“Is that Malcolm?” John asked.
Meredith replied. “He’s alone.”
Jason stepped forward. “Unless he lost forty pounds that isn’t Malcolm.”
“Hunter,” John said hurriedly. “Be prepared in case there’s trouble. That isn’t our friend. Whoever it is may have stolen that.”
“And came here?” Meredith questioned. “Seems a bit coincidental.”
“No,” Nora whispered, reaching out to stop Hunter from aiming. “He’s wearing Genesis clothes. Look.”
They stood there waiting and the NASA style solar buggy pulled up. The tall and dark haired man stepped from the buggy. His chin had a deep five o’clock shadow and his face was sun kissed.
In his hand he held a bottle of water and he took a long drink, walking to them. “Tell me,” he said. “Is one of you Nora?”
“I am.” Nora stepped forward,
John mumbled. “She knows someone in the apocalypse.”
“My name is Blake,” he said. “Malcolm sent me.”
The stranger appeared mysterious, mentioning Malcolm. As if their lives weren’t science fiction enough, he was another twist.
Nora’s mind raced. To her, this man was someone Malcolm met on the road, perhaps even gave him the buggy and clothes. Had Malcolm died?
“How do you know Malcolm?” John asked.
“I met him in California,” Blake replied.
“California.” John nearly shrieked. “Why was he in California?”
“He was with some sort of science team and…” Blake’s eyes shifted. “I’m sorry. The big bald guy is throwing me off. I know I have been in stasis for a while, is this what happened to the human race?”
“Yes,” Nora answered quickly. “Only a handful look like us. Now you said you met him in California?”
“Nora,” Jason scolded. “Why would you tell him that?”
Nora waved Jason off.
Blake replied. “I had come out of stasis. We went searching for our families. Mine, the only ones I had were near the base. So I was the only one there when he arrived. He arrived with others to seek us out. Now…” He shook his head. “I can share my story later, but I need to tell you. Malcolm said there is a place called Salvation.” Spotting the map, Blake grabbed it. “It’s up here, somewhere.” He pointed to the top of Colorado. “Three hours north of Denver the wall starts.”
“Yes.” Nora said excitedly. “We have direction.”
Meredith nodded. “Thank you, Blake. We are on our way there.”
“Don’t.” Blake said. “Don’t go. Malcolm said it isn’t safe. Something about the president wasn’t dead, he went there and they arrested him. Whatever that means. Everything he told me was fast and coded, as if you guys would understand. But he said to tell Nora that his gut is screaming stay away. And your husband is alive, he met him, and he asked about you.”
His words about her husband, stumbled her back some and Jason caught her.
“You okay?” Jason asked.
“Rick’s alive?” Nora said.
John nodded. “Malcolm must have been to Salvation. Something isn’t right there. He wouldn’t tell us not to go.” He looked at Blake. “What about Amy? Did you speak to Amy? Was there a woman with him?”
“I didn’t speak to her. She seemed in charge. Tall woman, light brown hair.”
Meredith furrowed her brow. “That’s not Amy. Maybe Amy is in Salvation.”
“We have to go,” Nora stated.
“No.” Jason said. “This is the second warning we’ve gotten about Salvation. Maybe we should listen.”
“Or…” John added. “Wait until we meet up with Malcolm. Blake? Is he coming?”
“He said he’d get here, but to go somewhere else and leave a creative way of telling him.”
Meredith said. “We don’t need to be creative. That Rantoul sign will take him to the town and they can tell him where we’re going. Once we figure that out.”
“Maybe the people of that town can suggest a good place,” Blake said.
Jason looked at Nora. “Marilee warned you not to go. Did she say why?”
Nora shook her head. “Just that we shouldn’t go.”
“Then maybe we need to ask them,” Jason said. “There’s a reason that they grab guns, hide, and aim when a stranger comes to town. They want to protect their town. Why?”
Hunter, who had been listening, with his arms folded, finally spoke up. “That does not sound like protecting a village. It sounds like fear. Who do they fear?”
Jason glanced down to the map and then to all the faces around him. “Salvation.”
Malcolm didn’t have much for breakfast, and that was a good thing. Pretty much all he had in his stomach to vomit up was coffee and that landed with a splash on the ground. He was certain that the violent eruption wasn’t caused by a sickness, but rather emotions. The brewing of the contents of his gut: churning, boiling, holding it back, was almost like a pressure pot. Until it released. It began when Maggie clicked on terminate. It was silent in the moments after. No one made a sound. Malcolm swore his blood felt like icicles running through his veins. The quiet stunned faces of the room as each subject in the Genesis unit went from alive to deceased.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Silence
Malcolm felt sick he started feeling ill the second she confirmed termination. What made it worse was Maggie. She was stone. No expression, no remorse and when they all had died, she merely exhaled and said, “Well, that’s over. Shall we move on?”
On that, Malcolm stood in a rush, raced from the lab, up the staircase, through the office and outside. Once there everything in his stomach expelled violently like a volcano.
I can’t do this, he thought. I can’t do this. This is not why I’m here. It’s not.
Malcolm turned and paced in half circles, holding his head, wanting to scream. He just wanted to cry out. He had just watched a hundred people die.
“Dad?” Trey approached him. “Are you okay?”
“No. No I am not okay.” Milton spun around to face his son. “I can’t do this. I can’t.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Are you serious? You can ask me that? After what just happened in there.” Malcolm pointed with a hard swing to the building. “That was harsh. That was wrong.”
“Dad, listen to me. It was harsh to watch, but it had to be done.”
“How can you say that?” Malcolm asked with passion. “It had to be done?”
“Those people in there. They lost their existence thirty years ago, Dad. Each and every one of them was a possible threat, like the president. A threat to our existence. You have to see that.”
“But what about the canister? Nelson thinks it’s a cure.”
“And we will need every ounce of that to make an inoculation.”
“So that gives them the right to take those people’s lives.”
“Again, those lives ended years ago,” he said. “Those alive now. This is about their lives.”
“Life is life. And you talk about Salvation’s existence. That isn’t an existence. Living behind a wall. Being told what you do, how you do it. When you live. When you die. “
“That is the way of the world now,” Trey said.
“It’s not the way in my world.”
“No. Sadly, Dad, it’s not your world anymore, this is the way it is now and you’re gonna have to like it and deal with it.”
“I don’t have to deal with it. I still have some sort of freedom. I don’t have to abide by anything.”
“What are you gonna do?” Trey asked. “Run away?”
Malcolm just stared.
Trey chuckled a laugh. “Unbelievable.”
“It may be the only option.” Malcolm said.
“Dad, don’t do this. Whatever you do, don’t do it. I know you want to run. You want to find your friends…”