[Punishment generating… complete.]
[scenario calibrated.]
[Disease severity advanced by TENFOLD. Once infected, death will occur within 24 hours.]
The warm light of the oil lamp bounced off the terrified faces.
There was a deathly silence in the inn.
Then everything tumbled into chaos.
"Let us out! Let us out!!!" The players poured towards the locked doors, banging on the thick wood and iron. When that wouldn't give in, they tried to break the windows, but the iron bars held their ground.
"We are not infected! Let us out!"
"The only infected is Christof! Locking us in here with him will kill us all!"
"LET US OUT!"
Christof Kunze hauled his body up the bed, back pressed against the icy wall, away from Kruger and the looming knife.
Cold sweat slicked his greyish skin, eyes wide as they glued on the blade covered in flecks of dried blood.
"Y-you heard the system. Get the fuck away from me!"
Kruger watched the quivering player for a second longer before he seethed his knife by his belt and left.
Thanh Van sat cross-legged on his bed, fawn eyes studying the panicking players with a thoughtful frown on his delicate brows. Matted strands of lavender hair fell forward, almost begging Kruger to run his fingers through it.
On a closer look, his hair was light down to the root. Real. Not coloured, to Kruger's surprise.
Kruger felt a little restless in his heart as he stopped next to the ethereal being's side. A faint scent of lavender emitted from Thanh Van's skin - tempting.
Even more so now that the frail and teary beauty turned out to hold a powerful punch and could take care of himself if needed.
So the little lost lamb was quite self-sufficient. Even now, he appeared calm - almost relaxed.
Kruger studied the beauty when the fawn eyes blinked gently up at him. The green of his eyes vibrant, like leaves under a cloudless sky.
"They are wasting their energy."
Kruger agreed, almost mesmerised by the rosy lips.
They had no food, and none of them had eaten ever since entering the dome. They still had two days left to survive. The players might have overlooked it, but everyone appeared gaunt under the flickering oil lamp, lips chaps, eyes sunken.
Even a beauty like Thanh Van looked slightly sickly wrapped under the oversized shirt.
"Are you not scared?" Thanh Van asked as Kruger took a seat on the adjacent bed. The bed dipped and creaked miserably beneath the man's weight.
Kruger paid it no mind as his gaze rested on the beauty. "Fear will not help us out of this situation."
Thanh Van fought to not roll his eyes. This big fool was so brooding that it was borderline annoying.
Outside the inn, only a single oil lamp of the plague doctor lit up the night. Their long shadows painted over the walls, the bird peeks menacing under the flickering flame.
By the door, the players were slowly giving up. Nobody came to their rescue. None of the windows or doors gave in under their protest.
The plague doctors stood on guard, not moving despite the heart-wrenching cries.
Thanh Van felt his heart thump pleasantly at the sight, enjoying every second of it.
Perhaps he had lived too long that only something like this was amusing and fun.
Maybe he was going mad after so many centuries.
He guessed none of it really mattered in the end.
"You are brave." Thanh Van mused.
Sergeant Kruger pondered for a while before he said, "Practical."
The players had succumbed to faith for now, each climbing into a bed furthest away from the shivering Christof Kunze. They could only preserve energy and sleep for the night.
"Are you scared?" Kruger asked, his voice lowered into a whisper.
Thanh Van felt the piercing blue eyes on him, studying every twitch and quiver of his expression.
"It's normal for humans to fear or panic in these situations." Thanh Van was not scared. But then again, was he even human anymore? This entire ruse was for him to feel alive and human for once, and so far, it has been refreshing.
"So you are human." It was not a question as much as it was a retort.
Thanh Van cocked his head to the side, revealing his slender neck as he met Kruger's eyes.
"What else could I be? I bleed, don't I?"
Thanh Van kept his voice lighthearted, yet somehow, he felt nervous under the intense gaze.
Kruger stayed silent, brows bunched in thought before a flicker of humour appeared in his eyes. "Perhaps a kitten."
Thanh Van was dumbfounded before he laughed. "Tell me, sergeant Kruger. Do you think an army dog can get along with a little kitten?"
"I don't see why not." Vincent Kruger didn't miss a beat, his visage perfectly thoughtful.
Thanh Van pondered for a moment, studying the sergeant's heated neck and reddened ears, before a smile bloomed on his lips. "Hm, good thing I like dogs then."
The stupid mutt only said that because this kitten was cute and helpless. Would it treat a hardened stray cat the same?
No.
Of course, it wouldn't.
Nobody liked stray cats, or they wouldn't have been abandoned in the first place.
The bed creaked, and fingers brushed the few strands of hair before Thanh Van's eyes aside, pulling his attention back on the sergeant.
"Get some sleep. We have a long day ahead." Blue eyes peered at him gently.
"Mm."
Kruger didn't have to order twice.
Exhausted, Thanh Van's head hit the hay pillow and he thrifted to a deep sleep. Faintly, he could feel someone drape the quilt over him.
In his own corner, hiding beneath the covers, Christof Kunze shivered from the cold. The thin quilt gave him little comfort and a terrible itch festered around his ankle, making his leg twitch uncontrollably.
It was impossible to fall asleep.
He reached down to scratch at the skin, but all he could feel was a bloated ankle, the clammy flesh squirming and wriggling beneath his touch.