V.I.R.A.L

"Sam…. Sam…."

"Alton, fight it! Please fight it!"

"Sam…. I'm so sorry." He whispers, looking up with a sadistic laugh. "It's already too late. Now, shall I show you a terrible truth?"

An unnatural irritable droning noise rang through Sam's head which soon turned into what sounded like a whisper. One which went on forever. It had begun.

The Long Whisper.

Sam held her head in pain as she felt weak. Standing up, she screamed out. "Alton sto-."

A constant ringing blared through her head; the never-ending screech shot Sam out of bed, startled panting lost for words. Finding herself in a cold sweat, she grumbled, throwing her sticky clothes off sitting in bed conflicted. "That dream again…. Seriously why is it always that one? Who even is Alton anyway?"

A knock on her door made Sam jump from her trance as she heard her mother shouting. "Hurry up, Sam; otherwise, you'll be late for school!"

Another grumble came from the girl acknowledging the situation. Sliding out of bed, she jumped into a cold shower getting ready for another day of school.

****

Some time had passed, and Sam rushed down the stairs, ready to fly out the door only for her mother to shout out. "You better now leave before having your breakfast, Sam Belling!"

Sam stopped turning her head. "I don't have time mother, like you said, I'll be late for school!" Staring out the window, she saw Marco and Destiny waiting at the door, giving her more reason to leave. "Besides, my friends are already here."

Sam's mother poked her head around the corner, moving a frying pan around. "I don't care, oh and don't be such a stranger. Invite them in; there's more than enough for everyone."

Slouching over, Sam rolled her eyes, swinging the door open pressing her body against the door frame yawning. "Don't say anything; my mother has invited you all in for breakfast."

Destiny looked at her watch, slightly confused. "She does know what time it is, right?"

"I tried telling her this…."

Marco pushed past Destiny, rubbing his hands together patting Sam on the shoulder. "We shouldn't turn down such a kind offer; it would be rude to." Walking back into the house, he smirked, nodding. "After all, breakfast is the most important meal in the day."

"He has eaten this morning, right?"

"At his house and mine. Where the hell does he put it away?" Destiny whispers holding her stomach. "I feel rude, but I really cannot eat."

"Don't worry about it, just come on. No need to worry." Sam pestered, slamming the door shut behind her strolling back into the kitchen. "So, you know, mother, you're not only making me late for school but my friends now too."

"Poppycock, if it's that much of an issue, your father can drop you off on the way to work. Can't you, Freddie?"

Sam's father staring at his newspaper, gave a heart hearted nod, not paying attention to anything being said. "Of course, dear, kids, listen to your mother."

Sam stared blankly at her father, shaking her head sitting down. A fried egg, sunny side up, bacon and toast were crammed onto the small broken plate held together with glue which was wearing down. The same was given to Marco and Destiny. Sam's younger brother Calem, a spitting image of the girl, all be it with the opposite hair choice. Sam's short to shoulder length Calem had his down further wrapped in a ponytail. Marco clapped his hands together, bowing slightly. "Thanks for the meal, Mrs Belling."

Sam poked at her dish, sighing as life passed her by with no care in the world. Drifting, she noticed a spare plate of food resting on the counter, making Sam look confused. "Hey, ma…. Why do you have another plate of food for?"

Sam's mum turned, staring at the plate of food, slightly confused; taking a while to come up with an answer, she chuckled, rubbing it off. "Oh, that was in case your other friend turned up. I'll put it in the fridge for your dinner tonight."

Sam sighed, mocking her food grumbling under her breath. "Horary more leftovers for dinner."

"Speaking of which, where is lucky number four?" Calem pestered, gulping his milk down. "Isn't she always walking to school with you three?"

"I think she's running late. You know her, I did say to meet her here. Wonder what's taking her so long." Destiny recalled.

"This is scatterbrain we're talking about. She most likely forgot what day it was. Sorry, buster, you won't be seeing your crush today." Marco said in a mocking tone teasing Calem.

