Chapter 10 – Jamie and Finn

The door to Finn's room slammed shut as Jamie whirled around to face his brother. "I knew I heard someone!" Jamie whispered-yelled through his teeth. "Kaid saw us. Saw me." Jamie could feel himself losing it. It was the anger and all of the other emotions that came with it that made him lose it. He could feel his teeth getting pointed again.

Jamie was getting riled up. He could feel it rising up in him. The monster. It was making his hands shake. He clenched them into a tight fist before Finn could see.

"He doesn't know anything," Finn's ever-calming voice soothed. He always was an anchor for Jamie, always able to calm him down. "It was dark. We don't know how much he saw."

Jamie rolled his eyes and took a centering breath. He couldn't get worked up over something as small as this. He wouldn't lose control. Whenever he got angry it was harder for him to control himself.

"He didn't say anything. Maybe he's willing to listen." Finn offered again.

"People aren't very reasonable these days when it comes to me." Jamie said flatly. "They stab first and ask questions later, just like those guys did last night."

"We could try." Finn offered. "They are both good people and they've proved that. We might be able to reason with them."

"Finn!" Jamie's anger boiled over. "When are you going to get it? People are afraid of me. They don't see me as a person. They see me as a Duskie. Everyone is either to afraid to talk to me or tries to kill me." He took a breath. "Those guys last night… they weren't the first. I don't belong here anymore."

"And where do you suppose you go?" Finn asked.

"I don't know? Somewhere where I can't hurt anyone."

Because neither of them said anything, Jamie went to lie on Finn's bed and threw and hand over his eyes. The world got darker and he liked it that way. He was tired and he could feel his daily dose wearing off. He was going through them too fast. His body was becoming resilient and always wanted more.

"Is that what you're so afraid of? Why you've been distant with every person here? Because you're afraid of hurting them?" Finn asked softly.

"Finn," Jamie sighed. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it." Jamie rolled over so that his back was facing his brother.

"Don't you dare lie to me." Finn spoke up. His tone was serious, but not accusing.

Jamie sat up then. "Look," he sighed again and rubbed his eyes. "It's not a big deal. We will deal with it just like everything else, just like we always have."

There was a loud banging before Finn could answer. Two voices could be heard in that hallway before the door burst open.

Kaid stood in the doorway with a confused Andie behind him. "Kaid! What the hell?" she whispered at him.

He ignored her and pulled out a dagger that gleamed in the light. "You have five seconds to explain how the hell it's possible."

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked innocently.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Andie asked from behind, looking at Kaid like he had lost his mind.

Jamie slowly stood up now. He automatically raised his hands in surrender. Despite his calm exterior, the monster inside him raged.

This was a chance to fight, a chance to get fresh blood, to sink his teeth into live flesh. He quickly pushed back those urges, but still, the tips of his fangs poked at his tongue.

"Jamie's not human. That much is certain." Kaid kept his eyes trained on Jamie.

The two brothers looked at each other as if to ask permission. It was no use trying to come up with a story now. Kaid knew something was up.

"Look we can talk, but just… put the knife down first." Finn was the mediator between the two. "And close the door."

"The knife's not going anywhere and I'm not closing my only escape." The tip of the blade was raised and pointed at Jamie's heart. "Talk."

. . .

"Somebody get Doc NOW!" Finn's yell echoed in the halls. The storm was in full rage now and thunder cracked as lightening flashed against the sky.

The rest of the Runners ran off in different direction to try and find the doctor, which left the brothers alone.

"He'd be in the lab," Jamie groaned.

Jamie could still walk, but barely. He had to lean on Finn for support, and they walked like that to the infirmary. Jamie kept a hand to his bleeding neck.

Jamie's clothing had already been drenched with rain, but he was feverish now, dousing his clothing even more. His head throbbed and every step drained him of energy.

"We're almost there." Finn soothed. He was too tired to actually respond so Jamie nodded his heavy head as they continued walking.

.

"Oh my," Doc gasped. "Finn. Jamie. What—? What happened?" Doc stood at the entrance of the lab, completely bewildered.

"Can you fix him?" Finn growled.

