Chapter 68
Quarantined Biological Weapons
Stop me if you heard this one, but for the third time since this new time loop began, was reset? Well, whatever the wording, I was being detained. Though to be fair, this time at least made sense. I guess technically the others also made sense, well not the court martial one, that was stupid, plain and simple.
This one though, I saw the girls. The girls that had been glowing Mel’s friends. They were all locked up in some sort of perverted safe room. I say perverted, in that rather than being created to keep everyone safe, Mave, or the monster posing as Mave had twisted it. Rather than being a bastion of safety, it was where the other girls had been chained to walls and experimented upon.
It seemed the corrupted Mave had thought herself to be the next coming of the bubonic plague. Though to be fair, this was more of a fungal and bacterial mix. One that caused whole portions of the body to atrophy and decay. So not quite a bubonic plague. Instead, this was more of an enhanced form of leprosy. So, the result was the same, massive scale damage to people, by spreading communicable diseases that were easily transmitted from person to person.
Worse, apparently five of the girls already died. Five of twelve. Yeah, we saved seven, but then a pain burned in my gut when I heard the time frame the other began to die.
“Seven days ago.” Julie, one of the survivors said.
“Yeah, two days after Mel’s funeral.” Another girl, Traci added.
Seven days ago. I was here with literally nothing to do at that time. I found myself staring at General Sharma after that comment. She too had been quarantined with me, well us.
Once the rot was discovered, everyone who had direct contact with the corruption was moved to a biological treatment facility that was set up on the lawn of the grand mansion. Honestly the whole set up was rather impressive, as it created one continuous line of separation from the house to the hastily constructed tents.
After seeing that none of the known treatments worked, it was noted that I never showed any signs of contamination. Also, those near me never showed signs of contamination, until they moved outside of my aura of healing. That was the point when I apparently became everyone’s best friend. As I could barely go to the bathroom without ten people following me.
The mansion, well that was being treated. And by treated, I mean with napalm. A few drones flew in, captured images of everything that was uploaded to the data servers. Then once they were confident every form of data had been identified and copied, the drones then set themselves on fire, and began incinerating the mansion completely. Air mages were on standby to direct the caustic smoke through purifiers that filtered out the carcinogens and other forms of plague that might exist. It was odd seeing the mages fly around in their self-contained space suits, but that was the level of involvement we were dealing with.
This was a big deal.
“Carrie!” Samantha, another survivor called out, as she realized the body of her friend was left to be burned first, then drones would go in and identify her ashes.
“Sorry.” Was all I could manage. “I would have come here sooner, but I was held up. Literally.” I said, acidly, my ire directed towards Sharma.
Sharma for her part looked like she wanted to say something, but then ultimately closed her mouth. This was terrible. Yeah, we got the bad guy, or monster, but at what cost? These seven girls were now completely homeless. Worse, they likely had deep psychological scars from this.
Then at that thought, I was reminded of my other ability I gained, but almost never use.
“I can try something.” I say.
With that everyone turned to me. But I only focused on the females that were hostages of Mave.
Hostages of Mave, Gods that sounds so terrible. Worse I know if I speak it, and a reporter gets it, then that is what they will forever be known as. With that little revelation, I decided to avoid ever telling anyone about this.
“What? More healing?” Yulia asks.
I shake my head. “No. Well yes and no. This isn’t healing for your body, but for your mind. I can only imagine what you have all gone through and trust me the moment I start I try to stop that line of thinking. But still there is a psionic power that I have called Mind Heal. If you all would like, I could try using it on you.”
“What does it do?” Marta, another survivor asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I tried using it on myself, but it only caused pain. I don’t know if I am meant to use something like this on me. Especially if I have my own mental scars that need to be healed.”
“You have never used this on yourself?” One of the firefighters, Erin asks.
Yes, it turned out one of the firefighters that had to strip down in front of me was a female. Why do I feel guilty about this? Well, other than the fact that she was beautiful, I kept getting the mental pings reminding me that I was committed to Goldie.
Though, now that I was aware of the seemingly external impulses to my brain, I think I began developing a resistance to them. It is not that I didn’t like Goldie, but I didn’t like the idea of being forced to be with her. I made a mental note to have one last conversation with her before I went on with my next plan. See I still had my to do list. Somehow, I found one of the last entries on my mental to do list.
