The Living Saga (Book 2): Enduring

by McFall, Jaron

“Won’t the turrets shoot the car, though?”

  “It may be the same people who put the turrets out to begin with,” Collins said.

  Ross didn’t waste any more time arguing. They pushed the bikes behind some trees and laid them down in the bushes.

  “Get your gun up,” Collins said raising his own.

  Ross did as instructed.

  They waited.

  Three minutes passed as they waited.

  Finally, Collins saw a white van approaching on the road.

  “Is that…” Collins started to say. Once it got closer, he did recognize the blue cross on the side of the van.

  “Get ready to run in case I’m wrong,” Collins said as he stepped out of the tree line into the road.

  The van came to an abrupt stop. Collins peered at the vehicle but couldn’t see inside because of the glare on the windshield. He waited for a moment until the side door finally opened and Cedric stepped out. “Hey man,” he said waving. “We had a bit of trouble.”

  Chapter Ten:

  NEW PLANS

  Cedric sat in a chair in the council room and spoke to the gathered group. “Anderson and Stewart managed to pull the cage roller from the ditch and get it home. Labor is taking a look at the undercarriage for damage,” Cedric said finishing up his report for the council. He’d spent the past hour describing everything he’d done. He felt like his life was now meeting after meeting.

  After Cedric finished his mission report, he gathered the Nighthawks and the military personnel for a meeting. Everyone, except for Steph, was gathered. She was still receiving real medical treatment now that she was home.

  “We have the church van and the two Hummers, now too,” Cedric added. “But, we don’t really need the church van for anything. And the Hummers are about to leave the facility for Pearson and his crew to finish their mission.”

  Cedric waited for a minute before addressing Pearson directly. “Now that you have transport, do you have everything you need to finish your mission?”

  “That depends,” Pearson said as he stood up. “Did you mean it when you said you’d do whatever it takes to make sure we reached Houston?”

  “Every word of it,” Cedric said.

  He could hear Eric take a hiss of breath in hesitation.

  “Then, no,” Pearson said. “We have a dilemma. If we all leave and take both cases, we run the risk of not making it.”

  “So, you want some of your people to stay behind?” Cedric asked. “That’s not a problem at all.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Pearson said.

  Cedric could tell that Pearson had something else to say, so he waited.

  “We would like Reid, Scott, Warner, and Bennet to stay here, if they can,” Pearson said into the silence.

  “That leaves three for your journey,” Cedric said slowly. “Not exactly a lot of people.”

  From behind him, Cedric could hear Eric sigh in frustration.

  “I’m so glad you see it that way,” Pearson said. He opened his mouth to say more, but Cedric cut him off.

  “You want some of us to take their spots?” Cedric asked. “I don’t have the authority to approve that.”

  Pearson began to pace the room as he spoke. “I wanted to ask you first. If your council approves it, we want you to be one of the ones who goes.”

  “Why not just take your entire team then?” Eric asked.

  Pearson stopped and looked at Eric. “Reid needs to stay here and work with your doctor. I believe that between them, they can figure out something. Scott is injured. She’s not doing the best after the crash. The gash on her leg is affecting her ability to walk and she can’t run.”

  “Granted,” Eric said.

  “Warner is an airman, not a soldier. He has the radios back from that hotel group. He needs to stay to work with Ron,” Pearson said.

  “And Bennet?” Cedric asked.

  “Have you ever heard of the football carrier?” Pearson asked.

  “I was never much into sports,” Cedric said. He felt his face turn red when half the room started laughing.

  “Nuclear codes,” Eric explained. “The guy who carried the president’s nuclear codes.”

  “Oh, yeah. That guy. Yeah, I know that,” Cedric said trying to recover.

  “Bennet is kind of like that,” Pearson explained.

  At that, Bennet hooked a thumb around his dog-tags chain and produced a key from his shirt.

  “Two keys have to stay with each box. Scott and Bennet stay with Reid’s box. Stewart and I stay with Clarke’s box,” Pearson said. “So, will you?”

