“No. Like I said, she just went AWOL.”
“Did anyone check her quarters? She likes to hide there when things get rough.”
“I did. No sign of her.”
Krista paused for a few seconds, scanning her memories. This wasn’t the first time the girl had gone off the grid, nor was it the first time Krista had to conduct a search for her. “I know a few spots where she might be. I’ll see if I can find her.”
Zimmer shook his head, looking disappointed, before he spoke again. “To offer support to someone who shouldn’t need it?”
“That’s the plan.”
Zimmer nodded, though it looked more involuntary than a sign of agreement. His eyes darted left and right for a few moments before he spoke again. “There is another way you could handle it.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
“Just let her flail away in some dark hole somewhere, then ask for a replacement vote when Nirvana starts to fail without its newly-crowned leader. The way’s she’s going, she’ll make it easy.”
“I’d rather play this straight, Rod, if you don’t mind. Got to give the girl a chance.”
“Normally yes, but there’s more at stake here than just her feelings.”
“I agree. But let me go have a chat with her. I’m sure I can get things back on track.”
“I hope you realize you’re missing a golden opportunity here, if you know what I mean.”
“I know full well what you mean.”
“Then?”
“Then nothing,” Krista said with confidence, slapping the man on the back. “Thanks for the update. I’ll take it from here.”
Krista brought her eyes around to Wicks, who had just entered the far end of the corridor and was walking her way with a blanket and a bowl of food in his hands.
CHAPTER 22
Summer knocked on the door to Liz’s quarters and waited for a response with Sergeant Barkley at her feet. The golden shepherd had made tremendous improvement, getting stronger and nimbler with each passing hour, though he still needed a bath. Maybe two of them—the stench was now mutating into its own lifeform.
She didn’t know if the dog’s lack of understanding about how badly he was hurt had actually helped in his recovery or not, but she was starting to think it had.
If you know you are supposed to take much longer to heal, the power of that suggestion might actually cause that exact thing to happen. That would also mean not knowing how badly you are injured would bring about the opposite.
Her theories seemed logical; then again, maybe the canine was just a wonder mutt, built to take a beating and never slow down. Either way, she was happy her new friend was feeling better.
When Summer didn’t get a response from the doctor, she knocked again, only this time twice as hard. “Hey Liz. It’s me, Summer. You in there? I need to speak to you for a minute.”
“Hang on,” Liz said from inside, her tone heavy and terse.
Summer leaned in and listened to the sounds coming from the other side of the door. First there was a clap of wood, like a door slamming. Maybe it was a drawer closing—no way to know for sure. Then the rustle of metal on metal landed on her ears. It was lightly pitched and included several pinging sounds.
When Summer heard footsteps stacked together and getting louder, she straightened up only a split second before the door opened.
“Sorry about that,” Liz said in a breathy voice, greeting Summer with an ankle-length robe wrapped around her body. Her hair was a mess and she wasn’t wearing her glasses.
Summer stumbled over the words as they arrived on her tongue, hoping Liz didn’t detect that she’d been eavesdropping. “Uh, sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No, just getting cleaned up. Haven’t had a chance until now.”
Summer looked down at the dog, then rubbed his back with a quick scrub of her fingers. “Need to do the same with him. Whew! Getting a little ripe.”
“Yes, I noticed.”
Summer smirked, wondering if she should issue another apology for bringing the dog along. She decided against it. Might make her sound weak in front of her friend. “Anyway, I checked medical first but you weren’t there, so I thought I’d try here. Sorry for the intrusion.”
“It’s fine, Summer,” Liz said. “What did you want to speak to me about?”
Summer held up the tri-fold piece of paper she’d found in Morse’s lab. “I think I know what Red radio thirty-five means.”
Liz paused for a moment, then turned sideways and held out her hand. “The place is a bit of mess, but come on in.”
After Liz found a seat, Summer stood in front of her and unfolded the paper. “I found this hidden in his lab. The envelope had my initials on it, so I’m pretty sure Morse left this for me.”
“What does it say?”
“See, that’s the thing. I think it’s written in longhand and they never taught us that in school, you know, before The Event,” Summer gave the letter to Liz. “Can you read it for me?”
The doc took a good two minutes to peruse the words, then she stopped and wiped her cheeks, whisking away the tears that had found their way down her skin. “I don’t think I’ve ever read anything more beautiful in my entire life.”
Summer wanted to cry, too, even though she had no idea why, other than the feeling in her chest. “What does it say?”
Liz cleared her throat. “Let me read it you. But you might want to sit down first. It’s rather long.”
Summer took the chair next to Liz, keeping her hands on her knees. The wetness of her palms seemed to be escalating, making her squeeze the cloth covering her knees.
Liz looked at Summer for a moment and smiled, then peered down at the page and started reading the words aloud:
My Dearest Summer,
If you are reading this, it means my illness finally got the better of me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my condition, but the last thing I wanted was anyone’s sympathy.
By the way, Stuart was never told. Neither were Krista and the rest of The Committee. I swore Liz to secrecy, so don’t blame her or anyone else for not telling you. She was only doing her job and keeping my confidence.
This was my decision and mine alone. I hope you can respect that.
You’ve been a wonderful friend over the years and I don’t want to leave this world without telling you how special you are. You mean the world to me.
You are a truly amazing young lady and I think you have a bright future ahead of you, even in this God-forsaken world of ours.
Please listen to Stuart and follow his advice. He loves you as much as I do and only wants the best for you. As do I.
The same goes for guidance you will receive from Liz, and even Krista. I know you two don’t get along as well as I would have hoped, but you can always change the nature of things.
Nothing is ever set in stone. Nothing. Remember that. There are always options. Always remedies. You only have to make the conscious decision to look for them and then take action.
One of the things I’ve learned over my lifetime is that people can change, as can relationships. They evolve and grow, just like everything else on this planet. It starts with forgiveness, then continues with the return of hope. Hope for you and those around you.
But for that to happen, you must tend to everyone’s needs and give them nourishment. That’s when amazing things can and will happen. Even with something that’s almost dead.
Our frozen world is a perfect example. Life always finds a way. So do human contacts and relationships. Anything can be revived with the proper amount of planning and execution.
With that preaching behind me, I need to ask you a huge favor, one I hope you will consider and then carry out in my stead. It won’t be easy, but I have every faith in you.