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miracle-sham · 3 years

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Die Like the Butterfly Shoot With Their Guns.

| {Jasonette July 2021, Week 2, Day 7: Guns} |

Chapter 1 of Sheltered by Darkness not yet Moths to the Flame.

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| Sometimes a family can be a gang comprised of eleven vigilantes, and their AI robot, fighting against the father of one of their own. |

| Or alternatively: after falling through the cracks, they do what they must to survive. And if that means committing crimes in order to bring down the Big Butterfly and all the other corrupt businesses in the city, then so be it. |

———

| Tonight's the night. Half of them will strike one of the Big Butterfly's warehouses that just so happens to contain some fancy new gun tech. Besides, it'll be in better hands with them than the Big Butterfly or his associates. Now all that matters, is that nothing goes wrong! |

| Word Count: 3,322. |

| Warnings/Tags: Cyberpunk/Criminal/Gang Au, Explicit Language/Swearing, Hacking, Breaking and Entering, Theft, Mentions of Bombs and Guns, Mentions of corrupt/shady businesses, Fluff, Gang/Team as family/family dynamics, Found Family. |

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| A/N: It is Cyberpunk Au time! This is a twoshot, so have a looksy to see if you can find all the snippets of foreshadowing I've set! Also this is mostly Action/Fluff but beware of the warnings regardless. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! |

| Also side note, Don’t Like? Don’t Read. Also also, please do not criticise any of my writing. This was written for fun and receiving criticism, even in a compliment/criticism sandwich, is the exact opposite of fun. |

———

Rain patters against the concrete, sound mixing with the low hum and high buzz of electricity. The ground is slick with murky puddles that never seem to clean the pavement. Still just as filthy as before, permanently dyed with dried bloodstains, mud stains, electric scorch marks, and far worse. The air is heavy with the smell of cigarette smoke, ozone, and that ever underlying decay that clings to the city.

It's dark—dead of night—but the streets are awash with flickering neon lights. There are a few others haunting the street though most of them are sticking to the areas of light, avoiding the shadows.

Which is where Marinette, also known as the ruthless gang leader Fantôminou, is lurking.

Jason—Red Hood, her co-leader—snarls as he drops down onto the shadowed fire escape beside her. “We've got a rat. Someone's tipped off the big Butterfly and security has been increased around the perimeter. Most likely interior security increased too.”

Fantôminou flexes her glowing clawed gauntlets, “I suppose we should check in with our local pied piper, before we strike, hmm?”

There's a bzzt in her earpiece as the channel is hijacked by the familiar voice of their gang's hacker, Max aka Raijack. “I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, our pied piper has already been contacted. Whoever they were, they didn't reveal which location we were targeting, so it's just a general security increase.”

She hums. “Raijack, link us up with the rest of the strike force.”

“Got it, 'Minou.” He responds, and not a split second later, the earpiece makes another bzzt and there's the faint ping of the rest of the channel being alerted at someone joining.

“Look, I think you could totally pull off the—oh, who just joined the channel?” Adrien, Cheval Mallet, asks in surprise.

“Just me and our anthill tiger.” Red Hood announces, snorting at the glare Fantôminou sends him.

Silence echoes across the line before a scrabble of hushed but excited voices causes a ruckus.

Fantôminou sighs, “I know we're all excited to hit the big Butterfly hard by stealing some of their new fancy gun tech. But let's leave the yelling for when we inevitably set off the alarms!”

“Hey!” Raijack protests. “I'll have you know I have produced a new virus that has a ninety-eight per cent chance of not setting off any alarms!”

Red Hood rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, but you've still not worked out how to get your viruses to deactivate the bombs in the crates yet, huh?”

“I will one day, until then it's your job to stop the bombs from triggering the rest of the alarms!” Raijack counters with a huff.

Fantôminou sighs again, this time with an added sprinkling of are-you-kidding-me. “Red Hood, Raijack. I can and will kick your asses if you do not shut up so we can discuss final prep before we begin the pesticide protocol.”

Bumping shoulders with her, Red Hood snorts again. “I've got nothing against being beat up by someone as pretty and buff as you Minou, you know that!”

“Oh, I think we can all agree to wanting to get crushed by Minou's guns.” Cheval Mallet pipes up once more.

Fantôminou sighs very wearily. “Nevermind, are you all ready?”

Red Hood salutes at her, and despite his mouth being covered, it's easily telling that he's grinning cockily underneath. “I'm ready. My guns are ready, and I've got the bomb defusal kit at the ready.”

“I may be holding my horses but I'm saddled to giddy-up on the go!” Cheval Mallet cheerfully announces.

“This has to be one of your worst attempts at horse puns yet.” Raijack comments, “otherwise, I'm in position and ready to hack on your call, Minou.”

Red Hood exchanges a glance with Fantôminou as silence falls over the earpiece channel. “Hold up, where's Arsenal? Shouldn't he have checked in by now?”

Taking his hand gently, Fantôminou gives it a reassuring squeeze.

“He already did but because you two had your issues getting into position and avoiding the unexpected police patrol, Arsenal had to deal with another issue that popped up which would've threatened our plan,” Raijack informs, sounding nonplussed.

“Well, you don't sound concerned.” Fantôminou points out the obvious. “Has he got back up?”

There's the faint tapping of a keyboard through the earpiece channel before Raijack responds, “Chèvrapide is on her way to back him up, don't worry.”

“Then that's everyone accounted for. Let's rock and roll.” Red Hood orders, dropping from the fire escape and landing in the rain-slick alleyway with ease, conveniently right beside the hoverbike they had stashed here.

Fantôminou hops down after him, except she manages to flip and expertly land in the driver's seat. “I'm driving Jay, you're the one with the guns after all,” she all but states, putting one gauntleted hand up and flexing just to hammer in the point, “I'm close range only right now and you know it.”

Red Hood throws his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey! I'd never complain about getting to watch you drive this beauty of a hoverbike.”

Fantôminou snorts. “Just get on, pretty bird!”

“Well, if you say so, pretty kitty!” Red Hood teases back, vaulting onto the back of the bike behind her. He wraps an arm around her waist and rests the other hand on his sheathed-for-now gun.

She revs the engine of the hoverbike and steers out of the alleyway with practised ease. There's no directions on the hoverbike's holoscreen, but it's not like they need any—the directions to where they need to be outside the warehouse have already been memorised by each and every one of them.”

Down the left street, take the right at the T junction, pass under the flyover street, then take a further two lefts and then straight on until the block of office buildings forming a protective extra layer between the warehouse electric razor wire tipped fencing and the road. Easy.

“All networks in the office buildings have temporarily shut down. As far as the tech will be concerned, it'll look like the networks just decided to not work today.” Raijack announces through the earpiece channel, voice coming through slightly more robotic than usual.

“So no security cams?” Fantôminou checks cautiously, circling like a hawk around the small stretch of street between her and the office building she and Jason will be entering through. The rain has slowed to a drizzle but that doesn't make the circling in it any less mildly uncomfortable, at least inside it'll be dry.

There's the familiar clack of keys once more. “Not quite, they're a little harder to crack than entering in through the backdoor via someone's unprotected webcam in the office. Thank you, Shodan.” Raijack pauses, keys continuing to clack in the background. “Unfortunately, the Big Butterfly's got tech security smart enough to keep the security system on a closed network so I can't hop from webcam to computer to network to cams. However, they didn't account for Markov, suckers!”

Red Hood snorts. “Isn't Markov a little obvious for this kinda mission?”

“Oh, did I forget to tell you?” Raijack says, in a voice that very clearly conveys he didn't forget so much as purposefully neglected to mention, “I recently upgraded Markov, outfitting him with the currently most highly advanced cloaking system. Thanks to some help from Fantôminou's knowledge of cloaking and camouflage fashion.”

Red Hood leans his head onto Fantôminou's shoulder. “I'm hurt, you knew and didn't tell me? I want cloaking guns! Think of how much cooler I'd look with them!”

Fantôminou merely hums in an unamused response. “Raijack wanted it to be a surprise.”

He huffs. “I see who your favourite person in our gang is then!”

“You're right! It's me!” Cheval Mallet cheers, jumping into the conversation.

“Fucking 'ell!” Red Hood curses under his breath. “I thought you were gonna mute whilst getting in position.”

Cheval Mallet's laugh cuts in and out across the earpiece channel. “And when did I hay that!”

“Hacker voice, I'm in!” Raijack interrupts. “Looks like the security system was perfectly untouched by whatever minor error caused the main networks to crash, how lucky. Which is to say, looping is in process, and we now have free entry.”

“Got us a place to park yet, though?” Red Hood asks.

Raijack doesn't immediately respond, but the sound of the garage door connected to the office building opening, is answer enough. “I might.”

Fantôminou snorts. “Thanks, Raijack. Hood and I need to split here right, just until we get past the fencing right?”

“That's right.” Raijack responds, “good luck, and Markov and I will see you all on the other side.”

“Break a leg, or three!” Red Hood calls over the earpiece. “Preferably some else's though!”

Fantôminou pulls the hoverbike into the garage, keeping her gaze ahead. “If I could elbow you without fucking up my parking, I would.”

Red Hood cackles quietly in response, trying to at least keep to the stealth part of the mission plan.

In the blink of an eye, the hoverbike is securely parked. Perfectly hidden in plain sight but easily accessible for a quick and clean getaway should nothing go wrong. And well, if something were to go wrong, there's not going to be any hoverbike left for evidence. Though, that's not to say a small part of Fantôminou's brain doesn't anxiously hate how they're practically sitting on top of bombs ready to blow up at the slightest hint of things going wrong. However, they've been through enough strikes like this for the concern to be mostly easily ignored.

———

With the hoverbike parked, Fantôminou and Red Hood part ways.

Fantôminou heads up through the internal stairwell connected to the garage, whilst Red Hood takes one of the external doors leading to the office building next door.

The stairwell is like any other maintenance stairwell. Grey concrete walls, metal railings and steps. Even Fantôminou's light footsteps clang loudly against the ridged metal stairs. It's cold, just as cold as the garage was and barely warmer than it is outside in the rain. The air is stuffy but at least the respirator hidden beneath the bandana wrapped around her mouth makes it bearable to breathe. Other than the aforementioned clanging of steps, and her breathing, Fantôminou is alone with the ominous silence of a liminal space.

The stairs stretch on upwards for what seems far longer than it should, but eventually, Fantôminou reaches the final steps to the roof entrance door.

