Spanish translation:
Querida = Darling
Krauser came by to pick up the bodies, as expected. He also gathered the test tubes but left the adult Plaga in the room. Luis had only gotten to three at that point, but the Americano didn't complain, thankfully. But the man will be back soon. Luis knows he will and he needs every second to make this work.
As soon as Luis is sure Krauser won't be returning immediately, he grabs the scalpel and turns to the three adult Plaga. The parasites are weakened and slow to move, which makes it all the easier to do what he's about to. Approaching the first he took out, Luis pulls off the lid of the container and stabs it through the mouth. Tendrils whip around and the thing screams in fear, but it's soon dead.
He moves on to the second and gives it the same treatment, killing the parasite quickly and completely. The last thing he needs is adult Plaga running around his confined lab. And once all three are dead, Luis doesn't bother to get rid of the bodies. He just takes the UV laps from inside and gently sets them down on the floor. There are two in each box, leaving him with six. And when he takes the two from the extra four boxes remaining, meant to store the other Plaga, Luis has more than enough lamps for this plan.
He carries two of them to Ada's table and sets them up on the machines just above her. They shine brightly and even with how soundly Ada's been sleeping lately, she wakes from the light. Her face twists from the offending rays and her arms jerk, likely to cover her eyes, but they can't move. Luis sends her an apologetic look but he can't waste time to help with that. Instead, he goes back for more of the lamps.
"Luis?" Her voice is rough, either from sleep or disuse, he's not sure. "What..."
As he sets up the next two, he spares her another glance. "Sorry, Chica." It's difficult for even him to look at the bright display. He can't imagine how much worse it must be for her when they're all shining directly in her face. "I'll be over soon enough."
That doesn't seem to be the right thing to say, because she starts jerking in her restraints again. Her eyes are still closed tightly, but he notices the panic in her movements. "Luis?! What are you doing?!"
He covers her mouth harshly, his eyes going to the door. How can she be so loud? "You'll be quiet if you know what's good for you, Ada." He hisses it out as his own heart begins to pound, but a moment later and no sign that anyone heard her distress, Luis lets her go and sets up another pair of lamps. "I can't tell you everything. I don't have the time for it. But let's just say I'm returning an old debt."
Once all fourteen lamps are shining onto Ada's chest -and the rest of her, because of how powerful they all are- he turns on the x-ray machine beside her. It lights up after a moment, showing Las Plaga inside of her chest. The Plaga is dormant for now, but he can see signs of agitation. From there, he gathers everything else he needs: the lens of a microscope he found on a side counter and some gel that will hopefully help with the burns she'll get. He sets both down on a side tray and lets out a steady breath. He can do this. Sure, manually extracting a hatched Plaga has never been successful before, but it will have to succeed now. There's no room for failure.
"Wait." Ada's head turns to him, though, she still can't see him. He realizes that the light is still blinding and out of mercy -and the concern that it might damage her eyes long-term- he covers most of her face with one of the cloths he set underneath her. She won't be in discomfort for much longer after this. And she does relax after her eyes are shielded. "Do you mean when I saved you?"
He doesn't reply but she must know the answer, because she gives him a little smile. It's strange and something she never would've given him before this but he accepts it.
It was something Luis never really spoke about, not even to Ada. The time he himself was infected with Las Plaga. It was right after he betrayed Saddlar and the man wanted to punish him for going against his orders. He was going to be turned into another Ganado, but Ada saved him with his own machine. He still isn't sure why she did it, other than just so he could help her get the Plaga sample, but he's always felt that he had to pay it forward. He extracted Ashley and Leon's Plaga, showing an unusual kindness even he wasn't aware he had. Especially for two Americans.
And now, he'll be able to repay Ada directly by taking out her Plaga. They'll be even.
"Try to breathe as slowly as you can, okay? I don't Las Plaga to poke at any organs." And thankfully, she doesn't go into another panic. He's not sure if she even knows what he's planning, but she must trust him unbelievably. "It might hurt." He warns before he turns to the side table and grabs the microscope lens.
It's tiny and with how wide the UV beams are, getting them concentrated will take a while, but there's nothing else he can think to do. He wishes he had his machine, that would send out several intense lasers of the same radiation on its own. It was painful, but this will be even worse with how it'll burn the top layer of her skin. But his machine is gone and he's stuck with what he has. So, he holds it with a pair of forceps to keep his own hands from burning and then slowly angles it into different positions, trying to get the best possible result.
