IM SO SO SO SO SORRY THAT I MISSED TWO UPDATES!! I DIDNT MEAN TO, PROMISE. IM REALLY SORRY

I WAS HAVING ANOTHER REALLY BAD DEPRESSIVE EPISODE BC I GOT A LOT OF BACKLASH ON MY UPDATE ON 'BUT NOW WE'RE STRESSED OUT'

But who really gives a flipping flying FUCK that there's an actual person with feelings behind the book and the Angst Queen crown

ANYWAYS I'LL SHUT UP NOW SORRY

❦☽ FANART TIME ☾❦

Marleyexe ^^^^

❦☽ FANART TIME OVER ☾❦

TRIGGER WARNING : blood, gore, swearing, ANGST

Quinn POV
Everyone reacted almost instantly. Logan grabbed Remus and pulled him away from Evan. Everyone was baking away from Evan who just looked at us with confused eyes.

I couldn't take my eyes off his back. The parasite. It's in him. It's destroying him. It's going to kill him.

Everyone was silent. No one knew what to do or how to react.

"What's wrong?" Evan asked, his voice getting panicky. "Remus what's going on?"

"That parasite," Was all Remus mumbled. No one else said anything. We were all collectively thinking one thing.

Evan is going to die.

"Evan," Logan said, trying to act calm but failing. "Do you remember how long ago it was when you received the cut down your spine?"

"Oh um, I think..." Evan trailed off, seeming lost in thought. "I remember two days ago, someone was there with Corruption. I couldn't see him but he had a strange knife, made out of a rock. He cut me once and than just left."

"And this happened two days ago?" Logan asked.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure," Evan mumbled.

"I need more than 'pretty sure'," Logan grumbled. "Evan you are going to die if you can't tell me when this happened."

"WHAT?!" Evan yelled, tears filling his eyes. He started panicking.

"What's wrong with me?!" He cried. "What's going to happen?! I don't understand, what's wrong?! What do you mean I'm going to die?!"

"Why did you tell him that?!" Remus yelled at Logan, clearly extremely angry.

"My apologies," Logan mumbled, adjusting his glasses. "Evan you have been infected with a parasite that is designed to destroy parts of Thomas that he doesn't need anymore."

"Wait, what?" Asked Thomas, reminding everyone that he was here with us. We all went to him when we couldn't find Virgil.

"Most everyone here already know this, but there is a place in your mind called the Pit of Forgotten Memories," Logan explained. "It is filled with a type of water that destroys memories. This is where Corruption came from and he uses the parasite that lives in the water to try and hurt us."

"So that's what it was," Dee mumbled.

"What?" Asked Thomas, heading him.

"The vile of stuff Corruption told me to give Virgil," Dee answered awkwardly. "To...kill himself with..." I grabbed Dee's hand in a comforting manor, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I knew how much he hated talking about how he was forced to work for Corruption.

"Precisely, I have dealt with this before, but I need to know how long you have been infected." Logan said.

"Two days," Evan said, trying to calm down.

"That is very concerning but also strange," Logan muttered.

"How?" Remus asked. "What do you mean?"

"Evan should be dead by now," Logan said, a genuine puzzled look on his face. "The destruction process only takes about a day."

"A new parasite?" Dee questioned, seeming confused but interested.

"Possibly," Logan mumbled in response. "It might be a new one, were infection takes a longer process. Evan are you in any pain?"

"My back has been all cut up, of course I'm in a lot of pain," He answered.

"Weaker than usual?" Logan asked, now writing stuff in a tiny blue notebook.

"I haven't eaten in five days," Evan mumbled, obviously trying to come up with excuses. He's in denial...

Logan knelt down next to Evan and put his hand over the wound. Slowly, a small black tentacle came out of the wound.

It reached up to Logan's hand and seemed to be smelling it almost than. But instead of grabbing onto Logan to infect him, it retreated back into Evan.

"Odd..." Logan whispered. "Remus come here."

