Infected

Game Plan

"What now?" You ask as Matt drags you away from the merged Mark. You quickly realize that he's taking you back to the ballroom. "What are you doing?"

Matt pauses. "If they think they've scared us out of our hiding place, they'll think we won't go back," he says, turning to look at you. "Maybe they'll leave it alone. As of right now, it's our only safe space."

Apparently, the other guys had the same idea. As you and Matt re-enter the closed off area, you see Nate and Dan doing the same. Felix enters behind them.

"They're going to be really mad when they find out that they don't have any of us captive anymore, so we have to move fast," Nate says.

"I agree," you put in. The other three nod.

"So, what do we do? How can we stop them?" Felix asks.

"We need a game plan," Nate answers.

"We know they have Signe, but do we know for a fact that they have anyone else?" You question.

"No," Matt answers, quietly. "But it's not a risk I want to take."

"I say, we get Sean and Mark in the same room, and work from there," Dan suggests.

"It's a start," Nate agrees. "But then what? How do we get them to separate from each other?"

There is a thinking silence. Judging by the looks on the guys' faces, they're really trying to figure out what to do. It's kind of interesting, watching them all brainstorm like this. You let your eyes wander, until you're looking at the wall. A few numbers are scribbled across it.

Some kind of code? You wonder. You can't help but feel as if you've seen that number sequence before.

"I just wish we knew their weaknesses," Matt is saying

"If we figure out who's computer we're in, wouldn't that help?" Dan asks, thoughtfully.

"I...I don't know," Nate answers. He seems like he's at a loss now.

Then, something occurs to you. "Sean was really mad when he merged right?"

"He must have been," Felix says. "But he had every right to be. They took his girlfriend, for Pete's sake. I'd kill someone if I found out they had Marzia here."

"Try to control yourself, because there's a high chance that she will be here, if she's not already," you say.

Anger crosses Felix's face, but only for a second. He nods in understanding after a minute.

"Okay, so Sean was about as mad as he could be, and Mark seemed to be really sad, maybe even borderline depressed," you continue. "I think the only way to separate them is by pushing their emotions to the limit...again."

"Are you sure that will work?" Dan asked.

"It might not, but we might as well try," you answer. "At least we'll have a chance."

The guys nod.

"Now we just have to figure out where they are," Nate says. It sounds like he's thinking aloud.

"Should we split up?" Felix asks.

"No." You surprise yourself with the firmness in your voice. "If we split up, it's more likely that someone will overtake us. We have to stay together for now."

Matt nods. "It never fails. Especially in TV shows. Those who split up get attacked."

"There's just one problem," Felix says. "Where do we find them?"

There's another thinking silence. That had been one of the things you hadn't thought of. This castle was huge. Where could they be?

"Maybe we should wander in a group," Dan suggests.

"While staying hidden," Nate puts in. "I guess we'll find them eventually, if we do that."

"Okay," you say. "Let's move."


 
Your heart starts pounding after a couple of minutes. It's as if the reality of the situation is starting to set in. You're wandering through an unknown area, with the possibility that someone is going to find you, and kill you. You're not even armed.

"I'm wondering if we should find some weapons, or at least something to protect ourselves," Dan says. Clearly, he's thinking along the same lines as you.

"I don't think it will do any good," Matt responds. "Unless we can find that anti-virus formula that we used on Void last time."

"I still can't believe that worked," you say, remembering the incident.

"Guys, shush!" Nate tells you. "Otherwise, they'll find us first."

"Would they find us before we heard them?" Felix questions.

"You'd be surprised," you answer. "Especially when it comes to The Host. He's pretty sneaky."

The five of you enter another large room.

"How big is this place?" Felix asks rhetorically.

His voice echos through the room. You look up and see that the ceiling is made of a frosted glass. There is no furniture, other than a few lamps that actually resemble tall fire pits. You look to your left and see that the floor does not reach the wall over there. Instead, there is a huge, deep pit.

You go over to investigate the pit. Some sort of liquid is at the bottom. It looks like some sort of lake. The liquid is glowing green. Every now and then, it bubbles and sizzles.

"What is that stuff?" Nate asks.

"Maybe it's septic fluid?" Matt suggests.

You see a rock on the ground. You bend down and pick it up. Because you're curious as to how the stuff will react, you toss the rock into the pit. It falls for a few seconds, before hitting the liquid. It doesn't splash, but instead sits on top of the liquid before slowly sinking. Steam flies up and it sizzles as it goes down.

"It disintegrated," Dan observes.

Suddenly, you feel the ground shake beneath you, as if something heavy was dropped. You turn around quickly, with the other guys doing the same. You move a few feet away from the ledge when you see who's there.

Dark and Anti stand several yards away. Dark stands calmly, with his hands folded, while Anti glitches. He had been getting better at controlling that, but it seems more difficult now that he's merged with Sean.

"Oh, look Anti," Dark says pleasantly. "They've found us."

"I can see that," Anti glitches again.

"You think they can stop us?" Dark asks his friend.

Anti shakes his head. "Not now. Not when their friends are powerless."