FortySeven - Ella

Kyle was being impossible, but I liked it. It was a nice break from shit hitting the fan that seemed to be never-ending. Drugged up Kyle was flirty and sweet and saying things that he definitely should not be saying. Not that I was complaining about what he said. Or maybe I was. Drugged up and sad, because I knew underneath the nice little high of the percocet, real feelings were there. Feelings that were awful. And I didn't think that was exactly the best way to tell someone you love them, or if I could even believe it.

I shook my head to myself. Who just stood there in all their naked glory, higher than a kite and accused you of loving them? I did my best to ignore it. I had to ignore it. This was really, really not the time to be doing any of this. Not that it had ever been a great time for us, but this seemed particularly bad.

Refusing to acknowledge what he'd said, I helped him get dressed because though he managed to undress just fine, the face he made when bending his injured leg let me know he needed help. It would have been a lot more awkward, helping a grown man into his boxers, had he been fully aware. But he wasn't even close and I honestly didn't think he even really knew what was going on by that point. Looking at him, I was a little surprised he made it through a full shower okay.

I helped him into his shirt, but not his pants since I left everything to wrap his wound in his room. He was decent enough to hobble back to his room though, so I wrapped my arm around him and supported what little weight I could.

When we got back everyone was back in the room. Joel must have worked some charm because Atlas was there too, and no signs of any sort of security detail. But Joel and Kyle had the trust of this place like no one else, so I imagine if they said someone was okay, they were really okay.

Joel hopped up and helped me get Kyle back down to the bed.

"Ella's my naughty nurse," Kyle attempted - and failed - to whisper to Joel. The boys all chuckled and I hung my head, unable to look at any of them.

"Let's just get your leg taken care of," I said. "Before you embarrass yourself."

"I'm not embarrassed," he said wearing a lopsided grin.

While I sanitized and wrapped his leg tightly, Kyle was barely lucid but still managing a conversation with the room. Was it wrong to be so amused by him in this state? It was like it wasn't him. A totally different Kyle that wasn't so reserved and intense. It, at least, took the weight off of the moment. And when I mentioned that I had to get back and started to stand, Kyle's fingers wrapped around my wrist and pulled (with a lot more strength and you'd expect a bedridden, drugged up man to have) me back toward him. I toppled against him and Kyle pulled me to his chest. And even Bambi smiled as she watched Kyle pin me awkwardly against his chest.

She'd been taking it hard. Even harder that she hadn't been able to see Zero all day.

And I hadn't been able to tell Zero what happened at the church. What happened to Squirrel. I knew she was close with them all, but I'd gotten the feeling that she and Squirrel were really close. She wasn't going to take it well, not at all. And, okay, part of me worried that she'd hate me for it. If I hadn't dragged her here, she would have still been at the church. She would have been able to protect her friends, or at least try. Or maybe they would have already left and found somewhere else to be.

It was selfish to keep it from her because I didn't want her to be angry with me. I knew that. She deserved to know. But she also deserved to have the people she really loved with her when she found out. If she was crushed like I thought she would be from the news, she'd want Hunter to be her rock.

So she didn't know what Bambi was here. And until we left in... hopefully the next twelve hours, there wasn't any way to let her see Bambi and I didn't want her to worry over something out of her control. But I was glad something made the little girl smile.

"I don't want you to go," Kyle said.

"I think you need to get some sleep," I said. "I have to get back to Dr. Summers."

I managed to pry myself from his arms. Looking at him, his eyes working to stay open, it was a battle against sleep that he was losing. I hesitated knowing full well that we had an audience and then leaned forward and pressed my lips against his quickly.

Standing up, I straightened out the nonexistent wrinkles in my clothes so that my hands would have something to do.

"I need to get back," I told everyone.

"Did you get something to eat?"

I shook my head. I had used getting lunch as an excuse to leave the lab but instead had gone and swiped antibiotics, painkillers and pretty much anything else I could think of from the clinic and came straight here.

"I'll grab something on my way back. Make sure he drinks those," I said, gesturing to the three large bottles of Gatorade I managed to grab from the clinic. "All of them." It wouldn't fix the whole blood loss thing, but the sugar, hydration and electrolytes should help. We didn't need him perfect, just functioning a little better than he was. And it was going to suck because when his pain meds wore off, we couldn't give him any more. Not until we were out of here and somewhere he'd be okay to rest.

"He'll be fine," Hunter assured me.

I pulled in a deep breath. "Okay. I'm going to go. I'll be back after dark."

And then we would be doing this.

I walked back into the lab able to sense the tension before actually seeing Zero's expression. She smiled at me, not exactly kindly.

"Ella," she said through a tight smile. "Glad you're back. Dr. Summers here was just telling me that I couldn't leave tonight."