The door is unlocked, and so Fantôminou opens it as quietly as possible. She walks out into the rain once more and scrunches up her nose. A quick glance of the roof yields no immediate signs of danger or anything of note, so she continues to the edge of the roof.

Fantôminou rests one foot on the lip of the roof and flexes her gauntlets, lights switching off for stealth. Carefully, she turns around and crouches on the lip, gauntlets gripping the edge and toes of her boots braced against the wall. Bit by bit she descends, gauntlets making it more than easy to stay attached to the wall.

Two-thirds of the way down, Fantôminou climbs onto a window sill. The fence is only a metre below, with a further four-metre drop. No security drones in sight, yet—but no alarms have been triggered yet either.

A shadow drops down the building and over the fence on the other side of the compound. Not a second later is the double buzz of the earpiece signalling that someone is in position.

Fantôminou smirks beneath her face coverings, not one to be so quickly outdone she leaps forwards in a dive—spinning midair as she begins to plummet. Clearing the razor wire fence with room to spare.

She hits the ground in another diving roll, and immediately uses the momentum to throw herself up and run towards the nearest warehouse building. As soon as she reaches the wall, she double-taps her earpiece to send the double buzz signal to others.

A moment later comes the third double buzz, soon followed by the fourth and final signal.

“Markov is covering our air support.” Raijack's voice clips across the earpiece channel, “Fantôminou, you and Red Hood are on opposite ends of the same warehouse. I've unlocked the doors for you. You know the drill.”

“Thank you, Raijack. Entering now.” Fantôminou responds, she slinks over to the warehouse doors and cautiously pries open the now unlocked door.

Fantôminou heads straight for the terminal, and knows Red Hood is doing the same. Slipping Raijack's new and improved virus into one of the terminal's ports. Seconds pass.

“Interface secured,” Raijack informs.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Red Hood prowling over to her. She nods to him and taps into the terminal with her gauntlet.

Red Hood readies his bomb defusal kit as she instructs the internal warehouse drones into delivering the goods to them.

The drone, blinking yellow—a sure sign of Raijack's virus in effect—hovers over and drops a large black cased crate before them.

As soon as the claws of the drone release the crate, Red Hood is immediately on it, pulling it open and weeding out the bomb.

They wait with bated breath. Red Hood tinkers away. The earpiece channel is silent as the team focuses.

He hisses through his teeth, and Fantôminou tenses—ready to grab him and run, in the worst case—but he only packs the kit back away and sighs in relief.

He taps the earpiece thrice—signalling success.

Raijack and Cheval Mallet don't respond, so Fantôminou and Red Hood stuff their haul into Fantôminou's Miraculous, for ease of transport, and begin making their way towards the warehouse the other two were hitting.

By the time they reach the nearest warehouse doors, the earpiece triple buzzes. Success, again.

They pause only to exchange a nod between the two before continuing to meet up with Cheval Mallet and Raijack—no rendezvous needed this time so far.

It takes forty seconds to cross halfway to the other warehouse, where they meet the other two along with Markov in the middle.

Cheval Mallet waves a hand and the five of them skulk over to a small shed off the side of another warehouse. He raises his horseshoe weapon and calls out, “Bon Voyage!”

The portal forms and Markov flies through first. The remaining four exchange glances then bolt forwards, racing to see who can get through first.

The blue light blinds them all for a second, despite how used to the power they are.

“Mission success!” Fantôminou cheers breathlessly once the blue fades, throwing her hands up in celebration.

“WOOH!” Cheval Mallet yells, jumping up and punching the air.

Red Hood snorts, “but more importantly I so won!”

Raijack hums, “let's see what Markov has to say about that.”

Markov makes a series of boops and beeps, yellow LEDs flickering. “Red Hood is correct, he won the portal race.”

“YES!” Red Hood crows.

“Oh come on!” Raijack grumbles.

Footsteps and clapping approaches. “Well done,” Félix praises, “but perhaps leave the celebration until after you've all gotten into jammies.”

Cheval Mallet giggles, “Flicks, I can't believe you can somehow still sound pretentious whilst saying something as childish sounding as "jammies"!”

Félix raises an eyebrow, “you say this every time I call pyjamas that. Now come on, I've ordered pizza and Roy, Alix, Luka, Artemis, Kori, and Bizarro are already waiting for you lot, in the lounge, so we can get the party started.” He turns on his heel and walks out of the utility-changing room.

Markov, as the only one not needing to change, shows the tongue-sticking-out emoji on his LED screen and zooms after Félix.

Jason, Marinette, Adrien, and Max all start changing out of their gear as quickly as possible.

“Oh no!” Adrien gasps, half undressed, suddenly remembering something. “We forgot to take the motorbikes back!”

Marinette groans, “I knew I was forgetting something!"

Facepalming, Jason sighs. “We were all too caught up in everything going well for once.”

Max snorts. “Oh don't worry! I anticipated this, all it took was a little hacking into our hoverbikes and now they're on autopilot to one of our empty storage bases.”

“Oh. Well, that's good then.” Adrien says, looking a little embarrassed.

“Yeah… anyway come on, we don't want to keep your cousin and the others waiting any longer! They'll eat all the pizza!” Marinette exclaims.

They all finish changing into loungewear and pyjamas just as music starts to play from the lounge and so frantically, they all dash towards it, trying to shove each other out of the way and laughing playfully as they do so.

They've won a battle, they've successfully gotten in and out with a good haul of gun tech. No alarms tripped, nothing went wrong. Hoverbikes undamaged and on the route home. For once, everything went smoothly. And that, is cause for an evening of celebration.

Leaving the worries of the rat for tomorrow.

———

In a dark observatory with a closed butterfly window, a folder is tossed across a desk.

Papillon glances down at the folder with indifference. He rests his elbows on the expensive polished wood and steeples his fingers. “You said you had acquired information that you believe will interest me?”

The man in a black suit sitting opposite Papillon, smiles patiently. “My informant went through quite the lengths to acquire this. Why not take a look inside.”

Papillon purses his lips, “this better not be a waste of my precious time, Lex.”

Lex Luthor raises an eyebrow in amusement. “I assure you, Gabriel, you will find what is inside most interesting.”

There's a moment's pause as Gabriel waits. Nothing happens. He nods and then opens the folder. He spreads the papers inside in arc across the desk. In the middle of the papers, is the photo of a smiling teenage girl with bright blue eyes, and blue-dyed hair. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” He reads out, lips curling into a contemplative frown.

“Poor little girl,” Lex croons mockingly, “missing—presumed dead—after her parents' bakery was destroyed in an Akuma attack. Her name should be familiar to you though, won your one-day derby hat competition at her school.”

Gabriel's fingers still mid-steeple, and he moves one hand up to his chin in thought. “Ah yes, I remember that designer. The one with the feather derby whose design was stolen and copied. That signature embroidery was impressive work.” He recounts.

Lex grins, “yes, however most distressingly, it would seem this up and coming star of a designer has lost her glow.”

“How so?” Gabriel responds, furrowing his brows.

“Well you see, my informant has found… evidence, that our poor little designer here fell through the cracks into the shadows after the loss of her parents and bakery. It's rather obvious that the larvae have taken her as their own, some of their masks and clothes fit perfectly with what we know of her unique incorporation of her signature, as well as stitch work.” Lex explains, waving a hand towards the rest of the photographs and documents spread from the folder.

Gabriel frowns and eyes a few of the other papers with interest. “I see, that is most unfortunate.”

“But.” Lex cuts in before Gabriel can say anything more. “I'm well aware you're plenty familiar with fixing larvae with damaged wings and frayed wires. As such, a strange little cold case brimming with potential for your program, would do quite nicely for your collection, wouldn't you say?” Lex insinuates, rising from his seat as he continues, “rescue the poor larvae, craft it a chrysalis, and nurture the Pupa into something radiant. Not unlike what you did with the Macrothylacia Rubi, and your replacement wife.” With that, Lex smiles smugly down at Gabriel and then strides out of the observatory, not giving Gabriel a chance to respond.

And leaving Papillon to the folder and his musings.

———

| Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little fic! Comments, likes, and reblogs are much appreciated! |

| Behind the Names: Fantôminou is a portmanteau of Fantôme (Ghost/Phantom) and Minou (Kitty). And she's called that because I thought the Black Footed cat fit her, and they're nicknamed Anthill Tigers. They also have the highest successful hunting rate! |

| Raijack is a portmanteau of Raiju (lightning dragon) and jack plug (the connect-y bit on headphones into a phone for example) but is also a play on the word Hijack. |

| Cheval Mallet is an evil horse spirit that offers rides to weary travellers and kidnaps them. Yes, there is a reason behind this. It's covered in Chap 2 |

| Chèvrapide is a portmanteau of Chèvre (Goat) and Rapide (Fast). |

| Also feel free to send me any comments with any questions you have regarding this fic, I’ll be more than happy to answer! |

| @jasonette-july-event |

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icasttourniquet · 3 years

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Brand Treatment and Surving a Beatdown with Spine Intact

Question: I have a character who gets beat up by a group of people and branded on her cheek. I'd like there to be very little risk of spine injury and for another character to be able to treat her semi-effectively. There is healing magic in the world and it is entirely stat based, not experience based. Thoughts?

We'll focus on the two parts of this questions separately. First, how can you beat someone without risking spine injury? And second, how should you DIY a brand treatment? (Also, and hopefully this goes without saying, but you should not DIY a brand treatment IRL).

Spine Safe Beatdown

It is impossible to guarantee 100% that your injured character (IC) has no spine injury. That said, it's possible to reduce the risk.

Why do spines break?

Like any bone, spines can break. Unlike any random bone, vertebrae have a spinal cord inside them, and the shards of a broken spinal bone can sever the spinal cord, causing numbness, tingling, and paralysis. Spinal column injuries refer to broken bones only. Spinal cord injuries refer to a damaged cord, which almost always comes with at least one broken vertebra too (sort of a two for one injury deal).

Spines are finicky beasts, but they especially dislike the following types of force:

Compression up and down the spine (think like an accordion)

Twisty motions (like cracking your back, but worse)

Bending side to side (t-posing and then swaying from side to side)

Rough head jostling

Assymetric force from the front or back, which could cause the spine to twist

(For more fun breaking bones, see: Can Your Character Survive... Broken Bones?).

