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| Carrier Syndrome | |||||||||||||||||||
| By Richard LeBlanc | |||||||||||||||||||
| Part Ten: aftermath | |||||||||||||||||||
| Much had happened in a short period of time. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Greg had managed to slip by the united capital faction and Angel forces. It was almost too easy with the chaos that was running rampant in the capital. | |||||||||||||||||||
| The king of the rats - once the cure was in his hands - willing let the mechanics go - under a strict ban that next time they were seen in or near the Fallen City - there would be no mercy shown. | |||||||||||||||||||
| It had been almost three weeks since the encounter at the refinery. Julie's gang of mechanics had managed to regroup in their hideout to the north. They were celebrating what they had overcome and the latest news that they had heard. Through the grapevine, they had heard that some mysterious disease had completely wiped out Lora and her faction almost two days ago. From the reports - the entire Capital and Angels sector had to be purged to prevent the disease from spreading further. | |||||||||||||||||||
| The peace talks surprisingly went off without a hitch. One good thing that came from all of that. If the leaders knew the dark happens that had almost befell them - one would have wondered if things would have gone quite as smoothly. | |||||||||||||||||||
| At the southernmost part of the place - every night Stephan would wait for some news about Julie. Almost every second day Doc would send a messenger out to inform them on Julie's progress - and the last few reports were positive. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "He out there again?" Mark asked. Greg nodded. He smiled as he left the room and walked outside. A warm breeze blew against him as he looked to the south. There Stephan stood. "It's getting late," Mark called out. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "But someone will be coming. No one came last time," Stephan protested. Mark shook his head and walked over to where the boy was patiently standing. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "I am sure that..." Mark began. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Look! I told you!" he interrupted as he bolted. Mark looked over and saw one of Doc's people heading up the path. But there was something - off about the way he walked. He shook his head and hoped he was just being paranoid. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "You have news?" Stephan eagerly asked. The person sighed and looked over at Mark. The color drained from his face. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "There - was - a complication," the person began. Almost instantly Stephan could feel his heart in his throat. "The last treatment didn't take. About two days ago - when the dawn broke - Doc found her dead," he continued. Mark closed his eyes and put his hand on Stephan's shoulder. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "But - she was doing okay last time," Stephan pointed out. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "I'm sorry," the person said solemnly as he turned and began to walk away. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "She - she can't be dead," he stammered. Mark sighed and knelt down beside him. He looked over and saw the serious look on his face. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "She - had a hunch - that something like this might happen. And she told me - that - if this happened," he began as he reached into his pocket and handed him the folded up note that had his name on it. "That she wanted you to have this," he added - slowly getting up. "I'll be inside if you need me okay?" he asked calmly. The boy timidly nodded. | |||||||||||||||||||
| He watched as Mark walked away and vanished from sight. He then slowly opened the note. In his mind he could almost hear her voice reading the words to him. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Hey Stephan, | |||||||||||||||||||
| If you are reading this - it means that Doc couldn't cure me like we hoped. And if so that you are probably blaming yourself which I hope is not the case. As I said way back when - the fault was as much mine as yours. | |||||||||||||||||||
| I am glad that Doc was able to cure you and I hope that you live a long and happy life. I also asked the guys to look out for you and teach you the ropes. | |||||||||||||||||||
| In short - I will close with the words of a man I met once - be strong - remember - and we will prevail. | |||||||||||||||||||
| I don't think I will ever forget you kid. I can hope the same holds true of me for you. You take it easy | |||||||||||||||||||
| ...Julie | |||||||||||||||||||
| Stephan slowly lowered the note and looked to the south. In his mind's eye he could almost see Julie smiling at him - waving to him one last time and then vanishing into the shadows of the night. | |||||||||||||||||||
| He closed his eyes and remembered how he lost his parents - and how much it hurt. The pain he was feeling was almost the same. He then looked back to the place where the gang was. He could hear them raising their glasses in memory to the leader of their gang and their friend. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Moments later - Mark exited and made his way over to where he was. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "You going to be okay?" he asked calmly. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "She knew she was going to die - didn't she? Back when we were at the refinery?" he asked curiously. Mark sighed and sat down before him. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "She wasn't sure. That was why she gave me the letter. Just so you know - she didn't blame you for what happened. In fact - hearing about you kept her going for as long as she did," he remarked. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "You made that up," he rebutted. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Seriously. When they came here giving us the updates - I gave a note back to him to deliver back. Hearing how healthy and happy you were gave her strength - but sometimes even the strongest of us falter," he replied seriously. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Be strong - remember - and we will prevail," he stated. Mark smiled and nodded. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Michael Richards - he was a hermit of sorts that lives just outside of the capital. He was getting jumped by some local scavengers when Julie happened on the scene. He was a rare one - one that actually made a record of our history - or tried to," he remembered. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "How did you and Julie meet?" he asked. Mark quietly laughed as he lifted Stephan up onto his shoulder. | |||||||||||||||||||
| "How about - we talk about this inside - the others have all sorts of stories about Julie," he suggested. Stephan nodded as they walked up the path and went inside. | |||||||||||||||||||
| The end | |||||||||||||||||||