Sleep had been a difficult feat that night. Not because of the unfamiliar surroundings or bed. Rather it was the thoughts of the previous day that kept Marcella awake. Late night ponderings of unknown threats, mysterious illnesses, and a clandestine puzzle hidden by a friend. They left Marcella in a buzzed state of delirium that ended up with her stuck in a half-dazed state until the sun's rays crept into the room.

Marcella stirred when a sudden orchestra of noise invaded her sleep. Yawning, she hauled herself out of bed and, with only a nightgown and her fingers to tame her bed wild hair, she slipped out the door.

Cooper kept pounding on the door, increasingly frustrated. She moved to look into the shop window. "Maxwell, open this damn door!" she shouted into the shop. She was surprised and thankful when she saw not Max inside, but Marcella. Her eyes lit up and she waved at her frantically. "Marcella! I need your help, please!"

Max had been working when suddenly he heard the banging and then he heard Marcella get up and said "what's going on" he then got up and walked to the door that Marcella was near."

@Dmessenger@Fubsy
"Max, open the door! I need Marcella's help!" Cooper cried from the door. At this point she'd been doing this for so long and at such a volume that others on the street had started to take notice. "It's my dad, he's... he's sick, I don't know what to do!" Tears streaked down her cheeks from her wide, panicked eyes.

The fuzz of sleep drifted away instantly as Marcella heard her words. "Sick?!" She fumbled the door open, practically yanking Cooper inside. "Have you made any contact with him?" she asked, mind going into doctor mode.

@Fubsy
"Y-yeah, kind of." Cooper responded, voice haggard from yelling. She realized now that was probably not the best thing to do. "He's been sick for a few days, just seemed like a cold, some seasonal thing, y'know? He told me not to worry. A-and then this morning... he's coughing up blood and he's shaking like crazy... I should've done something sooner, I didn't realize..." Cooper's voice caught in her throat as more tears came.

Max came outside as well listening to Cooper talking about the sickness. He then looked at Marcella and said "I'm going to go talk to a friend who may help, you go check on Cooper's dad." He then turned and locked his store door and ran down the street toward another shop.

Marcella nodded and gripped Cooper's hands. "Calm down..." she soothed. Concern glimmered in her eyes as she grabbed her bag. "Take me to him as fast as possible. I'll see what I can do."

Cooper nodded her head shakily. "Follow me, he's in the apartment." Cooper said. She led Marcella out of the shop and to the iron fire escape. "Be careful, this isn't the most sturdy thing." Cooper warned as she started up the stairs.

Max arrived at the old man's clock shop. He ran inside and said "Hey old man it's max, are you here?" The old man came out from the back of his shop and he said "hey there Max what's wrong?" Max came up to the old man and said "do you know anything about the sickness spreading around the metalheart" The old man said " I'm not sure the symptoms seem familiar to something I read in a book" Max said "do you think you can find that book?" The old man said " yeah I think I can but I may need help." Max said "I'll help anyway I can" The two of them went into the old man's library and began looking through books.