Casting change:
Dane DeHaan as Rocco Maneli (photo above)
This chapter is dedicated to @WriterAnimated who so graciously updated the cover for me! <3
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I ran my hands over the curve of my knees, scratching a little at the rough skin.
The television filled the barren room with some life, but I wasn't paying attention to it.
Instead, I was examining the charts hung on the isolation room door, all five pages in a straight line, starting with mine and ending with Mateo's. On top of each chart was a short schematic of our general information. They didn't have one for Alice though, they decided she was too young to be included in the experiment. That, and they weren't entirely sure if she was immune or not. The only way they would be able to tell was to infect her and that wasn't going to happen.
Rocco James Maneli
5'10
170 pounds
DOB 04-02-1997
Eleanor Jane Maneli
5'4
150 pounds
DOB 09-09-1998
Lorenzo Greyson Maneli
6'0
185 pounds
DOB 05-30-1999
Evelyn Marie Maneli
5'9
130 pounds
DOB 03-17-2003
Mateo Eric Maneli
4'11
115 pounds
DOB 07-04-2007
We were all seemingly ordinary, slightly overweight, flawed individuals who were insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Yet, two weeks ago, we found out we were the luckiest people on earth.
While the world got torn apart, the only sting we felt was from the needles they prodded us with. As cities burned, we enjoyed the warmth of the CDC lobby and played a game of soccer with paper balls. We weren't hungry, we weren't thirsty, we weren't barricaded away in our homes praying, we were together and alive.
Vividus
Vividus was a microscopic parasite of the Ophiocordycipitaceae family that bred in the coffee beans Moon River had discovered. When they tested the beans, I guess no one thought to slip them under a microscope. Whether it was negligence or ignorance during the testing process, no one knows, because investigations are still underway. I think it's a waste of time. The damage has been done. It doesn't matter anymore where the sickness came from. Dozens of Vividus parasites entered the systems of millions of people when they purchased a cup of Animate coffee--which explained why I threw up my entire cup in a bloody mess.
The parasite goes unnoticed in the immune system for about two weeks. It takes its time slicing into your white blood cells, slowly breaking down your immune system. The victim doesn't notice though, because as soon as the Vividus enters your bloodstream it releases an addictive toxin that makes you feel good. That's why so many people felt perkier and healthier after drinking Animate. It was the toxin activating their adrenal glands. Then, once the toxin wore off, the fever that wouldn't break settled in.
The fever, chills, nausea, body aches—nothing that would indicate you were about to die.
The parasite then works its way out of your immune system, growing in size from absorbing your nutrients. By the time the doctors realize it might not be the flu, the Vividus wins and you die. After you do, the Vividus latches onto your fading cerebrum and inhabits your corpse. Within minutes, it's nervous system links with yours and it claims ownership of your body. Upon awaking, the hunger the corpse experiences due to the lack of nutrients is immense. The victim must constantly keep eating, to keep up with the parasite's needy appetite.
When the Jokers, dead men, or whatever people are calling the sick people bite into you, their saliva transmits thousands of the parasitic eggs into you. Once in the host, they hatch and began attacking the immune system at a faster pace than when they're consumed. The toxin takes effect quickly and they began their assault. This accelerated process takes eight hours on average, sometimes less.
However, if you die immediately from your wounds as Luna and the boy did, then it only takes a few minutes at most for the parasites to claim their host.
There wasn't a name for our genetic mutation, because it was the first time they had seen anything like it.
The immunity seemed to have come from our mom's side of the family and resided in the nucleus of our white blood cells. When the parasite attacked our immune systems, damaging our white blood cells, their nucleus' were able to anticipate the consistency of the attacks and started reproducing more rapidly than the average person's cells. We weren't entirely immune, the parasite still made us sick, but it never got past entering our immune system. Once our bodies had forced it out, it was gone, leaving behind a new string of white blood cells that contained mutated macrophages with antibodies against the parasite.
In Mateo terms, our immune systems had a superpower to efficiently fight off severe infections and maniacal invaders attempting to kill us.
Yawning, I stretched out my sore legs before slipping off my bed and turning off the television they had rolled in on a cart. The Doctors didn't need us for any tests this morning, so I'd been taking my time getting out of bed. I hated all the tests they did. They took blood samples, urine samples, bone marrow samples (hurts like a bitch) and more that I couldn't remember. I swear they had drawn so many different things from me, the experiments were going to kill me in place of the parasite. The only thing keeping me functioning was day drinking and numbing my mind with re-runs of The Simpsons.