To Do:
Confront Jenna Da’anvil. See if she still has these odd baubles on her and get her to undo anything she has done.
Confront Rayquel. See if we do in fact have chemistry.
Looking at those, I realized I might need to do them backwards. Somehow, I knew that everything would change after I confronted Jenna, for good or ill, things were going to chance. I was going to kick myself as those had been my two main items to do before I left prison. But then I got sidetracked. I was somewhat happy to realize the other tasks I had created on my ride with Jess were now all complete.
First and foremost, get connected to my finances. Check.
Second, use finances to get a communicator. Check.
Then talk to and meet up with Goldie. Well, no, but we scheduled a time. But that time has been delayed. So, I missed one.
Put in a claim against my insurance for a new Mechanoid suit. Check.
Then finally talk to Mave, to see if she was doing okay with everything. Yeah, we know how this one went.
“Hello, Green-Biome 7 to Kyle!” A voice shouts, and I am instantly pulled from my own thoughts.
“What?”
“The mental healing thingy?” Julie said.
“Oh right. Right. So, who would want to try this?” I ask, bringing myself back to my original point. It had been a long few nights, and I have not been able to get any sleep. Especially not with my having to be close to everyone, while also trying to give everyone their moments of privacy. Also, since everyone has required near constant healing, in addition to my aura, I have been feeling rather drained. Well not quite drained but been feeling like I have been constantly working.
“I’ll go. At the very least if you fail, then hopefully I can forget this whole thing ever happened.” Felicia said.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
I raise my finger to say that I could do that with my Mind Rend-X ability, but a sharp cough from Sharma stops me. I look up to see her shaking her head. Apparently, she has had little better to do other than peer into the future of these conversations. More than once she has stopped me from saying something that would otherwise be considered extremely stupid. For that I am grateful, as this entire experience has been extremely taxing.
“Okay.” I say, turning to face Felicia. Then I cast Mind Heal on her.
I feel like a sculptor going in and working with delicate clay. There are several edges, and sharp pits. Her mind has been tortured before. With this I can see the difference between regular events in life that leave an impression, and the parts where psychic energies have been used. Honestly, the areas where psychic energies have been used are the easiest to clean up. I focus on the areas where the psychic residue of others has come and congealed. Then I begin applying my own energies to the area. The whole thing reminds me of using wet wipes to clean up a minor stain.
I probably shouldn’t be thinking in such terms, this is a human brain after all. But the fact of the matter remains, this is a process that is rather easy to fix. Maybe dusting is a better way to describe this process. The power is the spray or chemical used to help clean up everything. While it is my skill and use that cleans up the mess left behind. In the end I clean until there are no visible signs of staining. Then I stop.
Sweat is building on my forehead, but it is the light sheen performed by a little bit of work and effort.
“How was…” Is all I manage to say, before I am tackled.
Sobbing.
I feel wet tears rolling onto my face and neck.
“Sor…” I begin.
“No, thank you.” Felicia says, as she just holds me tightly with a hug. I don’t ask, I don’t even want to know what types of memories were sealed away or affected by that whole process.
Everyone stares at us, for a few moments. Finally, Felicia manages to calm herself down enough to stop crying. Though tears are still in her eyes.
“How was it?” Traci asks.
“It was…” She trails off. “It was extremely gentle. Though, what he showed. What was done to us, to the others…”
Hearing those words, a hush falls over the group. Everyone realized early on that there were things they couldn’t remember. Parts of their memories that were blocked out.
Finally, Julie was the next to go.
“I’ll do it.” Julie said, as she stood up and swapped places with Felicia.
Since I was the center of this whole thing, it was noted early on that the less I moved the better. This was terrible, as it meant I felt the flows of atrophy. Not that such a thing really seemed to happen in this universe. Here your physical attributes were your physical attributes, and nothing seemed to change them, unless you applied free attribute points towards improving them. That was part of my problem with coming back, as the rules of the other universe were seemingly different than this one. There I could work out as much as I wanted and get stronger and faster based on my work ethic. Still, while nothing truly seemed to matter in this universe, I did dislike the idea of sitting still.
