Amy
Train from Tikal, Guatemala to Peten, Guatemala
Amy peered at her mangled wristwatch. She could barely make out the time on the cracked screen and in the dim twilight, but she was sure it read 8:00, Tuesday.
Not much time left.
4 days.
She sighed.
I wonder how the others are taking it? she wondered.
She sighed again.
Amy, Jake, Atticus, Ian, Jonah, and Hamilton were all on a train to the Santa Elena International Airport, in Peten, Guatemala. Ian had, with no qualms, swiped his platinum credit card, and with just a few clicks on Jake's laptop, they had booked 6 one-way tickets to Attleboro, Massachusetts. They were almost a sinister group; not one soul spoke a word, or shared a glance, or interacted at all, really. All six were lost in their own thoughts. Other passengers on the train took one look at the group and walked right past their car, so that their car was empty except for them. They were sitting spread out, all of them looking out the window on their sides. Not a single word was spoken.
They didn't have to. They were all thinking along the same lines. Actually, the same seven lines.
1. Dan is missing
2. Olivia Cahill's book is missing
3. Pony is... gone
4. We don't have the antidote
5. Pierce is getting stronger
6. We only have 4 days
7. Fiske is dying
8. AMY. IS. DYING.
It was a crisis, the worst so far, as they all knew. Just as they thought it couldn't get any worse, it had. In more ways than one. And though everyone was suffering, some were suffering more than others. A select few. Amy, for one. Ian and Jake, both, for another. Atticus was confused, while Jonah and Hamilton were just shocked.
Everyone, save Amy, was repeating the same phrase in their mind: this can't be happening.
Of course, after Amy had ingested the serum, she also hadn't believed it. She just couldn't believe that it was possible to die after feeling so energetic, and strong, and... alive. She had registered the fact that she would die in a week, but she hadn't thought it would really happen... would it?
But then the spasms had started. And the vision lapses. Right now, sitting on the train and staring out the window at the Guatemalan countryside, her left foot and leg were uncontrollably shaking. She couldn't feel her left leg at all, and so she couldn't stop it. And her vision was kind of tinted yellow (she had done a double take when she thought she saw a neon yellow cow). She just hoped it didn't get too worse any time soon, or at least until they could find the last ingredient. She also hoped that her companions wouldn't take notice of her now thumping foot and further make it more awkward and real.
The thoughts of her foot reminded her of of the reason why...
The reason...
She couldn't bring herself to think about it.
Was Pony really dead?
She was tempted to ask her neighbor, Hamilton, just to make sure, but he looked busy (and rather ashen-faced), so she kept quiet.
But now that she thought about it, she came to a realization that made her want to just stop these horrible thoughts.
It was her fault.
Her fault that Pony had joined the Cahills in the first place. Her fault that he had gotten tangled up in this. Her fault that he had had to run all the way to their position in the jungle to warn them. Her fault that she couldn't save him because of her stupid legs and the stupid serum. Her fault. It was all her fault.
What was the point of taking the serum if I couldn't save Pony? And what was the point if Dan is missing?
She felt guilty thinking that she was now going to die for no reason, but that was exactly what was going through her head. Sitting here, on the train, doing nothing at all, was making it worse. Here she was, with super-enhanced senses and energy, able to run up a wall and crack national security firewalls, but unable to do anything, just sitting on the slowly-moving train.
She wanted to punch the wall.
The others seemed a little aware of her attitude, as she was literally glowing with energy, hatred, and guilt, and she was practically bouncing up and down in her seat, but they avoided her anyway.
It was too much loss. Even her newly strengthened and superhuman body and mind couldn't bear the guilt and weight of two peoples' deaths, as well as countless others.
It reminded her of Evan.
He too... It was all her fault.
She felt like throwing up.
I am a monster...
I am a monster...
I AM A MONSTER...
I am a monster...
I... am... a... monster...