《Han Hito: The Story of Patient Zero》


 Under a Starry Sky

    Winds whistled in the dark sky, sending a shiver down my spine. I didn¡¯t like it out here, where an ally one day could be your enemy the next. The forest around me wasn¡¯t a kind one. I adjusted my sleeping tarp and stared at the ink-black void above. I hadn¡¯t been able to sleep for days; sickness, soreness, and stress subsumed my waking hours. Suddenly, a wooden snap echoed through the woods. I bolted upright and slid out of my resting place.


    As I clambered to my feet, my arm slipped in mud, and my knee smashed against the murky ground. I prayed to whatever god was out there that it wasn¡¯t shattered- the only thing holding me together at that point was gauze wrap. A lone hunting knife laid discarded on the ground next to me. I snatched it up wearily and pocketed it in case whatever was approaching was armed. I strained my ears to hear faint murmuring.


    ¡°...was¡­ loud?¡± A soft, warm voice whispered. I could only hear a bit of what he had said over the crackling chirps of cicadas.


    ¡°Yes! Very! Come, now. We¡¯ve no time to waste, lest¡­¡± Another voice, this one more boisterous, broke the spell of silence. She had a British accent, and though she was much louder than the boy, her voice was less full.


    I followed my ears to the source of the sound, weaving through trees to approach my targets. When I caught a glimpse of lamplight, I fell back into the shadows and stalked the couple like prey. ¡°Wh-what are we looking for¡­?¡± the boy asked, a parasite clinging to the girl¡¯s cloaked shoulder. An angelic wing wrapped around his side, casting long shadows onto the grass behind.


    The girl extended her other wing in a shrug. ¡°Anything that could be of help to us. Shelter, game, medical supplies. Otherwise, your arm will stay like that forever.¡± I snuck around their backs to get a better look at the boy¡¯s arm. It was held in a sling across his torso, bent at an odd angle. At the twist of his elbow, I caught a glimpse of red-soaked fabric and winced.


    ¡°It¡­ it won¡¯t stay like this for that long, right? Usually they, uh, heal, and it¡¯s all fine¡­¡± the boy said. It seemed like he was more so trying to reassure himself than anything else.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t seen the wound. You¡¯ve not a clue how badly you¡¯re injured,¡± the girl replied, turning away. She spread her wings out further into the clearing, nearly hitting me. ¡°So be on the watch, you hear me? Anything is a blessing if you treat it as one.¡±


    I decided I should say at least something to the two of them before they disappeared back into the forest. I stood up quietly and stepped out of the bushes behind them. ¡°If anything¡¯s a blessing, the virus must be the Pentecost for you two.¡±


    The couple jumped back- the boy even added a small shriek. With a whip of her hand, the girl drew a makeshift bow from her back. I saw where it had been secured before she turned it on me. ¡°Explain yourself, fiend!¡±


    ¡°Fiend? Yeah, sure. You all are the ones in my territory,¡± I retaliated. I hesitantly gripped the handle of the knife in my worn-out pocket, hoping I wouldn¡¯t have to use it.


    ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, lad, there¡¯s not a single marker around. The forest isn¡¯t your property.¡±


    ¡°Then you haven¡¯t been here very long, lemme tell you that straight.¡± I took a step forward to seem threatening, despite my small stature compared to these two. ¡°When¡¯d you get here, anyway? Nice clothes you got. They aren¡¯t even ripped yet.¡±


    The boy offered to speak up. ¡°We¡­ uh, we got here, I think, um, three days ago¡­?¡± He stammered his speech- either he had lost too much blood to form coherent sentences or he was nervous. Perhaps it was both.


    ¡°He¡¯s wrong. It was four days ago,¡± the girl corrected, sighing. ¡°And what¡¯s so special about public decency? I¡¯ll opt to have clothes, thanks.¡± She was taking a shot at my clothing. I had just a raggedy patchwork shirt- if it could even be called that- and a pair of ripped khakis.


    I ignored her rude remark. ¡°So you got no idea what¡¯s going on?¡± I asked her, tilting my head just the slightest bit.


    ¡°Just about,¡± she replied.


    I took in a deep breath and let it all out, letting go of the grip on my knife. ¡°Well, uh, good luck then. We¡¯re a little scarce on food right now.¡± It was hard for me to say, but these two weren¡¯t feeding six other mouths. They could sustain themselves.


    ¡°Wait just a moment, kid,¡± the girl interrupted. She presented the boy¡¯s arm like it was a trophy, much to his distress. ¡°Might you have gauze? Or any sort of bandage? He¡¯s hurt, and I¡¯ve nothing to help him with.¡±


    ¡°Nope. We don¡¯t have any more gauze. Scram.¡± I wasn¡¯t telling the whole truth- at camp, we had a supply of gauze, enough to last us another half a year given we weren¡¯t getting mortally wounded every day. I wanted to conserve it as long as I could.


    The boy frowned, staring me down. ¡°B-but¡­ you have gauze on right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, wait, yes! You do have bandages! Why the hell would you lie to us like that?¡± the girl added. The corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile, but she seemed furious. My face went hot, and I realized I had messed up.


    ¡°...You know what, fine. If you really are dying, stay at my camp for the night. We can get your boyfriend patched up before I kick you back out here,¡± I offered with a small shrug.


    Suddenly, the boy let go of the girl to hug me. He was a bit taller than I was, so he nearly knocked my weak legs over. ¡°T-thank you¡­! It¡¯s s-so cold out here¡­¡± I didn¡¯t return his embrace, but I smiled weakly.


    ¡°Okay, dolts. Follow me. And you, the boy. Don¡¯t trip,¡± I said, taking his puffy-sleeved wrist. ¡°Hey. You. The girl. Lantern. Here.¡±


    The girl put away her bow and picked up the lantern by her feet. ¡°I can hold it, thanks,¡± she scoffed, swinging it by the handle. ¡°And we have names, you know.¡±


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    I almost laughed. ¡°Who gives a shit? You¡¯re a girl, and you¡¯re a boy. That¡¯s all I need to know.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but consider it from my perspective; you¡¯re both guys!¡± she complained. ¡°Abandon your scathing postmodernism for a moment and consider the benefits of using names like humanity has for generations.¡± That certainly did put a different light on it.


    ¡°Arright, then tell me your names, if you want to so badly,¡± I responded, leading the way back to camp. I knew the forest- or, at least this part of it- like the back of my hand. Though, maybe that wasn¡¯t the best analogy, since my hand was covered in bandages.


    The girl stepped up closer to me and the boy to better illuminate the path. ¡°My name is Sammy. My boyfriend here is Murry. And you?¡± the girl said. I hadn¡¯t realized the boy- Murry, as she called him- was actually in a relationship with her. Looking back just a few moments, it should have been obvious. I had even called them lovers, but only as a joke.


    ¡°Just ¡®cause you wanna tell me your name doesn¡¯t mean I have to tell you mine. Identity shit and whatever,¡± I hissed, to Sammy¡¯s disappointment. She scowled at me but continued to light the way. Eventually, we made it back to camp.


    Murry faltered at the sight of it. ¡°I-it¡¯s not doing so well, is it?¡± he noted. The tents that made it up were torn at the corners and faded from use. They still retained their color, luckily, though it was hard to tell the difference between orange and red under the lamp¡¯s light.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s home. Never said it was gonna be a mansion,¡± I replied. I guided Murry over to the red medical tent and opened up the flaps with my free hand. The place had seen better days- some of the rations were long-expired, and bugs infiltrated the corners. Still, most of the actual supplies were protected and intact. As Sammy stepped in, I pulled a roll of gauze out from under a sheet of tarp.


    Murry¡¯s eyes lit up like the lantern at the sight of it, though it could have just been the reflection of the actual lantern. He had a hood on, so it was hard to tell what he looked like, but judging from what I could see, he had a soft jawline and a fair, light brown complexion. Whatever hair did poke out of the low-hanging hood was curly and similarly light brown. ¡°S-so do you just, uh, wrap it around the wound?¡± he asked innocently.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re gonna have to take the sleeve off, otherwise I can¡¯t stop the blood,¡± I told him. He looked away uncomfortably as Sammy kneeled next to me. She slid her thumbs into his sleeve and began rolling it up past his elbow. She held the lantern close to it so I could see the damage, and suddenly, I wished I hadn¡¯t.


    I could see now what made up his complexion- his arm, and presumably the rest of his body, was covered in soft brown fur. Sammy parted the fur inside the crease of his elbow to reveal the wound. It was grotesque; it looked like a spear had been driven into his elbow and twisted. I could catch a glimpse of bone, which only made me want to vomit more. I quickly grabbed a bit of ointment and applied it to the gauze before wrapping it tightly around the wound.


