The Plague {One Direction AU}

14. Artie

"You are the greatest scientist since sliced bread," Serenity clapped her hands together.

"Yeah, because bread is so famous for its scientific discoveries," Sam said wryly. "There was sourdough's theory of evolution. Oh, oh and wheat really changed the world with e=mc squared. And of course how pumpernickel realized that the sun was the center of the universe. And what about--"

Serenity shot Sam a dirty look that was enough to shut her up. But Artie appreciated both the sarcasm and the scientific witticism.

"Leave the lights off until you really need them. And prioritize the bathing. One of the new guys got sick while they were out," Artie continued.

"Wait, who?" Serenity asked.

"Ash--" Artie had barely finished the word before the girl was darting from the room, opening the dormitory doors. Artie turned back to the group. "I'm going to find food. I'll leave Loki, but I'd like to take Kyle or Alysha. I'll need the help carrying the supplies."

"No," Liam shook his head. "You stay, get cleaned up. I'll go." He looked at Kyle, who nodded.

"I can go," Louis said from the doorway. "Serenity is taking care of Ash."

Artie put her hands on her hips. So many people willing to go, and not enough vehicles to get them there. "Well, actually, maybe you can drop me and Louis back at the bookstore. I'd like to get his car running." Liam shrugged. Artie patted Loki's head. "Take care of Alysha, Loki." He barked as if he understood.

Artie grabbed the last of her spare conversion kits, a jug of oil, her tools, and her heavy coat. Louis and Kyle climbed into the backseat of Liam's pickup, and they retraced their path back to the bookstore, where the fire still glowed from the trash can.

"See you back there," Artie said as she climbed down out of the pickup's high cab.

Liam nodded and waved, and as he drove off, Artie turned her attention to the car.

"What are you doing?" Louis asked in dismay as she set aside the fuel tank of the Range Rover. She explained each step in detail as she slid the new tank into place and attached the control panel to the engine, including why it was necessary. Louis watched with his mouth agape.

"Now, it doesn't need gas. It'll run on corn oil." She pointed to the small container of oil on the sidewalk. "Grab that and pour it into the tank." Louis did as instructed, shivering in the cold.

Artie got behind the wheel and started it up.

"How do you know how to do all this?" Louis mumbled, climbing into the passenger seat and cranking up the heater.

"College." It was the easy answer. Artie put the car in gear and turned west, away from Cal-tech.

"Are we getting food too?"

"No, we have a more important mission."

Louis shook his head, rubbing his hands together. "Whatever you say, p..." he grumbled.

It had been years since Artie had last been to Pasadena. Almost 15 years. But she still knew the way. JPL, originally a branch of CalTech under the army's jurisdiction and now part of NASA, was the first organization to buy one of Artie's designs. In fact, she had won the National Nuclear Innovations award for that design, presented to her by the U.S. Department of Energy, and that ultimately led to her position at Los Alamos. It was also one of the nuclear sites she had shut down when the government collapsed.

Artie flipped on the windshield wipers to clear away some of the snow, slowing down to descend the steep hill into the Arroyo Seco basin. "I hear you're some sort of sciency genius." Artie breathed a laugh at his terminology. "If that's the case, can you explain why the fuck it's snowing in Southern California?" Louis asked derisively.