V.I.R.A.L

The silence coming from the hospital ward was unbearable for many to say the least. Gale's condition was stable for the most part. Since arriving Zinnia had refused to leave his side. Resting next to his bed, she had fallen asleep, resting her head on the side of his bed. Everyone else waited outside. Percy began trailing back and forth, unable to sit still while Emil was also in the mists of catching some sleep. Alton was silent like the others. His eyes fixated on his phone and the banned account. He was stuck in this trance until Iris spoke up paranoid. "This is a joke… first, you all get banned for no real reason and then Gale… he's going to be alright. I promise."

"We don't know that." Alton pointed out. "Injuries like that… he's in a bloody coma… they don't wake up from that."

"You don't know that. He'll wake up in no time just you wait."

"No, they really don't. Trust me on this one, or you'll spend your whole life waiting for them to wake up…"

Percy stopped pacing as he sighed sitting in the chair opposite to Emil. "I can't believe we were played so easily. I should have gone with Gale. If I did none of this would have happened."

"No point beating yourself up about it. What happened happened. No point dwelling on the what if." Emil grumbled opening one eye. "We should trust the doctors and wish for Gale to make a full recovery."

"Yeah, I suppose… but what the hell happened back there?"

Alton shrugged his shoulders still not quite sure himself. "That I cannot explain any better than you. I had a doctor check me out, I seem to be perfectly fine."

"It doesn't make any sense. We watched you have a mental breakdown right there and then. You were this close to exploding on us and then nothing."

"You sound disappointed."

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"Shocked than anything else. What went through your mind when you know, it happened?"

Alton ran his hands over his face taking a long breath. "I really can't remember. When I was being overwhelmed by the substance, everything went black. I couldn't do anything. For that short moment, I had no control over my body… But I do remember the partway through I saw something."

"What did you see?" Percy asked, intrigued.

"A Garden?"

"Hmm, that is interesting," Iris muttered.

"That important somehow?"

"I don't think so, probably not. But there was this story my father used to tell me when I was a child. It was about a garden which grants us all our powers. The garden of grief they called it."

"The garden of grief? You don't think it has anything to do with the situation at hand."

Iris shook her head, peering into the room. "Hardly, like I said it's just a story."

"How does the story go?"

"Well, it's believed there is a garden in the centre of the world. One which never withers. One which can never die. It is said everyone in their lifetime visits this garden—those who do walk away with mythical powers. The Garden grows forever. But it's said five individuals were given powers far greater than anything imaginable. They became so powerful they became the embodiment of human emotion. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance."

"The five stages of grief… the garden of grief," Alton muttered. 

"Come to think of it, wasn't that what Alton was muttering before kicking into overload. You don't think."

Iris laughed, wiping her eye. "You can't seriously be suggesting this made-up fantasy land at the centre of the world is the cause of these mental overloads? Like I said, it's just a story."

"Pretty cool story," Emil spoke, closing his eyes again.

"Yeah. It's my sister's favourite. It's funny that I remember this now but when we were kids. About six or seven, Alice made plans to run away and find the garden. We made this crazy plan as she was so fixated that it was real. I was in no state to tell her no. I was having fun, so I just followed. We went looking for only six hours before we ran out of food. We were found by our father in the park just around the corner from our home digging! Bloody digging to the centre of the world hoping to find the garden. Ah, what fools we were."

Everyone gave a small chuckle. "Kids will be kids," Percy stated.

"Yeah."

"Why was she so obsessed with finding the garden?"

"Well, in the story, it's believed if you go past the five stages of grief, the garden shall offer you salvation. Ideals beyond your wildest imagination. Guess Alice got a bit too inspired." She snickered, sitting down next to Alton. She glanced over his shoulder, seeing him holding a business card with the number 4562 on. She looked shock muttering. "Wait, isn't that…"

Alton turned to her sighing. "Like you said just childish stories. Time to wake up from this fantasy, yeah?"

The door opened as Zinnia stepped out, giving her best smile although it was a bit off breaking. "Gale, Gale is going to be fine. He just needs rest. He'll be back up on his feet in no time."

"We know that is a lie."

"Alton now is not the time to act like a dick." Iris snaps. "We know that. You don't need to rub it in and remind us."

"I'm only speaking the truth." He sighed.

