Tyler had heard part of the conversation between Peta and Jason, so he knew they were in even more trouble than when they started out. He was trying not to get too irritated about not being included in what he considered pretty critical stuff. Sure, he was sixteen, but it was his life, too. Peta was just trying to look out for him, and after his freak-out, he couldn’t deny he needed some help. But that didn’t mean he shouldn’t be included in discussing their looming demise and how to avoid it. He might even surprise ‘em and come up with some pretty good ideas.
Wiggling his fingers at Marty, Tyler tried to lure the dog over to him with the promise of a head scratch or belly rub. For a reason he hadn’t figured out yet, the German Shepard had been basically glued to Peta’s side since they all piled into the helicopter together. She didn’t strike him as much of an animal person, and other than having a hand resting on his back, he hadn’t seen much affection between the two. It was more of a…relaxed co-existence.
Like all the other times they’d been on the run, or traveling to an unknown destination, there wasn’t a whole lot of chatting going on. Part of it was because of the noise. The smaller helicopter wasn’t nearly as bad as the last two, but you still had to either wear a headset or practically have your heads touching to be heard without yelling. It took too much effort, and they were all so physically and emotionally drained that it was easier to stay inside your own head, or sleep.
Jason had dubbed himself as co-pilot, and was spending all his time up front with Hernandez. Eddy seemed to prefer to stand at the back of the cockpit, looking out the front, instead of sitting on the floor with the rest of them. That was fine with Tyler. He wasn’t quite as freaked out by Eddy as he used to be, but he still didn’t trust him. He couldn’t. Not when he knew the guy didn’t have enough emotions left to feel much of anything. How would you measure right or wrong, and what was morally okay if you couldn’t feel? He still wondered if Eddy did anything back at the base to make those people chase him. Would he have bothered to lie about it if he had? Since Eddy seemed to think everything he did or said was based purely on intelligent thought, and therefore foolproof, then he wouldn’t feel like he had to lie about the choices he made. And it seemed like the whole purpose of lying was something driven by feelings of guilt, or greed, or—
Tyler shook his head and looked away from the window. Thinking about it gave him a headache. That thought kicked his anxiety up another notch, because then he worried that maybe he was finally showing the first symptom of The Kuru. That he wasn’t immune like they all wanted to believe, and he was going to die after abandoning his dad, making everything they were doing for nothing.
“Tyler,” Peta said sharply from close by.
Tyler jumped at the intrusion into his spiraling observations, and looked over at her. Peta was closely scrutinizing him, like she could read his dark thoughts. Swallowing down the croak that was trying to escape, he then cleared his throat and attempted to smile. “I’m good,” he lied.
She frowned, apparently seeing right through his act. Before she could comment on it, Eddy chose that moment to leave his perch behind the cockpit and join them in the back.
Watching him sit cross-legged opposite him and next to Peta, Tyler didn’t know if it was a welcome interruption or not. Eddy selected a pepperoni stick from the pile of goods left out on the floor, and methodically peeled it open before looking up to acknowledge their presence.
“Get tired of the scenery?” Devon asked, sitting down in between Eddy and Peta. He reached out and gave Marty a rub on his haunches, and the friendly dog licked his hand in response. “Do you know where we are?”
“I’m afraid there isn’t much to see at the moment,” Eddy replied, sounding bored. He took a bite of the pepperoni and then pointed the remainder at Devon. “Though we have managed to leave Central America and cross into Colombia. I suppose that’s a milestone I wasn’t certain we’d manage to reach, when we left the CDC Sunday morning.”
Peta awkwardly scooted in closer, dragging Marty with her and tightening their circle so they didn’t have to talk as loud. “How is Hernandez doing?”
Eddy raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder before answering. “Better than he should be. It’s encouraging, really. If he’d received another treatment yesterday and today, I suspect he’d survive a few more days.”
Tyler reeled away from him but was stopped by the hard metal of the helicopter’s siding. He didn’t care what kind of excuses the guy had, he couldn’t accept how…cold he was.
Eddy obviously noticed his strong reaction, and at least had the decency to appear concerned. Well, at least his brows drew together in what might have qualified as slightly troubled.
“I apologize for not taking your feelings into consideration before speaking,” Eddy said to Tyler, taking another bite of his snack. “I know you’ve all become close to Ensign Hernandez and from what he’s said, it’s clear he feels the same about you. If we were in different circumstances, it would be appropriate to avoid talking openly about his condition. However, given how he is the only person amongst us capable of piloting this aircraft, we can’t afford to sugarcoat things. He’s dying. You all know that,” he added, when Tyler balked again. “And the time has come
