by M. A. George
CHAPTER 18
I stood motionless as a statue—staring at my reflection in the glass—the emptiness of the surrounding room mirrored back at me. I noticed the lantern was still sitting on the table. Aeron had left it behind, vanishing into the darkness alone. I briefly contemplated running after him, then decided he was probably halfway back to Sabela’s house already.
The smart aleck side of me thought it would serve him right to fall in a ditch, having for the second time ditched me abruptly to disappear without a word. My indignant attitude was quickly replaced by the self-conscious realization that he had never intended to kiss me. Whatever his reason had been, he clearly thought better of it now.
Despite his hurtful rejection, I couldn’t help but fret over his safety. I pulled my phone from my pocket to text Sabela, letting her know he was on his way back…At least he wouldn’t be left to wander the desert all night.
Without waiting to see if she would text a reply, I headed upstairs to shower. It was much later than my usual bedtime, but I wasn’t anywhere near ready for sleep. Somewhere in the midst of showering, it occurred to me I had skipped dinner. Our plans to take Dominick out to celebrate had obviously been scratched for more pressing business. Once dressed in my pajamas, I tromped back downstairs to forage for leftovers.
I knew it would be stupid to stay up all night when there was so much to be done the next day, but I didn’t want to surrender to sleep quite yet. I was certain I would dream of Aeron, and I was determined to push all thoughts of romance out of my mind for good. Surely I had the maturity to be his friend and colleague without expecting more.
Before the unfortunate incident that abruptly concluded our conversation, we had arranged to meet in the morning to resume work on the antiviral agent. It would be Saturday, and we could work undisturbed at the medical school. Though my mental focus would be sharper if I went into it well-rested, I was more concerned about my ability to remain calm, cool, and collected in his presence. I was confident that I could still function intellectually on practically zero sleep—I had done it countless times before in the course of my medical training. But keeping my wits about me if my heart was still aching…That was another story.
I decided that a movie marathon was clearly in order. I tried to narrow down the options. Anything romantic was definitely out, as was anything involving space travel, kings, or handsome princes. Preferably there should be no good-looking men whatsoever, lest they remind me of Aeron.
Sadly, that eliminated practically everything.
I scrounged up a documentary on the evils of the fast food industry…I’d never finished watching it the first time, so now would be a good time to pick up where I left off. I popped in the DVD and collapsed on the couch.
The next thing I knew, I was coming awake as the sunlight streamed through the living room window. I had no memory of the movie, so apparently I’d conked out before it even started.
As expected, I’d dreamed of Aeron. This time, he was boarding a futuristic space ship as I watched from a distance. As he took off in flight, I could see his face through the porthole window. Even as he ascended to the darkness of space, somehow I still watched as he stared back at me. Even more vivid than his somber green eyes was the unbearable emptiness in the pit of my stomach. Now wide awake, the hollow emptiness was still there.
Yep…this was definitely going to be problematic.
I checked the clock and realized I had less than an hour before I was supposed to be meeting Aeron at the medical school. Considering the drive time, I needed to kick it in gear. I stopped by the kitchen to grab a bowl of cereal, then dashed upstairs to slap myself together. I managed to pull together a stylishly casual appearance before darting out the door to get on the road.
I decided it would be best if I just didn’t think about what I would say when I saw Aeron again. It was going to be awkward no matter how you sliced it—there was no sense in making it worse by trying to rehearse my lines ahead of time. I parked in the deserted faculty parking garage, then took a deep breath as I got out of my car to make my way to the lab building.
I swung open the door to the microbiology lab to find Aeron already sitting at his lab station—the first time he’d been there since his earlier disappearance. He looked up from his laptop and turned to face me as I entered. “Good morning, Palta,” he greeted me politely, with a friendly smile. “I brought coffee if you’d like some.” He reached over to slide the lidded paper cup across the desk toward me. “I was just reading an article about a new generation of reverse transcriptase inhibitors.”
I glanced at the screen in front of him. The article was entirely in Japanese. I knew just enough to pick out a few familiar words.
“Are you planning on using a reverse transcriptase inhibitor as the antiviral agent?” I sat down on the stool that was waiting for me next to him.
“No,” he replied. “I think we’ll have more luck with a ribozyme modeled after the treatment used on Onontí. Most Onontians are vaccinated against the virus in childhood, but the disease has not yet been completely eradicated. The most effective treatment for breakthrough cases seems to be a ribozyme used to break apart the viral DNA. I’ve made it so far as to develop several similar agents. Hopefully once we start testing them, we’ll find one that’s effective.”
“You don’t have a sample of the actual virus, do you?” I asked.
“No, just the DNA sequence,” he responded. “I’ve managed to assemble enough of the sequence to serve as an effective test sample. If we’re lucky, we should be able to confirm the most effective antiviral agent relatively quickly.”
