Exodus (The Fall of Haven)

by Justin Kemppainen

  "It's high risk. You're sure about this?"

  The researcher pointed to the hog-tied woman. "There's something more to these people than simple madness, and it's very important we find out if it's infectious in any fashion. The sooner we find out, the sooner we can fix it, or..." he gave a bitter laugh, "the sooner we can all say our fondest farewells from this accursed life."

  The old man didn't reply, frowning.

  "Either way..." Michaels slumped his shoulders. "There is someone remaining in the Institute who I will not leave behind."

  "A woman." Quinton sniffed. "Well, then I suppose no convincing will do any good. Be careful doc."

  Michaels gave a nod and bid farewell, gesturing to Malcolm. Without belaboring the goodbye, the two former Citizens departed.

  ******

  "This is a complete disaster," a familiar voice clawed through the darkness.

  Fire.

  Consciousness clung by a thread, and the only awareness it provided was a sensation of pure agony.

  "Sergei's gone, and we've lost how many more? Tanya probably won't last the night, and Eugene..."

  The names kindled a familiar spark, and some semblance of notice clawed through the pain, a burning excruciation during and between each ragged breath she took.

  Her eyes opened, blurred with tears.

  "Tanya?" Eugene leaned over her-

  No... not Eugene. Who? Isaac. Muddy thoughts crawled around. Where is Eugene?

  Isaac peered down into her face, fatigue and concern dominating his expression. She tried to speak, but the meager sound was muffled by something covering her mouth.

  "My God, Tanya!" Isaac turned away. "She's awake! She's conscious!" he shouted to someone in the background.

  This person rushed forward and pulled her eyelids up, shining a penlight into each eye. Eugene! her mind cried, but again it was someone else.

  "She looks like she's in pain," she heard Isaac say. "How is she even conscious? Wasn't the compound supposed to be lethal?"

  The word lethal sent a chill coursing through her body, but the burning pain in her chest, her lungs, did not abate.

  "I don't really know anything about it, but my guess is the ventilation system drew a lot of it away. Improper mixing of the formula might've helped a bit as well. Nothing in the mixture is actually good for a person when inhaled, but it probably didn't work as originally intended."

  The conversation sounded clear, but Tanya understood little of it. They spoke of formulas and compounds, inhalation, pain and death... Somehow, her addled mind disregarded its importance. Eugene... where is Eugene? She tried to turn her head, but her body felt weak, numb.

  "Can't you give her something for the pain?" Grief bled from Isaac's tone.

  "She's already at a heavy dosage. We don't know if what she inhaled will kill her or not, but it won't be much better if we overdose her."

  "It could spare her a lot of pain."

  Tanya idly wondered who they were talking about. It didn't seem important; she felt tired, very tired, but she didn't want to go to sleep without finding Eugene.

  "How many more are like this?" Isaac asked.

  "None. Only a couple of others, the ones who pulled her out of the lab, received any exposure to the compound, but they're not experiencing much more than mild irritation. There are fourteen more in critical condition from the fighting or explosion, but it seems we were very lucky."

  A heavy thud resounded. Tanya tilted her head, spotting Isaac's clenched fist on the table. "Lucky? How many are dead?! What about any of this is lucky?"

  "Sir, p-please be careful around the medical supplies. I know you're upset, but we don't have much, and if you break something..." He sighed. "And I know, poor choice of words, but we really were fortunate. If the lab didn't have ventilation and contaminant disposal, the Institute and beyond could've been exposed. Hundreds more could've died. What would we have done?"

  Tanya tried to speak again, to ask for Eugene, but her voice just wouldn't obey. She felt so tired, so exhausted. She wanted to stay awake, to wait until Eugene came to see her, but it was too hard. Her eyelids drooped, and the pain and all sensation grew distant.

  "What we always have done. What we always will do. Survive, no matter what it takes."

  I will see you when I wake up, Eugene, the thought tumbled loose before Tanya passed out.

  ******

  Kaylee and Rick sat in the school's lunchroom, not speaking and barely making eye contact.