Zinnia wiped her eyes smiling. "Gale wouldn't want us sitting around moping. He'd be like…" She slouched over giving a snarky smile trying to do an imprecation of Gale. "No point in fucking about and crying over spilt milk. We leave that milk, and it's going to smell. So, clean it up and move on."

Percy laughed, wiping his eye. "That was horrible. You sounded nothing like him… but I suppose he would have said something almost entirely like that. He is strange like that."

"That's Gale for you." She smiled. "Could never understand him. But I wouldn't change that loveable weirdo for anything you know!"

"I think we should be looking into more of your banned situation," Iris suggested. "It's only a month, but in streaming terms, that's a death sentence. Especially at your level."

"Can't we try and get the ban revoked? We did nothing wrong, yeah? Then it shouldn't be an issue since we have no reason to be banned."

"It doesn't work like that Zinnia…" Alton pointed out, shaking his head in disappointment. "You know nothing about streaming. Like Iris said a group at our level doesn't stand a chance. V.I.R.A.L won't waste their time listening to us. We are nobodies who just happen to get lucky once. We've been failing ever since. Team Rhapsody has been nothing but a fluke."

Zinnia looked hurt as she gulped smiling. "You don't know that… we just haven't got our lucky break yet. We have all summer to get out there. Iris. Iris can help us. She can get her sister to help us revoke the ban. We'll be back on our feet in no time."

"Zinnia, just stop. Stop dragging other people into our mess. We don't need them getting banned too."

Iris huffed, folding her arms. "Give me a bloody break, stop making excuses and just tell them the truth, Alton. Or should I?"

"What truth?"

Alton slouched over on his seat, staring at the floor too ashamed to look Zinnia in the eyes. "I quit. I'm quitting Team Rhapsody…"

"Quit?! No, don't be stupid. You can't just quit. We're a team. We have a team now. How, how can you hope to make any money if you quit."

"Money? Zinnia gives me a break. We haven't made a single penny to justify these past four months. The small amount we made went to food or paying for your stupid karaoke sessions. I haven't had a single penny to my name for months. I lost my home. I'm forced to eat pot noodles every day, saving the dying amount I still have. I can't even afford the bus anymore. That's no way to live. This dream has to stop. I have eight months to pay my debts off. I'm not making it here."

"I must admit we have been pretty lax. But we can change. We have more people now. We can do better. Emil here is a Montague he knows how to be big. We can. We can do more takedowns—team-ups. We can do clickbait. Fake giveaways. Anything you want to get views. Please. Just think about this."

"Is that really what you want? Like seriously? We both know you'll hate that. Look Zinnia, I need the money, and I'm not getting it here. I've been given an offer. I didn't want to take it as I honestly believed in this team. Guess I too fell for the hero life… but I need to come back to reality. Back when we teamed up with Vanguard, we had a little talk."

"Yeah, it's what got us, Percy."

"That wasn't what we were talking about. He offered me a place on his team."

Percy jumped in shock. "Shut the front door! Vanguard, the Vanguard offered you a place on his team, and you didn't take it?!"

"Yeah, I had hoped we could make it on our own. We just needed that little push. But after the Phantom Streamer, I start doubting myself. This ban is the last push I need. I'm joining Vanguard."

Zinnia looked on in horror tears forming. "Liar, you're a liar. You've always wanted out since day one. You just felt sorry for me, so you stuck around. You never wanted to be a part of Team Rhapsody."

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Alton stood up, looking into the ward. "I suppose you aren't wrong… I need to start thinking of myself Zinnia. I need to start worrying about the people who are important to me."

"I thought we were…" She whimpered, wiping her eyes. "I really thought you were the one. They said you were. They promised."

"I think it's time we all wake up Zinnia. It's been a nice dream, but we need to face reality." He said without much emotion. He took his mask out of his bag, holding it out. Zinnia looked down at it dazed. Her shaky hand slowly reached out, taking it as Alton walked past. "See this as my official resignation. I'm sorry. But I'm apart of Team Rhapsody no more… Goodbye Zinnia." 

Zinnia fell to her knees, crying. Iris turned to Alton tutting. "You're a coward Alton. You hear me a coward. Unity would say the same thing!"

Alton stopped not looking back as he gave a faint nod. "She already has."