simple shadow in the company of the celestial bodies. "…Shit, this is my fucking fault! If I didn't let my goddamned pride get the better of me, I could've stopped this!" he wanted to punch himself, but he wouldn't do that in the company of others. "God, I'm so fucking stupid…" he banged the back of his head against the wall, slowly, so no one could notice. No one would notice anyway.
"Jill, Chris, from what we see…Heart isn't in any real danger…"
"…"
"And we plan on keeping it that way. I…need to go to my lab, test the blood sample some more."
"…"
"It's going to be okay, I promise." She reassured, placing her hand on Jill's shoulder.
"Becca…can we go with you?" Chris asked her.
"Well…it's against SOP…but…we'll give you special consideration." She replied, without even the slightest hint of hesitation.
"Mark…?" Chris called the boy, who quickly snapped into attention at the sound of his name.
"Yes sir?" he asked, afraid to meet Jill's piercing stare.
"…Watch over her, will you?"
"…Yes sir." He responded. The father simply nodded, and then let Rebecca lead the way to the laboratory. He felt as if his heart would explode from his chest due to all the pounding. Mark could feel the exigency emanate from the three renowned celebrities, something that was severely lacking in his system. The young man took a stool and placed it by the bed. She still smelled of the perfume that he gave her for her last birthday.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, placing his hand on her forehead. She could be going out with an actor, or a model, perhaps a senator, but she still chose him. A boy with no talent, no face, nothing to give her. He'd often ask why, why it was that she said yes to the most awkward moment in his life. She gave him the confidence to walk out and see the sun in so many ways, and he knew, that if she ever left him, we wouldn't live, he'd simply exist.
A young nurse entered the room, sent by Rebecca to see to it that Heart had everything that she needed. She had a red blazer on, as it was heard to keep warm with only the white uniform that they were supposed to wear. She had red hair that reached her back, and a beautiful pale face with green eyes. "…Boyfriend?" was her immediate question the moment she saw Mark sitting by the bed. "…Yeah." He replied, smiling at the nurse in an attempt to be courteous. "You know, if you're hungry or anything, I could watch over her…"
"That's okay, hey…same to you."
"Uh…so, how long have you been seeing each other?"
"…Not really that long…we were childhood friends."
"Oh really?"
"Uh-huh."
"You know, I always loved the idea…it's kind of romantic how things just suddenly…make some sort of weird sense."
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
"…"
"…By the way, what's your name?"
"Lisa."
"You…uh…?" Mark asked, pointing at her ring finger that boasted a beautiful golden ring.
"At the end of the summer."
"Childhood friend?"
"Dream come true…you're name's Mark, right?"
"How'd you know?"
"Well, heart is like a celebrity, and the news that she had a boyfriend really got all the guys…kind of filled with murderous rage."
"Then I'd better not show my face in public places anymore, huh?" he replied jokingly, or at least he tried to. Lisa smiled at him, knowing full well that the young man needed to get some things clear in his head. "…Uh, hey, you look like you…still need some time alone with her."
"…That's not an excuse to get to the snack bar is it?"
"Oh, I wish."
"…"
"Hey, just…I'll be just right outside, and I'll be back later to check on her diastolic, but if something happens…just shout, okay?"
"…Yeah, thanks."
"No problem."
"It was nice meeting you."
"Save it for when you're girlfriends' not in the hospital bed."
"Sure."
Chris held Jill's hand as they stood behind Rebecca, who was busy peering into a light microscope. They were the only people there, with the exception of the elderly man who was sweeping the high performance light chromatography section by the door. "Is this…some sort of new strain? A virus?" Jill asked, breaking the silence.
"I…don't know. If it was anything from pulmonary tuberculosis to severe respiratory sickness, I could have bagged it by now, but her blood pressure, breathing…"
"So it's something new?" Jill asked again.
"…Well, to borrow a line, no, it maybe something old."
"What do you mean something old?" asked Chris.
"It may have been something undocumented…like…you know."
"No, that's impossible." Jill was quick to interfere.
"Look, I'm just saying that…"
"No! Umbrella is gone! It's impossible!"
"Jill, calm down." Chris practically commanded, gripping her hand tighter.
"…The viruses made by…them, they were the only ones that were never really studied, and especially after that stunt you pulled in the Perdition project."
"You were there with us." Chris reminded the doctor.
"I told you that those samples should be studied."
"…If we got them all, then there's no reason for them to be studied, no reason for them to be made again." Chris said.
"And we never really thought that there could still be sick people out there. That's why none of the infected were saved." Rebecca rebutted.
"They didn't have a chance."
"Yes they did!!" Rebecca snapped, turning away from the specimen and facing the two. "…This…isn't the time for this." Rebecca said, as she returned to analyzing the sample. "…There was one virus that I treated…the one you had, Jill."
"I still have a remembrance of that. If Carlos didn't give me that vaccine…"
"You wouldn't have made it to a real medical center in time."
"…"
"Too bad that it was a different physiological invader…I couldn't extract a proper cure for the victims of hunters or lickers or…or…oh my God."
"What is it?" Jill asked, immediately alerted by the woman's quick shift. Rebecca didn't answer, as she shifted the objective lenses over and over, rotating the fine adjustment back and forth.
"Rebecca…" Chris called urgently. The doctor leaned back and rubbed her eyes.
"It's…back." Rebecca softly reported to Jill, who instantly knew what the cryptic words meant. She bit her lower lip and shook her head, as if the shock muted her. "…The Nemesis strain."
Author's note: Oh no! The obvious plot twist! Okay sue me, but explanations are soon abound. Ta!