Rats: Shai's Story

Supposed To Be Happiness

Author's Note:  Sorry it takes me forever to update this story! There's one more chapter, and then I'm writing a sequel to it.

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 Lynn's muscles ached as she pushed herself up on the bed so that she was sitting. Brodhi's eyes were heavy, and she traced her thumb along the dark skin under his eyes.

"How are you two feeling?" Kirby asked them. He set the water and pills down on the counter.

"We just want our daughter and we'll leave," Lynn said.

"Your baby is too weak to be around you now," he said. "You'll get her sick."

"When can we see her?"

"I have these pills for you." Kirby picked the bottle up off of the counter. "There going to get rid of the rest of the symptoms. No more headaches or pain."

"And then we'll get her back?"

Kirby nodded his head. He unscrewed the cap of the bottle and dropped a pill in his hand. He set it down to one of the glasses of water.

"Help me sit him up so he can swallow this," he said.

Lynn looked down at Brodhi to see his eyes were closed and his chest was rising and falling rhythmically. Lynn shook his shoulder, but he didn't move.

"Brodhi," she said, "he has something to make you feel better."

He started to stir. Lynn slipped her arm under his shoulders and propped him up. His shoulder blades were poking through the thin gown. His skin was cold and clammy.

"You have to open your mouth," she told him.

She watched as his jaw dropped slightly. Kirby put the pill in his mouth and brought the glass up to his lips. She watched his throat move as he swallowed it and she set him back down on the bed. Lynn lifted the blankets and tucked them around his shoulders.

Kirby gave Lynn a pill and her own glass of water. She swallowed the pill and handed the glass back over to Kirby.

"I will check on the two of you in a bit," he said.

Lynn nodded her head, and watched him as he walked out of the room. She lifted up the blankets and wiggled closer to Brodhi. His shaky hand ran through her tangled red hair. He rested his hand on the side of her head. Lynn grabbed a fistful of his gown and tried to pull herself closer to him. The ends of their noses were touching each other.

"When we get out," his raspy voice said, "I'm going to look for Jasper."

"He's probably already back at the house with Shai," Lynn said. "There's no way they attempted to find Todd."

"If he's not, I have to find him."

"What about Juno? You could get arrested. Be selfish and stay with Juno and I."

Lynn's eyes began to feel heavy. The tips of her fingers were starting to tingle and a pressure was building up in her chest.

"I love you." Brodhi's voice was barely above a whisper.

"I love you too."

The tingling feeling was spreading from her fingers up her arms. A shiver ran up her back, and her eyes were unable to stay open.

"Brodhi," she said.

He didn't answer and she fought with her eyes to open them.

"Brodhi." She tried to give him a slight shove, but she could not move her arm.

The room went quiet and the pressure in her chest got worse. She couldn't hear anything around her. She couldn't hear Brodhi breathing anymore. She wanted to try and shake him awake. The tingling spread to her chest and she could feel it creeping up her neck.

She held onto him while her own breathing stopped.

--

Kirby asked Talia to go back into the room and clean the room out with the other nurses. Their bodies would be used as practice for the medical students.

He climbed the stairs to his apartment, and jiggled the keys in the lock. He could hear soft music coming from the apartment, and the smell of dinner filled his nose. He was late coming home, but he knew she'd have leftovers waiting for him in the oven. He could hear Joyce talking with another female voice.

He opened the door and saw Joyce on the couch with her best friend Isabella. Kirby had been begging Joyce for months to go out and spend time with her, but she refused to leave the house. Isabella had Juno in her arms, and Joyce looked over her shoulder when she saw Kirby come in. She sprang off of the couch and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"You're finally home," she said before giving him a kiss. "There's leftovers waiting for you."

"Sorry I'm late," he said. "There were things I had to finish at the hospital."

"Don't worry about it." Joyce turned around and walked back over to the couch. "Isabella and I have been catching up."

"Nice to see you, Derek," Isabella said lifting her painted lips into a smile.

"Nice to see you too."

Kirby dropped his bag on the table and undid his tie. He could hear the girls giggle and that made him smile.

"Isabella says she wants to throw us a baby shower," Joyce said.

"Why?" Kirby said opening the oven. He felt the warm air against his face and pulled out the leftover meat and potatoes Joyce left him.

"Every baby gets a celebration," Isabella said. "This is a big deal. Have you told your family yet?"

"Of course," Joyce said. "My parents are coming up from Wickerford in a few days. They're so excited."

Kirby ate his meal at the counter and watched the two of them as they talked. They were excited about the new baby. Kirby was excited that the vaccine for AQ57 was found, and his work would be substantial in working with Zimmer and changing Bright.

--

After Shai bought the tickets for herself and Jasper, she spotted Todd and Ren and sat down beside them. Ren was tucking the blonde hair behind her ears, and kept her eyes down on the ground. Todd kept adjusting the cuffs on his jacket. She watched as Mikko went up to the counter to order his ticket. She couldn't hear him, but she could tell that he wasn't shutting up. Her chest tightened as she thought about him possibly ruining their disguise.

The lady behind the counter rolled her eyes. Mikko started to walk toward them, but she could hear a loud whistle. The platform under her feet was rumbling. Todd got up and pulled Ren up to her feet.

A silver train rolled into the station. Shai assumed that's what it was. She stayed a few people behind Todd and Ren as they boarded.

Shai made eye contact with every Grey working the train. Never of them gave her a second glance as she handed them her and Jasper's tickets. She saw Todd at the very back of the train and took the seats across the aisle from him. Mikko sat down in front of them.

"Now this is very important," Todd said. His voice was soft so only they could hear him. "We have to be the last people to get off this train in Royale, and you must let me go first."