by Lake, D. K.
"Who said that?" I asked.
"Ansel. They're only interested in the young surviving this disease so they can move forward with healthy, younger people. The older ones are turned away and anyone that has a terminal illness is refused treatment as they're putting all they're resources into finding a cure to fight the disease so the hospital staff is limited." Drew explained.
"I don't think I like it here anymore." I muttered.
"You don't need to like it, we're not staying long." Drew said matter-of-factly.
Hutch pulled out an apple Lawrence had given him from an apple tree on the roof. He plonked himself on the curb and quietly munched away on his apple. Pope appeared a few minutes later.
"Can we get the meds?" I asked impatiently before Pope had even reached us.
"Ok, there's good and bad news." Pope said, stopping in front of Drew and me.
"Please tell me they don't want money? We don't have any. I thought it was free?" I sighed.
"It is free. I told the woman in there about Lane and his symptoms, and Nick wrote me a list of everything Lane needs, the main thing being antibiotics. Now the woman said she will be happy to let us have the medicine."
"Ok, so what's the bad news?" I asked.
"The bad news is she doesn't get a delivery until tonight. She's all out of antibiotics as they've had a sudden rush of people requesting the specific antibiotics we need."
"Of course they have. Nothing is ever simple. So we wait?" I said.
"Yes, but there's more. She doesn't know what time the man that delivers the medical supplies will be here. He usually comes between seven and eight but not always. The problem being they don't let anyone through the gates after seven. It's protocol. No one goes in or out except the guards. So unless you want to sneak back out after seven and risk getting caught and spending the next week locked up which is classed as punishment around here, we'll be here until tomorrow morning. Gate opens at seven again." Pope explained.
I grabbed Pope's wrist and twisted the watch around to see the time, 2.35 pm. We had hours to kill.
"That sucks. I mean, not getting the meds but the fact we have to wait until tomorrow to get them to Lane." I said.
"I could probably slip through their security. It wouldn't be too hard." Drew said seriously.
"No. You're not doing that. I'm not risking you getting caught. What if they never let you out again and you get put with the others they collect from the neutral zones, you might get shipped off somewhere."
Drew hadn't thought about that, a small crease lining his brow.
"Exactly. No one is sneaking out. We'll just wait."
"I think it would be a good idea for one of us to go back today, let the others know what's happening so they don't think anything bad has happened to us." Pope suggested.
"That's a good idea." I said, wondering who was going to go back. It was clear to everyone that Drew and I came as a package so either we'd both go back together or we'd both spend the night here.
"I'll go back." Hutch said, standing back up.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yeah, I know Sophie will be fretting her little head off about me. You know what she's like, that girl can't live without me." Hutch said with a smile.
"Ok, Mr. Bighead, whatever." I teased.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Hutch said and walked away.
"Stay safe." I called.
"The same applies to you three. Behave yourselves." Hutch threw over his shoulder and disappeared around the corner.
"So what do we do for the rest of the day?" I asked.
"Wander around. I don't really want to go back in there but the woman said that they hand out free food during meal times, over there." Pope pointed to a large tent that had been set up on the opposite side of the street with empty tables inside. "We can come back and get some food and hopefully the meds will have arrived."
"So where are we going to sleep for the night?" I asked, looking around, thinking we'd be sleeping on whatever benches we could find.
"There's a small shopping court set up with cots and sleeping bags for anyone in need. The woman in there said we could stay there no problem."
"Ok, sounds like a plan." I said.
At least we knew what we were doing. I was just pleased that we were going to be getting our hands on medicine for Lane.
Chapter 20
We spent the rest of the day wandering around the stalls avoiding the stall where the creepy lady had been set up. We stopped at the edge of a water fountain. Lawrence had been kind enough to pack us some food before we left. I was happily nibbling my crackers when I suddenly found myself surrounded by stray cats and we had to leave before they clawed our legs to pieces. We located the shopping court where we would be staying for the night. The place looked clean and a lot less cramped than the Green Banner place. At dinnertime, we returned to Green Banner and was surprised to find a large number of what appeared to be homeless people had shown up for food. We joined the others and we were each given a bowl of tomato soup and a bread crust to dunk into it. Around the corner of Green Banner was a picnic area set up with tables and chairs and we sat amongst the crowd as we ate our food and minded our own business. After we had eaten Pope joined in with a game of friendly basketball on the parking lot opposite where there was a goal post set up. It was getting close to eight o'clock and we were still waiting around for the medicine to be delivered.
By nine o'clock I was on edge but the woman assured us the delivery would be here, it was just super late today. Of course.
The street lights had come on outside and Pope was still busy making new friends and learning to ride a hoverboard with two wheels as kids skated up and down on skateboards with him. I just had visions of him falling off and grazing his arms.
Drew drummed his fingers on the wooden picnic table, getting irritable. I looked up and found him watching me.
"I know, I know. I'm fed up of waiting around here too, but she said they'd be here soon." I turned to look at Pope again. "Pope's having fun."
"Pope is gonna put his hip out if he isn't careful." Drew teased.
