Unknown (Unknown Series Book 1) (18 page)

I followed Rylen into a family room area with a television on a card table and a velvet picture of dogs playing poker above a worn out couch. Livia was sitting on the floor by Len Fite’s head, dabbing a damp cloth to his face. He took up every inch of the couch. My breathing quickened when I saw his arms and those telltale splotches. His long, gray hair was wet with sweat. I dropped to my knees next to Livia, and she scooted out of my way as I put gloves on. We still weren’t sure if this thing was contagious, so I wasn’t taking any chances.

He didn’t move or react as I took his vital signs. I sat back on my haunches. Rylen stood with his arms crossed, watching us, chewing his thumb nail. Livia perched on the end of a rocking chair.

“He has it,” I whispered. “We still don’t know what it is or if it can be cured. I’m hoping someone from the DRI will have more information today from the samples they took.”

“Is he gonna . . .” Rylen began, then stopped. “I mean, were people yesterday . . .”

“Nobody died yesterday, but some became nonresponsive by the end of the day, like this.” I was frightened to return today and see how the victims were faring. But an urgency rose in me to do just that. “I need to go in.”

“Can I take you?” Rylen asked. We both looked at Livia. “Do you mind staying with him while we try to find out what to expect?”

Her eyes darted, and I didn’t think she fully understood, so I translated into Spanish for her. The look of complete gratefulness she gave me at the sound of her native language broke my heart. She nodded and looked up at Ry.

“Sí. Yes. I stay.”

“Thank you.” Rylen leaned down and kissed her forehead before darting out of the room to grab his keys.

In Spanish, I told Livia, “Go to my house if you need anything at all. And here.” I handed her a pair of gloves. “Don’t touch any of these open sores with your bare hands. See if you can get him to drink any broth or tea made from boiled water. We have some at our house.”

She nodded again.

We set off for Clark County, and it was weird to see so few cars on the streets. No cops either, so Rylen went twenty over the speed limit.

“I guess everyone’s conserving their gas,” I said.

He sighed as he looked out over the ghostly town. Even the fields seemed abandoned and sad. Rylen had a crease in the middle of his forehead that made me reach out and touch his forearm. He tensed so I let go. I wanted to tell him everything would be okay with his dad, but that could be a lie. So instead, I gave him the only promise I could.

“If there’s a vaccine, I’ll bring it to him.”

Rylen swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing down and back up. We drove in silence a bit longer.

“Have you seen your mom since you’ve been back?” I asked.

“Yeah.” It came out as a grunt. “I checked on her last night before I went to see your folks. While everyone else was at the grocery store, she was raiding the liquor store, so she’s all set.”

I clamped my teeth together at the pain in his words.

“I told her I’m married, but I haven’t taken Liv to meet her. She wasn’t exactly happy about having a
foreigner
in the family.”

Ouch.

“How about your cousins?” I asked.

“Haven’t seen them. My aunt took them and moved to Reno two years ago.”

I didn’t ask any more questions after that. Since we were speeding, we made it to the elementary school in record time. It was still a shock to turn onto the street and see a giant hill of demolished cinder blocks and twisted metal where the hospital used to be.

Hundreds of people milled around the full parking lot. A line snaked out of the building, just as it had at the hospital yesterday. Two policemen with a K-9 roamed the area, hopefully sniffing for bombs or any other possible threats.

I wove my way through the crowd at the entrance and looked around for Julian, but didn’t see him. I spotted a DRI woman with a clipboard in the office area giving a nurse directions.

“Hi,” I said. “I’m one of the medics, Amber Tate—”

“Yes, I remember seeing you yesterday. Thank you for coming back in. We’ll need you in room 205 today treating wound victims.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “Thank you. But can you tell me first if there’s any news about the water illnesses?”

