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“Kyle,” Ezgi’s voice came through the radio.
“Yeah, I’m here. What’s up?”
“You need to come back to the farm. Now.”
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s a man here. Says he knows you.”
“Who?” Crane was suddenly worried that Brecken sent someone after him when he lost contact with Lena. Or maybe Rahim decided to play cowboy again and come of his own volition.
“I didn’t get his name. My father is speaking to him in the barn. Kyle… I’m not sure he believes this man. I’m afraid he’ll throw him out if you don’t get here soon to verify who he is.”
“Damnit. Alright, I’m just up at the gas station so I’ll see you in a few.” Why was nothing ever easy? If Jasir would bother to ever listen to Ezgi then he could have simply gotten the person’s name over the radio.
He shouted out a farewell to Bilal and jumped the fence. His buggy roared to life and he took the now familiar dirt roads and paths between the gas station and farm. He may have even made it in record time, though he didn’t think the suspension on the buggy would be thanking him any time soon.
“Polat,” Crane called as he passed the man, “can you check over the buggy? I might have rattled something loose on those back roads.” Crane was no mechanic, thankful that Polat was so accommodating to him.
He made a beeline for the barn, catching Ezgi rushing over to him from the corner of his eye. Crane just opened the door, finding Jasir in a glaring contest with- “Brecken?!”
“Kyle!” Relief washed over Brecken’s face and he was across the space and wrapping Crane in his arms. “Jesus you had me so worried.”
“Breck what the hell are you doing here? The Tower-?”
“Jade has it handled. She’s been leading runners out to try and find some more of Rais’ Antizin stashes but honestly I’m not holding out much hope.” Brecken frowned. “Whatever this is that you’ve found, it’s probably our last shot at saving the Tower. And Sector Zero.”
That wasn’t what Crane wanted to hear. He had the extra vial Lena had sent him with since they hadn’t known how long he would be gone. And if Lena’s last garbled message was anything to go by… “There’s nothing left.”
“A few vials. That’s it.”
“Damnit.” Crane paced away, chewing on his lip. They needed to find this stuff for the cult. And fast. He looked over at Brecken. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here. You still need to be careful and you couldda got yourself killed!”
“I thought we’ve been over all this. Or did I just imagine it was both of us that rescued Rahim, survived Rais’ arena, and then killed the bastard?”
Crane narrowed his eyes. “I hate you sometimes.”
“Only when I’m right.” Brecken smirked.
Jasir cleared his throat, drawing their attention. “I see I was mistaken. A necessary precaution as I’m sure you understand.”
Brecken forgave him in the same moment Crane grunted, “Couldda just radioed me and I could’ve sorted it right then.”
Jasir begrudgingly relented, “You are right Kyle. My apologies. I’m afraid we’re still getting used to having a trustworthy outsider around.”
Crane let it go, knowing arguing wasn’t about to get him anywhere. “This is Jasir. It’s his farm. This is his daughter Ezgi.” Crane wrapped his arm around Brecken’s waist, smiling a little despite the situation. “And this is Harris Brecken. He runs a safe haven for the survivors in Harran.”
“Really?” Ezgi didn’t bother to hide her interest. Jasir sent her a chastising look but said nothing.
“I need to fill him in,” Crane cut off any further questions, tugging Brecken outside. “You are in so much trouble,” he hissed under his breath, making for a quiet corner of the property past the main house.
Not a moment out of sight, Brecken pushed Crane roughly against the fence. “Yell at me later,” he rumbled, slamming their mouths together. Crane didn’t hesitate to kiss back, nipping at Brecken’s lower lip. “Missed you… so much.”
“Missed you too,” Crane breathed.
He had been so worried about everyone back at the Tower, and not being able to communicate with them reliably only made it worse. Brecken, Rahim, Jade, Lena, Ayo, Spike… Hell, he even missed Blake who he would stay up with chatting while they guarded the entrance to the Tower when Crane couldn’t sleep.
