by Max Lockwood
“That sounds great,” she replied. Not only did the meal sound good, but it also quelled her fears of having drugs slipped into her food.
“She said it’s fine, Simon,” he called back to the kitchen. A moment later, a cart was pushed out with two covered plates. While the chef returned to the kitchen to get the dessert cart, Melissa grabbed the plate closest to Callum. Now she felt safe that her food was not tampered with. Callum seemed unfazed by the trade.
Melissa picked up her fork, but she was too nervous about the date to eat. Instead, she moved food around her plate, trying to act like she was interested in what was in front of her.
Callum noticed this immediately and set his fork and knife down on the edges of his plate.
“You hate it, don’t you?” he asked, dismayed. “I’m sorry. I can call Simon back here to make something else if you want.”
“No, it’s not that,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I’m just a little nervous, that’s all.”
“Nervous about what?”
“Being on a date,” she said sheepishly.
He tried to rein in his smile and looked down at his plate. “To be honest, I’m a little nervous, too. It’s been a while since I’ve dated. I’m a little bit intimidated by you.”
“Me?” Melissa squeaked.
“I have a thing for strong women,” he said. “I haven’t known you for long, but I’ve seen you when you’re angry. You don’t take no for an answer.”
“I try not to,” she replied. “But believe me, you don’t have any reason to feel intimidated by me. You’re the one who’s the mayor of this town.”
“I guess you’re right.” He chuckled. “Now that we have this in the open, let’s just have a glass of wine, enjoy our dinner, and relax. It’s not often that I get to relax and enjoy myself. I’m sure you feel the same way.”
After their conversation, Melissa managed to lighten up, just a little. She was still on edge about meeting all of her talking points she had rehearsed with Alec and Bobby Dean, but she tried to enjoy her conversation with Callum. After all, talking to Callum was easy. He asked a lot of questions about her life and her interests. When Melissa grew tired of talking about herself, he took over and spoke about his background. She realized that they were more alike than she once thought. They both grew up in affluent areas and their families expected a lot from them. They were able to commiserate about losing friends and family and laugh about times they’d tried to rebel against their strict upbringing.
In any other circumstance, Melissa could see herself being friends with Callum. If he had any interest in her in their normal lives, then she would be pretty thrilled to have the attention of such a charming, handsome man. But as Ariel pointed out, there were few good choices of mates to choose from these days. If Melissa hadn’t been the most suitable candidate to Callum, then she knew he would likely find someone closer to his caliber.
Callum was talking about his dad’s plans for the town when he mentioned the hospital and the cure. Her eyes lit up. Feeling good with a few glasses of wine in her system, she decided to go for it. Callum seemed to have relaxed considerably. If he didn’t want to talk about it, he would certainly find a way around it.
“Ooh, tell me about the cure,” she said, trying hard to flirt. “I’m really interested in it. It’s so amazing that you found someone smart enough to figure it out.”
“I can’t take all the credit,” he said. “I just happened to meet up with a very talented neurosurgeon.”
“Neurosurgeon?” Melissa asked. “I figured you would have to work with viruses to be able to cure the strain that’s killing everyone.”
“No, this guy really knows his stuff. Because the virus attacks the brain, my doctor developed a treatment that no one else thought of. It’s pretty remarkable, really.”
“Oh,” Melissa said, trying to figure out how a surgeon had managed to figure out a cure before Elaina did. After all, she was supposed to be the best virologist in the country.
“Did I mishear something, or was one of your friends working on the virus cure?”
“Yeah, she is,” Melissa said, feeling defensive of Elaina. “She’s pretty brilliant. I wouldn’t say she’s my friend, though. We were traveling together before we got split up. She’s better friends with Alec.”
“I see,” Callum said with a twinkle in his eye. “The girl in New York. I gather they’re romantically involved.”
“That’s how it seems,” Melissa replied.