  Cedric paused deliberating. He was about to tell Pearson that he would have to think on it when he heard giggling coming from Stewart. He stared in confusion.

  “If your girl is ready to kill you for staying late on a mission, what will she do if you go to Houston?” she asked through her giggles.

  Every one of the Nighthawks present busted out laughing—except for Cedric.

  Cedric addressed the council with the new information. He believed that Pearson was right, but it was an uphill battle to win the vote. After a two-hour discussion, the vote to aid Pearson with volunteers passed five to two—Sue and Charlie opposed.

  Cedric left the meeting knowing he had an issue to attend to—Stewart was right, Karli was about to be livid. He was making his way to find her when he saw Adam running full speed to find him.

  “Ced!” Adam shouted from fifteen feet away. He stopped and doubled over catching his breath.

  “What’s up, little man?” Cedric asked.

  “The nurse said to come quick. Steph needs help. They need Dr. Moore too.”

  Before Adam could even finish the sentence, Cedric yelled, “DOC!” at the top of his lungs and was running. Within a minute, he was at the infirmary. The monitors were beeping like crazy and Steph was having a seizure on the bed.

  A few moments later, Dr. Moore rushed in behind Cedric. “What’s the status?” he asked running to the bedside.

  “She’s seizing. Oxygen’s at 75%, pulse is at 146.. BP 79/51.” Nurse Aggie rattled off the information, but Cedric barely registered it.

  “Is she going to be alright?” Cedric shouted.

  The doctor ignored him and continued to work. He was barking orders at the nurses, but again, Cedric didn’t hear any of the medical terms or information.

  He turned on his heel and ran from the room. He made it to the small room where the soldiers were barracked. Without wasting a single breath he looked Pearson directly in the eyes and said, “If you want me to go to Houston, give me one vial of the Asclepius Serum.”

  The sergeant cocked his head to the side and deliberated for a moment. Then, like he had all the time in the world, he slowly pulled his key from a carabiner on his hip. He walked to the backpack sitting at the foot of Clarke’s sleeping bag. The room was deadly silent as Pearson removed the metal box, unlocked it, and removed one small, blue vial.

  He held it up to the light. “On your honor,” he said as he passed the vial to Cedric.

  Cedric grabbed the vial and ran back to the infirmary. He swung the door open and ignored the protests of the nurses. Cedric couldn’t even tell what nurses had joined Dr. Moore and Aggie. Cedric had brought enough supplies to this room that he knew where everything was.

  He opened a drawer mechanically and pulled a syringe out. Cedric held his hand out to Dr. Moore. He could hear his own heartbeat. Lub dub. Lub dub.

  Dr. Moore stopped what he was doing and looked at the vial. He made brief eye contact with Cedric and said, “How did you get this?”

  “I made a deal,” Cedric said.

  “Doctor,” Aggie said trying to get his attention. Only the council and their assistants knew what the vials were.

  Cedric heard another nurse gasp from the corner. He assumed it was Darla since she was the assistant department head for Medical.

  Dr. Moore reverently grabbed the vial and syringe from Cedric’s hands. “How much?”

 
“I assume all of it,” Cedric answered. He really wasn’t sure. He didn’t know if anyone left living knew.

  “Aggie,” Dr. Moore said. “I want you to go now. Go get some belts, rope, something. Anything to tie her down.”

  “Doctor, what is that?” Aggie asked as she backed away.

  “Aggie, go!” Darla snapped from the corner.

  Aggie left immediately.

  “I don’t know what kind of reaction this will cause,” Dr. Moore said.

  “Just do it,” Cedric said.

  Dr. Moore drew the serum into the syringe and then removed the needle. He slowly put the syringe onto the medication port of Steph’s IV line. With his thumb on the plunger, he said, “Cedric, do you trust them?”

  Cedric sighed before answering. “I really don’t know.” He then grabbed the syringe from Dr. Moore’s hand and slowly pushed the plunger in.

  The effect was not dramatic. It was, however, quick. When Cedric had gotten infected with a partial infection, it was natural. It was through infected blood. Cedric reasoned it was probably a miniscule dose that had infected him.