    ¡°Is it done? C-can I move my arm around now?¡± Murry asked.


    Sammy shook her head. ¡°Murry, please. I thought you were the smart one. You of all people know wounds don¡¯t work like that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s covered, but it isn¡¯t healed. It¡¯ll take, like, a half a day for the blood to stop flowing, then you gotta wear it in the sling for another week before you can let it hang. Even then, you shouldn¡¯t be using it. Basically, you¡¯re not gonna have a left arm for a while,¡± I explained to him.


    He wiped his face with his other sleeve. ¡°D-dammit. That¡¯s my dominant hand¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a southpaw?¡± I asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± he asked in return.


    Sammy cut in. ¡°It means you¡¯re left-handed, Murry.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Uh, then, yeah.¡±


    I felt a twinge in my heart. This kid, who quite obviously had no idea what he was doing, had lost his left arm in just four days. He might not have even known the forest was populated- and with killers, no less.


    ¡°So, why¡¯d you come out here? Couldn¡¯t you have stayed in your houses? God knows it¡¯s safer out there,¡± I asked them. It was more pointed at Murry, but Sammy decided to answer anyway.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t have much of a choice, I reckon,¡± she replied. ¡°Got forced out! Damn those stupid-¡±


    ¡°Sammy, he d-doesn¡¯t need to know about that¡­¡± Murry interrupted. He wasn¡¯t angry at her- in fact, he seemed a little nervous. Of course, he had been nervous the whole time, but more so now.


    Sammy huffed. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right. Still, though, it wasn¡¯t our fault we¡¯re here, and now Murry here¡¯s been infected. Might you have something to stop it?¡±


    ¡°Something to stop it? The hell? The thing¡¯s only been wrecking my life for a month. Nowhere near enough time to make a cure,¡± I snarled. ¡°You can see it¡¯s affecting all of us. If he¡¯s got it, you got other things to worry about.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± Sammy challenged.


    I held out my fingers and began counting them off. ¡°Food, water, shelter, tools, warmth, sanity, truces, allies, enemies, borders, weapons, government, and a couple other things. It isn¡¯t easy out here.¡±


    ¡°Hold on¡­ government? Weapons? W-what do you mean?¡± Murry asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± It wasn¡¯t- the government was after the infected to stop the spread of the virus. We used weapons to fight back since their quarantines were the modern equivalents of concentration camps.


    Murry nestled onto the ground, which was padded with a tarp. ¡°C-can we sleep here?¡±


    ¡°Sure. I don¡¯t care. Just don¡¯t go out during the night. You might wake someone up, and trust me, you don¡¯t wanna do that,¡± I replied. ¡°I¡¯ll come wake you up in the morning, and you help me hunt, got it?¡±


    ¡°Hey, why must we help you hunt? Why can¡¯t you do it yourself?¡± Sammy questioned, crossing her arms and leaning forward.


    I looked away. ¡°I helped your boyfriend out. You do something for me.¡± When I glanced back, I found her sullenly nodding in agreement. I stood up and backed up to the flaps we called ¡®doors¡¯. ¡°Okay, nighty night, dolts.¡±


    ¡°Before you go¡­¡± Murry called after me. ¡°How did... you get here? D-did you get thrown out like us?¡± I had already closed the flaps on them by the time he finished his question. It wasn¡¯t something I would answer- at least, not for a while.


    Every time I thought of it, I shuddered. Since I tried to live in the present, I had the story locked up in the back of my mind, never to be seen again. It wasn¡¯t tragic, but I feared guilt would weigh on my shoulders until I couldn¡¯t move anymore.


    There was a terrible infection plaguing the world- a horrendous monstrosity of mankind¡¯s creation. And I was the one who had unleashed it.

 Pandora鈥檚 Box

    It happened only a month ago, maybe less. It was the day before my birthday. I was sitting in my brother¡¯s car, waiting for him to grab my cousins from the airport. As it happened, it was a Saturday, so I didn¡¯t have to worry about getting to school on time. I stared blankly out the window, wondering when I was going to overheat and die.


    The sliding doors outside the airport opened for maybe the hundredth time, and finally, my brother Chad stepped out carrying a roller bag. His short black hair, buzzed on the sides, contrasted his light skin. Not as light as mine, of course. I was pale as a ghost. I would also burn in sunlight.


    Chad used his foot to pry open the car door. ¡°Ayo, how you hangin¡¯?¡± His deep voice did nothing to snap me from my eternal suffering. ¡°Seriously, dude, help me out here.¡± Oh.


    ¡°Right, right, coming¡­¡± I moaned. I had almost forgotten about the baggage. Since Chad¡¯s car had so much space, we usually only carried a couple of other family members and stuffed the entire family¡¯s luggage in the back. That way the adults wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the dozens of bags coming in. One could consider it child labor, but that¡¯s just how my family ran.


    The moment I flopped lazily out of the car door, my cousins stepped out of the airport. Usually, this was the moment I could tell whether the car ride home would be fun or not. The world bowed its head in pity as I found wavy black hair blowing in the wind.


    ¡°Well, look who it is. How wonderful it is to see you.¡± Maya¡¯s voice carried an air of regality about it, contrasting her short stature. I wondered how her ten-year-old self managed to act so maturely.


    Next to her stood her older sister, Chloe. She was the one I was worried about. ¡°Oh, Nikkun!¡± she squealed, embracing me with a crushing force. I felt my rib cage snap like pencil lead and my shoulders crunch like a trash compactor.


    ¡°H-hi, Chloe¡­¡± I choked through the blood building up in my windpipe. She let go, and I nearly dropped to the ground. ¡°Shit, I think I¡¯m gonna die¡­¡±


    ¡°Dude, she¡¯s literally right there!¡± Chad hissed at me, bumping my cracked shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t cuss in frun¡¯na Maya, dumbass!¡± I almost let out a chuckle, but that would definitely have earned me a pounding. Chad started for my high school¡¯s varsity football team and would truck my ass.


    Maya gave Chad a condescending glare. ¡°I do not mind. I have more right to use the word ¡®shit¡¯ than any of you.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t mom tell you not to curse?¡± Chloe¡¯s voice was sweet and kind as always, but Maya looked pale as a ghost. That was much harder for her than it was for me, considering her Hispanic descent. She swallowed and nodded her head.


    After a moment of silence and a few more bags packed, Chloe opened her mouth again. ¡°So, how¡¯s school, Chad? Did you get all B¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. One close call with a bad test, but it got curved and I got an 80.¡± Chad pushed another bag into the back of the sedan. ¡°Varsity loves me, though. Kicked off the second-string for talkin¡¯¡­ uh, crap about me.¡± What a save.


    ¡°What about you?¡± I couldn¡¯t tell whether Chloe was talking to me or Maya for a second, but then I realized I was a dumbass, because she was staring straight at me.


    ¡°Uh, got a couple C¡¯s. Got an A in chemistry, but I liked biology better.¡± An A was an understatement. I hadn¡¯t missed a single question on any test the entire year. I was the only freshman in the class, too. A shame I sucked at just about everything else.


    Chad frowned. ¡°That¡¯s not what you told mom and dad.¡±


    ¡°Why the hell would I tell mom and dad I nearly failed two a¡¯ my classes? I¡¯m not a masochist!¡±


    ¡°Language!¡±


    Maya poked her head through the bags. She had been playing on Chloe¡¯s phone while we packed. ¡°I still do not care.¡± She slithered back into her habitat.


    ¡°Any giirrrlllfriends?¡± Chloe asked the two of us. I hadn¡¯t had any, of course. Not a single girl would fall for a brat like myself. I wasn¡¯t really interested in any girls, anyway.


    Chad chuckled in what I only could assume was nervousness. ¡°Yeah. Two.¡± Chloe clapped her hands. ¡°At once.¡± Oh.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what you told mom and dad.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you shut the hell up!¡±


    Chloe smirked. ¡°That¡¯s definitely something you would do, Chad. What happened when they found out?¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­ it don¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you won¡¯t say, I won¡¯t ask,¡± Chloe whispered. ¡°Tell me about it later.¡± She shoved the last bag into the back, squeezing it in along with the rest.


    Chad walked around to the front of the car. ¡°Aight, everybody, load up. It ain¡¯t a long ride, but we need to get there before the others.¡±


    ¡°I am already in the car,¡± Maya pointed out.


