“What’s wrong? Is she sick?” Elliot’s voice broke at the end.
“No. She’s fine.” I said the words through gritted teeth, as if I could will them to be true.
“Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!” Mina’s wail pierced the air. “She’s sick isn’t she? She caught it!” Her sob came next.
Elliot and Lars began crying in earnest. Tears pricked my own eyes as I stared down at my tiny sister. I blinked rapidly so she wouldn’t see them.
“Davin?” Aurora opened her eyes again. They appeared clouded and confused.
My gut clenched so hard, I thought I would throw up. Swallowing down the bile, fear, and absolute despair that swam in my stomach, I snatched a pair of gloves. After donning them, I ran trembling fingers along her forehead. “Shh, Bug. You’re fine. Just close your eyes. I’ll get you something to drink.”
“Mom.” She closed her eyes. “I want Mom.”
Tears swam in my vision. “I do too, Bug. I do too. But don’t worry. I’m going to take good care of you. You’re going to be just fine.”
9 – DEATH
My body ached. Everywhere. It felt as if someone had twisted me through a wringer, stretched me out, and then put me through it again.
A weak cough came from the corner of the room. Aurora.
I turned my head from where I lay on the floor. The dirty carpet rubbed against my cheek. “Bug?”
She didn’t respond. She’d been sick for a week and was sicker than any of us.
Groaning, I rolled onto my side before pushing up on all fours. Deep aches pulsed through my muscles like painful shivers in the bitter cold. The stench of urine filled my nose.
No! Despair twisted my heart. Aurora wet herself again.
Crawling toward her, I blinked as my body raged like an inferno. I was hot. So damned hot.
My shirt stuck to my chest as my stomach heaved. Just the small crawling movement made the nausea roar to life.
Bile rose in the back of my throat. I stopped and swallowed it down. It was hard. I’d thrown up three times already, barely making it to the toilet each time. I’d been sick for days, but I still wasn’t as bad as my sister.
Panting, I waited for the moment to pass. When I finally felt as though I could move again without retching, I continued crawling toward her.
“Aurora? Can you hear me?”
Her eyes were closed. Dark smudges lined her lower eyelids. Her long eyelashes rested against her cheeks. Cheeks that used to be plump and rosy were sunken and pale.
I lay back on the floor beside her and rested a palm across her cheek. Cool and clammy skin greeted me. I’d given up on gloves days ago. We were all infected. Gloves wouldn’t help us.
“Bug? Open your eyes.”
She groaned.
Hope surged through me like a jolt of lightning. It was crazy, but a fleeting belief that this could all go away made elation course through me. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll still survive. Maybe we’ll find a way to beat Makanza and return to normal.
“Are you thirsty, Bug?”
Her eyes fluttered open. Gurgling came from her throat as though she were trying to speak but couldn’t. She lifted a thin arm and pointed at the ceiling. A foggy glaze covered her eyes.
My hope vanished.
“Do you see it?” Her voice was raspy, like an old man’s. I barely recognized it.
I turned to look at where she was pointing. The small movement made fire rip through my neck. Wincing, I frowned. Only the popcorn ceiling was above us. “What are you talking about? What do you see?”
She smiled, the tiny movement cracking her lips. A drop of thick blood appeared on the top of her mouth. “It’s Mom. She’s standing right there. Don’t you see her?”
My stomach tightened even more but not because of the nausea. “I’ll get you some water. Stay here.” My gaze traveled down to her legs. A dark stain filled her shorts. The strong scent of piss surrounded her. Considering how dry her lips were, I was surprised she’d peed at all.
“I’ll be right back.”
Somehow, I managed to push to my feet. Staggering, I walked unsteadily out of the room, swaying into the wall every now and then before steadying myself again.
I tripped over my brother in the hallway. Elliot lay sprawled across the carpet. Sweat covered his entire body. His thin t-shirt stuck to his skin. I peered down at him, my brow furrowing, until his narrow rib cage rose up in a shallow breath. Wheezing came from his lungs.