  Why is this so awkward now? Kaylee thought. Didn't we practically spill out everything when we were about to die? Suddenly now we can't even talk?

  Silence for the pair lasted during the entire walk after they broke away from Gottfried and his Inquisitors. Brief acknowledgements resulted before they each retired to separate sleeping quarters, and in spite of bone-deep weariness, neither slept terribly well.

  Now after a few hours of fitful sleep, the awkward silence resumed over a canned breakfast.

  It was late morning, the long night a heavy memory for both of them. Rick's entire lack of characteristic chatter grated at Kaylee's nerves, and he constantly seemed to be on the verge of saying something profound or bursting into tears.

  His appearance and hygiene displayed much of the haggard and exhausted Rick from recent days. But even that Rick cracked jokes and talked a little, she thought.

  Kaylee wanted nothing more than to spew out every tiny thought and half-baked emotion until either her or Rick's head exploded, but her voice remained bound tightly. Childish fears of rejection and losing people close to her prevented any admissions from releasing. A desire to remain strong-willed kept her from screaming, crying, and despairing over the horror of the previous night.

  Food helped. Discarding soiled clothing and washing the dried blood from her skin also helped, and the small amount of rest felt like a godsend. Even the annoyance of Rick's quiet attitude provided something to think about instead of Nigel and his cult.

  But it's still annoying, she thought, frowning.

  "What, what's wrong?" Rick asked. Kaylee stifled the urge to laugh. His face displayed pure, almost boyish concern.

  "Nothing," Kaylee said, taking another bite of canned fruit.

  Their awkward silence resumed, and Kaylee experienced a growing disappointment for a few minutes.

  "I'm really glad you're not dead," Rick spoke quickly, not looking up from his breakfast.

  She sighed, setting down the spoon.

  "What?" he asked.

  "That's it?"

  Confused, he replied, "That's, uh... what's it?"

  "That's all you can say? 'I'm really glad you're not dead?' Seriously?"

  Rick flushed. "What am I supposed to say?"

  "I don't know. Maybe you could acknowledge the whole thing we've got going on here? You did it when we were about to die, so what's different now? It's pretty goddamn obvious what we both..." she swallowed hard, trailing off.

  "Yeah..." he said. "I guess it is."

  "Then what's the problem?"

  "The problem?" Rick's voice rose. "The problem is that I've never felt so completely torn-up, so completely shredded, chewed-up, spat out, beaten down and left in the non-existent sun to rot when I thought you were dead. And how... how was I supposed to keep it together, survive against all the flying shit when all I wanted to do was curl up and cry?"

  Kaylee stammered, trying to find words. "W-well maybe you should've-"

  "Should've what? Not given a crap? Not nearly lost my mind when I saw you ever-so-much not dead? What should I have done, Kaylee? Tell me!"

  "Maybe you should stop being such a jackass!" she burst out, drawing attention to their table.

  Rick balled his fists. "No, no I can't... I just, this is too much."

  The anger instantly cooled, leaving Kaylee with a feeling of looming dread. "W-what are you saying? What can't you...?"

  He looked up at her, his expression pained and eyes tearing up. "When I thought you had died... I just
wanted to quit. I've never ever experienced that kind of despair. It's like the only thing I actually cared about in the world went away, and... it's so hard to think about having to deal with that again, when..."

  It suddenly seemed impossible to draw breath, and an immense sensation of cold swept over her. "When what?" she spoke barely above a whisper.

  "When tomorrow, the next day, a week, two, more... when we're never going to be safe. When we're always going to have to worry about Citizens, cultists, and the other fifty kajillion people who want to kill us." Rick dropped his head into his hands.

  I swear to God I'm going to murder him if he says what I think he's going to say, a tiny portion of Kaylee's mind spoke. The rest of her remained numb, terrified, and helpless to prevent what she knew, deep down, to be inevitable.

  "We've got so much to do here," Rick continued speaking. "So many lives at stake. So little time, so little focus to begin with. How does it work with such a huge distraction? What if something happened? What would we do?"