“Need you.” Brecken kissed along his neck, Crane not hesitating to bare more of it to his lover.
Crane gripped Brecken’s bicep. “I know. I need you too Breck. But…” He swallowed down a groan of pleasure as Brecken’s teeth pressed against his neck. “Damnit, you make it hard to say no.”
“That’s ‘cause I don’t want you to,” Brecken answered smugly, a smirk on his face as he looked down at Crane.
“Not exactly any place for privacy here,” Crane regretted to inform.
Brecken groaned a complaint, forehead coming down on Crane’s shoulder. “Cockblocked by the locals. Damn I miss the Tower.”
“So do I.” Crane sighed, arms coming around his lover. “All the more reason to find this cure of the Mother’s and get back.”
Brecken crinkled his brows. “The Mother? Wasn’t that kid saying something like that?”
“Yeah, this cult out here. They worship her. She has this… smoke. It keeps the biters at bay. And it also makes you immune for a time.” Crane explained about his trip to the temple, how one of the Faceless had admitted to the secret of the mysterious power the Mother had.
“So what is this stuff that you’re supposed to find?”
“No idea. They’ve been very tight-lipped about it. Found a few of their Brothers in a cave. Whatever it was they were looking for, it was being transported by the military. And what’s worse is I’ve found Rais’ men too.”
“Now they’re involved?” Brecken huffed, pushing away. “Just great.”
“No kidding. But if we can get them this stuff? Supposedly they have a cure.” That got Brecken’s attention. “Not just some temporary protection. A full blown cure .”
“Where do we start?”
* * *
It turned out the place to begin was the third missing Brother. They found him being tortured by Rias’ men at a grainery. “Oh God,” Crane murmured, seeing the nails driven into the man’s face through his mask. “Hold on. Let’s get you out of here.”
“No,” he rasped. “Just listen. The… the lighthouse.”
“Lighthouse?” The Brother was already gone though, his last breath passing through his lips. Crane looked to Brecken. “They must have taken the stuff to the lighthouse.”
“What are we waiting for?”
Crane couldn’t blame Brecken for his eagerness. They had just gotten word from Lena that morning. Through a crackling transmission she told them they had just administered the last vial of Antizin and Jade was having no luck finding any with the stashes of Rais’ supplies the runners had found. They were still following leads and Dr. Camden was still working on a cure, but they needed something .
The pressure was on now. Crane had just used his own vial the day before when he started to have a seizure. Brecken had yelled at him for ignoring the precursor signs but he couldn’t argue with the fact they needed to make the medicine last.
Despite the rush, Crane attempted to be careful how he drove the buggy with Brecken perched on the back, crossbow in hand. Taking corners at speed or plowing through hordes was not an option as it had once been. Risking Brecken wasn’t a choice Crane would ever make.
What they found at the lighthouse was a single man at the top. “Kaan?” Crane only allowed himself a moment of surprise before pinning the man harder to the wall by his neck. “You bastard ,” he hissed, realizing the supposed trader had been leading the remnants of Rais’ thugs all along.
Kaan tried to deny it but then his men called over the radio about going after the Mother and her Faceless. Crane sneered, speaking into the radio. “He’ll be down in a moment.”
“What the hell?” the radio squawked.
Crane yanked Kaan forward, ignoring his protests. Reversing their positions, he slammed Kaan against the railing. “It’s Crane!” he heard someone shout from the ground. He ignored it.
Leaning down, he hissed at Kaan, “Enjoy Hell asshole.”
“Crane, wait! No, no, no, no, noooo!” Crane pitched the man over the side, eyes widening as he saw an RPG come right at the lighthouse.
“Shit!” It hit high, crumbling the structure above and raining concrete and glass down on him.
“Crane!” Brecken reached out and snagged his arm just as a second RPG hit the walkway. It fell out from under Crane’s feet, threatening to take it down with him had Brecken not been standing in the doorway. “Hang on!”
Crane’s free hand came up to grab the ledge. “I’m good!”
