Shocked (25 page)

I wake up in the helicopter. Its loud thrum burrows deep into my unconscious to wake me. It startles me and I jolt in Lucas’ arms.

“Hey, we’re okay. We’re almost home.” Lucas says consolingly.

I nod and catch my breath. With everything Dr. Ford and I have gone over in our tests we miss the possibility of my energy running out. It never crosses our minds after the nuclear incident. There’s just so much of it. Today I learn my limit. Apparently flying five people in an energy bubble while also zapping the crap out of the fog is too much. Good to know.

“I guess that was too much?” I ask Lucas.

“It was a pretty freaking awesome display Kat. I’ve never flown without a plane or helicopter before. You saved us all.” Lucas says.

“Yeah,
this
time.” I worry aloud.

“Hey,” Lucas says. “You can’t save everything. I respect your desire to try and I’ll support you in it. Just remember that you’re important too. Not just to me—to everyone.”

I don’t reply and sink into his chest for the rest of the way home.

Captain Jennings is not a happy camper. Carch’s attack insinuates that she covers a much larger area than we think. That begs the question: is the same true of the original infection?
Are we running out of time?

I sincerely hope not—especially until Dr. Ford tests the samples that I send him. He’ll (hopefully) have some answers. This is no time for me to doubt my power. It scares me to think maybe the surge is only temporary. To say I’m anxious for the results is a gross understatement.

Our whole team is given a mandatory ‘three day staycation.’ At least that’s what Captain Jennings calls it. I think they’re all a little more anxious than they let on. It’s a blessing in disguise. The ravine incident shatters all of our nerves.

Brie has a conniption. Her words run so rampant I can barely keep up. She finally calms when I tell her of our compulsory break and makes me promise to call again tomorrow.

Lucas and I vegetate well together. We do many other activities too, but tonight we lie on the couch and watch the world from the flat screen on the wall.

If the infection has done one good thing it’s that (for now at least) the human race no longer fights amongst themselves. When the world boils down to unite or die it’s amazing how fast differences can be forgotten. The focus is on the threat.

The news confirms the progress of the other countries. With the help of our (by our, I mean Dr. Ford’s) technology they almost completely eradicate the infection. They rebuild. They thrive. They wait with baited breath to see if we’ll be able to make the final stand.

From sea to shining sea our great nation lies in abandon. Parts of it are now a wasteland while others can implode beneath you at any time. We have areas secure and that number grows larger by the day.
But will it be enough in time?

Lucas notices my foot start to shake back and forth and changes the channel. Die Hard comes on and he smiles at me. “Sorry, I forgot the news gets you all twitchy.”

Aghast I answer, “It does not!”

He shakes his head. “It totally does. Like when you miss Brie you twirl your hair or when you reach for B and he’s not there you spin your ring.”

He’s been paying attention. “You scratch your stomach when you’re hungry and blink too fast when you’re being less than truthful.” I counter.

He grins and moves on top of me. “You get the cutest dimple on your forehead when you think too hard and you flare your nostrils when you want to kiss me.”

“I what?! Alright, you can’t resist kissing me when I bite my lip.” I do so very deliberately.

We don’t watch any more news for the rest of the night.

Day two of mandatory staycation finds me a little restless. Lucas suggests we spend the afternoon outdoors because it’s such a beautiful day. He mentions the beach but quickly rejects it when my face falls. It’s a shame too because I love the beach—just not
that
beach. I hate
that
beach.

We decide instead to try a nearby swimming hole the guys tell Lucas about. For one afternoon we play in the water and laze about in the sun. We’re both sad to see the sun fall in the sky.

The next day there’s a knock at the door. Dr. Ford’s on the secure video chat for me (he won’t say much over the cell phone.) Lucas and I hurry down. Dr. Ford must have some answers.

“Hey, doc!” I say brightly. I’m freaking out a little bit.

Dr. Ford looks good—healthier. Mexico agrees with him. “Hey guys! It’s good to see you. How are you feeling Kat?”

“Good. I’m back to normal now. The lapse only lasted for a few hours.” I say to the screen.

“That coincides with my test results. As you know after the nuclear incident we weren’t able to find a limit to your power. That’s all this turns out to be. You’re powerful Kat, but everyone has their limits.” Dr. Ford says.

Lucas squeezes my hand. “I thought so.” I tell them both.

“Can you explain it for me?” Dr. Ford asks. I comply because I know his fascination is from a scientific standpoint.

Lucas pops in with tidbits of information I miss. It’s hard to notice everything when you concentrate very hard on saving everyone’s ass. Together the three of us analyze the information and speculate.

I ask the question that scares me the most. “How am I supposed to stop the hives if I don’t have enough power? What if I can’t, doc?”

Lucas answers first. “Kat this isn’t all on you.”

“He’s right, Kat.” Dr. Ford agrees. “We can’t do this without you but you’re not alone.”

“We’re a team.” Lucas says.