  A lump formed in her throat. Kaylee fought against the rising flush of her face, the moisture threatening her eyes, and the rage which begged to pummel the idiot to death.

  He looked up at her. "The smart play is to do nothing. To bury this deep before it goes too much further and ends in crushing despair, but I don't-"

  She couldn't take any more. She stumbled out of the bench and took off running, hot tears spilling down her cheeks and blinding rage keeping her pace. A dull roar of blood rushing through her head drowned out sounds, and she didn't even know if Rick followed behind her. Who cares? a spiteful thought came forth. You don't need anyone. You never have.

  Some distance away, no thought given towards location in the cavernous building, she leaned her head against the wall, pounding it with her fist. Equal parts rage and sorrow boiled inside, her swirling thoughts unable to handle, to cope with everything dumped in her lap.

  A hand touched her shoulder, and she resisted the urge to whirl around with a sucker punch or kick to nether regions. She turned, blinking through tears.

  Rick. The urge toward violence became much harder to resist.

  "Kaylee..." he started.

  "What the hell do you want? I think you've made your point perfectly clear. How you can't handle the slightest bit of anything real, so wrapped up in being the smart-ass man of the people. You think you're so important, when really you're nothing more than a weak, cowardly, stupid little-"

  "Kaylee, Kaylee!" he interrupted her ranting. She glared at him. "Shut up."

  She was about to express a renewed degree of fury when he leaned in and kissed her.

  It was sloppy and awkward; she was too shocked, depressed, and furious to respond in any meaningful fashion, and he seemed tentative, perhaps afraid she'd bite or head-butt him.

  He pulled away, and instead of sadness or anger, she settled on wide-eyed surprise for her primary reaction.

  It gave him a moment to speak, and his voice featured strong sincerity and emotion. "What I said back there... I wanted to make it very clear what happened to me, what I felt. You... you're that important to me. The other thing, where I said the smart play would be to do nothing and bury this?" He gave a little smile. "Whoever accused me of being smart?"

  Kaylee slapped him, hard. "You bastard!"

  His mouth dropped open. "Ow! What the-?"

  "How dare you jerk me around like that?! Why would you start with all of that risk and danger crap? Are you seriously so stupid to think it was a good idea?" She drew back her fist and swung at him.

  He ducked back, evading the strike and throwing his hands up to defend himself. "I wanted to make sure we had it all laid on the table! I wanted you to hear the risks out loud and know that I was still ready to-"

  "I know the risks you jackass! Last night was the very definition of how this could spiral into an unholy shitstorm." She went under his guard, kicking him in the shin.

  "Ahhh! Quit it!"

  Rick tried to retreat a few paces, hopping on one leg. Capitalizing on his lack of balance, she shoved him, and he sprawled backwards. Cringing, he curled up, defending against further attack.

  Kaylee resisted the urge to keep kicking. She didn't actually want to hurt him, much, but sometimes he could be so unbelievably thick. Standing above him, her expression one of smug dominance, she folded her arms.

  "Are you done hitting me?" Rick didn't let down his defensive guard.

  "I haven't decided yet," she replied. "Maybe."

  "Okay, well, can you maybe let me know when you are?"

  "I dunno. Keeping you off-guard doesn't seem like a bad idea."

  "You mean keeping me on the ground?"

  "Yeah, that too."

  Unbidden, a trickle of laughter bubbled up. A smile touched her lips.

  Rick's midsection trembled, and he fought against a smile of his own.

  The pair burst out laughing at the same time, their mirth echoing in the empty halls. Kaylee leaned up against the wall, and Rick remained on the ground, their bodies shaking with laughter. This continued for several long moments, until they were both left gasping for breath.

  Kaylee looked down at him. "You really are an idiot; you know that?"

  He lifted his head. "Didn't I just say, 'No one ever accused me of being smart,' before you started pummeling me?"

  She tossed back her head and laughed, this time less manic. "If I keep reminding you, maybe you'll stop."