    Chad glared at her. ¡°No one asked you.¡±


    ¡°You said everyone, so I assumed you did actually mean everyone. Thus I responded with my own sentiment.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Maya,¡± Chloe snarled. She shut her mouth so quickly I could hear the clack of her teeth. Chad shut the driver''s seat door and twisted his keys to start the engine. Air whistled through the vents, cooling the car down to a somewhat less hellish temperature.


    I reclined in the seat next to Maya as Chloe closed her side of the car, buckling her seatbelt. ¡°Don¡¯t get too comfy. It¡¯s only, like, a ten-minute drive,¡± Chad said. Strange. It always felt longer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see you sittin¡¯ like a soldier,¡± I replied under my breath. Chad always nitpicked me for the stupidest things. I ate a slice of bread once and he consoled me for not eating the crust separately. Last time I checked, there weren¡¯t rules for how to eat bread. Nor were there rules for sitting upright in a car.


    Meanwhile, Chloe relaxed too, but Chad didn¡¯t say a word. ¡°So, you ready to take your driver¡¯s test?¡± she asked me. ¡°How many days ¡®til you turn sixteen?¡±


    ¡°Uh, lemme count.¡± I pretended to number the days on my fingers. ¡°One, you moron.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re turning one? That¡¯s amazing!¡±


    ¡°You know what I mean, dolt.¡±


    Chloe threw her hands up in surrender, sending her frizzy black hair into a mess. ¡°Yeah. I didn¡¯t know it was so soon though, jeez! I would¡¯ve gotten you a present!¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Yeah, right.¡± I¡¯d never once gotten a birthday present before, at least not from my family. That wasn¡¯t likely to change until I started doing my homework, and not even God knew when that would be.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s with the attitude? Dude, you¡¯re almost sixteen! And your cousins are all here! Why¡¯re you so mad at everything?¡± Chad questioned, turning around.


    ¡°Eyes on the road, dumbass,¡± I snarled at him.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m talkin¡¯ about, kid!¡± Chad snapped back, still turned away from the windshield. ¡°You gotta stop bein¡¯ so quick to-¡±


    Maya¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°Eyes on the road, Chad!¡± He looked at her, confused. ¡°Chad! Look! Now!¡±


    He whipped around to find a line of cars stopped for the intersection up ahead. And there he was, flying at them at a solid hundred kilometers per hour. ¡°Shit!¡± he gasped, trying to slam the brakes.


    He accidentally jerked the wheel to the side, sending the car barrelling over the rails and into the forest just beside us. It landed on its wheels, somehow, but it was still flying. Chad pushed as hard as he could on the brakes as the car rocketed towards one of the many trees. It was hard to tell what happened after that, since I blacked out for a moment after we crashed.


    ¡°Sumisu. Sumisu, are you well?¡± Maya hissed. I blinked open my eyes to see the airbags filling the car like balloons. She was grabbing at my arms and pulling me out of the smashed car door, much to my disapproval. My arms weren¡¯t broken, I realized, but they would definitely stay bruised for a while.


    ¡°Hey! Hey! I can get out on my own!¡± I yapped, yanking my arms away from hers and sliding out of the car. I felt my shoes hit mud when I landed and caught myself on my seat to keep from slipping. ¡°What the hell happened?¡±


    Maya looked at the car from front to back. ¡°Well, it is not pretty. Chad drove us straight into a tree. The hood is split in two. We¡¯re lucky we made it out alright,¡± she explained.


    I stood up fully and studied the damage. It was just as disastrous as Maya had described. A tree, now damaged in its trunk, split the front of the car in half. I could see where the pistons had been hit. I was just about to return to Maya when I caught Chad on the other side of the tree.


    ¡°Niko!¡± he screamed. I flinched at the sound of his voice. ¡°What the hell! Look whatchu did, you little shit! Oh, when mom finds out about this, she¡¯s gonna be so pissed!¡±


    Chloe rounded the car, but for some reason, she didn¡¯t seem very angry. I wondered if she was a masochist. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Nikkun. It¡¯s not your fault,¡± she said. Her voice was strangely soothing, though the situation was too stressful for me to be truly calmed down by it.


    ¡°Hell nah! It is his fault! Distractin¡¯ the driver! Ain¡¯t that against the law?!¡± Chad yelled, stomping around the damaged tree. ¡°That makes you a criminal!¡± He pointed at me.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do nothing! I toldju to keep your eyes on the road! It¡¯s your fault we¡¯re in this mess!¡± I snarled back. I could feel the tension between us; a cord was being pulled thin.


    ¡°Now, now! Did you not learn emergency protocol in your schools?¡± Maya intervened. ¡°Cease your pointless argument and call 9-1-1, you idiots.¡±


    I looked back at Chad. ¡°You haven¡¯t called 9-1-1 yet?!¡±


    ¡°No shit I haven¡¯t! I was too busy tryin¡¯ not ta die!¡± he shouted. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone- or at least, he tried to. He pulled it out with a grunt, letting it drop to the ground. His hand was cut on the glass; the phone was shattered.


    ¡°Hah. That¡¯s what you get.¡±


    ¡°Niko, I swear Imma beat the shit outta you later! Does your phone work?!¡±


    I reached into my own pocket. My phone wasn¡¯t damaged, but I remembered that I had forgotten to charge it before we left the house. ¡°Dammit! It¡¯s dead!¡±


    ¡°Shit¡­¡± Chad groaned. He paced back and forth, trying to decide what to do. I noticed Maya murmuring to herself near the smashed car door, so I looked her way. I noticed she still had Chloe¡¯s phone and was calling someone on it.


    ¡°Are you calling mom- uh, Aunt Sarah?¡± I asked her.


    She put a finger up to quiet me. ¡°Emergency services. I figured I would call for the four of us, since you all seem so sidetracked. Literally, in this case.¡±


    ¡°Chad! Maya¡¯s got it!¡± I called.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± he replied. This was his way of acknowledging my statements when he was angry at me. If he hadn¡¯t heard me, he wouldn¡¯t have said anything.


    We stood there for a moment, listening to Maya. ¡°Just off I-480, yes¡­ Terrible crash, really. We all survived unscathed, but the car will surely never function again¡­ Yes, ma¡¯am. He had his eyes off the road and nearly hit another car. He swerved to avoid it and went over the rail.¡± Chad was furious. He looked as if he were about to sock Maya in the cheek.


    ¡°Say Niko was distracting the driver. I didn¡¯t do shit,¡± Chad fumed.


    ¡°Sorry, wait a second,¡± Maya said to the other end, pulling the phone away for a moment. ¡°No.¡± She put the phone back up to her ear. ¡°Apologies. You were saying?¡± Chad roared and banged his fists on the roof of the car, creating a further dent.


    I wandered around the wreck, looking for anything to do. My phone was dead, so using wasn¡¯t an option. I walked away from the crash hoping one of the nearby buildings would have someone who could help us. The closest building was tiled white with panes reflecting the color of the sky; I approached it quickly but didn¡¯t find an open entrance. There was one door with a password lock, but it looked tough and uninteresting. What was interesting was the collection of various scientific instruments discarded in the forest.


    ¡°Woah! What¡¯s all this?¡± Chloe gasped. I jumped as her voice emerged from behind me- I hadn¡¯t known she was following me.


    ¡°Uh, I dunno. Looks like some weird science shit.¡± Among the trash were a couple of shattered flasks, a few dirty syringes, and a metric ton of drilled disk drives and monitors. One of the syringes was still full of some sort of liquid. Either the company got hacked, or they had a recycling fest and threw everything out into the forest. There was something that caught my eye- it was a metal box, similar to the monitors scattered about. It stood out, though, because it was not a monitor. It had a compartment on its side and a smudged steel sheen. I walked over and picked it up carefully.


    Chloe followed behind me closely. ¡°Ooh, Nikkun, what is that?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Like I know,¡± I replied hesitantly. ¡°Looks like a metal box.¡±


    Her innocent smile turned into a grumpy frown. ¡°No duh, it¡¯s a metal box. But what is it? What¡¯s inside?¡±


    ¡°Probably metal.¡±


    ¡°Okay, hand it here, idiot,¡± Chloe hissed, grabbing the box from me and turning it about in her hands. She found a small silver key attached to the bottom with worn-out tape. ¡°I wonder what this is for.¡±


    I remembered the keyhole on the side, where the compartment was. ¡°Can I have it back?¡± I asked her. I had just picked up the full syringe and pocketed it. The liquid had the consistency and physical appearance of anesthesia, which could sell for a good profit.


    ¡°Sure.¡± She tossed me the box, and I stepped back to catch it. I ripped the key off the back and plugged it into the keyhole on the side; the compartment hinge unlocked, and a small, red flash drive fell to the dirt.


