Frost Bites – Chapter One
Utopia
"Did the general say anything new?"
Rochelle was sitting with Louis and Coach in one of the tables in the community diner. Unlike the military ship, Utopia was a small island community composed of a number of lucky Survivors who had made their way there during the initial days of the outbreak. It felt like a small slice of heaven, hence the name "Utopia."
Coach shook his head. "Zoey's trying to get more information off the old coot, but so far he claims he doesn't know anything other than the girl's being damn stubborn."
"Well if she is, that's probably going to be their ticket out of the city," Louis commented. "If they're so gung-ho about bringing her here, then they'll end up bowing to her wishes."
Rochelle sighed and ate her cereal. She just wanted Francis here. His presence was a comfort, and it felt strange not to see him. These past few weeks she had lived in fear, fear that she would never see Francis ever again.
It was like Rayford, part deux.
Zoey stormed inside the diner, ignoring the surprised looks most of the patrons were giving her.
"He's not budging," Zoey said furiously when Louis asked her what happened. "I swear, he's driving me crazy. All I did was ask him if he'd received news of this special girl, and he told me to go do my nails. Ugh!"
"Calm down, Zoey. We'll find out what's going on eventually," Louis assured her.
"I sure hope so, because I am this close to escaping this place and rescuing the guys." Zoey crossed her arms and frowned. "They all remind me of Mora."
"At least they're not shooting at us." Louis and his maddening optimism was a boon most of the time, but now it annoyed Zoey. She sighed.
Whatever the military is doing, they'd better hurry up, she thought.
Doctor Aidan Frost smiled and looked at Jenny. She was thinner than he remembered, but still beautiful. She was sitting on one of the chairs in front of his desk, looking at him with apprehension. Behind her stood a man in a white suit, one hand in his pocket, and the other holding the back of Jenny's seat.
Aidan didn't like the way the two looked intertwined – why, the man looked a damn mobster! Aidan wondered what Jenny's dad would have said had he been here with them.
"What is this all about, Aidan?" Jenny asked, dropping all formalities. "You said you came here to save us, but now you're telling me I'm the only one the military is going to be evacuated. What about my companions?"
"Well Utopia has reached its capacity," Aidan said carefully. "And General Lewis refuses to take in more survivors unless-"
"That's utter bullshit, and you know that, Aidan," Jenny said, cutting him off. "They said Utopia was a safe haven for whatever remains of our society, and yet this so-called general is refusing to accept more people? We've been through a lot!"
Aidan shifted in his seat. The man standing behind Jenny was giving him such an intense stare that it was starting to bother him. "You must understand, as much as Utopia claims to provide shelter and protection of what has now ravaged the country, it does have its limitations."
"Limitations imposed by someone who only cares for the safety of him and his men," Jenny seethed. "If they aren't going to be evacuated, then neither will I."
Jenny stood up and was about to leave when Aidan reached over his desk and grabbed her wrist. "Jennifer, don't do this. I made a promise to your father that I would protect you. I cannot do it if you leave."
Her expression darkened. "Do not talk about my dad, Aidan. I know what you did to him. You pressured him to make some stupid viral strain when he should have been taking care of Mom. Mom and I needed him then, but you practically held him prisoner. Mom died without seeing him, and now you claim to have my best fucking interests at heart? You're pathetic."
"I hate myself for doing it," Aidan admitted. "But you know what Bartlett is like."
"Bartlett didn't do it, Aidan. You did. And now you're trying to clear your conscience by saving me," Jenny went on. "I told you, I am not going anywhere unless Nick, Ellis, and Francis are with me."
The four were halfway out the door when Aidan made one last effort. He knew General Lewis would eventually disagree, but he had to do something.
"Alright, alright," he conceded. "I'll convince Lewis to accommodate the four of you."
Jenny looked at him, studying him closely. Aidan could see that she and the man in the suit were holding hands.
"I didn't know you had a boyfriend," Aidan said accusingly.
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "And why should that matter to you, Aidan?"
"I feel obligated to-"
"Fuck you and your obligations, Aidan! I've never been a huge fan of yours, but don't you use my dad as an excuse!" Jenny walked towards him, ignoring the fact that he easily towered over her. She poked him painfully in the chest. "And don't think that you're the only one who can save us. We've gone through a lot, and we can certainly get to Utopia without your damn evacuation plan."
With that, she turned on her heel and left with her companions, slamming the door to his office. Aidan remained where he was for a few more minutes, before walking back to his desk and pulling something out.
As Nick and the others walked away from the office, he could sense that whatever tension she was feeling was slowly ebbing away.
Aidan Frost had led them away from the Infected hordes by bringing them down to the secret underground research facility – one that Jenny had been completely unaware of – but it appeared that he was only after her. Nick didn't like the doctor very much, and his dislike increased when he noticed Frost staring at Jenny a little too long.
"Well this proves that the military really fucking sucks," Francis said as they went inside their room.
"Maybe they ain't doing so well," Ellis said thoughtfully, sitting on the bed. "They might be having a food crisis of some sort." Ellis didn't seem to like that thought.
"Imagine that," Nick drawled. Jenny had crawled onto the bed beside Ellis's, and the conman sat beside her. "With Ellis here we'd probably go through the food supplies in a month."
"Har dee har har." Ellis lay down and yawned. "Hey, you think Aidan could check if the others are in Utopia?"
"I could, the question is if he would," Jenny replied. "He's always been self-serving."
"Are you really going to refuse to be evacuated without us?" Nick trailed his finger down her arm.
