Chapter 10
SEVERIN
“I apologize again for Ravik’s behavior,” Sev said stiffly, as he led the curvy little human down the long metal hallway lit with flickering glows. “He truly isn’t himself right now—he hasn’t been ever since he was scratched by an Infected three months ago.”
“Three months?” Cassandra sounded surprised.
“Well, more like four, to be honest. But it was three months ago when he lost the power of speech,” Sev corrected himself. “Since then he hasn’t spoken in anything but grunts and growls—until today,” he added.
“So the antidote you gave him must be working, like you said,” Cassandra remarked.
She was distractingly pretty with her long damp hair and large breasts swaying under the tiny red silk garment she was wearing. Her nipples were tight points, poking against the fabric and Sev—who had always been a breast man—had to fight to keep his eyes on her face.
“Yes, it seems so,” he said shortly.
“But…weren’t you afraid to keep him down here with you?” Cassandra asked him. “I mean, he could have gone feral at any moment.”
“There was no real danger of that—I’ve been dosing him with different anti-virals since he was first infected,” Sev said loftily.
But it seemed that Cassandra wasn’t buying what he was telling her.
“They tried anti-virals in the Crystal City too,” she said, giving him a skeptical look. “When our beloved Mayor Kisslyx was bitten, some of the best scientists in the city locked him in a cage and began trying everything they could.”
“Oh? And what was the result?” Sev arched an eyebrow at her, genuinely curious thought he thought he could guess the outcome.
“He turned even faster after they injected him with that stuff,” Cassandra said, frowning.
“In forty-eight hours he went from a thinking, speaking, rational being to a ravenous, slobbering Infected who just wanted to eat everyone he saw. Didn’t you think you were taking an awful chance with Ravik? I mean, keeping him so close?”
“He’s my best friend, all right?” Sev snapped, surprising himself by revealing the truth instead of just putting her off. “He’s saved my life more times than I can count and I’ve saved his as well. I can’t just put him out in the Dead Zone to die—not when I might be able to save him!”
“Okay, okay—sorry.” The human woman held up her hands in a “don’t shoot” gesture. “I didn’t mean to offend you—I was just trying to figure out what’s going on around here.”
“What’s going on is research,” Sev said shortly. “I actually came here to study rare viruses with one of the top scientists on Visslick Prime—Dr. Hisslax.”
“Oh, I heard about him!” she exclaimed. “He was supposed to be working on an antidote for the sleeping sickness that only affects Visskous males, wasn’t he?”
“So he was.” Sev nodded. “And I believe he was on the verge of a breakthrough…but that was when the Hunger Virus broke out and we turned all our attention to finding a cure.”
Cassie raised her eyebrows at him.
“So is Dr. Hisslax down here, too?”
Sev shook his head regretfully.
“Unfortunately, he didn’t make it. He was bitten by an Infected during our run from the main research facility to the bunker.”
“So you came here after the infection started to spread? You weren’t working here in the first place?” she sounded surprised.
“No. This is actually a historical site, built to replicate how the Visskous people lived hundreds of cycles ago during the Nanite plagues of the 1640s,” Sev explained.
“The local Historical Society kept it in working order. We only knew about it because Dr. Hisslax took Ravik and myself on a tour during a day off. When the Hunger Virus started spreading in earnest, we brought our equipment down here to try and find a cure.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you took that tour, I guess,” Cassandra remarked, nodding in appreciation. “What all do you have down here?”
“Almost everything we need to sustain life indefinitely,” Sev said proudly.
“There’s a shielded nuclear reactor which gives us pretty much unlimited power…
an underground reservoir of water that won’t run out for thousands of years…
even a hydroponic garden that I’ve been attempting to get going again.
So far none of my plants have bourn fruit, but I’m hopeful,” he added.
Cassandra frowned thoughtfully.
“That’s all pretty impressive, but I notice you didn’t mention much about food.”
Sev raked a hand through his hair. This human was quick—he wished she wasn’t.
“Well…that is a problem. Because the bunker was used mainly for historical tours, it wasn’t really stocked with any food. Ravik and I go on supply runs often—sometimes he goes without me, just to get out because being in here makes him stir crazy. But we’re always running lower than I’d like.”
The curvy little human nibbled her lower lip.
“Then taking me in is going to strain your resources, isn’t it?”
“Honestly, yes. But we’ll manage,” Sev told her. He didn’t believe in sugar coating the truth. “Speaking of supplies, this is our kitchen,” he added, nodding to a doorway off the main corridor.
