Dying to Live

by Roxy De Winter

  “So, what will happen with this blood?” Rebel asked, eyeing the bag.

  “The small vials were to examine the basic makeup of it. Your iron levels, blood count, etcetera,” Xin said with her eye pressed to a microscope. “The larger quantity will mean I can try a wider range of tests to investigate how it reacts to an assault from foreign bodies, and most importantly, how it affects our specimens,” Xin explained.

  “You mean those two?” Rebel nodded at the ever present captives in their tents.

  “Yes,” Xin said pulling away from the microscope. She swung around on her swivel chair and turned to a clipboard on one of the desks, then began to scribble down her findings. “I want to see if I can form some kind of immunisation that improves their condition or has any effect at all.”

  “The Russians have their MRI scans planned for tomorrow,” Professor Allmendinger spoke up, drawing his eyes away from Rebel. “I wonder if you could arrange for them to get some more done once you have administered anything.”

  “Absolutely,” Xin agreed. “We should definitely monitor them for neurological changes.”

  He nodded and turned back to the sheets of results that he was comparing. He still couldn’t prevent himself from glancing periodically back at the girl.

  “Hey, Andy, check it out,” Xin called over to him. She had wandered over to the incubator to remove one of the plates inside. Now she held up the plate he had drawn on. Growing from the clear jelly substance was a fuzzy, wobbly face.

  “Oh neat!” He laughed, rushing over for a closer look.

  “Why did you go for a shocked face?” Lucy asked with a crooked smirk.

  “Dude, its bacteria. What face do you want it to pull?” Andy snorted.

  Frank shook his head and laughed. Pete raised an eyebrow and suggested that it was so revolting that maybe it should have looked more sickened.

  “Oh, please,” Andy dismissed, still smiling. “You show me how I was supposed to draw a pukey face.”

  Pete picked up a sheet of note paper, harnessing the art skills from a life long ago, and drew an uncannily accurate response that he held up triumphantly.

  “Oh, pffft!” Andy huffed in defeat.

  “Children, please,” Lucy laughed.

  “Hey, I think this thing’s full now,” Rebel attracted Xin’s attention. Xin looked up and saw the bulging pouch sloshing beneath her.

  “Give me just one moment,” Xin said, holding up one finger and turning back to her petri dish.

  “Allow me?” Professor Allmendinger offered, getting up from his seat and reaching out questioningly.

  Xin quickly looked back at Rebel, who looked unsure but reluctantly nodded.

  “Marvellous,” He smiled. The professor approached her and she stretched out her arm to him. With a tenderness that she hadn’t expected, he placed a thumb over the site where the needle pierced her skin. With the other hand, he slid the barb free from her skin and set it aside. “Would you like a cotton ball for this?” He asked.

  “Nah,” she shrugged. “It’ll be healed before I could use it.”

  Sure enough, when the professor moved his thumb, there was no sign of a puncture mark. He looked delighted and kept hold of her arm to look closer.

  “Fascinating,” He muttered.

  “Uh... Yeah.” Rebel looked around awkwardly, trying to gently extricate her arm from his light grip. He let go seconds later and scurried back over to his notes. By then Xin was finished and came over to collect the bag.

  “Are you alright?” She checked, her voice almost inaudible. Rebel nodded back. “I’m sure you’ll recuperate much better than most people,” Xin said in her normal tone this time. “But just in case, I’d still like you to take it easy for the rest of the day. You should have some sweet tea or coffee as well. I can finish up for today and maybe we could all do something?”

  “The Commodore is allowing TV usage tonight,” Andy offered. “I heard in the canteen that he doesn’t want to overwhelm the generators but thinks one night won’t hurt. We could all watch a film in your dorm.”

  “Why our dorm?” Xin asked suspiciously.

  “Oh, trust me, you don’t want to see the state of theirs,” Lucy filled her in. “I don’t want to watch a film and spend the whole time sat wondering whose rank old socks I’m sitting on.”

  The group agreed to the plan and Xin tidied away her things.

