"Ouch."
"Don't be a baby. The local is working fine."
"You're puckering the skin."
"I'm not."
"That knot is loose."
"It isn't."
"Why is this taking so long?"
"If you fidget I'll stab you."
Silence reigned for a precious few minutes, then a gust of air from her squirming patient wafted the hairs at the top of her bent head. She ignored the fingers tapping out an impatient rhythm on his thigh that she could see out of the corner of her eye.
"There. All done." She announced moments later. Her work was instantly inspected, the hand carefully replaced once given a thorough check over.
"Happy now?" She asked, pushing back the magnifying goggles. The cut had been deeper than either of them had thought, cutting through flesh, tendons and delicate nerves. "You know you make a rotten patient."
Mitch sighed gustily but lifted the corner of his mouth in a half smile. "You do good work, Mrs. Morgan." Now he grinned at the rosy blush blooming over her cheeks.
"I've learnt a thing or two. Had to sew myself up a few times over the years."
"Of which I am heartily grateful. Is there anything you cannot do, Jamie Campbell?" He teased.
Jamie ignored him and started to put her used instruments into a tray, to be sterilized later. Stripping off her bloody gloves, she snapped on a clean pair and drew over a tray of bandaging.
"Try and keep still, this time." She instructed, peeling the wrapping off a non-stick dressing pad.
Mitch watched as she dressed the wound with the minimum of fuss, then wrapped it expertly. Only when she produced a sling did he baulk, leaning back and holding his hands up in surrender. "No sling, thank you. There's nothing wrong with my arms."
Jamie sighed. "If you won't wear a sling, then at least wear a wrist cast to stop you using that thumb until it is healed." She held up a blue, Velcro, temporary cast for him to inspect.
"Okay. I'll go with the cast, but only until it stops hurting." Mitch conceded, putting on the proffered piece of equipment. It instantly made his arm heavy and cumbersome. He opened his mouth to complain but Jamie beat him to it.
"It's the cast, or the sling? Choose!"
Mitch shot her a tight smile, his eyes narrowed at being forced to wear anything at all. "Fine."
Jamie met his grimace with a sweet smile and a kiss. "For being a good boy." She explained, ignoring the disgruntled look on her lover's face when it ended too soon for his liking.
They were parked in a lay-by, shielded from the road by a thick screening of trees and straggling shrubs. Mitch had suffered the intense throbbing in his hand while they made their escape from Silver City and put a fair amount of distance between them and the minions of Abigail. When they finally found somewhere to stop, his lips were pressed tight together with a white line around them. Jamie hurriedly prepared and administered a local anaesthetic, Mitch grateful when the drug quickly took effect.
Now he shifted restlessly on the mattress, trying to find the best position that would allow him to sleep and not roll onto his injured hand. The local was starting to wear off and his hand felt like it was swollen to twice its normal size. Jamie returned from packing away the medical supplies and handed him a couple of pills and a cup of water.
"Here. Take these, you'll be feeling the effects pretty soon when the local wears off."
Mitch took the offerings and downed them, followed by the whole cup of water. "Thanks."
He shifted again, ending up on his back with his hand resting on his stomach. "Are we far enough away to risk a nap?"
"Not as far as I'd have liked. You need to rest..."
"So do you." Mitch interrupted her. "Just an hour or so."
Jamie had to admit to herself that she was tired, and the lay-by was pretty sheltered.
"Okay. But not much more than that. We need to find a route north, one the bad guys aren't going to figure out too quickly."
"Sure, sure...just an hour or three. Now, come here...wife."
Jamie shut and locked the back door before coming to settle against his left side, careful to avoid his injury. Soon they were both asleep, the world outside as calm and quiet as the grave.
x-x-x-x
Mitch awoke to the repeated noise of someone banging on the side of the unimog. Sunshine was seeping through one of the closeable vents, high up in the ceiling of the truck, telling him that the night was a long time gone.
"What the hell?" he made to move then stilled when his injured hand reminded him it had just had some surgery on it. "Dammit, Jamie why didn't you wake me." He grumbled to himself as he sat up and pulled his shirt over. It was a struggle for a few moments to get the sleeve over the temporary cast, but he was soon buttoning it up. Before he got the last button fastened, the back door was swung open and bright light hit him full in the face. Holding up his good hand, he shielded his eyes and tried to make out who was standing outside.
