by Max Lockwood
“Where’s Samuel?” Melissa cried. “He was just here.”
Alec furrowed his brow in confusion. “Do you mean Will?”
Elaina grimaced. “No. She’s been talking about this Samuel guy for a while. We have no idea who he is.”
“Oh,” Alec said, his face falling. He had never seen anyone in such bad shape from a fairly benign gunshot wound. He had seen gunshot victims fully recover from shots to vital organs.
“I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t make it,” she said. “All of them.”
“Shh,” Thomas said, raking a hand through her hair. “Save your strength.”
“Try to get some rest,” Alec said. “You’re safe here.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll get a little sleep,” she said dreamily.
Alec gestured toward Elaina and Thomas. The three rejoined Will in the center of the stables.
“I don’t know how long we can stay here, but we may need to prepare to hang out here for a while. It looks like a storm is coming through, and I don’t know if it’s in our best interest to power through right now. First things first—can I get some help removing these bodies?”
Thomas and Will shuffled toward the infected and lifted the bodies. Elaina gave Alec a sympathetic look. He seemed so exhausted.
“I’ll look for antibiotics,” Elaina said. She was thankful that she didn’t have to carry the bodies outside.
She headed toward the back of the stable, toward a wall of cabinets. One by one, she opened them and scoured through its contents.
The first few contained nothing but grooming products. Elaina nearly reached for a fancy-looking shampoo for her own hair, but she resisted. She couldn’t think about her own hygiene at a moment like this.
The next had various supplements for farm animals, plus a few boxes of snacks for humans. She made a mental note of the location of the food and moved on.
Finally, she hit the jackpot. Shelf after shelf held different bottles and skin treatments. She carefully read each and every label until she found what she needed.
Elaina grabbed a clear, glass bottle of veterinary antibiotics and a fresh syringe. The needle was much larger than a human generally needed, but there weren’t a lot of choices.
She returned to the room and set her newly found supplies down on the table, along with the first aid kit that was shrinking by the day. Melissa was in fitful sleep but woke with a start when Elaina swiped her forearm with an alcohol swab.
“Am I dead?” she mumbled as Elaina gingerly searched for a vein for the injection. She had no problem drawing blood from herself, but having to use a large needle on another person was a different story. She didn’t want to get this wrong.
“What? No,” she answered. “I’m giving you some medicine.”
She nearly chuckled at the idea that their reality was some sort of afterlife. Elaina wasn’t particularly religious, but she didn’t imagine that humans would enter an epidemic of apocalyptic proportions as either a reward or punishment for their mortal existence.
It was nearly what some might describe as Hell—a wasteland filled with death and fear. Then again, things weren’t always terrible for Elaina. Sure, she was probably the most wanted person in the world, but she had made some extraordinary findings with little help. Intellectually, she was on top of her game.
Then, there were the people she had met along the way. Most turned out to be despicable, but a few were some of the closest relationships she had ever had. Elaina was never one to make friends, so the fact that she had a sister-like bond with Natalia was pretty remarkable. Plus, she was especially bad with dealing with the opposite sex, yet a relationship with Alec was bubbling under the surface. Under different circumstances, they might have had a shot at dating.
She shook that thought away as she touched the end of the hypodermic needle to the pale skin of Melissa’s forearm. With a slow exhale, she plunged the needle into her blue vein, sending medication into her bloodstream.
“I hope that’s the right dosage,” she said as she stuck a small bandage onto the injection site. “The label gives instructions for treating horses, not humans.”
“It’s better than nothing,” Alec said. The three men had returned from removing the bodies from their new shelter. “How often do we need to give her that medicine?”
“Twice a day, I think,” Elaina said. “IV medicine works faster than pills do, but it still could be a few days to see much improvement. I think we need to look at her arm again and make sure it’s cleaned up. That was difficult to do in a forest.”
“Do we have everything we need here?” Thomas asked. “I’m sure there are more houses we can raid around here.”
“I think we’re set with supplies. What we don’t have is a source of water.”
“I can go look for water,” Will said, picking up a couple of empty buckets. “I think I heard a stream not too far from here.”
“Are you okay to go on your own?” Alec asked.
“Yeah, I’d prefer it, actually,” he said, looping his bag over his shoulders. “I’ll be back soon.”
No one objected to this. In fact, everyone was a little relieved that they could leave the task up to Will and not have to worry about his having conflicts with anyone else. Alec didn’t feel comfortable letting him go out with any of the others.
“Sounds good,” Elaina said. “When you come back, we can start a fire and boil the water. Then, we can work on Melissa’s arm.”
Will left without another word. He seemed eager to get out of the stable.
“I’m freezing,” Melissa whimpered.
“Did you find a thermometer?” Thomas asked.
“I did,” Elaina replied, “but this is a stable. I don’t know where it’s been.”
“Oh.” He grimaced. “Right.”
He placed a hand on her forehead and frowned.
“She’s burning up.”