“Do they think they’re hiding it well?” Callum asked. “Ever since the virus came about and strangers who would normally never have the time of day for each other had to work together, I’ve seen more mismatched relationships than you would believe.”
Melissa laughed. “Yeah, they totally think they’re getting away with it. She’s pretty socially awkward, so it’s kind of funny to see them interact.”
“I hope to meet her one day. Maybe she’ll make it back here and she can work in the hospital. Our cure is functional, but it’s complicated. I know our surgeon is always looking for ways to be more efficient and have a better outcome for the patient. What exactly is she working on?”
“I’m not exactly sure what the science is behind it,” Melissa said. “That’s out of my area of expertise.”
“Do you have a general idea?” he asked. “I just find it all very fascinating. I don’t know a lot about science either, but it’s interesting to hear about different ways to solve a problem.”
“Well, like I told you, she studies viruses. She was in the same lab where the epidemic started. Since she was there, I think she has a better idea than most about how to stop it.”
“Really?” Callum said, clearly impressed. “That’s remarkable. Well, I hope she succeeds in making vaccinations, at the very least. She won’t have the first cure, but what she’s doing is very interesting, all the same.”
They continued talking through dinner, each one taking turns disclosing tiny bits of information about themselves. By the time they had dessert, they had built up a certain level of trust. Melissa felt like an ambassador of sorts, being the sensible go-between with Callum and her travel companions. At one point, he even hinted that there could be benefits to being his friend. It was all too enticing to Melissa. She couldn’t be sure, but she felt like she was on the verge of having Callum wrapped around her finger.
“I don’t want this night to end,” Callum said, looking longingly at their empty dessert plates. Between the savory meat, the warm chocolate melting cake, and the sweet wine, Melissa felt like she was floating.
“I don’t either,” she admitting, surprising herself more than she surprised Callum. “I had my doubts, but this has been really nice. I’m glad you did all of this for me.”
“I have an idea,” he said conspiratorially. “There’s a little bar behind the restaurant, like a lounge. Why don’t we kick off our shoes, have another drink or two, and just pretend like we aren’t in the nicest refugee camp in this country? I don’t want to be a mayor right now. I just want to be a guy, spending an amazing evening with a beautiful woman.”
Melissa blushed, her heart doing tiny back flips. “Okay,” she said, letting Callum take her by the hand. On their way to the lounge, he grabbed two champagne flutes and a bottle.
Wandering through the dark, with only Callum’s hand to guide her, the nervous feeling returned. This time, it was a different kind of nervousness. What if things became serious and Callum wanted to kiss her? She kind of wanted to, but she was still so conflicted with Thomas and Bobby Dean in the periphery. What if things went even further? If it did, it would make her feel better if she could get come information or some other benefit from it. Otherwise, it seemed selfish and hedonistic.
With the strike of a match, Callum lit the fireplace. Soft light and crackling wood made for the perfect date atmosphere in the small lounge.
“Before the hippies made this place a commune, Safe Haven was an affluent community during the gold r
ush days. Business people went out west to find gold, then returned to this spot to set up a home. I guess in a way, it’s no different from how it is now—people are heading back this way when the west isn’t what they hoped it would be.”
“That’s interesting,” Melissa said, settling into a plush couch. Callum sat next to her, tentatively placing an arm around her shoulder.
“That’s why the hotel is so nice, but the rest of the town has sort of fallen by the wayside. I don’t think anyone but the two of us have even been in this part of the restaurant in years. Once this is all over, I think I’d like to redevelop it into what it used to be.”
“What about Safe Haven?” she asked. “Won’t the current residents feel displaced?”
“I suppose time will tell. It’s hard to predict how people will move once they no longer have to fear the virus. Where would you go?”
“Oklahoma,” Melissa answered without missing a beat. “I’m going to go to my grandparents’ house. They’re the only family I have left.”
“Well,” Callum said, taking her hand in his, “I hope you come back to visit me.”
