He leans on me, "I doubt it. We aren’t that lucky."
I laugh and then sigh, "I know." The hopelessness of it all is writhing around inside of me. Anna is infected, she is going to turn in a few days. I have the cure, if it's even the cure and Will is possibly dying next to me. Maybe he's going to turn. Maybe it's all been a lie. I grip his hand.
He kisses my cheek, "Thank you."
I look at him and shake my head, "For what? Poisoning you?"
He kisses my lips softy, "Giving me a chance to be the person I would have been, before."
I see the sweet face and feel the soft lips, and I can't see him any other way any more. I can't see the man beating the other men to death, or the man who gripped me and shook me so hard, he left finger marks on me. I see the man I wanted him to be all along.
"Thank you for not ruining the chance I gave you," I whisper back. Our silence is broken by the sound of a truck. I see him stop at the end of the alley and get out. He scratches his head and looks around.
"He looks innocent to me," I mutter.
Will nods. I run down the stairs and down the alley to the end of the building. As I get to the end of the building, I see headlights. I freeze and press myself against the glass window. I wave back at Will. He does the same. A truck stops behind Bernie.
"Bernard!" A man's voice rings out into the dark.
Bernie turns and I see his face change. He looks scared, truly scared.
"Richard, what's up?" Bernie sounds nervous.
My heart is attempting to beat out of my chest, and my lungs are with my stomach in my throat.
I hear footsteps.
"Why were you in the lab this late? Michael sent me to find you, when he heard you were there."
Bernie shakes his head, "Friend got sick. Thought I would try to save her."
A man with dark hair and the same linen clothes as the rest of us, walks up to Bernie. There are other men with the man.
"What friend?"
Bernie shakes his head, "Girlfriend of mine."
Richard’s hands go out, "Is she in the city?"
Bernie shakes his head, "No. She's at a friend's house. I came here to get the cure for her. I thought you wanted it tested on pure people, not wasted on the borderland trash."
Richard crosses his arms. I can't see him in the light from the trucks. He shakes his head, "I do. Why didn’t you bring her here? Or Spokane?"
Bernie crosses his arms too, but he looks like he's hugging himself, "She's sick. I didn’t want to risk anyone else."
"When was she bit?"
"Yesterday."
Richard nods, "Okay. Michael doesn’t like people sneaking around his lab. You know that."
Bernie nods nervously, "I know. I'm sorry, Richard."
"The guards said you had some friends with you when you came through."
Bernie looks stunned. He swallows and I can tell he's lying from the distance I am. He licks his lips, "I did. A nurse and doctor from the breeder farms. One of the outlying ones, where they don’t really come here much. It was one of the ones that was destroyed. They're staying at my place for a few weeks. I'm never there anyway."
"Get in the truck, they'll drive you to the girl."
Bernie hesitates and then walks toward Richard and the men, "She's a long ways off."
"Okay. The guys haven’t been out of the city in a while. Michael will need a report on how things are out there, anyway."
Bernie nods once, "Okay."
Richard looks at him, "Where's the cure."
I want to smack myself in the head.
Bernie stops. He doesn’t know what to do, neither do it.
One of the guards slams him against the truck, "Why are you lying?"
Bernie shakes his head, "I must have left it in the lab."
I take a deep breath and walk from the alley. One of the guards turns and looks at me.
I smile, "Good evening."
He frowns. The others look.
I wave, "Hey, Bernard."
He waves, looking lost.
The men all watch me walk up to them, "What's going on?" I ask casually.
Richard scowls, "This is none of your concern."
I clear my throat, "I'm staying with Bernard."
He raises an eyebrow, "You are the nurse he's got staying with him?" His eyes are dark in the dim light of the headlights.
I swallow and nod, "I am."
"What's your name?"
I panic trying to remember the name on the card, "Lainy Swanson."
He looks me over once, "You look young. How old are you?"
"Twenty seven."
He arches an eyebrow, "And you're a nurse?"
I scowl, "I am."
"Your institution was attacked then? By the vigilante?"
I remember them calling me that on the back of the truck, during the flashy crow conversation. I nod, "It was."
He folds his arms, "What was she like?"
I glance at Bernie. His face is stricken with fear, "Me," I say. "She looked similar to me. Thin, mid twenties, long hair, but mean. Really mean. She shot the doctors in the head in front of the children. She was horrid." I try to remember the last one we attacked.