"I don't—?" Doc muttered.

"Can you? You're in this lab everyday and we get you supplies. You must have something." Finn yelled. "Please. We don't have much time, Doc."

"I've been working on some experimental things…but none of them are ready by any means—"

"Great. Now go get them." Finn pushed his way past Doc with Jamie still leaning on his brother. "You wanted a chance to redeem yourself, so here it is." Finn called behind him.

There was an operation table that Finn laid Jamie on. Jamie crawled up with a groan. He was breathless now and it was getting even harder to speak. "Finn—"

"Don't. You're going to survive this." He helped his brother lay down. "Don't say you're goodbyes yet. Just rest here. Conserve your energy, but don't you dare fall asleep, okay?" Jamie nodded and closed his eyes, despite being told not to.

Doc had entered the room now and Finn looked up at him. "What do we need to do first?"

Doc looked around the room as if to search for an answer before he finally responded. "We need to get his fever down. That's what causes the coma, which causes the final transformation. Fever, coma, Turning. If we can slow the fever, or even stop it, we might have a chance of saving your brother."

With that information Finn automatically went to the counter to get water and a cool washcloth. He brought both back over to his brother. Doc was there now too and had just finished bandaging Jamie's neck wound.

"It seems that the bite has stopped bleeding, so we won't worry about that now." Doc had a needle in his hand now.

"What's that?" Finn asked.

"A little medication that should help with the fever." He spoke as he injected the liquid in Jamie's arm. He gasped slightly.

Finn put the cool towel on his brother's forehead and offered him water. Finn knew Jamie was weak so he held his head up as he drank the water.

"Be careful with that glass. The Infected spread the disease through saliva. We need to prevent any further contamination—especially with so many people living here." Doc said. "I'll get us gloves."

When Doc returned again he had a pair of blue gloves for him and a pair for Finn.

"Now what?" Finn asked.

"We wait."

"For what?"

"Whatever happens next."

.

Three hours later, Jamie woke himself up by vomiting.

"I'll get a bucket." Doc called from a lab table. He had been reading through notes as he waited. "Be careful not to get anything on you!" He yelled behind him.

Finn, who had also been reading notes and had been sitting in a chair not far away, walked over to his brother and helped him sit up. "You okay?"

Jamie's eyes were shut tightly in pain and he actually shook his head. No. He was not okay. His body was burning up, his throat, head, and body ached, and now it felt like his insides wanted to be on the outside.

"Here," Doc came back with a bucket just in time for Jamie to vomit some more. Doc's eyebrows were pinched together in concern. His mouth was a tight line.

"What it is?" Finn's concerned voice asked. He had a hand on his brother's back to try and soothe Jamie.

"His body is rejecting the food it normally needs." Doc pushed up his glasses with a finger.

"What does that mean?" Jamie was able to ask.

Doc took a breath before he spoke. "It mean's that food—what you have in your stomach—is no longer what your body needs to survive. It's prepping itself for another source of nutrition.

.

It had become that time of night where you didn't know when night ended and the morning began. There were no windows in the lab so Finn had no idea what time of day it was. All he knew was he had been awake for far too long. He tried to stay awake, but he kept drifting off to sleep. Jamie, who had been drifting in and out of sleep was asleep now, and Doc was silent so it was extremely difficult to stay awake.

Doc saw Finn fading and gently spoke. "You can rest. Right now your brother is doing the same. I'll wake you if anything happens."

"No… I can't." Finn shook himself a little and stretched to try and wake up. "I'll be fine."

Doc nodded and continued to look through his notes. There were several vials of liquid that he kept mixing and testing and throwing away. He was scratching off paper and part of his notes in frustration.

"How long does it usually take?" Finn asked as he watched.

Doc didn't look up from his work this time. "It depends on the person."

"That guy… on the TV. The first patient…" Finn started. "That was almost instantaneous. Since it's taking so long for Jamie, does that mean something is working?"

"Not necessarily." Doc explained. "The patient, he was give a pure mixture of 'the cure' so he reacted quicker. The Infected all have this 'venom', per say, in them and in a way, slightly smaller doses of the venom are handed down to each person they infect, so the process takes longer to kick in."

