I closed my eyes and there she was again. She reached down and slid her hand down my pants.
XVIII
Haylea Meyers
"W hat the hell are you saying, Kurt?"
"Haylea, come on, you know what I'm saying."
That is the point where I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to leave the room and get away, so that is what I did. Physically, I never lifted a foot. I didn't turn away and leave the room to collect my thoughts; I stayed standing right there. But for a moment I needed to clear my mind. It probably lasted no longer than a couple blinks of the eye, but my mind was already there.
I let my mind go to the first place it wandered to and didn't fight it. I remembered, for some reason, I was a kid, maybe 12. I remember I was just waking up for school. Before I could get out of bed to brush my teeth, my mom came into my room and said that she wanted to talk to me. I couldn't tell if she was upset or happy when she first entered into my bedroom. I was just a kid. Reading emotions was still difficult for me.
She sat on the edge of the bed at my side and said that there was a problem with Milo. He was our cat. For my parents and older brothers, Milo was the family's second cat, but he was my first. He was the only animal that I've ever knew and the only animal that I've ever loved. He was one of my best friends. Whenever I was having a bad day, needed cheering up, or just wanted something to cuddle with, Milo would be there for me.
"What's wrong, ma?" I remember asking her.
"He's just getting old, baby. We're going to take him to the vet once you leave for school, but you might want to say goodbye to him."
I didn't know how to react to that. I've never had to say goodbye to anyone. I still had my four grandparents; never had to say goodbye to anyone in my family. Milo was going to be the first one. I took a couple of extra minutes lying in bed before getting ready for school.
Once I got downstairs, I saw Milo was lying in the living room on his side. He was sprawled out and his eyes were quite drowsy. When I walked into the living room, though, he lifted his head up and looked in my direction before putting it back down on the ground again.
"That is about the most he's moved all morning," my dad said to me from the kitchen.
That made me smile for a moment, but I was still upset. I knew that I had to say goodbye and that when I got home from school, he wouldn't be there anymore.
"What the hell are you saying, Kurt?" I said to my fiancé. Saying goodbye to someone whose time had come is hard, but forcing someone to die before they were ready, condemning someone to death wasn't right.
"Haylea, come on, you know what I'm saying," he said to me.
"No. This is ridiculous," I wasn't okay with it.
The whole group was standing around in the lounge area discussing Sam's sudden illness. Emily grabbed the medicine from Janet and rushed off into Sam's office where he had been resting. Good thing, too. Good thing she wasn't in the room to hear what some of the people were saying. My own fiancé was agreeing with it.
"I'm not saying it's our only option, Haylea, but we have to discuss this. We have to realize that there may be a very dangerous risk letting him stay here."
"What risk? We'll keep him in his office," I said.
"He's sick. He'll get us all sick," Jack said to me with nose crinkled.
"He's been in here with us the whole time. He was just sitting with us. What if we're all sick?"
"He's the only one showing symptoms. You need to be realistic here, Haylea," Kurt looked at me and was so serious.
"So, what are you guys saying? You want to put him outside?"
"We just...we just need to talk about it," Kurt said.
"Then talk about it. Talk about it here, now. Right in front of his daughter," I pointed over to Elyse. I don't think anyone realized that she was standing there listening, or they noticed but forgot that she was in fact his daughter.
"Elyse, I'm sorry," of all people Jack apologized. "We just need to talk about it. If he is sick, it might be putting us all in danger."
I think she wanted to say something, but when her mouth opened; no words came out. She simply nodded and then looked down at the counter. She was standing off to the side leaning on the counter top with Heather by her side.
"Haylea, you know that we can't survive in here if one of us is sick. We'll catch it," Kurt said.
"We don't even know what the sickness is. We don't know the symptoms, we don't know anything about it."
"But we know that when people breathed the air, they got sick and died," Jack said.
"None of us have been close enough to someone sick to know what the symptoms are," Dan said from the side.
"That's why we're still alive. We've kept our distance," Jack was very cold about the whole situation.
"So, you're going to take him outside and leave him? Just like you did with Nick?" I turned my attention to Jack.
"If I have to...yea, I will."
"What about you Travis? Could you do that again? Leave one of our own outside to die?" I asked Travis because he was the one person with Jack and Nick when Nick was cut.
"No, I don't think that I could," he answered truthfully.
"He won't have to," Kurt said to me. I'm not sure if he was lying to get back on my side or if he realized the tension was boiling over to a serious point. Sides were being drawn and emotions were running high.
"I will," Jack said directly after Kurt.
"No, you won't. Nobody will. Like I said, I just want to talk to him," Kurt took a couple of steps forward but then realized that he was overstepping his boundary again, "Is that okay with everyone? Janet? Is it okay if I talk to him or should we waste more time voting on something like this?"
I looked at Janet and then around the rest of the group and nobody seemed to have a problem with it.
"Just you?" Elyse asked.
"Yes."
"And me," Jack interrupted.
"No. Nobody else comes in. I want to talk to him alone. I know him."
"That's why I'm coming in. You might sugarcoat stuff. I'll tell him like it is. We need to be real with him."
