VIRUS - Redemption

EIGHTEEN

12.17.2038

Killian winced with every centimetre further he slid down his chair, his bare foot stretched and pointed. The closer his toes got to the keys, the more his arms bent the wrong way, stuck to the arms of the chair with leather straps. I couldn't help but watch his right shoulder, waiting as it inched closer and closer to dislocating. Dislocating his shoulders meant game over, I was too far from the keys to try and help.

"If you need a break just stop." I offered, but he shook his head, continuing to shimmy down his chair. He was in pain, it was obvious. I didn't know many things right now, but I knew that; and I knew that Killian was the only person on my team for sure. If he rebelled, other people could've – but there was no way of finding that out until I saw them. For now, I couldn't risk my only teammate snapping his shoulder. "Killian stop."

"Mama dropped these for a reason." He paused, breathing deeply from holding his breath with every stretch. "She wouldn't have risked it unless she knew that something bad was going to happen and we needed to get out as soon as possible."

"If you dislocate your shoulder, you won't be able to hold a gun." I shook my head, "You need a break, you can barely breathe."

"Let me do this, Elle." He looked over to me, his chest rising and falling quickly with every breath, "Please, I'm so close." He was right, he was so close; but so was his shoulder from popping out of its socket. I needed him in one piece, he needed a break.

"5 minutes is all I'm asking for." I shrugged my shoulders. He dropped his head, taking one final deep breath of defeat before beginning to shuffle his way back up the seat. I allowed the relief to pass over my body as I watched his arms fall back into their natural place; no dislocations or breaks. One piece.

"How're you holding up?" He changed the subject as he leant his head back, looking up at the white tiles on the ceiling.

"I just want to get Robert and get out of here." I said, "I'm not thinking of anything else, I don't have the time to. If I thought about it, I'd shut down."

"I think you should let go of Robert, Eleanora." Killian sighed, and I fell silent. When he understood my silence, he continued; even though he, himself didn't think it was the right thing to do, "I think you should just accept the fact that he probably didn't make it."

"That's a lot of thinking, Killian."

"Elle, I'm just being honest." He cleared his throat, dropping his head and looking over at me but I stayed staring at the wall, "I know you only trust me on the basis that I screwed over Nikita at the last second; but I need you to know that it has been my plan this entire time; from the second I saw you at the Food bank on my third day in London."

"Is Robert dead?" I asked, looking down at the keys. "You would know if he was dead, so just tell me."

"We haven't been able to communicate with Nikita since leaving the house. None of us know where he is or if he's alive." Killian shook his head, "I want to tell you, I want to know; but I don't. I know Nikita, though, and I don't see her keeping him alive, I don't see a point."

"You don't see a point?"

"You would've come here regardless of whether he was alive or dead, you wouldn't have known." Killian said, "Nikita won't waste resources on people she doesn't care about."

"She cares," I interrupted, "If Martha-Mae was telling the truth, and we are siblings; Nikita would care. If she hated us, she would kill us in a fashion that would hurt us, make us want to die. She wouldn't let my Brother rot where I couldn't see. What would be the point in that?"