She stumbled through the park, winding between the trees she stepped out from under the leafy canopy of the trees into the sunlight. The day was bright and the sun burned her eyes. It was still early morning. She was so thirsty. Icarus walked to the drinking fountain which stood next to a bench. She tried to drink the water, but the taste of it made her gag. She was so thirsty, but she couldn't drink anything.
Aurura sneaked through the halls of her dorm. She was supposed to be in class right now, but she didn't feel like history today, in fact, she usually didn't feel like it.
She was a minty green sprite with stringy light purple hair and, like all the cadets at the Academy, she wore the Guardian uniform. Aurura walked on her toes as quietly as she could. When she saw two Guardians walking towards her, she quickly ducked away in a maintenance closet. When she was sure they had gone, she peered around the door. All clear. She continued on her mission.
Icarus, walked past the people, barely staying on her feet. If only there was something she could do to make it stop.
When she looked at the other sprites and binomes in the park and saw them drinking energy shakes, cold drinks - anything - she felt sick to her stomach.
She wanted to go to the medical centre, but she couldn't turn around. She was going somewhere and she didn't know where that was.
All she wanted to do was turn around.
NO.
She had to keep going.
Aurura knocked on her friend's door. Icarus was a senior so she had a room to herself. Unlike Aurura she didn't have any classes this early in the morning. At least not today.
"Icarus, open up," she whispered as loudly as she could. "It's me, Aurura."
As if she wouldn't recognize my voice, she thought. She knocked again.
"Come on, open up," she said impatiently, "I know you're in there, so you might as well come out."
When she knocked again the door opened slightly. It wasn't locked.
Aurura carefully walked inside and looked around. What she saw shocked her.
Icarus had reached the limits of the park which edged on the energy sea. There was a railing which protected sprites from the drop to the sea below.
She looked down. It was at least fifty feet, and if the fall didn't kill you, the cliffs and the waves would.
She got up onto the railing and stood, perched precariously on its narrow surface.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" a voice called from behind her. "Get off of there!"
But she couldn't react.
She stood entranced, staring at the waves... then she launched herself into space and she fell.
Aurura walked through Icarus's room. It was so messy. Her books were strewn over the floor. Her bed wasn't made. A used energy shake container lay on the floor, its contents spilled over a notepad.
If it had been her own room she wouldn't have batted an eyelid, but Icarus was almost a perfectionist.
Near the table's leg she found a picture in a frame. She picked it up. In it was Aurura, Icarus and Icarus's twin brother Rho.
She studied the picture for a nano. Icarus had grey skin and black hair and her eyes were almost the same colour as Aurura's skin.
Icarus's brother looked the same, except his hair was blue with an almost luminous quality. She remembered the sojourn she had at Icarus's home. When she met Rho she immediately fell in love with him. Well, she was infatuated, after all he was exceptionally handsome, but he had a girlfriend who spent most her time glaring at Aurura.
Aurura snapped out of her daze and looked around Icarus's room again.
Something must have happened to her?
She left the room...
Aurura walked across the plain towards Campus Security, she was going to report Icarus missing. She had to find out what happened to her friend.
"Aurura! Wait up!"
She turned around when she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"Cal!"
A blue skinned sprite with spider white hair ran to catch up with her.
"Aurura, why weren't you in class today? The teacher saw you weren't there. If you miss one more class you'll fail history, he'll make sure of tha-"
"Cal, Icarus is missing." She couldn't wait any longer and just interrupted him.
His face took on a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, she wasn't in her room, it was all turned over, her stuff was all over the floor."
"And immediately you assume she's missing, maybe she just went out somewhere."
"You know how she is. She would never leave her room with her stuff all over the floor. I'm telling you something's happened."
"Did you ask any of her friends where she could be?"
"Yeah, last time anyone saw her was when she went to her room to study."
"Have you told campus security?"
"No, I'm on my way there now."
"Hey, Cal, Aurura!" A rust brown sprite with reddish-orange hair came running up to them. It was Roux. He was in class with Icarus. "Have you guys heard what happened at the park this morning?" he asked when he reached them.
"No, what?" Aurura was really impatient.
"Someone jumped into the energy sea."
"What!?"
"Someone jumped off the railing. There were several witnesses."
"Oh my user..." Aurura breathed. "Cal, you don't think..." she let her sentence trail off.
"No. NO! She would never do that, come on, we have to get to CS (Campus Security)."
Roux was completely confused. "What are you guys talking about? What's going on?" He said as he trotted after them.
"Icarus is missing." Aurura answered. "She wasn't in her room this morning and the place was all messed up."
"And you think she's the jumper?"
"I don't know, we'll just have to find her."
By now the entire Guardian Academy had heard the news. Someone had committed suicide by jumping from the railing next to the energy sea. Everyone was shocked. Nothing like this had ever happened before.
The identity of the sprite had not yet been determined and her body wasn't recovered.
Aurura, Cal and Roux had made their way to the Campus Security and reported Icarus missing. Usually CS would need more proof before they'd consider someone missing, but considering the current circumstances they immediately started looking for her.
By the evening they had received no word. Icarus had not been found nor did she return on her own. Aurura walked through her room with teary eyes, she had started losing hope. If Icarus hadn't been the jumper and was just off somewhere she would have let them know where she was by now. She walked about the room and picked up the books, replacing them on the shelves.
She found the picture of herself with Icarus and her brother again.
Rho, she thought, had they told him?
Rho would be back in his home system, completely unaware of what had happened to his sister.
Aurura buried her face in her hands. Where was her friend? What had happened to her? Was she dead?
Cal came into the room.
"Aurura, are you alright?"
She looked up at him. He stepped closer and took her in his arms, comforting her.
"It's going to be ok. I'm sure Icarus is ok."
