The Plague Runner

by Burgy, P. J.

  This was also Dr. Hassel's room, her quarters sectioned off by an actual door to the left of the isolated cot in the far corner.

  “Sorry you got moved up here, buddy,” Kara said as she pushed the drapes open and looked around inside. His cot was empty, the blankets pushed to the side. Kara dropped down to her knee and saw him huddled underneath in the shadows. “You doing okay?”

  Russell made a noise at her.

  “I brought you food.” She swung the rope of dead rabbits off her shoulder and slid them under the cot. The sound of the crunching bones didn't even bother her anymore nor did the pool of blood that began to creep out into view.

  She moved to her feet and then sat on top of his cot, legs off of the floor, waiting. In the faint light, the drapes partially closed, Kara listened to him eat. It occurred to her that it was comforting to hear him down there, because he had survived.

  After a few minutes of silence, his feeding finished, Russell moved around down there and crawled halfway out from under the cot, his blood encrusted fingers sliding over the mattress. She leaned over, looking at him. His dirty blonde hair was a mess, which she had expected, and his black and red eyes stared intensely into hers.

  His brows furrowed. “You're not sick.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head, smiling. “The vaccine works.”

  “But you didn't know that it would.”

  “No, I didn't,” she said, “How are you holding up?”

  “Better now. I'm sorry that I missed the pyre burning.”

  “You can pay your respects tonight.”

  “I can on my way out, yes.”

  “You really want to leave us?”

  “Yes. I have to," he said.

  “The vaccine works, Russell. I told you.”

  “No. It isn't just about the vaccine or keeping you from getting Infected.” He pulled himself the rest of the way out from under the cot and then sat down next to her, his hands folded in his lap. “I mean, look at me, Kara. I don't belong here.”

  “You're a hero at Blue Lagoon, Russ. You do belong here.”

  “Those men downstairs say differently.”

  “They don't know you yet.”

  “Kara, I'm sick. I don't belong here,” he said, cutting her off. His eyes drifted over her face. “At the end of the day, I can walk and talk, and I can fight by your side , I can even sit at a table and pretend to be one of you as long as the sun isn't up , and you can be vaccinated and safe from the virus in my blood and saliva. But you'll never be safe from me. My mind, it comes and goes, and it gets harder and harder to hold onto the pieces that make me human. If I stay, I could spend years here, being the thing that pretends to be one of you, eating raw, bloody meat in closed rooms while you all turn away and make believe that I'm normal. But one day, something will flip in my brain, and I will hurt you, kill you even, because I forget who I am. I can't let that happen. Do you understand?”

  “And if that day never comes?” she asked, her bottom lip trembling for a moment. “I'm not going to run anymore, Russell. This is my home. You need a home too.”

  “I have a home," he said.

  “In the middle of a rotting city, all alone,” she said. “If you stay here, you'll have a family. Lena wants to come see you tonight. You know she'll want you to stay too. What about her?”

  “You fight dirty.”

  “When I want something bad enough, I sure do,” she said.

  “I know you want me to stay. But I can never be the man you want me to be. Not the friend, or otherwise..” He closed his eyes. “It doesn't matter if you love me, or if I love you, or whatever this is, it doesn't matter. This diseased brain barely holds back the animal. There's no future for us. I could never fit into a family, or make one.”

  “Come on now.”

  “Kara...”

  “Try again, please.”

  “You are so difficult.” His eyes opened just to glare at her.

  She managed a laugh, unable to keep it back. She lowered her chin. “I've been told that before. Please, Russ, think about it. You've got a lot of time before sunset.”

  “I could leave earlier if someone brought me a helmet," he said.

  “You sure could, if someone did that.”

  “You have to let me go.”

  “I've always been so good on my own, but I wasn't really on my own, y'know?” She licked her lips, her eyes heavy lidded as she studied the drapes. She saw Russell lean closer and she looked to his face. “They were always with me, even when I was out there running. My family. I carried them with me. I can let you go, Russ, but you'll always be with me too. You will be.”

  He lowered his head.

  “But I'm afraid you'll forget me,” She went on. “I'm afraid that I'll disappear from your memories and you'll just go back to the life you had before, like I never even existed.”

  “You've almost gotten me killed too many times for me to forget you, Kara Melendez,” he told her. He was smiling gently.

  “Still... Before you go, let me give you something at least. Something to remember me by. Wait until dusk, please.”

  He nodded. “I can wait for you, Kara.”

  “Thank you.”

  The sun had dropped low in the sky and the stars were beginning to shine through the fading daylight. With the moon's appearance, the red lights kicked on and the fort folk began to disperse from the square. The breach had been successfully patched up, sealed from the inside, and the UV lights were on, turned away from the main gate outside. It was a calm evening, the breeze soft and the grasses blowing in waves across the fields. Kara stood outside of the walls, the open door behind her, as she waited, silent. She clutched something long and weighty, a towel wrapped around it.

  Kara heard his voice, turning to see Russell hugging Lena goodbye at the guard shack, his helmet at his side. At least they'd gotten him new clothes, free from tears and blood stains. Dark colors looked good on him, the jacket familiar as one of Gencho's. He was shaking hands with Gencho next, who patted Russell's shoulder and gestured toward that jacket. Then, he came out from the door and joined her on the other side of the wall, out in the open looking over the fields with the open road ahead of them.

  Kara exhaled. “That time, I guess.”

  “It is.”

  “Maybe I'll visit you.”

  “Because that went so well the first time,” he replied.

  She smirked, handing him the towel. “Here.”