Stepping out the door, I glanced left and right down the hall. Seeing there was no one around, I slipped back in the room and lifted my mattress. Pulling out my silver flask of liquor, I swirled it before pressing the rim to my lips. The liquid felt incredible going down my throat, tempting me to finish my stash, but I didn't have much left. They had some liquor leftover from a staff member's birthday party last month. It wasn't a lot, scarcely half a bottle, but I needed something to pull me through.
"What are you doing?"
Jumping in surprise, I coughed as some of the vodka dribbled down my chin. Narrowing my eyes, I glanced over my shoulder at Evie as I capped the flask and slipped it back under my mattress. "I felt like having some water." I took a seat on my bed, wiping my chin with the back of my hand.
"Water, sure." Evie retorted, walking across the room and sitting next to me. The mattress groaned from the addition of her weight. "We're not supposed to drink you know. It could mess with the experiments."
Shaking my head, I made sure to breathe out away from her so she couldn't smell the stench of liquor. "I'm not the only one immune to this bullshit. Anyways, who are you to judge how I spend my days off?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm but my lingering irritation made it tight.
Going quiet, Evie pulled a thread out of my quilt as she looked down at her lap.
Evie and I hadn't been handling the disrupted flow of our substances very well. I needed alcohol to loosen up and forget about what was bogging me down. Evie needed weed to relax and be more Zen. Sober she was aggressive, moody, and snippier than Eleanor was with me.
Right now though, she just seemed sad.
"What's up Evie?"
Finally looking up at me, Evie breathed in and out sharply. "They haven't found Sophia yet, Linda's pretty sure she's...that she..." Evie shook her head, blinking hard as her eyes became glassy. "Doesn't matter, there's no point in getting upset up over it. I'm pretty sure everyone we've ever known, friend or foe is dead."
No matter how much I drank, I would never be able to smother the physical reaction I had to Sophia's name. Every able-bodied muscle in me tensed, while my pulse raced and my limbs twitched.
When they had first mentioned looking for Sophia, after the little ones were well enough to realize she was missing, I stumbled into the bathroom before anyone saw me cry. Later, Eleanor quietly told me it'd be worse to tell them Sophia was dead, and that we'd keep that between the two of us. Even though El was defeated, she didn't want the others to become discouraged or depressed.
If there appeared to be no hope for anyone, or anything, what was the point?
I still hadn't told El it was me who pushed Sophia to her demise. I wanted to though. I wanted to tell someone, anyone who would understand, but I was scared. I didn't know what they were going to do to me, or how they'd react. So, until I found a way to spill the beans, I was going to bury the secret in my subconscious as I did with all other things I wanted to forget.
"That's not true. There's plenty of people still alive." I offered her a weak smile. "Worst case, we can always make new friends and foes. I know I'm going to." I snickered, trying to find some semblance of twisted humor in this situation.
Evie didn't smile, instead, she looked away from me. "There's not a lot of friends or enemies to make in here and I can guarantee we're going to be in here a long time." She stood up then, wrapping her arms around herself. "That flask isn't the beginning of another spiral, is it?"
Feeling my smile fade, I chewed my bottom lip harshly. "Even if it is, the world is spiraling worse than me. Who cares why I'm drinking?"
"Believe it or not, we like you better when your sober," she said, leaving then without throwing another glance or question my way.
After she shut the door behind her, I pulled my flask back out and uncapped it. Laying back on my mattress, I began to nurse it, not caring who came in or if I finished it today. Fuck them. All of them. I was grieving, I had every right to grieve how I saw fit. It's not like there was a therapist's office I could skip over to anymore, not without getting my arm ripped off. Evie didn't know what she was talking about, I was fun when I was drunk.
Meredith used to think so.
We'd dance together, sing drunkenly in the streets, or make love against the closest wall we could find. Those sloppy kisses were my favorite. My drunken escapades with Meredith always turned into an adventure and ended with a funny story in the morning. The only time I felt like she was still here with me was when I drank. Each time whiskey, vodka, beer, cocktails, or wine graced my tongue, it was like time travel. I knew she wasn't there, but it was so much easier to pretend she was when I was intoxicated.
Sitting up, I heard the soft tap of hot tears roll down my cheeks and drip on the mattress. My flask was empty but I still missed her.
