Mark watched Lexi leave with a heavy heart. What was he going to say to her? If he exposed the Horsemen... how long would it be before they'd find out? Across the table, Mari stabbed a pancake as she told him discreetly. "Be careful around her. She'll make you feel like she is on your side... but she is only out for herself. I promise you that." Mark leaned over his food more, discreetly asking. "Why do you say that?" Mari glanced at Kenny who reluctantly sat down with them. Once he was seated, she told him seriously. "Back before this virus happened. My mother and father worked on Disease Control. Their job was fighting disease and to prepare others for a possible biological warfare. Well, one day... My father came across a strange vial in the lab. He ran it for testing. Someone was mixing shit." Kenny pointed a finger at her, warning her sternly. "Dad never had any proof of that, Mari." Mari dropped her fork on the tray, turning to face Kenny as she shot back. "Yes, he did. He had cameras in the lab. He told me. If the person hadn't gotten to him first... He wouldn't have gotten sick..."

Mari's eyes teared up and she turned to face the tray again, mumbling out. "Mom didn't believe him. No one at the lab believed him. She claimed he was working too late and got careless. Exposed himself to the virus without meaning to. Then mom did what she did best... She covered her own ass. She claimed to have checked the security cameras, but they revealed nothing. Just him working." Kenny rolled his eyes, gently adding in. "Mom had nothing to do with that. She-" Mari glared at Kenny, snapping in bitterly. "Lewis said that the tapes looked edited and altered! Whoever did it had planned it out, Kenny!" Kenny rested his arms on the table and looked away from them. Mari looked back to Mark, whispering to keep the onlookers from hearing. "She filed for a divorce while my dad was in quarantine! Said it was for the best... My grandfather became my dad after he died... Do you have any idea what it's like to love your dad behind a glass for his last few days? She didn't care. She never visited him. She only cared about her career. And he took a backseat to it."

Kenny didn't look at them as he said very softly. "Mari, she did care. She was trying to save other people from that strain of virus. Dad understood that. Sadly, they just couldn't find a cure to save him... and then they just ran out of time." Mari huffed dryly, muttering out. "Why do you think Grandad took me away to Canada? He knew something was wrong. Someone set it up and he believed it was her!" Kenny slammed a hand on the table, saying sharper now. "Stop it! You only see what you want to see. Grandad filled your head with that crap because he was pissed over losing his son! And he couldn't even bury him because..." Mari's eyes narrowed on Kenny, growling out. "What? Because he was Patient X and mom refused to bury him? Grandad cremated him to spare him from being her science project." Kenny clenched his fists, snapping out. "No. Grandad cremated him and lost her viable DNA to work with!" Mari jumped to her feet with tears in her eyes, slapping Kenny hard enough to draw everyone's attention. Sniffling, Mari told him in a fragile voice. "You weren't there to watch him suffer. I WAS! How dare you! Dad was more than just DNA in a vial!"

Storming from the table, Mari broke into a run. Kenny stood up, calling her name but she didn't stop running. With a sigh of his own, Kenny kicked the bench seat, causing it to fall over as he stormed away in the opposite direction. Mark very lightly tapped his tray with a fork feeling guilty for that. The subject was clearly a very sensitive one for their family. Mark tried to finish up his meal, when Amy made her way over to him. Mark cleared his throat, gesturing for her to sit with him. For a few minutes, she watched him eat in awkward silence. Then she finally asked him with a smile. "You're really wolfing that down... Haven't you eaten?" Mark stared at his plate, answering softly. "I've been rationing food... After becoming a prisoner of war... My diet was bread and water." Amy shifted uncomfortably, looking around before asking discreetly over his shoulder. "Mark? About the gnome... Can you tell me why I did that?" Mark dropped his fork on the tray, nervously uttering out. "I can't. Not right now..."

Amy stiffened beside him, saying firmly. "Mark, I think I have a right to know what you have dragged me into. I have a good thing going on here and I want you to feel safe here too. Please, just-" Mark pushed his empty tray away and climbed to his feet. Giving her a small shrug, he reluctantly informed her. "I know. And I will. But this Lexi woman wants to talk to me first. So, I... Later. I'll tell you later." Grabbing his backpack, he slung it over his shoulder and headed in the direction that Lexi had gone in. He hated avoiding Amy, but he was going through an emotional crisis. He had to decide, and his time was short. Asking a few random people where Lexi's office was, they pointed the way for him. Arriving at the towns only hospital, Mark walked through the doors and saw a team of doctors in full laboratory suits and masks. A woman at the front desk waved him over, asking him why he was here. He asked for Lexi and a lab doctor offered to take him down the hall to her office. The man knocked on her door, then opened it for Mark to enter. Mark slipped inside the office, feeling like he was infected with something from the way they were acting around him.

