Code of Honor

I was stunned. Jamison had never spoken to anyone like that. Not with such force and anger? He glanced at me one more time and his face hardened again.

“Go Grace...now!”

I stumbled off the bed and left the room in three bounds. I glanced back at him one last time. His attention was turned back to Kayla who was watching us go with wide eyes. I turned and walked straight into my father. He put his hands on the tops of my arms to steady me but his eyes were over my head on Jamison.

He looked up again and caught my father’s eyes. A conversation seemed to flow through them in seconds. Without a word dad pushed me towards the group and stepped into the doorway off the room. Pulling the half broken door closed behind him. I frowned at the door. Something serious was going on and I didn’t like being out of the loop.

I walked over and sat back down by the fire. On my own so my mind could wander freely. What could be so bad that I’d have to leave the room? What could be so bad to change Jamison that way? It could be any number of things I realized. Maybe it was something cool like she was a spy or something. Or maybe it was something bad like she was infected and sick. That was more likely and very bad.

That would have defiantly caused a reaction out of Jamison and explain why he wanted us out of the room. He didn’t want us exposed to what she may have had. But it was already too late I realized. If she was sick we’d already been exposed to it. If it was even an airborne virus. There were too many factors I sighed in my head. I wouldn’t know for sure until Jamison came back out. I decided I wouldn’t stress myself over things I couldn’t control.

In the following days I couldn’t ask Jamison what was wrong because he barely came out of the room. When he did he was so busy catching him was almost impossible. Dad was of no help either even though he was always close by. His eyes always watching me. I didn’t take this as a good sign. He knew something I didn’t and he wasn’t forthcoming with the information. Even though he knew I knew something was going on. Why else would they be taking off so often for supplies all of a sudden? They were collecting something and I wanted to know what.

My answer came in the form of a cough. Nothing unusual as far as I was concerned. I’d had plenty of coughs before. Especially lately since we had to sleep in the cold. Warmth wasn’t always easy to have these days. But I kept to myself not wanting to add undue stress on my father. But as the night progressed so did the cough. I laid in my makeshift bed staring at the roof trying to keep the coughing back.

To no avail. Everyone else was asleep and I didn’t want to wake them but this was getting worse, and louder. I tried to keep my mind off it and fall back asleep but I couldn’t get comfortable again. Not with my sore throat and the heat. The heat was getting unbearable. We had a fire again tonight but it had never been this hot before. Especially when it was on its way out.

“Grace?”

I glanced up after I had finished coughing into my tattered blanket. Dimitri’s head was lifted inches from the ground and he was looking at me. Sleep lacing his eyes.

“Are you alright?”

I shrugged. “Just a cough,” I mumbled. Then coughed.

“You’re sweating,” he noted with a frown.

I lifted my hand to my forehead and realized he was right. I was sweating badly. I studied him. He didn’t look like the heat was bothering him at all. I frowned and pulled my blanket over my mouth as another coughing fit took over.

“I’m okay,” I reassured when it was over. He didn’t look like he believed me. “I just...I just have to get out of this room. It’s so hot in here.”

He frowned but didn’t question me. He stood up and helped me to my feet. I followed him without a word. Not sure where he was taking me. He exited though the small door but instead of heading down the stairs and outside. We climbed up over the wreckage, over three sets of stairs to another heavy doorway. Dimitri fought it open and suddenly we were standing on the roof of the building.

“Wow.”

He nodded. “I found it the other day.”

“Are we safe up here?”

“Should be. As long as he keep down and away from the edges.”

I took a few steps to the left and slumped down against the wall. The cold night air caressed my overheated skin. It was nice out here. It was nice to be outside period. I closed my eyes again. I didn’t open them as I heard Dimitri sit down beside me.

“How did you find this?” I questioned.

“I found it the other night after we were playing poker. You left then Billy had to go help your dad with something. I got bored and looked around. Somehow found my way up here.”

“It’s nice up here,” I sighed.

“Your seriously not cold out here?”

I frowned. “No, aren’t you hot.”

“Not in the way your thinking.”

I rolled my eyes behind there lids.

“Are you sure your okay Grace. Maybe I should wake Jamison or your dad.”

“No,” I sighed. “I’m fine. Don’t need to stress them out over me. It’s just a cough.”

“And a fever,” he said determinedly. “Seriously Grace if you could see yourself right now you wouldn’t be saying your fine.”

