Sanctuary (the Affliction Trilogy #2)

Chapter 28

Twenty-Eight

T he shrill sound of the truck's brakes wakes me. I stretch my stiff body, working out the kinks from laying in the same position for hours. The front of my shirt where Ryland rests his head is soaked with perspiration, and his hair is matted to the top of his skull. I place my palm on his forehead to discover he’s burning up. He hasn't woken up since we left the Sanctuary. I've tried a few times to get him to drink some water, but they were failed attempts. His condition is concerning, but it's only one of the many new worries I have now that we're traveling again.

Aiden and Wes appear at the back of the truck. The two look haggard from a long day of driving. Unlike the four of us in the back, they've had to stay alert this entire time. One driving and the other scouting the area to make sure we're not ambushed. This is only our second time stopping, and they use the moment to stretch their legs.

“How's he doing?” Aiden asks, twisting from side to side to work the kinks out of his back.

Brushing the wet hair away from Ryland's face, I answer, “He's still running a fever.”

Wes rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Let's talk about what we want to do. It's going to be dark soon, and we don't have enough gas to make it through the night.”

I turn to my cousin as she sits up and rubs the sleep from her eyes. “Will you come and watch over him for a minute?”

“Sure.” She scoots out of the corner that she and Noah have been sleeping in and places Ryland's head on her thigh.

I crawl to the back of the truck, and Aiden puts his hands around my waist to help me down. Noah joins us as we take in our surroundings.

“It's all industrial buildings around here, and I’ve seen no signs of people or Zs,” Aiden says.

I rub my fingers over my pulsating temples. “We need somewhere to spend a couple of nights. Ryland won’t be able to travel on foot.” I climb the ladder on the back of the truck for a better vantage point. At least half a dozen warehouses with loading docks line one side of the highway and on the other is marshland.

To the west stands a building with a familiar logo on the side. I used to see it on a daily basis before the Affliction. It belongs to one of the major retailers that carried a variety of items that could be picked up at the store or delivered to your doorstep. It’s a gigantic warehouse. Even if looters got to it, the items left behind could make for a comfortable place to bunker down.

I jump down from the truck. “There's a building that might work if it's vacant.”

“Are you sure you're in any shape to find out?” Wes asks.

I raise my eyebrows, saying, “I've worked a desk job for months, and I'm armed with a kitchen knife, but I'll manage.”

Aiden reaches into the back of his pants and hands me a gun.

“What about you?” I drop the magazine out of the bottom of the firearm and find it fully loaded.

“We have three more in the truck's cab,” he says.

“How? I thought that we'd only have two guns at most.”

Aiden pats me on the back. “I'll tell you about it when we find a place to stay for the evening.”

After everyone has a chance to relieve themselves, we drive to the building. When we get there Aiden, Wes, and I leave the others in the truck and go secure the perimeter. The structure only has one large window at the front lobby, making it difficult to tell if it's vacant. Wes pulls on the glass door leading inside and it opens with no problem. The reception area is in disarray with papers scattered on the ground and chairs overturned, but nothing is out of the ordinary.

We walk around the large built-in desk and discover a closed door off to the side. I go to open it, but it's locked and a little pad to the side of the handle requires a keycard to unlock it. I sigh. If I never see a keycard lock again, it will be too soon.

“Stand back,” I say.

The guys do as I order. With trembling hands, I point the barrel of my gun at the door handle. I brace myself for the kickback and pull the trigger. The ear-splitting bang causes me to jump, and my heart wildly hammers inside of my chest. It's not the shot I intended—it's sloppy—but it's good enough. With the locking mechanism in pieces, the door swings open.

“A little rusty, yeah?” Wes gives me a sideways glance.

I scrunch my nose and consider blaming it on the gun, but truthfully answer, “I've got some work to do.”

“Good thing you’ve got us.” Aiden squeezes my shoulder, walking through the doorway.

The warehouse is so dark that my eyes won't adjust to it, but the guys have come prepared. They turn on small high-powered flashlights and shine them around the room. Boxes strategically sit on hundreds of shelves. Everything looks to be in order.

Wes steps up beside me and says, “Remember how there was that one place you went to as a kid and it felt kind of magical to you? This is that place for me, right now.”

I smile. In a twisted way, an untouched stockpile of supplies is magical.

The three of us walk the central aisle, shining the lights into every corner. It’s so much to take in, sorting through all this stuff to find items we can use would take weeks.

Aiden's laughter resounds in the silence. “Where would you like to start our shopping experience today?” He shines his light on the signs hanging above each aisle listing what we can find down them.

It feels like it's been ages since I've wanted to jump up and down and clap my hands. “Hardware! We need battery-operated lights!” I say and practically skipping to the aisle.

Once we have lit the space, we finish checking the building. With the all-clear, the three of us work together to unwrap a mattress in the furniture section. We carry it over to an aisle and push it to the very back before covering it with some new bedding.

