Chapter 3 The strange sickness

CHAPTER THREE

Today is Tuesday, our class day. We learn about historical events, science, and other subjects. Prince Ceto will join us, and I'm feeling confident about my academic abilities. Kawna always surpasses me, no matter how hard I study; she's naturally brilliant.

In our palace, academics aren't taken seriously. We're deep in the forest, unknown to the outside world, and divided into two kingdoms: the Kuju and Buju. We're sworn enemies, fighting for dominance. The Kuju is further divided into 100 tribes, each led by a duke.

I'm not feeling well today; my body has black rashes all over. But I can't miss class unless the village physician excuses me, which I doubt he will, given his dislike for me.

I walked to the mirror to examine my skin closely. The marks were getting bigger, and I became scared. I had never had this kind of disease before. It looked strange - my skin had black marks all over it, but it wasn't painful.

I wore my normal study uniform, a blue long garment with the royal mark at the back, and our sword was shielded at the side. After dressing, I decided to leave early to avoid my classmates, who always found ways to bully me.

When I arrived at the hall, I felt unusual. My eyes were clearer than usual, and I could see colors more brightly. I was in love with every color, even yellow, which I never liked before. All my senses were enhanced by 100 times. I could see the smallest insects clearly and everything in the hall at a glance. I could smell all the scents at the same time and differentiate them. My skin was very sensitive, and I felt like I could feel the colors with my skin.

What's wrong with me? I thought to myself. Am I sick? What's disturbing me?

Just as I was waiting, I heard my classmates approaching. I tried to compose myself to avoid them noticing me. Zaki and Kawna were the first to enter, followed by my other classmates. Bege stood up and walked to my place, and I was scared he would do something funny today. I tightened my hands and put my head down, praying in my heart, "Washa protect me."

It was too late. He dragged me by my shoulder to turn around, and I fell with my back to the floor. The class started laughing, but what I noticed was that Bege wasn't laughing. Instead, he moved back quickly, looking very frightened.

What's wrong with Bege? Is this some part of his trick to humiliate me? What does he want to do next? I thought to myself. "Stay away from him, he's infected, all of you stay away from him!" Bege was seriously scared, and I had never seen him like that before.

I turned around to see my classmates, but they all jumped back in fright. "Look at his face, it has black and white stripes!" someone said, pointing at my face. Others drew their swords to detain me. I knew something was wrong. My classmates were never scared of anything; they were one of the strongest armies in the Wase kingdom. Why should they be scared of anything?

The only thing that might make them this scared would be an infection. If you became infected with a disease or any form of infection, you were a traitor to the people. You would be separated from the rest and locked up to avoid infecting others.

As I noticed how serious they were holding their swords, I knew something was wrong with me. I also noticed the changes today when I felt different.

After a few minutes, the kingdom physician, Boka Guma, was summoned together with some other officials. They stood from a distance and scanned my face and body. "I have never seen something like this; this must be another type of infection. We must confine him now before it spreads out," Boka said.

"Seize him at once, take him down to the isolation room," Boka Tara, the senior physician, ordered the two security guards standing at his back.

The two security guards moved to my front, each standing at the side of my hands, and seized me, dragging me away. Since I was short and small, I was dragged from the back while my legs struggled to get balance to walk backwards.

My heart was pounding; I wasn't even sure what they were talking about. All I knew was that I felt very healthy; I didn't feel sick, though I noticed changes on my skin and sense organs. If I was sick, then what was wrong with me? Is it very serious that I might die? I thought to myself.

Those taken to the isolation center had never returned; they would later be confirmed dead. I was scared I would experience the same fate as those victims.

The two security guards dragged me to a cave where there was a cage with only bones and people in chains. I was handed over to a security guard standing at the entrance of the cave, who was wearing some kind of clothes covering their entire body. They took me and chained me inside the cage. I also noticed the security that brought me were also confined in another room, and some physicians were undergoing some kind of test on them.

While I was being dragged to the isolation center, Boka Goma and other physicians, together with some council members, all walked straight to the palace to report the matter to the king. Boka Goma must report any case of sickness or infection that might probably escalate into a pandemic to the king.