Cure for a Nation

Chapter Four

Claire looked down at the soldier in surprise. She didn't expect them to look so..young. In place of the withered husk she was expecting was a man who looked as though he went only a day without water and a week without food instead of seven years without both. The soldier coughed weakly and Claire realized she was holding the canteen over the soldier. "I'm sorry," she said hurriedly, "I'm so sorry! Here, drink. Slowly. You don't want to hurt yourself." Claire lifted the soldiers head to her canteen and let him take controlled sips. When the canteen was empty, she was careful to lay his head down on her sleeping bag. "Thank you," said the soldier. His voice was much better than before but still a quiet whisper. "I'll get you some food, don't worry," Claire assured before working to prepare the soldier a meal. She was cooking a soup made from MRE's over her campfire when she heard the soldier speaking again. She rushed to his side and bent close so she could hear his whisper. "Name," he rasped. Claire smiled and sat back. "I'm Claire. Now save your strength, my cooking isn't the best," Claire responded before returning to the fire to cook.

Claire went back and forth between feeding the soldier and giving him water for hours until he was finally asleep once more. Laid back with her head against her backpack and looked up at the stars through the crack of the bunkers shielding. It was getting cold and Claire couldn't help but wonder about the soldier. "How soon will he be able to talk, let alone move? Is this even what he wants? He's a soldier without an army," she thought. She turned her head and looked at the soldier sleeping peacefully across the campfire. "I can't do that," Claire thought, "I'll help him as best I can and maybe he will help me."

The next morning, Claire woke the soldier up for more to eat and drink. He could hold his head up on his own now but he struggled to hold his hands up still. "Take your time," Claire would say each time. The soldier would grunt and stare daggers but his expression would soften when she gave him water. "So how is this possible," Claire asked that night, "how are you even alive." The soldiers eyes misted over and Claire could tell he was thinking hard. "A coma," he rasped finally, "its..a type..of..chemi..che..chem coma." Claire nodded and looked at his armor and at the gauges on his gauntlet. She asked, "did your armor do it to you?" The soldier nodded. "Preserve..Imperium..also..my ass," he said with an awkward smile. Claire laughed but the soldiers words kept her up that night. "To preserve the Imperium," she thought over and over until she fell asleep.

"Come on," Claire said that next morning to the sleeping soldier, "up and at em, trooper." The soldier woke and drank deeply this time and ate almost normally. "Try to walk," he grunted suddenly. Claire jerked to attention and looked down at the soldier struggling to raise himself onto an elbow. "Eugh," he grunted as he strained himself. Finally, he propped himself up onto one elbow and then the second. Claire made a move to help but the soldier shook his head vigorously. "No," he commanded, giving Claire pause. With a push, he turned over onto his front. His face reddened and a vein showed in his neck. With some effort, he picked his legs up and put them beneath him. Claire watched in awe as the soldier got onto all fours and still refused her help. The armor hissed as he picked up his right leg slowly and put his boot to the ground and he paused, gasping for breath. Claire stood to the side, watching and standing ready to catch him should he fall. He flattened his palm to the floor as he tried to lift himself up but to no avail. Claire rolled her eyes. She slid under his left arm, much to the soldiers surprise and knelt with him. "On three," Claire said, "ready?" The soldier nodded. "One..two..three!" With a small shove on the soldiers part and a groan on Claire's, the soldiers back straightened and he stood once again. The soldier breathed heavily and grinned, looking at Claire excitedly. Claire laughed and slowly stepped away from the soldier, letting him stand on his own two feet. He looked proud and held his head high but the second he picked up a foot to take a step, he collapsed again.

Claire sat him against the cart facing the shielding so he may look upon the moon like she did for so many nights. She sat across from him with her knees to her chest and staring into the fire. "Daniel," the soldier said suddenly. Claire looked up. "My name is Daniel," the soldier said. Claire smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Daniel," Claire responded finally.

