Determinant: a gene or other factor that determines the character and development of a cell or group of cells in an organism.
Chapter 26: Clementine - Oh My Darling
With the cure made, the finish line is in sight for the team. But things take a turn for the worse when the Shepherds' insidious plan comes to light and Mitch is forced to make a difficult decision.
It really was a spectacular sight - 40,000 birds housed in cages on every beach on the island. The cure. They were finally going to distribute the cure they'd been working on for almost sixteen months straight. It was over.
Mitch looked down at the remote in his hand, given to him by Mansdale, then back up at his friends. They had been with him through it all, thick and thin, bad times and good. It was a strange feeling, to belong. Two years ago, he wouldn't have thought it possible, but here he was, surrounded by friends that were more like family.
"I wish Chloe was here," Jamie had stuffed her hands in her pockets as she shuffled closer to him. She sounded equal parts happy and sad, and Mitch spared her a sidelong glance.
"Chloe would have loved this," Jackson agreed. "To see the animals - the world - back to the way it once was."
Mitch's heart ached at his words, the pain of Chloe's loss still terrible but tempered by time. He'd come to terms with it, analyzed and reconciled his own emotions regarding Chloe's death, but now the pain of that loss was laced with something akin to sympathy at Jackson's words. He knew how it felt to lose the one you love, to continue the work even when everything inside was screaming to give it up. He'd lived it once; he never wanted to again.
"What are you waiting for?" Dariela's teasing voice pushed through his melancholy, and he glanced at her. "Push it already."
And he did.
The cages behind them opened as one, releasing the flock of white birds into the air. Mitch stared in wonder as they soared and swirled above them, graceful and beautiful. They stayed in formation for a moment, as though they understood that the humans on the shorelines were watching. Then slowly, in small groups at first, then gradually larger ones, they began to peel from the group, off to fulfill their mission and spread the cure.
Jamie was the first to break away, and Mitch fell into step easily beside her. He tapped the now-useless controller in his hand twice before he tossed it into the sand. His fingers sought hers, intertwining as they strolled down the beach amid the cheers and congratulations of the gathered Shepherds.
"Hey, you ever been to Maine?"
If she was surprised by his question, she didn't show it. "No."
"Wanna go to Maine with me?" He tugged her to a stop, turning to let his other hand find hers. "There's someone I'd like you meet."
"Clem?" She sounded surprised and hopeful at the same time, and he smiled. "Um, yeah, yes I would love that."
"Good," he leaned in and watched as her eyes darted down to his mouth. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but he was already too eager to see his daughter again. "Then can we get the hell out of here?"
She laughed, bright and free, and his heart rejoiced to see it. "I'll call Trotter." He let her go and turned back to Jackson and the others, gathered around each other looking just as triumphant as he felt. He strolled back toward them smiling.
"So what now?" Jackson asked him quietly.
Mitch glanced back to where Jamie was. Her back was turned but he could see the phone cradled against her ear. "Now, we go home."
"Your daughter's going to be happy to see you," Jackson said. He reached out and laid a hand on Mitch's shoulder; the gesture felt like forgiveness. Mitch didn't regret Robert Oz's death - it had been necessary to synthesize the cure, and the man had sacrificed himself willingly for the cause. But Mitch did feel guilty at the vindication he felt, the sense of rightness that settled in him as he died. Oz and his companions here on Pangaea had created Glazier's Disease on accident, a freak byproduct of an attempt to contain the cure. In their arrogance they had killed thousands of innocent children, doomed them to an agonizing, suffering existence. Rationally, Mitch understood that Robert's death would not bring those children back, could not ease the pain their families felt at their passing. But the father in him reveled in the justice served.
"Yes," Mitch realized he hadn't really said anything, and he returned Jackson's brief smile. "And what about -"
"They're dropping the gas!" Jamie's panicked voice rang out across the beach, and they all turned as she ran toward them. "The Noah Object -" she came a stop, breathless, beside them. "The Noah Objective...it's on. They're clearing the air space. The planes are in the air already."
"You said you took care of the Noah Objective!" Dariela's anger was directed at the group now walking up to them, led my Mansdale.
"And I did," he replied. "The planes are doing exactly what they're meant to do."
"You did this?" Jackson took a step forward, his voice dipping dangerously low. Two of the Shepherds reached out to restrain him as the others raised their weapons at the group. "We just released the cure! What are you -? That gas is gonna kill all the animals, Mansdale!"
Terror gripped Mitch's heart like a vice, squeezing the air from him as a singular, solid thought settled over him. "And Clem." Logic went out the window as the rage consumed him, and he lashed out with an elbow toward the nearest Shepherd. It caught him in the cheek and sent him sprawling, but there were just too many of them. Almost as soon as Mitch made contact, two more surged forward to contain him. A blow to his back drove him to his knees, and he heard Jamie cry out his name.
Cool fingers grasped his arm and hauled him upright as Mansdale continued. "It'll all be clear to you - to the entire world - very soon."
"You son of a bitch!" Jackson broke free from the man holding him and charged at Mansdale, but he was brought up short by another Shepherd tackling him to the ground.
