The Safe Zone (The Dead Zone Book Two)

Untitled Part 15

"Clamps." Paige hands the instruments over to Doc, re-situating the light above the woman he was operating on. She'd finally been allowed to leave the house to help Doc perform a minor appendectomy surgery after one of the citizens had fallen ill; not that she had a choice, but then again the woman did need their help. She watches in silence as Doc works, wondering how he was okay with staying in a place like Lemuria.

It wasn't likely that they'd ever let Doc leave, but he didn't seem to want to. He'd never been outside the walls, never seen the full extent of what was out there. When she'd first arrived, she'd thought Doc was intelligent and kind. Now that she knew the truth about this place, she couldn't help but chip away at his character.

"Something bothering you?"

She resists the urge to roll her eyes. Sure, she could voice her thoughts, but honestly, she didn't really see the point. Soon, she would be liberated from this place; Bryson was coming, and when he did, she'd never have to deal with these people again. Until then she'd keep her mouth shut and wait.

"Nope."

Doc pauses the procedure, eyeing her. "I've spent enough time around you to know exactly what you're thinking." He replies. "We're not bad people. Not all of us, that is."

Not all of us. No, just the man who runs your town and his evil henchman named Jason.

"You might not be bad people, but you sit aside and let terrible things happen. That doesn't exactly make you good."

Doc is quiet for a moment as her words sink in. Infuriatingly enough, he actually seems to consider them. Hating him would be so much easier if he wasn't so damn understanding.

"Do you consider yourself good?" The question is genuine, not at all accusatory or judgmental.

"I don't know." Was there really any good people left? She tried to be a good person, but lines were blurred when it was life or death. Not too long ago she'd shot a dying man in the head after he'd been bitten. He'd still been a normal person when she'd done it- was she a murderer?

"We only do what is necessary for survival. I think maybe we go about it the wrong way," he shoots her an apologetic glance, "but I also think fear over rules rationality sometimes."

He was one hundred percent right. She'd experienced that first hand. Whenever fear kicked in, she'd done crazy things to survive and protect the ones she loved. But no matter what light Doc tried to paint it in, what Victor was doing here in Lemuria was wrong. What he was doing to her and Zach was wrong.

Doc finishes the procedure on the unconscious woman, whose name Paige couldn't seem to remember. Whoever she was, was going to be in a lot of pain once the anesthesia wore off.

"I guess I better let the guards know to escort me back." She'd complained enough that the guards had finally agreed to wait outside until the procedure was over, claiming she couldn't work while people were staring at her. Really she just needed a break from feeling like a prisoner.

"I want to show you something first."

Doc's eyes light up as he peels off his gloves, going for a messy manila envelope. On the outside was scribbled the words Mortuus Vivens.

Noticing her curiosity, he says, "Mortuus Vivens. That's what I call it."

It takes her a second to catch on. "You named the virus?" He nods enthusiastically. 

"Someone's got to, right?"

He had a point there. For all they knew, there was nobody else left out there that knew enough about the virus or had the technology to study and name it. Mortuus Vivens, the unseen killer. The monster maker.

"Have you learned anything new?" Doc had shown her bits and pieces of his discoveries since she'd arrived; apparently he'd been busy while she'd been locked up.

"Yes, lots, actually."

Despite everything going on, his excitement was contagious.

"A cure...?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," He chuckles. "But I think I'm close to a vaccine. I just have to figure out how to inoculate and weaken the virus."

A vaccine! If what he was saying was true... she might just have a reason to stay, reasons that far outweighed her need to escape. If she, Bryson, and Zach could get the working vaccine... they would no longer have to fear being bitten. Sure, the roamers could still eat them alive if they weren't careful, but one little bite would no longer mean certain death. Then, once they had the vaccine, they could make their great escape.

"I can't believe this."

"If I can do this," Doc says, suddenly serious, "Do you realize what it could mean for everyone? Not just us, but anyone else still alive out there?"

"Everything will change."

"That's right. Everything will change."