Charged (16 page)

After so many days without a shower, heaven, that’s what this is. I try not to take too long, it’s only fair for Mason to have his turn, too. Hmm, the idea of Mason in the shower sends funny feelings deep within my gut.

I shut off the water and grab a towel. I have exactly one pair of clean clothes left, and try to remember to make laundry a priority later. I get dressed quickly and towel dry my hair as best I can.

When I go back into the room, Mason is watching the small TV. He stands when he sees me, and throws his shirt off. “Good timing. I’ll be out in a few.”

Wow. The shirt-less-ness is a first. Dang. I manage to snap myself out of it, just in time to catch the mischievous grin on his face. “Ok, I’ll be here.”

I can’t help but grin while he shuts the door. Our relationship had only first started when the infection begun, forcing us into this extreme situation. We’ve been so tense, so on guard, that it’s a refreshing change to see playful Mason again, even if it’s only temporary.

I comb through the snarls in my hair, trying to be careful and wince when yanking through the worst of the knots. Finally, I win the battle and pull my hair back. Putting my comb back in my bag, there’s a knock on the door. “Five minutes.” A voice calls.

I tap on the bathroom door and reiterate the message to Mason. Guess I’ll have to wait until later to enjoy his playfulness. My stomach growls, and I’m thinking food is probably a good thing. With two minutes left to spare, Mason joins me. He shoves his shoes on and pulls a shirt over his head, before we go into the hallway together.

Brie and Jared obviously showered, too. It’s a small bit of luxury we haven’t had, and normalizes everything just a bit for us. Normal is nice. Weird, but nice.

“I called Becky,” Brie tells me. “They’re all doing well. I told her about this place, offered to send someone for them, but they want to stick it out, for now.”

“I hope that’s the best choice.” Mason says.

“We’ll have to try to talk some sense into them soon.” I say.

“Good luck trying to get Jack to leave.” Jared points out.

Hmm, I’d have to try to think of a way to convince him.

Jerome pops his around the end of the hall. “C’mon guys, you must be starving.”

“Got that right.” Brie smiles.

Jerome leads us through the maze of hallways, this time into a large, cavernous room. It has an institutional feel to it, but it’s detracted by the delicious smells that a rational person would never think of associating with institutional food. Last time anything smelled this good, we were in Mariette’s kitchen. I boost Baby bear on my hip, whose nose and energy seems to be awakened by the smell. This raises my hopes that the hot food here will be better than our last hot, indiscernible meal at the barracks. It was good, don’t get me wrong, and I was grateful for it. I just prefer to not play guess-my-food if I don’t have to.

This huge kitchen/dining area is set up cafeteria style. Jerome leads us to a line and hands us each a tray. “Just point to what you want and they’ll get it for you.”

I point to some eggs and am handed a plate. I do the same for the bacon next to it. Yep, this place is okay in my book.

After we’ve all filled our trays, we find a table. Jerome sits with us, explaining different areas we’ll be seeing. He also tells us the few ground rules. Simple, logical things really, no theft, violence will not be tolerated, that sort of thing. It’s the last rule that raises my hackles a bit. We can’t leave without permission. Not crazy about that one stipulation.

Even though taking a shower was wonderful, and the food rocks, I’m still overly anxious to meet up with the good doctor and get some answers. I turn to Jerome. “Do you know when the doctor will be available?”

“When we’re done here, I’ll take you to his office.” Jerome answered.

I nod, and start eating a little faster.

Dr. Ford’s office is really quite bare. There are no diplomas on the walls, or any other personal touches. Tan walls, a desk and some chairs, but not much else.

I look at Mason. He gives me a small, reassuring smile, no doubt sensing my nervousness. Brie and Jared went off with Jerome to explore, taking Baby bear with them. Mason insisted on staying with me. I’m glad he did, even if I knew he would.

The anticipation was killing me. Just when I think I can’t stand one more second, the door opens. Dr. Ford’s familiar, though now somewhat haggard, face smiles when he sees us. “Kat, Mason, I’m so glad you guys made it safely.”

“Thanks, doc, us, too.” Mason shakes his proffered hand.

“Hey, doc.” I say, shaking his hand when Mason releases it.

“I’m not even sure where to begin.” Dr. Ford sits behind the desk, across from us. “What’s it like out there?”

I shudder involuntarily, but it’s Mason who answers. “Not good.” He says quietly.

Dr. Ford rakes a hand across his face. I can see the tension in his eyes. “Did you see many survivors?”

I shake my head. “We didn’t see any. One family, but only their daughter was infected, no one else.” Except that one group, my conscious sneers at me.

“What happened?” The doctor asks, “Did they all succumb to the infection?”

Mason answers softly. “Kat saved her.”

Dr. Ford’s eyes grow as wide as saucers. “Hmm. Maybe we should continue this in the lab.”

“Hey, doc?” Mason asks as we get up. “We can keep Kat’s, er, abilities, to just us for now, right?”

“Of course.” Dr. Ford assures him. “This way.”

The lab is just that, a lab. Lots of white and things I would probably break if I touched. I sit on a stool, in a safe place away from all of the equipment.

“May I start with a blood test?” He asks me.