Well, huh. I hadn't expected that conversation to happen, but something told me that Zero had pushed it, wanting to see Hunter again and get out of this damn lab. It was cold and sterile, even more so than the clinic. I can't imagine anyone comfortable in here, especially if they were the experiment instead of the person conducting it.

Dr. Summers forced a smile as well. "I was just explaining to your friend that we'd need to run a few more tests. Just a couple more days, right Ella?"

That was bullshit and I knew it. And based on her expression, Zero knew it too. But I needed to tread carefully with this because if Zero didn't calm down Dr. Summers would want her restrained or worse, given something to help her relax. I couldn't have that. But I didn't want to arouse any suspicion either.

"Yep," I said smiling. I met Zero's eyes and hoped she understood what I couldn't say. "Won't be much longer," I said. "Sometimes this process just goes a little slower than we expect. Science," I said shrugging one shoulder.

Please let it go. Please let it go.

"A couple more days?" she asked warily.

"Maybe less," I said hoping she'd catch my meaning.

"Just a couple more," Dr. Summer lied wearing a bright smile.

"Alright," she said still sounding skeptical.

"I bet she'd like to see Hunter," I said to Dr. Summers. "Tonight."

Bethany's lips pursed, not thrilled with my idea. It wasn't so much an idea as it was my way to attempting to let Zero know that she would be seeing Hunter tonight. Eventually though, she gave a restrained nod. "That would probably be okay."

The afternoon went by slowly and with each minute I grew more anxious.

Dr. Summers wasn't bad. At least, I didn't think she was evil. She was desperate and wanted a cure. And she was more than a little blinded by that, but I didn't think she was this awful person who had set out with the intention of becoming this. She spent the better part of the year as my mentor and my only friend in this place and I was mere hours away from threatening her.

Taking away everything she wanted for people I'd known for less than a month.

But I didn't think length of relationship mattered much. I'd been through more with Hunter and with Zero, experienced more with Kyle in the last month. And I knew what was right and what was wrong. I just wish Bethany did. Because though I was clearly choosing these people over her, over science, I wasn't excited about it.

If she could tell I was distracted, she didn't say anything. But I didn't think she could tell, her enthusiasm for having Zero in front of her overpowered anything and everything else.

"You better have a damn good explanation," Zero whispered, her eyes narrowing, the moment Dr. Summers left to grab something from her office. It was in the same building, but she wouldn't be able to hear us.

"This was a mistake," I stayed. "I'm so sorry. I never should have brought you here."

Her brow drew together. "Damn," she said. "I really wanted to be wrong. What's the plan?"

"I'll be back to get you out in a few hours. Just... be ready."

"You will?"

I nodded, not appreciating the lack of confidence in me that was so clear on her face.

"Hunter and Atlas?"

"They're good."

"If you're lying to me—"

"I'm not."

I didn't have time to give her more details, nor did I really want to, before Dr. Summers returned. A wide grin splitting her lips. She looked a little scary smiling like that. Like a comic book villain... a little unhinged.

"Come! Look at this Ella. You have to see it!"

She had a small stack of notes in her hand but instead led me to the microscope. She slipped a slide under the lens. And stepped away, nodding as she told me to "Go ahead, have a look." I looked through. "This is my blood reacting to H-26." Adjusting the scope, the image in the slide became clear. The virus reacted violently, taking over each cell, turning it and multiplying it was only minutes before all the healthy cells were overtaken.

"Now this is Zero's blood."

She changed out the slide. And I looked through the scope. At first it appeared to be much the same. The virus attacked and took over several healthy cells but after a moment the cells, clearly infected with the virus seemed to heal themselves. Much like it appeared to have done with Zero on a whole, the virus began to take over but instead of fighting it off, her blood just sort of... absorbed the virus.

"Wow," I uttered. "That's amazing."

"She changes it!" Dr. Summers said. "Her blood could reverse it. Not in those that have already died, but in those infected, maybe it could really be a cure." She turned to Zero, a bit manic. "You are the savior of the human race," she said, grabbing onto Zero's hands, completely oblivious to how uncomfortable she was. "Until we can produce this in mass quantities, I'm sorry, but you won't be going anywhere. This is your calling! This is your purpose." She turned back to me while Zero was still too shocked to respond. "We have to do it. I need to monitor her entire reaction."

"Do what?" Zero asked.

"I don't think you need to." But Dr. Summers had already turned to walk away. Had she gone to sleep last night at all? "Dr. Summers," I called. Flashing a worried look at Zero, I ran after her. She stood in her office hunched over the bag I'd given her. When she straightened she held up a syringe that no doubt was full of H-26.

"Dr. Summers," I stepped carefully into her office. "This is wrong."