Brecken freed him, bringing his crossbow to bear and shooting a bolt straight at the man trying to reload his launcher. It hit dead in the throat, sending a spray of blood upward as he collapsed. Brecken ducked back inside, Crane scrambling up and into cover as bullets started to fly in their direction.
“Time to go,” Crane announced the obvious.
“Out the back side,” Brecken ordered, nodding down the stairs towards the window on the opposite side of the lighthouse tower. “Move!”
Crane dashed across the open doorway, down the stairs, kicking open the window with both feet. He brought the climbing hook from his belt as his body followed out the window, hooking the ledge as he passed it. Holding the rope, he twisted in midair, putting his feet out to avoid slamming face first into the wall. He slid down, calling for Brecken when he reached the bottom.
Brecken followed suit, flicking the rope to remove the hook as soon as his feet hit the ground. “Breck!” Brecken turned to see one of the thugs running around the tower, but he went down in the same breath, shot by Crane. “Move!” Crane grabbed his shoulder, tugging him towards the path back to where they stashed the buggy.
Shouts followed them and bullets bounced off the dirt at their heels but neither slowed. They didn’t even think to breathe until they had put a good mile between them and the lighthouse.
Brecken banged on the roof of the buggy, startling Crane from his laser-like focus. He slowed, checking to make sure they were clear of enemies both human and zombie alike before stopping. Crane slipped his upper body out, sitting on the side and hanging onto the roll cage to look up at Brecken.
“Are you alright?” Crane asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. You?” Crane nodded. “So what now?”
Crane opened his mouth to say he had no rightly clue when his radio crackled to life. “Crane! Crane they’re at the dam! They’re trying to get to the Mother! We need your-” A scream and gunshots were heard before the transmission cut out.
“Fuck,” Crane breathed. “That’s our only lead.”
“Let’s go!”
Crane didn’t waste any time, punching the accelerator the moment his ass hit the seat. If they lost the Mother then they lost any hope of finding out what the cure was.
* * *
“Are you hearing this?” Brecken asked uneasily. They were walking through the blood soaked halls of the dam, bodies of Faceless and Rais’ men everywhere. And there was a voice in their head, one Crane had heard before.
“The Mother,” he supplied. Crane was only glad to know he wasn’t going crazy.
They moved cautiously as much as they rushed before, shining their lights into the darkness and finding only death surrounding them. “Whatever happens…” Brecken mentioned, cutting his eyes to Crane a moment.
“I know.”
Crane reached out a hand, squeezing his lover’s wrist. It was far from the reassurance that he wanted to give but it was neither the time or the place. Brecken’s lips twisted into a brief smile, giving him a nod.
They walked through a door that opened into the main hydroelectric room. Crane spotted the familiar figure of the Mother looking off the walkways they stood on to the machines below. “Did anyone tell you the prophecy Kyle?” she inquired, not looking at them.
“When the world is ravaged by plague,” she repeated, “when darkness devours the earth; when men are as beasts to one another; when humanity shall be struck by corruption of both flesh and soul; then shall be revealed one man who, through an act of ultimate sacrifice, shall accept the Mercy of the Light. And the God of the Sun shall be revealed through him. And through him will He speak. And His voice shall be the light and the healing. And he shall pass through the Gates of Death, so that he will bring new life.”
“Cult indeed,” Brecken muttered. “These people are nutters.”
The Mother turned to them then. Her golden mask blocked her face but it was obvious she was looking to Brecken when she spoke. “You were not summoned here. Yet here you stand. Why?”
“Like I’m about to let my bloke walk into danger alone,” Brecken shot back, shifting his machete in irritation. Crane couldn’t help the little tick upward at the corner of his mouth.
The Mother promptly dismissed him, looking instead to Crane. “The army built a failsafe into this experiment of theirs. This entire region can be purified. But I need your help.”
“The army?” Crane asked, eyes widening.
“Bloody hell. You mean they had a hand in this science experiment gone wrong?!”
