CHAPTER 10

Aidan was stressed and could barely stand still. It was useless, but he kept trying to break free from their grip. Even though they knew he wouldn't do anything to stop it, it was better to be sure to remedy it. Aidan knew he couldn't make a noise, but he wanted to scream, pick her up and run away from this hell. That was his Ronnie. Never in his life had he come so close to losing her and, if they made it out of there alive, he would never do it again.

She had stopped. This couldn't be good. – You can do it, Ronnie. I believe you. - He gathered up all the calm he could and whispered with great hope that she would hear him. And she did.

Veronica nodded trying to focus on just one task at a time. She needed to get to the computer. The virus had entered her heart and was being pumped to the rest of her body. It was losing control of itself. Her vision wavered and was losing balance, but kept in her mind the images of her sister, of Aidan, of her parents, with every step she took. She could vaguely hear Aidan's breathing in the distance, but she was increasingly dazzled by the noise of her own bloodstream. It was as if a Tsunami passed endlessly through a straw, and it was getting smaller and smaller.

Veronica felt she was going to fall, so she closed her eyes tightly and stopped. She could barely control her shock that in front of her eyes, a mere ten centimeters away, was a contaminated man. But he didn't recognize her as healthy anymore. For him, she didn't exist. She was just like him. She was nothing.

Mimicking his behavior, she pushed him aside as if he were staggering. The door was close, very close, but she also saw that it wouldn't last long, so she quickened her pace. When finally reached the computer, she used it to support herself and not fall.

PIGEON

The word came and went in her mind, and would soon be lost. One letter at a time, Veronica tried to type before she lost control, but was increasingly confused.

P

Her hands were shaking. Even though he rested his arms against the table and keyboard, they vibrated in such a way that she had to work harder on not to press any other keys.

I

Flashes glowed red in her vision. "Focus. I need focus…" She took a deep breath and continued.

G

Two more letters... Or is it three? "Breathe, Veronica. Do it for Aidan, do it for Anna... Forget it, do it for you." The keyboard seemed to morph into two and her body could barely stand upright.

E

Threw her body against the piece of furniture looking for: sustenance; support; a firm foundation.

O

Just one more, right?

N

Veronica heard a click from the door, though, so did all the other monsters. Everything started moving so fast. She felt the loss of strength, her legs turned to jelly and soon her body collapsed to the ground.

- Quick, we need a distraction. – In the distance a voice said, it was almost gone. A few seconds later. Steps. Shots. Someone ran towards her.

Through the welts, she could see Aidan crouch in front of her. – Breathe, Ronnie, you did it. You did well. You were amazing. Rest, now it's my turn. - Tears came out of his eyes as he tried to summon the strength to get up, leave her there and end this nightmare once and for all. – I'll come back for you. I promise. - She had no doubt. She was betting her life on it. Every day, with the greatest pleasure.

Veronica could feel that he needed help and with each moment her vision worsened. She took a breath and hugged him with all the control she had, but her heart skipped. A few seconds passed and she reached the turning point. Just before her vision reddened and darkened completely, she whispered. - Go.

Like magic, a monster appeared in front of Aidan, but he didn't see it that way. When what was left of Veronica went to attack him, he said: - Sorry. - He pushed her back, scrambled to his feet, and ran to the lab door.

Rachel was trying to keep the infected away long enough for Aidan to join her. She was shooting and trying as hard as she could to keep the door open without anyone entering.

He ran out and took advantage of a small window of space to go through the door and lock it just milliseconds before Ronnie's hand tried to break the glass. Rachel went to the lab room and there he stayed for a moment, in the decontamination room, unable to move just watching her and feeling that he had lost.

- Come on, boy! If you want to save her, you'll need to help me with the cure here. - This seemed to wake him up, as if someone had shocked him. Aidan turned so quickly and ran to the other two.

- What do we need to do now?! - The energy pulsed through his nerves and was about to run out. But he stopped short when he saw the gun pointed in his direction. Rachel was standing beside him also not understanding what was going on, but in the back of her mind, she wasn't surprised.