He escorted Aurura back to her room where her roommate took care of her. He wasn't really supposed to be in the girls' dorm so he quickly left when he was sure she'd be ok.
The truth was that Cal doubted his own statement. He wasn't sure that Icarus was or would be ok. He was so afraid that she was the sprite who had jumped. But why? He kept asking himself. There was no reason. No reason at all.
Cal was in class with Aurura, Icarus and Roux were both a year older and they in turn were in the same classes.
The four of them had become close friends and Aurura had even gone to Icarus's home system with her. Cal had met her brother, Rho, he was a nice guy. Unlike Icarus he wasn't a Guardian, but he owned and ran several businesses in their home system.
"Where are you Icarus?" he said to the night as he walked back to his dorm.
In a dark gloomy tower, in a forgotten part of the city a sprite woke up, slowly, painfully. Her entire body ached. She sat up torpidly, resting on her elbows. She was lying on a cold stone floor and it was cool inside the building. Through the stained glass of the windows she could see that it was dark outside. Slowly she got up, her body slowly became less stiff as she moved around.
She wandered to an opening in the wall. It was shaped like an arch.
She peered outside, the night air was cool and she inhaled deeply. She was so thirsty, but now she knew what she wanted.
Icarus stepped off the ledge and took flight.
Cal turned over in his bed for what seemed like the zillionth time. He couldn't sleep. He was upset, he was worried. Not only about Icarus, but about Aurura. Icarus was her best friend and she was taking it all pretty hard.
That's it, I can't sleep. He thought and got out of bed and put on his clothes. As he was heading out the door his roommate called. "Cal, is that you?"
"Yes, I can't sleep. I'm going for a walk, be back in a bit."
"OK."
He shut the door behind him and heard his roommate snoring, already back to sleep. He headed for the park.
Icarus sat perched high up in a tree. She was waiting. Soon someone would pass and she would be able to quench this all consuming thirst.
Her thoughts were abruptly disengaged when she heard footsteps from beneath the trees.
She silently descended from her leafy refuge and landed gracefully on the lawn. She could see a male sprite heading towards her. She hid behind a tree. When he passed her by, she grabbed him from behind and her fangs sank into his neck. Her eyes flared red as he screamed and struggled to be free, but he didn't resist for long.
Cal whipped around when he heard the scream. He ran as fast as he could towards the location of the sound. In the dark he could make out the form of a female sprite standing next to something, she looked familiar. He stopped dead in his tracks.
"Icarus?"
The sprite turned and stared at him, her eyes glowing bright red.
"Icarus!"
The glow in her eyes dimmed slightly, but only for a nano.
"Cal." He could hear her voice, but it was broken and wavering.
His attention was drawn away from her when he heard the form on the ground moan. She looked at him one last time, her eyes flaring red she snarled at him and then took off.
He stared in amazement as he saw his friend disappear into the night.
Another moan from the sprite on the ground reminded him of where he was. He quickly stepped closer and kneeled next to the fallen sprite.
He rolled him onto his back. He couldn't see properly in the dark.
"Stay still," he said, "I'll go get help."
Cal stood in a hospital corridor, he was told to wait until he could be questioned. He was so confused. He wasn't sure he would be of much help to anyone right now.
Was it Icarus? Could it be? No. Her eyes. They were red. Could it have been Icarus? Was she infected? But how? Where was she now?
"Are you Cal?"
His thoughts were interrupted when two Guardians came up to him. The one was a tall, aquamarine male sprite with jet black hair. His partner was a silvery female sprite with reddish pink hair. She didn't look as if she could pose any threat, but her metallic blue eyes told him that she meant business.
"Yes, that's me."
"You were witness to the events which took place in the park earlier?"
"Yes."
"Come with us please."
The two detectives escorted Cal out of the hospital and to Principal Office.
Cal sat at a table in a small room. He felt like a criminal, being questioned like this. He had been left alone for now with his coffee. He felt so tired. He hadn't slept at all and he looked the part. By now he knew that the male sprite's name was Sigma and the female was Silika.
They hadn't actually questioned him, but his statement was taken earlier by another sprite.
The door opened and Silika came in, holding a file containing his statement in her left hand. She sat down across from him.
"What's going on?" he asked her.
"That's what we'd like to know. Cal, I need you to think hard about what you saw last night and tell me again; What happened?"
He sighed. He was so tired, all he wanted to do was get into his bed and sleep for a week. But he recounted the events as accurately as he could.
"...and then she took off. I had to tend to the other sprite, so I didn't see where she went."
"When you say she took off, what do you mean?"
"I mean she took off. Her feet left the ground and she flew away, and I don't mind telling you that it really freaked me out."
"And her eyes?"
"They glowed red... and she had fangs."
"Yes, that would concur with the wounds the sprite had."
"Is he ok?"
Silika looked up from the notes she had made in the folder. "Yes. He's still in the hospital he lost a lot of energy when he was attacked."
"How exactly was he attacked?"
"I'm afraid that's classified information for now." She got up. "Cal, we're going to let you go now. Please try to keep this as quiet as possible, we don't want people to be scared unnecessarily."
He got up as well. "What do you mean?"
"Well, this can easily be taken out of context and we don't want what happened last night to turn into a bunch of wild rumours, so it would be better if you didn't talk about it."
Silika guided him out of the Principal Office.
"Get some rest, you look like you need it." she said.
He nodded and gave her half a smile before he left on his zipboard.
Sigma came up behind Silika.
"He sticks to his story." she told him.
"Hmm."
"Any word from the hospital?"
"Yeah. The kid's still out of it. He's alive, but they can't revive him."
"And the others?"
"A total of three sprites had been attacked and they're all showing the same symptoms and they all have the same wounds."
"Do we know what happened to them?"
