Chapter 7: Horcrux

I don't know how I managed to talk to Orion with a casual cool face. As if I didn't just encounter a wolf who wanted to eat his cat, who sneaked out of his house to follow me. I don't know how Loki managed to get inside my car without me noticing. He was there the entire time I was grocery shopping. Fortunately, I left the windows a bit open so it wasn't too hot inside. Loki was also there when I was losing my mind because of my car's radio turning into Bumblebee. I don't know how the hell Loki and I escaped the wolf either. As soon as it barked for the second time and bared its canine teeth at me, I drove away immediately. I didn't care if I got a ticket for speeding. Fortunately for the two of us, we made it home safe without the wolf on our tail. I knocked on Orion's door to bring his cat home. I almost felt bad at how worried Orion looked. As soon as he saw Loki in my arms, he sighed in relief and hugged his cat, who kept his eyes on me. I lied to Orion saying that Loki sneaked in my apartment and now I just feel so guilty. 

When I arrived at Psychology class, Roman bombarded me with questions. "Where were you this morning? I was worried when you didn't text me back last night and you didn't show up at the library." 

I remembered seeing his text during the drive back home, but I never replied because I was a little busy saving my life and my friend's cat's life. Not to mention, my haunted car. It kept me up late. I was lucky that I even got to sleep. I woke up late and found another lavender rose by my feet. The sight of the rose made me not want to leave my bed and just hug it and go back to sleep, but then my alarm clock screamed at me to hurry up for school. 

Loki was back on my doorstep as if he had already forgotten about the wolf. I don't know if cats have good memories, or if they can repress unwanted ones, but Loki acted like everything was fine. He was kneading my 'Welcome' door mat and clung onto me when I opened the door. He followed me all the way to my car and I had to make sure that he didn't go inside. He hissed angrily as he walked back inside the building. 

"Astoria?"

I blinked, realizing that Roman is looking at me. Why am I always zoning out when he's around? He could be flipping me off and I wouldn't notice. He could be doing a bunch of ridiculous things and I would miss every single one of them. 

"Shit. Sorry. I had a long night." 

He frowned and put a cold hand on my forehead. "Are you okay? Are you sick?"

"Oh, no. I'm okay." I gently moved his hand and noticed that his left wrist has some yellow spots. Before I could ask about it, the professor arrived. 

"Good morning class. Hopefully you guys aren't too shaken up about this whole werewolf talk of the town." He laughed along with a few people in the class. "It's actually kind of a perfect way to start our lecture today. We will be talking about phobias. Any of you have a fear of big dogs?" 

A couple of people raised their hands, including Roman. I almost laughed at him. I think he noticed me suppressing a grin, because he sent me a playful glare. Why does he remind me of Loki? More importantly, why am I thinking of that little shit cat? I'm turning into Orion. I refuse to be a cat lady. 

***

I panicked in front of Virgo's entrance. I couldn't find my ID and without it, I won't be let in the building. I always keep it in the same pocket of my backpack, but it was not there this time. I had to flip my backpack inside out and upside down just to find it in between the pages of my psychology notebook. 

The guard laughed at me as I hugged the ID. "Better put it in a safe place next time." He told me.

I nodded and scanned the ID to the scanner. The door opened for me and I rushed inside, only to see Virgo's president, Doctor Vega, speaking to a whole bunch of security guards. As I passed by them, I heard the words 'thief' and 'missing chemicals' so I'm assuming they're talking about the stolen things from the lab. I also noticed an increase in security cameras. This is really serious. 

Arriving at the team office, I saw Miko and Orion on their desks, both typing on their laptops. 

"Hello children."

Orion raised a brow. "Not only are you the youngest in this whole entire building, but you're also the shortest, Miss I'm-Five-Two-In-My-Dream-But-Actually-Five-One." 

Miko nodded at me. "You're a minute late." 

"Yeah." I dropped to my chair. "I misplaced my ID but everything's good. Vega is really making the security tighter, huh?"

"I heard that one of the plutonium was stolen." Orion shared, fiddling with his Red Aura Radar. "Like, why would anyone need a plutonium? What are they going to do? Build a time traveling car?"

"I love Back to the Future." I put a hand over my heart. "Can we have a movie night watching the best trilogy of all time?" 

The blue haired scientist grinned at me. "I'd love to watch the Lord of the Rings." 

Orion tutted and shakes his head. "Ladies, please. You're both wrong. The best trilogy of all time is actually the Star Wars Trilogy. New ones don't count." 

I raised my eyebrows and looked away, mumbling. "I've never seen any of them." 

The gasps of horror from both Miko and Orion was very much amusing. They're looking at me as if I betrayed them. "How can you even sit here and talk to us?" Orion asked dramatically. 

I shrugged carelessly and opened my laptop. "It's not that I don't like it or don't care for it. The time just never came." 

"It's been like forty years." 

"And?" 

