FortyThree - Ella

"I'm so glad you've made it back," Dr. Summers said pulling me in for a quick hug. Her smile faltered a little when she saw the bandages around my arm. They were nice and white still, the gauze clean since it only changed the night before at the church so the fresh bandages didn't look nearly as awful as the previous ones. And really, they weren't absolutely necessary at this point. But the white gauze looked much better than scabbing wounded arms, so I thought it was best to keep them for now. "Were you bit?"

"No," I shook my head but didn't offer any further explanation. "Uhm." I stepped aside and gestured behind me. "This is Atlas, Hunter, and Zero."

They all looked nervous. I think I probably did too.

"It's nice to meet you," Dr. Summers said, coming her hair behind one ear. She looked at me questioningly, likely wanting to know why I'd brought them to her lab. I looked at the people who I felt closer to than anyone on this base. Zero nodded her head, giving me the okay.

"Zero was bit."

"She was?" Dr. Summers asked, alarmed. "I can't believe you'd bring her back here, Ella. It only takes one person... and the cure is possibly months away from usable. That is, if you brought back H-26?"

"I did," I said and slipped the messenger bag off my shoulder. "But I didn't bring Zero back here hoping to cure her. She, uh, she cured herself."

Dr. Summer' head cocked to the side, her eyes on Zero. "Cured herself."

I nodded. "Immunity, or at least resistance. She fought off the virus."

My mentor's response wasn't immediate. She just sort of... stared at Zero. Her eyes growing wide, hungry. Like Zero was the one in the world she'd been hoping for. It was the expression you'd expect to see from a child on Christmas morning as they stared at dozens of wrapped presents under the tree. I understood. I mean, Zero was, well, she was a cure and to a woman like Dr. Summers who'd been working all this time to make just that, Zero was everything. She was revolutionary. Her presence advanced the making a cure time line up weeks, or months even. It was huge. It was Christmas morning and Easter and birthday parties and the Fourth of July fireworks all rolled into one. Except that something about her expression set off alarms in my head. For the first time, I questioned whether or not I could trust Dr. Summers. And I was leaning toward not.

The realization was startling. Of all people on Hudson, I trusted her. I thought... I knew she was good. But the way she was looking at Zero had me second guessing. And I had trusted my father too. I had thought he wouldn't do anything to betray that. And he was my father. Dr. Summers' is just some woman I met when I got to base. Working for the people I never really trusted.

Not liking the look, I stepped in front of Zero, blocking Dr. Summers' line of sight to the girl.

"She's agreed to come in the lab for tests. Just for today," I added, though they'd agreed to stay longer than that, I suddenly felt uncomfortable with that. "They've got people to get back to."

"Well, it's not ideal," she huffed. "But come on, then. We don't have any time to waste." All of us started to follow Dr. Summers into the lab, but she stopped at the access door. Turning she held up a hand. "I'm so sorry. But only official personnel. We shouldn't be more than a few hours," she said to Hunter and Atlas. "I'll have an escort show you the way to the dining halls." She scrunched up her nose. "And the showers if you'd like. I'm sure we can get all of you something fresh to wear."

Hunter looked ready to fight her on that, and I think he would have had Zero not spoken first, surprising all three of us.

"We'll be fine. Ella will be in there with me. Relax, eat. Shower," she gently insisted.

"It'll only be a couple of hours. Just some blood drawing," Dr. Summers assured us all smiling. But I had seen her smile. She was generally a happy person, so her smile was easy to come by. Because of that, I knew this one wasn't entirely genuine. Agreeing Hunter promised he'd be back here in two hours to collect Zero before she and I followed Dr. Summers into the lab.

"Why don't you go right through there and shower then change into this gown," she handed her a gown from the clinic. There wasn't really any need for the gown, I didn't think, but there was no reason to argue. Zero didn't seem to mind and walked into the restroom, closing the door behind her.

"This is amazing, Ella," Dr Summers said. "How did you find her?"

"Friends of the men who were escorting me," I answered.

"This is... wow," she said in awe. "I can't believe you found her and brought her here. What luck that got bit in front of you!"

"Luck?" I said shocked. "Bethany, she could have died."

"She didn't, Ella. She's immune."