He planted a soft kiss on her cheek. Melissa’s stomach buzzed. She was very attracted to him, but there was a tiny voice in the back of her mind telling her to be careful. The only problem was, the tiny threat of danger seemed to arouse something within her that she never knew existed. She had always stayed safe and followed the rules. Now, she wanted nothing more than to come within inches of the fire, just to feel its heat but not enough to get burned.
20
Once Melissa left for her date, Alec laced up his work boots. Bobby Dean and Ariel were still arguing and it was starting to make his head hurt. He hadn’t even had the chance to be formally introduced to Ariel. Something about seeing Melissa talking to Bobby Dean was more interesting to him than the newcomer in the suite’s bedroom.
“I hate to interrupt,” Alec said facetiously, “but we really should be going. It’s hard to know how long this date will last.”
“Where are you going?” Ariel demanded.
“Alec and Melissa’s friend is in the hospital and is very sick,” Bobby Dean said. “We’re going to visit him.”
“I want to go too.”
Alec pursed his lips. He didn’t know Ariel well enough to create an excuse tailored toward her sensibilities.
“Only two visitors at a time,” Bobby Dean lied. “Callum told us that this morning. You can go tomorrow.”
She scowled. “I don’t want to go to the stupid hospital anyway. I think you guys are up to something.”
“Nope, just going to make sure this kid is getting enough chicken soup,” Bobby Dean replied. “You should probably stay here. Once Melissa’s done breaking Callum’s heart, you’ll want to stick around to pick up the broken pieces.”
“Really?” she asked eagerly. “Okay, I’ll be right here,” she said, subconsciously smoothing her hair.
Alec and Bobby Dean managed to leave the hotel without any trouble. The lobby was empty and the receptionist wasn’t at her post at the desk. Alec had the urge to peek inside the dimly-lit restaurant, but he resisted. He trusted that Melissa knew what she was doing.
As the pair walked down the dirt road toward the hospital, they passed a woman in scrubs heading toward the market. Her top was covered in indistinguishable stains and her hair was piled on top of her head and held in place with a rubber band.
“Excuse me,” Alec said, approaching the woman. “Do you work at the hospital?”
“Yes,” she said warily, “but if you have a medical concern, you should just go over there to get checked out. I’ve been on duty for twenty-four hours and I just want to get home.”
“No, it’s not that. I was just wondering if you’ve seen a man around the hospital. He came here with a sick daughter.”
“He’s average height, has a bit of a beer belly, and has grey hair around his ears,” Bobby Dean said. “His name is Mike and he talks about his daughter a lot. Does that narrow things down for you?”
The woman shrugged. “He’s with his sick daughter. I don’t know what else to tell you.”
“So he’s okay?” Bobby Dean asked. “We just haven’t heard from him in a while.”
“Yeah, he’s fine,” she said, rushing off before they could ask her any more questions.
“Well, I guess that solves that mystery,” Bobby Dean said. “I’m not really sad he’s not staying in our hotel room. I don’t think he liked us very much. But maybe that’s because we forced him to give us a ride and we shoved his daughter in the trunk. Anyway, let’s check up on your friend.”
They picked up the pace, hoping to figure out what was going on with Thomas before Callum noticed they weren’t in the hotel. That was, until they saw the kids who’d escorted them back to the hotel the last time they went snooping.
“He’s sicced his goons on us again,” Bobby Dean hissed.
“Wait,” Alec whispered. The kids walked down the road in front of them, not aware that Alec or Bobby Dean were just feet away from them. They did not speak or look around as they walked but moved in a straight line, as if they were on autopilot.
“Where are they going?” Alec wondered. If they kept walking in a straight line, they would eventually run into an old garage.
“I don’t want to find out,” Bobby Dean said. “Those kids give me the creeps.”
Alec quietly followed the boys, curious about them and their destination. As he predicted, they entered the building, walking straight through a flowerbed and a small puddle to get there.
“I’m going to take a quick look,” Alec said. “You can stay back if you want.”