He sighs, "Why are you here? Why aren’t you helping with the other institutions?"
I rub my belly, "I'm married and we're trying to have a baby."
He looks at my stomach, "I see. You've been given permission?"
I nod once. He glances at Bernie and nods at the guard, "Let him go." He points at me, "Don’t go with him to see the sick girl. Some of the mutations aren’t up to date with our vaccines. Bernard doesn’t know that. He doesn’t work the labs." He sneers at Bernie and walks back to his truck. Bernie walks to the truck. I mutter, "You forgot the cure in the lab."
He looks at me and nods, "Be right back."
I widen my eyes and climb into the truck. My hands are shaking. I don’t look back at the alley. I don't know what to do. The trucks behind us leave.
A knock at the window scares me. I jump and look to see Will. He's pouring sweat. I open the truck and pull him inside. He weighs a ton and squishes me into the backseat with him. Bernard comes back within minutes. He's huffing and holding another cylinder.
"Jesus, that was brilliant, Em."
I hold Will's burning face to my chest, "Hurry."
He turns the truck around and drives back to his apartment. He parks and leaves us in the dark of the parking spot. Will is shaking and heaving.
"Em, I'm gonna die."
I shake my head, "No. Bernard said it made him sick, like he was dying too."
He shakes his head, "Baby, I'm dying. I know it. I got this bad feeling."
I shake my head, "I had that feeling when I was in Spokane and you came for me. You, Anna, and Jake. You found me. I am here, you'll be okay."
All of the pieces of my heart feel like they're up in the air, hovering. And any second they're all gonna drop at once, and I have to try to catch them all before they break. I have a sick feeling, I won't get them all.
Bernard comes back in.
"Slide on the floor."
I frown, "What?"
"Will, lie down on the floor and you on top of him. They won't check me on the way out, they never do."
I push Will onto the floor and lie on top of him. Bernard covers us with something.
I whisper, "Am I squishing you?"
He shakes his head, "No."
I press my ear to his chest and listen to his racing heartbeat. He is dying, that’s how it sounds.
Bernard drives and we hide. I feel the truck slow several times, it makes my stomach burn, but he always drives on again. I don’t know how close we are to the guards and if we will get stopped. They'll see Will and shoot on site. I'll get discovered and dragged to my dad or worse, back to Spokane.
I'm about to throw the blanket back and savagely attack Bernie, when I feel the truck come to a complete stop. I hold my breath. Will is passed out.
I hear muffled voices and Bernie's nervous laugh. He needs to work on his inner calm.
The truck starts moving as he shouts, "See ya in a couple hours."
He presses hard on the gas and Will and I are shoved back against the seat in a jerk.
The blanket comes off, "Is he okay?"
I shake my head, "I don’t know. He's sleeping."
"Wake him up."
I sit up and scowl, "He's sick. Let him sleep."
He shakes his head violently and drives like a psycho, "He's gonna be barfing in about ten minutes. Trust me. I've lived through this."
I close my eyes and sigh. I want to choke Bernie, but I don’t. I slap Will across the face hard. His eyes shoot open. He sits up hard and fast, wrapping his huge hands around my throat. I break his grip. He sees it's me and gasps, "Em. I must have had a nightmare. You okay?"
I laugh, "No. Remind me never to wake you by hitting you again."
He wrinkles his nose, "You slapped me?"
I laugh, "I did."
"Why?"
I point at his belly, "That’s about to get bad."
He burps, "Its bad already."
I shake my head, "Bad!"
He winces.
Bernie pulls the truck over when we near the spot we let Leo out. I whistle.
Will stumbles out and gags. He gives me a deadly look, "What did you do?"
I put my hands up, "Bernie. Not me."
Bernie rolls his eyes, "You're fine, princess. It lasts a few hours." He looks around, "Can Leo stay with him, while we go for Anna?"
I nod, "Yeah," and whistle again.
Will puts a hand out, "No. That damned wolf will eat me. No."
I laugh and whistle again. I hear a crack in the woods and turn to see his sloppy face as he leaps from the woods. I drop to my knees. He runs around me, sniffing and checking. He growls at Bernie and Will. I chuckle and let him nudge me a couple times. He wraps his paws around me and nuzzles me. I hug him back, "Hey, boy."