"I do not have a crush on her! I just prefer her to the rest of you."

"That hurt, that really did." Marco boomed only to stop hearing the door knock. "Speaking of which, that must be her. Sam, would you do the honours? I want to keep at my egg while it's runny."

"Whatever." She said with little protest rising from her seat walking to the door. Scratching her nose, she flicked a bogie away, opening the door. "Sorry, we're…."

Sam paused, frozen in shock, although she couldn't quite tell why. Her head began booming as Zinnia stood in the doorway wearing the same school uniform wearing a pink backpack with both straps on. Tapping her head, she let off a goofy smile. "So sorry! I lost track of time once again, you know me. Good morning Sam, are you ready for another day of fun and learning?!"

*****

Rhinefield was dead. At least for the most part. For the grand total of two months, the city had not a single soul enter or leave. That was until today. Climbing onto a broken-down bus, Iris looked on at what was once her home. She hadn't seen it since the fall, leaving her speechless at the state. Unscrewing a water bottle, she swigged the last of her supplies, finally reaching the point she had been moving towards. She was to find answers, and there would be no better place than where it started.

Ever since the Long Whisper, Victoria went radio silent. Beyond the country was still unclear but everyone caught in the radius was frozen into a cocoon-like state preserved, very much alive, but that's all that can be said. Since then, Iris has been searching for a way to undo this calamity. She believes answers like here, if not a familiar face to find comfort in with nowhere else to go. Alton, Zinnia, her sister. She was willing to accept anyone. Climbing over rubble and destroyed buildings, Iris' view never left the colossal Titans. These trees matched the skyscrapers around her being the grim reminder of what she caused by failing to stop Acceptance's plans. Holding onto her woolly coat, a strong gust of wind blasted through with a faint echo of snow to follow. Winter had settled in, and Iris struggled to adapt finding a pair of boots, gloves, and a ski mask to keep her somewhat warm. But that wouldn't be enough against the lingering effect of the Long Whisper.

Trekking through the streets, the sight was more or less identical to everywhere else, which was the spitting image of the horrors that occurred in Sunset Peak. She hadn't the faintest idea where to start looking or who she was looking for, but Iris wasn't going to give up, determined to make things right after her past mistakes. Starting on the outskirts, Iris was far too preoccupied with her surroundings only to trip up on one of the victims falling to the floor. Taking a while to get back up, being too tired, her head turned to see who she fell over. The moment she did, her eyes widened, and a sense of relief returned. On her hands and knees, it was no doubt about it. Iris crawled over, hugging the cocoon of ice, whispering softly to herself. "Zinnia…. I'm so glad." Coming to her senses, she stood up, rubbing her hands together as her eyes glowed a bright yellow. "I'll get you out of there, don't you worry."

****

"Oh, Christ, we are so late for school now…. Mrs Chadwick is going to kill us." Destiny whimpered, worried.

Marco pushed her lightly, laughing. "Don't get your knickers into a twist. We're already late, so it's best to just accept it and move on. Right, Zin?"

Zinnia nodded, nibbling on a chocolate bun humming to herself with joy. "This is so tasty! I'm in love, sorry, what was that?"

"Always the carefree butterfly of the group, aren't you? Your parents are hippies, are they?"

"No! No. Of course not; I'll have you know my father is a prestigious police officer while my mother is a lawyer. They battle evil and make sure the villains pay for their crimes. They are like real-life superheroes!"

"I thought you lived in an orphanage?" Sam muttered without much thought.

Zinnia turned to Sam, lost. "Umm…. What? Why would I, you know what? I had a dream about that. Funny, those little things."

"Speaking of real-life superheroes, did you guys catch Vanguard's stream last night. He and Vanguardian decimated the thugs and saved the bus full of children. That there is a true hero. A heart of gold." Marco cheered. "Wouldn't it be cool if we did that?"