*

Aidan had his hands up, confused and trying to figure out what hadn't gone right. - Hmm? Harold, isn't it? What are you doing?!

Rachel was calculating all the ways out of this situation. She needed to do something. She didn't come this far and go through all that to be stopped by that guy. – You're not Harold. Who are you?

The man was silent but his emotions were running high.

- Who are you?! – She screamed without fear. The man had a gun pointed at her head and something in her knew he wouldn't shoot.

The man took a deep breath. – My name is Tomás, insolent girl. You shouldn't yell at someone who can kill you in a second.

- It was you, wasn't it? Responsible for all this disaster? – Aidan was connecting the game pieces.

Tomás smiled at him, a smile of pride. - Congratulations, you are not as useless as I thought.

Aidan and Rachel felt a deep hatred for this man. He was responsible for what must be one of the most horrendous events Rivertown has ever gone through. Thousands of people were dead or suffering because of it.

- Why? – She asked so simply. To kill so many people and not feel remorse, there must be a very good reason. At least.

- I think you deserve the truth, since you will die soon. Well, the last time I came to visit my daughter, I invaded the center we are standing on, stole the virus and broke it in the building's ventilation ducts. – He said as he moved, thinking it was the most amazing thing in the world.

- Why would you do that?! What do you have to gain from releasing this virus?! - Aidan screams in despair. – You'll also end up dying and I know you know that, so what possible benefit… What possible reason… would you have for doing something like that?! – The man in front of him stopped, his eyes were frozen and he knew that this man was on a suicide mission.

- Revenge of course. - Silence hung and the only audible sound was the computer. – I'm doing this for my daughter… – Tomás took a deep breath in stress, his hands were shaking and he was fighting his own mind at that moment. -I have already lost my son and my wife. She was all I had.

Tomás struggled with the memories flooding his head. He was fighting everything.

Rachel started to walk slowly out of his field of vision, and he didn't even notice. – They promised me! They promised me they would save her. - Aidan could feel the man walking towards a cliff of emotions. He was about to lose control. Nothing in this world would make him calm down and he had to think fast. He saw what Rachel wanted to do and tried to turn it away from her by walking slowly in the opposite direction.

- Your daughter was a patient here. - It wasn't a question, he was just trying to piece the facts together. The man got stressed and started to laugh.

- She was a guinea pig. – Everything stopped at that moment. - I brought her here when she got sick and, for the first few weeks, everything seemed normal. She even got better. - He laughed while still remembering. - They cut down on visits, and said she had entered a stage of isolation. That everything was fine, but she needed time. The answers kept repeating themselves "She's fine. She's fine…" but I couldn't see her. Stressed and unresponsive, I ran inside the door for her. I dodged a lot of people and went into a lot of places, they almost caught me, but I escaped. That's when I saw her, my little one was lying on a bed with several wires attached to her and a tube of black liquid. Her arms and legs were trapped, she looked dead. It was worse than before. A doctor inside her room saw me and before I could do anything they threw me out.

Aidan was so focused on the story that he was startled when Rachel jumped on top of Tomás and yanked out his gun. The two fell to the ground. As she pushed the man away, Aidan grabbed the gun that had flown away and pointed it at him. - And then? What happened?

Thomas was quiet. For him nothing mattered anymore. Depression had taken him. - They said she died, that her case was serious and what I saw was the last attempt she had. But I investigated, found videos proving what I feared. They killed her, according to one of the nurses and what we saw. They would take sick children saying they would save them and once they were healthy again, they tested on them. They turned them into guinea pigs by infecting them and then curing them. My daughter couldn't take it.

Rachel held both of his arms, knowing the man no longer had the strength to live, so it didn't take much effort. Aidan was stunned, couldn't even speak.

