Radiate: Infectious Influx

Warm Welcome

Traveling in the portal felt different compared to what Chloe thought it would be like. It was as if she was falling endlessly, unlike the tug on one's stomach as so many others had described it. Just endless black, surrounding, almost choking, but she held on. Onto what? She thought to herself, what am I holding? Then she remembered, the panic, the betrayal, the arrows. Kier, falling behind her, never letting go. At that moment she was so grateful for his lasting friendship; it was always impossible for her to keep friends, but he was persistent, pressing closer when she pushed away. His friendship was the only one that lasted.

"Chloe," Kier called, "we're getting close to Earth." And she knew it too, as soon as she breached the atmosphere thoughts flooded her head. Their history, facts, everything. Pressing on her skull as if her brain was about to explode. She doubled over in pain, just realizing that they had stopped their teleporting and landed in what looked like the temple of Aphrodite from her home. Kier ran to her side, but she just shoved him away.

"I'm okay" she gasped "I'm okay, its just the thoughts, they came too fast for me to handle." Kier rubbed her back, soothing out the cramps that had begun to form. 

Sooner or Later, Chloe couldn't tell which, the pressure from her skull began to fade, and with that she got a grip on her new reality, and took a look around. 

"Wow" she exclaimed, "it looks just like her"

"Who?"

"Aphrodite of course, can't you see it in the eyes, the face?"

"Oh, yea I guess" he said indifferently.

"Well then, lets go. We need to find food, I'm starving"

At that Kier laughed, "Okay lets go"

They searched what looked to be a temple dedicated to Aphrodite, however they found nothing.

"Lets look somewhere else, there's gotta be food on this planet somewhere"

While walking, Kier looks at his bow and arrows admiringly, "Thank you for this" he says "even-though it was stupid and idiotic and suicidal and insane; thank you"

She turns to look at him while walking, "You’re welcome" she says with a smile, and turns forward again.

As they approach the front doors, the hair on the back of Chloe's neck begins to rise, as if in alarm. 

"Do you feel that?" she asks.

"Feel what?" Kier asks, confused.

"Never mind" she says.

When they open the doors, Chloe understands why her internal warning bells went off: death, death every where, from what looks like children to what she could only describe as old men and women. Then there's those who are walking around dazed and crazed.

"Kier, what happened?!" she cried in surprise.

"I don't know just as much as you don't know Chloe, how am I supposed to-- Watch Out!"

He shoves Chloe out of the way, strings his bow and let it hit it's target in less than a blink of an eye.

"What was that?" Chloe asks, rubbing her hip where she landed.

"That," Kier stated blatantly, "was some one who was about to end your life Chloe."

"Okay," she exclaimed, dazed "we need to get the heck out of here."

They began to run along the buildings lining the temple, or what's left of them at least.

"This place looks just about as bad as Niviea. What I don't understand is that I didn't receive any history about this, this sickness. It just fades from a war, nothing else after that."

"Maybe it just hasn't reached you yet" he said.

"Yea, maybe."