And with that, we set to work—not a word about the events of last night. Strangely, it wasn’t awkward at all. We were working together to accomplish a task, and my mind was soon distracted from any personal drama.
As we worked, Aeron explained that the virus was in many ways similar to smallpox. It would spread by inhalation of airborne virus, making it highly contagious. Rather than causing the characteristic skin lesions, this particular virus would cause catastrophic injury to the respiratory system. I shuddered at the thought of an entire population slowly suffocating to death.
As the hours flew by, I was so absorbed in the work that I hadn’t realized it was mid-afternoon, and we’d had no lunch. I was reminded of this fact when my stomach rumbled fiercely, the sound seeming to echo through the otherwise quiet lab. Standing close by, Aeron tried not to laugh as he obviously heard the sound of my sudden ravenous hunger.
“I know how you feel,” he smiled. “Lunch is way overdue. I just hate to break away in the middle of setting up this sample. I think we were on the right track with the last one…Hopefully this will be it. I can finish out this part if you want to go get something for yourself,” he offered considerately.
I proposed I make a quick run to the hospital to grab some cafeteria food for the both of us. It wasn’t the most appetizing stuff on the planet, but it would be better than nothing.
“Thanks…That would be great,” he agreed. “I could go for some more caffeine too…I think I got all of thirty minutes of sleep last night.” He squinted as he rubbed his fingers back and forth across his forehead.
I had noticed his eyes seemed more tired than usual today. He did have a lot on his mind—global destruction, brutal assassination, ruthless dictator threatening to overtake his throne. Although none of this was significantly changed from recent weeks. I dismissed the notion that his sleepless night could have anything to do with me—and that kiss.
I returned from the cafeteria just as Aeron was coming to a good breaking point. We decided to head down the hall to the student lounge, where we could eat at a table intended for dining, rather than handling hazardous chemicals and microbes. Being Saturday afternoon, we had the place to ourselves. We sat down facing each other across the small round table. Sadly, it seemed no cleaner than the lab table would have been.
I hungrily gobbled
my first bite of food, only to discover it was disturbingly difficult to chew. “Wow,” I nodded in mock awe. “That is impressively…overcooked and tasteless.”
We laughed together as Aeron suggested I hold my breath while chewing as fast as possible, then chase it with a gulp of soda. Somehow the fact that it was practically inedible didn’t keep us from devouring everything in front of us.
As we ate, I decided to ask a question that had entered my mind earlier in the day. “If you don’t mind my asking,” I led off, “how did you get all of the information about the virus, when you didn’t know about Obo’s plan until you were already here on Earth? I’m assuming someone had to send you the DNA sequence?”
“Yes,” he responded. “We have been able to transmit a great deal of information back and forth. Fortunately, we have the technology to do so without being detected by humans.”
“I understand,” I nodded, continuing hesitantly. “But how can you be sure your information is reliable?”
“Everything is funneled through our trusted contact, Imai Odele,” he explained. “I believe my sister told you about him.”
“Yes, she mentioned him,” I confirmed. “It was clear that both of you trust him implicitly. Even so, she seemed to be troubled about something when she spoke of him.” I saw in Aeron’s expression that it wasn’t something easily explained. “I’m sorry,” I tried to brush it aside. “It’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s okay,” he reassured me. “She wanted to tell you. It’s just hard for her to break old habits.”
I tried not to look too puzzled. He finished wiping his hands, then tossed the rumpled napkin onto the empty plate in front of him, as he contemplated how to begin explaining. “The subject of Imai Odele has been surrounded in secrecy for many years…until recently.”
“Secrecy from whom?” I was still confused.
“My parents,” he responded.
Seeing that his answer didn’t exactly clear up the question for me, he continued on. “As you already know, Imai served as my father’s chief security officer for many years. My father trusted him with his life—and I know without doubt that his trust was not unfittingly placed. If anyone could have foreseen or prevented my parents’ murder, it would have been Imai.” His voice trailed off as he relived the pain of his parents’ unexpected demise. “Despite my father’s respect for Imai, he would never have sanctioned a relationship between an officer and a member of the royal family—especially not his only daughter.”
Now the picture was becoming clearer…Ewenami was in love with Imai Odele.
“My parents tried in vain to introduce Ewenami to countless suitors they deemed appropriate for a princess, but she can be incredibly hard-headed.” The corner of his mouth turned up into a crooked smile at the thought of her tenacity. “I’m not sure if her initial attraction was out of deliberate defiance to my parents’ wishes, but eventually she grew to find a genuine connection with Imai. They fell deeply in love, and have managed to keep their relationship concealed for many years.”
His smile seemed to sadden as he added, “It’s a secret she’s grown so adept at concealing, she can’t get used to the idea that there is no longer a need to hide the truth—now that our parents aren’t here to object. I certainly won’t prevent her from marrying him…He’s a remarkable man, and he loves her enormously. I know he will make her happy…if we all survive this mess.”
