The Badlands were taking a toll on all of them, but Jason seemed worse off than anyone else. Miles felt as if he could literally see the life fading from the boy as Jason's posture sagged, first curling forward to rest his head on his knees before giving up on exerting even the minimal strength required for that. Jason lay down on the cracked, dusty ground as night fell and Miles wondered if he'd ever get up again.
It made no sense. For seven days they'd lived on the MRE's they'd pilfered from the tower. The military rations were probably the most nutritionally balanced, calorically sustaining meals any of them had had in years. Charlie was thriving. She'd initially used her extra energy to spout words of betrayal and loathing at Jason. She'd let up when Jason started to fade. Miles was glad for the relief. She was the one who had insisted Jason should be allowed to come with them after Tom abandoned him for switching sides yet again in the tower. Miles had agreed to it since Tom was head back East and they were going West. The boy was torn between his obligations to his family and his desire to live a moral life. Miles understood the struggle and considered the problem of Jason's loyalty resolved as long as he could keep a few hundred miles between the Neville men. Miles had even reluctantly admitted to himself, if not aloud, that having an extra set of skilled hands to defend the group would be useful.
Now, just a week later, a week during which they hadn't seen another living soul, he wondered if they'd be able to break up the earth enough to bury him.
Charlie returned to camp and dropped the now full canteens with an unceremonious clank. When Jason didn't move she intentionally banged the last one down and greeted Aaron, Rachel, and Miles louder than necessary, trying to disrupt his sleep. She hadn't spoken directly to him in days. She understood his divided loyalties and his attempts to strike a balance, but she didn't forgive him for it.
Miles waved her over. His weary expression set her on edge. She knew he'd be drinking if it was available.
"You need to make your peace with Jason. Don't leave it unresolved," he advised.
Charlie only stared at him as her heart and brain fought against the seriousness of his tone, against the fact that Miles of all people was encouraging her to get closer to Jason. Jason was just upset that she was mad at him. He wasn't really sick. You couldn't actually die of a broken heart.
Miles continued when she didn't respond. "You don't want to be stuck with regret. I don't know if he'll answer or not, but go say what you need to say."
"Go to him," Rachel said.
Aaron avoided her questioning look.
Charlie moved closer to Jason. She kept her back to the others, unwilling to share this surreal moment with the group but unable to obtain any real privacy. This couldn't be happening. She desperately sought the right words, but they wouldn't come.
She watched the rise and fall of his chest as his breaths grew progressively slower, like a wind up toy that had run out of power. The tears welled up in her eyes. The words still refused to come. She didn't know what to say to him. She'd never understood what they had between them. He seemed to think that he needed her and sometimes she liked being needed. That didn't seem like the right thing to say to a man on his deathbed.
She softly whispered his name and reached out to caress his forehead, the skin soft and unlined with the muscles beneath it completely relaxed. She had almost made contact when the spark flashed between them, bright and clear in the dark of early evening. She gasped and drew back her hand as his back arched and he sucked greedily at the air, gasping for breath as if trying to make up for neglecting his respiration for so long.
Miles, Rachel, and Aaron rushed over.
"Seizure?" Aaron asked. "It looks like a seizure."
"I don't know," Charlie answered. "I just..." with that she repeated the action, again reaching toward him and again seeing a spark just before their skin touched. This time, now strong enough to respond, he lifted his head enough to press it against her hand.
His eyes fluttered open, catching hers briefly in the faint starlight of early evening before he fell back to the ground. This time his deep breaths gave the impression of sleeping, rather than dying.
"Did anyone else see the spark?" Aaron asked. "People aren't supposed to do that. Even in movies sparks don't literally fly between a couple."
Charlie ignored him, gently running her fingers over Jason's forehead, eager to see if the spark would repeat. When it didn't, she settled for stroking his hairline. His color was improving rapidly, and he clenched and stretched the muscles in his hands. Miles took a step back and drew his sword.
"Stop touching him," Rachel commanded. As was her habit now, Charlie ignored her mother. "I said stop touching him," Rachel shrieked, pulling on Charlie's shoulder and trying to move her by force since words had failed. "He'll drain you."
Aaron and Charlie stared at her, but neither touched Jason.
Aaron broke the silence first. "Drain her how? Like a vampire?"
"Of sorts," Rachel answered.
"You think he's one of Poe's super soldiers?" Miles asked.
"Bass didn't end the program just because you left," she answered.
"Would one of you explain what the hell you're talking about?" Charlie demanded.
Rachel's voice took in the unsteady tone tone it often did when she discussed her research. Her lip trembled as she spoke. "The first generation of nanites were programmed to absorb free electrons from the air. In response to a command from the pendants they would release the energy along certain types of conductors, mostly the metals used in circuits. They were a clean energy source, designed to replace power plants, and they were inactive in the body.
"When we sold that technology to the D.O.D., Ben stayed with electrical research. Dr. Poe and I began to work on the medical applications of nanites. After the blackout, Bass captured us both. He put Poe to work on the super soldier program, using nanites to give men unnatural strength and speed, while I was supposed to work on the lights." Rachel's attention seemed to fade as she stared blankly into the distance. It was as if she was finished talking, but the group hadn't finished listening.
"You haven't explained anything," Charlie complained before ordering her mother to continue.
When Rachel resumed speaking, her voice was stronger. "A capsule in the body transmitted orders to the medical nanites. They can only handle very limited amounts of code, and we had a problem getting enough energy to them to execute their commands, so we developed a companion capsule with a battery command. Danny's capsule kept him alive, and every touch from Charlie powered his nanites."
Again, Rachel seemed to think she'd said enough. Charlie, however, was near an emotional explosion. The only word she managed to speak was, "What?"
"You're a battery," Rachel explained. "Some people store extra calories as fat. You store all calorie and heat energy above a certain threshold in your nanites. When you touch someone whose nanites have been programmed to receive, you discharge the energy and power their nanites. Every hug you ever gave Danny helped keep him alive."
"And you never thought to tell me this?"
"You were supposed to be a back-up. You didn't need to know. Charging Danny was Ben's job. It was better, safer, if neither you or Danny knew you were carrying world changing technology. We're just lucky Danny was fueled up enough to survive the trip to Philadelphia so I could charge him again."
Aaron's resentment grew on behalf of Charlie. She'd never been treated equally by her parents and even now, with her brother long dead and her mother revealing she'd been Frankensteined the girl still couldn't get the attention due to her. Confusion and frustration were written on his pinched face. "So you made your daughter into a Duracell? What's Jason? You said vampire and soldier. Which one is it?" Aaron demanded.
"I don't know what Jason is, I assume Poe created whatever is in him, but I know he can draw Charlie's energy."
"Is that why I only feel right when we're together?" Jason asked. No one had noticed that he'd awakened. As he struggled to a sitting position Charlie reached out to help him. Her mother and Miles grabbed her arms, preventing her from making contact.
"Can I take too much? Will I hurt her?" Jason asked.
"I don't know," Rachel answered. "What fueled you before?"
Jason looked away. He remained quiet so long Miles was about to repeat the question. Finally he whispered. "My father."
There was another way too, one that had been intended as a way to control and motivate the soldiers in the program. It had sustained him while he was with the rebels and Charlie was in Georgia, but he didn't want to admit to it.