– I needed revenge, they stole the only thing I had and I didn't care if I died doing it. I spent so much time visiting her that I found the flaws in their fortress, broke in and managed to steal one of the vials of a virus. My plan was to expose what was happening, try to threaten someone, but they found me before I could think of anything else. When I was about to leave the building, they came at me, I broke it near one of the wind vents and saw with my own eyes what they did to my little girl. My Penelope.

Something didn't make sense to Aidan, something was off. – You were not contaminated. – He was getting stressed, he didn't have time for that. Ronnie needed help.

- Some are immune, but you already know that. – The man was cynical, he knew it didn't matter what happened now. If he died, all that would happen is that he would join his daughter. – Not even the universe wanted to give me peace. – He took advantage of the silence and tried to escape, but Rachel grabbed him and said:

- Shoot! - Aidan blinked, still processing everything he had just heard. – Shoot, now! – Rachel struggled, wanted this to end.

- No! We need him! - He was still aiming at the man's head, when Rachel finally caught his neck and choked him. - Stop it! You will kill him! Stop.

- And do you really care? – She was about to make it.

The man coughed for a moment and went still. - What did you do?!

- He was an imposter! Didn't really know anything... Relax, we'll do this. - He saw her use the belt of her pants to secure her arms to the table. When she realized that Aidan seemed to have lost all hope, she said: -He's not dead, just unconscious. So let's work fast, before he wakes up.

She got up and they both started facing the table in the middle of the room. – All right, what do we know? - He said, trying to remember some relevant details of the story. – He said that when he broke the vial, people got contaminated, so the virus is airborne. Hopefully, the cure too.

- This is already a progress, but the entire city is infected, how are we going to cure all of them? – Rachel looked disbelieved and just stared at the machine's screen. Aidan started scratching his head and realized he wasn't a scientist, he just knew a little.

Ronnie. Breathe. Your mother. Breathe. The building. Breathe. The city. Breathe.

Rachel realized he was losing control. - Hey! Calm down, you can do it! You can do it.

- No... I can't... Not without Ronnie. If she and I aren't together, a lot of shit happens. A lot goes wrong. I don't... I can't.

Rachel held her own patience and pride in that moment. If she hit him again, things would start to go bad. – I know I'm not Veronica. But together we can solve this. You need to help me because I don't know anything about this subject. It is you who had the mother to teach you. And if you really want to get back on track, you're going to need to get your panic attacks under control. Now calm down before I punch you.

A few minutes passed while Aidan was getting his breathing under control and Rachel searched for any indication of what virus that sleeping asshole had used. - All right, I'm back

- Great… It was Z0M31E-p.

- Han?

- It's the only vial missing. - He looked inside the glass-enclosed refrigerator.

- Okay… - He walked to the computer in the living room and searched for the virus by the code she had said. "ZOM31E-p" – Found it! It's an experimental virus that was created by PCASD... How wonderful! - Sarcasm dripped with the understanding of the depth of the situation.

- I'm starting to really hate this place. – Rachel went to his side.

- Starting? - Through the misfortune, she gave the boy a real smile and he continued to read. – It gets better… look at this. This virus was created as a preventive way of weakening. That is, if the country were under attack, they would infect their enemies to lose their strength and basically self-destruct.

- Cool. For some reason I'm not surprised and it certainly can't be the first time this has been done. Is there any place that mentions a cure? – Rachel turned to check if the scientist was still asleep.

- Cure... Cure... Cure... Aha! Yes, there is an antidote! They did it in case of an emergency.

Rachel was so happy. She walked to the fridge and turned to Aidan. – Okay… Which one of the vials?

- None of these. - When reading this, his heart dropped. "What a beauty..."

- What? – Her heart dropped and she could feel a hole opening in the middle of the room. Pulling her in.

- Here says the antidote was here, but… - Aidan continued reading, trying to understand what the words were saying. – But it was removed, after the first outbreak of the virus.

Rachel was confused. - I do not understand. If they had the antidote and managed to get to it, why are we still in this situation? What happened to the bottle?