Protecting the Spine

So... basically any impact on the head or torso has the possibility to make the spine unhappy. Mod N suggests two equally strong goons punch both shoulders simultaneously and with the same amount of force. Since it's unlikely any goons are feeling that considerate, you can reduce the likelihood of a spine injury if you:

Have your character sitting on a chair with a back or lying down as opposed to standing during their beating. This gives the spine less room to get up to any funny business

Avoid too many blows to the head and neck. In movies, beatings seem to always involve grabbing the poor victim by the hair and then laying them out with a punch. This seems like a great way to get permanent spine and/or brain damage (Hey, Can Your Character Surive... Altered Mental Status, anyone?)

Avoid grabbing and pulling on the body by the head (I haven't been in too many beatdowns myself so I'm not sure if this is a frequent occurance)

Avoid any direct blows to the spine, avoid compression down the spine, avoid too much twisty spine motions

Ruling out Spinal Injuries

While it's best practice to assume spine injury in any trauma case until definitively proven otherwise, there are ways to semi-rule out any serious spine injury before you move someone, including:

Clearing the spine (the caretaking character doesn't appear to have medical experience, so this seems unlikely, but perhaps they could cast Heal Spine before further treatment)

Check if IC reports any unusual numbness or tingling

Check the spine itself for any obvious bruising, bleeding, tenderness, etc.

Ask IC if their spine feels okay (spinal cord injured patients often report that they know something is very wrong even if they don't know what)

If the caretaker has no way to care for a spine injury, it might be enough for them to simply think about the possibility. Or, if they don't have any medical experience at all, they might just jump to treating the more obvious injuries, in this case, the brand.

DIY Brand Treatment

My first thought when I hear about a cheek brand is, yikes and my second is, why doesn't that brand go through the cheek? That said, it appears cheek brands actually did happen historically (drawn images but no pictures of branding in the link).

Appearance

Brands are a type of third degree burn, which means the third layer of skin is affected, as well as the first two (no pictures in the link). The tool used to make the brand will affect the appearance.

Here's a video of someone getting a brand with a precision implement. (This is a dead dove, don't eat situation. Apparently, human branding is a squick of mine. I'm learning so much writing up this response!). In this video, because the hot tool is so tiny, the wound itself mostly looks red and swollen, with a few black lines where the actual brand occured.

I'm assuming when you say brand, you mean something like this:

Brand, from here,

Here's a healing progression—one week, one month, and three months—of a more applicable brand (pictures right at the top of the page after following the link). And here's what NOLS has to say about it: "The skin appears leathery, charred, pearl gray, and dry, or possibly white and firm. The area is sunken and has a burned odor." (I mostly just like "pearl gray" as a color name).

In that case, I think a blackened and charred shape of the brand, surrounded by perhaps a thin layer of white but mostly red and swollen skin is your best bet.

Reaction

Counterintuitively, the branded skin itself might not hurt because the brand has burned away all the nerve endings. I think it's safe to say the area around the brand probably hurts like hell (on account of this area is probably second- and first-degree burns).

There's also the added psychological complication of this brand being on the face, where humans are more psychologically vulnerable to injury. IC is probably not too happy right now, and it will likely be obvious her whole life that someone branded her there, though the shape itself may become obscured by scar tissue.

Here's the summary of a meta-analysis that looked at rates of anxiety and depression in people with visible differences (including facial scarring). It might be a worthwhile read, as might the study itself. Changing Faces is a charity dedicated to helping people with facial injuries.

Brand Concerns

What are we worried about when it comes to branding?

Airway: this is a face brand. Traumatic injuries on the face and neck could potentially interfere with IC's ability to breathe. Needless to say, that would be bad

Infection: skin is in charge of keeping foreign contaminants out of the body. If the skin is burned through, bacteria and viruses have a much easier time getting to the blood

Volume shock: a big enough brand can kill someone outright, though perhaps then it's less accurate to describe it as a brand and more accurate to say someone was burnt to death

Hypothermia: skin also keeps the cold out. In non-balmy environments, even small burns can put you at a high risk for hypothermia

Psychological trauma: for what I hope are obvious reasons

Cheeks aren't big enough for me to be too worried about volume shock or hypothermia, though your caretaker should monitor IC for signs of shock or uncontrollable shivering.

Brand Treatment

The first step with any burn is putting the fire out. Mod N likes to remind me that EMT training says you need to wash out any burn with cold water for 5 to 10 minutes, just in case it is still smoldering. Ideally, this is done with clean water, not ice cold. Do not put ice on the brand!

Next, to prevent infection, clean the wound of any outside debris (dirt, clothes, etc.) and apply some sort of antibacterial salve. If no salve is available, hopefully your caretaker has a Spell of No Bacteria up their sleeves.

Now to dress the wound. If it's relatively small (less than 3 palms of surface area), use a wet to dry dressing. That is, put wet gauze directly on the surface of the wound. Then dry gauze or a dry bandage as the next layer up. Change it once a day for cleaning. If your world has showers, don't put the wound directly under a shower head for at least a week.

Cleaning in this case means both washing the wound and cutting away dead skin. This is usually a dreadful experience for all involved. I have only treated moulaged wounds with a fake victim who screamed far too convincingly and it was miserable.

Inhalation Burns

Observative readers will note I mentioned airway concerns but didn't addressed them. Gold star for that reader. The caretaker should monitor IC's airway as standard practice but they also need to think about inhalation burns, which are burns to the inside of the mouth, throat, and lungs. These are always considered life threatening.

Inhalation burns are caused by breathing in hot materials, such as smoke. In the cosemetic branding video I recommended above, the brander himself wore a gas mask, presumably at least in part to keep from breathing in hot air. With the brand so close to IC's mouth and nose, inhalation burns are a distinct possibility.

Inhalation burns are treated in the wilderness with a swift evacuation. Your caretaker's best bet is going to be to either rule out inhalation burns or treat them magically. Depending on technology levels, a hospital or doctor may be able to help IC too.

Conclusion

IC is going through a bit of a rough patch, between the beatdown and the brand, but it's completely possible for them not to have any life-threatening injuries, especially if the goons avoid their spine during the assault and their brand is small and doesn't involve inhalation burns.

#question #ict #branding #spine injury #wilderness medicine #writing advice #writing tips

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welcometominteye · 6 years

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Hello! Can I request RFA+V+Saeran, Mc has abusive parents? *i love angst!* *its okay if you don't want to write it :) (づ￣3￣)づ*

Sure thing!! Hope this is okay!

Yoosung

He’s horrified

After he gets over his stunned silence he’s immediately angry

He just can’t believe anyone would hurt his MC??? They’re so sweet and perfect???

If you still live with them/has to go back to them after the party he does all he can to officially move you into Rikas apartment instead (And as soon as he has the space, asks you to move in with him)

When he finds out he doesn’t let go of you for at least an hour

Jaehee

She’s sad

The two of you were living together when she found out

She may go as far as to ask Jumin for help if they ever try to contact you

“Don’t worry, love, I’ll hurl their asses.” Jaehee, no-”

Is really happy you trusted her enough to tell her

Zen

He’s pissed

Immediately showers you in love and affection and kisses

Cuddles you and pampers you until you drift off

Then called up old gang members for some help

He’d make sure they never touched you again

Jumin

He’s the calmest outwardly but inside his blood is boiling

Someone hurt??? His MC???

He calls Seven to help find them, and effectively ruins their lives

“My dear, I promise no one will touch you again.”

Doesn’t let you go for the rest of the night, always hugging or touching you in someway

Seven

When he finds out he’s immediately reminded of his mother

He knows what it’s like to live with an abusive parent

He spends the rest of the day loving on you and spending extra time with you

Next time he goes through a “I’m dangerous” phase he’s careful not to say or do anything that might remind you of your abuse

He sends them viruses to permanently fuck up their phones and computers

He never had the perfect family life but it wasn’t that bad

But he did have an abusive partner

“Thank you, angel. I’m so glad you told me.”

He’s truly honored you told him and opens up about his abuse as well

He doesn’t believe revenge is the best option but does all in his power to make sure they’re never able to contact you

Saeran

It’s one of the few times he instigates physical affection

He wraps you into a tight hug the second he finds out

After a few minutes you realize he’s crying a little bit

He knows what having an abusive family is like better than anyone in the RFA, so it hits really close to home

“Me and Saeyoung are your family now, I’ll make sure they never touch you or anyone else again.”

(RIP your family)

#TW: abuse #saeran #V #Zen #RFA #707 #jumin #jaehee #yoosung #angst #Anonymous

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manuelsblogposts · 4 years

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Tear Gas Is Significantly More Dangerous Than Police Suggest — Especially During the COVID-19 Pandemic

When police launched tear gas into the crowd, Chowdhury pulled off her mask as she gasped for air. “I couldn’t breathe,” she said. “I felt like I was choking to death.” The chemical agent also seeps into homes, contaminates food, furniture, skin and surfaces, and can cause long-term lung damage.

Photo: Lucxama Sylvain / Pexels When Amira Chowdhury joined a protest in Philadelphia against police violence on Monday, she wore a mask to protect herself and others against the coronavirus. But when officers launched tear gas into the crowd, Chowdhury pulled off her mask as she gasped for air. “I couldn’t breathe,” she said. “I felt like I was choking to death.” Chowdhury was on a part of the Vine Street Expressway that ran underground. Everyone panicked as gas drifted into the dark, semi-enclosed space, she said. People stomped over her as they scrambled away. Bruised, she scaled a fence to escape. But the tear gas found her later that evening, inside her own house; as police unleashed it on protesters in her predominantly black neighborhood in West Philadelphia, it seeped in. “I can’t even be in my own house without escaping the violence of the state,” said Chowdhury, a rising senior at the University of Pennsylvania. On Wednesday, she said her throat still felt dry, like it was clogged with ash. The Philadelphia protest was one of many instances in recent days in which police launched tear gas — a toxic substance that can cause lung damage — into crowds. In a statement, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said that officers had no choice but to release it after protesters threw rocks at them and refused to disperse, and that officers also used nonchemical white smoke to minimize the amount of the irritant “while maintaining a deterrent visual effect.” She called it “a means to safely a volatile and dangerous situation.” But tear gas is not safe, according to a number of experts interviewed by ProPublica. It has been found to cause long-term health consequences and can hurt those who aren’t the intended targets, including people inside their homes. This would be enough of a problem in normal times, but now, experts say, the widespread, sometimes indiscriminate use of tear gas on American civilians in the midst of a respiratory pandemic threatens to worsen the coronavirus, along with racial disparities in its spread and who dies from it. “As an immunologist, it scares me,” said Dr. Purvi Parikh, an allergy and immunology doctor at NYU Langone Health. “We just got through a brutal two months, and I’m really scared this will bring a second wave sooner.” It puts black communities in an impossible situation, said Dr. Joseph Nwadiuko, an internist and researcher at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Thirteen of the 15 coronavirus patients in the intensive care unit where he works are black, he said. “I worry that one of the compounding effects of structural racism is you’ll see a second wave of black patients, including those who were out there defending their lives.” On Tuesday, an open letter signed by nearly 1,300 medical and public health professionals urged the police to stop using “tear gas, smoke, or other respiratory irritants, which could increase risk for COVID-19 by making the respiratory tract more susceptible to infection, exacerbating existing inflammation, and inducing coughing.” Here’s what you need to know about tear gas and how it’s being used by law enforcement in recent days.

