From 8028 Oakclaire Apt 204, Aquaticus, Mare

When I opened my eyes all I saw was Ethan's drooling face. Not the sight you want to see as soon as you wake up. I felt so confused. I was well rested, but the funny thing is I don't remember falling asleep or climbing up the bed, so when did I? Also, a side question, there are plenty of vacant beds so why are Ethan and DJ curled up on the same bed as me? No wonder I felt squished! Ethan's hogging up all the space and I'm pretty sure is just a few centimeters away from falling off the bed.

But aside from all that not-so-important details, why do I feel like I'm forgetting something important here?

What is it?

I scratched my head trying to remember what was going on when I heard the door open.

Holding a cup of coffee, Jelo came in and noticed me. "Oh hey. You're finally awake. Did you have a good sleep?"

He grabbed the chair in the corner of the room and sat next to the bed.

"Yeah, I guess?" I answered, still not understanding what was going on. I looked at the clock on the wall, it was a little past six. Our call time was a quarter before seven so I still had time to prepare.

"What was our schedule again for the third day?"

Jelo looked at me as if I wasn't making any sense. Was he surprised I was asking him about our itinerary for the trip? I mean, he is the class secretary so who was I supposed to be asking? I mean, sure there's the president, but I'm not close to him.

"Lanz… What are you talking about?"

Now he wasn't the one making sense, "What do you mean?"

"Lanz look around you. Does this place look anything remotely similar to the hotel at Prasinos?"

I looked around the room and he was right. This wasn't the hotel we were staying in at Prasinos. This wasn't even the infirmary in the convention center!

"No… But… I thought… It was all a dream!"

"A dream? That's a cute word for it. Try nightmare man. Even if it was just in our head it was a nightmare. A total and complete nightmare!"

"H-How long was I out? How long were we out?!"

"Two days."

"TWO DAYS?!"

Memories of what happened suddenly flushed back into my mind. The sight of Thea struggling against Uncle Paris, Granny Rose, the time we had to crawl through the ladder, the moment I almost fell off the roof, the moment where I almost got ran over by the bus, Ethan's provocation to the Inmourti, the secret passageway, Jelo's highly theoretical but effective plan, and-

"THEA!"

"Lanz?"

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

I ran towards the door but Jelo dropped his coffee and grabbed me, "JELO LET ME GO!"

I remember being pinned down because I kept on struggling. One of them held my arm and injected me with something and I felt loopy. They sedated me! Was that even ethical?! If Thea were here I could've asked her she knows this medical stuff!

I gritted my teeth in frustration, if we were measuring strength I'd say we were evenly matched. Unless of course he was taking taekwondo classes or anything similar that I was not aware of, I was sure I could take him on.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY JELO!"

"And do what exactly huh?! You're just going to storm out there and demand they bring her back?! Is that it?!"

"EXACTLY! IT WASN'T FAIR AND IT WASN'T RIGHT OF THEM TO JUST TAKE HER AWAY! THEY WEREN'T EVEN SURE THAT SHE WAS INFECTED WITH THE VIRUS IN THE FIRST PLACE! THEY SHOULD'VE TESTED HER FIRST BEFORE THEY WENT AND LOCKED HER UP WITH THE REST OF THE INFECTED PEOPLE IN THAT PARKING LOT! WHAT SHE NEEDS IS MEDICAL ATTENTION, NOT ISOLATION!"

"Lanz, you need to calm down and listen to me." Jelo shouted.

I was just about to say something when we heard a loud thud. The both of us turned around and saw DJ getting up from the floor and Ethan waking up.

"Good morning," Ethan said while rubbing his eyes, "What are you two doing in my room? Huh? Even you Deej? Why are you on the floor?"

"Funny you ask seeing as how you're the reason I ended up down here, to begin with!" he answered as he got up from the floor and look towards the both of us as he sat down on the bed, "Didn't your parents teach you to be quiet while others are sleeping?"

"Hold on… Something doesn't seem right." Ethan looked around him like he was putting the whole picture together. Unlike me, it didn't take him long to make sense of everything. With glaring eyes, he asked us, "Where's Thea?"

