The hospital was incredibly busy dealing with the huge influx of dead and dying beings, as well as the sudden burst of pregnancies, births and miscarriages. But this corner of the hospital was pretty empty. No wonder, as it was the Quarantine section.
In the corner of the room was a large, plastic bubble with a bed and bathroom facilities in it. At about chest level there was a hatch through which food and medication could be administered. Sleeping inside the bubble was a black-skinned Threan-type. Sleeping outside the bubble was a yellow-armoured one.
“Arkay?” Teekay was cautious with his approach. Arkay was always slightly panicky whenever he woke up, but as the yellow-armoured Rethan stirred he seemed surprisingly calm until he saw Teekay.
“Brother? What are you doing here?” Arkay exclaimed, before quickly lowering his voice, not wanting to wake up the Rethan in the bubble behind him.
Teekay sighed. “Have you not seen what is going on?”
“Of course. Beings disappearing and reappearing elsewhere. Beings dying. Beings giving birth to healthy kids. The circle of existence coming back. I have been here most of today, helping beings find one another and comforting those who have lost…” Arkay paused for a moment. “Did you randomly disappear too?”
Teekay nodded. “Woke up not far a way from a small Thanatian village. We need you, Arkay.”
“Duty?”
“Duty.”
Arkay turned around, watching the sleeping Rethan. “What sort of duty? It must be serious if you are calling me for something other than helping out here.”
Teekay decided to hold off for a minute. His brother was clearly distraught about something. “Who is that?” he pointed to the bubble. “What happened to him?”
“That’s Skios.”
“A friend or a partner?”
“Both. Maybe neither.”
“How so?”
Arkay sniffed as he placed a hand on the wall of the bubble. “Last week, a group of Anexartitai stole him while he was sleeping at home. Took him to one of their little bases. They wanted to use him as bait, to capture me. I killed all of them. But we don’t know what they did to Skios while he was captured, so the medics suggested he be quarantined, just in case.”
Immediately, Teekay knew how Arkay felt. He’d been in the same situation. He briefly had a partner, they spent two weeks together. Then they started getting death threats, because of Teekay’s duty as a Ksa. Although Teekay managed to get the senders arrested, his partner ended it. He’d been single ever since.
“I understand.”
“Thank you. But I should not drag you down with my rambling. You need me. Why?”
“These disappearances, all of them have been beings affected by the Veth. Myself included. I only knew it was a matter of time, and despite taking ten vials a day, I still somehow changed into a Veth while I slept and woke up in the middle of nowhere.”
Arkay sighed. “Lucky. I woke up outside an Anexartan fortress alongside Elksia. I assume we destroyed it as Veth but I don’t remember.”
“No one does. Right now, every other Ksa is focusing on keeping order. We have a more important job.”
“Somevok important is missing, correct?”
“The High General.”
Arkay’s jaw dropped. “You don’t know where he is?”
“We have a rough idea but don’t know the terrain well. We need you to guide us. The N-Class will be arriving here in five hours.”
“Do you have any equipment?”
“Not really, no.”
“No worries. We’ll head back to my place, I have spare weaponry we can use.”
“You accept?”
“Of course. I cannot deny my duty.”
“I can always count on you!” Teekay smiled.