complexrestart | 008 [action/video]

[The video turns on, and Rika's facing the screen. It's late at night, and yet she's wide awake. She was asleep not too long ago, however she was jolted awake suddenly from a nightmare.] ... It seems as if I wasn't able to escape the nightmares either... [Her hand touches her throat for a moment, and she catches herself and places her hands in her lap.] This fog... it has something to do with it, but... I don't know what it is. It seems that everyone's dreams are very realistic, as was mine.

When I woke up, I didn't know what was real and what wasn't. I'm surprised I managed to calm myself down... [Her hand goes up to her throat again, and she scratches it lightly as she thinks of her dream. She catches herself again and quickly moves her hand away. Why is she doing this? She never reacted like this before... yet, the nightmare seemed to have had a deep effect on her.]

[She shuts off the video, but before it shuts off there's a slight mumbling--] Please... stop apologizing. I thought you were no longer doing that.

((ooc: Rika just had a dream about Hinamizawa Syndrome appearing in Johto, so she's pretty shaken up at the moment.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

... I believe I am.

My only problem is that I don't know where to start.

Is the beginning not good enough? I can handle being told the end, then how things got there, if you prefer.

I would rather start with the beginning. However, it requires a bit of an explanation, so I will begin with that.

Everyone at home in Hinamizawa is infected with a virus. However, the symptoms do not become apparent unless they were to leave town or become very stressed.

Wha... That... That's a very specific virus...

It is. The reason for that, though, is that I am the Queen Carrier and when people from Hinamizawa leave they feel the symptoms, but when they stay they do not feel the symptoms simply because I am there. The Queen Carrier is the one who can keep everyone in Hinamizawa in check. However, simply being around me will not calm someone who is at Level 5 down.

The... Queen Carrier? So you're saying that makes you the source and the cure...? That's kind of twisted...

[She smiles wryly.] I'm not the source. The virus dates back to ancient times. I am only able to prevent the virus from appearing, in most cases.

I... I see... That's much better than what I assumed it meant...

I suppose. The symptoms of the virus itself, however, are rather cruel.

Ah? Er... I take it you mean it's a lot worse than just a cough or a fever...?

There are five levels. Levels one and two, however, have no real symptoms, as those are the stages that everyone in Hinamizawa are always at. At level three, paranoia begins to set in. Once it escalates to level four, hallucinations and extreme paranoia appear.

In the last level, the infected begin to hear footsteps. There will be one extra step when they stop. At first it's quiet, but as the virus progresses, it become louder and more noticeable. In some cases, they begin to believe that there are maggots crawling in their skin and they start scratching at it, trying to dig them out. Then, they begin to claw out their own throat, and often die by those means.

*... ... what kind of horror movie do you live in Rika-san*

S... seriously?

Seriously.

*... visible shudder as he thinks about it*

That's one heck of a virus...

However, that was merely background information for my dream... and Hinamizawa in general.

Background information... Talk about a scary set-up...

Yes. My dream was about the virus appearing in Johto. It was... frightening.

The virus... often drives people to kill others before they end their own lives.