The Sisters: The Curse of Gabriel's Gardens

Possessed

"Yet another one," Diane mumbled, holding a tablet computer.

"Is it about that strange 'Teenage disease'?" Alexis asked, standing in the kitchen and preparing lunch. This was purely Alexis' task since her sister's cooking skills narrowed to ordering pizza.

Diane nodded. "Yeah, exactly that."

"Who this time?"

"A young girl, seventeen," Diane replied. "She suddenly passed out at a party. Not a trace of any suspicious chemicals in her body, she wasn't even drunk. One of her friends said that she was just dancing and having fun... and a few seconds later BAM, she was lying on the floor, unconscious."

Alexis continued: "And now, she's at the hospital in a strange coma caused by a complete loss of energy."

"Pretty much."

It started about two months ago - a strange condition which received a nickname "Teenage disease" began to spread in Gabriel's Gardens. Young people between thirteen and twenty just started to pass out randomly - at a party, at home, on the street. The victims entered some kind of coma and none of them had woken up so far. The doctors only knew that the cause of coma was a complete loss of energy, but no one knew what its cause was. The doctors were clueless and the number of victims was still growing.

Alexis stopped filling tortillas with her secret quesadilla mixture. She borrowed the tablet from her sister and read an article. "How many?" she asked.

"Twenty two," Diane replied. Twenty two teenagers had already fallen victim to the strange illness.

"Do you think there is a human behind it?"

Diane shrugged. "Who knows. But if you wanna know my opinion, it looks more like a job for us. But it may also be an experiment of one of those nasty pharmaceutist companies."

As Alexis continued reading the article, her eyes behind glasses widened in terror. "Oh no..." she gasped.

Diane frowned. "What's up, sis?"

"The girl... the most recent victim," Alexis said and pointed at the photo of smiling petite Latino-american girl with braces, eyes colored like a dark chocolate and equally brown hair. "That's Marlene. My best friend from the elementary school. She talked to me when no one else did."

"No wonder considering what goddamn nerd you were," Diane smirked, but she felt a sting of guilt when she looked back at her sister who seemed genuinely devastated. "Sorry," she added.

Alexis ignored her stupid remark and quickly began to dress herself.

"Where are you going?" Diane asked.

"I have to visit Marlene's family," Alexis raised her glasses and wiped out a teardrop rolling down her cheek. "Ask what happened. Investigate."

Diane rolled her eyes. "Oh no, she used that I word. That means you're into it."

"I want... I need to solve that mystery of Teenage disease. I'm doing it because of my personal interests and I won't get paid for it, so I don't force you to join me. I can handle it myself... I hope."

Diane put on a black tank top with AC/DC logo and jean shorts. "Of course I'm going with you," she sighed. "Admit it, you wouldn't solve a single mystery without me and my common sense."

Alexis smiled. "Thank you, Dee."

The sisters caught a Tube Express link to the Blue Street district, birthplace of Marlene Sanchez. Alexis still remembered the way from TEx station to Marlene's house. She used to spend a lot of careless days there as a child and even though the life divided them later, they still kept in touch and maintained their friendship even when Marlene found a boyfriend.