Reviving Emily

by Becca Jameson

  “And app?”

  “Application. A software program. Let’s you connect to almost anything.”

  It was truly amazing. And exhausting. It was going to take her forever to catch up with technology. After several minutes she jerked her head up. “Oops. Sorry.” She handed him his phone. “I’m sure you have places you need to be.” Half of her wished it weren’t true. She enjoyed spending time with him. More so by the day.

  This accidental meeting had to come to an end. He was supposed to be in the lab. People were probably wondering where he was.

  He nodded as he pocketed his phone.

  She pointed at the pile of folders on the coffee table. “I’m almost done going through all your notes. I was thinking you could give me the shot sometime tomorrow.”

  “Of course, if you’re ready.” His brow was furrowed.

  “Hey,” she added. “It’s going to be fine. It’s going to work. And then we’re going to reanimate your parents and everyone else on the team. You’ll see.”

  He blew out a long breath. “Thanks. I need to take a page from your book of optimism. I haven’t had much of that lately. Not until recently. But as I get closer and closer to the possibility of seeing my parents…”

  She smiled and then reached out to grab his hand again. “It’s all going to go perfectly smoothly. I can feel it.”

  Emily stayed on the couch as Ryan pushed to standing and headed for the door. As he was leaving, he turned around and tipped his head to one side. “Thank you.”

  She stared at the door for several minutes, wondering what the hell was happening between them. They were friends. Of course. Could it be more someday? The idea was foreign to her. In her previous life, she hadn’t had time for a man. She seriously doubted he’d dated much either. She couldn’t blame him. He’d had more at stake than she’d ever had. She’d been driven by the desire to save the world. He’d been driven by the desire to save his own parents.

  She shuddered as she considered how unbelievably lonely he must have been for all these years. A decade inside his head, always thinking, formulating, calculating. Hoping.

  Ryan Anand had given his life to this project, and it was coming to an end. He would suffer a letdown. He needed to sleep for a month. But that would all happen after he reunited with his parents and spent time with them. As much as she liked him, it was senseless to consider something more than friendship with him. He wasn’t going to be emotionally or physically available to anyone for some time. And the truth was, neither would she.

  She needed to reconnect with her own parents and brother, none of whom knew she was back in the land of the living, nor did they know such a concept was even possible. They were going to be shocked. They were also going to be older. She was not. It would be most strange seeing her younger brother. He would be eight years older than her now. On the flip side, anyone who saw her wouldn’t have trouble recognizing her. She had literally not changed. At least not physically. She was concerned that her personality was altered, but not necessarily in a bad way.

  She sighed as she picked up the file in front of her. Yes, she would have Ryan give her the shot tomorrow. It was time. She needed to move forward. Her life was in limbo. She didn’t even know what she wanted to do next.

  She was under no obligation to serve in the military. In fact, as far as the government was concerned, she had died. That had been her official classification. It wasn’t as though anyone expected her to return to active duty. There was a good chance they wouldn’t even permit it. There was talk of changing her status from “deceased” to “medically discharged.”

  In addition, she didn’t know what new projects were being worked on in this bunker, and there was every possibility she wouldn’t be anywhere close to up to speed with the latest medical research. It would take time and education to get back up to par. Did she want to devote herself to that work again? Like re-entering medical school in a way. Ten years was a long time. A lot of changes and advances had occurred.

  What worried her was that her entire life had been devoted to medical research. Not just this AP12 project but many others as well. She used to literally get giddy at the prospect of spending days on end with her head buried in research. Now? She wasn’t sure who she was now. She wasn’t positive she still had the passion for the kind of work she did.

  It was crazy since as far as her mind was concerned, she’d been that mad scientist just weeks ago. How could she wake up from what amounted to a coma with a changed outlook on life? She supposed it was possibly the result of facing death head-on. Something like that changed people. There was plenty of evidence to support the idea.

  Closing the file, she pushed to standing on once-again wobbly legs. She needed to get to her next appointment, round three of physical therapy for the day. For a group of world-renowned scientists who were all in the military in some capacity and worked for the government, it was amazing how many of them knew enough about physical therapy to get her body back up to par.

  It was working too. She was getting stronger every day. In spite of the fact that she still had anemia AP12, she was gaining ground.

  Ten minutes later she was in the rehab room where one of the team, Dr. Michelle Houston, was waiting for her. Emily was out of breath. Not unusual. “This place isn’t large enough for the length of time it takes me to get from one end to the other,” she joked.

  Michelle laughed. “With the new wing of suites, it’s also a maze. Don’t feel bad. You’re getting stronger every day. I’m impressed.” She had Emily lie on a thick blue mat on the floor and began to stretch her legs. “How are you doing emotionally? We don’t really have the support staff in here to handle that side of things yet.”

  “I’m doing okay so far. It’s weird and stressful, but I’m hanging in there.” Largely because of Ryan. At least she had her friendship with him to look forward to.