"Yes. If he won't help us, I'll find another way. You guys are my family now, and we look after our own."
The group then changed topics. Jenny asked about their other four companions and what they were like. Francis gushed on and on about Rochelle, while Ellis was over the moon when he was asked about Zoey. Jenny had to ask about Louis and Coach to stop the two from going at it, while Nick ended up dozing on her shoulder.
"Louis is Mr. Positive," Francis said, after finishing his little monologue about how he had fallen for Rochelle back in Rayford. "If someone gets attacked by a Witch, he'll say that it's a good lesson for us."
Jenny raised her eyebrows. "Getting attacked by a Witch is a good lesson? How?"
"He said it taught us not to startle Witches." Francis lowered his arms over his stomach, which was still wrapped in bandages. "As if we didn't already fucking know that."
"What about Coach?" Jenny had heard a few tidbits about the man, and he reminded her of her uncle, Darren, who had died when she was about ten.
"Oh Coach is great. He's always there to give us a pep talk whenever we're in a bad situation. There was this one time when we were about to open the emergency door to a downed plane in the Louisiana swamps and Nick was hurt pretty bad; Coach was there to keep him going."
Jenny smiled. "They all sound nice. I can't wait to meet them."
"Yeah, yeah, they're great," Ellis agreed, nodding. "Shame that doctor ain't going to let us talk to them."
"I'll see what I can do," Jenny said. She hated the idea of asking Aidan for favors, but she knew Francis and Ellis were worried about their girlfriends. The least she could do was ask Aidan if he could ask the general if Zoey, Rochelle, Louis, and Coach were okay. Jenny told Francis and Ellis where she was going and went back outside.
The hallway was all white, and she passed several large laboratory rooms on her way to Aidan's office. She had been surprised to learn that the company actually had an underground base (it reminded her of the Hive in the Resident Evil games) that her dad had never told her about.
She reached Aidan's office and knocked. Aidan opened the door, his eyes lighting up when he saw her. "Jennifer."
"It's Jenny," she said. "I need a favor."
Aidan raised his eyebrows, as if he hadn't been expecting to hear that. "Oh? What favor would that be?"
"My companions were with their friends in the military cruise ship. I want to know if they are in Utopia." Jenny looked at Aidan. "Please."
"And what will I get in return?" Aidan asked.
"What happened to your so-called obligations, Aidan? You say you owe my dad. I don't expect to give you anything in return," Jenny said. "You're the one who owes me."
"I didn't promise your father to serve as a middleman between you and your lover's friends," Aidan argued.
"Very well." Jenny pushed past him and walked towards the radio. Aidan gave a surprised gasp and then hurried after her.
"What are you going to do?" Aidan asked as Jenny positioned herself behind the radio that was placed beside his bookshelf.
"Calling the general myself," she said. She noticed that the radio had already been pre-set to a certain frequency, but Aidan stepped in front of her. "Get out of the way, Aidan."
"No. You…I'll call him," Aidan relented. "Just… what are their names?"
"Rochelle, Zoey, Louis, and Coach." Jenny crossed her arms and stepped away. "I'm not leaving until you call them, Aidan, so don't even think of tricking me."
Aidan fumbled with the headset as he switched the radio on. Soon General Lewis's voice sounded amidst the static, and when Jenny heard that the four other Survivors were in Utopia, she visibly relaxed. At least she wouldn't have to go and tell Francis and Ellis that Rochelle and Zoey were dead; they could certainly count on a happy reunion when they reached Utopia.
When the general asked to talk to her, Jenny took the mouthpiece. "General."
"I hear you're refusing to be evacuated," the general said stiffly. "May I ask why?"
"You refuse to accommodate my friends. I am not going to leave them behind, general. They are my family now," I replied coldly. "If you won't help us, we will find another way."
"The streets are packed with the Infected. Frost told me you were barely fending off an attack," the general insisted.
Jenny frowned at Aidan, who was now looking at anywhere but her. "We were stepping out of the goddamn elevator, general. I don't think that counts as 'barely fending off an attack'."
"Whatever you were doing that time, Frost saved you. You would do well to-"
"You would do well to focus on getting all Survivors to Utopia, general. They're human beings, not one of the Infected!" Jenny was growing irritated. She couldn't believe that the general was turning a blind eye to Survivors who were able to make it this far, only to realize that the people in the safe haven they were looking for was going to turn them away.
"They're Carriers. I'm damn lucky to be one of them, and have enough men that are immune to the virus your father created."
"Then why are you refusing to let my companions in? If the people in Utopia are Carriers, three more won't make a fucking difference!"
The general did not reply for a long time. Jenny soon became tired of waiting and handed the mouthpiece back to Aidan, mumbled her thanks, and left.
Once she was gone Aidan and General Lewis discussed the situation. They both knew that Jenny had the only potent sample of the virus, and that there was still a scientist out there who knew the intricacies of the Green Flu strain. In the end, they decided to accommodate her wishes.
"We need her to cooperate," Aidan said. "It may be best if we just let her do what she wants. After all, once everything is done, we won't need her."
"So she is to be exterminated?" the general confirmed.
"Yes. As long as she lives there is still a chance for the Infection to start all over again. She's a Carrier, Lewis. A permanent one. I don't think there's a way to remove the virus from her system." Aidan felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He knew he was breaking his promise to Paul that he would keep Jenny safe, but damn, there were other people as well. He needed to think about the safety of what remained of humanity, and not just the safety of a single person.