Contagion: The Rising

by Carter, John

  “What do you want?” She looked at him as he stared like a deer in headlights. He stood still and placed the box on the ground.

  “I just wanted to give you the supplies you need all at once so I don’t have to bother you after this,” he crouched down and sifted through the box. “There are syringes, test strips for this monitor and some insulin.” He stood up as she stood from the bed.

  “Fine, thanks,” she said coldly as he turned to walk out. “Fuck it,” He heard her tone change and he quickly turned around. She rushed over and grabbed his face to kiss him. She quickly stopped and let go of his face.

  He looked confused, “What was that for?”

  She smiled, “If you don’t know already, then I guess I should do it again.” She kissed him slower as he kissed her back. The sudden reaction she got from him was unexpected as he pushed her against the wall and continued kissing her. She pulled her lips away from his, “I take it I should’ve done this sooner?” He nodded as he covered her mouth with his.

  She broke their kiss again and pushed him away, “We can’t do this here. Sarah will be back soon.”

  “The lab. No one will be in the lab,” Jeremiah suggested as they both continued to kiss each other while they made their way to the lab and closed the door behind them.

  Trevor sat back and watched as his bandit Risers stood before him, awaiting commands. “I think we have everyone we need for this idea of ours, Chloe.” He looked back and found Chloe huddled in the corner of the tent. “What are you doing? Get up and join us.”

  She turned and glared at him, “Never. I hope they kill your ass.” Her right eye was nearly completely milky white.

  “Well, someone’s a little touchy. How’s the wound coming along? Smells pretty rank, doesn’t it?” He faced the horde again and finally addressed them, “I think we have one common enemy. Those humans are our fuel to becoming more powerful than ever. We hunt, control and decimate the numbers of these Risers. I’m sure we’d have the same track record with the humans once we get to them.”

  “We need a leader who will lead by example, Trevor. Will you do that?” Chloe’s voice sobered Trevor’s power drunk emotions and caused him to sink in his makeshift throne.

  He shifted in his seat and straightened his posture, “Of course, what do you suggest I do?”

  “We hunt them down and you take the first blood,” one of the bandit Risers said as he drooled.

  “See, we’ve got thinkers in here,” Chloe pointed out. “How about we find out more information by kidnapping a few of them?”

  “You mean, torture? Chloe, I am in awe of you right now. You are completely right. We need to find out who we are dealing with then go after the rest once we kill the informants.” Trevor brightened up and walked over to Chloe.

  “I’m sure Emma would be the ideal person to take.”

  “Yes, Emma would be. She’s injured. I sensed her injury at the barn, and once I shot her. That’s if she’s still alive.”

  Chloe smiled and glared back at Trevor, who was facing the other Risers. “She’s still alive. I can hear her heartbeat.” She looked up and closed her eyes. “She won’t expect this.” Chloe opened her eyes as her left eye became milky white as her right eye did.

  Chapter 13

  Mark walked closer to the highway and found the hill that hid the bunker. He walked slowly and hoped whoever was looking knew it was him and not a Riser. He made it to the side of the hill and nearly ran into Rory who was just finishing up his watch duty along with Tony.

  “You scared the….” Rory uttered.

  “Hi Mark, how’d the trip go?” Tony interrupted as Mark glared at Rory.

  He placed the duffle bag he had been carrying down, “Not bad. Fresh supplies from Canada. Paul insists we head up there.”

  “Were there more people?” Rory asked as he stood near Tony.

  “Yeah, much more. Their city has grown and the security has been preventing any Risers from entering. Paul has the situation well under control.”

  “That’s great to hear,” Tony smiled. “Let’s head on inside, it should be morning soon. Mark followed Tony through the iron doorway.

  Emma woke up and looked over to find Jeremiah missing. “What the hell?” she said as she sat up and gathered her clothes. She stood up from the bed and got dressed. “Jeremiah?” she walked over to the door and noticed it was slightly opened. The door moved slightly before she was able to reach for the doorknob. The hallway was empty and quiet. “It’s morning, isn’t it?” She looked around and heard a sudden crash in the triage room. Her eyes widened as she watched Sarah stumbled out of her room and fall to the ground.