“I’ll get you water too, Elliot.”
Sunlight streamed into the house through the living room windows. It was an odd sight. I had no idea what time or day it was. The last time I looked through the windows had been nighttime.
Or was it daytime?
I’d completely lost track of everything.
After Aurora fell sick, quickly followed by Mina, Lars, and Elliot, I knew my time was coming.
I’d tried to keep my distance initially, but there was no point. The MRI’s advice to wash hands frequently and keep away from one another hadn’t done a damned thing. When my fever started, I stopped trying. We’d probably been doomed the second we stepped foot on the reservation.
My bare feet shuffled across the carpet, making a swishing sound. It was a whisper compared to the rattling from my little brother’s lungs in the hallway.
I didn’t encounter anybody else on my way to the kitchen. That meant Lars and Mina were either in the bathroom or the other bedroom.
The rough carpet ended with the living room, and the old, peeling linoleum spread out before me.
Bile rose in my throat when I finally made it to the kitchen counter. The nausea that rolled through my stomach was as turbulent as a storm during a hurricane. It took everything in me to keep it down.
But when I reached up to the cupboard to retrieve a water bottle, it became too much. Rushing to the kitchen sink, I bent over as my stomach heaved. I dry heaved again and again. There was nothing left in me to throw up.
Just get the water. Get water for everybody and then lay back down.
Somehow, I managed to fill a bottle. It was ridiculously heavy, even though it only held a liter.
Panting, I paused to rest. Outside, clouds drifted above, like puffy cotton candy hanging in the sky. Sunlight touched my cheeks, causing them to warm even more.
Through the kitchen window, the quarantine tents were visible. However, they’d grown. At least three times as many tents now dotted the prairie.
The whole town is sick. We’re all sick.
I grabbed the water bottle and shuffled unsteadily back to my siblings. After collapsing at Elliot’s side, I lifted his head and parted his lips. He barely registered when I tipped the water into his mouth. Thankfully, he swallowed a few gulps before groaning.
I did the same with Lars and Mina. Both lay on the twin beds in the back bedroom. Lars appeared as sick as Aurora. He was mumbling to himself and occasionally laughing hysterically. It was obvious he was no longer in our reality.
Mina, however, appeared to be the same as me—still in the early stages. Her eyes were clear when she opened them, but the fever still raged inside her body. Sweat covered her face as greasy locks of hair lay across her pillow.
“Is that water?” Her voice was raspy as she reached for it.
I nodded and handed it to her, thankful to let the heavy bottle go. She nearly dropped it in her haste to bring it to her mouth. She gulped down mouthful after mouthful. I had to stop her before she drank all of it.
“Aurora still hasn’t had any. I need to bring her some.”
Her teeth bared in a snarl, making me flinch back.
Grabbing the bottle from her greedy hands, I leveled her with an icy stare. “Mina, go to the kitchen and get more water if you’re thirsty! I need to take this to Aurora.”
My harsh command seemed to penetrate her fevered state. “Of course. I’m sorry. I’m just so thirsty.”
“I know. Go get more. The water is still running.”
None
of us had bathed in days. The only positive aspect of that was that we hadn’t run out of water. Not that it mattered. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had anything to drink. We probably had gallons upon gallons of our daily ration that we never touched.
Holding the bottle tightly to my chest, I walked unsteadily to the other bedroom.
Aurora was still lying in the same position as before. I dropped to my knees at her side. “Bug? I have some water. Here, drink it.”
She gazed at the ceiling. Similar to Lars, she seemed to be in a world of her own. “What did you say, Mom?” She giggled. “I know. I thought the same thing. It was really funny when that rabbit hopped by. I think he was pink.”
She giggled again.
“Aurora!” My loud voice didn’t faze her. She continued to stare at the ceiling while conversing with a mother only she could see.
I forced the water to her lips and poured some into her mouth.
