“Water’s out,” she announced.
“Bummer,” he said. “I guess that means that this gas station is permanently closed. Well, let’s grab the essentials and get back to the car.”
Natalia looked out at the truck and noticed that Alec had finished pumping gas and had returned behind the wheel. She wondered if he was talking to her again.
“Do you mind if we have a quick bite? I get really tired of being in cars,” Natalia said, dragging her fingers over cellophane-wrapped snack cakes. She wanted to stall for time, just in case there was any chance that the two in the truck would reconcile.
“Sure,” Will said brightly, eager to spend more time with Natalia. He reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a small bottle of chocolate milk.
Snacks in hand, they sat in the middle of the floor, in clear view of the front door. When Alec was ready to leave, he would certainly let them know. Natalia looked at the clock on the wall. She would give them a five-minute head start on their conversation before gathering supplies.
“Want to split a nut roll?” Will asked Natalia, pulling a bar off the shelf.
“No, thanks,” she said, crinkling her nose. “My dad used to buy those. Anything that makes me think about him has somehow been ruined.”
“That makes sense,” Will said, tossing the candy out of sight. “I know I don’t know the whole story, but I’m sorry about that.”
“You know all you need to know,” she replied. “He’s an asshole, plain and simple.”
“Has he always been that way?”
“I don’t know,” Natalia replied. “I suppose he wasn’t so bad when I was younger. Then my mom left him for someone who was almost closer to my age than hers. I think it messed him up, but if he weren’t such a dick, maybe she would have never left in the first place.”
“Maybe,” he said, taking a big gulp of milk. “I guess I don’t know much about that stuff. My parents stayed together until they died, but I know they had their problems. I think everybody does.”
Natalia nodded. “I think it was around that time that my dad started working harder in the lab. He told me that he’d be one of the most groundbreaking scientists in the field and that I’d be able to go to any college I wanted because they’d know who I was. I just wanted to go to nursing school when I graduated from high school. I’m not sure if I’ll ever graduate, at this rate.”
“I’m sure schools will understand,” he said, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Anyone would be lucky to have the girl who survived in Seattle during the great epidemic at their academic institution.”
“I hope so. It would feel amazing to be able to move back in with my mom and show my dad how well I’m doing without him. Hopefully, the next time I see him, he’ll be in prison.”
“He really is a mad scientist, isn’t he?”
“I’m afraid so. I feel guilty that Elaina is being blamed for this.”
“It’s not your fault. It’s not like you had anything to do with his actions.”
“I know. But he’s still my father. When you’re close to someone, whether through circumstance or just DNA, you can’t help but feel somewhat responsible for them. The only way to make things right is to get the truth out there. If we make it out of here, that will be my contribution. I don’t even care if there’s no record of me helping when this time is written about—I just need to know that I made a difference.”
“You will,” Will said, cautiously draping an arm around the girl. He was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t move away from him.
Natalia sat for a moment, enjoying the company. Will was goofy, but a nice guy. She wasn’t interested in him in the same way he seemed to be interested in her, but she wasn’t going to turn him away. He was a good companion, nonetheless.
“Should we start gathering supplies?” she asked, looking at the clock.
“Sure,” he said, hopping up from his seat and pulling Natalia from the floor. “What do we need?”
“As many water bottles as you can fit in these bags,” she said, handing over a few shopping bags. “At least enough for a few days. I really hope it doesn’t take that long, though.”
Will got to work, packing supplies into the shopping bags as Natalia started filling her own bag. She worked methodically, picking up practical items that she wasn’t sure if they’d need, but grabbing them anyway. Bandages, ibuprofen, feminine products, and antibacterial ointment went in, followed by rubbing alcohol, allergy medicine, and latex gloves. After clearing out the first aid section, she moved on, gathering rope, jumper cables, and road flares.
“Do you want me to grab you a toothbrush?” she called over to Will, who was now packing his pockets full of sweets.
“Yes, please,” he answered. “Grab one for everyone. We don’t know how long we’ll be in that truck together.”
As they gathered one of everything the little store had to offer, Will began to whistle a lighthearted melody that Natalia didn’t recognize.
“What song is that?”
“Oh,” he said, stopping. “It’s just something my mom used to hum when she cleaned. I’m not sure where it came from. I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”
“You never told me about your parents. Did they die from the virus?”
“Yeah,” Will said, his voice suddenly changing from happy and bright to standoffish. “It’s not something I like to think about.”
“I’m sorry,” Natalia said quickly. “Do you not want to talk about it?”
“Not really. I don’t mean to sound rude, but I feel so much better when I’m with you. For the last few hours, I haven’t thought about them at all and I’d like it to stay that way. Eventually, I’ll have to deal with it, but, for now, I’d just like to pretend that everything is okay.”
“I understand,” she said, feeling awkward. “Let me know if you ever need someone to listen.”
