Kathleen and the couple loosen their stiff postures. They walk to their rooms.
I open the doors to almost all of the rooms on the first floor except the three rooms we occupied. They get in the rooms with their backpacks.
“I will stand the first watch, captain,” one of the bikers says while looking at Gus.
Gus nods his head. The biker goes for the stairs. He probably wants to watch the area from the roof. Gus and his spouse take the room right next to one Kathleen and I are staying in.
“See you later.” Gus waves his hand before entering his room. I smile and wave my hand, then exhale. There will be no more fighting today.
“Hey…” Gus says, turning back to me. I might have talked too early about not fighting.
“You said you are going to the West... Are you coming from Salt Lake City?” he asks. I know that it’s a tricky question.
“Ah, yes. We passed through the city,” I say.
He shrinks his eyes like he is examining my words through a lie detector. “Anything extraordinary you came across?” he asks.
“Hm… Nothing. Just another dead city.” I shrug and lift one corner of my lips. Mentioning the Museum may bring up a lot of questions. I would rather skip details—at least until I talk to Crypto.
Gus continues to move his eyes on my hair, eyebrows, cheeks, jaw as if searching for my true intention.
“Alright. Good night.” He disappears in his room and closes the door.
I go to the truck and pretend like I am picking up something. I know that the biker on the roof has his eyes on me.
Once he walks away to the other corner of the roof, I leave the truck and I sneak back to the lobby.
“Crypto, it’s me,” I say.
He slowly rises behind the counter. “Where are they?” he asks, scanning the parking lot through the window behind me.
“In their rooms. One of them is on the roof for the watch,” I say. “Who are they? They look friendly but there is something off about them.” It’s time for the truth.
“Bounty hunters. They are after the bag… I am not safe here,” he says. If we get in the truck and leave, they will hear the engine noise and storm out and come after us. If he manages to get one of their bikes to escape, they will be alarmed and go after him. If he stays, it’s a matter of time that they would see him around. There is one option left.
“Why don’t you take the briefcase and spend the night somewhere else tonight? We will pick you up tomorrow on our way,” I say. This sounds like the safest option for everybody.
“I will go to the Chinese restaurant we saw on the street. If I can’t get in, I will be somewhere around there,” he says. This should work. I am sure he will hear the sound of the truck once we are on the street looking for him.
There is only one problem. He needs to get the briefcase from his room. It will be very risky while a biker is scouting the front side of the hotel.
“Okay. I will bring your briefcase with us tomorrow,” I say.
He stops looking through the window and locks his eyes with mine. He stares at me for a few seconds. He is not sure about trusting us.
“Without you, we can’t do anything with the bag. We can’t just go to the Republic and hand it to that… monster. No worries, you will see us in the morning,” I say. I have no intention of taking the responsibility of possibly the only working vaccine in the entire world and the secrets behind how this is all started.
He nods. He looks through the window again. We have to find a way to sneak him out.
“Do you have a cigarette?” I ask.
He narrows his eyes in confusion. “I thought you don’t smoke.” He hesitates for a second, then pulls out his cigarette case and hands it to me with a lighter.
I leave the lobby and go to the other side of the hotel while lighting the cigarette up and breathing in and out. The parking lot is well lit with spotlights on both corners of the hotel, but the sides of the building are dark. I glance through the roof. The biker is watching me.
“Is it warm over there too?” I ask him.
He smiles. “Yeah, man. Desert, you know.”
“I know… It’s gonna be hard to sleep tonight, hah?” I ask. While we chitchat, Crypto leaves the lobby and disappears walking to the back of the hotel.
We survived another day.
Instead of staying with Kathleen in the same room as agreed upon, I slip a Post-it under her door. I wanted to let her know that I will stay in Crypto’s room.
I enter the room and search for the briefcase. I find it in the air conditioner pipe. He is a smart man.
I turn off the bedroom lights and go to the bathroom with the bag. I don’t want the room lights getting the attention of anybody who might be outside.
I sit on the closet and look through papers one more time. There are no eyes on me this time. I have all night to read everything documented.
Before starting my research, the vaccine carton picks up my attention.
I take a bottle from the carton and read the instructions. I then take a needle from the stack. As I glance between the bottle and needle, I begin to wonder if I should trust Crypto’s word with my life. What if it’s not the vaccine? What if it’s another mutated version of the virus?
While these thoughts continue to juggle in my head, I fill the needle with the liquid and inject it into my vein.
Chapter 37
I force myself to breathe. Only a small amount of air goes into my lungs before I feel incredible pain in my chest.
I look at the clock on