    ¡°Ayo, there¡¯s actually something,¡± I remarked. I snatched up the flash drive before Chloe could.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Nikkun! You¡¯re gonna have to show me what¡¯s on there later!¡± she whined. ¡°I¡¯ll bet there¡¯s some corporate information on it. We could get rich!¡±


    ¡°No. I could get rich. I¡¯m the one who found it,¡± I snarked. ¡°And there¡¯s still more in this thing, anyway. They wouldn¡¯t have this big a box for one stupid little drive.¡± I scanned the entire box over, but I couldn¡¯t find a single hole other than the keyhole we¡¯d already opened.


    The side of the building at our level was mostly concrete, so I had an idea- if I smashed the box against the concrete, maybe we could find what was inside. It seemed Chloe had the same idea. ¡°Hey, before you go throwing that thing against a wall, don¡¯tcha think we should show it to the other two?¡±


    ¡°Hell no. You can go get them if you want. This is my thing.¡± I shooed her off with one hand and stepped through the glass shards to the wall.


    With one resounding smash, I busted open the corner of the box. Chloe came running back with Chad, who asked what the hell I was doing. I hadn¡¯t thought about it then- I wished I had.


    Maybe some things were enclosed because they were never meant to be opened.

 The Break of Dawn

    I pulled back the flaps of the medical tent to let the early dawn in. ¡°Alright, rise and shine, dolts,¡± I growled, grabbing the lamp Sammy had used the night before. I waved it in their sleepy faces for a moment before realizing it wasn¡¯t on. The pattern compartment on the top was empty- she must have taken them out to conserve energy.


    ¡°Why so early, goodness!¡± Sammy whined, rubbing her dark-skinned face with a sleeve. Actually, I couldn¡¯t tell whether it was skin, or if it was fur like Murry¡¯s. Her hair seemed to match the color of her skin, though it had aqua-dyed highlights to differentiate it. ¡°It¡¯s only been three hours!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been, like, five. That¡¯s twice as good,¡± I reasoned with her tiredly. I hadn¡¯t gotten much sleep, either- they had slept in a tent while I had remained frigid through the night.


    Murry was second to wake, nearly hitting his arm on a shelf as he sat up. ¡°I-I thought it was five-thirds as good¡­¡±


    ¡°This is the forest, moron. There isn¡¯t a soul out here who gives a shit about math. Approximations are the best we got,¡± I told him, grabbing his good hand and pulling him up to his feet. As I did, I caught a glimpse of his eyes- one was a light hazel, the other a pale blue. I hadn¡¯t realized he had heterochromia.


    Sammy snatched the lantern from my hand. ¡°So, what must we do for you? Feed you like a king?¡± she questioned, hand on her hip. ¡°We aren¡¯t your slaves. Whatever you¡¯ll get us to do will be within reason.¡±


    ¡°Okay, not him, just you. He can¡¯t use his arm. Plus it¡¯ll keep you from just runnin¡¯ away when I¡¯m not looking,¡± I explained, to her immense disappointment. Maybe she had been planning to run away. ¡°You better find something to feed a family of seven by noon. It¡¯s, like, five in the morning now. You have some time. I¡¯ll get Murry introduced with the rest of the group while we wait.¡±


    Sammy pouted. ¡°Can you really make me do that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can. Bow. Arrow. Door. Go.¡± She glared at me as she stomped out of the tent, weapon in hand. I only hoped she wouldn¡¯t make me her next target.


    Murry poked at my left arm, which had a load of gauze wrapped around it. ¡°W-what¡¯re those for? Did you get hurt really bad?¡± he asked sweetly. I didn¡¯t take too kindly to the invasion of my privacy, but I could forgive him.


    ¡°Broke my arm hunting a few weeks ago. Deer rammed into me,¡± I explained simply. ¡°We don¡¯t have casts, so this is pretty much the closest thing.¡±


    ¡°T-this is gonna sound really weird to you, but¡­¡± Murry chuckled a little. ¡°I¡¯ve never broken a bone before. It¡¯s kind of funny. All my friends used to talk about how weird it was and how much they hated the cast. I-I never had that experience.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s not weird. I mean, actually, okay, it¡¯s kinda weird. But it¡¯s weirder that you think it¡¯s weird, if that makes sense. You¡¯re psychin¡¯ yourself out,¡± I told him. He relaxed.


    Murry looked up at the ceiling and picked at his nails. ¡°So you said you were g-gonna, uh, introduce me to people?¡± he repeated.


    ¡°Oh, yeah. You saw all those orange tents when we came through here last night, right? That¡¯s where they sleep,¡± I described.


    ¡°H-how come you sleep outside?¡±


    ¡°Patrol. Someone¡¯s gotta keep watch.¡±


    Murry shakily pushed through the flaps and braced himself from the frostbitten air. It wasn¡¯t that cold yet- it was only early September- but it was sure to drop into the negatives over the next couple of months. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t do that to yourself,¡± he said solemnly. ¡°I-I mean, you could catch a cold! That would be bad for you!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just cold. Who gives a shit? The virus hasn¡¯t done a thing to my immune system,¡± I replied. The reality was, the older teens and adults were supposed to rotate for patrol duty. For some reason, they had forgotten about it, so I was stuck with the job every night.


    ¡°S-s-still! Why do you have to patrol, anyway? Isn¡¯t it more important to stay warm?¡± Murry pressed.


    ¡°All our rations would get stolen. I¡¯d rather live in the cold than die of starvation.¡±


    He stayed silent for a little while as we approached one of the tents. I was never great at keeping track of the two normal ones- there was a third with a zipper on it, which was always easy to remember, but the first two were nearly identical. I brushed open the flaps to see who was occupying it.


    ¡°Mmph. Hello¡­?¡± a small voice whispered from inside a sleeping bag. It was watery but feminine; it emitted a resounding, wet cough. The girl wiggled her way out of the bag and looked up at Murry and I. Her grey-ish skin was slimy and wet, and her hands were misformed and simple, with only a thumb and one combined digit where her fingers would be. Murry almost cringed, but limited his reaction to fidgeting with his fingers behind his back. Ironic.


    The girl let out another wet cough, and Murry panicked. ¡°A-are you okay? I can get stuff from the first aid kit¡­!¡± he reasoned. The girl scowled, and I elbowed him.


    ¡°I am quite fine, thank you.¡± She shakily stood up on her sandaled feet. ¡°Sumisu, tell your guest he can stop worrying about my welfare. Oh, and have him introduce himself.¡±


    ¡°Sumisu? Is that your name?¡± Murry asked me, a glow of wonder in his eyes. He smiled. ¡°It¡¯s a nice name.¡±


    I palmed my forehead. ¡°That¡¯s not my name.¡±


    ¡°T-then why¡¯d she call you it?¡±


    The girl spoke up. ¡°It is his last name. His first name is-¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Maya,¡± I snarled. Maya smirked at me mischievously, though it made me happy to see she was still mentally intact. ¡°Yeah, this is Maya. She¡¯s a pain in the ass, but she¡¯s better than a few of the other ones.¡±


    ¡°H-how can you say that? She¡¯s sick¡­!¡± Murry rejected. ¡°And she¡¯s right there, too! I admire your courage, but it¡¯s probably not a good idea to waste it on insulting people¡­¡±


    Maya stepped forward and shushed him with part of her singular flesh-bound finger. A bit of slime stuck to his fur; he wiped it off with his sleeve. ¡°Child, Niko insults people by default. If you catch him acting friendly, that is when you know there is an issue.¡±


    Murry looked down. ¡°N-Niko¡­?¡±


    ¡°Shit! I told you not to friggin¡¯-¡± I cut myself off, defeated. ¡°What the hell, Maya. Go back to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Not just yet. You have yet to even properly introduce this strange fellow. He seems further into the cycle than you are, oddly enough,¡± Maya replied, examining Murry closely. She walked around him carefully, tugging at clothes and pulling up sleeves. When she reached for his hood, his working arm snapped up to stop her. ¡°Eh? Not there? I do not understand.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just kind of embarrassing¡­¡± Murry said.


    Maya sighed, though it sounded almost like she was clearing her throat. ¡°Child, I would like to see your face. I could consider my condition embarrassing, but what good would it do for me? Apply the same logic to your own situation.¡±


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°F-f-fine,¡± Murry agreed. He lifted the hood off of his head, and just like I had expected, his hair color was about identical to his fur color. Like his jawline, his face was soft. I hadn¡¯t noticed before because of his hood, but part of his mouth and nose protruded like a small snout. His heterochromia was more obvious now that the lamp¡¯s light reached his eyes. On the sides of his head, two floppy ears reached down to his shoulders- their ends were naturally tipped with black.