“Thanks,” he smiled.
They went back to work in silence, Natalia picking up the pace. As much as she hated her father, she still had two live parents, while Will had none. She hoped she wasn’t rubbing that point in his face when she talked about the man who’d abandoned her twice.
Natalia watched him search the shelves, his smile falling into a frown. She had been so fixated on her own problems that she hardly stopped to think about what other people were going through. Her main focus was on protecting herself and getting out of the mess they were in, so she had hardly thought about what she could do for her travel companions. They gave so much to her without getting much in return.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she checked.
He turned around. “I’m fine. I’ve found that it’s best to leave bad things in the past. One day, it will all be a distant memory. We’ll look back and be astounded that we survived such a crazy time.”
“I know, but I feel like there’s something I should be doing to help you.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. What do you want me to do?”
He laughed. “It’s not often that I have cool, pretty girls wanting to talk to me. That’s really all I need.”
Natalia blushed, turning away so he wouldn’t see the reaction he caused. She purposefully mused over two different packs of gum before storing one in her pocket.
“Do we have everything we need?” she asked.
“We have everything this store offers. Do you think Alec’s talked to Elaina yet?”
Natalia had been wondering the same thing, but didn’t want to share her suspicions with anyone else.
“I don’t know. Do you think he’s going to stay mad at her?”
“Nah,” Will said. “When we were looking for the two of you, you should have seen how worried he was. I knew that there was something special about the two of you if he was that concerned. I suppose he was right.”
“Have we been gone long enough for them to have the chance to get in a good conversation?”
“I think so. Do you want to stay in here a little lon
ger, though, just to make sure?”
Natalia playfully rolled her eyes. “If we stay away for too long, they’re going to suspect that we’re plotting against them. I’d like to stay out of group conflicts, if possible.”
“Okay, okay,” he relented. “Let’s get this stuff to the truck.”
The pair hauled their findings to the truck, bags weighing heavy on their forearms. Will carried the bulk of their supplies, as if to show Natalia how strong and capable he was. She could see the strained look on his face, but feigned being impressed. It was the least she could do to help him out in his difficult time.
“Should we make loud noises to let them know we’re coming?” Will whispered to Natalia. “What if they’re making out?”
Natalia laughed shrilly, louder than she had laughed in recent memory. “I can almost guarantee you that’s not happening.”
Will had a delighted expression on his face. While she liked having Alec and Elaina around as guardians, Will was a friend. She had needed one of those.
“What are you laughing about?” Alec said, swinging the front door open. He looked tired, but, overall, not in bad spirits. His stubble was coming in thick, making him look even more rugged.
“Nothing,” Will said, covering for them. “I was just trying to lighten the mood around here. We got some food and water. Natalia made a first aid kit.”
“Good work,” Alec said. “Let’s get back on the road.”
Natalia’s hand brushed against Will’s as they piled their spoils into the center of the truck seat. His skin was soft and smooth, and, in that particular moment, she wanted a good excuse to feel the warmth of his body again.
Chapter Three
Once Alec heard the click of the gas pump, he shoved the nozzle back into its holder and rushed back into the truck. If he wanted to get some answers without the other two trying to persuade him, he needed to hurry.
“We probably have about three minutes before they come back,” he said, slamming the truck door behind him. “I need you to start from the beginning and tell me everything you know about this virus.”
Elaina was surprised to hear him talk directly to her. After seeing how angry he was, she didn’t think he’d ever directly address her again.
“That might not be enough time, but I can try,” she said shakily. “It’s an RNA virus that has a thick viral envelope and—”
“No,” Alec interrupted gruffly. “I don’t care about that kind of stuff. I just want to know your role in what we have happening now.”
“Oh,” Elaina said softly. “The virus that’s going around now isn’t one of my creations. It’s a cheap and dangerous imitation of something that I had worked on for years. When it was ready, my virus was supposed to attack cancer cells in the body. There were a few side effects that I was working on ironing out when the first people got sick. It was just supposed to be medicinal—a patient would willingly be infected with it and, when they got better, they’d get another medicine to remove the virus from their body. I was really close, too.”
“You cured cancer?”
The corners of Elaina’s mouth turned up into a half-smile. People always seemed shocked when they heard about what she was working on. She never felt that way though—she’d had a clear goal from the start, and the means to accomplish it. She’d worked extremely hard.
“It doesn’t really matter now,” she replied. “There are much bigger medical issues. Natalia’s father’s virus somehow got my name attached to it, and now I’m basically wanted for manslaughter for the thousands of people who have already died because of it.”
Alec raised his eyebrows. She spoke about everything so casually, as if she were reading it from a textbook. If Alec were in that situation, he would have started a riot of his own.
Elaina continued with her story, not missing a single moment from the second she found out that a virus had been spread from her lab to their present situation. Alec listened intently and remained completely expressionless the whole time. He didn’t interrupt or even nod his head while she told her story.