I laugh and then sigh, "I know." The hopelessness of it all is writhing around inside of me. Anna is infected, she is going to turn in a few days. I have the cure, if it's even the cure and Will is possibly dying next to me. Maybe he's going to turn. Maybe it's all been a lie. I grip his hand.
He kisses my cheek, "Thank you."
I look at him and shake my head, "For what? Poisoning you?"
He kisses my lips softy, "Giving me a chance to be the person I would have been, before."
I see the sweet face and feel the soft lips, and I can't see him any other way any more. I can't see the man beating the other men to death, or the man who gripped me and shook me so hard, he left finger marks on me. I see the man I wanted him to be all along.
"Thank you for not ruining the chance I gave you," I whisper back. Our silence is broken by the sound of a truck. I see him stop at the end of the alley and get out. He scratches his head and looks around.
"He looks innocent to me," I mutter.
Will nods. I run down the stairs and down the alley to the end of the building. As I get to the end of the building, I see headlights. I freeze and press myself against the glass window. I wave back at Will. He does the same. A truck stops behind Bernie.
"Bernard!" A man's voice rings out into the dark.
Bernie turns and I see his face change. He looks scared, truly scared.
"Richard, what's up?" Bernie sounds nervous.
My heart is attempting to beat out of my chest, and my lungs are with my stomach in my throat.
I hear footsteps.
"Why were you in the lab this late? Michael sent me to find you, when he heard you were there."
Bernie shakes his head, "Friend got sick. Thought I would try to save her."
A man with dark hair and the same linen clothes as the rest of us, walks up to Bernie. There are other men with the man.
"What friend?"
Bernie shakes his head, "Girlfriend of mine."
Richard’s hands go out, "Is she in the city?"
Bernie shakes his head, "No. She's at a friend's house. I came here to get the cure for her. I thought you wanted it tested on pure people, not wasted on the borderland trash."
Richard crosses his arms. I can't see him in the light from the trucks. He shakes his head, "I do. Why didn’t you bring her here? Or Spokane?"
Bernie crosses his arms too, but he looks like he's hugging himself, "She's sick. I didn’t want to risk anyone else."
"When was she bit?"
"Yesterday."
Richard nods, "Okay. Michael doesn’t like people sneaking around his lab. You know that."
Bernie nods nervously, "I know. I'm sorry, Richard."
"The guards said you had some friends with you when you came through."
Bernie looks stunned. He swallows and I can tell he's lying from the distance I am. He licks his lips, "I did. A nurse and doctor from the breeder farms. One of the outlying ones, where they don’t really come here much. It was one of the ones that was destroyed. They're staying at my place for a few weeks. I'm never there anyway."
"Get in the truck, they'll drive you to the girl."
Bernie hesitates and then walks toward Richard and the men, "She's a long ways off."
"Okay. The guys haven’t been out of the city in a while. Michael will need a report on how things are out there, anyway."
Bernie nods once, "Okay."
Richard looks at him, "Where's the cure."
I want to smack myself in the head.
Bernie stops. He doesn’t know what to do, neither do it.
One of the guards slams him against the truck, "Why are you lying?"
Bernie shakes his head, "I must have left it in the lab."
I take a deep breath and walk from the alley. One of the guards turns and looks at me.
I smile, "Good evening."
He frowns. The others look.
I wave, "Hey, Bernard."
He waves, looking lost.
The men all watch me walk up to them, "What's going on?" I ask casually.
Richard scowls, "This is none of your concern."
I clear my throat, "I'm staying with Bernard."
He raises an eyebrow, "You are the nurse he's got staying with him?" His eyes are dark in the dim light of the headlights.
I swallow and nod, "I am."
"What's your name?"
I panic trying to remember the name on the card, "Lainy Swanson."
He looks me over once, "You look young. How old are you?"
"Twenty seven."
He arches an eyebrow, "And you're a nurse?"
I scowl, "I am."
"Your institution was attacked then? By the vigilante?"
I remember them calling me that on the back of the truck, during the flashy crow conversation. I nod, "It was."
He folds his arms, "What was she like?"
I glance at Bernie. His face is stricken with fear, "Me," I say. "She looked similar to me. Thin, mid twenties, long hair, but mean. Really mean. She shot the doctors in the head in front of the children. She was horrid." I try to remember the last one we attacked.
