by Bella Street
When a jeep came into view, he stepped away from Seffy and picked up the backpacks. He didn't think anyone from the compounded needed to see them touching.
“Gareth knew,” she said in a low voice.
He turned back as the jeep came to a stop in front of them. “What?”
“Gareth knew about us.”
***
“Oh my God, what happened to you? We were so worried!”
Seffy looked up as Addison burst through her room door, followed by Lani. She scrambled from the bed and hugged her red-headed friend tight. The only reason she could bear to let go was because Lani needed to be hugged too. Seffy wrapped the brunette in her arms and squeezed, trying to gain reassurance that they were truly alive. After she'd hugged them both a few more times, she returned to the edge of the bed and regarded them with tearful affection.
Lani began to leak sympathetic tears, but Addison's eyebrows inched up her forehead. “Okay, so 2006. Let's hear it. And I'm gonna say it doesn't look like a good year for you.”
“I...got into a few scrapes.” Seffy had struggled with whether or not to tell them what she saw. Fiona didn't want her to, Fenn thought it unwise, and Eugene pooh-poohed the idea. And if she told them, she'd have to relive the details and freak out her alive friends. She cleared her throat. “All I can say is that it was just a very long two and a half days.”
“I heard one of the doctors talking about stitches and a gun shot wound?”
Seffy showed them her back injury. “I fell on a piece of glass. And got a bit mixed up in...gang violence.”
“Have I not said you are gravitationally challenged?” Addison said as nicely as possible. “And now you're mixing it up with the Crips and the Bloods. Wow.”
Seffy laughed a little. “Something like that.”
“But the good news is that it worked, right?” Lani said, her blue eyes wide with excitement. “So we can go back soon!”
“Actually, there were some problems. I didn't make it back to the right place.”
“What does that mean?” Addison said. “Not L.A.? Not the right year?”
“I was in West Hollywood,” she hedged, “but not quite the right time.” Technically, that was true. “Nobody knew who I was.”
“Like who?” Addison asked.
“Bruno cut my hair. But he didn't have a clue that I've been his faithful patron for two years. And someone else was living in our house.”
“That's creepy,” Lani said, pressing her hand to her heart.
Seffy experienced a sudden shiver when she realized Verity had known who she was. Not only that, Verity hadn't been shocked to see her. Surely Gareth's girlfriend attended the funeral! Seffy felt the blood drain from her face as panic gripped her body. What does it mean?
“Hey, are you okay?” Lani asked, taking her hand.
The contact jerked Seffy back to reality. She pulled in a deep breath and smiled. “Yes, sorry. I'm still squirrelly from the whole wormhole thing, I guess.”
“Do you remember any of that part?” Addison said.
She shook her head. “No, it was like the first time. Noise, whirligig, gravity, ouch.”
“Well, shoot,” Lani said, wrinkling her nose. “I was really hoping your trip meant we were almost done here. Do you know how boring the compound is?”
Boring? She couldn't imagine.
“But we're making the best of it,” Addison said.
Lani clapped her hands together. “Guess what we've done?”
“Um, started a little beauty shop slash manicure biz?”
Lani's smile faded. “How did you know?”
“Who told you?” Addison said, sounding huffy.
Seffy shrugged. “I just guessed. I mean, it wasn't that long ago that you were complaining about the lack of such services.”
“That's true, I suppose.” Lani's smiled returned. “And tomorrow after you've had some rest, you're getting the whole treatment.”
“Which is?”
“Well, at this point, mostly just a mani-pedi. You obviously already had your hair done, which smacks of Bruno's mastery by the way. We do plan to eventually add coloring to cuts and styles.”
“Uh, girls, you don't know how to do any of those things.”
“Yeah, but we found books! Between that and our personal experience with hair and nail salons, we can totally rock this compound, baby.”
Seffy smiled. “I hope you do. All that gardening these people do has got to be hard on the cuticles.”
“Exactly,” Addison said.
“So, tomorrow, say around two, come by my room and we'll get you all fixed up.”
“Okay,” she said, actually looking forward to something sane.
A knock sounded on her door.
“That's probably Gareth,” Lani said. “I know you haven't had a chance to see him yet, so we'll scoot.”
“See you tomorrow,” Addison waved.
When they opened the door to leave, Seffy saw that it was indeed Gareth. Her heart threatened to burst from her chest at the sight of him. She stood up as he closed the door. They regarded each other across the space. He was so handsome, it made her ache just to look at him. Seffy's hard-won control slipped as the tears began. She walked over to him and flung herself into his arms.
Gareth hugged her back, but she instantly knew that it was because he had worried and was simply glad to see her. The desperate, passionate Gareth from Alternate Land was gone, perhaps forever. Maybe he'd never existed in the present realm outside of her own imagination. She eased from his arms and struggled to school her expression.
“Was it that bad?” he asked, obviously referring to her tears.
She swallowed and nodded.
He took her hand and led her to the couch. When they were settled, he released her hand. Seffy felt the disconnect keenly.
“Tell me everything. I still can't believe it worked.”
