Ian kneels next to me. “It’ll be okay.” His voice is choked, attempting to stay strong for me.
“Not right now, it’s not,” I say through my tears. At this moment, nothing is okay.
James returns a short time later, looking distraught. He reaches out and touches my shoulder. I jump to my feet and engulf him in my arms.
James is the first to pull away, shaking his head.
“What is it?” I ask him.
“I didn’t see any of this. Not until you told Az to run. I saw you make the decision to stay and protect her, then her running for help. I was in the kitchen with the others when I jumped from the table, trying to get to her.”
Ian wraps his arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. “You can’t blame yourself.”
“I don’t understand it!” James yells. “The most important moments sneak past me, but I can figure out what Sarah cooks for dinner. Why can I see things if it’ll never help me!”
Ian pulls him tighter, not giving him a chance to escape. “You saved us plenty of times.” I touch his cheek, reminding him of our situations in the trees. Tears fall from his eyes. I understand his frustrations, feeling the same about my dreams. “We’ll find the strength to overcome this, just like everything else.”
“What should we do for Dane?” He looks down at his unrecognizable uncle.
“Mason and I can take care of him. We’ll have to float him. The ground is too hard for a burial,” Ian responds.
“No. I can help you. I’m old enough, and he’s the last of our family.”
Ian concedes. “All right. Let’s get out of here, and take Lillie to clean up before we see Azami again. She’s traumatized enough from what she’s already witnessed.”
They lead me down to the bathing tunnel, mostly moving in a daze. I remove my clothes without the worry of who’s in the room, and sink into the water. The warmth spreads through my body, replacing the sticky feel of dried blood. I move along the back wall, where the current washes all the blood out of the pool faster.
As soon as I finish cleaning, I can’t wait to get out of the water and dry off. James keeps his back to me when Ian helps me out of the water, towel drying my skin before pulling one of his baggy shirts over my head, kissing my forehead along the way. As I step into the panties he holds out for me, Mason and Michael enter the room. Once they realize I’m dressing, they stop and wait for me to finish. Michael coming in with Mason and not attending to Rosie, can only mean one thing.
“How’s Rosie?” I ask, my voice monotone, already knowing the answer.
Michael turns, not bothered at all by my partial dress. “She didn’t make it. She passed right after we got her to the room.” His voice is harsh as he attempts to swallow the lump in his throat. “I checked on Az, and she’s fine. Jen’s drawing in the dirt with her.”
Mason moves to my side. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
Their voices are quiet, even though their next to me. A calm is working through my body, numbing me from today’s events. “Okay,” I murmur.
“Can you tell us what happened?”
Nodding slowly, I begin to recap the events. The noise that drew us to the curtain, the sight that greeted us behind it. The blood. All the blood. How upset Dane was when he realized what he’d done. How much he’d lost control.
“He said they were talking to him, that they were trying to get him to lead me to them. He said they were coming for me.” The who is left unsaid. We all know who’s coming.
“They talked to him?” James questions. “You said in your dream you watched them talk without speaking, like a pack mentality. Do you think that’s how they were speaking to him? He was becoming infected, one of them. The more deteriorated he became, the more access they had to his mind. They drove him to this.”
Any of us can become infected at any time, and it can lay dormant for years. None of us are safe. The conversation continues around me. I relayed the events that happened, and then I checked out. Nothing registers, until a hand is waving in front of my face, gaining my attention.
“Lil?” Ian studies my pupils. When I still don’t respond, he turns to Michael. “I think the shock is setting in. Can you check her out?” His voice is high-pitched, worried.
“Sure thing.” Michael steps in, pulling down the lids of each eye, checking my reaction. “Lil, you with me?”
Worrying them is the last thing they need. “Yeah. Tired.”
“Go get Az and head to bed. Mason and I’ll clean this up and prepare them.”
“I’ll help,” James volunteers.
“Are you sure?” Ian asks, giving him an out.
“Yes.” He moves to leave with Mason and Michael, and I panic.
