S3E07:
They walked the rest of the day and the day after it. They passed around the last of the trail mix and water and Doc and Bailey passed around 10K as they helped him walk.
"Whoa easy kid." Doc said as Bailey helped him set 10K down on a curb just outside the grocery store they'd stopped at. He was still so weak and they needed to find a better way of transporting him or else they'd both get wiped out from supporting his weight all day. Doc left to get the nearest shopping cart which was across the parking lot while Bailey stayed with 10K.
"Come here." she said soothingly as she pulled him close to her letting him lean against her with his back to her chest and his head on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry." He muttered still in his druggy fogged up state and her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.
"For what baby?" she asked as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"Not being stronger." He muttered still seeming so out of it and her heart hurt at his confession, "I was so dizzy." He went on though she had no idea what he meant so she let him keep talking. "On the sub, after I woke up from surgery. The alarm was going off and I knew something was wrong and I had to get out. I couldn't make it. Going down the hall I got so dizzy I had to sit, then I passed out. That's when Murphy must have found me and bit me. I wasn't strong enough to stay awake, then I could have stopped him."
"Tommy, if you hadn't gotten bit Murphy wouldn't have let you on the lifeboat. He would have used his blends to make you stay on the sub, then you would have died there."
He nuzzled into her shoulder, "Better dead then a blend."
She started to get cold like when she was on the beach and thought he had died. That idea that the world seemed so dark and couldn't possibly keep spinning with him gone came back and haunted her. "Don't say that. As long as you're here we can help you, we're going to find Warren and she's going to help us get you better."
"Mmmmm." He mumbled starting to fall asleep.
"Don't go to sleep." She said giving him a small shake to keep him conscious. "Just stay awake until Doc comes back okay Tommy? Then we'll get you in the cart and you can sleep it off."
"Can't." he muttered, his eyes still closed. She rifled through her brain trying to think of something that would keep him awake. Then she leaned down and tilted her head and kissed him. She felt him respond immediately as he turned his head and kissed her back.
"What about if I do that?" she asked when she pulled away and she saw him give a dopey smile.
"Mmm okay." He said before she chuckled and leaned in to kiss him again.
«»
Eventually, they convinced 10K it'd be easier if he just rode along with them in the shopping cart. Doc pushed the cart and Bailey pulled at the front. They took a big black umbrella when they were lucky enough to find one and opened it and propped it over 10K to keep the hot sun off him as he slept. They had dumped their bags into the cart with him to make the walking easier but Bailey could see that Doc was running out of steam.
"It gets lonely out here in the apocalypse." He said starting a conversation, probably to keep his mind off the heat. "People are getting fewer and fewer and meaner and meaner. You know Kid? Kid? How you feeling?" he asked looking in on 10K who was still out cold, "That's okay you sleep it off. That cocktail I gave you would have whooped my ass too, for sure." Then he sighed, "I dunno how much more of this zombie shit I'm gonna be able to put up with. With Warren and Addy gone, if anything else happened to you two, I might just have to go out in a blaze of zombie glory."
"Don't talk like that Doc." Bailey told him, "Apocalypse isn't all bad." She said thinking about how none of them would have met if the world hadn't ended.
"Name one thing – besides the gang – that came out of this that was good." He said sounding out of breath as they pushed and pulled the cart uphill.
She thought for a second, "Z-weed?"
Doc hummed in approval before giving a chuckle, "Right on."
Then they heard a car and turned to see it coming down the road headed right for them. There were some other broken down vehicles nearby so they rushed the cart over and ducked behind them. But as the car drove by Doc stood up and ran back into the road.
"Hey. Warren!" he shouted and Bailey stood now too, keeping her hand on the shopping cart as Doc kept shouting. "Warren! Addy!"
They heard the brakes squeal as the car made a hard turn then the windows rolled down and Warren and Addy's heads popped out.
"Doc!" Addy shouted then her face lit up more as she saw her best friend, "Bailey!"
Doc laughed in relief, "Hey you guys!"
"Steven Beck where the hell have you been?" Warren asked getting out of the car and making her way over giving Doc a hug, "We've been looking all over for you!"
"What happened to me? What happened to you?" Doc asked still smiling.
"Uh you didn't see the horde of spider zombies?" Addy asked.
"Spider zombies?" Bailey asked.