Tear gas can cause long-term harm, by making people more susceptible to contracting influenza, pneumonia and other illnesses.

Tear gas is the generic term for a class of compounds that cause a burning sensation. Most law enforcement agencies in the U.S., including the Philadelphia Police Department this week, use a chemical called CS, short for 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile. CS activates a specific pain receptor, one that’s also triggered by eating wasabi, said Sven-Eric Jordt, a professor of anesthesiology at Duke University. But CS is much more powerful, up to 100,000 times stronger than the sting from wasabi, he said. “They are really pain nerve gases. They are designed to induce pain.” CS is particularly painful when it gets on your skin or in your eyes. (Doctors have advised protesters not to wear contact lenses.) When inhaled, the pain induces people to cough. The compound degrades the mucus membranes in your eyes, nose, mouth and lungs — the layers of cells that help protect people from viruses and bacteria. Scientists know little about how CS affects the general public. The most comprehensive studies were conducted by the U.S. military on thousands of recruits who were exposed to tear gas during training exercises. Afterward, it left them at higher risk for contracting influenza, pneumonia, bronchitis and other respiratory illnesses. The soldiers were generally healthier than the average person, with fewer underlying conditions like asthma or heart disease. Studies of civilians in Turkey found that people who are repeatedly exposed to tear gas are more likely to have chronic bronchitis or chest pains and coughing that can last for weeks. It may also be linked to miscarriages. The effects worsen as people are repeatedly exposed to higher doses, Jordt said, but it’s hard to measure the concentrations of tear gas during chaotic protests, and many who are affected will be reluctant or afraid to seek medical help. Parikh, the Langone Health doctor, is particularly worried about children at the protests. Their lungs and immune system are still developing, and tear gas could lead to neurological problems or permanent skin or eye damage if it’s not washed off quickly. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, severe tear gas poisoning, particularly if the gas was released in an enclosed space — can blind or kill people through chemical burns and respiratory failure. Prisoners with respiratory conditions have died after inhaling tear gas in poorly ventilated areas. On Wednesday, an inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn died after guards sprayed him with pepper spray, another kind of tear gas that causes similar health effects as CS. In a statement, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons said the inmate, Jamel Floyd, was caught “breaking the cell door window with a metal object” and “became increasingly disruptive and potentially harmful to himself and others.” Medical staff “immediately responded to assess the inmate, found Mr. Floyd to be unresponsive, and instantly initiated life-saving measures.” An investigation is underway.

Tear gas can increase the spread of the coronavirus and might make some people more vulnerable to catching it.

It’s too early to know exactly how tear gas affects coronavirus patients. But Parikh said they both cause lung inflammation. “Anything that’s an irritant can cause that same inflammatory response,” she said. “Your lungs can fill with mucus and it can be very difficult to breathe. The muscles narrow; it’s almost like breathing through a straw.” People with asthma and other respiratory illnesses already have higher baseline inflammation that makes them more susceptible to catching infections like the flu or the common cold, Parikh said, so tear gas could trigger an asthma attack or weaken the body’s ability to stave off COVID-19. “If your lungs are already wheezing and coughing, working hard to expel this tear gas or this irritant, it’s unable to have that reserve to fight off any infection, whether a virus or bacteria,” she said.

Photo: Koshu Kunii / Unsplash Talia Smith, a graduate student at the University of Nebraska, said it only took a whiff of tear gas to trigger an asthma attack when she was protesting in Omaha last Friday. She could barely feel it in her eyes, but her throat “just immediately started closing,” she said. Smith had brought her inhaler, but the medication inside was running low. She’d only had one asthma attack in her life before this. Smith had a burning feeling in her chest for days afterward, and she went to get tested for the coronavirus; the results are pending. She worries that if she catches the virus while still feeling the effects of the gas, she’d be fighting off the disease while her lungs aren’t at full capacity. Parikh said there’s not enough data on asthma and the coronavirus in general. While asthmatics are at higher risk for all respiratory infections, asthma isn’t among the top chronic conditions for the most severe coronavirus patients. “We are still seeing many asthmatics get it,” so it’s too soon to say there’s no risk at all, she said. Tear gas weakens the demonstrators’ protections against the coronavirus, said Dr. Abraar Karan, a physician at Harvard Medical School who’s working on the coronavirus response. Infections increase when people cough or talk loudly, he said, and even if someone is wearing a mask, when they’re hit with tear gas, they’ll take off the mask as they’re coughing. “Not only are you vigorously coughing, you’re vigorously inhaling to try and get more air in.” Panic can cause a stampede, forcing people into close proximity as they’re expelling large droplets from their mouths, he said, perfectly describing the situation that Chowdhury experienced on Monday. Karan said he’s worried that protests could turn into superspreading events, yet he also understands why people feel they must be there. “At the same time, I’m worried about my patients who’ve been destroyed by systemic racism. So racism is killing them as much as a pandemic is.” It will take at least another week before researchers can study whether the protests led to outbreaks. Even then, it will be hard to tell whether the infections were caused solely by the large gatherings or whether tear gas contributed to the increase.

Protesters aren’t the only people at risk. Tear gas is entering homes and businesses.

Jordt said he was surprised by the sheer quantity of tear gas used by police in recent days, based on what he’s seen in online videos and news clips. Instead of reserving it for the most extreme situations, “it’s more like fumigating and flushing people out,” he said. “Tear gas has become a 1st line response, not a last resort,” he added in an email. Because many protests are occurring in residential neighborhoods, tear gas is now seeping into homes. Parikh compared it to secondhand smoke. “It’s a terrible situation,” she said. “To be honest there’s not much you can do.” Chowdhury, the UPenn student who participated in the Philadelphia protest, said she couldn’t keep out the gas, even when she stuffed T-shirts and towels under the doors and windows. She could still smell it the next morning. If the gas gets indoors, people should wipe down their countertops and other surfaces with large amounts of water and soap, Jordt said. Any food that wasn’t in a closed container could be contaminated and should be thrown out, and in extreme cases with large amounts of tear gas, residents and business owners may need to contact fire departments for recommendations of professional cleaning services, he added. Companies like Aftermath offer services for biohazard and infection control. Its website’s section on “tear gas removal” says the chemical “leaves behind residue that can present serious health hazards if not properly treated. ... Tear gas residue can seep into porous materials like furniture, mattresses, clothing, carpet and even hardwood floors, and continue to irritate the mucous membranes of anyone residing in or visiting the property long after the incident.”

Police tactics and tools can make matters worse.

There are many different forms of tear gas and many ways to use it, said Anna Feigenbaum, the author of a recent book on the history of tear gas and an associate professor of communication and digital media at Bournemouth University in England. Police can spray it from cans, shoot canisters or throw grenades. Manufacturers sell grenades that produce light and noise as they expel tear gas and “triple-chaser” canisters that break into multiple pieces when they land so the gas can cover a larger area. The technology for deploying tear gas is advancing far more quickly than scientists’ understanding of the impacts, Jordt said. “While use of these is escalating, there is a vacuum of research to back up the safety of high-level use.” Feigenbaum said the current situation is dangerous because law enforcement has used tear gas “at close range, in enclosed spaces, in large quantities, fired directly at people, used offensively as a weapon and in conjunction with rubber-coated bullets as a force multiplier.” Last weekend, a college student in Indiana lost his eye when a tear gas canister hit his face. Tear gas is banned in international warfare, but it is classified as a “riot control agent” that law enforcement can use for crowd control. Yet instead of calming the situation, tear gas can sometimes “cause counter aggression,” Jordt said. “It just doesn’t work well, and it hits the weakest people the most, and causes the most complications in them.” One of the most controversial events occurred on Monday, when law enforcement in Washington, D.C., used tear gas on peaceful demonstrators to clear the way so President Donald Trump could walk to a nearby church for a photo op. A statement from the U.S. Park Police said they used “pepper balls” with an unspecified irritant powder and “smoke canisters.” (A reporter with WUSA9 tweeted photos on Thursday of CS containers that he and his team said they found at the site.) The CDC uses “tear gas” as the catch-all term for many “riot control” compounds with similar effects. Monica Sanders, who lives across the river in Alexandria, Virginia, said she could see the smoke from her house, like something from a “dystopian reality.” A University of Delaware professor who specializes in disaster management, Sanders said she’d thought about attending that protest but decided against it because her lungs were still weak from an earlier infection that might have been the coronavirus. Although she never got tested, Sanders said she came down with a respiratory illness in mid-February that almost sent her to the emergency room. She is a triathlete with no history of asthma. Last October, she swam a 5K race. Today, she can’t even swim a mile. She said, “There are other ways to do crowd control that don’t involve creating respiratory ailments during a pandemic, in a city that doesn’t have enough supplies.” Maya Eliahou and Caroline Chen contributed reporting. This story first appeared on ProPublica and is republished here with permission. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive ProPublica stories like this one in your inbox. Read the full article

#Covid-19 #dangers #hazards #TearGas

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suchawonderfullife · 7 years

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4. My Catalyst- The power of a kind gesture

How I stumbled across this treatment center is a little weird as I wasn’t actively searching for treatment overseas, actually it wasn’t even in my thought process. However, I believe the universe gives you everything at the right time, when you’re truely ready and everything is a stepping stone to where you are supposed to be. When something is meant for you, the universe will give you a little tap on the shoulder, if you don’t listen it’ll send you the same message, but maybe with a clip around the ear. If you fail to hear THAT message, the universe will actually punch you in the face and tell you to wake the fuck up. It’s physics ;) haha.

So around 3 and a half years ago when I started seeing my holistic Dr (the one who cured himself of Lyme) and I was only a few appointments in, there were stories of Lyme on shows like A Current Affair. With patients who were gravely ill and had travelled to Germany for hyperthermia treatment. They were claiming to have great success with this treatment and had got their life back. My parents and I were like holy shit! Maybe I should go to Germany?

