PROJECT ANDERSON

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE: ANDIE

"Andie, its Melissa...come in." 

Jesse went to reach for the mic, but I stopped him.

"Wait." I said through my pain.

"Anderson, we need to ask you something important please respond."

He looked over to me, as if asking if he could answer her this time, but I wouldn't let him.

"Wait until they say what the question is." I ordered, but the pain was making it hard to focus on the words.

"We need to know if there's anything else between you and The Director...please answer."

There was no way either one of us were going to answer that question. 

Why did they need to know about that? What did that have to do with what is going on right now?

"Do you want to tell them or am I going to have to do it?" Jesse asked as he looked over to me briefly. 

"Mmm...not right now...I just want the pain to stop." I answered as it ripped through me again sending the intense stabbing pain throughout my body. "I don't...know h...ow much...longer...I can...ha-andle this." I said pulling at the fabric of my shirt as if that was going to magically help the pain at all.

"Alright hold on babe, I'm going to stop." He said before pulling over to the side of the road for the second time that day.

"No...Jesse." I protested weakly. "I can try to handle it...I just need something to distract me."

"I'm going to help you and there is nothing you can say that is going to change my mind." He said before getting out of the truck.

"Jesse...damn it." I said before looking into the back to check on Ashley again, thankfully she had fall asleep against Romeo's head. "I didn't want you to stop."

"I know you didn't, but I can't just sit there while you're in pain." He said as he looked over the bed of The Beast. "Come on...it won't take too long."

"That's not what I'm worried about." I said before finally getting out of the truck. "I might be protected from the Romeros, but you aren't and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"Relax babe, I have it covered." Jesse said before walking before walking to the tailgate.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked as I followed slowly behind him.

"I have something I need to show you." He said before pulling off they grey tarp that was covering his dirt bike. "I took this from the company when they took me on a tour of the labs before the interview."

"And what is that?" I asked as I looked at the small tin vile in his hand.

"A sample of the cure they were working on." He answered before he got back out of the bed.

"And how do you know that's not the virus?" I asked as I leaned against the tailgate.

"Because the virus was already being tested on humans and the cure was still being tested on the mice." He answered with a smirk. "Plus the dumbasses wrote cure on it."

"That doesn't mean that's what it is." I argued back. "I don't think you should use it without checking it first."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" He asked as he looked around. "We're in the middle of nowhere babe...there's nothing here we can test it on."

"Please don't use that...I don't want anything bad to happen to you...I need you here." I pleaded weakly.

"Alright babe, I won't use it." He said before coming closer to me. "Well until we find a way to test it."