“Precisely.”
“But you said everyone can be purified,” Crane pressed. “So you did find a cure.”
The Mother motioned them to follow. She used a military keycard to open another room, gesturing them inside.
“What the-? What is this?” Brecken demanded, stepping forward to the large device.
“It’s a nuke,” Crane answered, a steel edge to his voice. He whirled around on the Mother who stood in the doorway. “If this was here then what the hell do you need me for?”
“My husband gave me the key to this place after he was bitten. But the code he gave me didn’t work on the device.”
Crane scoffed. “I’m not purifying the region by setting off a fucking nuke.”
“It is the only way to stop this plague.”
“The Faceless said there would be a cure! I need that medicine to save my friends!”
The Mother pulled a vial out of her robes. “This is no cure,” she said. “It is a poison.” She explained how she and the believers came to the dam in search of safety. What they found was the vials. “I remember a taste. Acrid. Bitter as blood.
“I awoke, surrounded by the bodies of the faithful. It was because of the light… Someone had managed to turn the power back on, and the light brought me back to myself.”
She reached up and took off her mask, revealing the face of a volatile. “Holy shit!” Crane jumped back, running into Brecken who was aiming his crossbow over Crane’s shoulder at the Mother.
“You see?” she continued, voice inside their heads. “Breathing in the fumes is one thing. But drinking the liquid is something else entirely. In the light, my mind is my own. But once the sun sets, I am nothing more than the same monsters that stalk the darkness.
“And now you have come Kyle.” She took a step forward, stopping when Brecken put her in his sights. Her mandibles twitched, looking between them. “Every sign tells me you’re the one I’ve been waiting for. It’s all in the prophecy Kyle.”
“This lady is really off her rocker,” Brecken huffed into his ear, not taking his eyes off the Mother.
“We don’t have to drink it!” Crane pressed, desperate for anything at that point. “We can just use the mist-”
“It won’t work Kyle! That’s what I’m trying to tell you! It will take longer to change using the mist, but the change will happen.”
Crane paled. “Then that’s it? There’s really no cure.”
“There is,” she replied. “It’s behind you.”
“No!” Crane shouted. “That’s not even an option! I won’t kill all these innocent people to maybe wipe out all the infected! No way!”
“ Kyle …” the Mother warned, mandibles flexing and taking on a threatening posture.
“He said no lady,” Brecken gruffed. “End of story. Now bugger off.”
She let out a bellowing screech, cut off when a bolt went flying through the air straight into her skull.
There was a long moment of tension before Crane fell to his knees, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “That’s it…” he breathed. “We have nothing.” Brecken crouched down next to him, grabbing his shoulder. Crane turned to him, his eyes sad. “We’re out of options. Out of time.”
“Not out of time,” Brecken argued. “We’ll figure something out luv.”
He shook his head. “No. This was our last shot.” Crane put his head in his hands, choking back a sob. “I messed everything up. I wasted my time chasing a damn pipedream! As soon as they said the word cult I should have turned around and gone right back to Harran. Maybe I could have been doing more to help Camden.”
Crane’s head shot up and he froze, Brecken seeing the tears threatening to fall. Before he could console Crane further, the man rushed towards the corpse of the Mother. “The vials.”
“Kyle, no. You heard what she said.”
Crane found three on her, holding them up to Brecken who now hovered over him. “I know. But Camden might be able to use them. Whatever work these people were doing, if it’s the same strain that’s in Harran then Camden might be able to do something with it.”
Brecken let out a little huff of a laugh as Crane stood. “That’s brilliant.”
“We should see if there are any computers around, or files… Maybe he could reverse engineer it or at least find a way to make the smoke form safe to use.” Crane deflated a little as the realization time was against them settled in. “It’s probably too late for me and the others. But if any good can come out of this…”
Brecken grabbed his shoulders roughly and shook him. “Don’t you dare talk like that!” he snapped. “You will not give up! Do you understand me? We’ll get these to Camden and we’re going to beat this.”