“Oh—can I see? I love to cook,” she remarked.
“Of course. Let’s go in.”
He ushered her into the long, galley kitchen where a row of pots and pans hung from the walls on one side and the other was lined with cupboards.
There was a small stove and oven—a primitive way of cooking to Sev, who was used to the wave cookers on the Mother Ship.
There was also a cold unit and a freezer unit—both empty at the moment, unfortunately.
Cassandra immediately began opening cupboards, just as though she had the right.
“By all means—make yourself at home,” Sev said dryly.
“Sorry,” she said, not sounding sorry at all. “But if I’m going to cook for you two, I need to know what I’m working with.”
“Cook for us?” Sev frowned at her. “I never said you had to cook for us. I didn’t take you in just to perform domestic labor for Ravik and myself.”
“I like to make myself useful,” she said honestly. “Because if you find me useful, you’re more likely to keep me and not throw me back out into the Dead Zone.”
Sev opened his mouth to promise he wouldn’t throw her out…
and found he couldn’t do it. If he was unable to cure her and she went full Infected, he would have to put her out.
However, the way her blood didn’t seem to be succumbing to the virus gave him hope.
He would need to study it though. It could be that the Hunger Virus simply took longer to multiply in human blood.
He’d only studied its effects on Visskous blood and Kindred blood so far. So if it—
“I notice you’re not promising to keep me no matter what,” Cassandra said, breaking his train of thought, which had veered off into theoretical territory, as it so often did when faced with an emotional choice.
Sev felt immediately defensive.
“I can’t promise anything,” he said, frowning. “I wish I could. My instinct is to tell you that Ravik and I will protect you and keep you with us no matter what. But if you—”
“If I turn into an Infected, you’ll have to make some hard choices.
I understand.” She nodded calmly. “But please promise me something—if I turn, don’t just put me out in the Dead Zone to wander around like a soulless zombie.
Promise you’ll put a bullet or a laser blast through my brain and kill me. ”
Sev was taken aback by her response—she was so cold, talking about her own possible death.
But then he looked into her big brown eyes and understood that she wasn’t cool and calm and collected at all—not inside.
She probably wanted to cry or rage against what had happened to her, but she felt she couldn’t because it would upset him.
He had seen this with human women living aboard the Mother Ship. Some were afraid to express their emotions because they thought it would make the male they were dealing with upset in some way.
It didn’t make sense to him until he found out more about the social structure between human men and women.
Because human men didn’t consider their females to be their equals and often hurt or abused them—something a Kindred would never do—the women often feared their men and felt the need to placate them and keep them from getting angry.
“Don’t say that,” he said quietly. “Don’t speak of your own death so lightly.”
“Why? Because I’m a ‘Mature Elite?’ Whatever that means,” she scoffed.
“No—because you’re worthy of respect. So respect yourself—respect your life. Don’t throw it away,” Sev said, frowning.
She frowned in return.
“I just don’t want to be one of the mindless zombies. I’d rather be dead.” As she spoke, a single tear rolled down one flushed cheek. It made Sev’s heart ache to see it.
He had the sudden urge to touch her—to comfort her. She’d been thought a hell of a lot today. Before he could stop himself, he reached out and cupped her cheek in one hand. With his thumb, he brushed the tear away.
“I feel the same way,” he said simply. “But don’t give up too soon.
Let me work with your blood and see if I can develop an anti-viral for you.
After all, the last one I made for Ravik is working and Kindred and Humans aren’t so far apart biologically.
It’s one reason we’re able to mate with you and call brides from your kind. ”
A blush rose on her cheeks but at last, she nodded.
“All right. I’ll try to stay hopeful. But in the meantime, I’d like to keep busy by cooking supper.” She raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’ve already eaten?”
He dropped his hand, even though he didn’t want to stop touching her.
“No, I haven’t and neither has Ravik. He never eats anything outside the bunker to avoid further contamination—that was one order I was able to get through to him.”
“Good. That’s…good.” She was still blushing as she looked away. Her fingers crept to her cheek, where Sev had been touching her but he didn’t think she realized what she was doing.
“Well…have a look around and make supper if you want,” he said lamely. “I need to go to the lab and check a few things.”
“Thanks. I’ll do that,” she murmured. Then she turned away and opened a cupboard, pointedly ending their conversation.
Sev left the food prep area with a strange reluctance. What was it about the curvy little human? Why did she get under his skin? And what spell had she cast over Ravik?
He had no idea but as he walked down the corridor to the place where he kept his equipment, he couldn’t get her out of his mind.