Once he gets it where he wants, the bright beams all come together in a single point on her chest. Her skin already begins to burn and he sees her jolt but she makes no sounds. He can only hope this doesn't take any longer than it needs.
He looks to the X-Ray and sees Las Plaga wiggle and twitch erratically. The light is hitting it straight in the center of its body, making the thing panic. As it moves, its hooked legs dig into Ada's bone and lungs and she lets out a full scream. Luis can't do anything but wait, so he does. He waits for the plaga's tendrils to slowly stop moving and the rest of its body to go immobile as well. Then, it breaks apart into small pieces and disappears completely. Ada goes still.
Immediately, Luis pulls the lens away and works on turning off each light as quickly as he can. His eyes don't leave Ada's form as he looks for any movement at all. But he can't see anything with how big her hospital gown is. There's no time to waste. He pushes the machines away from her and then looks at the burn covering her chest. It's dark and an angry red surrounds the area.
He rushes to the restraints next, trying to find a way to get them off without hurting her as well. They're made of a thick leather with a buckle on top. It's already been pulled so tight that there's hardly any room for her to move at all, but he's too panicked to care. His hands pull on the buckle, which pinches her skin, and then slides the leather out from it. Her wrist is soon free, albeit bruised, and he continues the process for the other restraints.
Once all of her limbs are freed, he pulls Ada into a sitting position. The cover falls off from over her eyes and he can see her coming back to him. He lets out a deep sigh.
"Geez. You scared the shit out of me!"
But she doesn't respond. She doesn't even look at him as her hands move down to her legs. His heart picks up again, worried that he has paralyzed her, but then her knee moves up and relief floods in again. She's really taking him on a rollercoaster of worry.
Ada looks at him this time, her eyes open and easy to read. She's in pain still but she isn't scared anymore. "I doubt I'll be able to walk on my own. Care to give me a lift?" She reaches her arms out for him, as if he'll just pick her up here, but he hesitates.
"Let me treat your burn first, okay? Then we can get the hell out of here." He doesn't wait for her reply as he gets as much of the gel as he can onto his fingers and spreads it over her skin. She hisses from it but doesn't recoil, thankfully. He adds a second layer, making sure to get every inch, and then he pulls out the first aid kit stored away in the lab and uses a large band-aid to keep it covered. Hopefully, she'll be able to get proper help another time, but this will work for now.
He doesn't really have much time still and it's a wonder how Krauser hasn't come marching in just yet, but he's thankful for it. It gives him enough time to clean off his hands and gather his old vest from where it was on the table and wrap it around her body. It covers more than the hospital gown and although he can't do much for the short length of it, at least it won't be falling off of her shoulders.
"Get on, SeƱorita. We're getting the hell out of here." His back is to her and once her arms are over his shoulders, he grabs her by the thighs and gets her high enough that she can hold on. Her arms are thin and bony as they hold his neck, but he can't waste time getting comfortable. He can barely accommodate her sores as he locks his hands under her butt for a secure seat and marches them both to the door. It's locked from the inside but he hasn't dared to attempt leaving until now. He can't be a coward anymore. Not when it's cost so many others their lives already.
"I'll do the honors." Ada's voice is directly in his ear, but it isn't flirty, cold, or even indifferent. It's friendly and relieved and tired.
He crouches so she can flick the lock and then twist the knob. The door opens with a whine but Luis doesn't stick around long. He kicks it closed behind him and then runs down the hall, not quite sure where to go but knowing anywhere is better than here. "Do you know a way out, Miss. Spy?"
Surprisingly, she nods. When he makes a surprised noise, her breath ghosts his neck in a laugh. "What? You really think I'd sneak into some else's base without learning the ins and outs of it first? And I have to remind you that I've been here for quite a while. I've made my own escape attempts."
And he feels stupid for asking at all, but he kind of deserves it for doubting her skill. "Well, lead away, Querida."
Her weak arm unfolds from his shoulders and points to the right. It's not the best way to navigate but it's better than nothing. Luis follows down the hall, keeping his ear out for any scuffling feet aside from their own. It reminds him very much of when he decided to grow a moral code and finally betray Los Illuminados. He can only hope his escape attempt goes better this time around, since he was not only caught last time, but almost died to the parasite. And then he was caught twice again after Ada helped him to get rid of Las Plaga.
