I'm very lucky that Jack offered to come too, because getting to Kaeden's cabin by car is much easier than trying to get an Uber out to a certain spot in the forest. I can't help but look down at the chunk of Originium that Jack had me hold on the drive over. It's still wrapped in its towel, but Jack promised to drive carefully just in case. "Why do we need to bring this thing?" I ask while he's driving. Looking over at him, I see his eyes glance towards me briefly before returning to the road ahead of him.

"It's too dangerous to keep it in your apartment complex. If any particulates manage to get into your ventilation system, it could get around to the other residents and infect them too. Taking it to Kaeden's will ensure that any large supplies of it can be kept safe away from most other people. As long as Debbie follows your direction to keep her small sample safe, we may be able to contain the infection to only a few people for a while longer."

I nod, having mostly kept up with that. "A while longer?"

He sighs, but he doesn't look away from the road. "It's going to get out eventually. Whether it's by another vein being found somewhere or a wild animal carrying it to any other people. Best we can do is delay that as long as possible."

I know Jack pretty well and I know that he doesn't consider himself to be pessimistic. He calls it 'planning for the worst'. He's also really smart and usually stays pretty informed, so I know that he definitely believes that this Originium is that dangerous. "Why are you so certain it will get out?"

He scoffs, chuckling darkly to himself. "This country has the absolute worst pandemic response I've ever seen. How could it not get out?"

Frowning, I can't really disagree with that. My eyes drift back to the window, watching the forest pass by quickly. I've been down this same road several times; usually it's Kaeden himself that is driving me.

The forest is relatively quiet around us, the sound of soft music filling the car. I notice a trail sign nearby and perk up. Seeing that means we're near his cabin, we're only about five minutes away.

I check my phone once more, but Kaeden still hasn't responded to my earlier message. Usually his cabin is really good about receiving a cell signal, but maybe it's not working as well today? Looking at my full bars, it's hard to convince myself that might be the case.

Jack turns the car down Kaeden’s driveway and I'm able to see his cabin in the distance. "We're here," Jack says as he pulls to a stop.

I don't hesitate to unbuckle and hop out of his car. I rush up to his front door, knocking loudly. After a few seconds of silence, I start to jiggle the door knob. It's locked.

Before I can grab the spare from its hiding place, there's a loud scream from behind his cabin. "Hah! Take that!"

Running around the cabin, I see someone I can only assume is Kaeden. His hair is dark red now, but it's not that much longer. He's swinging an axe at a strange blob-shaped creature. It moves strangely across the ground and looks like it's covered in an armor of sorts with large metal spikes sticking out at odd angles. Kaeden swings his axe once more, catching the creature between the chinks of the armor. It writhes a little at the damage before fully deflating. The spikes actually droop, as if they were alive and not actually made of metal like I assumed. The creature deflates, slowly melting into a pool of murky orange goo.

I'm frozen, staring at the creature as Kaeden steps away from it. He spins around towards his cabin and his eyes meet with mine. He tenses upon seeing me and Jack, his eyes flicking between the two of us. Now that he's properly facing us, I can see that his eyes are a different color now as well. His eyes are a much brighter red than his hair, looking almost fiery. His eyes are clearly looking me over too, stopping to stare at my now much longer hair.

He smiles, waving at us. As he does so, he winces slightly and I can see that he's putting more of his weight on one leg.

"Hey, Kaeden. Long time no see," Jack says, stepping forward to help him. I snap out of whatever strange daze I was in after seeing that strange creature.

"Uh… hey, Jack," he says, slightly confused. "Wait, how do you know it's me?"

Jack ignores the question for now, pulling up Kaeden's pant leg slightly. Kaeden winces as he does so, but he doesn't struggle at all. Underneath his pants leg is a small stab wound that's bleeding down his pant leg. "Anthony, can you get the first aid kit from my car? It's in the glove compartment."