Crane gave him a sad smile, laying a hand on his cheek. He didn’t have the heart to refute what Brecken was telling him, even though Crane had a feeling that part of Brecken already knew what Crane said was true. He was living on borrowed time.
“Will you be okay having a quick look around down here?” Crane asked, putting the vials in his coat. “I wanna try to get on top of the dam. Maybe I can raise Lena better from up there.”
“Be careful,” was Brecken’s answer, sealed with a kiss.
“You too.”
Crane retraced their steps, finding a staircase going up. He broke the lock on the door with his climbing hook, the chain clattering to the floor. He left a mark for Brecken on the wall in fluorescent spray paint, showing his direction should his boyfriend get finished before him.
Stepping out onto the top of the dam, Crane took a deep breath of the fresh air, watching the sun declining in the sky. “Lena, it’s Crane, do you copy?”
“Crane? Crane! Can you hear me?!”
“It’s a little fuzzy but it’s the best connection we’ve had so far,” he replied. “Listen, I want to make this quick in case I lose you. Brecken made it. We found a- well, it’s not a cure, not yet. We have to get it to Camden.”
Lena’s voice was grave. “We’re out of Antizin. How close is the cure to being done?”
“I dunno. I’m sorry I can’t give you more than that.” He paused before adding, “Look, I need… I need you to isolate all the infected. In case this doesn’t work or we don’t get it done in time…”
Crane bit his lip. He didn’t want to worry Lena and the others but what choice did they have? Unless they found a solution soon then all the infected in the Tower were going to turn. They needed to be quarantined for the safety of everyone else.
The fact that Rahim was one of those people didn’t get past Crane. When the foolish boy had decided to try and take a volatile hive out on his own, he nearly got himself killed. It was dumb luck that Crane and Brecken had been nearby when Jade called and said he was missing- Crane had known right where to look. Sure enough, Rahim had been bitten, and it was only the spare vial of Antizin that Crane had been carrying that saved him.
“I understand Crane,” Lena replied, voice soft. “Please hurry. And be careful.”
Crane felt the weight added onto his shoulders. “Yeah,” he whispered back. “Crane out.”
* * *
It was getting late but the pair pushed through the countryside.
Brecken’s hand came out to help Crane up the last bit of the climb. Standing on the top of the cliffs that brought them there, Crane sighed, looking out as the last rays of sun hit the horizon. Normally they would be bedding down to avoid traveling at night but they had to keep moving. Besides, going through the sewers would be easier, if anything, as the dead moved out.
Despite the time crunch, Crane couldn’t help but take the moment to breathe. It was rather peaceful if he looked out at the countryside now- the calm before the storm. As though reading his mind, Brecken’s hand rested on his lower back. “I love you,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to his temple.
Crane’s smile out at the landscape was sad. “I love you too Harris.” He gave a little, helpless laugh. “Out of all the bullshit that’s happened since dropping into Harran, you were one of the only good things to come out of it.”
“Only one of the things?” Brecken teased, pressing his front to Crane’s side as his hand slid around to Crane’s hip.
“Well, we can’t forget Jade or Rahim. She’d kick my ass and he’d pout at me.”
Brecken barked a laugh, giving Crane a squeeze. “Well, I can’t argue with you there. They do grow on you.”
Thinking about Rahim, Crane remembered they were working against time. He might not be able to save himself, but he sure as hell wanted to do everything he could to save Rahim and the others in the Tower. “Let’s go,” Crane declared, turning towards the sewer entrance.
As the last of the sun disappeared, volatiles screeched, announcing another night of death.
* * *
“Crane, Brecken,” Dr. Camden greeted when they walked through the lab doors. “I have everything ready.” They had radioed Camden as soon as they got back into Harran and had a stable signal once more. “Bring them here.”
Crane passed over the three vials. “This is all we found of the serum.”
