Episode 11 (Serena Season 2)

We stumble to a halt outside the village and I end up bent over,

panting so hard for breath that the inside of my throat feels like acid.

Serena whispes comfort in my ear, keeping close until my pulse stops hammeing through my head.

MC: "Is it gone?"

Serena: "It stopped chasing us, anyway."

Serena: "God, this village is one thing after another."

Serena: "I wish that had been some sort of fever-induced hallucination."

MC: "Sorry. Pretty sure I'm the only one that's sick."

Serena: "I know."

Serena: "Can you still walk? I want to get to the others, they have to know about this."

MC: "Yeah, big plant monster is pretty high on the priority list."

MC: "I think I can manage walking."

It's more of a hobble, I guess, but Serena and I manage to make our way towards Clyde's treehouse.

He and the guys are sitting outside around a table, tossing around dice made out of wood.

Clyde: "Oi! You two look a mess."

Clyde: "What happened?"

Serena: "I could tell you, but I'm not quite sure I believe it myself."

Serena: "Can you get  a chair? She needs to rest."

Clyde gives up his won without another word, and I give him a quiet thank you before sinking into the seat.

It's a bit easier to breathe now that I don't have to stand up,

and Serena squeees into the space between my chair and Arthur's.

TK: "Try making it simple. Three words or less."

MC: "Giant. Plant. Monster."

TK: "...One more time?"

Serena: "You heard her right."

Logan: "Um. We don't have giant plant monsters."

Logan: "Those are for really bad sci-fi movies."

Serena: "You are completely welcome to walk into that jungle alone and test that theory, Logan."

Clyde: "Wait a minute. You're serious?"

Serena: "As a heart attack."

TK: "And we're sure you and  haven't been drinking the bad water again?"

Serena: "Trust me, if I had any other explanation, you'd have it."

Arthur: "Can I ask what you were doing in the jungle?"

Serena: "I wanted to find some citrus fruit for  since she woke up feeling ill."

Serena: "So we went exploring."

Arthur: "The market might have been a safer option."

Serena: "We don't have to rely on this village's charity for everything, Arthur."

Clyde raises his hand to catch their attention and stop the argument before it starts.

Clyde: "Let's get back to the monster."

Clyde: "Did it hurt either one of you? Bites or scratches or something?"

MC: "No. I just got worn out running away."

Arthur: "What exactly did it look like?"

Serena: "Large, green. Like a venus flytrap on steroids."

MC: "...Yeah, I agree with that description."

Arthur: "Fascinating. I suppose with everything else we've seen on the island, that's not out of the question."

TK: "How is that not out of the question? That's ridiculous!"

Logan: "I've got to go with TK on this one."

MC: "Says the guy that just had his arm fixed by a magic plant."

Logan: "It's not really magic, though. I mean..."

Clyde: "Ey, what matters is getting into the bottom of this."

Clyde: "If there's some weird creature that could attack the village, we nede to know."

Clyde: "And if it's not really a monster, I'd still like to know what Serena and  saw."

Clyde: "Agreed?"

Arthur agrees immediately, and after exchanging a glance, Logan and TK nod too.

Serena glances at Clyde, giving him a small nod that I read as a thank you.

He smiles, so he must get it too.

(No wonder they get along so well.)

Serena: "Olivia's the one we need to talk to. She's the... plant expert around here."

Clyde: "Good idea. Everyone coming?"

Logan: "Definitely. I've got to see this."

TK: "Yeah, same here."

Arthur: "Of course."

MC: "I want to go too."

Serena frowns a little but doesn't argue, offering me a hand to help me up out of my seat.

It takes us a while to track Olivia down, but we finally find her at Kiyoe's place.

The door is propped open when we approach, although Clyde still knocks before ducking his head in.

Clyde: "Evening, doc. Making a house call?"

Olivia: "I'm back here in the other room!"

Olivia: "Kiyoe, do you mind if they come in?"

Kiyoe: "No, of course not. Please."

All of us squeeze into the houes and find Olivia kneeling in front of Kiyoe,

wrapping a long glowing leaf around one leg.

Thee are several more around the older woman's elbows and wrists, carefully binding her joints.

In the corner of my eye, I see Serena recoil,

but she quickly schools her expression back into one of cold neutality,

and neither Kiyoe or Olivia are paying enough attention to notice.

Olivia: "The whole crowd is here today, huh?"

Olivia: "You might be able to tell, but I do make house calls."

Kiyoe: "I hope you'e all alright."

Serena: "We're fine, for now. But that's probably not any thanks to you."

Olivia: "Excuse me?"

Serena: "You find those plants in the jungle, don't you?"

Olivia: "...Yes. That's how we met, if you recall."

Serena: "And in all those little adventures, you never ran into a plant monster the size of this house?"

Serena looks like she has a bad taste in her mouth even asking the question, but I know what we saw was real.

Olivia: "Um."

Olivia: "No, I can't say I have. There's not much in the jungle besides the occasional capybara."

Clyde: "Maybe on your side of things, Olivia, but we've run into plenty of beasts that bite and scratch."

Clyde: "You've really never seen any kind of strange plant thing?"

