Mission Cure

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR - M:FAC/2 - Dreary

DREARY

The Voids heading toward her were in some kind of strange frenzy. They were running faster and more determined to make her one of them. She raised her gun but then realized she didn't even have time to pull the trigger. They were too close.

Instead, she turned and shot down the hall as fast as possible. She wasn't sure where she was going, and she didn't want to get lost, but she needed to escape.

Down several hallways and around two corners, she was sure she'd lost them.

Dreary leaned against a wall and gasped for air.

Jace!

Jace was alone and incapacitated. He had his gun, but after a few shots, he would be powerless. She had to get to him, and she had to get him to safety.

After catching her breath, she tried to gather her bearings. With the hull to her left, she headed toward the hallway adjacent to Ship One. At the hall, she turned right and followed the path she and Jace had taken earlier. When she passed the tunnel leading to Ship One, she saw that it was also closed. Were the ships disconnected? Did someone on Ship Three send all the Voids onto Two before closing the doors?

Dreary pulled out her cell and texted Clare again, not that there was anything she could do for them. She didn't have control of the ships, and she couldn't open the doors. But at least she would know what was going on.

The shopping district felt empty as Dreary turned down the Main Street. She listened for sounds of feet, but there was nothing but the whir of the AIR-VAC and the buzz of the overhead lighting as she walked passed the stretch of storefronts. Soon, she could see Jace in the distance, and a bubble of excitement bloomed in her stomach when he turned to see her.

He was alright.

She jogged the last few feet and knelt beside him.

"You get the supplies?" he asked in a tired voice.

"No," Dreary had to fight the urge to curl up in his lap and cry. This wasn't the time for weakness. "Someone closed the doors. But not before a whole lot of Voids got onto the ship."

"This ship?" he asked. He was slurring his words, and his eyes were sleepy. How much more blood had he lost?

"Yes. This ship." She inspected his leg, but it seemed the bleeding had stopped. "We have to get to a safe place."

Jace smiled. "You're really pretty, you know that?"

"What?"

"Are you mad at me?" he asked. "Because of what I said..."

Dreary placed her hand on his forehead. "Are you okay?"

Jace grinned. "I'm... great."

Dreary knew a fever meant infection. And both could make him delirious. But he seemed to be the right temperature, neither cold nor hot against her skin. She pulled her hand back, but Jace caught it in his own.

He was watching her intently as he placed her hand on his cheek. Then he closed his eyes. "This is the best day... ever."

That's when Dreary noticed the bottle of vodka without a cap. "Have you been drinking that?"

Jace dropped her hand and rested his head against the wall. "Course I have. It's medicine."

She found the lid and closed the bottle as tightly as she could. Jace was falling to the side and closing his eyes. She pulled him back up and realized how heavy he was – it would take her forever to get him to a safe room in this condition. And there was no way he would be able to walk. Not now. "How much did you drink?"