Brecken passed over the file he had managed to locate, stashed away in the same locked room as the nuke. Needless to say he locked it back up on his way out, the Mother’s corpse inside, along with the key. No one was getting back in there if he could help it. If someone managed to find activation codes, they would have a hell of a time finding another keycard with clearance into that room.
“All the computers had security locks,” Brecken explained while the doctor flipped through the file, “but this was left in a secured room.”
“I can work with this,” Camden relented. “What’s the time frame we’re looking at?”
The two men traded looks. It was Brecken that answered, “We’re out of time.”
Camden nodded slowly. “I’ll do my best. But I can’t make you any promises.” He looked at Crane when he said, “I’m sorry.”
Crane nodded, unable to look at anyone. “It’s alright. Just do what you can.” Save the others , is what he couldn’t say.
“We should get some rest,” Brecken mentioned. They had run through the night from one sewer system to the next, coming out of Sector 0 into the dawn light. He led Crane to one of the small containment rooms they had converted into sleeping quarters, a safe zone for Troy’s runners.
“Get some sleep,” Brecken urged, pushing Crane down onto the cot, sitting on the one across from him.
“Yeah,” he replied without emotion, lying down without even taking his boots off, closing his eyes.
* * *
Brecken wasn’t sure of the time when he woke, but he noticed Crane sitting up on his cot. The low glow of the electric lantern cast shadows over his face, making the forlorn look all the more pronounced. “Kyle? Hey…” He propped himself up on his elbow. “What’re you doing up?”
Crane didn’t answer, making Brecken frown. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before moving to join him. Back against the wall next to Crane’s, he looked over at his boyfriend. “Talk to me.”
When Crane remained silent, Brecken reached out and took his hand. It caused a broken sob to fall from Crane’s mouth and Brecken squeezed his hand. It was pointless to ask the younger man what was wrong. Brecken knew what would be on his mind if he were in Crane’s position. His boyfriend was looking at the possibility of his death looming before him.
Surprisingly that wasn’t it at all. “I should have made you leave,” Crane murmured.
“What?”
More firmly, he said, “I should have made you get on that damn helicopter.” He looked at Brecken, his expression so pained that it caused Brecken’s chest to hurt in turn. “You would have been safe. You wouldn’t have to watch,” he swallowed, “watch me turn.”
“Don’t say that.” Brecken twisted to face him better, squeezing his hand tighter. “You and I both know I’d be no better off with the GRE than here.” If anything it was a rouse. A way to draw them in to either kill them or lock them away so they couldn’t get in the way of the GRE’s plans further.
They had killed Rais. They reached him before the GRE could swoop in and evacuate him. They had the file the GRE wanted so desperately, the one that would weaponize the virus, the one that showed it was their fault. At the time the pair hadn’t realized the military was also involved on a larger and more cognisant level. Whatever the reason, the GRE wanted Crane on that helicopter with the file.
“We’ll even extend the offer to your friend there.” Crane looked at Brecken. “Even if you don’t want it for yourself, don’t you want to help him? Or will you damn him to stay here too?”
Brecken had shaken his head, had been the one to tell Crane not to even consider it. “I chose this,” he reminded, “not you.”
“I should have made you ,” Crane insisted, tears flowing freely then. “I should have… should ha…”
Brecken swung his leg over Crane, straddling his lap. “Look at me.” When Crane did, Brecken held his face with both hands. “Do you think for one minute that I would leave any of these people behind? Let you walk into danger with the GRE just because you wanted to save me?
“We’ll find a way. We’ll get this cure and we’ll save everyone left in Harran. And it’ll be because of you .”
Crane shook his head. “Because of us,” he corrected, bringing his hands up to take Brecken’s. When he pulled them away, Crane leaned in and kissed Brecken softly. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I just… I don’t want you to have to watch.” The ‘ when I turn ’ going unspoken.
“That’s not going to happen,” Brecken insisted. “And if it does…” He wet his lips, shaking his head as though he could dislodge the very thought of it being reality. “I won’t let you go alone. I’ll stay with you.”
