Mandalas

Leno Condition

              Vibrio room is located on the floor - 5 in the corner of 4’. The room is similar to Gardnella but smaller and has only four medium-sized bulkheads. There is one medium-sized meeting room in the middle of two adjoining bulkheads.  Two Mandalas are on duty on this floor and are making visits to every room.

              “This child was the victim of yesterday's attack?” ask an adult woman in her 35s. He was wearing a tight-fitting white robe, his gray denim visible from under the cloak.

              “Iya. The other child in Gardnella,” answered another woman who looked older. Her white robe covered part of the long dark green dress that extended to the ankles. This woman was wearing a colored head covering cloth in line with her dress. He carries a transparent tablet to record the examination of the previous rooms.

              “But, last I saw this kid..what's his name.” He rubbed his friend's tablet. “Lenolea.. hmm unique name. This boy is in stable condition since he came last night,” said the first woman.

              “Different from his critical friend. It seems he was not exposed to too much Lentipede,” replied the other woman.

              “Can be. But in this section of the exposure history form is empty, no one has filled in. It says Mn only. Joke took him to sterilize.”

              “Maybe Mn. Joke forgot. The main unit usually has a more complicated case report task.”

              “Hmm. yes. If I meet Mn. Joke, remind him to complete this child form.”

              “Iya. But I haven't seen him again. He's on patrol assignment huh?”

              “Maybe. It's busy up there. I'm too old to be an active patrol unit.”

              They both entered room 5. The door slid to the side and revealed two rooms separated by glass. They took off the robe and replaced it with a protective suit hanging there.

              A long-haired boy was lying on his bed. On the right side of the mattress is a wide white board table attached to the wall. On it was a plate and the breakfast glass was empty on the white tray. Leno learned the equipment was made from an anti-breakup superporcelain that Ona talked about a few months ago.

              There is a semi-transparent grey capsule measuring 1x1 meters in the left corner of the room, which is a bathroom.

              Leno got up and sat on the bed. Two people dressed in raincoats entered his room again.

              “Hello, Lenolea. I'm Mn. Fina and this is Mn. Jana, we'll take care of you until tonight. How are you doing?”

              Leno smiled at them. “I feel comfortable. Thank you.”

              “Is there a tightness? Sudden headache? Or maybe nausea at this time?”

              “No,” Leno replied.

              “Very good.”

              Mn. Fina sat down next to Leno. “I'll check on you.” He pulled a transparent plastic connected from under the mattress. The woman wrapped the plastic around Leno's arm. Mn. Jana rubbed her tablet screen. “Before ya.”

              He felt his arm being squeezed for a few seconds, then the plastic came off on its own. Leno has never been examined with such a cool tool.

              “OK, already.” The woman sitting next to him stood up.

              “Then we...”

              “Bu.” Leno cut it off before they intended to leave. “How is my friend? Mia, Mn's sister. What was brought here before I arrived?”

              The two women looked at him for a moment. “He is being treated well.”

              “Can I talk to him? I haven't been out of this room since last night.” Leno stop. He doesn't even know what time it is. “Is there a clock or anything I can use? I also need my bracelet taken when I get here.”

              One of the women rubbed the tablet. “You should still be here for 7 days. Your goods will be delivered immediately when the sterilization process is complete.”

              Whahuh? 7 days?!  Leno shouted in his heart. He's been locked up in this room for 7 days?

              “Take it easy, soon your parents can visit,” said Mn.Jana calming.

              “from behind glass.”

              “Again.” Mn. Fina walked to the wall facing Leno's bed. “You can watch the news and connect to the internet here.” He pressed against the wall and then an LED panel popped out from inside the wall. Knowing the existence of a television makes Leno feel more relieved.

              “Nah, son. Later we or maybe another Mandala on duty will visit you again. If something uncomfortable happens, just talk directly to this wall.” He pointed at the wall attached to Leno's mattress. “We can directly listen.”

              Leno sighed. At least they intend well.

              “OK. Thank you very much,” Leno said at the end.

              The two women nodded. They left the glass room. They took off the raincoat and put on the white robe again. Mn. Fina, the younger looking Mandala, waved at Leno and smiled. Leno smiled back as well.

              Leno was silent in his bed. She was wearing a knee-length white dress obtained from the sterilizer. Her body now smelled soapy and felt very clean. Looks like all of Leno's sins are carried away in that sterile room.

