ALEX's POV
I was so glad that Eva had stayed back at home but then she showed up at the hospital suddenly. On top of that, she went with Susie to meet Philip. Why didn’t she understand that it wasn’t safe for her?
I felt my blood boil with frustration, not at Eva but my helplessness to prevent this situation.
If Susie hadn’t requested I would never have let Eva go to meet Philip. I followed behind them anxiously. Despite the robot's warning, she started walking towards Philip. This girl had no sense of self-preservance at all.
It was a great thing that I held her back on time because Philip awoke soon after. He behaved as if he had been possessed by the devil himself.
We moved backward and I tried to open the door but it was useless. By then Philip had broken the handcuffs. He would attack us the moment he was able to break the shackles. I pulled Eva and Susie behind me and took a protective stance in front of them.
Philip plunged towards us but right at that moment the robot injected him with medicine and he fell to the ground.
“ The patient has reached stage three. So visitors are not allowed. You will have to leave.” The robot said ushering us out.
Susie Clung to Eva, burying her head in her shoulder. Heart-wrenching wails echoed in the corridor. Eva kept rubbing her shoulders in an attempt to soothe her but she was unresponsive.
“I told him not to go to the forest at night but he didn’t listen to me. Now see what has happened. What will I do without him?”
“Everything is not lost, Susie. I promise I will try everything I can to try and save him.”
My ears perked up when I heard Eva say this. I knew she was referring to the supernatural forces. I couldn’t let her do anything irrational.
My heart broke to see Susie like this but I had to try my best to keep Eva out of danger. This was something I wasn’t ready to compromise with. You can call me selfish, inhumane, unsympathetic, as far as Eva was concerned there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her safe.
I sent an SOS to Athena, Melisa, Ryan, and Aaron and stayed close to Eva and Susie. I wanted to talk to the doctor but that would have to wait. I couldn’t risk leaving Eva alone.
I paced up and down the corridor waiting for them to arrive. I kept looking repeatedly at my watch but time didn’t want to co-operate with me.
I had to do something or I would go crazy. I tried to strike a conversation to distract all of us.
“Susie, I heard that you flew to Los Angeles for an exhibition. You must have become a billionaire now!’
She shook her head, a bit confused by my sudden question but then replied, “Not yet, but I had so much fun there with Philip. We went to visit all the popular places. It was like an extended vacation. I will show you pictures when you come over.” Her lips stretched in a smile as she recalled those moments.
Then, suddenly she started sobbing again. I smacked myself for my thoughtlessness. I never thought that this conversation would lead to Philip.
Eva glared at me, furious that her efforts to calm Susie down were ruined by me. I mouthed sorry and kept my mouth shut after that.
I was relieved when I received the message that my friends were waiting in the parking lot of the hospital. I went out to meet them.
“Thank you guys for coming,” I said brightly. I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I could trust them to successfully carry out all my instructions.
“ Cut the formality, buddy, and tell us the reason for calling all of us at such short notice,” Aaron said putting his arm around my shoulder.
“I guess you all know about Philip……”
When everyone nodded their heads I continued, “Susie is completely broken. We need to keep her distracted. And…”
“And….?
“Please help me keep Eva out of trouble. She has a great affinity for danger…..”
“Ah!! So that is the real reason our Romeo called us for. He is worried about Eva!” Aaron said clapping my back.
“Ummm…. no…. I am worried about Susie too.” My face turned red as I tried to defend myself.
“Stop teasing him, Aaron. This is serious.” Athena said smacking him.
“Don’t worry, Aaron we will take good care of them. You would be there to guide us, wouldn’t you?”
“I need to talk to the doctor and then I have some urgent work. I will return after a while.”
“Do you really have to go? You know it’s not safe outside.” Melisa said wringing her hands.
“Hmm….it’s important…..”
“Okay bro, I will take them to my home. It is close to the college as well as the hostel. When you are done with the work come to my home.” Aaron said.
Everyone agreed to it and they drove away. Aaron made Susie and Eva sit his car while the others took our old car. He gave me a thumbs-up before getting into the driver’s seat. That simple gesture calmed my nerves quite a bit. I knew he would protect Eva and Susie at all costs.
There were thousands of questions in Eva’s eyes as she waved through the window. I didn’t get a chance to explain anything to her. I decided to explain everything to her once I reached Aaron’s house.
No sooner had they left than piercing sounds of ambulance resounded. I stumbled a few steps back as I saw the scene unfold before my eyes.
A fleet of about 10 ambulances came to a halt in the ground. The first one opened and two robots came out carrying a stretcher. A man was bound to it using handcuffs and shackles just as Philip was bound to his bed.
The man on the stretcher wore a gruesome expression, his eyes were bloodshot and there was no hint of recognition in them.
The second ambulance opened and two more robots came out carrying a girl similarly. The robots carried them inside the hospital.
My eyes widened and I shuddered from head to toe, My heart started racing faster than a horse. I didn’t want to see what was there in the other ambulances. I tried to close my eyes but they didn’t want to cooperate.
The other ambulances opened but this time instead of robots ward boys emerged. They were carrying stretchers covered in white cloth. They carried in eight dead bodies.