"Not exactly, not yet anyway. Come on, we have to get to work."
When Cal got back to his dorm he headed straight for his room. It was already becoming light outside, but he didn't care, he was going to get into bed and try to forget what he'd seen.
He sauntered into his room and flopped onto the bed. He didn't even change his clothes and was just drifting into sleep when someone shook him by the shoulder.
"Cal, where were you I was worried sick. Well, I was when I woke up and you weren't here," his roommate said, shaking him awake.
"Leave me alone, I'm tired, I wanna sleep."
"I would but that Aurura girl is outside. She told me to get you."
"Oh man." He sighed as he tediously dragged himself out of bed.
Cal stumbled out of his dorm and found Aurura waiting for him outside.
"What's up?," he asked her.
"I got a message from Rho this morning."
He gave her a questioning look.
"Icarus's brother! He said they'd told him that Icarus was missing. He's on his way over here."
"He's coming all the way to the SuperComputer?" Cal asked wide-eyed, Icarus's home system was quite a way from them.
"Uhu." She looked at him. "Are you ok? you look like you need a rest."
"I do. I was up all night last night."
"What happened?"
He looked around and taking her by the arm he started walking along the path.
"Last night when I couldn't sleep I went for a walk in the park. I saw someone being attacked."
"What?" Aurura stopped dead in her tracks.
"Well, I didn't really see someone being attacked, but I saw the attacker fleeing the scene of the crime and..."
"What? What is it Cal?"
"I think it was Icarus."
"What? No, that's not possible. Icarus would never hurt anyone."
"I know, but I think she may be infected." He spoke quietly.
"Why? How?"
"Her eyes, they were glowing red and she snarled at me, as for How, I don't have a clue."
"She didn't recognize you?"
"She said my name, but she sounded so far away." Aurura opened her mouth to say something, but Cal interrupted her. "Before you ask me if I'm sure - I am. It was her."
Sigma and Silika traveled down the halls of the PO to Turbo's office. The Prime Guardian had sent for them.
When they entered, the sea-green sprite greeted them and told them to sit down.
"OK, so what do yha have for me?"
"Well sir, so far three sprites have been attacked." Silika began. "Also we have a possible ID for that girl who jumped into the energy sea. We think she may have something to do with the attacks."
"Who was she?"
Sigma took over. "Her body wasn't recovered, but the description the witnesses gave us matches this girl." he said as he handed Turbo a picture of Icarus. "She was reported missing shortly after the incident."
Turbo studied the picture. He remembered seeing the girl at the Academy.
"If she's the one who jumped, how could she be involved in the attacks in the park?"
Sigma told him what they had found so far. "All three sprites were attacked by the same entity. We got a description of the attacker from a witness, one of the trainees at the academy. It matches the description of the girl to a T."
"That still does not answer mha question: How could she be involved?"
Sigma looked at Silika who said, "We haven't figured that out yet."
Somewhere in a remote system a virus sat in front of her looking glass. Her body was deep blue and her armour black with wisps of silver covering it in intricate patterns, her face was paler than the rest of her body and her evil smile revealed her silver fangs. Her eyes flared bright red with delight.
"Yes. Oh, this is so perfect. It will be so easy. The ignorant fools will not know what hit them."
She was no supervirus, but she intended to go straight for the big prize. This dingy little system which she currently occupied bored her to tears. She walked away from the looking glass, a black cloak with a silver insignia covering the centre, followed her like a shadow.
For now her plan was working, she had already infected one sprite who would soon spread the infection to others. But just to be sure she would infect another one, soon.
In the late afternoon Rho stepped off the transport. The journey to the SuperComputer had been uneventful, and he was grateful for that.
He looked around until he saw a familiar face. Aurura was waiting for him at one of the gates. She waved to get his attention. When he reached her, he gave her a hug. "How've you been?" she asked when he let her go.
"Great, until now at least."
She took him by the arm and they left. Rho was told to go to the Principal Office as soon as he arrived. He decided to go on his own and Aurura left him at the door.
Rho was guided inside and a silvery female sprite came up to him.
"Is your name Rho?" she asked.
"Yes."
"My name is Silika, please come with me."
She guided him into her office. There were two consoles, but there was no one else there. She motioned for him to sit down in an extra chair and while he did so she took place at her workstation.
"I guess you haven't found my sister yet?"
"No." She seemed to be troubled. "Rho, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we think your sister is dead."
He was so shocked, he opened his mouth, but he couldn't say anything.
"A second ago, a sprite was seen jumping into the energy sea. She matches your sister's description. I really am sorry."
"And her body?" He could hear himself talking, but it sounded as though he wasn't in the same room as his voice.
"We have little hope of recovering it. If there's anything I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask." she got up and he did the same.
He was silent as she lead him back out of the PO. Once he had departed Silika headed back to her office. Sigma met her in the corridor.
"How did he take it?"
"Not good, not bad. You know sometimes I really hate my job."
"I know." he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go." He said and with that they headed back to their office to continue their investigation.
In the hospital the male sprite who had been attacked lay in his bed. Outside night was falling and from the window on the seventh story of the medical complex you could see the day-shift nurses returning home.
The doctors had little hope that he would wake up again. He suffered from shock and had lost a lot of energy when he was attacked.
Suddenly his eyes snapped open. His entire body ached. Slowly he sat up in the bed and got out.
Walking to the window he pulled the IV needle from his arm.
He tried the window, it was open and he climbed onto the window sill.
The night air was fresh and crisp... and he was thirsty.
His feet left the sill and he disappeared into the night.
In the dark refuge of her tower Icarus too, awoke for nightfall and a new opportunity to quench her thirst.
Rho walked through the park towards Aurura where she stood staring at the energy sea. He had been to the Principal Office and they had decided to meet here afterwards.
"Aurura."