I laughed and watched Pope fall onto some girl and he was apologizing for pulling her top down. I looked away with a smile on my face.
"Come here." Drew reached across the table and grabbed my hand.
I had no choice but to stand up and hurry around the side of the table before he made me climb over the table. He pulled me onto his lap and I wrapped an arm around his shoulders. It wasn't like Drew to show affection for me in public, he occasionally held my hand but not very often. It's only when we were alone he would open up and be himself, and tell me things.
"What's up?" I asked, looking over the top of his head at the group of teenagers huddled around the picnic table next to us. They were all flipping through what appeared to be comic books, and one was playing on some retro Game Boy.
"Nufin. I'm just thinking about when we leave." Drew murmured, resting his head on my chest. I stroked his head and glanced back at Pope who was back on the hoverboard contraption and whizzing up and down. You'd never get me on one of those things. An easy way to break your neck.
"You're already thinking about leaving and we haven't even found the White House yet or come up with a plan on how we're going to get Nick in to speak to the important people without us all getting killed or me getting locked up in a lab."
"I'm not letting you go anywhere near that place. He can take what he needs and go by himself." Drew said automatically.
"And how is he supposed to do that? He lost all his medical equipment in the tornado. How do you expect him to take my blood?"
Drew hadn't thought about it before.
"While Lane is recovering we'll get the supplies Nick needs. Maybe if Pope asks nicely we can get what he needs from here...or we can just swipe it."
"I doubt they leave needles or medical supplies laying around."
"Well, you're not going with them. Nick can deliver the cure without
you there, he said so himself."
"Do you think they'll listen to him? They don't know us. Do you think they'll really listen if Nick shows up out of the blue and says he has the cure?"
"I don't care. Once Nick is inside, we're leaving. I said I'd help get him here so I've done my part."
"Wouldn't it be more believable if they saw me? I'm living proof that there's a cure and it works, and that Nick is the only one that has succeeded in creating one so far."
Drew's grip on my waist tightened.
"I don't like where you're going with this, Pretty. You better not be getting any ideas. I'm not letting you set foot in that place." Drew said firmly.
I sighed. "I know. I don't want to end up back in a lab either." I sighed.
"I won't let that happen. They'd have to go through me to get to you. And I'll kill anyone that tries."
"Aww, my big protective teddy bear."
"Enough of the teddy bear shit." He tickled my sides and made me laugh.
Drew rubbed his eyes. "You look tired." I noted.
"Yeah, that's 'cause I am. I can't wait to crash tonight."
"You didn't get any sleep last night, did you?"
"No, too busy searching for your cute ass, and then when I found it I was overtired and it was nearly morning anyway."
"The shopping court looks ok to sleep at for the night."
"Still looks as dodgy as fuck. You can sleep between Pope and me."
"Great. I get to be mauled by the two of you all night. Like last night wasn't enough, I had Margo bear hugging me all night." I said dryly.
"You love it when I maul you." he teased.
"Alright settle down, we're in public." I said, my eyes feeling sore again. "I've gotta take these out, they're itching no end."
"Did you bring some more with you?"
"Yes, I have a whole pack in my bag. Do you think it will be ok if I take them out tonight to let my eyes breathe? I'll wear the shades."
"Should be ok, we'll find a dark corner to bunk down for the night. Just put your hoodie on tonight and keep the hood up when you're asleep."
"Yes, Mr. Protective."
"Mr. Paranoid more like." Pope laughed, overhearing the tail end of our conversation as he came to a stop next to the table to get a drink. "The delivery not here yet?" Pope asked.
We both shook our heads. "Call me when it arrives!" Pope said and whizzed off again.
"He's having way too much fun on that thing." I laughed.
I happened to glance over Drew's head and saw one of the boys at the next table watching us. He looked very clean with new clothes, and his short brown hair looked tidy. His friends looked a little rough around the edges, clothes a little dirtier. But there was something different about him. Like he didn't fit in here. Had he heard us talking about the cure? I hadn't even thought about it, assuming they were all too engrossed in their comic books to be listening to us. I tensed as Drew's lips brushed over my neck.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
The boy glanced away and quickly packed up his backpack. Drew looked over his shoulder to see the back of the boy scurrying away.
"That boy. I think he was listening to us." I said.
Drew turned back around and thought nothing of it. I watched the boy as he hurried down the sidewalk but he looked over his shoulder one last time before he turned the corner, staring straight at me. I frowned.
"Pretty, don't fret about him, he's just a kid." Drew brushed it off. "He probably missed curfew which is why he's in such a hurry."
"Yeah, you're probably right." I said, trying to let the weird feeling in my stomach pass. The last thing I wanted to do was to start throwing up again. Drew was right, he was just a kid.
The delivery finally turned up. A man in a green van pulled up and the volunteers came out to help him unload the medical supplies. Pope was in and out in a matter of minutes and had what we needed, and we set off to the shopping court.
We made it there by ten o'clock and were each given a sleeping bag and told to find somewhere to sleep. The stores had metal shutters pulled down over them and I doubted they still used them. It looked clean enough, I wasn't so sure about the sleeping bag in my arms that smelled musty but I wasn't complaining. The whole place was dimly lit, not because they didn't have electric but because there were people already asleep. There was an area set up with tables and chairs, and another area with couches and recliners positioned in front of a TV that was playing Friends. The episode where Joey gets his head stuck in a turkey.