The look in his eyes sent a chill down my spine. He was like a crocodile that was ready to strike.

"Great," I heard Jelo mutter under his breath, "Lanz I can deal with but not him when he's like that!"

Ethan was about to stand up when DJ threw his pillow at his face, "Hit the brakes before you two do something irrational."

DJ put his glasses back on and leaned on the door, "No wonder it was so noisy. Lanz, for one so-called of the quiet guys in class you sure can be so loud. Listen you two, T is safe."

"What?" Ethan and I said in unison.

"I said she's safe."

I pushed Jelo's now loosened hand aside and grabbed DJ by the collar, "How do you know that?! Have you seen her?!"

"Calm down will you?! And while you're at it back off! Sit down and listen!"

"S-Sorry…" I said before letting him go and sitting beside Ethan on the bed.

"When I woke up yesterday, Jelo and Dr. Santiago just got back from seeing her. She was in the upper basement along with all the other Person Under Monitoring."

I turned to Jelo, "Why didn't you just tell me you saw her?"

"I was trying to but you didn't want to listen!"

"So, how is she?" asked Ethan.

Jelo sipped his coffee before explaining, "The entire floor was divided with curtains to make makeshift rooms, she was easy to see because she was literally beside the wall. I only saw and heard her from my side of the glass wall but her condition… It's worse than before."

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed and looked at DJ, "I THOUGHT YOU SAID SHE WAS SAFE?!"

"She is! She's safe from the Inmourti outside, from the judgemental looks and comments of the people inside. She is safe and well cared for by the doctors in the upper basement. What I didn't say was that she's fine! She's not! Her wound isn't getting better, her fever isn't going any lower. Since yesterday she's been lightheaded, experiencing confusion, fatigue, and extreme thirst."

Jelo put down his cup of coffee and looked at me, "And those symptoms only mean one thing. She told us about it when we were running back to the school, remember?"

I clenched my fist and answered, "Dehydration."

Ethan's eyes widened with shock, "D-Dehydration? B-But that's-"

"Yeah, it's one of the three common symptoms of the Apethantha Disease. It's looking more and more likely that Althea's caught it. Once they're sure of it, they'll move her to the lower basement."

"What's in the lower basement?"

He didn't answer me so I pushed the question again, "Jelo, what's in the lower basement?"

"It's where they put the two people they were certain had the disease."

"In other words, it's where the infected go," said Ethan then he slammed his fist into the wall so hard it bled.

The entire room became quiet, we were all frozen in place as if time had stood still. All I could think about was Thea. Ever since we were kids she has always been there to help me out and has had my back, she's like a sister to me! But now that she's the one in a pinch I can't do anything for her!

"She told me to keep you three out of trouble," Jelo said before standing up.

I don't know if I was hearing things but I thought I heard Jelo whisper, "And I intend to keep that promise, no matter what."

He was about to leave the room to get us some drinks but turned around and said, "Oh, and Ethan, she told me to remind you. Your debt. Watch them and please, do me a favor and don't do anything reckless."

Ethan fell on his back and covered his eyes with his arm, "I got it."

This whole situation stinks! And I don't like the fact that I can't do anything about it!

I hit my thigh with my fist in frustration and felt something in my pocket. Curiously, I grabbed it and took it out. It was the letter I was saving from before! I completely forgot about it!

Ethan peeked and asked, "What's that? A love letter?"

"Where'd that thought of yours even come from?" I mean, was he hearing himself? Me, getting a love letter?

I flipped it to read the writing on the outside of the envelope.

Andrew Whitlock

8028 Oakclaire Apt 204

Aquaticus, Mare

Sarah Caldwell

23 Confidant St., Arbor Town

Solaris, Valens

It was addressed to my mom and sent by some guy named Andrew Whitlock. Did I try to recall all the names and faces of family members at reunions, was there anyone named Andrew Whitlock among them? It's also odd since mom never mentioned the guy before. Wait for a second, this address, why is familiar to me? Oh right! It's the apartment where my sister lives!

