Fever

Chapter Six

"What did he want?"

"Who?"

"General Harper."

"Oh," he stuck his hands in his pockets. "He just wanted to know the status on you and Jasper."

"Oh. What did you say?" I smiled at him to reassure him that I wasn't trying to make him uncomfortable.

"I told him that you had an accident and hit your head and Jasper is no where near curable."

"But he was just fine yesterday."

"He drastically went down hill after we tried to sedate him. We needed to take a sample of his blood and add my blood to it so we could get a general idea of what would happen."

I paused. "What's going to happen to him now?"

"He's going to fully turn and we won't be able to restrain him. Odds are, he's going to escape and tell The Man that you're here. And you have an idea of what's going to happen if he does find you here."

"Yea, I know." I look down at my black combat boots. "What do you mean if he does?"

"You, me, General, and a couple of others are leaving in 3 days. We found a place in Canada that can support us better than Base."

"Wh-"

"Kamden, Jasper just escaped!" A hysterical nurse shot out of the elevator.

"Damn it! How?"

"He started to get agitated and kept struggling against his restraints. They came lose and he ran out. But not before he knocked out every security guard." We followed her to the elevator and when we got to the infirmary floor, it was chaos. There were bloody foot prints leading to the open doors of Base. Nurses and doctors laid helpless and mangled on the tile floor.

"Shit." Kamden whispered under his breath.

"WHAT IN THE HELL HAPPENED IN HERE!! KAMDEN!!" A man in his late thirties to early forties stormed through the building to where we were standing. His fatigue showed on his stressed face.

"Yes, General?" Kamden's voice changed to a deeper octave.

"Where's the patient?" He furrowed his brows and disappointment showed in his eyes. He looked like a father looking down at his son for his stupidity.

"He got out of his restraints and escaped through the front door."

"Damn. He's probably halfway to his destination by now," he said as he stroked his forehead in an annoyed pace. "Damn."

"What do you want us to do, General?" Kamden looked up at General Harper.

"Leave. I'll follow. Just grab necessities and leave as soon as possible. NOW!" He yelled.

Kamden gripped my wrist hard and we ran to the elevator. We reached the bedroom floor and we packed anything we needed. I was still confused when we reached the Apocalypse-style Hummer. There was all kinds of armor on that thing. "Are we fighting zombies?"

He smirked. "It's for protection against an onslaught of cyborgs The Man will most likely release."

"Oh." He took my bags and threw them in the backseat as I jumped into the passenger seat. He got into the driver's side and cranked the car. The engine roared on and he floored the gas, causing me to shoot back into my seat. It was pretty bumpy until we found a dirt "road".

"Why does it matter that The Man shouldn't know where I am?"

"He'll kill you."

"Why?"

"For being our salvation." He looked around for a second to see if anyone was around or following us. There was the cover of the trees but they were few and far between.

"What's up with you and General Harper?"

"He doesn't think I'm valuable. He thinks that I'm just going to ruin what he's got going on. I'm trying to help."

"He sounds like every father out there." He was silent. After a long moment of silence I said, "He's your father isn't he?"

"Yes."

"That's why he's being hard on you. Okay, I understand now." I look at my hands that shook violently in my lap.

"Why am I the one The Man needs? There's you. You're like me. Why not take you?"

He sighed and waited for a second. "You- you belong to him. Genetically."

"I'm- I'm related to- to The Man? Wh- what?"

"You're his daughter. He sees you as a mistake. He created something that could bring him down. You stand in his way, as do I, but you are more important at the moment."

"This is.... weird."

"Yep." He looked into the rearview mirrors.

"Hey Kamden?"

"Yes?"

"Why does he have red eyes?"