Vagabonds

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Unraveling

"This is a terrible idea."

"Shut up, Tori."

But Eliza's instincts whined louder with every step as they neared the clearing where Old Betty was parked. She had Joe's arm over her shoulder, half-dragging him forward as Tori pulled branches aside with the hand not lugging the enormous safe box she'd dragged out from beneath her bed. Every so often, Joe would freeze, his eyes widening or his head tilting as he heard something they couldn't, saw something they didn't. Through the taut muscle of his underarm, Eliza could feel her friend's heart hammering, thudding frantically against her shoulder.

"Almost there," she said as Joe froze again, head swiveling.

"What's that noise?"

"It's just the woods," Eliza said, trying to ignore the look Tori was giving her as they stepped over a thick root. "Nothing to worry about."

She'd texted Aquila, telling him only that Joe was infected and they needed help. It had taken their combined effort — and more luck than Eliza cared to think about — to sneak into the quiet safety of the woods without being spotted by pre-dawn drivers or the night-shift cops patrolling Scottstown. Joe had pulled himself together after the initial shock of appearing in their room and seemed to understand the severity of the situation, but every so often his eyes would drift, darken, swirl with the kinds of shadows that made Eliza's hair stand on end.

They had to hurry.

"She said we have a week?" Tori asked for the thousandth time, the handle of her lockbox rattling with every step.

Eliza didn't respond as Joe froze again, tilting his head back to stare at the stars.

"That means my brother has even less time."

"We've been over this," Eliza said.

"Yeah, and I don't think you're taking it seriously. Martin was infected with this virus thing at least two days ago."

"We need to figure out what we're doing first."

"No, you need to get your head on straight. Screw this whole samples idea. We need to break back into the labs now."

Eliza sighed, leaning Joe against a tree and rounding on Tori.

"And what? Shoot our way inside? Ask them politely for the cure? Make it ourselves?" She snorted. "I think we need a better plan than that."

Tori glared at her, eyes narrow and bitter and scared. But she had no answer, so Eliza spun back to lead Joe deeper into the forest.

"Where are we going?" Joe asked in a surprisingly lucid voice.

"To meet Aquila."

Eliza watched his reaction, but Joe nodded, the only sign of what had happened in the mansion's basement a slight furrowing between his eyebrows.

He seems almost like himself, Eliza thought as they made the final trek into the clearing where they'd hidden the crumpled, dented, miserable-looking truck. Joe winced when branches hit him. Curled his shoulders in that self-protective way he always did when he was nervous. He hadn't made a joke yet and he seemed overstimulated by everything and anything, but if Eliza didn't know better, she would just think he'd just had too much coffee.

How long until he loses it? How long until he hurts one of us, or himself? How long until it's too late for Tori's brother? What is Aquila going to say when I ask him about the samples?

Am I going to ask at all?

The questions made quick, frantic laps around her mind, interrupted by nothing but the sleepy chitter of squirrels and the hooting of owls and the forest around them. They reached Old Betty and Eliza paused, taking a deep breath of crisp autumn air. The sky above was clear and open, the stars glittering like distant invitations.