Her face tightened, as if she were annoyed. “It’s viral. Non-airborne. Can only be spread by ingesting or sharing bodily fluids. Kills within two to four days.” Rylen hissed a breath in, but she thoughtlessly kept rattling off facts. “Eighty-eight percent kill rate from what we’ve gathered from the towns hit before us, all in the Midwest. Affects humans and animals, though other species simply become lethargic and then die, no rash. We’re calling it the Red Virus. No cure, but they’ve created a preventative vaccine in record time. The first batch should be here by tonight or tomorrow.”

She turned away from us to direct a man in scrubs pushing a gurney with a body covered by a sheet. Dear God above. My insides shivered. Len was going to die within days.

I was shaking as I faced Rylen. He stared at the gurney being wheeled away down the hall. Another gurney with a covered body came after it. The wrecked look on Rylen’s face made me grab his hand and pull him. I rushed us out of the dank, smelly school with its suffocatingly tight halls, out into the warm autumn sunshine. He let me pull him to the side of the building where I went up on my toes and circled my arms around his neck, pulling him close. He buried his face in my neck, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me tight.

Why? Why were these things happening? What was the point of it all?

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. He said nothing, and didn’t cry, just held me like I was a lifeline he was afraid to let go of. Like his world might crumble if he didn’t have me. I know, I was being ridiculous—it could have been one of my parents or Tater, or his wife here to hold him and he’d probably be clinging just as hard. But I was glad it was me.

When I became overly aware of his hot breath on my shoulder and his taut body against mine, I gently released his neck and he let me go. His eyes were red, but not wet.

“Go home to him,” I whispered. “I’m going to work.” His eyes blurred for a second, lost in thought. He still stood close, our bodies brushing.

“What time should I get you?” His voice was hoarse.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. What time was it? Eleven in the morning, maybe? “You don’t have to come, Ry. One of my parents can get me.”

“What time, Pepper?” he asked again with patience.

“Maybe midnight?”

His eyes narrowed. “That’s over twelve hours.”

“Hospital staff work twelve-hour shifts all the time.”

He put his hands on his hips and let out a long breath. “One of us will be here at eleven.” Without giving me a chance to argue or say good-bye, he walked away from me. I watched his long strides, his lean waist and strong hips, and I felt a swelling buzz deep at my core—a feeling I had no business having anymore. I imagined Livia’s face and it was like stepping into an ice water bath. Now it was my turn to let out a long breath.

He was hers. She would be there for him today, at his side, helping to nurse his father in his final moments. Helping to comfort Rylen as he watched the man he loved most in this world face a downhill battle. As that familiar bout of jealousy began to claw its way up through the sludge of despair and grief, I turned and speed-walked to the entrance. Nothing like death, blood, and disease to take my mind off Rylen.

T
here was nothing to do for Red Virus victims except try to keep them comfortable. Our stock of injectable pain killers and I.V. fluids were long gone, with a promise from DRI on premises that more was coming. All we had left were pills, and many of the sick could not get them down. Half of the classrooms had been converted to ‘dying rooms,’ crammed with cots and wailing family members. Many of the rooms had battery-operated CD players, which we used to play soothing music for those who were sitting there all day and night, holding loved one’s hands who’d fallen into fevered sleeps that they might never wake from.

I cleaned and bandaged many injuries that came in throughout the day, people still streaming up from Vegas. At some point I looked over and saw Julian working at my side. I don’t know when he arrived; we were both so busy. Around three o’clock he handed me one of those sawdust Ebola bars. I gave him a rueful grin before I forced it down with a bottle of water. My stomach churned like it had that morning, as if water were the enemy. I noticed Julian grimace as he drank his too.

He cracked his neck and made a free shot at the waste basket.

“Score,” said a familiar, sweet voice behind me.

My head swung fast enough to give me whiplash and I leaped to my feet.

“Remy!” I had one second to notice how rough she looked before I flew into her arms. We rocked back and forth, both laughing with exhilaration.

“I was hoping I’d find you here.” She sounded exhausted. “I had a breakdown when I saw the hospital, until I caught sight of all the people over here.”