Also, when I tried to play the violin, quite a few girls had protested. Apparently, they were subject to that repeatedly while Mel was alive. Now the music reminded them of their lost friend. I almost wanted to tell them about what their friend truly was, a divine being sent to do something stupid in this universe, but I held my tongue. These girls already had enough gone on, I didn’t need to muddy the waters by adding the final nail as being the fact that yet another person they knew wasn’t real. Though rather than being an exemplar of evil, this new person supposedly worked for the forces of good, though they seemed to have their own agenda. You, know, maybe I am biased in this whole scenario. Though again, having your emotions forcefully changed will do that to you. Especially when you begin working on mental defenses to prevent such actions from happening in the future.
With Julie, I go through most of the same scenario. I once again cast Mind Heal and am once again met with a mind that has seen a lot of traumas. I almost think that most of the damage is just from day-to-day life, interactions and everyday events that have a lasting impact on others. But there is a spot that is easy to see, one that is oddly enough in the same area of the mind. Now don’t get me wrong, after two, well technically two and a half times, of doing this I am no expert. So, I have no idea of how I am mentally perceiving the different minds before me. I don’t know if I am seeing a linear time-wise progression, or if these are just the way the mind is. But I can tell that roughly at the same spot as Felicia, Julie has psychic residue stains. A quick cleaning and the mind look brand new. I look around for other signs. I try to massage the part right up front, a portion that I think must deal with the events that are going on currently. I say this, as these portions look like an open wound. Or at least a wound that has begun to scab over but is still raw to the touch. I gently touch this portion and feel the wound seal up. From our connection, I can see Julie physically relax after the gesture. She lets out a deep breath and the tension in her shoulders is gone immediately.
Once we are done, I break the connection. Our eyes lock, and rather than her looking away in fear as she has almost every time to this point. This time she looks on with wide-eyed amazement.
“Wow!” Is all she says.
“If I had a crypto for every time a beautiful woman has told me that…” I trail off, as I feel the intense pulsing in my mind. Imagine a finger pressing on your brain, just up and to the right of the temple, close to your ear. That is where this thumping is happening. A sensation that is letting me know I am doing something wrong.
I am, after all I am in a committed relationship, but I shouldn’t be feeling this level of discomfort for trying to ease someone’s suffering with a joke. At least I don’t think I should. Maybe this is flirting, but I am trying to do this to ease the tension of this whole situation.
“Thank you.” Julie says, lunging forward and hugging me as well. I let her embrace me, finding my own satisfaction in that she is now feeling better.
Julie isn’t crying, though she seems close. Instead, rather than crying a look of resolve crosses her features. “There is a man that was with Mave. He is the one responsible for this. All of us need to do this, so we can find out who that man is. He is a part of this filling our bodies with these bioweapon materials.”
Hearing that, all the girls get an angry look on their faces. Not at Julie, but at the fact that there were more who did this to them. Worse, they seemingly had their memories wiped after the man’s involvement. With nothing better to do, they all soon agree to go through this process. Some of the girls seem hesitant, at least until Felicia also speaks up.
“I saw it too.” Felicia states. “Though it wasn’t a man. It was another monster like what Mave turned into.”
“Another one?” I ask, suddenly very interested. This would make three at least in this universe. If there were three, then likely there were more, but if so, how many more?
Hearing my question Felicia turns to me, then pauses as our eyes meet. I guess I have a serious expression as she gulps for a second. Then taking a deep breath, she continues.
“Yes, I don’t know how I know, but he was odd. Like his skin was just a suit. When he used his powers on me, his skin began to tremble like it was loose in some places.” Felicia said, though she trailed off when trying to describe what she had seen. She was about to coil in on herself when Julie came over and comforted her.
“It’s okay, I think I saw what you are talking about. While I didn’t see it as well, or notice it, there was something odd about it. Good catch.” Julie said, then she looked to the other five and then gestured with her head towards me. The sign was clear and obvious, they all needed to do this. They had three friends who had all died right before their eyes, thanks to the experiments being performed on them. Finding out who was part of the conspiracy was the least they could do.
Sighing, Traci was the next to come forward. She was soon followed by Olivia, Yulia, Marta, and finally Alice. Each spoke of the man, while Marta and Alice spoke of a second man, one that never entered the panic room. Though they could hear him speaking from outside the room with Mave, asking about how things were going. When asked if the second speaker could have been the same as the first, they both shook their heads. Apparently, the mind alterer was in the room conducting his experiments, while Mave and the other were speaking.
