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Living
Quarters, Terminal City
Max
stood outside the barracks, watching the scene in front of her as the
residents of Terminal City settled in for the night. Her eyes glazed
over as other scenes began flashing through her mind.
Eva
was standing in front of her, then with the crack of the gun, her sister
was dead. She turned and followed the others, going out the window with
Jondy by her side. When she got to the outside, she found out that Zack,
just a kid like them, had sacrificed himself so they could escape.
�Anything�s
better than going back. You said so yourself.� She could hear Zack�s
words, but she could also see Brin lying on the park bench �dying, the
helicopter coming to take her back to Manticore.
Ben
was on the ground�hurt. She needed to help him. �Don�t leave me here.
Don�t let them take me,� he pleaded with her. She couldn�t take him
with her�She couldn�t leave him�she couldn�t save him. Realizing it
was her only alternative, she snapped his neck and ran away.
�Please
don�t let him forget me,� Tinga called back to Charlie. Max watched
as her sister crossed to the other side of the fence, into the hands
of Lydecker, Renfro…all the people they had fought against their whole
life.
�We�re
going to get her out somehow� was Zack�s promise. But they didn�t get
Tinga out, because Max let everyone she cared about go. She let them
get hurt.
Logan�lying
on the floor, again, his throat closing up, his breath growing more
shallow every moment. Again Max turned and left him. Left him like she
had left everyone.
�Everybody�s
in, fed, watered, and bandaged up.�
At
the sound of Alec�s voice, Max turned. �Huh?�
�Everybody�s
set, Max. You did a good job. Now get out of here and go find Logan.�
She
didn�t move for a moment, until Alec pushed her lightly with his hand.
�You
did your job here. Go.�
Max
walked across the compound toward the infirmary. She stood at the doorway
for a few moments, watching Dr. Shankar and Aveta work on Logan.
�How
is he?� She said quietly, almost afraid to ask.
�Breathing
on his own, vitals have stabilized. Logan�s a real fighter,� Beverly
reassured her.
�Yeah.�
�I�ve
given him some antivirals to help him along,� Beverly commented, and
then shivered a bit as a cool breeze from a nearby fan hit her.
�Great
idea using convection to lower his temperature.� The doctor turned to
the medic who was standing behind them. �I�m sorry, what�s your name
again?�
�Aveta,�
the medic replied, placing a gentle hand on Logan�s forehead and sweeping
his hair away from his face. �He spiked at 105.5. Currently at 103.9.�
Beverly
checked the LCD readout on her thermometer, which read 103.9. She regarded
Aveta quizzically for a moment, then continued, �We�ll allow the fever
to run its course. It�s a natural immune response. But if it spikes
past 105 again, we�ll have to get him on ice.
�Do
you have ice?� she asked Aveta abruptly.
�No,
but we can make it,� Aveta replied.
�I
suggest you get on it then. Oh, and check my bags. I brought some stuff
I thought you could use.�
�You
heard her. Move!� Aveta turned to an assistant, sending him scurrying
out the doors. She picked up the bags and began to rifle through them
as she headed toward the supply room.
�Can�t
believe it! Clean needles! Dressings! Sutures!� she blurted out in surprise.
�Hey! When you�re done here, you think you could make another supply
run? Got a list as long as my arm!�
�I�ll
see what I can do.� Beverly smiled before turning back to Max. �Okay,
now all we can do is wait. We�ll need to keep a constant watch, though,
things could still go south rapidly.�
Infirmary,
Terminal City
Moonlight,
shining through the upper windows, slowly traced an arc across the floor,
lighting Max�s steps as she paced the hallway outside Logan�s isolation
room. Several hours had passed since Dr. Shankar had transferred Logan
from the infirmary to the smaller, adjacent room. Max had spent most
of those hours in the hallway, pacing with worry. She would pause
to reassure herself that he was still alive, then she would resume her
pacing.
�Logan
doing okay?�
Max
turned to find Joshua standing next to her.
�Yeah,
Logan�s doing okay.� Max glanced at Joshua, and then pressed her forehead
against the glass door and continued softly to herself, �If I keep saying
it, it will come true, won�t it?�
In
reply, Joshua placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
�Thanks
for helping him again, Joshua. I don�t know what we would have done
without you�� Max sighed.
�I
didn�t help Logan. I was helping Gem,� Joshua replied with surprise.
�We took the baby for a walk.�
�Huh?
Who transfused him then?� Max wondered out loud as she leaned back against
Joshua�s tall frame.
�Whoever
it was, Joshua says thanks, too.�
�Yeah,
thanks,� Max answered.
�So,
why is little fella here in the hallway? Why is she not with Logan?�
Joshua asked.
