AIDEN
“Curtis!” Zach runs over to him.
While Zach checks on Curtis, I scan the area, trying to absorb everything that happened. Four people lie dead on the ground. All of Connor’s mercenaries. But Connor is nowhere to be seen.
I grab the rifle that I dropped earlier and approach the tunnel exit. Peeking my head out, I scan the trail and the surrounding woods. No sign of Connor. Back in the tunnel, Zach is at Curtis’s side. And Curtis doesn’t look well. His face is pale, and a pool of blood has formed beneath him.
Zach looks up at me. “We need to get some pressure on—”
“No, you don’t,” Curtis cuts in, straining, using his last bit of energy to talk. “I’ll be gone in a minute. I can feel it. Plus, this is a helluva better way to go than sitting around waiting for the cancer to eat me alive.”
“Don’t talk like that, Curtis. We’re going to get you fixed up.” Zach’s looking frantically at the ever-growing blood stain on Curtis’s overalls.
“Just glad I could—ugh—help you two one last time.” Each word is a struggle. “The letter. Don’t forget—” He trails off. His eyes are open, staring upward. But Curtis is gone.
Zach weeps openly. I’m crying too. I put my arm around him, and he buries his face into my chest. I try to make sense of what just happened. Any of the bodies lying here could have easily been Zach. And if he’s really not immune to the Infection, having him anywhere near me is dangerous beyond comprehension. His immunity was a constant for me. I never doubted it. I dread what I must do, and I worry Zach will never forgive me.
After a moment, I whisper into his ear. “Zach, I know you won’t want to hear this. But it’s time to go.”
“We can’t just leave him here like this.” Zach looks down at Curtis with a pained expression.
“We’ll come back for him. But Connor is still out there, and he could be back any minute. He might have reinforcements. We need to leave. Now.”
I pull Zach up. He’s clutching Curtis’s body, but I tear him away.
Then I take him by the shoulders and look him in the eye. I need to convince him this is the right thing to do. But I’ll be breaking the one promise I made to him. The one I knew I couldn’t keep if it came to protecting his life. I don’t know how he’ll react. “Zach, there’s something else I need to say. With you not immune, it’s too dangerous for you to be around the vials. We’ll meet up after I’m done, but I have to finish this alone.”
“What?” Zach reels away from me, looking like I slapped him. “You said we’d stay together! You promised me!”
“That was before I knew you weren’t immune. You were never exposed by your uncle, were you? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Zach looks wretched. “Because I was too damn ashamed, that’s why. I let him die alone on the porch. And you kept assuming I was immune. I never said it once. You did!”
“You should have told me.”
“Just like you should have told me what was in those vials!”
“I couldn’t do that—”
“I’m sick of hearing that!” His face transforms into a twisted mix of sadness and anger. “Do you realize Connor was more truthful to me than you were?”
That hits me like a punch in the gut, and my anger rises. “How can you say that? Connor is a traitor. He tried to kill us. I took an oath to the Collective.”
“Didn’t you make an oath to me too? When will you trust me enough to let me take my own risks?”
“Look what happened.” I gesture to Curtis. “That could easily have been you. It almostwasyou. I couldn’t live with myself if you died. And you being near the vials? If I so much as set my backpack down too hard, I might have killed you.”
Tears flow down Zach’s cheeks, but he grits his teeth in anger, and he’s breathing hard. Seeing him like this is tearing me apart.
“I need to finish this on my own. We can arrange to meet—”
“Fine, Aiden! If you want to go alone, then just go!” Zach shakes his head. “Better yet, I’ll go!” He pushes past me, then runs over to one of the bikes, grabbing his backpack on the way. He jumps on and starts the engine.
“Zach, wait!” I run over toward him.
He revs up the dirt bike. “Goodbye, Aiden.”
“How will I find you again?” I yell desperately as he speeds away.