Daniel tried to walk again the next morning. He was able to stand on his own but taking steps was a huge milestone. While Claire was very encouraging of his progress, she was painfully aware of how much time she was spending there. By noon, Daniel was taking stiff legged steps around the bunker, his armor hissing and clunking as he did so. He noticed the thoughtful expression on Claire's face and stopped in the center of he bunker. Her short, blue hair waved in the breeze that blew in through the shielding and her old, faded green jacket was covered in dirt and dust. "Claire," he said quietly. She looked up suddenly. "Yes, Daniel?" Claire asked. Daniel took awkward steps back to the campsite and stood before her. "Thanks," Daniel said slowly, "for finding me. I was convinced that if I didn't go to sleep like that, I'd be killed." Claire smiled and waved it off, turning to look out the crack in the window at the sky. "But I have to ask," Daniel continued suddenly, "what were you doing out here?" Claire chewed her lip anxiously and thought about how to answer. She sighed. "You might want to sit down for this," she said finally. Daniel looked down uncertainly at his legs. "Uh..help?"

Claire sat with her legs crossed across the fire from Daniel, who was laying down with Claire's sleeping bag bundled up beneath his head. Claire twiddled her thumbs nervously and Daniel looked at his gauntlets curiously. "So I came out here.." Claire began uneasily, "looking for you. Or the Steel Imperium, rather. I heard stories about this place, about the fight that happened here and I hoped that maybe there were survivors from the burning of Alexandria hiding out here."
"Why?" Daniel asked.
"Because I need the help of the Steel Imperium," Claire answered. She took a deep breath and looked at Daniel, who watched her with serious eyes and a set jaw. "The war took a serious toll on Aurora, as I'm certain you know," Claire said, "but the worst damage came after the fighting ended. Not long after both the Imperium and the Warriors were thought to be wiped out, disease broke out. But it wasn't like any disease we had seen before. It was a silent killer, very rarely showing symptoms before a day or two of the victims death. The worst part is, the only cure we can find has a terrible price. It sterilizes us. The plague is engineered to destroy the human race, Daniel." Claire paused. She noticed that Daniel had frozen as she described the plague and the blood seemed to drain from his face. He watched her from the corner of his eyes and he seemed to be very tense. The room seemed to freeze in an instant and Daniel had the look of a cornered animal. Claire was all too aware now more than ever that she was alone and speaking to an Imperium soldier. "In the east," Claire continued wearily, "its called the Technophage. In the west, its known as Imperium's Revenge. I travelled all over Aurora and I was able to find out that those who contracted it were in contact with either Imperium soldiers or Tech Warriors. The catch, however, is that they came into contact after the two groups were supposedly disbanded and destroyed." The fire had begun to die down and It cast an eerie shadow on the wall from Daniels armor. He sighed and wiped a gauntlet across his face. "I know what you're talking about," he said quietly, "I've heard of it before. It was originally a weapon of last resort for the Tech Warriors as a sort of failsafe to eliminate Imperium leaders and their bloodlines but it got out of hand. The troops would tell stories about it. The stories tell that in a remote town to the north, the plague was released as a test but it travelled too quick for the Tech Warriors to control. They reached out to the Imperium, who responded with only a platoon of soldiers and a couple Valkyrie class Walkers. It's said that the soldiers were able to destroy the infected before they got out all save for one who hid behind Tech Warrior lines. And there he remained, waiting to infect any Imperium soldiers who break protocol and fraternize with the enemy. I always thought it was an old spook story but your plague sounds an awful lot like it." Claire was silent. She looked at the moon as she registered what Daniel told her. Daniel watched her. She rocked slightly, almost shaking. He made a decision. Daniel turned over onto his side, resting on one arm. He said softly, "Claire." Claire wiped her eyes and looked at him. "What aren't you telling me," Daniel asked.
"Well.." Claire stalled uncertainly. Daniel looked on expectantly. "You see.. my village..was hit hard by the plague. My mother told me to come to this place, to look for a surviving member of the Steel Imperium," Claire paused to take a breath. "That was a week ago. They might be gone already," she finished shakily. Daniel responded by turning over and getting unsteadily to his feet. Claire jumped to her feet in shock but Daniel held his hand out to stop her. He took his helmet off of a hook on the wall and slid it into his head, sealing it with a hiss. He raised his visor and looked down at Claire with a sorrowful determination in his eyes. "Then we have no time to lose. Help me gather medical supplies and we'll get to your village. I'll see what can be done for your village," he said firmly, his voice staying strong and not breaking for once. Claire felt another tear well up in her eye and she grinned. And then Daniel began to sway on his feet and she rushed to his side just as his knees gave out. "Maybe tomorrow, big guy. You've had a long day," Claire said as she laid him next to the fire and removed his helmet. "Tomorrow," Daniel said as he drifted into sleep.