“James?” I catch his attention before he exits. “I love you.” He already knows what he means to me, but I have to tell him, cherish every moment I have with him. If they are coming for me, our time together is limited.
“Love you too. Both of you,” he says sadly before leaving.
Chapter 23
Ian
Lillie’s grip on our daughter is like a vice, tight since the moment we picked her up. Azami clings to her mother just as tightly, scrunching her eyes closed, making an effort to erase the images she’d witnessed earlier. Jen and Sarah flock to Lillie, soothing her, trying to extract the answers to their questions. Deagon and I stand off to the side, letting them have a moment, hoping they’ll pull her from the haze. Even after their best efforts, Lillie remains on autopilot the entire visit, answering with one word responses. Sensing my girl’s readiness to leave and be done with the questions, I step in, acting as her buffer. The room remains silent as I speak the details from start to finish.
By the time I lead Lillie and Azami from the kitchen, Jen and Sarah are crying. Deagon stands next to them, unsure of how to react. He snaps out of his daze and moves to wrap both girls up in his arms, whispering reassuring words. The entire cave is in mourning.
Once we’re in the room, I remove my clothes and slip on my sweats, making sure the fire will last for a few hours before climbing into bed. Our room retains heat well, allowing us to sleep comfortably until morning. Wrapping my girls up in my arms is the best support that I can offer. At this moment, I wish the gift I was given was to erase memories. I’d take this one from them both.
Lillie slips into unconsciousness shortly after I pull them against me. Being in this bed with my family is exactly where I belong, but my mind is running at top speed, not allowing sleep tonight. My little brother is helping clean up his uncle’s brains. Guilt plagues me, knowing I should be there to help him, but my girls need me more.
First Becky and Jeff, now Dane. How many more will become infected? Are we all destined for that fate? The flash killed almost everyone, leaving few behind. Some of us are developing gifts, while others are not. Even the infected are appearing to evolve. Is it possible that if you don’t evolve as a human, you turn and evolve as an infected? The people I’ve witnessed turn have no developing skills. Becky was sentenced to death before we noticed any changes in her. Jeff escaped, but in Lillie’s dreams, he communicates telepathically with his pack. According to Dane’s last words, they spoke to him, prompted him to lure Lillie out to them. There’s no other explanation. Our only hope of staying ahead of them is to learn how to control our sixth sense.
Emotions flow to me from others, giving me an acute reading of their reactions to any given situation. James can catch glimpses of the future, seeing clips of a film before its release. Lillie is similar with her dreams, witnessing horrors before Fate has set her path. Now, Azami can actually see what people are thinking by only a touch, a skill with endless possibilities and has me scared for my daughter’s life if the wrong person finds out. Not to mention Deagon, who met Lillie for the first time in a dream. When we returned, the look on his face when he saw her couldn’t have been faked. Either Lillie pulled him into a dream, or Deagon is unaware of his own talents.
Our skills are overwhelming
, the possibilities endless, if we only knew what the hell we were doing. There are downfalls too. Times that our sixth sense is ineffective against the infected. I can only believe that they were given to us post flash as a form of built-in self-defense mechanism. So then why won’t they protect us against our greatest fear?
The night trickles by, my thoughts running rampant until steps echo down the hall, drawing my attention to our curtain. The noise stops directly outside of our room. My heart rate picks up, the jumbling of emotions making me dizzy. Just when I’m about to jump to my feet, the curtain’s pulled aside. James stands on the other side, distraught.
I climb from bed, trying not to jostle the girls. “Hey.”
James hesitates before looking up, but when he does, his eyes are glistening in the fire light. The onslaught of his emotions hit me like a hammer. Sorrow. Heartbreak. Grief. A cocktail of the worst kind.
Immediately, I pull him into me. He wraps his arms around me and begins to heave silently. As much as this world wants to make him into a man, he’s still only a teenager. I was broken over Dane’s tragic death, but making sure Lillie, Azami, and James were safe was my main priority, and right now, James needs me.