    Maya held in a gasp. ¡°You are a lot further in the cycle than I had realized. Do you know which strand you contracted?¡± Murry¡¯s confused look gave her all the information she needed. ¡°The strand of the virus you contracted. Each strand contains different genetic material, and depending on that, one can develop a variety of traits, positive or negative. This is all before the inevitable demise of the individual, of course.¡±


    ¡°No, I, uh, know all that. It¡¯s more the thing about the cycle¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh. Though the virus has not been out for long, Niko here has studied it with the materials he has available and discovered the effects it has. Niko, would you like to explain?¡± Maya offered.


    ¡°No,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Please?¡± Murry pleaded. Now with two parties¡¯ opposition, I had no choice but to oblige.


    I cracked my knuckles. ¡°So the virus works in little cycles, right? Well, they aren¡¯t little. But, like, there¡¯re cycles, got it?¡± Murry nodded. ¡°The initial phase of the- actually, you know what, let¡¯s go outside. It¡¯s easier to draw on the dirt out there.¡±


    Murry and Maya followed me out of the tent quietly. I snatched a nearby stick and spun it in my hand before sticking it in the dirt.


    ¡°So let¡¯s say you get the virus at some time, like, here,¡± I said, marking the dirt with a small dash. ¡°So, at the start, you can go for a while with just, like, the normal symptoms, dependin¡¯ on your strand.¡± I drew a line from the dash about half a meter long. ¡°That¡¯s what we call ¡®Cycle A¡¯. It¡¯s how the thing starts, and it¡¯s the one cycle everyone¡¯ll get, guaranteed.¡±


    ¡°Uh, why¡¯s that?¡± Murry asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Let me finish. At the end of Cycle A, it¡¯s what I call a ¡®deadline¡¯.¡± I drew an ¡®X¡¯ at the end of the line. ¡°You get there, the virus goes for your brain. The better shape you¡¯re in, the better chance you have of gettin¡¯ out alive. If the virus wins, kiss your conscience goodbye. You¡¯re practically an animal by that point.¡±


    Murry tilted his head, and his exposed ears flopped with him. I could practically see the question mark form above his head. ¡°S-so what happens if you do make it out alive?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We call that ¡®Cycle B¡¯. The virus retreats to trick your body into a state of normalcy so its next attack can be even more vicious,¡± I explained. ¡°You lose some of those traits, and you get less sick. It¡¯s kind of a relief stage- not that anyone¡¯s had the thing long enough to get to Cycle B in the first place.¡±


    ¡°W-wait, if no one¡¯s gotten to it, then how do you know¡­ uh, nevermind.¡±


    Maya pushed her way in between me and Murry. ¡°Yes. Something Niko failed to mention- a Cycle is generally around ninety days long. A period of intense sickness follows before and after a deadline or lifeline.¡±


    Murry kept on questioning everything. ¡°Uh, what¡¯s a lifeline?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m about to get to it. Be patient, dolt,¡± I snapped. ¡°Sorry. At the end of Cycle B, you reach a point where your body is pretty much normal. We call that a lifeline. At that point, your body¡¯s got an actual chance to fight back against the infection. It¡¯s super rare, but it¡¯s possible to get rid of it then.¡± I drew a line continuing from the ¡®X¡¯, or deadline, of Cycle A, then I scratched a checkmark at the end.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why it¡¯s called a lifeline instead of a deadline- it¡¯s like the opposite,¡± Murry realized. ¡°Got it. Uh, keep going.¡±


    I shook out my hand and drew a line from the checkmark to another arbitrary point in the dirt. ¡°I bet you can guess what happens now.¡±


    ¡°I-I dunno¡­ does it, uh, sway closer to the median? Like in regression towards the mean?¡±


    ¡°The hell does that mean? Is it some nerdy math shit?¡± I questioned.


    ¡°Y-yes! It¡¯s like, in probability, where the more you try something, the average result gets closer and closer to the ratio of the¡­ why are you closing your eyes?¡±


    I rubbed my eyes with my bandaged hands. ¡°You¡¯re putting me to sleep. And no, it¡¯s not like that. That would mean you¡¯d just be half-and-half forever.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be better than dying?¡±


    ¡°Hell yeah. Just, y¡¯know, the virus doesn¡¯t work like that,¡± I explained. ¡°You actually get to another deadline, like the one at the end of Cycle A. Except, this one¡¯s worse. Harder to survive. It doesn¡¯t matter how fit you are. Basically random chance at that point.¡±


    Maya butted in, holding one of her malformed hands up. ¡°You may have noticed a pattern by now- it is why we call them cycles, of course. It goes back and forth until a deadline gets to the host. If that occurs, we call the host ¡®lost¡¯. It is unknown whether it is possible to regain conscience after becoming lost.¡±


    Murry put a finger to his chin. ¡°W-what do you mean, regain conscience? You keep mentioning it¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay, stop asking questions. If I knew you literally knew nothing, I wouldn¡¯t¡¯ve explained anything. We¡¯re done with this for now,¡± I sighed. Murry frowned a little, so I added on, ¡°For now. I¡¯ll explain more later if you¡¯re that much of a nerd.¡±


    I cast the stick out into the dirt again without a thought. Maya tapped my shoulder suddenly, and I jumped. ¡°Sumisu. You never told me his name. The boy you brought in, with the fur,¡± she remarked.


    ¡°So? What if he doesn¡¯t wanna tell you?¡± I responded.


    ¡°I can hear you, and, uh, my name¡¯s Murry! I appreciate the thought, but really, I¡¯m not that worried about it¡­¡± He looked a little bugged about something- he clung to his sleeve and looked away from us.


    I decided to speak up. ¡°Okay, what¡¯s the deal?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You look anxious. That isn¡¯t good. If we¡¯re anxious, we don¡¯t let it show. You¡¯re showin¡¯ it.¡±


    He let some air out through his nose. ¡°Well, it¡¯s just, your friend used my fur as an identifier. I don¡¯t really like when people do that. ¡®That kid with the fur¡¯, you know? It¡¯s not like I have control over it.¡± I was confused.


    ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t see the problem. It¡¯s a physical attribute. I wouldn¡¯t mind getting called cat-ears,¡± I told him. I purposefully twitched my ears to emphasize my point. ¡°Uh, don¡¯t call me that, though.¡± I suppose I understood what he meant, but now that I had taken a stance, I wasn¡¯t about to switch immediately.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s not the same. I mean, uh¡­ just c-call me by my name, okay?¡± Murry stammered. ¡°Oh, uh, wait, she didn¡¯t know when she¡­ uh, just, uh¡­¡±


    I patted him on the back. ¡°She knows now. She will. Right, Maya?¡±


    ¡°More likely than not,¡± she replied. This was not an optimal answer, but I hoped it would suffice. Murry nodded in response, and my worries were quelled.


    In our brief moment of silence, a cry broke out nearby. Whoever it was coming from was very joyful about something- they were cheering and hollering with little regard for auditory boundaries. Murry recognized it immediately. ¡°That¡¯s Sammy¡­ she found something, didn¡¯t she? Oh, does that mean we have to leave soon¡­?¡±


    ¡°Sammy?¡± Maya repeated cluelessly.


    ¡°Murry¡¯s girlfriend. She came along too, but I made her go hunt ¡®cause I let the two of them stay the night,¡± I explained to her.


    ¡°Well, if you must send them off, at least keep them for whatever small feast she obtained,¡± Maya ordered. ¡°The sun is beginning to rise. The others will start waking up soon- how better to introduce them than with a meal?¡± She eyed the pastel tones in the sky past the shadowy trees.


    ¡°Fine. Murry, you tell Sammy you¡¯re staying a little longer, got it?¡± I called. He nodded before running off to see what Sammy had done.


    The sun began to peek through the hazy clouds, and a sharp ray hit my face as it rose. All the shadows of the forest defined themselves as if they had adjusted their resolution under a microscope. ¡°First light, Sumisu. Do you reckon we will have them for long?¡± Maya wondered aloud, clearing her throat with a wet cough.


    ¡°Do I reckon what?¡±


    ¡°Those two, Murry and his partner. How long do you think they will stay?¡±


    I looked back to where Murry had just taken off and sighed. ¡°Not long,¡± I said distantly, gazing into the glowing green path ahead.


    I was dead wrong.

 A Flash of Terror

    ¡°Sumisu, I still cannot believe you. Why would you not bring the box back with you? Were it to contain some sort of prized gaseous substance, we would have never known! Perhaps that is why it seemed empty,¡± Maya growled from the backseat. We were being driven back home by a police officer who had come after the car crash.


