Phase 43

Chapter 21 - Finn

Lucas's fingers would require a real doctor to fix. It send chills through my body to think about what they would have to do to them, but I knew that he couldn't leave them like this. The pointer, middle, and ring finger on his left hand all bent together, curled in on themselves from the trauma. He could hardly move them.

"Lucas, you have to stay still," I said quietly as Darren worked on wrapping his fingers again. It had been about three weeks since the attack on the house, as well as Francis's death. Elliot had been coping fairly well, but Scott had been a mess.

"But Finnnn... It wea'wy huwts," Lucas moaned. I closed my eyes for a moment, pressing a kiss on his forehead. His golden curls had almost gotten as long as Charlie's. The boys were all in need of a haircut.

"Once we get to the Pristine we can ask for a real doctor buddy," Darren said as he taped off my little brother's fingers. Lucas nodded quietly, tucking his forehead into my neck. We sat on the floor in a small ranch style house just outside Minnesota in the southern tip of South Dakota.

"How much longer do you think it will be?" I asked Elliot's uncle. He took a seat on the barstool, his forearms rested on the counter of the kitchen. I saw Ashley walk in from the corner of my eye, Charlie in tow.

Darren thought for a moment before shrugging. "It really depends... If we don't run into anything, then it could be about a 7 hour drive. I doubt there will be much traffic on the way there, but once we get closer it might take longer," he said. I caught the glance he threw my way.

You really don't have much longer with us.

Darren had known I was infected from the moment I was tossed on the grass beside him. The bite on my arm gave it away. I begged him not to tell anyone, I couldn't bear the idea of leaving everyone. He had offered to do my Phase 43 test for me, to keep from anyone else finding out. After placing a drop of my blood on the small petri dish. It was lined with a small layer of chemicals, I had no idea what types, but they somehow made infected blood glow with green. Sure enough, my blood took on a hideous shade of chartreuse. It was the equivalent of a slap to the face.

Darren had offered to break it to the others for me, but I asked him to hold off. I would be stopped at the Pristine if we went through, so I could just tell everyone then. I didn't think I could face anyone beforehand about it.

Anyways, now I had to be extra careful about what I did and who I touched. Darren had said that I could still hold and kiss my brothers, but I was still careful.

"We're gonna try to take off later today. We want to make one more stop and sleep before we dive in," Ashley called. She was taking a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge, placing it into the small cooler. Charlie slid into the last barstool next to Lucas and me, his nimble fingers spinning a small knife.

"How you doin' bud?" he asked Lucas quietly. Lucas lifted his head from my shoulder to give Charlie a loopy smile.

"My fingwes awr okay," Lucas said, stumbling over the "are". Charlie gave his litter brother a smile before glancing at me. I gave him a soft look, biting my lip when I remembered I would have to leave them soon. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them show.

Darren gave us all a smile before giving his wife a quick kiss and walking out. I lifted Lucas off my lap, setting him on the now vacant barstool. Charlie scooted over, turning to our little brother. The two boys started playing with the small candles on the table, like they used to. Ashley and I glanced at each other with sad smiles before walking out, following Darren outside. It was mid June by now, so it was scorching hot outside. I had long since packed away my aviator jacket, choosing instead to work just in my filthy Beastie Boys cutoff.

As I walked outside, I saw Scott working on the car. He had taken to busy work ever since his wife died, hardly talking and rarely ever even acknowledging his son. I felt horrible for both Elliot and his father, knowing exact what they were feeling. I was surprised Scott kept moving.

The other thing Scott had taken to was finding and interrogating Phasers. He targeted the younger ones, ones that were still human. I didn't really know what he wanted to get out of them, but none of us stopped him and none of us questioned it. Scott had sunken into this hole - and we didn't have rope long enough to pull him out.

I decided to help Ashley pack up the remainder of our supplies for a while before we decided to take off. Piled in the back of the Range Rover with Elliot as we drove, I ended up sleeping most of the way. I woke up about an hour out of Minneapolis, where we had decided to stay the night.

We chose a small empty house with a large barn in the back to camp out. Deciding not to take out the majority of our supplies, we parked the car near the barn and set up shop there. It was a really nice barn if I was being honest, and it didn't smell, which was a huge relief. There was a large loft up top with a nice open window that led to a small widow's walk. The interior of the large barn had a small kitchen, icebox, and even a bathroom. It was actually nicer than the house itself, and since it was so hot out, we just stayed there.

Scott was the first to take off from there, venturing out into the small city to look for who knows what. I sat and helped Elliot and Darren prepare dinner, peeling apples. We made small talk through the night, Darren and I avoiding Elliot's questions about the Pristine. I really did not want to talk about the fact that I was going to say goodbye to everyone I loved tomorrow.

I busied myself with work, offering to clean, cook, pack, unpack, or anything else that needed to get done. Elliot was still sulking around, hardly talking to anyone. Charlie had been practically the same, brooding and moody and hostile. I felt like Edward Scissorhands was playing with my heart.

We had kept moving, kept going for a few weeks. I pushed along, praying that I wouldn't start to turn. I was about 5 weeks in by now. I was a ticking time bomb. We had been just outside the Pristine's outer borders when I noticed the first burns showing up on the back of my neck and jaw.

I ran to the mirror in the bathroom, my fingers pulling my short hair back as I craned my neck to get a glimpse of them. Sure enough, red, blistering, and ugly burns were peppering the back of my neck and jaw. I suddenly missed my long hair, which I could have easily used to conceal them.

I spent a few minutes struggling with my hair and jacket, positioning them so the burns would be concealed. After I was satisfied, I turned my eyes to my face.

I was about ten times paler than I used to be, and my freckles stood out more than ever. My eyes were sunken into my skull, dark circles underneath them. My lips were chapped and even my hair seemed dull and limp.

As I was attempting to wash my face, I heard Ashley call down from below. I took a deep breath and fixed my hair one more time before making my way downstairs to face the family I would have to say goodbye two in a few hours.