Miror Terram

Chapter 4

It seems like I haven't updated in forever, but it's only been 6 days. Life has been crazy with exams and dance and trips. Here's chapter 4! It's quite short compared to the others. 

-Lena

Chapter 4

Alex beckoned Alyssa through the door once more. Seriously. Every time they went through a door she waited for his nod. It didn't make any sense whatsoever. He directed her to Maddox's cottage. Drawing closer, he could hear the rowdy noises of his incessant parties. Some people went quiet and vegetative when it came to the disease. It had worked the opposite on Maddox. He pushed the gate open and headed to the backyard. From his vantage point, he could see Maddox standing on the table and yelling, March throwing teacups around and Doralyn sleeping on the table. He walked towards the trio, followed closely by Alyssa. Doralyn was the first one that noticed them. She sat straight up and yelled,

"Move over! Move over! There were six in the bed and th..." she trailed off and slumped once more to the grimy tablecloth. Maddox's head flew to the trio.

"Alex! Alex! Come have some more tea!" He jumped off the table and rushed to Alex.

"Hey! Good to see you, mate." He clapped the tall man on his shoulder, then walked with him to the table. Alex gently sat Chessie on one of the cleaner chairs next to Doralyn. Poor gal Doralyn. She was sleeping 24/7, yet she still suffered as much as the rest of them. "Here." He passed Maddox one of the cakes soaked in Remedium, who scarfed it down immediately. Alyssa stood awkwardly beside the table.

"It's 0600 hours? What's the time zone here?"

"It's always 6 o'clock!" March found that this was the perfect time to interject. Alex looked at the table. The digital clock inset into the table was always at 6. A few years ago, Maddox had stomped on it yelling something about tyranny and how the government was brainwashing them. Since then, Alex had always made sure that he had one of the doses set aside for him.

Maddox sat up straight.

"Thanks, Alex. I don't know what I'd do without you. Now, I assume you want something? Tea, or cake or a good, old party? Can't help you with the last one until this wears off, but I can try."

"I'm going to have to pass to all three of those. This is Alyssa. Chessie says she's the one." Maddox's eyes bugged out.

"Seriously? The one? She's going to save us all? Well, I suppose you'll be wanting to go to the queen then." He turned triumphantly to Alyssa , who was staring at Doralyn. "Alyssa?" She ignored him, "What stage is she in?" He whispered that last part to Alex.

"I know her. That's.. That's my sister Lorna."

"Lorna? No, that's Doralyn. Chessie's biological mother. She suffers from narcolepsy." Alex explained.

"I'm telling you that's Lorna. She's identical."

"Well, leave the identical sister alone. Pay attention to saving us! I don't really care about you personally, but if you can save me from the darkness, then you're useful." Alyssa looked shocked at Maddox's words. "Now if Chessie said that I need to send you to the queen, then you can bet that's what I'm going to do. Listen carefully. I'm going to send you through the locus to the royal garden. The queen is holding a croquet game today, where she will undoubtedly start ordering executions. 

"The Jack from Crystallini will be coming to play to show 'good will'. They are going to be bringing enough Remedium, the meds we need, for the country. They will offer a trade with the Queen to resolve our madness in return for control of our kingdom. She'll say no, probably order her execution and they'll have reason to declare war. We need to stop her from doing this and get the cure. You're going to... I don't know. What is she doing to save Cordibus?" Maddox turned to Alex as Doralyn snored in the background.

"To be honest, I don't really know. Chessie never specified anything, and her past prophecies have just come true on their own without planning. If she ends up showing up there and following her instincts, that should be enough. Do you understand?" he responded, focusing on Alyssa.

"Yeah? I'll head there and play croquet. Maybe I'll end up doing something impressive and save the world. End of story." As she watched, Maddox took one of the checkered transportation devices out of his tall hat. He knelt down and opened up the door.

"All right. You can go in."

"Aren't you coming? How will I know who's who? Where to go?" Alyssa protested as she walked towards the door. Maddox shrugged. She groaned and walked through the door. Alex followed her in.