“It kinda worked,” she said slowly. “You got the right town and time, but it was some kind of tangent world.” Seffy told him most everything aside from their Echo Park kiss, and anything involving Trent. She told him of the attempts on her life, of seeing him and the others die, of the effect her blood had on the bad guys.
He looked down at his hands for a moment. “I knew something went wrong. The calculations were off by a couple of tenths. Maybe it was because Fiona surprised us with that change of plans.” He looked at her, his brown eyes concerned, his brow furrowed. “It must have been so terrifying for you.”
“The only thing that kept me going was the thought of seeing you all alive again.”
“God, Seffy. Never again. I won't allow them to use you this way.”
She thought of the backpacks Trent had by now delivered to Fenn. Maybe there would never be another need for experimental time travel. Maybe next time would be the really-get-home kind. “As much as I loved being back in L.A., I'm so glad I'm here.”
He reached out and tentatively touched her hair. “I like the new look. It reminds me of the old days.”
“Before my blue contacts and going blonde? Liar.”
He averted his gaze for a moment.
Her smile faded. “But the old days weren't good, so let's not talk about them.”
He nodded, then stood. “Yeah. Sorry.”
Seffy nearly cried out that she didn't want him to leave so soon. She tried to reconcile this new, remote Gareth with the one who claimed he'd never love anyone as much as her. She didn't know if it helped knowing that, or if ignorance would've been preferable. Even so, something in her heart shriveled and died.
“I better go and fill in any details with Eugene. We have a lot of data to go through.”
Seffy nodded. She stood and watched him go. Once he was gone, she sank onto the couch and forced herself not to cry.
A tapping at her closet door caused her to gasp. She jumped up and hurried to the door, yanking it open. “Trent! How many times have I told you not to use this door?”
He stood there l
ooking clueless. She reluctantly waved him in.
“I waited until Gareth was gone.”
“You were spying on me?”
“Not the whole time.”
Seffy went back to the couch, hating the roller-coaster ride her emotions always took when Trent was in her personal space.
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I am under orders from Fiona to get rid of my bruise before I show myself to the others.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Well, I'm pretty sure you have some makeup. She said I needed something called 'concealer'.”
Seffy would like to conceal him all right. “Just a sec.” She went into the bathroom and brought out her small cosmetic stash complements of the compound Avon lady. “Sit on the edge of the bed.”
He complied and she pulled up the chair in front of him. After pulling the desk lamp closer and adjusting the light, she sat down opposite him and studied the bruise on his face. “How did you get this?”
“I ran into a door.”
Her smile caught her by surprise. “The typical battered victim response.”
He smiled back. “No, really.”
“Hey, you don't have to explain anything to me.” Seffy pawed through her makeup. “Lucky for you, we have similar skin tones.”
“That is indeed fortuitous.”
She chose a stick concealer, dabbed some on her finger and applied it to the bruised area. He winced a little. “Sorry.” She sensed him studying her face as she worked.
“So, how are you settling in?”
“It's nice not to be chased by homicidal maniacs.”
“Good point. Ouch.”
“Sorry.”
“How did your tender reunion with Gareth go?”
“Fine.”
He sighed. “So you're not going to give me any details, huh?”
“Nope.” She moved from the bruise on his brow to the one on his cheekbone. “But I do have something to tell you.”
“Does it involve you and me and, you know, something naughty?”
Seffy stopped and stared at him. “Why are you so different now? I mean when we're away from the compound, you are decent and even kind, but when we're here, you revert to being crude.”
“Maybe I'm just jealous.”
“Of who?”
“You know who.”
“So just because I talk to Gareth, you get your boxers in a bunch?”
“Oh, that reminds me, I was debriefed by Fiona.”
Seffy couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from some isolated place within her. It sounded rusty from disuse. “You are something else.” She resumed her bruise touch-up. “What did you tell her?”
“Most everything.”
“Her response?”
“Cagey as always. But she did tell me to say thanks for all the medical stuff.”
“Will it help?”
“His doctors are going over the procedures now. Hopefully, they'll know something soon.”
“I'm assuming they already have a donor match.”
Trent shrugged. “I don't know.”
“Well, that's a pretty big freakin' step.”
“Maybe you could be a match.”
“What, me and my poison blood?”
“You should talk to Olga about what happened.”
“I probably will, but if they didn't find anything before, they won't now.” Seffy put away the concealer and grabbed her face powder. “So, will I have to do this every day?”
“Just when I'll be in public.”
“What's your excuse for being out of sight for the last three days?” She patted his brow and cheek with the powder.
“I was sick.”
“Ah.”
“So what were you going to tell me?”
Seffy lowered her hand and nibbled at her lip. Yesterday she wouldn't have hesitated from telling Trent everything on her mind. Being back at the compound reminded her of her previous reservations around him. But in some ways she needed him more than ever. “It was when I got to the tanning salon. It didn't register at the time, but Verity not only knew who I was, she acted like there was nothing wrong. As in...I never died.”
Trent's expression grew serious. “Well, that can't be good.”
