Chapter 214: Something small on the watchers
Dwayne jumped to his feet. "What the hell?" he bellowed.
Everyone else panicked.
Sunshine remained calm.
Nala was screaming into the radio, telling her father and everyone to go back indoors. She was afraid that the watcher was aiming for them.
On the screen, the opposite of Nala’s fears played out. The watcher flew off with the drone, taking it elsewhere. They could not guess whereas all they could see was snow and a large part of the watcher’s claws.
Sunshine realized something for the first time. The bottom of the bird’s feet was soft and padded like that of a kitten. So, did it mean that this was their weak spot?
She touched Dwayne’s shoulder and said to him, "Keep an eye on the drone when the bird finally drops it off. Maybe we will get lucky and see something inside the mist or where the watchers come from."
"I would not hold my breath." Dwayne answered.
They both knew that the alien birds were far too clever to reveal anything. Sunshine knew this more than him because nobody ever figured out what the birds were or were they came from in her last life. They just left.
Come to think of it, the mist also left with them.
She took one last look at the padded foot and sighed. "What the hell are you?" She whispered to herself.
She left the command center while Nala and Morris told her father about the marauders. They were a foe as deadly as the snow. Perhaps their presence was the thing that would convince them to move to the base.
From the command center, Sunshine went straight to the laboratory in the first wall, Dr. Sing had called and requesting for her presence as soon as she got a free moment. Her plan was to put it off for later, but she was curious about what the lab had discovered or created, and impatience got the better of her.
In the lab, she found the doctor and his team sharing drinks which was unusual because they were usually focused on their work, never had she seen their faces so relaxed.
"Dr. Sing." Sunshine said his name.
The doctor stood, his coat was stained with pink smudges, judges, hair disheveled and the dark circles under his eyes that betrayed countless sleepless nights.
"When last did you go home?" She asked him.
Dr. Sing waved his hand, dismissing her words. His face lit up with something far stronger than fatigue. Triumph.
"Madam president!" He exclaimed, waving her over. His hands shook slightly not from fear but excitement. "I think that we have made the cure from the red fang flowers."
Sunshine blinked, she thought that this would take him some good time, but it looked like Dr. Sing had done nothing else other than research the flowers and cure. "You have!?"
"That is not all, I think that we can make a vaccine as well and stop everyone from being infected ahead of time." The doctor added, bouncing on his feet as he spoke.
The doctor motioned at his intern to bring something over. She opened the tray and pulled out a small tray, on it lay capsules black and light violet. "Inside the capsules is a powder that can cure most infections, both bacterial and viral. We have tested on the viruses we have here and boy! I have never seen anything work so fast or this potent. Where did you get these flowers again?"
"I never said where, but I am happy about this progress." Sunshine cleared her throat. She stepped forward towards the table, taking one of the pills in her hand. "Will it work on the red disease?" She asked, her voice low, almost hesitant for hope.
Dr. Sing looked straight in her eyes. "To be completely sure, we need a specimen...."
"You mean an infected person?" Sunshine asked, just to be certain.
"Yes ma’am." He grimaced, "Don’t worry, we are sane scientists, and we would never infect anyone on the base for the sake of results. I may not have seen an infected person with this red disease, but I believe that these things will work." Dr Sing spoke with certainty.
He had included some extracts from Carson and Anna’s cells. That is why he was sure that what he had would work.
Sunshine was thinking about the red disease. There was no way to get an infected person to test the medicine on. And she was not willing to go out in search of one because it did not benefit her much. "About that specimen....you will have to wait. But meanwhile you can supply the pills to the medic bay to be used to treat other infections."
"Yes ma’am." Dr Sing answered, his energy dimming slightly.
"And the vaccine? Do you need a specimen to make that? Or do you have samples ready." Sunshine asked, there was no vaccine in the past, this would be a game changer.
Dr. Sing let out a weary sigh. "I may have over exaggerated my certainty. Honestly, I need a sample of the bacteria or virus causing the red disease to be fully sure."
Nodding, Sunshine thanked the doctor for his hard work. "I think we will have to wait. The capsules are good enough for now. You have all done a wonderful job and you can go to Ariel and pick out any supplies you wish."
There was jubilation in the lab.
"In limited numbers." She finished loudly.
They still continued to celebrate, and she left them like that. As she started a slow walk to the large manor, she noticed that people were whispering, and some were staring at her strangely.
She didn’t mind them and walked on home. The house was quiet except for the sound of the machine that Cathy was using to clean the house.
The moment their eyes locked, Cathy abandoned what she was doing then, she approached quickly. "Suni is it true that there is a rapist on the base?" She asked, her face a map of curiosity and fear.
Sunshine felt blood drain from her entire body. How had this information leaked? Was this why people were whispering? It was surely going to cause panic!
"Where did you hear that?" She asked, forcing calm in her voice.
"Justice Marley!" Cathy belted out the name.
The name was not new to Sunshine’s ears. Justice was the base gossip. Nosy about matters that were never her concern. She was the same person that started the rumor about the Gadriel’s death.
"You know that Justice Marley is a gossip, I wonder where she got this from." Sunshine let out a hesitant laugh.
Cathy arched an eyebrow, becoming even more suspicious. "Her son, private Craydon told her."
Private Craydon had been one of the soldiers that were in the interrogation room. Sunshine let out a short sigh, the soldiers may not know it yet, but he would not be attending anymore interrogations.
"Cathy believe me, it’s only a rumor. The base is safe, and even if there is a criminal on the base, the prison is there to hold them."
Letting out a sigh of relief. "Me and the girls will correct the rumor. You would not believe the panic outside. Some of the mothers are already scared to let their children out. I was scared too." Cathy returned to her duties.
Sunshine rushed to her room and locked the door, then connected to Carson via a secure line. "How long are you going to keep that man here? It cannot be a week like Elio wanted; rumors are beginning to spread."
"Give me one day, if he says nothing by tomorrow night I’ll end him." Carson said.
"Carson, I don’t care what he says at this point. Just end the bastard quickly before we have a riot or something on our hands. And get someone to shut Justice Marley up now!" She ordered before cutting the call.
She had a feeling that this rapist rumor was going to cause new problems.