Rough Waters

It felt more like they were on a boat than in a car at times. Maybe that had been why Adam had dreamt he was drowning. A sudden wave seemed to rock the boat dramatically and following that, Sebastian barked, “Alright, that’s it! Pull over. I’m driving.”

The boat/car came to a stop, and sure enough a weary Elliott got out and swapped places with a probably equally weary but much more stubborn Sebastian. Soon after, their ship left its docking and resumed its journey.

“Sorry, guys,” Elliott apologized.

“It’s not your fault,” Adam said.

“Adam’s right. You’re just tired. We understand,” Kurt agreed.

“Yeah, but we’re all tired,” Elliott argued, “Seb’s tired, and now he’s driving.”

“Yeah because I’m not about to fall asleep,” Sebastian explained, “if I start nodding off somebody else will have to take over.” After a pause, he added, in a softer tone, “It’s okay, seriously. If you need to sleep, just go on, we’ll be fine.”

“We could sing again,” Elliott suggested, but sleep was heavy in his voice no matter how hard he seemed to fight it, “Something to keep us all awake.” He started to hum something Adam didn’t recognize, but he soon lost the tune entirely. Within minutes, he was completely asleep.

“Poor fellow,” Adam commented.

“That’s really something coming from you, you know,” Sebastian responded.

Adam gave a slight chuckle. “Yeah, I suppose it is. Good point.” The three of them grew quiet for just a moment before Adam added, “He wouldn’t be in such a state if it weren’t for me, none of you would. I know you’re all exhausted...Just… thank you, all of you, I’ll have to tell Elliott again when he wakes up, if I can, but thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I really do appreciate it… More than I can express right now.”

He wasn’t as cold as he had been before, or maybe he’d just gotten used to the cold. He still shivered uncontrollably though. He closed his eyes as a beam of sunlight found his face through the car’s windows.

“Hey, I’ve only known you for a few months, and I’m pretty damn sure you’d do the same for me,” Sebastian said, “And by the way, if, the situation ever arises, I’m expecting you to now.”

“Understood,” Adam replied.

Kurt made no response, but his hand resumed its previous occupation of stroking Adam’s head. Kurt was upset, but he obviously didn’t want anyone to know. Even with clarity being a fleeting thing for Adam presently, he knew that. He was pretty sure he would always be able to read Kurt, no matter how out of his head he went.

“It looks like there’s an old convenience store up ahead,” Sebastian said, “I’m gonna stop there and see if they have a city map and maybe something to eat.”

“Good idea,” Kurt said, “Be careful.”

Their ship docked once more, and Sebastian left. “When was the last time we ate anyway?” Adam asked curiously.

Kurt considered it for a moment. “I—I don’t know. It’s been long enough that I don’t remember.” Concern taking over, he asked, “Why? Are you hungry?”

Adam shook his head. “No.” He supposed he should have been. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten anything, but he had no appetite to speak of at all at the moment. Actually, quite the opposite; the idea of food made him feel a bit sick. More than anything, he felt thirsty. “Could go for a drink though, if we have enough.”

“We do,” Kurt said, “Although, hopefully, Sebastian will grab us some bottles of water or something, otherwise we’ll be out soon.”

Sure enough, when Sebastian returned he brought with him more drinks, along with some snacks, and a map of whatever city they had found themselves in (which was apparently in Pennsylvania...Adam wasn’t sure if he was the only one who didn’t recall crossing that state line.) This was good because while he was away, Kurt and Adam had finished off their share of what water was left, and the group was nearly out (just as Kurt had predicted.)

Adam had elected to stay sitting up for a while, but he sat as close to Kurt as he could without actually sitting in his lap. He hoped Kurt didn’t find his neediness bothersome, but Kurt was his lifeline right now, the only thing that was keeping him tethered, and he desperately needed that. He kept feeling like he was going to float away… or worse, start sinking into the dark, depths again. To combat the panic starting to set in at these thoughts, he placed his head on Kurt’s shoulder and breathed him in deeply.