Chapter Twenty
“You exceeded our expectations.” Fenn looked at Seffy with a slight smile. “I know you went through a lot for us, for me, and I can only say thank you.” He sat, appearing relaxed, on his couch in his quarters, next to Fiona.
Seffy regarded Fenn, trying to look beyond his amazing tropical blue eyes to understand who he really was. The de facto leader of the compound usually seemed weak and indecisive. Maybe it was his illness and addiction that colored her judgment. Maybe once those things were controlled he'd prove to be a more capable leader. Her smile still felt forced. “Were the medical guides helpful?”
“Extremely. Once my doctors find a donor match, we should be able to proceed with the bone marrow transplant.”
She was unable to hide her shock. “I'm surprised you haven't already seen to that. It can take years to find a match.”
“I'll be looking for a match among the residents here and didn't want to put them through all that testing unless we were sure we could could attempt the transplant.”
Seffy wasn't convinced. Surely bone marrow transplants weren't brand new technology. She still didn't understand why he didn't go off-site to one of the big medical centers in Billings.
“It goes without saying that you won't be asked to be tested.” Fiona's dark eyes were unreadable, but her tone was bitchy as usual.
Seffy bit her tongue from saying she was glad. She'd been poked and prodded enough to last a lifetime.
“Trent told us you had some odd experience regarding the possible toxicity of your blood,” Fenn said.
“Of course it's toxic,” Fiona said. “She was infected with the zombie virus.”
“What I meant was that there might be more to it than that.”
Seffy nodded slightly, hating the way Fiona made her feel like a specimen on a microscope slide. “Olga and one of the doctors will be running some additional tests.”
Fiona looked at Fenn. “Do you think she requires quarantine again? If word gets out, we don't want another mutiny on our hands.”
Please God no. Seffy kept her expression blank. If she were to be quarantined again, she'd figure out some way to leave the compound for good.
He frowned. “I don't think that will be necessary.”
She released a silent breath.
Fenn stood and smiled. “Once again, thank you so much for taking such a risk.”
Seffy noticed he didn't shake her hand and kept his distance. Yay.
“Yes, thank you,” Fiona said, her voice higher than necessary, obviously eager for her to leave.
Seffy got to her feet and waved goodbye, eager to be back to her own room. Except of course, that would have to wait. She'd agreed to meet Olga in the medical lab for those tests first. Would it ever be done?This wondering and worry that something is wrong with me?
Once she was past the guards, Seffy wandered down the halls, a little surprised that she was almost glad to be here. Although she loved L.A., the shotgun-toting creeps had been too close for comfort. Then again, most of the trauma she'd endured had happened within these walls. She frowned, wondering why nothing made sense. At least Olga always put her at ease. The Finnish nurse was the only medical person she could trust.
After arriving at the lab, she went into the waiting room and sat in one of the chairs lining the wall. It looked like any medical clinic she'd ever been in. The tall receptionist desk—empty at the moment—floral prints on the walls, aquarium. A selection of children's toys took up one corner.
A few minutes passed and Olga bustled out from one of the back rooms. “Are you ready, dear?”
Seffy stood. It felt like it had been weeks since she'd seen her. A lot had changed in just a few days. “I guess.”
She followed the fifty-ish woman, who she privately thought of as her Nordic Nurse. The blonde hair mixed with gray, and pale blue eyes peeking over half-moon glasses, enhanced the notion.
“Have a seat in that chair.”
“How much blood are you going to take?” Seffy asked, feeling weak in the knees at the sight of the assembled poking things on the nearby tray.
“Three collection vials should be enough. We'll do some testing here and send the rest out.”
“Send it where?”
“A lab in Billings and one in L.A.”
“Cedars-Sinai?”
“Yes, how did you know?”
“I pretty much just came back from there.”
Olga smiled. “ I haven't got to tell you yet how happy I am that you're back.” Her smile faded. “You did want to come back, right?”
Seffy sighed. “Yes, I'm amazed to say that being penned up in the middle of nowhere isn't such a bad place to be at the moment.”
“I heard there was some scientific tweaking to be done before they'll try sending you again.”
She wondered where Olga got her information. “Yes, let's hope they get it right next time.”
“What was it like?” she asked, sitting on a stool and rolling a little table over.
“It was wonderful at first, but then there were bad guys. Sorry, I'm not supposed to say much. Fenn's wishes.”
“Ah.” Olga wrapped a strip of rubber around around Seffy's arm, then put on a pair of latex gloves.
“Aren't you worried about getting infected by me?” She watched the nurse's expression, hoping she wasn't going to start being treated as a freak by one of her few allies.
“I've cared for you many times, some of which were bloody, and have no reason to worry now. Especially since I always used reasonable precautions.”
“I was told here there was no zombie virus in my blood. But a guy there died when he was exposed. And a doctor at the hospital said they couldn't identify my type. With 2006 testing technology.”
Olga held her hand. “I don't want you to start worrying, young lady. You just need to focus on getting rest and mending.”
Seffy watched the needle go into her vein and winced. “But what if my blood is über-bad? Or what if it's mutating? What does that make me?”