    The officer seemed confused. ¡°What¡¯re you talking about?¡± he asked. He had a rather polite voice, contrary to his intimidating appearance. He carried what I assumed was a taser on his belt- I wondered if I could steal it.


    ¡°Well, Sumisu here found a metal box discarded from the building nearby. Instead of keeping it with him, he decided it best to bash it against the wall and bust it open,¡± Maya explained. I wasn¡¯t too keen on her sharing secrets with everyone she came across, but I kept my mouth shut.


    ¡°Hey, kid, if she harasses you ¡®bout it, don¡¯t worry. I woulda done the same thing,¡± the officer sympathized, patting me on the back. ¡°Oh, wait, which buildin¡¯? The one next to the national park? Big, white-tiled?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the one, yeah,¡± I responded.


    He seemed to recall something. ¡°Oh, haha. I used to work there. After the pandemic hit, they sent me home. I was so close to gettin¡¯ a promotion, too,¡± he laughed. Slowly, his face turned more serious. ¡°Lucky me, though. Was still subscribed to the company newsletter, and I saw that a lotta people got hurt pretty bad in an experiment. One of my old friends got killed. Attended his funeral and all.¡±


    ¡°Aw, I¡¯m sorry that happened, man,¡± was all I could say in response.


    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine. It was two months ago.¡± He brushed it off. ¡°It¡¯s not like it was out of nowhere. They¡¯d been doing some real dangerous stuff there, anyway. Mason knew the risks.¡±


    Maya seemed intrigued. ¡°Where is ¡®there¡¯, anyway? What ¡®stuff¡¯ were they doing?¡±


    ¡°Nock Labs. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of ¡®em in the papers, right? Big wages, tax cuts, advancing technology and medicine for the good of mankind,¡± he described. ¡°Mason worked in the psychology department. They brought in subjects for a test and something drove ¡®em berserk. Needless to say, Nock isn¡¯t going to use whatever they used again.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± I sighed. I thought back to the equipment beside the lab- had that all been thrown out because of that accident? Perhaps it contained traces of the substance, and they didn¡¯t want to risk being exposed to it. If that was the case, I hoped I hadn¡¯t contracted it. ¡°Hey, how close are we to home?¡±


    The policeman checked his GPS. ¡°It¡¯ll be a few minutes. Get comfy.¡±


    A few minutes passed, and just as he said, we arrived at the house. As we hopped out of the car, Maya offered him thanks before he drove off. ¡°Keep up your work, officer,¡± she called.


    I walked her into the house and looked around. My mother was on the phone in the kitchen, talking back and forth with someone, presumably from emergency services. ¡°You will? That¡¯s great¡­ How much will it cost? We hadn¡¯t paid it off yet¡­¡± She caught sight of me and waved impatiently. She mouthed ¡®quiet¡¯ before resuming her call.


    Chad and Chloe hadn¡¯t gotten home just yet, so I let go of Maya¡¯s hand and walked up the stairs. Before she asked what I was doing, I whispered to her, ¡°I¡¯m just gonna get on my computer for a little bit. If you wanna come watch, then c¡¯mon.¡±


    ¡°Like I want to observe your mindless internet humor,¡± Maya quietly scorned.


    ¡°Shut up. No, not that. I meant the flash drive.¡±


    ¡°What flash drive?¡±


    I waggled the red drive I had stolen from the box from the stairs. ¡°It was in the box. Maybe busting it open wasn¡¯t totally useless.¡± I neglected to mention that the drive hadn¡¯t actually come out via me busting open the box, but I hadn¡¯t thought it relevant.


    ¡°In that case,¡± Maya corrected herself, following me up the steps. I pushed open the first door on my left to get into my room, which was a complete wreck. A hurricane of clothes spun on the floor, both dirty and clean. I hadn¡¯t done my laundry in so long it was impossible to tell what was really going on. I tiptoed through the mess to my computer desk.


    Maya hopped through the devastation, confused. ¡°What happened here?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to know?¡± I replied, waiting for my laptop to load. It was old and buggy- I couldn¡¯t keep it off the charger for more than thirty minutes. Finally, after installing several viruses and updating three consecutive times, my desktop loaded the start screen, where I typed in my password and waited another thirty seconds.


    When the menu screen loaded, I plugged the USB drive into the computer¡¯s port and waited for the files to show up. ¡°Y¡¯know, they could have corporate secrets on this thing. Or failed test results. We¡¯re really special to have this,¡± I told Maya. I checked back on the computer screen and found the drive.


    ¡°It could also be a hoax or random garbage, Sumisu. Not everything in the real world is as intriguing as you think,¡± Maya replied, crossing her short arms. In lower-light settings like this, it was easy to tell her soft olive complexion from my pale white. I double-clicked on the drive¡¯s file and scrolled through the recordings inside. Many of them were labeled strangely- ¡®HHRECO1.mp4¡¯ was at the top of the list.


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s random garbage,¡± I laughed, scanning the files through. ¡®NRBLDTA.docx¡¯, ¡®HH_WARN.mp4¡¯, and ¡®BIOSCAN.pdf¡¯ all struck me as off. There was one file, though, that really put me off- ¡®warning.mp3¡¯. It was the only audiotape on the drive, whereas the others were videos and documents. It was also the only file with a lowercase title. My mind began to wonder. Did this have something to do with the incident that killed the policeman¡¯s friend?


    Maya took the mouse from me. ¡°Well, we will not know if it is random garbage until we view the files themselves,¡± she reasoned, clicking on ¡®warning.mp3¡¯. The tape rolled, but we didn¡¯t hear anything. ¡°Must be broken.¡±


    ¡°Nope, just my headphones,¡± I said, hitting the spacebar to pause the recording. I scrolled the tape back to the start and unplugged them. When I hit play again, we could hear something:


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°Hello? Is it working?¡± a girl¡¯s voice asked. It was low and a little raspy.


    ¡°Yes, you idiot! We got, like, no storage on here! Go! Chop chop!¡± a louder girl¡¯s voice hissed.


    The first girl cleared her throat. ¡°This is a warning to whoever might get this box. Actually, all of these files are. But this one especially. Please don¡¯t try and open it. There¡¯s something terribly dangerous inside, and letting it out could spell destruction. Along with the drive, there are a bunch of files that describe the details of what you need to know.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Move it! They¡¯re after us!¡± a softer masculine voice cried, following frantic footsteps. Suddenly, the recording was cut short by something- perhaps the recorder was turned off, or maybe it was destroyed.


    Maya and I stared at the black screen for a moment. ¡°Uh, so what the hell?¡± I asked her. She didn¡¯t have much of a response to compensate. ¡°Should we, uh, watch another one?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sumisu. Start with the one labeled ¡®one¡¯ and work your way down,¡± Maya commanded, though I could feel the dread in her voice. I clicked on ¡®HHRECO1.mp4¡¯ as she ordered.


    On the screen was a black-haired girl with a yellow jacket. Someone else was holding the camera, but it wasn¡¯t very stable. ¡°This is Tape 1 out of... however many we make,¡± she whispered. I recognized her voice as the main speaker from the warning tape. The lights around her were dim, and I could see faint shadows moving nearby. ¡°What you¡¯ve got in that box isn¡¯t visible to the naked eye, and it doesn¡¯t have much weight. Basically, it seems like there¡¯s nothing in it. Don¡¯t open it. There¡¯s something in it. And it¡¯s deadly as hell.¡±


    I looked at Maya, and Maya looked back at me. Shit. ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s a friggin¡¯ bioweapon! Shouldn¡¯t you have said that first?¡± an offscreen voice snarled. It was the louder girl from the other tape.


    ¡°Yeah. A bioweapon. Genetically engineered to cause chaos and bring about a new era for humanity,¡± the first girl stated.


    ¡°Uh, what¡¯s a bioweapon, Aru?¡± a third girl asked. The video was grainy, but I could see a red-haired girl in a white dress sneak next to ¡®Aru¡¯, the first girl.


    Aru seemed worried and confused. ¡°Uh, I¡¯ll, uh, explain it later. What¡¯s important is that you don¡¯t open the box, for one. If you already did, there are a few things you can do to try and stop it. Like, for example¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up! You know there ain¡¯t shit you can do about it once you¡¯ve got it! That¡¯s how it was made!¡± the loud girl snapped. ¡°You¡¯re just tryin¡¯ to give whatever idiot out there who opens it up hope!¡±


    ¡°You shut up, Indigo! I was going to say that you needed to check for the infection first! If the thing got released into the wild without anyone contracting it, there¡¯s nothing they can do about it, but it¡¯ll take a long time to infect anyone,¡± Aru shot back. She looked back to the camera with a strained smile. ¡°I¡¯m, uh, sorry you had to bear witness to that. Indigo¡¯s a little¡­ eh, sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me, you bitch?!¡± Indigo roared. Suddenly, a boy ran out from behind a shadowy corner and tapped Aru on the shoulder.


