The doctor let his pack drop to the floor and frantically sifted through it. He talked to himself and mumbled aloud about wishing for a damned flashlight. He held up the injector with shaky hands.
“Hurry,” Erika said. She handed him the packet of antiviral nodules.
Dr. Randall inspected the packet. “I hope I’m doing this correctly.” He tried to pinch the small nodule with his fingers, but they shook so badly, he couldn’t get a grip. “Erika, you’ll need to load the antiviral. Put it there, in the chamber.”
Erika quickly realized why Dr. Randall had trouble. The nodules were tightly stored in a plastic container, packed into a chamber. It took her several tries, but she was finally able to pinch the nodule out with her fingers. Her hand trembled as she gently placed it in the tiny chamber of the small injection gun. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and handed the gun back to Dr. Randall.
Erika found Ian’s hand and grasped it in hers. It was ice cold and dry. For a moment she feared he was dead. Her fingers trembled as she moved them to his wrist. She pressed down and could find no heartbeat.
Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I … I think he may be dead,” Erika whispered.
Dr. Randall knelt across from her and placed his fingers on the side of Ian’s neck. He sat very still and looked off into the darkness.
“He’s not dead. Not yet anyway.”
Erika sighed a heavy sigh of relief. She kissed Ian’s forehead. As her lips touched his temple, his skin was raised with bumps. Her hands rushed to feel his face and neck and found that he was covered in large skin boils, and there was a sticky liquid around his nose and eyes.
“Dr. Randall, what’s this around his eyes?”
The doctor injected one of the precious antiviral nodules into Ian’s upper left arm. Ian didn’t even jerk or bristle with pain from the injection. He felt Ian’s face with his free hand then put the hand to his nose and smelled. “It’s blood.”
“Around his eyes?”
Dr. Randall nodded.
Erika didn’t ask the inevitable question. She knew the answer. Bleeding from the eyes wasn’t a good sign. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffed. “Will he –”
Dr. Randall reached a hand across Ian’s body and put it on Erika’s hand still resting in Ian’s. “I don’t know. All we can do now is wait. He’s likely hemorrhaging inside. I just hope he’s not bleeding in the brain. If we could only get him to a hospital, now that the antiviral is on board, they may be able to save him. But without IV fluids, coagulates and a blood transfusion –”
“Then we need to get to their ship. Now.”
“We can’t move him. Not in this condition. I can’t carry him, can you?”
“But we can’t sit here and watch him die. I have to do something. Anything.”
They sat beside Ian, each on either side of him. Silently they waited and thought. Erika had no idea what Dr. Randall was noodling on, but Erika thought only of getting Ian out of that room that smelled of death and rot. Even though Xenos was ill from the humidity, Erika could carry her along. But I can’t carry Ian too.
Dr. Randall broke the silence. “We need to find Tex. He could levitate Ian out of here.”
“Are you crazy? He’s cozy with the Conexus. He betrayed us, Dr. Randall.”
“I –”
“I know you don’t want to believe it, but facts are facts. Where’s he been, huh? While we’re in this godforsaken stink hole of a room – you being tortured; Ian and I fighting to live – Tex was nowhere to be found. And why do you think that is? Because he was the one who delivered you right to them, like they wanted.”
“I can’t … I just can’t believe he’d do that.”
“Why would he have any reason to be loyal to the man who imprisoned him in the first place?”
Dr. Randall was silent. Even in the dim light, Erika could see his shoulders shake from his sobbing.
“Dr. Randall – I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”
He took off his glasses and wiped his face with his grimy shirt sleeve. “It’s all right, Erika. You’re right, of course. Right about it all. I just … he was the only son I ever had. Or the closest thing to it, anyway. And when he came for me – when he found me in Aphthartos. Well, my heart swelled with pride and joy. I thought … Well, I thought that maybe he felt about me the way I’d always felt about him. That maybe he had found a way to forgive me for my crimes against him.”
