Future Lost

16

“They’re not zombies,” Paige adds. “They’re not dead and they’ll eat just about anything, but all their humanity is gone and there’s no cure for them. The only thing we can do is kill them and try to wipe the remaining traces of the virus out.”

I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for them during the early days of the virus or what it’s like now, as they try to rebuild a world that’s fallen into chaos. So many people dead, and nothing they could do to prevent it. I have to find a way to stop it. “Do you know who released the virus?”

Dr. Campbell’s mouth twists, like she’s tasted something sour. “A radical neo-Nazi group known as the White Outs claimed credit for it. Their goal was to purge the world of people of color and other minorities, and they thought white people would be immune. Of course it didn’t work, or I wouldn’t be here right now. The virus spread out of control and affected everyone.”

“Ugh.” I feel physically sick. How could anyone do such a thing? I will never understand that kind of hatred or intolerance. “Do you know who their leader was? Or where they were located?”

Paige shakes her head. “We know very little, unfortunately. Everything was so chaotic after the epidemic broke out. There were lots of conflicting news reports, and we were all so focused on trying to survive. Then, after the world collapsed, it was tough to find any information about the group.”

“You have to know something,” I say. “Even something small, like a tiny detail that might seem insignificant to you. Just give me somewhere I can start.”

Pity and sadness fill Dr. Campbell’s eyes. “Elena, I know this won’t stop you, but there’s nothing you can do. You spent years trying to track down the White Outs and prevent the pandemic, but you failed.”

My fists clench under the table. “Maybe, but I’m not going to give up that easily.”

“Of course not.” Paige gives me a warm smile. “You never give up. And maybe this time you’ll find a way.”

01:42

The door opens, and another woman walks in. Her dark brown hair is streaked with gray, and she wears glasses now, but I’d recognize her anywhere. I stand when I see her, relieved to see she’s still alive. “Zahra.”

She wraps me in a tight hug, tighter than I’ve ever received from her before. Like me, Zahra isn’t normally a hugger. “Elena. It’s been too long. Way too long.”

“Too long for you maybe,” I say, stepping back. “I saw you and Paige yesterday.”

“Looking a lot younger, no doubt,” Paige says.

Zahra rolls her eyes. “Please. You still look exactly the same.”

“Hardly.” Paige waves the compliment away, although the two of them do look pretty good considering they’re almost fifty.

Zahra pats my arm. “I missed you. Don’t tell anyone though.”

“It’ll be our secret. But how long has it been exactly?” I glance between the three of them. All the sad looks they’ve been giving me. The tight hugs. I’m scared to ask about my fate, but at the same time, I need to know. “Does that mean I’m…?”

None of them want to answer me first. Their eyes remain downcast, until finally Dr. Campbell speaks up. “I’m sorry, Elena.”

I swallow hard, but I expected that much, and it’s not the first time I’ve learned I’ll be dead in the future. I’ve changed my fate before; I can change it again. “What about Adam? And our daughter, Ava?”

Paige reaches for my hand. “Also gone. I’m so sorry.”

Their deaths are harder to stomach than my own. My fingers tighten around Paige’s hand. “What happened to us?”

Her voice is quiet, her eyes haunted. “Your daughter was born a few years after the Black Friday Virus, but she got sick when she was only an infant. Adam was so upset he killed himself, and you died not long after that.”

I close my eyes for a second, letting the knowledge sink in, fighting back the grief. There’s a tightness in my throat that I can’t speak through, so I only nod. I start to ask how I died but decide it doesn’t matter.

“What about Chris? And Ken?” I finally manage to ask.

“Thanks to your warnings, we all knew the plague was coming and were able to prepare for it, as much as we could anyway. None of us got sick right away, but Chris and Shawnda ended up contracting the virus a few months after the outbreak. Their son survived, and for some time, you and Adam raised him as your own. But after you died, he disappeared. I’m not sure what happened to him or if he’s still alive. And Ken…” Paige’s eyes grow heavy with emotion, and she looks down at our entwined hands.

“Ken died protecting Paige from the Militia,” Zahra fills in. “He knew without the cure for Huntington’s he wouldn’t live past forty anyway. He chose to go out fighting instead.”

“What is the Militia?” I ask. Jesse had mentioned them earlier too.

Dr. Campbell stands and moves to one of the maps, pointing to the different-colored zones. “After the government’s collapse, small militia groups rose up in rural areas and then proceeded to take over. Now the United States has split into different regions that govern themselves. Here in California, the West America Militia has tried to take control, although we refuse to recognize their authority. We prefer to remain independent.”

“Why? Wouldn’t joining with others be a good idea?”