Remus stood next to Logan, who grabbed Remus's hand and placed it over the cut. But the same thing happened.

The parasite refused to infect anyone other than Evan.

"It must be a new strain of the parasite," Logan said, standing up. "Obviously designed specifically to destroy Evan."

"But why?" Asked Remus. "Why Evan? He's never done anything to Corruption."

Logan thought for a few moments before motioning to Patton. Logan moved Patton's hand over the cut.

Another black tentacle appeared, but this time, it grabbed onto Patton's hand almost instantly. Logan quickly yanked Patton's hand away before the parasite could truly grab on.

"What the hell..." Mumbled Logan. Patton rubbed his hand, seeming terrified. "Apologies Patton," Logan told him while giving him a quick kiss.

Logan made us all line up and see if the parasite would try and infect us. But not Thomas because it wasn't worth the risk. It would only do so to Patton and Emile.

"I believe this version of the parasite is designed to destroy the good parts of Thomas." Logan said, finally coming to a conclusion of sorts. "It takes longer to destroy its host, I'm not sure how though. But it's main intent is to get ride of the...kind, nice, good, innocent parts of Thomas."

"How are we supposed to help him than?" Patton asked, looking at Evan with wide sad eyes. "Evan is my tiny child too and I refuse to just stand by and not help him."

"Patton you can't risk infection," Logan told him gently. "The rest of us will try to help with your guidance, but you can't touch him. Besides, we don't know how much longer Evan has left."

We were all silent for a while. All looking uneasily at each other.

"Is there any way to save him?" Remus asked, looking ready to punch the next person that mentioned that Evan was going to die.

"No," Answered Logan. "The parasite has grown to much, so I can't remove it without immediately killing Evan. The best we can do is help him and hope his body can fight the parasite off itself."

"So there's really no cure for this?" Thomas asked. "How'd you save Virgil then?"

"I was able to remove the parasite within in hour of Virgil's infection," Logan answered. "But It's been too long in Evan's case. Taking the parasite out would mean ripping his internal organs. We could try to coax it out, but there are too many to do that in time."

We were all silent again. Tears filled my eyes as I looked at Evan. He was quiet now too, silent tears slowly rolling down his cheeks.

Quinn

What was that?! I snapped my head up, looking around the room. No one else seems to hear anything.

Everyone was still looking uneasily at the floor. Or in Remus's case, literally shaking in rage.

Quiiiinnnnnnn

The voice echoed in my skull. What is that? What's going on? Am I loosing my mind?

I was shaking in fear now. Everything is going horribly wrong. Evan is going to die and now I'm hearing voices.

Quinn, come heeerrrrreeeeeee

I shifted uneasily on my feet. I looked around at everyone. They were talking again, but I could barely hear them. There was a ringing in my ears, reducing everyone's voices to dull, muffled background sound.

I'm loosing my mind aren't I? A few tears rolled down my cheeks. I noticed how Dee looked over at me in concern.

"I gotta go," I whispered to Dee, before turning and bolting up the stairs. He didn't try to stop me, obviously thinking I needed space to cry and think through this.

Quinnnnnn

The voice kept getting louder as I headed up the stairs. I looked down the hallway, not seeing anymore.

My heart pounded in my chest. This is like a horror movie. I'm loosing my mind. I'm going to die like Evan.

Quinn come here

I started walking down the hallway subconsciously. I knew I shouldn't listen, that I should go back down to Dee.

But something was calling me forwards, towards the end of the hallway. I kept walking, far past all the bedrooms.

No one is up here. What the hell is going on? I must be going crazy or something.

But that's when someone clamped a hand over my mouth and jabbed something sharp against my side.

Panic coursed through me as I was pulled against the person's chest. This is it. I'm going to die aren't I?

I started struggling, trying to scream. To scream for help. But I couldn't get any sounds out of my mouth besides a whimper of fear.

"Be quiet and stop struggling," A gruff voice hissed in my ear. Not Corruption. "Or I'll infect you like I did your friend."