Running back to the car, I manage to find the first aid kit easily. As I’m jogging back, I open the kit to look for all the things Jack will need to treat the wound. As I round the corner of the cabin, I can see that Kaeden has moved closer to the back door. Jack is pouring water out of a water bottle onto the wound to clean it. I hand Jack the antiseptic as I approach, prepping the bandage while he finishes cleaning the wound. "Alright, looks like it isn't too deep,” he looks over to the bandages I’ve prepped and nods in appreciation. “That should be enough to take care of it," Jack says as he finishes up.

"Wow, you two work quick," Kaeden says with a smile. "Why are you here, though? Also, why is your hair so long?" Kaeden is looking at me for that last question.

I smile wryly, looking at his hair. "Same reason yours is so red."

Wandering over to the murky puddle where that creature used to be, Jack adds, "also the same reason this slug is here."

"Wait, do you know what that thing is?" Kaeden looks shocked, leaning over next to Jack.

"Originium slug. Fairly weak, but they can be annoying in big numbers," Jack says, looking up towards the forest’s edge. "Is this the first one you've seen?"

Kaeden folds his arms and shakes his head. "I saw a couple of them when I was heading out to the cave earlier and this one decided to follow me home."

Jack stands up, gesturing to the cabin. "Let's head inside then, just in case any more happen to arrive."

As Kaeden closes the door behind us, he turns to Jack with a frown. "Do you want to explain what's going on right now?

We all sit at Kaeden's table and Jack gathers his thoughts. As Jack starts to explain, my phone rings. Looking at the screen, I realize that it's Debbie. I stand up from the table, walking away from them while Jack explains everything to Kaeden.

"Debbie? Did you get my messages?" I say, picking up the call.

"...Yeah, I got them. It's a lot to take in, but, I believe you." She sounds very anxious, but she continues talking. "I ran some tests last night on the samples you gave me and I couldn't believe some of the results. I took the results to one of my professors last night and he said he'd look them over. When I came back to the college this morning to run some more tests, the campus was on lockdown. There's a bunch of soldiers and I think the CDC is here?"

I feel a chill go through my body as I hear that, unsure what to say. She continues talking regardless. "They're going around asking questions, so I would keep my head down if I were you."

"What about you?" I ask.

"I'll be fine. If they ask, though, I'm gonna tell them the truth. Sorry."

"Don't be, I understand. Thanks for the heads up." I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Thanks for everything, Debbie. Stay safe."

"Mhmm. You too," she says before finally hanging up. I stare at my phone for a couple minutes before pulling the battery out of it and walking back into the room where Jack and Kaeden are.

They both turn to look at me, looking concerned as they see my expression. "Debbie called. Soldiers and the CDC have my campus locked down. She told me that it's probably best to lay low."

Jack leans back in his chair and closes his eyes. "Ugh, how did they react so quickly?"

Kaeden stands up from the table, stretching wide. "What do we do, then?"

Jack is still deep in thought, so I place my phone on the table. "Well, I already took the battery out of my phone for now. This is probably still the last place it shows though."

Jack sighs, opening his eyes and taking my phone. He puts the phone back together, turning it back on. He gets up from his chair and looks at the two of us. "I'll take care of this. You two just sit tight until I can get back. Anthony, come grab the Originium out of my car before I leave."

"What do we do while you're gone?" Kaeden asks.

"Nothing. If any more Originium slugs or anything appear, take care of them, but otherwise I'd stay nearby. You can go into the forest a bit if you're careful, but we don't know what else might have been affected by Originium by now. I'll be back in a day, maybe two. I'll bring some groceries and equipment with me when I come back, so try to hold on until then." He thinks for a second before nodding and turning back to the door.

Before I can follow him, Kaeden tugs on my shirt. Kaeden leans over, whispering to me, "is it just me, or does he seem a lot more serious than usual?"

I chuckle lightly at that. "You haven't seen him in his doctor mode. It means he's thinking things through a lot, so he must be thinking about some plan." I jog after Jack to retrieve the Originium from his car and I wave at him as he leaves. He smiles, waving back before driving back down Kaeden’s driveway and away from his cabin.

I carry the chunk back into the house and it's still wrapped in a towel. "Now, where should we put this?" I carefully unwrap the towel to show Kaeden that it's the Originium he gave me.