I followed the boys to a spot under the stairs, in the shadows and tucked away from prying eyes.
I got comfortable and sorted out my cot and Drew dragged his cot as close to mine as possible, and Pope did the same on the other side. I felt safe nestled between the pair of them. But this place didn't look like the type of place where questionable behavior went on after dark. Everyone looked friendly enough. I still hugged my bag and used it as a pillow. I flipped my hood up and popped out my contacts, feeling relief as soon as the things were gone. I settled down for the night, listening to Pope and Drew murmuring back and forth to each other as they lay beside me on either side. I soon fell asleep, feeling exhausted.
I woke up sometime later to whispers and frightened voices. I sat up, still feeling groggy from sleep. Pope was passed out beside me but Drew was missing. I stood up and saw people rushing around, some making a run for it. What was going on? Had deadbies got inside the facility?
"Put your shades on. Now!" Drew ordered.
I whizzed around and found him hurrying over to me. I quickly did as I was told and dug out my sunglasses and popped them on my face which made everything darker. It was already dimly lit in here as it was.
"What's going on?" I asked, confused.
"Grab your shit, we need to leave." Drew kicked Pope awake. "They're looking for someone." Drew said, grabbing my arm and was about to make a move to the nearest exit when a group of men I recognized as army came marching in.
"What the hell? What's with all the military? Who are they looking for?" Pope asked as we hurried the other way.
"I just heard they're looking for a girl and two guys." Drew gruffed as we swung around the corner only to be greeted by more army soldiers, searching the cots, and scaring the crap out of the people that were fast asleep and had no clue what was going on. They were all holding guns and they didn't look too friendly.
"One girl, two guys? Why does that sound familiar?" Pope said as we hid behind a wall.
"It can't be us. No one knows we're here, and it's not like we did anything wrong to warrant this kind of attention." I said rationally, hoping there had been some kind of mistake.
"The girl's a short brunette, one of the guys has a crossbow with green hair, and the other guy is wearing a leather vest over his hoodie." Drew said, his eyes sliding to us as we crouched down beside him. He just described us. Shit.
"We have to get out of here." Pope said, shoving his vest in his bag and wrapping his hoodie around his waist. I still had my hood up. Pope passed Drew his beanie which he quickly pulled on.
"There's a way out on the next floor." Drew said as though he had a map of this place in his head. I guess when I fell asleep he did a quick sweep of the place before crashing next to us. We raced across the floor that was slippery as someone had spilled something on it and hurried up the stairwell.
I looked down and saw army soldiers swarming everywhere.
"They're everywhere." I panicked.
"Don't look down. Keep moving." Pope urged.
We had nearly made it to one of the fire exits when three men in army outfits walked around the corner and blocked our path. I was stupid to think they had forgotten about this escape route. We all stopped running and Drew put his arm out in front of me.
"That's them!" one of them said, pointing at us.
Drew held his bow aimed and ready to kill. This wasn't good. There was no way we were going to get out of this. Where was a bunch of deadbies when you need
ed them? I could really do with the distraction right about now.
"We have orders not to harm you but to bring you in." one of the men said.
I could feel Pope buzzing next to me, he did love a good fight, his knife poised and ready to throw.
"You got the one on the end? I can take the two this end." Drew spoke quietly.
"Yeah, let's do it." Pope replied.
"No, you can't kill anyone." I hissed.
"Do you have a better idea? We need to get past them." Drew growled.
"I'll distract them, you two take them down but don't kill them." I said in a rush of words.
"Distract them how?" Pope dared a peek at me.
"Trust me." I said, flipping my hood down and taking off my shades.
One of the men gasped and the other two took a step back.
"Like that." I said and Drew let his arrow fly free and it hit one of them in the leg and he went down, howling in pain.
"We're not here to hurt you!" one of them said desperately, aiming their gun at us but not about to use it.
Pope threw his knife and it hit the other man in the arm and he fell to the floor in one swift movement.
"Wait, please! We have orders from above not to hurt you." the last one panicked.
Orders from who? Who wanted us? Did I want to find out? Fuck no.
"Too bad for you because we're not afraid to hurt you." Pope said, picking up a trashcan and tossing it at the last man standing and we all legged it to the fire exit. Pope burst through the door and we followed, but I was not happy to see the other side. I was blinded by headlights but could still see people moving toward us.
More of them surrounded us and before anyone got a chance to do anything Drew and Pope were both on the ground being restrained and I was left standing in the middle of them, unsure what to do. So I did nothing. What could I do? Make a run for it? How? I was surrounded. Pope was bundled into a black van and I think my stomach dropped out because it looked like one of the vans from the night before. This was it. I was going back to the lab. Drew put up more of a fight, struggling and cursing at them, and telling me to run but one of them already had my arms restrained behind my back. Drew managed to kick one of them in the face and made their nose bleed and the other two lost control of him for a split second.