  For Steph, however, it was a highly concentrated dose of pure Asclepius Serum. Cedric sat in the chair at the edge of the room. Dr. Moore and Darla had restrained Steph to the bed. They all three waited.

  Ten minutes after the infection, Steph’s oxygen levels, pulse, and blood pressure all began to return to normal. Dr. Moore pulled the top of her hospital gown down to reveal the wound from the gunshot and subsequent surgery. Where there had been an angry red wound before, it was now a subdued, yellow-green wound.

  Dr. Moore’s jaw dropped as he watched the scab morph and heal over the course of the next fifteen minutes. Within forty minutes of the injection, Steph had no wounds on her entire body.

  Cedric walked over and felt the skin of her shoulder where the bullet hole had been less than an hour ago.

  “Why are your hands so cold?” Steph asked as she slowly woke up.

  Cedric pulled his hand back in wonder. “Probably because of the ice in your soul, she-witch,” he said laughing. Before he could help it, he felt tears welling up in his eyes. He quickly undid the straps that were holding her in place.

  Steph sat up slowly. “Dude, man up,” she said. “Its just a gunsh…” she stopped mid-sentence when he looked at her shoulder and saw clean, undisturbed skin. “No, no, no. How long was I out for? That should take weeks to heal,” she said in a rush.

  “About twenty hours,” Cedric said.

  “So, I wasn’t really shot?” she asked confused. “But I remember the pain and the wound.”

  “We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Cedric said as he stood up. “Doc, I think she’s cleared.”

  Dr. Moore stared in wonder. “Yes… I want to see you some more about this. But yeah, it appears they didn’t lie about it.”

  Steph was about to ask another question when Cedric said, “I’ll explain everything soon. First, we need to get you cleaned up.”

  After Cedric gave Steph the quickest version possible, she left to find clothes and take a shower. He knew his next conversation would not go nearly as easy as this one had.

  Cedric went out in search of Karli. He hadn’t realized it until he went to find her, but he’d missed lunch with her because he’d been by Steph’s side in the infirmary. As soon as he found Karli, she made sure to get the first word in.

  “You said you’d be back in time to say goodnight.” Karli had been waiting for Cedric in his room, sitting in his chair at his desk.

  Cedric closed the door behind him and sat at the foot of his bed.

  “Yeah, we kind of got ambushed,” Cedric said.

  “That’s not what Warner said,” Karli spat back. “At lunch today, he was talking about how Steph jumped the gun and got herself shot because she messed up the mission. And then he said that you almost got the both of you killed.”

  “That’s because Warner is both an idiot and a coward,” Cedric said. “Karli, will you let me explain what happened?”

  “You’ve been back for what, six hours? You couldn’t explain anytime between then and now?” Karli grabbed her hair in her hand and pushed it into a ponytail just like she always did when she was mad.

  “That’s not fair,” Cedric said speaking as calmly as he could. “I’m a department head. I was also on a mission. I had to debrief my team and discuss the events with the council. I was just about to come see you before lunch when Adam came to find me. Steph was having a seizure and almost died.”

  Karli stopped fidgeting with her hair and put her hands on her lap. She took a deep breath and said, “How is she?”

  “She’s alive and well, now,” Cedric said. “But, we need to talk.”

  Karli felt the blood drain from her face as Cedric lowered his head. He wouldn’t make eye contact with her. “Oh God,” she said. “Ced, I’m sorry I yelled at…”

  “No,” Cedric said cutting her off. “Not that kind of we need to talk.” He put the phrase ‘we need to talk’ in air quotes. “It’s about something else. It’s about why Steph is alive and why I was late, and this whole stupid mess.”

  Karli took a deep breath to calm her nerves and said, “Is this a long talk or a short talk?”

  “It’s going to take a while, yeah.”

  “Hold on, then,” she said. Karli got up from her chair and went to Cedric’s secret stash of soda. She dug around until she found a Pibb Extra and a Mountain Dew. When she sat on the bed next to Cedric, she handed him the green can. “Go on, then.”

