(Demolition Zone in The Slums, Turkey, The Middle East, Europe - 8:45am...)

Looking back, I...! I think I lost count of how much time had passed, since I blew up the nest.

The knowledge that wasn't any information regarding an infection from a volatile's bite didn't help in the slightest, hence why numerous questions were racing through my mind. They were just simple ones, really - such as: if I was turning, what would I have turned into? What were the stages of infection from getting bit by a volatile? Could it be possible to find a suppressant, similar to Antizin? Or could I still use the latter? Then... Then, came the more frightening questions:

1. Would Henry and Jade be—! Would they be forced to put me down, that's if the worst happened?

2. How would they and my other loved ones react to the aforementioned scenario?

Even though it wasn't my first near-death experience (thank you, Dawud), those thoughts still terrified me - and... I remember also feeling confused over the lack of seizures occurring, despite my body feeling like it had been set ablaze. I didn't feel an increased level of adrenaline, either. Both symptoms would have confirmed that someone was in the process of turning into a viral, so my initial thought was: Hey. Maybe this means I've still got some time, you know?

I probably would have believed it, if I didn't have that vision of a needle being thrust into my arm...

"Libby!"

An arm wrapping around my shoulders snapped me out of my thoughts, and I found myself blinking in surprise. "J-Jade?" Oh, thank god you guys are here!

The woman flashed a relieved smile, as she tugged me in closer for an embrace. "I'm glad you're still with us, kiddo," Sadness briefly flashed in her eyes. "We were worried that...!" A sigh. "I don't think any of us could bear the thought of losing you," Jade?

"Yeah," Henry agreed kindly, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze before glancing down at... something? "Uh, not to scare you or anything, but whose blood is that?"

I followed his gaze and my eyes widened with horror. Holy fu—! "That's mine,"

"All of it?"

"Yes,"

"What, that's like two pints!" The man exclaimed in a fearful manner. Wait, what?! "I, have you...! Have you had any seizures?"

"No," I shook my head, wheezing hoarsely.

"Increased level of adrenaline?"

"No,"

He and Jade exchanged a glance, before his brows furrowed. "Okay, I..." He then addressed the kickboxer with a worried sigh. "Jade, wouldn't you say that's unusual?"

"I would," She confirmed, gently stroking my right shoulder with her thumb. Guys, what's happening? "I think Lena might know something about this, too,"

"Okay, I'll get a hold of her," Henry responded, before fishing out his radio and switching it on. "Hello? Lena, do you copy?"

"Go ahead, Henry," Lena's voice came through the other end.

"Jade and I - we've found Libby and, um, we were wondering if you could help us out with something?"

"Of course, how can I help?"

"Thank you," A brief, appreciative grin. "Say if someone had gotten bit by a volatile and they've survived coughing up two pints of blood - no seizures, no increased level of adrenaline. And they haven't turned. What do you think that could mean?"

"Hm, I'm afraid I'm not certain," Lena answered in a concerned manner. "Is this something that's happened to Libby?"

"It is,"

"I see. Bring her back to the Tower and I'll take some blood samples," The doctor instructed him. Wha—! Blood samples? Why do you need them?! "Those might help us figure out what's happening,"

Hearing this, our friend nodded. "Sure, we'll see you soon," Cue him to switch his radio off. "Did you catch all that, Lib?"

"Yeah," I gulped nervously, grasping my trembling left hand. R-Right. I...! I get why it has to be done, but—! I've always been scared of needles and... plus, there's that vision I had...!

"It's nothing to worry about," He reassured me, somehow managing to sense my fears. "I mean, it's just as Lena said - it'll help us figure out what's happening with you, that's all,"

"You'll," Jade swallowed back a wave of nausea and slowly started to trace circles over her... breasts? Okay, something's wrong. A hundred percent. "You'll be fine," A kind smile. "I promise,"

Judging by the uneasy glower on his face, Henry also noticed what our friend was doing. Yeah, I know. Should we, should we ask her what's up? But before either of us could do so, she had rose to her feet and offered me a hand. "Come on, let's go,"

Once she helped me up, the three of us were off to the Tower. During our trek through the Slums, I slowly realised that I had subconsciously allowed my own anxiety to flare up again. Fuuudge! This time, I think it was... I think it was because I was trying to figure out why Jade suddenly changed her opinions on Rahim and I after twelve days of silent treatment. At first, I thought that a possible reason was guilt and to some extent, that would have been likely. I also would have felt bad for her, if that was the case. But then, I started to remember a couple of things and...

It hit me.

Her lashing out, repeatedly going to the hospital because of her illness, clutching her stomach, feeling nauseous and tracing circles over her breas— What the?!

No. Jade, are you...?! Am I going insane or is she pre—! Argh! Don't think about it, Libby. Just focus on getting the blood samples done.

(The Tower's Hospital, Floor 19 - 8:57am...)