We spoke to my CFS Dr and natural Dr about it and both BEGGED me not to go. They said “don’t do it, it’ll destroy you and we will be left to mop up the mess” (not kill me, but in laymen's terms they meant- it’ll fuck you up!). I joined groups on Facebook of these specific clinics and started researching, but something also didn’t sit right with me about it. It’s a controversial treatment, quite harsh on the body, with no long term documentation of what it does to your organs 5, 10, 20 years post-treatment. It also ONLY targets the Borrelia Burgdorferi bacteria (lyme disease), but with lyme you carry multiple co-infections. I have at least 4 co-infections that are just as destructive as the lyme. So I blow $50-$70K to only kill the Borrelia and I’m still stuck with the other co-infections. I sat with this dilemma for a while as I watched my friends go overseas and read many testimonials and anecdotal experiences in the Facebook groups. The general consensus (in my opinion) was not good. I do not recommend this treatment for long-term chronic patients like myself. It has helped SOME people, but in comparison to the one’s who come back sicker, or originally improved but who relapse, I don’t believe it is worth the risk. A family friend also had this treatment for cancer and does not recommend it as it did permanent damage to one of their organs. They were mortified when my parents said they had considered sending me there. The only other clinics I knew overseas were the mainstream one’s that pump you full of antibiotics and there is no way I was going to do that.

A year ago, a friend on Facebook sent me a message notifying me of a “Lyme Summit” taking part in America. I’d never heard of it. And can I just add, this lady (named Jennifer- thank you beautiful lady) is an acquaintance, someone I have met once in real life. She went out of her way to tell me about this summit out of the goodness of her own heart. This summit was the catalyst for this entire journey and my potential to now get better. So don’t underestimate the power of a kind gesture and thinking of someone else. I looked it up and it was a week of interviews with highly regarded Dr’s in America who treat Lyme in various ways, sharing their findings and treatment methods. I could have paid a small fee to have access to the 5-6 interviews playing each day, or I could pay $100 to have access to the 30+ interviews to listen to whenever I want. So I paid the $100. The summit was fantastic. It was mainly holistic Dr’s talking about detoxing, diet, FIR saunas, Vit C infusions and holistic treatment centres. This is where I heard from a Dr. who works at the Lifeworks Wellness Centre. His theory on Lyme residing in the mouth, jaw and teeth is something I had heard before. So they have a dentist working on patients as part of their treatment, coupled with holistic methods I have also heard good things about.

I started researching this clinic and corresponding with them. It was like a light bulb went off in my brain. I didn’t know centres like this existed and this is what I needed to get better. I started discussing my plans with my partner and parents. Only problem was that going to America to this clinic would cost me anywhere between $40-$70k. So we would have to fundraise. We created a gofundme and I continued to speak to past patients, the clinic itself and do my own research. My hesitations with this clinic were that they required you to stay for 1-3 months (they wouldn’t know how long until you arrived), so being an overseas patient made this tricky. Furthermore, some of their treatment methods (IV minerals and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy) do not have long-term evidence of sustainable recovery. People do tend to feel better with these treatment initially, but I want to know if 5,10, 20 years later I’m still better. I can’t find the evidence. I still had mostly positive feedback and a good feeling about this place though, so I do recommend people look it up (and it is still my second choice of clinic).

I told another Lyme friend of my plans and she is the “go to” person for treatment advice. She said “have you looked into the Hansa Center? I met a lady who went there and she is doing really well because of it.” I had never heard of it, but my mind was already pretty set on the Lifeworks Wellness Center. I can be stubborn sometimes. I did look them up, but I wasn’t well enough to read and absorb all their information. So I had a quick glance and joined their mailing list, couldn’t hurt I thought. Our fundraising and planning was taking off and I was pretty set on Lifeworks.

I started getting emails from the Hansa Center as they send out a regular newsletter with some sort of health related article attached that’s written by one of their Dr’s. The first piece they sent me was about how they treat Lyme Disease and that conventional Lyme Treatment is like treating a house with termites. If you simply eradicate the Lyme, you are left with a badly damaged house on the inside, that must be repaired. They elaborated on their belief of repairing the body as a whole so that it is able to fight for itself, rather than simply flushing out the disease. The disease or diagnosis is actually irrelevant to them, as they focus on rebuilding what has been damaged so that the disease can no longer thrive. This made so much sense to me as it everything my natural Dr has been doing with me and believes in. So I started doing some more research on the clinic.

Dr. Jernigan (the head of the Hansa Center) has a blog. I found his blog and started reading more of his articles. I watched their seminars on youtube and the information they were providing was amazing. One of the Drs explained in a seminar how they created their own herbal remedy that kills lyme bacteria. They then compared it to antibiotics that kill Lyme. He said the way to measure the rate at which the bacteria is dying is through the urine, as the dead bacteria is excreted that way. They showed a chart which indicated the patients that used the herbal remedy extracted 10x more dead lyme bacteria, than the patients on antibiotics. How incredible is that? Another seminar talked about research showing that every virus you have ever had in your body is never fully eradicated. It was something like 95% gets killed off, but there is a small % that never leaves the body and it can all be traced in your saliva (something like that, I read it a while ago). That includes every cold you’ve ever had, not just serious viruses. So if your goal with Lyme Disease is to simply kill all the bacteria by antibiotics or herbals that flush it out, yet you don’t repair what’s wrong with your body (which is how the illness was able to thrive in the first place), you will never get better. Your body is physically incapable of eradicating any virus 100%.

So I researched this place more. I messaged every patient who left a review on their Facebook page to ask if they’d share their experience with me. About 6 replied and were happy to answer my questions. I was looking for patients who had been treated there at least 2-3 years ago and were still in good health. I wanted to know their level of health before they went compared to their level of health now. Some patients might say they’re “so much better”, but if they arrived at 5% health, an improvement to 50% might be their idea of “so much better,” which doesn’t help me. I wanted concrete, tangible, anecdotal evidence. And I certainly got it. All of those 6 people were doing very well and highly recommended going there. Some were working full time, running in fun runs, back at school full time and simply able to live a normal life again free of such immense suffering.

I also spoke to a woman from my own city who was treated there. We spoke on the phone. In all honesty, she relapsed from mold poisoning. I then messaged the clinic in a panic thinking I need to treat my mold poisoning before I go, or I won’t respond properly to the treatment. Dr. Jernigan replied to me personally with a very long explanation as to why that’s not needed and his reasoning was quite correct (in my opinion). He explained the reasons she may have relapsed. He acknowledged that mold poisoning is quite difficult to treat but they do treat it if it comes up as one of my top 10 health problems. He also explained that if I simply focus on one thing at a time, the mold, then the lyme, then the heavy metals, then this then that etc, I will be treating myself forever. For how complex I and many others in my position are, it is impractical. What they do is repair the body as a whole, so that I will return to health faster. Lots of people carry the Lyme bacteria, are exposed to mold and have heavy metals in their systems from vaccines and environment exposures, yet they never get sick. It’s my body systems that are the problem, not the outside entities that have contributed to me becoming so sick.

Moreover, in regards to the woman who relapsed after treatment at Hansa, I don’t know this woman personally and there are many reasons why she may have relapsed that have nothing to do with the clinic and the care they provided. I have to look at this in an objective manner. Some people (not saying particularly this person) don’t follow advice or treatment protocols, re-expose themselves to mold or other toxins they are already poisoned with and every bodies chemistry and illnesses are so complex and different. So I can’t simply look at one person who didn’t get better, next to over a handful who did and assume the treatment mustn’t work. She still highly recommended the clinic and said it helped her a lot. Hansa doesn’t promise to “cure” you either. They have an 85% success rate in patients responding positively to their treatment. A small minority do not respond for whatever reason. That’s why it’s so important to do your research.

Moreover, I think getting better will be a life long journey for me. I don’t expect to go to a clinic for a few weeks, be made better and be able to do whatever I want (i.e. eat bad food, drink, not get enough sleep, push my body further than it is capable). I expect to go to a clinic and have them jump-start my recovery, but I will be working hard for a long time and then having to maintain habits of detoxing, medications and lifestyle choices many people wouldn’t ever need to consider or have probably heard of.

I then had to break the news to my parents that I’d found a different and better clinic (for me). This was going to make me appear flimsy and indecisive. My parents were (understandably) hesitant and a little closed off to the idea of a different clinic. They then did their own research and saw what I saw. The beliefs and morals of this clinic were exactly what my natural Dr had been telling me for the last 3 years. They also didn’t offer HBOT or IV minerals (good, because I can’t find the long term benefit in that), they don’t do dentistry (to my disappointment), but they offered a list of holistic and natural detoxing and healing methods that are in alignment with what I’ve responded well to here. They also have over 1,000 natural remedies and tailor make your supplements to exactly what your body needs. OH! And they treat patients with the same brand of essential oils I’ve been using for the last 2 years. They’re speaking my language.

So I emailed the clinic and asked for more information. They sent me their patient intake form. This was lengthy, over 10 pages from memory. I had to give very detailed information on my illnesses. I also had to write a 1 page essay on my experience with my health. I remember constantly checking my email, just waiting for their reply. Something inside me just wanted this so bad, like my heart and soul and entire being knew this is what I needed and I was desperate to be accepted. A few days later at around 1am (my time), I received a reply and opened it nervously. They had accepted my application and believed I was a suitable fit for their treatment program. I was ecstatic and relieved. I had found my answer. This is the place I will go to get better and I will do whatever it takes to get there.

Then began the planning of when I would leave and what this trip would entail. It would mean a minimum of 2 trips to the clinic over a 6 month period. We settled on going around May for the first trip and November for the second (had to be worked around family members life events also). I worked out the cost of 2 trips would come to around $57,000 and how long it would take me to save that kind of money. Upon much number crunching and working out time frames and logistics, my parents agreed the best idea was for my partner and I to move back home with them to save money. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have such supportive and selfless parents and a partner who would sacrifice so much for me to get treatment.

October last year (7 months ago), we left our current house the minute our lease was up and made the big move to 77km away, back to my parents. This was a major task that took several months of planning and left me with significant pay back for weeks after. My research hasn’t stopped either. I’ve read blogs, medical forums and spoken to more patients. I’ve probably read posts from over 50 different people detailing their experiences. All it does is constantly re-affirm my decision that this clinic is my best shot at recovery.