  “Sarah!” Emma screamed as she ran towards her. Sarah’s face was pale white and blood poured from her mouth. She held onto her neck and mouthed words to Emma. “What is it?” Emma peeled Sarah’s fingers away from her neck to reveal a huge gaping wound. Blood spurted out at her face and covered Emma’s arms. “Oh my god, no,” Emma stood up and ran over to the triage room to find the first aid kit. Sarah suddenly pointed at Emma’s direction, which caused Emma to stop and turn around. She found Jeremiah sniffing the air and wailing. Dani was on the floor with her eyes wide open and bleeding from her face. Her body didn’t make any sudden movements as Jeremiah stood over her.

  “Jeremiah?” she said as he jumped at her and pushed her out of the room. She landed next to Sarah who sank lower to the floor and struggled to breathe. “No, Sarah please.” Emma tore off her shirt sleeve and attempted to cover Sarah’s neck with it. Emma kept reassuring Sarah that she’d be okay until she stopped moving. Sarah took her last breath as Emma held onto her. Sarah’s eyes remained wide but the emptiness in them shook Emma. Tears streamed from her eyes as she walked back into the triage room to face Jeremiah and certain death. Jeremiah sneered and lunged at her. He bit her shoulder as she attempted to fight him off.

  Emma woke up suddenly with a jolt of energy. She sat up and quickly found Jeremiah lying next to her. “A fucking dream,” Emma dropped herself back onto the bed and covered her face with her hands. She turned to face Jeremiah and inspected him. She leaned over him and listened to his heart. “It’s still there,” she sighed as she found several scars on his chest. The slight touches of her fingers on his scars woke him up. He slowly opened his eyes and found Emma looking up at him..

  Jeremiah looked at Emma and smiled, “Good morning.” He noticed her forced smile, “What’s wrong?”

  Emma softened and smiled back at him, “Just a dream.” She kissed him. “I have to get back or else Sarah might spread a rumor about us.”

  Jeremiah grabbed and hugged her, “So?” She slightly protested as he kissed her ear.

  She laughed, “I really have to.”

  “Fine, but you have to come back here later.”

  She stood up and reached for the rest of her clothes, “Another blood test?” She fought with her button-up shirt and spun to face him.

  He sat up from the bed and his legs were now over the edge of the bed. He stretched and rubbed his eyes, “No, I’d just like to see you later.” He grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head. His hair moved but remained in place. It was slightly messier than usual.

  She walked over to the door. “Fine, but no promises,” she smiled as she walked through the doorway and closed the door behind her. She leaned on the door and noticed she was still smiling, but this time to herself. She walked down to the triage room and found Sarah sleeping. Emma attempted to quietly tip-toe to her bed so she wouldn’t have to explain anything.

  Sarah stirred slightly, “You know you suck at sneaking in.” Her eyes opened as she caught Emma half standing and sitting on the bed.

  Emma sat down, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” She moved the covers over and slid her legs under them. She turned to face the wall, “good night.”

  Sarah quickly sat up, “Oh, you’re not getting away that easy. And, besides, it’s morning.” She waited for Emma to turn over and face her. “Jeremiah, hu
h?” Sarah grinned.

  Without a noise, Emma nodded and smiled.

  Mark walked over to the mess area and placed the duffle bag on the table before sitting sat down. Tony and Rory joined him at the table.

  “Paul’s been able to build better generators and has them currently supplying power to most of the city. They were able to clear out Risers quickly and without many casualties,” Mark said as he crossed his arms. “Their garden is pretty impressive, especially for the season we’re in. They’ve got snow up there.”

  “Not the regular snow though,” Tony added.

  “Nope, it’s bitter cold at times.”

  Rory stood up, “I’m sorry guys. I’m heading to bed. I’ve been fighting with sleep all morning.”

  “See you later, man,” Mark said as Rory walked out of the room. “How’s everything going here?”

  “Pretty good,” Tony said as Jeremiah walked in. “You look like you’ve slept well.”

