Chapter 11
‘Many, many years ago our fore parents lived on this world as land goers. They were like these people, human. It was a time when things were different, very very different. It was a world where people walked about freely and life was good. Knowledge was very high and was greatly respected.
A group of scientists, thought to be the greatest minds on the earth at that time came together to work on a cure for the most deadly disease known to men, a new strain of AIDS. The illness had reached epidemic proportions and many were dying daily. Governments all over the world funded these twenty great minds to seek a cure.
They worked for many years, their research was top secret. The first test subjects were voluntary and were on the edge of death, they had nothing to lose or so everyone thought. It turned out that the cure worked better than anyone could imagine the test subjects were up and walking around within minutes of receiving the medicine. They were watched for two weeks and then allowed to go home to their families. No one knew that those two test subjects were carrying a disease that would change the world as they knew it.’
“Does this cave even have an end?” Kate muttered.
“We’re all in the same boat; we just have to see where it leads us and stop griping,” Kent said.
Ridec tuned out the conversation and focused in on Jessell’s thoughts again.
‘Just days after the test subjects went home they started to act strangely. Reports indicated that one attacked his wife, children and neighbors and the other attacked people on a train. It soon became clear that almost everyone they bit began to exhibit the same hostile cannibalistic traits. They later learnt that the illness could spread through contact with bodily fluids. The magnitude of the problem became apparent when police were called in and were forced to shoot the attackers, it was then they realized that the attackers could not be killed by conventional means. The illness continued to spread like wildfire, people who seemed perfectly normal, when they died came back to life and started to attack people. Each day was a new learning experience; unfortunately it was a learning experience that was costing them lives. They eventually recognized that some people could live for years without showing any sign of the disease but when they died – regardless to the cause of death – they became zombies. Mankind battled for years to try to bring the situation under control but to no avail.’
‘What of the twenty scientists? The brightest minds?’ Ridec questioned, he had been so upset with the way the humans had treated him but now he felt sympathy for them knowing what they had been through.
‘The scientists tried everything to contain the epidemic. They learnt that several bullets to the back and base of the head where the spinal cord connected to the brain could cut off the zombies ability to move and salt on any part of their body was like acid to a human. It was one of the few things zombies seemed to feel and it killed them in minutes. They believed that had something to do with the constituents of the initial medicine. They hoped to use the information about the salt to wipe out the infected people, but their numbers were growing so quickly it all seemed impossible. Once the infection got into the ranks of the armed forces it all became hopeless.’
“We’re going to have to spend the night in here,” Kent muttered coming to a stop and causing Jessell to run into him. Ridec grimaced. He didn’t like to think of himself as jealous, well hell, he was jealous but he just didn’t like to think of himself as jealous. He hated the thought of any man touching Jessell, even if it was purely by accident, darn, he hoped it was accident.
“I can’t see anything in here,” Pete muttered gripping Ridec’s free hand nervously.
“It’ll be alright,” Ridec assured him trying to make his own voice sound a lot more confident than he was actually feeling. Maybe the kid should be comforting him, after all the boy had grown up in this place and knew what to expect, who was he kidding anyway, he was completely scared out of his wits.
“Try to make yourself comfortable and get some sleep, we’ve had a rough day,” Kent was dropping his frame to the hard earth as he spoke.
“It’s a little cramped,” Kate grumbled.
“And it’s cold,” Linda put in.
“Are you cold?” Ridec asked turning to Jessell.
“A little.” She shrugged her shoulders as if it didn’t matter. Spending their lives in the water meant they were accustomed to a general sense of coldness; nevertheless the cold of the surface was different.
“I’ll keep you warm,” Ridec offered stepping closer to Jessell. She grinned.
“You’d love that wouldn’t you?”
“Of course I’d love to keep you warm; I would hate to see you suffer even the slightest discomfort.”
“Is that what it is?” Jessell slipped down to the floor and leaned against the wall of the cave.
“So should I hug you princess?” Ridec asked quietly as he slid down beside her.
“Don’t call me that here, we don’t need this lot asking any more questions.”
“Sorry.”
Ridec’s legs were telling him that he must have been walking and running for an entire day but his mind was trying to figure out how that could be possible. Could a world be so hostile that all you spent your time doing was running and moving from one place to the next and then grabbing a couple winks of sleep in between?
“Well, sit down then if you’re going to keep me warm,” Jessell instructed.
“You haven’t finished telling me the story,” Ridec whispered into her ear. The best thing to do was to concentrate on Jessell, no matter what this world was like. Once he concentrated on Jessell it would be heaven, there was no point thinking about the fact that somewhere out there were creatures that ate flesh, refused to die and made the earth a living hell.
“My thoughts are still open to you Ridec – read.” Her lips brushed gently against his bare chest and his body stiffened, had it been an accident or had Jessell touched him on purpose? He had known Jessell all his life and had no doubt that she would do something like that purely for the purpose of teasing him.
“Well? I thought you were interested in my story or have your interests turned?” Jessell whispered. She was being cheeky, she knew well that his interest had turned and it didn’t take a mind reader to figure out what his interest had turned towards.
“I…um…of course I want to hear the story.” Ridec was glad for the darkness of the cave so the princess wouldn’t see him blushing. He focused on her mind, fighting against the temptation to simply focus on the feel of the firm, warm sexy body beside him.
‘The scientists decided the best and safest place to be would be where there is an abundance of salt; the sea. One of their members had designed a product that was supposed to help humans breathe under water. He didn’t have the chance to manufacture it in bulk but he had enough for thirty people. It was decided that if the cure would ever be found it would be the twenty scientists that would find it, so they needed to be preserved at all costs. They felt that since they were mainly men the other persons that should be given the product should be women. Bringing the family was not an option, they needed women that would be able to fight, that would be able to protect them and help them to make it to the waters where having the product would make a difference. They chose ten first class soldier women that had been assigned to look after them.’
