“I’m defensive because linking him to me in any way makes it that much easier for you people to see me as just like him, and therefore easier to kill me.”
“Ah, I didn’t think of it that way.”
“Of course, you didn’t. Because you don’t know what it’s like to have your very DNA be your death sentence.”
“No, I suppose I don’t.”
“Exactly.”
Despite her terse tone, it felt good to have all of the words tumble out of her mouth instead of whipping around her head on repeat. Plus, although she hardly dared think it, if she could get Bradley to see her as a Shifter and not a monster, maybe he would help her get away when all this was said and done.
Assuming she survived, of course.
Still, the conversation didn’t feel over to her. There was an elephant crammed into the little jeep and for once it wasn’t her.
“Bradley?” she asked, trying to bring her voice back to neutral.
“Jaelle?” he repeated, for all the world reminding her of David when he was being saucy.
“I would like to ask you a question, and I need you to be honest.”
“I always am. Lying just complicates things and I don’t particularly have the energy to spare for it.”
“Good.” She turned as fully in her spot as her seatbelt would allow. She wanted to see every single minutia of his reaction, smell every ketone as his body reacted and hear if his heartbeat escalated or his blood rushed. “If I wasn’t on lease to you right now to catch this madman, and it was just you and me in the wild, could you kill me?”
“What?!”
“Could you kill me. I want to know. That’s your sworn duty, right? To eradicate monsters like me. So, I wanna know, let’s say we magically caught the Aberrant about ten minutes ago, you mission is over and I’m trying to escape. Would you kill me?” He didn’t say anything for several long beats. Jaelle watched the clock to make sure she wasn’t rushing him, but after two whole minutes passed, she pressed again. “Bradley. Would you kill me?”
His jaw muscles tightened and she could smell the stress coming off of him in waves. “I… I don’t know.”
“Understandable.” She sat back, filing away all the different signals he had just given her to overanalyze. “Now imagine you were me, traveling with a whole group of people who don’t know if they’ll kill you.”
“I get it. I do. You have every right to be stressed.” He took a deep breath and she sensed him regretting ordering her to sit up front with him. “Let’s just… not talk about that right now. It makes everything much tenser than it has to be.”
She laughed at that. She couldn’t help it. “My whole life is tension, and the only break from it I’ve ever found was in David’s arms. So, if he dies… I’m not sure I’ll be able to survive any of this.”
“If that’s the case…” he paused, as if he was thinking very carefully on if he wanted to utter the words he was thinking. “Should you be risking the life of a person so valuable to you on what might be a suicide mission?”
What he said hit home and she wilted in her seat. “Looks like I’m not the only one who can ask uncomfortable questions.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He reached over and shook her shoulder a bit, breaking the tension that had been so rife just seconds beforehand. “Why don’t you get some rest? We won’t be stopping for gas for another six hours.”
“Yeah,” she murmured, pulling a blanket from the floor that smelled vaguely of Hunter cologne. “I think I’ll do that.”
Chapter Eleven: Burning Up in Reality
The gas station came and went, as did much of the night. When they finally did top for one of their little, four-hour sleep sessions, Bradley relinquished the entire jeep to Jaelle and David.
She was grateful for the privacy. Even if she couldn’t exactly snuggle with David in the back, she stretched out across the front and listened to the sound of his even breaths. Every single one of them was a blessing and she didn’t take it for granted. But by the time morning came and Bradley roused her from her sleep, she noticed a strange sort of smell lingering just beyond identification. She couldn’t tell if it was stale or sour, but either way she supposed she probably could use a bath.
If Bradley noticed it, he didn’t say anything, and they continued driving along in relative quiet, listening to some twangy CD or another over the radio. Dannon would occasionally check in, either giving them updates on the Aberrant’s scent or asking how David was doing. Apparently driving together had made some sort of bond between the two, because he seemed genuinely interested in whether or not the human of the group was doing okay.
And for the most part, the human did seem to be doing okay. He slept quite a bit, which was good, only occasionally asking for water. Jaelle did wonder what they were going to do when he eventually needed to use the bathroom. Being a male, the pissing part was easy to deal with, but she wasn’t sure how they would handle anything else. Sitting up could tear the wound right open, and she didn’t think that he should lose much more blood.
Dammit, maybe she should insist that they take him to a hospital. The idea was seeming more and more appealing by the second. But she knew that if she did submit David into medical care, she would have to leave him behind. Perhaps permanently.
Then again, was she being selfish keeping him along? She knew he wanted to stay with her, in fact he had begged her not to leave him again. Could she betray his trust by leaving him again? What if she died? Would their last time seeing each other be hundreds of miles apart, each not knowing if the other was alive? That seemed shittier than any of the other times they had already been forced apart.
Like everything else lately, her thoughts chased themselves in circles the entire day and into the night. She didn’t sleep much, but when she did, her dreams were fraught with nightmares.
“Jaelle, wake up. We need to talk.”
Groaning, she sat up. That sour smell was stronger, and it was too far from any BO or lingering sweat.
