Chapter 67:Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer

'If we do not trust one another, we are already defeated.'

When they got to the hospital, Becca immediately went to go check on the boy. The hospital was in chaos as injured people from the town hall shooting came in. Most of them would recover quickly while others weren't so lucky. A few of them probably wouldn't make it through the night.

Becca jumped right in and helped in anyway she could. She was running on adrenaline and no sleep, but she was happy to help. She felt useful again. She's realized being a nurse is something she was put on this earth to do. She refused to let anyone take it from her ever again.

Joel was sitting in one of the hospital rooms with Ellie and Lizzie. He was anxious about Becca and the baby. She didn't sleep and was almost seven months pregnant. His wife assured him everything would be fine. She had Peter check her out and the baby was okay, but as the father of her baby; he was worried. He wanted to make sure she was taking care of herself too.

Ellie looked over at Joel and frowned when she saw the distress on his face,'Becca's fine, worry wart. If she thought the baby was in danger she would've stopped.'

He huffed and shook his head,'I know that. I'm her husband. I'm allowed to worry.'

'I know.' Ellie nodded,'Becca's a good nurse. She's one of the best. They need her.'

Joel nodded silently, choosing not to respond. He knew she was right. His woman could handle anything. She was smart. Too smart for the likes of him, but she chose him anyway. He would never take that for granted.

A few minutes later, Becca walked into their room. Her face was covered in a sheen of sweat and her scrubs were covered in blood. She looked exhausted and sad.

Joel frowned and held his hand out to her,'Come ere, honey.'

She walked over to him and stood between his legs, letting him wrap his arms around her. She held onto him tightly as she finally let the tears fall. She had to keep her emotions in check while working, but she could let her guard down with Joel, knowing he wouldn't judge her.

'We lost so many people. I knew all of them. You did too. Over fifty people…gone.' She kept her voice to a whisper, not wanting to upset Ellie or Lizzie,'Some of them were kids. Babies.'

She started sobbing and he cradled the back of her head to his chest. He knew there wasn't anything he could say to make it better. All he could do was be there for her.

Joel gently pulled her into his lap as he kept his arms around her, kissing the top of her head,'We're gonna set things right, Becca. I swear to you we will.'

She looked up at him and nodded,'I believe you.' She sighed shakily,'They just keep coming. It's never gonna stop.'

'Harold knows his shit believe it or not.' He snorted,'He wasn't just a mechanic. He was a fuckin Marine and did three tours in Iraq.' He smirked when her eyes widened in shock,'Who knew the Sheriff was overqualified for the job.'

Becca was surprised to hear that. She was also relieved. With Harold and Joel leading the fight they may have a good chance. She always assumed Harold was working for the council, but she sorely misjudged him.

Ellie overheard the conversation and grinned,'So Harold isn't some loser, huh?'

'I wouldn't go that far.' Joel grinned as Becca swatted at his chest,'He does know what he's doing though.'

Ellie nodded and sighed in relief,'Good cause we're gonna need all the help we can get. Any word on Betsy or Maria?'

Becca stared at Joel expectantly and he shook his head sadly,'Fraid not. We don't know where Tommy took them.'

Ellie frowned and bowed her head,'So they could be dead?'

Joel looked at the three women in the room warily,'That's a possibility that we need to be prepared for.'

He refused to lie to them. If something insidious happened to them they needed to be prepared for the worst. He didn't want a bad outcome, but he wouldn't be surprised.

Becca sighed and shook her head,'Has anyone checked their homes? The underground bunker Tommy built?'

'Yeah and there's so signs of them.' He sighed, looking over Becca's face,'Any word if they were found at the townhall?'

'Everyone's confirmed as far as we know.' Becca frowned,'I was relieved when I didn't see them at the…morgue. Why would they take them?'

'To get to you guys.' Lizzie piped up from her seat in the corner of the room,'I read a lot of mystery books and they always kidnap people close to the ones they want.' She shrugged,'As collateral.'

'They take our loved ones away and they think it's gonna change our minds?' Ellie shook her head,'Fuck that. Maria or Betsy wouldn't be down for that either.'

Becca and Joel looked at each other warily. They were at a loss at what to do. Neither of them expected Tommy to betray them. They couldn't trust anybody anymore. Hell for all they knew, Maria and Betsy could be in on it.

'I agree.' Becca nodded,'They would've want us to do that. It isn't fair. Why should we sacrifice our lives for nothing? They think our lives don't matter and we're selfish. They're not going to change the world. The vaccine doesn't work. It just slows down the progression. Those infected we saw out there? We tested some of their DNA and Peter said it looks like the vaccine caused the infected to mutate.'

Joel nodded as he followed along,'They think they're helping them, but making it worse?'

'Bingo.' Becca shook her head and sighed,'We can't seem to figure out how they're doing it. We know it's through the blood, but some of them? Their DNA couldn't be quantified. It's like they're creating these things in a lab because their molecular structure is…off.'

Joel wished he understood everything she was saying, but most of it was gibberish to him. He knew Becca was intelligent, but she knew far more than anyone gave her credit for. She was astute and was always reading books on science. He would tease her about it as they laid in bed together. She would just roll her eyes and he would distract her from the book as they got lost in each other. He missed those days most of all.

Ellie crossed her arms over her chest and sighed,'We saw people in tanks. Joshua and Katie. People I went to school with and others I didn't recognize. We found bodies in the morgue. They were all stitched up like Frankenstein.'

