Contagion: The Rising (10 page)

               
Dani placed the gauze and tape near Emma, “We have to check it out to see if
you need stitches.”

               
“I’m fine,” Jeremiah started to protest but Emma moved her hand. The blood flow
slowed but the wound looked deep.

               
Emma quickly looked away as he grimaced again, “Dani, can you suture his hand?”

               
“Um, yeah but he’s not going to like it though,” Dani looked up at Jeremiah,
who reluctantly agreed to let Dani sew his hand up. Jeremiah sat as Dani worked
on the sutures and Emma held his hand still. Within a few minutes, Dani was
finished, “I think that’s the best sewing I’ve done in a long time.”

               
“Not bad, kid,” Jeremiah half-smiled as the pain continued to throb not in just
his hand but his entire body. “I may have gotten blood on your lab results.”

               
Emma shook her head, “It’s okay. You’ll run another series right?”

               
“Well, I need to talk to you about that,” he said as he grabbed the results.
The corners of each page were saturated with his blood. “See here,” he pointed
at the date and the a1c results. “Here, it’s 10.2, right?” He grabbed the newer
paper and pointed at the levels, “It shows here you’re at a 7.0. How do you go
from a 10.2 to a 7.0 in less than a few weeks?”

               
Emma shrugged as Jeremiah took that as a queue, “Exactly. You don’t. That has
to be some fast acting insulin that slightly repairs your pancreas every day.”

               
“So you think the bite did this?”

               
Jeremiah nodded, “I think your body adapted to the virus, instead of completely
rejecting or triggering it. Your body decided to use to what it could to repair
certain deficiencies.”

               
“But my wounds took just as long to heal,” she peeled the bandage off of her
shoulder completely. “See? Holy crap.”

               
“That’s what I mean. It’s almost like it never happened,” Jeremiah grabbed the
gauze and placed it on his hand. Dani pulled off strips of tape and handed it
to him. “Just feeling discomfort, right? Like it’s not right?” Emma nodded.
“Your body is still rebuilding on the inside. I bet your stomach wound is
nearly cleared up as well.” She looked down and moved the bandage to find that
the wound was a lot smaller than it had been last week. The gaping hole in her
back was nearly sealed as the front was still draining very little.

“When
the Army was testing on different soldiers, they were looking for results like
these,” he said as he grabbed all of the results and tore them up. He threw
them into a metal dish and reached for a lighter. “Dani, can you get a bucket
of water?” Dani rushed out with no hesitation and brought back a bucket of
water. “We need to get rid of this before it falls in the wrong hands. We don’t
need people to take you away from us. I mean your sister mostly.”

Dani
smirked, “he meant us.”

Jeremiah
blushed as Emma looked down. “I won’t run any more tests on you.”

Emma
suddenly looked up at Jeremiah and slightly shook her head, “So no more
visits?”

Jeremiah
shook his head, “I’ll leave you alone but I’ll first give you a glucose monitor
and test strips with some insulin and syringes. Just let Dani know when you
need a refill.”

               
Emma looked disappointed and sighed. She walked over to the doorway and waited
for a second before walking out of the room.

               
“Why did you do that?” Dani glared at Jeremiah. “She really does like you.”

               
“You don’t know that,” he looked down at his hand and attempted to extend it.
“She’ll be happy that I won’t bother her anymore.”

               
Dani exhaled angrily, “Whatever. It’s your life, especially if you want to ruin
it.” She walked out and left Jeremiah alone with his sore hand. He looked down
at his hand and swore at it. He stood up and walked over to the bloody mess he
left on the results table. The blood was everywhere, on the edge dripping onto
the floor. He started to clean up and suddenly stopped when he remembered he
had to give her the supplies before completely leaving her alone. He grabbed a
box and began filling it with syringes, insulin and the monitor.

               
Emma sat on her bed and looked down at her feet dangling. She remembered how
much she hated her feet when she was younger, but now, they didn’t seem to be
much of a big deal. She ignored the pain she felt and leaned back on the bed.
The tears from her eyes caught her off guard as she attempted to wipe them
away. A few got away from her arm and landed in her ear. She sat up and found
Jeremiah standing in the doorway.

               
“What do you want?” She looked at him as he stared like a deer in headlights.
He stood still and placed the box on the ground.

               
“I just wanted to give you the supplies you need all at once so I don’t have to
bother you after this,” he crouched down and sifted through the box. “There are
syringes, test strips for this monitor and some insulin.” He stood up as she
stood from the bed.

               
“Fine, thanks,” she said coldly as he turned to walk out. “Fuck it,” He heard
her tone change and he quickly turned around. She rushed over and grabbed his
face to kiss him. She quickly stopped and let go of his face.