- Wait. – Aidan started typing all the commands he knew on all available servers. He wanted to know who was responsible for removing him and where he was at that moment.

Rachel knelt next to Tomás, fiddled with his apron, and there was the name Harold Smithens, MD embroidered on it. Maybe that's how he tricked Veronica.

- I found it!

She turned to face him, waiting for him to continue.

- Here it is said that it was Harold Smithens himself who removed the antidote.

- So that can't be a good thing. Because this idiot is wearing that Harold's lab coat.

Aidan turned his face and connected the dots. – Maybe we can make a new one. With the studies and all the formulas they have on the computer.

- And what else?! Our vast knowledge in nothing?! – Rachel was getting stressed.

- It's not like that...

- Face the truth, Aidan. It's exactly like that! Unless Harold is actually alive somewhere in this building and miraculously that antidote is still intact. Which I find difficult, since the guy removed it and probably used it. We don't have another option.

Aidan looked at her and saw the hopelessness in her eyes.

- Actually… - She laughed in panic. – We don't have any options. That's it! It's finished! It's over! We're going to die with this asshole and as much as you want to believe it, there's nothing we can do.

He saw her body drop and fall to the ground. She hit her knees and stayed there, her body starting to shake from exhaustion, hatred and despair. She was crying. Something he never thought he would see. Something she never thought she would do in front of anyone else. She had given up.

- Hey, look at me here. - He knelt down in front of her and held her in his arms. – It's normal to panic. I'm feeling that way too. It seems that everything is against us. But I refuse to give up.

She looked at him.

- And most important... I refuse to let you give up. - She gulped and tried to say something, but she was incredibly exhausted. – You gave me strength and helped me through all my attacks. You were an amazing friend even though you barely know me. So, even if we don't have a choice anymore, let's keep trying. Because I know if in the end, we die… - She sobbed. – We'll be fine.

- We've tried everything we had. - Her voice was broken and dry with tears.

- No, we didn't try. Because we are still alive.

The way he was looking at her made her sigh. The intensity at that moment was strong and the last thing she wanted was to do something stupid.

- Then? IAre you in? - She must have missed a few words of his motivational speech, but after that…she would do anything.

She nodded and he hugged her tightly. – Okay, what's the plan?

- Well, first I think we have to find a cure and find out if Harold is really dead.

- And after that?

- Two options: if the cure exists and is intact, we release the ventilation of the building and we gain a lot of people who can help us make more and distribute it; or, we gather all the information about this virus and this cure from this computer to take with us and in the worst case, we try to leave town with your group of friends to find some virologist in a nearby town who can do a new cure.

Both were valid ideas, she had to admit. But the amount of things that could go wrong between point A and point B made each one a worse task than the other.

- What do you say? - He was hopeful. She knew that for him to suggest leaving town without Veronica had to be killing him.

- I'm in. Let's do it like this… - She could feel her willpower returning. – You can find a tablet, or something that we can upload the virus information. If it works on your phone, it's fine. And I'm gonna secure this guy, wake him up and interrogate him.

Aidan looked at her curiously. – Do you have experience interrogating people?

She just half smiled at him and went off in search of something she could use to trap him.

Aidan, on the other hand, was looking for a cell phone charger or a USB cable. Either would be helpful and incredibly appreciated. "Ah! I refuse to believe these idiots spend so much time in a lab and there isn't a phone charger at all…" He had to find it.

Maybe if he wasn't from here, he wouldn't mind having the city destroyed. Charger... Maybe if he was far away, all that was going on wouldn't even catch his attention. Charger... But he was. And those people needed his help. - Charger! - Aidan yelled happily when he found him in one of the lockers.

As best he could, he set the cell phone to charge and began the process of transferring files to the phone. He needed to check on Rachel.

- Everything okay there?!

- A little help would be great ... - He could hear her voice broken by exertion and ran.

Rachel was trying to drag Tomás to a chair in the middle of the decontamination room. She had cut and braided a few pieces of lab coats buildind a powerful rope to hold Tomás.