When she was finished, Alec looked straight into her eyes. “Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you lie?”
Elaina bit her lip. “Do you really think you would have accepted the truth?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I really hate being deceived. You have no idea how stupid I feel for just blindly believing what you told me.”
“Think back to the moment you met me. If I’d introduced myself as Elaina Morgan, the one wanted for releasing the Morgan Strain, what would you have done?”
He thought for a moment, but then realized that she had a point. He tried to imagine an alternative reality where she was upfront about who she was and what she had done. He doubted that he would have believed her.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t capable of independent thought. No, he took pride in being different than the stereotypical cops who lorded their power and authority against the common people. He came from humble beginnings and wanted to give back to the community that raised him.
Still, it was hard to separate work from critical thinking. He had heard Elaina’s name in the news enough times to associate it with bad things. The fact that he didn’t recognize her must have had something to do with him having taken leave right at the beginning of the epidemic. Had he been into work and paid closer attention, that face would have been etched in his mind, along with the other criminals who roamed the streets.
While he tried to remind himself that those wanted for certain crimes were not always guilty, it was hard to believe that the warrants were given out for no good reason. At the very least, he probably would have put her in handcuffs while he interrogated her. She wouldn’t have been able to travel with him if her reputation had preceded her.
It was only now that he had gotten to know her that he accepted her story and understood why she couldn’t go to the police station. Hell, he was a cop and knew that if there was even a station left, it wasn’t safe. Whatever rationality the infected had left, it seemed as though they were using it to attack the institutions that were unable to help them. He didn’t want to be a cop in this new world, at least not the same kind of cop that existed then.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth back then. I didn’t know you and I didn’t know if I could trust you. Now that I know who you are, I feel like I can share the truth with you,” she said shakily. “If I had known that you would have taken my lie this badly, or that a time would come that you needed to know the truth, I would have told you from the start. Natalia was right about you.”
“What did Natalia say?”
“She said that you were one of the good guys and that we should trust you. She was right.”
Alec felt a warm feeling in his stomach and was suddenly very fond of Natalia. He was still mad at Elaina for lying, but she was slowly chiseling away at his resentment. Instead of furious, he reasoned that he could lighten up to the point where he was only mildly grumpy toward her.
“I understand,” he sighed, feeling all of his power over her shift. If he forgave her, then what did he have to hold over her head? He felt a little lighter, though, as if he had finished a cathartic cry after holding in sorrow. He was emotionally drained, but able to see past the anger.
Elaina’s eyes filled up with tears.
“What’s wrong?” he groaned.
“Nothing,” she said, blinking. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me anymore.”
“I never said that,” he replied sternly. “I understand why you lied to me. I’m still not happy about it.”
“But you believe me?”
“I don’t think I have any other choice.”
Elaina wrung her hands. “Now that we’ve come this far, I have something else to tell you. I don’t want to lie to you about anything, but we need to keep this between us.”
“What is it?” he asked, feeling closer to Elaina, like an actual confidant.
“Bef
ore Bretton left the lab, he stuck me with a needle. I’m fairly certain that it was his virus.”
Alec leaned back as far as he could, rage filling up his head. This time, it was toward Bretton.
“How could he do that?” he roared.
“He knew that I had the truth. If he got me out of the picture, then no one would know that he was responsible for everything.”
“Are you—”?
“I’m not having any symptoms,” Elaina said. “I gave myself a good dose of my antiviral serum, but it only counteracts my virus. I don’t know if it works against his yet.”
“So, you might have killed off the infection?”
“Maybe,” she answered. “Or, it might just be dormant. I need to run some tests to know for sure.”
“We can find you a lab,” Alec said. “Let me get us out of this area and we can go find somewhere to work on it. You can find someone to help you.”
“No.”
He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, no. It’s too dangerous for you to be with me. In fact, I was planning
on leaving you as soon as possible.”
“That’s insane. This is still a dangerous area. You wouldn’t get help and you wouldn’t survive.”
“What happens if I start showing symptoms? I could cough or sneeze and unintentionally infect you guys. What if the rage came on and I couldn’t stop it? You could overpower me, but could Natalia? I’d kill her. That’s the last thing I want to happen. If I’m going to die from this, then I’ll die in solitude. I’m not going to take anyone down with me. You’re almost to safety, I can’t continue on with you.”
“Then why didn’t you just leave?” Alec asked, getting upset.
“I tried,” Elaina cried. “When you were trying to get me in the truck, I tried to stay behind. You pulled me in.”
Alec dropped his head in his hands. “Elaina—” he started, trailing off when he had nothing else to say.
“I’ve already made my decision. I just wanted someone to understand why I’m doing what I’m doing so you wouldn’t go looking for me or think the worst about me.”
The Morgan Strain Series (Book 2): Point of Proximity Page 2
