by Cass Kim
“Wait, what?” She couldn’t help the words popping out of her mouth.
“Ah, a true human reaction, this time.” He settled into a chair, crossing his ankle over one knee as if he hadn’t just told her that she may never have the chance to have children, even if she and Emerson were both Wilders and could touch and kiss and all of that. Well. She wouldn’t think about that. They’d barely done more than kiss.
He continued, oblivious to her thoughts. “Yes. The higher body temperature essentially cooks the sperm straight from production to death. And as for eggs. Well, they seem to be paused in production. Similar to when women’s body’s go into starvation mode. Have you had your period since you were Changed?” He did not wait for a reply. “Though, without sperm, eggs are rather useless anyhow.”
Frowning, Renna wished he’d stop saying ‘sperm’ so casually. Coming from this grown man, sitting here alone with her, with total control of the situation, it made her feel gross.
“Ah yes. I suppose I should be more careful of your feelings. Did you want to have a big family someday?”
Renna opened her mouth to tell him that, no, she didn’t really want that. Or at least, not as much as her best friend Alyssa always had. But she’d also always assumed she’d have one or two kids someday.
Before she could form any words, he held up one long finger, “I wouldn’t bother to answer if I were you. That fact is, what you want doesn’t factor into this experiment. It was a rhetorical question.” His lips turned up into a cold smile, high cheekbones disturbingly immobile.
She wished she could think of something witty to say. Or that she could cut him down with a snarky reply, like Alyssa would. Instead, she resolved to find a way to get and stay stronger. To help Syd and the Kim’s in their mission to gather information. Her strength would lie in her ability to appear meek.
With that in mind she tried to make her eyes well up. Maybe she could cry. Just a little. She snuffled, hoping he wouldn’t notice the lack of tears, and made her voice small and pitiful. “What— what are you going to do to help?”
“Continue to study the test subjects. That brings me back around to the question I would like an answer to. Have you had your period since you Changed?”
Biting her lip and wilting into herself further, Renna kept her voice soft, fearful. “No. I haven’t.” With all the other things happening, it wasn’t something she’d even taken into account before this moment. She would lock the potential meaning of that into the box, with her other fears. Her focus right now was on survival and securing a more comfortable way to sleep, so she could get stronger.
He picked up the notebook and made a notation in it. “I see. Were you regular before this?”
She didn’t have to fake the flush of her cheeks, the cringe away from these personal questions. “Yes. Usually within a day or two.”
“Interesting.” Another scratch of the pencil against the paper. “We’ll start with an ultrasound in the morning. For now, I need to focus on your brother and the aggression serum. One problem at a time.” He stood, zipping his jacket up. When he unzipped the tent flap, Renna saw the snowfall had picked up again. She heard him muttering to himself as he stomped into his boots, “When I started this project it was supposed to be much easier than this. Should be on a private jet drinking mineral water, not stuck in this archaic camp.”
Renna laid back on the table, careful to keep the blanket between her skin and metal. She thought about how fast her plan was working, how he hadn’t strapped her in this time, when a stout guy in camo came in to do just that.
Well, maybe it would take some time. But she’d get more freedom eventually. At least they’d left the blanket between her and the table. And turned off the light before leaving. That would help immensely. She would use this time to rest and then to prepare her body.
She wanted to be ready whenever help did come. Or able to make her own help, if it came to that.
23
Alyssa
“Can’t you go at least a little faster?” Alyssa shifted to sit up straight, peering down Hedy Street, hoping to see something that would catch her eye.
“You want me to drive unsafely in slippery road conditions when we don’t even know where you’re going?” Jeremy ground the words out, not hiding his frustration.
“We don’t have time to worry about the road conditions, we have to get to my friends and get the hell out of sight before five!” Alyssa snapped back.
“Tell me again where you’re meeting Renna and Ben.”
Alyssa thought about correcting him but decided now was not the time to risk his cooperation. “It’s this old gas station toward the woods. One that’s not in business anymore. It had a blue sign. I think it was Ecklestein road.”
Jeremy’s brows scrunched further down, meeting just above his eyes. “You mean Everdeen?
“Yes!” Alyssa slapped at his arm in relief. “That’s what is was.”
He shook his head, pressing the gas pedal a centimeter further down. “Okay. You idiot, that’s like one of the main roads if you follow it all the way East.”
“How should I know? Unlike you, I don’t have to go several towns over to meet dates.”
Grunting his annoyance, he accelerated even more. “I cannot wait to be around more people than you. God, it’s worse than having a sister.”
Alyssa snorted. “Be careful what you wish for.” She meant it to be teasing, but once the words left her mouth, she winced. Who knew how Jeremy would react to the Wilders? She hadn’t planned to actually bring him with her past the meet up. But now she didn’t have much choice. The bright green numbers of the dashboard clock glared out at her, counting down the time. Fifteen minutes left. She hoped like hell Emerson would continue his impeccable timing and be there waiting.
Moments of tense silence passed, both their eyes focused on the roads, peering for the unlit blue building. Alyssa left out a sigh of relief when the square outline became visible through the snowfall.