Erika had put her foot in her mouth more than a few times in her life, but she had never felt more like a complete turd blossom than she did then. She would have given anything to be able to reel those last words she spoke back into her face.
And then a thought occurred to her. Even if it wasn’t true, she thought it might be of some comfort to Dr. Randall. “Maybe they controlled him too. I mean, who knows? Maybe if he did betray you, he did it because they were controlling his mind.” The idea eased her mind a little.
Erika sensed movement behind her. She whipped her body around and was reaching for the gun slung on her back when she realized it was Xenos.
“Xenos, you should rest,” Erika said.
The Infractus sat down heavily beside Erika. “Your friend. The one like me.”
“Yes. We call him Tex.”
“They call him 9. And 9 is in trouble.”
“What do you mean?” Dr. Randall asked.
Xenos breathed heavily. She sounded like an asthmatic in need of a rescue inhaler. “He’s … wheeze, wheeze … they try to … wheeze, wheeze, wheeze … he won’t …”
Erika refrained from grabbing the small creature by the shoulders and shaking the words out of her. “He won’t what?” she asked. Her voice conveyed all the impatience she felt.
“He won’t … submit.”
“Submit to what?” Dr. Randall asked. His voice was pitched and full of worry.
“He … resists. He … they …”
Oh, for the love of God, spit it out! In Erika’s mind, this statement was followed by a good shake and a slap across the face. But the last time she’d shown her impatience to Xenos, the girl nearly crumpled into a blubbering ball of mush. Erika tilted her head back, took a deep breath and asked, “Is Tex in danger?”
Xenos nodded her head slowly. “Great … great danger.”
Xenos’ words flitted across Erika’s consciousness like a butterfly fluttering over a flower. It hovered there and didn’t quite land.
But Dr. Randall apparently had no problem processing this new information. “We must go to him,” he pronounced.
“No, we don’t. I have to stay with Ian. I have to wait for him to recover; then I’m beating it the hell out of here.” Even with the new idea that Tex might not be the traitor to them that she suspected he was, she had to help Ian first.
Dr. Randall rose. “I must go to him. He’s the only son I’ll ever have.” He walked toward the door.
“Wait,” Erika said. “You don’t even know where you’re going. And you’re leaving without your gun or your pack?” Erika rose.
He looked at the pack on the floor and shook his head. “My mind is foggy. I’m not thinking straight. Please come with me. You can do nothing for Ian now. Either the medicine will work or it will not.”
“I can talk to him and let him know he’s not alone. And if any Conexus come, I can protect him.”
“But if we don’t go to Tex, he will surely die. Is that what you want?”
When he put it that way, of course the answer was no. She had told herself she didn’t care if he died. But even when she’d thought him a traitor, she still didn’t want him to die. The lie had helped her steel her heart to him. Easier to erase the pain if I hate the one who hurt me.
But she didn’t hate him. The thought of him dying made her heart ache. She thought she’d only been fascinated by him. Maybe it’s more. Now that she knew he too was being harmed by the Conexus, it was as though they were back at Commander Sturgis’ A.H.D.N.A. She hadn’t rescued him at all.
“No,” she said finally. “That’s not what I want.”
“I didn’t think so,” Dr. Randall said softly.
“But I don’t want to go off on a fool’s errand with you and come back here only to find Ian dead. Don’t you see? He’s my family, just like Tex is family to you.”
“I know that what I’m asking of you is difficult. But Tex is not only my son, he may be our best hope of saving Ian – of saving all of us. We’ll likely need his abilities if we’re to get out of this place alive.”
“If he isn’t too weak,” Erika said. Erika recalled how Tex translocated them from one vehicle to another and saved their bacon, of how he’d brought multiple men to their knees with only his thought, of how he’d stopped bullets in midair and bested Alecto in their battle. He had abilities that far exceeded what she’d seen from Xenos even when she wasn’t suffering the effects of high humidity. Dr. Randall was right. If they could keep Tex dry, he was an ally they didn’t want to leave behind.
“It’s a chance we have to take,” Dr. Randall said.