"Get them out of here!" Mansdale ordered.
They were escorted to the far side of the island and thrown into what Mitch could only describe as a cave prison. Iron doors were barred from the outside, and Jackson threw himself against them repeatedly as he screamed in protest.
"We gotta get out of here," Jackson pulled on the door again, but it still didn't budge.
"Let's look over here," Abe sounded far off, and when Mitch turned away he saw the larger man disappearing down a dark tunnel. He pulled Jackson away from the door to follow the others.
"I gotta get to my daughter."
"We'll figure it out, Mitch."
"Well, that's easy for you to say," Mitch snapped. "The serum cured you. Clem still has the ghost gene. Once they drop that gas over Maine she's got less than twelve hours to live."
They hit a dead end and a large iron gate. Jamie gripped the bars futilely and groaned in frustration. "Why would the Shepherds help us to make a cure to save the animals and then drop a gas that will kill them?"
Mitch knew he should be wondering the same thing. The answer to that question could be the key to solving this entire mystery, but he could think of nothing else but his daughter.
"Check these out." Dariela had leaned in close to the wall, her fingers tracing deep marks in the stone. Mitch moved to take a closer look, but jumped back when she did. "What the hell?"
"What was that?"
Something shifted in the darkness, and Mitch shuffled sideways toward Jamie. The thing moved again, this time emitting a very audible groan. The shape in the dark solidified into a person, and Mitch bit back a groan of his own.
"Logan?" Abe reached for the injured man. "What happened to you?"
Logan leaned back against the stone wall with a pained gasp. In the dim light, Mitch could see Abe inspecting a deep wound on his arm. "Some kind of animal gets in here," he said. "I barely made it into this crevice."
Next to him, Jamie spoke in the most disdainful tone he'd ever heard from her. "Well, you're one lucky son of a bitch, then, aren't you?"
A klaxon blared overhead and Logan shrank back. "Oh, no, no, no, no. It's feeding time again!" He looked terrified, and Mitch felt a small surprising bit of sympathy for him. "The gate opens," he said. "They come in here. This cavern is their food bowl."
But Dariela was already forming a plan. "As soon as that gate opens, I say we run like hell."
It wasn't much of a plan, but it beat sitting around waiting to be eaten by whatever the hell was out there. Jackson went to help Logan despite Jamie and Mitch's protests ("Leave him." "Best idea ever.") and the moment the gate slid back they bolted into the forest.
Jamie had a tight hold of his hand, as though she was afraid he would vanish if they were separated for even one second. Over the sounds of whatever animals was snarling on their heels, he could hear her sharp, short breaths as he tugged her along behind him. He could hear the others as well, tromping through the undergrowth, but he kept his eyes up, following the Southern Cross as he caught glimpses of it between the trees.
"No," he heard Jamie's soft exclamation at the end of a breath, and Mitch let her go as they slowed to a stop in front of another gate. This one was larger, and even from a distance Mitch could hear the buzz of electricity. This one wasn't keeping something out, it was keeping it in - in with them.
"We're in Section K."
Mitch glanced over at Dariela. "What the hell is Section K?"
Abe stepped up on his other side. "Reece said it's where the Shepherds keep their mistakes."
"Mistakes?" That didn't sound good. "They have mistakes?"
"Apparently," Dariela said. "And a lot of them."
The growling was getting louder, and they were running out of time. Abe pushed Mitch and Dariela away as he put a little more space between them and the electrified fence. "Get back," he directed. Mitch moved to Jamie and grabbed her hand again as Abe tossed the metal rung he'd torn off of the ladder. It hit the fence and sent a shower of sparks into the air, shorting the circuit and opening the gate.
"Go!"
"We need to move!" Jackson was still supporting Logan as they hurried through the breach. They only made it a few steps when a truck skidded to a stop.
"Freeze!" The driver stepped out with a gun trained on them. "Stay right where you are! Do not move!" He reached up with his free hand and keyed on the mic strapped to his shoulder. "Command, we have a problem at Section K, Gate Three."
He was cut off by a bark of feral anger. A pack of what appeared to be mutated wolves came charging through the brush. Mitch felt Jamie jerk back in fear, but he kept a hold of her hand. If she ran now, they would give chase and kill them all.
The guard turned to the attacking hybrids and began firing, drawing their attention away from Mitch and the others. The lead wolf didn't break stride as he leaped, landing on the man and taking him down amid a chorus of hungry growls and snarls. Mitch grimaced and turned away, angling his body as he felt Jamie lean into him.
"Let's go! Move!" Abe dashed for a small side trail, leading the others away from the carnage behind them. Mitch grabbed a hold of Jamie's hand again, keeping her just a little closer as they ran back toward the runway.
They made it to the plane almost ten minutes later. Mitch felt his adrenaline rush from the fear shift focus as he bounded up the ramp and into the plane proper. He had a bad feeling that wouldn't leave him alone, and he ignored Dariela's warning to wait. She was already grabbing rifles from the armory as Jamie and Jackson followed his hasty dash back to the lab, but he couldn't wait.
The lab had been completely trashed. Equipment lay broken and upended, tables sat askew, and just about everything that could hold a tiny vial had been ransacked and searched.
