Dissonance - Book One

twelve

I'm startled by a loud clanging from outside the vehicle. I jolt upright. The congealed blood tears on my stomach and I wince at the pain. I want to shout out and ask who's there, but I don't know whether it is a friend or foe, so I sit as still as humanly possible, which isn't too hard to do since any movement too big could cause me to start bleeding again.

More sounds follow, but they are muffled by the snow which encompasses the vehicle. The sound of footsteps trudging through the storm becomes louder, as the person approaches the opposite side of the car. I look around frantically for something to use to defend myself, should it come to that, but there's nothing within my reach that I could use to put up a fight. I'm helpless and at the mercy of whoever lies on the other side of the door. The footsteps pause. I brace myself for who or what might open it. It can't be Kelly or Lex. They would surely say something to let me know it's them. The handle moves as the mystery person pulls with tremendous strength to dislodge the door from the ice that surrounds it. The door flies open as it's caught in a giant gust of wind.

The person before me is unrecognizable, completely covered from head to toe in white, like some sort of abominable snowman. He or she or it, pulls up their goggles, revealing their face.

"Ever, you're awake!" Wyler shouts as his eyes meet mine. An enormous sense of relief washes over his face. Immediately, my whole body relaxes at the sight of him standing there. He brushes himself off and crawls inside quickly, trying to stop the snow from entering the truck. He slams the door shut and wraps his arms around me as I lean into his embrace.

"I thought you left me," I say. I can feel my emotions taking over. It's only now that I allow myself to give in to the fear that enveloped me when I thought he had left and I would die alone. My eyes begin to water.

"Never," he replies, pulling away from our hug and looking into my eyes. "You were asleep for a long time, so I thought you wouldn't notice if I left for a bit. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"But if you weren't here, then why did it feel like you were next to me? I could feel the heat from your body."

"The insulated thermal underwear. I activated yours several hours ago. Your body temp was dropping too much. I couldn't wait any longer."

I had almost forgotten that Kelly had told us about activating the thermal underwear. That conversation feels like it was ages ago.

"Plus, I needed you to stay warm while I went outside."

"Where did you go?"

"I couldn't just sit here and wait to die. There's no way Lex and Kelly are..." but he doesn't finish his sentence. He can't say it aloud and I don't want him to. I can't face it just yet.

"So I dug us a snow cave."

"How is that going to help? We won't last any longer in that than in here."

"We will with a fire."

"And just how are you planning to build one of those in the middle of ice-mageddon?"

"We're sitting in a pool of gasoline and I've got a book of matches."

I forgot about the gasoline. Just another conversation that feels like it was long ago.

"Get ready for the biggest bon fire of your life."

"Going out in a blaze of glory?" I quip.

"We're not going out. I'm getting us rescued."

"How?" And then it hits me. "No Wyler. Unh uh. You can't do this."

"Ever, it's the only way. If you want to live, then we need to let Environettix find us and a giant fire is the best way for them to locate us quickly."

"We can wait, at least a little bit longer. How long was I out? Our suits must have enough power to get us through the night and my bleeding seems to have stopped."

"That's not what I'm worried about, I mean, it is, but we have bigger problems."

"Like what?"

"While you were unconscious, I went looking through some of the dead bodies out there for items that might help us."

"Wyler, you didn't."

"I had to. I thought that maybe one of them might have some sort of phone or device I could use to get a message to Ivanov, but while I was searching the third body, I noticed something. The man's skin on his arm. It was bubbly and pussy. It looked just like your aunt's. And he wasn't the only one."

"What are you saying?" I ask, even though I'm pretty sure I know the answer.

"Ivanov warned us of what was to come. He talked about a pandemic, one so great that very few would survive."

"You don't think...?"

"Why would these people venture out in this storm unless they were totally desperate? You said it yourself. They must have been going somewhere. They were either trying to run from the disease or they were looking for help. It's spreading Ever, and we're right in the heart of it."