Parasite

When something is wrong with you, it’s hard to tell someone. It’s humiliating and demeaning and you don’t want people to know. But you won’t get help if no one knows there’s a problem.

. . . . .

The door shut. Hot pins stabbed his arm as the mark changed. Orion read the message, This room contains fortune. Whether it is good or bad is up to your luck.

“Luck?” Orion thought. A staircase led up and to his right. He followed it. At the top was a door, white with gold engravings and a depiction of a coin on it. His eyes narrowed and he grasped the handle. Nothing happened. He loosed a breath and entered.

It led to a large room. To the left, many openings lined the wall, letting light in. Orion’s brow furrowed. “There aren’t any windows on this tower…” He couldn’t see out of them, just bright white light shining in.

In the center of the room stood a table, covered in an elegant blue cloth. The table was small and squat. Atop it sat a coin, glittering gold in the light from the pseudo-windows. Orion approached the table and examined the coin. “We haven’t had coins like that since the Second Era. This must be worth a fortune.”

An austere and dignified woman’s face was engraved on the face of the coin. Orion squinted. “I recognize her. The Last Empress… she died during the Schism, when the mortals and the Seekers went to war with each other.”

He picked up the coin and sharp pain shot down his arm, changing the message once more. This coin will decide your fortune. Heads, and you may leave with your reward. Tails, and you must fight your way out. If you can.

Orion turned the coin over, revealing a crow with wings spread and talons poised to strike. He looked around, noticing three levers on the wall opposite the windows. “What are those for?” he wondered. He stuck the coin in his pocket and went to investigate. It never said he had to flip it right now…

The levers were made of wood and set into the wall. They didn’t seem to be connected to anything and they were each a few meters apart. He glanced at his arm and shrugged. “This place seems to be about luck. I guess I’ll just pick one?”

He chose the one in the center and pulled it down. A compartment opened in the wall next to it and a broken sword tumbled out, clattering on the ground. It was just a handle and less than half of a blade. Its end was jagged where it’d been broken.

Orion poked at it with a foot. “I’m guessing I didn’t win. What about the others?” he moved to the next lever and tried to pull it down. It wouldn’t budge. He tried harder, putting his weight into it. It snapped. He huffed and tossed the wooden stick away then tried the last one. It didn’t move, either. He gave up.

He picked up the broken sword. “Guess you’ll have to do.” There was nothing else to look at. No door leading out of the room. Going back wouldn’t solve anything, so there was only one more thing to do.

Flip the coin. So, he did.

It spun in the air, glittering prettily, then fell. It bounced off the ground, once, twice, thrice, then spun until it stopped. Tails.

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The quiet roar of the flame and the rasp of her own breath were the only sounds that accompanied Robin in her empty prison. She was alone, and she hated it. The doors taunted her, demanding her attention. Demanding she enter. But there was no telling what she would find behind them.

She looked away, laying on her side in the hopes of getting some sleep. She couldn’t worry if she wasn’t conscious. “Ohhhh, somebody come back. Graham, Orion, Daddy… anybody…” Tears began to well in her eyes and she dashed them away. “It’ll be okay. They’ll be back before you know it. You just have to wait a bit. Just a bit.”

She closed her eyes and minutes passed. The worries that plagued her began to soften, floating away like mist. Then she heard a sound. Her eyes snapped open and she stared at a door with a jiggling doorknob. “What is it?! A-A monster? Can they open doors?!” She grabbed one of the sticks and scrambled to the other side of the room, pressing her back against the wall.

“D… Don’t! Don’t come in—”

The door opened… and Graham stepped through. A wave of relief hit her so hard she nearly passed out. “Graham!” She leapt to her feet and ran to him, throwing her arms around him and pressing her face into his chest.

Graham grunted at the impact, nearly dropping his shield. “Uh, Robin? ...nice to see you, too.” He coughed. “Uh… you’re holdin’ kinda tight.”