    ¡°Patrol nearby! Turn the thing off, and let¡¯s move!¡± he whispered. It was the same boy from the end of the warning video. Whoever was recording promptly clicked off the camera, and the video ended.


    I was stunned. In my fit of curiosity and anger, I had smashed the box open against a wall. And, supposedly, the box had a bioweapon in it. That would make me patient zero if I had the infection. I tried my best not to have a breakdown- now was not the time for that. I held on to the hope that it was a hoax, just a little prank someone had pulled to make me panic.


    Maya was clearly mortified, too. ¡°Sumisu, what have you done?¡± she said, her voice rising. She was not often affected by much, so I was surprised. ¡°What have you done?! A bioweapon! You released a bioweapon!¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s just a hoax, Maya! Look at the footage! There¡¯s no way that makes sense! You saw that red-haired girl, right? She¡¯s got horns!¡± I reasoned. It was true- unless the video had terrible interpolation, the girl had pale red horns sticking from her hair.


    Maya put her hands on the table. ¡°Sumisu, you must understand, this was right next to a laboratory! Who knows what demented projects they come up with!¡± At that point, I started to believe her imagination was running away with her. This was the real world, after all. No one experimented on humans to give them horns or powers.


    ¡°Maya, can you hear yourself? Are you delusional?¡± I scorned her. ¡°We¡¯re not about to die. This is some hoax made by a group of kids. That ¡®Aru¡¯ doesn¡¯t even look eighteen. We can just report this to the police, and-¡±


    Maya put a cupped hand over my mouth and used my mouse to scroll down to a file labeled ¡®SYMPTOM.docx¡¯. She opened it up to my protest and looked through the contents inside.


    ¡°Read this, Niko. It¡¯s the early symptom list,¡± she hissed at me.


    At the top in large Times New Roman letters, the document was labeled ¡®Han Hito Symptom Table¡¯. ¡°What the hell¡¯s a ¡®Han Hito¡¯? Is that some guy?¡± I questioned. Maya shut me up again and jutted a finger at the actual symptoms.


    I read some of the listed symptoms that were considered ¡®early¡¯. Nausea, lightheadedness, hormonal changes, and wet cough didn¡¯t apply to me. Neither did bouts of hunger, shortness of breath, heightened senses, or sleepiness. As I got to the end of the list, I found two particularly odd symptoms- shivering and a slight tingle at the site of infection.


    Maya clutched her shoulder and pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Niko. What have you done?¡± As I reached my arm out to pat her on the shoulder, I felt a strange sensation, like my arm had been asleep. I still tapped her, but she pushed my hand away.


    I crossed my arms and glared at her. ¡°What''re you so scared of? I haven¡¯t done jackshit. You know for sure this thing isn¡¯t real,¡± I told her.


    ¡°What proof do you have? Can you-¡±


    ¡°My proof is that I don¡¯t have a single one a¡¯ these symptoms! What else do you need, a full test of every cell in my body?¡± I sneered. She didn¡¯t seem convinced.


    ¡°Wait a day, Sumisu! Did you ever start sneezing the minute you got a cold? No! Of course not!¡± Maya pointed out.


    I was growing tired. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll wait a day, jeez! But don¡¯t you think a corporation wouldn¡¯t leave a bioweapon sittin¡¯ in the trash?¡±


    ¡°Reasonable, though perhaps it was thrown there for a reason we just have yet to see,¡± she responded. ¡°There are a dozen other recordings on that drive.¡±


    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m hungry. Stay here,¡± I said, scooting away from the desk and standing up. I was about to walk out the door when she called out to me.


    ¡°Can you get me something?¡± is all she asked. I responded with a half-nod before walking away. I wasn¡¯t sure what she wanted, or what I wanted, even. I was just hungry and acting on instinct.


    Before I reached the stairs, I felt a shiver crawl down my spine. I hadn¡¯t remembered that hallway being so cold.

 Tension and Turmoil

    ¡°Who is this¡­ slimy child?¡± Sammy asked hesitantly, eyeing Maya up and down. ¡°What happened to her? Can she even speak with a body like that?¡± She stood in front of a large, bloody deer with a steel arrow poking out of its skull. Once we found a way to lug it back to camp, we¡¯d have a feast.


    Maya put her deformed hands on her hips and scowled as best she could. ¡°How rude of you. My appearance says nothing of my intellect,¡± she remarked, leaning her head forward. She was much shorter than Sammy, but she still found ways to seem imposing. ¡°Perhaps I should not tell you my name. Scoundrels like you may not deserve such information.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I get, like, you¡¯re mad¡­ b-but, uh, that¡¯s my girlfriend, so, could you not call her a scoundrel, please¡­?¡± Murry offered politely. Sammy stood in shock at Maya''s extensive vocabulary.


    ¡°Erm. Well, little girl, if your intellect is so high, might you have any ideas on how we should transport this corpse back to your camp?¡± Sammy quipped as quickly as she could, not to be outplayed.


    My eyebrow twitched. ¡°Yeah, we were the ones who asked you that question first. So, what I¡¯m gettin¡¯ is, you don¡¯t know, do you?¡± I ratted on her. She seemed offended for a moment before realizing my statement was accurate.


    ¡°Well, yes, I haven¡¯t the faintest clue what to do. I only asked the girl as a joke. A bit of light-hearted humor, you-¡±


    ¡°You were throwing shade at her, you hypocrite,¡± I cut her off.


    ¡°Okay, yes, that¡¯s what I did. I regret it now. That doesn¡¯t change our issue,¡± Sammy shot back. ¡°The deer¡¯s here. The camp¡¯s there. How do we move it?¡±


    Murry raised his hand. ¡°You don¡¯t have to raise your hand like this is school, Murry. Just answer the damn question if you have an idea,¡± I scrutinized him.


    ¡°W-why don¡¯t we¡­ um¡­ drag it?¡± He looked like he was going to say something else, but changed his mind at the last minute. ¡°It might take a while, but it¡¯s simple and easy enough¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, if there is an easier way, dragging it is a waste of energy- something we do not have much of to waste. We are trying to devise a plan which costs less energy for greater distance,¡± Maya explained to him.


    I walked around the corpse. ¡°So, simple machines, right? If we got wheels on this bitch, it would move like an ice skater on a frozen lake,¡± I said. ¡°So, choppily and dangerously, but effortlessly.¡±


    Sammy butted in. ¡°What do you mean, choppily and dangerously? A frozen lake is perfect for-¡±


    ¡°Have you ever seen Lake Erie? That thing¡¯s a mausoleum in the winter. So many people think they can just skate on it easily. It doesn¡¯t work like that,¡± I told her.


    ¡°H-hey, why does that matter? Weren¡¯t we talking about moving the deer?¡± Murry said, trying to steer the conversation back.


    Maya suddenly perked up. ¡°Actually, I believe Murry is right. There is not much else we can do than drag it, not if we do not want it to rot while we set up a contraption,¡± she said. ¡°So, like I said, get on with it. Use the legs as handles and pull.¡±


    ¡°Since when were you the boss, little girl?¡± Sammy objected. ¡°It isn¡¯t like you¡¯re going to help pull it.¡±


    ¡°Correct. I am not even certain my hands are capable of pulling such an odd shape. I am simply offering advice as best I can. I would hope to be thanked for my efforts at the very least,¡± Maya replied, shaking her head. ¡°You truly baffle me.¡±


    ¡°Maya, go wake up the others. Well, except for her. But, y¡¯know. Most of them,¡± I commanded. She ran ahead like I said. ¡°She¡¯s just a little mad that she can¡¯t do shit. She really got thrown a bad hand. Uh, literally, yeah, but I meant it figuratively.¡±


    ¡°So her name is Maya?¡± Sammy snorted. ¡°Well, tell her to be less snobby about her disability. What relation does she have to you anyway? She doesn¡¯t look a bit like you,¡± she asked, watching where Maya ran off.


    ¡°She¡¯s my cousin. Her mom¡¯s from Latin America,¡± I explained.


    Sammy recoiled. ¡°I don¡¯t recall being slimy and misformed as a part of Hispanic heritage¡­¡±


    ¡°Not that, idiot. I meant the hair and the skin color and stuff. That part¡¯s totally separate.¡±


    The three of us that were left each grabbed a leg of the deer and dragged it back where Maya ran, heaving it over and over until it finally reached the edge of camp. Sammy ripped her arrow out of the deer¡¯s skull and wiped it on a cloth before placing it back in her quiver.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡­ uh, r-reused arrows, Sammy,¡± Murry noted nervously. He fiddled with his fluffy fingers as Maya ran back from the tents. She had woken the others up very quickly.