She turned around and when she saw his sad green eyes she almost cried, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and asked. "What did they tell you?"
He leaned on the railing next her.
"They told me not to get my hopes up. That there was little hope that they would even find her body."
Aurura didn't know what to say.
"You know it's strange, two seconds ago I had a sister who was training to become a Guardian. A second ago she was missing and now... now they're telling me she's gone."
"Rho, I'm so sorry..." she chocked on her tears.
He got up from where he was leaning on the railing and held her in his arms while she cried. Even though he was comforting her, it made him feel better as well.
Sigma, come have a look at this."
Sigma and Silika were working on their case. So far they hadn't found any evidence of something like this happening in the recent past or at all for that matter.
"What is it?" he said, leaning over her shoulder.
"I found this old readme file. It has documentation of something similar."
"Silika, that thing is practically ancient. Where did you find it?"
"In the archives, but look at these images. It shows the exact same type of wound on the victims' necks and also the symptoms of loss of consciousness due to sudden energy drainage."
"Any answers as to what causes this?"
"Yes, and you're not going to like it." She looked up at him. "It's a vampire."
Roux and Cal decided to go looking for Aurura. Roux had been in class all day and Cal hadn't seen her since she went to meet Rho.
They'd been almost everywhere, except the park and that was where they were now.
In the darkness above, a shadowy figure sat in the trees, waiting. Soon her prey would be within striking distance.
"Vampires!?"
"Come on Sigma, it's the only worthwhile explanation we've found."
"Worthwhile? Do you know what would happen if we took this to Turbo? We'd be laughed out of the Principal Office." "I'm serious." "So am I! Vampires are just folklore, there's no such thing." "Right now this is our best bet." He sighed and walked back to his own console. Silika spun around in her chair to face him. "Sigma, if this thing is right then we have a big problem on our hands. This thing won't stop until it's destroyed." "But it doesn't exist."
"Come on, you have to admit that the similarities are impossible to dismiss."
"I guess so, but this doesn't mean that we can stop looking."
"OK, but I still think we've found our answer."
A vidwindow popped up and a yellow sprite with a medical uniform addressed them.
"Are you Silika and Sigma?"
"Yes," Sigma said. Silika was downloading her file.
"One of the sprites who were attacked in the park has disappeared from his room."
"What about the other two?"
"They are still in their rooms."
"We're on our way," he said as he disabled the vidwindow. "Come on Silika, we have to go."
They left for the hospital.
Aurura calmed down and Rho let her go.
"I'm sorry." she said.
"It doesn't matter, I understand how you feel."
"Yes, good thing your girlfriend isn't around or she would've been giving me the evil eye."
"What girlfriend? What evil eye?"
"Ami Pro, the girl you were going out with when I visited Icarus. Every time she looked at me I felt as if she was wishing me a fate worse than deletion."
"Oh her. She dumped me." She looked at him puzzled.
"Why don't I take you back to your dorm?"
Aurura nodded.
A violet skinned sprite stumbled through the streets. The night was crisp and the cool darkness of the evening soothed his burning eyes. He was alone in his room when it happened. A glowing ball had appeared in front of him. It looked almost like a tiny portal and he reached out to touch it. It was the biggest mistake he had ever made.
As he touched it he was enveloped in a bright green light. He woke up moments later... and he was thirsty, so very thirsty.
"Yes, yes, it's working. Soon they will spread the infection to others and before they realize what's going on I will have gained complete control."
The hollow chamber of the virus's lair echoed with her laughter.
Icarus sat among the leaves. She saw two sprites passing below. When their backs were turned to her she lunged at the female.
The girl screamed.
Sigma and Silika entered the hospital and were directed to the room where the sprite had disappeared from. The yellow sprite which had spoken to them earlier met them there.
"I'm glad you got here so quickly."
"Why?" Sigma asked.
"One of the other sprites has disappeared too."
"How did this happen?"
"We don't know. When the nurse went in he was gone and the window was open. Just like here," she said motioning towards the curtains billowing in the breeze.
"And the third sprite?," Silika asked.
"He died shortly after I spoke to you. There was nothing we could do, he simply stopped processing."
"Damn," Sigma breathed. "What should we do now?," he asked Silika.
"The only thing we can do; wait."
Cal and Roux ran towards the scream.
"NO!," Aurura screamed as the attacker's fangs sank into her neck. Rho jumped forward and tried to pull them apart, but the viral sprite was too strong and violently pushed him aside. He fell against a tree.As he tried to get up he finally got a good look at the attacker.
"Icarus?" He stared at her in disbelief, he noticed a silver pattern on her temples, it was barely visible on her gray skin.
She pulled her head away from Aurura's neck and stared at him, her eyes glowing red. She released Aurura, who fell to the ground.
"Rho?" her voice was weak and the glow in her eyes started to dim. Then suddenly she clutched her head and screamed. It was the most horrific sound Rho had heard in his entire life.
At that moment Roux and Cal appeared from among the trees. Cal yelled, "Hey!"
Icarus looked up at him. Her eyes blazed red. She bared her fangs and snarled at them. Then, like she had before, she fled into the night.
Sigma and Silika were leaving the medical centre when an ambulance arrived. A sprite was rushed inside. Sigma stopped one of the attendants and asked, "What happened to her?"
"She was attacked in the park," was all he said before rushing off.
"Think we should stick around?", Sigma asked.
"Yes, it'll give me a chance to convince you of my theory."
Sigma rolled his eyes and they went back inside.
"Before you start making your case, I'm just quickly going to vidwindow the guys down there. By now there should be someone at the park."
"OK."
Icarus sat in the cold tower. Her body folded into a small form in the dark. She rocked to and fro. The pain in her body was unbearable, but she couldn't scream. She couldn't call out, because then they'd find her.