"The triple helix animals are gone," Jamie cried. But Mitch wasn't paying attention. He moved straight for the fridge, his fingers sifting through the mess in search of the one vial he knew wouldn't be there.
"The genomic fossil serum's gone." He slammed the door closed in anger, not caring that it bounced open again. There was nothing in there worth preserving anymore.
"Mitch, I know the serum cured me, but it killed my father," Jackson said as he cleaned Logan's wounds. "Are you sure it's safe for Clem?"
"The drug that Reiden gave Clem is a neuroprotectant," he felt the science slip over him like a safety blanket. "It'll stop the side effects of the serum."
"Reiden did something good for once." Mitch glanced back at Jamie with a soft smile despite the tightening in his chest. He had to agree. While he was still so very angry at the circumstances surrounding Clem's illness (and he knew there would be a reckoning one day), he couldn't deny that the trial medication he'd taken from Burke had done more than just rid her of the disease. It may very well be the only thing that could save her life.
Dariela came back in with Abe seconds later, her rifle stowed on her back. "Trotter's safe, plane's secure."
Mitch heard the engines starting up. "Once that gas drops, we'll have less than twelve hours to get the serum to her. I am not leaving here without it." He needed to talk to Audra, let her know what to do in case Clem reacted badly to the initial gas drop. She needed to find an oxygen tank and mask if she took a bad turn before he could get there. Isolating her would be best, though Mitch wasn't sure if the safe zone she was staying in had anything resembling a medical quarantine area.
"You want to go back out there?" Logan yelled.
Mitch didn't even glance back at him, just jogged up the stairs toward the conference room. "That is exactly what we're gonna do," he promised. He heard soft footfalls on the steps behind him and knew Jamie was following. She stopped just at the top of the steps as Mitch shed his jacket and grabbed the keyboard. He didn't know if she was supporting him or escaping Logan, but either way he was grateful for her presence as he dialed the Portland Safe Zone.
"Somebody answer," he mumbled absently as the line buzzed over and over again. "Come on, just answer." A sick feeling settled in his gut and wouldn't abate. "Come on, come on, come on…"
It finally beeped as the line connected, though there was still no picture. "Hey," he called. "Somebody there?" The image blinked on, though the camera was pointed down and away like it had been knocked over. A pair of hands reached out to set it right. "Hello?"
A man who looked to be in his forties stared back, a butterfly bandage covering a cut on his brow. He looked haggard and dirty, like he'd just been in a battle, and that sick feeling in Mitch's gut began to grow. "Hello?" he answered.
"Hey, yeah, I'm looking for Audra Lewis?" The man didn't answer right away, but the haunted look in his eye deepened into something that had Mitch squirming. "Sir, Audra Lewis," he repeated. "Do you know her?"
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry."
Behind him, Mitch heard Jamie stifle a gasp.
"Why, wh-what happened?"
"The safe zone was attacked," the man explained. "By animals. I'm sorry...Audra and Justin were killed."
No.
The man's image blurred as Mitch fought tears, and Jamie came to stand at his back as he swallowed his grief and asked the question that could break him. "Where...where's Clementine." But the man was still sputtering through his own anguish, lamenting about Audra and Justin and not hearing Mitch's question. He never mentioned Clem, though, and Mitch had hope. "Sir! Where is my daughter?"
"Clem was evacuated along with my son, David." Relief hit him like a tidal wave and he slumped back in his seat. Jamie's hand gripped his shoulder, and Mitch raised his to cover it in thanks. "They took all the children," the man continued.
"Okay," Mitch cleared his throat and processed the information. If Clem had been evacuated, then she was safe for now. But he still needed to get to her. "Evacuated where? Where...where'd they take them?"
"I don't know. Dozens of temporary shelters were set up along the coast."
"Okay -" Mitch's next question was cut off by a siren. "Wh-what's that noise?"
The man looked fearful, like he'd heard the siren before and knew exactly what it meant. "I'm sorry," he stood up quickly. "I have to go. They're dropping the gas. Thank God."
"Are those the Noah Objective planes?" Mitch craned his neck as though he could see the sky in Maine, but it was pointless. The call disconnected and Mitch was left with a black screen. "Hey, no, no, don't go!" He slammed his hand on the table, his voice cracking in distress as he screamed. Without knowing where Clem was, where they'd taken her, there was no way he could get to her in time. His daughter was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Jamie's hand moved from his shoulder to his neck as she slipped around and pulled him against her. "It's going to be okay," she told him quietly.
"She could be anywhere," he whispered against her stomach hoarsely.
"We're gonna find her. You hear me? We'll find her, Mitch." Her fingers carded through his hair as his breath shuddered past his lips, and despite his grief he nodded. Her words gave him hope, though it seemed foolish.
A soft voice broke through the gloom of the moment. "Jamie." It was Jackson. She took a half step around Mitch to give him a moment to compose himself, for which he was grateful.
"What is it?" she asked.
"We found a way into the compound."