- Thank you... - She managed to say once that the man was well secured and she could rest for a while leaning on the wall. Her leg bite might not have killed her, but it definitely hurt and was swollen. And now, with all that movement, her leg was throbbing so much.

She needed to get over it, there was no time for personal problems. Rachel walked slowly to stand in front of the man and slapped him across the face. Tomás almost jumped out of his chair and even Aidan was startled.

- Good... You're awake. – Her leg was making her angry. Sarcasm practically dripped from her mouth. – No… You're not dead. Not yet anyway.

Aidan could see her adjust her posture to convey a stronger, more powerful image. He knew deep inside that she was the best person for this job. Which is kind of scary when you think about it.

- What?! – Tomás tried to get out of his chair and noticed the ties. – Let me go now!

Rachel slapped the man's face again. – Hey, look at me. This is how it is going to work: I ask, you answer. I don't have the patience for useless conversations or empty threats. Do you understand me?

Tomás was analyzing Rachel on a deep level. The girl was a stranger to him and, unlike Veronica, he had no desire to help her. – What if I don't? Because after all... As you said, I don't care if you kill me now.

It is very difficult to negotiate with someone who has nothing to lose, or who doesn't mind losing anything else. – Sure… We're not being unfair. You always have that option. But I am an extremely impatient person and with very... convenient morals.

She smiled in a grim way that even Aidan felt a shiver down his spine. The girl had already lost any level of pity for the people in her path a long time ago. She wasn't kidding.

Rachel left the decontamination room leaving the two very confused. Tomás tried once more to free himself, but he was unsuccessful. It took a few seconds, but soon she returned with some objects in hand.

- I know it will seem hypocritical on my part or maybe just justice, but let's really test if you have this immunity that you say so much.

Aidan thought she had gone mad. That it would be the moment everyone would die. But something inside him said he should trust her questionable judgment. There would be no different way of getting anything, so it was better to just keep quiet and hope it works out.

Rachel placed some vials and some syringes on top of a white apron near a sink. She had let her stronger, darker side take over. Now was what came.

- You are crazy! And bluffing... – At that moment, Tomás was only sure of one of the sentences.

- Let's test your theory, okay? - She filled a needle with the first vial she had. From where Aidan was, the liquid looked transparent to him. He couldn't read the label, but it wouldn't matter. - You're wearing the apron belonging to Harold Smithens. The real scientist… - She walked slowly towards him and a sinister smile spread across her face when she saw that he was just looking at the syringe.

- Right… - He said slowly, but she stopped in front of him.

- It wasn't a question. - She moved her hand until it reached the side of his arm. The man jumped in a shiver believing that something would be injected. – The real question is: where did you get it?

He believed there was something more. That wasn't what she wanted to know. It couldn't be. His body even relaxed. – I got it from the staff room.

Rachel and Aidan watched the man for any sign that he was lying. But it felt true. – Okay… Question two: During your time here, since the virus outbreak, I mean… You ran into Harold.

- Anh... - Tomás was thinking at all times. - The last time I saw him he was running on the emergency stairs.

- What did you do? – She asked slowly, already imagining the worst.

- Nothing... - Lie. Rachel just stared at him. – Okay, we had a fight. He didn't like seeing me.

- I wonder why… - Aidan whispered, bringing a smile to Rachel's face.

- Where is him now?

- I do not know.

- You do know. - he smiled at the guy trapped in the chair. - I know you know. Because you are not stupid. Nor am I.

Thomas was silent.

- You know what? I know you know because if we put all the pieces of the story together... Scientist Harold Smithens is the man responsible for caring for your daughter's illness. - She watched the corner of his mouth tremble. – He was not only responsible for taking care of your daughter's illness, he was the one who put her on viral tests. Was it not?

Thomas was somber. His eyes darkened and this was all the confirmation she needed. He didn't see them anymore. In front of him passed again the memories that haunted him. All the way since he brought the little one here to the moment he was told she died. That man... That man. That man had been responsible for horrible things. - He deserved what he got.

