Chapter 16: XV. KHALIL IBORI

I sit by the campfire, staring at Lysandra as she shivers under the tattered blanket Isabelle found the other day. Her skin is alarmingly pale and her eyelids barely open. I can't shake off the feeling that she's going to die very soon. The gunshots that hit her seem to keep affecting her despite our efforts. She hasn't been the same since and I fear it may be too late. 

I glance across the cave and see Grace and Michael sleeping, cuddled up together. Grace told me that they broke up the day before we went to get the cure off of Dubois, but recently they've found themselves back in eachothers arms. I can't blame them. We’ve been stuck hiding in this godforsaken cave for the past few weeks. All we have to warm ourselves nowadays is each other. 

I rise from my spot and walk over to the side of the cave where we keep our weapons. I pick up Cameron's sniper rifle and a wave of sadness washes over me. We haven't heard from Cameron in weeks. Might have been naive for me to expect him to find us one day, but its safe to assume he probably never will. It’s safe to say he’s probably dead.  He was a good man, despite his mistakes, and he'll always hold a special place in my heart.

I look through the scope of the sniper rifle and out of the cave. Beyond the trees and bushes that conceal us, I can see droves of people working, building materials while wearing Dubois' gear, even this late in the evening. Legions of soldiers dressed in fine yet weathered leather, sanctioned off by more guards with weapons that carall them like cattle. This is the state of the land now. They’re all under the thumbs of Dubois and his camp of men. And I know they’re all still looking for us. Just us. The ones who, as far as he's concerned, are responsible for destroying his so-called cure. I can't help but feel so hopeless right now. What did Tyrel die for? What did my brother risk his life for, if it was all just going to end up like this?

Minutes later, Isabelle joins me as the only other awake person in the cave. She climbs through the thick array of bushes and leaves that cover the cave's entrance, with a full backpack on her back. 

“Oh thank God! You were gone so long I thought something had happened to you.” I gasp as I watch her walk over to me. 

“Yeah, I don’t think we’ll even be able to go on solo runs anymore.” Isabelle tells me. “...there’s so many people looking for us out there, it’s getting harder to stay unnoticed…”

“I know…” I sigh. “So what did you find?”

Isabelle takes the bag off of her back, drops it to the floor and unzips it to show me. 

"I got some fruits and berries, and some more canisters of water."

"Is there anything that can help Lysandra?" I ask. 

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Isabelle shakes her head, her face etched with disappointment, "Nope…but I did stumble upon this…"

Isabelle then shows me something interesting she found, a small cardboard packaging for a product called Juvenis. She points to the back and shows me that it was manufactured by Devon. 

"Seems like it really was Lysandra's father at fault." Isabelle sighs. 

 "I guess so," I admit with a tight feeling in my chest. This was the last piece of information I needed right now. Isabelle clenches her jaw, nodding solemnly. 

 "Isabelle…when Lysandra wakes up, don't tell her any of this."

“That’s if she ever does wake up…” Isabelle says, a tired and drained look on her face. I hate to say it but she has a point. It’s not looking good right now. It’s not looking good at all. Isabelle lethargically walks past where Grace and Michael sleep. She sits herself on the floor, her back against the cave walls. She takes out the sheet of paper from her pocket, the one she always used to write on to track statistics of the cure. 

“Sorry Adam…” Isabelle scoffs underneath her breath. She takes the note of paper and tears it to shreds in anger. Looks like that dread and hopelessness is hitting her too. 

I go back to sitting next to the delirious Lysandra, feeling that same sense of dreaded hopelessness wash over me again. This is our life now, after all that we've tried to do. The only thing that was achieved was confirmation of what I have always known. 

That both I and the people I love could never truly be safe in this world.

 

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