Looking back now, I realize that we were doomed from the moment the virus emerged.I stayed too long in the laboratory, desperate to find solutions.By the time I fled with my wife, Irena, and our two children, the city had fallen to the zombies.My wife and younger son did not make it out.
Traveling across the countryside, the scale of the devastation became clear.Millions were dead, and those who survived faced terror not only from the infected but from each other.Resources were scarce, and humanity fell back into their most violent, desperate urges.It took six months to reach the sea and another month to secure passage to Cold Shore.
The events of those months confirmed what I now know: Cold Shore is humanity’s only hope.This is the very catastrophe that the initiative was designed to address.As one of the leading experts in genetics and biotechnology, I am uniquely qualified to assist in this mission.I have devoted my life to these studies, and I am prepared to devote the rest of my life to the contingency.
All I ask for in return is that my surviving son, Dmitry, be allowed to stay with me at Cold Shore.I understand space and resources are limited, but I cannot work if it means abandoning my son.
Especially now, I cannot make that sacrifice.
It may seem bold to make such a request, given that I am not currently a part of your organization.We are not colleagues, and I am just another survivor.But I know that in a world starved of intelligence and expertise, I have the skills and knowledge to justify my presence.I ask you to weigh my words carefully.
I will await your reply at the base camp beyond the compound gates.
With the utmost respect,
Pyotr V.Popov, PhD, DSc
8
Stella
“This is so fuckingstrange,” Boden muttered, giving voice to my own feelings about the situation.
He was standing at the windows, watching night fall on Tremblay Lake.Above us, we could hear the footsteps of the others, settling into the rooms that had long ago been ours.Leandro had brought down extra blankets and pillows, and he’d left them on the couch so Boden and I could sleep out in the living room.
“It was nice of them to offer for us to stay for the night,” I said, trying to look on the bright side of things.
“No, I know it is,” he agreed.“It’s notthemthat’s making it strange.”He let out a rough breath and ran his hand through his short hair before turning to look back at me.“How are you doing?”
“Fine, I guess.”I shrugged and turned my attention to making a bed on the couch.“Excited to sleep inside.I’m not looking forward to making the long trek back without any news on Remy, but I’ll see Fae soon, so that helps.I don’t know how I feel about being back here or meeting Ryder or even what to think of the others…”
I trailed off.Honestly, I was feeling everything – from relief and dread to happiness and despair – but when it was added up all together, it all felt like exhaustion and confusion.
“I think I’ll feel better after I eat and sleep, and then I’ll feel even better when we’re on the way back to the boat again,” I said, and I hoped it was true.
With my bed complete, I sat down and grabbed my backpack.Once I had my venison jerky and water canteen, I settled back onto the couch and tried to relax.
Quietly, in case anyone might be listening, I asked, “What do you make of them?”
“They seem decent enough,” he replied at length.“But it’s hard trusting anyone.”
He rolled out his bedroll on the floor near the couch, and he used the extra blankets and pillows to fluff it up.Once he finished, he lay back down, folding his arms under his head as he stared up at the cathedral ceilings above us.
“So Remy’s obviously not here,” I said, as the silence settled in.“Where’d she go?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted with a heavy sigh.“We’ll have to go back to the Barbarabelle and regroup.Maybe look at some maps.”
“Do you think Lazlo knows?”I asked.“I mean, since he gave her the mule.”
“He claims he doesn’t,” Boden replied, his voice hard and low.
Lazlo and Remy were old friends, from before Boden and I even met her.He, his wife Nova, and their daughter had moved back to the ruins of Emberwood and were spearheading the movement behind building up New Emberwood.Before Remy left, she had gone to him, and he’d given her a mule.
This had led to tension between Boden and Lazlo after the fact.Lazlo was the only person that Remy had told she was leaving, and he hadn’t tried to stop her.
“Maybe I’ll have a talk with him again when we get back,” Boden said at length.
“Good idea,” I said, suppressing a yawn.