"Damn, no." Doc told her.
"They were covered in black widows, man." Hector said shaking his head.
"Black widow spiders, crawling with them." Addy said shuddering, "Whoo-hoo."
"Okay so what happened to you?" Warren asked, "And you." She said wagging a finger at Bailey like she wanted to scold her but Doc spoke up before Warren could.
"Well, have you ever seen the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? Add zombies, a black Elvis and mix well. It's a long story, but the best part is – we found 10K." Doc said his grin getting wider.
"What?" Warren asked in shock as they led the others to where they'd stashed the shopping cart with the sleeping 10K.
"10K!" Addy said happily but he didn't wake up, not even when she shook his shoulder. "Is he okay?"
"Should be fine." Doc said, "We found him locked up in an asylum, he was in pretty bad shape, had to give him a mix of five or six different prescriptions to get him back on his feet. He'll be fine once he sleeps it off."
"Okay, well let's get him into the SUV." Warren said and they pushed the cart over to the car. They unloaded the bags first to make a somewhat comfortable sleeping space for 10K. Then Bailey hopped in the back as they lifted 10K and she pulled him inside. She sat back with him lying partially on her and partially on their bags as he slept. Warren got back in the driver's seat and took off. Addy leaned over the back seat and bugged Bailey about doing her hair just like old times and finally Bailey gave in and let her braid it in a French braid along the back of her head. It did remind her of the old times, but then those thoughts darkened as she started to compare how things used to be with how they were now. As they drove Bailey couldn't help but notice the dark circles around 10K's eyes seemed darker and his skin seemed paler. That cocktail Doc gave him might have helped the side effects of Dr. Merch's booster shot but eventually he'd need another one.
10K POV
"There's nothing to fear. . . I don't fear you. I hate you. What you did to Cassandra was worse than death. . . Just let it happen Kid. You won't be afraid anymore." He grunted in pain and hit the floor, "No please Murphy, no! . . .God no!"
"10K?. . . 10K!"
He rotated his head against something soft as his eyes opened. He wasn't sure where he was but he could tell it was a confined space and after the padded room that was all he needed to know.
"Let me out!" He jumped up and crawled out of the. . . car?
"Let me out!" he shouted again hopping out but after half a step he collapsed on the ground, he crawled a couple more feet before he couldn't even drag himself across the pavement, he let out a grunt as he held himself up on one elbow, the other going to his stomach.
"You're not looking too good Kid." Doc said moving to kneel beside him as Bailey got out of the back of the car and stood around him with the others.
"Yeah, I don't feel so good." He replied still holding his stomach.
"What the hell did you give him?" Warren asked as he looked up and saw Escorpion leaning over him.
"Whoa, what –" 10K shouted as he began to crawl back on his elbows.
"Hey, hey, hey, 10K it's okay. He's with us now." Warren said reassuringly.
"She's right." Escorpion said, "You don't have to worry about me no more. I'm with you now bro."
Bailey POV
Warren helped 10K up and he stumbled a bit still getting his balance, "You okay?"
"Yeah." He said taking a deep breath.
"Look at you. You got chest hairs." Warren said with a small laugh. "Good to see you – conscious." She said before pulling him into a hug. Then Addy moved to give him a hug too as Bailey moved to his side and he smiled clearly glad to be back with the group, though Bailey still saw a touch of worry and sadness in his green eyes. He didn't like not being honest with them, and he was sad that he couldn't be honest. Damn Murphy, she thought, 10K was still suffering because of that blue devil.
"All right, we got a lot of catching up to do." Warren said turning to 10K, "But first, you told Doc that Murphy's in Spokane?" she asked and 10K's eyebrows pulled together in worry about what else Doc might have told them and Bailey's heart hurt at the sad puppy look he wore. Understandable though, he's got a lot to worry about. She rubbed his arm reassuringly and he turned to her looking grateful before looking back at Warren.
"Yeah. But he's different. He's smarter, crazier. He's got some kind of big plan, and he's not alone. He bites people, controls them. It's. . . weird."
"How?"
"Well everybody. . . likes him." He said his voice soft kinda like he was out of breath after running, just without the panting, Bailey worried he might still be weak after everything he went through. He needed a good meal and more rest.
"That's effed up." Addy commented.
