Before starting, I left a section at the beginning of the story where I talk about possible events that could happen. The thing is, I'm torn between two ideas, and I don't really know which one to choose. It's worth mentioning that it contains spoilers.
So if you don't want to know anything about what happens in the story in the future, don't read it. But if you're going to read what I wrote, I'd appreciate it if you could comment so I know which ideas would be best for you. Think of it like those stories where you decide the course of the story, but only in that moment. I don't think I'll do that again, but let the story continue.
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Trini's POV
I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched in this city. The only good thing was that we arrived at a clinic, the only clinic in the place.
As soon as I saw the place in sight, I hurried my steps. Once in front of the place, I threw open the doors.
Trini: "There's an emergency. A man was poisoned from eating poisoned fish."
Everyone inside stopped what they were doing. Right after, Arthur arrived, dragging Dante along the floor.
The receptionist immediately called a doctor. It's worth noting that the clinic wasn't that big, and the city we were in wasn't either.
They brought a stretcher for the patient. Four people, including me, tried to get him onto it, since his delirium was just starting to return.
Dante: "NOOOO!! I'M GETTING AN ALIEN IN THE STOMACH, SOMEONE SAVE ME!"
He started screaming and forcing the chains. We were probably putting on the biggest show in the place.
Suddenly, someone came from inside the doors of the medical room. It was an older man in a doctor's gown. He came with a man and a woman, both quite young.
The man stared at Dante, walked around him, and stopped to look at the woman who had accompanied him.
???: "Bring enough for an elephant."
Young man: "Yes, boss," said the woman, running into the clinic.
In the process, we all started grabbing Dante to keep him from freeing himself from the chains. After about two minutes, the woman arrived with a syringe.
The doctor wasted no time and injected Dante, slowly calming him down until he fell asleep.
Trini: "Thank you very much, huh..."
???: "Doctor, I'm Dr. Asclepio and the chief physician of this clinic," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Take him to room 2. We need to diagnose him exactly." He looked at me. "Tell me what happened to make the hero of Paradise end up like this."
I'm not going to comment on that. Someone who doesn't watch Big News wouldn't know that Dante was named after the hero of Paradise.
Trini: "He didn't listen to me, that's what happened, me, the voice of reason in the group."
Asclepio: "That doesn't explain anything," he said emotionlessly.
Arthur: "He ate a plate of exotic food made from two different types of poisonous fish."
Those two began arguing about the subject, ignoring me.
Asclepio: "I see. Based on the fish you described, I could make an antidote for him." I calmed down a bit after hearing that. "The problem is, I need some herbs and plants that should be in the other city to the west of the island."
Arthur: "Why is that a problem?" I don't like where this is going.
Asclepio: "The city of Portun is their base. Plus, everything sold there is overpriced, so it costs about ten times what the item should be."
Trini: "Who are these people you're talking about?" I asked.
Asclepio: "The mafia, more specifically, the Veraty family, arrived here three years ago looking for territory. This island has three cities. They took control of the city of Portun four months after they arrived. They gained control of the masses so Marina wouldn't suspect what was happening. They took control of the other city, Makiel, for five more months, and another six months for Lilian, which is the city they're currently in."
Trini: "So this family controls everything?"
Asclepio: "Almost everything. This clinic is one of the places I don't have complete control of. This place is run by my family. Most of the employees here are my relatives." He pointed to the two young men standing next to him. "These two are my children."
Jeral: "Nice to meet you, my name is Jeral Salazar."
Sofia: "And I'm Sofia Salazar, nice to meet you too."
Doctor: "Here, those uncivilized people don't have the power they want. This is the city with the least amount of control. That's why I moved here. Despite all this, I couldn't leave this place where I'd lived my whole life."
Arthur: "Yeah, well, what about Dante?"
Asclepio: "Right now, nothing. I can only keep him under control momentarily, but eventually I'll run out of morphine, and he'll get out of control again. Although they tell me he's not poisoned, there are some substances that don't need to be detoxified for him to disappear, like morphine, which will disappear on its own in his body. His only option is to go to Portun to get what I'm missing."
Trini: "Okay, we'll just go find them."
Jeral: "It's not as easy as you think, especially for you."
Trini: "What do you mean?"
Sofia: "That city is completely under control. They know the entire population there. If a stranger arrives, they'll be identified immediately."
Asclepio: "They may even have already been identified. Their men are in every city, so they must have been spotted, and you're not so much a nobody as someone who wouldn't recognize you."
More and more, I feel like breaking Dante's staff. The situation is only getting worse, and it's his fault.
Asclepio: "If you're going to go, it should be now and quickly. One of you should stay to defend your friend. If they've already seen you, they might come here."
Asclepio stands next to the door and I shout.
Asclepio: "SULIII!! COME HERE NOW!!".