I wanted to call her, to tell her I missed her and see if she was okay, but I had no clue where she was. After she left, she changed her number. Shortly after, sick of my drunk voicemails, my in-laws changed theirs. I had no way of knowing if she was alive or where she was. Odds were, I was never going to see her again and even though that probability was high before, it hurt even more now.
"Rocco?"
Sniffling, I quickly tucked my flask under my pillow as Alice ran into the room, wearing clothes a size too big for her. They did the best they could in terms of clothing, but everything they gave us was mismatched or the wrong size. "Hey carrot, are you being good for mom?"
Nodding, Alice stopped in front of me and grabbed my face. "Why are you crying? Are you hurt? Should I get the doctor?" She asked, her melodic voice tight with concern. The Doctors had kept her apart from us for a week, then the second they confirmed it was safe for her to interact with us, Alice was constantly at our sides fussing over us. Mom hadn't told her we were going to die, or that we almost did, but she did tell Alice we had all been sick and that we might have to go away.
Mom said Alice cried the hardest for me, much to Eleanor's chagrin.
El was still pissed off about my moment in the alleyway. Weirdly, she hadn't tried to fight me about it yet. Her protective stance over Alice each time I entered a room was the only reason I knew it was bothering her. Each time she looked at me like I was some kind of monster, it hurt. I wish I had the energy to confront her.
Smiling, I gently pulled Alice's hands off my face as I shook my head. "No, I'm crying because I was thinking about cute puppies and it made me happy."
Tilting her head curiously, she pursed her lips. "People cry when they're happy?"
"Yes, tears aren't just for sad things," I assured, scooping her up then and pulling her into my lap. If she noticed the smell of liquor on my breath, she didn't say anything. "What's up Alice?"
Dangling her legs as she got comfortable on my lap, she pouted. "Mateo won't play Go-Fish with me. He said it's for babies, but I told him that we play it all the time and you aren't a baby." She crossed her arms then, knitting her eyebrows together as her grumpy face made an appearance.
Chuckling, I poked the tip of her nose. She hated that because it always made her smile. "Mateo's just afraid to play you, because he knows your going to win." Sliding her off my knees then, I stood up and corralled her towards the door. "Come on, let's go find him and show him how good you are at it."
"Okay! I like that plan!" Alice beamed, perking up as she grabbed my hands and pulled me out of the room with her. We only made it partially down the hall though before we bumped into Linda.
In the past couple of weeks, I've only seen her a couple of times and we didn't have much time for conversation. I had a lot to thank her for, my life included. If Alice wasn't here, I'd bring it up now, but I was fine with a casual conversation.
"Hey Linda, we're about to go beat Mateo at Go-Fish, want to join?" I asked, hoping she'd accept because I wanted to see her. Having Linda around made me feel better. I know I was a grown man and all, but she made me feel safe. She made all of us feel safe.
Upon seeing me, Linda stopped short and gripped my arm as she looked up at me with wide cognac eyes. "Where is your mom Rocco? I need to talk to her," she said frantically.
"Oh...um...I don't know..." I stuttered, parting my lips to ask her why, but Alice interrupted me.
"Mommy is in her room reading the news. She said that she can't watch it because the news people are on vacation." She explained matter-of-factly, swinging my hands around.
Nodding gratefully, Linda then released my arm and took off running down the hall with determination.
"Linda, wait! Why do you need to see my mom?" I called out, but the only response I got was the scuffling of her boots on the floor as she turned the corner.
"Are we still going to play Go-Fish?" Alice asked, leaning against me as she looked up at me.
Looking after Linda for a moment more, I then decided it probably wasn't important. "Of course we are, today is a good day to catch some fish."
"Um, you do know the game isn't actually about fish, right?" Alice asked, pulling me down in the hall in the opposite direction Linda had gone.
I wish helping Alice beat Mateo in Go-Fish was my only problem.
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Hey guys!
Sorry for not updating on Friday, last week was really hectic, but things are finally settling down again. Also, this chapter was a pain to write because I had to make sure I explained everything going on as efficiently as possible without boring anyone xD
ALSO, announcement! As you saw above, I have made the decision to change Rocco's face claim from Harry Styles to Dane DeHaan. I feel like Dane captures Rocco's looks, energy and personality much better and that he looks more like the other actors I have playing the siblings. :)
What do ya'll think of the new cover?
River.