"Here drink this Kid you look dehydrated." Doc said coming over with a canteen which 10K took gratefully.
"Is Dr. Merch still alive?" Sun Mei asked stepping forward. 10K looked at her confused and suspicious and turned to Warren.
"It's okay." She reassured him, understanding that he wouldn't be trusting of the group's newest additions.
"Murphy bit her. Twice." He said taking a drink.
"Son of a bitch." Addy muttered under her breath.
"So with these bites he controls her?" Sun Mei asked.
"Yeah." 10K replied recapping the canteen, "Dr. Merch is making him a blend vaccine so he can control people without biting them."
"You sure we need this guy alive?" Hector asked.
"You can't kill him." 10K said in a serious tone and Bailey's worry grew. Even when they talked about her mission to kill Murphy he'd smirked and chuckled along with it. This is bad, she thought, 10K was acting less like himself already, given it was only a little bit but Bailey knew without an injector it would only get worse. More bad news was the fact that the others were also looking at 10K a bit weirdly. Then, thankfully, Warren shook it off.
"Let's go." She called moving back to the vehicle.
"Out of gas." Doc reminded her, the whole reason they'd stopped and woke 10K in the first place.
"Back on foot, then." Warren said as they all grabbed their gear and continued down the road.
«»
"Are we, friends, with Escorpion now?" 10K asked as they walked. Warren, Hector and Sun Mei were a bit further ahead of them. Doc and Addy hung back with Bailey and 10K, letting him move at a slower pace as he got his strength up.
"Dude went full apocalypse man." Doc told him as Bailey held 10K's free hand, the canteen still in his other. "Had one of them come-to-Jesus moments. Goes by Hector now."
"What about Vasquez?"
"Uh, man, haven't seen him since California. Probably ran himself into a horde of Z's." Addy said and Bailey looked down at her and 10K's intertwined hands running her thumb over his knuckles nervously. She hadn't told 10K or anyone that she'd seen Vasquez in Seattle, or that he was running the Red Hand under Hector's old name.
"Suicide by zombie." Doc said with a sigh.
"Who's she?" 10K asked nodding ahead at Sun's back.
"Oh, when you and Murphy were on the boat, some Asian folks paid us a visit –" Doc began explaining but Bailey, already looking down, tuned him out as she noticed 10K's hand holding the canteen began to shake slightly. She saw the worry on his face as he let go of her hand and brought it to the canteen helping stop the shaking. She saw him glance at her out of the corner of his eye and he seemed ashamed that she saw.
They all continued down the road, Addy now asking Bailey questions about her time alone which she answered vaguely. Luckily, before Addy could notice her secretive behavior they came upon a shack on a dock with some cars out front, it might have been a small gas station on a pier at one point.
"I don't think we should keep that guy alive if he's making formulas. . . " she heard Hector say trailing off as they got closer and saw one of the cars in the grass. It was next to the gas pump which had a zombie chained to it. The hood of the car had a windshield washer with a pair of severed hands still gripping the long red handle. And the car was covered in red handprints. Another Z was chained to the driver's side door which was open and they all approached with caution as they got closer and looked over the scene.
"Well that's the Red Hands all right." Doc said, "Those guys are starting to take all the fun out of the apocalypse."
"Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse." Warren added.
"I didn't think it was possible to terrorize people in this environment." Sun Mei said.
"Hey guys!" 10K called and they turned as he pointed to a sign, "Look at this."
Car thieves pay with their lives - Escorpion
Warren had them clear off the car so she could see if it would still run, Bailey took out her knife and stabbed the Z in the head before using her ax to cut it's arm off at the shoulder freeing the corpse from the car door. 10K took the washer with the hands still on it and brought it over to a bucket where they were dumping the body parts. Bailey dropped in the arm she'd just chopped off as she looked at 10K as he watched the blood drip from the severed wrists for a moment before turning and Bailey saw him look at Sun Mei who had an injector in her hand and was passing it to Warren as both of them examined it. Bailey reached across the bucket and tilted his chin with her finger making him look at her. She stared at his face giving him a warning look that said 'Don't make it obvious.' He nodded getting the message.
"Hey 10K!" Doc shouted from the door of the shack on the dock, "Give me a hand over here will ya?"
"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Bailey asked taking the washer from 10K and holding it up, the hands still gripping it before she dropped it into the bucket and followed Doc and 10K into the shack.