Bobby Dean held his ground for a second, but being alone made him feel even less at ease. The sun was starting to set and people were returning to their homes. He jogged to catch up with Alec, hoping he’d make it quick.
Alec found a dusty window to peer through, but what he saw on the other side of the glass confused him so much that he waved Bobby Dean over to verify what he was witnessing. Wordlessly, he gestured to Bobby Dean and pointed to the window. Bobby Dean took a quick glance and took a step back.
“What the hell?” he sputtered. “What is going on here?”
Alec looked back into the garage. The two pale boys had joined at least thirty other people of all ages. The youngest were around five or six years old and the oldest were in their fifties. What was striking to Alec was that they all moved in the same dopey manner that the boys did.
“What are they doing?” Bobby Dean asked, returning to look again.
“They’re sorting that pile of stuff,” Alec said. “Callum told me that the trucks go out to collect supplies. They must just dump everything in the middle and have these people sort them.”
Sure enough, there was a pile of women’s shirts in one corner and toiletries in another. A middle-aged woman padded across the concrete floor to pick up a single pair of men’s trousers and carried it to its designated spot, dropping it on the floor.
“They look like those boys,” Alec said. “It’s the strangest thing. It’s one thing to have two kids with the same mental disability, but to have this many . . .”
“Are you surprised?” Bobby Dean said, stepping away from the garage. “This town has got to be full of inbreds.”
Alec studied the demographic of people inside the garage. Bobby Dean’s theory might have made sense, but there were people of different ethnicities and ages.
“I don’t know about that,” Alec said. “Even with inbreeding, you don’t have that many developmental disabilities. Besides, remember the massive scar on the kid’s head? He seemed like he was suffering from a traumatic brain injury. I don’t think it was genetic.”
“Whatever it is, I don’t like it,” Bobby Dean said. “Let’s go to the hospital and then get the hell out of here. We’ll wait in the room for Melissa.”
“Fine,” Alec said. He was still puzzled by the laborers in the garage, sifting through supplies a
s if they were robots programmed to do that work. No one spoke or even acknowledged that there were other people in there. They just picked up items and sorted them into piles.
When they got to the front door of the hospital, Bobby Dean grabbed Alec’s shoulder.
“We tried this before,” Bobby Dean warned. “If you look like you’re snooping, they’re going to kick you out. If anyone asks, just say you’re sick. Better yet, pretend that Thomas is your brother. They seem to let family in.”
This time when they walked in, there was no one in the entrance waiting to turn loiterers away. A young woman sat at the front desk, her head lolling as she struggled to stay awake.
“Can I help you?” she asked sleepily, her head snapping up to attention. “We didn’t mean to wake you, sweetheart,” Bobby Dean said in his kindest voice. “We just came back to see our brother, Thomas. Is he still in the same room, or has he been moved?”
She quickly sifted through pages in a notebook before finding Thomas’s name. “Yes, he’s still in Room 6. He’s been out of surgery for a few hours now and he’ll have to undergo some more treatment in the next few days, but his prognosis looks good.”
“Oh,” Alec said, trying to rein in his surprise at the extent of work that had been done on his companion. He didn’t want to tip the drowsy nurse off to the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be in there. “I guess I didn’t realize that he was having surgery today.”
“The doctor had an open time slot,” she replied. “I’m surprised you didn’t hear about this. He’s technically cured, but I would still avoid any exchange of body fluids, just to be safe.”
“Right,” Alec said. “Thanks.”
He hurried down the hall with Bobby Dean jogging to catch up.
“Exchange of bodily fluids?” Bobby Dean asked.
“He had the virus,” Alec said. That diagnosis didn’t come as surprise to him. The warning signs were all there. He just didn’t understand what surgery had to do with it.
“I wonder if he hurt himself in a rage,” Alec said. He envisioned the strange contortions of the Infected when restrained. He figured it wouldn’t be too unlikely that he’d dislocated a joint as he tried to break free.
