To Be A Hero

Chatper 29: Old and Wise

"Unforeseen reaction?" He repeats, spitting the words out as if they are poison. Nicole doesn't say anything more on the subject, and I'm not sure if that should worry me or not. Whatever this drug may do, I highly doubt I'll need it on this run. But if it can slow down Paula's virus, then I believe it'd be a good thing to have with me just in case she starts to turn.

I doubt she'd like me stabbing her in the neck with it, but between that or turning into the flesh-eating undead... Lesser evils.

But I almost want to agree with Nicole. This is a waste of time. This mission will accomplish nothing, except make Paula feel better. I probably shouldn't put her feelings out like this, but there's so much to be done with so little time. I'm sure we could be doing something else besides running around and re-enacting a story. As fun as it seems, we can't afford to mess around.

But we're already out here, and I agreed to this, and Paula only has two hours before she has to be hooked up into the plasmapheresis machine. Soon enough she won't be able to get out at all. Soon enough... soon enough the plasmapheresis won't be able to save her.

That machine gave her five and a half years of life. If it could just give her another month or two more, then we might have something that can save her.

But we're lucky if she gets another two weeks.

"Okay, this is the most similar setup I could find at short notice," Kefilwe says, leading us towards the river. "You'll have to use your imagination."

Paula nods. "Alright. It's you, me and Five. What's our target?"

"Old petrol station," Sam replies. "Cleaned out of fuel a long time ago. Thought you could get some of the uh, chocolate and stuff."

"Do you really think any of that chocolate is going to be any good?" Nicole asks.

"You learn to take what you can get, alright?"

"You cannot see the river," Kefilwe states. "You must imagine something quite different. It is just before dawn on the borders of the Al-Zaraf game reserve. The birds are beginning to call. There, in the distance, a small herd of giraffe are taking leaves from the treetops."

Paula nods, squinting as she tries to imagine the animals there. "Okay. Yes, okay."

"There are three of us. Me, our security officer, Monroe-that's you, Paula-and Dr. Harvey-that's you, Runner Five."

"Why wouldn't Paula be the doctor and Five be security?" Sam asks.

"More fun this way," Paula says. "Carry on. Giraffes?"

Kefilwe nods. "We are Red Cross, but we are miles from the refugee camp where we've been working. We are making our way along the White Nile. The Janjaweed have had this area in their grip for months. They have abandoned a failed oil well a mile from here."

"Oh, the petrol station," Sam murmurs in realization. "Nice."

"But we Red Cross doctors suspect they have stolen vital UN medical supplies and may have left them in the abandoned shell of the oil well. We need those supplies. Children will die if we do not bring antibiotics home to them. We must risk the trip. And our approach might attract unwanted attention if we take a Jeep. We have to go on foot."

"You know, it's beginning to become very obvious to me how you survived the apocalypse, Bots," Sam says, but she ignores him.

"We must get there before dawn. Run!"

And we do. Paula takes point, since she's supposed to be the security, while Kefilwe and I run a few paces behind her. Goosebumps raise on my arms as a breeze blows by, and I harshly pull down on my sleeves. It's barely snowed, but I doubt it will stay that way for long. The end of the year is only a month away, and 2018 will be over, gone and faded. I hope Paula lives to see the end of it, but I know it's a hope that means nothing.