Lexi sat casually behind her desk, typing on a computer. When she didn't acknowledge his existence, he took a seat in the chair before her desk. Setting his backpack down on the floor, he had a quick look around. The office looked pretty normal, but there were no pictures of her family. Everything on her desk appeared to be lab samples and equipment. Staring at the label on one of the tubes, he bit his lip. They were bloodwork samples from him, Kenny, and Mari. Without looking at him, Lexi stated aloud casually. "Just give me a minute." Mark shrugged as his only response. Squeezing his thighs with his hands, he nervously shifted in his seat. What did she want to know? Should he be honest? Was she someone that he could trust?" Lexi finished, closing her laptop to finally look at him. Flashing him a warm smile, she folded her hands on the desk and nicely said. "How are you doing, Mr. Fischbach?" Mark leaned back in his seat, mumbling out anxiously. "I'm fine..." Lexi leaned back in her seat, calmly saying as she crossed her legs. "That's good. I'm hoping you will like it here. Now, let's just get straight to business. My son tells me that you have information on these 'Horsemen.' I'm listening."

Mark's heel began to tap the floor as he said uneasily. "What do you want to know?" Lexi rolled her shoulders, lifting her chin to lightly say. "You told Kenny that they have a cure. Is it true?" Mark nodded, regaling honestly. "As far as I know they do. They injected it into my... Into my best friend. They are holding him hostage because of it." Lexi drummed her nails on the arms of her chair, asking curiously. "Have you seen this cure work?" Mark bit his tongue, shaking his head grimly. Lexi shrugged, stating out bluntly. "Then how do you know it is a cure? They could have lied to you. Why else do you think they might want to hold your friend hostage?" Mark rolled his eyes, grumbling out dryly. "He's a youtube gamer. He doesn't have ties with anyone. They picked him because he was simply the right height and weight to test it." Lexi blinked, just as dryly retorting. "So, let me get this straight... You saw them inject him with something that may or may not be a cure... because you never saw it work. And despite your friend being held hostage... You are here?"

Mark leaned forward, snapping out. "I came here for help! They kidnapped my friends and I. Your people claim to have guns and offer aid. So, help me! Prove me wrong by rescuing him and testing his blood yourself." Lexi sighed heavily, then shook her head. Turning to look out her window, she simply told him in a bored casual voice. "That's not possible. Even if I did have power over the military here; which I don't. They won't go to rescue your friend from those crazy cultists. The Horsemen are clever and have a lot of members that are willing to die for their cause... That is power we just don't have the numbers to fight. For every one of our loyal soldiers, they have more then ten men of the same breed. We have families here." Mark clenched his jaw, sneering out through his teeth. "So, you will do nothing? Those people are scared! You should be trying to help them!"

Lexi leaned forward slowly, locking cold eyes with him as she said firmly. "How? Scared people are the most dangerous. We attack them and we fail... Or we simply kill only one of the four leaders... The rest will come down on us like hellfire. I'm sorry. But our work is too important here. We are so close to a cure of our own... We can't risk everything on your friend who may or may not be a cure. You understand?" Mark stared deep into her eyes, growling out under his breath. "Yes, I understand." Lexi flashed him another grin, asking him sweetly. "Anything else you have to tell me?" Mark's eyes lowered to the floor, but darted up to meet hers again, upon answering in a dead voice. "No. I'll see myself out." Mark snatched up his backpack, turning on his heel to leave. Reaching the door, Lexi suddenly asked him curiously. "Oh? Mr. Fischbach? One more thing." Mark turned slightly to look over his shoulder with an expressionless face. Lexi chuckled to herself, then asked a bit seriously. "Can I ask why you are so attached to that... garden gnome?"

