To go out there, where we had to stick together, work together, and move together seamlessly. Because if we didn’t, there would be no more tomorrows.
I struggled to keep Jesse’s pace, tripping over a tangle of roots, as he led our little group down the mountain terrain. The sun beat down, and a layer of dust worked its way beneath my tank top and jeans. Just behind Jesse, Roark and Elaine trudged through the undergrowth, and though I couldn’t hear Michio, I could sense his heat behind me.
Our group had enough eyes and ears to perceive oncoming danger—a black bear, a rogue aphid, or an ambush of armed men—but the constant caution was exhausting. Humidity saturated my lungs, and blood pumped into my overworked muscles. All of this made worse by the weight of our food supplies, bedrolls, and weapons. We carried everything we owned on our backs.
I shifted the strap of my pack away from a raw spot on my shoulder and rolled my sore neck. In the past, back in my suburban life, a hike like this would’ve been impossible. But I'd broken in my body over the last two years. Long lean muscles replaced my old, puny physique, and with that honed strength came stamina. I had hours left before fatigue really set in.
The hills below stretched to the horizon, bathed in the emerald glow of spruce-firs. What lay beyond wouldn’t be peaceful though. In a few days, we would be neck deep in twisted metal, weathered skeletons, and the stench of despair.
We would reach the Lakota camp soon to drop off Elaine and pick up Tallis and Georges. Pre-virus, the two men worked for Jesse. A hired gun. An aircraft pilot. And after? The same, but without laws, currency, or contracts. They remained in Jesse’s employ for one reason: loyalty. I totally got that. Jesse was a leader, fierce and strong in every way. He would put our lives before his to protect us.
While Michio spent the last month nursing Elaine back to health, Tallis and Georges gathered medical supplies—syringes, blood collection tubes, whatever was on Michio’s list—for our journey ahead. I didn’t know how far they traveled or how much they collected. I only hoped they had returned to the Lakota camp unharmed.
From out of nowhere, a streak of black and tan fur bolted by.
I patted my thigh. “Darwin. Hier.”
My German Shepherd slowed but didn’t obey. He tiptoed wide paws through a stream as quiet as the man he pursued. Damn Jesse. He’d even secured Darwin’s loyalty.
“Traitor,” I whispered.
A bushy tail waved back.
Michio’s gait picked up, bringing him to my side. He matched my stride, the granite lines of his profile cut by shards of sunlight. “How many nymphs are left do you think?”
“Thousands.” Hopefully more.
“My assessment as well.” He bent a branch from our path. “We’re too small a team to find them all.”
Leave it to a doctor to point out the shitty odds.
I drew a weary breath. “I know.”
“The world’s a big place.”
Knew that too. The miles I covered since the outbreak had hardened the soles of my feet. From Missouri to England, Malta to Iceland, I could count my nymph encounters on two hands. “We’ll find who we can.” Wherever they were, holed up in empty buildings, haunting alleyways and sewers, or hiding in the shadows. “Free as many as possible. That’s all we can do.”
He ducked beneath a low-hanging tree, his attention on the sloping hillside below. “And what about you?”
I raised the hem of my tank top to wipe the sweat from my lip. “What about me?”
He clasped my hand, gave it a squeeze. “Who will set you free?”
Free from what? From carrying the only known cure and giving it to the world?
I laced our fingers, savoring the contact. “I am free, Michio.”
“It’s your blood that’s needed.” He tugged my hand, stopping my forward motion. “Doesn’t mean you have to do the hunting.”
“I don’t know about that. I can sort of sense nymphs like I can with aphids.”
But it was odd, somewhat confusing. I just didn’t have a good handle on differentiating the sensations.
“Yeah.” His eyes flicked away, and his lips tightened. “Your unique biology could expedite the search.”
Or complicate it.
There was a valid concern behind his reluctance to bring me along. If I died, the cure would die, too. Unless I’d passed it to Elaine when I healed her. Wouldn’t that be cool? If I cured a hundred women and each of them cured a hundred, it would certainly make this world-saving business more feasible. We just needed to find another nymph to test the theory.
If I had that kind of help, maybe I wouldn’t have to spend the remainder of my days searching for creatures that didn’t want to be found. I’d never endeavored to be a missionary. The role didn’t fit. Before the virus, I’d spent most of my time behind a desk, crunching numbers for Christ’s sake.