I Hope It Isn’t Contagious

***

Morning came with another faint glow seeping through the blinds.

I didn’t move at first. I just lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind caught in an endless loop of dread and unanswered questions.

Serena’s greed. Kael’s silence. Liora’s sickness. Toren’s arrogance.

Each of them carried a weight—a fracture that threatened to break us all apart. But throughout it all, I had held onto a foolish hope, a desperate wish that at least I would be spared.

But the moment I pushed myself up and felt the dull ache in my knees, the stiffness in my back, I somewhat accepted the truth.

My once-vibrant purple hair had turned an ashen grey overnight, lifeless and dull.

I stumbled out of bed, clutching the edge of the nightstand as my breathing grew uneven. My knees wobbled under my weight, pain flaring briefly in the joints as if mocking me.

I was aging.

Rapidly.

The signs had been there but I had brushed them off, convinced myself they were temporary, side effects of poor sleep or lingering stress.

But this… This wasn’t something I could ignore anymore.

Not after I had wet my bed.

My stomach twisted.

The faint dark stain seeping through the pristine white sheets.

And that sharp, sterile scent… unmistakable and shameful.

It was almost laughable.

A man in his prime...

And yet here I was, standing in damp pajamas, staring at the physical evidence of my own body betraying me.

I forced my shaking hands to strip the sheets and shoved them into the sterilizer chute, the machine swallowing them with a cold hum. My reflection caught my eye again—pale, hollow, unrecognizable.

We had conquered disease. We had conquered famine. We had conquered societal prejudice and segregation. We had conquered war and even aging itself.

But one breath of that cursed air outside the barrier, and it felt like centuries of progress were crumbling away, brick by fragile brick.

We were supposed to be humanity’s hope. The guardians of Kyslicium. The bridge between survival and eternity…

“Get it together, Zehn!” Despite the guilt, I realized I had to push through, if not for me, then for the future generations.

***

As I glided on my airboard toward the academy, the world below me unfolded like a serene painting—immaculate roads winding through towering structures, parks dotted with greenery, and the faint sounds of distant air traffic blending into the peaceful murmur of Worlderia.

For a brief moment, the sight made me forget everything.

We are but a single drop in a grandiose ocean, I reminded myself. Even if we were to disappear, the world would still go on.

To my left, sprawling family complexes rose high into the sky—majestic homes with four or more floors, each one housing generations living side by side in perfect harmony. Warm light spilled from their windows, casting a comforting glow against the sterile perfection of steel and glass.

It was beautiful. Peaceful.

Lost in thought, I failed to notice the bright red light pulsing at an air-crossroad ahead of me. A uniformed officer hovered mid-air on his own airboard, a glowing baton raised high.

“Good morning, fellow citizen!” the officer called out, his voice steady and polite. “Just a routine road check. Please stop your airboard for inspection.”

I brought my airboard to a smooth halt, my boots lightly grazing the stabilizing platform.

“Sure, go ahead,” I said, trying to muster a friendly smile.

The officer pulled out a handheld breath detector—a compact, sleek device with a glowing sensor on its front.

“Sir, have you consumed any alcohol recently?”

“No,” I replied firmly. “I don’t drink at all.”

“Would you be willing to submit to a quick test?”

“No problem.”

He held the device in front of me, and after a brief whirr and a soft beep, the light flashed green.

The police nowadays were more like traffic inspectors, since there were no other cases to be solved.

“All clear,” he said with a nod. “One more thing, sir. Standard protocol—I’ll need to verify your ID.”

With a flick of his wrist, his glove activated, and holographic grid spread across its surface. He gestured for me to lean closer, and the glove scanned my eyes with a brief pulse of soft blue light.

“That should do it… Wait a second.”

The officer’s head tilted slightly as his eyes widened.

“Talos? Talos Zehn? The hero, the legend, the myth—the Wood Hunter?”

I forced a smile, though it felt heavy on my face. “Yeah, that’s me.”

For a brief moment, there was silence as he stared at me.

“What happened to you?” he asked softly, his voice carrying genuine concern. “You’re not even a hundred, but you… you look like someone well past two hundred.”

I looked away, my eyes focusing on the distant city skyline.

“What can I say… You know about the incident from a couple of months ago.”