“You can sleep next to me,” Mark was saying to Kate and then there were whispered lover murmurings that made both Jessell and Ridec blush.
“You want me to keep you warm?” It was Kent and he was standing over Jessell as he spoke.
“I’m good thanks,” Jessell muttered.
“It’s pretty damp in here,” Kent persisted.
“She has me,” Ridec cut in. There was just something about Kent that seemed to rub him the wrong way. Maybe it was the strong, authoritative way he carried himself, it wasn’t the kind of behavior Ridec had grown accustomed to from men; would Jessell respond to that sort of strength?
“If you need me…” He allowed his words to trail off as he headed over to the other side of the cave and slid down to the ground.
“Perhaps we should have welcomed him; maybe he’s cold having no one to curl up with,” Jessell said.
“Too bad,” Ridec said flatly and Jessell laughed.
“You’re the one that’s supposed to like strays, now you chose not to care?”
“There’s just something about him I don’t like,” Ridec muttered.
“Really?” Jessell queried. “His rugged good looks? His confident swagger or…”
“I don’t trust him,” Ridec cut in feeling his blood start to boil as Jessell went on about the strength of the Kent man.
“Really?”
“I don’t know why.”
Jessell laughed.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“I think I’d rather hear the balance of the story than to talk about him,” Ridec muttered.
“You’re jealous.”
“I’m not. What do I have to be jealous of? He’s rough, uncouth, he’s trying to arrest us and…and I’m not jealous.”
Jessell laughed again tossing her head back this time; she was really enjoying his discomfort.
“Of course you’re not. So why are we still talking about him?”
“I have no idea. I’m totally focused on your thoughts.”
“Uh huh.” She was smiling and he could hear it in her voice. She was laughing at him, perhaps that was why she hadn’t chosen him to be her mate when she had the opportunity, maybe Jessell just didn’t take him seriously. He wished he could change that.
‘So tell me, those people, that product, is that how we came to be?’ Ridec queried into Jessell’s mind.
‘Yes, but that was many generations ago. We have changed and become what we are today. The records have been kept hidden by the royal family and the earth has been treated as a forbidden zone.’
‘They never found the cure? They never came back?’ It was hard for Ridec to imagine that his fore parents could have had anything to do with the horror that these people called earth.
“I can’t help but feel responsible for what these people are going through.” It was strange but somehow on the surface, in this environment it seemed easier to communicate verbally than telepathically, what was also interesting was that the longer he remained on the surface the easier it was to communicate verbally.
“It’s not our fault, we aren’t our fore parents,” Jessell said softly but firmly.
“They saved themselves and left everyone to suffer,” Ridec countered.
“They imagined that one day the illness would run out of people to feed on and they hoped that the zombies would die out and in due course the earth would recover and perhaps one day they would return. That’s why the habit of mermaids coming to the surface to prove their womanhood started. The trip was designed to determine if the earth was purged. Over time the trip became watered down and mermaids went only to isolated, deserted beaches, spent an hour there and headed home. Only one mermaid ever came in contact with these creatures, she never made it back to the sea and was never heard from again. Her partner escaped and said the earth creatures were hostile but the Queen and I knew they were zombies.”
Ridec’s arm snaked around Jessell’s slender waist and pulled her closer to him. He sighed heavily, he wanted to go back home, to have Jessell declare him to be her husband and to spend his life making passionate love to her but he couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt that overwhelmed him. He had spent his youth swimming freely in the wide open ocean, laughing with friends and dreaming of the day he would marry Jessell and raise a family of his own, children like Pete didn’t have the privilege of dreaming in the nightmare world they lived in. It wasn’t fair, how could he turn his back on these humans and go home and pretend that he wasn’t somehow responsible for the horror they were experiencing?
“I alone have spent a long time on the surface, yet not even I have been to this area which was rated by our fore parents as ground zero. This apparently is the general vicinity where the outbreak started.” Jessell sighed, even though she didn’t want to show it she felt guilty too about what their fore parents had done to the humans. “Let’s not speak about it anymore. It is time to get some sleep.”
“I’m the brightest mind Merland has to offer Jessell…maybe…” He wasn’t even sure himself what he was going to say but Jessell cut him off before he could finish.
“You can’t find a cure for this thing, it’s too far out of control already!”
“You don’t know tha…”
“Shut up and go to sleep.”
“I have to try,” Ridec was saying.
“I said shut up!”
“Is everything okay over there?” Kent asked and there was no response for a full minute.
“I’m sorry.” Jessell got to her feet and walked over to where Kent was laying. “Maybe I could use a little warming up after all,” she said.
‘Jessell,’ Ridec tried to communicate with her telepathically but she was blocking him out.
“You and your boyfriend had an argument?” Kent asked.
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“That’s not what you were saying before.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Just like that.”
Ridec watched with a pain in his chest as Jessell dropped to the ground beside Kent and snuggled in.
“Jessell,” Ridec murmured.
“Just go to sleep.”
“Aren’t you afraid I turn into one of those things during the night and try to eat you?” Kent asked but he had a smile in his voice.
“I have my dagger and I’m not afraid to use it on you.” They both laughed and Ridec’s heart burnt him all the more. Jessell was making it pretty obvious, either do things her way or she wanted no part of him.
Ridec curled into a ball clutching his hands around his knees to keep himself warm. Jessell was everything he had ever wanted in the whole world and now she was making him choose between his head and the total desire of his heart.