Kate sprawled out on the twin-sized bed in their new quarters where she was about to drift off to sleep when the door opened. Nick stepped inside with a bundle of clothes in his arms that he collected from another of the deceased doctors’ bedrooms. He set the pile on the dresser beside the M4 Carbine and his hunting knife.
When the hospital was under siege, Kate had held her revolver with a limp, shaky hand. Though she had carried the gun with her for some time, the weighted metal still felt foreign to her. Regardless of its simple mechanics, Kate would never feel comfortable using it on a whim.
Nick was a different story. He seemed incomplete without a firearm. If his hand was empty of a pistol, a rifle, or a blade, he was an amputee—a fragmented version of himself.
Kate watched him through tiny slits in her eyes as he unclasped his belt and let his black pants drop to the ground. He kicked the pants away from his ankles, left in nothing but a shirt and boxers. Nick took a pair of sweatpants from the stack of clothes and slid his legs inside.
He turned to face Kate, assessing the small bed and her body taking up the majority of the mattress. He exited the room and returned moments later with several blankets and a pillow clutched in his arms. Laying out the blankets across the floor next to the bed, Nick prepared a moderately comfortable place to sleep.
“What are you doing?” Kate asked. Nick jumped at the sound of her voice, then drew out a deep, startled breath.
“I thought you were asleep,” Nick rasped in a shaky voice. Kate giggled at the sight of him unnerved by something, for once.
“Put your stupid blankets on this bed and lay with me,” Kate ordered. Nick stood, a smile creeping across his face, and surveyed the bed.
“Lay… where?” Nick asked. Kate scooted against the wall, flattening herself to create as much free space as possible. Then, she patted the spot next to her. Skepticism replaced Nick’s smile, and he raised an eyebrow.
“I am not going to listen to you complain all day tomorrow about back pain.” Kate narrowed her eyes at him.
“Complain?” Nick feigned offense with a hand to his chest. “Well, maybe I don’t want to hearyoucomplain when I crowd you in that tiny bed.”
“You? Crowd me? Never. Also, it’s freezing in here and you’re like my personal heater.”
Nick laughed and shut off the light. Then he laid on top of the comforter draped over Kate’s body, covering himself with the blankets he brought from the other room. He propped himself on one elbow to face her.
“Is that all I’m good for?”
“You’re a cute heater.” Kate grinned and leaned into him, pressing her mouth to his in a kiss. Electricity buzzed through Nick’s arms as the desire to reach out, graze her hair, and run his fingers down her arm ran rampant through his mind. Yet, he kept his body still. He made a silent vow to let her come to him; he would always let her make the first move.
Kate pulled away from Nick and settled her head against the pillow, sighing when she closed her tired eyes.
Chapter 3
While Kate slept in, Nick entered Dr. Chamberlain’s office, gazing around at the walls lined with papers hastily tacked into the drywall: research notes, lab results, and brain scans. A little boy, the doctor’s son, sat on the floor drawing on a piece of paper. The doctor, enthralled in a notebook before Nick’s arrival, set the notes down and raised his eyebrows.
“Good morning, Nick. Sleep well?”
“Actually, I slept great. How are things going?” Nick asked as he sat in the leather armchair across from the doctor, resting his elbows on his knees.
From this vantage point, Nick could see part of the little boy’s picture. A superhero soared through the sky, cape fluttering in the wind behind him. On the ground below were bloody bodies, faces frozen in agony.
“Oh, things are fine here. Though, I am seeing an end to the supply of syringes. Would that be something the two of you might collect for me? We’ve scrounged up all that the upper floors have to offer, so it might mean a venture to a nearbypharmacy.” The doctor clasped his hands on the desk, awaiting Nick’s reply.
“Sure, that shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll wake Kate, we’ll eat and head out,” Nick answered. “Oh, and doc?”
Dr. Chamberlain, having gone back to pouring over his notes, raised his head at Nick’s question.
“Have you found any other ways that people are altered after they have been infected? Aside from being undetectable to the creatures?” Nick asked, a tinge of hope coloring his voice that the doctor might have some answers. Dr. Chamberlain grinned, secret information hiding behind his smile.
“Are you feeling stronger? More resilient? Better stamina?”
“It ebbs and flows, but yes,” Nick answered. When the little boy leaned back, Nick could see his drawing in its entirety. The bodies at the bottom of the picture were broken and smothered in dirt. Red fangs protruded from their mouths.
“The proteins within the antidote do not destroy the misfolded ones. They mutate them, eradicating the negative effects while bolstering the positive traits. Do not take these new characteristics for granted. I am still investigating their full extent.”
Don’t do anything stupid. Got it.
Nick heard Dr. Chamberlain’s words, yet he could not help but smile. He looked down at his arms, pulsing with robust might. The revelations of his new attributes filled Nick with hopeful aspirations about the future.