Kurt looked back at me. I think he wanted some reassurance that it was okay for Jack to go with. Part of me agreed and part of me didn't, but I wasn't going to put up a fight about it. Like Janet had said earlier, Kurt wasn't the leader, but if there were a pair of leaders in the group, it was Jack and Kurt and they both a right to be in the room talking to Sam about what to do.
"Fine, come on," Kurt said to Jack.
I watched both men walk down the hall into Sam's direction. I wondered if Sam would be with them the next time I saw them; leading him outside to die. I decided that it was time to do some praying. I just wasn't sure anyone was up there to hear me.
XIX
Emily Clark
I knew the worst thing about being stuck in this building is that when tensions were high; there was nowhere to run. There would always be someone around. I could have hidden in the corner or went to take a shower, but no matter where I ran, they were always here. Waiting for me. They’re always doing what they thought was best, but they didn't know me, they didn’t know Janet or Barry, they didn’t know my family. They didn’t know what was best for everyone.
How dare they stand around and debate whether or not my husband is dying from an airborne outbreak when he hasn’t been the one going in and out every day. Who the hell knows what Kurt was doing the first couple of days when he wasn’t here. Jack and Travis were the ones that went outside to get us food and water. They were the ones in contact with Nick when he started to get sick. Kurt went outside and let Cam and his friends in. Sam has done nothing but stay inside and protect his family; protect me.
Why is he the one that is getting sick? Why is it that I am stuck in a building with a bunch of egotistical people that are in a fight for power, and the sweetest man I’ve ever known, the one who hasn’t hurt anyone since he’s been here or done anything wrong is the one that got sick.
I co
uldn’t listen to them anymore. Once I got back into Sam’s office, I opened the Ibuprofen and tapped the bottle until I had a couple in my hand. Two or three was the recommended dosage, but four fell into my hand and I was not going to waste any time putting one back in the bottle. I grabbed the water that he had been sipping from and put the pills in his hand. He slowly put his hand to his mouth, my hand guiding it, and opened his mouth. I put the bottle in his hand and, again, helped him tilt the water out. Once he had the water in his mouth, it took him a couple of tries to swallow all the pills.
That is when I knew that he wasn’t feeling himself at all. Sam was always great at swallowing pills. He had a knee surgery not too many years ago and the doctor gave him these giant horse tranquilizer-sized pills to take and he took those like a champ. These Ibuprofens were no bigger than half the size of an M&M and he was struggling with them.
“How are you feeling?” I asked him.
“I’m cold.”
“Well put your blanket back over yourself, babe,” I reached down and pulled the blanket over his shoulders.
He wrapped it around him tighter and I think that he had forgotten about it. I think that he felt he was already wearing the blanket. His mind was so fatigued. He was exhausted but for some reason couldn’t sleep. I didn’t blame him. Trying to sleep in this place was like asking someone to sleep on the hardest, most jagged cliff of the Rocky Mountains.
Then there was a knock at the door and I wanted to throw a water bottle at it. I knew who it was. I wasn’t stupid. It was Kurt trying to come save the day and make everyone believe he was our hero and savior. I respected Kurt and had grown to like him so much in the past couple of days, but now he crossed a line. How would he like it if I took his precious Haylea and threw her ass out on the street?
“Could you come back later?” I said very politely. I didn’t want Sam to know that there were rumblings within the group about him. I didn’t want to panic him, but Sam was being too nice. He was always too nice, even being this sick.
“It’s okay, Em,” he said, “Come on in.”
And I was right. Kurt was coming in and just like I could have guessed he had his right-hand man, Jack, with him. It was the apocalypse’s version of Batman and Robin. I should have said that out loud to them, maybe they would have fought over which one was Batman and would forget about Sam.
“Emily…How are you, Sam?” Kurt asked. Kurt stood in front of Sam’s desk, while Jack crossed his arms and leaned back on the far wall.
“Oh, I’m doing alright. Heard I was sick?”
“Yea, we caught wind of it. Is there anything we can do for you?”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Kings Island,” he said with a smile.
“Cedar Point is better. Let’s do Cedar Point,” Jack said without hesitation. Jack and Sam had grown close while being in here. I didn’t understand it. I wasn’t a huge fan of Jack, but the two of them had a mutual respect for each other. They always seemed to be on the right page and had similar views on how to survive. I actually felt better about him being in here than if it was just Kurt alone.
“You wouldn’t mind driving, would you?” Sam continued.
“No, man. I’ll get us there in no time.”
“Sam…look, man…we’re a little worried,” Kurt started.
“You think that I got sick from the shit outside?” Sam interrupted.
“Nobody thinks that, Sam,” I wanted to keep him positive.
“No, it’s okay. I understand. I’m not stupid and it’d be rude of me to act like you guys are. I’ve thought about it too.”
“Well, we think,” again Kurt was interrupted.
“What would you do, big guy?” Jack said to him. The difference right now was that Jack was talking to Sam like a friend. Kurt treated him like a patient. If anyone knew the difference, I did.
“If it was you, I’d leave your ass on the street,” Sam said to Jack. He was joking and, again, their relationship was building before my eyes because Jack started laughing.