L-K

All I saw was red.

God, I...! Where do I even start with this? No, wait, I've figured it out. Recent events were honestly starting to feel like a pile of sh*t.

Let's do a quick recap, before moving on: the GRE's motives weren't what I was led to believe, Suleiman murdered a good friend right in our faces and I came back from the dead to find out that the mission to blow up that f*cking building had resulted in Rahim and Libby both getting bit. Plus, one of their friends wound up dead (poor guy) and Jade hated my guts for a new yet understandable reason. Though, she might be going soft on me? Who knows? But, I...! One has to wonder how they'd make amends, that's if they were in my situation? Why? Because, I had no idea how I was going to do it.

But I was sure as hell gonna try, anyway.

I also remember hoping to be able to make a start to that by helping Libby figure out what was happening with her. I'm not gonna lie, it was...! It was frightening to hear that she found herself coughing up two pints of blood, but it was also strange that she didn't display any symptoms of infection whatsoever. Now unless somebody else had gone through it, I'd say that this was probably the first or second time a person didn't turn - hence why we were pondering over possible reasons for the kid's ordeal.

Though, learning what they were sounded quite interesting.

"Libby?" Melanie's worried voice snapped me out of my thoughts, prompting me to turn my head and see her using her radio. "It's Mel, are you okay?"

"Not really, but I'll manage," Her younger friend spoke through the other end. "I'm, I'm just in the elevator, too. How about you guys?"

"Yeah, Rahim and I are still in one piece,"

"Oh, thank god," Libby sighed with relief, influencing a small smile to spread across my face. It's nice that you two look out for each other.

"Yep," The blonde chuckled. "Anyway, we'll see you in a moment?"

"Sure, of course,"

"Looking forward to it," Melanie responded kindly, before she switched her radio off and begun chatting with an injured but slightly content Rahim - who was resting on one of the hospital beds. Poor kid. Glad he seems to be doing okay, all things considered.

Meanwhile, Brecken was busy assisting Lena with setting up the equipment she needed for the blood samples and... I'll admit it. Even though I could see that they were handling things nicely, a part of me wondered if I should go over to ask them if they needed an extra pair of hands. Or maybe you just want to talk to someone, Crane. Did you think of that? Besides, why would they want to chat wit—

No, no. Stop beating yourself up. You're innocent, man. Brecken said so himself.

"Ah, Libby," Lena suddenly spoke calmly, despite concern flashing in her eyes. What's wrong, doc? "Feel free to take a seat wherever, and I'll be with you shortly,"

"Okay," I heard the girl respond in a shaky and hoarse manner. Oh no.

Without hesitation, I turned my head towards the hospital entrance and the second I did, my eyes bulged with horror. Why? Because, Libby was slowly getting herself seated on another bed nearby and she was in a horrific state. A lot of blood caked her teeth, chin, neck and clothes. Bonus points also went to the bloodied teeth marks on her left jean leg. Ouuuuch! Two pints, as well - holy f*ck.

I watched as Lena put on two rubber gloves and gather a white tourniquet, a needle, a vacuum tube holder and five collection tubes onto a silver tray. Hm, that's a lot of supplies you got there. She then walked over to Libby's bed and placed said tray on a white table, before addressing her. "How are you feeling at the moment? Are you okay?"

"Sort of," My surrogate daughter answered, as she reached down to bring her rucksack closer.

The older woman gave a small smile. "That's good. Now, I'm just going to walk you through the procedure - so, you've got an idea of what it's like, okay?"

"Okay,"

"It's called venipuncture," Lena began to explain, whilst Melanie rose to her feet and approached them. "So, to sum it up - I will draw some blood into these vials and we will get them analysed. It's very similar to the procedure that Mel had a while ago," Hm?

"I understand," Libby shakily nodded. Aww...! Her brows then furrowed with confusion. "I, um, how long do you think it'll take for results to come back?"

"That depends - but in your case, they should come in very quickly," A concerned frown then painted her face. "Are you okay for us to proceed?"

"Sure,"

The woman smiled. "Great. Could you take off your jacket?" Cue her to take the white tourniquet. "I'm going to apply this to your arm,"

"Okay," The girl replied, unzipping her jacket and prying it off her shoulders.

Following this, Lena got to work by strapping the tourniquet around her left arm and asking her to form a fist - so that her veins would appear more prominent. Once she did, the doctor quickly managed to find a vein and began to clean it with alcohol by using a circular motion. During the process, I... I couldn't help but notice numerous fresh, angry scabs on Libby's left wrist. Huh? That's new. And also, concerning. Where did they come from?

"How did you get those?" I found myself asking curiously.