This meant, there were now at least two new Prolaxian Infiltrators that I was not aware of. After the revelations, we all seemed to bond. Even the firefighters seemed to be more open with us. I offered to heal their minds, but they both declined. This was fine, as they were not subjected to torture or experimentation like the others.
Still, I had to wonder who the two new PIs were. I assumed they were likely high up in the various governments, because why not? If they could have Mave in this universe, then who else could be compromised.
I also realized a few things. The people that were Prolaxian Infiltrators in one universe were not the same as those in another universe. This made sense as I immediately went to check on the undersecretary of defense for the Endarians, only to find that such a person didn’t exist.
I also made sure to check out General Fellina here, only to find that she was not a divine being. This meant that the people who were hidden actors in the different universes changed, based on what universe they were in. I knew for a fact that I saw the other Universe’s Mave quite a few times after I received my Revelation Sight, meaning that if she was also a PI, then I would have identified her immediately. No this was different, meaning the people from one were not the same as another. This also seemed to make sense as Mel was not in the other universe, the fact that she was outed as a divine being, or at least a divine puppeteer means a few things. First there are likely other divine actors in place, just as there are at least two more PIs in place. I can guess that there are likely the same number of PIs as there are divine actors, but I can’t be entirely certain of that. So, I need to conduct a few tests.
I also know that once a divine being is found to have messed with the timeline their actions are erased, as if they never happened. This is what happened in my last timeline when the puppeteer of Rayquel had all their events removed. This means that should I find another who has performed similar actions, I can likely expect the same result. This leads me back to my remaining to do lists. If what I am thinking is correct, then I know a way I lure out the two hidden PIs in one go.
These are the plans I make, as we spend our final few hours in quarantine. Finally, after two days of no signs of infection, we are all allowed to leave.
I am putting on a new space suit for my trip that I am now planning on taking when I am stopped.
“I have to say thank you.” General Sharma says a note of regret in her voice.
I look at her, then pause. Now that we are finally away, I want to ask so many questions. The fact that she did something to hurt the PI in the Mave skin suit was obvious. That fight was extremely easy, especially with the added benefit of being in the internal hallway where the jets of liquid spray would be the most concentrated. The more I thought about the events that unfolded, the more I knew for a fact that the general knew what would happen.
“How long did you know?” I asked.
She looked at me, surprise on her face, as she asked “what?”
“I was locked up in your prison for over a week. During that time three women died from being tortured to death. The others, they all watched as they too were being tortured and experimented on. So, I ask again, how long did you know?” I ask, venom in my words as I am angry. I am so angry the more I think about what happened and what I could have done to stop what was being done. I could have done so much, but in the end I was powerless.
“You must understand, I couldn’t. Had you been released on time, then you would have gone with Goldie right then and there. Waiting until their visas expired was the only way.” Sharma said.
Hearing that I nodded.
Pulse. Pulse. Pulse.
Once again, the mental pulsing of stimulants being fired in my mind go off, letting me know that I am missing Goldie. That I should spend time with her. But they are fake thoughts, forced thoughts and impulses and I resist them. The whole process is getting easier. I know a way to end this all now, at least I think I do. But I want to build up a mental resistance to this, to make sure I am never subject to these same forced feelings again.
“You have to believe me.” Sharma says, and this time tears fill her eyes. I can tell that she truly means what she is saying.
Hearing her genuine emotion, I relax my stance a little. She is right. Also, if it wasn’t for that forced separation, I would likely have not had the time to think about all the inconsistencies in my life.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” She repeats, the pauses. “You mean it? We are, okay?”
I take in a long, long calming breath. Then let it out. “Yeah. I’m good.”
There is an awkward tension that fills the air. I can see the general squirm, as she tries to get a read on me. The fact that she can’t makes me somewhat happy, if she can’t predict what I am going to do next, then that means others likely don’t know either. This is perfect for me, as I have two things left to do, before I end this charade.
“What will you do next?”
Hearing her question, I let a smile form on my lips. “You all are going to just have to sit back and wait to find out.”
With that, I walk off into the afternoon sun, like a badass. I begin to wonder if I can truly be a badass, if I am thinking I am looking like one, but eventually I decide that line of thinking is recursive and self-deprecating. So, instead I decide that I am just walking away smoothly, like I imagine a badass would. A faint smile filling my lips, as I realize I am finally taking control of my own future.