10. Antidote
"NESSA!" Vivie yelled, pounding on the master bedroom door. A head poked out, but it certainly wasn't Nessa's since he was a male. Alex guessed that he was Austin Yzcheck. He really did look like Andrew- he was brown-eyed, and his jet-black hair was shaggy, although short, while Andrew's was definitely quite long. There was a pleasant and kind look on his face, while Andrew's was menacing and ruthless. Yet, the fact that the two were related was undeniable.
"Where's the fire, Vivie?"
"I'll explain it to you later. Where's Nessa?"
"With Crisee- who knows what they're doing."
"Well, thanks for the hint."
"Who's the new guy? He kind of looks like Carson."
"Yeah, but my eyes are darker," Alex noted, not minding being compared to the younger (and more mature) boy. "I'm Alex Rider- I'm not sure if Nessa's mentioned me."
"Of course she has. It's a pleasure to have you working with my daughter."
Alex shot a confused look at Vivie. "I thought that he was your stepfather."
"Oh, he is, but it's easier not going with steps. I've gotten used to have new parents."
"Oh..." Alex remembered how Ian Rider hated being called uncle, so Alex referred to him as his father's brother. Americans were strange- especially this crew.
"Austin, is she in Crisee's room?"
"Yeah. Interrupt if you have to, I'm sure she'll understand."
"Thanks, Austin!" Alex and Vivie lugged Alex Meyer after them since he seemed to be in some sort of trance. Okay, what was going on in that boy's mind?
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Alex was still tired. He hadn't slept well- in fact, he had had that stupid nightmare again. His head buzzed and ached. Was this a sign? Did all of this mean something?
It was hard for Alex to pay attention, and it took a while for him to realize that Alex Rider and Vivie were dragging him. He must be going mental or something. His mind, although he wasn't too coherent, was messed up. That was strange.
"Nessa!" Vivie exclaimed, bursting into Crisee's room. "Help!"
"Where's the fire?" she calmly asked.
"Urgh, not you too," Vivie sighed. "Something's wrong with Alex, Nessa, and he got like that after watching the weather channel. Do you have any idea what's happening?"
"I'm right here, Viv," Alex piped up as she and Alex Rider released him.
"Physically, maybe, but your mind's somewhere over the rainbow."
"Over the rainbow?" Alex Rider inquired, obviously not used to Vivie's strange quirks yet.
"Oh, that basically means that I don't know. Anyway, Nessa, he's acting like he's hypnotized or something. Help us!" she pleaded.
"I can hear you," Alex mumbled.
"I don't care!" Vivie snapped in agitation. "You be quiet!"
"Sorry." Alex couldn't help letting out a sigh. What was wrong with him? This was kind of frightening.
"Don't apologize, just stand there and shush!"
Alex bit his lip in worry. Was she angry with him? Was she teasing? Was she just venting on him? Having a high-maintenance girlfriend was certainly not an easy thing.
"Vivie, calm down and breathe a little, you're scaring me- and Crisee."
"And you're using bad grammar."
"Vivie, now is not the appropriate time to have an English debate."
"I know- my apologies. Nessa... what's this little idea of yours?"
"Well, a number of those Tree Frog Extracts bottles have gone missing recently, so maybe Andrew Yzcheck stole them."
"Andrew Yzcheck the weatherman?"
"Yes, Alex- now shut your mouth and keep it shut before I have to shut it for you."
Sheesh- what was up with Vivie? It was probably the whole thing of saving the world again. He knew that she hated being stressed.
"This really is serious," Nessa murmured.
"Yeah, because I would totally joke about this kind of stuff. Come on, do we even own a bottle?"
"Well, someone broke in yesterday and jacked the pantry supply, but they missed one." Nessa pulled out a bottle and plopped it into Alex's hand. "Drink it."
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Alex wasn't going to lie- the contents of the bottle smelled nasalizing. The stench penetrated the room, and Crisee didn't seem to like it much, bursting into tears as Alex Meyer unscrewed the lid. Out of curiosity, Alex had to ask a question.
"Okay, what is that?" he gasped.
"Vivie, would you like to do the honors?"
"Certainly. Well, they were the cure for the seventh curse. Aaron left a ton of bottles in his house and captured his older half sister, Angelina, and tried to find Nessa to get rid of her. Well, Angelina refused to tell him, so he handcuffed her and held her hostage. The seventh curse was metal burning flesh, and of course, Angelina was hurt, so he put some of that stuff on her. When Luke and Angela went over to her house, where Aaron had been keeping her, they took the bottles back to Nessa and tested them out on me too since I ended up getting burned taking off Alex's watch. Since it worked, it's been the assumed cure for unnatural ailments."
"They did manage to get Aaron in jail for the summer as well- that was when Luke was shot."
"Right." Alex had forgotten about the fact that he and Luke were alike in that way. Why were all these people so like him? It was uncanny.
"Nessa, are you sure that that stuff is safe to drink?" Vivie inquired, making a face but managing to look pretty as she did so. Vivie was kind of dramatic and had strange wit. Alex enjoyed cracking jokes himself, but it was difficult to find the right time to do so around these people.
"I did research. They had lab mice drink it for no good reason and it came right out the other end. Come on, Vivie, I would never poison Alex."
"Speaking of Meyer," Alex piped up, glancing at him cautiously, "I'm not liking the expression on his face." Alex Meyer seemed to be seeing things that didn't exist, judging from the vacant, haunted look in those dark eyes that were way too like his. Okay, brown eyes were common, but still- creepy. What were the chances of two guys the same age having the same name, same shade of eye color, and level of emotional stress from the past that haunted them in the present? That definitely was more than a little freaky.
"Alex?" Vivie asked, seeming to be panicking. As introverted as Alex could tell that Vivie was, she certainly was dramatic. He wasn't quite used to that, but he didn't dislike it.
"Gah," he murmured and began to fall backwards. Vivie hurried to catch him with Alex's help. Even if she was a black belt, extra reflexes came in handy, and Alex knew it. Vivie shot him a thankful smile as Alex Meyer's eyes glazed over and then flickered shut involuntarily.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Want to lug him to a bed or something?"
"Right here," Nessa told them as she set Crisee down. Alex couldn't help worrying if Alex Meyer would be okay...
