So that was it. They were really going to kill him. Rokko had expected a more negative reaction to their discussion, but instead he could only hear laughter.
“Good job, Boy, lead them right to me. It will only make my job easier.”
Rokko felt himself sinking further into depression with everything The Beast Master said. Ahzzya and Korom seemed a little more upbeat than they had even been. But Rokko couldn’t feel even the slightest bit happier knowing that The Beast Master would probably kill his friends, and Rokko was helping him. But what could he do? This was their only hope. If they didn’t at least try, all of humanity would die. He let out a defeated sigh and got to his feet. How would even teach them to shoot? Rokko couldn’t even hold a gun without having an urge to kill everyone. As he started towards the elevator, he felt someone grab his jacket sleeve. He looked behind him to see Edward holding onto his sleeve.
“I want to talk to you in private.” He said.
Rokko just nodded. “Hey Rokko, you coming?” he heard Ahzzya called.
“Nah, you guys go on ahead.”
As soon as they were gone, Rokko turned to Edward. “What do you want?” He asked in a tired voice. He saw Edward scrape his fingers through his buzz cut hair.
“Look, I don’t want you take this the wrong way. But I have a pill that might be able to help with the Zver poison.” Edward said.
“What?” Rokko felt like the floor dropped out beneath him. In an instant it was like everything had disappeared, crumbled around him.
“It’s very experimental but it-” Edward was cut off by a harsh slap. Rokko didn’t even notice he had struck out, but he felt a rage in him which he had never felt before. His heart pounded and his whole body was shaking. For once, the intent to kill came from him.
“Dylan descended into madness and you had the cure this whole time?” Rokko hissed. “What is wrong with you, with all of you? In the basement there are at least a dozen people who have been infected, and you have never used the cure?”
“This isn’t a cure!” Edward snapped. “In a way, it only worsens the effects of the poison. It’s a drug, it deadens the fake signals that are sent out and allows person to think clearly. But it only lasts for a short time, and most all of the pills were used in experiments.”
“So.” Rokko probed, his hand was still raised, he was still trembling. To him, even if it was just temporary relief, it should’ve been used on Dylan. Dylan should’ve been saved. “What do you mean about that whole worsening the effects crap?”
“Rokko, at your current state. You would probably never actually succumb to the poison. True, you would still live in agony. Also you would eventually look completely Zver. But you would probably be able to go without attacking anyone. You are very strong willed, and the amount of poison in your system is probably very low. But if you take this, your mind will, without a doubt, succumb.”
This time Rokko’s knees buckled and he let himself fall to the ground. “You mean. I would never become a Zver. I could stay sane. How? How does this medicine make me weaker? How?”
Edward leaned closer. “Rokko, as you’ve probably already found out, the time it takes for someone to feel the full effects of the poison is different. It’s like a pound being added to weights at varying times. For Dylan it would be like a pound being added to a weight every hour, eventually he would buckle and give up. For you it’s like a weight being added every week. No matter how heavy it gets, as long as you keep exercising, you would get strong enough to handle it. Taking this pill would be like taking a year vacation to go and lay on the couch, while the weight keeps getting heavier and heavier with each passing week. When you come back to it, you won’t even be able to lift the weight of the ground.” Edward took a deep breath. “If you take this pill, when it wears off, you will immediately succumb. But if you don’t, then you will be able to keep a small amount of your mind.” He pulled out a small white pill, which almost seemed hysterically anti climatic. “It’s your choice. I won’t force you to do anything.”
In an instant Rokko’s hand grabbed the pill and he put it into his mouth, swallowing it without any water. He smiled at the astonished look in edward’s eyes. “If I don’t take it, I won’t be able to teach the others how to shoot, I won’t be able to help them. I won’t be able to do anything. At least this way I can speak to them without passing out.”
“But, if you took the pill later, you might’ve had more time.”
“I would’ve wimped out.” Rokko explained. “I know me.”
“What if it wears off before the fight?” Edward asked.
“Then, I’ll have Ahzzya kill me.”
The End
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This is it. Sorry guys. This is the end of the first book. If you guys want, I can post stupid little cartoons of the characters and their pasts
Like OVA episodes in animes and maybe little teasers of the revamped version. But other than that, I'm not continuing this story on CS.
If you guys like my stories, I have one going on right now called
A Time Traveler's Guide to the Past and How to Deal With it.