With the preparations for Ryland complete, we return to the vehicle to retrieve everyone else. I come to a standstill as I see Noah holding Ryland up at the back of the truck. He's hunched over, trying to purge the nonexistent contents of his stomach. I rush to his side and run my cold hand over the back of his neck, hoping it will bring him some comfort.

“We need to get his fever down. It's skyrocketing,” River says.

As soon as Ryland stops convulsing, he goes limp in Noah's arms. Aiden hurries over and takes his legs and the two carry him into the building.

I jump into the back of the truck and grab River’s and Noah's bags. It's the first thing I can think of doing to keep my mind off of Ryland's dire state.

River takes her backpack from me and says, “He'll be all right, Quinn.”

I nod, but it's only for show. His sickness has me terrified. This isn't something found in one of River's medical books. A ton of unknown complications could come with being infected by the Z virus and taking the cure—stuff that even the Sanctuary doesn't know about. Who's even to say that I correctly administered the antidote to him? Maybe the needle went too deep, or even worse, I grabbed the wrong vials. I can't help but fear I did something wrong.

After everyone is settled in for the night, I find the courage to go see Ryland. The space we made for him is lit by two decorative candles, setting everything in a calming glow. River sits on the side of the bed with a damp washcloth pressed to his forehead. His clothes have been removed and piled on the floor. Despite the chilly temperature, he's covered only with a single sheet. His pale complexion doesn't look any better, but at least, he seems comfortable.

River stands and joins me at the foot of the bed, handing me the towel. “If he wakes up, get him to drink some water. And no matter how much he shivers, don't cover him until the fever breaks. The thermometer is next to the bed. Check his temperature every couple of hours.”

I swallow down the emotion building in me. “Okay.”

She rubs my shoulder. “You gave him the cure and got him out of there. Stop second-guessing yourself. You did well.”

I pull her into my arms and tightly hug her. With everything that has gone on, I haven't had the chance to realize she's with me and unharmed. There was a moment when I thought I'd never see her again. Even with all the bad that’s happened, there's still a little good.

She rubs my back, saying, “As hard as it's going to be, leave some space between the two of you. Although it might be comforting to him, your body heat will do more harm than good.”

“Yeah, I got it.” I let her go and step away.

“Night, Quinn,” she says, leaving me alone with Ryland.

I take River's place by his bedside and run the washcloth over the beads of sweat on his forehead. I hate seeing him like this. I'm used to him having a say in the decisions we make as a group and taking the lead in everything we do. He's the one who gives all of us the reassurance that everything will be all right. I don’t think there is anything he can't handle.

It doesn’t feel right not to have his leadership when we need it so badly.

“Quinn?” he says, his voice straining.

“Shh, I'm here.” I take his hand into mine.

“Is everyone okay? Did we all make it out?”

I run my thumb over the back of his hand, careful not to touch his healing fingers. “Everyone is here. Don't worry about us. We need you to get better, so you can go home, okay?”

“So, we can go home.”

“Of course. I forgot that we have an extremely romantic date planned. I can't wait to sit on your mom's couch, watching television while she cooks for us.”

“She makes an amazing Shepherd's Pie.” He weakly smiles.

It's not very often that we talk about our families. We know the basics, but it's such a sore spot. It's hard to know that somewhere else life continues as normal without us. They still celebrate the holidays and carry on with traditions. The only thing missing is us. And by now, they have learned how to function around the empty holes we left inside of them.

Although, Ryland's family might be the exception.

I can't imagine anyone who loves him half as much as I do getting over the loss of him. His missing presence wouldn't just be a simple hole; it would be a bottomless chasm. No matter how they try to fill the void, it would never be enough. At least, I know it's how I'd feel without him.

The bed shakes as Ryland shivers, and I pull the sheet over him a little more. It's awful to see him in so much discomfort. It brings tears to my eyes wishing I could do more. But now isn't the time to fall apart.

“Do you want me to get you anything? Are you hungry or thirsty?” I ask.

“No, I'm just tired and freezing,” he says through chattering teeth.

“Go back to sleep. I'll be right here if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” he says, closing his eyes.

Scared that I'll be tempted to cuddle next to him and aggravate his fever, I take the thick blanket River folded at the bottom of the bed and wrap it around my shoulders. I move from Ryland's side and curl up in the corner created by the end of the mattress and the wall of shelves. I sit in silence watching the candlelight dance across his face.

Nothing, not even the Affliction, can diminish his physical beauty.

My worry has made me a complete wreck, and I can’t fall asleep. I’m haunted by thoughts of what my father has done. He is the worst kind of evil. Not only did he almost kill the man I love, but he tainted the core of who I am. Never again will I be able to say that I can find the good in every single person. A part of me will question if someone is worthy of my kindness and trust. He has annihilated the freely-given compassion my family had instilled in me.

Worse than that, he has made me thirst for vengeance, craving it like a drug. I've never wanted to inflict harm on someone the way I do him. I fear this ugly, new part of me won’t be sated until William Spencer is dead.