by Max Lockwood
Callum sighed. “That’s unfortunate. Well, what do you plan on doing?”
Ariel looked around. She wished Bobby Dean were still around. He was a pain, but at least he would have stuck up for her.
“I’m leaving,” she said. “I’m going to expose you for the fraud you are.”
Callum looked bored by this exclamation. He leaned into the hallway and called out to a nurse.
“Tell Dr. Pedasso to clear his schedule. He has a new patient.”
Horror struck Ariel. She pushed past Callum and sprinted down the hall. Looking behind her, she navigated through the hospital, trying not to get caught by Callum. She was so afraid of being chased that she didn’t look in front of her. By the time she made it to the front door, she ran smack into Thomas.
“You,” she gasped. “You were with Melissa.”
Thomas didn’t answer. Instead, he grabbed Ariel by the wrists and dragged her back to Callum.
“I tried to be patient with you, but I can’t have you running off like that again,” Callum said, injecting Ariel with a clear fluid. She slowly lost feeling in her limbs until she couldn’t move at all. She was fully conscious, but she was paralyzed. She tried to scream for help, but her face wouldn’t move. Even her vocal cords were frozen.
The shell of Thomas lifted her onto a gurney, bringing her closer to Callum’s face.
“I hate to do this to you, Ariel. I thought you were different. I thought you would listen to me and help me complete my mission. Unfortunately, you were no different from your friends. Now, you’re going to follow orders, no matter what.”
Callum held another syringe up to the light. Ariel tried again to scream, to break through the medication that kept her still, but she just couldn’t fight it. She watched as Callum inserted the needle into her arm.
“Sleep well, Ariel. I’ll see you when you wake up.”
28
Between the jagged rocks and the overgrown vegetation, Safe Haven’s delivery truck was not gaining much ground in the battle to cross the border. Alec carefully drove off the road, only to find himself in a precarious situation. He punched the gas to dislodge the vehicle from the uneven ground, which ultimately used more of their precious fuel. The needle of the gauge hovered near empty but danced up and down as Alec maneuvered toward the border.
“I don’t mean to state the obvious here,” his voice strained as he tried yet again to drive off-road, “but this vehicle is not going to take us anywhere useful.”
Melissa sighed. She was terrified of getting out of the truck after they were ambushed by the other refugees. Every time they left the vehicle, something bad happened.
“What are our options?” she asked, trying to be logical.
“We find a vehicle that can handle the rough terrain,” Bobby Dean suggested from his reclined position in the back seat.
Melissa frowned. “We’d have to backtrack to the nearest town. What is the nearest town?” she said, consulting the map.
“Safe Haven,” Alec scoffed. “I think going back that far is out of the question. I wouldn’t be surprised if Callum is still looking for us.”
Even though their travels would be made much simpler with a different vehicle, there was no way Melissa was going to drive in the vicinity of Safe Haven. That place was just as dangerous as the border. At least at the border, the agents were kind enough to shoot one clean kill shot. Callum was more creative and had more time on his hands.
“Well,” Alec sighed as the truck rumbled to a stop, “I think our decision has been made for us. Looks like we’re walking.”
Before they got out, they scoured the truck for anything that could be of use to them. They managed to gather the map, a flashlight, two bottles of water, a handful of candy, a small pack of waterproof matches, and a penknife. It wasn’t much, but they had learned to live with less.
If they could credit Safe Haven for anything, it would be the fact that for two whole days, they didn’t have to worry about being attacked by the Infected. Of course, there were other risks involved, but being ripped to shreds by a sick person wasn’t one of them.
But this back and forth exchange of dangers was taking its toll on the survivors. The false sense of security at random intervals only made Melissa more fearful of the Infected when they were back out in the wild. The border checkpoints were crowded and unorganized. It would be so easy for a few Infected to wreak havoc in a place like that. There had to be Infected lurking in the shadows along the border.
Reluctantly, Alec, Melissa, and Bobby Dean got out of the truck for the last time and made their way in the direction of the fence. Every few minutes, Alec checked the map and tried to figure out if they were heading in the right direction. They did their best to tread lightly. Silence was necessary to keep both the Infected and the border patrol off their trail.
“Stop,” Alec whispered to the others, causing them to freeze on the spot.
“What?” Bobby Dean said, looking around, knife ready to strike.
“Do you hear that?”
Melissa closed her eyes and held her breath. Then, she heard what Alec was referring to—the sound of water lapping against the shore.
“Is it . . .” she started to ask.
“It’s the lake.” Alec smiled, shining the light toward the body of water they found on the map. “Fancy taking a little dip?”
Melissa nearly squealed with joy. They predicted that if they got in the water and swam in a southeast direction, they would arrive at a small inlet that would be less likely to be guarded by the border patrol.
Without further conversation about their plan, the three dove into the water and slowly glided across the lake, taking frequent rests by floating on their backs.
The lake was much larger than the map indicated. A few times, Melissa’s clothing got caught on fallen trees in the water and she feared she would drown. But they managed to make their way to dry land on the other side of the water. They were chilled to the bone but otherwise unscathed.