               
He looked confused, “What was that for?”

               
She smiled, “If you don’t know already, then I guess I should do it again.” She
kissed him slower as he kissed her back. The sudden reaction she got from him
was unexpected as he pushed her against the wall and continued kissing her. She
pulled her lips away from his, “I take it I should’ve done this sooner?” He
nodded as he covered her mouth with his.

               
She broke their kiss again and pushed him away, “We can’t do this here. Sarah
will be back soon.”

               
“The lab. No one will be in the lab,” Jeremiah suggested as they both continued
to kiss each other while they made their way to the lab and closed the door
behind them.

               
Trevor sat back and watched as his bandit Risers stood before him, awaiting
commands. “I think we have everyone we need for this idea of ours, Chloe.” He
looked back and found Chloe huddled in the corner of the tent. “What are you doing?
Get up and join us.”

               
She turned and glared at him, “Never. I hope they kill your ass.” Her right eye
was nearly completely milky white.

               
“Well, someone’s a little touchy. How’s the wound coming along? Smells pretty
rank, doesn’t it?” He faced the horde again and finally addressed them, “I
think we have one common enemy. Those humans are our fuel to becoming more
powerful than ever. We hunt, control and decimate the numbers of these Risers.
I’m sure we’d have the same track record with the humans once we get to them.”

               
“We need a leader who will lead by example, Trevor. Will you do that?” Chloe’s
voice sobered Trevor’s power drunk emotions and caused him to sink in his
makeshift throne.

               
He shifted in his seat and straightened his posture, “Of course, what do you
suggest I do?”

               
“We hunt them down and you take the first blood,” one of the bandit Risers said
as he drooled.

               
“See, we’ve got thinkers in here,” Chloe pointed out. “How about we find out
more information by kidnapping a few of them?”

               
“You mean, torture? Chloe, I am in awe of you right now. You are completely
right. We need to find out who we are dealing with then go after the rest once
we kill the informants.” Trevor brightened up and walked over to Chloe.

               
“I’m sure Emma would be the ideal person to take.”

               
“Yes, Emma would be. She’s injured. I sensed her injury at the barn, and once I
shot her. That’s if she’s still alive.”

               
Chloe smiled and glared back at Trevor, who was facing the other Risers. “She’s
still alive. I can hear her heartbeat.” She looked up and closed her eyes. “She
won’t expect this.” Chloe opened her eyes as her left eye became milky white as
her right eye did.

Mark
walked closer to the highway and found the hill that hid the bunker. He walked
slowly and hoped whoever was looking knew it was him and not a Riser. He made
it to the side of the hill and nearly ran into Rory who was just finishing up
his watch duty along with Tony.

               
“You scared the….” Rory uttered.

               
“Hi Mark, how’d the trip go?” Tony interrupted as Mark glared at Rory.

               
He placed the duffle bag he had been carrying down, “Not bad. Fresh supplies
from Canada. Paul insists we head up there.”

               
“Were there more people?” Rory asked as he stood near Tony.

               
“Yeah, much more. Their city has grown and the security has been preventing any
Risers from entering. Paul has the situation well under control.”

               
 “That’s great to hear,” Tony smiled. “Let’s head on inside, it should be
morning soon. Mark followed Tony through the iron doorway.

               
Emma woke up and looked over to find Jeremiah missing. “What the hell?” she
said as she sat up and gathered her clothes. She stood up from the bed and got
dressed. “Jeremiah?” she walked over to the door and noticed it was slightly
opened. The door moved slightly before she was able to reach for the doorknob.
The hallway was empty and quiet. “It’s morning, isn’t it?” She looked around
and heard a sudden crash in the triage room. Her eyes widened as she watched Sarah
stumbled out of her room and fall to the ground.

               
“Sarah!” Emma screamed as she ran towards her. Sarah’s face was pale white and
blood poured from her mouth. She held onto her neck and mouthed words to Emma.
“What is it?” Emma peeled Sarah’s fingers away from her neck to reveal a huge gaping
wound. Blood spurted out at her face and covered Emma’s arms. “Oh my god, no,” Emma
stood up and ran over to the triage room to find the first aid kit. Sarah
suddenly pointed at Emma’s direction, which caused Emma to stop and turn
around. She found Jeremiah sniffing the air and wailing. Dani was on the floor
with her eyes wide open and bleeding from her face. Her body didn’t make any
sudden movements as Jeremiah stood over her.