  “Before we start waking up twenty-one other people, we need more staff, and frankly I don’t see where we’re going to put everyone,” Michelle pointed out. “I’ve made a few calls. We need to bring in some temporary mobile homes to house the increase in staff. There aren’t even enough beds for twenty-one more souls. And definitely not enough medical staff to support their needs, emotional and physical.”

  “I could work up a proposal for you if you want. I’m kind of useless for much else right now. At least I could figure out how many hours a day each patient is going to require therapy and mental healthcare. Calculate how much outside help you’ll need and for how long.”

  “That would be great. We were all stretched thin as it was. Besides AP12, we’ve got about seven other diseases we’re looking at.”

  Emily sat up and decided to take the first step to reclaim her life. “I know I’m not one hundred percent by any stretch of the imagination, but I can definitely help out in some way. If you want to assign me to a project, I could try to catch up on the research and attempt to be helpful.”

  “You don’t mind?” Michelle looked skeptical. “I don’t want you to take on too much too fast. We really shouldn’t be asking you to do anything except concentrate on getting healthy.”

  “You didn’t ask. I offered,” Emily stated as she extended her weak arms into the air to grab onto the pulley system above her head. It would keep her from feeling like she was going crazy. Maybe some time in the lab would help her get back in the groove. It was also possible it would make it more obvious that she was no longer as interested in medicine. Either way, she might get some answers.

  “I’ll talk to General Levenson and the team. See what everyone thinks.”

  Emily nodded as she gritted her teeth and pulled down hard on the handle. Rehabilitation sucked. Being vitrified sucked more. She could do this.

  Chapter 5

  Ryan was nervous as he swabbed Emily’s arm the next morning. He held on to her biceps, staring at her smooth, pale skin. The contrast against his dark skin stood out. “You ready?”

  He knew it would work. Why
wouldn’t it? Thousands of people in Africa had been saved in the past months using this new drug. It reversed the effects of AP12 within days, leaving the patient completely cured in weeks.

  It would work for Emily too.

  The two of them had discussed the results that morning at length. He wanted to be sure she had full confidence in his research before they moved forward.

  “Yep. Do it,” she said without a hint of trepidation.

  He took a deep breath and carefully inserted the needle.

  She meant something to him. He’d spent a lot of time with her. He liked her. Perhaps as more than a friend. He had no idea if she felt the same connection, nor was he going to ask, but he enjoyed her company.

  His hesitation wasn’t unnatural. He would be worried about giving this shot to anyone who was important to him. Any friend or relative. He would stiffen when he had to give it to his own parents too.

  As he removed the needle and lowered his arm, she grabbed his hand. “It’ll work.”

  He forced a smile. “I know.” Medically speaking, he had all the confidence in the world.

  “I offered to help Michelle work up a plan for what kind of support staff is going to be needed as the rest of the team is reanimated,” she said as she applied pressure to the small square of gauze he set against the drip of blood on her arm.

  He knew she was trying to distract him from his obvious fears, and bless her for it. “That sounds like a good idea,” he said as he disposed of the needle and then turned around to lean against the counter and face her.

  She sat on the exam table in one of the two patient rooms. The bunker had been built with every preparation for any eventuality, even though it hadn’t been constructed to treat sick people. “I thought I might also take a look at one of the current projects, see if I can get my feet wet, and figure out where the research is heading.”

  He frowned. “You sure you’re ready for that much responsibility?” He didn’t think it was fair to ask so much of her so soon.

  She rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I’m sick. I’m getting bored. I know I have a way to go physically, but mentally I feel the same as I did before the preservation.”

  He lifted a brow. “You do?”

  She shrugged. “Okay, not the same. I’m definitely different. It’s disconcerting. Maybe it would be more accurate to say I remember everything. My mind is sharp. If I opened a file from the week before I was vitrified, I wouldn’t miss a beat.”

  “That’s promising. But I sense your hesitation.” He had ever since she’d been able to speak. He hadn’t known her ten years ago, but he could tell she didn’t feel quite like herself.

  She lifted the gauze and checked the spot before speaking again. “I’m not going to lie. I feel strange. Uncertain about my future. Anxious about reconnecting with my parents. Stressed about bringing your dad out of preservation.”

  He pushed off the counter and closed the distance between them. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to be next to her, but he did. He took her arm gently in his hand and lifted it to make sure it didn’t need a Band-Aid. “Worried about this shot too, I’m sure,” he added as he lowered her arm but let his fingers slide down to her wrist.

  “A little. Honestly, Ryan, not a lot.” She tipped her head back. “I think it will help if I jump back in and do something. I’m lost. Diving back into research will occupy my mind and help me get a feel for the level of passion I still have for this job.”

  He nodded. She was probably right. “Okay. Have you spoken to Temple?” Ryan had known Temple most of his life. He could remember her as far back as a young child. She’d not only been Emily’s boss in charge of the bunker back then but his parents’ too, of course.

  She shook her head. “Not yet. I will later today. Michelle was going to speak to her first.”

  “If there’s anything I can do to help, you’ll let me know. And don’t take on too much too fast. You’ll be more tired than you were previously. At least for a while.” He could see the fatigue in her eyes, but he wasn’t sure what was causing it. Actual need for sleep or stress.