"Kid we got to talk." Doc said moving around a counter as 10K sat on a stool, "We have got to tell Warren, you've got to trust her man."
"No. Please." 10K begged as Bailey leaned against the window a few feet to his left watching their conversation and playing nervously with the ties of her lace up V neck shirt, "I can handle it okay? Just give me a little more time to get, Murphy out of my head. I'm feeling better actually." Liar.
"Yeah well you don't look it." Doc said but hushed up quickly as Warren walked in with Sun Mei behind her.
"There you are 10K." she said and Bailey picked up the cheerful tone she used, Bailey never heard her use that tone much, she's here for information. She's playing good cop. She stopped playing with her laces not wanting to give off any signs of nervousness, "What do you know about this?" she asked taking out an injector from her jacket. 10K's eyes were wide clearly worried she suspected something.
"These had to come from my air drop, but what's inside them? They should be empty." Sun Mei asked.
"I don't know what's in them." 10K denied, "Dr. Merch gave them to me to keep them safe."
There was a long pause where Warren stared at him. Bailey knew she was analyzing every word out of 10K's mouth. He'd seemed to struggle choosing words as he put a sentence together which was sure to set off her suspicions. What was worse was 10K wasn't doing well under pressure, he stayed sitting facing Doc but he wasn't making eye contact with Warren. Bailey wanted to tap her fingers along the windowsill behind her but knew it would tip Warren off that she was nervous and 10K was doing a pretty good job of incriminating himself already, he didn't need her nerves making things worse.
"Really?" Warren finally asked, like she was giving him another chance to come clean.
This time 10K paused as he turned to her, his eyebrows lifted wrinkling his forehead and Bailey could tell he was scrambling to come up with something to say. "I dunno. . . Um. . . well, she was giving Murphy some booster shots to keep him from turning more zombie. Maybe that's what's in them. Maybethey'reforMurphy." 10K said so fast it almost made Bailey's head spin. His body language was also giving him away, he kept shrugging and looking around wildly, his eyes never staying on the same thing for more than a second. He kept raising his hands in nonchalant motions but he did it so much it became suspicious. He was trying too hard to be casual.
"Maybe it's the original vaccine?" Sun Mei theorized taking the vial and looking it over, more concerned with that than with 10K, "Small doses might act as a booster shot of some kind. Slow down his deterioration."
Warren stared at 10K who looked at her, his eyes still wide, or maybe it was the dark circles making it look that way, man they were getting bad. He shrugged going along with what Sun Mei said.
"Or it might also be whatever cocktail of Murphy blood they're giving the blends." Warren said her tone now conveying her suspiciousness to what 10K was saying. She stared at him more not even blinking now and he nodded and shrugged again. It gave Bailey a feeling of dread like Warren was hoping 10K would tell her what he was hiding. When he didn't the look in Warren's eyes changed like now she was preparing herself to have to punish 10K for lying, if the truth came out. . . or when it came out. It was the look you gave one of your troops when they weren't falling in line.
"Okay." She said lightheartedly before leaving with Sun Mei.
Bailey moved away from the window and to 10K's right as he turned from Doc across the counter to look at her. "She doesn't believe you."
"What? Are you sure?" he asked, the dark circles around his eyes making the worry in them more prominent. She nodded and he exhaled a deep shaky breath, "Okay, so what's the plan?"
Bailey rested her right hand on the counter and leaned her weight against it. "If we have to go, we go." She said seeing no better option.
"What?" Doc asked in a mix of shock and hurt, "Like leave the group? No, you two can't do that, not again."
"Doc, we don't know how Warren will react to 'blend 10K'." she said trying to make abandoning the group seem justifiable, though she saw 10K cast his gaze downward at being acknowledged as a blend, "If she tries to keep those boosters from him or hurt him I'll –" she paused realizing how aggressive her tone had become.
"What?" Doc asked, "You'll kill her?"
Bailey paused thinking over her answer while she saw 10K looking down at his lap, "I don't want to kill her, I don't even know if I could." She said softly, "But I don't want to hurt her, I don't want to fight with her and the best way to avoid that is to just go."
"I agree." 10K said making both of them turn to him surprised as he stared at the counter.
"You do?" Bailey asked.