The way turned out to be an old service entrance that led from a small building next to the runway to the north side of the main compound. Abe, Dariela and Logan stayed behind to guard the plane and to keep the engines warm. They needed to be airborne the moment they returned with the serum. Jackson was sporting a wicked looking rifle loaded with live rounds. No more tranqs.
They expected resistance inside the compound but were met with only gruesome, bloody corpses. Jackson led the way with Jamie between him and Mitch. They'd both wanted her to stay on the plane, but Abe refused to leave Dariela alone and there was no way any of them would trust Logan. Jamie had been adamant, and Mitch didn't have time to argue.
"Oh my God," she breathed as they stepped over the mauled body of a Shepherd.
"Those razorback wolves are no joke." Jackson crept forward, his rifle at the ready. "They didn't leave anybody alive."
"Let's just find that serum and get out of here." Mitch didn't have pity for the dead. They'd brought this upon themselves with their experimentation and lies.
They came upon a room filled with shelves upon shelves of journals, books, and papers. Sitting in the center was a small tank illuminated blue with a soft light. "Hey, Moe." The small jellyfish floated contentedly within, and Mitch lamented briefly that they wouldn't be able to take the little guy back with them. He'd grown a bit fond of the tiny medusa.
They rummaged through the shelves, searching for the small vial that would save Clem's life. After a few minutes, Jackson gestured vaguely toward the other door.
"I'm gonna check upstairs."
It seemed like an impossible task. The compound was too big, there were too many rooms, too many hidden nooks they could have put it. That was assuming it was still here at all - that one of the Shepherds hadn't absconded from the island with the last chance for his daughter's life.
"Who are we kidding?" Mitch's cynicism leaked into his tone even as he kept digging. "The serum's not gonna be here."
"Hey," Jamie shuffled over to his side, "we are going to find it. Then we are going to get to Maine, and you, me and Clem are gonna...do whatever people do in Maine. Okay?" Her hand was light and warm on his back, as though she could will some of her optimism into him through the contact.
"Yeah," he agreed with her automatically, his mind already grasping onto the mental picture she painted like a lifeline. She patted his back one more time before shifting her focus to the other side of the room. Mitch was halfway through an old ammo box when she spoke again.
"What is this thing?"
He turned to find her inspecting a large, almost glassy looking image. "It's old x-ray film," he told her.
She slid it back into the container and glanced up at the other piles of what appeared to be junk. "This must be the stuff Robert took from Pierce's place in Holbeach."
They sifted through the boxes until they stumbled upon an old journal. Mitch couldn't believe their luck. It wouldn't save Clem, but it did answer a lot of questions about the origins of the triple-helix and Pierce's early research.
"It looks like Pierce knew that his x-rays were affecting the animals."
Mitch peered over Jamie's shoulder at the journal she was flipping through. "He developed a chemical compound to sterilize triple-helix animals. Which is why the environmental events stopped."
"But if he sterilized them, then they couldn't reproduce. How'd the triple helix survive?"
"It's possible that the triple helix was only quieted in some of the animals, silencing its genetic instructions," he theorized. "Hence, the genomic fossils."
"So, triple helix went dormant, until the Mother Cell woke it back up."
Mitch almost grinned at her; he'd make a scientist out of her yet.
"Found it!" Jackson burst back in holding the small white vial, and Mitch sighed audibly in relief. He'd found the serum. Now they just needed to get the hell out of here.
"Perimeter breach in southeast sector," a computerized voice announced as a warning alarm blared overhead.
"Come on." Jackson tucked the serum away and led them through to a command center. A large array of screens on the front wall monitored what looked to be every inch of the island. The center screen showed a pack of razorback wolves attacking a fence labeled Section K Perimeter.
"Where did all those hybrids come from?"
"I don't know," Mitch glanced from that screen to another, where a digitized display showed a yellow dotted line stretching over the compound and the runway. It was the fence, Mitch realized, and the small section nearest them had been colored red where the hybrids were attacking, trying to break through. "If they storm that runway, the plane can't take off." He pointed to another screen, this one showing a slowly diminishing power level. "If we don't get that power up to a hundred percent, get that fence working, they're coming straight for us."
The station nearest him was still working, the tablet abandoned by the tech who was no doubt lying in a corridor somewhere. But if the hybrids were still trapped behind the fence, what had killed the workers? There had to be a small pack still inside the building, or at least nearby. Mitch had to work fast.
It took him a moment to familiarize himself with the controls, but eventually he found the necessary pathways to reroute power from non-essential systems. Jackson and Jamie began rooting through the other workstations looking for any clue as to why the Shepherds had double-crossed them.
"Okay," Mitch watched as the power level jumped from thirty four percent to fifty. "It's working. The system's redirecting power back to the fence."
"I found these," Jamie set a case of flash drives on the table in front of him. Hopefully the information contained on them could help them figure out what the Shepherds were up to.
"Unbelievable," Jackson exclaimed.
"What?"
"It's the data from one of my father's experiments. It looks like he was working on the TX-14 gas long before he met Davies." He flipped through the folder frantically. "You know how the neutralizer made it so the poison only targeted the animals?"
Mitch saw Jamie glance at him briefly before answering. "Yeah."
"Well, it looks like he was working on an alternate neutralizer."