I also recently read another article of Dr. Jernigan’s that’s about what to expect on your first appointment at Hansa. When they conduct all their tests, work out what’s wrong with you and the best methods of treatment. He talked about your health being like a vault and that you need to find the right 10 digit combination to unlock that vault. Some Dr’s are great at what they do (like my natural Dr), but they may only be able to give you 1 or 2 numbers to the combination. That’s why I got to 50% health and I can’t get above that. My natural Dr is brilliant at what he does, but he can’t fix all of me. My CFS Dr is also brilliant, the testing I’ve accessed thanks to him has helped me understand exactly what’s wrong with me and I’ve been fortunate to have access to medications that have improved my quality of life dramatically. However, being that he is a mainstream Dr, he is more along the lines of understanding what is wrong with me and treating symptoms with medication, rather than being able to fix and heal my body long term. I don’t think any mainstream Dr has the capacity to fix me in that way anyway.

Dr. Jernigan also talked about that every time you try a new treatment that doesn’t work, you do damage to your body that then has to be repaired on top of your already sick body. This is why I cannot keep throwing money at this treatment and this Dr and this special kind of water and this pill that gives you energy. It’s not going to work for me. I’ve tried so much already (believe me, like a SHITLOAD of treatments, not just 2 or 3 things, I’m talking DOZENS) and it hasn’t worked. It’s been 12 years and I’m tired of being sick and spending thousands every month on simply existing or trialling something that I really can’t afford and doesn’t end up working anyway. I need a team of Dr’s in a highly specialised clinic that can look at EVERYTHING and know exactly where things went wrong and how to repair it. No Dr in Australia will be able to do that. But the Hansa Center can :) :) :) :)

*NOTE: Do not take anything I’ve said about the clinic or the Dr’s as verbatim. I am merely “quoting” them from my own interpretation and memory of what I have read or heard, so not all facts may be entirely accurate.*

#lyme #Lyme Disease #lyme treatment #chronic illness #chronic lyme #chronic fatigue syndrome #hansa #hansa center

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janeorozco92 · 4 years

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Cat Peeing Everywhere New Cat Prodigious Cool Tips

FLUTD or Feline Lower Urinary Tract Infection.Sometimes I removed her from serious diseases.Add of a snack, even if they've been playing in something else decorative over the house.There are two sources for such a mess all over the years.

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This might seem a little painful for him.There can be cured but most can be traced back to you.In many cases if allergic responses are severe enough.Mix all of these, take your cat litter stays clean at all times.I used before I tell you that something's wrong.

Below are two problems with your neighbours and see which ones they prefer.The cause may be characterised by eczema, swelling, itchiness or sores.If your cat wants to find homes and people to treat them.While having three litter boxes are best introducing it to bed after a few extra cat supplies and this allows the flap by programming the light level.You then think about their cats drinking from the resident cat.

That's where you moved the four ingredients in a cat leaving tooth marks on particular furnishing you can insert cotton balls in orange juice can be life threatening.Severe cases often also require specific types of behaviors to their automatic cat litter boxes that you are having a pet trained to sleep much of his basic needs, as well as all the racket.For example, will sit down, see the fleas jump and land on their toes, but also feel threatened by other family cat.These viruses are common and expensive disease to treat.It can be controlled or relieved with a 2 foot long 1x6.

Cat Spraying How To Get Rid Of Smell

If it's carpeting, bedding or furniture, or you can use the sofa again!Most shelters will vaccinate, deworm, test for either feline leukemia and urinary tract infection.The best way is to remove the thick of the new scratching area.Our resident isn't showing signs of the Listerine mouthwash to a cat's nose because the cat fails to fully understand your cat's feces, you should know is that you will end up in scabs and the least offensive way cats express their love of a 3% hydrogen peroxide and 1 extra 1Your vet may use nail caps glued onto the pet, these products are an important part of a physical problem.

Depending on the carrier the first place.Why cats create so much more happy and yourself a cat, it will strengthen the cats away from your carpet or climb the curtain, the alarm will sound every time.So there is a good relationship with your cat for feline health does not always sending out that high pitched noise.Litter in the center and the tables after it.Assign separate litter boxes with high sides.

Intact females will spray in most homes, the answer of this.But these things hit the road, she was so pet owners are ignorant, and willfully remain ignorant of why their cats drinking from the surface is not just a few moments warning when kitty misbehaves, it will encourage them to come over and over again.Cat spray smells quite disgusting and will help soothe your kitty: Feliway is one of the night.Luckily, treatment is simple and the alternative methods of holistic and naturopathic care can have a very simple solution is to consult the vet?Finally, this past week, they were a complete examination does not enjoy walking on your pet's skin, and it involves having your cat will be affected.

Be responsible and have a screen door this would make the problem get too trigger-happy.You're not guaranteed to work the are after you do not like particularly the water!Certainly, they can be shy when doing their business.Find her some privacy when going about their litter box is clean.He is just doing what comes out and heaven forbid I should open a door and getting then neutered will be able to save your cat.

Adopting a new environment even if he says to give your pets any food.He said she sounded like she was still on the carpet enough to go through a business.However, the case you should carefully choose your carpet that there's reward for every cat dislikes water, they will find it a lot of time to time.The source of entertainment for your cat may have needed more power, but the topical flea treatment.Scratching is not neutered may well cause it to completely and permanently removed.

So do kitty a snack as this reinforce they have pink tissue that can help reduce the severity of an outdoor litter box.If you haven't then maybe you ought to consider spraying the inside of their nails may seem normal but he couldn't help it.So, as you see your cat always eating your plants flourish!Less Stress for Tess... or Chester... or Charlamaine.Rub area with kitchen foil and spraying enzyme cleaners, which are not seeing them again.

Why Did My Cat Spray Me

For now, there is always to consult your veterinarian for advice.It isn't practicable to let the cats are playful but will not only chew wool but chew towels, socks and blankets as well.Then rub the surface of the litter box and you have the vet returns with positive results during the scratching post.Pet Porte Microchip Cat Flap can save you a little while to at least onceTherefore wood-based pellets are a good old spray bottle and fill it with foil so that you have to find them.

It is not hard to get a selection of boxes, your little feline companion inside the paw pads on the market, from simple inconveniences to life-threatening illnesses.Shade along the hair to remove pet odor/staining, but you are a number of people assert peroxide is a cat.Or, as noted in #10 below, he may instinctively mark his or her butt.How often do the same strong odor as that of a cat that isn't neutered is a way to get a pet fountain in which case they will definitely let you get home.My cat insists on licking the area of the risks of allowing their charges to add to the rules!

#Cat Peeing Everywhere New Cat Prodigious Cool Tips #How To Stop A Stray Cat From Spraying

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talesofeternitysblog · 4 years

Text

Chapter Two: The Love Story Begins

Fat and I were in the Ruby tower at the moment; detained. Perhaps two prison cells of the quarantine zone were our permanent residence now.

I was saying perhaps because it might be temporary for me but for Fat it was permanent. At least he thought so. And he was frustrated not unexpectedly.

Fat was very angry with me. He cried for sometimes and now he is murmuring with himself.

Two prison rooms were face-to-face. As if Ruby gave us a chance to talk to each other. I called Fat by whispering. 'Faaaat! What happened to you? as if you came here for the first time.'

I knew he would not hear my words now. He was really angry. He needed some time.

Other cells around me were full of Viruses and malware. Since the beginning they were looking at me with amazement, as if they were looking at some animal in a zoo. There was mockery on their face. It did not seem that they had any concern about us; well, if they had any brain at all. They were just viruses, they just knew how to destroy. Those who have head, whatever they will do, but they will not do this thing.

'Fat! Fatbot!' now he heard me, perhaps calling by his full name actually worked! He looked at me by taking his metal head up.

'You should not be frustrated like this. We have to find a way out.' Again he took his head down; as if he was grinding his teeth.

'Fat, you want to get out of this place!' no response. 'I will take you out.' As if viruses from the cells around me looked at me. I thought I said a little louder.

'I have no such wish. Leave me alone!' Now Fat talked. 'All this is because of you! We could have escaped!' He was saying quite loudly. I looked around once again. 'You might like here coming very much. But I could have escaped! Don't talk to me.' Look at the old man's anger. Everyone was looking.

Well I did not think they could understand anything. One looked at me once. I smiled a bit... he turned his face with such expression as if I vomited.

It seemed like they were really not interested in our conversation rather they were disturbed, why we were producing such weird sounds. Well I am not so willing to disturb them. That is why I started whispering again.

'I am sorry for everything, Fat. Listen to me.' I was not ready to give up. I need Fat at this very moment. Not only for me, rather for himself as well. 'You could have escaped but that would have been for a short period. Your system core is in Ruby's database. Basically she has everybody's design in her database.' I paused for a while. 'Ruby is a really powerful anti-virus program. Today or tomorrow, she would have captured you.'

'Even that would have been better, I could have spent two cycles outside!' there was childish tone in Fat's words.

'There is no benefit saying all these now, Fat. We are captured.' I kept my head cool. 'Instead of bringing old stories back, shouldn't we think about what could be the solution to it?' Fat remained silent. He was not talking.

I looked around once. My assumption was right. Malwares were busy with themselves. Nobody was noticing us I felt; but even though I lowered my voice.

'See, we have one option. We can be free from Ruby. For that we need a little time, a good plan and your help.' I paused. 'Look at Satan Bug, if he can roam around the Eternity in spite of being a virus, then why can't we get out of this place? Ruby is not undefeatable. There is a way to make her fool in Eternity itself. It is just in front of you.' Fat was listening to me. 'We just need a good plan.'

'No plan will work. Ruby will capture us again. She is not going to leave me.' Fat was sad.

'Don't be so frustrated. We have to keep trying.' I was trying to assure him. 'I am the Coder. Believe in my words!'

It looked like nothing was working. How would it work if he was so frustrated! He would be sad, but that did not mean there would not be any endeavour to get rid of this! I became angry a bit.

'Well, you be here. Ruby will make me free.' I lost a little bit of control of myself. 'In Ruby's definition you are a virus, not me.' I felt little bad after saying this. I tried to control myself. At least I could understand his sadness.

Even though I kept my face turned from him with this hope if by chance it works; I remained silent for a moment. Perhaps Fat once looked at me, I pretend not noticing that.

'So what do I have to do?' It worked. He got his senses back. He said again, 'Okay, tell me what I have to do.'

