Disclaimer: See EP1 Chapter 1.
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EP3 CHAPTER 6: 2 IN A ROW
Sweat formed across Logan's forehead as he started shaking violently. He felt like his body is burning to a good 300 degrees Celsius, which was of course impossible, but that was how it felt and at the same time he felt cold. He stared at Max's sleeping form as seizures continued to shake her body. He only wished that the liquid tryptophan he had induced on her is enough to tide her over until Alec and his crew can get back with the rations. Max will have to be all right… she has to be… That was Logan's last thought, as he grew unconscious.
Gem and Joshua rushed in to see Logan looking longingly at Max's shaking form before he passed out. Gem rushed to Logan's side and so did Joshua.
"What's happening?" She turned and asked Cyd who didn't know whether she should tend to Max or to Logan.
Cyd shook her head, "I don't know. One minute he was helping Max and then he just fell!"
Joshua took note of Logan's bare hands, "Virus bitch. Logan needs hospital… Joshua's blood."
"What?" Gem and Cyd asked Joshua.
But they did not have the time to mull over old news. Logan was getting worse by the minute and Joshua bent down to drag Logan's body towards a corner in Max's bedroom.
"Logan needs Joshua's blood."
Cyd understood what Joshua was trying to ask for and immediately stood up. She looked at Gem, "If you can look out for Max, I'll go to the HQ and get some IV tubes for the blood transfusion… maybe even get one of our medical experts. Do you know anyone around here?"
"There's Vibe back at the infirmary we put up. The infirmary's the warehouse at the back of the HQ."
"Thanks! I'll be back in a flash." With that she left for the infirmary.
TERMINAL CITY'S DOCK
Alec and his crew entered the Dock at the back of Terminal City. He knew they should have gone through the way they entered, but Logan has lost contact and that left him to decide their route. They carried the barges in. Dix and Dalton were the first ones to get into the trucks waiting for them and bring it closer towards the barges. The whole team each took bags of tryptophan and transferred to the two vehicles. Satisfied, Alec went ahead to call the Headquarters.
"We've got the goods safe and secure. The ship will never know what hit them."
Mole answered through the comms, "You can head back in here and we'll have some people help gather those. You and your crew need a break."
Alec smiled feeling very good about himself having accomplished the task, "We'll just get the first two truckloads into the infirmary. You can ask for the back ups to meet us there so me and mine can head up to the HQ and celebrate."
"Roger."
It took only a few minutes for the X-series to load up the vehicles and head towards the infirmary. By the time they got there, Cyd had just stepped in and asked Vibe to go with her. The two nearly bumped into Alec as they headed out.
"Whoa, girls! I knew you're only too glad to see me!" He said teasingly.
Cyd and Vibe sidestepped him, "We gotta get going!"
Vibe simultaneously said, "Whatever you have, just put it in there."
"What's the hurry?" Vibe walked towards her motorcycle and gunned the engine.
"Max is having a seizure and Logan's…" Cyd thrust her arm loaded with IV tubes, in front of Alec.
"No shit?!"
"Gotta go!" With that Cyd ran to hop on at the back of Vibe's bike.
Vibe saw some back up crew coming in, she shouted, "Have a few classify those accordingly and put them in their proper place!"
"Wait! I got tryptophan." Alec rushed on to the other X-Series who were unloading the tryptophan. Alec ripped a bag open and got a container of tryptophan and threw it at Cyd. "I'll get there soon as I can!"
Cyd caught it, "Thanks!" With that, Vibe and Cyd rolled on to Max's crib.
MAX'S CRIB AT TERMINAL CITY
Gem was applying some cold towel on Logan's forehead to lower his temperature. Joshua has transferred Logan onto a sleeping bag covered with fresh bed sheets that Gem found inside the chest that doubled as a chair beside the living room wall.
Joshua was pacing across the entrance to Max's place waiting for Cyd to arrive, constantly looking at Max's bedroom and the entrance door.
