Apocalypse: The Savior with System

41 Another Promise

It took almost four days before Eric told him that Judith was getting weaned off of the powerful pain medications she was in and therefore more able to talk. She’d been given all the antibiotics and blood she needed. By the fourth day, Paul decided it was time to see her.

He didn’t know why he stayed away. He thought it was guilt, possibly. Or maybe even a profound feeling of gratefulness that he felt inadequate before her.

It wasn’t much different from when he was a teenager anxious to approach a girl he had a crush on in high school.

But he did not have a crush on Judith and this wasn’t high school.

He entered the sick bay and found Andie trying to help move Judith to a wheelchair. They didn’t look to be succeeding. He quickly rushed forward and took over, ignoring Judith’s look of surprise.

“I guess it’s too late now to ask for my glasses,” she said as he lifted her easily—geez, she lost a lot of weight from her ordeal—and gently placed her into the wheelchair. Andie stepped forward and placed a small pillow under her left thigh.

“Fortunately, I found it,” Paul said with a grin, presenting her the pair of spectacles with a flourish. Judith thanked him with a tired smile. It wasn’t much and he didn’t expect any more.

“Judith, I really don’t know what to say—”

“Thank you is fine,” Andie piped in from behind them.

Paul blinked. “Yeah, well. Yeah. Really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for saving my life, Judith. I mean, you didn’t have to...”

Judith patted his hand, the one that was still holding—touching—her back.

“It’s fine. We’re a team. We have to take care of each other.”

“Well, if you put it that way,” he said, straightening away from her. And then he had nothing else to say.

Andie muttering something unintelligible that included the word “i***t” spurred him to action, which is what he knew best. Action. Right.

“The weather is fine today. Would you like me to push you outside?”

Again, Andie started mumbling, something about a “wall” and that “i***t” word coming up for the second time.

“Yes, sure. I’d like that, thanks,” Judith said. Throwing Andie a confused frown and the tiny girl answering him with a narrow-eyed glare, Paul pushed the wheelchair out of the room and headed towards the back of the arsenal where a modern waterless fountain stood surrounded by a bit of garden and uncut grass. The sun was not too hot, at least for ordinary people like Judith. As for him, he’d gotten used to the heat, welcoming it more now that he needed it to survive and level up.

“What level are you now?” she asked all of a sudden.

Paul sat on the grass at her feet, turning his face to the sun. “Thermal Level Seven, according to the system. My conversion level is very high now, possibly because I just ate a quarter of this arsenal.” He grinned up at her and, miracle of miracles, she grinned back.

“My fireballs are the size of bowling balls now and they don’t stop burning even when they’ve passed through several surfaces. It also seems strange that they look like comets, with blazing tails. But I’m not one to complain about aesthetics. It looks cool, anyway.” He knew he was rambling but could not have stopped himself had he tried.

“Any zombie attacks lately?”

He shook his head. “There were five rogue ones at the perimeter two days ago while you were sleeping. I tested the bowling ball-sized fireball on them and didn’t even have to use one for each. I just used one that passed through all of them. Surprisingly, Quinn helped by drawing them into a straight line with her arrows. I’m grateful but that woman still gives me the creeps.”

Judith merely gave a noncommittal sound and stared into the distance.

Paul opened his mouth to say more, anything at all really, but it didn’t feel that awkward to just be silent beside Judith. It was, as they say, a comfortable silence. He let the sun’s rays hit his skin. And then remembered that when he went sun-absorbing, he went butt naked. Careful, of course, that the ladies never caught him in his birthday suit…except for Quinn who saw him yesterday in the said suit, gave him a bored once-over, and promptly walked away.

He didn’t feel insulted, only relieved.

But Judith wasn’t Judith if she didn’t notice him fidgeting with his shirt hem. She only said, “Don’t take this the wrong way but it’s perfectly fine if you remove at least your shirt off. It will be faster to absorb thermal energy that way. Or I can go back in if that will make you more comfortable…”

The shirt was off in a second. One corner of Judith’s mouth lifted up and Paul saw the teasing glint in her eyes. “…in your own skin,” she continued, smirking at her own pun. “You forget. I have seen you in nothing in the past,” she told him. Paul felt his ears go warm and even more so when he noticed her tracing his body with her eyes.

Of course it doesn’t mean anything! She’s Judith Merkel, scientist extraordinaire. It’d be a cold day in hell should she start looking at him beyond scientific interest—

“I’m sorry for inserting those things inside you, Paul,” she suddenly said.

Okay, that was not exactly off-tangent to his thoughts.

He looked up to see a sad look on her face. Oh God! Is she going to cry? What the hell should he do if she does? Oh God, please, don’t cry…

She sniffed. She did not cry. Thank heaven!

“There’s nothing we can do about it now, though,” he offered. “But you said it’s the one thing keeping me from turning into a zombie and I’m already content with that. You have to stop feeling guilty or responsible for my situation. You did your job and I’m sure glad you were with me then and glad you are still with me now.”

She nodded and said, “At some point in all this, we might have to go our separate ways. I have plans that I need to see through so I can help you. I need to find people to help me so I can help you…so we can help others, too.”

Paul frowned in confusion. “Can’t we stay together for that? I mean, you don’t like guns. I can protect you…”

“No, Paul,” she said with a shake of her head. “For that to happen, I have to leave the arsenal, this place, to look for them. I cannot do that using the internet because they do not want to be found and it will be dangerous for them to be found by the people they’re hiding from.”

“But—”

Judith laid a hand on his head to interrupt him. “I was planning to do it a few days ago but because of what happened, obviously I cannot leave now or in the near future. I don’t know when I’ll leave but you’ll know. I’m not going away in secret. Besides, if anything should happen to me, I’ve left copies of all my work and data I gathered from various sources with Eric. I’ve asked him to protect you.”

“Prot-Protect me?!” Paul spluttered. Now that was insulting as hell!

Perhaps she saw the indignant expression on his face that made her add, “Of course, no one can assure your safety all the time or forever. If you really want to help me and everyone, you also have to think about your security and safety, Paul. Only you can guarantee your own life and survival. And I need you to survive long enough for me to find the answers to our questions.”

When he wanted to argue more, Judith grabbed a clump of his hair and pulled slightly, not to hurt but to shut him up.

A cloud passed above them, obscuring the sunlight for a few seconds and allowing Judith to turn her face up to the sky. Paul watched her profile in silence and his mind was empty.

And then she started sniffing.

Oh, hell. Is she about to cry now?

But her eyes opened wide and her hold on his hair tightened. “That smell!”

Paul sniffed and like hers, his own eyes widened in realization. The distant sound of screaming and explosions carried on the wind and closer to them, Rahu was shouting, “Zombies and humans to the front! Now!”

The ground vibrated beneath them and Paul wondered if earthquakes visited the state of Texas. After quickly throwing his shirt back on, he whirled the wheelchair and pushed Judith back into the building and down to the sick bay where Andie, pale and wide-eyed with fear, was already waiting.

As he was about to leave, he felt Judith’s hand on his arm and a pleading look on her face. “Protect yourself, Paul. Promise me.”

He laid a hand on top of hers and squeezed. “Okay. I promise.”

With a nod to Andie, Paul left.