              Suddenly the wall on his right side opened. A white board containing Leno's dirty plates and glasses was brought inside the wall. A few moments later the board came out again with a clean state. The walls of his room closed again.

              Leno has never been treated in Geduna before. It all feels cool and foreign at the same time. Leno decided to turn on the television. He should know how things are out there.

              The first channel that appeared was a news event. A young man was standing in front of a gate that was no stranger to Leno. A long yellow line appears to surround the FIGHTER gate. Behind the yellow line, seen people in the rain passing by. Leno reads the headline in the bottom text.

THE LENTIPEDE FIGHTER ATTACK TOOK 2 SCHOOLGIRLS AS CASUALTIES

              Leno held his breath. Of course the news spread. He increased the volume of television.

              “Situation appears crowded by Mandala at the FIGHTER gate after reports of a giant Lentipede attack at 21:00 last night. The lentipede is said to number five and break through the patrol unit and head for FIGHTR. Two final students, initials MC and LA, were victims of the Lentipede attack. They are currently receiving treatment in Geduna. One of the students is said to be in critical condition..”.

              Leno was surprised and did not listen to what the man had to say afterwards. Are any of the students critical?.. Mia is critical?..

              Leno became uneasy again. He has to meet Mia.

              “Moonasera? Can you hear me?” Leno pressed against the wall next to him and spoke.

              “Yes, Lenolea. What's up?” a female voice appeared in the room.

              “I have to see Mia. Can I come out for a minute? Or maybe you can drive me?” leno said half-begging.

              No answer heard. Leno's getting restless. “I have to meet him, Mom. Please.”

              Leno waited for an answer from the other side. But no one answered. Leno was drowning in his bed. A single tear fell on Leno's cheek. Her chest feels tight now. What should I do, inner Leno.

              Meanwhile, the television is still on. News events have changed the topic to live interviews. Leno's mind was distracted, Leno's thoughts were listening to what they were talking about.

“...so yes. Thank you Commander Hosianudian for the explanation. We will turn to Moonasera Hiroya as the current spokesman for Geduna. Good day.”

“Siang, Mum.”

             Leno saw a 50-year-old man with a thick mustache and a stocky body wearing a sleeveless white vest and white denim, the same uniform as the Maha and

Joke last night.

              The young woman sitting next to the father started her interview again.

              “So what do you think about the attack this time? Two days in a row Trikad is broken into by an old enemy who is now back in giant size! Is there a special theory about how this giant Lentipede formed?”

              “Basically Lentipede is not a living being. They are a collection of cells that modify themselves so that they can form a fairly tight bond.

              “They can only be formed from the result of the rest of living things that have died or been injured. Half-dead cells become a kind of host that allows them to bind themselves to each other.”

              “They are constantly progressing. We don't know exactly what it looks like. Possibility of excessive gene mutation. But you need to know that they never disappear from the face of the earth. They may not be seen in this city because we, the active units of the Mandala, have always secured themselves in and around the border but they never disappeared.

              Lentipede is always out there, before or after these attacks though. What makes them that big is unknown. Please media do not make assumptions in advance about this.”

              The young lady looked a little awkward. The old man continued,” We will try hard, assisted by the military to secure Trikad at every inch of the border.”

              “Moonasera, I want to ask you about the attack last night. Two FIGHTERS became victims of Lentipede who managed to enter the school area. Why can this happen? Did they manage to break through the security prepared?”

              “We have placed guard at all Trikad gates up to the main gate. The lentipede was indeed very large and it was reported that five creatures were seen entering the FIGHTR. Main unit

we managed to destroy everything, but say once the girls on the scene remain victims.”

              “Good. Maybe this is the last of me. What do we do now? Given that there might be other attacks from Lentipede that Mandala has not been able to defeat?”

              “We can beat the creature.” The old man looked upset.

              “Only last night we have not been able to dispel the creature from taking a victim.”

              “But, doesn't that mean Lentipede this time can't be handled yet?” said the woman is still investigating.

              “OK, fine. Please listen to my sentence. Trikad is in a state of emergency, Alert II was set this morning. The four gates were closed and enhanced his surveillance to guard against the next attack. We do not know yet what will happen in the future, but we will try our best.”

              Leno turned off the television. His head was getting heavier now. All of this information only magnified the fear in his mind. Leno covered her face with both palms.

A drop of tears fell onto Leno's cheek. Leno bowed his head, immersing himself between his folded arms. Her hair fell down, covering her entire face and arms.

