The Plague Doctor [RATED R] ✓

(58) Choices

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"IN THE NAME OF the father, the son, and the holy spirit. Amen," father Laurence prays before closing the bible that he was holding. He turned around to look at the people standing behind him, but he stopped and stared at a man who was staring at dirt being dumped inside the hole where a dead body could be found.

     Krimson, who had his face blank the entire time, has said nothing since the death of patient 01: Wednesday.

     Wednesday died last week, and they were only able to bury her today because Krimson wasn't letting them touch her. But after a couple of days, when they finally took her, Marcelino and the others were surprised to see that Wednesday looked better. Compared to the other patients who have died, Wednesday looked the most alive. It was unsettling and sad at the same time, but they could say anything about it because they were afraid that Krimson would start throwing a fit again and start biting people like a madman.

     Everyone waited as the hole was completely covered. When the nurses all went back to the manor, Laurence grabbed the wooden cross on the floor and stabbed it into the soil. Afterward, he stepped back and joined Marcelino, Adeline, Giovanni, and Krimson, staring at the number of graves that were now in front of them.

     "That was the last patient," Marcelino says in a soft tone. There was something about the way he said it that felt regretful. Despite not showing it, Marcelino felt something about those patients. Whether it was sadness or pity, having them buried six feet deep altered something inside him that would never be the same again.

     "It's over. This was the last one," Laurence then adds.

     Adeline, who has been holding onto an oil lamp, looks up at the sky and stares at the moon before letting a tear fall. Wednesday reminded Adeline of her mother, Valentina. Valentina was a beautiful woman but was eventually destroyed by his own father.

     Adeline was the sick product of that destruction, and when she was about nine years old, his grandfather started molesting her too. If Dr. Giovanni didn't find her, if he didn't take her away and brought her here, would she be the one buried six feet underneath now?

     "I'm sorry," Adeline suddenly whispers, making Marcelino and the others turn their heads to her.

     Adeline looks away from the moon and looks at the men standing beside her. As the tears stream down her face, she tells them, "I'm sorry...for being born."

     The moment Adeline says those words, Marcelino grabs the little girl and gives her a tight embrace. The anger he had for her had disappeared in an instant. Marcelino was reminded that Adeline was just a little girl who had experienced things too early. She experienced things that a child shouldn't have experienced at all.

     "It's okay," Marcelino comforts, holding onto Adeline as she starts sobbing loudly.

     Laurence takes a deep breath and reaches out to pat Adeline's head. "You're still a little brat, but you're just a kid. We're not cruel enough to hate on a kid, so stop crying," Laurence then says.

     While the three of them were making amends with each other, Krimson continued to stare at the graves in front of him. These graves contained people they interacted with. They were people who committed crimes that were born from hatred and anger. They were people just like them, but there they were now, in a completely different position than Krimson and the others were in.

    "Come with me, Dr. Giovanni," Krimson suddenly says, finally making Adeline and the others stop to look at them.

     Giovanni, who has been quiet since earlier, doesn't say anything and just nods his head. But before he could even follow Krimson, Adeline suddenly grabbed his hand to stop him.