Chp. 51 “Hard Work”
“Do you hurt?” I ask silently, gazing at Avery who was still lying still in her bed. Watching her move around made me worry, and it has now been an entire week that she had been diagnosed.
I knew the fever was wearing her down.
“A little, my joints ache a bit, that’s all.”
Then she leaned her head and closed her eyes softly, indicating her medicine was setting in.
I took in her frail figure, wondering how much weight she had lost since being here. She obviously didn’t look healthy, and I knew she had lost at least five to ten pounds because she wasn’t eating much anymore. Her voice was weak too, as if she was out of breath, and I knew that she was trying hard to keep her guard up but I knew the truth.
She was getting worse really fast.
The doctors had been doing everything they could to ease her pain and possibly make her last till we found a cure. They were giving her medication that attempted to break the fever, and other medicine to try and ease her aching joints. They were monitoring her like hawks now, and I knew it was because her condition had worsened a lot faster than expected.
And a possible cure didn’t seem to be in the near future.
We had made quite the amount of progress over the time I had been working with Henson, but now we were in the midst of the trickiest part.
The tricky part was actually creating the antidote that would lead to a cure and not accidentally creating more Healers
It all was a number game. How many hormones would completely transform a person from normal to super human? And how little were needed to actually rid the host of the disease? It was a trial and error but it could be timely, which Henson had warned me about from the beginning.
But staring at Avery’s withering body only furthered my impatience.
She now had more extreme symptoms, which was now excessive sweat, high fever, nausea, and joint aching. I had tried so many times to help her, just to try and ease her pain but it was no use, nothing I did was of help. Some of her medication dulled some of the aching, but other than that there was no escaping the sick misery she was in.
And it was entirely my fault.
If I would’ve just come here alone, not risking my friend’s lives, knowing they weren’t immune to the disease… I should’ve just left her back in Jacksonville, at least then she wouldn’t have contracted the disease. I mean, how stupid was I to believe that me and my friends were invincible?
And now I was here, watching someone I truly cared about wither away with sickness, and I could do nothing about it.
Then I heard a knock on the door and I stood, walking slowly over to the door and peeking through the blinds. Roger was on the other side, but I was curious as to why. I typed in the security code and stepped out, letting it seat behind me as it shut. I spoke, “Hey.”
“Up for a little training?”
I knew he meant well, and although I wasn’t really feeling it, I knew I needed it. Also, I guess he figured it would get my mind off of Avery and how she was getting worse with every minute that passed. I glanced down the hallway and then at the elevator, silently debating if I should.
And decided I would.
~ ~ ~ ~
I raked my hand through my matted, dark hair, taking a sip from my cup of coffee. I had drank four cups so far and the more I stayed up the more I tried to solve exactly how I was going to do this. General Pearce wanted Andrea, and as much as I believed Andrea was dangerous, I believed it was more dangerous for the government to get their hands on her.
So what was I to do?
I was torn, completely being pulled in two different directions between what was wanted of me as a worker and what was needed of me as a human being. It was either capture Andrea and turn her into the Feds, potentially setting off the biggest war between the United States and everyone, or refuse and risk my job and possibly my life.
I stared down at the file in front of me, tracing my finger over my hard wooden desk. I glanced at the clock that read 3:25 AM in bright red letters, letting me know my next work day would start in less than five hours.
I hadn’t realized how stressful this case would’ve turned out to be.
I had one simple task; to eliminate Andrea Mason. I went, I found, and I attempted to kill, and to my extreme surprise she had healed right in front of my eyes. I had been completely caught off guard, and not to mention how Vince had been shot right between the eyes right in front of me and Andrea.
The look in her eyes was pure terror.
This girl was no older than 18, she was still a kid, and she had no idea what she was getting herself involved in. And I knew she had realized that the other night. Now she was being hunted by the government, the part of the government people tried to avoid rather than find.
And here I was, debating on whether or not I should help them find her and use her.
Where had I gone wrong? When did I start working for the people I vowed all my life I would never work for? The people who were only trying to better themselves rather than the country?
And what was I going to do about it?
The frustration was building up inside of me, and the more I sat here the more I felt completely stuck in this situation I had no idea how to get out of. I knew Sullivan was not onboard with the Defense Department, along with most of the Investigative Department. Why did I have to find out Andrea Mason existed? And why did I tell Sullivan in the first place? Now I was volunteered to go out and capture this girl, and I had absolutely no intention to do that.
And as a I gazed down at the file in front of me that held all of Andrea’s known information, I felt something inside me shift. It was as if something inside me altered for the better, or for the worse, I wasn’t sure yet. Maybe there was a way out of this, a way that would solve every problem without risking my life or anyone else’s.
Maybe there was a plan forming inside my mind, and maybe Sullivan would back me on this one.
~ ~ ~ ~
Breathing was hard, and the pain in my abdomen and shoulders was excruciating. I stumbled over to a bench I sighed, “I can’t go anymore.”
Roger sat next to me, and I recapped in my mind everything I had endured. We had done quite a bit of cardio training, and also strength, but now I was completely exhausted and I just wanted to get back to Avery.
Roger patted my back, “You did well, but we need to do this every day if you want to get any stronger.”
I looked at him, smiling as I felt a bead of sweat roll down my forehead, “I can feel my muscles growing.”
He laughed, standing up and stretching his legs a bit, “Yea, it was pretty grueling.”
We made our way to the elevator and he pressed the Living Quarters floor, knowing we would need to shower. I would for sure, I smelt like sweat and I felt pretty gross too. The elevator opened and I retrieved my key, unlocking my door and looking at him, “Thanks for getting my mind off of everything.”
He smiled weakly, as if he knew what I was going through, “No problem kid, see you tomorrow.”
Then he was gone down the hallway and out of sight, leaving me completely alone. I gazed at my unpacked suitcase, realizing I never once decided I needed to unpack. I figured now would be a good time, after I showered of course. I grabbed some clean clothes and headed into my bathroom, showering quickly as I scrubbed the stench off of my body.
Then my mind wandered to Avery, and how she was probably waiting up for me if she wasn’t asleep. I figured she had to be, considering that medicine knocks her out pretty good when she takes it.
I really missed her.
I dressed and walked out of my bathroom, grabbing my suitcase and setting it on my bed that I haven’t slept in yet. I would spend nights in Avery’s room, too afraid to leave her alone while I slept. Maybe it was a protective thing, or maybe it was something else I didn’t understand.
I began unpacking, sorting my clothes in the separate drawers of my dresser. The entire time I’ve been here I’ve been completely stressed out, and although we’ve made great amounts of progress, I was watching Avery die slowly.
It was really wearing my heart out.
I tried staying strong for her, and showing her everything was going to be ok, but it was getting harder and harder to do that. I was afraid, for her health and for my own well-being, knowing if anything happened to Avery it was devastate me.
I couldn’t let that happen.
I finished up unpacking my clothes and saw a narrow piece of what looked to be paper. I picked it up and flipped it, immediately realizing it was the pictures Avery and I had taken that day at the mall.
We looked happy, completely carefree and oblivious to the outside word. I felt a pain in my heart, the familiar aching that usually came when I thought about everything before the Bureau. I traced my finger over her face, seeing her familiar light eyes that had captivated me from day one. Feeling a tear roll down my face then I wiped it away, trying to cover up the fact that I had shed a tear. There was no use crying, because crying would make nothing better. I needed to be strong, not only for Avery but for everyone here, because if they gave up then we were all screwed.
I just wanted to make everything better, I just needed to figure out a way to do that, and fast.