“I bet you would,” Jack responded.
“Sam, some of the group is worried,” Kurt said.
“They’ll be fine if they just stay away,” I glared at Kurt.
“We don’t know that.”
“We don’t know that he’s sick,” I said.
“We have to worry about the safety of the group.”
“And I have to worry about the safety of him.”
“I know,” Kurt said. And I think he didn’t just know, but he understood. If it were Haylea who was sick, him and I would probably be in the other’s spot arguing the same thing. For that reason, I made sure not to lose any respect for Kurt during this debate.
And then there was another knock on the door. At this point, I didn’t want anyone else in the room. I didn’t want anyone else to have a chance of catching whatever Sam had, but I also wanted the conversation…the argument to be with as little people involved as possible.
We all turned our heads around to see that it was Scott who was poking his head in.
“What is it, Scott?” I asked him. I didn’t bother to hide my annoyance.
“I just thought you might like these,” he held out a box of the cleaning masks that we had been looking for earlier. It was a brand-new box. I watched Kurt fan through them and there must have been over thirty or so masks in there.
“Where’d you find these?” Kurt asked him.
“There’s another storage closet behind the studio that I forgot about. It’s not a cleaning closet, so I didn’t even think to look there. Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. This is great, but we’re kind of in the middle of something.”
“I know. That’s why I brought them to you now.”
“What do you mean?” I asked him.
“I heard about Sam. Problem is we don’t know what’s going on with him because Emily can’t test him with a bottle of aspirin and some old used bandages…so how can we decide his fate?”
“I’m not following, Scott,” Kurt said, but the truth was that none of us were following what he wanted so I was glad that Kurt spoke up.
“You’ve got your ticket outside,” Scott pointed to the box that Kurt was now holding, “Run to the hospital and get whatever Emily needs.”
Then it was like the light flipped on above our heads. Kurt and I connected eyes like we had just discovered the cure to Sam’s problem. Jack leaned up off of the wall and grabbed a couple of masks from the box just to see that they were actually there. I think we were all thinking the same thing; to go to the hospital to try and diagnose Sam, but I don’t think anyone was positive about going back outside.
“I’ll go,” then Jack spoke up. He looked at Sam and smiled at him.
“Me too,” I said. I could hear Sam grunt his disapproval. “Sam, I have to. I’m the only one who is going to be able to identify the stuff we need.”
“Is it worth me putting up a fight?” he was only half serious in his question.
I leaned forward and held his hot face, “No, babe. I have to go.”
“Alright, then we’re doing this. Let’s pack up what we need. We leave in twenty,” Kurt ordered us. I was okay with his orders when he had his head on right…when it involved saving my husband.
“Thank you, Kurt, Jack. Thank you, Scott.”
“You’re welcome. If you have anything to tell anyone…tell them before we leave,” Kurt said before he left the room.
XX
Kurt Elkins
“A bsolutely not. You’re not going!” Haylea wasn’t too happy.
I grabbed a couple of WTIX bags that the cameramen used to carry heavy equipment in. I didn’t know what we were going to be bringing back from the hospital, but I knew that a couple of flimsy trash bags wouldn’t hold the medicine and equipment that we needed.
The equipment room was in a small nook between master control and the newsroom. It went about fifteen feet into the wall and there were cabinets and shelves filled with cameras, batterie
s, tripods, and all the other stuff that the reporters used. It was one of the rare times that Haylea and I had been alone together, but we didn’t get to enjoy it because of the situation at hand.
“Haylea, stop. You know that I have to go,” I said to her.
“Why? Why does it always have to be you? Why can’t you send Jack out there?”
“Jack is coming. Emily is coming. Jack is seeing if anyone else wants to as well.”
“Then, I’m coming, too.”
“No, you’re not. You need to stay here incase somebody needs something.”
“What in the hell could anybody possibly need?! A ride somewhere?”
I emptied another bag and tossed it to the side. That made a total of three bags to take with us to the hospital. I wanted one more, but couldn’t find another one of that size. There were a couple small sacks that were used to strictly hold the cameras and I figured that something small is better than no bag at all so I took the camera out and tossed it to the side. Once I was done with the bags, I held onto Haylea’s arms and pulled her closer.
“Whether the others want to admit it, you, me, and Jack are the only ones with enough guts to lead this group. With Jack and I out there, you need to be here. Make sure that Janet and Barry are okay, make sure the kids are okay, and make sure that Sam is comfortable.”
I kissed her on the forehead and then looked into her eyes. At that moment, I knew that all she needed was to be close to me and to kiss me. I moved in until my lips met hers. I could have stayed like that all day…forever. If Sam didn’t need serious help, I don’t think I would have stopped kissing her. I remember kissing was all we ever used to do, but romance didn’t seem to be a keen concern anymore.
“I swear to God, if you do not come back…I’m calling your mother,” she joked. She tried to laugh, but I think she quickly realized that my mother was probably dead; that her mother was probably dead. It was sad to think about but I chuckled anyways and kissed her on the head again.
“It’s okay…I will come back. I promise to you. I will come back.”
Dead Last (Vol. 1): Dead Last Page 11