Charged (19 page)

“Doesn’t it?” Brie hints, waggling her eyebrows at me.

Despite everything, I burst out laughing. “It does look nice,” I tell them. “But we know the water could be infected. I don’t know if it’s worth the risk.”

Brie actually begins to pout. Even the guys look defeated, their shoulders falling in unison.

Mason pipes up, “Can’t you just zap it, babe? Then we can all go for a swim?”

O
h, the temptation. I cave. “I guess I could try, but I have no idea what will happen.”

Brie nudges me forward, eager to get clean and refreshed. “Go,” she orders me, “zap away!”

As I move towards the water, I shake my head gently, but there’s a wry smile on my face. Guess I’m out-voted, although I have to admit, I’m not that upset about it. The water looks so nice and cool.

I do my energy sphere thing, and as soon as I turn around, the others are moving towards me. Jared is hopping on one foot, attempting to take his sneakers off as he walks. Brie and Mason take the more direct approach, stopping beside me before losing any articles of clothing they don’t want to get wet. Well, when in Rome, right? I begin taking off my own sneakers.

“Hey! Where’s the phone?” I ask Mason, right before he jumps. We haven’t heard from Dr. Ford yet, but I don’t want to destroy the only means of communication that we have.

Splash! “Relax, it’s in the Jeep. Now get over here!” He calls back to me.

Jared and Brie soon jump beside Mason, Baby bear even plays in the shallow water by the shoreline. Satisfied that there is no eminent threat, I jump in and join them.

The water is crisp and cool. It’s perfectly refreshing and exactly what we all needed. I watch curiously as Brie runs back to the Jeep, but when she returns with bottles of shampoo and conditioner I grin. Good thinking, Brie!

She squirts some shampoo in her hand and tosses me the bottle. I follow suit and we all pass the bottles around until we are clean.

We probably spend more time in the water than we should. Even I don’t want to say it’s time to go. Not that we really have any place to be, but it seems like a good idea to keep moving. I figure we can enjoy the water for just a little bit longer. We can all use the boost in morale.

Brie and I lay floating in the water, our faces towards the sky, while Mason and Jared have some sort of testosterone filled water fight. I roll my eyes at Brie. Boys.

I check on Baby bear, now taking a nap under the shade of a tree near the water. Satisfied, I let my eyes drift shut. This is the most relaxed I’ve been in a while.

That’s my mistake, of course. Letting my guard down, relaxing. The first sign of trouble is the noise I hear above me. I stand up, shielding my eyes from the sun. An army helicopter whizzes past us, followed quickly by two more. I look to the others, and their expressions match mine. It’s time to go.

As the last helicopter fades, along with its accompanying noise, the real threat reveals itself. The sound of the helicopter had masked the whines Baby bear emits, as he paces back and forth nervously at the edge of the water. I turn to look at the direction the helicopters flew in, downstream from where we all swim in the water, and see the metallic fog moving towards us at an alarming rate. Of course, it must mutate much more quickly in the fluidity of the water. The others are all focused on getting to the bank, much too slowly. They don’t know about the danger until they hear me scream. “Run!”

They begin to move much more quickly. I stand, paralyzed in fear. I can’t zap the water while the others are in it. Snapping back into action, I follow their path to the shore. They’re almost there, when I see Brie stumble. Mason and Jared try to grab her, but she slips just out of their reach. By the time she surfaces, she’s closer to me than them. I grab her hand and wave them on. We’re so close to the shore now, but not close enough it seems.

Looking at my best friend, I know she sees the terror in my face. Her eyes show acceptance of the situation. I shake my head at her. “No,” I whisper.

“Do it, Kat, before it’s too late,” Tears well in her eyes.

I drag her to shore, but we don’t make it before the fog hits us. Brie and I keep our clasped hands held tightly. I keep waiting for pain, anything to indicate my life is over, but there’s nothing.

It’s hard to see through the fog, but I manage to drag Brie all the way onto the shore. As soon as she’s out of the water I turn around, letting the energy pour out of me. I guess the lightning strike affected me more than I thought, because now the stream of energy takes the place of the sphere, as I unleash it into the water.

The fog disintegrates, but my adrenaline is still pumping. I turn to see Brie, lying with her eyes closed on the shore bank, Jared holding Baby bear and Mason, standing a little ways away, by the Jeep. They look as horrified as I feel. Jared hands Baby bear to Mason, and begins running towards us. I hold up my hand, telling him silently to stay back.

Tears are streaming down my face, blurring my vision as I reach Brie’s side. I can still see through them, see the metallic sheen that appears to be working its way over her body. I try to calm down. I’ve done this once before. I can do it again.

I start as I did before, with the least charged sphere I can muster. I touch it to Brie, her body convulses a little, but the metallic sheen remains. I do it again, and again, my tears becoming thicker every time her body lurches. Finally, with the highest charge I’m willing to try, her body jumps off the ground, but the metallic sheen fades out.

