The Only

Chapter Twenty-Six - Karl

Karl, with Monty's help, got Cesar settled comfortably in bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell peacefully to sleep. His nose wrinkled and let out slight, wheezing noises. It was an interesting way to snore.

Monty had said that Mutare usually slept long hours after being injured, and Cesar had the tendency to take on Mutare characteristics more than Nocturne. Karl wished to delve deeper into Cesar's history, find out more about his unusual makeup, his physical strength, and strength of his bones. But Monty quickly resumed his sentry position and along with that came silence.

The lab was cool and quiet. Just the way Karl liked it; the ideal work environment that was conducive to finding the murderer. Find the murderer, find the cure. Karl was convinced they were connected.

Blood samples from his complete test group, as well as microscope slides and countless computer pages, littered the top of the table. Data on all the samples, each committed to memory by Karl. But they didn't offer the solution he needed. He couldn't find the commonality. Impatience began to take over. His foot rapidly tapped out a frenetic melody on the floor, and he repeatedly pushed his glasses up his nose. For a brief second, he closed his eyes and put his head in his hands.

Taking a deep, relaxing breath, he felt the tension ease from shoulders, causing him to fold in a little more toward the table. He took in another breath and let it out slowly. That's better.

His thoughts drifted from the endless data he was trying to extract to Yasmin. Her face appeared in his mind's eye. Her visage was framed by her spiky, salt and pepper hair and her smile. Her smile was like sunshine after a storm. He took in another breath, and her fresh spring scent filled his nostrils.

Karl smiled. Relishing the daydream, he didn't dare open his eyes in fear it would fade. There she was, beaming at him. It was as if she was standing right in front of him. She winked, and he heard the tinkling bell of her laugh. With a jolt, he opened his eyes and instantly shut them again when he saw she wasn't there. He had to get the picture back. And he knew he would.

"Are you all right, Doctor?" Monty said, appearing instantly at Karl's side.

"Fine. I'm fine," Karl said, crossing his arms in front of him to hide his irritation. It wasn't like him to fall victim to some imaginary fancy. He was a man of facts, and facts were going to find her murderer.

Bling. Bling.

Monty took his phone out and read it. "That's the Only." He tucked it away in his front jacket pocket. "I will see what she needs and return as soon as possible."

"Okay," Karl mumbled, not bothering to look up.

A small ache took root in his chest. Karl swallowed and slammed his hands on the table, knocking over the blood vial samples.

"Shit!" Karl sprang up from his stool to find a towel to clean up the mess.

Mist began to rise from the counter. What is happening?

Snapping on rubber gloves, Karl righted the vials to be perfect erect soldiers standing side by side. He automatically knew one was from Lucas and the other from Neima. He quickly prepared a slide with the contaminated sample.

Under the glass, Karl witnessed the immediate production of U-shaped antibodies, at least what he assumed were antibodies. Although they were not the human Y-shaped, they moved in exact formation to aggressively kill the virus. It was fast and efficient.

Neima's blood had somehow been exposed already. It possessed the antibody and was aggressively killing the virus in Lucas' sample. She is the cure! But wait, that would mean she was also the cause. Karl held his breath. Could it be? No. There was no other explanation. There had to be another Only.