Chapter 21 #2
“Harrison. Harry for short. When he got his first armpit hair, I teased him by calling him Hairy Pits.” I can’t help but smile at the memory.
“Mom and Dad turned the same night the government trapped us here. My parents had been sick for a few days before then, but we thought it was just a cold, you know? Nothing too serious. Until Dad started acting…different.”
I take a deep breath. The words are struggling to come up, to be spoken. To speak them is to make what’s happened reality. To speak them is to relive them.
“I didn’t see what happened, but I came out of my room to see my mom leaning against the bathroom door.
I could hear him in there, clawing at the wood, sounding like he was growling.
I tried to ask her what was going on, but she looked at me with panic in her eyes and said, ‘Katie, get Harrison and run’.
” A shiver runs down my spine. “I nearly had to drag Harry away from the video game he was playing. We ran out into the street to a complete nightmare.”
I stare up at the ceiling, still unable to grapple with the memories. “I’m sure you remember those first few days.”
“Some of it,” she says.
I nod. Some of it is a blur for me, too. “I remember running to the college campus, thinking…thinking maybe it would be safe there. I don’t even know why I thought it would be, but once my parents…”
“Everyone was in shock,” Jordan murmurs, her eerie eyes holding no judgment. Understanding.
I nod. “Yeah.” I swallow the lump in my throat.
“Anyway, it was pure chaos. No one knew what to do. It wasn’t until Dr. Parker spoke up that he wrangled the panic.
He gave us duties, something to keep our minds from spiraling.
We hunkered down in the student lounge building for a few weeks, but as more people outside got infected, it became clear we needed a more permanent solution. ”
Images of the infected charging the large windows of the building threaten to come to the surface.
“He managed to get in contact with another group, who had taken refuge somewhere that had weaponry. A week later, we moved out and joined them.”
The journey was horrifying. I’d never seen dead bodies outside of a funeral before, but they were scattered across the streets.
We had to move by daylight to avoid infected, but a few stray ones still found us.
It was the first time I’d fired a gun, the first time I’d killed anyone.
I puked my guts up immediately after while Harry held my hair back.
I continue, “Parker knew some people who worked at the labs, and knew they had security. The groups met up and made it to the labs, and we’ve been there ever since.”
Jordan presses her forearms against her knees, leaning forward with intensity. It stalls my breath in my lungs.
“How close are we to a vaccine, Kate?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper before I can stop myself. “Close, I think, but…I don’t know.”
“So this entire mission is for nothing.”
“No.” I shake my head. “No, it isn’t. They need to know about you, about your symptoms—”
“Knowing about me won’t change shit.”
“It will,” I argue. “Knowing how the virus is changing needs to be studied. If we can figure that out, we can maybe have a cure.” The hope in my voice is almost pathetic.
Jordan shakes her head, disgust contorting her features. “You talk about this Parker like he’s some genius, yet he’s not made progress since the outbreak.”
I find myself wanting to defend him, but the words don’t form on my tongue.
She leans forward, the fire casting her shadow along the wall, making her larger than life. “Maybe you shouldn’t put your blind faith in a man.”
My mouth shuts, unease spreading through my veins. It shouldn’t matter that she thinks it’s all a wild-goose chase—she’s escorting me there, isn’t she? Still, I find her lack of trust in it upsetting.
Her words plant in my brain, growing like weeds. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped and asked myself why we’re making barely any progress.
I pull my knees to my chest, staring at the flames but not really seeing anything.
Jordan huffs before she says, “I’m sorry, that came out wrong. I’m skeptical, is all.”
“We know what we’re doing,” I snap, defensiveness kicking in.
She’s quiet for a moment before she says, “With you on their team, I have no doubt.”
“Oh,” I whisper, caught off guard. My cheeks heat. “Thanks.”
She snorts. I look over and she’s grinning, her eyes on the fire. “Not good at taking compliments, huh?”
“Takes one to know one,” I shoot back playfully.
Her eyes raise to mine, and she gives me a knowing smile. The tense air between us dissipates, though my self-judgment still writhes within me, waiting for the next opportunity.
“There is something we should discuss, though,” she tells me.
I look over expectantly.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she almost looks sheepish. “We’ve been lucky not to encounter many infected so far, but that luck will run out. We need to be smart about this.”
I feel like laying down on top of the fire. “Do you still consider that necessary?” I ask, flustered.
Jordan nods. “Masking your scent is a priority, Kate.”
“But we have to do it like…that?”
“Yes.”
I bite back my groan. The idea of Jordan bathing me sends me into a spiral. “I’ll think on it,” I mumble, even though I know I won’t.
From the look on her face, she clearly doesn’t believe that, but shrugs. “We’ll talk about it more tomorrow.”
My stomach clenches. I really wish I had gotten away with putting it off.