She shook her head violently. "I believe she carries it with her. The virus doesn't just disappear, she changes it, but it's still there." Her hands were shaking as little as she explained. "When I tried to use her blood as cure to mine, it didn't work. Not quick enough. She needs more!"

"That's crazy."

"It's not. You told me the first time she was bit, she out for more than a week and suffered memory loss. But more recently when she was bit, how long was she out?" When I didn't answer she demanded more harshly, "How long was she out, Ella?"

"Two... three days."

"Exactly! Her body becomes more efficient at taking over the virus each time. So she needs the virus again. Maybe a couple more times." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was a hypothesis. Nothing that had been truly tested. Though I could see where she was coming from, I couldn't, wouldn't let this happen. I stood in the doorway. This was moving faster than it should have. She was sleep deprived and possibly a little delusional with hope. Whatever her reasons, I didn't have time to get back to Kyle's room and weapon up.

I didn't have time for anything.

"What are you doing? Move out of the way."

"Bethany. You need to sleep on this," I said.

Her whole face pinched together. "Ella. This is what has to be done."

"Not like this."

She tried to budge past me, holding the syringe up at face level, but I stepped further into her path. She demanded I move a couple more times and then began threatening to call security. I heard Zero move closer but there wasn't much she could do at this point, not with the way Dr. Summers was waving around the needle.

And she was waving it around, a bit mad. The needle whipped close to my face, far too close for comfort and I grabbed her wrist. Doing so only encouraged the fight, suddenly deciding to target me with the needle.

She wasn't really going to hurt me. She wanted to scare me into moving out of the way.

That's what I would tell myself anyway.

I held her wrist as it struggle against my grip. We were fairly well matched in strength.

I don't know what exactly happened. I guess I never will. Maybe Zero moved behind me. Maybe she said something I couldn't hear. Or maybe Bethany Summers realized how insane she was acting. It was without warning that her arm went lax, all the fight pouring out of her.

If I hadn't been pushing against her hand. If she hadn't given up so abruptly it wouldn't have happened.

But it did. She stopped fighting before I realized and my hand twisting at her wrist - I was only trying to aim it away from me, not towards her - pushed the needle into her chest. She'd been holding it just right and the moment it hit her skin her thumb pressed down.

I stepped back, letting her go, my eyes wide.

Dr. Summers held the syringe in her hand. It was still half full. It was only half full. She'd stopped herself, but not quick enough.

My jaw worked, bobbing open and shut as words failed me.

"I'm so sorry. You... you..." I shook my head. "I just wanted you to stop."

"You've killed me," she said. "You've killed me, Ella."

"No..."

But I had. She said Zero's blood had been working, but it was moving so slowly that there was no way it would stop the spread. Not when the virus was injected so close to her heart. She had a team here, but all them... they were like me. None of us knew how to create a cure. None of us had that level of experience. Dr. Summers was the head of the team for a reason. She was the only one who was actually qualified. And that she hadn't called any of the team in since Zero's arrival meant she was keeping this from them until she had more concrete proof. She wanted to surprise them all with good news. None of them even knew a cure was here.

"Ella," Zero said. I turned to see her, a gun in her right hand. I frowned... guess that was why the fight left Dr. Summers so quickly.

"Where did you get the gun?"

"I had it. When I changed I just hid it," she said. "Thought it might come in handy." Numbly, I nodded. "We need to go."

I looked at Dr. Summers. "I need your badge."

It was the only way we could get out of the room without calling unwanted attention.

"You're just going to leave me here?" She'd dropped the syringe to the floor and I felt a little more at ease knowing she wasn't about to attack again. "You've ruined it all and you're just leaving me here to die?"

"Would you rather I shoot you?" Zero asked.

"Here." She yanked the badge from where it was clipped to her breast pocket and tossed it toward me, only cooperating because of Zero's threatening stance. Even knowing she was going to die, she didn't want to die yet. Though it would probably be a mercy.

I grabbed the badge out of the air and turned, willing my feet to keep going and not look back. Not think about the fact that I'd killed what may be the last person capable of curing this thing. I'd killed the cure. Twice over, I'd screwed up and the whole world suffered.

Bethany was locked in her lab with a badge to get out, but the comm system was up and running and there was no way she wasn't going to alert everyone about what had happened. We needed to move. We needed to be off this base, like, now because though we were ready with grenade I didn't want to blow crap up and destroy the gates that kept hundreds of people here safe.

"Come on." I quickened to a jog knowing Zero would keep up. "She's going to call someone."

------------------------

A/N - Since the last chapter was short, decided to do two today! :] Hope you enjoyed them! :]] I'm really not ready to be done with this... so part of me just wants to drag it out forever LOL. But realistically... three more chapters. :]