— Ugh… I think I screwed up.
Jarek trembled inside the psychic octopus just as the human workers approached to see what was happening.
— ¡Damn it, I should've made sure the big-eared freak was really dead! — he thought, as the fleeting joy of escaping the goblin faded, replaced by an overwhelming weight of guilt.
He hadn't touched the freckled girl. He hadn't even gotten close. But neglecting his "emergency hideout" had, in one way or another, triggered this whole disaster.
The woman in white didn't bother waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. She grabbed Andy tightly and, moving at an incredible speed, carried her to one of the sheltered posts with tents, straight to the vehicles parked nearby. The other people, dressed in the same uniform as her, merely watched or moved out of the way to avoid being run over.
— ¡Oh, this is my chance! — Jarek exclaimed to himself. He leapt from the octopus and, as the woman got close enough, slipped into her body through one of her legs. Due to her speed and the fact that she was carrying an unconscious person, no one really paid attention, and the slime infiltrated without much trouble.
The compatibility wasn't exactly great, but Jarek didn't care too much. He just needed a way to get out of there and reach civilization as quickly as possible. He'd have time to complain later.
Being inside a human… was something entirely different from anything he'd experienced so far. As soon as he settled in, his host's memories began to flood in like an overflowing river, invading his mind without his consent.
—¿What the hell…? — he muttered, overwhelmed by the avalanche of foreign memories. It was like watching a movie he hadn't asked for, with emotions that weren't his but, for some reason, felt as if they were.
It was far from pleasant.
Jarek cast one last glance at the place that had been his "home" since arriving in this world. There hadn't been a single day—not a single damn second—that he didn't hate being there. Surrounded by brainless animals, in a climate so extreme it froze parts of his malleable body he didn't even know he had… until he stopped feeling them. And don't even get him started on the food. Or rather, the complete lack of it. Eating the first thing that moved (or no longer moved) had become routine.
— Goodbye, white hell… I won't miss you at all. — he muttered with a bitter smile.
At any rate, he'd already collected enough "genetic material" from some of the workers present, so he could leave without the slightest remorse.
¿Guilty conscience for allowing the death of the entire clan? Please. As if those frozen garbage bags were going to write their memoirs.
Although…
In one of the nearby trucks lay the body—or what was left of it—of Martin.
Jarek frowned. Something about that scene churned his "stomach."
— Bah… it doesn't matter anymore — he murmured, trying to convince himself. But a strange heaviness settled in his chest, quiet and stubborn, like a splinter he didn't know how it got there.
..............
The medical truck's doors slammed shut.
— ¡Hey, you can't do that! — Dereck exclaimed, pointing at Dania with the fork from his instant soup. He was the only one there at the moment. But, as expected, she ignored the warning and placed Andy on the table after clearing away the trash and fast food remnants cluttering it.
The chubby doctor swallowed his complaints the moment he saw the unconscious redhead. Without wasting time, he washed his hands and hurried over. — ¿What happened? Don't tell me she smelled the vonyu's breath — he muttered with a grimace, checking her for dilated pupils or redness in her eyes, assuming it was some kind of poisoning.
— Even if she had, the mask would've prevented the ZN-H in its breath from poisoning her.
Dania sighed…
In truth, she wasn't so sure anymore. The vonyu possessed a toxin similar to hydrogen cyanide but with unique characteristics. More potent, more persistent, and far more lethal even in small doses.
Currently, there was only one vonyu in the entire area, and it was strictly forbidden from removing even the smallest piece of the filtration equipment assigned to it. Accidents or equipment failures were still a possibility… but if that were the case, there would've been far more than just one victim.
¿Why had they even allowed it to submit its application? A question she'd have to wait to answer.
— She 'found' the last body we were looking for. The shock must've been too much for her heart.
— We've been here for hours, ¿And they only just found the bodies? Wow, what a level! That's a real disgrace for you guys — Dereck said with a mocking smile, holding back a laugh. Just as he was about to follow up with another jab, he felt it. That cold, intense pressure… like a mental spear piercing his skull.
—Ahem — he said, straightening up as if nothing had happened. — I mean, excellent work. Very professional.
After a moment of absolute silence, Dania finally relaxed. — We found something that required our full attention — she said with a firm but less tense voice. Her gaze was still serious, but at least she no longer looked ready to throw daggers with her eyes.
The doctor, unwilling to waste mental energy at that moment, decided not to ask further questions. He simply checked the assigned group on the badge of the redhead's coat, barely glancing at the name, walked to one of the many drawers filled with files, and began flipping through them.
Before starting their tasks, all selected workers were required to submit a series of medical exams to detect any conditions that might affect their performance, even if they weren't severe enough to disqualify them from the job. Most likely, the only "ailment" this unwanted patient had was a mind too fragile, as she showed no signs of poisoning or any other obvious anomaly.
Still, it was better to be sure.
— Let's see… Randy, Mandy… ¡Oh, Andy Callen!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers when he found the photo with the right face.
