The Plague Doctor ©

T h e • C h i l l s

Cori sits on her bed with her back to the wall whilst Kasper looms over her desk. In the meantime, Jason props himself against the bed itself and asks, "What's the answer for question number six?"While looking up at Cori. 

"What's the question about?" She inquisitively asks, not even looking up from her own textbook.

Jason circles the questions he's inquiring about and hands the almost scrunched up sheet of paper to Cori, who then reads it out aloud.

"In the 13th century, I ran rapid. Ending eight-tenths of Europe's population to a grisly and painful end. What am I?"

Cori reads on as more questions pertaining to this one question appear.

"I created painful, puss-filled, black sores on my victims' bodies. Death followed just days later. What are the sores called?"

But the question that stands out the most to Cori is one asking about a mask.

"The doctors wore what shaped masks to protect themselves from my harmful ways. What did it look like? And what was the second use of the mask?"

After the last word rolls from her lips, Cori stands up with cold chills running down her spine, silently walking over to her dresser, as if she was pulled by an invisible line. 

Jason is still intently focused on a social studies question that he doesn't react to the strange behavior Cori was still exhibiting.

 Kasper, on the other hand, fixated his eyes on Cori, watching her movement. In that moment, he felt a sudden pulse of fear gush through his veins.

Cori keeps her eyes targeted on her dresser, like a hawk with a mouse in its sights. Once the dresser's cold, oak wood touches her warm hands, Cori just stands there, staring at it. Her gaze seemingly goes beyond the spectrum of the dresser itself.

"Cor?" Kasper stands up and moves over to Cori, he puts his hand on her shoulder, "Cori? Are you okay?"

The teenager still had her eyes glued onto the dresser with no emotion left in her face at all. Kasper questioned if she was still alive at that point, but, in a split second later, the thought had left him after he noticed that her stance begun to sway back and forth ever so slightly until she was on the verge of falling over. 

Jason, who has yet to pay attention, has now looked up from his studies watching the scene. Yet, the young male is composed and calm.

A cold, eerie chill passes down Kasper's back, "Jas, go get Cori's uncle, now!." The eldest teenager demands.

"Why?" Jason sneers, his face in a taught line, composed of irritation and annoyance.

"Jason! Swallow your damned pride and get her uncle!" Kasper growls to his younger twin, "For all we know, something is seriously wrong with Cori! Get your ass up and get her uncle!"

"Fine," Jason growls, acting as if this is normal, like Cori did this all the time, that there isn't any reason to overreact. Jason storms out of the room, muttering to himself how he doesn't see what the big deal is.

Turning his attention back to the female, Kasper questions again, "Cori, you are okay?" The nervous boy asks, putting his hand back on the girl's shoulder, hoping to snap her back to reality.