Love Bug (9 page)

-21-

Ripples, like liquid glass, gently moved the pine needle through the current in lazy circles. Cora found it mesmerizing. She had never known what free time felt like or could be used for. Days behind the city walls were spent preparing, studying ERC laws and politics. Never had there been time, let alone hours, just to enjoy being alive. Cora had come to realize that she had never actually enjoyed anything before the accident. Now all that was changing. Cora was changing.

A small waterfall cascaded at the far end of the pool, throwing a light mist into the air that kissed Cora’s cheeks. The waterfall roared as it crashed against the jagged rocks below, adding to the hypnotic nature of the setting. Sights like these didn’t exist inside the cities, would have been outlawed and Cora could understand why. Sitting here, lost in nature, Cora found herself sorting through a deep well of long suppressed feelings and thoughts. Many of them were about her mother
, father, and Xander. More were about Remmy.

“It’s hard to look away, right?” Remmy grinned as he plopped down into the grass beside her. He began toying with a stick, dra
wing small designs in the dirt.

“Huh?” Cora muttered, lost
in her own thoughts.

“The pine needle,” Remmy answered. “You never think to look at something like that, but then you do and you can’t look away.”

“Yeah,” Cora nodded, joining the conversation. She leaned back on her elbows, enjoying the sensation of the soft grass against her skin. “I’m not even sure how long I’ve been looking at it.”

“Yup,” Remmy smirked
, “that’s how it goes. I love being out here, away from camp, from everyone.”

“Antisocial much?” Cora laughed. “I’ll leave you with your thoughts then.” She faked getting up, but Remmy’s hand shot out and grabbed her elbow.

“I was going to say, I felt that way before you showed up,” Remmy smiled, his eyes seemed unable to meet Cora’s. “I like sharing this with you. I like you, Cora.”

“I like you too
, Remmy,” Cora said, not understanding Remmy’s point. Having never had emotions, Cora lacked awkward conversation practice. “I mean you’re weird and have a totally strange name, but I still like you.” The smile on Cora’s face held no notes of insult, rather it reached deep into Remmy’s chest and gently plucked the strings of his heart.

“
Hey! I’m named after a famous artist,” Remmy smirked. “It’s completely a reasonable name.” He smiled back, unknowingly having the same effect upon Cora.

“You’re talking to someone who live
d in the city with an Em-Pak, remember? No art, no music,” Cora grinned. “So sorry, but your name is still strange.”

Forgetting about the name debate
, Remmy tried to clarify his earlier point, “I mean that I
like
you, Cora. Like more than anyone else.”

“You like the word like too,” Cora teased. “Do all boys talk this way?”

“What way?” Remmy asked.

“With tons and tons of words, but never really saying anything,” Cora grinned.

“I dunno,” Remmy said, suddenly looking crestfallen.

“What’s wrong?” Cora asked, worried she had teased Remmy too much. “I’m sorry if I – Remmy
, I didn’t mean to…”

“No it’s not that,” Remmy said, staring at the ground.

“Then what is it?” Cora asked gently. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Remmy grunted.

“Remmy,” Cora said as she softly brushed his arm. She had no idea why she had reached out to touch him. It’s not like she needed to get his attention because she had that. And it’s not like she needed to touch him, but she did, some part of her needed to. In that moment, when Remmy looked so sad, Cora needed to touch him, to comfort him.

Remmy lifted his head to say something to Cora, to mutter some words,
but as he met her eyes, the words suddenly became stuck in his throat. He leaned forward, silently praying that Cora would do the same or at least not pull away from him.

The sound of her heartbeat filled Cora’s ears. She couldn’t hear Remmy, though it didn’t look like he was saying anything. He was simply leaning towards her
slowly, his eyes locked on hers. Cora found herself unable to do anything other than the same. As Remmy’s lips softly brushed Cora’s, her heart threatened to explode. Part of Cora was terrified by these new feelings, but that part was kept at bay by the one that reveled in them.

Raising his hand, Remmy ran his fingers through Cora’s hair. It was cool and smooth, the perfect
complement to the soft warmth of her lips. Everything about Cora was perfect.