"Alternate how?" Mitch kept his eyes on the power levels, but Jackson's new mystery was intriguing.
"This neutralizer isn't going to make it so the gas is safe for humans. It's going to make it so the gas is safe for animals."
"That's insane," Jamie said as she moved over to look. "Why would your father want to target humans?"
With Jamie distracted, Mitch turned his focus to their more pressing problem. Seconds prior, he'd silenced the alarm that had popped up as two pairs of razorbacks had entered the compound. One group had disappeared into the underbelly, but the second was creeping down the northern corridor. Thankfully they hadn't found the access tunnel that would lead them straight to the plane; it seemed they'd caught the scent of humans and were in hunting mode.
As Jackson and Jamie rattled on about the Shepherds and what they could possibly be doing, Mitch checked the south corridor. It was clear.
"Hey," he interrupted their conversation with what he hoped was a casual, controlled tone. "You guys should probably head back."
"Fence back on?" Jackson asked.
"Almost."
"Well, we're not going without you." Jamie's insistence was predictable. And heartbreaking. Someone had to stay to make sure the fence reached full power, but with the wolves so close, there was no way that there would be time after to make it to the plane. Whoever stayed…
Mitch thought about his daughter, about Clem dying, choking and gasping for air. He remembered Chloe, remembered how helpless he'd been to save her. But he could save Clem. He could save them all.
"Listen," he turned to face them, "if there's another power surge and that fence fails while we're out there in the open or while the plane's taxiing? We're toast. Just need a couple more minutes." He tried to sound reassuring as he met Jamie's skeptical gaze. "Get back to the plane, tell Trotter to fire it up." He looked up at Jackson, willing the younger man to understand. "You've got the serum, right?"
He did. "It's in the bag." Mitch understood what he wasn't saying, what he couldn't say.
"Take these," Mitch held out the flash drives for Jamie. "There might be some info on them about the Shepherds." She stood merely feet away, staring at him like he'd grown two heads. "Take them," he urged. "I'll be fine." Mitch called out as Jackson stepped toward the door. "South exit," he ushered his friend away from the path of the hungry hybrids. "It's faster."
"No," Jamie took the case but didn't budge. "We're not leaving you here."
"I'm right behind you." Mitch winced internally; did anyone actually ever believe those words?
"They're here, aren't they?" Jamie whispered. He'd never been particularly good at lying, but Jamie had always been able to read him better than anyone. It didn't surprise him that his attempt at deception had failed. "They're in the building. Mitch let's go!" She reached forward to grab his arm, but he leaned away. "Mitch!"
"It won't hold," he dropped the pretense as he bolted for the northern door. He slammed it closed and locked it as he heard the scrabbling of claws on concrete floor. "You have to go now."
"I'm not leaving you," Jamie took a step toward him, but was stopped by Jackson's grip on her arm. "Let me go." She jerked her arm away and took another step.
Mitch looked anywhere but her eyes. He knew if he did, if he caught sight of the agony in their blue depths, he would falter. His gaze settled on the screen behind her. "If that fence fails, we all die."
But Jamie refused to listen. "If you stay here, you'll die!" She was crying now, and Mitch's heart broke to hear it. But there was nothing to be done. He had to stay.
He swallowed the lump stuck in his throat and uttered one word. "Jackson."
A million words passed between the two men in an instant. In the end, Jackson just nodded once and snaked an arm around Jamie's middle.
"No!" She fought against his hold, crying and pleading as he hauled her bodily toward the south exit. She screamed and struggled in his arms, her hands reaching back as if to grab Mitch and bring him with her. "No! Let me go! Mitch, please! Jackson, let me go! Mitch!"
Her cries faded as they disappeared around the corner. Mitch wiped his eyes with his sleeve and moved back to his workstation. The fence power was at seventy four percent and climbing steadily, but slowly. He could hear the wolves at the closed door behind him, savage and crazed as they slammed against the barrier.
His phone rang minutes later. It was Abe. He hit the button for speaker phone but didn't say anything. He wasn't sure there was anything left to say.
"Mitch, are you there?"
"Yeah," Mitch cleared his throat. "Yeah, I'm here."
"What are you doing? Jackson has ordered Trotter to take off without you!"
"That's right."
"But -"
"I've been meaning to tell you something," Mitch cut him off before he could launch into a speech. He had one of his own that he needed to get out before the monsters broke down the door. "You made the right call in New Brunswick. I couldn't leave Jamie there, but you knew we had to. You knew the mission was more important than any one person." It was a lesson Mitch had been slow in learning. Now he understood it better than ever.
"I need you to do something else for me," he continued. Eighty percent. "I need you to promise me that you guys will look after Clem. You're her family now. You guys are her family now. And tell Jamie...tell her that I love her. And that I'm sorry."
When Abe spoke, his voice was pitched low with sorrow. "I will. I promise."
Mitch watched the bar climb steadily onward, smiling as it flashed green and full. "Southeast perimeter secured."
"You guys have about nine hours to get that serum to Clem. So get that bird in the air."
