Black or white. This or that. Macon made it sound so simple. Cipher’s fate was out of our hands. I had to give it up to God, truly.
We muddled through our meal, glancing around, not saying much. When we were finished, no one had given us any orders, so I looked to Macon and asked, “What now?”
“I saw a gym on our way here. How about we go lift some weights.”
I shrugged. It was as good a plan as any.
The next twodays passed in pretty much the same manner. We ate our meals in the mess hall, worked out in the gym, played cards in the barracks, and waited for someone who knew something to come find us and give us an update. None of the soldiers or higher-ranked officers had any information, at least that’s what they told us when we asked. So, we existed in a state of suspension, waiting for news of Cipher.
At dinner time on the third day, we finally saw Captain Crenshaw. After apologizing for her absence–she was on a mission in the field–she sat down with us in the mess hall and asked us how we were doing.
“Not good,” I said. “How’s Cipher?”
“He’s stable,” she said, which was a relief.
“Is he still Rabid?” I asked.
“Technically, yes,” she said as if trying to be careful with her words.
“Can I see him?”
“No, not yet. He’s still very contagious.”
“When can I see him?”
“I don’t have any say in that, I’m afraid, but I was sent here by the lab to act as an intermediary.”
“What does that mean?”
“A lot of our patients have been infected with the disease for a long while. The treatments aren’t as effective. Sadly, a lot of them don’t survive.”
I blinked, trying to read between the lines. “Are you telling me he’s going to die?”
“No, you did the right thing bringing him here. The chances of his survival are far greater than if you’d waited.”
“Do you know his chances?” Macon asked. “A percentage or something?”
“I’m afraid I can’t give you an estimate. But Dr. Godara, the researcher assigned to his case, said he’s responding very well to treatment.”
All of it was good news, but it wasn’t nearly enough to reassure me.
“What if the treatment doesn’t work?” I asked.
“We have a lot of different things we can try, but if it comes to it, we can end his life in a humane way.”
“He’s not being tortured is he? Are these treatments… are they painful?” I asked.
“There are drugs that help ease the process. And it seems the virus itself is pretty painful. Imagine a hunger so intense that you’d want to eat other humans.”
I didn’t need to imagine it. I’d seen Cipher struggle with it. The hunger had taken over completely.
“Now, we need to discuss another matter. I noticed the vehicle you arrived in. In fact, I recognized it as one of our own,” Crenshaw said.
I glanced toward Macon, who only gave me a warning look, the set of his brow telling me to be careful.
“Did you know its previous owner?” she asked.
“Um,” I said, trying hard to play it cool.