“Remmy,” Cora whispered as she rested her head against his. “I like you too.”

“Good,” Remmy smiled. He didn’t know what else to say. There was nothing else to say.

“Can we try that again?” Cora asked, a note of mischief in her voice.

“Yes,” Remmy said faster than he had intended. “I mean, yeah, sure.”
Smooth
, he silently mocked himself. He needed to get it together. Couldn’t blow it with Cora.

The two leaned forward, their lips gently brushing each other
’s once again. Things seemed to slow, with their volume turned down. All that there was in that moment was Remmy and Cora joined by a soft, innocent kiss.

A
feral scream shattered the fragile silence, shaking the two kissers from their sweet, stolen moment.

A second scream. Then a third. Soon it was too many to count.

“Cora,” Remmy gasped, leaping to his feet, pulling her up with him, “we have to run. We have to run now!”

-22-

The inner chamber of the ERC Council, once quiet and ominous, was now a buzzing mass of cameras and lights, all in preparation for the Council to address the citizenry. Things had gone far enough, they told Eldritch. It was time to reclaim order and get the citizens back in line.

How right you are,
Eldritch thought, as he saw the shadowy figures of the ERC Council file into their chamber and take their assigned places. These people thought they were safe, hidden by shadows and fear, but Eldritch knew better. The Council was made of people just like him, like everyone else. They were no different from the citizens they controlled, who relied on Em-Paks to keep them safe. And just like those people without an Em-Pak, were just as vulnerable to infection as the rest of the citizens.

Eldritch smiled as he fingers brushed the small trigger device in his coat pocket
now linked to the main server. His Em-Pak beeped and he quickly moved his thoughts elsewhere, not wanting to draw attention or suspicion.

The camera crew took their places and began to countdown. Everyone fell silent within the ERC Council’s Chamber, not wanting to interrupt such an important address and fearful of the consequences if they did.

“Citizens,” one of the ERC Council members began, “we have lived for many years secure in the knowledge that we were safe. Protected from the virus by our Em-Paks and protected from the Reds and Emos through the tireless efforts of the ERC, but our situation has changed. It has evolved and become even more dangerous. The Emos, once thought to be nothing more than misguided dreamers, have finally shown their true colors. They are terrorists, single minded in their desire to undermine and destroy everything that we have worked for, everything that we hold dear. Now, the Reds have joined the Emos in their mission of terror. This new threat must be eradicated, excised, and destroyed like the cancer it is. Rest assured in the knowledge that the ERC will protect you. The ERC will usher you safely through these troubling times and into an era of calm and control.”

Eldritch had waited for
this moment. The ERC Council had made its grand promise and now Eldritch would expose just how empty it was. Slipping his hand into his coat pocket, Eldritch pushed the small red button in the center of the trigger device. Nothing happened. He waited and still nothing happened. Had he put in the proper codes? Of course, he had. He had double and triple checked them. Was it the device? Maybe his father’s notes had been wrong, but how was that possible? He had designed the Em-Pak. If anyone’s notes were correct, they were his, but still nothing happened.

“We are here to serve you
, the citizens,” the ERC Council continued. There was more to the speech, Eldritch had read it himself, but the Council member stopped. Had they lost their place? That seemed unlikely.

Two of the shadowy figures of the ERC Council rose from their seats and turned to face the one delivering the speech. Were they going to take over? The dark outlines of their heads whipped back, arms spread wide as a terrifying scream erupted from their mouths.

The Council member at the podium turned to face the two flanking them from the sides.

“My
God,” the ERC Council member cried. “Someone help us! Help us please!” Fear was present in those words, real fear. The kind felt without an Em-Pak.

Eldritch watched the ERC Council being torn apart by its own members. Those that were infected ripped into the others with wanton abandon. One member, yet to be infected, but whimpering in fear, tried to crawl away. Her face became partially visible as she scrambled out from under the large table at which she had previously sat.
Hands with fingers curled and bloody, darted out from under the table, clamping around the woman’s legs, attempting to drag her back under the table. All broadcast for the citizens to see.