The door behind him began to splinter and crack as the hybrids began to break through. "Mitch?" he heard Abe's frantic voice calling for him. He reached out with his hand and disconnected the call; his friend could be spared this, at least. Mitch closed his eyes as the door finally gave way under the onslaught of the ravenous razorbacks.
He heard their angry snarls turn to triumphant howls as they breached the door. Mitch turned to face his fate but refused to open his eyes. He wanted the last thing he saw to be Jamie's face alight with laughter, even if it was only in his mind's eye.
"I win."
EIGHT HOURS LATER
Just outside Portland, Maine
Clementine Lewis sat in the main dormitory area absently picking at the flaking paint on the table. There was nothing else to do, and even if there were she didn't feel like doing anything. Not now.
She felt her throat tighten as she thought about her mom and Justin again, but she had no more tears to cry. Her head ached and her eyes were scratchy from the crying she'd done all the way from the safe zone. She remembered the chaos of the night before last, the frantic two a.m. awakening, the hurried rush to pile all of the children into an armored truck. Clem had barely managed to keep a hold of her teddy bear, the one her mom had gotten her for her eighth birthday. It was tucked safely in the small, black backpack she'd been given upon arriving at the new shelter. It didn't hold much - a hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste, a plain black shirt and a few granola bars - but it was the only thing she had. She hadn't even been able to grab the picture she'd taken from her nightstand in Boston, the one with Henry and her dad.
Another kind of sadness ripped through her heart at the thought of him, but this was one was tinted with anger. He'd promised! He'd promised to cure the animals, to make everything right again. But he hadn't, and now her mom was dead. Did he even know? Did he even care?
"Clementine?"
She glanced up at the two people standing across the table. The woman with wavy, auburn hair looked vaguely familiar, but the man was a stranger. There were so many people at this new shelter, so many bodies, that she'd sort of just tuned out the bustle. She hadn't even noticed their approach.
"Yeah?"
The woman smiled a little, but Clem could see sadness in her eyes, too. "I'm Jamie," she said finally. "This is Jackson. We're...friends of your dad's."
"You're Jamie?" Clem had had exactly one conversation with the woman over text. It seemed like forever ago.
"I am," she slid into a chair across from Clem. "It's nice to finally meet you."
If Jamie was here, then that meant her dad probably was, too. She glanced around but didn't see him. Jamie wouldn't quite meet her eyes when she asked and she grew worried. Jackson sat down, too, and Clem finally saw the case he had been holding as he set it on the table. "Your dad, uh...he made this for you. It's a medicine you need to take. It turns out there's still a part of your Glazier's Disease that we need to fix."
"So he'll fix me but not the animals." Clem's outrage was back, bubbling out of her before she could stop it. "He promised." The anger soured to resentment in her chest and she slouched. "I don't want to see him."
"Clementine," Jamie's voice caught on her name, and the girl looked up to see tears in her eyes. "Clem…"
"I mean it," she insisted hotly. "I don't want to see him. He said he would fix the animals and he didn't. They came to safe zone. They killed my mom and Justin!" Her own tears were building again, and Jamie slid around the table to sit in the chair next to her.
"I'm so, so sorry Clem," she reached out and laid hand on the girl's shoulder.
But she wasn't finished. Now that it had an outlet, all of her frustration came spilling out. "And now the people at the safe zone are gonna kill Henry! They're gonna kill all the animals in quarantine." Henry was the only thing she had left, the only thing she cared about now. And soon he would be killed, too. She felt Jamie's hand slip further around her shoulders, pulling her in for a tight hug. It felt good to be comforted after everything she'd been through. It was almost like her mom was still alive.
"Clem," she spoke softly enough that Clem was sure only she could hear. "It's very important we give you this shot, okay?"
"What about Henry?" Clem pulled back and wiped her nose on her sleeve. No one scolded her.
"How about this," Jamie said. "We give you this shot, and then I promise you we will find Henry."
She thought about it for a moment, but knew what her answer would be. "Okay."
Jackson administered the shot - a quick, untrained jab to her arm - but she didn't flinch. When it was over, Clem stood up and shouldered her small bag.
"Let's go."
Henry had been left in quarantine at the original safe zone. Jackson and Jamie took Clem to their car, where two other people were waiting. They were introduced quickly as Clem pointed them toward the safe zone. There was no one inside except for military personnel, but as they walked up to the gates they saw a mob of people demanding that the animals inside be put down.
"See!" Clem cried. "They want to kill the animals! You said you would help Henry."
"Look," Abe stepped forward and pointed to the tops of the fences. "Some of the birds from Pangaea. They made it. They will cure the animals."
In the end, it was decided that Jamie would stay with Clem while the other three went to look for Henry. Clem wanted to protest, wanted to go in there and find her dog, but the memory of the attack kept her rooted firmly on the outside of the fence. She hadn't seen much during the evacuation, but she'd heard the screams and the awful wailing of what sounded like large cats. She didn't want to step foot inside and possibly seeing the bloodshed inside.
She felt a warm arm slip around her shoulders, and she looked up at Jamie. "Come on," the woman said. "Let's go sit down."
The angry mob railed loudly against the fences, but Jamie steered them away from the madness toward a small hill. They found shelter under an old tree and sat down side by side with their backs against the wide trunk. Clem drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them to ward off a sudden chill.
