Karo raises the gun again, aiming at Jack’s head. His brow furrows noticing that no pigment has returned to the lost traveler. Karo waits minute after minute, silently, until half an hour has passed by, and still Jack’s body does not move. Daisy sits Patrick near Norman, not too close, but within reaching distance. She waits until she’s right beside Karo before she speaks. She keeps her voice low, barely above a whisper.
“Do you know how long it takes?”
“Not long, minutes.”
“Are you sure?”
“An infection from an Adapted works quickly.”
“How many times have you seen someone turn?”
“Enough to know it doesn’t take this long.”
“So then, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but-”
His words halt, but she can tell the wheels are turning inside the jaded man. Karo cautiously approaches Jack. He studies him for a long moment, before nudging the pale man’s leg with his foot. No movement or reaction follows. Karo kneels down, places his hand on Jack’s arm, then his face. A peculiar idea springs to him. He pulls Jack’s shirt up and places his palm on the withered man’s chest.
“He’s cold.”
“What does that mean?” Daisy responds, a perplexed look painted on her.
“They don’t get cold. When infected, the victim ‘dies’ in a sense, their brain shuts down and sort of restarts, they lose everything that made them human. They become shells, husks, only driven by a need for violence. Their heart never stops pumping, it slows down, an awful lot, but it doesn’t stop.”
“How do you know this?”
“I've observed it, and back at Oasis they studied an infected as well as someone turning.”
“That's morbid.”
“The latter wasn't intentional. The man offered to allow them, after he'd been attacked.”
Daisy's brow furrows, her hands rest on her hips.
“But Jack died? Regular died?”
“Yes.”
“Wha-what, I don’t understand.”
“He wasn’t infected.”
“But he got bit, saliva had to have transferred.”
“Yeah, it certainly did, but he hasn’t turned, and he’s not going to.”
“What does that mean?”
“I think...”
Karo rises, his attention staying on Jack for another moment, before turning away and walking past Daisy.
“Where are you going?”
“To get my backpack.”
“What? Why?”
The solemn man doesn’t respond. Daisy shakes her head, confused by the events playing out. Not more than thirty seconds later Karo returns with his backpack. He kneels down next to Jack again, unzips the main pouch, and pulls a large hunting knife out. One too big to carry on his person.
“What’s going on?” Daisy asks, exasperation creeping in.
Karo turns his head, and their eyes meet. A stern look rests on his face.
“I think he’s immune to the disease.”
“What?! Are you serious?”
“What else would stop him from turning?”
“I-”
A motion of bewilderment stops her.
“Wha-what does this mean?”
“I don’t know, but it might be worth looking in to.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I can’t.”
“You’re not making any sense right now.”
Karo removes a small, clear bottle from his backpack. He unscrews the cap, then pours the liquid over the blade of the knife.
“What’s that?”
“Alcohol. I’m sterilizing the blade.”
“Are you going to cut him open?”
“Yes, to get blood. He’s been dead for a little over half an hour, his blood will be pooled to his lower extremities, the back of his legs mostly. I need you to help me. We have to put him on his stomach, I’ll open his leg, you need to collect the blood, and we have to do it fast.”
“Are you fucking serious? We can’t do this to Jack. We can’t do this in front of Norman.”
Karo’s head whips around suddenly, the action startling her.
“What if he is immune? What if a cure can be found with his blood?”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I’m not.”
“Then how the fuck are you going to find a cure?!”
“I’m not going to find it, but I know people who might be able to.”
Karo turns back to Jack, studying his body. Daisy's mind scatters, her emotions raise. Sifting through her thoughts being more difficult than usual, it takes a moment for the realization to hit her.
“Oasis. You think they can do that?”
“I don’t know, but scientists live there, or they did when I lived there. Two of them that I know of. The ones who studied the turning and the infection.”
“And they can do this?”
“Maybe. I’m not positive what their research was. I didn’t know them well, Maria did. One of them worked in the medical field, and they were able to learn quite a lot from their past studies.”
“You know how to get back there?”
“Yes.”
“So you’re just going to go there?”
“No, I’m going to take you all there.
“I thought you couldn’t go back?”
“I can’t live there, but if I bring the possibility of a cure, they might let you three in.”
“What if we don’t want to go?”
“Why wouldn’t you? It’s safe there, maybe the safest place in America, certainly the safest place I’ve come across.”
“And you’re just doing this out of the goodness of your heart, even though you can’t go back?”
“For my wife and child. If they’re still alive. If I can provide any kind of safety for them, make their lives easier in any way, I’m going to do it.”
It is in this moment that the stars align for Daisy, and she understands why Karo is the way he is. He’s a man who feels like he’s a provider, and he’s had nothing to provide, and no one to provide for. She inhales sharply, accepting the situation.
“What are we going to store the blood in?” she asks.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
“What about the pear doll?” she says, giggling.
“Pear doll?” he replies, his brow giving away his confusion.
“Yeah, that person-figure-thing that mama made out of a pear. The one that you ate.”
“Oh my God, I forgot about that!”
“She’s was so mad!”
“She chased me around the room for like ten minutes. I never heard her swear so much!”
Sweetie holds her stomach, a soreness from laughing rising up. Her