But then he froze. — Wait… ¿¡Callen!?
The color drained from his face, and his trembling legs nearly gave out under his considerable weight.
—You… ¿¡You brought that lunatic's sister to my truck!? My truck!? — he shouted, pointing at the floor as if it had been defiled by an ancient curse. — ¡No wonder her face looked familiar!
—Calm down, Dereck… I need you to—
— Calm down!? This is not the time to calm down, this is the time to save my ass! — he exclaimed.
The disinterested, lazy attitude he'd shown until now vanished completely. A bright, almost heroic flame of professionalism and wisdom burned in his eyes… or at least that's what he wanted to project as he ran in circles looking for his tools.
— ¡Get out right now, I need absolute focus! — he roared, eyes bulging and arms outstretched as if performing a high-stakes operation. — I don't care what bit her, I'm not letting her die… and I'm definitely not letting that maniac blame me
Dania fell on her butt in the snow when Dereck pushed her, then slammed the truck's doors shut.
She didn't shout. She didn't protest.
But she wouldn't forget this. Never…
— Tch… at least he'll do his job.
She brushed the snow off her shoulders and went to help her colleagues, who were already packing up. After all, there wasn't much she could do for her, and she didn't want to be in the way. Besides, to be honest, hunger was starting to make itself felt. Not as intense as earlier when she was still in the truck, but persistent enough to worry her. The side effects of symbiosis with the suit's exoskeleton were starting to show, and it would be best to hurry home before they worsened.
It didn't take long for everything to be ready. The White Guard's trucks, along with some of their personal medics, left the area heading toward the city. The snow kept falling, but at least the chaos was starting to dissipate.
..............
—¿A tumor? — Ripley didn't take his eyes off his sister, lying in a surprisingly comfortable bed. The room was on the top floor of the building, reserved only for a select group of people with important positions.
— Not exactly a tumor — Dereck muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his coat. He avoided making eye contact with Ripley at all costs, as if it might make him explode. — It's a… ¿How do I put it?
—¿¡A what!?
— It's a rapidly expanding necrosymbiotic parasite, okay!? Damn it… you don't have to yell at me.
Ripley's world collapsed. His heart seemed to stop, and time shattered into a thousand fragments around him. Everything around him felt distant, unreal, as if his mind refused to accept what he'd just heard.
— But… that's not possible. I was present at all her medical checkups, and… there was nothing! — Ripley exclaimed, his voice breaking with each word.
Dereck, several steps back from his initial position, wiped the sweat from his forehead while searching for the right words.
— Boss, the problem is it's impossible to detect.
— We have the latest in medical technology. Not even aura fluctuations are an obstacle for us.
— Ahem… What I mean is, due to the parasite's nature, it's impossible to detect in its early stage. It only becomes visible when it fully matures — he scribbled what Ripley assumed was the nervous system, along with some organs like the heart, on the wall's whiteboard.
— The transmission happens through the inhalation of a microscopic spore released by a bioluminescent flower during its brief seasonal bloom. Once in the respiratory system, the spore migrates through the bloodstream until it locates a vital organ, usually the heart, where it slowly fuses with the tissues. During this stage, the parasite is undetectable by medical or aura scans.
As the explanation continued, Ripley's hopes faded. A deep fear, born from the depths of his heart, began to completely break him down.
—And… well — he hesitated for a moment. — I have no idea where or when she got infected, but honestly, at this stage, it's impossible to save her.
Ripley didn't make a sound. He simply stared at his sister, his gaze fixed and his expression blank, as if the weight of reality had left him speechless.
—¿How much time does she have left? — he asked in a low voice, without looking away.
If he had turned, he would've noticed that the distance between him and Dereck had grown considerably.
— She'll be lucky if she makes it a week.
The silence, so thick it could be cut with a knife, was only surpassed by the pressure emanating from Ripley himself. Without a word, the doctor began inching toward the door, as quietly as his body allowed. Just as he was about to open it, the door swung open forcefully from the other side, hitting him with such force that he nearly lost consciousness.
—¡Director! — exclaimed Ripley's personal secretary, bursting into the room with labored breathing. Beside her, the Druz'ya assigned to him when he took her current position barely concealed her exhaustion. Both were drenched in sweat, likely from running all the way from the central office.
— Not now — Ripley snapped, still not taking his eyes off Andy, his tone so serious it seemed to dry up the little moisture left in the room. Even so, his secretary mustered enough strength and courage to push past her fear.
— Lord Oliver is looking for you. You need to return immediately.
Ripley clicked his tongue sharply. If it was Oliver personally calling for him, something serious was happening, and ignoring it could lead to severe consequences. Gently, he brushed the hair from Andy's forehead before giving her a kiss.
— I'm leaving her in your hands, Dereck. I'll be back as soon as I can.
"But my shift ended hours ago…" His words remained trapped in his head, with no witnesses or comfort other than himself. He let out a resigned sigh as a fleeting image of the hot dinner waiting for him at home vanished like a mirage in his tired mind.