Olivia: "I mean, there are the ones I'm using right now, but they certainly don't have teeth."

Kiyoe: "That would be vey unpleasant."

Kiyoe: "These leaves are the only thing that helps my joint pain these days."

I swallow past a hard knot in my throat.

The ceature Serena and I saw in the jungle looked exactly like a big version of the one in Olivia's cage,

but if everyone finds out and gets scared, people like Kiyoe might not have a cure anymore.

(The monster didn't hurt anyone, it just scared us.)

(If we can keep it away from the village, then the danger should be gone, right?)

A. "You should be careful, Olivia."

B. "It's right outside the village."

C. "I think they're different."

---

B. "It's right outisde the village."

MC: "It's right outside the village."

MC: "Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it's not lurking there."

Olivia: "Maybe it's not so dangerous then."

---

Olivia: "You know not everything that looks scary means to cause harm."

Serena glares daggers at Olivia, who holds her gaze for a long moment befoe smiling.

Olivia: "Sorry I can't be of assistance."

Logan: "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm not even sure if they really saw--"

MC: "Hey! We did."

TK: "It is a little outlandish, ."

Arthur: "I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt."

Arthur: "We've seen plenty of unusual things on this island."

Clyde: "Aye."

Clyde: "And it's better to track whatever this monster is down before it decides the village is a good target."

Clyde: "If it's nothing, the village is safe regardless. It's a win-win."

Serena: "Agreed. We should head out tomorrow."

Olivia: "Then I'll come with you."

Olivia: "If there's really some weird creature out there, I'd like to see it for myself."

Logan: "The more the merrier. Let's go on a cryptid crawl."

That makes TK laugh, and I smile to myself a little.

Maybe it's a bit ridiculous, but I'd rather joke than be afraid.

I fall asleep as soon as we get home, a heavy wave of fatigue washing over me.

By the time my eyes open again, the sun is already high in the sky outside the windows,

and I groan while sitting up.

MC: "You know, if I'm going to be this tired, it should be because I did something fun."

MC: "Being sick sucks."

A long round of coughing tells me my lungs are in agreement, but Serena appears a moment later,

holding a tray lader down with fruit and a cup with coils of steam swirling above the top of it.

MC: "Breakfast in bed?"

Serena: "Something like that. I went out this morning and found some tea at the market."

She sets the tray down carefully on my lap before climbing back onto the bed, and I go straight for the tea,

blowing away a little of the heat so I can take a deep sip.

It immediately soothes the inside of my throat, the warmth gentle and relaxing.

MC: "Thanks."

Serena: "You were looking even more under the weather at Kiyoe's yesterday."

Serena: "That long run probably didn't help."

MC: "No, it really didn't. I thought I was going to keel over after that one."

Serena: "Better than getting bit by a plant monster."

MC: "Almost anything is better than getting bit by a big plant monster."

Serena: "Fair point. Now eat up."

In between sips of tea, I get through the cut fruit piece by piece,

managing not to choke on any of it between coughs.

Serena's hand is a consant presence against my back, rubbing against the tense muscle there.

MC: "You must be getting pretty tired of this."

Serena: "Of what?"

MC: "It just seems exhausting. You're always taking care of everyone, of me and--"

Serena: "Not so much lately."

MC: "You mean Olivia."

Serena's fingers stiffen against my back, but she confirms her frustration with a nod.

(God, I should tell her what I saw.)

(But then she'll ask when I saw it and...)

(I should never have promised to keep anything secret. Serena and I just talked about it!)

MC: "I'm sorry. I know she really bothers you."

Serena: "What bothers me is no one caring about the risks. And... it seems like you don't either."

MC: "I--"

A. "It's an easy fix."

B. "Wouldn't we know if there was a problem?"

C. "There's no other choice."

---

C. "There's no other choice."

MC: "I'm not sure what other choices I have. If this doesn't go away on its own..."

---

MC: "We don't have medicine, Serena. We've just had homebrew remedies and luck."

Serena: "That's all she has either, ."

Serena sighs, leaning over to place a soft kiss on my cheek

as she brushes a few stray strands of hair away from my brow.

Serena: "Don't mind me. I want you to focus on getting better."

MC: "You should be careful kissing me, then."

MC: "What if it's contagious?"

Serena: "Mm."

Serena: "I could give you a lecture about the signs and incubation periods of different contagious diseases,"

Serena: "but I think I'd rather just admit that I don't care."

MC: "You're not worried?"

Serena: "Not about that."

The next kiss is right on my lips, making Serena's point as she cups my cheek.

I lean into the touch, closing my eyes and hoping I'll feel better soon.

(Then again, I always do when she's here.)

<p style="text-align:center;">A. You always make me feel better.

<p style="text-align:center;">B. Go to sleep.

<p style="text-align:center;">---

B. Go to sleep.

I follow Serena's touch against my face as she guides me gently down to the bed.

Serena: "Get some rest. Doctor's orders."

MC: "Yes ma'am."

<p style="text-align:center;">---

She moves the food tay away before I feel her lifting the blankets over me, and feel her lean over to give me a kiss on the cheek.

I drift off to the soft sounds of Serena cleaning up, her bare feet padding around the treehouse.