"You know," Jamie began, "your dad talked about you a lot. You were always the most important thing to him, Clem. I know it doesn't seem like it, but -"
"He's gone, isn't he?" She'd had a horrible feeling ever since the brief conversation with Jackson and Jamie at the shelter. She expected to see him in the car when they'd left, and when she hadn't she knew.
"I…" Jamie turned her head away, probably so Clem wouldn't see her crying, but she did. "I'm sorry, Clem. I am. He…"
Seeing Jamie's tears brought back her own, and she collapsed into the woman's arms the moment she reached out. They both wept until they were spent, and still they held onto each other. Clem rested her head against Jamie's shoulder and relaxed under the gentle feel of fingers in her hair.
"We're gonna look after you now." Jamie's promise was a whisper of warmth on her worried heart. "You're not alone, sweetie."
"Thank you." Clem snaked her arms around Jamie's middle and squeezed, grateful to finally have someone to hold onto after the chaos of the last forty-eight hours.
An urgent bark made her jerk up and out of Jamie's arms. She scrambled to her feet and looked around for its source. A golden-brown head bobbed up over the hill as Henry came bounding at her full speed.
"Henry!"
Clem only had to take three steps before her arms were full of excited pup. Henry barked and bounced around her until she fell to her knees. He sat obediently as Clem hugged him, his tail thumping wildly on the ground as he tried to lick her ear. She looked up and grinned at Jamie, who had come over the moment Henry had appeared.
"He did it," Clem told her. "My dad cured all these animals."
"Yes, he did," Jamie smiled back, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "He did it for you, Clem."
"He did it for all of us," the girl corrected. "My dad's a hero."
"Nice to hear someone appreciates me."
Clem turned her neck so quickly it popped, sending a lance of pain through it. She didn't care. There he was, standing just on the other side of the tree with his right arm in a sling and a slanted smile on his face. A white bandage covered the left side of his brow, and he was hunched awkwardly in a way that might mean there were wounds they couldn't see. The others seemed to be frozen, but Clem felt her legs moving all on their own.
"Dad!" Clem covered the distance between them in just a few strides, and despite his injuries he caught her when she jumped into his arms. "You're here." She buried her face in his shoulder, crying as his good arm banded around her back.
"Yeah, I'm here. I'm here, Clem."
For a few moments he spoke to her softly, soothing her tears her with quiet words and clutching her tightly against him. She knew she was hurting him - she could hear it in his voice - but she didn't let go until her arms ached. When he finally set her down on her feet, he glanced up at the others.
Jamie was the first to move. Clem shifted over to give her room, knowing she'd probably want to hug him, too.
Crack!
Jamie's palm connected with Mitch's cheek with such force that his head snapped to the side. Clem clutched her dad's hand fearfully, but he didn't look angry. Instead, he lifted his arm from Clem's shoulders and reached for Jamie.
"I'm sorry," he whispered once, then again. Clem held her breath as, for a moment, neither of them moved. Then Jamie let out a harsh sob and collapsed against him, crying into his shoulder as Mitch set to calming her just as he had his daughter. Clem stayed close, her fingers fisted in her father's shirt as he hugged Jamie tightly. She heard Mitch's soft apologies as he consoled her, peppered in between reassurances that he was really there and promises to never scare her like that again.
After a few moments they all settled, and the others came over to join the reunion. Clem lost hold of Mitch for a moment as he hugged each of his friends in turn, but he didn't stay gone long. Almost as soon as Abe released him he was at her side again, tucking her under his good arm. Jamie came up on his other side.
"How?" It was Jackson who finally voiced the question they were all thinking.
"Mansdale," Mitch said.
"Mansdale?" the others chorused in surprise.
"Yeah, he came busting in seconds after the -" he cut himself off and glanced down at Clem. "He saved me. They patched me up on the plane and I caught a ride with one of the transport trucks delivering supplies to the safe zone."
"What was he still doing on the island?" Abe wondered.
"Can we maybe talk about this later?" MItch glanced down at Clem. "Did you get the medicine?"
"Yeah," she nodded against his side. "I got it." She still had no idea what it was for, just that her dad had wanted her to have it. She hadn't felt bad in a long time, not since the new medicine she'd gotten last year. Her mom had said her Glazier's was gone forever, but Clem was skeptical. Still, this was the longest she'd ever gone without an incident and she was beginning to believe she could finally just be a normal kid.
"Dad?" She waited for his expectant hum before continuing. "Can we get out of here?"
She didn't know why it was funny, but both Mitch and Jamie burst into laughter at her request. "Sure, kiddo," he hugged her once before releasing her. "Let's go."
It took some doing to cram them all into the truck, but Clem was happy to sit on her dad's lap in the backseat with Jamie tucked between him and Dariela. Because of his injury Clem had to lean mostly on his left side, putting some of her weight on Jamie. The woman didn't seem to mind, even shifting a bit to allow the girl to nestle snugly in a small space between their shoulders. Henry had co-opted the back area, settling down happily on some old towels as he slept the entire ride.
