Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,353

lashes stuck together from the gore. “Almost there, Maverick.”

From the corner of my eye, I watched Kemper tap his foot while staring frantically at the machine. “One more minute!” he screamed.

I lifted up my hand and stroked Maverick’s cheek, keeping my eye on him as his chest grumbled with a growl. He swayed as I whispered reassuring words to him. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay,” I cooed.

Maverick sunk to his knees and placed his head against my stomach. Blood smeared along my shirt as he nuzzled me. “Kemper!” I screamed as a pounding on the glass door echoed around me.

Cyler was there, watching Maverick as he sunk entirely to the floor. I crouched down and watched the door as Kemper sprinted forward while holding a syringe. The moment it was passed to me through the compartment, I picked up the needle and shoved it into his forearm and pushed the liquid into his arm. Once the syringe was empty, I pulled the needle from his vein and watched the steady movement of his chest going up and down. “Did it work?” I asked in a shrill voice while spinning around to look at the others. “When will we know that it works?!”

A thudding sound on the ground drew my attention back to Maverick, and I watched in horror as he thrashed. “Maverick!” I screamed. His body seized as he rolled over onto the carpet, blood spilling from his mouth as he coughed. “What do I do?” I asked as I tried to hold him down, but it was no use.

Cyler was yelling through the intercom at me to back away, but I couldn’t. I refused to leave Maverick like this. His body finally stopped convulsing, and I watched as every muscle in his body relaxed. He almost looked lifeless.

I checked his pulse. “His heart is faint, but he’s still alive. What if we take him to the time capsule while we test out the other cures?” I was already lifting him up by the armpit, prepared to drag him all the way to Stonewell Manor.

“I’ve already thought of that. We’d need more of the time capsule serum, and all of it was used for Payne.”

I sobbed as Maverick tried to breathe. This couldn’t be it. The cure had to work. What the fuck were we doing if, at the end of it all, we still ended up at some morbid conclusion? “No, no, no,” I sobbed while pressing my cheek to his chest. I listened to the steady, slow, beat of his heart and ignored the smell of filth, blood, and sickness on his body. I just wanted to hold him, just wanted to be here.

“It could still work,” Cyler said. I glanced at the glass partition where his fist was clenched. “We don’t know how long the cure takes. Let’s wait.”

I nodded and continued to lie down on Maverick, letting the tears from my eyes wash away the blood as I sobbed.

Chapter Twenty-One

I felt a wet washcloth rubbing along my skin the next morning. I was struggling to open my eyes and greet the new day. It was like my soul was heavy, and I couldn’t break myself away from the exhaustion and overwhelming emotions fighting to bring me back under.

I creeped an eye open and stared at the gentle hand washing my skin with warm water. I then opened my other eye and twisted up to look at who went into the quarantine room to care for me, but then quickly squeezed them shut to try and prepare myself for the pain of knowing Maverick didn’t survive.

I took a few steadying breaths and clenched my fists. I knew I was close to heartbreak. But when I opened them again, I nearly gasped at the sight I saw. Maverick was washing me. “Good morning, Ash,” he said in a soothing voice as he reached for my cheek and brushed the coarse rag against my lip.

“Is this a dream?” I asked. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. Maverick was okay. We did it. We found the cure. My eyes roamed over his skin, noting the faded blotches and scabs from the sores.

He reached for my hands and pulled me to a sitting position before gently guiding me to my feet. Pulling me over to the shower, he stripped me of my clothes and set me under the spray. I gaped at him, feeling a blend of thankfulness and disbelief. “This is real,” he replied