TWITCH {{FINISHED}}

Chapter Three: "What is your Choice?"

Chapter Three: "What is Your Choice?"

The moment the three of them were up on the third floor, Julian practically made a run for his door, unwilling to stay with either pixie nor ogre. Orazio, having assumed Julian would run, latched onto the collar of his shirt and pulled him back with a grunt. "Not so fast, Mr. Carmichael." A growl of frustration left Julian's lips at the sound of his last name, but he followed behind Deva into Orazio's room.

"So, you got us up here. What do you want?" Julian looked about the room, small and square and very... bland. It wasn't like he'd expected Orazio to be the poster on the wall/clothes on the floor type with a personalized room, but even so his room did not look like it belonged to a normal human being; it did not look like it belonged to a big buff guy with still-twitching arms that grew larger by the week and a very imposing air about him.

"It's very simple. You see, I have enough trust in you two to tell you something very special. The both of you have good reputations amongst the others in the house. Julian; the silent, cynical and antisocial guy that's brave enough to try and interfere with a fight, and save a choking boy." Julian was partially surprised to find that Orazio had known about the choking incident. He'd assumed that the ogre had been in his room when it had happened. Then again, the guy had been on the first floor when they'd met, so maybe he had seen everything but stayed out of the way. Julian found that unlikely though, seeing how he'd reacted when Lidia had gone mad.

"And then there's Deva the devil in disguise of an angel. You have everyone's trust and are even 'making an attempt at reassuring people.' Very cute, by the way, doing that when you know that they're going to die eventually." Deva looked devastated, her blue eyes larger than food plates and her mouth hanging open slightly. And then the biggest metamorphosis took place in her within seconds. The innocence that Julian had first seen in her before morphed into a cold emptiness, and her eyes that had shown with life before were dead but calculating. They narrowed at Orazio, and he grinned wolfishly.

"You two," he continued, "are viewed as very strong characters to everyone in the mansion."

"Excluding you, I assume," Julian added and Orazio nodded in answer. "But here's the thing you're forgetting; Ian Nunez. He must have some volume when it comes to the people of this mansion, seeing as he practically runs a group of adolescents and pre-adults. Just ask Deva here." Julian looked to Deva for confirmation of what he'd said, but found her looking away, the tiniest of smirks on her lips as she chewed on her lower lip.

Orazio, in turn, laughed. "You really are an observant fellow. But you see, the real leader for that group would have to be our little devil here. Sure, Ian looks like he's the head honcho, but in reality he's just relaying what she says." Deva remained silent, but the grin on her face told all. Orazio was not lying.

"Alright, alright. You've pointed out our places in the social latter of this mansion. What's the point of all this? Your big secret that you trust us so much with?"

"Now we're getting to it!" Orazio clapped two meaty hands together, gazing upon Deva and Julian with a look of avarice. He expected something to happen through them. Something that would very much benefit him. "You see, this grand virus everyone's so scared of? The one that has recipients falling down on their own or killing others before they take the final leap... I am it's creator." Deva's reaction was of outright shock. She stared at Orazio as if he were a menace, an evil spirit come to haunt her and... a god. Julian, on the other hand, was more indifferent. What did it matter that he was the creator of a virus if he too was suffering the side affects?

"And that has anything to do with us...?"

It has to do something with you because if I were to tell others who I was, they'd immediately try to put me down. But with you guys working with me, we'd all be invincible and I could also do you the favor of curing that little... twitch of yours." As if on cue, their arms both began to twitch, and Julian being in his weakened state, hit the floor. Deva did not go to help him as he'd once thought she'd have done, but stayed stiff as her arm went on twitching, annoyingly... painfully...