Alec stood up out of the water, wringing out his wet clothes. He squinted, searching for a sign that they’d made it over the border. He saw lights near the horizon to the west that certainly belonged to the border crossings. He quietly punched his fist into the air in celebration.
“We’re across?” Melissa asked.
“I think so,” he replied. They walked up the sandy embankment, climbing jagged rocks to continue walking east. A pile of garbage lay on the ground, clearly forgotten by the guards who patrolled the area. A fence from Canada to Mexico would be impossible to put up in such a short amount of time, so Alec reasoned that the agents used patrol cars to check on the other areas.
He sifted through the empty bottles and food packages until he saw a small black object that caught his eye.
“You guys,” he said, flipping a switch. “Look.”
Melissa’s mouth hung open. She couldn’t believe their good luck. Everything was working out for them that night. She wondered how long their fortune would last.
“Is that a radio?” Bobby Dean asked.
“Sure is.” Alec grinned. As the three walked, Alec fiddled with the dials of the transmitter. Eventually, he was able to produce some static. Then soft, muffled voices emerged.
“Let’s call someone,” Bobby Dean exclaimed.
Alec frantically searched the different channels. He already had a certain someone in mind.
29
After emerging from the icy lake water, hypothermia became a real threat to the three escapees. The wet clothes clung to their skin, making it impossible for their bodies to warm up when cold winds whipped through the plains. Alec was so chilled that he felt nauseated, and when he checked to see how the others were doing, they could hardly speak because their faces had gone numb.
As much as it frustrated Alec to be held up, they had to stop and find a way to warm their bodies. They walked until they found a small clearing in a patch of trees. Bobby Dean felt around his jacket pockets until he found the
waterproof matches, lit one, and tossed it on a small bush. Alec didn’t have the energy to argue about starting a proper fire and the risks involved with sending out flames and smoke into such a heavily guarded area. Besides, it was so warm.
Without hesitation, Bobby Dean stripped down to the buff and hung his clothes to dry before squatting near the fire to warm himself. Melissa’s eyes shot toward the ground.
He shrugged. “Hey, it’s the best way to warm up. Sometimes, people strip down and huddle together for body heat.”
“I think that’s typically in situations where there isn’t a fire available,” Alec said, opting to leave his undergarments on. Melissa followed suit, still feeling self-conscious about being so exposed in front of the two men.
As they dried their clothes, Alec continued to fiddle with the radio, searching for something that would give them a better idea of the world they were in. Even though they only stood a mile away from the border, something felt different about the ground they stood on. It looked no different, but there was the promise of safety.
The three knew that there were still outbreaks happening on the eastern half of the nation. But from what others had told them along the way, they were better controlled than the rampant spread of virus in the west. Still, it was frightening to face the reality that nowhere was entirely safe.
“I think I’ve got something,” Alec said in a hushed voice after a few minutes of searching for a signal. Melissa and Bobby Dean huddled in a little closer to hear better.
“This is Steve in Pittsburgh,” a gruff voice said. “Things aren’t looking too good right now. From the National Guard’s estimates, over half of the city is now infected. At the moment, we have a big problem with scared family members preventing military personnel from separating the Infected from the healthy.”
“We’re having the same problem in Miami,” a woman’s breathy voice said. “Due to the number of high-rises here, the virus is spreading like wildfire among apartment dwellers. The close contact is not doing us favors. The mayor is urging everyone to lock themselves in their homes and wait for first responders to deliver necessary goods, but people are becoming impatient and panicked. We just can’t keep everyone at home.”
“Thank you, Rhonda,” a clear male voice said. “Do we have an update in Atlanta?”
“Yeah, Hillary here. We’re experiencing an increase of visitors due to the fact that the CDC issued a press release saying that they have scientists working on a vaccine. Of course, people became impatient and are camping out in empty parking lots around the city, waiting for this vaccine to be released. But as of noon today, there is no sign of a vaccine being ready anytime soon.”
Alec exchanged glances with the other two. They knew there were isolated cases of the virus, but this sounded much worse than they originally thought. Suddenly, the concept of being across the border didn’t seem that appealing anymore.
“Green Bay,” a voice said. “Our biggest struggle at the moment is educating citizens on proper hygiene and how the spread of the virus works. You wouldn’t believe how many weird rumors people actually believe. Currently, we’re trying to dispel the myth that sucking out the ‘venom’ from an Infected bite will keep the victim from contracting the virus. That, and we just don’t have enough food for these people.”
“God, help us,” the representative from Newark said. “Our hospitals are at capacity. Our elderly population is declining rapidly because people have chest pain or fall and break a hip, but they’re too afraid to get medical treatment. We’ve had to designate certain clinics for non-viral-related issues.”
“I don’t know why we have medical staff treating infected people at all,” Oklahoma City said. “We’ve hired out the National Guard to patrol every health provider in the city. If an Infected tries to seek treatment, they’re taken to a quarantine center. Not only does it keep our hospitals uncontaminated, but it deters family members from bringing the virus around healthy people.”