"Jamie?"
"Do I look like a missus?" A deep growl asked him, obviously male.
"I don't know, I can't see you." Mitch couldn't resist firing back, his stomach clenching as he instantly worried about where Jamie was. "Who the hell are you? And where's Jamie?" He blinked hastily and the darkened shape resolved into a tall, broad-shouldered man about his age with a shock of orange hair and beard to match.
"Why don't you get yourself down here, Dr. Morgan and we'll be able to answer all your questions more easily."
Mitch ignored the proffered hand and jumped down to the dusty ground, instantly regretting it as it jarred his injury making him grimace in pain.
"See, you didn't have to do that and go cause yourself unnecessary hurt." The man chided.
Mitch looked around, searching to another red head. "Where are we?" As he squinted in the bright light, he took note of the number of buildings surrounding where the unimog was parked.
"On a farmstead, just outside of Turin." The man explained. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Morgan."
The man held out his hand. Mitch hesitated and held up his injured right hand.
"Sorry. Out of action. And how do you know me?"
The man laughed. "From your lovely lady, of course. Come into the house. Jamie said you had a hankering for a hot shower?"
Mitch followed the hulking farmer's plaid covered back up a couple of steps onto a covered verandah and through a screen door. After the bright sun, the interior was dark and gloomy, until he blinked his eyes and the room brightened appreciatively.
"Mitch!" A familiar voice called his name and he swung towards it. A slender body pressed up against him and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"How are you feeling? I have some more painkillers for you to take." Jamie rattled on while Mitch tried to gather his wits. He could smell her hair and bent down to kiss her head, his left arm looped around her shoulders.
"You've had a shower?" he observed. "You smell good."
Jamie laughed up at him. "Is that your way of saying I smelt bad before?"
Mitch relaxed enough to smile back. "No. Just a little confused right now. You didn't wake me."
Jamie tugged him further into the front room, their truck easily visible beyond the big windows.
"I thought you could use the rest. You've met Jim, and this is his wife Peggy. Oh, and their dogs – Pig, Bran and...I forget.." Three mongrel mixed breeds tumbled around their legs, barking and wagging tails in a furious melee of doggy attention seeking.
"Rosy." Jim supplied. "Sit yourself down for a minute, Dr. Morgan. I'll go rustle up some towels for you."
A woman entered the room, on a par with her husbands age, she was tall, brunette and comfortably dressed in jeans and denim shirt. "Good to see you up and about, Mitch."
Jamie reached up and closed Mitch's mouth which was hanging inelegantly open in shock.
"Maggie Clark!" Mitch barked. "Hell...this is where you've been hiding?"
The woman formerly known as Maggie shook her head and sat down. "Not hiding, Mitch. Jim and I decided to settle here after spending half our married life moving about the world."
Mitch still looked confused. "But that's not the man you left with..."
Maggie, now Peggy. laughed. "Good spotting, Mitch. Jeff only made it as far as Thailand before bugging out. I met Jim there, and the rest is history."
The man mentioned appeared in the doorway. "All ready for you, Dr. Morgan. Did you want anything from the truck to take in with you?"
Mitch gaped at the mountain of a man. Jamie jumped up instead. "I'll fetch his gear." And shot out the front door leaving Mitch breathless and still open mouthed.
"Poor Mitch, you look like you've been run over,"said Peggy, patting him on the thigh and getting to her feet.
"I'm just a bit surprised. The last I heard from you was a postcard from China."
Peggy nodded. "The Panda refuge, yes that was some time ago. Of course I'm aware of some of your history. You and your team were all over the news after you cured the animals. Jamie was kind enough to sign my copy of her book."
Mitch gave her a half smile. "Seems like a hundred years ago."
Jamie came back through the front door and dropped a bundle into his lap. "I think I got everything. I'll change the dressing when you get out."
Mitch accepted the bundle and followed Maggie's, no Peggy's husband, Jim down the hall to a spacious bathroom at the back of the house.
"Call out if you need anything." Jim waved him in and shut the door behind him. Mitch stared around at the luxury for a moment before dumping his gear on the toilet seat.
