progress from today

book-1/10.tex

@@ -276,6 +276,98 @@ how would you know that it wasn't all just nonsense anyway?'', asked Andrew.
 
 ``How should I know?
 I would have to remember what I had said.''
-
+He regretted his rough tone before he was even done speaking them.
+``Sorry.
+But I really can't remember.''
+He searched through his memory but the result was just a more confusing mess.
+He wasn't even sure which parts of what he remembered were real
+and which parts were a nightmare that was following him after he woke.
+
+``I'm not surprised'', said Katt.
+``You almost died.
+You're the first one that got the sickness and didn't die.''
+
+``What sickness?''
+``\textit{The Sickness}'', answered Katt.
+``Anybody that isn't from here gets it.
+Anybody from outside.''
+
+``Like the men in the black suits?''
+Suddenly at least one of the terrible memories that he had made sense,
+even though it was terrible through and through.
+``Is that why they killed their own comrade?''
+
+``They don't take anyone with them if their suit was damaged'', said Katt.
+That wasn't necessarily an answer to his question,
+but Andrew was still too confused to pay attention to that amount of detail.
+``Some of them kill themselves.
+The others die from the sickness.''
+
+``All of them?''
+
+``I don't know'', said Katt with a shrug.
+``It is said two of them were brought here,
+but they already had the sickness and died without waking up again.''
+
+``It is said?''
+
+``I wasn't here then'', answered Katt.
+``It was a long time ago.
+Maybe it isn't actually true.
+Its a really long time ago you know?
+Even all the old ones didn't see it themselves,
+they just heard it from their parents.
+That's why a lot of them don't believe that you're from outside.
+But I knew it.''
+
+The words were spoken with the utmost earnest,
+but something about them didn't feel right to Andrew.
+She believed him so it wasn't that.
+But the way in which she believed him and had taken him under her wing against the others
+(whoever that might be)
+filled him with unease.
+Little by little the feeling that Katt considered him to be one of her belongings crept over him.
+Something that she had found and didn't want to give back.
+
+``Your sister'', he asked. ``Ratt, is she \dots''
+He nervously flicked his tongue across his lips and had to start over.
+`` Is she really your sister?''
+
+``Of course'', answered Katt.
+``Don't you have siblings?''
+
+``Nope'', answered Andrew.
+``And if I had any they wouldn't look like that.''
+
+``Not like \textit{what}?'' Katt said sharply.
+
+``Not like you'', explained Andrew carefully.
+``Not so \dots different.''
+
+He had done something wrong.
+Katt was silent for quite a while before she continued,
+and her voice was noticeably colder but definitely more inquisitive than before.
+``Does everyone where you're from look like you?''
+
+``Like me?''
+\textit{No hybrids between girls and rats?
+Nope, definitely not.}
+
+Katt looked at him expectingly,
+but pulled her had off his leg and scooted a little bit further away.
+``You don't want to talk about it'', she stated.
+
+``No, that's not it'', said Andrew hastily.
+He started to reach out to her,
+but didn't dare touch her.
+Odd, when they were running for their lives she had seemed like a pretty good friend.
+Now that they were alone and in relative safety it felt like they had just met.
+
+``What is it then?'', asked Katt.
+
+``I don't know.'', answered Andrew distressed.
+``I \dots''
+He shook his head helplessly.
+Everything was spinning around him.