               
“Jeremiah?” she said as he jumped at her and pushed her out of the room. She
landed next to Sarah who sank lower to the floor and struggled to breathe. “No,
Sarah please.” Emma tore off her shirt sleeve and attempted to cover Sarah’s
neck with it. Emma kept reassuring Sarah that she’d be okay until she stopped moving.
Sarah took her last breath as Emma held onto her. Sarah’s eyes remained wide
but the emptiness in them shook Emma. Tears streamed from her eyes as she
walked back into the triage room to face Jeremiah and certain death. Jeremiah
sneered and lunged at her. He bit her shoulder as she attempted to fight him
off.

               
Emma woke up suddenly with a jolt of energy. She sat up and quickly found
Jeremiah lying next to her.  “A fucking dream,” Emma dropped herself back
onto the bed and covered her face with her hands. She turned to face Jeremiah
and inspected him. She leaned over him and listened to his heart. “It’s still
there,” she sighed as she found several scars on his chest. The slight touches
of her fingers on his scars woke him up. He slowly opened his eyes and found Emma
looking up at him..

               
Jeremiah looked at Emma and smiled, “Good morning.” He noticed her forced
smile, “What’s wrong?”

               
Emma softened and smiled back at him, “Just a dream.” She kissed him. “I have
to get back or else Sarah might spread a rumor about us.”

               
Jeremiah grabbed and hugged her, “So?” She slightly protested as he kissed her
ear.

               
She laughed, “I really have to.”

               
“Fine, but you have to come back here later.”

               
She stood up and reached for the rest of her clothes, “Another blood test?” She
fought with her button-up shirt and spun to face him.

               
He sat up from the bed and his legs were now over the edge of the bed. He stretched
and rubbed his eyes, “No, I’d just like to see you later.” He grabbed his shirt
and pulled it over his head. His hair moved but remained in place. It was
slightly messier than usual.

               
She walked over to the door. “Fine, but no promises,” she smiled as she walked
through the doorway and closed the door behind her. She leaned on the door and
noticed she was still smiling, but this time to herself. She walked down to the
triage room and found Sarah sleeping. Emma attempted to quietly tip-toe to her
bed so she wouldn’t have to explain anything.

               
Sarah stirred slightly, “You know you suck at sneaking in.” Her eyes opened as
she caught Emma half standing and sitting on the bed.

               
Emma sat down, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” She moved the covers over
and slid her legs under them. She turned to face the wall, “good night.”

               
Sarah quickly sat up, “Oh, you’re not getting away that easy. And, besides,
it’s morning.” She waited for Emma to turn over and face her. “Jeremiah, huh?” Sarah
grinned.

               
Without a noise, Emma nodded and smiled.

               
Mark walked over to the mess area and placed the duffle bag on the table before
sitting sat down. Tony and Rory joined him at the table.

               
“Paul’s been able to build better generators and has them currently supplying
power to most of the city. They were able to clear out Risers quickly and
without many casualties,” Mark said as he crossed his arms. “Their garden is
pretty impressive, especially for the season we’re in. They’ve got snow up
there.”

               
“Not the regular snow though,” Tony added.

               
“Nope, it’s bitter cold at times.”

               
Rory stood up, “I’m sorry guys. I’m heading to bed. I’ve been fighting with
sleep all morning.”

               
“See you later, man,” Mark said as Rory walked out of the room. “How’s
everything going here?”

               
“Pretty good,” Tony said as Jeremiah walked in. “You look like you’ve slept
well.”

               
Jeremiah slightly smiled and looked over to Mark, “Welcome back, man.”

               
“Thanks, everything alright?”

               
“Yeah,” Jeremiah nervously crossed his arms.

               
“What happened to your hand?” Mark pointed out.

               
“I cut it on a beaker.”

               
Tony cringed, “Dani told me earlier. She sutured your hand with Emma’s help?”

               
“Yeah, I think she did really well.”

               
“How are Emma and Sarah doing?” Mark asked.

               
“Good. They’re both doing good,” Jeremiah nodded and walked over to the box
nearest to the door. “I’m in the middle of analyzing some samples, so I thought
I’d pick up a quick MRE.” He picked up a packet and walked to the doorway.

               
“See you later.” Mark watched as Jeremiah walked out. “He seemed a bit nervous,
didn’t he?”

               
Tony shook his head and stood near the table, “I don’t think he had much sleep.
The whole thing with Emma has been consuming his time.”

               
“I hope she’s okay,” Mark slowly took his time to stand up and stretched his
arms over his head. “I’m pretty sure she is, especially with him around her.”

               
“She’s fine. Her wounds have been getting better and better each day.” Tony
looked into the duffle bag and situated the items into categories. “Go see for
yourself.”

               
Mark nodded and walked out of the room.

