Chương 99: Chapter 98 – It Only Takes One Prick

As the alert buzzer rang, Elena shook her head as she quickly walked to the teleport area.

"Who could it be now?" she mused… first Mikale and now another unexpected surprise guest. As the machine opened, her heart dropped.

"Seraphina!" she exclaimed, rushing over.

"What is it, what's wrong? Why are you back?" Seraphina looked at her, surprised at her concern.

"I'm fine, relax. Everything is good, everyone is good," she said, smiling reassuringly at her.

"Let me guess… Jasper didn't coordinate any of this with you." Elena looked at Seraphina, confused.

"No, I haven't heard from Jasper or anyone else at Fairy Central," she said, walking to the control panel.

"But then again, I haven't checked the latest communications either. Been kind of busy helping Alex get a vaccine and cure, in case we are looking at another epidemic." Elena began checking the monitor for any communications she may have missed.

"Well, there you go," she said, pointing at a line on the screen.

"He sent this three hours ago. Oopsie — my bad. Sorry, Jasper, been kinda busy here." She opened up the message. Seraphina came and took the seat beside her.

"Well, how's it going with the vaccine?" Seraphina asked.

"Elena?" a male voice called out from the other room.

"Mikale, I'm kind of busy. What do you need?" she called out, still trying to read the communication from Jasper.

"Alex told me to tell you…" he paused, "and mind you these are his words, not mine…

'Eureka, we have the place surrounded.'" Elena jumped up from her seat, the communication from Jasper forgotten.

"Repeat that, Mikale," she said excitedly. Mikale walked in from the other room.

"He said, 'Eureka, we have the place surrounded.' I hope you know what that is supposed to mean, because I sure don't."

"Mikale, I could kiss you!" she said, excitedly stepping to the side. Seraphina popped her head around Elena, who was now doing an odd little dance.

"Hi, Seraphina. Fairy," she said matter‑of‑factly.

"Mikale. Goblin. Nice to meet you," he snickered.

"What's up with her?" He motioned to Elena with his thumb. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"No clue," Seraphina said, glancing over at Elena.

"It means that they've done it! They isolated the antibody in Regina's blood and matched it to the virus sample we have. We are going to have a cure… and once we replicate the antibody, we will have a vaccine!" she said, her excitement coursing through her like electricity.

"That has got to be the best damn news I have had all day!" Seraphina said, jumping up and hugging Elena. Mikale shrugged his shoulders and joined the hug, jumping up and down with the two women.

"I have no idea what any of that means, but this looked like fun!" he said gleefully, jumping up and down. Elena smacked his arm.

"Smart ass," she said.

"This means we have thwarted Blackwood's plan to wipe out two civilizations. It means that he and his buddy Elios will not be able to cause a repeat of the epidemic that killed so many here," she said, looking Mikale straight in the eye.

"That epidemic was Blackwood?" he said, his face suddenly draining of all color.

"Yes. It was his team that devised the virus… And your buddy Elios? Well, he devised the delivery system," Elena said, her posture stiffening.

"What do you mean, delivery system?" Mikale asked, confused, his knees weakening.

"You really have no idea, do you?" Elena asked, her expression shifting to concern.

"No, I have no idea what you are talking about. I remember the epidemic… how could I not? But I had no clue how it started. I was just a kid," Mikale said, looking almost shell‑shocked.

"Mikale, sit down before you fall down," Elena said. Mikale seemingly fell into the chair instead of sitting in it. Elena took a deep breath, looked at Seraphina and raised her eyebrows before looking back at Mikale.

"Do you remember the 'Everybody Needs a Friend' campaign Blackwood did shortly before the epidemic?" she asked.

"Yeah, I remember when they came to my school and passed out these stuffed animals to some kids and not others," he recalled.

"I was so jealous because some of my friends got one, but I didn't. I remember the guy saying I didn't qualify for one. I had no idea what that meant, but I know I really wanted one because I thought they were pretty cool."

"Consider yourself lucky, Mikale. It was those toys that carried the virus. They were passed out to kids who were disadvantaged… broken homes, poor, sick, mentally challenged, etcetera." Mikale, who looked queasy all of a sudden, looked at Elena with sheer horror in his eyes. Elena couldn't help but notice his hands begin to tremble slightly as he processed the revelation.

"My baby brother, my mother, my friends died… their families died… most of my neighborhood had been wiped out. You're telling me that Blackwood designed the virus? I thought he was the one who developed the cure and the vaccine. You have to be wrong, Elena, there's no way." Elena put a hand on his knee and squeezed it gently.

"It was Elios who designed the toys. He strategically had needles sewn into the toy. When the child squeezed it, it would inject them with the virus. I can show you one if you'd like to see it for yourself." Mikale stood up and rushed to the restroom, his hand over his mouth. Seraphina and Elena looked at each other, tears filling their eyes as they listened to him vomit.

"This is terrible," Seraphina said, putting her fingers to her lips, glancing at the door.

"I had no idea," Elena said.

"No idea at all."