He paused taking a moment before turning and looking at her, "You asked me to run away with you once, and I said no and look what happened. I'm not repeating that mistake. You give the word, and I'll follow you anywhere." He said staring in her eyes, his voice was soft but there was a loyal determination in it. She felt a warmth in her chest at his words and gave him a small smile as she brought one hand to cup his cheek. When she did 10K lifted his hand to cover hers and moved his thumb back and forth across her knuckles.
"Awww." They heard Doc from across the counter and they both turned to look at him, "Oh, I ruined that moment." He said looking away embarrassed, "Sorry Kid." He said patting 10K on the back as he passed and made his way out of the shack. When he was gone Bailey took a step closer to 10K standing between his legs as he sat on the stool at the counter. He went to say something but he barely got a syllable out before Bailey brought her free hand to his jaw too and leaned down to kiss him. He returned it wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. She kept her hands on his jaw knowing they couldn't deepen their kiss more than that and get carried away, not with the others outside getting ready to go.
When they went back outside, hand in hand, they found Addy fiddling with the car's radio trying to get a broadcast from Citizen Z.
"Fear no more. There is a way. Follow me." They heard and not much later saw a truck moving down the road passing them. It was white like an ice cream truck but had a picture of Murphy spray painted across the side with the words "Fear no more" as it drove by blaring its message. "Fear no more. Guaranteed, Fear no more."
"Sounds like the blue dude himself." Doc said watching the truck go by in the distance.
"Fear no more. There is a way. Follow me. Fear no more. Guaranteed, Fear no more."
Addy chuckled humorlessly, "Murphy is advertising?"
"I told you. He's insane." 10K said.
"If he has thousands of doses of vaccine, all he needs are live bodies." Sun Mei added.
"Well you heard the man." Warren said, "Come on."
Then they piled in the car and took off after the truck.
«»
They found the truck crashed on the side of the road, the message was stuck on "Fear, fear, fear, fear, fear, fear, fear, fear, fear." and the words on the side had been crossed out to say 'Fear more' and there were red handprints all over the vehicle. Vasquez must have sent some of his men to trash the truck once he'd gotten wind Murphy was recruiting. Vasquez wouldn't want Murphy drawing more humans there to turn into blends, not when Vasquez could turn them into Red Hand.
They pulled over and got out of their vehicle all grabbing their guns. Warren and Addy pulled open the back of the truck while Sun Mei, Hector, 10K and Bailey all aimed in case anything leapt out. When nothing did Warren and Addy went around to the driver's side door, Doc and Sun Mei went to the passenger side and Hector, 10K and Bailey hopped in the back of the truck and came up behind the driver who was dead and slumped over the steering wheel with a red hand sprayed on his face.
"This Escorpion is starting to piss me off." Hector said before shooting the recorder shutting it up.
"Who the hell are these guys?" Addy asked as Sun Mei climbed in and examined the driver.
"This man was shot in the heart, not the head. But he didn't turn."
"He's a blend." 10K said from behind the driver's seat, "Look at the other side of his face."
Sun Mei lifted his head and they saw a bite on his cheek.
"So when blends die they don't turn." Warren said bringing her hands to her hips.
"Yeah and zombies ignore you like you're one of them." 10K added.
"Maybe Murphy's onto something." Doc said.
"He's just trying to help people." 10K went on and they all looked at him suspiciously, except Doc and Bailey who looked worried. Then 10K seemed to snap out of it and realized what he'd said and he tried to cover his tracks, "Be-come blends." Then he cleared his throat, "There's more too, he's planning some kind of expedition." 10K continued trying to take the attention off his slip up.
"An expedition to where?" Warren asked.
"Springfield, Illinois." 10K replied.
"Springfield." Warren scoffed.
"We've been to Springfield." Addy added.
"What's in Springfield?" Hector asked.
"Yeah besides crazy Lincoln zombies?" Doc questioned not remembering what the rest of them did.
"Lucy." Addy, Bailey and Warren all answered.
"Who's Lucy?" Hector asked.
"Murphy's daughter." 10K said turning to him.
"Murphy has a child?" Sun Mei asked, "Do you know what this means? She could have inherited his immunity."
"We got to get to Lucy before Murphy does." Warren said her mind already planning their next course of action, "Let's get some grub and make a plan."