Right now there was a storm raging inside her. The viral infection was highly unstable and her own emotions and feelings were at war right now.
Trying to regain control.
Sigma walked back to Silika where she sat in the waiting-room of the hospital.
"Guess who was down at the crime scene? The kid from last night. What was his name again?"
"Cal."
"Yes, he and two other male sprites were there. They called for the ambulance."
"Where are they now?"
"Probably on their way here. Rhom questioned them and he said they were very anxious to get down here."
"Uhu?"
"The girl they brought in a while back was a friend of theirs."
"Any word on our missing patients?"
"Nope, but an APB is out and our people are on the lookout for them. I've told Rhom to clear the park and put out a general warning. Anyone they see out and about is to be sent back to their living-quarters for their own safety."
"Good idea. Now will you listen to my theory?"
"Sure," he said and sat down beside her. The best thing they could do now was wait for word from the other Guardians on the case.
Roux, Cal and Rho arrived at the clinic after being questioned, or grilled as Rho had put it, by the Guardians.
Roux said that they were only doing their jobs, but Rho was unmoved by his comment. The three of them stopped at the front desk. Rho did the talking.
"We're looking for a girl named Aurura. She was brought in here a short while back."
"Just a moment please."
Sigma noticed the threesome from where he sat listening to Silika's hypothesis. He recognized Cal and decided to ask them a few questions himself.
The nurse behind the desk turned back to Rho and told them that they would have to wait, because the doctor was still with Aurura and it would probably be a while before they could see her.
Rho seemed annoyed at having to wait, but didn't make a fuss. Roux and Rho moved toward the waiting room, Cal noticed Sigma coming towards them and stayed behind, waiting for the aquamarine sprite who walked up to him.
"Hello, Cal," Sigma greeted him. He seemed very businesslike. "May I ask why you're here?"
"My friend was attacked in the park." Cal answered.
"Did you get a good look at the assailant?"
"Yes..."
"And?"
"It was the same person, it was Icarus."
"So, you're sure now that it was her?"
"Yes, if you don't mind I'll just be waiting over there." He seemed anxious to get away.
"Fine." Sigma said as he stepped aside to let Cal pass, he retreated to where the others were sitting in the a quiet part of the waiting-room. Actually the whole place was rather quiet, but they sat away from the entrance.
Sigma returned to Silika. "You know," he said, "I think I finally have a theory to counter your vampire with."
"I'm listening."
"The kid, and his friends. What if they were the attackers?"
"Yes?"
"Think about it, the kid was at the first crime scene and now again here. While we detained him, his pals could've attacked the other sprites and they get away with it by blaming it all on a supposedly infected, dead sprite."
"Interesting, but I don't think he's the type. Besides, he's the one who called for the ambulance."
"What, you're still sticking to the vampire theory?"
"Yes, and what about the energy drainage, the bite on the neck, the infection?"
"Ok, so I still have a few holes to plug, but at least my suspects are alive, besides it hasn't been proven that the sprites are actually infected."
Before she could answer him a vidwindow popped up with Rhom, a fellow Guardian, projected in it.
"We have a problem. Two more sprites have been attacked. There were no witnesses, but they're on their way to the hospital."
"Thanks, keep us updated."
"There goes your theory about the kid," Silika mused.
"Your vampire theory still isn't acceptable."
"Would you say it... sucks?," Silika said and laughed quietly while Sigma gave her a look. "I'm sorry," she said, "I couldn't help myself."
A sprite in a medical uniform came out through the corridor and walked to the nurse at the information desk. He spoke with her for a moment and she pointed towards Cal and the others.
When he reached them, they got up. He spoke with them for a while and then left the waiting room with the three of them trailing behind.
Sigma motioned to Silika and they followed.
Before they were allowed inside Cal and the others got a talking to by the doctor.
"She seems to be fine. She's a bit shaken up, but she's not showing any adverse affects. I can't let you stay too long though, she needs to rest and there are detectives waiting to talk to her as well."
They nodded in agreement and sneaked into the room. When they got inside they were surprised to find Aurura sitting up in the bed. She was propped up against some pillows and she had a big bandage around her neck.
"Hey guys." she said, her voice was broken and dry, but she put on a big smile to show them she was ok.
"Are you alright?" Cal asked, worry clearly expressed on his face.
"I'm fine, just a bit of a pain in the neck." There was a short silence because no one really knew what to say, but Aurura spoke. "What happened? I don't really remember what went on after I passed out."
Roux and Cal shifted around uneasily, well aware of the fact that Rho was Icarus's brother. They weren't quite sure what to do, but luckily Rho saved them when he explained to her what had happened.
"She really is still alive?" Aurura gasped, her eyes wide, partly with excitement that her friend hadn't been deleted and partly with dread for what her she had done.
The doctor popped his head around the corner.
"Sorry gentlemen, I have to ask you to leave now."
Cal hugged Aurura and Roux said goodbye and they shuffled out of the room. Rho paused a bit as if considering something. Then he leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek.
"Sleep tight. I'll come pick you up tomorrow."
"Thanks," she whispered and leaned back on the pillow as he left the room.
The trio had hardly left her room when Sigma and Silika came in. Silika still held her readme file and stood close to Aurura's bed while she spoke with her.
"How are you feeling Aurura?"
"Fine."
"My name is Silika and this is my partner, Sigma." She indicated the tall aquamarine sprite next to her.
"I hope you don't mind if we ask you a couple of questions?"
"No, shoot."
"What happened in the park tonight?"
Aurura told them what happened from when she and Rho headed home to when she was grabbed from behind. She had to pause every now and again because her voice faded.
"Did you see who grabbed you?"
"No. I remember Rho trying to pull her off me, but he was pushed away."