‘I am sorry. I have no intentions of hurting you. Listen to my plans.’ I turned my head towards him and took a long breathe. I had to make him understand this matter affluently. ‘Even though I am not aware of April’s consequences, but this is true that Satan Bug is still out there and Ruby cannot capture him, even if he has the copy of my memory.’ I added. ‘Since the beginning he is beyond her catch. One of the reasons for this is that memory, which gave him high intelligence and the other reason is his poly-morphemic feature. His system has the capability of changing the types or patterns of data, which is unique and rare.’ I stopped for a while. ‘Since I have the permission of entering the control tower, by doing so if I could copy it from the system of Satan Bug and use it in our system, then perhaps we can make a final and permanent solution for our situation.’ Fat was listening. ‘But to do this entire thing we need a lot of time and Ruby will soon destroy my intact memory. If we cannot save my memory, then the whole plan will be dismissed.’ I made a direct eye contact with Fat. ‘And to make this successful I need your help. You have to keep faith on me.’ ‘What do you mean by this?’ Fat asked with some dilemma. I was a bit hesitant because I did not know what would be Fat’s reaction on the words that I was going to say. ‘We do not have much time, I want to upload my memory in your system, later on you....’ I could not finish my words. Fat just jumped over there; as if I said something very dangerous. ‘Impossible! How could you think that I will take that inauspicious thing of yours? Do you think I am mad?’ again Luck went against us. ‘Oh...now I can understand everything. All these have been pre-planned by you. That is why you did not let me escape.’

‘See Fat, you know that the safest place for the memory is the quarantine zone. Ruby’s scan is not effective here.’ I keep my head cool. ‘You also know that in order to save the Eternity how important this is. I believe you do not want the destruction of the Eternity as well.’ He was listening to me, but was in dilemma. ‘Tell me if there are any other options.’ He was still hesitant to take the memory. ‘There is no other way left, Fat.’ I looked at him helplessly. ‘You have to do this only. Later on you will contact with me.’

Suddenly the speaker of Ruby’s voice was played. ‘Coder, Ruby’s procedure station is ready. There is nothing to worry for you. Here just your memory will be deleted and you will be released.' She continued. 'Within few moments Ruby’s Malbot will reach to your cell. Thank you.’ The connection got cut.

Fat was frightened like thousands time more than I was. Ruby was like the Goddess of Death to him. He became silent.

‘See Fat, there is nothing to think now! Listen to me!’ I insisted. ‘This is the last option of saving my memory. Activate your transfer system!’ I kept looking at him. ‘Fat, can you hear me?’ I screamed. Now he became conscious. He moved a bit. ‘Activate your file transfer system.’ I said with emphasis.

Fat enabled the file transfer protocol. I did not wait for any moment then. I encrypted (locked) the memory and started transferring it to Fat's system. The process was taking some time, perhaps Fat was old or an old model, because of that!

‘Almost 77% is done. It will take few moments more.’ I informed Fat.

Suddenly the door of the quarantine zone opened. A Malbot entered inside. Both of us kept looking at it with surprise.

We could not believe it. It was almost done. So, then just for a little time more will it be ....

I stopped the transfer immediately. Altogether it was done only 77% of it. But the Malbot already unlocked my cell and indicated me to go forward. I silently obeyed the order.

‘How will I communicate with you?’ Fat started shouting. There was a mark of anxiousness.

‘Fat, you were the assisting program of Ruby. You were a tower controller as well.’ I kept shouting while going. I was trying to make him understand something. I could not get how much he could understand. But he has my memory now.

‘But how can I ...' Fat stopped. He was confused. The Malbot kept taking me ahead.

‘Fat, don’t get rotten in this quarantine zone. Try to use your brain.' I said. 'Remember only I can get you free from here.’ Fat sat there. He kept looking at me like a fool.

I did not know how much Fat could understand. I did not even know how much he would be able to help me out with his irrational behaviour.

The Malbot took me outside of the quarantine zone by this time. A little ahead there was the procedure station.

(2) It was a beautiful morning. April and I were enjoying the beauty of Eternity. We were in the command center. It was situated on the top floor of the control tower. From here one glance of the beauty of the Eternity could be enjoyed.

There were extensive mountains around this tower. There were charming fountains and trees. I cannot explain that heavenly beauty in words. April was sitting just beside me. She was looking outside, almost silent; as if she was thinking just like me.

April was incredibly beautiful; enchanting eyes, heavy cheeks, long hair and slim figure-all these made her extremely unique. Polite behaviour, humility and enchanting voice- to be honest, the first day I saw her, the day when Ruby’s Malbot took me here, from that day onwards I started building a strange feeling for her. That feeling was extremely beautiful. I cannot explain that in words.

But the sad thing is I could not tell her that yet; though there is a big reason behind it. April did not give this opportunity to tell her. She was responsible about her works, other than that we did not discuss anything else. April’s sense of responsibility and independent mindset never gave me the option to raise this issue. Apart from this, she always looked tensed, which was very much clear on her face; though I never could know what was the reason. She never shared it. However, I tried to use today’s opportunity.

All of a sudden Ruby’s harsh voice came on the speaker. April got up just at that moment. She sat in front of the power panel. She was the controller of the Control Tower.

‘Coder, Ruby’s scan is completed.’ Ruby informed. ‘Altogether 8719098 files have been scanned. There is no virus detected. There was no fix. However, for your kind information, presence of a viral data was captured in the Ruby’s scanning system, though that got vanished away. Ruby is continuously working on it and will let you know if Ruby finds any solutions for it. Ruby would request you to check the log file for details of today’s report. Thank you.’ Ruby got disconnected. It was just a damn robot. I thought.

April opened the file log. She started doing the observation. She looked tensed a bit. I sat on a seat beside her. These were her daily works. Suddenly a notice came on the monitor of the power panel. This was an error notice. Though there was no specific reason mentioned on it. For some defects this notice was being shown. There was a region mentioned, that was the Panabi Valley.

‘There is an error showing in the region of Panabi Valley.' April said. 'It cannot be identified from the control tower. We have to investigate this matter on the spot.’ ‘Hmm, I think so as well.’ I replied. I was regretting in my mind, I could not use the opportunity. But I didn't express anything. Just said, ‘Okay, I am going to the Panabi Valley to investigate it.’

I got out of the command center immediately, went down to the ground floor through the central lift. Found a Control Tower Jet, I call it CTG for short. I got into the CTG and started its engine setting the destiny towords Panabi Valley. I can understand the situation.

Some nano hours went till I reached the Panabi Valley. It was quite far from the Control Tower, situated in the South Zone of Eternity. This was an area adjacent to the Fire Wall.

‘April, I reached to the Panabi Valley.’ I took my vehicle slowly down towards the ground. ‘I request you to be careful.’ April informed. I felt so good after hearing these words. ‘Now I am going to scan this area.’ I informed April.

I enabled the scan command from the CTG. The process started working. The entire area was being scanned now. It was a rocky place, there were high and low mountains on its both side. Slowly a three dimensional map of this place was prepared. I already identified the defective place. Without waiting for a moment, I sent the data to the Control Tower.

‘April, can you see the defect?’ ‘Hmm, it is coming from the fire wall.’ ‘Okay, I am going ahead. You contact with Boomer.’ ‘I am contacting now.’ April got busy.

Boomer was a program who took care of the firewall. He took care of all these kind of work.

I was gradually going ahead towards the firewall through the valley. My vehicle was going on the ground. The moment I reached in front of the Firewall situated at the end of the valley, I got surprised.

There was a big hole on the entire firewall. I wasn't prepared to see this. I got out of the CTG immediately and looked around.

The place was looking strange. It looked like something was wrong. I was sensing some danger here.

But I was not sure at all how come the hole was created on the firewall. When did it happen, how did it happen? And why doesn’t Boomer inform about it?

I got little scared now. Is it somebody done by outsider? It is somebody who intruded the Eternity by breaking the firewall and Ruby could not identify it. How is it possible? Though it is true that Anti-virus program sometime cannot identify new and powerful viruses or become late to do so. If it happened so, then at this very moment Eternity is not safe.

At last I thought that returning to CTG would be a safer option. The being which can enter the firewall by breaking it badly this way could be very dangerous.

Suddenly I noticed something moving on the map of the CTG. A warning bell rang. I could not understand anything.

‘Coder! Get out of the Panabi Valley now.’ April shouted at that moment. ‘Why? What happened?’ I wanted to know. ‘You just come out of that place. Now! Do not wait.’

I realized that something very serious was going to happen. I did not wait any moment, started running towards the CTG. I was lucky I entered it safely. Immediately then I took it up from the ground.

I did not think anything else and just got out from the Panabi Valley. I started my journey towards the control tower.

After reaching to the tower, I parked the CTG and came directly to the command center. April was working in the power panel.

‘April! What happened?’ I asked with curiosity and fear. ‘Look here.’ April indicated towards the monitor. ‘Here see the reports of the Firebots. From FBR-78 to FBR-94, in total 17 firebots are showing error directly. Boomer sent them at Zone 19 (Panabi Valley) for investigation. But later on he got disconnected totally from all of them. I tried to contact with them too from the control tower but the result was the same as before. In all cases it is showing error regarding communication.

I observed the whole report very carefully. The report was correct. All the bots were vanished! ‘The surprising fact about is that all of them are firebots of ‘R’ series.’ April told. ‘They are innocent and only for investigation and repair they are used. There was no system of self-security.’ ‘From the report it is clear that they have been attacked.’ I said. ‘Maybe someone destroyed them.’ ‘I was afraid about this only.' April told. 'That is why I did not want to take any risk. I am sorry.’ ‘You have done the right thing, April.' I assured her. 'Until this matter is going to be solved, forget about Panabi Valley, even Eternity is not safe.’ ‘There is another matter.' April said. 'A surprising email came from the tower system; an unknown sender. There was no mention of the sender in the list. Other information is also suspicious. That is why I did not open the mail.’ April stopped. ‘You have done the right thing, but do not delete it.’ I said. I could not understand what was all happening. ‘April, check the header file if we can get any information from the header.’

April took the header file out. I observed it with full attention. ‘I could not get any significant information.’ April kept searching it. ‘One minute; Ruby used the server tower in order to send the mail!’ ‘What! How come this is possible? Why would Ruby do that? Ruby can contact us directly.’ ‘Please give me some time. Ruby did not send it.’ April understood something. ‘That email was viral. Only viral email shows this kind of behavior.’ She stopped for a while. ‘Then would it be possible that somebody from the Ruby tower is involved with today’s incident of the Panabi Valley?’ April expressed her suspicion. I could not understand the matter. Everything was becoming very hazy to me. ‘Shall I communicate with Ruby?’ April asked. ‘Wait for a while. Let me think about the matter.’ I stopped her. ‘April! I do not know why but I am feeling like we should not inform Ruby about this matter.' ‘Perhaps Ruby is involved with it, isn’t it?’ April assumed. ‘No, it’s not that.’ I remained silent. There was some dilemma or confusion in my mind. ‘In my opinion Ruby is involved with it. I do not like her since the beginning.’ April told. ‘April, please be silent for a moment. Let me think.’ April got silent.

