by Max Lockwood
“I honestly can’t even remember what day it is,” she said. “Every day just blends together now.”
“Let’s find out,” Will said, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. Most local stations had been evacuated in the midst of the virus, so other regions filled the airspace. It wasn’t until he stopped on a Kansas weather station that Natalia realized what day it was.
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered under her breath.
“What?”
“It’s nothing,” she said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I just realized that today is my birthday. I turned eighteen and I didn’t even realize it.”
What should have been a joyous occasion for Natalia felt more bitter than sweet. She didn’t have to have a party or presents, but she felt like the significance of the day didn’t really matter in her current situation.
“Let’s celebrate,” Will said.
“No, I’m not really in the mood. I don’t really care, anyway. It’s not important.”
“I think it’s important,” Will said, getting up from the bed. He rummaged through his bags on the little table.
“Close your eyes.”
“Why?” Natalia asked.
“Just do it. Please.”
Natalia begrudgingly followed his instructions and closed her eyes. She listened as the contents rustled in the shopping bags.
“Can I open them yet?”
“One more minute.”
She felt a tiny thrill run through her body. While she knew that there were no surprises or gifts for her, it was nice of Will to try to make her birthday a little more pleasant.
“Okay, open them.”
Her eyelids popped open to reveal Will standing in front of her, holding a small snack cake in his hand. In the middle was a large white candle. With his other hand, he lit the candle and turned off the lights. The soft glow illuminated his smiling face.
Tears welled up in Natalia’s eyes. She was so touched by his gesture.
“Make a wish,” he said softly, holding the candle to her lips.
She closed her eyes and thought about what she most desired. I just want to go home, she thought to herself before blowing out the candle.
Will removed the large chunk of melting wax and handed Natalia the snack cake. She ate it in a few bites, while Will rummaged through his bags again.
“I know I told you I wouldn’t take anything we didn’t absolutely need, and, until now, I thought that was a lie,” he said, holding up a miniature bottle of champagne. “Now I’m glad that I picked it up. It’s absolutely a necessity.”
“I’m only eighteen,” she laughed.
“Well, in Europe, where we’ll be going to college next year, you’ll be legal. Forget that there’s a cop next door.”
“Fine,” she giggled as Will wrenched the cork from the bottle. He passed her the bottle of sparkling wine to take the first drink.
“May your next birthday be much better,” he toasted.
She took a sip, the bubbles ticking her mouth and throat. The wine was dry and Natalia wasn’t quite sure if she liked it. She passed it back to Will, who took a big gulp.
“Honestly, I suppose things could be worse,” she said, lying back down on the bed. “I mean, we are in the middle of an epidemic and that really blows, but I just got cake and champagne delivered to me in my very own motel room.”
“When you look at it that way, it doesn’t seem bad at all,” Will agreed. “From now on, I think I’m going to eat convenience store snacks in shady roadside motels for my birthdays.”
Natalia grabbed a pillow and playfully whacked Will over the head. He reciprocated, and gently shoved her away.
“The next time we stop somewhere, I’m going to get you a proper birthday gift.”
“Don’t,” she protested. “I don’t think Alec would be happy about you adding more cargo to our truck.”
“You don’t think he’ll be okay with a Bernese Mountain Dog in the backseat?” he joked.
“I wish we could have a dog. It would make those long car rides so much more bearable, but it would be hard to take care of one. Maybe we could get a cat.”
“I bet Elaina’s a cat person,” Will said, making both of them crack up. They liked Elaina, but still realized that she was a bit of a loner.
“Do me a favor, will you?” Natalia asked Will. who was polishing off the small bottle of champagne.
“Anything.”
“I’m going to take a short nap. Wake me up in thirty minutes so I can take a shower and try to look somewhat presentable.”
“Sure thing,” Will said, bringing his stash of snacks to the other side of the bed. Natalia rested her head on his shoulder. Surprised once again by her warmth toward him, he put his arm around her and stared up at the ceiling, thinking about how nice it was to be close to someone.
Will failed to accomplish Natalia’s favor because he also fell asleep within minutes, his arm around her body. As they slept on top of the covers with the lights still on, their bodies curled around each other.
Though Will’s prediction of the future of the world painted a very isolated existence, the teens proved that there was nothing that could replace the friendly affection they felt for each other. In a world of masks and sterile plastic suits, they found comfort in each other’s warmth.
Chapter Seven
Elaina managed to sleep for about an hour before nightmares woke her back up. She was seeing infected people grasping at her, begging for help again. This time, Bretton Vincent was one of them.
When she opened her eyes again, Alec was sitting up on the couch, looking straight at her. She felt a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.
“Was I talking in my sleep?”
He nodded.
“You don’t have to tell me what you heard. I have a pretty good idea of what it was.”
