Ambrosia

Allison had been walking ahead of the others for some time now. They had been walking for at least twenty minutes before the cold had kicked in. Allison had pulled her backpack in front of her to pull the jacket out, but saw that stuffed inside, was an unfamiliar notebook. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled it out, opening it through the middle.

112983721 AMBROSIA no. 23376

Unsure what it meant, she continued to flip through pages.

Ambrosia- cure for AIDS?

"What is this...?" Allison wondered where the book came from. She closed it and on the front cover, it had a handwritten name in magic marker.

Ambrosia Testing.

Dr. Anne Grays

"My mom?" she wondered.

"Your mom? Your mom what?" Claire overheard her.

"This notebook was my moms," Allison looked over at her.

"Really? Weird," Claire blinked.

Allison nodded. She didn't really know what to make of it. They continued to walk for several hours. Sarah and the family were walking behind them for a while, but ended up turning so that they could walk towards Pennsylvania, where the rest of their family was.

Allison, Claire, and Jamie were getting more tired and had to take frequent breaks often. They were walking near other groups of people, who were heading north as well. The tunnels of the underground trails were cold and made of steel plate built over the raw Earth. Tubes of oxygen were seen on every corner. there were only several lanterns hanging from the ceiling, everyone else holding flashlights or helmets with flashers.

the coldness of the tunnels made it difficult to keep going. Allison, Claire, and Jamie were all shivering under their jackets that had been packed in their emergency packs. The sound of a moving engine roared through the shaft, vibrating the entire trail. Allison looked up quickly, a look of hope painted across her face.

"It's the subway!" she smiled cheerily, walking faster, "Guys, come on!"

Jamie and Claire both sighed in relief when she spoke. They picked up the pace, walking faster towards the sounds. When they turned the corner, the blinding lights reflecting off the green limestone pavement nearly shocked them. An enormous train stood on a track, the roaring engine making it hard to hear anymore.

Allison noticed that it was heading towards New York. She smiled, running quickly in line. She then tapped one of the people who was boarding the train as Jamie and Claire followed.

"Excuse me," she asked him shyly as he turned around, "Do we need to pay to board?"

"Of course not, when this is for survival," the man smiled.

"Ah, I see. Thank you," she sighed, smiling. They got in line and waited patiently to board the train. As everyone grew closer to boarding, everyone grew more nervous. Finally, Allison, Claire, and Jamie stepped onto the train. Looking around for a seat, the door shut behind them. Allison finally found them a seat and then the train began to move. She looked to the window to see that the flashing lights against the limestone began rapidly speeding around them. The train’s engine began to quiet as they sped into a steady array of acceleration.

"I wonder how long we'll be on this train," Claire mumbled to them.

"I'm not exactly sure," Allison shrugged, "This is probably the only time we'll be able to sleep though, so maybe we should take advantage of it," she looked at them.

Jamie nodded at them. Allison, who sat in between the two of them, pulled a blanket from her backpack. She put it around them. Claire the leaned back, her head against the wall as she closed her eyes. Jamie looked to Allison.

"That's probably not very comfortable... if you need to use me as a pillow, I don't mind," Jamie blinked, flushing slightly.

Allison smiled lightly, "Ahah, thanks, Jamie..." she nodded as she then leaned on him slightly, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Jamie smiled more, his arm around her slightly as he then rested his eyes as well.

They ended up dozing off quickly, and the smooth rhythm of the train against the track put them at ease. The lights had lowered into a dark glow to allow more passengers to rest as well. It was 1:00 AM now. After about an hour of sleeping, Jamie had awoken slightly, looking to see that Allison was still brushed against him. His faint smile was hardly visible as he turned his head to look around. There was no one on the train cart they were in except for one man who hid his face behind a newspaper. He rubbed his eye slightly, yawning to get a better look at the man, though his eyes could not be seen. He had wavy, long, brown hair and looked like a muscular teen.

"It's funny, how you fancy that girl. She doesn't seem the slightest to like you back," he spoke behind the newspaper, an obvious accent was distinct to his rough voice, "You never know where you'll be in the next couple years, you know. What if she moves on?"

"Excuse me...?" Jamie blinked.

He then slowly moved the newspaper aside to show dark, golden eyes. He had a bit of stubble, but other than that, his face was fairly young, "Jamie Fuller, I presume?"

"How... How do--"

"I know you because I know your uncle. I've heard lots about your family, and your distinct blue eyes--like your uncle's are hard to come by on most. I can tell definitely-- you are indeed the nephew of Damian Lockhart."

"Uncle Damian... I haven't seen him for years though!" Jamie looked surprised, "Who are you?"

"Tom Rolland," he nodded as he crossed his arms. He then looked to Allison, "That girl. She's very angelic. You fancy her much, eh?"