That made me open my eyes and look at him confused. “What?”

“You look sick,” he stated. “Your face is all pale, I think....”

He was cut off suddenly by an ear splitting sound. We both sat upright and looked around wildly. It made my head spin but I ignored it. A plane flew over our heads, followed by a second very shortly. They were close to the ground. To close. Close enough to make my ears ring. I watched these two dark panes fly further into the distance at high speeds. Then something fall from beneath them.

My first thought was they were crashing. Until an explosion reared up underneath them and they kept going. Dimitri and I hit the ground. I buried my head in my arms as the world shook beneath me. We were being bombed. I waited for the pain to set in but it didn’t. Eventually I gained the courage to look up. Smoke was billowing into the air not far from where we were. I could see fire poking up from behind the buildings before us. I looked wide eyed at Dimitri. If those bombs had been dropped seconds earlier. We’d be dead.

“Those aren’t...,” he stumbled. “Those are our planes.”

“What?” I questioned.

“We were just bombed by our own country,” he said slowly. “Those planes were from our army.”

“What?” I rambled. “Why would they bomb their own city? It’s about the only one they have left.”

He shrugged fear lacing his eyes.

“Grace! Dimitri!”

I glanced at each other and rushed to the door. My head spun violently and I reached for the door frame to steady myself feeling as though I was about to fall. At the same time Dimitri grabbed me. The world spun for a few moments more then I liked before finally coming to a halt.

“Grace?”

“I’m just a little woozy,” I mumbled

Gently Dimitri led me down the stairs so I didn’t fall. My feet felt unattached from the rest of my body. They seemed to have a mind of their own. One that wanted me to walk and stumble into the walls.

“Grace!”

I glanced up at the sound of the voice. It was full of panic but there was no one in sight.

“Up here!” Dimitri called back as we lowered the last set of stairs.

“Where the hell...what’s wrong with her?”

Suddenly dad’s hands grabbed me and held me.

“I don’t know,” Dimitri said. “She was complaining about being sick yesterday and today and all of a sudden she just got really bad.”

“Why we’re you both up there, what happened?” Jamison asked moving in front of me.

“I woke up and she was in a bad way so I took her up onto this roof spot I found to get her some fresh air and then these planes just came out of nowhere.”

“We were bombed?” Dad questioned.

“By our own country.”

That brought everyone up short but Jamison. His eyes were intent on me. He put his cold hands on either side of my face and forced me to look into his eyes. He held them for a moment before glancing away. He pushed me gently back into my father catching dad's attention. Dad looked at him.

“Get her in the other room,” Jamison said quickly. “I’ll get...fuck just... Isolate her now.”

Everyone looked at him stunned including me. Dad was the only one who didn’t. In a second he scooped me up in his arms and followed Jamison back up to the main area of the hideout. Leaving Dimitri and the few others back behind us. I had no idea what was going on.

Dad took me into another room off the main one. One that wasn’t usually used for much other than storage but it seemed they’d been expected someone to need it. There was already a makeshift bed made up in the far corner of the room. Away from the cracked window. Dad laid me down gently on the bed and instantly dropped to his knees beside me. Running his hand over my sweaty forehead.

“How long have you been sick Gracie?”

“I felt a little bit sick yesterday but it wasn’t this bad,” I mumbled.

The fear in his eyes worried me. Something was defiantly going on. Dad pulled his eyes away from me to hide his emotions once he realized I was picking up on them. He leaned down to pull a blanket over me and take off his jacket for a pillow. Only a second later Jamison came into the room. He was at my bedside as quickly as he could get dad out off the way.

He fumbled with a small bag for a moment before sliding a capped needle between his teeth. My whole body tensed and for the first time ever he didn’t try and comfort me before he plunged the needle into my arm. He was mumbling under his breath as he worked over me. Dad hovered in the background with his eyes trained on me alone. Jamison noticed my fixed gaze and turned reluctantly. He stared at dad for a moment.

“You have to go Cameron,” He said firmly.

Dads face hardened but Jamison went on.

“You know we can’t risk it.”

“I don’t care, I’m staying with her.”

Jamison faltered for a moment. “I understand Cameron. I do. But we can’t risk another person with this. We already have two down and possibly and third and forth.”

“I don’t care. I’ll get sick.”

“You know we don’t have the supplies now. Do you want to stretch them to even more? It’ll only make things worse for her. I already don’t know what I’m going to do Cameron.”

