The Infected, a PODs Novel

by Michelle K. Pickett

“What are you doing outside your district?”

  I’m standing on the steps of the hospital, moron, what do you think?

  “My husband has a two o’clock doctor’s appointment.”

  “And you?” the guard looked at Devlin.

  “I’m her husband,” he answered simply.

  The guard nodded, handing our papers back to us. “Do you know where you’re going?”

  “Yes.” We didn’t, but I didn’t think that was the right answer, so I kept my mouth shut.

  “Go on, then.” The rifles dropped out of our way and one of the soldiers opened the hospital door for us.

  “Thank you, sir,” Devlin said as we walked by. I kept my head down and mouth shut—and my hands out of my pockets.

  “Holy crap!” Devlin said when we were out of ear shot of the guards. “I think I just got my first gray hair.”

  I burst out laughing, covering my mouth with my hands.

  We walked down the hall following the hand drawn map Jake gave us.

  “There’re the stairs,” Devlin said. “We take them to the third floor.” We climbed the stairs and made our way to the room marked on the map.

  “Here we go,” I said under my breath.

  Devlin wrapped his hand around mine, and I lightly squeezed it, saying, “Let’s get this done and go home.”

  We pushed through the door and stepped into pandemonium.

  “Damn. I guess Cat wasn’t lying when she said it would be a busy day,” Devlin said.

  “Can I help you?” the lady at the registration desk yelled in a nasally voice.

  “I have an appointment at two.”

  She nodded toward a clipboard on the corner of her desk. “Sign the log, and take a seat.” She looked past Devlin. “Can I help you?” she repeated to the person behind us.

  We waited nearly two hours before a nurse called Devlin’s name, and we were ushered down a hallway to a large room curtained off into smaller areas. The nurse took us into one of the curtained spaces and told Devlin to sit on the exam table. I stood awkwardly, half inside the curtained area and half outside.

  “Wait here. Someone will be with you shortly.”

  When the nurse left, Devlin motioned me to him, and pointed at the map. His room was directly across from the supply room where Cat said the medications were kept.

  No frickin’ way we’re that lucky!

  I went to the opening of Devlin’s makeshift room and checked the hallway. I didn’t see anything. I took a few steps into the hall, looked around, and went back to Devlin.

  I shook my head. “There’s no door. The room might be there, but the door to get inside isn’t.”

  “Shit. It must be off the next hall.” Devlin ran the side of his hand back and forth over his lips and stared at the map. “She didn’t tell us what was over there.”

  “I know.” I sighed. “Okay, help me do this. I unbraided my hair and ran my fingers gently through the waves, enough to disentangle them, but not enough to make me look like an electrified poodle. I pulled a small tube of mascara out of my pocket and handed it to Devlin. “There aren’t any mirrors so you’re going to have to put this on me.”

  He looked at it like it was a snake that was going to gnaw his finger off. “I don’t know how—”

  “Look, we don’t have all day. Just take out the little brush and brush it over my lashes. Easy.” He grunted in answer, but unscrewed the top and pulled out the brush. “Just brush it gently over the tips of the lashes,” I said.

  His first try he rammed the brush into the corner of my eye. “Dammit. Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Just clean up any black that got on my skin.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” He licked his lips and pulled his bottom lip into his mouth, worrying it with his teeth.

  I grinned at him. “I’m fine. I generally poke myself at least once.”

  Devlin managed to get a coat of mascara on without blinding me, or causing any permanent damage, then I rubbed a thin coat of lightly tinted, pink lip gloss on my lips.

  “There. How’s it look?” Devlin just stared at me. “What? Is my hair frizzy?”

  “You look stunning, Eva.”

  I snorted. “Yeah. Right. Seriously, does it look okay? Statistically speaking, a man is more likely to offer help to a woman he finds attractive, even if she’s somewhere or doing something she shouldn’t, than if he doesn’t find the woman attractive.” I looked around the small space. “I wish I had a mirror.”

