Goldilocks Forever

Chapter 9

Las Vegas, Nevada

February 2006

As they walked along the sidewalk, away from downtown, Anna became less wary of him despite herself. Her icy resistance thawed and she even smiled for the first time in longer than she could remember. Maybe her smiles were hidden in the dark voids, too.

"Where are we going?" she asked right away.

"To my place. We shouldn't really have this conversation around other people and I want you to meet my friends. They'll be able to give us some answers about what you're dealing with."

"Is it far?"

He turned and smiled at her. "Yup. Another thirty minutes." When he saw the surprised look on her face, he added, "I wanted to give you plenty of time to change your mind. You don't have to come. It's your call."

Anna wasn't sure she'd made up her mind yet. "So that's why you came on foot," she said. "I noticed you didn't have your motorcycle."

He nodded. "I figured the exercise could do me good since I spend most of the day and night parked on my ass."

The ache in the soles of her feet reminded her that it was the opposite for her. "What do you do?"

"I work in cyber security. You know, computers and stuff. That among other things." She wondered what he meant by that, but didn't ask. "I kinda fell into some projects a few months after I got here." He explained how he left behind his friends in Chicago to move to Vegas. For the first few months he gambled. His grandfather was the one who taught him how to win at poker.

"Why did you leave Chicago?" Anna asked him.

"Ah, ha! An excellent segue." He smiled at her like he was proud of her. "This is the very thing I wanted to talk to you about." His smile faded and he furtively glanced up and down the sidewalk. They were alone, so he said the words she would never forget: "I contracted a virus."

Her whole world cracked open and all she could say was, "A virus? What does that have to do with me?"

"I think you have that virus, too."

She froze in the middle of the sidewalk. The cars zooming by swept wisps of hair off her forehead. The world spun around her and she and Toby stood alone. They stared at each other. His lips parted with the inventory of words still on his tongue. She could see in his face that he realized the importance of this moment. He approached her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, you know. Everything is going to be okay."

Her brain gave her the words to tell him. She wasn't afraid. He was full of shit. He didn't know anything about her. She could not speak these words. She was afraid and she wanted so much to fall to the ground and cry. And, shit, she'd actually thought about bringing one of the kitchen knives to use against him—a twinge of guilt joined her fear and grief.

"It's okay," he said. "You'll be okay."

They continued their walk in silence for several minutes before Anna spoke. "What is this virus?"

"It doesn't have an official name. We prefer it that way." He smirked. "That sounds weird, I know. Why wouldn't we want scientists to study it and maybe find a cure? The truth is that it's one virus most people don't want to be cured of."

"Why not? I want to be cured. I mean, assuming that's what it is."

Toby nodded in understanding. "You and I both. Unfortunately, we represent the minority. A lot of the Infected prefer to only manage the virus's unpleasant symptoms."