Dad stumbled over his words for a moment. I watched him scared about what was happening. He stared at me for a moment.

“I can’t leave her,” He said his eyes on me.

Jamison glanced at me. His eyes soft. “I’m going to do everything I can Cameron but...if worst comes to worst you can be here. But while there’s a chance....” He trailed off.

Dad stayed silent. I wanted him to stay, I prayed he would stay. I was scared. Something was going on and I had no idea what. But it sounded serious and I was in the middle of it. Slowly dad took one step back towards the door. He gave me one last loving and fearful look before he turned his back and disappeared. Jamison sighed sadly and turned back to me.

“I’m sorry Grace,” he said gently putting his hand on my forehead. “I know you want him here to but we can’t risk him getting sick to.”

“It’s bad isn’t it?” I asked and he looked away.

“I’m going to do everything I can Grace.”

I didn’t take that as a comforting answer. “That bad?”

He sighed and didn’t answer. “It came in with Kayla,” he told me. “I don’t know what it is but it’s not natural. She’s going downhill as badly as you are, though not as quickly.”

“You think it was made?” I asked and he nodded.

There was no more conversation after that. He poked and prodded me, occasionally inserting a needle into me. With a frown he sat back and looked over me. It took a moment before he spoke.

“We have to keep you isolated,” he started slowly. “We can’t risk this spreading anymore. I’m going to do everything I can Grace. You just need to rest and keep warm. If you need anything or something happens and you need me yell out.”

I nodded weakly and he put his hand on my forehead. He stayed there for a moment before he stood up slowly. He pulled another ripped blanket over me for extra warmth and put a bottle of water beside the bed. With that he gave me a small encouraging smile and left the room. I rolled over and stared at the wall beside me. Not knowing what to think.

~ ~ ~

“We got a live one!”
Muted footsteps moved closer. The sound of heavy breathing followed. I couldn’t move. Every muscle in my body ached and screamed in pain. I could feel the presence of people around me but I still couldn’t find enough strength in me to open my eyes.

“How bad?”

“Bad.”

Something pried my eye lids open. I could see the dark sky above me. Nothing but black dust. Four large people sat around my body. All dressed in bulky white suits so that they weren’t exposed to the outside air. And here I was laying in the dirt vulnerable and hurt. I couldn’t see their eyes though the helmets they wore but I knew they were all looking at me. Suddenly there was a flash of white light then I was plunged back into the dark. My eyes had fallen closed again.

“What do we do?”

“There’s no room left in the truck the half dead. We need to find survivors. Leave her. It doesn’t look like it has much longer anyway.” The voice held authority.

“What about the boy?”

“Been dead for days. Let’s go.”

Their footsteps moved away but there was still a presence left behind. It was eerily silent other than my ragged breathing. Then the sound of a gun loading, and cocking. Slowly I found it in me to open my eyes. With my eyes half open I stared at the man above me. The white suit he wore reminded me of a space man.

He had a gun in his hand and it was pointed down at me. We stared at each other. He seemed to be fighting a battle. Putting me out of my misery seemed like the right thing to do in theory but he seemed to be having trouble pulling the trigger. All the while I was hoping he would. I’d had enough of the pain.

Confused and delirious I shot up into a sitting position. I looked around wildly expecting to see the dark park again only to find myself in a room. Alone in the dark. It took a moment for it all to sink in. I was under the barrel of a gun. I let out a deep breath only just realizing I had been holding my breath. My breathing came out heavy and wild, my chest was tightening with every breath. I had to calm myself down.

I reached for the torch that had taken residence beside my bed and turned it on. The room filled with a small stream of light. I ran my hand through my hair, chanting in my head. Just a dream, just a dream. I pulled my hand back slowly. It was wet, drenched in sweat. I wiped it over my forehead. The sweat was dripping off me. I kicked the blankets off me. The cold air caressed my exposed body making me shiver. I fell back on the bed and looked at the roof. More sweat was covering my back making my shirt stick to me.

I waited for it to pass. The dream had been so real, maybe because at one point it had been. I’d never felt pain like that before...until now for the second time. My whole body was aching. Maybe not to the same degree but it was all it reminded me of. Nothing passed. My chest was still tight even though I’d calmed from the fear of the dream. Realizing something was really wrong here I called out.

“Jamison.”