Festival of the Dead

Chapter 3: Guinevere

Guinevere strode down the cobble sidewalk, away from her lab. She knew that she shouldn't have left, but she couldn't focus with Lucan and Euandros bickering behind her. Just the thought of their names made Guinevere fume. She thought that they would have been good partners but all they talked about was magic. Such amateurs, she thought to herself.

Guinevere arrived at her doorstep. She reached into her purse for the keys and unlocked the door. She walked in, feeling strangely empty. She realized that she had not been productive all day. It's all their fault, she thought. Still, she wondered whether walking out of her lab was a smart idea. It seemed like a weak move now. The body was in the lab, where she could not operate on it. But if I don't go back there, I won't get any closer to finding the source of the illness, she thought to herself. While her urge to stay away from the lab was strong, her will to find the illness and potentially save the town overpowered all other instincts. With this change of heart, she was back out the door just as fast as she had came.

She walked back along the dark street, lost in her thoughts. The sky had cleared, which brightened her mood. She could handle Euandros and Lucan if they were still there. She was feeling a little more positive when she neared the lab. She couldn't hear any glass breaking, which meant that they weren't still destroying things. When she reached the door, she took a deep breath before walking in.

It wasn't very different from the way she had left it. The body was on the table, the glass tubes lay shattered on the floor, and there was no Euandros or Lucan in sight. Guinevere was glad that they had left, because now she could work in peace. She grabbed her newly repaired precision knife from off the table and her magnifying glass from off the floor. She wasted no time in resuming her examination.

Hours passed, and Guinevere was no closer to finding an answer. She was tired, hungry, and frustrated. It was around two in the morning at this point. She knew she needed to rest. However, she had a good feeling about staying up and continuing her analysis. If she kept working through the night, she could discover the scientific breakthrough that saves the entire town. If she did stay up, though, she might not be able to work as well due to sleep deprivation. On the other hand, if she went to sleep, she could wake up refreshed the next day and continue her experiment. But if she did that, she would lose precious time that she could be using to find a solution to the largest problem in the town.

CHOICE 3

If Guinevere continues working through the night, turn to Chapter 5

If Guinevere goes to sleep, continue to Chapter 4