Robin flinched away, releasing him. She stumbled a few steps back, waving her arms in front of her. “W—It’s… I-I was worried, is, is all. S-Sorry to, uh… sorry.” She wrung her hands, cheeks turning red.

Graham scratched his cheek, chuckling. “No worries. Everything alright?” He looked around. “Where’s Orion?”

Robin raised her head to answer and her eyes widened. She pointed a hand at him. “G-Graham, you… blood…” She covered her mouth. Graham was covered in blood, staining his clothes and sticking to his skin.

Graham blinked and looked at his arms. “Oh. Yeah. I ran into some trouble. But, don’t worry. I handled it.” He set his shield down and scraped at some dried blood on his arm.

Robin nodded repeatedly. “Right. Right. You handled it. Right. T-That’s good.” She grimaced. “What did you handle?”

Graham ran a hand through his hair. “Why don’t we sit down and I’ll tell you about what happened?”

Robin nodded and took a seat. Graham followed suit, sitting next to her. He narrated his venture into the realm beyond the door, embellishing only slightly.

“So, I got past the traps without a scratch, but then there were these fish with bladed fins! I had no choice but to wade through the water to continue forth, meaning that I’d have to deal with them.”

Robin gasped. “What did y-you do?”

Graham cleared his throat. “Well, I thought about jumping over, but I wasn’t sure I could make the gap. In the end, all I could do was wade through as fast as possible. So, yeah, I got a few scratches. It wasn’t that big a deal.”

Her eyes fell on one of the long scabs on his arm and she paled. “Not a big deal?! That looks horrible!”

Graham got up and pulled the shield over. “I actually managed to catch them all, later. I figured we could grill them up… too bad Orion’s not here. I figured he’d be the happiest,” he said, chuckling.

Robin nodded absently, eyes still on his arm. “So… that’s why you’re covered in blood? The fish?”

Graham rubbed his chin. “Well… not entirely. In the room after that, the last one, I ran into something a bit strange. There was this mirror and… well, it made a copy of me.”

Robin furrowed her brow. “What? What do you mean?”

“Uh, well, a copy. Like a second me. Except, he kinda hated my guts and wanted to kill me.”

Robin’s jaw fell as she imagined evil Robin popping out of her bathroom mirror with knife and cruel grin. She shuddered.

“It wasn’t that bad. We fought for a while, and I was winning, but he was tough,” Graham said, puffing his chest out. “And then, I realized. If he came from the mirror, then I should just destroy it. So, I threw the shield at the mirror.” He reached into his pockets and pulled out his rewards. “And then I got these for completing the ‘challenge’.”

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He showed her the scripture and the spellbook. “It was just like I thought. This tower did have a scripture!”

Robin tilted her head. “So that’s a scripture? I thought it’d look a bit more… impressive.” It was just a wooden stick with paper wrapped around it. It wasn’t very thick, either. Her eyes shifted to the book. “So, what’s that?”

Graham smiled. “Something I figured would be a little useful. This is a spellbook that will teach me how to gather water from the surroundings. We won’t need to go looking for a stream the next time we’re thirsty. Well… once I learn it. I haven’t tried yet.”

“Wow,” Robin breathed. “I never knew Seekers could cast spells. I thought magic was just something from storybooks.”

Graham raised a brow. “You seem woefully uninformed on the basics of Seeking. Did you just sleep through History class?”

Robin blushed. “Wha—no! ...Sometimes. Maybe a little.” She brought her fingers together with a tiny gap between them.

Graham laughed and set the book aside. “Anyway, you should use the scripture. It’ll really help out if you’re ever in danger.” He unrolled it, revealing the sigil.

Robin squeaked as a writhing pain formed in her side. “What? No! Nononono. Stop!” Something crawled up and over her shoulder, slithering in and out of her skin. She screamed.

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Graham flinched back as Robin screamed and curled in on her side. “Hey! Robin, what’s wrong?” She didn’t answer. She hissed through her teeth as sweat beaded on her forehead.

Graham grimaced. “Fuck, what do I do? I knew something was strange. Shoulda talked to her about it earlier, when I had the chance.”