He was going to enjoy this.
x-x-x-x
Mitch emerged later feeling like a new man. His hair squeaked, his face was as smooth as a babies' back side and he smelt pretty damn good. He carried his dirty clothes under his arm. Something smelled tasty and his nose led him to the dining room where Jamie and Jim sat on opposite sides of the table, chatting like old friends. Seeing Mitch in the doorway, Jaime jumped up.
"How was your shower?" Jim asked, his beard split with a very white grin.
"Heaven on Earth." Mitch replied. Jamie took his bundle and hurried out of the room.
"Hey?" Mitch called after her.
"Don't worry, she's probably gone to chuck them in with another load of laundry." Jim explained, indicating for Mitch to take a seat. He chose the one next to where Jamie had been sitting.
Jim poured him a glass from a frosted pitcher, the contents cloudy, giving him a broad wink as he did so. "We're saving the good stuff for later. Wouldn't want to spoil your meal."
Mitch smiled halfheartedly, not entirely sure how to deal with his jovial host. Peggy and Jamie entered the room together, both carrying platters and serving bowls. Mitch made to stand up, but Peggy waved him down. "Don't worry, Jamie and me have it covered."
He watched as the two women fetched and carried a couple more times until the table groaned under its burden of food and dishes.
"We usually have our main meal of the day at noon." Peggy explained. "We're often up with the dawn, so having a substantial meal in the middle of the day makes more sense than going to bed early on a full stomach."
Jamie came in with a tray and sat on the other side of Mitch.
"Let me see that hand." Mitch hadn't put the temporary cast back on, so it was a simple matter to unwind the damp bandaging and take off the pad.
"It's looking clean and tidy." Jamie pronounced, her brow furrowed as she turned his hand over and back to inspect it from all sides. Mitch watched her as she smeared some antiseptic ointment on the new non-stick pad and then carefully re-wrapped his hand. He was so focused on her he didn't realise he had an interested audience.
"Do I have to wear the cast thing?" he groused, hating how heavy it was.
"Can you promise not to waggle your thumb and break the stitches?" Jamie retorted. Mitch shook his head, so she replaced the cast on his hand and tightened the Velcro straps.
"There, all done." Jamie announced.
They both looked up at the same time and caught Peggy and Jim watching them with some amusement.
Mitch raised his eyebrows. "What?"
x-x-x-x
Jim had to go and do farming stuff, as Peggy called it, while his wife stayed back and caught up with her old University friend and Jamie. She entertained them with anecdotes from some of her adventures with Jim, touching briefly on their grief at not having started a family earlier, but extolling the virtues of rural life in the tiny hamlet where they lived now. Jamie offered up a potted history of her escapades since the publication of her book and then Mitch summarized his life since curing the first animal mutation. He skirted around his time in the tank, and his time as Abigail Westbrook's tame whatever-he'd-been. He asked Peggy questions about what they'd heard locally about hybrids and the like, but there hadn't been much news about them.
"There had been reports further west of cattle killings and other livestock slaughters, the closer you got to the barrier, but nothing near here. Nobody I know, other than yourselves, have even seen a picture of a hybrid, let alone one in the flesh."
Mitch nodded. "Where do you source your water?"
Peggy let out a laugh. "We surrounded by the stuff. We have the Maple river to the west, the Little Sioux to the east. We collect rainwater off the sheds and house gutters and we have a bore around back."
Again Mitch nodded. "Does your laundry have a sink bench?"
Peggy gave him an arch look. "Better than that, we have an old dairy in one of the out buildings. If you're going to blow things up, you can do it out there."
Jamie laughed. "He only did that once, and no one was hurt even then."
"I also need a sample of each of your water sources, while we at it." Mitch added.
"I can get the ones from the river..." Jamie offered.
"Help yourself to whatever is around here. Can I ask what you're looking for?" said Peggy.
"I won't know until I have some stuff set up to test it. I'll let you know if I get any results." Mitch kept the truth to himself, not wanting to scare his friend unnecessarily.