  Devlin grabbed my hand. “You don’t need a mirror. You have me. And I’m telling you that you could be carrying the immunization in a freakin’ picnic basket, skipping down the hallway singing, and any man with a pulse would not only let you do it, but offer to help. You look beautiful. You are beautiful.”

  I cupped his cheek with my hand. “Thank you.”

  Ten minutes later an African-American man walked through the curtain with a wheelchair. He looked at his clipboard. “Knee injury?”

  Devlin raised two fingers. “Me.”

  “Get in the chair. I’m your ride.” The man looked in my direction. “I’m sorry, you’ll have to wait here.”

  “Oh. Okay.” I gave Devlin a little wave and he winked as the man rolled him away in the wheel chair. I counted to fifty, and then I was out of the room and down the hall.

  I walked as fast as I could without looking like I was trying to beat the Guinness Book of World Record for fastest speed walking. I took a right at the first intersection and another right at the second intersection. Now I was on the opposite hall from Devlin’s room. I just had to find the correct door.

  I tried to keep my pace steady and count out my steps to match those I'd made on the other hall. I’d taken fifty-seven steps before the first intersection. I counted out my steps. There wasn’t a door.

  Shit.

  I looked around. I hadn’t passed one. I walked ahead a few more steps and came to an unmarked room. My blood slowed in my veins, and I felt like every movement I made was made through mud, and the only thing I could think was, “Hurry up, Eva, or someone will catch you!”

  I turned the handle and it clicked open. I let out a huge breath and, at the same time, thought how odd it was that they’d keep a supply closet that held such important material unlocked.

  I stepped into the room and shut the door quietly behind me, locking it. Then I looked around… and saw towels. Towels and bed linens. No wonder the freakin’ door was unlocked. Who the hell wants to steal scratchy, hospital sheets?

  Using the wall as my guide, I moved deeper into the room and realized it veered to my right. When my hand skimmed over a light switch, I squeezed my eyes closed and cringed.

  Oh please don’t let this be some kind of alarm.

  I flipped the switch and fluorescent lighting flickered on, and I sucked in a sharp breath.

  I stood in front of a glass cabinet filled with vials of… stuff. I didn’t know what they were, but I intended to find out. And if I couldn’t tell which one I needed, I’d take one of each to be sure. I wasn’t leaving that room without the vaccine.

  I tried to open the cabinet, but it was locked.

  I fished the piece of metal out of my pocket that Devlin gave me the night before when he taught me how to pick a lock. We worked on it all afternoon. He’d been great. Me? Not so much, only opening the lock five or six times out of every ten.

  It took three tries to open the cabinet. My fingers shook as I looked through the vials. The glass tinkled together as I moved from section to section looking for what we needed.

  I came across some penicillin and pocketed some of that.

  I heard the door open just as my hand skimmed over a vial labeled “HHC6984.” That was the first strain of the virus. I grabbed a handful of those vials and shoved them into my pocket. Next to those were vials labeled “HHC2013 Mutation.” The second strain. I grabbed those, as well.

  I heard footsteps and a man and woman talking behind me. I couldn’t see them, the floor to cei
ling racks of towels and hospital linens blocked my view.

  I scanned the next set of vials. They held a white milky liquid, not clear like the others. The label read “HHC6984—HHC2013 Mutation.”

  I grabbed as many vials as I could in two handfuls and put them in an inside pocket of my parka. I looked behind me expecting to see the people round the racks of towels and catch me with my hand in the cookie jar, but so far there was no sign of them. I closed the doors of the cabinet, locked it, dashed over and doused the light, and then felt my way to the opposite wall the door was on.

  My breaths came in short puffs, and I strained to hear the man and woman as they made their way closer to me. Their voices got louder, and I held my breath.

  Then they were quiet. The next time the woman spoke, they stood directly in front of me. My lungs burned from holding my breath, and I prayed they’d move on, but they hovered in one area, whispering. My lungs burned. My head throbbed. And I held my body so taut, my muscles quivered.

