can take a break to force Elliott to eat lunch. He never remembers to eat when he’s working.”
We spent the next hour sifting through crates and searching shelves in the basement and cellar. We found lots of spare parts for various mechanical devices in the house, tons of weird tools, and the accumulated junk of four generations, but nothing that revealed the original house plans or anything about its construction. At least it was cool down here. The cellar actually felt air conditioned thanks to the spring fed well it stood over. Most of the plumbing was attached to the city water and sewage system, but we could still switch over to the well whenever we wanted. I liked the way the well water tasted and used one of the well spigots to fill my water jugs most of the time. Brianna inspected the well pretty closely, but didn’t say much about it.
We waited until 2 to break for lunch, but it still took a bit of coercion to get Elliott to break away from what he was doing.
“Give me another half hour,” he mumbled when Brianna tried to get him to come upstairs with us.
Brianna rolled her eyes and smirked. “Fine. Zoe, you convince him to come upstairs. You’re far more likely to get a reaction from him than I am.” She headed up the basement stairs, leaving me staring at Elliott’s back. I wasn’t sure if he’d heard her or not. Was he waiting for me to do something or was he still focused on his slides and Petri dishes?
I wasn’t going to tiptoe around, that wasn’t me. I have too much fight in me. So, I walked up behind him and smoothed a hand over the planes of his shoulders. When he immediately stilled and leaned back a bit, I took it as an invitation to distract him a little more. “Are you ready to take a break?” I asked innocently, running my hands around his sides until my arms encircled his chest, my chest pressed against his back.
“I wasn’t, but I am now.” Elliott chuckled, leaning his head back to rest against my shoulder. I was standing practically on my tiptoes, while he was leaning back on a stool, but our size differences didn’t seem to matter at the moment. I loved the smooth firmness of his skin under my fingertips, and the smell of his messy blond hair. “Did you figure anything out?” I asked, rubbing my cheek against his.
“I found out that the football player was absolutely infected with my virus, and so far it doesn’t look like it has mutated. That’s very good news.”
“Good. Zack went to work on getting you lab access too. I’m surprised he’s not back yet actually. Let’s head upstairs and get some food into you and I’ll call him.” Elliott reluctantly pushed away from the card table and moved to the stair case with me.
The side door leading into the kitchen, the one we usually used since it was closest to the driveway and garage, slammed open just as we hit the top step. Zack pushed in, carrying grocery bags overflowing with food.
“You guys owe me big time for picking up supplies because the shit is hitting the fan out there. I’ve got six more bags in the van. I don’t know how soon we’ll be able to get more. Help me get it before somebody tries to take it.”
“What’s going on?” Elliott and I both demanded at the same time.
“Fuck if I know! There are white government vans and trailers all over the place and they’re saying that parts of campus are quarantined!” Zack dropped the bags on the countertop and we ran outside to grab the rest.
“Did something else happen?” I asked, grabbing a grocery sack and a case of pop.
“I don’t know, Zoe! I was trolling the dorms and the science complex calling in favors for you, not sitting at home watching the news! I got your lab access for tomorrow, but I don’t think that’s going to happen now. That part of campus is pretty much on lock down. I was lucky to get out when I did.”
Elliott was stone-faced, grabbing bags and hustling us back inside. Brianna stood on the porch, waiting for us.
We spent the next hour sifting through crates and searching shelves in the basement and cellar. We found lots of spare parts for various mechanical devices in the house, tons of weird tools, and the accumulated junk of four generations, but nothing that revealed the original house plans or anything about its construction. At least it was cool down here. The cellar actually felt air conditioned thanks to the spring fed well it stood over. Most of the plumbing was attached to the city water and sewage system, but we could still switch over to the well whenever we wanted. I liked the way the well water tasted and used one of the well spigots to fill my water jugs most of the time. Brianna inspected the well pretty closely, but didn’t say much about it.
We waited until 2 to break for lunch, but it still took a bit of coercion to get Elliott to break away from what he was doing.
“Give me another half hour,” he mumbled when Brianna tried to get him to come upstairs with us.
Brianna rolled her eyes and smirked. “Fine. Zoe, you convince him to come upstairs. You’re far more likely to get a reaction from him than I am.” She headed up the basement stairs, leaving me staring at Elliott’s back. I wasn’t sure if he’d heard her or not. Was he waiting for me to do something or was he still focused on his slides and Petri dishes?
I wasn’t going to tiptoe around, that wasn’t me. I have too much fight in me. So, I walked up behind him and smoothed a hand over the planes of his shoulders. When he immediately stilled and leaned back a bit, I took it as an invitation to distract him a little more. “Are you ready to take a break?” I asked innocently, running my hands around his sides until my arms encircled his chest, my chest pressed against his back.
“I wasn’t, but I am now.” Elliott chuckled, leaning his head back to rest against my shoulder. I was standing practically on my tiptoes, while he was leaning back on a stool, but our size differences didn’t seem to matter at the moment. I loved the smooth firmness of his skin under my fingertips, and the smell of his messy blond hair. “Did you figure anything out?” I asked, rubbing my cheek against his.
“I found out that the football player was absolutely infected with my virus, and so far it doesn’t look like it has mutated. That’s very good news.”
“Good. Zack went to work on getting you lab access too. I’m surprised he’s not back yet actually. Let’s head upstairs and get some food into you and I’ll call him.” Elliott reluctantly pushed away from the card table and moved to the stair case with me.
The side door leading into the kitchen, the one we usually used since it was closest to the driveway and garage, slammed open just as we hit the top step. Zack pushed in, carrying grocery bags overflowing with food.
“You guys owe me big time for picking up supplies because the shit is hitting the fan out there. I’ve got six more bags in the van. I don’t know how soon we’ll be able to get more. Help me get it before somebody tries to take it.”
“What’s going on?” Elliott and I both demanded at the same time.
“Fuck if I know! There are white government vans and trailers all over the place and they’re saying that parts of campus are quarantined!” Zack dropped the bags on the countertop and we ran outside to grab the rest.
“Did something else happen?” I asked, grabbing a grocery sack and a case of pop.
“I don’t know, Zoe! I was trolling the dorms and the science complex calling in favors for you, not sitting at home watching the news! I got your lab access for tomorrow, but I don’t think that’s going to happen now. That part of campus is pretty much on lock down. I was lucky to get out when I did.”
Elliott was stone-faced, grabbing bags and hustling us back inside. Brianna stood on the porch, waiting for us.
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