The driver of the closest ambulance noticed me and yelled, “What are you doing here? Get away from here as soon as possible.”
I gulped the lump that had formed in my throat and asked in a breaking voice, “What happened to them?”
“You saw the man and woman being carried by the robots?”
“hmmm…”
“All the others were killed by those two.”
“How…” I muttered though I had already reasoned the cause in my mind.
“They are infected by the VV.” He said with a grim expression.
I couldn’t bear to stay here longer. I walked quickly towards my car, stumbling many times on the way.
My hands shook as I tried to open the door of my car. I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the positives. I managed to start the car after about five minutes of conscious effort. I hit the accelerator and drove out of the hospital as fast as I could. I never wanted to come back here.
I would have driven straight to Aaron’s house but I had to get the Alexart first. I would feel at ease only after I make Eva wear it. I had a strong gut feeling that the killings were not a result of some virus. It was the work of evil forces.
I parked the car outside the bungalow and opened the gate. I was glad that I kept all the keys together. So, I had the keys to Dixonville too.
I felt rueful looking at it. It was almost a year since I had come here. The vines and creepers had overgrown making it difficult to walk on the path. A hissing sound made me jump. Luckily it was just a grass snake.
After that, I took each step more cautiously. I was relieved when I finally made my way to the door. I searched for the key to the door in the bunch but I couldn’t see it anywhere.
“No…..” I groaned in frustration. I had dropped the key somewhere. Now, I would have to come back after getting the key to the door.
I turned around to leave but dashed into someone. My heart skipped a beat when I saw who it was.
“What are you doing here? I blurted out.
EVA'S POV“Why didn’t Alex come with us?” I asked as soon as we reached home.“He has some work,” Aaron said vaguely.I tried calling Alex but he didn’t pick up the call. I tried to distract myself by talking to Aunt Linda but my thoughts kept going back to Alex.I wondered where he might have gone. Until a while ago, he was behaving as if he wouldn’t leave my side even for a moment. Then what happened to him suddenly?
ALEX'S POVI exhaled forcefully once outside, trying to clear my lungs of the dust that I had inhaled. I never thought that a place could become so dusty. And Eeks! Those cobwebs. I made a mental note to get the house deep cleaned as soon as possible.While we were walking towards the gate I saw golden light. I strained my eyes to get a better view. I saw a vague figure for a moment but then it vanished. I had a feeling that I had seen it before. I couldn’t recall when and where but I was certain I had seen something similar before too.
ALEX'S POVLooking around the room I finally located the source of the scream. The T.V was on and a clip was being played on the screen. A man ummm…..it would be wrong to say a man, a teenager had gripped the shoulders of a fragile-looking girl in his arms. The girl was screaming loudly for help and trying to free herself from his grip. There were at least thirty-forty bodies lying on the ground. The girl let out a loud scream and then she went silent. After a few minutes, she dropped on the ground. Blood was oozing out of two holes on
My head felt so heavy, It took a lot of conscious effort to open my eyes. When I finally managed to open my eyes and took in my surroundings, all the memories came rushing. The hooded creature from the video looked identical to the one that starred in my nightmares. I rubbed my arms to ward off, the coldness I felt.I took out my phone and played the video again, but on a low volume. Alex would turn into an angry bear if he saw me watching the video again. This time I was mentally prepared to watch the clip. Though my heartbeat accelerated, I was able to pay
I paced around and kept tapping my knuckles. What could I do to save them? Then suddenly I realized that we were in the security room. I had built a tunnel that started in the security room when Alex has absorbed some of my powers so that I could keep a watch on him. It led straight to Dixonville. Hopefully, it would be still intact. Alex picked up an iron rod and stood in a defensive position but I pulled him along and said, “Help me shift the wardrobe” “Is this girl out of her mind. Here we ar
ALEX'S POVI climbed out of the tunnel and walked slowly into the hall. Long shadows casted on the walls and floor made everything look scarier. My heartbeat accelerated further and sweat trickled down my forehead. My legs trembled as I took each step. “Alex you have to do this! If you don’t Eva will.” I muttered.I took deep breaths to calm myself down and focused on the task at hand. I looked around but the ones who were visible a few minutes ago had vanished.
“Alex….Alex….” Michael said shaking me up. This snapped me out of the reverie. He had a ghastly expression on his face. I swept my eyes around the hall to see about fifty pairs of eyes looking at me expectantly. I suddenly started feeling conscious and I got up, fixing my disheveled hair and shirt. It took a few moments for my numb brain to register that the doorbell was ringing rhythmically.Ding dong…..ding dong…….ding dong……….ding dong………. That must be the reason every
EVA'S POVI was woken up by an itchy sensation. I tossed and turned for a few minutes but then had to sit up. I couldn’t ignore the sensation anymore. Scratching my hands and legs crazily I got out of bed. I blinked my eyes a few times and looked around. How had I reached Eric’s room? As far as I remembered I was sitting on the sofa. I must have fallen asleep and Alex must have carried me up. “God! What should I do?” I muttered as my hands turned red from itching. I could take a shower but I hadn't brought my clothes a