Chapter Five - The Epidemic

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We've only made it to upper ground when I plant my feet firmly and turn to stare at Niro.

"What?" he says defensively.

"Oh, nothing," I say, my voice dripping sarcasm. "The prisoner turns out to be someone you know, he seems to know me by name even though he can't see me and hasn't even met me before, and he quotes Edgar Allan Poe to me for absolutely no reason. Well?"

"I didn't know you knew Edgar Allan Poe," says Niro, unsmiling.

"I'm not completely uneducated," I counter.

We stare at each other, each trying to not be the first to break the silence. It's Niro who gives up first.

"Come on," he says, taking my arm and trying to pull me along.

"Hey!" I snap, yanking my arm back and refusing to budge. "You didn't answer my question. I'm not moving until you give me a decent answer."

"I'll give you a decent answer when we get to the Red Room," he answers. "It's too crowded here, we'll be overheard..."

He's right on that account; the Eyes are already starting to flood the corridors on their way to class. On Thursday afternoons, we all have one lecture from a Solum official about the history of the epidemic and everything. To keep it burned into our memories. Even enhanced Eyes like me and Niro have to face it.

"Fine, then," I say, pursing my lips and allowing Niro to grab me by the sleeve and drag me along. Already a few Eyes have begun to stare through their own white blinkers.

We walk down this corridor and that until we come to the heavy wooden door, covered in red velvet. I reach out and push it open. I slump into the nearest red sofa, yank my hood off my head, and turn a steady glare at Niro. He sighs.

"What do you want to know?" he hedges, taking a seat on a red armchair.

"Anything," I say. "Why the prisoner seems to know you, for example?"

"I told you," Niro answers. "He helped me, showed me some care and kindness when I was first here."

"Is that all?" I say, tilting my head.

There's a silence. We both know that it's not all.

"You're perceptive," Niro says at last. "I didn't know that."

"Well, now you do," I answer, leaning back against the couch. "Niro, what's going on - Paul, me, everything here in Solum? What's going on in the world? Why is there even a war out there, and why do they need us so badly?"

"Your questions will be answered," Niro says gravely, and suddenly I seem to sense a hundred-year-old man in the eight-year-old's face. "But not now. You're not ready for the truth yet, and it's not up to me to explain it to you. I made a promise. I intend to keep it. And besides," he says, since I show every sign of objecting, "this room is probably bugged."

I sink into a sullen silence. Despite my disagreement with everything he said, I have to admit that it's risky to talk in here. Who knows they might be tapping in to our conversation?

"Lenora," Niro says, leaning forward, "do you know how old I am?"

I'm stopped there. What he just said seemed to be completely irrelevant to our conversation, but his violet eyes are emitting some sort of energy that seems to close off my vocal cords. I look at Niro, and only then do I realise that I know absolutely nothing about his age. When I first met him, five years ago, he looked like a seven-year-old. Now, five years later, he looks like... like he's barely aged.

I weigh my options for a moment before simply going for, "I don't know."

Niro smiles. "There's a price to pay for this, of course," he says quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't tell you here," he answers. "Be patient. Everything will be explained."

Sighing, I tip my head back and look at the red ceiling. No one ever seems to give me direct answers. Not even my best friend here.

"I'll give you a hint here," Niro says, watching me roll my eyes.

"What?" I ask, sitting up straight.

"You know that the poem Paul recited is from Edgar Allan Poe," he says, "but which poem exactly?"

I burrow into my memory, try to conjure something up. The lines sound fairly familiar to me in my head, but I have to admit I don't quite remember.

"Think about it," says Niro, watching me. "Only remember not to freak out when you do."

I scowl.

Someone knocks on the door, a heavy thump that startles me. I sit bolt upright on the couch, and Niro calls, "Come in."

The door opens, and into the room strides a white-cloaked doctor with beady dark eyes and oily black hair that is untrimmed. It keeps flopping into his eyes, prompting him to shake back his bangs every few minutes. He's holding a stack of papers in a grey file folder. Thin-lipped, his nose turned up as if he's smelling something bad, with thick black-framed glasses balancing on his nose. I dislike him instantly.

Niro exhales. "Dr. Vern," he says.

The doctor peers down his long, turned up nose at Niro, weighing up Niro's tiny figure and white cloak before nodding once. He doesn't bother to answer Niro's polite greeting.

"Zechariah and Infinity," he says, squinting over his glasses at a list in the folder.

"Yes, sir," I murmur.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Dr. Vern says, glaring at us over his glasses. "Get ready."

"We are ready, sir," says Niro pointedly. "This is supposed to be the lecture. We're supposed to listen and pay attention." His tone is perfectly polite, but he speaks as if the doctor is a kindergartener.

The doctor seems not to notice, flipping through the stack of papers in his folder. I glance out of the corner of my eye at Niro, who seems to be trying not to laugh as he gazes with his brilliant purple eyes at Dr. Vern. The doctor seems at last to find the papers he's looking for and draws them out of the file, peering through his glasses at them.

I lean back against the red couch and prepare for the hour-long lecture. Dr. Vern clears his throat and begins to read from the paper in a drawn-out, monotonous voice.

"Here we go," Niro murmurs sarcastically.

Here we go.

~

"The epidemic came upon us completely unawares," Dr. Vern begins. "It began in the Eastern part of the globe, before spreading to other parts of the world. It was a deadly disease, and killed thousands within a week, soundlessly and painlessly. Scientists struggled and failed to find a cure.

"Those who contracted the disease were slaughtered within one night's time. Their skin would turn a deathly grey pallor, their breathing rate would decrease, and they would fall into a deathlike slumber, never to wake again. Those who survived long enough told that they felt something trapped in the throat, unable to be freed. They all died hours later.

"Within a month, most of the Eastern governments had fallen; only China and Russia remained. The other countries noticed signs of the disease several weeks later, without knowing how the disease had spread to their own country. In another month, only a handful of governments remained: America, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Russia and China. Those who had still not fallen banded together, forgetting all their grievances, and their scientists formed an  international organisation who fought the virus tirelessly: Solum.

"Despite the scientists' tireless efforts, the disease seemed unstoppable. One by one, the surviving countries fell, until only the United States of America remained. There, Solum gathered and continued their work - this time no longer to stop the epidemic, but to salvage what we can from it. To establish a new world order and save humanity.

"They found, to their great shock, that some hidden away had survived the epidemic's deadly infection. Something about them revealed an astonishing ability to repel the disease. Solum rounded them up, hoping to discover their powers. And the more they investigated, the more they learned, and they had a new idea.

"This new band of subjects, called Eyes, would become the foundation of a new human civilisation.

"And yet some from the older age resisted. They survived, but turned against Solum, and scorned its noble cause. They joined the hidden ones, and to this day they wage an unceasing war against us. Solum has only one mission. Join together, and defeat the ones who threaten the prospect of the new civilisation. Defeat those who bar the way to a new world.

"And we will save humanity."

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