  When it sounded as though they’d finally moved past me, I didn’t waste time. I felt my way to the other side of the room where the door was located, using the wall to guide me, my eyes trained on the floor. As soon as I saw the thin strip of light beneath the door, I pushed it open, taking an immediate left, and walking as fast as I dared. When I reached the first intersection, I made a left, and another left at the next hall. I counted out fifty-seven steps and was almost right at Devlin’s room. I took a deep breath and walked in.

  “There you are, honey. I wondered where you were.” Devlin smiled at me.

  “I’m sorry. I needed to use the restroom and got turned around. How’s your knee?”

  “Just a sprain. A few days of rest and I’ll be fine. Are you ready to go?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

  I pursed my lips to hide a grin. “Yes. Let’s go home.” I looked in his eyes and he winked at me.

  We didn’t talk as we walked through the crowded waiting room, and out of the hospital. We forced ourselves to walk normally to our small house in the Gaming District. It was all I could do not to run. I wanted to look at the medication again, make sure it wasn’t a dream.

  When we finally walked into the dingy, little house, Devlin turned to me. “Let me see it!” I pulled out six vials of the vaccine. I rolled one of the bottles in my hand.

  “And that’s not all. I got the vaccines for the first and second strain of the virus, too. I don’t know if it’ll be any help, but we have it if it will. And some penicillin.”

  “Yeah, yeah, that’s good! Did you have any trouble getting it?”

  “Two people came into the room while I was there. Scared the crap out of me. I got the vials and went out the opposite way. They didn’t see me. I can’t believe we did it!” I laughed. “All the crap we went through to get here and we got it. It makes it all worth it. Thank you, Devlin. I couldn’t have done it without you.” I gave him a hug, squeezing him tightly.

  “You’re welcome,” he murmured, his lips grazing my ear.

  Not long after we got back, Jake and Cat showed up. “Get what you were after?” Jake asked.

  “Yeah,” Devlin said with a smile. “Thanks for your help. We can never repay your kindness.”

  Jake waved off Devlin’s words. “Nothing to it.”

  “How’d Devlin’s appointment go?” Cat sat next to me.

  “Good. Everything went as planned. His knee is just sprained and should be fine with a few days of rest.”

  And then it happened.

  I covered my mouth with my hand and ran to the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet before I puked everywhere. It hit without warning. One minute I was feeling fine, the next I was sitting on the dingy, cold tile floor with my head hanging over the stained, mildewed toilet.

  “Eva? Are you okay?” Cat asked from the hall.

  “Yeah. I just… my stomach.”

  I wiped my mouth and brushed my teeth before going back into the living room. Cat and Jake were saying goodbye.

  “We’ll get you back to camp tomorrow. We’ll leave like we’re going hunting.”

  “Thanks, man. We can’t tell you how much we appreciate your help. We’re indebted to you.” Devlin shook Jake’s hand and gave him a quick hug, slapping him on the back.

  “If you need anything, you know where to find us,” Cat said to me, rubbing her hand up and down my back.

  They walked out the backdoor and cut through the two backyards to their house.

  “We’ll be on our way back home tomorrow.” Devlin wrapped his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me to him, kissing the top of my head.

  I want to die.

  My body sprawled across the bathroom floor, I watched a roach scurry in front of me. I didn’t care. The cold tile felt good on my cheek. I’d decided I’d stay there forever.

  “Eva?” Devlin called.

  I didn’t have enough energy to answer.

  He knelt beside me, smoothing away a lock of hair stuck to my face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Sick.”

  As if my word conjured it, I pulled myself up, and heaved into the toilet. I’d puked so many times there was nothing left but stomach bile. I retched until I saw stars, and thought I’d pass out from lack of oxygen.

  “Do you want some water?”

  “Ugh, no,” I croaked.

  Just leave me here to die.

  Devlin touched my face. His hands were like ice. I wanted to smack him away, but my arm was too heavy to move. “Geez, you’re burning up.” He rummaged around in the bathroom for a minute. The sounds like a hammer to my head. “Damn it. I’ll be right back.”