“Don’t worry; we’ll come up with something.” Dr. Ford says. I feel a bit better. They think I’m the powerful one but Dr. Ford can do
anything.

It helps to know that I’m not losing power. Maybe someday it’ll be nice to be normal again but right now it’ll be incredibly inconvenient.

Dr. Ford’s news leads to more internal debates. Lucas can tell but he pretty much knows. I don’t keep it a secret.

Which is why I feel so bad that I’m about to keep a big one.

I have the utmost faith in Dr. Ford—don’t get me wrong! Only there’s something that eats away at me since the end of the video chat. If I can’t keep everyone safe and stop the hives at the same time then it really only leaves one choice. That choice is not going to make anyone happy.

I
will
do it alone if it’s the only way. There will be no team—only me. It’s the only way I can think to keep everyone safe
and
stop the hives.

Lucas won’t be happy. Neither will Brie. Dr. Ford and Captain Jennings won’t like it either but they’ll see the reasoning behind it.

It’s not something that’s set in stone. Dr. Ford can always come up with another invention to save the day. As it stands the bracelets and poles work wonders. So it’s completely feasible that he’ll stop the hives. I’ll be a last resort. I hope.

After our mandatory three day staycation is complete Captain Jennings has a different plan for us. We still search for survivors (we never stop doing that) but now we spend more time in the air. We use sonar technology to search the ground below and keep track of the hives—or try to anyway.

The influx of citizens arriving for evacuation slows. Captain Jennings is confident that we get almost everyone out safely. We won’t stop trying until we do.

The aerial search turns up some more survivors. These people are in small groups or all alone. They’re more wary than those we rescue from the camps. The camp survivors have been broken and need time to mend. The survivors we find now we pluck from the wild. They’ve been on their own for a while. They’re not broken—they’re fighters.

Somehow they all know about the girl with red hair and a shocking personality. One demonstration typically gets them on the helicopter without any further doubts.

The sonar shows us the approximate location of the hives. Carch consumes the North and Midwest while the entire Eastern Seaboard is lost to the original infection. Their reach stretches closer to the center of the country. Captain Jennings sends other teams out to set up larger and larger perimeters with the poles. We all hope to complete a barrier before they reach the middle of the country and keep them from clashing at all.

Despite the impending doom things are still better than they’ve been in a while. I know my friends are safe and that’s more important than anything else.

I don’t mention my backup plan to Lucas yet. I know he won’t like it but I also know he won’t fight me on it. If I explain it’s better for me not to have any distractions then he’ll do what’s best for me. That’s how Lucas is—always has been. I just don’t want him to get hurt in the process. I count on Lucas more than he’ll ever know and I never want him to feel anything other than that.

The days move by quickly as we prepare. The nights are too short too. Lucas and I have an easy transition to living together after he grab’s his stuff. It makes more sense too to have his room open. Some of the survivors are pretty pissed off and enlist. Captain Jennings ensures they all know the dangers beforehand. They don’t care. They lose too much to do nothing. We all understand.

I don’t know what the next few months will bring or how much time we have before the real battle begins. Even with both Dr. Ford and Dr. Harris hard at work we can be cutting it too close for comfort.

The uncertainty bothers me the most. I’m a planner. Give me facts and some instructions and I’m good to go. All of this not knowing kills me.

I try to focus on the now. I look forward to when this is all over…but I’m not always certain we can win. I look across the sofa to Lucas as he jams the last bite of pizza into his mouth (which is way too big by the way.) I smile.

It takes a lot of pain and heartache to get here and I won’t trade him for the world. Had I not seen the look on Mason’s face that day on the beach I may never have been given this chance. I know Lucas is the one I’ve been waiting for. He’s more than my security. He’s my heart.

Lucas swallows his massive bite of pizza. “What do you want to do tonight, Pinky?”

I laugh. “I’d say try to take over the world but I think we’d have to get in line.”

“Touché…how about I offer you ice cream instead?”

“I can handle ice cream.”
Seriously—I love the stuff.

He retrieves a pint from the freezer and a spoon. “Chocolate swirl and it’s the good stuff too. If you’re lucky I may even let you have some.”

“Oh really?” I muse. “You realize I can take it if I want to?”

“No way.” Lucas takes a dramatic bite. “Wow, that’s
good
.”

I move towards him. “Give me the spoon sweetie.”

“No. Way.” He moves to the other side of the kitchen.

It doesn’t take long before I find myself stuck underneath Lucas. He feeds me a spoonful for every three of his as I wriggle beneath him. The look in his eyes change and soon we abandon the ice cream altogether.

Captain Jennings calls the two of us into his office early the next morning. He looks thoughtful as he shuts the door behind us.

“I need to confess something and ask you that it goes no further than this room. Few other people are aware of it and it needs to remain that way.” He tells us.

“Okay.” I say.

“Of course.” Lucas agrees.

