by Coralee June
On the riverbank, Kemper stood with a frown. Naked and dripping with water, the three of us shook, our trembling limbs cold from the breeze hitting our skin. "Ash!" Huxley yelled. A light rustling through the trees and bushes drew my attention towards the east, and soon my fearless protector appeared.
“Cyler’s not doing well. And now we need to move faster than before,” Huxley said while eyeing Maverick in somber trepidation.
He didn’t have to say it out loud. We were all thinking it. It was only a matter of time before Maverick started showing symptoms of Influenza X. I closed my eyes for a breath, resolving to keep strong and push the worries I felt out of my mind. Huxley took off his shirt and tossed it at me, then reached in his backpack for some boxers and a spare pair of pants. “Get dressed. We will carry Cyler if we have to. I want to be in Galla within the hour. I hope you’re ready to run.”
Chapter Sixteen
I never thought I’d be so happy to see Galla. The tall buildings once flashing with advertisements and lights were now ruined. It was dark by the time we crept into town undetected. The guys took turns carrying Cyler’s limp body while Maverick hung back away from the group, too scared to potentially infect everyone.
The metropolis which was once booming with the Elite was now scarce. We only saw a couple of people, but they ran and hid the moment the six of us came into view. We didn’t run into any more Walkers, but there was a graveyard at the edge of Galla near the Walker Zone. We could smell the death the moment we got downwind of it. The stench made me gag and even woke up Cyler from his feverish delirium. Bodies were piled high, rotted corpses covered in boils and blood stained the ground. We circled around it, keeping away from the rot and decay. It was a sight I never wanted to see again. Everyone was dying. Everyone was killing each other.
“This is awful,” I murmured as we passed, regretting speaking the moment the words left my lips. I’d been holding my breath, and the moment I opened my mouth to speak, it was like death coated my tongue with its rancid stench.
Although we were exhausted, we continued to move quickly while keeping our eyes open for danger. I knew where the nearest hospital was, and prayed that it was still standing, despite the crumbled buildings and boarded up windows surrounding us. The Stonewells had taken me there when I was a little girl after Josiah dared me to climb a tree and I fell. I remembered feeling fascinated by the technology there. At the time, it was a painful experience, but now I felt relief that I even knew where it was.
The chill in the air kept wafting the smell of death towards us, making me nauseous. The moment my eyes connected with the hospital, I started sprinting towards it, praying that the healing pod would still be there.
The only reason I didn’t wrench open the door and storm into the seemingly abandoned hospital was because Jacob intercepted and stopped me. “Let me check it out first. Make sure there’s no squatters or Walkers,” his mindspeak said while gripping my arm to pull me back. He was right, but I was still frustrated to have to wait any longer. Time was of the essence. We had to save Cyler then find Payne so that we could save…
Maverick.
I turned to look back at him, noticing how his steps were staggered. I couldn’t tell if he was weak from the sprinting we just did for the last hour to get here or if he was feeling the beginning stages of X. “I’ll only be a minute,” Jacob assured me before slipping inside the dark building. Kemper quickly followed after him.
It took all of ten minutes for them to inspect the hospital, but the entire time, it felt like I was holding my breath. Now that Maverick had been exposed to X, I worried that the rest of my men would succumb to the same fate. Cyler groaned, and I turned around to stare at him. His shirt was completely soaked with blood, as were the rest of my men. Pulling Huxley’s shirt down so that it covered more of my ass, I walked closer to him and inspected the bleeding wound. If there weren’t a functioning healing pod here, he would undoubtedly die.
Kemper poked his head out of the door and whistled at us. Looking side to side, he then motioned us in. I helped Huxley guide a feverish Cyler to the door while Patrick ignited a lighter to illuminate the space inside. Inside, Kemper was working with the power box, likely trying to find a generator while Maverick made quick work of searching for the healing pod. Luckily, healing pods were large and weighed too much to be stolen, so it was still plugged in over in the corner.
It looked like a giant tube, and Mav raised the lid before gasping. After setting Cyler on the floor, Huxley and I ran over to him to see what had caused that reaction.
