Page 101 of Resistant

I close my eyes and breathe before opening the door next door. Fuck, it’s a kid. This could be Nathan. I hear Josh whisper “Fuck.” in my earpiece.

This kid is tall, he looks to have been beefy and muscular recently. I don’t know what has happened to him, but he looks like hell. His skin is pale, and sickly looking. He’s got an IV, and other machines beep and click around him. I move to the head of the bed and stare down at his face. His hair is dirty blonde, and his face is gaunt. I gasp as he opens his eyes and stares through my soul. I have no doubts that this is Nathan, because Brynn’s desperation is staring at me.

“Nathan? Nathan Evans?”

He nods.

“Fuck. Nathan, your mom sent me. I’m here to get you out.”

A small smile appears, and he snickers.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m out of time.”

His voice is hoarse, and he turns his face towards me.

“How do you know my mother?”

“I’ve been helping your mother; well, we were in a camp and we escaped. But she’s not with me now, she sent me to find you and David.”

I’m stuttering all over myself and I didn’t plan what I would say. Somehow, even though this kid is in rough shape, He won’t appreciate a stranger declaring he’s fucking his mother. The not asshole in my head declaresnot fucking, loving.I pinch the bridge of my nose trying to think before speak again.

“You are in love with her, aren’t you? Is she safe? Do you know if my Dad is alive?”

He stares at me, and I clasp his hand in mine. He squeezes my fingers hard, harder than I thought would be possible from a kid dying in the bed in front of me.

“Yes. I know where she is.” I whisper.

“But not exactly safe. She’s not been harmed, but I won’t say she’s safe until she’s with me.”

He nods again.

“My Dad?”

“He’s gone, Nathan. I’m so sorry. It happened several years ago.”

Nathan closes his eyes for a moment and breathes deep. He seems to pull strength from the air, and I see clarity and intensity in his gaze as he studies me.

“I’ll need you to promise to guard her with your life. Don’t let these motherfuckers get their hands on her. They will never let her go. She’ll end up like me, dying strapped to a bed somewhere.”

“What did they do to you Nathan?”

He snorts. “What haven’t they done? All in the name of curing The Sickness. I’ve been laying here dying for weeks. They have taken things too far, willing to sacrifice me because they know my mother is still out there. I don’t know where David is, he was here. They may have killed him. I heard him screaming, and I couldn’t get to him.”

Tears roll down his face. I squeeze his hand and try to comfort him.

“I know you did your best for him, Nathan.”

I panic as I notice his heartbeat slowing down. He looks like he’s falling asleep, and I tap his cheek.

“Hey man, stay with me.”

He opens his eyes, and I’m struck at how much he looks like Brynn.

I pull out my phone, the phone Sasha slipped to me months ago. The phone I use daily to try and contact Brynn, and is entirely useless to me.

“Do you want me to record a message for your mom? To say goodbye?”

This kid is right, he will not be getting out of this bed.

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