My surrogate daughter instantly flinched with surprise. Woah! Easy there, kiddo. Everything's cool. A brief exhale, which was followed by a nervous gulp and... "I'm hoping to find that out, after this is done," A forced smile. "Glad you're still in one piece, by the way,"

"Likewise," I kindly returned her gesture, just as the older woman was busy assembling the needle and the vacuum tube holder together. "So, I heard that you blew up the volatile nest all by yourself. That's pretty bad*ss!"

"I agree," Melanie chimed in, gently brushing her knuckles against the younger girl's right cheek. Well, hello there! That's new, as well.

"See?"

Hearing this, Libby shook her head amusedly. "I, um, I only did it as a favour to Rahim. He was the mastermind,"

"I know - but still, not a lot of people get to say they did that sort of thing," I pointed out. "You two should be proud of yourselves,"

"Appreciate the compliment," She flashed a small grin, whilst Lena used a thumb to tighten the skin below the venipuncture site. Oh, looks like we're about to start - since the needle's ready to go. The doctor then addressed the Tower's leader. "Brecken - could you take the vials around back, once I'm done with them?"

"Sure, of course," Brecken responded, as he approached us.

"Thanks," Lena offered a brief but appreciative smile, before she turned to reassure a nervous Libby with: "Alright, Libby - I believe we're ready to begin. Now, I would advise you to breathe in and out when I insert the needle. Because that'll help you calm your anxiety throughout this process, okay?"

"I'll, I'll try my best,"

"Good," She said. "Alright - so, breathe in,"

An inhale.

"Breathe out,"

An exhale, accompanied by blood slowly pouring into the first vial. Looking back, I was... I'll admit that I was impressed with the way Libby handled the venipuncture procedure and I think she did really well, given her anxiety over it. I'd like to think that Melanie and I probably helped calm things down by remaining close to her, since she was trying to make conversation with us as often as possible. Rahim also chimed in with a couple of comments here and there - and... for a while, it looked like everyone's spirits were gradually brightening.

Then, along came...

"How's she doing?" Jade's concerned voice greeted my ears. Oh, f*ck me.

"Libby's a little shaken up, but she's alright," Lena quickly reassured her, just as Brecken took the first vial around back. "I have to say - she's doing a really good job handling the procedure so far," Hell yeah! She then inserted the second collection tube into the needle's vacuum holder. "Okay, breathe in,"

An inhale.

"Breathe out,"

An exhale, accompanied by blood slowly pouring into the second vial. Whilst this was happening, the doctor addressed Jade with: "How are you feeling at the moment, Jade? You doing okay?"

"I'm fine," My girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend? You know what? No, I'm not gonna think about that!) replied in a polite manner. Are you sure? I mean, I remember Brecken telling me that you're not doing so great.

"Where's Henry?" Libby asked her worriedly.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," The woman answered, clutching her stomach in... pain? Jade, what's wrong? "Chances are, he's probably looking through the new songs that he's been writing a while ago,"

"He's writing new music?" My surrogate daughter's eyes lit up with interest.

"Yes, he is," Oh, nice!

"What do you think the new album will be like?" Melanie pondered curiously. "Because, I remember listening to his first three albums with Libby and they all sound different,"

Hearing this, Jade shrugged. "Ah, who knows?" A small grin. "Though, I imagine it would be interesting to find out - wouldn't it?"

"True," The blonde commented happily.

"Lena?" Brecken's voice greeted our ears. "Could you come around back, please? We've got results," Ooooh!

"Hold on," The older woman told him, before addressing my girlfriend. "Jade, could you take over?"

"Sure,"

Seconds after she took hold of the needle, Lena rose to her feet and walked off to join Brecken. It wasn't long before I found myself tagging along, seeing as Libby was in good hands with Jade and Melanie. Plus, I couldn't help but let my curiosity get the better off me again. Alright, let's see what these results are. "Everything okay over here?"

"Yeah," Brecken answered in a friendly manner. "You want to take a look at this?"

"Okay," I said as I approached him and the doctor. "So, what are we up against?"

"Um, nothing," Huh?

My brows furrowed. "What - what do you mean, nothing?"

"I think what Brecken means to say is that Libby's white blood cell lines, which include percentages and absolute-counts, are completely normal," Lena interrupted kindly, quickly shooting a glower in his direction. "We're not seeing an elevation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, either," Woah, woah, the f*ck are you two saying?! "I...! She's immune,"

"Immune to what?" I questioned her.

"She's immune to the virus," The woman explained, shooting me a glower. Oh - so, you're glaring at me too?! "That explains why she hasn't displayed any symptoms of turning and why she survived coughing up two pints of blood, after she got bit," WHAT?!

"I-I, how is that possible?" I stammered in shock. "Seriously, how?"

Lena sighed tiredly. "No one knows, Crane," Her eyes then lit up. "But, Camden could help us figure that out - because, I remember Zere telling me that he has an MRI scanner in his lab,"

I shook my head in disbelief. "F*cking hell..."

Libby, you are not gonna believe this.