Rachel's body trembled at how hollow Tomás' voice sounded. She had hit a nerve. A deep nerve if she was going to categorize it. - What?

- He deserved it! He needed to die. He had... He couldn't have done what he did!

- Did you kill him? – Aidan saw his hopes descending into the water below.

Tomás' smile took in what he had seen in Rachel. An almost sick expression.

- No... I just threw him to the monsters.

Rachel took a deep breath and tried not to inject him with the syringe out of pure hatred. - When was that?

Thomas was silent. Maybe thinking. Or maybe he didn't want to talk.

- I'll repeat it one more time. When was that?

The calm in her voice said it all and he knew he shouldn't test her patience. But that girl was still a child and he simply couldn't believe there was that much evil in her heart.

But then again, he had never thought that he would create an epidemic and kill so many people. That he would be capable of so much destruction. He could convince himself saying that he was not the one who created the virus and it is known how many people this company has killed for selfish reasons. Perhaps...

- Arg! – Rachel stuck the syringe in his thigh. – Okay. Okay… It was at most… thirty minutes after the outbreak. That's when everything panicked and people fled in terror.

- When did the guy take the antidote?

Aidan took a moment to realize she was talking to him. He guided her vision and went out into the other room. – Can you get this thing off my leg?

- Why? Are you afraid of needles? - Her voice was in a condescending tone.

- Let's say I'm not a fan. – That just made her smile.

- Right. And the many people out there aren't "fans" of getting infected with viruses or dying either, but look what happened.

She squeezed the syringe a little, just under a milliliter.

- Oh! – Tomás shouted, feeling it burn as it entered his vein. - Bitch!

Aidan came back and she looked at him as Tomás jerked in pain behind him. - What did you do? - He shook his head. - No, it doesn't matter... It's said that Harold took the antidote at 1:15 pm.

- Okay, and when was this whole incident with the virus? What time did you do this? She turned to him.

- Ah... - He was dizzy and feeling weak. At that moment, Rachel wanted partly to laugh and partly to punch him in the face.

Despite that, he was very alert when she placed her hand on top of the syringe again.

- It was around noon, noon and a half...

- Well, putting everything together... The guy survived when you threw him to the monsters and managed to get the cure.

With this, Aidan could feel the anger practically pouring out of Tomás' body.

- And what do we do now? - They were talking to each other. And out of the corner of her eye, Rachel could see Tomás focused on the syringe, with a lot of hatred.

- We'll have to go to the control center. We can try using the loudspeaker to put a message on the air and call the guy out of hiding. Or try to find him through the security cameras...

- Could be, could be...

Aidan scratched his head awkwardly. He wasn't used to being in control of someone else's life. – And what are we going to do with him?

Rachel watched the man and she knew inside her that she didn't want him alive anymore. That if he died there would be no problem. The guy had already said what he could and they didn't need him anymore. - In part, I want to release it to the infected out there. He deserves it.

As he said this, Tomás's eyes widened in fright at the idea and he got fear visible in his expression.

- But if, perhaps... On one last occasion... He could be useful. I will just do this. - She reached down and squeezed the rest of the liquid in the syringe.

Tomás was startled and passed out.

- But what? Is he still alive?

- Yes, he is, he is sleeping... It's just a type of anesthetic.

She took the syringe from his leg and threw it close to the others. Aidan is still in shock. - What type?!

- A strong one.

Aidan was insecure with this situation.

- Relax... He's fine... I think. Now let's go.

Rachel walked into the room and Aidan followed.

- Have you already managed to transfer the information to your cell phone? - She asked as if the latest events had not affected her. And they didn't. It wasn't the first time she had to do something similar in her life. But he didn't need to know that.

Aidan took his cell phone and tested it. It was already loaded and the data on antidote, symptoms, and chemical form were all there. - Yes. Now how are we going to get out of here?