  “Professor,” Xin addressed the scientist. “We’re going now. Is there anything I can do before we leave?”

  “No, thank you, Xin,” He replied. “I have one request for our special guest however.” Professor Allmendinger’s eyes once again settled on Rebel, who was by the door removing her surgical gloves. She looked up when she felt his eyes upon her.

  “What would you ask of her?” Pete asked defensively.

  “It is merely a request.” The professor held his hands up peaceably. “But I would ask if the young lady could give some consideration to a small donation of cerebrospinal fluid.”

  “No,” Xin said firmly and immediately. “She has already kindly volunteered this much. A lumbar puncture is much more painful and delicate, not to mention, it’s unnecessary. I’m sorry, Professor, but no. I won’t allow it.”

  “I would still ask that she consider it,” Professor Allmendinger said, arranging his features into a gentle smile. “Naturally, it should be her choice but it could be very enlightening.”

  Rebel looked concerned, but Xin had promised her that she wouldn’t allow anything to happen.

  “We have enough to work with,” Xin said with finality. “If that is all, Professor?”

  “Of course, have a good evening.” He held his smile as Xin de-gowned and disposed of her protective clothing.

  Once outside and on the walk back to the dorms, Xin walked beside Rebel.

  “Don’t worry about what he said.”

  “I don’t want to give my spinal fluid,” Rebel blurted quickly.

  “I know,” Xin gave Rebel’s shoulder a quick squeeze. “Like I told him, I won’t allow it and you don’t have to feel like you should. You’ve done plenty and he had no right to ask for more. Nobody can make you...”

  “Can’t they?” Rebel cut in, unconvinced. “They did before.”

  “Yeah, well we’re not in Nevada anymore, Toto,” Andy put in, catching up and wrapping an arm casually around Rebel’s shoulders.

  “Did you seriously just reference The Wizard of Oz?” Without willing it, a smile broke over Rebel’s face at his goofiness and her heart fluttered a little. He left the arm there as they strolled, laughing, through the cold.

  Anyway, this movie,” Frank spoke up. “I’m thinking ‘Night of the Living Dead’?”

  Lucy smacked his arm with the hand that wasn’t holding his. For the rest of the walk they argued over film choices and let thoughts of invasive treatments drift from their minds.

  8.

  ‘Foolish Dr Yao. She has proven herself a capable scientist but she would let her relationships come between her and the cure. I knew that she would refuse my request. She would pass up on the recognition and rewards of being the one to make this discovery. Her friends go blindly along with anything she says, too stupid to see that she is wrong. The one who holds the key, that precious girl, Rebel, we should be making use of her unique qualities. She is too selfish to sacrifice her own desires for the good of the world. Someone needed to put their foot down. These people should be made to co-operate. They have been given safety and beyond that, comfort, which they are not willing to pay for.’

  It was still dark outside when Andy cracked one eye reluctantly open. He registered four silent, unmoving mounds scattered around. The others were still asleep. They had made a nest of mattresses, duvets and pillows on the floor to be nearer to the one small television set.

  The door into the room was open and he didn’t remember it being that way when they had started to fall asleep. His mind didn’t linger on the fact for long. Someone had probably gotten up in the
night to use the bathroom.

  Without even realising it, Andy slipped back into unconsciousness.

  When he was roused again, it was by worried sounding voices. He opened his eyes and this time the sun was streaming in.

  “Sup?” He croaked, his already deep voice was hoarse with sleep.

  “Rebel’s not here.” Lucy sounded troubled.

  “She might just be in the bathroom,” Frank mumbled, rubbing at his eyes.

  “I was just in there and she wasn’t,” Xin said hurriedly trying to find her shoes in the midst of her panic.

  “Wake up!” Lucy urged, nudging Frank with her foot.

  “Alright, I’m up,” Frank said, sitting up.

  “Pete’s already checking the other rooms in this block in case she got uncomfortable and went to sleep in one of them,” Xin said.

  “She didn’t,” Andy told her as he got up from the mattress and tugged on his leather jacket.

  “How do you know that?” Xin asked.

