Like Déjà Vu

9 - Blueprints

Juanita protected her ears with her hands, as if the vial of Medusa was a bomb about to explode and deafen her. Her lips pursed, and her eyes followed suit. She had the look on her face of someone who knew they were about to die. It was indescribable, but Chi Chi had never seen fear in that measure.

Chi Chi's head swiveled by reflex; as if the Medusa might have gotten into her only through her face. She momentarily forgot, it was much more transmittable than that. Being in the lab alone was enough to get infected. It was like black magic. It wastes no time in turning the blood black, and causing it's victims to cough the blood up, then the blood sneaks out through every opening in the body it can find, until it's victims die a slow and painful death.

The vial struck the floor and rolled away. It couldn't crack open, it was plastic. There was a strange awkward silence, until...

Juanita laughed in relief. "I thought we were all going to die," she said, standing a few feet from where Toby slept. Chi Chi and Eizō remained motionless, as if they expected the vial to suddenly burst open and unleash it's horrors. "You guys, it's plastic!"

Chi Chi squatted to pick the tiny plastic bottle of death. She observed it with squinted eyes, as if to confirm there weren't any leaks. She shut her eyes and breathed deeply. To think that at that moment, if things had been a tad different, she'd have been on all fours coughing her guts out. She imagined how many people actually suffered the same fate during the Fight For Medusa. No one knew exactly how many; who would be keeping records when all their friends where coughing up blood?

"Juanita, please wake Toby up," she said. Her voice sounded like she just had an encounter with a ghost.

Juanita approached Toby again and called his name repeatedly, slapping his face at each call, until he was fully aroused and could sit up straight, looking like a zombie hungry for brains. He rubbed his eyes, stretched his arms, then made a look like he didn't know where he was. Finally, he wiped the trail of drool off his face. He stared at Chi Chi blankly.

Chi Chi walked up to Toby with a vexed look on her face, holding the vial up like it was his dirty underwear; Eizō followed with his hands in his pockets. "Why do you have an army of Medusa in your bag?" She held her glare fixated on Toby. Juanita stepped back. She probably didn't want to be in the middle of trouble.

Toby made a move with his hand, as if telling her to relax. "I can explain," he said, still seated. His voice had a trace of plea.

Chi Chi laughed dryly. "Please. Enlighten me," she said, feigning amusement.

Toby sighed. He scratched his hair. "It's my father, okay? I announced my father asked to meet me yeah? Well, I met him. My dad... while we lived in Great America, I was well aware my dad was into some kind of illegal fucked up shit, that always had him scared for our lives. He was involved with some dangerous guys, the mere sight of them petrified me - despicable thugs; the lot of them. It was only after we made our arrival in Kluxan that I learnt of the manner of business my dad was involved in - Medusa Trafficking. When I found out he was dealing with Medusa, I had to flee. Okay? That's the reason I left him.

"But then... when he sent me that text message yesterday, and I met him, he told me I had to help him. He told me his life was in great peril and he didn't know who else he could turn to. He said I had to help him hold on to the vials for a while, until he got the target off his back. I didn't want to, I swear. But then I had to. He's still my father."

Juanita shook her head. "What a father," she remarked.

Chi Chi dropped the arm holding the vial, it was starting to ache her. When she spoke, the words seemed to spin from her heart. "No father should make their son do this. You shouldn't feel obliged to do something like this. Do you realise the damage one single mistake can cause? Do you realise that this single vial of Medusa can wipe out half of Kluxan in less than a week, if not properly contained? Fuck, this is the shit that started the Third World War. Have you forgotten how many people lost their lives during the Fight For Medusa? I haven't forgotten; over four hundred million lives Toby-"