Just then the door burst open as Cyd came holding a plastic container with IV tubes inside followed by Vibe holding the medical kit. Joshua escorted them immediately at the entrance to Max's bedroom, but did not enter himself. There were enough people in there. He tried to explain the situation to Vibe.
Cyd and Gem decided to look onto Max just as Max roused from her slumber. She croaked, "Logan…" Cyd saw her still shaking a little, but it was much milder now.
Gem eased Max's head and gave her water to drink as Cyd handed Gem the tryptophan bottle.
"I'll wait outside." She told Gem as she realized the room might get too stuffy with all of them there. She went into the kitchen and willed for Logan and Max to be all right.
Meanwhile in the bedroom, Max's caught Joshua and Vibe, the X-series medical expert, talking at the foot of her bed. At the space between them, she caught sight of what could be Logan's shift. She hadn't dreamt it after all! "Logan!" She tried to stand up from the bed, but ended up having to crawl back under the covers.
"He's gonna be okay, Max." Gem tried to reassure her.
Vibe had injected several medicines into Logan's system, mostly for the fever. "He seems to be holding up better than I expect. I need a thorough explanation on his condition."
Max looked at Vibe, "There's a vi… virus t-targeted to hi… his D-DNA. I…'m th…the carrier." Vibe went to Max as Gem decided to leave the room and wait outside with Cyd.
Max tried to explain the situation to Vibe as best as she could with Vibe handing over another bout of tryptophan to her and giving her a glass of water. Max had even informed Vib of Doctors Sam Carr and Beverly Shankar. Having considered the information enough, she went over to Logan's cot at the foot of the bed.
"We need to move him. He can't stay here."
At that, Alec burst into Max's apartment. Gem and Cyd looked up startled.
"Where are they?"
"They need to move Logan from Max's room, but there's no time to transport him." Cyd told Alec.
"You don't have to go in there. There's already too many there as it is." Gem said indicating Max's room.
Alec paced along the kitchen and dining area. "We can't transport Logan, but he needs a place. The ones that are already ready have all been occupied except for the infirmary. The rest of the warehouses needs to be broken in and who knows how long it will take to clean them?"
"We know. That's what we've been talking about." Gem said.
Alec was about to sit on a more comfortable chair when he noticed a crack at the right wall of Max's living room. "What's that?"
Cyd shrugged and so did Gem.
Alec went over and pushed on the wall, which opened with a click. This brought Gem and Cyd to their feet and both walked over to where Alec was. Alec peered inside and tried to look for a switch at the wall. He was able to find one and switched it on. The wall-door revealed a spacious BEDROOM. They went inside and saw that the room was not even stuffy and it had more room than Max's place. They all went inside and to the right corner, the door opened to a bathroom with its own luxurious tub, shower, closet and even a powder room and closet/storage area. They left and there was yet another door. Alec was about to go in, but a hand stopped him.
"I think this ought to be explored more by Max. It's her crib." Gem gave Alec a meaningful look.
"Hey I was only trying to make sure it can be used!" Alec said jokingly.
They all went out of the bedroom and Gem went into Max's room to explain that they have a place where to put Logan.
A few moments later, Logan was settled into a king-sized bed, Joshua said goodbye to the sleeping Logan with the blood transfusion coming to an end. Dr. Shankar had been brought in to see Logan and they had been told that they could now only rely on his immune system and Joshua' blood. Max had also been given a check up and liquid tryptophan dosage from the hospital where administered, which brought down her seizures to a minimum. With the worst over, Max had sat on beside Logan's bed as the rest of the people left. Only Cyd remained to sleep in Max's bedroom.
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A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating sooner. I have been waiting for this chapter to get back to me from Beta for more than 1 month now. Since patience is not a words I associate with, I am giving this to you unbeta-ed. Please make allowances. I am trying to write more of the succeeding episode right now and hopefully someone will come up for the beta. I wanna finish this soon and I'm trying to take advantage of the few days of vacation. Happy Holidays to everyone and thank you for continuously reading this. Please don't forget to review. I need to know what you think.