One of the many questions I had about the infected was whether or not they slept.
Zizzy wasn't infected for long, so it wasn't like I could ask her. However, others, like Doggy, were trapped inside their own bodies for over three years. It must've felt like a fever dream, endlessly wandering around without purpose, without reason. Then, they were suddenly taken to a laboratory in one of Lucella's most isolated provinces before being released from their internal prisons. I would call it a sudden break from a forced routine.
I was also forced out of a routine that consisted of me standing against the wall when Bunny fired another arrow at me.
Although I was happy that she finally ditched the carrots, I wasn't sure how to feel about them being replaced with actual arrows, ones that could penetrate any part of my body should they hit their target. I knew this well because Bunny told me so herself before the infection. "Just one shot at a vital organ and they're gone," she told me. I wondered if she was currently thinking about what she said as she continue to shoot at me.
I knew that it was going to be hard to get close to Bunny since she had a ranged weapon rather than a melee. The first thing I needed to do was find the opportunity to surprise her before disarming her. Once I did that, I could give her the cure. The real cure. Unfortunately, time wasn't on my side, so I had to think fast. As another arrow barely missed my head, I found myself quickly turning to look at it before looking back at my attacker, only to gasp and back away. Another arrow hit the wall right where my head once was.
And at that moment, I had my opportunity.
Using one of my hands, I quickly grabbed the arrow's shaft before pulling it out of the wall with a grunt. I quickly ran away from my position as more arrows began to fire in my direction. Once I was directly in front of the archer, I threw the arrow with everything I had. The sharp object scratched Bunny's cheek, causing her to turn around to process what happened. I used that as my opportunity to run up to her and tackle her to the ground.
Like Doggy, Bunny also struggled, and like I did before, I pinned her down and secured my legs around her torso and used my free hand to get a grip on her jaw. My other hand already took one of the vials out of my sash and was popping the lid off like a cork. Then, I forced the cure down her throat, using my strength to clamp her mouth shut so she would have no choice but to swallow. And luckily, she did. I did have a tight grip on her, after all. I was surprised that I had yet to break her jaw.
Bunny's struggling gradually decreased before coming to a stop. I tossed the empty vial aside before using that hand to grab the knife on my thigh. My other hand still kept Bunny to the ground along with my legs. I was panting heavily, and I didn't fail to notice the sweat falling down from my face and onto the unconscious person beneath me. Dodging all of those attacks and pinning people to the ground must've made me tired. My body felt significantly weaker thanks to the blood I had to give, so that didn't help my situation, either.
I got off of Bunny as her eyes began to open.
Her hand went up to her head and a groan slipped past her lips as I put my knife back in its sheath. When I looked back up, I noticed that she was starting to sit up straight. Sighing, I walked over to Bunny before extending my hand out so she could grab it and support herself. Without knowing that it was me, she grabbed my hand, and I used my strength to help her stand up on her feet. By that point, her eye had opened entirely, and I felt a weight lift itself off my shoulders at the sight of her normal eyes.
"Cindy...?"
"Looks like I gave you the right cure this time," I joked. The look in her eyes told me that she was still trying to process the fact that she was cured. She was here. And so was I. When tears began to fill Bunny's eye, I let out a light gasp. "Hey, hey... it's alright," I reassured her. "I understand that you're confused, Bunny. I promise I'll explain everything later." Using the hand that held hers, I took her to the open door, taking her to where everyone else was. I handed her off to Zizzy, who seemed just as happy to see her old friend again as Bunny was.
Then it hit me.
The remaining infected were all members of Georgie's family.
I scanned around the room trying to find my best friend until I finally found him in a corner with Zee and Zuzy. That's when I realized that once I cured his family, they could all be together again. The five of them could go back to their home, if there was even one left to go back to, and their lives would be normal. Georgie would have someone to celebrate on Mother's Day, Father's Day, and a birthday other than his own. He would have a family again.
And I wouldn't.
Of course, given what I had to do in order to kill TIO, it didn't matter, but if the circumstances weren't what they were now, it would be the exact opposite. If the infection was cured, and if TIO didn't do what he did, then where would I go? I couldn't go back home because I was still a minor. Before the infection, Mom, Dad, and Rose entrusted Georgie's family with me if anything happened to them. For obvious reasons, I couldn't go with them now.