I wave the guys over. Mason puts Baby bear in the Jeep, but Jared is by my side instantly. “I think she’ll be okay when she wakes up.” I manage to say, my voice thick from the tears.

He doesn’t say anything, but picks Brie up, cradling her in his arms. Mason wraps an arm around me as we make our way back towards the Jeep.

Jared secures Brie in the back of the Jeep, and then climbs in after her. Baby bear nuzzles her hand, appearing confused. He’s not scared of her, so that helps to make me think I managed to get to the infection before it took her over.

Mason grabs the last of our things from beside the water. He turns back to me, when I see him freeze. As I turn around to look at what stopped him, numbness takes over, beginning at the base of my neck and traveling down my spine. You’ve got to be freaking kidding me.

In all of the excitement, I missed them…the bigger threat, the Army now surrounding us.

T
he first thing that runs through my mind is that they’re after me. I can tell by the look on Mason’s face that he is thinking the same thing. Jared is too preoccupied by Brie, who he and Baby bear are trying to rouse in the back seat to no avail.

I remain still, my arms above my head. I know what I could do. I could zap them all, and we could make our escape. But I’m so tired already, and I don’t think my heart can take harming any more people, regardless of the circumstances.

A smaller group of soldiers separates from the larger, surrounding group and moves towards us. Any hope I have left disintegrates, and mostly I feel like crumpling onto the ground. We’ve survived the nanobots so far, just for
this
. What’s the point of fighting anymore?

Seeing their guns raised, I only half hear the orders shouted at me from the soldier. I turn back around to the Jeep slowly, motioning for Jared to hand me Baby bear. Baby bear crawls willingly into my arms, scared by the tension in the air. Mason stands firm where he is, though I can see his muscles twitching from here, itching to get by our sides.

“I said, turn around!” The soldier says again. This time I comply. “What is that?” He asks when he sees what I’m holding.

“It’s a baby bear. We found him and have been taking care of him.” I answer, my voice a monotone, and graciously not trembling with the nervousness I feel.

Apparently he wasn’t expecting this answer, because he just grunts in response. He looks over to Mason, then into the car. “What’s wrong with her?” As he asks, the three soldiers closest to the car point their guns at Jared and Brie.

“She just fell down before, hit her head.” I don’t dare tell them the truth, or even say that she’s not feeling well. And I say it loudly, making sure that Mason and Jared hear me, too.

The man eyes me suspiciously, but doesn’t question me. He walks around the Jeep, peering through the windows and undoubtedly noticing all of our gear. A minute shake of his head has the other soldiers backing off, lowering their weapons.

“You’re all survivors from back east, I take it?”

I nod. “Yes, sir. From Canaan, Connecticut before all of this happened.” I figure I’ll stick to the truth as much as possible.

His eyebrows shoot up. “That’s a far drive.”

I shrug. “We walked for a while before we found the Jeep.”

He circles again, then motions to Mason for him to come over and for Jared to come out of the Jeep. Jared carefully lays Brie across the backseat and steps out next to me. Mason is by my side almost instantly.

“We have a quarantined safe zone, not too far from here that we can take you to. Each of you will have to remain in isolation for three days to get in. If at the end of those three days, you’re still you, then you’ll become one of our residents.”

Mason looks nervously at me and Jared. “What if we’re not interested?”

The soldier raises an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t you be interested?”

I jump in while there’s still time. “We’ve been doing alright out here, on our own.”

The soldier now turns his hard gaze on me. “We’ve been instructed to eliminate the threat by any means necessary. That means we are not able to take the chance that any of you,” he nods towards the backseat, “are infected and allowed to spread it.”

“So we go with you, or what, die?” Jared asks.

“Yeah, that’s what we’re told.” The soldier says this with a hint of regret in his voice. It’s easy to tell that he doesn’t agree with this, at all.

Mason and Jared look at me and I shrug, “It’s not his fault.” I turn to the soldier. “What about our things?”

“After you leave the isolation rooms, your personal belongings will be waiting for you.”

“And the Jeep?” Mason asks.

Another raised eyebrow. “The Jeep is now property of the US government, but don’t worry, you won’t have any use for it inside the compound.”

I doubt that’s where Mason planned on using it. I don’t really see any way out of this, other than to go along with it. I just really hope Brie wakes up soon, and that when she does, she’s okay.

The isolation room is cold, a dull grey concrete box, with a small cot, sink and toilet. The smell of bleach burns my nose. I sit on the floor against the wall and try to find patterns in the cracked concrete, anything to keep all of the sobering thoughts I’ve locked away in my mind from coming out to taunt me.

The one thing I can’t keep my mind off of is Brie. She hadn’t awakened by the time we arrived here, and was put into her own isolation room. I hope she makes it through the next few days.

I look to my cot. I have Baby bear snuggled up in the thin blanket they provided. It took a lot of arguing on my part, but ultimately something caused the soldier to cave, and allow me to keep him with me through this isolation process. I was left by the frustrated soldier with the firm understanding that if Baby bear showed any signs of infection, that we will both pay the price for it.

