Like Marcus. A lump wells in my throat, because I’m furious and brokenhearted at the same time. I don’t know if I can handle seeing his body. To me, he’ll always be full of life.
I don’t know if he even realized he was his own worst enemy. He was so full of self-loathing over his role in creating and using aromium that he felt like dying for it was his only chance of redemption.
Though I dream of cool evenings beside him on a porch swing, he never thought he deserved to imagine a future of joy and contentment.
The bill always comes due. A man meets it head-on.
My dad used to say that. I understood it, but now I feel it down to my core. Marcus couldn’t live with the rest of us risking our lives to save the innocent people here unless he was doing the same.
By the time we get to camp, my feet are leaden. People are hugging each other and talking in small groups. Pax is directing people, doing a double take when he sees us.
“We spared Niran,” I say. “Keep an eye on him.”
“You need to go to the Sub. Ellison’s working on Marcus.”
I go still, not even breathing. “He’s alive?”
The words choke out of me, my legs already moving. I didn’t think there was a chance. Now hope floods into me so hard and fast it makes me dizzy.
The Sub’s door is open. I race through it, trying to tamp my joy into cautiousness. Just because he’s alive, that doesn’t mean he’ll survive this. He was unconscious for a while last time, and it was McClain who treated him, reducing the swelling in his brain.
Maybe Ellison knows how to do it now. Maybe I’ll get to hear his voice again. Maybe it’s okay to still dream about the porch swing and a life without daily death and betrayal.
I reach the open door of Ellison’s emergency treatment room, where Marcus lies motionless on her stainless table.
“Don’t you die on me, Marcus! We’ve been through too much. Fight.” Ellison locks eyes with me. “Come in, talk to him.”
“I don’t know, but I think his blood pressure’s going up,” Nova says, squinting at the gauge.
Ellison’s brows drop a fraction, her expression grim. She draws liquid from a vial into a syringe, injecting it into Marcus.
“I’m here, Marcus.” I take his hand. “Come back to me. You did it. We’re all okay.”
His body locks up and jolts.
“He’s seizing,” Ellison says. “Nova, track the time. Briar, help me get him onto his side.”
Panic surges through me, his body jerking violently. I follow Ellison’s lead, helping her move him onto his side. It’s all we can both manage, working to keep his massive frame in the position she wants.
“We’re here, Marcus,” she says. “I just gave you a second dose of a new treatment. I’ve seen it work. Stay with us.”
The seizure slows and finally stops. I cup Marcus’s cheek, longing for him to open his eyes. He can say more with his eyes than he does with words.
Ellison checks the blood pressure gauge, then nods.
“What’s the treatment?” I ask.
“You don’t have the negative side effects of aromium.” A crease forms between her brows as she checks Marcus’s pulse at his neck. “I wanted to know why. So I used some of your blood I had left from the transfusions and I think I figured it out. This compound has your blood in it.”
My stomach drops, my mind short circuiting. “What ...”
I can’t even come up with the rest of a question. There are so many to ask, but I can’t make my mouth form any of them.
Ellison peeks at the blood pressure gauge again. “I like what I’m seeing, Marcus. Hang in there.”
“How?” I finally manage, smoothing a hand over Marcus’s sweat-drenched brow and hair.
“In oncology, we look inside our patients’ bodies first to see what they’re doing to fight something. I ran a blood panel on you and noticed something off with your Rh typing, so I did some extended Rh typing. You’re Rh null, which is incredibly rare.”