He smiles, gesturing for me to follow him. "I actually picked up a large metal chest from the junkyard and I've been storing the rest of the… what was it called? Originium?" I nod affirmatively and he continues, "the Originium I gathered in there."

He shows me the chest that he has out back, unlocking it and lifting the lid. My stomach does a couple of flips, flip flopping between amazement and fear at the amount he has gathered up till now. This chest must weigh a ton with how full it is. I place my chunk on top of the rest of it and he locks the chest back up.

A couple more times throughout the day, Originium slugs wander out of the forest and towards Kaeden's cabin. Each time, he fends them off with an axe. When he isn't fending them off, I watch him cut logs for his fireplace. I watch from a safe place inside his cabin.

I offer my help with fending off the slugs, but he insists that it's fine because he only has one axe. I content myself for a time with watching and studying their movements as he deals with them. They're definitely slow, but those spikes they coat their bodies with aren't anything to scoff at. Eventually though, I grow bored of watching the slugs and look for something else to do. I find some books in my search, but nothing jumps out at me.

With very little else to do around the house, I peek my head out the door while Kaeden is chopping firewood. "Do you want some snacks? I can make something while you work."

He glances over his shoulder, looking conflicted. "You don't have to do that. I can always make something if you're hungry."

"I really don't mind," I shake my head to accentuate what I'm saying and my hair goes this way and that. I brush my hair out of the way, realizing that I'm still not used to the length of my hair. "Besides, I could use something to do."

He sighs, gesturing to the kitchen. "Sure, feel free to make whatever. I've got some staples, but not much else."

I grin at that, nodding my head. I usually have what I'm going to make during the week more or less planned, keeping my fridge well stocked to usually make whatever on a whim, but I'm definitely down for more of a challenge. It'll help to keep my mind busy if I consider it a puzzle of sorts.

I leave Kaeden to whatever he has planned and sequester myself away into his kitchen. It's actually kind of cozy and most of his cookware seems to be handmade. I've been by his house before, but I've never had a reason to investigate his kitchen so thoroughly. I'm actually surprised by the variety of tools he seems to have made. He hasn't just stuck with very simple and easy to make tools, but it seems like he's gone to the trouble of making a handmade colander out of wood too.

I'm really impressed by how stocked his kitchen is in actuality. I knew that he was committed to being self-sufficient, but it doesn't exactly seem like he's skipping out on the convenience of certain tools by doing so.

With the knowledge of what I'm working with, I open his pantry to get a list of ingredients going. One of the first things I notice is one of the few gadgets that his cabin has. It's a large white trunk, and opening it I realize that it's a freezer. He has several cuts of meat frozen inside reusable plastic containers, with descriptions of the contents written on top in marker. Looking through the rest of the pantry, there are a lot of baskets filled with various fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as some large buckets filled with sugar, flour, and salt.

Pulling out a bunch of lemons, I place them all into a bowl to make some fresh lemonade. I eye a bread box on another counter, peeking inside to find some homemade bread. I can feel the cogs turning in my head as the pieces of my plan are falling into place. I go back and forth between the pantry several times to gather my ingredients before I finally feel satisfied with what I've gathered.

I start with the lemonade, because it will take the longest. I follow my internal recipe, filling a bowl with sugar and carefully cutting the outer rinds off the lemons to put inside the sugar. It'll have to sit there a couple hours to turn into a nice syrup. Afterwards, I juice all of the lemons into a large glass pitcher so that it's ready whenever the syrup is.

With that out of the way, I cut a couple slices of bread off of the homemade loaf that Kaeden must have made. It smells fresh, so it must have been in the last day or so. I hum to myself as I chop the vegetables up and dress them all nicely with some oil mixed with vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. After they're dressed, I arrange them all in the sandwich nicely and top the sandwiches with cheese. It's a light and simple sandwich, but it should be perfect.

I sigh upon realizing that my efficiency has sabotaged me this time. With the task of making snacks having passed too quickly, I cut the sandwiches in half and carry them all outside on one plate. As I step outside, I realize that Kaeden is a little further from the cabin, near a large furnace, and wearing some protective equipment. I decide to keep my distance and place the plate on a nearby table, taking a sandwich and nibbling it slowly.

