do, but you can’t tell anyone. No one. Not Luke or
Ed or anyone,” he emphasized.
“I won’t. I promise.”
Zack pondered for a moment, considering what he was
about to say. “Did you see Austin before he went into the coma?
Madison nodded.
“So you saw his eyes?”
“No. He had sunglasses on. Inside his apartment. When
I asked about it, he, he flipped out. Why? What’s wrong with his eyes?”
“Well,” Zack cleared his throat, “it seems Eve
injected him with some sort of something into his veins and his blood...”
“What do you mean injected?”
“Ah, not injected. Bit. She bit him.”
“What! Are you kidding me? Bit him? Come on Zack,”
Madison argued, but with little force because what he said didn’t seem all that
preposterous.
“Not kidding. Came straight from the horse’s mouth.”
“Austin told you that.” She rubbed her forehead. “Ok,
so she bit him.”
“So, I’ve been taking blood samples since he passed
out. At first the foreign cells, or Eve’s cells, were consuming his, but then
yesterday I noticed his cells were fighting back. They were eating or
consuming, the new cells.”
“Sounds very sci-fyish. What does it mean?”
“Not sure yet, but it’s similar to when your body
fights a virus or bacteria. Except Eve’s cells are the Hulk of viruses.”
“Sounds more like cancer,” she said with not a little
note of sarcasm.
“Cancer? Ah. Hmm.” Zack pondered for a few minutes. He
hadn’t thought of this as a disease to be treated.
“What’s the aha look for?”
“You, my dear, may have come up with a possible
solution.” Zack flashed her one of his melt your heart smiles.
Madison’s heart did more than melt, it jumped in her
chest and her cheeks felt flushed. Don’t make a fool of yourself Mad, her mom chided,
choosing that precise moment to chime in after being silent for weeks.
“Is this a private party?” Luke plopped down next to
Madison, saving her further embarrassment.
“Not at all,” Zack answered. “We were discussing
celebrating Christmas.”
“Christmas? Really?” Luke scowled. “What’s to
celebrate?”
Madison and Zack exchanged a worried glance. Both of
them had noticed Luke’s demeanor changing, his attitude growing worse by the
day.
“Hey man, lighten up. It’s not the end of the world,”
Zack said and then chuckled at his choice of words.
“Glad you think this is such a joke. Do you have to be
such a smartass about everything?”
“Hey, what’s your problem?” Madison turned to look at
him.
“I don’t have a problem. We have a problem.” He slid
out of the booth. “You all act like living down here is gonna go on forever. We
eat and drink like we have a never-ending supply. No one talks about the future
and what happens when all the shit runs out. We keep taking people in. Two of
the girls are going to have babies. How are we supposed to support everyone?”
“What would you have us do? Turn them away?” Madison
asked.
“No. That’s not what I’m saying at all.” Luke ran his
hand through his hair, searching for the right words. “What I’m saying is we
can’t live like being down here is only temporary and one day things are gonna
return to normal. That’s never gonna happen. The vampires...the Adita, the
whatever, made damn sure of that.”
Madison refrained from telling Luke everything was
going to be ok. A stupid thing people said when they didn’t know what else to
say. Besides, Luke wasn’t a kid anymore. He was twenty-one, old enough to be
treated like an adult.
“Come on Luke. Sit down. Talk to us.”
Luke looked at Madison for a long moment, his
expression hard, and his body tense like he was ready to fight.
“Please,” she implored.
Luke’s shoulders relaxed and he sat next to her.
“Sorry for the outburst.”
“Don’t apologize dude. You’re right. We haven’t given
the future much thought,” Zack admitted. “But it’s hard to think about
something you don’t
Ed or anyone,” he emphasized.
“I won’t. I promise.”
Zack pondered for a moment, considering what he was
about to say. “Did you see Austin before he went into the coma?
Madison nodded.
“So you saw his eyes?”
“No. He had sunglasses on. Inside his apartment. When
I asked about it, he, he flipped out. Why? What’s wrong with his eyes?”
“Well,” Zack cleared his throat, “it seems Eve
injected him with some sort of something into his veins and his blood...”
“What do you mean injected?”
“Ah, not injected. Bit. She bit him.”
“What! Are you kidding me? Bit him? Come on Zack,”
Madison argued, but with little force because what he said didn’t seem all that
preposterous.
“Not kidding. Came straight from the horse’s mouth.”
“Austin told you that.” She rubbed her forehead. “Ok,
so she bit him.”
“So, I’ve been taking blood samples since he passed
out. At first the foreign cells, or Eve’s cells, were consuming his, but then
yesterday I noticed his cells were fighting back. They were eating or
consuming, the new cells.”
“Sounds very sci-fyish. What does it mean?”
“Not sure yet, but it’s similar to when your body
fights a virus or bacteria. Except Eve’s cells are the Hulk of viruses.”
“Sounds more like cancer,” she said with not a little
note of sarcasm.
“Cancer? Ah. Hmm.” Zack pondered for a few minutes. He
hadn’t thought of this as a disease to be treated.
“What’s the aha look for?”
“You, my dear, may have come up with a possible
solution.” Zack flashed her one of his melt your heart smiles.
Madison’s heart did more than melt, it jumped in her
chest and her cheeks felt flushed. Don’t make a fool of yourself Mad, her mom chided,
choosing that precise moment to chime in after being silent for weeks.
“Is this a private party?” Luke plopped down next to
Madison, saving her further embarrassment.
“Not at all,” Zack answered. “We were discussing
celebrating Christmas.”
“Christmas? Really?” Luke scowled. “What’s to
celebrate?”
Madison and Zack exchanged a worried glance. Both of
them had noticed Luke’s demeanor changing, his attitude growing worse by the
day.
“Hey man, lighten up. It’s not the end of the world,”
Zack said and then chuckled at his choice of words.
“Glad you think this is such a joke. Do you have to be
such a smartass about everything?”
“Hey, what’s your problem?” Madison turned to look at
him.
“I don’t have a problem. We have a problem.” He slid
out of the booth. “You all act like living down here is gonna go on forever. We
eat and drink like we have a never-ending supply. No one talks about the future
and what happens when all the shit runs out. We keep taking people in. Two of
the girls are going to have babies. How are we supposed to support everyone?”
“What would you have us do? Turn them away?” Madison
asked.
“No. That’s not what I’m saying at all.” Luke ran his
hand through his hair, searching for the right words. “What I’m saying is we
can’t live like being down here is only temporary and one day things are gonna
return to normal. That’s never gonna happen. The vampires...the Adita, the
whatever, made damn sure of that.”
Madison refrained from telling Luke everything was
going to be ok. A stupid thing people said when they didn’t know what else to
say. Besides, Luke wasn’t a kid anymore. He was twenty-one, old enough to be
treated like an adult.
“Come on Luke. Sit down. Talk to us.”
Luke looked at Madison for a long moment, his
expression hard, and his body tense like he was ready to fight.
“Please,” she implored.
Luke’s shoulders relaxed and he sat next to her.
“Sorry for the outburst.”
“Don’t apologize dude. You’re right. We haven’t given
the future much thought,” Zack admitted. “But it’s hard to think about
something you don’t
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