“What is it?” she asked, shielding her eyes as she slowly sat up. It looked like it was just past sun up, so probably around six am, so why did it feel like she had only been resting for an hour or so?
“Out of the car, please.”
She was confused at his tone. It was about as neutral as one could get with just the tiniest hint of urgency to it. It put her on edge, and she found herself wondering if she had done something wrong.
“All right…” Slowly, she opened her door and crossed around to the back of the jeep. Bradley met her there, and motioned for her to go on a walk with him.
For being so similar to the moment they had had when David had first spent the night with the group, it couldn’t feel more different.
The leader of the Hunters waited until they were well away before turning to her. “Look, I don’t know how to say this, but I don’t think your lover is gonna make it in the backseat of my car.”
She crossed her arms, immediately on the defensive. “Why do you say that?”
“Because he’s got an infection. Can’t you smell it?”
So that’s what that was. She visibly deflated, her shoulder sagging and her stomach lurching. “What do we do?”
“That’s up to you. I suppose there’s a chance he might pull through if you clean it every few hours and we pump him full of the general antibiotics we got in our first aid kits, but there’s a very good chance he could go septic. And… we don’t have time to take him to a hospital.”
“What do you mean we don’t have time to take him to a hospital!?”
He gave her a stern look. “You want a five car convoy to reroute itself to drop off your boyfriend when Dannon says we’re within eight hours of the Aberrant?”
“Fine. Then I’ll drive him.”
“You? Our ace in the hole? Why would we let you do that?”
“Because if you dare think I’m going to sit in your car and let David be poisoned, you’re more stupid than even the Aberr
ant thinks.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Yes. Implicitly.” She took a step toward him, raising her chin. “All those other times we’ve faced off? I was exhausted, scared and holding back because I didn’t want to fight. I lose him, and you bet your ass that I’ll go down taking as many of you with me as I can.”
Instead of getting angry, as I expected him to, Bradley smirked. “So, then you’re going to drive him to the hospital and meet back up with us?”
“Yeah, that’s what it’ll be, I guess.”
“Good. I’m glad you’ve made up your mind.”
“Wait, what?”
A gentle smile crossed his face. “Look, I know you’ve been going back and forth ever since he was hurt, debating whether to ditch him in an appropriate medical facility or try to keep him with you as long as possible. I can see it on your face clear as day. Figured the best way to figured out where your heart was to take away an option and see if you rolled with it or fought.”
She crossed her arms. “I’m not sure if I appreciate being read so easily.”
He shrugged. “I’m a leader. It’s what I do.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” She took a deep breath and the reality of the situation set in. “So wait, you’re actually willing to let me drive off with one of your cars and a whole bunch of supplies then trust me to come back?”
“Of course.”
“Why? I mean, I know I won’t run, but you don’t.”
“Because if you want this whole Aberrant-equality revolution, if you want to prove that you’re not all monsters, I know you’re going to stick around this fight until the greatest threat to that is gone.”
“Ah, well thank you for the vote of confidence, I guess.”
“You’re welcome.” He reached out and patted her on the shoulder. While normally she was a bit more skittish around such close contact, she didn’t feel like she had to be on guard with Bradley. “Now, the only question if how you’re going to break it to him.”
Jaelle sighed. She hadn’t thought about that. Granted, she had just been partially tricked into her decision and hadn’t exactly planned out the best way to tell David that she was breaking her promise to him just a couple of days after making it to him. He was going to be pissed!
But surely, he would understand. She couldn’t just watch him die. Even if it was only a ten percent chance that the infection would spread to his bloodstream, that was ten percent too much.
“How far are we from the nearest hospital?”
“I’ll have to double check in the GPS, but I’m sure we have at least an hour or two before we get to an exit to take you where you want to go.”
“Hmmm, do you think it’s safe to move David to the truck? If I’m driving long enough before splitting he might not think anything is up and go back to sleep for a while.”
“At this point, I don’t think it’s safe to move him.”
“So what’re we going to do, teleport him?”
“Nah, unless you Aberrants have special powers that I haven’t heard about. I was just thinking you would borrow my car.”
She gave him a double-take then a third. “What, really? You would be willing to do that?”
“Honestly I don’t see a way around it. He can’t be moved to anywhere without a backseat and I don’t think anyone else would be willing to give up their vehicle. Besides,” There was that crooked smile again, pearly teeth so white in the morning light. When was the last time she had even brushed her teeth? Ugh, that was gross to think about. “I wouldn’t mind taking a couple days’ spin in that big truck of his.”
“What is it with you men and big trucks?”
“Now, that’s sexist.” That startled a laugh out of her and he finally took his hand from her shoulder. She noticed it grew considerably closer without his warmth there. “Come on, let’s get on the road. With any luck, he won’t wake up at all until you’ve got him nice and safe in a hospital.”
“Yeah, let’s hope.”
It took some effort, but she collected herself so she didn’t look like she was drowning in guilt then turned back toward the mini-camp the Hunters had created. She could do this. She could do this.