“Have you been having the nightmares for long?”
“About a week now.”
“I’d like to tell you that they go away, but I haven’t had any luck yet. I’m still hoping that mine stop soon. Our waking hours are enough of a nightmare—I don’t need that crap in my sleep, too.”
Elaina nodded. She kept forgetting that Alec had suffered a completely different type of trauma.
“Do you mind if I turn off the lights?” he asked. “If you prefer to have them on, that’s fine, too. I just don’t want to arouse any suspicion if anyone comes by.”
“Oh, no, that’s fine,” Elaina said. “Are you going to sleep now?”
“I think so. Do you want me to keep the TV on?”
“If you don’t mind. I think it would be easier to sleep to some noise. My brain can’t stop running when it’s too quiet.”
“No problem,” he smiled before getting up to turn off the light. He unfolded the musty blanket hanging off the arm of the couch and spread it on top of him. Tucking his head underneath like a turtle, he fell asleep within seconds.
Elaina turned the volume of the television down to the point where she could just barely hear it. She flipped through channels for a while before finding the President addressing the public.
She sat up a little straighter. The President was rarely televised unless it was for a yearly State of the Union address or a disaster.
“Good evening,” the President said, looking solemn. “In my last address, I said that I would make sure to keep the public as well informed as possible during this troubling time. Over the past few weeks, my advisors and I have been listening to the people, talking with scientists and medical professionals, and working on a plan to stop the spread of this virus. The Morgan Strain is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans in the Pacific Northwest region, along with other cases scattered across the globe.”
Elaina wanted to shout back at the television. She used to imagine the President talking about her virus by name in a different setting, like giving an award for advancements in medical technology, not to destroy her reputation and
place blame on her. It wasn’t her virus that was doing the killing—it was Bretton’s.
“Unfortunately, preliminary efforts to slow the spread of the disease have not been effective and I’m here today to tell you about our new, aggressive plan to save as many lives as possible. Effective immediately, we will enforce a strict new border that may not be crossed until we have seen a dramatic decrease in infections. The line will start at the most northeastern corner of North Dakota and extend due south to the Mexican border. At this time, also remember that Canada and Mexico have closed their borders to any American citizen, regardless of infection status.”
Elaina whipped her head toward Alec to see if he’d heard the news, but he was sound asleep. She thought about waking him up, but then remembered that he needed to sleep if they wanted to drive away safely. She decided to hold off for just a little while longer.
“I urge all citizens to adhere to these new rules. Our soldiers are trained to use force against any serious threat to the safety and security of our nation. If you find yourself on the west side of this new boundary, we advise you to take shelter. Secure your home and stock up on water and non-perishable food items. We have deployed all available National Guard personnel to work within each state, but be aware that normal emergency services may not be running in your area. Do your best to take care of others, but take care of yourself first.”
Elaina gritted her teeth. She watched as the President wiped a bead of sweat from her upper lip. She looked extremely uncomfortable and not as composed as usual.
“If you find yourself on the east side of the boundary, this does not mean you’re safe from the virus. Please take the time to visit the White House’s website to catch up on the latest news, and stay informed on current safety procedures. There are still a number of random breakouts on the east side of the line, and we’re doing our best to eliminate threats before they spread.”
Elaina scoffed at her choice of words. What the President was saying was that they were working to execute those showing symptoms. That, and they were essentially abandoning the healthy citizens on the west side of the line and letting them fend for themselves, or even capturing them and taking them to camps like had already happened. The government wasn’t going to save them, and were actively preventing them from saving themselves.
She couldn’t believe what the President was saying. There was no way the American public would let the people in charge let these rules go into effect. There were probably a couple million people on the wrong side of the border who needed to evacuate still. Elaina was sure that someone in congress would stop the order from going through. The country needed to band together to help the people in the wrong place at the wrong time, not shut their doors. Instead of focusing on finding a cure, they were just going to wait until everyone infected died. From there, they would try their best to pick up the pieces. It made Elaina feel ill.
When the broadcast was over, she looked back at Alec. He was sleeping so soundly that she couldn’t bear to wake him up. She wanted to tell him about the boundary line, since it would have a pronounced effect on his grand plan. In fact, it was the only plan they had—run away from the danger as quickly as possible.
She went back and forth, debating on whether he needed to be awake at that moment or not. She even fell asleep for a few long moments herself, before springing back awake. After checking the clock, she counted how many minutes he had slept already and tried to calculate the earliest time she could wake him to fill him in on the news, while still leaving him with adequate sleep. It was the early morning now, there was no good time to wake him. That instant would have to do.
“Alec,” she said softly from the bed. She pulled her covers up around her shoulders, as if they would protect her from his scorn. “Alec,” she called a little louder. Finally, she shouted his name, and he snapped awake.