Kurt briefly turned his head away from the map he was trying to read to kiss the top of Adam’s head, a gesture which sent precious warmth all the way through Adam. An unwrapped granola bar sat on Kurt’s lap, but Kurt showed no interest in it. Adam eyed it with concern. They really needed to make it to the hospital and end this whole mad situation for Kurt’s sake as much as for Adam’s own. Otherwise his love was going to kill himself. Just the thought of that made Adam want to hold onto Kurt tighter, so he placed an arm around him.

As they drove onward and Sebastian and Kurt talked directions and navigation, Adam felt the familiar tug of sleep once again. He fought against it, his previous experience with it leaving him frightened. He was so afraid that if he closed his eyes he might just slip away and never open them again. But oh… he was so tired. He held onto Kurt and reminded himself of what he was fighting for.

--

Adam was lost at sea, adrift in the open ocean and barely hanging on. The sun beat down on him yet he didn’t feel its heat. He was so desperately thirsty. He knew he couldn’t drink the seawater, but something compelled him to do it anyway.

Suddenly, everything shifted, and he found himself on dry land. The ocean was soon forgotten entirely. One thing remained constant: he was incredibly weak and he was alone.

Or well… he wasn’t alone for very long unfortunately. Zombies began to approach him on all sides, and soon he was in the center of a giant ring of death. “Oh God…” he breathed. They were closing in on him, and he seemed utterly powerless against them. “No. No, I don’t want to die. Please.” He wasn’t sure who he was pleading to. God maybe? Certainly not the zombies.

In the distance, he heard the voice of an angel calling his name. Wait, no, not exactly… it was Kurt, but he supposed it was a reasonable mix up to make, especially in these dire circumstances. Kurt kept calling to him, but death personified kept drawing ever closer.

He had to fight. “No!” He got up from the ground and swung his fists towards the horrible beings approaching him. “No! I don’t want to die! No!” His body screamed at him, the pain of his wound and of the illness it caused.

He wasn’t wearing clothes anymore. Why was that? That didn’t matter; he didn’t have time to question it. He was overwhelmed by his enemies.

Still, Kurt’s voice grew louder, closer. “Kurt, help me,” Adam said to him, “I don’t want to be taken away from you, my love.” He could swear he felt Kurt touch his face.

“Adam! Wake up!” Adam awoke with a start to find Kurt trying to rouse him. He must have looked rather confused as Kurt said,” You wouldn’t wake up, and you kept talking and whimpering. It’s okay. Whatever it was, it was just a dream. You’re awake.”

“I woke up,” Adam said, “I’m still here.” What a relief that was.

“That’s right,” Kurt said, “And it gets better still, we’re almost to the nearest hospital. Hopefully, we can take better care of you there, where there are better supplies. Maybe if we’re really lucky it won’t be totally abandoned, and we can get some help.” Adam knew Kurt wasn’t holding out much hope for that, and he couldn’t say he blamed him.

They had entered into some rough waters, and the turbulence wasn’t agreeing with Adam. He didn’t remember if he’d ever been seasick before, but he must have been now.

No, wait. That was wrong. He was in a car; it just didn’t feel like one right now. So that meant… he was carsick. He never got carsick though. The walls of the car seemed to breathe, and the floorboards pulsed, and all of that disoriented him further. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

“Adam? What’s wrong?” Kurt asked, his hand gently touched Adam’s shoulder.

Adam shuddered. He wanted to answer Kurt, but before he could find the words he got sick instead. He groaned and clutched his middle, still doubled over from throwing up, feeling nauseated and upset. He hadn’t meant to make a mess of the car; he didn’t want to.

“Oh my God! No, not in the car!” Sebastian exclaimed, quickly followed by a gag.

“Sorry,” Adam said, “I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry. Really, really sorry.” And he meant it, too. He felt terrible.

Kurt rubbed soothing circles on his back. “It’s okay, baby. It was an accident.”