In the dairy, later that night, Mitch sat on a stool with his arms folded while he waited for the centrifuge to do its thing. It was almost like being back in his lab, having all his gizmo's and gadgets around him. Jim had set up a series of cabling and multiboxes, so he had everything available to use, even a computer screen to display his results.
Earlier on, Jamie had driven the truck and trailer into an empty barn to avoid any curious locals snooping around the strange vehicle. She had also pulled out the CB radio and hooked it up to Jim and Peggy's UHF aerial, boosting the signal significantly. They had yet to try and contact the team.
He reached for the mug with his left hand, only to find the half drunk coffee cold. Putting it back down he misjudged the edge of the bench and the mug dropped to the floor, cracking into three pieces and spilling dark liquid all over the floor.
"Crap!" He threw a cloth from the sink on to the widening mess.
"Having fun?" Peggy's voice made him jump in surprise.
"Sorry, just broke your mug. Not used to using my left hand for everything."
"Don't apologize, it's just a mug. Making any progress?" She approached his work bench and peered at the multitude of equipment winking, blinking and whirring.
"I can tell you that your well water and tank water are both clean and good to drink."
Peggy waited for him to continue. " And?"
"Well, I'd avoid drinking or eating anything from any of the rivers."
She waited again, but it was like drawing teeth. "Because?"
Mitch sighed and rubbed at his eyes, taking his glasses off to do so. "Look. We didn't tell you everything, because everything is pretty bad. On our way here we found that several water supplies have become contaminated with...something. Part of this..." He indicated all the testing equipment. "Is to try and find out exactly what the contaminant it. I haven't established whether it is animal, vegetable or mineral. All I do know is it probably killed an entire herd of cattle just outside Denver, and is present in the rivers between there and here in varying percentage of concentration."
"What will this...contaminant...do to people who drink it?" Peggy asked.
"I don't know. Maybe nothing, or maybe something. It may only affect some animals and not all. I'm hoping to find a filter that will allow the water to be drinkable and treatable, but for now, don't touch it, don't swim in it, wash in it, anything in it."
"What about our crops?" Jim's deep voice boomed from the doorway. "We draw up the river water to irrigate our fields."
Mitch twisted around to face the big man. "I simply don't know. If there was a choice, I'd say don't use it on any food source."
"But you don't know if it's harmful to humans?"
"No, Jim. I don't. I only know what I've seen before when hybrid DNA is mixed with human. It wasn't pretty. And this contaminant is like nothing I've seen before. It defies classification." Mitch put his glasses back on and peered at the read out on one of the machines.
Jim and Peggy exchanged a worried glance. Jamie entered the room and went to stand beside Mitch.
"Mitch hasn't mentioned it, so I will. You also want to look at strengthening the fences around the house and out buildings. They need to be much higher and strong enough to stop a big mammal. Electrified would be even better."
Peggy let out a nervous laugh. "Now you're just trying to frighten us."
Jamie continued. "I'm deadly serious. If the hybrids that escaped the barrier manage to spread, they will infect every animal they come in contact with, and not for the better. Some of the mutations are pretty wild. The original hybrids can grow as big as a lion, armed with spines like a porcupine, the speed of a greyhound and jaws like a hyena." Jamie drew in a steadying breath. "If you have sheet metal, make the fence out of that to keep the smaller rodents out. There's not much you can do about the birds except maybe make shutters to protect the windows and strengthen the doors. Enclosing your verandah would also help keep out the larger animals." Jamie paused and let Mitch take over.
"Everything she says is the truth. If you have any livestock, watch them carefully for any changes in behaviour. Your dogs especially. If you have a cellar, stock it with as much as possible and make it a safe retreat, proof against any animal getting in."
"Mitch, you're really scaring me now. Surely..."
"I'm sorry Peggy, Jim...but the reality is, if I can't find a cure for what's coming, whether you water your crops or not won't matter. The world as we know it will end. I can't put it any plainer than that."
His words fell into a pool of silence. His shocked audience stood stunned at the enormity of the picture he painted. Mitch was even shocked himself. "I'm sorry." He said again. "We've been moving so fast I hadn't stopped to really think about it all myself. We've just been lurching from one crisis to another, making it up as we went along, trying to get ahead of whatever Abigail could come up with next."
Jamie placed her hands on his shoulders and he covered one of them with his uninjured hand.