«»
They walked up the hill behind the vehicles, not going far, and set up a small fire. They sat around it on logs as Warren put her machete through a hubcap making a DIY frying pan.
"Supper." Addy called bringing over a box, "Gourmet stir fry."
"Shazam." Warren said as Addy dumped out the box spilling crickets onto the hot metal.
"You know crickets are 121 calories. All protein." Sun Mei said, trying to make their meal seem more appetizing.
"Oh, that's barbeque." Warren said as she cooked the bugs.
"Remember when we could eat meat?" Doc said with a dreamy look on his face.
"I used to barbeque all the time. Carne asada, pico de gallo. You don't even want to know man." Hector said sitting on a log across from Doc, beside Doc was Addy and beside her was 10K with his arms crossed and resting on his knees, beside him Bailey sat with her head on his left shoulder. While they reminisced Addy rubbed 10K's back in a sisterly way inadvertently bringing him out of his deep thoughts. He gave her a small smile and when she turned away he tugged on the collar of his jumpsuit clearly worrying about the bite being exposed.
"You know if you close your eyes," Doc said tossing one insect in his mouth, "it tastes just like. . . crickets."
"Cricket de gallo." Warren said passing it around making sure they each got some. "Okay so the way I see it, we got to split up." Warren said when the crickets had all been passed out and she put her machete away.
"Oh man I hate when we split up." Doc said.
"I get it. But we've got to stop Murphy and his blend army before they get too strong and we've got to find Lucy before the rest of the world finds out about her. All right? Let's hit it. Get your head in it."
They walked back to the truck and the station wagon which were now parked back to back. Thankfully Warren was able to salvage the truck, it hadn't been badly damaged just run off the road. Doc, Addy and Hector took seats in the back of the truck and Bailey saw 10K try to discreetly grab the satchel from the back of the station wagon but before he could Warren tapped his shoulder making him turn around.
"Hey, you said you saw a map right?"
"Mmm-hmm." He answered seeming tense and nervous.
"Can you draw what you saw?"
"Yeah." He nodded as Sun Mei passed Warren a clipboard which she gave to 10K, "She's with a family just outside Springfield. There's railroad tracks and it said Old Route 57. She's in the woods in a farm right here."
Warren patted his shoulder for a job well done.
"All right Doc and Addy you guys go after Lucy. The rest of us will continue on to Spokane and we'll do whatever we can to stop Murphy."
"Maybe 10K should go with them to Springfield." Bailey spoke up and Warren looked at her curiously. If she could convince her of this, get 10K to Springfield, he'd be far enough away from Murphy that maybe the control wouldn't kick back in even without an injector. "He saw the map, he knows it best, and they could use the extra person. Safety in numbers, and they're going pretty far."
"Nah, we need him more, he's the only one who's been inside Murphy's HQ, we're gonna need that kind of intel." Warren said.
"But –"
"Unless there's another reason you think he should go?" Warren asked bringing her hands to her hips.
"I just. . . don't like the idea of them going that far on their own." She said slowly and Doc, who clearly saw she was losing the argument – and earning herself a place on Warren's suspicious person's list – jumped in.
"And when we find Lucy?" he asked.
"Keep her safe. Contact us by radio." Warren told him.
"We'll monitor the HAM frequencies for you." Sun Mei added.
"What are we gonna do when we get to Spokane?" Hector asked.
"We're gonna give him a good old fashioned spanking." Warren said through clenched teeth like an angry mom.
"Right on." Hector said with a smile.
"Let's load up and move out." Warren instructed.
"10K why don't you help me make sure that fire's out?" Doc asked and 10K and Bailey both followed him back to the hill.
"Thanks for trying." 10K said softly taking her hand and she smiled at him sadly.
"10K, you've got to tell Warren and the others about the bite." Doc said when they were far enough away that the others wouldn't hear.
"No Doc. I don't want them to look at me like I'm Murphy's bitch. I just need one of those injectors from Sun Mei and I'll be fine. Just let me do this my way. Please Doc." He begged, his voice quiet.
"Let's go!" Warren called from the road.
"You're putting me in a bad position." Doc said trying to guilt trip him, hoping that would work.
"I know. Just, please, trust me." 10K begged again sounding genuinely bad about putting Doc between a rock and a hard place.