  He took it from her and then unwrapped it, laying the towel over his arm. She'd given him a machete, complete in a strapped sheath. He pulled it out of its holster to reveal the blade, very long, very sharp, and bearing an odd addition. The winged pin had been welded to the handle, near the base of the blade, and Russell turned it over in his hand.

  “This was yours," he said.

  “My guardian angel. It did its job. Now it will watch over you,” she told him, “Check out the engraving.”

  Russell turned the blade again, reading the letters carved into it. “'Always with you, Kara'. Thank you. I mean that.”

  “Gencho is better at engraving, but I thought it’d mean more if I did it myself. It's a little crooked.” Kara cleared her throat. “It's a solid build, so you can hack and slash a whole bunch with it and it'll be fine. I'm glad you like it.”

  He grinned, sheathing the blade.

  “You know, if you wanted to visit us...” She rubbed at her upper arm, stopping herself, and then took a step closer to him. “Well, you know where we are.”

  “I'll miss you, Kara.”

  “I'll miss you too, Rusty.”

  They embraced briefly and she closed her eyes, her cheek to his chest. The smell of him was pungent and she dismissed it. The scent of the Infected was sickly sweet, and yet Russell didn't make her feel ill. Not anymore. She'd gotten used to it, just like the way he ate, or the way he tucked himself into the shadows. Her good hand ran down across his back and she sighed.

  He said goodbye and then bega
n to walk off into the darkness. With the setting sun, the fields outside of the fort were disappearing into the night and Kara heard Gencho calling for her. Russell was gone then, Kara's eyes unable to find him out on the road.

  She went back into the fort and the door closed behind her.

  ~

  Kara wiped at her forehead, the rock music playing on the record player bittersweet to her ears. It was warm that day, and the garage felt muggy even with the fan running. She'd cut most of her hair off, the short style a little more manageable and more comfortable in the summer months. In the confines of the garage though, the air refused to move. The front of the Bella was open and Jensen Hooper was there with Gencho, the two talking about the engine, grease smeared on their faces as they argued about how to fix her. Kara had just pushed the mobile tool chest over to them and she regarded both men, smirking at their banter.

  Gencho's hair was longer, and he'd let it grow in around the sides. The beard he was growing was still short, trimmed close to the sides of his face. His flannel shirt was tied around his middle, his tattooed arms bare in the dirty tank top he wore. He'd changed so much that Kara still found herself taking a second glance at him now and then.

  Hoop, however, hadn't changed at all in the last year or so.

  “Hey, I'm gonna head over to the island and get a drink. Do you guys want anything?” Kara asked, hands on her hips.

  “Yeah, another mechanic,” Gencho muttered.

  “Oh, I know what I'm doing,” Hooper said. “Quit your bitching.”

  Kara whistled, rolling her eyes. “A bottle of whiskey it is.”

  “But what will you bring for Hoop?” Gencho asked and snorted.

  “Okay, boys. I'll be right back. I don't want to miss anything, so do me a favor and wait til I get back to start arguing again.” Kara chuckled and stepped out of the garage onto the grass.

  “I wasn't arguing. He's just doing it wrong,” Gencho stated.

  “Can we vote for a new Mayor? This one is an asshole,” Hooper asked.

  “Hey, you talked him into it, Hoop. Too late for regrets now.” Kara held her hands up in the air and then spun on her heel.

  She crossed the yard, eyes scanning over Blue Lagoon as she walked. The bridge was out, and a few people were traveling back and forth, some carrying baskets of vegetables from the newly built garden out near the smithy shack.

  Kara smiled as she saw the citizens tending to the soil, the apple tree saplings planted close by starting to look stronger. Lena was there, her long hair tied back and away from her face as she showed Aiden how tall the trees were getting. Aiden had gotten taller himself.

  Down near the shoreline, Brooke stood with an infant on her hip, bouncing the child gently and pointing out toward the island.

  “Hey, Kara!” Lena called and waved. “Did you see how good the saplings look?”

  “Oh yeah, they're coming along.” Kara stopped at the edge of the garden.

  “Hello, Kara,” Aiden smiled.

  “Hey there, buddy.” Kara dropped down when the boy came over and the two hugged. She stood back up again when she saw Brooke wandering over. “I'm just grabbing a drink for the Mayor and his new punching bag, I mean assistant. They're trying to get the Bella up and running again.”

  Brooke offered the child in her arms to Kara, who took her. The little girl was still so small, a little over a year old, with big brown eyes and wild, dark hair. Kara held her close to her chest, resting her on her hip as Brooke had. Swaddled in blue and pink, the baby giggled, grabbing for Kara's rope necklace and attempting to pull it taut.

  “Thank you for watching her, Brooke. I shouldn't be too much longer,” Kara said.

  “It isn't a problem. She's an angel,” Brooke replied.

  “Is that right? Have you been being good for Brooke, Raina? Yeah?” Kara asked the child, who smiled and cooed in response, and then she kissed the little girl's cheek.

  “I wish Raina could play.” Aiden used a twig to push a rock around in the dirt.

  “She'll be able to play when she's a little bit bigger, buddy,” Kara said. “She's still too little right now. You remember when you were too little?”

  “I was never too little,” Aiden stated.

  Brooke laughed softly and took Raina back as Kara handed her over.

  “Okay, I'll be back around again. Dinner tonight?” Kara asked, stepping backward.

  “Dinner. Yes,” Brooke replied.

  Kara nodded, turning toward the shore, heading to the bridge.

  END