The officer’s expression tightened, his brows knitting together as he took a half-step back.

“Damn… I hope it isn’t contagious.”

I chuckled dryly, though there was no humor in it. “No worries. I’m pretty sure it’s not.”

But even as I said it, the words felt hollow.

The officer hesitated, then spoke cautiously, his voice softer now.

“Well, I hope that the Wood Hunters Science Division help you, because this is pretty scary.”

“Thanks for the encouraging words…” I said, my voice laced with sarcasm.

The officer gave me one last glance, his face a mixture of sympathy and unease, before stepping back and gesturing me forward.

“Take care, Mr. Talos. And… good luck.”

I nodded in thanks and kicked my airboard into motion, gliding past the checkpoint and toward the academy.

But his words stayed with me, echoing in the back of my mind.

The Science Division.

I wanted to avoid the HQ as much as possible. A part of me didn’t want to face them, didn’t want to face their cold analysis or their sterile examinations.

But deep down, I knew I had to go.

I was visiting my doctor regularly and yet he failed to notice any changes in my body. So if anyone could tell me what was happening to my body, it was them.

***

I finally reached my destination—the school. Above the gates, a holographic banner floated gently, welcoming the students for another day of curiosity and discovery.

As I dismounted my airboard and adjusted my jacket, I found myself smiling faintly.

What should I teach them today? I wondered. Should we dive deeper into history—the struggles, the triumphs—or maybe I could tell them about Wood Hunter technology? About the laseraxes, the protective suits...

But my thoughts were abruptly interrupted.

A scream.

Sharp, raw, and distant.

“What the hell was that?” I muttered, my chest tightening as the sound echoed faintly against the towering buildings.

I spun in a full circle, scanning the skywalks, the streets, the glass-fronted facades of nearby structures. The sound had bounced around too much to pinpoint, but something… something told me it came from the direction of Skypark.

Without hesitation, I kicked my airboard into motion, the engine roaring softly beneath me as I carved a direct path through the city’s glistening expanse. My mind raced alongside my speeding board.

When Skypark finally came into view, Serena’s restaurant stood there in all its quaint charm—a gleaming beacon amidst the polished steel and glass structures surrounding it. Through the large front windows, I could see customers seated at tables, chatting, eating, oblivious to whatever chaos had just unraveled nearby.

But that wasn’t my concern right now.

Another scream—this time higher-pitched, raw with panic—cut through the air, slicing into my chest like a blade. It was coming from somewhere deeper, somewhere hidden.

The alleys.

I jumped off my airboard before it fully stopped, my boots hitting the pavement with a heavy thud. My legs protested, the sharp ache in my knee briefly flaring, but I gritted my teeth and pushed forward into the maze of narrow passageways.

There, in the shadows, stood a woman. She was trembling violently, her hands pressed to her mouth as if she was holding back a scream. Her wide eyes were locked onto the figure sprawled on the ground in front of her—a man lying still in a pool of crimson blood, his chest rising faintly, unevenly.

My stomach twisted into knots at the sight.

“Hey!” I called out, approaching cautiously. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

The woman’s voice shook as she stammered, “I—I don’t know! He was just lying there! He—he needs help!”

I crouched next to the man, my trembling hand hovering just above his neck, searching for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. His breaths were shallow, and his face—oh, his face was bruised beyond recognition.

Who could’ve done this?

As the adrenaline surged through me, I noticed something at the far end of the alley—a shadow shifting against the pale glow of a streetlamp. A figure. A person. And they were running.

“Hey!” I shouted, my voice sharp as glass. “Stop!”

But the figure darted into the darkness and vanished.

I pushed myself upright, every joint in my knees and lower back screaming in protest. And then—crack!

“Arghhh!” A bolt of pain shot through my lower spine, forcing me to stagger and clutch a nearby wall for support.

The woman rushed forward, her hands fumbling as she tried to offer me her arm.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” she asked, her voice small and brittle.

“Damn it,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “We’ll never catch them now…”

The woman’s eyes darted nervously toward the alley’s entrance. “I saw him… I saw who was running away!” Her voice trembled as she spoke. “It was him. Kael Sylas. The failure of the Wood Hunters!”

Chapter 7: END