"I do. I shouldn't, but I do." Doc sighed and he and Bailey headed back down the hill while 10K stayed to pretend to stomp out the fire some more. But Doc wasn't going to leave for Springfield until he'd given it his best shot and Bailey was a bit shocked at what tactic the hippie tried next.
"Come on Bailey." Doc asked a third time as they headed back to the road.
"Doc just because we're together doesn't mean I'm going to tell him what choices to make."
"But that's the definition of a girlfriend." He replied and Bailey stopped walking to give him a blank look then shook her head.
"Okay. . . moving on to my next question, what makes you think I can convince him anyway?"
"Well, use your feminine wiles, ya know your charm, put the moves on him."
"Doc, I'm not going to tease 10K with sex just to make him change his mind." She said starting down the hill again now desperate to get to the others so Doc would drop the subject.
Addy POV
"Let's go!" Warren called to the others before turning to Addy and resuming their conversation, "Well? Bailey's been your friend longer than she's been any of ours. Did that suggestion seem off to you?"
"She's seemed a bit off since we found her again, which is bizarre since she should be on cloud nine after finding 10K alive." She admitted.
"So what are you saying?"
She gave a sigh, "Bailey's always told me everything, since we were little and shared a kiddie pool. But now. . . she's hiding something, that I'm positive about."
"Alright." Warren said nodding her head and looking at the hill where Doc and Bailey were returning, 10K a few good feet behind them, "I'll keep an eye on her while you're gone. See you soon sister." Then they hugged and Addy headed to the truck.
Bailey POV
"Take care of yourself." Doc said as he hopped in the driver's seat of the truck.
"You too." 10K replied with Bailey beside him.
"And think about what I said. Both of you."
"I'll be alright Doc." 10K assured him.
"He's got me." Bailey added taking his hand.
«»
They parked the car and got out to observe the city that would become their battlefield. Warren had her scope to her eye and she looked at the skyline of the city spread out in front of them.
"So that's Spokane huh? Perfect." She said lowering her scope.
"Murphy's compound's there." 10K said pointing, "In the Museum of Progress. Under the clock tower."
"How fortified is it?" Hector asked but 10K had seemed to have zoned out and hadn't heard him.
"10K?" Warren called his attention.
"Sorry, what?" he asked snapping out of it.
"How fortified is the compound?" Warren repeated the question.
"It's got two fences and um. . .and a zombie moat, so only a. . . a blend can get in." he stuttered seeming to have trouble focusing on forming a single sentence.
"All right. So we've got about an hour of daylight. We wait until nightfall. Do some reconnaissance. See exactly what we're working with." Warren said as Bailey looked at 10K.
"Are you okay?" Sun Mei asked and he snapped his head to her, his eyes wide again before he gained some control of himself.
"I'm just hungry." He said and Bailey's mind quickly began to try and find a way where she could get them out of there. They had to leave now – preferably with the injectors but even without them she had to get 10K out of there now. Their lie was quickly unraveling.
"I'm gonna get some. . . crickets." 10K said leaving for the vehicle no doubt searching for his medicine. She didn't like the way the others looked at each other after he left, like they were secretly beginning a plan they'd previously formulated. Warren followed 10K and Bailey saw Hector go with her but they each went around a different side of the car – they were boxing him in.
"Looking for these?" Warren asked moving around the vehicle and holding out two injectors in her palm. 10K became visibly nervous as he looked from Warren to Hector. He shook his head 'no' but didn't seem to be able to come up with an excuse as to why he'd been rummaging through the satchel that had held the injectors.
"Those weren't what he was looking for." Bailey spoke up from behind Warren quickly putting together a lie as Warren turned to her closing her fingers around the booster shots. Warren stared her down and Bailey couldn't keep eye contact with her and lie. "I asked him. . . " she stuttered as Warren crossed her arms and Sun Mei came up behind Bailey, as she quickly came up with a good reason why 10K was searching through the bag and an explanation for her own hesitation, she snapped her head up and looked Warren in the eye when one came to her, "I asked him to check if we had anymore condoms."
Her answer seemed to do its job and it threw Warren – and 10K – for a loop as both of their eyes went wide, neither one expecting her to say that. Warren turned back to 10K with a raised eyebrow and he nodded and gave a small shrug. Then Warren looked between the two not seeming to fully believe the answer, though Bailey saw in her eyes that it wasn't entirely unbelievable either, she did know they were in a physical relationship after all.