"It wasn't lucky she was bit. It was awful. She very nearly did die." I quickly explained how the bite had effected Zero including the fever, seizures, and thankfully short-lived coma. I mentioned the memory loss that she experienced in the past that may have been a direct result of the bite, but Dr. Summers never lost her smile.

"Well, I'll have to see the reaction first hand," she said offhandedly as she pulled out everything she needed to take some blood samples from Zero.

"What?"

"I'd like to see the reaction she has first hand." Noticing the expression on my face, she waved a hand as if trying to fan away my obvious concern. "Don't worry, I'll view it in a sample first to see how her blood reacts. I won't infect her if I think she'll turn. But I will need to monitor her reaction. Ella, we have a human test subject, I must make note of all side effects."

"She's leaving first thing in the morning, Bethany."

"I understand she thinks she has responsibilities to these other people she knows. But Ella." She paused, giving me a hard look. "Her biggest responsibility is to the world now. I would think you, of all people, would understand that."

"You said you could make a cure from H-26. She'll give you blood samples. You don't need any more than that."

"I understand she's your friend. She won't be mistreated here, but I can't let her leave. This is bigger than one little girl."

"You want to infect her!" I shouted, completely appalled. "Did you hear what I said? The first time she was bit she woke up without a single memory. She had seizures. Bethany, she was in a coma. How is that not mistreating her?"

Dr. Summers look at me, disappointed. And I hated that. It was the first time she looked at me in that way, though I was familiar with the sentiment. It was the same way my father would look at me if I pointed out that he should put aside work and eat dinner or something. I was an awful disappointment for not putting science first, before everything else in life.

It was always amazing to me. I was good. I was interested. I wanted more. But I didn't want it enough. I stayed late, but I didn't lose all track of time and work through the night until the sun rose again. I skipped a meal when I was working on something, but still managed to grab a soda and candy bar from the vending machines. I was willing to give up plenty, but to my father plenty wasn't enough. It wasn't everything. And now Dr. Summers wore the same expression.

"Be intelligent, Ella," she said calmly. "Think about this rationally and I know you'll understand that we can't let her leave. Not until we have a working cure."

I stepped back, leaning against the wall.

I did understand. For so many reasons, I knew it made sense to keep Zero here. Somewhere inside, I knew the fate of the world should be put before everything and everyone else. She was too important to this cause - getting our world back - to just let her walk out of here. I kept quiet, thinking while Dr. Summers went about her business, readying everything for Zero. When the door finally opened, Zero walked out, a hesitant smile on her lips.

"I can't remember the last time I felt this clean," she said and I knew she wasn't exaggerating. She probably really couldn't ever remember feeling clean. In her memory, that may have been the first how shower she ever had.

"Come right over here. Zero?" Dr. Summers intended it be a statement, but she couldn't keep the questioning tone out of her voice when saying Zero's name. Zero didn't make any effort to answer the unasked question and followed Dr. Summers to a stool. I watched her wrap the rubber tourniquet around Zero's arm, just above the elbow. "Pump your hand like this a couple of times, please." Dr. Summers demonstrated what she meant by opening and closing her fist several times and then felt in the crook of Zero's arm for a good vein.

When nearly a dozen tubes were filled with samples of Zero's blood, Dr. Summers held a small square of gauze over the needle and pulled it from her arm after releasing the tourniquet. After offering Zero a band-aid, she stood all the tubes in a stand and set them carefully, as if they were a prized possession, moved them into the refrigerator.

"That's all?" Zero asked, sounding a mix of surprised and relieved.

Dr. Summers' laugh was musical and kind. "Not quite. I'd like to do a full work up on you. And of course, I'd like to inspect the bite."

"If it's alright, Dr. Summers, I think I'm going to head to my room and get a shower myself," I said. Zero looked at me, her eyebrows drawn together. I got the feeling she didn't want me to leave. But I had to get out of here. I gave a slight shake of my head to tell her not to be worried.

"Sure," she replied. Dr. Summers grabbed her key card from the pocket of her lab coat and walked with me toward the door. "I don't think I have to stress how important it is that you keep this between us," she said.

"Don't worry, I understand. The cure comes first. I won't say anything to them," I said.