“Eldritch! Eldritch, please!” she cried.

The hammering of heavy boots on the floor filled the room. Eldritch refused to move, refused to help. Anyone in the room who showed any signs of being infected or appeared at risk for infection was about to be sanitized.

The woman cried out one more time.
A final weak whine before a tangled mass of bloodied hands shot out from under the table, joining the first set and dragged her underneath. Her cries for help were cut short by a wet choke and sickening snap. A large dark pool crept from underneath the table.

“What are you waiting for?” Eldritch barked at the nearest ERC officer. “Get this under control immediately.” With the ERC Council in pieces and covered in its own blood, Eldritch was the next highest official in the room.

Waves of gunfire erupted in the room, chewing the long, semi-circular table, once a symbol of the ERC Council’s power and status, to pieces. One member, infected and protected behind the table, leapt onto the top. The member’s eyes were wild as he crouched on the table, a feral expression carved into his wrinkled face.

Eldritch watched with satisfaction as the ERC Council member launched himself from the top of the table, his fingers curled into gore-caked claws. Bullets tore into the man, dropping him to
the floor in a tangled heap.

“Clear!” a young ERC officer called as he
was swept behind and under the table.

“Sir?” another officer asked, gently grabbing Eldritch’s elbow.

“What?” Eldritch snapped.

“Sir, the cameras were still on,” the ERC officer continued. “I’m not sure whether or not the feed was cut. We’re
looking into it now.”

“Forget it,” Eldritch waved as he walked towards the ruined ERC Council table.

“Sir?” the officer questioned.

“Are the cameras on?” Eldritch snapped at the nearest cameraman. “Make sure the feed is streaming live to all cities. Make sure all citizens see this.” He waved at the carnage that surrounded him.

The cameraman waved his arms trying to gain Eldritch’s attention, “Assemblyman Eldritch, sir, the feed was never cut. We’re live right now, sir.”

“Good,” Eldritch nodded with a reptilian grin.
He walked behind the blood stained and bullet chewed podium at the center of the ERC Council table. Turning towards the camera, Eldritch straightened his tie and smoothed his suit. “Citizens,” Eldritch said slowly, “you are no doubt as troubled as I am over what has just transpired. To see the ERC Council, once trusted with protecting you, tearing itself apart, infected by the very thing they were tasked with eradicating. And without question, you, like myself, would like to know why. Why has the ERC Council failed you so miserably? What could have been done differently? What does this mean for the rest of us? For our very way of life?” Eldritch paused to allow his questions to sink in. He walked slowly past the ruined, mangled bodies of the ERC Council, motioning to the battered remains strewn before him. The camera captured it all.

“
Sadly, citizens,” Eldritch continued, “this could have all been avoided. I recently discovered notes from my father detailing a needed upgrade to the main Em-Pak server. The Council knew of this for years, but kept the information suppressed for reasons that even I struggle to comprehend. Perhaps they were worried that a momentary shutdown of the server would result in a loss of control. Maybe they were right, but I saw an opportunity in the chaos that swelled throughout our cities. In that time, when we were distracted, I moved to fix the server, upgrade our Em-Pak programming and save us all. I was, admittedly, too late with regards to the members of the ERC Council, or perhaps they had moved their devices to another server. I believe that the Council sought methods to save themselves, not the citizenry, and I say that they have reaped the twisted, deceitful fruit from the seeds they have sown. Rest assured, citizens, that I am still here to serve you. I, like my father, am constant in my mission to keep you safe, to end your suffering. I will take back control and reinstate order; you have my word. The ERC Council has failed because they forgot who they serve, forgot that they too were citizens. I will not. I will serve you, as one of you, as it should have been from the beginning. The Council is no more, but the ERC remains. I remain and so shall you.”

Eldritch moved from the camera’s view. As soon as he was sure that it was off, he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Ortiz?” Eldritch said quietly. “Pull them back. Clear the cities. Regroup with the rest of the ERC forces and clear the infected. We are in total control.”