“I’m so cold,” Melissa repeated. “Get my blanket from my mom.”
Thomas looked at the others with a worried expression.
“I’ll see if I can find a blanket,” Alec said. “We can’t really use the grey wool blanket, can we?”
He left the back room and closed the door behind him. Elaina took a peek underneath Melissa’s bandages.
“Maybe I’ll try to practice sutures while Will’s out getting water. Do you need anything else?”
Thomas shook his head.
“Okay,” Elaina said. “Let me know if you need anything.”
She walked out of the office, gently closing the door behind her. For the first time since they met, Melissa and Thomas were alone.
Thomas didn’t know how to feel about this. He considered Melissa to be a friend, but at the same time, more than a friend. He hated how Will mocked him for taking a special interest in Melissa, but he wasn’t completely wrong.
Melissa was strong-willed and a little bossy at times, but Thomas didn’t mind that. She had shown him more kindness than anyone else had since the virus struck. He was a lonely boy looking for a friend, and she fit the bill. It was only natural that romantic feelings started to develop.
He was shy, so he was afraid of sharing these feelings with her. Plus, if she didn’t feel the same way, they’d have to continue traveling with awkwardness between them.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t in good enough condition to have a serious conversation with at the moment. She drifted in and out of consciousness and rambled on, spouting absolute nonsense at times. It was frightening but also disappointing to Thomas. He didn’t mind spending their alone time wiping her brow and holding her head to sip water, but he would have preferred to be able to talk in secret. He felt that if anyone in the group would have his back, it would be her.
Thomas desperately wanted to tell her about what Will was doing the night that Derek died, but she was not able to listen to him. He just hoped she would get better so he’d have a chance to speak everything that was on his mind.
“Are you feeling an
y better yet?” he asked, stroking her cheek.
“I don’t think I’ll ever feel better,” she moaned.
“You will,” he said encouragingly. “It just takes a little time for the medicine to start working.”
“It won’t bring her back.”
“Who?”
“Natalia.”
Thomas sighed. “You did the right thing. Just relax.”
“Will hates me. He’s going to kill me. Maybe he should.”
“Hey,” Thomas said, his voice a little sharper. “Don’t talk like that. No one is going to hurt you as long as I’m around. He’s not even here right now. He went to get water so we can clean you up.”
“I’m so sorry, Natalia,” she cried. “I didn’t want to. I was just trying to get home.”
“I know,” Thomas said softly.
“I just want to get home.”
“We will. We just need to get you better. Then, we’ll find a car and go home.”
She blinked her eyes. “It’s all my fault.”
“It’s not,” he insisted. “Natalia was infected. She would have killed Will. She might have killed you too.”
“Not Natalia,” she groaned.
He lowered his eyebrows. “Then who are you talking about?”
“Samuel.”
Thomas pursed his lips. “Who is Samuel?” he asked patiently. She had muttered his name a hundred times but had yet to provide anyone with context for her ramblings.
“I can’t talk about it anymore,” she mumbled. “Another time.”
“Okay. Another time.”
“I’m going to go to sleep now.”
“You do that. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
“Do you promise?” she asked, reaching for him with her good arm.
He sat down on the edge of the couch beside her and put his hand in hers. It felt so good to have human contact.
“I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe,” he said. “I promise.”
Thomas continued to sit with her as she slept for hours. He watched the shallow rise and fall of her chest, with his hand in hers. He wiped her brow when she broke out into a sweat and curled up next to her when she shivered. It was hard to watch her suffer through her illness, but it was also one of the greatest moments of Thomas’s life. He had never connected with a girl on that deep of a level before.
Melissa woke up just as the sun was starting to set. Her skin was still warm and moist, but some of the color had returned to her cheeks.
“How long have I been asleep?” she asked groggily.
Thomas handed her a bottle of sports drink. “Drink this. It’s probably been at least five hours or so.”
“Oh,” she said, taking a few small sips. “I thought you said Elaina was going to work on my shoulder. Did I dream that?”
“No, that was the plan. We were waiting on Will to come back with the water.”
“He’s not back yet?”
“Nope.”
She took another slow sip. “Well, is he coming back?”
Thomas shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. But would it be so bad if he didn’t?”
Chapter Ten
Elaina tossed a scratchy blanket over a pile of hay and lay down in the nest she created. It was not comfortable by any means, but it was still better than the hard dirt floor. For an abandoned stable, it was fairly clean. Yet, the smell of animals hadn’t entirely dissipated. It reminded her of the petting zoo her parents took Lily and her to as children.
“How many hours has it been since he left?” she asked.
Alec checked his watch. “Nearly five, I think. I should have gone looking for him hours ago. It’s risky going out after dark now.”
“I don’t think you should go out there,” Elaina said. “What good would it do anyway? If he got in trouble with some infected, then I don’t know if he’d survive. If he did, the first thing he’d do would be to run back here for my serum. Have you considered the fact that he might be purposefully lost?”
“What do you mean?” Alec asked, sitting down next to Elaina.