Mr. And Mrs. P were next in line after the Piggy family, and I couldn't go with them, either, for even more obvious reasons. That meant that I would be on my own completely. So where would I go? Would I be put into an orphanage with other children who lost their families to the infection? Would I be placed in the foster care system and sent to a family that I didn't know? Even then, families on file only went for the younger kids. No one would want a fifteen-year-old, let alone a human.
"No... don't think about that, Cindy," I told myself. "You're doing this for Georgie." I closed my eye shut before letting out a sigh. When I opened it, I found myself turning around and sneaking back to the room I left earlier, glancing behind me occasionally to make sure I wasn't noticed. Fortunately, the only person who seemed to see me was Oliver because the door closed behind me soon after. I then lifted my hand to the tactical headset on my head before pressing a button on it and beginning to speak.
"Status?" I asked. It didn't take long for Liam to understand what I meant and reply. "Nearly all the infected in Lucella have been cured. We should be done by the time you deal with the last four," the soldier explained. "We just got word that we're in the clear in Doveport and other parts of the globe. We're all that's left." I let out a huge sigh of relief at his words. A normal world was right around the corner. I just had to cure Georgie's family and take care of Huxley, and it would all be over.
"Has anyone felt anything off? A sudden unease in the air or a shiver down their spine?" I questioned. A few seconds went by before a reply came through. "No, not that we know of," Liam answered. A smile began to form on my face at his words. "Good. That means The Insolence has its back turned," I continued. "Unfortunately, it won't stay that way for long, so we need to work quickly. Oliver, tell your scientists to secure any sensitive or valuable equipment and chemicals. Liam, get your teams to meet back here to secure the laboratory's outside and inside."
"Right away," Oliver replied. "On it," Liam added. I let out a shaky sigh and looked down at the ground. It was amazing how I suddenly had the army at the palm of my hand. I wasn't a scientist, and I certainly wasn't a soldier, either. I was just a regular girl trying to survive in this twisted world while dealing with a supernatural entity who seemed obsessed with making me suffer. I wondered how my past self would feel if she saw me now.
She used to be so dependent on her family, and they couldn't have that. So they taught her how to defend herself just in case something happened to them and she ended up all alone with no one to turn to. How would she feel knowing that she was forced into a situation where she had to put her skills to the test? How would she feel knowing that those skills were used to end the lives of others after she lost her friends and snapped?
She would probably be scared of me, of herself.
But I couldn't think about that now. Not with everything on my shoulders. So I forced myself to find my own strength and continued to speak to Oliver and Liam. "The Insolence, more specifically its leader, has been bothering me for the last three years. I know him as if he was my own brother," I said. "He'll be coming for me soon. I know he will. And he'll be out for blood. By that point, it'll be time to start the final phase of my plan."
With that, I finally let my hand drop down from my ear. My gaze then went to the four vials on my sash. It was then that I realized; I was still infected, too. But... did I really need it as much as Georgie's family needed it? After all, the infection seemed to do more good than harm in my case. It made me stronger, faster, and everything else I wanted to be. And when Huxley decided to appear once more like I said he would, it would definitely prove itself to be useful.
I was about to reach up to my headset once more, to tell Oliver to open the door again, when a sharp pain found itself in my head. My eye widened as I forced my hands to grip onto the half skirt around my waist. If I showed even a single sign of distress, the others would know what was coming, and they would spiral into a panic. I couldn't have that happen. Oliver and Liam needed to remain calm as they got themselves and their colleagues together.
Huxley was coming.
I didn't have much time left before he arrived. Curing the Piggy family one by one would only use up more time, time that could be used to prepare for other things. I needed to come up with a plan as fast as possible, but it wasn't going to be easy with the loud ringing in my ears and the hard thumping in my chest. My body began to tremble, and my breaths became shaky. Then, I had an idea, but I needed Oliver and Liam to help out with it. Using my shaky hand, I lifted it back up to the headset once more.
"Oliver... Liam... he's coming."
I looked at the window behind me to see two drastically different reactions. The owl's eyes widened at my words while the lion's narrowed. The latter reached up to the radio on his chest before his mouth began to move, but I couldn't tell what he was saying. He was most likely giving out orders to his soldiers, maybe even the scientists, too. Oliver, on the other hand, kept his gaze down at the panel below him. I took a deep breath before turning back to the door, pressing the button on the headset to ask one final thing.
"Open the door again, but don't close it until I go through. I'll take all four of them on at once."