  Jeremiah slightly smiled and looked over to Mark, “Welcome back, man.”

  “Thanks, everything alright?”

  “Yeah,” Jeremiah nervously crossed his arms.

  “What happened to your hand?” Mark pointed out.

  “I cut it on a beaker.”

  Tony cringed, “Dani told me earlier. She sutured your hand with Emma’s help?”

  “Yeah, I think she did really well.”

  “How are Emma and Sarah doing?” Mark asked.

  “Good. They’re both doing good,” Jeremiah nodded and walked over to the box nearest to the door. “I’m in the middle of analyzing some samples, so I thought I’d pick up a quick MRE.” He picked up a packet and walked to the doorway.

  “See you later.” Mark watched as Jeremiah walked out. “He seemed a bit nervous, didn’t he?”

  Tony shook his head and stood near the table, “I don’t think he had much sleep. The whole thing with Emma has been consuming his time.”

  “I hope she’s okay,” Mark slowly took his time to stand up and stretched his arms over his head. “I’m pretty sure she is, especially with him around her.”

  “She’s fine. Her wounds have been getting better and better each day.” Tony looked into the duffle bag and situated the items into categories. “Go see for yourself.”

  Mark nodded and walked out of the room.

  Tony moved the supplies over to the back of the mess area as Kayla walked in.

  “He nearly gave himself away, didn’t he?” she said as she helped with one of the stacks of gauze.

  “I think he almost wanted to tell him,” Tony counted the boxes of seeds. “Hey, Paul included some flowers. You want those?” He showed the box to Kayla who pushed his hand away and rolled her eyes at him. He laughed and walked the boxes over to the garden room.

  Mark walked over to the triage room and overheard the girls talking. He stopped to listen before heading inside, and felt slightly guilty for eavesdropping.

  Sarah sat on the edge of the bed with her legs dangling over and her back against the wall. “So what did he say?”

  “He wants to see me later,” Emma smiled.

  “I’ve never seen you smile that much. It’s kind of terrifying, but I’m glad that you’re happy,” Sarah stopped and raised an eyebrow. “You are happy it happened, right?”

  Emma laughed, “Of course I am. I never thought it would though.” She shrugged and shifted the bandage on her stomach. “This thing is really annoying.” She said flatly and dropped her arms to her side.

  “That didn’t get in the way?” Sarah laughed.

  Emma glared at her, “Shut up.” She laughed with Sarah as Mark walked in, red-faced. Emma sat up and watched Sarah stop moving her legs. “How long have you been there?”

  He stood at the doorway and looked down. “I guess that was a bad way to say hello.”

  Emma looked down as Sarah finally spoke, “What did you hear exactly?”

  “Why were you eavesdropping?” Emma stood up and walked over to Mark. He waited for Emma to punch or slap him but she stood there staring at him. Her face was pale and her fists were clinched beside her. Blood dripped from her hands to the floor.

  Sarah looked down at the blood pooling near Emma’s feet and quickly stood up. “It’s okay, he didn’t mean to,” she rushed over to Emma and looked at her hands. “Jesus, Emma. You’ve cut straight through your palm.”

  “Mark, go get Jeremiah!” Sarah led Emma back to the bed and sat her down. She rushed over to the first aid kit and put pressure on her hands. Mark ran off and was back a few seconds later with Jeremiah.

  “What happened?” he searched for the answers from Emma and looked over to Sarah.

  “She got upset about something I did,” Mark answered from behind him.

  Jeremiah’s eyes widened as he rushed Mark against the wall. He picked him up and held him there while Rory ran in and attempted to talk Jeremiah down.

  “Let him go,” Rory grabbed Jeremiah’s arms.

  “Please, just drop him,” Sarah pleaded as Jeremiah turned to face Sarah and Emma. Emma’s face was still pale as she shook her head.

  Jeremiah released Mark and walked back over to Emma. “It’s okay,” he assured her as he lightly touched her face and focused on her hands. “You can’t stress her out. If you want to be angry at someone, be angry with me.”

  “Let’s head outside, okay?” Mark stood back in shock as Rory grabbed his arm and walked him out.