    Sammy looked back at him strangely. ¡°Of course I do. I reuse just about everything when I get the chance. Arrows are easy- use, wash, repeat.¡±


    ¡°B-but, there¡¯s guts on the arrow when you take it out, and¡­¡± Murry shielded his eyes and squealed. I took note- he was not immune to blood and guts.


    ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t anymore, correct? That¡¯s the beauty of that ¡®wash¡¯ step,¡± Sammy joked.


    Murry had nothing to say on this, so he kept his mouth shut. I went through the nitty-gritty of gutting the deer before cutting it into pieces for consumption while the other two talked with Maya about how to split it up.


    ¡°I caught the thing. Isn¡¯t it fair I get the largest portion?¡± Sammy protested loudly. I worried some of the family would hear her before ever seeing her.


    Maya was having none of it. ¡°Sumisu said you caught it for us because he let you stay. Thus we should split it up evenly, and whatever leftovers there are should go to us at the camp,¡± she refuted.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°My name¡¯s not Sumisu,¡± I butted in.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we just¡­ I dunno, all have the same amount and split the leftovers in half?¡± Murry added softly. He wasn¡¯t heard, though, because Sammy and Maya were deep in argument.


    ¡°But I caught the damn thing!¡±


    ¡°And why does that matter? You caught it for us!¡±


    While they quarreled, I took the pieces of deer and placed them on a rack above the fire. Within about thirty minutes, we would have reasonably cooked food. It would lack seasoning, but it wasn¡¯t often I complained about a large meal.


    As I racked the meat, I heard the slow opening of a zipper behind me. I whipped my head toward the tents and found a demented face staring through my soul. It climbed out of its tent in a delicate manner and brought its limbs through. First came its arms, then its proto-arms below them, where a second set of appendages were developing. Its stringy black hair draped it like a waterfall, and from under it I could see four eyes.


    ¡°And I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯ve caught far greater- EEAAAAH! What the hell is that?!¡± Sammy shrieked. She jumped back in shock and nearly fell over onto Murry, who barely caught her.


    Maya turned and shuddered. ¡°...Family, Sammy. She¡¯s family.¡± The creature walked to me with its legs bent strangely- I could tell where proto-legs were forming near its rear.


    ¡°H-hello, N-n-n. N-Nikkuuuunnn,¡± it whispered, choking on its own raspy voice. It sounded like nails scratching on a chalkboard.


    I blinked. ¡°Hi, Chloe.¡±


    She scurried around me and poked one of the slabs of meat. ¡°W-where¡¯d y-ouu get all of thisss?¡± she questioned, eyeing Sammy and Murry. ¡°Was it themmm...?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I caught the deer. We¡¯ll only be here for a little longer, so you mustn¡¯t mind our company,¡± Sammy explained with some level of hesitation. ¡°Because we certainly mind yours,¡± she said in a much quieter voice. Murry reacted to it, but no one else did, so I assumed we were the only two that had heard it.


    She scuttled across to Sammy and circled her like a vulture, studying her every detail. ¡°...sshhe¡¯sss s-strange, N-Nikkunnn. Her hood has so much hair underneath. I can¡¯t sssee her eyes.¡± I looked at Sammy- I could see her aqua-blue eyes clearly in contrast to her midnight skin. I was beginning to think it was fur, like Murry¡¯s, because of the way the sunlight bounced off it.


    ¡°Yeah, you forgot the angel wings, dolt,¡± I said. Sammy instinctively flapped them back and forth and lightly hit Murry in the face. He recoiled in shock, but he wasn¡¯t hurt.


    Chloe was fascinated. ¡°Sshee¡¯s¡­ interesting,¡± was all she could make out. The virus had been getting to her mind more than it had mine, so she couldn¡¯t fully express her ideas.


    ¡°If you disregard her blaring entitlement,¡± Maya sneered.


    ¡°Speak for yourself!¡± Sammy shot back.


    I watched the two argue for a little while longer before Chloe slithered off into her tent. I wondered whether it was the smell of food that had allured her, or whether it was me. I hoped the former.


    ¡°Niko, are you alright? You¡¯re just, uh, staring at me¡­¡± Murry stammered, flustered. I had gazed off in between Sammy and Maya while they argued- Murry just so happened to be sitting smack-dab in the middle.


    I regained focus and raised an eyebrow at him as if I had done it on purpose. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Looking at your elbow. Still not healed up?¡±


    Murry adjusted when he heard me explain. ¡°O-oh. Uh, yeah, no. It¡¯s n-not bleeding anymore, b-but it hurts to move it¡­¡± He demonstrated this to me by flexing his arm. He flinched and unflexed very quickly, hissing some air through clenched teeth.


    ¡°Yep. That¡¯s how it works,¡± I told him. I found myself mirroring his movements to see if they would hurt me. They didn¡¯t, of course. ¡°It¡¯ll be a while. Don¡¯t wait on it to heal.¡±


    I sat in front of the makeshift grill, waiting for the venison to cook. Sammy and Maya quit their fussing- they agreed to just split it up evenly, a decision that may have been influenced by Murry. Sammy decided she was bored and walked over to me, standing over me as I crunched down in front of the meat.


    ¡°So. This virus is perhaps an issue, right? Could you work on curing it rather than sitting like a fool?¡± she pestered. She leaned forward over my head- I could feel the fabric of her clothing on my hair.


    ¡°Who the hell do you think I am? I¡¯m sixteen. I don¡¯t know shit,¡± I replied. I considered standing up abruptly and knocking Sammy over.


    She snorted and stood back up. I had missed my opportunity. ¡°I assumed you were doing something, at least. I could hear you lot from where I caught that deer. You sure know a bit without having studied it.¡±


    ¡°Repeat what I said back to me, then,¡± I challenged.


    ¡°Urk! Why, of course! You said, erm, the virus affects individuals in cycles, and that-¡±


    ¡°What¡¯re the cycles? What happens between them?¡±


    Sammy flustered and turned away. ¡°I was busy catching the deer, you know! I can¡¯t have heard everything!¡± she spat.


    ¡°Alright, then shut up. It doesn''t matter whether I¡¯m trying to find a cure or not. And, if you¡¯re wondering, I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Then how do you know so much?¡± she pressed.


    ¡°Oh my God! Why do you give a shit?¡± I snarled, standing upright. ¡°You¡¯re literally gonna leave! In, like, twenty minutes! What you already know about the thing is all you need to know!¡± I wanted to shove her, but I held myself. That level of anger could have implied I was hiding something.


    Sammy refused to speak any further, and so she stormed away to Murry. She whispered a few words to him before heading back out into the woods with her weapon. I couldn¡¯t quite hear what was said, but she glanced at me while she spoke.


    ¡°Suits her right.¡± Maya broke the silence. ¡°Nosy bimbo.¡±


    ¡°W-watch your mouth. She¡¯s still my girlfriend,¡± Murry hissed. He seemed hurt by Maya¡¯s comment; that was something I would never understand about relationships. They weren¡¯t the same person- why did they feel insulted when their partner was called out?


    Maya lowered her eyebrows. ¡°Then perhaps you should reconsider your relationship, Murry. Niko, you should be his temporary girlfriend,¡± she suggested jokingly. Murry blushed and scowled at Maya. I couldn¡¯t tell what my own expression was like- if anything, I would have looked confused.


    ¡°W-wha? No, that¡¯s not how- what?!¡± Murry stammered.


    ¡°I¡¯m a guy, Maya. I dunno how long it took you to figure that out¡­¡± I added.


    She sighed. ¡°It will be a long time coming until either of you learn to take a joke. At least you have that in common.¡± She glanced at the deer to see the fat beginning to boil. ¡°Perfect timing. Murry, call your partner back and we will feast. Then you leave, and we never deal with you again.¡±


    Murry reluctantly stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth. ¡°Sammy!¡± As soon as he called it, she appeared from around a tree and groaned.


    ¡°Food¡¯s ready. Got it,¡± she said. She stepped over a stray twig and evaded Maya¡¯s glares. With a sudden halt, she stared into the woods on the other side of camp. She stood there, frozen like a deer in headlights.


    ¡°What is it?¡± I asked.


    She breathed and resumed walking. ¡°Nothing, I just¡­ I thought I saw something. It wasn¡¯t anything. Call me when it¡¯s fully cooked.¡± With that, she closed the flaps of the medical tent behind her.