  Andy sighed. “She was pretty much asleep, I don’t think she even knew she was doing, but she cuddled up to me last night and groaned that she was ‘so comfy’.

  “We’d better go and look for her.” Frank was also getting up and pulling on a coat. He didn’t even make a joke as he shrugged it on with a look of concern on his face.

  Pete reappeared at the door as the other four were making to leave.

  “No sign of her.” He shook his head. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Did anyone come in here last night?”

  “I think we’d remember that,” Xin said doubtfully. “If anything has happened to her, I won’t forgive myself.”

  “They won’t hurt her, they need her,” Lucy tried to reassure her.

  “Oh, they would hurt her,” Xin frowned. “They just won’t kill her.”

  “If that shady professor has touched her, I swear I will fucking rip him to shreds,” Andy snarled. He stepped into the doorway, ready to leave, but Pete held out an arm.

  “Wait, take this,” He said, pulling a small gun out of a bag Andy hadn’t noticed him holding. “Keep it concealed unless you absolutely need it. Here you lot should take one too.”

  There was a scramble as Frank and the two remaining girls swiftly plucked out guns and hid them on their person.

  “We’ll spread out and look for her. You three check the mess hall and the rec rooms. Andy, I’m coming with you and we’re going down to the lab,” Pete told him sternly.

  “You think she’s there?” Andy asked breathlessly. The pair were already jogging off down the corridor. The others were trailing behind.

  “I’m hoping not, but if anything bad has happened, that’s where they’ll have taken her,” Pete responded, trying to keep his breathing even as they ran. They emerged outside into a crisp morning. Frost was glazing everything with a twinkling silver sheen. The frozen layer on the ground should have been untouched at that time of morning but there were visible trails in it.

  “Change of plan,” Pete called back to the others, “Stick with us, we’ll follow the footprints.”

  They continued without pause. It was still so early that the base was deserted, but it was so huge that it seemed to take them forever to make their way through the labyrinth of buildings.

  Finally, the gang arrived, puffing and panting, at the building that had become their makeshift laboratory.

  “Ready?” Pete paused to ask, but Andy had the door open already. The others followed him inside. Through the clear curtain, they could see straightaway that Rebel was here and she was not alone. Andy pulled out his gun and tore the curtain down. Pete was the next to ready his weapon and the others followed suit.

  Professor Allmendinger and Dr Petrov spun around upon hearing their arrival. Professor Novikoff was there too, but only turned when he noticed that the other two had. None of them looked all that surprised to see them, just vaguely irritated by their presence. Dr Petrov was still holding a rag over the already unconscious Rebel’s face. She had been positioned on a chair, the back of which rose between her knees and her body slumped forward over it. Her t-shirt had been removed, leaving her half-naked but for the gown that had been tied around her. A sliver of pale, bare skin showed down her spine and a patch of it was stained orange with iodine. A thick needle protruded from the base of Rebel’s spine, supported by Professor Novikoff’s guiding hand.

  “Drop the fucking needle, asshole,” Andy demanded with a lethal tone in his voice that nobody had heard before. His gun was aimed directly at Professor Novikoff.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Professor Allmendinger insisted. “The sample is vital.”

  Dr Petrov gestured for Professor Novikoff to continue the procedure. As the man moved, Andy strode forwards shifting his gun towards Novikoff’s head. The professor began to look nervous.

  “You may not be able to hear me but I know that you understand,” Andy fumed, “Get away from her now or I swear I’ll shoot you right here.”

  Pete followed behind him, aiming at Dr Petrov. Lucy took it upon herself to train a gun on Professor Allmendinger. Frank and Xin simply held their guns ready, prepared to aim at whoever became the first target.

  “Did you really think that we wouldn’t find you here?” Xin asked scornfully.

  “Of course, I knew you would, foolish girl. We took her before daylight, whilst you slept, in the hopes that by the time you did get here we would already have the sample,” The professor snapped.

  “I’ll tell you right now, you aren’t getting your sample!” Andy raged. “Get the needle out of her, now!” He pressed the gun right into Professor Novikoff’s temple.