Jeremy eased his car into the driveway.
“Behind the building,” Alyssa directed him, jabbing at finger toward the building for emphasis.
Jeremy tightened his mouth but didn’t snap back. He turned the wheel in a slow arc, nosing into the back parking spaces.
Popping out of the door as soon as the car ground to a halt, Alyssa peered down the street. “Emerson!” she shouted. Of course, even if he were here, he’d be hiding from a car. He would be expecting her on foot.
“Shh!” Jeremy was behind her, gaze darting around. “What if there are more of them here?”
“The chances of Wilders running from town straight this spot is pretty unlikely.” Alyssa made the retort with a confidence she didn’t feel. The sun was dipping below the tree line, weakening light casting the grey clouds with an orange tinge.
Sunset was coming earlier each day. In the camp it hadn’t mattered much. But outside, in the middle of the largest outbreak in almost a decade, the last thing she wanted was the be out here, with her poor night vision and slow feet. The sooner they got to the camp Wilders, the better. She’d seen the protection they offered.
But first, they had to get to the woods.
“Alright, so,” She ran through her options in her head. “Let’s back the car as far into the woods as we can and unload the stuff in there. At least that way any cops doing drive throughs are less likely to see us.”
“You want me to back my car into the woods? The paint is going to get scratched.” Jeremy frowned, wiping a smudge of dirt from above the wheel well.
“Jeremy, get real. You almost died back there, and you’re still worried about the paint job on your car?”
“We both almost died. Not just me.”
“I’m better adjusted to the experience.”
He cocked his head, opened his mouth to reply, then shut it. Finally, he stomped around the front of the car, opening the driver’s door. “Why are we backing into the woods anyhow?”
“It’ll be fast
er to unload everything there, rather than carrying it from here to there.”
“Won’t the cops see the car sitting in the woods and find it suspicious? I’ll back it in, we’ll unload, then I’ll park it down the street a ways.”
Alyssa frowned. He had a point. But they were running out of time. “Fine. Good idea. Let’s get this done as fast as possible. I don’t always like you, but I’m not in the mood to see you gunned down in front of me by some well-meaning officer of the law.”
Jeremy nodded, sliding into the seat and spinning the wheels in the slush. Reversing through the back exit of the lot and across the open field to the edge of the woods, he eased the car through low bushes and browned ferns until the skinny trees were too close to wedge between.
Alyssa jogged behind the car, her legs sore but ready to work. If Emerson didn’t show up soon, they’d just have to keep hauling things a little further into the woods, a few yards at a time. The potential for getting lost, off track, or never found wasn’t too great if they went in short distances, one armful at a time. Ideally, it wouldn’t take many trips to be well concealed from safety sweeps. As for non-camp Wilders…well, that would be anybody’s guess, even with Emerson there. She wouldn’t feel safe from that threat until they were reunited with the full group.
With all of the frozen items stuffed into the coolers, it took both of them to heft one out of the trunk and to wiggle the other out of the back seat at the angle. It was more efficient than unloading a basketful of items in a chaotic parking lot, and within minutes they had a pile of food and medical supplies on the thin layer of snow over the forest floor. Jeremy darted back into the car and pulled it onto the street with five minutes to spare.
Alyssa held her breath as he parked, turning off the lights and grabbing his heavier winter coat and emergency blanket from behind his back seat. Of course Margret, his mother, had him well supplied for all potential disasters. With the snow falling as rapidly as it now was, their tire tracks should be covered from casual inspection within minutes.
Standing still and listening for the crunch of car tires or Emerson to be calling for her. Alyssa shivered, her breath making puffs of steam. They’d have to keep moving to stay warm.
Headlights emerged down Everdeen Avenue.
Alyssa held her breath. Moments before the lockdown it could only be two things: cops, or thieves. People didn’t like to talk about it, but during the original outbreaks and lockdowns, there had been many murders, fires, and thefts. In the isolated lockdowns between then and now, there were fewer, but looters still existed.
“Jeremy!” She shouted, gesturing wildly for him to stop digging around his car for the matching boot to the one in his hand and get his ass in gear. He wasn’t more than a block away, but if the car caught even a glimpse of his form in its headlights, it would be game over. She needed him next to her, flat out in the snow, hidden by the dead ferns and dying blueberry bushes. “Jeremy! You have to run! Now!”
He jerked up, clunking his head on the top rim of the door. Shooting her a glare and rubbing his head, it took him a long moment to look where she was frantically pointing.
The car’s headlights were now more than a dim yellow glow moving toward them in the snow. It was close enough that the light could be seen as two individual headlights.
Jeremy froze, looking torn between sprinting toward her, or trying to hide in his car.
Alyssa waved her arms wildly, “Get over here! They’ll check your car! All by itself out here? They’ll check your car!” Her voice broke with desperation. She’d said it flippantly, but she really didn’t know if she would survive seeing another part of her childhood destroyed by this virus.
The car continued inexorably forward, slow and smooth in the snow globe world.
Jeremy squared his body and braced his feet.