There, in the healing pod, was a skeleton of decay. Maggots were eating at the poor person’s skin, and you could even see the victim’s broken leg that he was trying to heal. I gagged, bile rising up my throat as I tried to back away. The stench filled the room almost immediately, like the healing pod had covered up the smell, but now that it was released, we all were suffering.
Kemper managed to flip a switch, turning on the generators and illuminating the room with fluorescent light. We all used whatever we could to cover our noses and mouths while taking in the place. The shelves were mostly empty, and the equipment on the tables was covered with dust, but for the most part, everything was still here.
“I’ll move the body,” Maverick said with a frown. It was so decomposed that he had to take bits and pieces of its limbs, placing it in a nearby box before pushing it out of the building. Kemper sprayed the healing pod down with disinfectant he found under the sink before wiping it down. Once it was clean, Huxley and Patrick picked up Cyler and placed him in the pod, lowering the lid with finality before switching it on.
Healing pods were meant for broken bones and easy fixes. It could cure cancer, but couldn’t cure Influenza X. And now that I knew that X was a fabrication of Lackley, I figured that it was intentional. Why create a disease meant to wipe out the world's population if it could be easily cured?
“It’ll take about an hour for his arm to heal.” Maverick’s voice seemed far away, and I spun around to see where he was. He was inching towards a glass room.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he placed his hand on a door, opened it, and closed himself in. The others seemed to know what he was doing and slumped in defeat. “What’s happening?” I could hear my voice growing shriller.
Maverick started working on the desk and pressed a button, activating an intercom in the center. “It’s a quarantine room. Used for people infected with X.” He then moved towards me as I pounded on the glass, unwilling to accept what I knew was necessary. He held up his palm, and I gasped at the blister forming there. It was a dark purple color, already swelling with what I knew would be a bursting, feverish sore.
“But I’m immune!” I screamed at him. He didn’t have to go through this alone. No one should ever have to do this alone. I didn’t know how much time I had, and I didn’t want to waste a second away from him.
“You know where the safe is. You know what to do. Find Payne and bring him here. I’m going to write down the instructions for extracting the DNA code from his blood for the cure.” He didn’t have to say why. I knew how the virus worked in stages. One of the first things to go was a person's mind. I leaned forward to press my lips against the glass, hot tears flowing from my eyes as I sobbed. He was right. I had a mission. It wasn’t just about saving the empire anymore.
I was going to save Maverick.
Chapter Seventeen
Every bone in my body ached. I had never run so fast in my entire life. I had tunnel vision, and the end of that tunnel was Stonewell Manor. Luckily for me, the other guys kept their eyes out for looters and infected Walkers. I was too busy keeping my eye on the prize, the prize being my old home and Payne.
Kemper stayed behind with Maverick and Cyler to keep watch. Cyler would be healed in another hour, but the process made a person very weak for a few hours. I was eager for Cyler to wake up. Huxley was terrific at keeping the group on track during a crisis situation, but I needed Cyler’s no-bullshi
t leadership abilities to bring me back down from the terrified high I was feeling.
We didn’t talk about the dangers we faced. Nor did we mention the gigantic cloud of doom hanging over our heads. There wasn’t time for breakdowns and emotional talks about our feelings. There wasn’t time to cope. Huxley gave me thirty seconds to compose myself, and we were off.
It was the hardest thing I’d ever done, leaving Maverick behind in the clinic. With everything I had, I hoped that the safe didn’t lead to another clue. Time was of the essence, and we did not have time to travel all over the empire in search of a boy that would save the love of my life.
“Ash, look out, movement to the left,” Huxley said while grabbing my wrist. We paused at the corner of a building and watched as a mother and her young child scurried by. Once they were out of sight, we started running again.
With every step that increased the distance between Maverick and me, it felt like my soul was being ripped in half. It wasn’t a clean cut, either. It was a jagged tear that left barbed strips of me on the street as I ran. Although I wanted nothing more than to swallow my grief and choke on it, I kept moving. It was a thirty-minute run from the clinic to the house, and for the first time in my life, I found myself sighing in relief at the site of the metal door. I never thought Stonewall Manor would be a symbol of hope and comfort for me.