"Unbelievable." Orion threw me a frown. "Anyway, did you hear that they spotted the werewolf again? A bunch of teenagers came to the woods to look for it. They said it was hiding somewhere. They chased after it and it ran away."

I pursed my lips and busied myself by going to Google and looking up random things.

Google, how do I know if a ghost is messing with me? 

"That's actually kind of fucked up." Miko answered the technician. "What if it's just a poor lone wolf and a bunch of kids decided to bother it? And if the wolf decides to defend itself and injures one of those knuckleheads, guess what'll happen? People will come after the wolf and hunt it down ."

"Okay, but what if it's actually a werewolf?"

"Makes no difference. It's not harming anyone, isn't it?"

I hear nothing. I hear nothing at all. 

Google Result: How to know if a ghost is following you:

Inexplicable noises. Footsteps, scratches, voices, moans and cries. 

Cold Chills. Sudden change in temperature.

Objects disappearing.

Unusual smells. 

Flickering electricity.

Objects moving independently. 

Well... Noises? Not really. Cold chills? Only when Roman is around. Objects disappearing? No. Unusual smells? Nope. Flickering electricity? Perhaps. The car radio's malfunctioning counts. Objects moving independently? I haven't seen anything floating, but there is the mysterious roses I've been getting. 

So I suppose it's not really a ghost. But what could it be? 

"Let's go to the woods." 

My eyes darted to Miko. Did I hear her correctly? 

"What?" Orion looked at her with disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"Let's find out the truth."

Orion laughed. "But weren't you just talking about not bothering the lone wolf?" 

"We're not going to bother it. We'll stay far. We'll just be observing. We are scientists, after all. It's our job to find out the truth and provide everyone a real explanation of what's really out there. Maybe it's just a wolf. Maybe everyone is right and it's a werewolf. There's only one way to find out." 

Orion and I looked at each other. 

"Come on. Don't be chickens." 

Will the wolf recognize me? It definitely looked like it was about to attack last night. I don't know if it just wanted to eat Loki or me or maybe both of us. Do I really want to face it again? But then, I don't want Miko to go on her own. 

Fuck it. 

"Okay. When do we go?" 

Miko nodded. "Tonight. Rowley?"

"I'll think about it." 

***

Today, we move on with the second part of our project: creating the cure for the drug, Horcrux, also known by its scientific name, Armorpha Petrificus. We spend the first few days learning about the drug, understand it fully. After running some tests and experiments, analyzing every part of it down to its atoms, and observing its causes and effects in people who have taken the drug, we've got all the information we need. 

It isn't magic at all. It's just really complicated yet amazing enhancer created by nature. But basically, the drug does help with anti-aging just like what everyone is saying. I'm twenty-two right now and have the body of a twenty-two year old -- or at least, I like to think so. I do look like I'm fifteen, so maybe not. But if I take the drug, my body will remain the way it is. It's as if everything is frozen. I will not be aging. It will be like I'm immortal like Keanu Reeves. 

But that's the thing. It doesn't grant immortality, so its name Horcrux is misleading. As it turns out, the drug just acts like a blocker. An age blocker. It does something with the part of our body that is responsible for aging biologically. The drug in a way freezes that, and sends out neurotransmitters all over the body with a signal, like a message, that basically slows down everything, almost frozen, but only for a little while. Maybe a week top. It will be like Peter Pan's Neverland time. It almost feels like time doesn't exist so you don't get older. 

But once the drug leaves the system, your body will be rushing to regulate in normal time. Like, catching up to time. When that happens, effects include: psychosis, fatigue, and manic episodes. In addition, lots of peeing and pooping because your body has to clean out all the unnecessary things that was in your system for a week. But most importantly, crazy hormonal imbalance. Hormones are like the Oompa Loompa of human bodies. They regulate pretty much everything. Heart rate, sleep cycle, mood and stress levels, general growth and development (obviously), reproductive cycles and sexual function, metabolism and appetite. 

There is not a cure for this drug yet. Everyone who has taken the drug either takes more of it, or just goes to the hospital and deal with the symptoms. Nox believes that the cure has to be something that cleans out the drug from the body. Miko and Nox have already started coming up with some solutions. Over the next few days, we will be testing them, adding and taking away certain chemicals, and run even more tests. This will take a lot longer than just researching about it.

After learning about the drug, I wondered if the woman with red eyes in the other lab with the Russian scientists had taken a Horcrux. Her body is frozen and not aging. Not moving. I wonder if somehow, she overdosed and she turned out like that. 

I'm just too much of a coward to actually go there and find out. 

I'm not so much afraid of the red eyed woman, despite the fact that she could be an alien or a Terminator; it's the scientists that scares me. If they catch me, I don't even want to imagine their reactions. Following that, Mister President of Virgo finds out and I get fired and my dreams will be a three-point shot in the garbage. 

For now, it's best to stay away from it. 

For now.