Crane seemed torn. He finally said, “When it happens, I need you to end it.” Their eyes met, a mix of emotion swirling in Crane’s eyes. “Please Harris.” He squeezed Brecken’s wrists. “I need you to do that for me.”
“It won’t come to that.” Crane’s blunt nails dug into his arms, expression desperate. Brecken’s voice broke as he relented, “Promise.” He grabbed the back of Crane’s neck, pulling him into a biting kiss. It won’t come to that.
* * *
A day passed and then another. Crane wasn’t feeling good and he knew it must have shown if Brecken’s worried looks were anything to go by.
Crane had talked to both Jade and Rahim over the radio. He wanted to say goodbye but hadn’t been able to form the words. He thought they knew anyway.
They were sitting in the lab with Camden as he ran a test, sharing a meal, but Crane wasn’t hungry. He set the sandwich aside with one bite taken out of it. “You alright?” Brecken asked, reaching out and taking Crane’s hand.
“I just need some fresh air,” Crane replied, forcing himself to stand.
As he made his way to the doors, his vision blurred. Crane stumbled, unable to catch himself. He hit the ground hard, his pained cry muffled. Everything sounded like it was underwater and the lights of the lab seemed suddenly bright.
“Kyle! Kyle!” He could hear Brecken’s voice but it seemed so far away. The touch of hands felt like fire.
There was beeping that seemed to echo all around him. He heard Camden speaking. “That’s it! This is it! We’ve got it! I think we’ve got it!”
“Are you sure?” Brecken was asking, but Camden was speaking over him.
A sharp jab went into his arm and Crane felt a wave of nausea as his vision faded. “Kyle,” he thought he heard Brecken begging as he drifted out of consciousness, “hang on. Just hang on.”
* * *
Crane blinked a few times. He was in the side room, lying on his cot. He took mental stock of himself. He felt alright. Perhaps a little sore but he felt more himself than he had in the last few days.
He would have wondered if it had all been his imagination, a fevered dream, had Brecken not looked so relieved when he walked in. “Oh thank God.” He rushed to Crane’s side, arms wrapping around him as Crane sat up.
“What happened?”
“You started having a seizure right when Camden’s tests finished. They came back positive so he just injected you. We had no idea if it would work…” He pulled back to meet Crane’s gaze, a smile on his face. “About half hour later he took your blood and… the virus was just… gone.”
Crane’s eyes widened. “Camden found the cure.”
“He did.” Brecken’s grin got even wider and he started to laugh, Crane following suit as he grabbed Brecken into a bear hug. “Troy already sent some runners. We got her the vials her people needed and she sent someone else to meet up with our runners in the sewers.” Brecken pulled back, undeniably happy to tell him, “Rahim’s fine. They’re all fine now.”
Crane threw his head back and laughed. He grabbed Brecken, pulling him down to the small cot with him. Crane didn’t want to let go. Just the other day he had been so certain he would die. But he didn’t and there they were together.
“We did it!” Crane cried in both joy and relief. “We really did it!”
Brecken’s mouth covered his. They kissed desperately, pulling each other closer. Brecken’s hand ran up under Crane’s shirt, feeling the heat of skin that was desire rather than illness. Crane held his face still with both hands, demanding entrance with his tongue. Brecken quickly rolled them, straddling Crane’s hips.
Sitting up, Brecken looked down at his lover, full of life and still with him. “We did it luv,” he said breathlessly. “Soon we’ll be able to go home.”
“Home,” Crane repeated. They never talked about what would happen after getting out of Harran. They hadn’t really had time to think of anything outside of survival. “Never really had one of those,” he admitted.
“Well you have one now.” Brecken smiled, leaning down so their lips connected again.
There was a ways to go yet but the end was finally in sight. They had a working cure in hand and once they contacted the Ministry the survivors would finally be evacuated. The best thing though was that they were both alive. They were alive and they were going to stay that way.
/End