“You really went on a search for that dumb thing?” Nick asked with a smile.
“Dumb thing? It’s literally the best gift I’veeverbeen given.” Kate shot him a cross glance, though her lips belied the amusement she was clearly keeping at bay.
Nick opened his mouth, preparing to deploy a snarky response before deciding to stifle his words.
A small token to Nick, the bat was a diamond ring in comparison to the insults, the bruises, the abuse.
The jest evaporating into sober stares made Kate shift under Nick’s gaze.
“Gifts are more about who gives them rather than what they are,” Kate said.
Nick took several strides toward Kate, his potent fixation on her never abating. Kate closed the distance and rested her palms against his chest. Her cheeks flushed at their proximity as memories danced in her mind—Nick stripped down to his boxers at the harbor, Kate straddling him on the couch of the mansion home.
Kate’s gaze drifted to Nick’s mouth. A searing titillation darted across her skin, diving into her flesh and infecting her. The thought of pressing her lips to his made her delirious. Kate lifted herself up on tiptoes, her mouth advancing toward Nick’s when Dr. Chamberlain appeared in the doorway.
“Oh, umm, excuse me. I hope I’m not…interrupting.” The doctor averted his eyes and pulled the lapels of his lab coat inward.
Nick’s eyes remained fixed on her for a moment longer before straying to Dr. Chamberlain. Kate thought she saw a sliver of annoyance in Nick’s features and grinned at the thought internally before also turning toward the doctor. “No problem, doc. What’s up?” Nick bristled.
“I would like to give you both the grand tour. I assume you would like to know where to shower and eat.”
“I do love to eat,” Kate grinned, grabbing Nick’s hand and following the doctor from the room.
Dr. Chamberlain took the pair on a tour of the facilities available to them. They visited an industrial kitchen equippedwith a stove, refrigerator, microwave, and a coffee machine. There was a small restroom containing two shower stalls and a row of enclosed toilets. The doctor reminded Nick and Kate of the tactical gear stashed in the armory near the room where Nick spent his time Infected. It had never left Nick’s mind. The next steps involved stepping out into a perilous world, and Nick preferred to be armed to the teeth.
The doctor did not bother to provide information on the research rooms or laboratories knowing he would be the only one using them.
The tour ended back at the room Nick and Kate had chosen for their temporary stay.
“Any ideas as to what you’ll do next? Of course, you’re welcome to stay as long as you need, but I’d really like to see that cure go out into the world,” Dr. Chamberlain said.
“We’ll spend a few days here until Kate’s arm heals. I’d still like to travel to the nearby military fort. We’ll need a well-populated base of operations if we plan on using the cure—somewhere they can receive help as they reenter the land of the living,” Nick answered.
“That sounds like a good plan,” Dr. Chamberlain nodded and turned to walk away.
“Doctor,” Kate called after him. The doctor paused and turned to face her. “There was a little boy here when we first arrived…”
Dr. Chamberlain smiled knowingly. “He is my son. I’m sure he’s in the playroom where he enjoys spending most of his time.”
“You don’t worry about him being hurt by the Infected?” Nick asked, surprised.
“No, I suspect you have not noticed this for yourself yet, but once a person has received the inoculation—the cure—the creatures are no longer attracted to them. It seems some of the disease remains present in the body’s proteins, therefore the Infected, as you call them, consider them one of their own.” Dr.Chamberlain eyed Nick and Kate closely, awaiting realization to pass across their faces.
“Your son was infected.” Kate’s voice was small as she uttered the revelation.
Nick thought back to the battle when the monsters seemed to rush past him as though he were not there.
“Diseased, yes. He was the first. He is the reason I put all of this together.” The doctor’s face pinched inward with pain. It was the first time his tidy, professional demeanor had faltered, and he appeared human. Kate’s heart ached as she imagined this man having to restrain his undead child, working furiously to come up with a cure.
“I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” Kate offered.
“You had to deal with it, as well.” Dr. Chamberlain lifted his chin toward Nick. Memories bloomed in her mind of Nick’s agonizing transformation. Sorrow had robbed her of all hope; she thought the only man who had ever truly loved her had become a monster. When the doctors administered the cure to him, the emotions she battled were agonizing: hope, guilt, fear.
Subconsciously, Kate’s hand found Nick’s and squeezed his fingers. She had survived a world of wreckage on her own—battled Infected, avoided starvation, and endured withdrawal. Now, she did not have to fight alone. Losing Nick was not just the absence of security, it was losing a piece of her soul.
Chapter 2
The hands on the metal wall clock pointed to 10pm. Kate’s body affirmed the late hour with drooping eyelids, an exhausted mind, and the constant urge to yawn. Nick had spent most of the day going through the gear in the tactical room loading magazines and fitting himself with armor.