Mark gave her a fake smile, answering as honestly as he could. "You've seen the movie Cast Away? Well, he's my Wilson. He kept me sane and reminds me of home. He's... He's my healing gnome." Lexi raised an eyebrow but waved him out. Without another word, Mark slipped out of the office and began making his way out of the hospital. He only stopped when he thought he saw a ghost in one of the rooms. The room door was open, revealing a glass container like the one he had been quarantined in. Only the thing that was inside it wasn't entirely human. Inching closer to the door, he watched a person made entirely of grey ash put a hand on the glass. It was looking right at him with bright firey red eyes. The ashen body was puffing a grey smoldering smoke and looking right at him. When the figure moved, it moved like a wispy ghost. Goosebumps sprang up along Mark's arms. He didn't know what he was looking at... but it was terrifying. The door suddenly slammed in his face and a man in a hazmat suit yanked him away from the door, yelling out. "What are you doing?!"

Back with the Horsemen, Sean paced the cell of War's basement. The iron shackle around his neck was uncomfortable and he couldn't sit still. He had not been able to sleep comfortably for days. He was tired and scared. The black veins on his skin hadn't gone away and he was feeling the cold less and less. The Horsemen had lock him up and taken more blood samples from him... but they told him nothing! He felt like a caged animal. Tugging on the chain that attached his collar to the wall, he tried to break it free. From the cell door, Famine coolly told him. "Don't bother. That chain has held animals much stronger than you." Dropping the chain, Sean whirled around to yell at him darkly. "What's going on?! What's happening to me?!" Famine wrapped his hand around one of the bars, grimly replying. "I'm sorry that it has taken so long. But it seems the cure... Is having a reaction." Sean walked to the end of his chain, asking timidly. "What does that mean? What have you done to me?!" Famine pulled a stool closer to sit on, then calmly told him. "Easy. Calm down. I'll explain." Sean stood completely still for the first time in days.

Famine straightened himself up, then calmly informed him. "You do remember us telling you that we, the Horsemen, had exposed ourselves to the virus slowly over time. Which lead to us becoming these... hybrids. Each of our bodies developing in strange ways... Well, it seems that injecting you with the cure and being exposed to us... has caused the cure to change... adapt. It's quite fascinating really." Sean clenched his shaking fists, struggling to ask. "So... I'm infected? Or... am I like you?" Famine shrugged, trying to make himself clearer. "I don't think you understand. Every virus is unpredictable. When we made it... it was far different from the strain that is out there now. Out in the world, the virus adapted and changed to suit its need for survival. That is why there are so many different types of zombies out there. Each person and animal that it has had contact with has caused the virus to change to fit things like environment, temperature, medical issues, the list goes on." Sean shrugged not really caring, but Famine went on seriously. "The point is that this virus has made a cure practically impossible because of all the different strains... until you."

Sean rubbed his collarbone anxiously, listening reluctantly to Famine as he told him happily. "Being around us has caused the cure in your veins to adapt naturally. Don't you see? Every infected that you will come across, your body will take that form of the virus and neutralize it. You are the cure we have been looking for! My experiment to expose you to the forms of virus have worked! I knew I could count on Mike and Rico." Sean staggered back until his back hit the wall in shock. Famine licked his lips, realizing what he had said before honestly admitting to him. "The stuff they were rubbing onto your skin... it wasn't oil or lotion. It was a diluted form of the virus samples that I've been testing." Sean sank to the floor, mumbling out to himself. "You played me... And I should have seen it..." Famine stood up, dusting himself off as he honestly told him. "I did warn you not to trust me, Sean. But it's going to be alright now. You are one of us now. And we take care of our own." Famine gestured to someone out of sight, while stating aloud to him. "You must be hungry? You should eat something."

War moved in to unlock the cell door, letting Death gently guide a naked woman into the cell. Sean sprang to his feet, snapping out bitterly. "What is this?" War chuckled, answering smugly. "Fresh meat. Don't you get it? You're like them now. You're a cure... but you're a monster." The naked woman willing walked over to him and kneeled. She was offering herself as a sacrifice! Sean shook his head, yelling out. "NO! You can't do this to me!" Death held up a mirror to show him what he looked like, replying bluntly. "Look for yourself. You're changing, Sean. We're just taking precautions. We want you happy and healthy after all." Sean stared at his reflection with a heavy heart. His eyes were white with a black border that attached to the spidery veins. His skin was paler with a purplish hue and larger black veins spanned down his flesh like decorative war paint. He barely recognized himself. Dropping to his knees, Sean hugged himself. He wouldn't hurt anyone... would he? To Be Continued...