Maybe this guy knows my sister. Wait… Could he be… Her boyfriend?! This poor guy! If he really is her boyfriend, oh the things he has to put up with! Her temper, her being a picky eater, her tendency towards violence! Oh, this poor man! Wait! What if this is a letter asking for her hand in marriage?!

Ugh, what am I doing? I sound like Ethan with his ridiculous ideas. If this was her boyfriend, she would've mentioned it to either me or mom and mom would've told me if she had a boyfriend, also I am pretty sure the Insulian custom is to go to the girl's house bring gifts, and formally ask her hand in marriage, declare his intention for the bride-to-be and get the parents' approval. I don't recall there ever being a custom of sending a letter asking for a girl's hand in marriage. Me and my silly ideas. Way to go, Ethan, you've influenced me with your weird headcanons.

"Whitlock? Do you know anyone with that name?" DJ asked to which I just shook my head.

"It's from Mare, I'm guessing the guy knows my sister."

"Her boyfriend perhaps?"

"Highly unlikely," said Ethan, "Any guy who dares to get close to that Amazonian Warrior Princess is going to need the strength and bravery of the Man of Steel or the intellect of the Dark Knight to withstand even a day with her."

Fair point. Though he makes it sound like my sister is some sort of supervillain. Then again she did babysit him that one time and after that, he desperately hid from my sister like he was avoiding the plague. For four years he was terrified of her. Sigh. I could only imagine what she could do to him in 12 hours to make him act like that.

We were all curious about what it contained so I opened it and read it aloud.

8028 Oakclaire Apt 204

Aquaticus, Mare

January 07, 2020

Dear Mrs, Caldwell,

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Andrew Whitlock. I am a student at the University of Insula-Mare Campus, I am also a friend of your daughter, Nicolette. I would have sent a text or a call since it would be more convenient but aside from the fact that I do not know how to contact you, I don't think I trust my own devices anymore.

I write this to you, concerned and afraid. I fear that your daughter is no longer safe here. I tried to warn her and even begged her to go home but as you may know, she is as stubborn as a mule and will not listen to me. I am hoping that she listens to you.

You are already probably wondering what I am talking about and might be afraid to given how I started this letter. As bizarre as what I am about to say is, this letter contains the truth, no matter how hard it may be to believe.

Nicolette and I work for Estrella Laboratories for our on-the-job training. Even though we were on the same course, we didn't talk that much until we worked here together. We became close friends and would help each other in both school and work-related tasks.

Roughly two months ago, while we were on our break, we stumbled upon a hidden elevator on the first floor in the back rooms of the lab. Our curiosities got the best of us, leading to our horrific discovery.

As the doors opened we saw that it went into a hidden basement level. Upon arriving, we immediately knew that we weren't supposed to be there and let alone even know about this place. Many guards were patrolling and many places had to be accessed by key cards. Colette said that we had to go, I agreed, but before we could make our move we were frozen in place by the sound of incoming footprints. Scared, I grabbed her hand and dragged her into an open room which was a mistake on my part. I didn't know you could shout while whispering until Colette was pissed that we ran here and not to the elevator.

We tucked ourselves into two huge open lockers and gently closed the door, hiding us inside. It was hard to see from inside the locker but I knew that I saw people submerged in these huge incubators that you'd only see in sci-fi movies. Attached to them was a ventilator that could help them breathe underwater while these people, whom I could only assume to be either scientists or doctors, observed them.

But something was odd about these people. Their bodies. It was like, plants were growing on them! It seemed like it was becoming part of them! That's when I texted Colette and told her that we needed to find a way to get out of there. But, instead of running in the direction that we came from, she ran deeper into the level and I wasn't fast enough to get to her. All I could do was get back inside the locker and wait.

I didn't bombard her with texts and calls since I had no idea if she kept her phone on silent after she ran. If she didn't and I called her, I would just be putting her in more danger. After about twenty minutes she came back. By then, there were no doctors in the room. It was only me and a bunch of submerged people. I tried to get them out but Colette dragged me back to the elevator and we left the building, trying not to draw too much attention to ourselves.