I pulled back and looked her over. She’d definitely been crying. “Are you okay? Any injuries?” Other than the greasy ponytail and bags under her mascara-less eyes, she looked whole.

“Just tired.”

“Please . . .” My heart banged hard. “Please tell me you haven’t been drinking any tap water.”

“No, I haven’t. I promise. I had an entire new case of water in my dorm room and that was the first thing I threw in my car when I was able to get the hell out of there.”

Julian sidled up next to me. Remy ran a hand over her ponytail and gave him the once-over.

“Julian, right? I outdrank you at that party.”

“Ha, yeah, you wish. I remember your ridiculous fake ID.”

She made duck lips. “I remember you threatened to turn me in.”

He laughed. “I thought you were gonna cry. I didn’t think you’d believe me!”

I nearly rolled my eyes at his dimple-cheeked grin and their flirty manner. Not the time or place. But then again, it was kind of nice to see something happy amidst the shit storm.

“So much has happened,” I said. “Have you talked to your parents yet?”

“No, I was stopping at the hospital to see you since it was on my way home. I’m going there next.”

As much as I selfishly wanted to keep her there with me, I knew I needed to urge her to go home, to put her parents’ minds at ease and tell them about the Red Virus.

“All right, I’ll go now,” she said once she’d seen a gurney go by with a red-whelped arm dangling down from beneath the sheet. “But just in case I don’t see you for a while. Tell me real quick, is your family okay?”

“Yes. They’re all okay. My dad got through to Tater’s command a couple days ago and he’s okay too.”

“Tell her about Rylen,” Julian said.

I flashed him a deadly look as my stomach swooped. I didn’t want to talk about Ry. “That’s a story for another time.”

“No way,” she said. “Tell me. He’s not . . . dead, is he?” Her face paled.

“No!” My stomach soured. “I’ll come by your house in the morning.”

“Don’t you dare make me wait. I have to go. Tell me!”

“He married some Guatemalan chick,” Julian blurted.

“Julian!” I rounded on him and punched his arm.

“What?!” Remy shouted. “He’s
married
?”

A woman with a tear-streaked face jumped and glared at us as she passed. I grabbed Remy’s arm and pulled her further into the room.

“Yes,” I said, trying to keep my voice flat and face emotionless. “It’s . . . whatever. He eloped.”

Remy stared at me, mouth gaping, searching my face, before her eyes drooped. “I’m so sorry, Amb.”

“It’s really nothing in comparison with all of this.” I waved an arm, thought it still didn’t feel like nothing.

“I know, but still. I’m sorry.” She hugged me, and I hugged her back.

“I really will try to visit in the morning, okay?” I said. “We’ll talk more then.”

“Okay.” Her voice sounded sad, like she’d been the one to lose the man of her dreams. I guess that’s how friendship was. You couldn’t help but hurt for each other.

I felt slightly lighter after she left, just knowing she was okay and out of Vegas. Hunger hit me, so I went to the vending machine, which someone had busted open, and got the last bag of chips. I felt like crap, physically. My body craved fruits and vegetables, things I’d taken for granted before.

Just as I finished my unhealthy snack, a freaking bus full of old people from Vegas came stumbling in, looking like they’d climbed through rubble to get here. Julian and I raced over to help them in.

The day went by in a blur, just as the day before had. I lost track of time until it was pitch dark out and the wave of injured people waned. Julian left and I sat against the wall in our main room, staring at the felt wall calendar with apples on the pocket of each day. It had been a first grade room. The tiny desks were now shoved into a corner, piled high. I closed my eyes.

“Hey, Pepper.”

My heavy eyes peeled open. Rylen was crouched a couple feet from me.

I sat up. “How is your dad?”

“Actually, he took a little bit of a turn this afternoon. Opened his eyes, said a few words, drank some tea and broth. He’s a strong bastard.”