Plague Doctors: Beginning of the End-Chapter 10 - : The second invisible dot

The deeply lit autopsy lab was a chaotic blend of brass instruments, whirring gears and the acrid scent of chemicals. Dr Willem burst through the heavy oak door, his leather boots clattering against the stone floor, his beak mask fitted with a filtration system of his own design.

There, on top of five steel autopsy tables lay the carcass of the drider that had attacked Olstrum. It's body blown in half and partially charred. It's legs, each as thick as a lamp post were curled inward in death, and it's multifaceted eyes reflected the flickering light like shards of glass. The creature's exo skeleton was a mottled mix of black and iridescent red, and it's nigh inexistent abdomen oozed a dark hemolymph that pooled beneath it.

Willem's gloved hands moved with practiced precision as he began examining the creature. He noted the precision of the blast that had blown the spider apart, someone had known exactly where to strike. But what intrigued him most was the state of the creatures hemolymph, it was thinner than usual, almost completely non-viscous. And when he extracted a sample and held it up to the light, it had an unnatural sheen.

"Sedation," his voice muffled by the mask,"But how?"

To confirmed his suspicions, willem turned to one of the schools inventions, a brass apparatus with a series of glass tubes. valves and a small combustion chamber. He carefully measured a sample of the spider's hemolymph and mixed it with a solution of potassium dichromate, a bright orange compound known for its reactive properties. The mixture hissed and bubbled as he heated it over a small flame, the gears of the device whirring as it regulated temperature.

Within moments, the orange solution began to change. It shifted to a deep emerald green, a clear indication that the hemolymph, or at least something within it, had been oxidised. Willem's eyes narrowed behind his mask, this was no ordinary reaction, it was proof that the spider had been sedated before it's death. The sedative, likely an alkaloid, had altered the chemical composition of its hemolymph, making it more reactive to the potassium dichromate.

"Fascinating," Willem murmured, his mind racing. The implications were staggering. Whoever had encountered this creature had sedated it before engaging in combat or stumbled upon it after it had already been subdued. But how? A resident would not have been able to pull such a feat off and from the size of it, they would need an exaggerated amount of the sedative to get it to such a concentration. At the same time, these spiders appeared in Olstrum just in time to catch the carriage of street children and homeless people he'd instructed Charlotte to set free. The residents also from what he had been told appeared just in time, immediately after they had killed off the inhabitants of the carriage, what a coincidence!

Willem's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps echoing down the corridor outside. He quickly scribbled his findings in a leather bound journal, his quill scratching furiously across the page, the mystery of the spider was not fully solved, but one thing was certain, this was no random encounter. Someone had orchestrated this creatures demise, planted it where it was exactly when they needed it to be, Willem was determined to uncover the truth.

As the footsteps got closer, he slid the journal into his coat and adjusted his mask. He could not let anyone find out about his missions and so he played the fool. He acted oblivious as he left the lab but...to be Chief Surgeon, he was a master of his craft, this mystery was no match for him.

Meanwhile, in one of the many rooms of the school, three plague doctors stood in an intense circle, their elaborate masks casting eerie shadows on the walls. Charlotte was amongst them, her voice sharp and laced with frustration, as she broke the silence.

"Why didn't you stand with me?" She demanded, her claws out like and fingers flexed. The owl mask with its wide unblinking eyes, intricate detailing. "We had a chance to challenge Willem, to demand accountability for mismanagement of the school. And you both just sat there, silent!"

The plague doctor in the magpie mask shifted uncomfortably, the metallic sheen of her mask catching the light as they spoke. "You know as well as I do that standing against the Chief Surgeon would get us into trouble," she said her voice tinted with defensiveness. "Who knows what he would've done to us? We've seen what happens to those who cross a Chief Surgeon, I wasn't about to risk my position, or my life on a gamble."

The third figure adorned with a flamingo mask, it's long curved beak giving it an absurd appearance, chimed in. "Its not just about the risk," they said their voice measured but no less anxious, "We had no chance that anyone else in the meeting would back us up. Without support, we would've been isolated, vulnerable. You know what the last Chief Surgeon did to the last team that tried to stand against her. They were dismantled, one by one, I won't end up like them."

Charlotte took a step foward, her voice rising. "Cowards," she spat, the word echoing in the chamber. "Poltroons afraid of a bigger poltroon, should've seen this coming. We're supposed to protect people, to make sacrifices for the cause. But instead you're letting fear dictate your actions."

The magpie doctor crossed her arms, her voice rising to match Charlotte's, "Its easy for you to call us cowards when clearly you won't suffer any consequences. I don't know what arrangement you have with the Chief Surgeon but he seems to tolerate your recklessness, letting you charge into battles without thinking about the fallout. But not all of us can afford to be so bold."

