Amanita: Poison Shot

Chapter 99: A Life In Isolation

"I'm sorry for this mess. As you can see, I am not in the right physical condition to clean the whole mansion all by myself," Old Sue began to explain when she led us into a big study room.

She left her candle on a coffee table and softly groaned in pain once as she touched her back.

"I can barely walk," she went on with a raspy voice. "My back is killing me. I can barely see. I'm eighty years old, so I suspect I might have a lot more health issues than I know of since I haven't seen a doctor in these last few decades." And then, she added as a sarcastic afterthought: "Not that I'm complaining bearing in mind what clone doctors do in the BioSolutions Centre."

She proceeded to light a small candelabra with five arms and five candles. The artificial light of our flashlights helped to light the room as well. We left them on the coffee table, too.

When all lights were still, I could admire the study room with more clarity. It was classy and fit for a library of the early 20th century. Tall shelves were both full of antique books and dust. White sheets had been placed over every item of furniture.

"Feel free to take the sheets off the sofas and sit down," she said while doing so herself and sitting on a couch. Her tone of voice felt distant and relatively cold. "Forgive me for not offering you food and beverages, but I have barely got any. A consequence of being self-sufficient and having zero guests for decades."

Her voice wasn't as gentle as I had expected from a person who had lived alone for years. It felt as if she didn't want us there to keep her company. The only moment in which she had sounded nicer had been when she had recognised who I was.

We sat down on a couple of chaise longues in front of her after leaving the white sheets from them on the floor behind them. K8 and Agape sat side by side, and I sat next to K8, on her right.

Then, Sigi sat close to me, on my right. He looked serious but calm. Even in such a formal yet strange situation, he made my heart spin as the wheels did on the asphalt.

"You mentioned you can watch TV," Gabi said then with curiosity. "How come there are no electric lights then, Ms O'Connor?"

"This mansion has got only a few solar panels, placed discreetly so as not to call much attention. I can't produce much electricity with them. I save energy however I can. I don't ever use most of the rooms here, including this one. I've led you here because it's where all of us can be seated and talk. The other rooms aren't big enough, or I haven't got enough chairs. I've had to burn most of the furniture in the fireplace, actually. Winters are hard here, you know."

"We understand," Agape replied. "May I go straight to dealing with pressing issues that concern the nature of our connection, Ms O'Connor?"

"Sure. I'm curious to know what you might want from a frail, old lady like me," Old Sue replied with a condescending tone. "Years after you succeed in escaping from the GSNS's network without my help."

Tension could be cut with a knife all of a sudden.

"Excuse me for my bluntness, but I've got the impression you dislike us, Ms O'Connor," Agape said.

"That's because I don't like you." The trembling in her voice wasn't fear talking. It was just the natural quality of her voice.

"Wow. That was harsh," Gabi replied.

"With all due respect, you haven't even met us, Ms O'Connor," K8 said then. "Let me use this opportunity to apologise for breaking into your home and aiming our guns at you earlier. We are sorry if we offended you. I would like to introduce ourselves properly so that you may have a better understanding of who we are, Ms O'Connor."