“Okay.” Needles are not my favorite thing, but I figured I was in for this when I signed up.

He draws the blood quickly, and surprisingly painlessly, while I focus on Mason. No way am I watching the needle.

“Good, I’m going to have some tests run on this, as soon as I know the results, I will let you know.” Dr. Ford smiles, “Now, onto the next step, let’s see what you can do.”

“Um, I think we need some more room.” Mason says.

“Yeah, doc, I don’t want to hurt your lab.” I say.

“Oh, right.” He looks sheepish. “Good point. Follow me.”

A couple of elevators and a stairway later, Dr. Ford opens a door to blinding sunlight, and we find ourselves on a roof. Dr. Ford points down to an unused, mostly dilapidated, basketball court. “Let ‘er rip.” His excitement is almost overwhelming.

I look at Mason, who shrugs. All well, here goes nothing. I motion for them to stand back, as I create the now familiar energy sphere in my palms. Dr. Ford’s eyes almost pop out of his head. I throw it at the one remaining basketball hoop and watch as it’s obliterated.

When I turn back to Dr. Ford, his mouth has popped open along with his eyes. “That-it’s just incredible, never seen anything-can you do it again?” He sputters.

I throw one more, not quite as strong, and we all watch as it pops in the court below. Suddenly, the doors next to the court fly open and five armed guards step onto the court. I shrink away from the edge and out of sight. Mason follows my lead. To both of our shock, so does Dr. Ford.

“Um, shouldn’t you tell them it was just a test, that everything’s okay?” I ask.

“Nah, they could use the excitement.” Dr. Ford says before leading us back towards the lab.

He’s all business when we return. He asks question after question. I answer honestly. Mason begins to doze off a little. Dr. Ford keeps at it until there’s a soft knock at the door. I giggle when Mason almost falls out of the chair.

It’s Jerome, informing us it’s time for lunch. Dr. Ford leaps up, with one final parting question. “If I can find something to get a sample into, can you give me one of them? A smaller one, perhaps?”

My eyes dart towards Jerome and I’m glad that Dr. Ford kept his question vague. “Sure, doc, anything to help.” Jerome eyes me curiously but doesn’t say anything.

“Oh, Jerome,” Dr. Ford says, “There was an incident of sorts on the old basketball court. I’d like someone to get me a sample.”

I see Mason suppress a smile. “Sure thing, Dr. Ford. We’ll get someone on that asap.” Jerome answers.

“Thank you. I’ll see you two later.”

“Bye, doc.” Mason and I call as we follow Jerome.

Brie and Jared are waiting for us, holding a table. They didn’t get their food yet, which I think is sweet. It makes me happy that even in all of this insanity, Brie and Jared found each other.

Lunch seems much too quick, tasty, but short. As soon as Jerome gets up, I know he’s bringing Mason and I back to Dr. Ford. I promise Brie to talk later and head back for round two of testing.

Figuring the level of Dr. Ford’s excitement, it doesn’t surprise me that he has something set up to test my energy. I give him smaller, less powerful spheres, and a larger one before I feel the need to recharge again.

He loves this almost as much as the first demonstration. It makes me feel awfully self-conscious, but it’s in the name of science, right? Can’t let my bashfulness stop from possibly saving the world.

After an hour or so of analyzing data, Dr. Ford turns to Mason and I. “It’s utterly remarkable.”

“Um, thanks, I guess?” I’m not quite sure what the appropriate response is for such a statement.

“No, really. It’s an organic energy, something like lightning, but you’ve mutated it, adapted it to your body.”

“What about when it runs out?” Mason asks quietly. I know this has been bugging him for a while now.

“We’ll have to run some more tests to determine that.” Dr. Ford answers, not quite meeting my gaze.

The next two days are filled with testing. It’s redundant, therefore rather boring, even though Dr. Ford insists it’s all necessary. Mason remains dutifully by my side, throughout every grueling step. I miss Baby bear, who spends his days with Brie and Jared and only bunks with us at night. I’m beginning to feel as though I’m stuck in some sort of never-ending, test-filled purgatory.

After what seems like forever, Dr. Ford finally turns from his computer and puts his glasses down.

“Enough for today, doc?” Mason asks hopefully.

“Well, yes and no. You guys were very patient through the question portion, and I’m assuming that’s because you’re anxious to get to the answer part.” Dr. Ford pauses. “We’ve reached the part where I have some answers.”

Oh. I guess that’s good, right. Yeah, sure, answers are good. I’m not sure why the butterflies in my stomach seem to disagree.

“Kat, this energy you’ve harnessed, it is part of you now. If you use too much of it, it will drain you, but you are able to replenish it on your own without an external source, this just takes more time.

“As to how it affects the nanobots,” he continues, “they were set on replication, and when whatever glitch happened to cause them to go out of control did, it reset something in them. It seems that this new form of biological energy you’ve created completely reboots them.”

“That’s all good news, right?” Mason asks.

“Yes, all good news. My concern is the rate of which we’ll be able to use this to slow and ultimately stop them. If I can’t find some way to duplicate this energy, well, poor Kat wouldn’t be able to stop them alone.”