The First

14.1

A/N: Yeah, I know this update is a day late. Seriously, I don't have an excuse this time. I just decided to read yesterday instead of write. *shrugs* The book was good, what can I say?

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02 - 12 - 2089

Riding in a transport car was not how I imagined it would be. It was bumpy, smelly, and I was sick to my stomach the whole way. Cade had to put up with my sick stomach twice when it decided to empty itself. Thankfully, he had an extra shirt so I didn't have to smell awful until we got to the larger settlement.

Now I'm wearing an oversized shirt over my t-shirt instead of my jacket. Cade's jacket is wrapped around my shoulders even though I insisted he keep it.

We walk down the street from where the car is, and I stare at this new settlement called Dunhaven. It's larger than Fairbanks, much to my surprise, and Cade explained that it is also a relatively new settlement. He said it was formed to help even out the population in different states, whatever that meant.

"Where are we headed to now?" I ask, marveling as my breathe puffs in front of me. I'll never tire of seeing the mist I make with my breath. It's so pure, appearing and disappearing only a moment after it is created.

"The train station. We need to get some tickets to get out of here."

I nod distractedly, watching the transports pass by on the wet road, blinking when the sunlight reflects off them into my eyes. I glance across the street as a large transport pulls into a garage. A man pulls open the back doors of the vehicle, and I stifle a gasp. Bodies line the floor of the transport, limp and covered in sores.

A hand wraps around my arm, pulling my gaze away from the horrific sight. Bile burns my throat, and I swallow it back, turning to Cade. I know my face is ashen without him telling me.

"What--" I shake my head, unable to form words to explain the horror across the street. I try again. "What was that--why--" I stop, realizing what I'm trying to say cannot be described.

Thankfully, Cade glances across the street and realizes the reason for my shock. "It's a sick house," he says quietly. "They aren't dead, but from the stage they're in, I don't think they'll last much longer."

I force myself to look at the bodies, watching as the driver hauls them up, one at a time, and carries them inside. "What's wrong with them?" I swallow hard, finding a lump in my throat.

"It looks like Ilium Disease, but it could be a variety of things."

"What?" I look at him in confusion, pulling my arms tighter around myself to guard from the sudden chill that attacks my body.

"It's a new virus that developed during the breakdown before the FRA rose up. No one really knows what causes it, and there's no known cure. It's almost as bad as Abdominal Paraplegia." I stop breathing at his words, and Cade frowns. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you that."

"No," I force myself to say the words. "I want to hear it. I want to know."

Cade's forehead pinches, but he gives a curt nod nonetheless. "Abdominal Paraplegia is an autoimmune disorder, characterized by the onset of paraplegia in the stomach and diaphragm and..." he hesitates, "leads to the eventual suffocation of the infected."