She could do –
But her positive mantra ground to a halt when Bradley tossed something to her. She caught it on instinct then looked into her hands to see his keys sitting there. Now it was about a hundred times more real and her heart was beating like she was in a legit battle.
“Here we go,” she murmured, hopping into the driver’s side and taking a deep breath.
“Hey, did you get a promotion or something?”
She nearly jolted out of her skin at the sound of David’s weak voice. “I guess you could say that.” Reaching back, Jaelle pulled his shirt aside. It stuck to his shoulder a bit too much for her taste, and sure enough, once the bite marks were revealed the sour smell grew that much stronger. It had to be pus, building deep within the wounds. Gross. “Bradley’s been driving for so long and he needed a break, but there weren’t any other people who could drive his manual.”
“What about Dannon? He was pretty amazing.”
“Very funny, but I don’t think I could give directions nearly as well as you.” She leaned over the seat and pressed her hand to his cheek. Dammit, he was warmer than he should be. She hated to think it, but Bradley was obviously right. “Hey, I’m going to need to clean your wound really fast.”
“I figured,” he said with a weak smile. She noticed that a thin sheen of sweat was across his forehead. “Don’t suppose there are any more of those numbing cotton swabs still in the kit, are there? This thing is taking turns between itching and burning.”
She fought to keep her expression from betraying what was going on in her mind. “Sounds like your body’s just healing.”
“Should be. I’ve been sleeping enough for it to recharge.”
She laughed weakly and busied herself with fishing through the first aid supplies. She found the swabs and breathed a sigh of relief. She knew it was counterproductive, but if she used one of the cotton buds on the wound before she cleaned, it would provide some blessed relief for the whole alcohol and draining part, then she could just swab the bite again with the iodine-sticks.
“Take a deep breath for me babe,” she said, leaning over the back of the seat. David drew in a shuddering gulp and she pressed the first swab to his wound.
Oh, god, the smell was so much worse as she parted the skin. Her patient gasped, but managed to hold himself still as she probed the bite.
Slowly, carefully, she pulled it out once she was sure that the numbing medicine had had enough time to penetrate his flesh. As it came into view, it was covered in both the brown of dried blood as well as the yellow of pus.
“Well that’s not a good color,” David said, catching eye of it before she could toss it out the window. “Infection?”
“Maybe,” she answered quietly. Really it was just confirming what she already knew, but it was no less heartbreaking. “Ready for the fun part?”
“You know, you’re using that word but I don’t think you really know what it means.”
She grinned slightly as she opened the rubbing alcohol and attached the squirt top. She had to pretend that it wasn’t awful as she put the tip just inside one of the bite marks, then squeezed.
The cry out of David’s mouth was haunting, but she kept on. Sure enough, the alcohol gushed down into the bite and the puss welled up, spilling down his chest. The only good part about the entire process was that the gunk ending up outside of his body than just ruminated inside of it.
She knew some people would be grossed out, but it didn’t matter to her. She had been in plenty of situations that were less than desirable or glamourous, and she was sure she was going to be in plenty more.
By the time she finished, David was a shaking, red-eyed mess. She didn’t even want to think about what condition he would be in if she hadn’t used the numbing cottons first. “There, there, you�
��re doing great.” She grabbed one of the always-present water bottles from the mini-cooler up front and held it to his lips. He took big, greedy gulps and that helped his breathing slow, thank goodness.
Carefully, she listened for his heartrate to regulate before she swabbed the wound once more.
“Like I said,” David murmured when everything was all said and done and she was tossing the rest of the trash into a gas station plastic bag. “Not my idea of fun.”
“I know, babe. But it’ll get better, I promise.” She grabbed some of the gauze and wiped the mess from his chest, leaving the area as clean as if he had just gotten out of the shower.
“Hey, as long as I have you as my nurse I can’t complain. Besides, I imagine I only have a day or two more of this before I’m right as rain.”
“You…you have an open wound in your middle and an infected bite in your shoulder. That’s ridiculously close to your brain.”
“All right, fine. A couple of weeks. Just keep toting me around in the back here then. I could get used to the chauffeured service.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” The rest of the cars finally began to pull out and Jaelle hurriedly returned her attention to the front. Thrusting the keys into the ignition, she put her foot on the break and started up the engine.
“Well, yeah, what other choice is there?”
She didn’t say anything, instead focusing on following behind the last car in the procession as it pulled out.
“Wait a minu—No, Jaelle. No. You are not ditching me at some hospital so you can end up alone with a bunch of self-righteous killers who think that they’re genetically superior to you.”
“It was just a thought,” she lied weakly. She couldn’t have him getting all riled up and upset, that would only damage his immune system more. She needed him to lie still and be calm, and if she had to lie to do so, then so be it.
“Well don’t think it! Look, Jaelle, I know you’ve been alone your whole life but believe me when I say that you don’t have to be that way anymore. I love you. I will never stop loving you. And if you’re going on some grand suicide mission, I’m going to be there to make sure you of all people are going to survive.”
The Aberrants Box Set (Books 1-5) Page 21