�I
don�t know. I�m scared that if I go in there, I�ll never be able to
come back out, but I tried staying away and that didn�t work. I tried
running away, tried lying about my feelings for him, and none of it
worked. Not sure why I�m here now�except, I can�t leave. I can�t leave
him again.�
�Max
loves Logan. Logan loves Max.�
�Yeah,
if only it were that simple,� Max answered.
�Is
that simple.�
Max
turned and hugged Joshua. �You�re a smart guy, big fella.� She turned
and pushed the door to the room open.
�He
doing okay?� she asked Dr. Shankar.
�Holding
his own. Best thing we can do now is let him sleep. I�m going to try
to catch a quick nap too. Call me if you need anything.�
Pulling
her legs up in front of her, Max huddled on the chair next to Logan�s
bed. She trained her eyes on his sleeping form, watching his chest rise
and fall as he slept on and the moonlight continued to work its way
across the room.
A
Small University Bookstore
Soft
moonlight reflected on the door of the small university bookstore, highlighting
the letters on the tarnished brass sign, slowly revealing the words
�Sanderson�s Rare Books.� The light continued on its path, streaming
through the front windows, highlighting the ever-present dust that lingered
in the air.
A
tall, well-dressed, old man dusted the books displayed in the windows,
sending more dust to join the specks already rising in a thousand tiny
points of swirling light. He picked up an old leather volume, caressed
it in his hand and placed it back in the window. His work finished for
the night, he pulled on his coat and hat, locked the door behind him
and stepped out onto the sidewalk.
He
paused for a few moments to admire the moon and the rare shooting stars
that lit the sky. As he watched, he absentmindedly fingered the lion�s
head figure on the end of his cane. He waited until the clouds drifted
in, obscuring his view. Then, leaning on his cane, he slowly made his
way down the sidewalk.
Infirmary,
Terminal City
As
the gray light of dawn replaced the fading moonlight, Logan opened his
eyes to see Max and Beverly sitting in a couple of chairs at his bedside.
Both women had dozed off and were leaning tiredly against each other.
�Hey,
you,� Logan whispered hoarsely.
Max
was up like a shot and Beverly followed right behind her, intent on
checking Logan�s vitals once again.
�Hey,�
Max replied tentatively. �How are you feeling?�
�Like
a truck ran over my chest,� he smiled weakly. �Otherwise, I feel perfectly
exhausted.�
Max
smiled sadly at his feeble attempt at humor.
�You�ve
been through a lot,� Beverly explained. �Try to get some rest.� Her
advice fell on deaf ears; Logan had already fallen asleep.
�Why
don�t you guys stretch your legs,� Aveta offered. �I can watch him for
a while.�
Max
led Beverly to the roof of the building. They stood there silently for
a while, watching Joshua�s flag waving in the early morning light.
�If
I lose him, I�m not sure any of this will be worth it,� Max said, facing
the flag.
�You�re
not going to lose him. But it�s going to be a difficult recovery. He�ll
need some time to get back on his feet.�
�He
can�t stay here, but I�m not sure where to send him. His place is compromised
and I don�t want him staying at my dive. Who�s gonna take care of him?�
Max was on the verge of tears.
�I
wouldn�t recommend transporting him right now. Let him regain some strength
first,� Beverly advised.
�Terminal
City�s not exactly the healthiest of environments,� Max retorted with
undisguised concern.
�Let�s
deal with one thing at a time. If he can make it through this, we�ll
deal with residual exposure issues later. You�ve got a great team here,
Max. They�ll take good care of him.�
Beverly
paused for a moment, then continued. �There�s something else you need
to know.�
�What?�
�We
didn�t transfuse him.�
�What
do you mean, you didn�t transfuse him?� Max turned to face Beverly.
�Logan
appears to have acquired some antibodies. He�s fighting this on his
own, Max.�
�How�?�
�Joshua�s
transfusion appears to have been more effective than we first anticipated.�
�He�s
developing immunity?�
�Yes.�
Max
turned back to the flag, a trace of a smile gracing her lips.
�You
know, Logan and I told each other we would beat this,� Max said, her
face sobering once again. �Truth was, it felt like a dark hell we�d
never get out of. This is the first glimmer of light I�ve seen in months,�
she continued softly.
�That�s
good, Max.� Beverly smiled.
�Yeah,�
Max replied, continuing to stare at the flag. Then she realized that
Beverly was still talking.
�Max,
once he�s feeling better, you�ll have to deliberately re-infect him.�
�Are
you nuts?! He�s not exactly skating through this.� Max gave Beverly
an incredulous look.
�Repeated
exposure builds immunity. The sooner you do it, the better. Let�s not
give the virus the opportunity to mutate. We don�t know how sick Logan
will get or even if he will get sick next time, but you need to take
the risk.�
Max
took another look at the flag, wondering if the promise it held would
ever come true for her and for Logan.
END
ACT II
>>
ACT
III
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