Becca nodded as she leaned against Joel's chest,'They're using those tunnels for experiments. I'm sure of it. My grandfather was very smart, but also very arrogant. My grandma said he would spend hours in the garage doing God knows what.' She took a deep breath,'I have a theory that they intentionally planted the virus into the water to see what effects it would have. Peter said the experiments started in Arlington.'

'Texas.' He snorted,'So it started with us?'

'I don't know.' Becca shrugged,'There isn't enough research, but it's what I've concluded. Everyone assume the starting point was Japan, but we have no way of knowing that. What we do know is that it spread quicker than anyone could contain it. My grandfather knew all this back in the seventies. How did he know it was deadly and no one else believed him? They ridiculed him for it. I think he became angry at being laughed out by the scientific community. And this is his way of righting his wrongs. He doesn't care about curing anyone. He's using Jackson as his playground for scientific experiments. He's giving a big fuck you to the government.'

All Joel could do was stare at her. He was proud of her. She did the research. She was sitting back and feeling sorry for herself.

Ellie shook her head and snorted,'It sounds he wants to govern us all.'

Becca chuckled softly and nodded her head in agreement. Her eyes widened when she saw Joel was bleeding from his arm,'You got shot? What the fuck, Joel?'

'Language in front of the children, missy.' He smirked,'It only grazed by arm. It's a flesh wound.'

'I'll see about that.' She rolled up the sleeve of his flannel, sighing in relief when she saw a small hole, but no bullet,'You're actually being serious this time. You need to clean it up though before you get Sepsis .'

Joel tried to protest that he was fine, but Becca ignored him. She opened up the medicine cabinet and took out some antiseptic, gauze and tape. She couldn't believe he got shot and didn't tell her.

She walked over to him and stood in between his knees. He sighed as he searched her face,'It ain't bad. I didn't tell ya because I've had worse. You seen it.'

She nodded as she cleaned the wound with the antiseptic, making him hiss in pain,'I know, but that doesn't mean you should let yourself bleed when you're married to a nurse.'

He couldn't help but smirk at that. He still couldn't get used to the fact he was married. It made his chest ache whenever she called him her husband. This intelligent woman chose him. He would forever consider himself lucky.

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Maria felt nauseous as she nodded in and out of consciousness. She opened her bleary eyes, finding herself in a dark and dingy room. Her throat was raw from screaming. She wanted her baby back.

'You okay?'

Maria's eyes widened when she heard the familiar voice of Betsy. She sighed in relief, grateful to have her here,'I'm okay. Are you?'

'Other than a pounding headache from being knocked out?' She shrugged,'Could be better.'

Maria struggled to focus as she looked around the room,'Where are we?'

'I don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out.' She sighed,'I think we may be in the tunnels.'

Maria closed her eyes and sighed, leaning her head back against the wall. The last thing she remembered was the town hall being shot us while everyone tried to run away. She remembered hiding under a table with Seb. A man grabbed her and injected her with something. Everything went black after that.

She didn't know how long they've been here. It could've been minutes, days or even months. This was nothing like when her and Becca were kidnapped. She actually had hope her husband would find them. There wasn't any saving from her husband. Not anymore. She would spit in his face if he tried.

Betsy looked over at her and sighed,'Seb is alive. I heard him crying while you were passed out.'

'Did Tommy or the old crazy guy take him?' Maria's filled with tears and she started shaking,'What if they hurt him cause I'm.' She shook her head and stopped herself, knowing it was dangerous if she talked about it.

Betsy caught on though and narrowed her eyes,'You're what?' She waited a few beats for Maria to respond. She became frustrated at her lack of clarity in a situation that pertained to both of them,'I think I should know considering I'm locked up here with you. I deserve to know what's going on.'

Maria nodded and sighed,'You're right.' She took a deep breath to gather her nerves,'I know why they're interested in me and Seb.' She tightly closed her eyes,'I'm immune to the virus. Sharon would ask me for blood samples periodically and I never questioned it.' She frowned,'They were using me and my baby. Just like Becca and Ellie.'

Betsy's eyes widened and she shook her head in disbelief,'They're immune too?'

'Yes.' Maria nodded,'It's why we were lured to Jackson. They didn't want to give any of us freedom. They rounded up all the immune they could find and give them a pretty place to call home. I never questioned anything until I was forced to.'

Betsy couldn't contain her shock. She always knew something was up with this town. She just never thought it would be something like this.

Betsy just wondered how in the hell she got caught in the middle of it all.

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Harold arrived at the hospital with his wife Casey and newborn son Jared. Becca was working while Ellie and Lizzie were helping the doctors and nurses as best they could. There were so many injured.

They decided to have all the townsfolk spread apart. They didn't want a repeat of the tow hall. They thought they were safe by sticking together, but it only made the council's job easier.

Joel, Harold and a few of their closest and capable men were in the waiting room figuring out the next game plan. They needed all the help they could get. They assumed the council would be bringing their next wave of 'troops', which would be stronger than the last.

All of the sudden the lights in the hospital went off. A red light illuminated the hallway as alarm bells starting ringing. Joel felt an eerie chill running through him. They used the same tactic back at the ranch.

The men quickly ran out to the hallway. Joel's eyes widened when he heard the bomb go off and thick smoke lingered in the air. He covered his nose and mouth with a bandana.

The fuckers used a smoke bomb and his eyes were starting to tear up. He ran through the thick smoke as fast as he could. He needed to get to Becca and Ellie before they get to them first.