"Her? Her who? You said you didn't see who attacked you." Sigma said.
"Cal said it was Icarus."
The doctor stepped into the room again and told the detectives it was time to leave. They complied and exited the room.
"I guess we should head back to the PO." Sigma suggested.
"Yes. We should get to the ME, see what he has on the sprite who died earlier."
"Hmm."
Aurura dozed off, but her sleep was troubled. She kept seeing Icarus, her eyes red and glaring. When she woke up for about the fifth time, she noticed something lying on her bed. It was a readme file. She picked it up and started reading, she didn't want to go back to sleep.
The ME did have news for Sigma and Silika, he summed it up for them.
"The sprite showed definite signs of viral infection. This type of infection causes a hunger for energy. The infected sprite would bite another sprite and suck the energy directly out of his body thereby spreading the infection."
"Through the bite?," Silika enquired.
"Yes. What happens is that after the energy extraction is complete the infection is literally injected into the victim through the fangs."
"Like a snake bite."
"Exactly. If the process was interrupted before the energy extraction was complete there would be no infection."
"Doctor, I downloaded a readme file which has documentation of similar attacks, would you take a look at it?"
"Yes, it'd be a great help."
Silika suddenly realised that she didn't have the file with her anymore. "I've lost it."
"Where?"
"Probably at the hospital. I'll download another copy for you."
"That would be fine."
"Don't worry about it," Sigma said with a smirk. "There's no way anyone is going to take that for the truth."
Aurura put the readme file down beside her. Could the guardians actually believe that her friend was a vampire? But the red eyes, they only attack at night, the bite on the neck. She lifted her hand to touch the bandage around her neck.
Rho lay in his bed thinking about what had happened that day. It was only now that everything around him was quiet that it actually hit him.
Icarus isn't dead. The Guardians were wrong, but why would they tell him she was dead? What was going on? What had happened to his sister?
He was startled when a vidwindow popped up in front of him and he fell out of bed.
"Rho, are you there?"
"Yes... Aurura, is that you? Shouldn't you be asleep?"
"Yes... why are you on the floor? Nevermind, there's something I need to show you. Look," she held up the readme file. "The Guardians left this file behind when they left. It's about vampires," she whispered, "they think Icarus is a vampire!"
"What?"
"Yes, and I think they're going to try and destroy her."
"Why?"
"Because she was the first to be infected. You destroy patient zero and you stop the infection, those who are already infected will automatically return to their normal state."
Rho sat up on his bed, "They can't do that!"
"I'm afraid they can, but there is a way... wait, the nurse is coming. We'll talk tomorrow."
Before he could say anything she disabled the vidwindow.
The virus stalked through her lair, she held a goblet in her one hand and glanced irritably at her looking glass. The sound of her spiked heels echoed through the hollow chamber of her throne room. An infected sprite cowered in the corner, ready to heed to his mistress's demands or to simply be deleted if she felt like it.
She swung around and flung the goblet to the floor.
"No, no, no! This is taking too long!" she screamed. "I must infect more sprites."
She glanced at the sprite in the corner, who bowed when she looked at him.
"Leave!" she commanded and as he hurried out of the room she prepared another glowing sphere.
Sigma, Silika and the Medical Examiner were all gathered in Turbo's office. It was three in the morning, but there was work to be done.
When Turbo arrived the ME repeated his findings and Sigma reluctantly gave him their vampire theory.
Turbo looked up from the readme file, "How sure are you of this?"
"Everything we've found points towards this one explanation and the ME's report corresponds with our findings."
Turbo looked at the ME who nodded. "We've also found that the infection is highly unstable, which means it can be corrupted. This could either save or delete the sprite in question, but my bet would be a slow and painful death."
"Where is this thing coming from?"
Sigma handed him another file, "Our trackers weren't able to pinpoint the exact location, but it's coming from an external source. We should be able to put up a code specific barrier to keep the virus from infecting any other sprites."
"Also," Silika added, "the virus has only infected a few sprites, they spread the infection for it. If we can find the original sprites and get rid of their infection all those which they have infected will be saved."
"Meanin?" Turbo probed.
"Meaning they have to be destroyed."
Silence followed the ME's statement.
"How do we tell who's who?"
"According to this file those who were directly infected by the virus bear its mark." Silika read from the file, "The mark is always visible on the face, but usually around the temples or on the forehead."
"This'll all be taken into consideration." Turbo said as he got up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a report to make."
The ME left the room, but before the others had done the same a vidwindow popped up with Rhom in it.
"Sigma, we have a problem, six more sprites have been attacked in the last half hour." Rhom noticed the Prime Guardian in the background and realised that he must have interrupted them.
"Begging you pardon sir."
"It's all rahgt, continue."
Rhom finished his report. The attacks in the park had ceased because the area had been cleared, but now sprites were being attacked all over the city.
Turbo looked very disturbed at hearing this. "The Guardian Collective will have to take this under advisement, for now you should clear the streets and be on the lookout for anything suspicious."
The vidwindow was disabled. All three of them left Turbo's office.
Roux woke up when a white light shone in his eyes.
"What the-?"
"Roux, are you awake?" Cal whispered.
"I am now. What are you doing?"
"Get up, there's something strange going on."
Turbo came out of the meeting room with a grave expression on his face. Sigma and Silika were waiting for him. They looked at him, expecting orders, all he said was:
"You have clearance... shoot to kill."
Roux and Cal stalked through the corridors of their dorm. Cal in front and Roux following close behind.
"Where are we going?" Roux asked impatiently.
"Shhh!" Cal suddenly stopped and Roux bumped into him from behind.
"Why did you stop?"
"Look." Cal pointed at several sprites who were coming from the other direction. The sprites stumbled past them, apparently not seeing either of them. One of the sprites looked up, his eyes were glowing red.