"All right." She said turning back to 10K before looking at the booster shots in her hand, "Then you won't mind if I –" Warren trailed off as she crouched down and put the shots in the grass and brought up her foot to crush them and spill what was inside.
"NO!" 10K shouted and immediately bit his lip and cringed afterward knowing a second too late that he'd fallen for Warren's bait, but what could he do, if he had said nothing she would have crushed them and it wouldn't be long before the voices in his head became actions and he'd be back under Murphy's full control. He needed that medicine.
Warren took the injectors in her hand and stood up again not taking her eyes off 10K who was looking at the ground.
"Why are these so important baby boy?" she asked using her old nickname for him but her voice was stern, the kind that accepted no bullshit for an answer. 10K looked shyly up at her as she held out the injectors in her palm, he looked like a kicked puppy. "What is in these that's so important to you?"
He stayed silent as he looked at her then quick as a whip he hit under her hand making the injectors bounce high enough that he snatched them in midair. He turned on his heel and tried to run but Hector caught him. He barely got a hand on his collar when the fabric ripped revealing the bite on the back of 10K's neck.
"He's bit!" Hector shouted, "He's bit!"
10K shook him off and kept running bolting for the nearby trees and bushes of the forest as Hector chased him. Bailey tried to go after 10K too but Sun Mei lurched forward and held her back.
"10K let me help you!" Warren shouted after him as Bailey struggled.
«»
"Warren, we have to go after him!" Bailey shouted trying to get out of Sun Mei's grip, the woman was stronger than she'd expected.
"It's almost dark it'll have to wait until morning." Warren said sounding pissed off that she'd been lied to this whole time.
"Warren you don't understand –"
"Understand what? That 10K lied to us? That he's been a blend this whole time? Maybe he's been acting as Murphy's double agent and now he's runnin back to his master." She shouted in anger.
"It's not like that! He needs those boosters to free him from Murphy's control." Bailey shouted back.
"Or he's taking the medicine back to Murphy like a good dog –"
"This is why he didn't tell you! He didn't want you to think he was Murphy's puppet, he didn't want you to think he was like Cassandra!" She yelled and Warren got quiet at the mention of Cassandra like a slap in the face. She took a deep breath and looked to Bailey.
"Bailey, it's hard for me to believe he had good intentions when he's been lying to us all this time. He must be under Murphy's control, our 10K knows he can trust us."
Bailey let out a small scoff her eyes miserable at how easily they turned their backs on 10K, "Warren he doesn't even trust you with his real name." she said and saw Warren's expression drop again. Before she could respond they heard groans as Z's stumbled out of the trees attracted by their shouting. Warren drew her machete and Sun Mei threw Bailey aside where she landed on the ground and readied her own knife, neither one wanting to use bullets and draw more attention, especially this close to Murphy's compound. Bailey took the opportunity the distraction provided and ran off into the woods after 10K as the two woman fought the zombies.
"10K!" she called hoping to find him and not Hector, "10K!" but she got no response. "Tommy. . . Tommy, I'm alone please let me help you." Still nothing, "If you take that shot it's going to get rid of your blend immunity and you'll pass out again, you'll be an easy meal for the Z's, please let me help you."
Still she got no answer, maybe he hadn't even come this way, maybe he'd changed his course to make him difficult to track and she was calling to no one.
"Bailey." She finally heard him call back softly and she followed his voice to a tree where she found him sitting along its roots.
"Oh thank God you didn't take it yet." She said crouching next to him and bringing a hand to his jaw.
"I can hear Murphy, his orders, it's all in my head and it's so much worse than before. Telling me I need to obey him, I need to protect him. I need to take this."
"Okay, we'll go find shelter for the night –"
"No, now. I need to take this NOW." He insisted and she moved her hand from his face to wrap it over his shoulders. She rubbed his arm and nodded at him, then he looked to his thigh and hesitated. "This is going to suck so fracking much." He sighed.
"Do you want me to do it?" She offered and he shook his head.
"No I got it. Just. . . " he looked over his shoulder at her, "Just be here when I wake up." He said and she'd never seen his eyes so sad.
"I promise." She said nodding then he turned back to his leg and injected himself, immediately gagging and foaming at the mouth.