“Everyone assumes that General West is very busy—which is true. When this all began he made a decision to keep himself safe by staying under the radar. I feel that the two of you have a right to know the truth. You risk everything for the rest of us and are more than trustworthy.

“If not for the general’s decision he surely wouldn’t be alive today. Without him there’s a chance for more confusion. Someone else may step up and as we learn with Carch they may not be stable nor have the best interests of the people we have left.”

“It makes sense.” Lucas agrees. I stay quiet because I sense where this is going.

“It’s too important to stop but you two need to know. I’m General West. I assumed the façade of Captain Jennings shortly after Carch went off her rocker. In all the confusion it was relatively simple.”

“Wait?
You’re
General West?” Lucas says in disbelief.

Captain/General Jennings/West nods. I guess we all have our secrets. “Kat?”

“It makes sense.” I say. I’m not really mad. “I understand why. Some things are more important sometimes. Thanks for telling us the truth.” A strange look crosses his face.
Uh-oh.
“What?” I ask suspiciously.

“There’s more. A favor I need to ask the two of you.” Captain Jennings says. (If I start calling him General West in my head now I’m sure to screw up and blow his cover.)

“What do you need?” Lucas asks. I think he’s a little star-struck.

“We all know what’s coming. It’s going to be dangerous and there’s a chance that we’re not all going to make it. If something happens to me you can’t allow the façade to die. General West has to live on to keep this country together.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” I ask.

“Since I’ve became Captain Jennings General West is a non-entity. He’s a faceless name and voice hidden away. If you two will agree I can spend the next few days showing you the ropes.”

“Okay.” I look to Lucas for confirmation and he nods. “If it helps then that’s what we’ll do.”

This information only helps to cement my backup plan. I can’t lose Lucas and the country can’t lose Captain Jennings. If I mention it to Brie she’ll shoot it down before I have a chance to finish explaining. I have faith in Dr. Ford but I don’t want to discourage him.

Captain Jennings and Lucas make plans for us to return this afternoon. We grab some breakfast and coffee from the mess hall.

“What do you want to do this morning?” Lucas asks and breaks me from my thoughts.

“I don’t care.” I shrug. “Whatever you want is fine.”

“I’m thinking of getting some target practice in.” He laughs when I wrinkle my nose. Target practice is not my thing. “We don’t have to.”

“No,” I say. “You go—practice targeting and all that manly stuff. I’ll find something to keep me entertained.”

“You sure?”

“Yes! Sheesh I can be alone for a few hours. Maybe I’ll read that new book I got.”

“Okay then. I don’t want you to think I’m ditching you for guns.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s important. You need to keep up on it. Besides, I know you’ll never ditch me.” The guilt I feel saying this last sentence punches me in the gut.
I’m not going to ditch him! I’m only going to send him somewhere safe if all else fails!

He gives me a kiss. “I’ll walk you back to the room.”

“Mmm.” I murmur. “Then you’ll never make it. Go! Get your manly gun and shoot things!” I slap at his backside. It’s a very nice one.

“Okay. I’ll be back for lunch and we can go back down to see the Captain together.”

“I’ll be there.”

My smile fades as he disappears from site.
How am I going to manage this?
Captain Jennings news makes me realize that he won’t go easily either. Hell, he’s basically planning to die. For the first time I wish Dr. Ford is still here.
Maybe I’ll call him.

I head back inside right as Mike, Lou and Jay walk past.

“Hey, Kat!” They say cheerfully.

“Hey, guys.” I stare at them for a second and inspiration hits. “Are you all free for the next half hour?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Mike asks.

“I’ll tell you shortly but you have to promise not to tell anyone—even Lucas or Captain Jennings.”

They look at me in confusion but agree. “We trust you Kat.” Lou says.

“Yeah.” Jay and Mike agree.

“Thanks. Let’s go see if we can get Dr. Ford on for a video conference and not to be obvious about it.” I say.

We move for the conference room.

Dr. Ford isn’t too happy with my plan even though he doesn’t disagree with it. I suspect he already knows Captain Jennings secret—but it’s not my secret to tell and I can’t divulge it to the others. Dr. Ford agrees that if something major happens before we’re ready I’ll stand a better chance on my own.

Mike, Lou and Jay are pretty much the perfect accomplices. They hammer out details about an emergency evacuation with Dr. Ford. We all agree that this is an absolute last resort.

We’re done fairly quickly. The guys promise to speak with Dr. Ford if they have any other questions. All of them are commanding officers now with the new recruits and will have no trouble getting people to follow orders
if
the time comes.

I make it back upstairs with plenty of time to spare. I take a few minutes to feel really bad about lying to Lucas before I stuff it away. He probably already knows that I’m planning something he won’t like because he knows me that well. If I give him guilty looks all afternoon it’ll only make things worse…
for me.

Within a few days Lucas and I both know the ropes that pertain to General West. We also now have far more knowledge of foreign politics than we desire. I consider that part of the ordeal my penance for keeping secrets. Fair’s fair.