a/n: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I asked for ten reviews; I got eleven in three days. I love you guys. Enjoy!
Claire's POV
It's been a pretty tearful day. Alice, Carlos and L.J. all met up with old friends they were overjoyed to know were alive, I'd found my brother and Mikey'd returned at last.
I looked over at Alice, L.J., Chris and Jill, who were working on the serum which would destroy the virus for good. Chris leaned over to hand something to Jill, their fingers brushing slightly. I smirked; my brother might have a few problems on his hands, I thought, but never had a simple crush managed to make him smile like that. I knew it before he did; he was in love.
Thinking of love, I looked at Mikey, who was in the corner talking to K-Mart, Carlos and Angie. His wild hand gestures as he told them stories made them laugh.
Betty was playing with something in the corner of the lab. I walked over, curious. Scattered on the countertop around her were several dozen shiny discs. I recognized them for what they were immediately.
"CD's?" I asked, picking one up and flipping it over. Britney Spears. I was disgusted.
"Yeah. I found them in this cabinet. I'm trying to find out how to work this CD player." Betty informed me. I started laughing disbelievingly.
"I know, right? It's a disturbing image." She said.
"What's a disturbing image?" Mikey's voice asked from behind me before he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close.
"Scientists busting it to 'Hit Me Baby One More Time'." Betty said, then slapped the CD player, "Stupid bitch won't turn on."
Mikey started laughing.
"What? You can get it to work, techno-boy?" Betty glared at him.
"It doesn't take a genius to plug in a radio," He laughed, "It's not exactly rocket science."
"What the-" Betty followed the cord to the unplugged end, "Motherfucker." She plugged it into the nearby outlet.
Flipping the switch to turn the CD player on, she opened it and put a CD in. "Until the Day I Die" by Story of the Year began playing. The loud music filled the lab, drawing the attention of everyone else in the lab.
Alice and L.J. came walking toward us, their faces looking pale and defeated.
At that moment, I suddenly got scared. This couldn't be good.
"The serum didn't work." Alice whispered and all our greatest fears were realized.
K-Mart's POV
Spirits were low. Everyone seemed depressed, even the White Queen. We sat around, listening to the scientists' CDs. Everyone's good humor was lost; even Mikey, our perpetual optimist, hadn't smiled in days.
"This is so depressing." I whispered to Angie, who nodded. I looked out at everyone else in the room. Jill was playing with her gun, unloading it, then reloading it. Chris was watching her movements, his expression guarded so I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
Angie was braiding Betty's long hair, while Betty rearranged her medical kit to fit in the supplies she'd found since we'd found her.
L.J. had a pen and a piece of paper and was randomly doodling guns. He'd, for as long as I'd known him, had an obsession with guns, but he was good with them.
Mikey was leaned up against a counter, typing something on a laptop. Claire was on the small bed in the corner, counting ceiling tiles, very lethargic. Mama was slumped against a wall, attempting to sleep, but her eyes kept opening and she looked around, as though expecting something to attack. With her life, though, I guess she would be rather paranoid.
Daddy was nearby, looking through the CDs. He kept looking at Mama, meeting her eyes when she opened them, looking both relieved and sad when she closed them. Even he no longer had a smile to spare and had spent much of the past three days whispering with Mama and the two of them had frequent conversations with the White Queen.
Looking at everyone's drawn, hopeless faces, I snapped.
"What's the matter with you people?!" I yelled, jumping to my feet, suddenly outraged. Everyone's expressions turned to those of shock and confusion.
"What do you mean?" Chris asked.
"So, the first serum didn't work. Does that mean you're just going to give up?"
I swear I saw a small smile on Daddy's face and even Mama had woken up to stare at me with an unreadable expression that almost looked like pride.
"There's a whole world out there to save and you guys are acting like this is the end of the world!" I yelled at them.
"K-Mart, the world already ended." L.J. felt the need to tell me.
"Don't be a smart-ass, L.J.!" I growled at him.
"She's right, you know," Angie said, "It's like we're giving up on the world."
"We have been acting like we're five-year-olds that didn't get their way. We need to act like adults. K-Mart and Angie are; the rest of us kinda suck at life." Betty said.
"Thanks, Betty," Claire smirked, "I feel like such a failure at life, now. I'm gonna go swallow razor blades."
Everyone laughed before standing up and talking to each other with more exuberance than they'd exhibited in days.
L.J. put "We Will Rock You" by Queen on and Angie and I began dancing around, quickly being joined by everyone else.
"You got mud on your face, you big disgrace, We're kicking your can all over the place!" L.J., Chris, Daddy and Mikey sang, their deep voices echoing through the room. Angie and I laughed and I leaned back against the cabinet, missing and falling.
A sharp pain shot through my arm as dark red blood began oozing from a slice a little above my wrist.
"Ooh, girl, that's pretty nasty. Let's clean that up." Betty said as the celebration came.
Betty opened her medical kit and took out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. She began cleaning my cut with it, my wound bubbling as the peroxide killed all the bacteria around it.
Out of the sea of concerned faces, I saw Mama's incredulous face staring at my arm.
"That's it." She whispered. Everyone turned to look at her.
"What's what?" Jill asked her, confused.
"That's it," Mama pointed to my arm, "The cure to the T-Virus."
a/n: bum bum bum…..I think I liked that review thing last time. I'm gonna do at least 7 this time, just to make it easy on y'all. Seven reviews 'til the next post!