He put a hand on her shoulder and whispered, “Robin. What’s wrong? Are you injured? Can I—” He stopped as he noticed something strange. There was something moving under her shirt, gradually working its way up to her other shoulder. His stomach turned as he imagined what it might be.

Robin groaned. “It hurts! Make it stop.” Tears dripped from her eyes. “I want my daddy…”

Graham set himself, his eyes turning steely. “Robin, try to stay still.” He reached for her sleeve and pulled it back, revealing what was underneath.

Writhing green tentacles crept over her shoulder and toward her arm. Graham swallowed his spit. “Alright. I know what the problem is. Now, how to fix it?”

Robin sobbed as one of the tentacles burrowed into her shoulder. “I’m sorry!” she cried. “I should’ve told you! I’m sorry!”

Graham lifted her cheek so she’d meet his eyes. “Can you tell me what it is? What is it trying to do?” Graham asked.

Robin sniffed and cringed as the tentacle came back out. There was no blood, but seeing her skin shift as the thing crawled underneath was plenty to convince Graham it hurt. “I—I think it’s a parasite. J-James and Gloria had one, too. I think I... I got it from them.”

The tentacle was halfway to her elbow. Graham rubbed his forehead, brow furrowed deep. “The scripture…” he said. He blinked and picked it up. “Put your hand on this mark, Robin! The scripture can purify your body; it might get rid of the parasite, because it’s foreign to you.”

She bit her lip and stretched her hand out. The tentacle moved faster, as if it didn’t want her to reach it. It had reached her elbow. She stretched out her other arm instead, making contact with the sigil.

The air around her began to shimmer and the tentacle emitted a high-pitched screech. It doubled back and began to wrap around her neck, squeezing so she couldn’t breathe. Graham grabbed it, pulling it away. “Keep going, Robin! I think it’s working!”

As he struggled with the surprisingly powerful vine, it began to shrink and lose its color. Its movement slowed as Robin circulated energy through her body. “Looks like she’s not in pain anymore. She’s got it on the ropes. Just a bit more, Robin.”

She gasped and removed her hand, falling backward. Graham’s eyes widened. “Don’t stop now, it’s not dead!” He pulled her back upright and placed her hand on the sigil.

She nodded, eyes narrowed and focused on her task. However, only seconds later, she took her hand away, holding it to her chest. “I-I can’t! It’s not working!” She looked at her shoulder. The tentacle was pale green and unmoving. It had thinned, but it was still worked into her skin in places.

With a trembling hand, she grasped one of the small tentacles winding around her arm. It wrapped around her finger sluggishly and she squeaked, pulling her hand away. “It’s not—It’s still alive…” She frowned and looked at Graham. “What do I do now?”

Graham rubbed his face and leaned back. “I don’t know. It’s not really doing anything, which is better than before. Maybe it’s half-dead?” He frowned. “We might have bought you some time. Maybe the scripture couldn’t handle it on its own.”

He leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. “What the hell is that thing, anyway?”

“It’s… I think it’s some kind of sentient… vine.” She sighed, unable to take her eyes off her arm. Graham’s eyes widened and he looked at her, gesturing for her to continue. She did. “Well… after the lady, uh… Sarah?”

“Seraphim.”

“Right. After she left, Gloria invited me to come with her and James. Most people were going with Will, but she didn’t like him for some reason. I… I’m not really sure why James came with, though.” She swallowed. “The first night was fine. James didn’t really talk to me, but Gloria was really nice and she seemed to want me to be comfortable.” She laughed. “I think she felt sorry for me after my outburst.”

Graham scratched his cheek. “Uh, sorry I kinda… ignored you. I was in a hurry to leave.”

Robin shook her head, patting his arm. “Anyway, the next day, we were attacked by the sentient vine. We managed to fight it off, but Gloria wanted to see what it was.”

“Right. She was a botanist. I guess she’d have some professional curiosity,” Graham said.

