From Leo's diary
Silas: Damn, you too?
Silas: Ohi, Orion, wake up! Look at the state of you!
Orion: Hey, that's enough, I woke up, I woke up!
Silas: (angry) So you have been contaminated too!
Orion: Hey, I didn't get intoxicated on purpose, you know?
Silas: How long have you known? The contamination must have happened during the explosion, so several days ago!
Orion:…
Silas: Why didn't you tell me before? I thought that…
But, remembering that I too was still there with them, Silas immediately stopped his rant. However, even if he left many things untold, I could still tell he was very upset by the situation.
That night I phoned Claire, I explained the situation to her and then I decided to stay with my brother. I had no clue he had been contaminated during that accident too, and now I can't help but wonder: is there any risk his health could worsen even more now? And is there any possible cure?
Instinctively I can't help feeling helpless, but I have to remember this is not the moment to give up. The two who knew best those spores were Orion and Silas themselves, so helping them trying to access their lab and equipment seemed the way to go.
First, we needed to get our hands on one of the army electronic keys to access the lower floors of their labs. Apparently, the first place to go to ask for information of this type in town is...
Now as never before, I have the clear impression of being in very bad hands...
Leo: Well, I'm not sure you can really help us... I was just wondering if, by chance, do you know where to find an electronic key to access the laboratories north of here?
Conspiracy Theorist: I shouldn't tell you, but if you give me a reasonable amount of secret information…
Orion: We have some nice documents with top secret written on them and some recordings taken from soldiers, are you interested?
For us all that stuff was absolutely useless, Orion and Silas already knew that information since the day of the accident, but the eyes of that nutcase immediately lit up hearing that proposal.
Conspiracy Theorist: If you put it in these terms... I could have, by pure chance, an electronic key right here.
That guy was getting more disturbing every day, but we had more urgent things to investigate at the moment.
Leo: It was absurdly easy, how did that nutcase get the key?
Orion: That guy might be the biggest mystery in this place...
Silas: The concentration of toxic spores seems to be a bit higher on the other side, it's not a good sign.
Trying to ignore those spores we went downstairs, but were soon blocked again.
Orion: stop there, passing that way you only risk getting intoxicated too. I could...
Silas: Don't even think about it, you would risk getting worse too.
Orion: ...
Leo: Well, at least that other corridor seems clear.
Silas: That's the analytical lab, at least we should be able to understand what's inside those spores, then.
Orion: So we should put together some spores to analyze, um...
Leo: What kind of laboratory is this, by the way?
Orion: There isn't anything to be worrying about, really. But, if I were you, I wouldn't get too close to that, you know?
We soon realised that Orion was right, we needed some more spores to analyse before proceeding. But, once we made our way back to the town square, we quickly realized that during that short time the situation had worsened even further.
Silas: That cloud seems anomalous...
Orion: And those plants also seem to have grown a lot.
At that point Orion and Silas weren't even trying to hide their worries anymore, the situation was rapidly degenerating.
We had to find a solution, and quickly. And, for starting, our priority was to understand more about those toxic spores in the air. It was enough for us to ask a few questions around to learn that all members of the army have been given a spore detector which, according to Orion and Silas, would have been an excellent starting point for finding analyzable material. And this is how I ended up talking to all the soldiers at the local bar, begging them to borrow us one of those detectors.
Leo: We were told you have a lot of those spore detectors, could you lend us one? It might help us to improve the situation a little.
???: (nervous) Ohi civilian, today I'm definitively not in the mood to listen to this...
Orion: Do you want to have a laugh instead? Just bet on who between you and him does the most pushups in one minute! Whoever wins, gets the detector.
Leo: What? I don't think it's the case, I...
???: Why not, it could be fun! But I'm training in the army, and I'm also the best cadet in my group, so don't be mad if you lose!
Five minutes later...
Leo : 49, 50, 51 ... 52 ...
Orion: Time out!
???: Well, that's not too bad...
Orion: You did 4 less, Miss, so give us the detector, c'mon!
???: (disappointed) A bet is a bet...
I got up with my arms still sore. Technically I'm in a better shape than Orion and Silas because I train for staying in the police, but it's not like I'm one of those gym-obsessed guys who spend their days doing pushups...
Silas: Well, thats' impressive…
Orion: I told you, a little brute force can always come in handy.
Leo: (in pain) Rather, where do you want to start looking for those spores?
Silas: I really don't think it's a good idea to kick it, we don't know yet how i...
Silas: ... how it would react. (Resigned) Oh, of course you have kicked it already, fabulous...
Leo: Well, let's see if at least it worked...
But, evidently, shaking one of those plants in the middle of the town wasn't a good idea...
Silas: Hey, Orion, again? Just pull yourself together!
Without losing any second Silas had tried to awaken Orion like last time, but my brother seemed to have learned the trick at that point.
Orion: kshafhashda!
Silas: Ouch! That hurts, you know?
Then, before we could try anything else, Orion had run away to do who knows what. Compared to the other time he seemed to run much faster and it seemed much harder to wake him up. As we feared, his condition was quickly worsening.
If possible, Silas seemed even more upset than I was, the more time passed the more his stress became evident. He sat at the first bench he found with his head bowed, playing with that necklace of his with a brooding expression on his face.
Leo: (worried) You understand better than me what's going on, do you think it is possible to find a cure?
Silas: It's difficult to say before having isolated the responsible molecule. If we also take into account the condition of the laboratory... Bah, don't make me think about it now...
He seemed really exhausted by that situation, but he also knew that if he hadn’t tried to find a solution, no one would.
Silas: (exhausted) Anyway, I think we should try to find him. If the noise is reliable, he's likely to be at the bar next door.
Silas: C'mon Orion, we can't waste so much time!
In the following hour Orion remained relatively quiet, but it took a lot of time before he managed to return back to complete consciousness.
Even in the rest of the city the situation was quickly worsening, attracting many self-proclaimed conspiracy theorists whose number in town was increasing constantly.
Don't they realize this place is getting dangerous? They almost seem to consider all these oddities as a tourist attraction, unthinkable...
-------------------------------------------
After a brief discussion, we had decided to return to the laboratory which, as the centre of spore contamination, was also likely to be the place in town with the highest concentration of spores. At that point it was late at night, we had been busy working on that case for more than fifteen hours.
Silas: (exhausted) Let's just find enough of this crap to make an analysis...
Silas: (yawning) There are a lot of weid chemicals in there, which one could be the toxin? Maybe I should launch a few simulations...
Leo: How long have you been awake for?
Silas: (brusquely) If you didn't notice yet, we have more urgent things to do than sleeping.
As time passed Orion seemed more and more proven by the effect of the spores neurotoxins intoxication, while Silas by the lack of sleep and worry. I also heard them arguing more than once, it doesn't seem a good sign...
Silas:…
Orion: Hey, here you are! Why that frown?
Silas: ...
Silas: (exasperated) are you serious, "Why that frown"? You always say you're so smart, yet you don't get it?
Silas: (angry) Why aren't you even trying to take this seriously?
Orion: ...
Silas: Looking at you it almost seems like a funny adventure, but I can't stand this whole story anymore, okay?
Orion: Silas, I…
Silas: Every time some new mess comes out, it always ends up like this... But this is the last time I get involved in such a situation, be aware of it!
As to underline what he had just said, Silas took off his necklace and left it on the table, shaking his head in exasperation.
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