“You saw how eager he was to leave. Maybe he just needs a little space. It isn’t completely dark, either. He could be on his way back now.”
“Maybe,” Alec said, absentmindedly playing with a piece of hay. “I hope he doesn’t take too long. I was hoping we could continue on in the morning.”
“We can give him until morning,” Elaina said. “If he’s not back, we’ll just have to accept that he didn’t want to continue on with us.”
“Okay,” Alec said, disappointment in his voice. “Things are different now, anyway.”
Elaina turned on her side to face Alec. “Unfortunately, I think you’re right. Will’s been so cold and distant ever since Natalia died. At times, I wonder if he really is a danger to the group.”
“If he’s not an immediate danger to someone, then he could be a danger to our progress. It’s hard to work as a cohesive group when everyone is trying to attack each other. I get that he’s messed up about Natalia, but he’s not the only one who’s dealing with trauma.”
“I miss her every day,” Elaina said softly. “She was just so pleasant to have around. I mean, I occasionally got irritated with how immature she could be at times, but it’s only because I forgot how young she really was. She was still in high school when we met. Her parents had given her anything she could ever want too. All things considered, it was amazing how well she handled herself. I just wish she had lived to see her dad get what he deserves. I often fantasized about rubbing my cure in Bretton’s smug face with her by my side. I guess I’ll have to do it in her memory.”
“And you will—hopefully, very soon,” he said, a smile appearing on his face. He reclined back, his head resting in his hands. “You don’t think the military—the new one, or the old one—got to Will again?”
The thought of those people sent a shiver down her spine. “I hope not. Will’s escaped from both, though, so if anyone can get out of their clutches, he can.”
“Unless he’s changed his mind about the whole thing.” Alec grimaced.
“You think he’s gone so far off the deep end that he would join them? For what, just to take Melissa down?”
Alec shook his head. “No, I don’t think he would do that. My guess is that he’s either blowing off some steam and planning on returning, or attempting to return to civilization on his own.”
Elaina turned a little closer toward Alec. She could smell his rugged, musky scent that was a result of too few showers and lots of deodorant. It wasn’t bad, though. In fact, she quite liked it.
“I can’t even imagine being on my own now,” she said. “I used to prefer being alone. It’s crazy how accustomed I’ve become to sharing my life with others. I don’t know if I could ever go back to a life of solitude.”
“Same,” Alec said. “Although this only applies to some people and not others. There aren’t too many people that I would want to stick around with permanently. I wouldn’t mind some long-term companionship, though.”
Elaina blushed. She had a feeling she knew whom he was referring to.
“Do you think Will could make it on his own?” she asked, changing the subject.
“I’m not sure. I think he can be pretty clever, but it’s not safe for anyone.”
They were silent for a moment. Elaina wanted to ask Alec something, but she knew she was approaching a controversial subject.
“Do you—do you think that Will shot Melissa?” she asked cautiously.
He pursed his lips. “I’ve been wanting to ask you the same thing. I don’t want to think that he would do something like that—”
“But it does seem suspicious, doesn’t it?” she finished. “I mean, the shots we heard were from pretty far away. If we couldn’t see where they came from, how likely is it that she got hit from that large of a distance?”
“My problem is with what Thomas told us after the crash. I feel a little guilty about blowing him off at first.
I really thought that he was just being too sensitive about Will’s bad attitude toward Melissa. That, and I just don’t know him as well as I knew Will. I’m not going to forget that he took part in holding us prisoner too. I started taking him more seriously after Melissa got hurt. Now, I don’t think I’d trust him to be alone with the others, including you.”
“Me?” Elaina squeaked. “I think I can handle myself.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” Alec said quickly. “You’re the toughest girl I know. I’m just saying that I would worry about how he would behave without a majority to keep him in check.”
“How can we keep him around if we both think there’s a really good chance he shot Melissa?” Elaina asked. “I mean, society is crumbling, but I thought that our little group would never stoop to the levels that some people do. We’ve been running away and defending ourselves from healthy criminals. Now, we may be enabling one.”
Alec cringed. “I agree with you, but even hearing it doesn’t sound right. We don’t even know if he’s coming back. If he does, we can talk it over.”
“And decide that he might not be able to continue on with us if he’s going to be a problem?”
Alec nodded. “I think that’s fair. Besides, who knows if he’s coming back? Also, who knows if Melissa is going to survive?”
“I always forget they are still kids,” Elaina said. “It doesn’t excuse how they’re behaving, but I wonder if I’m being too hard on them and expecting too much.”
“I don’t think they have any excuse,” Alec said. “They’re young and stupid, but that doesn’t mean that they get to fight with each other. We’re on the same team.”
“I just want to get out of here,” Elaina said, now inches away from Alec. “I hope we can all hold it together until then.”
He leaned in a little closer. His side brushed against hers.
“Listen, I don’t know if this is the right time to bring it up, but I wanted to talk about your future plans.”