She sputtered and pushed it back. “What is that? Are you trying to poison me?” She pushed up abruptly and scurried to the corner of the room, her skinny body flailing in her haste before she collapsed from the exertion. Her eyes flashed wildly as her head darted around. Those bright-blue eyes never fell on me. Instead, her head whipped back and forth. More hallucinations. “No! Stay back! Don’t come near me!”
My breath caught as nausea again threatened to overwhelm me. I sat back on my haunches and took a deep breath while closing my eyes. Just let it pass. Let the nausea pass and then help her.
When the quivering in my stomach finally ceased, I turned my attention back to my youngest sister. Her wild-eyed look remained. “Aurora, it’s me. Davin. Your brother. Remember?”
“You’re trying to kill me! I knew it. Mom told me not to trust you. She told me to stay away from you!” The words sounded raspy, as if her throat were made of sandpaper.
My heart ripped into a thousand pieces. As heat rushed into my face, I had the overwhelming urge to cry. But there were no tears. My body was too dry to make any.
“I’m just trying to give you some water, Bug. Please, drink it.”
“No! You’re trying to poison me. Stay away!”
I eventually gave up and backed off. I left the water bottle near her in case she changed her mind. Within seconds, she returned to staring at the ceiling and giggling again.
What am I going to do? What in the world am I supposed to do?
My phone buzzed from where it lay on the bedside table. My muscles screamed in protest when I grabbed it. A text from my mother appeared.
Davin? Talk to me. What’s going on?
I swiped my phone and saw a half-dozen missed calls from my mother. Strange. I never heard it ring. I checked to see if there was anything from Nick. Nothing. I hadn’t heard anything from him for two days. He’s probably dead.
My fingers felt stiff when I tapped in a reply. The skin on my hands and forearms seemed to stretch across bone and muscle. I’d lost weight. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten.
We’re sick, but we’re fine.
It was all I could manage as a reply, despite the latter being a complete lie, but I couldn’t tell my mother how bad it was. Knowing that would kill her.
The phone clattered against the bedside table when I dropped it. Fatigue washed through me at the Herculean effort it had taken to retrieve the water. As the darkness descended, my eyelids became too heavy to keep open. Slouching to my side, I succumbed to the exhaustion that swallowed me whole. I’ll sleep for a little bit. Just a few minutes, and then I’ll get up and help everybody again.
BANGING WOKE ME. Shouts came next. I groggily opened my eyes and lifted my head.
Bright sunlight made me wince as I gazed around the bedroom. My mouth felt like the Sahara.
“Aurora?” The word came out in a hoarse whisper.
Banging came again from the front of the house. Somebody was pounding on the front door. “Open up! MRRA!”
I rolled to my little sister. Thankfully, the nausea seemed to be gone. So was the fever, but the pain in my muscles . . . I cried out in agony as I struggled to reach Aurora’s side. It felt as if a thousand sharp knives were stabbing me again and again. Even blinking hurt.
Raspy, shallow wheezes came from her as I hovered at her side. The weak sounds rattled her thin chest. My gaze traveled over her gray, patchy skin.
I grasped her hand, which made fire again fill my body. It was agony, even worse than it had been a few minutes ago.
I gritted my teeth to keep from crying out just as another round of rapid knocking came from the front of the house.
“MRRA! This is your last warning! If you don’t open up, we’re coming in!”
Let them come. I didn’t see any point in getting up. The thought of standing made me shudder. And it wasn’t as though it mattered. I knew the end was near.
Despite the raging inferno that roared through my muscles, I sat up and pulled my sister into my lap.
Her head lolled listlessly to the side. Taught skin covered her skeletal cheeks.
“Bug? Can you hear me?” My eyes stung, but tears refused to form. “Aurora?” A sob choked me, making my parched throat tighten even more.
Putting my finger to her neck, I felt for a pulse. A faint, thready throb leaped erratically under my fingertip.
I barely heard the crash of the front door being pushed in. My tiny baby sister felt empty and cool as she lay dying in my arms.
“I love you, Bug. I’ll always love you.” I cradled her to my chest and rocked against the inferno inside me. “I’ll always love you, Bug. Always . . .”