We got in my car and drove away. I pulled up to the outskirts of town. The whole ride there Colette kept mumbling the same thing repeatedly, "Their screams and cries… The pain in their eyes…"

I asked her what she saw and she looked at me with horror. She explained that she reached an area where you could see the floor below. According to her down below were people, standing still and staring at nothing. She said she wouldn't have even noticed them if it weren't for the foul smell that they were emitting. A familiar stench, she called it. The smell was similar to the decaying body of your dead cat when you found it. Only this time the smell was much worse, It was that stench mixed with the smell of a rotting potato. Not only that, but she also confirmed what I saw earlier, the people standing below her, despite how they smelled, weren't decaying, though they had open wounds, they weren't bleeding! They weren't even filled with flesh at all! Their bodies were filled with plants!

Then she told me that across the bridge was a room filled with people as well. But unlike the ones she saw below, these people were screaming, begging to be let out while doctors and scientists observed what was happening. Beside that room was another, that too was filled with people. But unlike in the room beside it, these people were only groaning and growling. These people were acting strange she said. Some were pounding on the walls, some were trying to bite through them, and others were scratching themselves.

Those who were scratching themselves left a deep impact on her as she frequently had nightmares because of them. She explained to me that those people were scratching themselves hard enough to pierce through their fleas and cut themselves open. However, she said that though a cut like that would've caused blood to gush out, there was only a tiny amount of blood that came out of their bodies, what gushed out was a yellowish substance.

After that, she tried to get back but had to hide and when she did, she happened to overhear a conversation between two doctors by accident. She said they were talking about how the virus has been spreading and that they can no longer cover things up. She said that the 'accident' had already taken so much and that a cure needed to be developed. We're assuming that this 'accident' that they were talking about is whatever caused what was happening to those people. It, whatever it may be, is highly contagious and possibly deadly given the lengths they are going to just to study and cure it.

How do I know it's contagious? Probably because I've already caught it. I've only been exposed to it once but since the first few weeks after that, I have not been feeling like myself and keep on coughing this yellowish substance. Not only that, but I have also been severely dehydrated and am experiencing cases of delirium, a symptom that I've read was common in the files that I saw. I have locked myself shut in my apartment to avoid spreading this unknown disease, which also means that I cannot stop what Colette is doing.

According to her roommates, she had told them all about what we found in Estrella and has been going back to that basement level ever since. They have been trying to stop her, telling her how dangerous it is but she doesn't listen. Avery, has done her the favor of sending a letter to the Mayor's office about this for government assistance however, there has been no course of action. Colette figured that it was because we had no concrete evidence. So she decided to get some but took photos of the laboratory in the hidden level.

As much as I want to get to the bottom of this, I don't want to achieve that at the expense of Colette getting caught or worse, becoming infected with whatever this is! Given my current situation, I can't stop or protect her. I know that she can handle herself and that she's a strong woman but, we can't fight something that we can't see. Not only that but Avery has told me that the higher-ups may have caught wind that we know what they are doing because of the letter that we sent to the mayor. Though we have no regrets about informing the authorities, we know that the people in Estrella are capable of frightening things.

I am afraid that our accidental discovery could have just endangered our lives.

Sincerely,

Andrew Whitlock

I stared at the letter for a good few seconds then everything clicked in my head. Things were adding up and making sense. It was like a jigsaw puzzle in my head now had more pieces than before, I still can't see the whole picture but I can now speculate on what it might be.

"The other night, Czyrus mentioned a laboratory. Is this Andrew guy talking about a secret underground level inside a laboratory? Is it just me or is there a slight possibility that they were talking about the same thing?" DJ made a good point, and if that was indeed the case then that is one heck of a coincidence!

"Estrella Laboratories…" Ethan mumbled while scratching his head. "Where have I heard that before?"

DJ closed his eyes and made a familiar expression, it was the look he makes when he realizes something he finds annoying, "They were the convention's sponsors! Their logo was everywhere!"

"Then the guy who used the PA system to tell us about the virus-"

"Was most likely one of their employees." Ethan finished my sentence and went out of the room. DJ and I immediately followed him.

"Ethan where are you going?!" I asked him as soon as I caught up to him and grabbed his hand.

"Where else? To Jelo's sister-in-law!"

