The Disease

Chapter 8

                                                                                                Ivaria

We were back home, and it was in the middle of the afternoon. Everything was very quiet. I never knew how much more exciting having an extra person around was until now, but I guess it was also because our best friend was gone most likely forever. Florian's words, though, stayed in my head. We can still find him, and heal him. I contemplated those words in my head for a while, until voices from the main room knocked me into reality.

"Get out!" Florian yelled.

"I can help you..." I couldn't tell who the other guy was.

"I said, get out! Those words only have one definition, you know!"

"I want to tell Ivaria that I'm sorry, and that...I want to help you guys find your family and friends. I've heard about the Quarantine Grounds and that you guys have lost people, and..."

"We don't need your help okay. If Ivy sees you here she's going to have a PTSD attack, okay? So please leave."

That's it, I was going out there. I opened the door carefully so no one would notice I was coming, then I walked to the main room.

It was Larad.

I started to shake a little, and flashbacks came rushing into my head, but I held it together.

"Hey Larad," I said calmly. The two boys both turned to look at me. There was an awkward silence for a minute, but Larad finally broke it.

"So, um...Ivaria, I'm really sorry--about everything. I was wrong to take out my anger on you, and I really hope you'll forgive me. I have some stuff to tell you too...if you'll let me." He really did sound like he was sorry, so I believed him.

"Sure, go ahead." I gave him a small smile to encourage him. He looked really upset.

"I...know how to get to the Quarantine Grounds. It's actually not too far, and I can take you there if you want."

"How did you find out this information?" I asked.

"I followed some Medics there, because I thought I would be going there again, since my friend gave me a cure for Tessa."

"Wait, who is this friend?" Florian asked.

"His name is Solus. He works at the Healing Office. I found out he was making cures, so I paid him to make me one for Tessa."

"Can I speak to Florian about this for a bit? You can wait here." I asked. Larad nodded, so me and Florian walked into the kitchen to talk.

"What do you think Ivy?" he asked.

"He seems to be honest enough. I don't think he's lying about anything."

"Me neither, but do you think we can trust him to lead us to that place?"

"I think so, but before we go there, I think we need to get more cures. Why would we go there with only one, when we could go there with enough to cure Zayden, Tessa, and your parents?"

"M--my parents?" Florian stuttered.

"Yeah, we can cure them too." I said happily.

"But...how will we get enough cures to cure all four of them?"

"Well," I drew in a breath, "we already have one. Maybe we can pay Solus to make three more."

"Hmmm," Florian started, "that's a great idea! We can just barge in there with black sunglasses and suits and lean on the wall and lower our voices and be like, 'I heard you make cures here' and..."