Real Illusions (Captainsparklez)

FINAL CHAPTER- Chapter 26

When I reached the institution at 6:54am, Carol reported that my dad was missing.

His room was in a mess when we got there. The windows were open, the curtains fluttered in the window.

Leaning against the wall, below the window was an armchair. There were compressions on it, in the shape of feet, like someone had just stood on it.

I peered out of the window, down to the area below. One of the bushes had been flattened.

"He... escaped?" I continued staring down.

Carol stepped in to stand beside me, "He used this," she pointed a hook in the wall right beside the window frame, something which I had not seen earlier. She then handed me a long coil of rope, soiled on one end.

I looked at the rope, not sure what to do. Should I cry? Should I be angry? I don't even know what to feel anymore.

I stood there staring at the coil of rope for a few minutes. Worried, Hazel placed her hand on my back.

"Why don't we have our injections before we investigate further?" she asked softly.

I nodded slowly, then dropped the coil of rope on the floor, giving up any hope that the both of us could be together, like a reunited family. Un-completed, without my mom and my siblings, but still a family.

I looked up.

Katy. Daniel. Hazel. Carol. Ms Lena... and Jordan. They are my real family now.

I pounced on the nearest person, which was Carol and hugged her tightly. I then hugged the rest of them, mumbling my thanks into their shoulders.

----

After we had gotten our injections at the private section of the hospital. We had decided to just relax around. After everything we had gone through, I guess we deserve a break.

Everyone was sitting on lounge couches, reminiscing the past, before the days of the Sparkly Disease. I, on the other hand, couldn't relax. I was at one of the windows, lifting a part of the blinds to look outside.

Outside, I could see hundreds of trucks driving off, possibly to distribute the cure to all parts of the world. Workers were loading boxes of the injections into the trucks that had not left yet. It made me wonder how many injections they will have make to to supply the world population.

One scientist told me that many factories were built in every continent (excluding Antarctica, of course) to supply the huge demand.

I went to another window, this time giving me a view to the long queue outside the entrance of the hospital. I tried to find the end of the queue but I couldn't.

I continued watching the queue, which never seemed to be shortening, until I heard the sound of footsteps heading in my direction.

"E- Rose. Your father, a scientist found him. I'm sorry to say this but... he's dead."

I didn't cry at that time. I already did, yesterday night, when I found out he was dead in his mind and could no longer be recovered fully. His body, now just a shell, is nothing.

He was found dead at one of the shrubs at the back of the hospital, where no one would usually go to since there's only a whole bunch of trees there. There wasn't any blood on him, he was just lying there peacefully. There was a note on him.

It said, "I'm not worthy of receiving the antidote, I've done too much harm to mankind. I'm really sorry, Rose. Now that my job of curing the world is completed, I wouldn't need to live any longer. What for?

Even if you tried to save me, your father will never be the same again, for my sanity will never be there. I love you."

I cried, wishing there was a chance to say goodbye to my real father.

----

6 months later...

The Garden Hotel

If you look from the outside, you will see that most of the windows are covered by wooden planks or thick squares of cloth. One would assume that the grand house was abandoned and they would just walk past, paying little attention to it.

If you were to look closely at one of the jasmine bushes at the front of the hotel, you would see a battered-up wooden sign that had the words "Bob's Inn" painted on it, half buried in the soil.

On the inside, however, the place was bustling with activity.

Not today though. Today, everyone was gathered around the television in the lobby, watching special coverage of "The Sparkly Disease".

"Merk Raybans, Head Scientist of the Cage Institution, and also one of the scientists who discovered the cure, said in an interview that "The Sparkly Disease" was created due to the mishandling of chemicals, accidentally causing Jordan Maron, the main host, to infect others with a virus that wiped out 1/6 of the world's population."

"Merk Raybans also said that "Jordan Maron should not be blamed as he is an innocent man who just happened to be very unlucky." He hopes that people would forgive him."

"We forgive you Jordan, but it will be quite a while before you can see daylight again. Society can be rather unforgiving," Ms Lena sighed.

"Merk Raybans's entire family, including him, succumbed to the disease, with the exception of his daughter, Rose. Her whereabouts are currently unknown.

Everyone's eyes left the screen for a moment to look at me. My eyes were still glued to the screen.

Pictures of my family were shown on the screen. One was a family portrait at the gates of The Garden Hotel. Then there was a photo of me, in a white dress, in a field of dandelions.

"Due to the virus, part of Merk's brain has rotted, which caused him to suffer from Dissociative Identity disorder, also known as multiple personality disorder. He died due to consuming a lethal pill, according to the coroner's report."

The narrator then started talking about the impact it had on the economy and other things we were half-interested in.

When the programmed finished, we switched off the TV.

"How long do you think we have to wait before Jordan can go out without having to wear a disguise?" Daniel asked.

"I don't know. We'll just see how it goes," Jordan replied.

"Wherever the wind takes us, we will follow it."

1066 words
AN: DONE. FINALLY. AFTER 2 YEARS. THANK YOU ALL.
Sorry for neglecting you guys, it's just that I'm kinda busy and overwhelmed at the moment with O'Levels and all. Yeah. I know how horrible it must feel to wait for months just to read a chapter.
Note: There may be extra chapters hoho stay tuned.