  I moaned something, and closed my eyes. I must’ve fallen asleep, because it wasn’t two seconds later and Devlin was calling my name. When I opened my eyes, his face filled my vision, and I blinked to bring him into focus. I thought vaguely that my breath must smell like puke, then decided I didn’t care. I just wanted him to leave me alone.

  “Here, take these.” He held out two pills and a glass of water. I tried to sit up, but my hand slipped out from under me and I fell, smacking my head on the floor. Bright lights exploded in front of my eyes, and my stomach roiled. Devlin hefted me up and put the pills to my mouth. I took them, washing them down with a sip of cool water. Just seconds later, I threw them back up.

  “She couldn’t keep them down.” I heard Devlin tell someone.

  “Get her a cold cloth,” A woman said. Was it Cat? I couldn’t tell, and didn’t care.

  Devlin laid a cold cloth on my forehead. I moaned. The cold hurt. I inched my fingers around my head and pulled it off.

  “Eva, leave it on. You’re running a high fever. You need to cool down.”

  I need you to leave me alone.

  “I’m going to move you to the bedroom.” Devlin put his arm under my back and the other behind my knees and lifted me off the bathroom floor.

  “Your knee,” I whispered

  “Shh. I’m fine.” He carried me into one of the bedrooms and laid me gently on the bed. I promptly threw up on him.

  “Here’s a bucket if you need to get sick,” Devlin said.

  “Leave,” the woman’s voice said. “I need to get the warm clothes off her.”

  The woman, I think it was Cat, pulled my sweat pants off. She unbuttoned the flannel shirt I was wearing and slipped it off, lifting me up to slide it out from under me.

  I was in nothing but my bra and panties. Cat pulled a thread bare sheet over me.

  “There you go, Eva.” Her voice was soft and soothing.

  “Cold.”

  She brushed the hair off my face. “I know. It’s the fever.”

  Her face was distorted, like one of those weird mirrors at a carnival. The kind that makes a person look all wavy, or short and round. The edges of the room were fuzzy, like static on a television. The static moved in, covering the room. All that was left was Cat’s weird face looking at me.

  And then, everything went black.

  “She’s awake,�
� someone said. The room was blurry, the voice far away.

  “Eva?” Devlin’s face materialized in front of me.

  “Hmm?”

  Cat laid her hand on my forehead. “She’s still hot.”

  “Help me take her into the bathroom,” Devlin said.

  Devlin carried me into the bathroom, and I heard the water running in the bathtub. “No.” I knew what was coming. My mom did the same thing when I was a kid and ran a high temperature.

  “We have to get your fever down.”

  “No. Devlin, no.”

  He kissed my temple. “I’m sorry.” His mouth moved against my skin.

  He lowered me into the cool water and I cried out. It was like a million needles pricking my skin. I tried to fight, to get out. But I was too weak, and Devlin held me easily by my shoulders. I ran out of energy and stopped struggling. I lay in the water, my teeth chattering painfully. Devlin’s hands skimmed softly over my shoulders and arms.

  “Okay, Eva. I’m going to get you out now.” Devlin lifted me out of the tub and Cat dried me off before they put me back in bed. I grabbed the sheet when Cat pulled it over me. It wasn’t very warm, but it was better than the cold water.

  “So cold,” I said through chattering teeth.

  “I know.” Devlin brushed wet hair out of my face.

  “She needs to drink something. She’s going to dehydrate,” I heard someone say. “Here. Try and get some broth down her.”

  Devlin held the cup to my mouth. I took a small sip and shook my head, turning to throw up.

  “Eva?” Devlin said.

  His voice was drowned out by the blood rushing behind my ears. My eyes closed, and I floated into oblivion.

  “She doesn’t feel quite as warm.” I woke up to someone’s hands on my face. “Let me have the thermometer so I can check her temperature.” Something cold slipped under my arm, and my arm was held tight against my body. “One hundred three point one.”

  “It’s still too high.”

  “She needs to drink. If we can’t get this fever down and get some liquids down her so she doesn’t dehydrate, we’re going to have to take her to the hospital.” It was Devlin’s voice.