A/N: The contents of this chapter may not be suitable for all audiences. Please read at your own discretion. (drug abuse, overdose, suicidal ideation)
[n𝙹∷ᒲᔑꖎ h⚍ᒲᔑリ k╎ꖎꖎᒷ↸! +20 xp]
[lᒷ⍊ᒷꖎ u!¡!]
Derek had lost count of how many times the mysterious, glitchy windows had appeared. He didn't understand any part of what they said, unless you counted the part where the characters for "plus twenty" appeared; but without any context, that made no sense either. It wasn't like the characters after it, "xp," had any meaning for him. They looked vaguely like characters from a written language he had seen before, but just because he'd seen them before didn't mean he understood them.
Was this even something he should be thinking about? He didn't know. There wasn't much use in dwelling upon an indecipherable occurrence.
That said, the glitchy windows were appearing with increased frequency ever since he had started his second Paranormal Event earlier that day. He had ended up waiting longer than he'd originally planned to start the second event, realizing that an event with a more frequent mortality rate (even if the Paranormal Point cost was higher) would be a better investment than a second, smaller-scale event. He needed to get to 1,000 harvested souls as soon as possible.
With that in mind, he had started the "Medicine-Craving Ghost" Event as soon as he acquired enough Points. That had happened to be while he was in the bath after his morning practice and the encounter with the third-rate exorcist.
A twinge of regret tugged at the back of his mind. "Medicine-Craving Ghost," unlike "Wendigo's Revenge," would not only target those who were deserving to die. Many innocents would get caught up in the curse. He could easily prevent his family from activating the Ghost's kill conditions, but if someone they were closely associated with got cursed, then his family wouldn't be safe either. The Medicine-Craving Ghost's curse could spread like a disease to those nearby.
Had he made a mistake in creating such a virulent Event before being able to purchase Event immunity for his family? He hoped not. He hoped that his brother's death the night before would cause his family to be reluctant to go out for a while; so far, that did seem to be the case, but he didn't know how long that would last.
However things played out, Derek knew that making bold moves such as this one were his best bet for not only surviving the first week of the Apostleship, and thereby earning the Apostleship position for real, but also for coming out on top in the weeks and months to follow. He had to be willing to take a few risks. This was a competition with death on the line. In such a situation, having a good start was critical. Considering that he had already started off behind due to his unfortunate episode of terror two nights prior, he absolutely could not afford to play it safe.
He just hoped nothing went wrong in the meantime.
----
S&H Medicine Store, Farquad Bay
Thalia Kress was bored. She'd been working as a store "clerk" for S&H for three months now, so she considered herself pretty experienced. All she had to do was smile and look pretty. When someone wanted to actually purchase something, she would retrieve her manager from the back of the store, where he was usually engrossed in chewing tobacco while reading the paper. Jeil Gerson was a man who really loved his tobacco. Thalia didn't understand the appeal, but she didn't need to; all she needed to do was put up with it and she could make a decent wage. There weren't many stores that would hire an inexperienced worker like her, so she was grateful for the work.
A bell attached to the door rang, announcing someone's entrance. Thalia stood up straighter and smiled broadly. "Welcome to S&H Medicines!"
The man who walked in was poorly dressed, covered in soot. Ah, a chimney sweep. These types were usually here for tobacco. Her smile faltered slightly, but the man failed to notice.
"'Scuse me, young miss," he said, speaking politely. "D'ya have any fever med'cine? Me wife's at home and she ain't doin' too well."
Thalia's expression softened and she replied, "Oh, dear! I'm so sorry to hear that, sir. Fever medicine is in aisle 3, second shelf on the left."
"Thank ye kindly, miss."
While the man browsed the medicine, Thalia kept an eye on him. Though she didn't want to be rude, half of her job was actually to make sure none of the stock was swiped by poor people who were unable to pay for the medicine they needed. Was "clerk" even the right title for her job?
The man picked a jar from the shelf and shuffled over to the counter. "I'd like ta purchase this please, miss."
She smiled. "One moment sir, let me fetch my manager for you."
The man nodded, understanding. It was illegal for women to handle money in their small country, after all.
When the man returned home with the medicine, he poured out the appropriate dosage and fed it to his wife, along with a cup of water. She coughed weakly and fell asleep.
That night, while her husband was asleep, the woman woke up feeling uncomfortable all over. Her head and throat hurt, her hands were twitchy, and she felt like something was missing. She was irritable and deeply thirsty. Not wanting to wake her husband, she got up and hobbled over to the bucket of water he'd left out for her, drinking deeply. It didn't satisfy her.
Thinking to herself, she wondered what it was she needed. She'd been pregnant before, so she was used to trying to figure out what she was craving.
She figured it out: medicine. At the very thought, her mouth started to water and she found herself walking over to where her husband had left the bottle of fever medicine. Wait, why did she want medicine this much? Nevermind, it didn't matter. If her body wanted medicine, then she probably needed it, right? Her body knew what it needed better than she did.
She popped open the bottle and upended it, drinking deeply. As the viscous liquid touched her tongue, a shiver ran through her body and her mind exulted in a new kind of pleasure. What was this unbelievable feeling? This delicious, addictive high? She continued gulping down the medicine until the bottle was empty.
It wasn't enough.
She looked frantically through the house, stumbling and crashing into things as she searched for more medicine. Where was it? Did they have more? There had to be more somewhere! She needed it! She needed it! Her numbing fingers struggled to open cupboards and she cut herself on broken glass.
Her husband shuffled out into the hall, holding a lit candle. "Daliah?" He asked groggily. "Are ye alrigh'?"
By this time, she had fallen to the ground and was twitching as the remnants of her life began to fade.
"DALIAH!!" He screamed, setting the candle down too quickly. He rushed to her side and tried to shake her awake. As he clutched her gradually cooling body, white smoke oozed from her body, coalescing into the shape of a small, white rat. The man didn't notice it, however, as he was too busy crying. The rat lunged at his face and bit his nose before scampering off.
The man gradually became aware of the smell of smoke as it filled his house. Alongside that awareness came another, the awareness of a deep craving that he hadn't felt in years. Had his wife's death triggered his old craving for tobacco?
Consumed by the craving, the man ignored the flames, retrieved his savings, and headed towards S&H to buy himself the goods. Yeah, he deserved this. He hadn't watched over his wife well enough. Now he would buy tobacco with all the money he had left, eat it slowly, then maybe kill himself to avenge his wife.
All that mattered for now was the craving.
He left his small, now-burning house behind him, clothes singed from having passed through the flames, shuffling single-mindedly in the direction of the S&H Medicine Store. They were closed right now, but that didn't matter. He'd just wait outside until they opened.