He sighs, "Why are you here? Why aren’t you helping with the other institutions?"
I rub my belly, "I'm married and we're trying to have a baby."
He looks at my stomach, "I see. You've been given permission?"
I nod once. He glances at Bernie and nods at the guard, "Let him go." He points at me, "Don’t go with him to see the sick girl. Some of the mutations aren’t up to date with our vaccines. Bernard doesn’t know that. He doesn’t work the labs." He sneers at Bernie and walks back to his truck. Bernie walks to the truck. I mutter, "You forgot the cure in the lab."
He looks at me and nods, "Be right back."
I widen my eyes and climb into the truck. My hands are shaking. I don’t look back at the alley. I don't know what to do. The trucks behind us leave.
A knock at the window scares me. I jump and look to see Will. He's pouring sweat. I open the truck and pull him inside. He weighs a ton and squishes me into the backseat with him. Bernard comes back within minutes. He's huffing and holding another cylinder.
"Jesus, that was brilliant, Em."
I hold Will's burning face to my chest, "Hurry."
He turns the truck around and drives back to his apartment. He parks and leaves us in the dark of the parking spot. Will is shaking and heaving.
"Em, I'm gonna die."
I shake my head, "No. Bernard said it made him sick, like he was dying too."
He shakes his head, "Baby, I'm dying. I know it. I got this bad feeling."
I shake my head, "I had that feeling when I was in Spokane and you came for me. You, Anna, and Jake. You found me. I am here, you'll be okay."
All of the pieces of my heart feel like they're up in the air, hovering. And any second they're all gonna drop at once, and I have to try to catch them all before they break. I have a sick feeling, I won't get them all.
Bernard comes back in.
"Slide on the floor."
I frown, "What?"
"Will, lie down on the floor and you on top of him. They won't check me on the way out, they never do."
I push Will onto the floor and lie on top of him. Bernard covers us with something.
I whisper, "Am I squishing you?"
He shakes his head, "No."
I press my ear to his chest and listen to his racing heartbeat. He is dying, that’s how it sounds.
Bernard drives and we hide. I feel the truck slow several times, it makes my stomach burn, but he always drives on again. I don’t know how close we are to the guards and if we will get stopped. They'll see Will and shoot on site. I'll get discovered and dragged to my dad or worse, back to Spokane.
I'm about to throw the blanket back and savagely attack Bernie, when I feel the truck come to a complete stop. I hold my breath. Will is passed out.
I hear muffled voices and Bernie's nervous laugh. He needs to work on his inner calm.
The truck starts moving as he shouts, "See ya in a couple hours."
He presses hard on the gas and Will and I are shoved back against the seat in a jerk.
The blanket comes off, "Is he okay?"
I shake my head, "I don’t know. He's sleeping."
"Wake him up."
I sit up and scowl, "He's sick. Let him sleep."
He shakes his head violently and drives like a psycho, "He's gonna be barfing in about ten minutes. Trust me. I've lived through this."
I close my eyes and sigh. I want to choke Bernie, but I don’t. I slap Will across the face hard. His eyes shoot open. He sits up hard and fast, wrapping his huge hands around my throat. I break his grip. He sees it's me and gasps, "Em. I must have had a nightmare. You okay?"
I laugh, "No. Remind me never to wake you by hitting you again."
He wrinkles his nose, "You slapped me?"
I laugh, "I did."
"Why?"
I point at his belly, "That’s about to get bad."
He burps, "Its bad already."
I shake my head, "Bad!"
He winces.
Bernie pulls the truck over when we near the spot we let Leo out. I whistle.
Will stumbles out and gags. He gives me a deadly look, "What did you do?"
I put my hands up, "Bernie. Not me."
Bernie rolls his eyes, "You're fine, princess. It lasts a few hours." He looks around, "Can Leo stay with him, while we go for Anna?"
I nod, "Yeah," and whistle again.
Will puts a hand out, "No. That damned wolf will eat me. No."
I laugh and whistle again. I hear a crack in the woods and turn to see his sloppy face as he leaps from the woods. I drop to my knees. He runs around me, sniffing and checking. He growls at Bernie and Will. I chuckle and let him nudge me a couple times. He wraps his paws around me and nuzzles me. I hug him back, "Hey, boy."
