by Max Lockwood
“My what?” she sputtered.
“I know we’ve gotten ourselves a little sidetracked out here, but I wanted to make sure that you still wanted me to come along with you. I mean, we don’t know how much longer Will or Melissa might be with us. Thomas doesn’t have any family, but I presume he’ll take care of himself. If you want me to leave you alone to complete your work, then I understand. I just wanted to be on the same page when the times comes.”
Alec seemed so worried that Elaina couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“What?” he asked, playfully nudging her with his elbow.
“Of course you’re coming with me. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Alec grinned broadly. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“Come on, do you really not know that I like having you around?” she asked. The more they talked, the more comfortable she felt with him.
“You don’t really make a display of your emotions.” He chuckled. “You can be hard to read at times. Hard to get, you know?”
She blushed. She wasn’t trying to play any games with him. In fact, she didn’t know if she was capable of it if she tried. Her flirting skills were so abysmal that she was shocked that he had any inclination that she liked him. In many ways, she was more mature and wise than her peers. But in this one area, she felt particularly stunted.
“You know I don’t have experience with this,” she said, feeling embarrassed.
“It doesn’t show. Honestly.”
Now he was embarrassed. They lay next to each other in silence, enjoying a moment of alone time. Elaina knew that she would soon have to return to reality, but for the moment, lying in a pile of hay with Alec was pretty great.
Then, as if a magnetic force had drawn them together, their bodies connected and their lips touched. Elaina felt like she was simultaneously floating in the air and underwater. She felt a lightness that she hadn’t felt in years.
Alec wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight. They kept kissing, forgetting that at any moment, their lives could plunge into the turmoil that plagued them. It was as if they had a chance at leading normal lives where they could casually date without the fear of losing each other to dangerous people.
Eventually, they managed to pull apart, blissful smiles on their faces.
“I couldn’t have gotten this far without you,” Elaina said. “Honestly, you’ve been so helpful and trusting, even when I didn’t deserve your trust.”
He took her hand into his. “I couldn’t have done this without you. I might have just given up and let the infected take me if I hadn’t had a reason to keep going.”
He looked away for a moment, shocked that he had spoken so candidly with her. But if there were anyone to speak his mind with, it was Elaina.
“Do you think Melissa’s okay?” Elaina asked, forcing her body to turn away from Alec for a moment. She wanted to be as close to him as possible, yet she knew that she couldn’t afford any more distractions.
“I think we would know if she wasn’t,” Alec said. “It’s probably a good sign that we haven’t heard from Thomas in a while. I imagine he would have come out here all panicked if she had taken a turn for the worse.”
Elaina looked at Alec’s watch. She would need another dose of antibiotics in a few hours. “Do you think we should check on them?” she asked, sitting up halfway. Between the deep pile of hay they were resting on and her tired body, getting up felt like an impossible feat.
“No,” Alec said plainly, pulling her back toward him. He cradled her upper body, kissing her on the forehead. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get an opportunity like this again. Once we leave here, it’s back to business. If I die out there, this is what I want my last thought to be.”
“You can’t leave me,” Elaina protested.
“You’re right,” he mused, gently pecking her on the lips. “I’ll be with you until the end.”
Alec held on to Elaina tightly, absolutely elated that he’d finally had the opportunity to kiss her. It had been on his mind for quite some time, but the moment was never right.
As blissful as it was, it was still a confusing moment for the two of them. Outside the stable, they had to return to their professional-like demeanor. This was better for group dynamics and for staying on track. They still had a long way to go before they could even consider a romantic relationship.
Alec and Elaina fell asleep in each other’s arms, forgetting that Will was missing and that Melissa was deathly ill. Their problems would still be right where they left them when they woke, so they let their eyes grow heavy and their limbs fall weak as they enjoyed each other’s company.
Chapter Eleven
Thomas sat on the floor, the back of his head leaning up against the couch where Melissa was sleeping. He felt so useless. He desperately wanted to do something purposeful, but he could only wait until the others gave him further instructions.
He needed Will to come back with the water so Elaina could work on Melissa’s shoulder. At the same time, he didn’t want Will to come back. It would be nice to wash up, but he’d rather have Will’s absence than a shower.
He also needed Elaina around to administer the antibiotics and needed Alec to tell him what they were going to do next. Finally, he needed Melissa to wake up and tell him that everything was going to be okay.
Thomas rested a hand on Melissa’s forehead. She was still burning up, but she was sleeping more peacefully than before. Earlier, she’d hardly stopped mumbling about Samuel, whoever he was.
He couldn’t wait until Melissa was coherent again so he could finally solve the mystery of Samuel. Obviously, he was someone very important to her or she wouldn’t keep repeating his name.
Because she wasn’t available to explain Samuel to him, Thomas spent his time coming up with possible solutions. Each story made his imagination run wilder.