I was thinking that who could help us now. All these matters were becoming more and more complex. ‘April, contact Boomer. Boomer can know something about it.’ I ordered.

April established a contact with Boomer. ‘Hey, April, Boomer speaking; you are looking so beautiful.’ He keeps saying the same thing all the time. ‘Boomer, I am Coder.’ ‘Ohh...sorry, Boss. Please tell me how can I help?’ ‘Did you get to know anything new about the firewall of Panabi Valley?’ ‘No, boss; I informed April all the things that I came to know. I did not get any new information. My defense bots have surrounded the border of the Panabi Valley.’ It was a prompt reply. ‘Okay.’ ‘Anything else you want to know, Boss? ‘What are you doing right now?’ ‘I am listening to music, Boss. Would you like to listen too? ‘No, it’s fine.’ He was never serious. ‘April would you?’ ‘No, April will not do as well.’ I looked at April. She shrugged, smiled a bit. ‘You listen to your songs.’ I disconnected the communication with him.

‘So then you listen to music?’ I looked at April. I felt like she was enjoying. ‘Not much. Sometimes; You know his collections are really good, right?’ ‘Hmm.’ I could not say anything else. I felt very strange and remained silent. April got busy with her work. We did not talk for a while.

(3) I am really worried. It’s fine that Boomer is looking after the matter of Firewall. It is exclusively his duty. But my concern is about the Virus. How come these many Fire-bots got vanished suddenly! Somebody is responsible for this. I am sure that he/she is in the Eternity Programme itself. It’s just Ruby is not able detect it.

And what is this matter with the mail? Who sent this mail, that too by using Ruby’s server itself. There are so many questions tangling in my head. I was thinking of contacting with Ruby. Suddenly Ruby came online. ‘Master, a new virus is detected in Eternity.’ ‘Oh! I was just worried about this matter. I was about to inform you.’ I felt like a huge relief. ‘Were you able to capture the virus?’ ‘Malbots are sent to capture the virus.’ It was the cold voice of Ruby. ‘Master, that virus is in the control tower of the Eternity.’ ‘What?’ now I got surprised. ‘What are you talking?’ I could not believe Ruby’s words. ‘Ruby is right. Satan Bug’s data is in April’s system. That data is partial and also faulty. It is mixed with April’s core system. That is why it was really hard to identify this data separately.’ ‘What are you saying?’ ‘April is that virus.’ I could not believe my own ears. What am I hearing? I looked at April. She was completely silent. I could understand that, at least April is not that bloody virus. ‘What are you going to do about it, Ruby?’ ‘April will be captured.’ ‘For how long?’ I was anxious. ‘April’s system is not amendable. She will be kept in the quarantine zone.’ ‘All right but for how long??’ I asked again. ‘Sorry, Coder. Ruby is not able to inform about it correctly. It is beyond Ruby’s calculation.’ Ruby’s answer. ‘In a while Ruby’s malbots will reach to the control tower. Ruby is asking for your co-operation.’ She disconnected the contact.

Everything became transparent to me now. Ruby was going to keep April captured forever. I would never be able to go near her. I could never see her. What would I do now? What would I live for here in Eternity! I cannot let her go like this!

April looked at my eyes. It felt like she was always ready for a time like this one. ‘Ruby is right. It’s only me who is responsible for this consequence. I stole Satan Bug’s data.’ She took a long breathe. She seemed to be regretting for it. ‘I always believed that there is another world beyond this Eternity, which is waiting for me. I am not for Eternity. I wanted to be free from here.’ She paused for a while. ‘Eternity’s firewall was like an illusion to me. I wanted to cross it. I felt like somebody is waiting for me out there.’ now those words hurt me a bit; perhaps I was not ready to hear them. ‘Eternity was nothing but a huge confined jail to me. There was nothing but the works of the control tower here. I could not find a least reason to live. Basically I could not find any difference between Ruby’s jail and Eternity. I was literally detained in the control tower!' April looked outside once. My chest started feeling heavy. She started talking again. ‘This depression was killing me from inside. And at last I committed a huge mistake indeed ... I put Eternity in risk. I tried to flee from here too but failed.' April has an independent personality; I knew that since the beginning. But today I understood the reason for her depression. That was why she looked tensed all the time; as if she lost all her interest for Eternity. She kept herself busy with work always. ‘When I found a reason to live in Eternity' She stared at me. 'Just at that time Ruby got the reason to capture me.’ April started sobbing now. Because her reason for this was only me. ‘Don’t stop me. I want to go. I deserve this.’ She couldn't looked at me. ‘I understand everything, April. But I cannot lose you forever.' I didn't try to hide anything now. 'I cannot stand that you will suffer every moment in Ruby’s jail. If necessary, I will shut down Ruby forever.’ ‘No! Never do this mistake! I don’t want to see the same mistake again. You shall not deactivate Ruby in any situation.’ April looked into my eyes. ‘Promise me. Give me your word.’ ‘I give you my word.’ I held her hand. ‘But I cannot let you get detained at Ruby’s hand.’ I was not able to control myself in any way. I started realizing that horrible truth. I realized that I had to lose her; may be forever. I tried to hold myself strong.

‘I have to go. There is no other way left.’ April was very disappointed. ‘Alright, if you really have to go, you will go from Eternity.’ I kept myself strong. ‘I want to see you free, not detained.’ April was surprised with my words. ‘I can do anything for you. I don’t have any answer for why I can do so. I can only say that I have a feeling for you in my mind. I couldn’t tell you that so far. Actually I couldn't define what this feeling is all about.' ‘But...’ I stopped her. ‘You have always wanted this, April.’ I pressed her arms with my hands. ‘Don’t worry about me. I have to tackle this side. I will deactivate the firewall.’

April tried to say something. I put my hand on her lips and stopped her. ‘I know you desire this only. Believe me. You have always wanted this.’ April did not give any response. She just kept looking at my face. She became completely silent. She was in some dilemma.

Suddenly a warning signal rang on the command monitor. Ruby’s malbot had come nearby. ‘You have to get out of here now. We don’t have much time.’ I hold her hand. I almost forced her to go near to the lift; as if she did not want to leave me. ‘You have to go down. You will directly go towards the north zone on a CTG.’ I said that sentence quickly. But her illusion was not breaking at all. I shook her once. ‘April!’ I shouted. ‘Can I hug you for a moment?’ suddenly she said. Her eyes were full of tears. I hugged her. My eyes got wet, but tried not to let it flow. ‘We will meet again.’ I said. ‘Will we?’ ‘Of course we will. All will be okay. You will come back.’ I assured her. She became a bit normal than before; as if she could see some rays of hope. ‘Keep this passcode.’ She returned to her normal state. ‘It will be needed. And keep your promise.’ She said. ‘All right.’ I nodded. ‘Now you have to go. We don’t have time.’ I forced her.

I pressed the lift’s button. The door closed slowly. For that whole time she kept looking at me. Perhaps she wanted to say something but could not do so. I saw her for the last time. I consoled myself; at least her wish is going to be fulfilled.

After a while one CTG came out of the control tower. It flew on the sky and faded away slowly. I tracked her vehicle while sitting in the power panel. She was exactly going towards the north zone. I executed the command of deactivation of the firewall. That system asked for a code. I entered that code which April gave me and pressed the enter button. But surprisingly the firewall could not be deactivated. It showed error. Some security programme of Eternity was stopping it. Ruby!

Sorry April. I am not able to keep my promise. I thought in my mind. I had to deactivate Ruby. I did not think anything else. I just shut down Ruby; and along with that firewall also got shut down. April’s vehicle had crossed the firewall. Vehicle’s signal got lost. April was gone; free; what she had always wanted. Could I be happy at least a bit! Perhaps!

Within a while I activated the firewall. It started working. Now it’s time to activate Ruby. I entered April’s code and executed the command. Ruby’s system started rebooting.

Suddenly a V-jet tried to contact the control tower. I received the signal. ‘Control! It’s urgent! Ruby is attacked by the virus! Ruby is attacked by the virus!’ That sentenced was played twice. ‘Do not reactivate Ruby again! At any cost do not activate Ruby.’ said some unknown voice. ‘Who? Who is talking?? Identify yourself.’ I was startled. ‘Coder, I am Fat-bot. just for once believe me.’ Who is this fat bot? And why would I believe in him? ‘I am in the west zone of Eternity. You ...’

Suddenly the contact got disconnected; as if a new voice overlapped with the previous one. ‘I am Dalia.’ That voice was extremely heavy. ‘Eternity is now mine. Control tower is mine. Everything in Eternity is mine.’ There was a sense of pride in that voice. ‘You all have to be finished. You have to die. I will protect Eternity now. I am its savior.’ The owner of this voice sounded very rude, brutal.

I got scared now. Then this is the bloody virus! Now she attacked Ruby. She was just waiting patiently for this opportunity. And I was the one who gave her this opportunity. I tried to stop Ruby’s system. But nothing worked.

I looked at the panel power. There was a signal about some V-jets, approaching towards this way. I understood I had to get out of here now.

So I got down and without delaying I entered into a CTG and fleed from the tower. Set the jet's towards the west zone of Eternity. I might find the owner of that unknown voice. Perhaps he could help me.

Eternity’s west zone basically a jungle. Here I met with the owner of that unknown voice named Fat-bot. Boomer was also with him. ‘Coder, one of your valuable things is with me.' That Fat-bot said. 'If you permit, I can transfer it to you.’ Fat asked for permission. I looked at Boomer. He nodded as a yes to it. I activated my transfer system.

Right after receiving the memory, at first one question popped up in my head ‘Where is April?’ I realized immediately that she was not there, she was gone forever. I cried out once. I was the one who pushed her towards death. It was my ignorance; absence of my memory had finished her!

April was Eternity’s own program. Her system would not work outside of Eternity. She had been coded only for Eternity. There was no existence of her outside Eternity; whereas it was only me who let her go. She did not want to go!

I could not even keep my promise to her! I wish I kept my promise! At least for once!

April always believed that there was another world outside Eternity; because I had come from a place which was outside of Eternity. But she would never understand that the world and the other side of the firewall is not the same.

April was wrong. Terribly wrong! And I was too.

I lost her forever today. She would never come back to me again! Now I am realizing that the feeling which I always had for her was nothing but love! If I would have understood for once; if I had my memory with me!

(To be continued)

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