Puppies & Kittens // ten-thousand fanfic

Doctor of the Dead

"I'm not sure how much longer we can take it." I tell Citizen Z on the radio.

We are currently pulled over on the side of the road because Cassandra is throwing up again. Despite our best efforts her infection is spreading. None of the antibiotics are working and her wound won't stop bleeding. I don't know how much longer she is going to live and I can tell by Warren's eyes she is thinking the same thing.

"It's only about another 150 miles to Fort Collins." Citizen Z says and I sigh. I watch as Cassandra throws up again and Tommy hands her some water while rubbing her back.

"We have a man down, Cassandra. She's not looking good." I tell him. I look the other way and see Murphy staring out the window of the car with a lost expression. "And then there's the package."

"What about the package?" Citizen Z asked frantically.

"I don't know exactly but Murphy's acting weird. More than usual." I say. "Where's this new destination?"

Ever since Zimmerman kidnapped Murphy and me he's been acting strange. I don't know if it's because he is realizing the extent of his abilities or if it's because he is scared of what the doctors might do to him. He's told me some stories of what it was like to be experimented on and he gets a far away look in his eyes when he talks about being bitten eight times.

"Just get Murphy to Fort Collins, Colorado." Citizen Z urges.

"What happened to California?" I asked uneasily.

The whole reason I joined this mission was to get back home. After we ditch Murphy at the lab I can continue on my own. But honestly I don't know if I want to be alone again or if I can make it there by myself. It's still a lot of ground to cover, especially alone.

"Labs dark again. Maybe for good. You've been redeployed." Citizen Z explained and I sighed.

"By who's orders?" I asked.

"Well I started picking up a teletype signal on the old civil defense frequency. At first I thought it was a hacker, but turns out it's Doctor Merch." He says quickly and my eyes widened.

"Wait, the Doctor Merch? As in the woman who injected Murphy?" I asked quietly hoping Murphy didn't hear the doctors name.

"Yep, just bring Murphy to Fort Collins, Colorado. Doctor Merch will be waiting for you guys." Citizen Z says happily.

"So, no more California?" I ask double checking.

"Colorado is the new California." He confirms. I say goodbye before walking over to Doc and Warren. I tell them the update and Warren sighs as Cassandra vomits again. When she is done Tommy tries to lift Cassandra but she quickly gets light headed.

"How much gas do we have left?" Warren asked Doc.

"About half a tank or so." He says shrugging.

"Do you think we'll make it 150 miles?" She asked.

"Only if it's all downhill." He says and I can see the stressed look cross her face. "We're low on ammo too."

"Come on, I'll drive. We should get going before it gets dark." I say to them and they nod solemnly.

Doc goes over to help Tommy get Cassandra into the back of the van. I'm glad we don't have to haul Murphy to California anymore since we're pretty much running on fumes, but it saddens me thinking we're all going to go our own way pretty soon. As we drive down the road Doc tells Murphy how he is going to miss him and then he talks about Murphy becoming a lab rat.