His first thought was that Samuel was a family member—a brother or a cousin, perhaps. Thomas knew very little about all of his travel companions, but he probably knew the least about Melissa. She had to have had some family at one time or another. Thomas vaguely remembered her saying something about her siblings when she talked about going to her grandparents’ house. But he had also met several people who’d claimed to be only children, only to find out that they had other family who had tragically perished. Sometimes, it was just too painful to admit that there were family members who’d passed away before their time.
It would make sense if she were muttering about her brother. She often threw in phrases like “sorry” or “I didn’t mean to” when she spoke of Samuel. Perhaps, she’d had to eliminate infected family members, just like he’d had to.
Or maybe Samuel was a close friend. Thomas had seen some of his acquaintances and co-workers get gunned down by the vigilante group that he’d later joined. It was horrible to see people he spoke with on a regular basis die such violent deaths. It was definitely possible that Melissa had witnessed the death of a good friend and it had left scars on her subconscious. For the most part, Melissa presented herself as a tough and cautious woman, never showing more emotion than necessary. Her illness had betrayed her, allowing her secrets to flow out of her as she slept.
The final story Thomas had concocted was his least favorite, though it seemed to hold the most weight. Samuel was a boyfriend or someone whom she loved in a romantic sense. He had clearly died or was lost during the spread of the epidemic. At night when she slept, she pined for him. At her most vulnerable, she cried out his name, apologizing for something she did or didn’t do.
It made Thomas’s heart hurt to think about this possibility. He didn’t want to know if there was someone else out there who she had feelings for. Because if that were the case, then there would be no room in her heart for him. He wasn’t sure how she felt about him, but Thomas knew that his feelings for Melissa grew by the day. It was hard not to feel fondness for someone he cared so intimately for.
Eventually, he figured he’d find out who Sam
uel was. He just hoped that it would turn out to be nothing.
Thomas couldn’t stand the silence. Every once in a while, he could hear Elaina and Alec speaking quietly about something, though he could never make out words. Melissa hadn’t been fit for conversation in quite some time. Thomas knew what it was like to be lonely in a group of people. He’d experienced it in his home town and was experiencing it again with his new companions. Everyone had their own thing going on. Thomas was just Thomas.
So, because he had no one else to talk to, he started speaking to Melissa, even though she couldn’t hear him. It felt awkward at first, but then he became accustomed to the one-way conversation.
“Hey,” Thomas started, stroking the inside of her forearm with his fingertips. “I really hope you start feeling better soon. I want you to be back to normal.”
She responded with a slight snore.
He continued speaking, letting his voice drop to a near whisper.
“I know you’ve had your issues with Will, but I just want you to know that I’m on your side. I don’t get how he doesn’t see you like I do. You’re a smart, kind woman and I think you’re great. I don’t want you to feel guilty about doing the things you had to do to survive. It was never your fault that Natalia died, and whoever Samuel is—well, I’m sure that wasn’t your fault either.”
He mentally scratched that last part out of his head. He didn’t know enough to speak about Samuel. Maybe she did something to him that was completely unrelated to the epidemic. He wouldn’t bring his name up again while she was sleeping.
“To be honest, I’m glad you’re asleep right now because I don’t know if I could ever say these things to you while you were awake. I’ve never been good with girls. I’m too shy and awkward. I want to tell you that you’re so brave and beautiful, but I clam up whenever I get the chance. So, here goes—I think that you’re incredible, and I’m starting to have feelings for you.”
Thomas watched as Melissa’s ribcage rose and fell in a steady rhythm.
“I don’t know if you feel the same way about me. My guess is that you don’t. I’m not that smart or talented, and I’m a follower. I did whatever the gang in my hometown told me to do, even when I knew it was wrong. I do whatever Alec and Elaina tell me to do because they’re smarter than me. I don’t think girls are generally attracted to guys who can’t stand up for themselves.”
He turned around and moved to the edge of the couch, sitting in the space next to Melissa’s waist.
“I think you would have liked me more when we were younger. I had dreams and ambition then. I wanted to save up enough money so I could leave town on my own and never go back. I wanted to make a name for myself on my own. I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to be successful in whatever it was. You’re ambitious—I think you would have been into me then.”
He laughed to himself. He wouldn’t have been able to ask her out back then. He wouldn’t have even been able to speak to her, whether she were conscious at the time or not.
“Do you know what? I’m going to be braver—for the both of us. I’m not going to be the scared, timid kid I used to be. I’ve been through a lot and I think I’ve grown up a ton in the past few months.”
Thomas thought back to what life was like for him in the surviving group in his hometown. He’d allowed himself to follow whatever he was told. After a while, he even started believing that they weren’t all that bad. It wasn’t until he’d met Elaina and Alec that he finally snapped out of it. He realized that he was too easily influenced by suggestion and failed to think for himself.
“It’s going to be different now,” he said, a little louder. “I’m going to be different. I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up when I could be killed any moment, and you could die of infection, but I just have this fantasy where everything goes right for us. I can see us living at your grandparents’ house until this thing blows over. Elaina will be able to cure and vaccinate everyone. Then, maybe we can stay together, even if we don’t have to. We can get a little apartment as we make our way in the new world. I want that life more than anything.”
