𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 * 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐊

The clear liquid entered Venus's bloodstream and she was restrained. All Coriolanus could hear was her mumble to herself that she was going to die, before she stopped talking completely. The sedative made her sleep quickly and with no one to talk to, he decided he should get some rest as well.

It wasn't until hours later when Venus could feel the presence of somebody looming over her. Through the fog of her mind, she stared at the ravaged face of Clemensia above hers. She gasped, flinching in the bed. She opened her mouth to scream but stopped at hearing Coriolanus beside her.

"Don't." He warned, a careful hand in her direction as he laid beside her in his own bed. The fear in his eyes paralleling her own.

The snake venom, or antidote if she was given one, had left her golden skin peeling and the whites of her eyes the color of egg yolks. But, much worse was the twitching that affected her entire body, causing her face to grimace, her tongue to jut periodically from her mouth and her hands to jerk away as they reached for his. Even after seeing her get bitten in the lab, nothing could have prepared him for this.

"Shh!" Clemensia hissed. "I shouldn't be here. Don't tell them I came. But what are they saying? Why has no one come to see me? Do my parents know what happened to me? Do they think I'm dead?"

Groggy from the sedative, Venus couldn't begin to wrap her mind around what was unfolding in front of her. She just saw Clemmie...it was just supposed to be a simple flu causing her absence.

"My God." Venus whispered. "What happened?" She questioned, turning to face Coriolanus. Looking for someone to give her answers.

Clemensia began to cry. "I have to get out of here. I'm afraid she's going to kill me. It's not safe. We're not safe!"

"What? Who's going to kill you? You're not talking sense." He said, trying to find the words without upsetting her.

Venus's gaze was locked in on her friend, the fear and pain in Clemmie's eyes was enough to answer any questions she had. She was terrified for her life. Had seen or done something she shouldn't have and now she was paying the consequence for it. While Clemensia's scars were physical, Venus knew the mental battle she was fighting with herself. The cry for help she never dared to ask.

"Dr. Gaul." She answered him, Clemmie and Coryo turning their heads in her direction.

The scared girl agreed. "Dr. Gaul, of course!" She repeated to the blonde boy. Clutching his arm and awakening his burns. "You know, you were there!"

"You were there?" Venus snapped in Coryo's direction. "Tell me what is happening, now!"

She was jolted by the presence of Clemmie's body twitching in her bed. The girl grabbed her shoulders roughly, face to face, as she blabbered incessantly. "It's the snakes. Her lab, it's full of them. All of those creatures she's made are evil. She's going to turn me into one. And you too if you're not careful!"

Venus's heart dropped. What had Clemensia heard during her time in the lab? What was said around her that she was now able to repeat? She was fading in and out of clarity but the message was loud and clear for Venus. This was her fate, her punishment worse than death. Forced to be one of Gaul's monsters until she decided she was tired of playing with her.

Coriolanus's focus couldn't shift off of Venus. He sensed the change in her mood, her entire demeanor was off it's axis. Triggered by something that their friend had just said in a fit of madness. He was determined to get to the bottom of whatever was happening here but first, he needed to get them alone.

"You need to go back to your room. You're sick, Clemmie. It's the snakebites. They're making you imagine things." He tried rationalizing with her the best he could.