When they reached the plane Clem expected them to park outside and walk to it. She let out a tiny squeak of surprise when Abe drove into the back like he'd done it a hundred times. She felt her dad squeeze her arm a bit in reassurance, but her excitement level had ramped up enough that she was very nearly bouncing in his lap as Abe shut the engine off.
"Easy, Clem," Mitch warning, his voice pinched with pain.
"Sorry." She slid out of the car when Jackson opened the door, moving around to let Henry out as well. She grabbed a hold of his leash and followed the group through a door into a small corridor that led to a laboratory. She didn't miss the way her father had grabbed Jamie's hand upon exiting the car or that he hadn't let her go since. She didn't know either of them very well, but they acted the same way around each other that her mom and Justin had, and so Clem was happy for them.
"Is this your workstation?" she ran her hand on the cool metal surface.
"Yeah."
"Actually," Jamie corrected, "this whole plane is his." Mitch whispered a protest, but she just shrugged. "It is. Allison gave it to you." He grumbled but accepted her reasoning.
"Cool!" Clem had been on a few planes in her life, but she'd never been on one quite like this. "Can I get a tour?"
"Sure," Mitch beckoned her to follow, Henry close on his heels. They left the others in the lab as her dad showed her the kitchen, the lounge and the living quarters. Here they left Henry curled up on Mitch's bed as they made their way up a spiral staircase to the cockpit. Mitch introduced her to Trotter, the pilot, and let her look at the myriad of buttons, switches and levers.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, Clem?"
"Can I fly the plane?"
He laughed out loud and tucked her against him in an affectionate one-armed hug. "Maybe in ten years, after flight school. Come on."
She knew he was probably in pain; she'd noticed him trying not to limp as they made their way through the aircraft. She felt bad for asking him to take her around, and so didn't complain when he led her back to the lab.
The others were hunched around a computer screen when they arrived. They seemed different, more serious, and Clem protested when Mitch sat her down at a table far from them.
"Stay here," he told her firmly. He left her there and joined the others, speaking quietly in rushed, clipped sentences. Clem tried to listen in, but only caught fragments of the conversation.
Jackson was gesturing to whatever he'd found on his computer. "...neutralizer...protects the animals...all of mankind…"
Abe's voice was so rich and deep that Clem had no trouble hearing his answer. "Our child could be one of the last children born."
Clem tried to stifle a gasp of surprise and failed. When the adults looked over she pretended to be really interested in the nearest thing and not eavesdropping. Unfortunately for her, that thing ended up being an empty set of glass jars.
"Clementine," her father's warning floated across the lab and she turned with what she hoped was an innocent expression.
"Yeah?"
"Come here."
She shuffled over, fully expecting to be scolded for listening in on adult conversations (something her mother had told her she was never to do). Instead, she was brought into a bone-crushing hug by her father.
"Dad?"
"I'm just...really glad you're okay," he had lowered his head to kiss the top of hers, and she burrowed against him comfortably.
"You need to rest, Mitch," Abe's gentle insistence cut through the moment and Mitch let her go.
"Alright, we'll...tackle this in the morning. Or whatever time we get up."
Clem followed her dad back to the living quarters, not at all surprised when Jamie fell into step beside them. Henry was excited at their return, though they'd only been gone for about thirty minutes.
"Alright," Clem laughed as the dog licked her cheek repeatedly. "I'm happy to see you, too, boy."
"Clem, you alright for a minute?" Mitch and Jamie were still standing in the doorway, and Clem nodded.
"Sure."
"Okay. I have some shirts in that drawer," he pointed toward the dresser on the opposite wall, "if you want something comfortable to sleep in. I'll be right back."
Clem sensed that he probably wanted a moment alone with Jamie, and while she couldn't help the stab of jealousy that hit her she pushed it down and smiled brightly. "Okay."
She washed her face and changed into the softest shirt she could find. It fell almost to her knees, so she took off her jeans and tossed them into the corner with her shirt. She definitely needed new clothes.
Curiosity got the better of her, and as quietly as she could she crept to the door and slid it open. She immediately wished she hadn't.
Her dad and Jamie were standing outside of another door kissing madly. They broke for a moment as Mitch whispered something, and Jamie smiled. Clem wrinkled her nose and ducked back inside before they could see her and scrambled for the bed. She liked that her dad was happy, but she really didn't want to think about it.
"Come on, Henry." She patted the blankets and smiled as the aging dog hopped up next to her. He laid down dutifully at her feet as she pulled the comforter over her. The lights were still on, but she was so suddenly tired that she couldn't keep her eyes open. She hadn't slept well since the attack, and that had been almost two days ago. She still missed her mom and Justin and their house in Boston, but she had a feeling she was going to love her new life with her dad and Jamie and all of his friends just as much.
A/N: We've reached the end of Season 2! I agonized over this chapter, vacillating back and forth between keeping the original ending or creating my own. I actually wrote two endings - one with his death and one without - and ultimately went with this one. I know that Season 3 is going to be...problematic at best, but I'm willing to work through it. Because let's be honest, the writers didn't think they'd get a third season and when they got the call they cobbled together whatever the hell they could think of in the span of like, four days.