  “You shoot him, needle moves, maybe paralyses friend,” Dr Petrov warned him. “You want crippled friend?”

  Rebel’s healing abilities didn’t even cross their minds. It wasn’t worth the risk to find out whether her regeneration could help her recover from something like that.

  “Xin?” Pete called, his eyes not moving from his target.

  “On it,” She said, tucking her gun away and hurrying over. Dr Petrov dropped the rag he was holding and lurched forward to stop Xin from going to Rebel’s aid.

  Pete didn’t hesitate. A thunderclap rang out in the room. In the close quarters, the sound left their ears ringing. He fired only a single shot but Dr Petrov fell to the ground. Blood blossomed across the stomach of his sterile, blue gown and pooled rapidly beneath him.

  Xin took only a second to recover herself, before rushing to take Professor Novikoff’s place holding the needle. When she had it, Andy tore the Professor away and shoved him across the room.

  In that moment, Rebel began to come around. With the rag no longer keeping her unconscious, the pain set in and she let out a long moan.

  “Hold still, honey,” Xin told her, urgently trying to calm her. Rebel was still too out of it to realise what she was saying. “A little help here?” Xin called desperately. “Someone hold her still before she comes around enough to move!”

  Lucy lowered her gun and dashed over to assist.

  “Better hurry,” Professor Allmendinger taunted. “Someone will have heard that shot that you fired. They won’t be happy that you killed one of their only scientists.”

  Xin ignored him and focused on freeing the needle that was firmly wedged between the vertebrae of Rebel’s spine. She healed so quickly that her body had already began to attempt to seal the wound even with the barb still in place.

  “This is going to hurt her. You’ll need to hold her really still,” Xin warned Lucy, who just nodded and held the screaming girl against the chair. Andy paced distractedly, his gun still closely trained on Novikoff’s head.

  Xin placed one hand on Rebel’s back and pulled quickly and firmly on the needle, which reluctantly dislodged. Rebel’s shrieks threatened to split their ear drums.

  “It’s okay. It’s alright. It’s out now,” Xin soothed, not knowing if the girl could even hear her.”

  “We need to go,” Pete said, gun still rai
sed, as he heard shouts outside. “...Right now!”

  For the second time since he had met her, Andy scooped up Rebel’s semi-conscious body. Frank led the way from the lab and out into the cold, prepared for anyone who might confront them. Andy followed, pulling the flimsily wrapped girl closer to him and hoping that it would offer her some warmth.

  The girls rushed out after him but Pete hung back a few moments to make sure the scientists didn’t try anything. With one last look of disgust, he emerged outside behind them.

  “It’s not safe to go back to any of the buildings, they’ll come looking for us and we can’t stay here now that Petrov’s dead. They won’t take our side when it comes to the reason why,” Xin panicked. “Rebel wouldn’t be safe here now either.”

  “So where do we go?” Andy asked looking around desperately. The shouting was getting closer now and Professor Allmendinger appeared at the lab’s doorway.

  “This way!” The professor screeched, “They’ve shot Doctor Petrov!”

  “Shit,” Frank cursed. “There’s a carpark just around the corner. Leg it!”

  The team sprinted as fast as they could. Rebel winced and moaned in Andy’s arms as she was jostled about by his movements.

  “I’m sorry, Hon,” He panted. “It’s not far now.”

  Rounding the last building of the block, the car park came into view. A row of mini buses were parked up and Andy prayed that they were fuelled.

  Pete got to the first one and hauled open the sliding door for them. As they all piled into the back, Pete hopped into the front and kicked out a panel beneath the steering wheel. He fiddled with the wires and hoped with all of his being that it would start.

  Xin was the last one to hop into the back and she slammed the door closed with a loud, metallic rumble.

  “How is she?” Xin asked as the engine thankfully roared into life.

  “I think she’s waking up properly now,” Andy said, still cradling her awkwardly.

  “You can lay her face down along the back seats,” Xin instructed. “Her back could still be sore even though it’s probably already healed over.”