I watch Kaeden work as he takes something out of the furnace with some tongs and pours it into a small box of some sort. From here it looks like wood, but considering it hasn't instantly gone up in flames, it must be a mold and the box is just a frame. I watch him work as I nibble at my sandwich, not wanting to eat too much without him. As he finishes pouring the molten metal, he inspects his work for a moment before taking a step back and glancing towards the cabin. I wave to him, showing him my partially eaten sandwich.

He approaches the cabin, taking off some of his protective gear as he gets closer. "Hey, thanks. Sorry, I got caught up in that for a minute."

I wave his concerns off, gesturing to the plate. "No worries at all. I made us a couple sandwiches, so help yourself." I turn back to his forge, watching it once more. "It's interesting seeing you at work; I've only ever seen the results."

He smiles, picking up a sandwich. "Yeah, I didn't have plans for a project, but dealing with these slugs gave me a sudden idea that I wanted to try out." He bites into the sandwich, looking surprised after he does so. "Oh wow, this is really good. I didn't realize you were such a good cook!"

I chuckle, looking down at my own sandwich. "It's not even cooked, all I really did was cut some ingredients and lightly dress the vegetables. You could make this kinda thing every day with the ingredients you've got lying around."

"I usually keep my meals pretty simple because I figured I don't have a lot to work with. I'm not very inventive when it comes to food. You think you could give me a few pointers around the kitchen sometime? I'd love to make something fancier than pasta one of these days."

I raise an eyebrow at that, thinking back to the colander. "Homemade pasta is already pretty fancy. But sure, I've had a couple ideas looking at what you have around. It's actually pretty incredible the kind of things you have gathered. I saw a basket full of foraged mushrooms back there."

He smiles wide, nodding his head. "I used to head into town from time to time to watch videos and even picked up a couple books on foraging mushrooms so that I'd be able to grab ones that wouldn't poison me. Now though, I can tell which ones you can and can't eat by memory."

"That's so cool! I'd love to come foraging with you sometime. I've always thought that kind of stuff was interesting, I just never had much of a practical reason to learn it."

He gives me a thumbs up. "Sure thing. I can teach you a thing or two while you're staying here."

I just smile in response, returning to munching on sandwiches. After a while, Kaeden returns to his project, and I watch from a distance as he pulls a now solid large metal block from the mold. I watch him sand and measure it, and eventually begin working on another piece of metal. Over a couple of hours he alternates between working and resting, interspersed with the occasional interruption from a slug. At this point, he's able to take care of one slug without much hassle at all.

After those couple of hours, I check how the syrup is forming and it's developed enough that I decide to make the lemonade. Returning with cold drinks, I call out to Kaeden. As he sets down his project, I finally realize what he's making.

He jogs over for some lemonade and I gesture to his work space away from the cabin. "Are you… making a big hammer?"

He grins widely. "You like it? I wanted something with a longer handle than the axe, but also something heavy enough that I could use blunt force as opposed to trying to cut through their metal shells. It sort of just came to me, so I started making it." He takes the glass of lemonade, taking a sip. His eyes light up and I can't help but smile. "Wow! This is the best lemonade I've ever had. Way better than the stuff I make."

I nod, enjoying my own glass. "The secret is oleo saccharum. You gotta get all the lemony goodness into the lemonade." He looks confused and I just chuckle. "I'll show you how to make this too. It sounds intimidating, but it's actually really simple.”

Kaeden shakes his head, sitting down and leaning back in his chair while we both enjoy our lemonade. Kaeden finally speaks up after a while, chuckling to himself. "Wow, Jack’s really missing out. What do you think he's up to?"

I sigh, looking up in thought. What do I think he's up to? I hope everything's okay. Then again, he seemed like he had something he was thinking about pretty intensely. I have to assume that he has a plan of some sort. "He mentioned getting some equipment, but I really can't fathom what he meant by that."

"He's a doctor, right? Maybe some form of doctor's equipment to check on our conditions?" he suggests. It's not a bad suggestion, considering his profession.

"We'll see whenever he gets back, I guess."