Robin nodded. “She couldn’t contain her curiosity and she ignored my and James’ warnings. James followed her, but I was too scared so I stayed behind. When they came back… they were different.”

Graham’s brow furrowed. “How so? Was it as bad as when you met us?”

She shook her head. “Not to that degree. They just seemed… off. They were closer, and Gloria didn’t talk to me as much. But, as the day went on, they started acting weirder and weirder.” She pursed her lips. “The next day, I woke up to a pain in my side.” She brushed her hand over it. “Something had latched onto me, and I couldn’t get it off. I told Gloria, but she didn’t listen or didn’t care. That’s when I realized something was really wrong.”

Graham nodded, chewing on his thumb. “I think I ran into the same creature. Not long after I left the clearing, a vine snagged my ankle and tried to drag me away.”

“So, you didn’t go see what it was?”

Graham snorted. “No. I booked it as soon as I could.”

Robin laughed. “I wish Gloria had felt the same way.” Her smile faded into a frown. “Poor Gloria. Poor James. They must’ve been taken over by the parasite.”

Graham pursed his lips. “I’m not sure if we can do anything for them. Chances are they’re long gone.” He didn’t make it clear whether he meant physically or mentally.

Robin nodded absently, chewing on her lip. “D… Do you think I’ll ever get this thing off? I don’t like looking at it and I-I can feel it. It doesn’t hurt anymore, but it feels so strange. It’s gonna drive me crazy.” She looked up at him, like a little girl asking her dad for candy. “D-Do you think I could wear your jacket? I just don’t want to look at my arm…”

Graham blinked. “Oh, yeah, of course. I don’t really need it anyway. Hold on…” He reached into the pocket and pulled out the fruit. The vine on Robin’s arm twitched as he did, but that was all.

Graham narrowed his eyes. “This thing is attracted to the fruit. And it seemed to be attracted to the scripture as well… what does it want with them?”

Robin played with her fingers. “Um, well, what do they have in common?”

“Hmm… The fruit heals injuries and the scripture helps you circulate Qi... Wait! Circulating Qi actually healed me a little!” He showed her a red mark that used to be a cut. It had closed up after he Circulated the first time.

Robin frowned. “What does that mean, though?”

Graham smiled. “It means, maybe the fruit isn’t meant to heal. Maybe that’s a side effect and it just contains a lot of Qi. So, when you eat it, you heal. Maybe. I don’t know, maybe it does heal you, but it happens to do so with Qi.”

Robin tilted her head. “So… you’re saying the vine likes Qi?”

“Mm-hmm. I’m not sure why, but it seems to be the case.”

Robin put Graham’s jacket on and sighed. “I still don’t see how knowing that will help me get rid of it…”

Graham rubbed his mouth, staring into the fire. “After I beat my doppelganger, I didn’t just get the scripture and the spellbook. I got options. I think one of the rewards could help… I’d say either the Bestiary or the Apothecary Primer. I guess it depends if the vine monster is considered more a monster or a plant.”

Robin sat up and put her knees under her. “So if we got those, we might find a way to kill it!” she shouted. She grasped her arm over Graham’s jacket, laughing. “I’ll be able to get this thing off!”

Graham chuckled and nodded. “Yep. But, in order to do that, we’ll have to go through one of the doors. And, just to be safe, we should probably get both.” He frowned. “I gained two rewards from the door I completed, but I’m not sure every door will give so many. I think it’d be best if we both went in another door.”

Robin paled. “Y-You want me to… to go in there…” She shook her head. “I-I can’t! There’s n-no way I could fight some copy of myself. I’d be too scared!”

Graham grimaced. “You won’t necessarily face a doppelganger. The challenges are probably different every time. Though, I will admit that they’re difficult.” Robin whimpered. Graham put a hand on her shoulder. “But don’t forget, you’re not the same as you were before!”

Robin’s jaw fell. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Graham smiled. “You used the scripture just now. You’re not a normal person anymore. You’re a Seeker, Robin.”

Her jaw fell further.

“So, what do you say? Are you up for it?”