After a few minutes of calming, James pulls away enough to speak. “We were able to clean everything…” He pauses, collecting himself. I can see taking on the cleanup was part of his healing process, no matter how hard it was for him to complete. “We picked up the…chunks, then doused the room with water several times. We’ve been at it for hours, and just now finished.”
“Did you wash up?” I ask, looking him up and down. As far as we knew, infection can’t transfer through blood, it was the weapons chemical makeup causing the mutations. “No chances,” I state plainly.
“I finished with a quick bath. If I found something on me, I don’t think…” His words trail off.
I nod, clamping my hand on the back of his neck, pulling his forehead to mine. “We’ll get through this, brother.” The lump in the pit of my stomach is climbing up my throat, choking me. “Come in.”
Climbing back in with Lillie and Azami, I pull James down with me, wrapping him in a big bear hug like we did when we were little. He cries soundlessly against me, as silent tears roll down my own cheeks. Lillie’s small hand slides down my back, until her fingers tuck into the back of my sweats, love seeping from her pores.
She’s been awake the entire time.
~~~~~~
When I wake in the morning, sadness is thick in the air, the sensation flooding me before I open my eyes. The next is a hand laid in my face, one of the fingers almost going up my nose. I push the offending appendage out of my face, groaning. Struggling to move with the puzzle of body parts crisscrossing over me draws out my laughter. James hangs haphazardly off the mattress, the hand I flung off belonging to him. Lillie has her legs wrapped around mine, and Azami crawled in-between us, but lengthwise. Her head and arms lay across Lillie, while her legs drape over me, leaving her bum dipping into a seat between us.
The situation is out of control. My laughter turns to a full on belly ache, rousing my captors. Azami stretches across us and sits up smiling, until she sees James. She squeals with delight and jumps over me, using my stomach as a catapult.
“Untle Dames!” she screams, landing on him.
After a painful humph, he snatches her up with the same enthusiasm. “Good morning!” By this time, they’re both sitting on the floor next to the bed.
Lillie whines. She’s never liked mornings. “Rise and shine.” I rub her face into her pillow and chuckle.
She growls.
“Momma!” Azami yells, but Lillie doesn’t answer right away. James whispers in her ear and they both smile. “Momma! Momma! Momma! Momma! Momma!”
“Oh, for crying out loud, what?” she complains into her pillow.
This is exactly the reaction they wanted, and they cackle like hyenas. A few seconds later, Lillie can’t help herself, and starts to laugh while peeking out at us.
“Hi.” Azami says, waving at her, the most innocent smile on her face.
James copies her and says, “Hi.”
Lillie waves back and sarcastically says, “Hi.” She stretches out long and yawns. When she’s finished, her stomach growls loudly.
“Jeez, someone’s hungry.” James comments on the noise.
Patting her stomach, Lillie nods. “I’m starving. You all want to head down for breakfast?”
“Yes!” James and Azami jump up, racing to the kitchen, not bothering to change from their night clothes.
“James, keep her with you!” she hollers at them as they disappear around the curtain. “And I thought I was hungry.” She smiles, but after watching me a moment, it fades. “How are you? James?”
“The situation completely blows.” Taking a deep breath, I continue. “I’m definitely going to miss them. Aunt Rosie has always stayed to herself, even when we were kids, but she was always really nice to us. Uncle Dane was loud and outgoing, we loved to hang out with him. When we were little and visited them it never failed, Dane would teach us something while Aunt Rosie baked us treats.”
“I’m glad you have good memories to remember.” She touches her hand to my cheek and kisses me lightly on the lips. “Love you,” she whispers.
“Love you, too.” Her words help my healing, settle my restless thoughts.
“What is it?”
“I’m kicking myself for not noticing the signs earlier. Looking back, especially after Becky and Jeff, I should’ve noticed. His behavior was different, he kept telling us how important it was to learn the garden and the scavenging. He pushed us to organize our supplies this year, when normally he’d plan it all. It never dawned on me that it was because of this. With the problems he talked about with Rosie, I assumed that was the reasoning.”
