Possessed (A MCSM Fanfiction)

Chapter 3 - Filling Gaps

"So, what's wrong?" Olivia asked Lukas as the waitress walked away from their table.

They were sitting outside a small wooden café, each with a tall glass of ice tea. Thanks to heat, most people preferred to sit inside the building, meaning Lukas and Olivia were alone outside.

"First of all, have you noticed any odd new plants growing around?" Lukas asked. "Round shaped, dark purple leaves."

"I've seen quite a few, yes." Olivia said, thoughtfully tapping her fingers against the surface of the table. "I don't know what they are though, but a lot of scientists back at the lab used to meddle with them. They grow a lot easier out there than in town as well, for some reason."

"There's one in our garden, back home." Lukas explained, taking a deep breath. "And Jesse ate one of the fruit it carried."

Olivia raised her eyebrows, her eyes widening. "Oh my, really? Please tell me it didn't end up being poisonous?"

"I'm not sure what it was, but I'm starting to doubt poison is the right word." Lukas said with a sigh. "It's doing something... unusual to her."

He hesitated slightly, looking at Olivia seriously. "You trust me, right?" The young scientist nodded quickly. "Then please don't lock me up in an asylum for what I'm about to tell you next."

Olivia's frown deepened, confusion clouding her face. She nodded for Lukas to go on, anxiously fiddling with her fingers.

"It's like something – or someone – takes over Jesse's mind for short periods of time." Lukas began to explain. "Her eyes get wide, she has this bizarre grin on her face and would say the strangest things. Uh..." he scratched his head, trying to remember the things she said. "Consume the fruit of the mother and know peace. Accept her gifts and all will be well. Something about her eyes being open? I can't remember it all."

"That's... unsettling." Olivia said in a small voice, taking in a deep, shaky breath.

"The first time it happened, Petra had straight up slapped her." Lukas explained. "And it worked, she was back to normal instantly. But on the second time, she proved that she can just come out of it on her own after a while."

"How do you think I can help you with this?" Olivia asked Lukas worriedly, biting the inside of her lip. "I'm as clueless about this as you are."

"Yesterday night, or really early this morning to be exact, it happened." Lukas explained. "Jesse broke out of the house and went running. Petra and I had to really sprint to keep up with her, and followed her all the way out of town. Straight to the crater."

Olivia's eyes widened at his words.

"We of course didn't know what the place there was." Lukas went on, thoughtfully tracing the patterns in the wood on the table as he spoke. "Jesse began talking to some of the plants growing there, nurturing them like they were alive."

"That's really frightening." Olivia said with a shudder. "She really made a beeline straight for the lab?"

"Yeah, and I can't help but wonder if the loose ends are somehow tying up there." Lukas said. "You said you had a bad feeling about the place from the first time you got there. And some incident had it shut down?"

"Yes." Olivia responded. "Everybody there were incredibly secretive. Newer people, like myself, were never allowed down to lower levels of the lab. You should see the security doors you had to go through to go down a level, they required key cards and everything."

Lukas quickly fished a notebook and pen out of his pocket, that he always had on him. Ideas for stories always struck at the most unexpected times, so he had learned to keep something with him to quickly jot his inspiration down in if he needed to. Flipping open the notebook, he wrote down key points of what Olivia was telling him.