The Weight of Survival

The air in the lab felt thick with tension, as if the very walls held their breath, waiting for the inevitable. Apollo's condition weighed heavily on everyone, his breathing more labored with each passing hour. His skin had taken on a sickly pallor, his fever burning hotter despite the treatment we'd risked everything to secure. But now, we weren't just fighting time. We were battling uncertainty.

Lecroix stood by Apollo, his hand on his shoulder, offering silent comfort. "He's stronger than this," Lecroix said quietly, more to himself than to anyone else.

I watched the two of them, my mind swirling with worry. Lecroix had always been a steady force—a grounding presence I hadn't realized I needed until it was too late. But Apollo? He was different. Our past haunted me, memories tangled with regret and guilt. I wasn't sure if the distance we'd created could ever be bridged again.

Steph had taken to pacing the room, her usual calm shattered by the weight of the situation. Her striking features, the deep brown eyes that often concealed more than they revealed, were clouded with concern. She glanced toward Lecroix and me, her lips tightening as if holding back words. Despite her fierce exterior, there was a softness to her—an unspoken empathy that I hadn't fully understood until now.

"We need to move," Steph said abruptly, her voice breaking the stillness. "We've lingered here too long. Staying in one place isn't an option."

"She's right," Elias added from the back of the room. His gaze was hard, always calculating, never fully trusting the fragile alliances we had formed. "If the government catches wind that we're in this lab, we won't have the chance to get out again."

I nodded, knowing they were right. But as I glanced at Apollo, I felt torn. Moving him in this state could kill him, yet staying here could do the same.

Lecroix moved closer to me, his presence steadying my spiraling thoughts. "We need to make a decision," he said softly, his voice meant only for me.

I looked into his eyes, searching for certainty. I found something else instead. There was a vulnerability there—something I hadn't noticed before. His usual calm had cracks, and in those cracks, I saw a man who carried the weight of the world just like I did. But this time, we weren't shouldering that weight alone.

"We'll move him," I said finally, my voice firmer than I felt. "But we need to keep looking for more information. Whatever we found here can't just stay buried. If there's a chance it could expose the truth about the infection, the experiments, everything—then we need it."

Elias nodded curtly, though his gaze remained skeptical. Steph, however, caught my eye and gave a small nod of agreement. She understood what was at stake, not just for us, but for everyone out there—those still untouched by the infection.

As we gathered our supplies, Lecroix lingered by my side. There was a charged silence between us, a quiet intimacy in the way he moved closer, always near but never overstepping. Our eyes met, and for a fleeting second, the weight of everything else disappeared. It was just us.

"You've come a long way," Lecroix said quietly, his voice filled with something deeper, something that made my pulse quicken.

"Thanks," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper. There was so much unsaid between us, but now wasn't the time to untangle it.

Apollo stirred on the cot, a groan slipping past his lips. I rushed to his side, placing a hand on his clammy forehead. His eyes fluttered open, the fever making them glassy. For a moment, there was a flicker of recognition, but it quickly faded into confusion.

"We're going to get you out of here," I whispered, my heart aching at the sight of him like this. "Just hang on a little longer."

As we prepared to leave, Lecroix handed me a small data drive. "I found this while searching the mainframe. It's encrypted, but there could be more on it. More about the infection, the experiments, and…" He trailed off, glancing at Apollo.

I swallowed hard. "We'll figure it out."

With Apollo's arm draped over my shoulder and Lecroix taking the other side, we moved out of the lab, the eerie quiet of the place making every step feel like we were walking into a trap. The corridors stretched ahead, dark and foreboding, the faint echo of our footsteps the only sound. But as we moved deeper, something else stirred in the back of my mind.

We weren't just fighting for survival anymore. We were fighting for the truth.