With shaky, exhausted legs, I tripped up the stairs leading to the front door and placed my hand on the thumbprint scanner. It took a moment, but the door unlocked with ease. Josiah never changed the locks. It was like he was always waiting for me to come home. Memories hit me like a ton of bricks, elevating my already depressed state to a feeling that was going to overflow into tears.
Huxley gently pushed me aside and entered the home first. He checked to see if it was empty and then nodded when he saw that everything looked untouched. When I stepped inside, I nearly gasped at how things hadn’t changed. Aside from dust covering the furniture, it looked like no one had been here since Josiah was taken by Cavil’s men. “It looks the same,” I whispered in awe. It was like walking through a time capsule.
The Stonewells had the best security money and influence could buy. There were metal barricades to keep anyone out, and a failsafe lock on the windows in case of an outbreak. The air that was pumped through the vents was even tested for toxins.
The guys filtered in behind me, and it occurred to me just then that they’d never seen this home, never seen where I grew up. “Home sweet home,” my shaky voice said on a sigh as I made my way to Master Stonewell’s office. There was a musty scent in the home that felt foreign to me, and hot air hit me in the face as I moved. The generators were working, illuminating the formal sitting room with light as I passed by it.
“His office with the safe is this way,” I explained while heading down the hallway. Everything looked the same, untouched. The portrait of the Stonewells was still on the wall, and I paused to stare at it, smiling at the boyish smirk Josiah wore before stroking the frame. I could feel my guys’ eyes on my back, could sense that they weren’t sure what to say or how to act. It was my first time being here since Josiah’s death, and even I didn’t know how I felt about being here again. I struggled between nostalgia and hope, but also a deep, crippling sadness that wouldn’t go away.
Master Stonewell’s office had been untouched since his death. Josiah once told me that he wasn’t sure he could fill his shoes, so I steered clear of the dark, dusty room because it was a reminder of the burdens piled on his back. But now, I knew the full story. And I wondered if Josiah couldn’t come here because it reminded him that he killed who he thought was his father.
The desk was dusty and full of papers thrown carelessly along the top of it. An empty whiskey glass was on a coaster near the side table, near a chair that was facing the outside window, now sealed shut with a metal shutter.
I trailed my fingers along the dusty desk until I got to the oddly shaped statue that looked like a teardrop suspended in air. I’d seen Master Stonewell do this a dozen times, but it still felt wrong even now to touch something that had been ingrained in me as a child not to touch. My hand gripped the round base of the statue, and the room shook as a portrait of Mistress Stonewell on the wall slid up and disappeared into the ceiling, revealing a safe that was about six feet tall and three feet wide.
“That's a fucking huge safe,” Jacob’s mindspeak said, breaking the silence of the room.
“I never knew what was inside of it,” I said with a frown before gliding towards it. I had written down the numbers on a scrap of paper in my pocket to ensure that I didn’t forget them, but I had the five digits memorized now. A keypad appeared at the side of the safe’s door, and I made quick work of keying it in.
8...8...9...8...2
With the last number, a clicking sound filled the room, and Jacob’s mindspeak spoke once more. “Anyone else think this is creepy as fuck?” he asked, and I turned around just in time to catch Huxley elbow him in the chest.
I inhaled the stale air of Stonewell Manor and grabbed the handle, opening it while silently praying for something to finally work in our favor. I’d half expected a letter from Mistress Stonewell describing their location, or maybe even leftover Heat from Master Stonewell’s collection. But I didn’t expect to find a staircase leading below the manor.
“I’ll go first,” Huxley said before passing me. He smelled like sweat and rust. I nodded before filing in behind him, Patrick and Jacob headed up the rear. “Did you know this was down here?” Huxley asked while descending the stairs. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead.
“No, I didn’t.” It made sense though. Since the plague, wealthy families became obsessed with the idea of the end of the world. They suped up their homes and built fortified bunkers. The Stonewells were always ahead of the trends, and if survival was trending, then they’d have the best damn bomb shelter in town.