The night faded away as the day started. For now the Guardians could do nothing, their prey had retreated for the day and they would have to wait until nightfall to make their move.
Cal and Roux had left their dorm and headed to where Rho was staying. From there they tipped off the Guardians as to what had happened at their dorm. Unfortunately by the time they got there it was too late.
Rho and the others got ready to meet Aurura at the hospital. On the way there Rho informed them of what Aurura had found out. They were both shocked and intrigued at this.
When they arrived at Aurura's room they found her arguing with a nurse.
"You can't be serious, this isn't food, this isn't even a joke."
"Like it or not it's your breakfast."
"I don't have to eat it."
"Yes, you do."
Cal cleared his throat and the nurse looked almost relieved when she heard they had come to fetch Aurura.
Once they were outside the hospital they headed for a diner. Cal told Aurura what had happened to him and Roux that morning. Aurura pulled out the readme file which she found on her bed.
"I'm telling you, that female Guardian left this in my room. They're going to kill Icarus!"
"What makes you so sure of that?" Roux was sceptical about her theory.
"Because that's the only way to stop the infection."
"How do you know this is what caused the infection?"
"This!" she said, pointing to the bandage still covering the wound on her neck. "You saw it happen. You know what's going on. Roux, this is the only explanation. Why do you think people have been restricted to their living-quarters after dark?"
Roux lent back in his seat. Aurura was tenacious and once she had gotten an idea into her head, no one could stop her. He always thought that, that would make her a good Guardian, or get her deleted.
Rho stared at her for a nano, then he said, "What can we do about it?"
"Well," she started, "There is only one way, other than deletion to save an infected sprite. An infection of this type is highly unstable and with the proper cause the infection can be corrupted."
"How?" Rho asked.
"You."
She received a collective puzzled look and continued.
"Remember what happened the last time she saw you?"
"She seemed to be in pain." Rho said.
"And the glow in her eyes dimmed!" Cal added excitedly.
"Exactly," she continued. "She can only save herself, but she needs our help. We have to give her enough reason to come back." She paused and looked Rho in the eyes. "You probably should know that this could kill her."
He looked down. "If that's the only way we can save her, then we should try."
With that it had been decided; the four sprites would gather in the park that evening to try and save their friend.
The day dragged on for everyone involved. Sigma and Silika were having abandoned buildings checked for infected sprites, but they could find nothing.
Aurura, Cal and Roux had classes to go to and Rho wandered around exploring the city. He didn't really notice much of anything, he was too preoccupied with what waited for them that evening.
Aurura was excused from history when she claimed to feel faint, but instead of going back to her dorm she headed straight for the city. She was looking for Rho.
She found him when she returned to the park. He was leaning on the railing like the night he arrived in the system.
"Rho!"
He turned around when he heard her voice. "Aurura. Aren't you supposed to be in class?"
"Yeah, but I decided I didn't want to be."
He smiled. "You're something else, you know that?"
"Uhu, Cal keeps on reminding me."
"You and Cal, you're not..."
"Cal and me, no, that wouldn't work."
"Oh really, why not?"
"He's my cousin silly."
"Oh."
"Why did Ami dump you?," she asked, kicking in the ground with her shoe.
He looked at her sheepishly. "Actually I dumped her."
"Why?"
"You."
"Me?"
"She didn't like the way I looked at you, she said she didn't like what she saw in my eyes, she was way too jealous for my liking, but... she was right."
She looked at him and blushed a little.
"I don't know, am I making a fool of myself here?"
"No," she said quickly. "I'm just glad you said it before I did."
He stepped in closer and was just about to kiss her when -
"Hey, guys!" Cal came up to them on his zipboard. "Aurura, you forgot your books in class when you pretended to be sick." He handed her books to her. "You know, one day you're going to get into big trouble."
"How'd you know where to find me?"
"Hey, I am a Guardian in training, I can put two and two together."
"Lucky guess?"
"Yes." he hung his shoulders in mock shame. "Roux still has two classes and then he'll be finished for the day, he'll meet us at the Diner."
"Great, then we'll have to wait," Aurura said. Rho looked a bit glum at the evening's prospects. She put her hand on his shoulder to try and console him.
"This'll work, I'm sure it will."
The virus stomped through her lair. She was livid.
"How did this happen!?," she screeched.
Her plans had been ruined. The Guardians had created a shield which prevented her from infecting other sprites. This obviously meant that she had been found out.
"I should have infected more at once... but that would have exhausted my energy! Is there no end...!"
One of her minions stood by the wall, fear spread across his face, but his red eyes were empty.
Suddenly the virus was calm, she turned around slowly and grinned, exposing her fangs.
"No matter, we'll just have to take a longer path." she laughed and then walked to a vidwindow and started giving orders for the neighboring system to be attacked.
As night fell, sprites and binomes hurried back to their homes. All except Aurura and her friends, they were getting ready to leave for the park.
At the Principal Office Sigma and Silika were briefing their "troops".
"This is a very important mission," Sigma said while he stood in front of them. "We have clearance to shoot to kill. We have identified the mark of the virus, this is it." He said as the image of the silver insignia was passed around. "Only infected sprites with this mark are to be targeted, this means you have to be very careful as to what you shoot at. Look carefully at their faces, the markings are always on the face." With that they were dismissed. Silika walked to Sigma and handed him a firearm.
"Let's get out there," she said and they left.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Roux asked, "We have no means of protecting ourselves. What if someone else attacks us?"
The expression on Cal's face made it clear that he wasn't only speaking for himself as they made their way through the darkened park.
"We just have to be careful," Aurura answered him, "and remember to be on the lookout for Guardians, if we're caught out here they'll send us home and we'll have no chance of helping her."