In regular life, there were rarely decisions that could, in fact, alter the course of a life. Coffee or tea? Chocolate or vanilla? Mexican food or Italian? People agonized over the little things as if they mattered when, in fact, none of it mattered in the slightest. A choice of tea over coffee would never end a life.
Erika knelt once more and pressed her lips to Ian’s lumpy forehead. His skin was as cool as a tile floor minutes before, but now heat radiated from him. I think that’s a good sign. I hope so anyway.
She kissed him lightly and smoothed his hair. “I’ll be back soon,” she whispered. “Rest easy, Ian. We’re going to go get Tex. He may be able to help you. To heal you faster. Okay? Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back for you. I promise.”
A tear slid down her face and landed on Ian’s burning cheek. He moaned as she wiped it from his face. It was the first sound he’d made since they’d been back from their medicine roundup errand.
“Ian?” she said.
But he didn’t respond. He shifted and tossed his head.
“I think he’s in pain. Dr. Randall, is there nothing you can do for him?”
“Pain is a good sign. He’s feeling again. The medicine is working. All we can do is wait. Xenos will stay with him, won’t you, dear?”
Xenos nodded. “I will watch him for you, Erika.” Her eyes blinked slowly as she said it. It looked like she was having trouble staying awake.
“But we need her to find the way.”
“I don’t think so. I know where I am, remember? And I’ve got a pretty good idea of where they’re keeping him.”
“How?” Erika asked.
“Just trust me.” Dr. Randall picked up his pack and slung a rifle across his shoulder.
Erika rose and put her pack back on. She handed one of the rifles to Xenos. “Keep your gun with you. And stay as alert as you can. If anyone – well, anyone besides us – comes in that door, shoot them.”
Xenos shook her head. “I – I cannot shoot this –”
“I doubt you will have need of the weapon,” Dr. Randall said. “The air is becoming more saturated with water. The Conexus are likely heading to Aphthartos. The city was not fitted with the humidifying system like the rest of A.H.D.N.A. It likely is less humid there and safer for them. They won’t risk coming back here.”
“Maybe you’re right. But in case you’re not, she has to have a way to protect herself. And Ian.”
Xenos’ eyelids were droopy. She yawned.
“We’ll be back for you. But if you feel like you’re not going to make it, get out of here. Go to a drier area. Okay?”
Xenos slowly nodded her giant head.
“Let’s go, Erika, before we’re too late.”
“You mean before they kill him?”
“No. Before he takes on too much moisture and drowns.”
Erika whispered, “I love you,” into Ian’s ear and rose to her feet. She followed Dr. Randall down the hall to their right. Her throat was tight with tears that had not fallen, her heart broken at the nagging feeling that she’d made the wrong decision.
27
JACK
Jack and Anna had spent two days sitting in the smelly car, staring at the entry to one of the richest plots of real estate in the world. The building, crafted of glass and polished, undulating steel, towered over the more squat concrete and glass buildings around it.
The car’s dash was littered with empty coffee cups. Jack ate sunflower seeds and spit the shells into an empty cup. He wondered if his spitting was driving Anna as crazy as the sound of her sucking Jolly Ranchers was grating on his nerves. If it did, she never said anything about it.
It was the morning of the third day, and Jack was determined that it would be their last. Thomas had found schematics for the building and penthouse.
“I didn’t even need to hack anything,” he’d said. “You gotta file all this stuff these days to get permits and stuff. I know where every rivet and nail is in that building.” He’d looked pleased with himself as he told them this.
Jack chalked up being an undercover cop to the list of jobs he’d never want to do. They were fresh out of small talk. And being ‘off-grid’, Jack didn’t have any virtual bubbles to pop or brainless YouTube videos to watch.
Anna craned her neck and had a set of small binoculars pressed to her eyes. She was trying to see the top floor.
“Can you see anything?” Jack had a mouth full of sunflower seeds. He spit out a shell.
