Chapter 27 #2
“Caden isn’t human anymore. Your blood is enhanced—it’s reviving your skin. Maybe it can fight Hector’s blood and get it out of Caden’s system.” It sounds crazy when I say it out loud, but if I don’t have faith, I’m left with nothing.
“You have no idea how a single drop of Timothy’s blood might affect Caden,” Lyla says, watching me with pity. “It might kill him immediately.”
“Good, ’cause right now, he’s dying slowly and in agony.”
Timothy turns to Lyla. “We cannot let our friend suffer. Finn is right; it’s worth the risk. Would you carry me?”
She picks him up, and we hurry out of the shop and back to the clinic. I lead them into Caden’s room, finding him in a worse state than before, though he’s no longer thrashing. He seems delusional, shaking his head from side to side with his eyes staring into space.
Josh, who is standing by his side, looks up at us. “What are you… shit, Timothy. What the hell?”
“I’m fine! Finn suggested we try using my blood to save Caden. My white cells might be strong enough to battle Hector’s infection.”
River shakes his head. “Your blood wasn’t meant for him.”
“Neither was Hector’s.” I take a step forward and tell the doctors, “You need to make an infusion with Timothy’s blood, but only a small dose until we know if it’s working.”
“You’re not supposed to mix—”
“Do it,” Josh says. “We all know he’s dying.”
Still reluctant, they ask Lyla to place Timothy on a cart.
I stand close to Caden, taking in his dire state.
His wrists and ankles are strapped to the bed, but he’s likely to snap them off if he goes into another seizure.
I stroke his damp forehead, touching the little scales decorating his skin.
“Kick him out,” I whisper. “Kick his filthy blood straight to hell, you hear me?”
I get nothing but faint moans, but it’s better than his screams earlier.
“Will he be in danger?” River asks the doctors, meaning Timothy.
“Caden’s blood won’t reach back to him, so he should be fine. We’ll need to take it straight from one of his palms.”
“Go ahead,” Timothy says with River and Lyla standing by his side.
One of the doctors prepares an IV drip for Caden, while the other draws blood from Timothy’s palm, then inserts it into the IV bag.
I watch as the fluid inside the bag turns red, then slowly slips into Caden’s vein.
A minute passes, and then another. We remain silent, watching Caden as he breathes heavily, occasionally mumbling something I don’t understand.
I’m about to ask if we should give him more of Timothy’s blood when his eyes shoot open.
“His heart is beating too fast!” River shouts.
Caden begins to thrash, snapping his bindings right off. Lyla and River hurry to hold him down, but even they can barely manage. His screams are worse than before. Josh and I beg him to calm down, but I don’t think he can hear us. I’ve never seen anyone going through so much pain.
My crazy idea is killing him. It’s not saving him like I hoped, and it’s definitely not granting him a swift death.
River suddenly says, “It’s working,” but I don’t think I’ve heard him right.
“What do you mean it’s working? Look at him!”
“Timothy’s white cells are taking over,” Lyla says, still holding Caden down. “It’s not an easy fight.”
The thrashing continues, but at least Caden no longer screams. He cries instead, soft and vulnerable sobs. It almost sounds like he’s crying in relief.
The door opens, and Dino walks in. He takes in the sight of us, then hurries to Caden’s side. We move to give him room now that Caden is no longer trying to fight.
“We gave him an infusion of Timothy’s blood because he was dying,” Josh says. “Lyla and River think that it’s working.”
Dino leans down to kiss Caden’s head. If he’s shaken by the sight of his mutation, he doesn’t show it. “You’re okay, son,” he whispers to him. “You’ve been so brave. I couldn’t be more proud of you. Now close your eyes and rest.”
Caden cries harder. “Please stay.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Dino turns to us. “All of you look exhausted. Find a place to rest. I’ll stay with him.” He turns to Timothy and gasps. “What happened?”
“I’ll tell you later.” Timothy stands on the cart, and River picks him up. “I’m glad that my blood was helpful like Finn had suggested, but we still need to wait and see what other effects it might have—good or bad.”
In other words, the same blood that is fighting the infection might cause damage later on. I don’t have the energy to worry about that now.
Before I can turn to leave, Dino reaches out and holds my hand. “Are you okay?”
I’ve never been more exhausted in my life, but Caden is alive and Timothy is no longer dead, so the only answer is, “Yes.”
“I’ll speak with you later. You did good.”
“Thank you, sir.”
*
We walk out of the clinic, and pain is everywhere we look, but at least it seems that no more wounded are being brought in. We grab some sandwiches we find lying around since none of us have eaten for hours.
“I should take Timothy back to Frankie and check on my men,” Lyla says.
River bows. “Don’t forget your crown, my queen.”
“Hush, you.”
“Wasn’t the plan for Remy to replace the king?” I ask.