"Okay, first of all, Dr. Santiago and his brother aren't married yet let alone engaged, you're leaping way too far. And secondly, why are you even going to her in the first place?"

"Huh? What do you mean why? We've stumbled across something important that can also be vital in solving this mess that we're in! So naturally, I'd go to the authorities and right now that's the doctors who are running this hospital! Wasn't that obvious?!"

"A-Ah, I see." I said embarrassingly, "W-Well it wasn't obvious so I asked!"

"What do you mean it wasn't? Of course, it was!" DJ answered, "I was just wondering why you were leaving us behind."

Was it really that obvious? If so, why didn't I jump to that conclusion at all?

"Well? Are you going to let me go or what?" he said then I apologized and let go of his arm.

The three of us went to the doctor's mess and found Mrs. Walker, Miss Kagami, Dr. Santiago, Dr. Peralta, two other doctors, and a few sleeping nurses inside the room.

"Pardon our intrusion," Ethan said before entering the room.

"Ethan? Lanz? It's good to see you two up and about!" Mrs. Walker noted, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright Mrs. Walker, though I would've appreciated it if you hadn't sedated me," I answered.

Dr. Peralta looked at us confused, "Anyway, what brings you, kids, here?"

"We have something important we'd like to share with you," Ethan said before turning to me. "Lanz, would you do the honor?"

I nodded then told them about Czyrus' phone call and showed them the contents of the letter. Like us, they came up with almost the exact same answer. Everything about this outbreak started because of Estrella Laboratories. Though in truth we had no conclusive evidence, it was our lead assumption.

"Estrella Laboratories. Up until a year ago, their main laboratory was located right here in Valens," Dr. Peralta stated.

"Really? How come I didn't know that?" one of the nurses said.

"Well that's because we've practically just been living here at the hospital and going to our houses just to sleep for the past few years," another one noted.

That work-life balance seems exhausting, it's official, I am not going into the field of medicine. Sorry, mom, I'm not gonna be a nurse.

"Where was this laboratory located?" I asked.

"You don't know either Lanzie?" said Dr. Santiago. And did she just say, Lanzie? There she goes again with the weird nicknames.

"I understand how those of us from Lower Valens wouldn't know about that laboratory, but I'm surprised a resident from Upper Valens didn't know. Let alone a student from Collis."

"What does being a Collisian and an Upper Valens resident have to do with me knowing about the lab doc?" I asked, confused about what he was talking about.

"I don't get it either," said Ethan, "Seeing as how you're not surprised Deej, I'm guessing you know?"

"Of course I do. It's all Jelo, that dame, and the bookworm was talking about for months."

"Dame? Bookworm?" Dr. Peralta muttered, "What are those?"

"Cute nicknames for terrifying people," answered Ethan.

"I wouldn't call them terrifying Ethan, well one of them is but, everyone knows that."

"One's terrifying, the other one is annoying. There I corrected it, happy Lanz? Now back to the matter at hand." I wouldn't call the other one annoying either. Sigh. After all this time, they still can't get along.

"The laboratory was built 2.5 kilometers after the forest near our school. It could easily be seen from the school, I'm surprised the two of you didn't notice the big white building oddly sticking out from the woods."

Big white building? Could be seen from the school? Ah! I've seen it!

"That was the laboratory? I thought it was a modern mansion!" Ethan exclaimed, I had the same idea.

"Sigh. No, sorry to shatter your fantasy, but it wasn't a mansion. It was the laboratory in question," DJ turned to Dr. Peralta and asked, "Why was it shut down again?"

"If I recall correctly, it caught on fire. I seem to remember there being a bit of an issue between Estrella and the fire department after the incident, apparently, they didn't allow the department to do their job. They kept telling them that the situation was 'under control'. And because of the chemicals they were using there, it's been quarantined ever since."

"Why do I feel like there's more to this fire than meets the eye?" DJ asked.

"Well given our recent discoveries I would say there definitely is something more than they're letting on. Something important that they couldn't show to the fire department even if lives depended on it."

"Wait a second," Ethan said, "Are you telling me that the heart of whatever this is might have started near… Our school?!"