It doesn’t really bother me,
I
know Baby bear’s fine. And even if he wasn’t, I’m pretty sure I could stop the infection in him same as anybody else. So far, they don’t seem to know who I am. A small part of me dares to hope that it will stay that way.

I have no idea how much time passes before the memories push their way to the front of my mind, no longer willing to be ignored. At first they come in flashes, as I hang my head in my arms, lost in the overwhelming sorrow that facing my demons brings. It starts first with those evil men in that small town, and builds from there. By the time I face the massacre of the metal heads in the field, I’m near hysterics. I have no idea, if the situation had gone differently, if I could’ve saved them.

And I’ll never know, unless I get out of here, wherever here actually is, because I have no idea. Or any clue as to what goes on behind these walls. Not that we were given much choice, but I really hope we didn’t cross the line into a situation that’s even worse.

With no windows, my internal clock is all I have to go by. This means I’m totally screwed, because I did a really good job of messing that up during our extended road trip, sleeping a few hours here and there, losing any semblance of my normal sleep cycle. When my mind finally slows down, I’m exhausted. I curl around Baby bear on the small cot, happy for his warmth and company, as I drift off to sleep.

The slide of the grate wakes me. This is the fifth tray of slop they’ve shoved through, since I’ve been here. I add it to the pile of the rest of them, all untouched. The only thing I have been doing is drinking water. I take a sip and place the tin cup aside, saving the rest for later.

The charge coursing through me is becoming uncomfortable. At first, I was surprised that I didn’t need to find somewhere to recharge, especially after the display when we were swimming. It seems like my body is recharging itself much more rapidly than before. As though the energy I create is now far stronger. Maybe the lightning caused it…maybe not.

If I ever make it out of this stupid room, maybe I can try to reach Dr. Ford. I’m sure he could use the information we’ve discovered, although, I’m not sure if it’s possible to get a hold of him without blowing my cover. If I have to choose between the greater good for humanity and my own welfare, which will win?

Before I can look too deeply into that question I hear a different sound, a rough sliding sound, metal on metal, and then a gruffer sliding, and a loud squeaking. The thick door protesting as it opens.

I scoop Baby bear off the cot and stand with him in the far corner. I hope that the door opening is good news, though it’s hard to not feel defensive, trapped in the corner. I see the same soldier from before take a step inside. He moves slowly, deliberately, so I can see that he means no harm. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s seen a lot of people go nuts within the confines of this concrete tomb.

“Congratulations,” he says, placing some clean clothes on the bed. “You’ve passed the isolation test. Next up is the showers. Then you can join the other residents.”

“What about the rest of my group?” I ask, my concern for Brie overwhelming.

“I’m not sure. You’ll be able to find out after you shower and change. Anything you have on now has to go into the bag in the shower. It will be returned to you once it’s cleaned properly. Hit the red button when you’re done.”

I shift Baby bear to my hip so that I can hold him with one hand, scooping up the clothes with the other. I follow soldier-guy out of the cell, into a windowless hallway and enter the door he points to. The loud noise of the door closing makes me jump as I look around.

It’s really just a big shower. On one wall there’s a bench, I see the bag he was talking about beside it. A sink and mirror sit on the wall adjacent to the bench. The rest of the room is filled with showerheads, a large drain in the center of the room. I place Baby bear on the bench, for the first time noticing the bottle of shampoo, bar of soap, and towel placed there.

I undress, and shower quickly. Usually, I would enjoy it more, but I’m too anxious to see the others. I find a comb, a new toothbrush still in the package, and toothpaste on a small shelf above the sink. When I’m done I get dressed, even donning the flip flops provided for me. The clothes are ill fitting sweatpants and a T-Shirt, but they’re clean and the last thing I care about right now is clothes.

I scoop up Baby bear and hit the red button, next to a separate door from the one I came in. The door buzzes, and then opens. I step through and am immediately blinded by something I haven’t seen in days, the sun.

“Kat!” The voice I hear makes me feel instant relief. Brie!

Her arms are around me before my eyes even finish adjusting to the bright outdoor light. I squeeze her back tightly with the arm that’s not holding Baby bear. “Mason,” I ask, “Jared?”

“I don’t know, yet. They’d be on the men’s side. I didn’t want to go without you.” She grabs hold of my arm. I’m not quite ready for her to let go yet either, so we wander towards where the signs direct us, keeping our eyes peeled for the guys.

It doesn’t take long before we spot them. I instantly smile at Mason’s pacing, when he turns back towards us, his worried face lights up. My heart warms. We watch, increasing our pace, as Mason smacks Jared’s arm and they both run towards us.

We all stand in one interestingly coordinated group hug for a moment, with me and Brie still holding hands and my other arm still cradling Baby bear. We can care less how we look, we’re far too happy to see each other. After separating into pairs, Mason and I, and Brie and Jared, share a more intimate embrace.