Chapter 2
The police hadn't found anything but had agreed to alert the surrounding towns and check out any suspicious activity.
Before they returned home, Wheeler had insisted that Linka go to the hospital with the other 'victims' for blood tests, and though she gave in when he reminded her that she was vulnerable to certain substances thanks to her encounter with Bliss, she certainly hadn't been happy about it.
That had been nearly a week ago and since then, there had been no new leads nor any other occurrences of the strange behaviour reported.
"Go without me." The Russian directed her friends, not wishing to join their games on the beach, "I have a report to finish."
Wheeler headed for the door mumbling, "Suit yourself," under his breath, while the other guys followed in his wake.
Gi sighed, "It wasn't his fault you know."
"I did not say it was." Linka bristled, trying unsuccessfully to appear interested in her laptop.
"It could have been much worse." Her friend pointed out, "At least no one tried to take things too far, no real harm was done. Maybe it was supposed to be a friendly prank… you know, share a little love around?"
Linka looked up at her, "I know what you mean but… there is more than one kind of harm."
"Wheeler knows you were under the influence, I'm sure he won't tease you about this…" Gi suggested, "… whatever this was, since you won't tell us what actually happened."
"You know what happened," Linka replied irritably.
Her friend nodded, "In general, yes. I don't want to tease you either, honestly, I just want to understand and maybe help?"
The lovely blond sighed, "I do not think you can help, Gi. It was like the whole world was shifting and hard to focus on, except for him. But, I did not care because he was all I needed… and I told him… I am not even sure of all the things I said."
Gi winced sympathetically, "He understands though, it's not like he's trying to hold you to them, right?"
"No," she agreed, but the sadness in her reply surprised the Asian woman, "he did not believe me."
Gi hesitated, "… isn't that a good thing?"
It was Linka's turn to hesitate but at last she nodded. "I need to finish this, you should join the others."
"Do you miss being there in person?" Ma-Ti asked, finding the channel he was looking for on their television.
Wheeler flopped down onto the sofa and held a second bowl of popcorn out to his friend, laughing, "You're kidding, right? No way my parents would have taken me to see a parade."
The Heart Planeteer's face fell, "I am sorry my friend, I did not think."
"Don't sweat it, it was never really my style anyway." Wheeler brushed it aside, "I don't mind catching the highlights on the TV though."
The floats started to move forward and the television coverage zoomed in, giving them perhaps a better view than they would have had in the street, especially of the large novelty balloons that formed part of the procession.
The dancers held Wheeler's attention for a while, but inevitably his thoughts drifted, and just as inevitably settled on Linka. Their encounter in the café was firmly lodged in his brain, and though he kept telling himself that she hadn't been herself, it had been a glimpse of how things could be if she decided to give him a chance and that was hard to forget.
"Is that not a little inappropriate?" Ma-Ti asked, recalling him to the present.
Focusing back on the screen, the American's eyes opened wide, "Er yeah, just a bit." Two of the occupants of a float dedicated to the benefits of fresh produce were locked in an embrace that suggested some clothes might be lost before they got to their destination. "I'm pretty sure they could be sued for mis-advertisement too, I've never known potatoes to have that..."
His voice trailed off as the camera switched to another float, where a similar scene was playing out. His heart dropped to his stomach, "Something's wrong. It's like what happened at the market…"
"There," Ma-Ti said grimly, pointing between the floats at a snow making machine. "This is serious."
Wheeler was out of his seat in a moment, running for the Crystal Chamber to call the city police headquarters. Fortunately, they knew who the Planeteers were so they took the call seriously, even though they were clearly sceptical.
"I should go there…" Wheeler paced beside the Planetvision while they waited to hear back. Gaia had called the others in and was playing the news coverage but he was still edgy.
Linka wanted to step into his path to stop him, but not sure how he would react, said instead, "It will probably be over by the time you get there, and if it is not… what would you do?"
"I don't know, something!" He paused looking at her, underlying irritation taking over, "Is the idea of kissing me again really so bad that you'd rather hide out here than go and be a Planeteer?" He gestured at the view screen.
The Russian stiffened, her cheeks warming in spite of herself, "are you really so stupid that you would rather run blindly into danger than take few minutes to understand the situation?"
The parade coverage cut off abruptly and caused them both to turn again to the Planetvision, "What happened?"
Gaia shook her head, "They stopped broadcasting. I will check the news feeds…"
[… police have cordoned off a mile radius of the parade route, but there's widespread panic.] One reporter was shouting over the confusion behind them. [Hazmat teams are entering the area, and ambulances are standing by.]
The Planeteers watched in shock and a suddenly pale Linka asked, "How did things escalate so quickly? It was not like that…"
Wheeler placed a hand on her shoulder, wishing he could offer something more in the way of comfort.
It seemed like hours before the Police Chief once more appeared on the screen, and he looked grave. "There were some injuries, but in all honesty we were lucky that you alerted us when you did, it could have been a lot worse. Of course, there were a few offended comments and jokes on social media when the first images started showing up, but no one else realised what was going on."