  “I have a question. Why is there only one reanimation chamber? Are there any plans to obtain more?”

  Obviously, she intended to get in the swing of things starting right now. He smiled. “We couldn’t be sure it would work, of course. It’s an incredibly expensive piece of equipment. It wouldn’t have been logical to create more than one until it proved successful.”

  “What about the one at the civilian facility in Arizona? Is it the same?”

  He shook his head, still holding her wrist loosely in his fingers. He didn’t want to drop her hand and lose contact for some reason. He was seeing a new side of her for the first time—her professional side, her inquisitiveness, her desire to save people.

  He recognized the qualities because he had them too. “No. Their machine was different. We developed ours with very little information about theirs. The chamber we have is one of a kind. In a few months, after we successfully reanimate my father, then we’ll build more of them. By then, it’ll be obvious they’re needed for the future.”

  “That makes sense.” She lowered her gaze to the wrist he still held. “You’re anxious to see your parents again. I should’ve known you’d already covered your bases.”

  Finally, he let her go, but he dragged his fingers along her thigh before removing all contact. It would be foolish for him to continue to deny that his feelings for her were leaving friendship territory and transitioning into something else.

  It was crazy to let himself think of her as more than a friend. It had only been two weeks. He didn’t know her that well yet, and she didn’t know herself right now either. Maybe at some point in the future…

  No. That was ludicrous too. He had work to do. She had a life to live. He shook the idea from his head, forcing himself to step back as he wiped his suddenly sweaty hands on his scrubs. “I’d like to wait until we’re sure the cure is working before contacting your parents.”

  “Of course.”

  He met her gaze again. “I know it must be hard for you. The waiting.”

  “It is, but I get it. Even though I’m anxious to reconnect with them, me being alive is going to come as a shock. I wouldn’t want to tease them with it, only to find out I’m not going to live after all. It would kill them.”

  He shuddered. “You’re going to live.” She had to.

  She smiled. “Of course I am, but we both know that’s the hesitation. We should wait for a high level of certainty before letting the outside world know I exist.”

  He nodded slowly. “Yeah.” She was right.

  * * *

  Emily tried to ignore the pins and needles she walked on for the next week, waiting to make sure the cure worked. She kept herself busy, though. After meeting with Temple, she had the go-ahead to help the new team out any way they wanted to use her.

  She was currently in her element, sitting in the main lab with not only Michelle, but also two other women from the team—Lieutenant Shelby Markham and Lieutenant Mina Reese. All three of them were career military like Emily had been before she was preserved. They had a lot in common. She was making friends.

  “How’s your balance coming along?” Shelby asked. “Michelle said your equilibrium is the worst part about reanimation.”

  Emily lifted her gaze from the data she was studying and nodded. “It’s getting better every day. I’m impatient, though. Always was.” She wasn’t kidding. “At least I have some chunks of my personality intact.”

  Mina stepped closer, removing the gloves she’d worn to handle a sample. She cocked her head to one side. “You feel like your personality is different?”

  Emily sighed as all three women gathered closer.

  Mina spoke again. “We’re crowding you. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want.”

  “No. It’s okay. Really. I should be documenting it or something. The others might have similar experiences.”

  Mi
chelle nodded. “I’m sure it’s hard. It’s not tangible.”

  “That’s exactly the problem.” Emily spun on her swivel chair to more fully face them, rubbing her arms as if there was a chill. “It’s hard to describe. I don’t quite understand it yet. At least not well enough to put into words. I’m not sure how anyone would document it.”

  “You said you can remember everything, right?” Shelby asked.

  Emily nodded. “Yes. It’s not about memory recall. It’s more like…” She paused to try and come up with the right words. “It’s like I’m out of body.” She snapped her fingers. “That’s a good way to describe it. As if I’m in someone else’s body. Or perhaps floating outside of this one, watching.”

  Everyone’s faces were serious as they nodded slowly, trying to understand.

  “I’m sure I’m not describing it quite right. Some things feel normal. Other things are…off.” Like how I feel when I’m with Ryan. The thought popped into her head unbidden. She shivered and rubbed her arms again.

  She had been spending a lot of time with him. Maybe he was simply paying close attention to her for research purposes, but she didn’t think so. She was pretty sure he enjoyed her company as much as she did his.

  They spent most evenings together in either her suite or his, laughing while she learned about the latest developments in technology or listened to crazy things that had happened in the world while she’d been preserved.

  They had yet to cross any friendship lines, with the exception of the fact that he touched her more than a friend would under normal circumstances. He seemed to find an excuse to grab her hand or her wrist or stroke her cheek or her thigh with growing frequency. She didn’t complain.

  But thoughts of him were starting to leak into her consciousness when she wasn’t with him. Like now.

  Michelle drew her back to the present. “Off, how?”

  “I used to eat, sleep, and breathe science. It was all I thought about. Now I feel more laidback. I’ve picked up my head, and I’m taking deep breaths, and I’m thinking about whether or not this is what I want to do with my life anymore.”