"We'll find a cure, we have to," she said softly, kissing the top of his head. "Anything else is unthinkable."
The silence between the four people lengthened until Peggy spoke up.
"Okay. So the end of the world is coming. Not the first time I've heard that, probably won't be the last. All I do know is, it won't be tonight. We go early to bed in the country, and I think you two would benefit as well. I've made up the spare room, so I suggest you secure the equipment, switch off the lights and come and have a nightcap." She nodded to her husband who left the dairy to start preparing to lock up for the night.
"I'll go get our things from the truck." Jamie announced, leaving Peggy and Mitch alone.
Mitch bent down and picked up the broken mug, putting the fragments in the metal sink to dispose of later. Peggy came over to lean her hip against the bench, her arms folded.
"I remember you as a bit of a cynical bastard who didn't so much as run from the vagaries of life as drown them in a good bottle of scotch. Not so easy to do that now."
Mitch gave a snort of derisive laughter. "Nope. Now I have a grown up daughter, a hostile son-in-law, a grandson and I have Jamie."
"Quite a family. A lot to lose, if things work out the way you just described." Peggy dipped her head to better see Mitch's expression.
"You always did cut to the heart of the matter, Peggy." Mitch met her concerned gaze with a smile. "I think the idea of an early night sounds just fine. Plus Jamie hasn't told me how she got us here."
Peggy allowed him, his deflection and smiled broadly. "Magic, mixed messages, and plain dumb luck."
She told him. "But I'm sure Jamie will tell it better."
x-x-x-x
Mitch tested the beds springs by sitting on the edge in his boxers and a t-shirt and bouncing up and down. Despite his bouncing the bed remained mercifully quiet. Jamie emerged from the small en-suite and stopped just inside the room.
"What are you doing?"
"Testing the bed springs."
"Because?"
"To see if they squeak. They don't." He waggled his eyebrows at her and winked.
"Good to know." She padded around the side and climbed under the covers, switching off the bedside lamp before snuggling down. "This is nice." She sighed
Mitch pulled back the covers and got in as well. Taking off his glasses, he put them on the table beside him and switched off the matching lamp. Wriggling his way under the covers, he turned on his side to face the center of the bed and propped his head on his knuckles, careful not to put any pressure on his thumb.
"So you were telling me how you happened to end up here?"
"Where did I get to?"
"Running low on fuel."
"Oh, yes. So I'd navigated a route via the back roads as far as Moorhead. A slightly bigger fly speck than where we left."
"They had a gas station?"
Jamie snorted. "I wish. No, just a few shops, a mini-mart and some local eateries, nothing flash."
Mitch let the silence persist for all of ten seconds. "And?"
"I pulled into a lay-by and proceeded to refuel. Unfortunately there was little to screen me from the road and inevitably a truck passed by. It stopped and backed up. This great tall guy stepped out with this shock of red hair and started to shout at me."
"Jim."
"Yeah. He came running over, all excited and said, "Jamie Campbell, as I live and breath!" Which is not entirely unusual. Not so many years ago I was all over the chat shows promoting my book and the sequel."
"You wrote a sequel?"
"Another time, Mitch. I want to get some sleep tonight."
"Sorry. So you thought he was just another fan?"
"Yeah. Kinda. He was very excited and started going on about his wife and how she was a huge fan and would I come with him to Turin to sign her copy. When he explained it was only about fifteen minutes down the road, I thought – what the hell. After you looked past his wild man appearance, he wasn't so bad. Certainly an improvement on what we encountered in Silver City."
"So then you met Maggie...er...Peggy."
Jamie smiled. "I sure did. She was even more surprised than Jim to see me, but very pleased. Instantly wanted to know what I was doing in such an outlandish vehicle, and what was I doing in it all alone."
"Which is when you told her about me."
"Yeah. Boy, was she surprised when she found out who was hiding in the back of the truck."
"I wasn't hiding, I was...not awake."
Jamie smiled up at his frowning expression. "Very true. Sleeping like a babe when we checked on you." She chuckled.
"And now we're sleeping in a sinfully comfortable bed, safe and sound and clean in the process."
Jamie raised an eyebrow. "Your point being?"
