Broken Symmetry (NTB Book 2) (A Socksfor1 AU)

Crystalline Blood

TW: slight gore

(MEME POV)

"I'm... Gonna die...?"

I took a moment to take in what Akik had just said. My brain was kind of in panic mode at this point, but I tried not to show it. I failed, for I could hear my shaky breath.

"It's called crystal infection," Akik sighed. "The seed falls in Seedfall, what humans call spring. It finds any living host nearby, and implants itself into that host, like a virus. Once it's there, the only option is amputation. Even that sometimes doesn't work."

"What happens... If that doesn't work?" I asked, rubbing my eye out of paranoia.

"Then the crystal takes over, leaving your husk to grow a new tree," Akik said, "And the cycle starts again."

I shivered. I really didn't wanna be a tree. 

"So I'm just... On my deathbed now?" I questioned.

"Unless eye amputation is possible, I'm afraid so."

"..."

"What's wrong?"

Apparently Blaza had awoken while we were talking, and was now confused as heck.

"It's complicated," Akik said, "In short, Meme might die."

"What?!" Blaza snapped, "Why?!"

"Crystal infection," Akik sighed.

Blaza switched from being confused, to zoning out, to realization in about five seconds, and it worried me. Mood swings like that usually aren't compatible with the human brain, so seeing Blaza do it scared me. He also seemed to be muttering to himself. Talking to Vizor, maybe? Who knows at this point.

Blaza snapped out of it after a moment. "What're we gonna do?"

Akik turned to me. "Meme, do you know if there's some kind of eye amputation thing?"

"How am I supposed to know?" I said.

"I thought you were a doctor!" 

"I'm more of a nurse, really."

I saw Blaza do a face palm. I don't blame him.

"Well, we've gotta do something," Akik said, "Where's the others?"

"Up in the room," I replied.

"Let's go, they need to hear about this," he said. Blaza got up and followed after him, with me close behind.

---------------

By the time we got back up to the room we were staying in, my eye was throbbing painfully. On the way up, Akik had said something about the infection spreading through the blood veins and muscle before breaking to the surface, so maybe it was that. It hurt to blink, and the entire side if my face felt stiff with pain.

Akik burst through the door, and I looked in to see Joocie, Nadwe, Woolfster, Oompa, and Moon. TB, Dusk, and Luci were missing, however.

"We have a problem," Akik said.

"What is it?" Joocie asked.

"Did Dusk do something?" I heard Oompa mutter spitefully. Why did he hate Dusk so much?

"Its crystal infection," Akik explained.

A look of dread spread across Joocie's face. Moon looked equally as panicked.

"THE crystal infection?" Moon whispered.

Akik nodded. "In his eye."

Joocie flinched. "Not the best place too have it."