  “Sure,” Mark said as he stared at Jeremiah.

  “Sarah, can you get the tape from the lab please? It’s on the last table to the left.” Sarah stood up and took off towards the lab.

  Emma looked down, “I’m sorry.” Her face regained its color and she was suddenly red with embarrassment.

  “No, it’s not your fault,” he pushed her chin up. “You hear me? It’s not your fault.” He sat next to her and hugged her. She leaned her head against his chest.

  Sarah walked in and saw how Emma was huddled against Jeremiah. “Is she okay?”

  Jeremiah’s head perked up, “Yeah, she’s okay.” Sarah handed him the tape as he covered the cuts on her hands with gauze.

  Sarah crouched in front of her and looked up at her, “Emma?”

  Emma looked down at Sarah, “I’m okay.” Jeremiah finished with both bandages and stood up. Emma suddenly hugged Sarah and held onto her.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes to check on her. Can you stay with her until then? I know you have some garden duty soon.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be here,” Sarah said as Emma released her hold on her. Jeremiah walked out. Sarah looked at the bandages.

  “I can’t believe he just did that,” Emma squeaked out.

  “I’ve never seen Mark cower like that,” Sarah said. “Well, only to you.”

  “He had no right to listen in on what we were saying.”

  “No, let it go,” Sarah interrupted Emma and calmed her down. “I’m glad that Jeremiah really cares for you.” Emma half-smiled and continued to look down at the floor.

  Jeremiah met with both Rory and Mark outside of the bunker. Mark walked up to Jeremiah as Rory waited for a punch to be thrown.

  “Look, man I’m sorry,” Mark said as he raised his hands. Rory looked on in amazement.

  Jeremiah covered his face, “You have to be careful with her. She’s still healing. We still don’t completely know what that virus has done to her. She’s normal, but her stress level needs to be non-existent.” He crossed his arms and Rory continued to look at both of them.

  “When I told you to look after them, this isn’t what I was expecting,” Mark watched Jeremiah shift his feet. “To be honest, that part is none of my business. I just want to make sure you actually care for her and not using her.”

  “You know it’s not like that,” Jeremiah shook his head.

  “Yeah, I know that. Now,” Mark fixed his uniform. “Jeez, man. I didn’t think you could pick me up.”

  “Well, you’ve lost some weight,” Jeremiah said as he t
ried to hide his smile.

  Rory laughed, “Are you serious?”

  Mark punched Rory on the shoulder, “Shut up.”

  “Ouch, man,” Rory massaged his sore shoulder. “I just helped Tony move some dirt over. Cut me some slack.” Mark and Jeremiah laughed as Rory shook his head. “Well, I’m heading back inside for some food.” They followed Rory as he made a beeline for the mess area.

  Trevor guided the group over to the highway and pointed towards the hill near the bunker. “That’s where they are.” One of the bandit Risers started to walk forward, but Chloe stopped him and shook her head. “Calm down, Riles. We’ll be paying them a visit tonight.” Riles shook and stood near the rest of the bandit Risers. “I’ll need at least three of you to go with Riles later tonight to pick up the girl.”

  Chloe looked over to the hill, “I’m pretty sure there are two on watch every night. Or our recon team is slacking off.”

  “Of course not, we’ll plan for two,” Trevor shook his head. “Maybe we’ll get both sisters.”

  “I’m sure we won’t be that lucky,” Chloe fired back.

  “Hush it, or I’ll get Riles to bite you,” Trevor threatened as Riles sneered at Chloe. She looked back at Trevor and sneered at Riles, who cowered.

  “Who’ll bite who again?” Chloe smiled as she blinked innocently.

  Chapter 14

  Jeremiah walked into the mess area as everyone else was gathered at the table eating. “I’ve got some good news and possibly some bad, but it’s mostly good.” They all looked over at him as he continued to read off of a paper that had Emma’s latest results. “Emma’s a1c levels are down. Dramatically.”

  Sarah looked over at Emma, “That’s good right?”

  “Yeah,” Emma answered. “There’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”