The Plague Doctor [RATED R] ✓

(59) The Final Plague

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KRIMSON TAKES THE LAST piece of meat on his plate before grabbing the table napkin to gently wipe his mouth with it. He then lifts his head up and looks at Laurence, Lino, Adeline, and of course, Dr. Giovanni, who were all quietly eating their meal, their expressions almost blank.

     Tonight, they were having their last dinner together. Because in a few hours, they'll be heading to the town square to release the final plague. Everything they've done was for this very moment, so seeing it come to an end has left them all in a state of emptiness.

     "My four horsemen," Giovanni suddenly says, making all of them turn their heads to look at him.

     Giovanni has bloodshot eyes, his skin is starting to change color, and they've also been hearing him cough since this morning. None of the residents in the manor knows anything about what exactly happened to him except for Krimson, and looking at the state he is currently in, it seems like Giovanni hasn't used the cure for himself yet, proving to Krimson that this choice was definitely a hard one.

     If Giovanni were really as selfish as he claims he was, he would have injected that cure into himself the moment he got a hold of it. So Giovanni having hesitations mean that there is still something in him that wishes to make things right. The question now is, how long is Giovanni willing to pretend and deny it?

     "Today is our final meal together," Giovanni announces. "There is not much I can say to you, and I will not shame myself by giving out a half-hearted apology. But what I do want to say is that I have done what needed to be done. So after all this, you may go. I have left special gifts for you all once it's over."

     "So what, you want us to thank you?" Laurence then asks with a mocking tone, making Giovanni chuckle because he, too, finds a 'thank you' quite ridiculous, given their situation.

     "To be fair, we all had one purpose for coming here, and leaving was the main goal. I'm just glad it's over now," Marcelino says before chugging down his wine.

     "And I know that we're here to plague people, but why on earth did you send guns to our room? You think the gas I made isn't gonna work, so we'll just start shooting them?" Krimson sarcastically asks, making Laurence sigh and massage his temple in frustration.

     "Were you not listening to anything we've talked about? We already went over this," Laurence reminded Krimson, and the alter just smiled and shrugged his shoulder, making Laurence and the others sigh.

     The five of them became silent again, but after a while, Giovanni grabbed the table napkin and started coughing. When he placed the napkin back down, everyone was surprised to see blood. Without any sort of explanation, they understood what was happening to the doctor.

     He was dying.

     He was experiencing a slow and painful death.

     Adeline immediately stands from her seat and pours water into Giovanni's glass. Giovanni thanks her and then drinks from it to ease his tightening chest.

     As the silence in the dining room consumed them, Laurence and the others suddenly started hearing loud cheers from a distance. Adeline placed the pitcher of water down and quickly ran to the window to see what was happening. Up in the sky, bright lights flashed, instantly putting an excited smile on Adeline's face.

     "Fireworks," she says, immediately making Krimson run to the window as well, like some sort of little kid.

     Bright flower-like images illuminate the dark sky, making Krimson start laughing. He was laughing not because he was enjoying the display but he was laughing because, in a couple of hours, those cheers and laughter would be changed into agonizing screams. The thought of it simply made him laugh.