“No.” She put the binoculars back onto the dash between two empty paper cups. Anna put her arms on the steering wheel and plopped her head down onto them. “Why did I have to insist on leaving my phone behind?” She peered at him through a veil of blonde hair that hung over her face.
“Don’t look at me. You’re the brains of this operation.” He spit another shell into his cup.
Anna smiled at him and sighed. “I’m thinking if we don’t see anything interesting today, that we go to plan B.”
“I’m all for that. What’s plan B?”
Anna tilted her cup back and drained it. “I have no idea.”
Fair enough. He was just glad to hear she was willing to admit that watching the building, hoping it would magically tell them something, was a waste of time. “I suggest plan B includes us getting into that building. We can pose as maintenance or delivery maybe.”
“Good idea.” Anna unlocked her door. “Too much coffee. I’ll be back in a few. Let’s talk about your ideas for plan B when I get back.”
While Anna was gone, the same thing happened that had happened for more than two days. Normal-looking people walked into the building and other normal-looking people walked out. Not one of them was William or Lizzy Croft. None of them wore a black uniform like the ones Jack had seen Croft’s men wear at A.H.D.N.A.
Anna knocked on the window. Jack had nearly nodded off and the sound startled him awake. He unlocked the door to let her back in.
The morning was chilly and Anna breathed into her hands to warm them. “So? Anything happen while I was away?”
“Not. A. Thing.”
Anna chuckled. “How would you know? You were watching with your eyes closed.”
“Just resting them a bit.” He yawned and stretched his arms overhead. His hands hit the ceiling of the car.
Anna picked up the binoculars and resumed watching the doorman. “So tell me about her.”
“Who?”
“Your girlfriend.” She looked toward Jack. “Tell me about Erika.”
Jack quickly scanned his memories and couldn’t recall ever telling Anna that Erika was his girlfriend. How did she know that? Erika had once been his girlfriend, anyway. Before the end of the summer and things got weird. Before Erika had shoved Jack into the friend zone. But toward the end – before she left – Jack thought maybe they’d moved past that hurdle. She’d kissed him and meant it. And right before she disappeared into the blinding white light, Jack cou
ld have sworn she mouthed ‘I love you’.
Or maybe he’d only wished for that. His memories were mixed in with dreams. He couldn’t be certain anymore of anything when it came to Erika. Only that the memory of kissing her and remembering that he was unlikely to ever see her again made his throat tight.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to …” Anna put the binoculars back on the dash and unwrapped another Jolly Rancher.
A purple one. Erika’s favorite color.
“It must be hard. To lose someone you love.”
Jack’s voice was defensive. “She’s not dead.”
Anna held up her hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you angry. Just trying to make conversation.” She went back to staring at the building.
Jack wished he could talk about Erika. He yearned to remember every detail about her and their time together. But he couldn’t talk about her – even think about her – without being reminded that she was lost to him. The pain was too raw to share, like a festering sore that you keep covered until it scabs over.
“I’m not ready. To talk about her, I mean.” He spit a shell out. “I said she’s not dead. But she could be. And even if she’s not, I’ll never see her again, so it’s like she’s dead.”
Anna gave him her attention once again. Her eyes were soft and she wore a small smile. “I’ve never had what you had with Erika.”
“What do you think I had with her?”
“I don’t know. Love, I guess. It sucks that you found someone and – lost her.”
Jack nodded. “Yep. That about covers it.” He had to get into a smug mood about it or he’d break down.
Anna put her small cold hand on his arm. “I know we’re not exactly friends and that you may not want to talk about it yet. But if you ever need to talk, I can be a pretty good listener.”
Jack glanced down at her pristinely manicured hand on his arm and tried not to think about how he was warming to her despite every attempt not to. It was nearly to the point of becoming awkward when something in his view over Anna’s shoulder caught his eye. “Hey. Look there.”
A man dressed in a black uniform with a gold Makers logo on the breast pocket emerged from the apartment building. He stood for a moment and looked up the street in the opposite direction of them.
H.A.L.F.: The Makers Page 18