The men looked at Melissa. They weren’t sure how far Oklahoma City was from her grandparents’ farm, but they wondered if this affected her plans to travel there.
“Do we have the representative from New York on the line?” the moderator of the conference call asked in his calm voice.
“This ought to be good,” someone said softly. Other voices mumbled indistinguishably in the background.
Alec sat up a little straighter. Whoever this person was likely knew of Elaina and the work she was doing. Maybe they would even report directly about her.
“Yes, Alistair,” a tired-sounding woman said, sounding as if she had run to the call. “I am here to report on everything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours since the last briefing. Keep in mind that this is still classified information that has only just been shared with Washington.”
“Go ahead,” Alistair said. “I think we all know the consequences of sharing information before the time is right. I think our friends at the CDC could practice the same discretion.”
“We currently have no cure or vaccine that is ready for production. I assure you, our scientists are working around the clock. Trials for a few prototypes were conducted, but the results were not favorable. But our lead scientists are hopeful that they have pinpointed the issue and are working on it.”
“Any prediction on when a treatment will be available?”
“At this time, we cannot give a timeline. That is all I have to report today. Otherwise, the city is suffering from numerous outbreaks and evacuations are taking place.”
“Thank you,” the moderator said as representatives from other cities chimed in with their disgust about the information given. “We will reconvene in another twenty-four hours’ time.”
The station went silent.
Alec set the radio on the ground and put his head in his hands. “This is bad. This is really bad,” he groaned.
Melissa sat in stunned silence. She was terrified for her grandparents, who were susceptible to injury and illness. They were in a rural area, too, so if they didn’t hear the warnings about the state of the region, they could unwittingly expose themselves to the virus. She needed to be there to take care of them.
She stood up and put a hand on her hanging clothes. They had dried a considerable amount while they had listened to the radio broadcast. She pulled her sweater back on, feeling the steamy heat from the fire. It was hard for her to sit around a fire while the virus continued to spread. It was time to get going.
“Are you going to try calling Elaina?” Bobby Dean asked as he finally put his boxers back on.
“I’m not sure if I should,” Alec replied. “We’re still not out of the woods yet. If we get in contact with the wrong people, then we’re liable to be shot or sent back. Besides, it doesn’t sound like people are very happy about the way Elaina and her team have yet to come up with results. I don’t want to get her into any more trouble.”
“How do you plan on getting to New York, then?” Bobby Dean asked, pulling the rest of his clothes on. “It’s a long walk.”
“I know. Assuming that laws still exist on this side, it’s not going to be possible to steal a car, is it?”
Bobby Dean laughed. “’Course it is. I have yet to let a law stop me from doing what I want to do.”
“Bobby Dean,” Melissa said, “Did I ever tell you that Alec is a cop?”
Bobby Dean raised his eyebrows, looking sheepish. “You didn’t mention that. I’ll remember to watch what I say.”
“Well, maybe we can find someone who will give us a ride in that direction,” Alec said.
“I wouldn’t count on the kindness of strangers right now,” Melissa said. “But if anyone asks, we can’t tell them where we’re actually from. We need a cover story.”
“Right.” Alec nodded. “Let’s say we’re from South Dakota and we’re trying to reunite with family out east. If anyone asks, we’re cousins or something like that. If the government asks, we’ve never been out west of the quarantine zone in ou
r whole lives. I’m just hoping that no one questions us.”
“So,” Bobby Dean said after he stomped out the small fire, “where are we going?”
Alec and Melissa looked at each other.
“I don’t know,” Alec said. “I promised Elaina that I would meet her in New York, but that was when things were safer there. Now, I’m not so sure. If the city is being evacuated, it might make things more difficult.”
“Oklahoma is still on the table,” Melissa said. “I’m not just saying that because I have family and a place to stay there, either. Rural is safer right now. We can head there, rest up, and then do our best to contact Elaina. She’s probably so busy right now that she wouldn’t have time to talk to us, much less spend any time with us.”
Alec nodded. He was devastated that he was still so far from Elaina, but she had an important job to do. “Okay,” he said. “Oklahoma, it is.”
They pulled out the map again and plotted a course that would get to Melissa’s grandparents’ home as quickly as possible and started walking. While Alec was clearly disappointed about not going straight to New York, Melissa was so excited that she kept surging ahead in front of the others.
After a few uneventful days, the trio made their way to the country roads where Melissa had first learned how to ride her bike. They were exhausted from the hike but otherwise in good spirits. While food and water had been extremely scarce, so were the sightings of other forms of life. Apart from a few vehicles rolling by, they did not make meaningful contact with any other people, healthy or infected. In fact, Alec couldn’t remember the last time he’d traveled for more than a day without running from or fighting off an infected person. Perhaps Melissa’s instinct to go to rural Oklahoma was right all along. After all, it wasn’t too far from the border, but it was far enough away from the big cities to feel safe.
When they got within a half mile of her grandparents’ acreage, Melissa took off in a run down the dirt road. Alec and Bobby Dean, as famished as they were, had no choice but to follow her. They weren’t about to get lost so close to their shelter.