Looking back, Luis realizes just how poorly that whole betrayal went. He was working with two different parties the whole time, switching between running from Saddlar, helping Ada to get the sample and protecting Leon.
A finger taps at his head and he's about to snap something about not distracting him, but he freezes when he realizes that another pair of footsteps are approaching. He holds back any noise that threatens to come out and instead looks for places to hide. There are rooms on both sides of the hall and he quickly makes his way to the closest one. Ada's arm reaches out and she turns the nob, but it stops before rotating fully. Locked.
He moves on to the next, his heart picking up with how agonizingly slow they're moving. The footsteps are getting closer and closer. They're not as heavy as Krauser's but there are many more horrible things tucked away in this mansion.
They check the third door and this time, the knob completely rotates. Ada lets out a soft gasp into his ear and she quickly pushes it open. Luis rushes them both inside, only barely ducking enough to avoid hitting Ada's head on the frame. He doesn't need to tell her to close the door behind him and she does so gently to avoid making any more noise.
The room is dark and it's impossible to see anything past what the light coming through the window illuminates, but he doesn't hear anything else inside, so he guesses it's safe enough. A dangerous thing to do in this place, but he has no other options. Turning on any lights that may be in the room would give them away to whoever was coming after them, so they just stand there, turned away from the window but still close to the door. They wait and hold as still as they can. Ada's legs tense ever so slightly around him but it only lasts a moment or two before they go limp again. She really doesn't have the energy for an adventure like this.
The footsteps pass their door but Luis doesn't move just yet. He listens to them as they continue down the hall and fade as they go. Even then, they stay still and wait in case anyone else comes down the hall or if they come back. When no other sounds come through, Luis lets out a sigh and steps back in front of the door. Ada wordlessly opens it and closes it once again when they're out of the room.
Voices filter through the hall and Luis tenses again, but after a moment, he notices that they aren't coming any closer. It's coming from the direction the footsteps went and he can bet it's the Ganado that passed. They're probably frustrated and cursing themselves for leaving Luis and Ada alone in a room they were only threatened not to leave. Granted, those threats were enough to keep him there for a good long while, but if Leon really wanted to keep him there for good, he should've stationed someone inside to watch them. Or maybe he should've shown up to deliver those bodies himself.
Then again, Saddlar didn't bother to keep Luis in check either. Not until all of his other underlings couldn't seem to keep him down.
Luis still has the scar from where the spike nearly impaled him. If Leon hadn't been so quick, hadn't pulled him away like he did, Luis would've died then and there. Who knows if he would've been able to get Leon and Ashley their suppressants. The thought alone used to scare him, used to make him wonder about the what-ifs in that situation.
But it's just a distraction now.
He's brought back to the present by the sound of a door opening. He's not sure which one it is, since doors litter this entire area of the mansion, but the curse that comes out makes him think it's the one he and Ada just left.
Too late, Luis realizes that the curse was in English and the voice sounded familiarly feminine.
"That's Ashley!" He half whispers to Ada, who must give him a look, because her arms grow tighter around his neck.
"Are you sure? We can't exactly be taking any risks right now." He can hear the hesitation. It's so thick in her voice that it almost sounds like fear. And now that he's thinking about it, it just might be. Ada mentioned trying to escape several times before Leon managed to finally tie her down -literally. She's probably scared she'll get caught again because of him.
But then another voice filters through the air and Luis is sure this time. He might not know Claire well, but he'd recognize her voice anywhere. "It's them. I promise." And before Ada can protest again, he's moving around the corner of the hall and marching back to their abandoned room. The door is open now and his heart picks up, doubts starting to make him question whether he was mistaken or not, but he doesn't let them stop him. He had doubts about Leon's behavior when they first arrived hours ago. He questioned if he was really picking up the right clues, that he wasn't just unfamiliar with the way Leon acts after not seeing him for a year, but he was right. He called the infection correctly.
Once they're at the door, he stands in the frame and watches the two girls look around the room they just abandoned. He gets an idea and lets a smirk pull at his lips. He can have a little fun with their reunion.
The official chapter count is looking like fifteen or sixteen. I'll let you know for sure once I've finished writing the last one, but it shouldn't be any longer than that.
