The Sickness

Chapter Three

For a couple minutes, the only sound was our own breathing. Then I spoke.
"What do you think it means?" I said.
Ana shrugged. "I... I don't know. I guess we should just avoid rocks, chipmunks, ants, lakes, and trees."
"Rocks?" Ana and I both startled, and turned around. Standing there was none other than Baxter. He was also infected, and like us, the effects were beginning to lessen. He flashed a smile. "Why rocks?"
"Baxter!" I exclaimed, rolling my eyes. "This doesn't involve you!"
But Ana laid a hand on my shoulder. "Actually, Kay, I think we should let him join us. I mean, three is better than two, right?"
"No. Two's company, three's a-" I started, but Ana interrupted me.
"What were you saying, Bax?" she asked.
Baxter clasped his hands behind his back. "I was simply wondering why you wanted to avoid rocks, chipmunks, and trees."
Ana sighed. "Well, so the thing is, my little alien inside me here decided to speak to me. It said that we should beware of hissing rocks, chipmunks, and silent trees. I think to be safe, we should just steer clear of ALL rocks, trees, and chipmunks."
"Really?" Baxter raised his eyebrows. "You're taking advice from the thing that infects you?"
I cut in. "Baxter, I'm pretty sure that the reason they gave us this warning is because they're inside us - they don't want us to kill ourselves, because they'd die too!"
"But it's their weird parasites that have taken over the chipmunks, rocks, and trees," Baxter replied. "They're probably immune to it."
I groaned. "You don't get it!" I exclaimed. "If we die, they will die, too!"
Baxter just waved his hand dismissively. "You can choose to take this alien's advice if you want, but I'm not falling for it." He turned to walk away, but then thought better of it. "I will stay with you, though. You poor little girls need protection."
"Oh, shut up," I muttered, but he grabbed our hands and yanked us with him.
"Come on, my children!" he called. "We are free from rules now. The world is ours to explore!"