“Samuel,” she mumbled.
“Yeah, Samuel.” Thomas groaned, feeling defeated. He eyed the bottle of antibiotics on the table. He figured Elaina wouldn’t mind if he injected Melissa for her. He knew that it hadn’t been a full twelve hours since the last dose, but what would a few hours hurt? Thomas didn’t want to wait any longer for Melissa to get better. He wanted results as soon as possible.
With shaky hands, he drew the amount of clear liquid that he had seen Elaina take out before and touched the tip of the needle to the bruised speck on her arm. After taking a deep breath, he slowly found the vein and released the liquid, drop by drop.
This roused Melissa, who woke up with wide eyes.
“What’s going on?” she croaked.
“You’re awake!” Thomas exclaimed. “How are you feeling?”
“Terrible,” she moaned. “Do we have any more painkillers?”
Thomas dutifully pulled out an array of medication and plucked out a couple of anti-inflammatory drugs. “These should help.”
Melissa took the medication with loud gulps of water. Thomas tried to give her a protein bar to eat, but she declined.
“I’m just so tired,” she said as she pushed the food away. “I feel so sick and I just want to sleep,” she cried.
“It’s okay,” Thomas said in a soothing voice. “You can go back to sleep if you want. I’m going to take care of you.”
He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, wiping away a tear that had leaked out. His touch seemed to calm her down a considerable amount. As he stroked her hair, her breathing became slower and deeper.
As she dosed off, Thomas carefully took a peek under her bandage and grimaced. The area around the bullet hole was shiny and red. It looked like it needed to be cleaned again. Elaina seemed to know what she was doing the last time she helped dress the wound, so Thomas momentarily left Melissa to consult with her.
He retuned to the main part of the stables, following flickering candlelight. Thomas couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had last spoken to the two. He had gotten so caught up in what was happening to Melissa that he’d hardly thought about the others.
In the dim light, he could make out Alec’s body lying on what looked like a pile of hay with an indent in the middle. He crept closer, not wanting to startle him if he happened to be sleeping. He only needed Elaina’s advice. He figured she would be at the countertops, mixing up horse medication to create some kind of antiviral medication or something like that.
Then, he could hear soft voices. Alec wasn’t alone on the makeshift bed. On the other side of Alec was Elaina, and they were kissing!
Thomas couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had always thought they were close for people who had only met during the epidemic. He’d wondered if there were romantic feelings between them, but he was shocked to see his hypothesis confirmed. They had always seemed so cordial, so professional when they interacted. They certainly didn’t act like lovers.
Immediately, Thomas felt embarrassed. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to see them like that. As quickly and as silently as he could, he backpedaled until he was far enough to turn around and tiptoe back to the office. He quietly pulled the door open and slowly closed it behind him.
He looked like he had seen a ghost. He sank into the couch next to Melissa, perplexed at what he’s seen. He grinned, then bit his lip when he realized he was smiling about something he saw while snooping. He didn’t mean to figure out their secret—he was just there.
“Did you go?” Melissa asked, confused.
“Just for a second,” he said in a hushed voice. “I just wanted to see what Elaina and Alec were up to.”
“And?”
“Oh, nothing. The adults were just having a moment.” He chuckled.
Melissa was clearly not herself because her heavy eyelids batted, then closed agai
n. Thomas rested his hand on hers. He would have to tell her about what he saw when she was feeling better. A little piece of gossip would certainly lift her spirits.
As embarrassed as he was about walking in on Alec and Elaina, he felt a tiny pang of jealousy. He had just seen two people with mutual feelings share a moment together. It was something that Thomas wanted for himself.
Unable to contain the emotions that boiled up inside him, he tenderly pressed his lips to Melissa’s forehead. He had so much affection for someone he basically knew nothing about.
“Please, get better soon, sweet Melissa,” Thomas said, squeezing her hand. He moved back to the rug on the floor and lay by her side like a loyal dog. He closed his eyes and imagined kissing Melissa like Alec had kissed Elaina as he drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Twelve
The next morning, Elaina woke up, still in Alec’s arms. It felt nice, but something about the morning light streaming in through the windows diminished the magic of their newly-found affection for each other. It wasn’t that she felt differently about Alec but the fact that they would soon have to get to work. The illusion of happiness was broken.
Carefully, so as to not to wake Alec, she pulled away from him and stretched her legs. She grabbed a tiny tube of toothpaste from her bag and scrubbed it on her teeth with her finger, rinsing with no more than a capful of water from her bottle. They would soon be out of drinking water if they didn’t find any more. It was a little concerning to Elaina that Will had gone out to find water and never returned. What would happen when they inevitably had to find water?
“Good morning,” Alec said sleepily. “Any sign of Will?”
“Nope,” Elaina said, finishing off her last bottle of water. “I haven’t been up for long, but I haven’t seen him. I’m sure the first thing he would do would be to make his presence known.”
“You’re probably right,” Alec replied.
“So he’s not coming back?”