“Maybe it was. We don’t know what happened in their relationship. He didn’t display much aggression toward us like Becky and Jeff had, but he could have directed it all to Rosie. That would explain why he…killed her the way he did. Why they were having issues to begin with.”
“Possibly,” I agree. “Do you think she knew he was infected?” It had crossed my mind that she may have hidden it.
“There’s no telling how people react, but I don’t think she’d risk the rest of us to keep that secret.”
I nod my agreement, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. “Get dressed. Let’s catch up to the kids.”
Azami and James already have plates full of breakfast. Sarah woke up early and cooked up a storm. After harvesting some of the greens the other morning, we had an abundance of veggies mixed with potatoes, as well as meat from the bear. Needless to say, the kitchen smelled amazing.
A loud silence hangs over the room as more people enter. Most weren’t present for last night’s events, but definitely heard about them by morning. Dane and Rosie had always been a large part of the cave family. Dane organized almost every outing and harvest since the flash, and Rosie sewed up most of the clothing being worn. Now that they’re gone, the giant hole in our hearts and lives seep into our mourning.
When my ass hits the seat, Jan clears her throat and begins to speak in her tiny voice. “I know I keep to myself most of the time. I’m not good with people, but I wanted to say something.” Everyone gives her their attention. “When the boys and I arrived, I was at my breaking point, and at times still struggle each day.” She takes a deep breath and continues. “Rosie and Dane took us under their wings, sheltering us. They gave my boys something I dreamt about since the flash, and that’s safety. We owe them our lives, and they’ll be missed.” Sniffles sound throughout the room.
James grabs his water and stands, his voice shaking as he speaks. “To my Uncle Dane, and Aunt Rosie. They’ve helped each and every one of us get to where we are today.” He looks up to the ceiling, as if he can see the sky and talk to them personally. “I’ll miss you.” A tear slips down his left cheek.
Before long, people around the room are risin
g and thanking Dane and Rosie for all they’ve done for us over the years. Sadness starts the toasts off, then slowly turns to laughter, as each person shares a story. Sarah laughs as she shared about Rosie attempting to cook, but burning every loaf of bread she touched. Luke recalls Dane’s first hunt. He ran from the deer they were tracking, thought it was coming right for him. He stuck to the garden after that. James and I share stories of them before the flash. By the time we finished, smiles are plastered on each face in the room.
Lillie cleans Azami up and props her on her hip. She has dark circles under her eyes, another reminder of our loss. I pull her close and kiss both her and Azami, before Azami wiggles down and runs over to James.
Jen takes that moment to enter the room. “Quinn woke up!” she yells at us.
The volume grows in delight. Deagon immediately runs out of the room, a large smile attached as he goes. A few more follow his lead and head down the hall. I’m exhilarated, but waiting my turn to see him. Deagon, Sophie, and Naveen should have the honors to visit first. Instead, I concentrate on Lillie as she sashays herself over to me.
“Who’s our sitter today?” she asks sarcastically.
I smirk at her. “No one, as long as you stay in the caves. We’re taking the day off for mourning. Luke and Mason are meeting James and me outside to build their pallet. The grounds too hard, so we’ll have to…” As soon as the words leave my mouth, the hand of Fate slaps the shit out of me. “Your dream. It was them, not Quinn.”
Chapter 24
Lillie
“Your dream. It was them, not Quinn.” Ian’s last sentence clenches my heart like a vice.
The comprehension of what their deaths meant hit me last night. After James came in and spoke to Ian, I heard how heartbroken they were, and I couldn’t sleep. Holding my child against my chest became a lifeline from the horror we’d witnessed. With Azami able to sense what I was thinking, it was exhausting, blocking my thoughts from her. Half the time, I wasn’t even sure if it worked. I kept this realization of my supposed premonition to myself. They required a moment to grieve without yet another devastation heading their way. I planned on talking with them after breakfast, but Ian figured it out first.
Flash Series (Book 2): Immune Page 18