“What’s going on?” he slurred, sitting up immediately.
“The President just gave an address. It wasn’t good.”
The color drained from his face. “Tell me everything.”
Elaina gave him an almost verbatim account of what the President said in her speech. As he listened, Alec’s face got paler.
“This can’t be happening,” he said, resting his face in his hands. The dark circles under his eyes hadn’t had enough time to subside. What do we do?”
“I don’t know,” Elaina said softly.
“Our whole plan revolved around the concept of getting as far southeast as we could. Now, the closest we can get is Arizona or New Mexico?”
“It sounds bad, but do you think we can get through the border? They set one up outside of Seattle, but we got through fairly easily. There’s just so much land to guard, and we’ve got a truck that can handle some serious terrain. Do you think it’s possible that we can still get through? We can’t be the only ones trying to cross.”
“That’s part of the problem. If we were, then we might go unnoticed. If they’re overwhelmed by the influx of border crossers, then they might just shoot anyone on the spot.”
“What’s our other option? The President said that we should just seek shelter on this side.”
“We tried that a few times. It’s difficult to do when the sick population exceeds the healthy population. Besides, you need to get to a lab.”
Elaina shook her head. “Don’t make plans with me in mind.”
“Why not? A cure is important to me. I want this to be over, remember?”
“Yes, but you know I never planned to stay for this long. I’m infected, no matter what the lack of symptoms suggests.”
“What do I need to do to get you to stay with us, just for a little while longer?”
Elaina thought for a moment before speaking.
“If you want me to stay, I need you to promise me that you’ll shoot me if I start to show any symptoms.”
“What?” Alec asked, feeling as though he’d misheard her.
“I am a danger to others. I’d like to cure this before I become contagious, but I know I might not get that far. If I start showing symptoms, put a bullet in my head. You’ll save lives and put me out of my misery. I don’t know what my mental state will be like then. It may be altered to the point where I’ll try to preserve my life. Just know that this is my request—kill me before others get killed by me.”
She expected Alec to protest, already having had to kill so many infected people, but instead, he nodded.
“Okay,” he agreed. “I promise I’ll take care of it.”
“Good. And you’ll make sure Natalia gets to a safe place?”
“Of course. I’ll also take your remaining serum and other samples you might have and give them to someone that I can trust. Even if you can’t do it, someone will carry out your work. I promise.”
Elaina relaxed a bit. That issue had been weighing on her mind for quite some time and it felt good to get it out in the open and taken care of. Even though she’d made Alec promise that he would carry out her wishes, she made no promises to him that she would continue on with accompanying them. His promise was only a conditional one.
“I think we should get going if we want a good shot at getting around a border,” Alec said, tossing the blanket aside.
“Shouldn’t we rest a little longer?”
“I got all the sleep I need. I feel much better.”
Elaina looked at Alec skeptically. He still looked exhausted, but he seemed alert.
“Fine. Let’s wake up the other two. They can sleep in the car,” Elaina said, gathering up the supplies they had left.
“Be careful when we go out there,” Alec warned. “I’ve been hearing strange noises all night.”
“Same,” Elaina said, glad that she hadn’t been the only one hearing the distant crashes and shouts.
“Give me a second to take a quick shower,” Alec said. “Then, we can go together to wake up the others and get on the road. Would you mind giving them a call so they know we’re coming?”
Elaina pi
cked up the phone and heard a busy signal. She disconnected and reconnected the signal, but there was still no dial tone.
“This thing is incredibly old. No wonder it doesn’t work.”
“That’s fine. Sit tight, and I’ll be ready to go in five minutes.”
“Okay,” Elaina said, trying to seem optimistic, though she was really nervous about leaving again. Each time they stopped, it made it harder for her to leave again. Not only was she feeling attached to her travel companions, but, as time went on, she became more fearful of the future. It helped to have others surrounding her, helping her get to where she needed to be.
As Alec took his shower, Elaina walked to the mirror and inspected her face again. Dark, purple shadows lurked beneath her eyes and faint blue veins snaked underneath her skin. Maybe Alec was right—she had always been pale, and the overcast weather did nothing to change that. Perhaps it was all in her head.
But, at the same time, she couldn’t afford to take any risks.
Chapter Eight
Natalia woke up in Will’s arms in the middle of the night, feeling warm and secure. While she didn’t remember falling asleep in that position, she didn’t mind waking up that way. Maybe she had a bit of a crush on him after all, or maybe shared experiences just had their way of bringing two people together. Either way, being curled up around him felt nice.
She closed her heavy eyes again, taking a moment to savor the time they had together. Then she realized why she’d woke up in the first place.
Upon hearing the sound outside of their door for the second time, she jumped, startling Will awake.
“I didn’t do anything,” Will quickly slurred, his eyes opening a small fraction.