The Fire Planeteer looked sick, rather than gratified by the praise, "Did you catch anyone?"
"No." The police chief shook his head, "and the reports we received… well I think that stuff had some hallucinatory in it."
"Why, what did they say?" Linka had a sinking feeling that she knew the answer already, being all too familiar with a certain eco-villain's love of experimenting with noxious substances. He confirmed her fears a moment later by explaining that the witnesses had reported man-sized mutant rats at the scene.
Kwame patiently filled the official in on their history with Verminous Skumm and his gang, while Wheeler stepped closer to his Russian friend and put a comforting hand in the small of her back, wisely remaining silent.
Linka tuned back in to the conversation in time to hear an update Chief Hargrove had just received, "… in hospital, but some of them haven't come out of it yet. It seems like it didn't have any effect on the children and the elderly and there were enough of both to keep them out of trouble until we arrived… though I won't say they won't be traumatised by what they saw." He shook his head.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Gi asked, wanting to feel useful.
He nodded, "There's a lot of people to sort through, I'm sure the hospital would welcome some volunteers…"
"What a way to spend Thanksgiving," the old man grumbled and pulled his blanket tighter around his shoulders. His wife told him to hush, gently smoothing the hair of a small child sleeping in her lap.
He ignored her and addressed Gi, "When can we leave? There's nothing wrong with us."
"You were all exposed to a potentially toxic chemical, the medical staff just want to make sure there aren't any side effects."
"Ha! We saw the side effects." He huffed.
Gi nodded and lifted the note book she'd been given, "If you'll let me take your details a nurse will be round in a few minutes to take blood samples, then if there's someone that can come and get you, you'll be allowed to return home."
"Charlie, our son..." The woman told her. "We weren't going to be gone long, just taking Ashley to watch the parade. He and Vivian must be frantic by now."
Gi promised the couple that she'd help them and had in fact only just finished dealing with their case when Linka entered the waiting area. She was looking haunted and it made her friend hasten to her side rather than approach the next patient.
"Everything ok?" she asked.
Linka nodded, "They asked me to collect information from the infected as they come around… it is disturbing." She looked around the room, "Where are the boys?"
The Water Planeteer didn't doubt that she was looking for one of their friends in particular, since she always seemed to seek him out when something was bothering her, even if all she did was start an argument with him. "Kwame is here somewhere but Ma-Ti and Wheeler went to the police station to get an update."
"Oh." Linka hugged her arms as if she was cold, though that was unlikely. "I will get back to work then."
"Do you want me to swap with you?" Gi asked sincerely, eliciting a smile and a small shake of the head. Linka was strong and determined and hated showing any weakness, and she rarely confided in her so she hoped she'd let Wheeler help with whatever was bothering her later.
As it happened, by the time they all met for dinner Linka was prickly rather than upset and it wasn't until the girls were alone in their shared hotel room that Gi found out what was wrong.
They'd discussed the fact that the substance seemed to be increasing hormonal levels and that the hospital staff had been able to gradually reduce them thereby curing those for whom it hadn't just worn off.
Linka was able to add that it hadn't in fact worn off naturally, but had burned out in couples that had found their advances reciprocated. She'd added, "Fortunately it wore off before it got completely out of hand. The injuries were mostly defensive and there were enough unaffected people to help… it could have been so much worse."
Laying in the dark, watching the light blink on the clock, Gi said, "I forgot to ask earlier, did they have any idea why some people couldn't see? A lot of those I interviewed said that that seemed to be a problem."
"Da." Silence followed and Gi wasn't sure she was going to continue but finally she said, "They are not blind, but it is like you cannot focus on anything except… certain people."
Gi sat up on her elbow, "It was like that for you?"
Another pause, "Da. It is frightening until you find someone who you can see clearly, and then all you care about is being close to them."
"Because you can't see anyone else." Gi assumed.
"Nyet, they said… they said that the drug or whatever it is, is enhancing chemical bonds to a point where they cannot be ignored. Some people hold our attention more than others, it is like that only enhanced exponentially. The dosage was stronger this time too."
The Asian girl considered her words for a moment, "Are you saying that the people that you focus in on under the influence of this thing, are only people you're naturally attracted to? No wonder you left that out of the briefing!"
Linka's voice was like steel, "If you tell him…"
"He won't hear it from me," She replied, trying not to laugh, "but… I mean, he's not stupid, he's probably going to work it out. The parade was big news and it's not going away for a while."
"It does not mean anything." She insisted unconvincingly, "There could have been half a dozen guys I reacted to that way, he just happened to be the closest. It is not like he is ugly, if he had not been inside he would have got much more attention."
Gi snuggled into her pillows, "And you think he would have paid attention to them, but you're wrong. When you need him, he doesn't see anyone else, even without a hormone enhancing drug."
"Maybe." The Wind Planeteer's voice was uncharacteristically quiet, "Goodnight Gi."
To Be Continued…