The flamingo doctor nodded in agreement. "We're not cowards, we're practical. You can't combat his management if you're dead or dismissed. Sometimes survival is the first step towards making a difference."

Charlotte shoot her head, her voice cold and final. "Survival is for the weak, if you won't stand with me, then I'll handle the Willem and his management myself. But don't expect me to protect you when the consequences of your inactions come knocking."

With that she turned, her long coat swirling behind her as she strode out the chamber. The heavy door slummed shut, leaving the other two stunned in silence. The magpie doctor sighed, her shoulders slumped. "She's going to get herself killed, then again, if he wanted her dead she'd already be gone," she muttered.

The flamingo masked doctor adjusted his mask, his voice quiet and resolute. "Maybe. But she's right, he's ruining the normal way of things, might as well be working with the enemy at this point. Sooner or later we'll have to push for an alternative."

The room fell silent again, the weight of their choices hanging heavy in the air. Outside the faint sound of steam whistles and distant machinery served as a reminder of the world they navigated, a world where good and bad swapped places, and where the line between survival and betrayal was perilously thin.

That same evening, Willem was seated behind his desk. The atmosphere seemed a bit tensed, mostly because he wasn't the only inhabitant at that point in time.

Visit fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm for the best novel reading experi𝒆nce.

A young resident by the name Elliot stood in the middle of the room, his hands at his sides. He was had taken his plague mask off but had his weapons behind his back, two axes. His brow furrowed in confusion as he glanced around the room, unsure why he had been summoned. Willem gestured to a chair opposite his desk with a gloved hand, his voice calm but slightly commanding.

"Sit," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Elliot obeyed, sinking into the chair and trying to steady his nerves. Willem leaned foward, his masks glass eyes glinting in the light. "You're probably wondering why I called you here," he began, his voice measured. "I've heard about your recent...encounter. You and Dr Vale, fought a giant spider in the middle of town. Quite the feat."

Elliot blinked, surprised. "Oh. Uh, yes, sir. We did."

Willem nodded slowly, "Tell me, how did you arrive at the scene so quickly, it's not everyday such a creature appears and even rarer to be dealt with so effeciently."

Elliot hesitated, then replied, "We were sent to patrol around the town square by Dr Charlotte, as we got closer, we heard an explosion. We rushed towards it and found the spider and it's minions. They'd already attacked a carriage, destroyed it and killed the the people inside it. " His voiced wavered slightly at the memory.

Willem's head slightly tilted, as if considering this. "I see. And during the fight, did you or Dr Vale use any sedatives? Anything to slow the creature down?"

Elliot shook his head. "No sir. We didn't have anything like that, I fought the minions with my axes and Vale, I mean, Dr Vale took out the big one with her daggers and grenades. That's all."

Willem leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled in front of him. "Interesting, thank you for your honesty. You've been very helpful," he paused. His voice shifting to something more serious, "However I must ask that you keep this conversation between us. Do not speak of it to anyone, not even Dr Vale. Do you understand?"

Elliots Confusion deepened but he nodded, " Yes sir."

"Good, you may leave."

Elliot stood, his mind racing as he walked out the office. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving him alone in the dimly lit hallway. He felt like something was off. Why wouldbthe Chief Surgeon be interested in the details of the fight? Why the secrecy? He glanced back at the door, a knot of unease tightening in his stomach, before heading down the corridor.

Inside the office, Willem sat in silence for a moment, his gloved hands drumming lightly on his desk. His mind was already piecing together the puzzle. Charlotte! She sent Elliot and Vale on patrol, she knew the spider would attack. She sedated it, ensuring it would be sluggish enough for the duo to handle. The timing of the explosion, the destruction of the carriage, the killing of its inhabitants, it was all too precise to be a coincidence.

"A calculated move," Willem murmured to himself. "You sent them there having placed the weakened spider at a precise point. To clean your mess up after you murdered those people I instructed you to free. You just couldn't let them go."

He leaned back in his chair, his mask obscuring any expression, but his mind was sharp and focused. Charlotte orchestrated it all, she tried making it seem like it was a normal mission, calamity countered by plague doctors. She couldn't do it herself because he would have had a much easier time connecting the dots.

Killing them was however of no use, the government protected plague doctors so long as they had a plausible cause for their actions. They had the best lawyers and were hardly ever even prosecuted. What she did was not out of necessity but pettiness. She couldn't just let them go on with their lives, they were her little play things. She liked playing God, they had no right or even choice to try and escape the palm of her talon equipped hands.

Willem's gloved hand reached for a quill, he then took out his leather bound journal from his leather coat, his movements clear and deliberate. He was almost always seated behind his desk, working in his office but he was a vigilant man, and more so a plague doctor. He realized that fixing the system was going to be much harder than he thought, those who composed of it, some at least, even though he didn't want to think of it that way, may be beyond reasoning with.