“And Peter will accept that, Pascal! He adores Noah!”
Manami lowered her voice and touched Pascal’s face.
“That will be the official reason. And my reason is you. For anything, for everything. Just you. You can’t be away from me for a moment. Because I can’t live without you anymore, Pascal.”
She gently kissed his lips and ran the fingers of both hands through his hair. She smiled, took him by the hand and led him to the door. She opened it and pushed him into the corridor.
“Find a studio, tell them to fix you up and fetch Noah. The two of you discuss what should be done next. Go now, go already…” The smiling and overjoyed Manami shut the door.
Chapter 157
Pascal stopped after several steps. “What’s with you, love?” he thought. “What studio of yours? Alright… I’ll find Noah. He also claims that people believe in me… It seems that my friend Raul was right… Raul, my friend… my friends… Do you resent me for not thinking of you, for being so happy? Forgive me… but I can’t help it, I’m overjoyed!”
Pascal only then realized that the corridor was completely empty and that there wasn’t a sound. He continued down the corridor looking in the rooms, through their open doors. All the rooms were empty.
“What’s this? Where are the patients? Where are the nurses?” he thought to himself. “Did the Grasshopper actually kill himself or…” dread came over Pascal. And then on the television set in one of the rooms he saw the image of the dead Grasshopper. “Yes, he did!” he sighed in relief. “You’re dead!”
“Pascal!” managed to shout a man who was lying in bed with his raised leg and arm in a cast, in one of the rooms that Pascal had just passed by.
“Sir,” Pascal was happy to have found someone. “Where has everyone disappeared?”
“Pascal…” the patient whispered.
“Yes, it’s me. Tell me, please…”
“Everyone rushed out…” the man was coming to. “Outside… to the square…”
“How could the patients…”
“Everyone… however they could… look in the ICU… there must be a nurse there, Mr. President! Our President! We knew that you were alive! We knew!” the patient shouted.
“Yes, I’m alive,” Pascal smiled. “Excuse me, sir, where is the intensive care unit?”
At that moment the nurse that cared for Peter and Eir ran into the corridor.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Alexander, but I had to go down into the square. Here, I’ll go immediately to the Madam and the children…” she ran past Pascal.
“Wait please, nurse…” Pascal grabbed her by the hand and stopped her. “Tell me please, do you know where Noah is?”
“The new mayor?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know. Probably upstairs… in his office. Try there, I’m sure there is someone. They will tell you.”
There was no one in the secretariat or in Seneca’s office. “What should I do now? Manami will be angry if I return immediately. I have to tell her at least that I talked to Noah… I’ll go to the square, like everyone else. I’m sure he’s there.”
Pascal took the elevator down to the magnificent hall of the television station building and walked towards the door. As he passed a group of inspectors, a captain who had noticed him stepped out in front of him.
“Where are you going, Mr. Alexander?” he asked.
“Captain, you sure must know where Mayor Noah is,” said Pascal.
“He’s in the square. But we had to stay here to prevent you from leaving the building.”
“Why?” Pascal was surprised.
“Those were the mayor’s orders. The situation is presently unpredictable. He said that you must return to your room and wait until he comes to you.”
Pascal turned around and ran to the elevator. He chose the floor of the improvised hospital. “This turned out great! You won’t be able to drive me away, my love!”
He came out of the elevator and rushed down the corridor. He opened the door to the hospital room and was surprised to see a nurse sitting next to Peter and Eir, who were still asleep.
“Where is the Madam?” he asked.
“She first told me that she didn’t need me, that she would call me when the children are awake,” said the nurse while getting up. “Then she ran past the nurses’ station, I didn’t even get a good look at her… and when I came into the corridor she just shouted to me ‘Have the gentleman come to our room!” And I was surprised, why should I tell you that if you are here, in your room…”
Pascal turned around and rushed to the elevator.
Chapter 158
“To our room! To our room, my love! And you said only after marriage! After marriage, right? And now you can’t wait even until tonight?! My excited darling! You’re on fire! Do you know what? We’ll make love for hours! For hours! Let the children awake with the nurse. So what? Who knows how long they’ll be drowsy?”
Pascal rushed into the Mayor’s office and saw that the painting had been moved. He called the elevator. “That’s why you sent me away, you little fox! Like, I should address the people. Like, it can’t wait until tomorrow, or the day after. It has to be immediately. So that you could go to our room before me and put on your gold kimono! The gold kimono! My love, my wife, my goddess!”
He rushed into their shelter and was stunned. Manami stood in front of their cover, in their room, wearing the gold kimono.
“My beauty! You’re wonderful! Gorgeous! You’re even prettier than in my dreams!”
Then he looked at her face. He saw that from a small split in the middle of her upper lip, at the top of that small heart that he loved to kiss so much, like the thinnest strand, in silence, without any gurgle, flowed the first trickle of her blood.
He bit down hard on his lower lip and when he felt the taste of blood he rushed towards Manami.
“Don’t Pascal! You can’t! Because of the children!” shouted Manami and ran behind the couch. She stayed there, her back turned towards him.
Pascal was completely stunned. He didn’t say anything. Only tears poured from his eyes.
Chapter 159
None of the numerous mutations of the XZW virus were transferred by airborne droplets. Only by blood. And there was plenty of blood in the case of people infected with any version of the XZW virus.
The first symptom, without any warning, was the sudden appearance of dry cracked skin throughout the patient’s body. This is what created lesions on the skin, which with the occurrence of internal bleeding, transformed the dying into geysers of blood.
This is why people called death caused by the XZW virus — the Bloodbath.
The XZW-851 mutant of the XZW virus was special in one way. The infected person would first develop cracks on their lips, and soon after the ruptured capillaries in their eyes.
Several hours into the process of dying the person infected with the XZW-851 would not feel any pain, only a stream of blood would flow unstoppably from their lips, and it would seem as though the person, aware of their impending death, was crying tears of blood.
Death by the XZW-851 virus was generally no more horrible than death caused by any other mutation of the XZW virus.
Except for the people whose loved one was dying this way. Because it was most terrible to watch someone you love bleed precisely from the eyes and lips. The things that you love most of all to look at and kiss.