               
Tony moved the supplies over to the back of the mess area as Kayla walked in.

               
“He nearly gave himself away, didn’t he?” she said as she helped with one of
the stacks of gauze.

               
“I think he almost wanted to tell him,” Tony counted the boxes of seeds. “Hey,
Paul included some flowers. You want those?” He showed the box to Kayla who
pushed his hand away and rolled her eyes at him. He laughed and walked the
boxes over to the garden room.

               
Mark walked over to the triage room and overheard the girls talking. He stopped
to listen before heading inside, and felt slightly guilty for eavesdropping.

               
Sarah sat on the edge of the bed with her legs dangling over and her back
against the wall. “So what did he say?”

               
“He wants to see me later,” Emma smiled.

               
“I’ve never seen you smile that much. It’s kind of terrifying, but I’m glad
that you’re happy,” Sarah stopped and raised an eyebrow. “You are happy it
happened, right?”

               
Emma laughed, “Of course I am. I never thought it would though.” She shrugged
and shifted the bandage on her stomach. “This thing is really annoying.” She
said flatly and dropped her arms to her side.

               
“That didn’t get in the way?” Sarah laughed.

               
Emma glared at her, “Shut up.” She laughed with Sarah as Mark walked in,
red-faced. Emma sat up and watched Sarah stop moving her legs. “How long have
you been there?”

He
stood at the doorway and looked down. “I guess that was a bad way to say
hello.”

               
Emma looked down as Sarah finally spoke, “What did you hear exactly?”

               
“Why were you eavesdropping?” Emma stood up and walked over to Mark. He waited
for Emma to punch or slap him but she stood there staring at him. Her face was
pale and her fists were clinched beside her. Blood dripped from her hands to
the floor.

               
Sarah looked down at the blood pooling near Emma’s feet and quickly stood up.
“It’s okay, he didn’t mean to,” she rushed over to Emma and looked at her
hands. “Jesus, Emma. You’ve cut straight through your palm.”

               
“Mark, go get Jeremiah!” Sarah led Emma back to the bed and sat her down. She
rushed over to the first aid kit and put pressure on her hands. Mark ran off
and was back a few seconds later with Jeremiah.

               
“What happened?” he searched for the answers from Emma and looked over to Sarah.

               
“She got upset about something I did,” Mark answered from behind him.

               
Jeremiah’s eyes widened as he rushed Mark against the wall. He picked him up
and held him there while Rory ran in and attempted to talk Jeremiah down.

               
“Let him go,” Rory grabbed Jeremiah’s arms.

“Please,
just drop him,” Sarah pleaded as Jeremiah turned to face Sarah and Emma. Emma’s
face was still pale as she shook her head.

Jeremiah
released Mark and walked back over to Emma. “It’s okay,” he assured her as he
lightly touched her face and focused on her hands. “You can’t stress her out.
If you want to be angry at someone, be angry with me.”

“Let’s
head outside, okay?” Mark stood back in shock as Rory grabbed his arm and
walked him out.

“Sure,”
Mark said as he stared at Jeremiah.

“Sarah,
can you get the tape from the lab please? It’s on the last table to the left.” Sarah
stood up and took off towards the lab.

Emma
looked down, “I’m sorry.” Her face regained its color and she was suddenly red
with embarrassment.

“No,
it’s not your fault,” he pushed her chin up. “You hear me? It’s not your
fault.” He sat next to her and hugged her. She leaned her head against his
chest.

Sarah
walked in and saw how Emma was huddled against Jeremiah. “Is she okay?”

Jeremiah’s
head perked up, “Yeah, she’s okay.” Sarah handed him the tape as he covered the
cuts on her hands with gauze.

Sarah
crouched in front of her and looked up at her, “Emma?”

Emma
looked down at Sarah, “I’m okay.” Jeremiah finished with both bandages and
stood up. Emma suddenly hugged Sarah and held onto her.

“I’ll
be back in a few minutes to check on her. Can you stay with her until then? I
know you have some garden duty soon.”

“Yeah,
I’ll be here,” Sarah said as Emma released her hold on her. Jeremiah walked
out. Sarah looked at the bandages.

“I
can’t believe he just did that,” Emma squeaked out.

“I’ve
never seen Mark cower like that,” Sarah said. “Well, only to you.”

“He had
no right to listen in on what we were saying.”

“No,
let it go,” Sarah interrupted Emma and calmed her down. “I’m glad that Jeremiah
really cares for you.” Emma half-smiled and continued to look down at the
floor.

Jeremiah
met with both Rory and Mark outside of the bunker. Mark walked up to Jeremiah
as Rory waited for a punch to be thrown.