Jamie looked down at her resting frame, blushing slightly. He pursed his lips, looking back at him as he nodded.

"Ah, I see," Tom shook his head, "Love... what a... hopeless emotion. Not one to rely on, mate."

"What are you talking about? Allison is a great friend, one hard to come by," Jamie narrowed his eyes.

"Sorry to break it down to you... you have no friends in a world like this. When you can't tell if your best friend has been infected, you never know what you're spreading. Let me ask you, Jamie, have you ever heard of a Sunexo Tantalus?" Tom kept a steady pace in speech.

"...I'm sorry, a what?"

"A Sunexo Tantalus. Rather dangerous things, they are. A Sunexo Tantalus is a rare type of infected human with Ambrosia. They are able to control how they act, purposely killing because their mind has been wired to act angry," Tom sighed, "It's a shame really. They control what they do and can respond to people. These types of Tantalus seem to be spreading quite rapidly now. You'll never be able to tell if they're oddly a human or a Tantalus. You need to really know your stuff. Tantalus are only, but a pale tint of purple, so it's hard to tell in the dark."

Jamie felt his heart race as the nervousness kicked in. A Sunexo Tantalus--do they really exist? A Tantalus that can control itself? A Tantalus who purposely infects others? This made him uneasy as he simply tapped his fingers, lowering his face.

"So you've never heard of them, eh? Shame... now you know. Never know if that girl there, or even her friend is one. Though, they're most likely alright. I wouldn't worry much. They'd be angry if they were Sunexo--and it's very rare to come by one in the cities. And under here, we should be fine. Though... there is one particular Sunexo I should warn you about, Jamie," Tom explained.

"...And who is that?" Jamie bit his lip.

"His name is Jason Backman," Tom's voice lowered to the sound of his name--as though he was afraid to say it loudly.

"...Jason Backman... what's so special about him?"

"He's the 'leader' of the Sunexo Tantalus, mate... everything's special about him. He's the only one who can understand human emotion. His goal is not to kill people, but to infect them. He thinks it will be the start of a new apocalypse or something. He purposely antagonizes the media... he's well known. He's not a killer, but he's well respected as a dangerous murderer."

"...Do you know where he is right now? Is he close?"

"...Jamie, Jamie, Jamie..." Tom shook his head, "If I tell you... you won't like what you hear."

"If he's close that's fine--we're just other people to him, right...?"

"...Jamie... he's going after the one who knows of the cure."

"...Who's that?"

Tom let his eyes search around the room, but then they rested towards who was next to Jamie. He gently lifted his finger and pointed it to the girl. Allison.

"...Allison doesn't know the cure though..." Jamie shook his head.

"You think that... but remember, Jamie, her parents created Ambrosia. They know how to stop it. Just because they're dead, does not mean they didn't pass down their secrets to her."

"But she told us she doesn't know!"

"Sometimes the departed have ways to point out the obvious... yes, there's a cure alright... and Allison will come to know of it in time. She's well known now. Well known as the daughter of the plague. I know her face anywhere. I'm surprised you didn't know who she was right away. Her name stands out. Allison Grays. You don't see the lot of them coming around small towns often. Her parents were killed, she's most likely well-knowledgeable on Ambrosia... there's more to her that meets the eye," Tom explained, "Jason knows of where she lives, what she looks like, what her knowledge is of, and where she'll be heading. It all comes down to one fact though. He wants her dead. And he'll do anything to make sure she dies."

"...That's madness though," Jamie's eyes widened.

"That's reality. It is 2018, my friend. So many creations made during the 21st century... human error can only go so far. And this is by far the worst its created. Jason Backman was once a normal man. Only then he was infected. Nothing changes what happens to someone. You can't take it back. He tried, but only found a way to manage his anger. By spreading his suffering."

Jamie nodded, "I see... then I'll make sure Allison doesn't die. I won't let him touch her."

"How do you intend to do that with only a handgun?" Tom laughed, seeing the handgun that stuck out from Jamie's backpack, "Jason Backman is known to carry around machine guns. That won't hold back much. You'll need something far more... dangerous," Tom pulled out what appeared to be an MG 08 15.

Jamie narrowed his eyes once more, "Okay... what exactly do you want in?"

"I want in on the cure for Ambrosia. I want to come with you to NYSMD, and I want to meet this Michael Sholtz."

"Sholtz who, what?"

"She probably didn't tell you. Sorry, pal, but in order to make sure that one who is the daughter of plague is safe, you must--well--stalk her. Have to protect her, so I want in," he nodded.

"...You stalked Allison?"

"I might of. Anyways, I want in, and I will follow."

"...Fine," Jamie crossed his arms. He then looked away, seeing Allison was still fast asleep. He sighed for a moment, ...It's hard to believe... that someone dangerous wants... her dead...