  Cedric cracked the top of his soda and took a sip before he spoke. “I have something I need to tell you. Something that I have been needing to tell you for a while. But, life kind of sucks right now. And I kind of suck. And I’m kind of a sucky boyfriend.”

  “Okay…” Karli said smiling coyly. “I get that you think everything sucks right now.”

  Cedric took a deep breath. “Well, I just want you to know that I love you.”

  Karli grinned and said, “It’s about time you realized it.” She lowered her free hand and put it inside of Cedric’s hand. She interlocked their fingers and said, “I love you, too.”

  Cedric kissed her on the forehead and said, “But, that’s not the only thing I have to tell you. And what I’m about to tell you… Well, you’re probably going to hate me.”

  Cedric spent the next hour describing the serums, Pearson’s mission, and everything that had happened in the past two days up until his report.

  “Okay,” she said at the end of his story. “So, what does all of this have to do with you. You didn’t agree to go to Houston, right?”

  Cedric put his empty soda can on the top of his desk for later—there was no such thing as trash at the facility. Everything had a purpose. “Do you remember earlier? I told you Steph almost died?”

  “Yeah, but she’s fine now,” Karli answered.

  “Yes,” Cedric said. “She’s fine now because of the Asclepius Serum.” Cedric paused to give that time to sink in.

  Karli gasped, “They gave her some of the serum?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?”

  “Karli,” Cedric said standing up. “I’m so sorry. Steph is my partner. She’s family. I had to do it.”

  Karli sat in silence as she pieced it together. “You…” Karli started to speak but the words hung in her throat. She took a deep breath and tried again, “You traded for the serum. You decided to go on a suicide mission for some other girl.”

  “Steph isn’t some other girl,” Cedric protested. “She’s my partner.”

  “I’m your partner, Ced.” Karli stood up and repeated in a defeated voice, “I’m your partner.”

  Cedric took a step toward her but Karli immediately bolted for the door. Before he could stop her, she’d slammed the door behind her and was gone.

  Chapter Eleven:

  PREPARATIONS

  The council had decided that Pearson could ask for volunteers only. Nobody would be forced to go as an
assignment. No member of the council would order, or even ask, any member of the facility to go. Instead, Pearson had to recruit.

  This was a decision that the council had all agreed upon after they had voted that they would assist the group. It was, in Cedric’s mind, an appeasement of sorts.

  “We could really use eight to ten people,” Pearson told Eric at dinner. “C’mon, you’re a soldier.”

  “Yeah, I am,” Eric stated flatly. “I’ve got a job to do here. Especially since you’re taking our department head. I’m assistant. So, now I’m head of the department until Ced gets back alive.”

  Cedric was only half-heartedly listening. He didn’t regret his decision to make the deal, but he really did not want to go either. He just slowly ate his dinner and kept glancing over his shoulder trying to spot Karli coming in.

  After he’d been at the table for nearly twenty minutes, he heard a plate clatter on the table across from him. Cedric looked up right as Ross said, “Alright, so you’re going, right?”

  Cedric nodded and said, “Yeah, why?” Then, he heard the door open again. Cedric did his customary head turn but he didn’t see Karli. Instead, Sue came in scowling.

  “Ross,” Cedric said turning back around in his seat. “What did you do?”

  Ross grinned as he turned in his chair and spoke to Pearson, “I volunteer.”

  Pearson stuck out his hand and said, “Glad to have you aboard. We leave in three days.”

  Ross shook it and said, “I know, I’m kind of in charge of getting your supplies.” He stopped and rephrased, “Was in charge of it, at least.”

  Pearson merely nodded and returned to his conversation with Eric.

  “Ross,” Cedric said, “You don’t need to go.”

  “Sure I do,” Ross said. “Besides, I said these walls would be the death of me. I’ve got to get out of here.”

  “You could die out there,” Steph said as she sat down next to Cedric.

  “Yeah, I could die anywhere,” Ross said.

  “True, but don’t expect me to cover you twenty-four-seven out there,” she responded.

  Cedric groaned, “Not you too,” he said.