Icarus woke up. She lifted herself from the cold stone floor on which she had slept. She walked slowly over to the arched window. Having not fed the previous evening she was voracious. She stepped off the stony landing and sailed into the night.
"Maybe we should spread out a bit." Aurura suggested. "If we stand this close together we'll probably scare her off."
The others agreed and they walked about fifteen paces each.
Roux stood next to a tree rubbing his arms, it was so cold out here. Cal stood a way off and all he could see was his breath rising into the cold night air.
Aurura and Rho were completely out of sight.
Rho stood in a clearing, staring at the stars. He wished this night was over.
"Seen anything?" Sigma asked Silika as he walked over to her. They were stationed in the park. Most of the other Guardians were in the city because that's where the most recent attacks had occurred.
"Nope, but it's getting pretty late." She sighed. "Any word from the city?"
"Two confirmed hits. Soon we'll have to start rounding up the affected sprites."
"Yes, according to the file, those released from the infection are rendered immobile for a while."
"That should help us find them."
"I'm just glad no one's out-"
"Shhhh!"
"What is it?"
"Listen."
There was a rustling in the bushes close to them. They edged closer ready to fire if necessary.
Silika lifted back one of the branches on the bush. A small animal darted past her. She yelped and tripped over the root of the tree.
"Stupid squirrels," she said while Sigma pulled her to her feet.
"Guess we're just being a bit jumpy, eh?," he said trying hard not to laugh.
"Uhu, I guess so."
"Let's spread out a bit, we'll cover a larger area that way."
"Ok."
They resumed their patrol of the area, each heading in a different direction.
Icarus slinked through the trees, her feet barely touched the ground. There was no one in sight. If she didn't find anyone soon she would have to look elsewhere. She whipped around when she heard voices. Her smile revealed her fangs and her eyes glowed red.
She moved closer to where she had heard the sounds and searched around for the source. In a clearing she saw a single male sprite stading alone staring up at the night sky.
She sailed up behind him so quietly that he never realized she was there.
Once she was close enough she moved like lightning. She grabbed him from behind and sank her fangs into his neck.
All he got out was a muffled scream before her hand covered his mouth. He struggled, but the viral infection had made her too strong, he was powerless in her grip.
Aurura ran in the direction of the sound and so did the others, including Silika. Aurura was first to reach her.
"Icarus! Don't!," she screamed. Icarus barely looked up at her, holding the struggling sprite firmly in her grip.
"Drop him right now!" Aurura turned to see Silika aiming her gun at Icarus. "I said let him go!"
Icarus hardly paid any attention to her.
"Don't shoot!," Roux yelled and he grabbed Silika's arm.
"Let him go Icarus!"
Icarus slowly pulled her head away from the sprite's neck. She turned around to face her brother.
"Icarus, let him go." His voice was so soft, so calm.
"Rho?" she cocked her head to one side. The glow in her eyes faded slightly. She let go of Sigma and he fell to the ground, where he lay motionless. She slowly stepped away from him towards her brother. "Rho?" she repeated. She seemed to be in a trance, confused.
"Let me go." Silika said as she struggled free from Roux's grip. She moved over to Sigma, he moaned as she rolled him onto his back.
Silika picked up his gun which lay beside him. "Stop right there," she said to Icarus.
Icarus turned around, her eyes flared red once again.
"Icarus, look at me!" Rho called and she turned around.
She stared at him for a nano, the glow suddenly faded from her eyes. She grabbed her head and screamed.
The pain was excruciating. The others covered their ears as the inhuman sound rose in pitch and volume. Cal was sure she could have shattered glass with that scream. Her voice seemed to crack and she fell to her knees. She vomited, her body rejecting the energy she had absorbed.
It was quiet. Absolute silence stretched over the park.
Rho ran over to where she lay.
"She's still breathing! She's ok."
Silika looked at the sprites before her in disbelief then her attention fixed on the previously infected Icarus; she didn't think it were possible. Roux and Cal looked at each other and cried out in usnison: "It worked!"
Aurura ran to Icarus's side. She lifted her eyelids, her eyes had returned to their old soft green. She was going to be ok.
The next day Aurura and Rho went to visit Icarus at the Medical Complex. Her doctor insisted that she stayed there for at least a couple of seconds.
The twosome sneaked into her room, but she was awake and greeted them with a smile.
"Hi guys," she croaked. Her voice was soft and dry, but she was audible. "Where are Roux and Cal?"
"The doctor said you could only have two visitors for now." Aurura said. "He's afraid we'll tire you."
"Well, thanks." Dhe leaned over and Rho gave her a brotherly hug. "So, I have to be infected before you'll come and visit me?" she joked.
"Hey, cut me some slack, I'm here aren't I?," Rho answered her.
"So, what happened while I wasn't around?"
"I'm going to marry your brother!," Aurura announced.
Icarus's eyes almost popped out of her head. Rho blushed.
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," he countered. "Just yet."
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Silika stepped into the room.
"I'm feeling better, thanks. How's your partner?"
"He'll be fine," Sigma said as he followed Silika. Icarus looked at the bandage on his neck and then looked down. Sigma noticed this and said, "No hard feelings."
"No hard feelings." She smiled.
"What happened last night?" Rho asked.
Silika explained, "We were lucky enough to find all the infected sprites. Both those who were directly infected by the virus and the others. It seems as though we've completely cleared up this problem."
"That's great." Aurura said, "Did you find the virus?"
"Nope." she answered. "Where ever it is we're not going to find it."
"Well, at least it can't cause any more trouble around here." Rho commented.
"Yes."
The doctor came into the room and when he saw the crowd around Icarus's bed he bussed them all out of the room and told them not to come back until visiting hours.
Icarus lay back on her pillows with a smile on her face. She was happy. Finally everything could return to normal. With those thoughts she drifted off to sleep.
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