It Got Worse
Year 0, Day 5
âIt looks like a cat.â
Lalliâs dry observation seemed to echo in the stunned silence that followed the arrival of the strange-looking vehicle at their base of operations, a carefully unobtrusive warehouse buried amongst many others just like it in the much-reduced-but-still-truly-massive harbor complex. Ever since the multi-tracked vehicle had slllllllooooooowwwllllyyy pulled up to their door, Tuuri had been in an uncharacteristically shocked silence.
Eventually, a door on the side slid open, revealing a figure of medium size topped by a head bearing the same nose, eyes and hair as the other Hotakainens, so Mikkel felt it safe to assume this was another of their clan.
The sight jolted Tuuri out of her silence. âOnni!â she exclaimed in Finnish, âwhat are you doing here?â
Mikkel had a passing acquaintance with the Finn tongue, so he caught the gist of their conversation. From what they didnât say, Mikkel gathered that Onni was more or less a complete shut-in; agoraphobe, anthrophobe, germophobe, and several other -phobes.
From what they did say, Mikkel gathered that Onni was also even better with computers than Lalli, so when he heard that Denmark was closing its borders, heâd plucked up his courage and joined his family, âborrowingâ this semi-experimental vehicle from the training facility where it was being evaluated along the way.
âBlah blah blah positive air pressure blah blah advanced filtration and purification systems blah blah.â Tuuri was eating the tech talk up, while Sigrun and Emil looked increasingly bored. Lalli had already slipped into the vehicle to check out Onniâs hacking set-up, while Reynir had slipped back into the building to see whether he could whip up something nice for the new arrival.
âThatâs all very nice,â Sigrun said, her tone contradicting her words, âbut is there any, yâknow, weaponry aboard?â
âMaybe just a flamethrower?â Emil asked, obviously trying not to sound too hopeful.
Onni looked nonplussed when Tuuri relayed the questions. His answer was obviously the Finnish for ânoâ.
âWell, that thingâs just a waste of space, then.â Sigrun crossed her arms truculently, if not outright pugnaciously.
âIt got Onni here, which is good enough for me!â Tuuri flared up in another uncharacteristic outburst.
Emil butted in, trying to play peacemaker, but the two girls were already metaphorically snarling and growling at each other in preparation for an air-clearing brawl, ill-timed though it might be, so both verbally slashed at him until he retreated.
âYOU NEED TO HEAR THIS!â
The world seemed to stop in confusion. Lalli had screamed? Lalli, the quietest of the quiet? Then, into the silence, a professional ânews presenterâ voice started speaking in Finnish.
â...confirmed that two of the original patients did die earlier today.â
As the news went on, Tuuri gave a rough translation, her voice thin with fear. No recoveries. No âin good conditionâ. No cure yet, or perhaps ever.
âWhat were you saying about the air filtration again?â Sigrun asked Onni quietly...
