A/N: Hi again! I've gotten chapter two up, finally! Phew! Please reveiw! Thanks, and enjoy!
Flying star: Are you ever not too lazy to sign in? LoL. ;) Yes, poor Aelita. I hope she'll be ok too.
Iwo Jima fallen one: Thanks! And I look forward to seeing your story as well. :)
peachie bee: Thank you! And about Odd, see, I realized that in my last story I had sort of hinted that he liked Yumi, but never followed up on that. I intend to deal more with Odd in future chapters. In the mean time, this chapter really doesn't have any Odd drama in it, haha. But I hope it's good anyway.
-2-
Jeremie's P.O.V.
"Tell me all about Halloween again, Jeremie. I love hearing about it." Aelita was still sitting on the floor, and she seemed pale and in some sort of mild pain. I couldn't believe how determined she was to have a normal conversation with me, despite the fact that she could be in serious danger.
I gulped, and then said, "Uh, well, Aelita," I began. "Halloween is when people dress up in costumes and go to parties and stuff. Um, it's an American holiday, I think, but it's been getting kind of trendy to celebrate it around here, too. I think it used to be to celebrate the spirits of the dead, but I think now it's more about getting candy and having fun then much of anything spooky like that," I knew I sounded just as robotic and dull as a dictionary, spewing scientific and bleak definitions that can make anything sound boring.
Aelita, however, was intrigued. At least, I hoped she was.
"Spirits? You haven't told me about them," she looked at me curiously. The color was beginning to return to her cheeks, and I think she was starting to feel a little better.
I coughed. "Um, when people die in our world, which is like being deleted in your world, I suppose, most people think that their life force, or spirit, leaves its physical body, and..." I didn't know if I was making any sense.
"Go on," she said, completely fascinated by our conversation.
"...And so then they go to some sort of land of the dead, like Heaven or Hell,"
She cocked her head. "Do they really?"
"Well, see, that's the thing, no one really knows. People adopt their own beliefs on the topic," I told her. I wasn't quite sure what else to say.
She looked at me silently for a moment. I suddenly felt very uneasy about our conversation. I never felt right talking about that sort of thing. Science brings us answers that we can understand and accept, whereas the unexplained seems so strange, and, at times, scary.
"What do you believe, Jeremie?" she asked.
"Well I don't know, I guess I haven't thought about it much...but I certainly don't believe they can come back from the dea---AAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!!!!!" a noise from behind me made me jump six feet into the air.
I turned around. There, standing in the elevator were Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi. The noise I had heard was just the elevator door opening! I felt really stupid.
Three people were now laughing at me. Well, four, if you count the soft giggles that escaped the corners of Aelita's mouth. Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd were stepping out of the elevator, just about doubling over with laughter. Finally Yumi said, "H-hi Jerem-mie," she was talking and laughing at the same time. "Sorry, did we scare you?"
I rolled my eyes. They continued to taunt me with their hoots of amusement.
"Oh, will you three shut up?" I was embarrassed, and mildly angry.
"Well, considering that it was you who called us up here..." Ulrich said. "I mean, you were expecting us, so the fact that we freaked you out so bad is kind of...your fault..."
Odd coughed. "And that's what makes it funny!" the purple-haired boy informed me with a grin. "But anyway, why did you want to see us?"
Happy for the change of topic, I began to explain myself. "Well," I started. Aelita was behind me. Her face, that usually smiled sweetly, was now alarmingly serious.
"You all know about Aelita's virus," I continued.
The once joyous room had taken on a grim tone very quickly. My friends were almost afraid to nod their heads. They knew that I was about to tell them bad news.
"Well, you see, I was running a scan on Aelita... to see the virus, in hopes that it might shed some light on the issue of finding the cure... and I found out that...well, it's much more serious than I had thought," I was suddenly unable to look them in the eye. My arms were crossed tightly over my chest, making my fingertips turn white.
"Well?" Yumi said impatiently. "What did you find out?"
"Maybe I can explain," Aelita said, suddenly breaking her silence. "I've been feeling strangely lately. Random pains, nose bleeds, and I lack energy..."
Ulrich spoke up. "But you weren't feeling that way before, were you?"
"Uh, no, I wasn't. You see, my virus has mutated," Aelita said.
"We found out yesterday," I said.
"Well, are you going to be alright?" Yumi asked.
"I...I don't know...you see, there is one thing that I haven't told you, or Jeremie either, for that matter," Aelita said, looking down and running her foot through some dirt on the floor. "I've actually known about my virus, and how it's mutated for some time now. But I didn't say anything...."
I stared at her, bewildered. "What? Why didn't you tell me?!"
"I...I didn't want to scare you..." she said guiltily.
"Aelita..." I said, aware that my friends were looking at one another worriedly. "How could you not tell me? I need to know these things! Suppose this virus had become so serious that your body couldn't handle it anymore?! You could be DEAD right now!!!!" I yelled, and then I stepped back, a little ashamed that I had raised my voice.
She put a hand to her mouth and I could see tears in her eyes, waiting to fall. "I'm sorry, Jeremie," she said softly, before turning to run into the elevator and disappearing inside of it.
My three friends watched, stunned, as all of these things happened.
I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes, and then sank back into the chair in front of the computer. I turned around so that I couldn't see them.
"Uh, Jeremie..." I heard Ulrich start to say.
I cut him off with harsh words. "Go away, you guys. I don't want to talk about it." I could feel them looking at me, and their worry. As if to end the conversation permanently, I put on my headphones, and turned on my CD player, turning the volume up as high as my ears could stand it.
A few minutes later, I turned around, to find I was alone in the factory. Ulrich, Odd, And Yumi had apparently gone away while I was turned around.
Taking my headphones off, I threw them onto the ground, where they impacted with a loud thwack. Suddenly I was unable to suppress my emotions, and my vision became blurred with tears. Looking down at my hands, which were tangled in my lap, I watched as two large tears fell and splashed them with warm wetness.
