next to him. I was so thankful that I had immunity to X. I didn't know how I would've survived if I wasn't able to comfort him like this. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and he flinched in pain, drawing my attention to his abdomen. After a quick inspection, I noticed that more of the sores were starting to form there. "Maverick you have to hang on." I glanced at the clock. Fourteen hours. He just had to survive a little more than fourteen hours.
I wasn't exactly sure when we fell asleep. His raspy breath was alarming, but my body was too exhausted. I closed my eyes while clutching his hot body and prayed that he was strong enough to make it through the night.
Chapter Nineteen
“Ash, wake up,” a voice said through the intercom. My entire body felt like it was on fire. It felt like my skin was burning as beads of sweat traveled down my spine.
When I opened my eyes, I gasped at Maverick. X boils had spread all over his body, and I scooted away when I realized that some were starting to burst. “Ash, are you okay?” I looked at the glass partition. Cyler was standing there with Jacob, Kemper, and Patrick.
“Yeah,” I replied in a sleepy voice before stretching. I was so sore from running all day yesterday and sleeping on a thin pallet. “What time is it?” I got up to grab a washcloth and started wiping my body. Once some of the blood splatters were gone, I got another cloth and started washing Maverick off, trying my best to avoid the painful blisters.
“Payne should be waking up any minute now. You slept for a while. How’s Maverick?” Cyler had his forehead pressed against the glass, and I could tell that it was killing him not to be in here with his brother.
“His blisters are worse. And his fever is critical. Do we have anything to help with the pain?” I asked.
Kemper started digging through a box nearby and pulled out a vial and syringe. Within seconds, he was passing it through a compartment under the door. I grabbed it and made quick work of filling it up with the pain killer. Easing over to him, I hovered the needle over a vein in his forearm, and the moment I injected the needle into his skin, chaos erupted. Maverick’s eyes slammed open, and he shot up into a seated position. I gasped as he clasped his hand around my neck, squeezing so tightly that a dark pressure began to build in my skull.
Kemper fumbled with the door, and I held my hand up to stop him. It was already bad enough that I was in here, risking contamination. The more the door opened, the more opportunities blood had to get on the others. I looked at Maverick before placing a hand on his chest. Cyler came over the intercom once more. “It’s Ash, Maverick. You’re hurting her.”
Mav swayed as his grip loosened some, and I sucked in air the moment I could. His hand was still there, though, and could cut off my air at any second. I looked Maverick in the eye and saw the exact moment clarity started to break through his flushed face. He completely loosened his grip before crashing me to his chest in a hug. He tried to speak, but only a whisper could come out. “I’m sorry.”
Since he attacked before I could finish administering the pain medicine, I pushed the last bit of medicine into his body before yanking the syringe out of his arm. Maverick sobbed into my hair before falling asleep, and I eased his body back down to the pallet.
“Ash, you need to sterilize and get out of there. We don’t know if Maverick is going to be an aggressive walker,” Cyler said. It sounded like his throat was closing in on himself as he spoke, emotion bubbling up through his chest.
I walked over to the glass and placed my palm against it. Patrick put his hand on the other side, aligning his fingers with mine. “I’m not leaving him alone.” There was no way in hell I’d leave him in this stupid quarantine room by himself. “He won’t hurt me,” I said with certainty.
I watched all of their expressions slip into varying forms of pity as they stared at me. I knew what they were all thinking. It was risky. “Maverick wouldn’t want you in a vulnerable position that could get you