Not bothering to answer, he simply leant down and covered her lips with his, drinking deep and drawing a moan from his lover when he made to pull back. Encouraged by the fingers now digging into his scalp, Mitch returned to the pleasure of kissing Jamie Campbell, his good hand wandering lower to explore the delights under the silky camisole she wore. Soon, all thought of sleep was abandoned along with the few items of clothing, scattered like leaves on the floorboards beside the bed.
Mitch found himself pressed into the mattress, his mouth still fully occupied in dalliance with Jamie's tongue, while she straddled him, cool fingers guiding him to her moist center, their joining of heated flesh wringing a groan from both of them.
"God, that feels so good." Mitch gasped while Jamie lifted herself then slowly drew him back in, riding him deeply. She bent down and kissed his scarred torso, drawing an undamaged nipple between her teeth and making him push his head back into the pillows, arching under her in pleasure. Her busy tongue lapped at his throat, her teeth nibbled his chin until they once more melded mouth to mouth, his good arm wrapping around her waist while he drew his knees up to deepen his thrusts. He sat up enough to engulf a pert breast, his tongue now tormenting her, little nips of his teeth making her writhe against him, all rhythm lost.
"God. Yes." Was all she managed in between shuddering breaths, her arms looping around his neck to pull him flush against her chest, his mouth worshiping her breasts as her hips ground against his lap.
It was heady stuff, and the bed remained silent throughout.
Minutes, or maybe hours later, Jamie stiffened above him, her body wracked with tiny shivers, her internal muscles gripping him tightly, milking him for her own pleasure. He held her loosely, mouth pressed to her throat, feeling her hum as she enjoyed her climax. They paused while she came down, her formerly tense muscles all relaxing in bliss as she melted against him.
Mitch was still hard, encased snugly in her body, surrounded by heat. With a boneless lover in his arms, he moved so that she was on her side facing him. He drew up her leg over his hip, opening her and giving him more access. He started to move, slow at first then faster. All the time watching her flushed face, drowning in her eyes while her fingers danced over his face, traced the outline of his ears.
"..love you.." he gasped, sinking himself into her as his own peak washed over him, shuddering in completion, his hand gripping her smooth thigh, keeping them connected.
In the aftermath he sank blissfully into the mattress, slipping from her body when he rolled onto his back, chest heaving as he caught his breath. Jamie lifted his arm so she wasn't squashing his injured hand and snuggled against his side, her head nestled under his chin.
"Damn, we're good together.." Mitch breathed, kissing the tousled head.
"We are that." Jamie murmured against his skin. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart against her cheek, the thread of life strong and sure. "Were you telling the truth when you said you haven't identified the contaminant?"
"Not entirely. Calling it a spore is not really correct, it's more like a micro-organism, a Nanite if you like. If I had a permanent lab set up I could culture it and see what happens and how long it takes, but being on the move is proving challenging even keeping it alive."
"So it is a living thing, not mechanical?"
"Oh yes, this whatever-it-is, is certainly alive. One thing I've noticed is my original samples are more active than ones taken from the local rivers."
"Could that have anything to do with the distance from the barrier and original dispersal?" Jamie asked.
Mitch chuckled. "There you go being all science'y again."
"Been hanging around you too long, obviously." Jamie fired back, pulling a short hair on his chest.
"Ow?"
They lapsed into silence, listening to each other breath, the night sounds outside the house muted and distant. Just a Jamie felt herself slip into a doze, Mitch spoke again.
"You know...If we do find another cure for both the mutation and sterility, save the world again..."
"Yeah?"
"What would you say if we find our own little hamlet, and enjoy a peaceful life?"
"And do what?"
"I could potter in my laboratory and publish articles about microbes and mutations. You could write more best selling books. We could collect a whole pack of dogs, farm chickens and grow greens...something like that."
Jamie sighed, twirling some of his chest hair into a peak. "You'd be bored in a month."
"I don't know. Given the pace of life since you and Clem rescued me from that tank, I think I could go a little boredom right now."
"When we've saved the world...again...we'll revisit this, okay?"
"Sure."
This time the silence remained, both succumbing to the lure of a warm bed, a relaxed body and someone they loved close by.