After a few seconds, a guy arrived. He was 5'11" tall, had white hair and brown eyes, and looked about our age. It's worth mentioning that all the employees had white hair.
???: "What's up, old man?"
Asclepio: "Go with the young lady to Portun to buy some herbs and plants." He took out a piece of paper and a pencil, wrote something quickly, and handed it to her. "This is what you should buy. Take a path where they won't be easy to find." He turned to look at me. "This is another son of mine, his name is Sullivan."
Sullivan: "A pleasure," he said reluctantly.
Asclepius: "Leave now, the sooner you come back the better."
Trini: "No problem, first of all," I said as I guided a box you had brought. Upon opening it, she saw a raven sitting on a comfortable bed we made for her. She was there because she couldn't be on Dante's shoulder while he was sick. "Hun, come with me. I need you to keep an eye on me and come back so I can talk to Arthur here if anything happens to me."
Hunter made a sound of approval. Like Dante, I think I can understand most of the actions he's trying to convey.
Trini: "Okay, let's go."
Pov ???
I was reading today's newspaper, since I was informed that an unusual visitor had arrived on the island.
A subordinate just arrived with some information I need.
Subordinate 1: "Sir, here's what you asked for. They're three young men. One with brown hair and black eyes, another with blond hair with a hint of blue, and the last blond man with red eyes."
???: "If it's them, what else can you tell me?"
Subordinate 1: "They went in the direction of the clinic near Lilian. One of them was being dragged."
If they were dragging him, it means something must have happened to him for them to take him to the clinic.
???: "Do you know which of the three it was?"
Subordinate 1: "From what you saw, it should be the hero Dante."
That means his combat level is significantly reduced. That's good.
???: "Okay, secure the cities. Keep your eyes open all around. Just to be sure, we should attack when they're separated. Let's take advantage of the fact that the supposed hero hasn't been cured yet."
Subordinate 2: "Sir, your orders."
???: "Get ready to go to that clinic. We'll use 80% of our men, the rest will guard Portun." I stand up and head toward my personal room. "Try not to be so violent. The idea is to have a chance of them joining us. Chris will go to the clinic, while Krakel stays in the city. Did you hear me?"
Subordinates: "SIR, YES SIR."
Okay, now I'm heading to my quarters to prepare for the upcoming battle, in which, as always, I will be the victor.
Trini's POV
We were walking toward the city of Portun through a forest. The cities are a bit far apart, just far enough away for me to create this place.
With a hurried step, we reached the edge of the city, on one side near the poorest residential area.
My traveling companion is quite quiet and seems quite unfriendly. I don't know what was going through his head, but I feel like his mind isn't on the ground.
Trini: "What are you thinking so much?" I asked, hoping he would say something at least.
He didn't answer; he just kept walking, entering the city. It was a pretty typical place, if you can put it that way. Houses made of discarded materials, roads full of holes, people in worn-out clothes. I think maybe it wasn't a good idea to come through here. The contrast between us and the people here is quite obvious.
Sullivan: Tell me, what's the world like out there?
Trini: "Normal," I said curtly. I think she didn't like my answer, since she made a face of disgust.
Trini: "If you want to know so much, why don't you go see for yourself?"
She didn't answer; we just continued walking toward the fair.
Sullivan: "Maybe..." she said to the air.
Hun was still following us, keeping an eye out for us, until he plummeted down next to me.
He started making warning sounds in one direction; beyond that, there was a path to the right that led to the market. I pulled out one of my pistols, which I had hidden in my suit. Suddenly, I began to sense danger from all sides.
With my gun in my hand, I peeked into the hallway and found a guy in a suit holding a knife. I immediately put my gun to his head.
Subordinate 7: "I don't think this is the way a hero would treat someone," he said mockingly.
Trini: "Dantes is the hero, I'm not. Now give me a reason not to blow your brains out."
Subordinate 7: "It's not that difficult. If you blow my brains out, my partner will do it to your partner too." At that moment, I saw out of the corner of my eye another thug also holding a gun to the doctor's son's head. "If he dies, I don't think the doctor would want to help your sick friend in his clinic."
I let my guard down. Seeing this guy, I didn't think there would be another one. If I wanted everything to go well, I had to be fast.
With a swift movement, Hun flew upward, distracting the thugs. I quickly turned around, still aiming for the guy's forehead. I grabbed the other thug's gun and covered it with my hand. Instead of shooting at the thug's head, I shot him in the shoulder. Once I fired, the other guy did the same. Before I could raise the gun to the sky, the shot went through my palm, but nothing more.
Before I could continue with my plan, I felt the wall next to me shatter. A metallic-colored guy came out, tackling me with a single blow.
Sullivan: "Are you...?" he said, trying to get to me but was knocked out with a blow to the head with the gun.
I saw Hun flying around me and heading for where the clinic where Arthur was supposed to be before being knocked unconscious by the blow to my head on the ground.