31 – Suffering

Bonnie was asleep with heavy breathing on the bed, and we circled her. I had to hide her E.E.S., so Ciara could easily take this tiny girl.

"Looks like we have to ask the colony in the apartment." I sighed. "None of us know how to cure her."

"But that means we must leave this house unprotected," Liz responded.

Slowly, Bonnie opened her eyes. Ciara immediately brought her face closer to the tiny girl.

The super soldier asked in a soft tone. "How do you feel now?"

"My panties." Bonnie hissed as she looked around. "I saw a lot of my underwear flying…. Hey, do they have any consciousness?"

I paused. "Are you hallucinating or joking?"

"I know, Axel." The tiny girl looked at me. "But why did you put a dildo on your body?"

From her expression, I guessed that her mind really had an illusion. I can't laugh even though her words are absurd.

She then closed her eyes again.

"We must leave immediately then, sir." Ciara made a suggestion. "The sooner, the better."

***

Upon arriving at the apartment, we were greeted by an E.E.S user who immediately pointed her rifle at us.

"What do you want?"

I, hiding behind Ciara's cloak and peeping, could guess that she was Rayne, the girl we met at that robot beauty workshop. I could tell by her slightly hoarse voice.

"I come in peace. Your friend met me once when I came here. At that time, we made a deal to take the batteries for you to exchange for crops seeds." Ciara responded in a calm tone. "I just wanted to ask for directions. My friend caught an infection from the blood of a monster. Right now, she's unconscious."

"Then get the fuck outta here!" Rayne snapped. "That means you might have caught it too! Having you here is dangerous for us…."

"We were just wondering if you know where we can find a serum or anything to cure her." Ciara interrupted. "After this, we will leave immediately. Hey, how about I also bring some of the serum to you guys to stock up on?"

She conveyed the words that I told her.

Rayne slightly turned her head to the side, like she was listening to something. Apparently, someone was talking through the communication device in her ear.

"Are you sure, Greg?" Rayne hissed. "You want to help her just like that?"

"Please," Ciara begged. "She's suffering."

Rayne looked at Ciara again and lowered her rifle. "Yeah, if not treated, the disease can lead to death. It is said that in the past, the government had succeeded in producing serum to treat the disease but had not had time to distribute it. We didn't know it was because of the robot invasion or the appearance of those monsters."

"Where can we get the serum?" Ciara asked again, still according to my orders.

"Have you ever heard of the oasis in the West?" Rayne continued. "The testing facilities are all around the place, although it's a bit far…. But we won't know what we're looking for. There is very little data on the serum. Not to mention, there are a lot of spider monsters there."

I've already encountered those monsters in Project Axiom. But I feel compelled to inquire further as there may be differences.

"Is there anything we need to know about the monsters?" Ciara continued.

Rayne shook her head. "Sorry, but we don't know anything about them…. Ok, that's enough. As you said, bring those serums to us as well, but only after you are sure that they can truly heal your friend."

"Sure. Thank you for the information."

Even though I couldn't see Ciara because I was hiding inside her cloak, I could tell from her tone that she was smiling.

"Hey, before that…." Rayne called out to Ciara, who had already walked away. "Is your friend's name Bonnie? I've met her."

"Yeah."

"Well, hope she gets well soon. Last time, we did argue. But wishing another human being for harm doesn't feel right."

"Ah, you are very kind."

After giving one more goodbye, Ciara continued on her way to Bonnie's E.E.S. Yes, I ordered the super soldier to use the armor while Bonnie was helpless. It will add to Ciara's fighting power.

And we hid that armor at some distance because I didn't want the users of that apartment to know. After all, we've been able to attach the thruster to that thing. They could ask us to do the same to their E.E.Ss or take ours away.

"I hope you're ready, Ciara," I said when we were far enough from that apartment. "Those spider monsters are pretty nasty. Even though their bodies are fragile, they have high agility and powerful attacks."

"I'll do my best, sir." The super soldier replied. "It is my duty to do something for our group."

"You're great, Ciara." I sighed. "And forgive me for giving you another hard mission."