"Now, now. Don't get ahead of yourself. We already tried that for fun, and it failed. Hero's Might was destined to fail." Destiny exclaimed, having to remind Marco again for what felt like to her the 1000th time.

"I know, I know. I just felt like we were missing someone—that edge to keep us going. Eh, don't worry about it. Maybe we'll try another time again. What was the team's name you thought of, Zin?"

"Umm…. Oh right, Team Rhapsody."

"That's the one. Has a nice ring to it. What do you think, Sam?"

"Me?" She whispered, not paying attention sighing. "Sorry I spaced out for a moment."

"Are you sure you're feeling alright? You've been like this for a few days now."

"I'm fine; I just feel like I'm always half asleep."

"I know that feeling," Destiny exclaimed, yawning. "Finals is killing me. I was up all night revising. But just think when this is all over, we are free. Hey, we should get together for the summer break. Get out of Sunset Peak for a few days and have a well-deserved break. Sound like a plan?"

"Hell yeah. I know of these small islands off the coast of Victoria. An exchange student I used to write to lives there with his father. A small tropical island sounds like bliss."

Sam rubbed her eyes, nodding. "That sounds nice. What do you say, Zinnia? Zinnia?" Turning around, Sam was confused to find Zinnia gone. Scratching her head, she tugged at Destiny. "Hey, Destiny, where did Zinnia go?"

"Who?" She asked.

Sam gave it thought just as confused as she shook her head. "I don't know, a slip of the tongue."

****

Zinnia gasped, falling from her icy prison, shivering while also throwing up a mixture of vomit and blood. Iris kneeled down, comforting her, bleeding from her eyes. "Zinnia! Zinnia, it's alright, breath. Breathe, you're alright."

Zinnia looked up, troubled, coughing. "Iris? Where, are you alright?"

Wiping her eyes looking pale, Iris smiled the best she could. "Don't worry too much about me; breaking you from the Long Whisper takes a long out of me. How do you feel?"

"I feel? What's going on? Where's everyone else?!"

"Easy, easy. Take it easy. It's hard to explain, but you were asleep dreaming of another world trapped in these prisons created by Acceptance. I broke you out." Jehovah began coughing, hiding behind Zinnia curled up, looking terrified. Iris stared at her lost. "Who is that?"

"Please, don't hurt her. She was a Stage of Grief…. But something went wrong. Henry; Eyes Over Reality; tricked us. He took her powers and tried killing us…. Wait, did you say Acceptance?" She whispered, tumbling back coughing.

"Please, don't rush. You're still coming to your senses. What do you mean she was a Stage of Grief… Does that mean she's an enemy?!"

"No. No, she's harmless. Just a scared little girl victim of the Garden…." Zinnia looked around, finding people trapped in the same cocoon prison she was once in. Shocked, she whispered, dazed. "This power. It has to be Alton…."

"What?! That's not possible. This was Acceptance."

Holding her head, Zinnia squinted, taking deep breaths. "Before everything went fuzzy, my contract with Bargaining was broken. The only way that would happen would be if I killed Alton. That was at first, but Alton signed his own contract with Bargaining to save me. The only way it was broken was by him."

"What was the contract?"

"To become a Stage of Grief."

"Holy shit…. We need to get back to the others immediately." Iris exclaimed, standing up. "The others need to hear of this."

Zinnia stood up, turning to Jehovah, speaking in a soothing tone. "Come with us. Please."

Crawling back, Jehovah began trembling. "But…. You're my enemy."

"Enemy or not. I can't allow a little girl to be out here all by herself. Just come with us; we'll take care of you." Jehovah slowly reached out, taking Zinnia's hand, still trembling, unsure. "I promise no harm will come to you. We're ready, Iris."

The three survivors began the trek to Iris' safe haven away from the constant unbearing storm, neither none the wiser that one more prison had been broken out of. The one who almost killed Zinnia all those months ago, Henry Truman, now simply known as Denial….