I rocked and rocked and rocked as her body grew cooler and heavier.
Shouting filled the house, nonsensical words from people I didn’t know.
Large men in white suits appeared around us. When they tried to take Aurora away, I snarled and thrashed. “Don’t touch her!”
The white-suited man stood back as more men moved into the room behind him. “Sir! She’s gone! You need to let her go.” The soldier speaking hovered in the doorframe, his eyes hidden by black goggles reminiscent of a giant fly.
“She’s not! She’s not dead! She’ll be fine!” I shouted the words, but only a harsh whisper came out.
The soldier turned to another MRRA worker as my sister’s bowels let loose. The contents of her body spilled onto my legs as the horror of what was happening sank in.
My heart pounded against my ribs as I gripped her tighter. “No, Bug. No! Please, stay with me!”
I laid a trembling finger against her neck.
The weak strum of her heart was gone.
“No!” I crushed her to me as sobs poured from my throat. I rocked her again as agony and grief ripped through me like a never-ending black hole.
The white-suited men stood above me, but all I saw were the dull blue eyes staring unseeing at nothing from the sunken face of a young girl that had once been my sister.
“Get the tranq gun. He’s not going to come quietly.” The soldier’s voice filled the room.
The last memory I had in my father’s decaying house was of holding my dead sister’s body before a pain pricked my arm.
As a dark fog descended in my mind, I knew I would never see Aurora again.
10 – CHANGE
The sound of canvas flapping in the breeze filled my ears. An opening zipper came next. Following that was a moan.
My eyes cracked open to see whiteness above. It billowed and moved, like a curtain in the wind. The whiteness was everywhere.
When I lifted my head, my body roared in protest. The fire consuming me had doubled. Every single movement brought stabbing pain.
Ignoring the agony, I bolted to sitting.
The movement was impossibly fast, as if I were down one second and up the next nanosecond.
But that wasn’t what fazed me. Instead, it was the beds.
Rows and rows of makeshift, camp-like beds stared back at me. Billowing walls of white surrounded them.
&nbs
p; Shallow breaths filled my chest. The white fabric exterior and roof flapped in the wind.
I’m in a quarantine tent.
People lying down stretched out around me. Most of them didn’t move. A few moaned, the sounds pitifully weak and defenseless. A sheet was draped over each person. Some of those sheets also covered their faces.
They’re dead. Those are the dead ones.
My gut tightened.
At the far end of the tent was a single soldier wearing the white biohazard suit. After assessing her build, I guessed she was a woman. She held an electronic tablet, stood in front of a covered person, and seemed to be documenting something.
She’s documenting the dead.
Panic filled me, making it hard to breathe. Swallowing down the rising tide of emotions, I screamed for my siblings. “Aurora! Mina! Lars! Elliot!”
A thin white sheet covered my legs. I ripped the sheet off and leaped from the bed, grimacing in agony as the inevitable knives needled into every muscle fiber.
I shouted my siblings’ names again and again as I stood in a sea of white.
Then the horrific memory came crashing back—the memory of me in my father’s house as my youngest sister died in my arms.
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut before doubling over as a suffocating feeling clenched my chest. No! The abrupt movement brought the stabbing pain in my muscles to an entirely new level, but it was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.
Aurora. She’s gone . . .
“Sir?” The soldier who had been documenting the dead stood several beds away. “Sir? Are you all right?”
I stayed doubled over. Sobs wracked my chest. The sound of my cries filled the large white prison.
The soldier walked cautiously toward me. Her footsteps shuffled along the ground.
Peering up, I spied the gun resting in the holster on her hip.
I wiped the tears from my cheeks, barely registering that I was no longer dehydrated. “Where are my brothers and sisters?”
She stopped two beds away. I had no idea what she looked like under her biohazard suit and dark goggles. It was as if I were talking to an alien, another being who had colonized our planet and was dissecting us one by one in her secret laboratory.
The Complete Makanza Series: Books 0-4 Page 6
