Against the Clock

Chapter 6 | Invasion

I woke up again, somehow still feeling tired.

Glancing back at my window, I see that the thing that was watching me before is no longer there, although now that I think about it I'm pretty sure I know what it was. I then hear a sigh to the other side of me, and I look to see Time sitting in a chair next to my bed. He seems conflicted about something.

"Time...?" I say, turning my head to face him.

Time looks back at me with surprise, then relief. He gets up from the chair and walks over, now slightly smiling and not seeming to be worrying about what he was thinking about before.

"Hey Sabre." He answers. "How ya feeling?"

"Like I just got kicked in the head."

Time stays silent for a moment, then looks back at me.

"...You gotta stop scaring us like that, bud. I was honestly kinda worried you wouldn't wake up, for a moment there."

I'm able to get myself to sit up, although it takes a bit of effort. "How long was I out?" I ask.

"Little over four hours." Time says. "Apparently, coughing up blood is a new symptom of the virus."

I remember what happened before I passed out in the analysis room. Inadvertently, I start focusing on the sharp pain in my heart again. Time understands what's happening.

"Yeah, the Professor said that would happen." He says. "In fact, he should be coming in again soon to check on you. He's been doing that since your episode earlier, it seems."

As if on cue, Professor Red steps into the room holding a book and quill, and sees me and Time talking to each other. He breathes a sigh of relief, and walks in.

"Told ya." Time says.

"Oh, hey." I say. "We were just talking about you."

"Hey there, Sabre. You doing alright?" Professor Red asks.

"Eh, I've seen my own blood before. I'll live."

The Professor checks in on my health for a while, then holds out the book and quill he was carrying.

"One more thing," He says. "Could you write down any other symptoms you have? M and I are researching past viruses in the library to see if what you're infected with is a mutated strain of something already existing."

I take the book and quill, and nod at the Professor. I write down what else has been happening to me as quickly as I can, however it's still pretty slow due to the tiredness I still feel.

============================================================

- Dizziness

- Heart Pain (Connected to the coughing, maybe)

- Weird Tiredness

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I hand the small list to the Professor, and he looks at it and I immediately see he's already thinking of possibilities to what they could mean for the virus. He then quickly walks out of the room.

"Thank you, this will be very useful to me. Seeya later!" He says.

After the Professor leaves, Time and I stay talking for a while, just like yesterday. Then he has to go back home, and I feel bad that he has to be alone in the house now. Once he leaves, I try to find the energy to at least read some more of the book Happy gave me, but it's in vain. I already feel myself falling asleep again, despite sleeping through most of today. I know this isn't just some normal fatigue like the Professor believes, but I don't really think much more of it at the moment as I sink into the soft bedding.