24
Renna
In the darkness Renna was shifting her weight around on the table, stretching the sore muscles in her back and legs, when she noticed an insistent brushing at the tent side, followed by a popping, pushing sound. Turning her head toward the sound, she could make out the shadow cast by the late afternoon sun against the canvas.
“Tim Tam!” she whispered, wondering if he could hear her through the thick material. His form stretched up, long and skinny, before he dropped back down and rubbed his body against the tent side. When he stretched up again, hooking his nails into the canvas and scratching, she knew where thee strange popping sound had come from.
Unsure if the soldiers knew he was there and ignored him, or if he had been sneaking around the past few days, Renna was grateful he was still alive and mobile.
The form slinking against the tent side froze at the sound of footsteps and darted away. With a heavy sigh, Renna gave thanks that her cat was okay, and rearranged her face into a defeated look. She relaxed so that her body lay limp on the table.
Through slitted eyelids, Renna traced the path of the zipper from the floor to head height. Who would it be this time? Royce Algin with more snide comments and needle pokes? Dr. Blake with news of a new marrow draw? A random solider to take the blanket from beneath her and begin her torture anew?
When a head full of springy curls poked into the tent, Renna opened her eyes fully. Syd stomped the crust of snow off her boots and unzipped her jacket. She didn’t take it off, as the tent, while okay for Renna’s increased warmth, was chilly by most standards.
“Alright, so you know how I said I put a note out for Emerson and we should be good to just sit and wait for him to bring the cavalry?” Syd started talking the second she’d finished fastening the entrance.
“Yeah, I think you said that.” Renna still felt like she only had pieces of the story.
“That ain’t gunna work anymore. I found some serious shit when I was in Royce’s storage tent.”
“He has a whole tent of storage here?”
Syd waved that away. “This spoiled bastard has whatever he wants. Except a cure to the virus. So, he keeps this weird conglomeration of paper notes and electronic notes. It took me a long while, but I finally cracked his passcode.”
Renna’s finger itched to be able to type her own passcode into a cellphone again. “Okay,” she muttered, waiting for the older girl to get to the point.
“Renna, we can’t wait for help. We have to get a plan and get out of here, and away from here, as soon as we realistically can.”
Thinking about Benjamin, Renna replied, “I thought we wanted to get more research done through this guy. You said he had a lot of good information.”
“He does. But my plans were based on him letting those of us that cooperate live. Or giving us some chance, at least. There’s not a shot in Hades that he’s going to let a single person not on his paid crew walk out of here alive. Not me. Not you. Not any of these scientists.”
“How do you know that? I mean, if we’re safe until he gets some answers, we should just wait until he figures out how to help Benjamin.”
“Look, I’ma try to figure this out so we get the best of both worlds. I want answers, but I ain’t lookin’ to die here for them. Not now that that I know what’s going on.”
Renna frowned, craning her neck to get a better look at Syd as she paced the small space.
Noticing, Syd flinched. “Sorry. I should’ve undone these straps as soon as I got in here.” Syd’s fingers made quick work of the restraints across Renna’s torso and legs. “I gotta set this information up for you right. It’s important that you understand the true depth of the situation. I gotta sneak out of camp again to leave a new note for Emers, and get a few extra notes in different spots, in case they come in from a different angle. The last thing we need is those guys waltzing into camp with no clue what’s happening here.”
Renna tipped her legs off the bed and righted herself, fighting a wave of dizziness from the sudden movement. “I’m listening, Syd. Tell it to me straight. I need to know what you know. I can help. I need to be able to help.”
“O
kay, so I found some serious documentation, and I memorized it. I want to email it to myself, or copy the files somehow, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure he’ll have some kind of security system in place to track that. Getting a copy will have to be one of the last things we do before we get out of camp.”
“What did the documents say?” Renna tried to keep her irritation out of her voice. How like Syd to rush in here and then take her time drawing out her news.
“It was from when he ran trials with no consent and no IRB approval with the plasma banks.”
“He’s running trials right now with no consent,” Renna’s voice was bitter as she adjusted the blanket, wrapping it up and around her shoulders. “What’s an IRB?”
“No, no, I mean before. And the IRB is the Institutional Review Board. It’s this body of scholars and scientists that have to approve a research project before it’s started. The IRB was built to protect the welfare and rights of the test subjects involved. Anything done has to be approved by them, whether it’s a survey, or a drug trial, or a behavior analysis.”
“Uh…did the IRB approve of this camp?” Seemed like a bit of glass houses and stone throwing to Renna, for Syd to be this upset about not getting approval from a government body for this type of research.
“No, you’re not getting what I’m saying.” Syd patted her hair back in place while thinking. “Let me try to explain this a different way. When freaking Royce Algin, from Algin pharmaceuticals showed up at this camp, I figured he paid one of the scientists from here to update him on when they had a decent vaccine. Money for that sort of thing is what these big pharma companies consider an investment. If they’re the first to patent a widely used drug or vaccine, they can charge exorbitant amounts for them. You follow?”
Renna nodded. “Yeah, so you just figured he had an inside source, and once the vaccine worked on me, and we had my brother, this source decided it was time for a payout.”