Sometime in all the confusion, Elliott had apparently woken up. “What’s going on? Is Adam alright?”

“I got sick in the car,” Adam explained miserably, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Elliott replied, “I’m sure you couldn’t help it.” To Sebastian, he asked, “Are we there yet?”

“Well, lucky for you, we are,” Sebastian said, “Otherwise I’d throw you out just for asking that question.”

Adam was distressed to hear that being thrown out was a possibility, given what he’d just done, but before he could say anything about it, the car stopped, and Kurt was trying to help him out of it. He felt like a bit like he was walking on stilts, and the sun was way too bright.

“Alright, c’mon,” Kurt said, guiding him along while helping him support himself, “let’s get inside.”

--

They had made it. They had finally fucking made it. There was hope, even if it was just a shred of it. It was a shred that Kurt would cling to desperately.

Immediately upon entering the building, they noticed the lights were all on, and they thought they heard movement and speech of others. Kurt braced himself, unsure of what to expect, and he noticed Elliott and Sebastian do the same.

A small, young lady in burgundy scrubs who appeared to be unarmed soon approached them. “Hey,” she greeted, in a manner that was friendly but still a bit distant, “Welcome to the St. Joseph Medical Center Safe House. According to our cameras and our guards, you aren’t zombies, but I’m required to check if you’re looters or otherwise dangerous. So, are you?”

“No, no, we don’t want any trouble,” Kurt answered quickly, “My—Adam—o-our friend is hurt, really bad. He’s sick.”

Adam seemed to nod in agreement. He swayed on his feet, and Kurt and Elliott barely managed to keep him upright.

Without another word, the young woman sped away, and before long she had returned with two more people, a tall man probably in his forties and a shorter, slightly heavyset woman who looked to be in her fifties. They had with them a gurney, which they soon helped Adam onto.

The man shined a light in Adam’s eyes, which Adam clearly did not enjoy, and soon began checking him all over, paying special attention to Adam’s infected wound, which also elicited clear discomfort from Adam. At first, the older woman tried to speak with Adam, but quickly she seemed to realize he was in no state to give her many coherent answers. So, she then turned her attentions to Kurt, Elliott, and Sebastian.

“How long ago did he sustain that injury?” she asked.

“It’s been about a week, I think,” Kurt replied, “We noticed some signs of infection several days ago, and it just kept getting worse from there.”

“How long has he had the high fever?” she continued.

“Well, it started with a fever, not that high. He just felt sort of hot and said he felt like he might be feverish,” Kurt explained, “But then about two days ago, I think, it started getting higher and he got a lot weaker and he’s been really delirious and confused and tired a lot.”

“Okay,” the woman said, “Do you know if he has any pre-existing medical condition or is prone to infection?”

Kurt shook his head. “Not to my knowledge. He’s usually a really healthy person actually. This has been something of a shock, really.”

Suddenly, Kurt heard Adam yelling, and he and the older woman turned their heads sharply. “No! No! Stop! I can’t—! I need—!” Adam was trying to sit up and also shove the other man away.

Kurt ran over to him. “Adam! Stop! He’s trying to help you!”

“He’s gonna take me away,” Adam explained, panting from the exertion, “he’s gonna take me away…”

He didn’t need to finish his statement for Kurt to understand. Kurt looked at the man and then at the older woman and explained, “He doesn’t want to be separated from me.”

“Well, you can come with us then,” the other man said a bit gruffly, “but we need to take him and start treating him right away.”

“Okay,” Kurt said with a nod. He took Adam’s hand and said to him, “It’s alright, Adam. I’m right here; I’m not going anywhere. Now, you’ve got to let these people take care of you, okay?”

Adam nodded and visibly relaxed. “Okay.” He gave Kurt’s hand a squeeze. “And you’ll stay with me?”

“Yes, of course, I will,” Kurt affirmed, “I promise I will.”

“I love you,” Adam said.

“I love you, too,” Kurt returned.