              Suddenly, a shadow appeared inside Leno's head. The silhouette of a long straight haired woman ran while holding a baby in her left arm. Then she handed the baby over to a familiar figure, Aunt Irin who looked 10 years younger. The woman gripped Leno's arm and led him into a brown dresser with a carved eagle head in the middle of the door. The woman said something but Leno couldn't hear it. The shadows fade. Leno

sitting on his bed.

              What was that?

              Leno could not remember ever seeing that scene with both of his eyes. But the figure of the woman seemed familiar in Leno's mind. Who her? Why did his shadow appear on Leno's ship all of a sudden? What does this have to do with Aunt Irin?

              His head is now very painful. The right side of his head was throbbing painfully. Leno felt his stomach nauseous. A ringing sound appeared in his left ear. He felt so dizzy.

              A few minutes after that headache attack, there was a sound “klik” on the wall of Leno's right side. The food hole is back open. The white board that occupied the wall went into the hole. Maybe it's lunchtime. Instead of a plate of food and a glass that appeared with the board, a transparent plastic containing Leno's dx85 bracelet arrived before him.The plastic also contained a piece of paper

inscribed.

STERILELY.

Items used in the isolation room must be re-sterilized before being taken out of Geduna.

Ttd.

The Prasarana lt.-1 Geduna

              Leno took out the bracelet from the plastic and hurriedly turned it on. It seemed like he had not touched the only communication device he had. Once connected to the internet, 256 short messages and missed calls were entered into the notification. Of course everyone's looking for Leno.

              Amber called 5 times, Sept sent 10 short messages, Niken called and sent voice messages, some of his classmates sent messages as well. Ms. Denia called him almost 20 times.

              Leno saw his father's message in the latest notification. It says he's going to visit Leno this afternoon. Leno opened the message. So far that's all his father has sent. Then Leno answered his father's message briefly.

              Ok, wrote Leno.

              Leno sighed, trying to calm down. Knowing that he was not alone slowly made his fear disappear. As Leno opened the messages one by one, calls came into his bracelet.

              Sept. Leno instantly raised it, a hologram of Sept appearing before Leno.

              “Sept!”

              Sept's projection showed his mouth gaping wide and his right hand clenching. He looked very surprised and very happy.

              “Lee! How are you doing?!”

              “I..” Leno tries to find the right response. “yah. So far good. I just got to hold my bracelet so I didn't have time to answer messages or phone.”

              “Yes. geez.. Lee, I'm glad to see you even if it's only 3 dimensions.” Sept said. His surprise now turned to nervousness. Leno laughed a little. After all the panic he had felt since last night, Leno was naturally happy to see his friend.

              “Iya. How's school?”

              “Close,” reply Sept short. “With a thorough sterilization process in FIGHTR we can not go

everywhere. Me and all the students are locked inside the dormitory.”

              Leno remembered the news on his television earlier. He had seen the FIGHTER building surrounded by a yellow line

and there were a lot of people in white from that screen.

              “Iya, I saw it on TV.”

              “Lee, you're okay, right? You see. I heard you guys are in critical condition.”

              Leno swallowed his saliva, he recalled Mia who he had not met until now.

              “I'm fine. But I haven't met Mia. I don't know yet.”

              Sept's face changed. Leno could catch the sadness from his eyes.

              “May you guys be okay.”

              Leno was silent again. Is Mia really okay? No one has given any specific information about Mia's condition. The two Mandalas who took care of him earlier did not want to answer. Sept knows what Leno thinks. “Mia will be fine. You'll be fine too, okay?”

              Leno tried to smile. He nodded small.

              “I'll tell Amber after this. Maybe after the erFu door reopens, we can see you guys. Tell me your room space, Lee.”

              Leno nodded. “I'll send you his room number.”

              “Alright,” says Sept. He was silent for a moment. “I'm really glad you're okay.”

              Leno felt a sense of warmth as Sept said it. I don't know why that word means so much.

              “Thank you,” said Leno, confused to answer what.

              “OK, break. Send word yes,” Sept said with a smile. Leno became a wave. “I..iya.”

              Then the hologram of Sept disappeared. Leno has had a lot of ups and downs since last night. His mind became more relieved after talking to people he already knew. Leno began to reply to the messages of his friends who began to arrive. Sept asmya has announced that Leno can be contacted now. Amber and Niken called shortly after.

              Compared to what has happened in the last 24 hours, Leno is feeling much better now.