  "Doubt it," he dropped his head and sprawled his limbs out, relaxing. "My kind of stupid can't be cured. It's like a plague, corrupting everyone around me, filling their heads with lame humor, a God-complex, and a thousand bad ideas."

  "Oh, well," she held her hands out, backing away, "maybe I should keep my distance then if it's contagious."

  Rick attempted to spring to his feet, resulting in more of a clambering stumble. Once balanced, he rushed forward and gathered Kaylee into his arms.

  Grinning, he said, "Pretty sure you're already infected."

  She pushed him away, scowling, "Are you calling me dumb?"

  "Damn straight." He laughed, the genuine mirth giving him the appearance of someone much younger and less weary.

  "You better be careful, or I'm gonna start swinging again."

  "Ah, but I'm on my guard now, so I doubt you'll be able to- Whoa kidding, kidding!" He raised his hands to defend himself as Kaylee pulled back a fist.

  "You were saying?" she asked, lowering her hands and cocking an eyebrow.

  Rick cleared his throat. "I was of course saying that you are the most strong, clever, and beautiful woman I've ever known." Mirth danced in his eyes, quirking a smile on his lips. "And so much like my mother."

  "I swear I'm going to kill you."

  He threw his head back and laughed, cut short by Kaylee's quick jab to his chest. "Ouch," he said, still snickering.

  She folded her arms. "Is this all you're going to do? You're just going to make fun of me all the time?"

  "Well, yeah. What'd you think romance with a dashing rogue like me would be?" Rick flashed a grin.

  Kaylee thought for a second, replying with, "Tedious."

  Rick spread his arms wide open. "And there you have it!"

  "Ugh..." Kaylee groaned, rolling her eyes. "I think I'm going to go over here," she waved her arm in a random direction, "maybe see if I can figure out where I left my brain."

  "Eh, you don't need it." Rick stepped to her side, offering his arm. "I'm sure we have better things to do with our time than search for that dusty old relic."

  She raised an eyebrow, putting her hands on her hips. "Things? Am I sensing some level of misplaced confidence here?"

  Rick cocked his head. "I'm sure you realize I was referring to the considerable amount of work we need to complete in regards to our very important escape plan. Why, what things were you considering?" A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

  Kaylee flushed. "I wasn't- I mean there's no... it's too..." She let out a sigh.

&n
bsp; Laughter from Rick echoed in the halls, and Kaylee felt her face burning from light embarrassment. She turned away.

  Chuckling, he put an arm around her, giving a comforting squeeze. "All right, I promise to lay off a bit, for now."

  "I'm so relieved."

  "Hey," he turned her around, smiling, "you got more than your share of licks in today, and I'm sure you'll get plenty more."

  "You deserved it."

  "As I'm sure I'll have earned more and worse by the time the day is finished," he said with a serious nod.

  Her irritation, hesitance, and everything else broke as she looked at his face. She smiled, pure and genuine. "Okay then."

  "Okay?"

  "Yeah."

  He leaned in and kissed her. Still sloppy and awkward, but better. After, he pulled her close in a long embrace. Kaylee closed her eyes; it felt very nice.

  They broke the hug. Rick offered his arm, and she took it. They walked slowly, Kaylee leaning up against him and enjoying the simple comfort.

  Without looking up, she said softly, "You realize you're my bitch now, right?"

  He chuckled. "When was I ever not?"

  ******

  Gregory Michaels was furious.

  "How in the blazing, pestilent and infinite hell did no one see fit to tell me about this catastrophe?!" he shouted to an individual stationed in the Institute lobby. With no sleep for over thirty hours and the stink of sweat from a day of walking, fighting, fleeing, and hiding wafting about him, Michaels didn't hold a pleasant attitude.

  "Please, Mr. Michaels, can you calm down? This is not the time to be shouting." The guard appeared nervous and put off. Unfortunately, the discomfort seemed to be from Malcolm's brutish presence and the writhing captive as opposed to the researcher's insistence.