"So does that mean the Duskies could eventually die out?" Finn asked. It sounded reasonable. "Each generation of Duskie has less and less venom inside of them to pass on to the next person, so eventually it's theoretically possible that a human could survive getting bit, right?"

Doc finally looked up from his papers now and looked at Jamie, who was still, but breathing, on the operating table. "Either that, or the venom is so toxic that no one can survive it and the disease will continue to be spread." Doc looked back at Finn. "I guess we'll find out."

.

Finn had sat back down in the same chair as before, but had given up looking through the doctor's notes. He couldn't understand any of it or read it either. Instead, he kept his eyes trained on his brother, making sure his chest kept rising and falling and rising again.

"I'm not dead yet." Jamie mumbled even though his eyes were still shut. "You can stop staring at me."

Finn's mouth turned up into a small smirk. Eventually he walked over to his brother and knelt on his side and grabbed his hand. It was clamy. Jamie wearily opened his eyes. They were bloodshot.

"When I Turn…don't…don't hesitate. Okay?"

"What?"

"Don't let me hurt anyone. Kill me when I Turn. No, kill me before I Turn, while I'm in a coma, or whatever is supposed to happen, just don't let me get the chance to hurt anyone, especially you." Jamie said.

Finn swallowed hard.

"Promise me." Jamie pleaded.

Finn couldn't say the words. He wouldn't lie to his brother. He wouldn't give up hope, but he nodded anyway.

.

About an hour later, Jamie's heart stopped beating. Finn had noticed that Jamie was no longer breathing and he ran over to his brother. "Oh God," he whispered in disbelief. "No. No!" He felt for a pulse. "Doc!" Finn called out. "Do something."

"There's nothing we can do at this point. We just have to wait." Doc said calmly.

"There has to be something. You've been working on antidotes this whole time. Try one. It can't be any worse than what is happening now." Finn's voice was raw and tears were beginning to well up in his eyes.

"I—"

"Just try something!"

Doc turned and grabbed several vials from the table and came back with needle in hand. "I can't promise you anything, Finn." Doc said sadly.

"Just try something. Anything"

Doc looked over his notes a few more times before he chose one vial. He filled the syringe with a greenish liquid and then injected it into Jamie's still body. "We won't know anything until your brother wakes up." Doc fastened straps around Jamie's limbs—his ankles and his wrists. "Just a precaution," he added, noticing Finn's upset look. "But now there is really nothing left to do but wait and see who wakes up, whether it be your brother or a monster."

. . .

"It isn't possible." Andie was the first one to speak. She was still standing by Kaid's side, who had lowered his knife.

Jamie was sitting on Finn's bed while Finn was standing with his arms crossed.

"We still don't know exactly what happened," Finn explained. "But Doc has been trying to replicate it. That's why you never see him, he's always in the lab. This is the closest he's gotten to an antidote, and if he can replicate it…"

"But he's not cured." Kaid said flatly, looking at Jamie.

"No. Not completely, but he's not trying to rip your face off right no is he?" Finn defended.

"But he still needs blood?" Andie asked this time. Finally, Jamie raised his head to acknowledge her. "I don't kill people if that's what you're asking."

"I didn't say that." She responded softly.

"Look, all we're asking is for you to keep this on the down low. We don't need any more misinformed rumors spreading around. Jamie has it under control. He's not going to hurt anyone. There's nothing to worry about." Finn explained.

It was silent for a while before Finn spoke again. "Please."

"Fine." Kaid said curtly.

"Thank you," Finn sighed in relief.

Jamie locked eyes with Andie. She looked as if she completely understood him now. She wasn't afraid of him, but more bewildered and intrigued. Something like Jamie shouldn't exist, but it did. Since he survived being bitten, it means he is everyone's hope for surviving this plague and Andie looked like she understood that even though most people didn't. She didn't look scared like most people. She saw the potential in Jamie, potential to save everyone. Jamie was the first step to a cure. He was the only hope for the return a normal life.

There will be a little more information revealed about Jamie as the story goes by , but hopefully everything is a lot more clear now! Don't forget to REVIEW! :)