She sighs. “He got cold feet after we took over High Hope. We didn’t have time to find a replacement with the war and all, so I agreed to take leadership.”
“And now I need to be the king of something,” River says. “It’s fair.”
“Good luck with that, brother.”
We say our goodbyes to Lyla and Timothy, and the three of us remain.
“You did the right thing,” I tell Josh, because I know him too well. “You had to shoot him.”
“The hardest decision I’ve ever made.” He glances at River. “But I have no regrets. Do you think he’ll stay like this?”
He means Caden’s mutation. I shake my head. “I don’t know. I hope that Timothy’s blood will cure him of everything, but I reckon it won’t be so simple.”
“Whatever happens, the worst better be behind us.” Josh blocks a yawn. “I have to crash for a few hours. You’re coming with us?”
“I want to be alone for a bit.”
“Okay, but when you’re up for it, I want to hear about what happened over there. Anything you’re willing to share.”
I dread opening up about the hell I faced from the moment Clint identified me, but I don’t want to be a victim of my own memories and make them even more powerful. “I’ll tell you everything once things settle.”
River and Josh walk to the mayor’s house while I find a dirt road leading to the eastern part of town.
Not many people live around here, and there are no military tents as far as I can see.
After a few minutes, I’m surrounded by silence, the moon my only source of light.
I find a patch of grass at the bottom of a tree and sit down with a tired sigh.
My stomach grumbles until I start to eat my dry sandwich.
I wonder if the fighting continues in Denver, but my gut tells me that whoever survived has either surrendered or fled. I don’t doubt that some gangs will continue to be a problem, but they will be easier to hunt down now that their heart has been destroyed.
I finish eating and crane my stiff neck from side to side.
I’m eager to check on Caden, but he needs to rest and heal.
As the adrenaline fades from my body, my eyes grow heavy.
I should walk to the mayor’s house and find a bed, but I’m too exhausted to get up.
I slide down onto the soft grass to get myself comfortable, and in seconds, I’m carried away by sleep.
*
Dino is standing by one of the tents surrounding the clinic, drinking what I’m hoping is coffee. I managed to sleep for a few hours, but he clearly hasn’t slept at all.
I’m nervous about facing him after our last conversation ended with my resignation.
I still would have done it all over again, but I know I disappointed him.
When he notices me approaching, he pours another cup of coffee and hands it to me.
I take it gladly, enjoying the warmth against my palms and the bitter taste when I take a sip. “How is he?”
“He’s been falling in and out of sleep since the infusion. His tests are good, but they don’t make much sense.”
“How come?”
“The high number of white cells should have killed him. Maybe it will go down once he’s recovered, or maybe it will stay high and he will handle it.”
I can hear an additional option in his tone, one where Caden dies once the infection passes and Timothy’s white cells remain. As long as I have the privilege of ignoring that option, I choose to do so.
Dino plucks a leaf from my hair. “Did you sleep on the ground?”
“Yes, I needed some time alone.”
He nods. “I checked on Timothy earlier. He’s eager to get back to work.”
“That’s good.” I take a sip of coffee, wondering if I should apologize for going against his will.
“Check up on Caden,” he says, “then get something to eat. Once you’re refreshed, come find me so we can go over your assignments for today.”
“But I resigned.”
“Should I have put the war on hold and started interviewing for a replacement?”
“No, sir.”
“Then I suggest you start your day and get to work. We’ll have a proper catch-up once the dust settles.”
I put the empty cup down, relieved and grateful. “How did the attack go?”
“Better than expected once we got hold of the drones. The intel from Elijah made slipping through their defenses easier. High Hope’s troops overwhelmed them from the sky, but they lost a lot of good soldiers to those machine guns.”
“Are there any captive Raiders?”
“A few, but those who weren’t killed managed to escape. We’ll track them down in the coming weeks. The Semi-Humans will help with that.” He leans closer and asks, “Is Hector really dead?”
I nod. “The substance from Pueblo fought him in the sewers before he could escape.”
“Where would he have escaped to?”
I’m surprised he doesn’t know the answer, but that’s on me for not providing a detailed account of the events I witnessed.
“Hector assumed he was going to lose Denver. He planned on taking his lizard men and invading Unity while the Defenders were fighting over Denver. It was supposed to be his new base of operations, and the Hivers were going to become part of his army.”
“He was going to turn them into those creatures?”
“Yes, with his blood.”
Dino rubs his face. “My God.”
“He’s dead,” I say. “I saw him die.”
“And his lizard army?”
“Them as well, but there are likely more of them out there.”
“Then we’ll need to find them.”
“I don’t think we should. Hector told me they can’t live for more than a few years. I think they deserve to die in peace. They were people before all of this.”
Dino nods. “I’ll consider it. Go check on Caden. We have a long day ahead of us.”