Operation Maroon

Eight : What Is It, Then?

》Sarah's POV《

He's asleep.

I sit next to Luke as he rests his head on his mother's arm above the IV in the back of her hand, finally falling asleep after being awake all day with her. Kaiser lays on the other side of her, reaching out and feeling her forehead. He sighs, looking down at his sleeping son before up at me.

"It's been another week and she's still burning up.."

He whispers, his hand falling down to meet hers. He holds it gently, looking over her while she rests.

"I'm unsure if I should be treating this as a human disease."

I grab Luke and pull him back into his chair, his body flopping naturally back into a strange sleeping position. I look back at Kaiser now, copying his whisper.

"What would it be then?"

He pauses, looking down at his wife. His look gets progressively more concerned as each day passes. It's scary to see her so sick.

"I'd have to do some tests to find out exactly what it is, but some are.. Painful to say the least. And that's with top-grade pain relievers."

Oh.

"What do you have to do?"

He seems distressed at the thought.

"Don't.. Worry about it.. I'll do it while we're in private. You can't be there."

I lean back, getting a little defensive.

"Why not?"

He goes quiet, looking down at Amy in forlorn silence.

"It'll be messy."

Oh...

Yeah, I can't be there for that unless I want to have a breakdown.

We both fall silent now. Amy is so pale, even in the dark. She's lost a significant amount of weight since she throws up anything she eats or drinks, and Kaiser was forced to give her intravenous liquids and nutrients. It's to the point where she can't even get up to use the restroom.. She has a catheter in. Essentially, their bedroom has become a hospital room.

God.. Poor Amy...

Kaiser suddenly stands, walking over to the other side to pick up the sleeping child.

"I'll put him to bed. Make sure she's alright."

I nod, watching him take Luke out of their bedroom and down the hall to his. He's a great dad, even though he doesn't think so.

I turn back to Amy, taking Luke's chair to sit closer to her. I watch her chest rise and fall with every struggled breath. He might have to intubate her. Hearing footsteps on the carpeted floor, I turn to expect Kaiser walking in. Ah, It's Kim.

We exchange smiles as she sits next to me, her smile fading as she looks at Amy.

"Does he know what's wrong?"

I shake my head.

"He doesn't think this is a human illness anymore."

She looks at me, quizzical and mildly concerned.

"What is it then?"

I shrug.

"He's not sure yet."

We both face the doorway as another set of footsteps traverse the carpet, Kaiser returning with Luke now in bed.

"You two need to go."

What?

His look brings me to my feet, alarm creeping into me.

"Luke is getting sick as well, you two need to go."

Oh god..

Kim stands up at the news, hurrying out of the room. She definitely doesn't want to get sick if this isn't a human illness, and I quickly follow. Neither do I.

Descending the stairs, I meet Kim at the base where she stares at me with worryful eyes.

"What the hell is happening?!"

She whisper-yells, panic in her voice. I take the lead and head out of Kaiser's house to our residence. I let her walk past me before I close the door and lock it.

"Uh.. Sarah..?"

I walk up to Kim, who stands and stares into the living room. Standing beside her, I notice that she's got her eyes locked on to something.

"Did you see that..?"

I face where she's staring, looking closely.

"No? What is it?"

We jump at sudden rustling from behind the sofa, now terrified. What is that?

"Hello?"

I ask who or whatever is there, trying to sound confident. More rustling, but then a head pops up from over the arm. I glare at the human snake, who looks between us.

"Rozipel! What the hell!"

Kim hisses, getting him to come all the way out and stand sheepishly at the two steps leading upwards to the living room.

"Sorry! I was looking for you guys, but I got a tad bit frightened when you entered and ducked behind the sofa-"

I sigh, both of us meeting him at the top and collectively sitting down in the living room. Kim starts with a question.

"Why were you looking for us?"

He brings his legs up in the chair to cross them, setting his hands in his lap.

"Just nervous.. I didn't want Kaiser to see me like this."

Hm.

"Did you take your medicine?"

The pieces fall into place as he shakes his head at my question. He looks down, ashamed.

"You need to take that Rozipel, quite literally the Doctor's orders."

He just sighs, then nods slowly. He hates taking medicine, but he has to if he wants to get better. Kaiser said that with this, his trauma and deep-seeded anxiety would gradually fade away. It's gotten worse recently, and Doc upped his dose.

"Every time I take them, I'm reminded of how weak I am.."

He mutters sadly.

I feel terrible for him. Abusing James helps him a bit, but what James says usually sends Rozipel into a panic attack.

"You're not weak Roz. If anything, you're strong for taking the medicine to feel better."

Kim's assurance makes him grow the faintest of smiles, and he looks up at her with thankful eyes.

"Thank you, it means a lot."

Poor man.

He takes a breath, then looks down again.

"Did he tell you what he thinks is happening to Amy?"

Kim and I shake our heads, our attention immediate.

"No, did he tell you?"

He shakes his head now.

"No, but I can hear his thoughts,"

He lifts and turns his head to look at us, devastation in his eyes.

"To put it simply, he thinks it's the demon flu."

What is that?

"What's that?"

Kim asks what I was thinking, a pause following. It's worse than the human flu, that's for sure.

He takes another breath before responding grimly.

"Again, in short... It works like human cancer."