“This is creepy as fuck. God, it looks like the sewer,” Jacob’s mindspeak said, and though the tone was even, I sensed the energy of fear rolling off his back.
“It’s okay. This was where Mistress Stonewell wanted us to go,” I offered.
“The same Mistress Stonewell that was fucking Emperor Lackley? Not sure I’m willing to trust her,” Patrick muttered under his breath. The staircase wound around, and we followed it down. The moment Huxley’s boot hit the concrete floor, the room illuminated with more light, and a bright humming sound echoed around us.
I had to adjust my eyes to the stark brightness of the room. It had a certain moldy smell, and there was heavy machinery lining the walls. In the corner, I’d noticed a living area fitted exactly like the sitting room upstairs in the central part of the home. A small kitchen was opposite it, and a line of beds filled the center of the room.
“About time you showed up,” Mistress Stonewell said. Her voice echoed around the room, and I spun around to greet her, ignoring the fact that it didn’t quite sound like her. It seemed like it was coming from a speaker above us.
“Oh fuck, this is like a nightmare I had once,” Jacob’s mindspeak said.
“If you’re wondering where I am, I’m dead,” her voice said, deadpan. A screen dropped down in the corner, revealing a projected image of Mistress Stonewell. She looked prim as ever, her hair twisted in a fancy bun and her lipstick applied with precision. It was a far cry from the Scavenger-assimilated woman I saw just a few weeks ago. I bit my knuckle, wondering why on earth she would bring us all the way out here if she were dead.
Oh, no. Payne.
“When the riots broke out, word filtered back to me that Payne was the last remaining puzzle piece to the cure. I knew then that he must be protected at all costs. She picked up a washcloth and started washing her face of the makeup she was wearing, focusing on her lips first. “My husband was terrified of dying. He thought he was so smart, had every backup plan in existence at his disposal. But death waits for no one, Ash. Remember that.”
She dipped the cloth in water before con
tinuing. We listened to the sounds of the water sloshing around her bowl. And when she wiped at her cheek, I let out an audible gasp. There, on her face, were the beginning stages of X. Dark boils the color purple covered her skin. “Linda,” I whispered.
“As you can see, it’s too late for me. Contracted X while bringing Payne here. It’s a right nasty disease. Everything...hurts. I know you probably feel no sympathy for me, Ash. But I take comfort in knowing that I will see my Josiah soon.”
A pang of distress rocked through me. How much more could my heart handle? A light in the far corner turned on, and the wall lifted up, revealing what looked like a more intricate healing pod. “My husband bought a time capsule. The idea was, should any of us catch the disease, we could freeze ourselves until a proper cure was found.”
I took small steps towards the pod. “Where is Payne?” I asked, knowing she couldn’t answer me.
“I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t contemplate saving myself. But alas, we only have one. And considering I don’t know how long it will take for you to find us—or if you ever will—I wanted to safeguard the cure. I placed Payne in the time capsule. He is safe. It’s kind of like sleeping. He’s completely preserved, doesn’t even know what's happening. He doesn’t even know I’m dead.”
I walked towards the pod and sighed in relief when I saw his boyish features in the small glass window. “When he’s old enough, tell him about Josiah, Ash. Tell him about...me.” Her voice had cracked, the tone full of emotion. It was jarring to hear. Linda Stonewell was always composed. “I don’t want to be forgotten. At the end of this, that’s what I fear most. There’s no one left to really remember me except you. And I don’t think I gave you too many good memories to remember me by.”
She went silent, and I snapped my attention back to her. All the makeup covering her face was cleared now. Her skin was pale with a yellowish hue aside from the dark circles covering her skin. She stared at the camera for a long, memorable moment, taking in the severity of the situation while closing her eyes to compose herself. I watched in fascination. Linda Stonewell was not kind to me, but she found redemption in the end. “Good luck, Ash. You served my family well,” she whispered as more tears fell down her cheeks. Her fingers reached up to turn off the camera, but she paused as if thinking about one more thing.
