New Dawn

Chapter 25 | There is no cure for madness

The blue pick up stopped in front of the garage, the worn paint of the auto shop's sign barely visible through the whirling snow. Wet snowflakes danced around the glass of an oil lantern spreading its warm glow beneath the garage door. It brought little comfort to the storm around them.

Dr. Brown's voice was soft and warm as she spoke, her eyes dark and weary as they met his. "At least let me take a look at your arm."

With a reluctant sigh he slithered out of his coat and rolled up the sleeve. It revealed a deep bite mark where the flesh had been torn. Blood had seeped down his hand in thick streams, cold and stale by his fingertips. He wrinkled his nose as he shifted his focus to the twirling snow outside the car. He could still feel the woman's teeth digging into his arm, the sensation of moist saliva still lingering upon his skin.

"I'm afraid it needs to be stitched. I have a small treatment room in the garage where I keep my equipment", she muttered after having cleaned the wound with alcohol.

"What's the point?", he mumbled and hung the coat over his shoulders as he had began to shudder. The heat from the car's cockpit had already begun to fade.

The woman stared blankly at him.

He added; "I'm going to die anyway."

"We all are, Owen. It doesn't mean that we have to give up."

"I assume your definition of not giving up is to try and look for a cure that doesn't exist."

The wind caught hold of the car, rocking it as snow scratched against its sides.

"I'm a scientist, Owen. I can't just give up."

"There is no cure."

"There is always a cure. It might not always be found, but there always is. Someone always survives. Somewhere out there, there is someone with antibodies. I just haven't found them yet." She closed the zipper to her medical bag with a persistent sound.

He swallowed. "And when you do?"

"It would mean an end to all this suffering."

Owen rubbed his left eyebrow. "I'm not so sure."

She sighed and watched the snowflakes dance through the windshield.

"You don't see it the way I do. I swore an oath when I became a physician to always help and aid those in need. If I give up I will not only have failed as a doctor, but I will have broken my own promise. I know I can't save everyone, but imagine what it would mean to the world to find a cure. We could build a new world. A better one", she finished and placed an arm on his shoulder, a warm smile spreading towards the corners of her eyes.

He shook his head. "Sorry, doc. I just don't see it."

"Perhaps one day you will", she said with hope in her voice.

***

She led him into the garage and towards the back door.

"This is the only place around with electricity. We have a generator that runs on fuel", she explained as she unlocked the door.

He raised an eyebrow. "So not just storage, then."

He couldn't tell her expression, but he saw her shoulders raise towards her ears. She was tense, and the reason was behind that door.

As they walked inside, it was like stepping into a bath of ice. It was even colder than outside in the snowstorm.

Strange, he thought as he would have expected the electricity to generate some heat.