Emerge by Heather Sunseri

Author:, Heather Sunseri
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sun Publishing

chapter twenty-four

West

After agreeing to Justin’s terms, I was granted entrance to New Caelum and delivered directly to a decontamination chamber, where nurses ensured no trace of a virus could have survived anywhere on my body. And as I waited for the shower to scrub me clean, I could think of only one thing—Cricket. Was she close by? Were they treating her kindly? Had they put her through a more rigorous decontamination than me? Though they were treating me like a diseased outsider, I was still a member of leadership, so they knew better than to act abusive. But Cricket had no such protections.

If anyone has laid one thoughtless hand on her, they’ll suffer. Why couldn’t she have just waited and let me bring her in? Now I had no control over the situation.

Once I was decontaminated, showered, and dressed in my normal black and charcoal gray government clothes, I was covered in a full hazmat suit and escorted to the Presidential Suite, my home for the past six years.

Mother was waiting for me when I arrived, sitting on the edge of a chair. Her feet were crossed at the ankles, and her hands fidgeted in her lap. Her face and eyes were void of any emotion. She, too, wore black pants and a gray sweater.

“Mother?”

She stood. “Remove that suit. I know you don’t have the Samael Strain.” The guards behind me left without comment.

Once I had cast the hazmat suit aside, Mother crossed to me, sliding her arms around my neck and gripping me in a tight hug.

I peeled her away and held her at arm’s length. “Where’s Willow? How is she?”

I had been forbidden from entering the isolation wing where I presumed Willow was still being held. Given that Willow’s disease had probably progressed to a more advanced state, I wasn’t surprised by the restricted access.

Mother smoothed the collar of my gray shirt. “She’s doing as well as can be expected, but she’s very sick.” She dropped her eyes and seemed to sniffle. “They’re taking good care of her.”

She backed away from me and fidgeted with a ring on her right hand. She seemed unusually unsure of herself. When she looked up, her brows lifted in question. “So, you found her?” Her lips lifted at the corners like she was excited about something.

“Found who?” For some reason, I felt the urge to play dumb.

“Christina, silly.” She slapped at me playfully, a gesture I’d never known her to do in the past. “Tell me all about her. Was she beautiful? Did you recognize her? Did she recognize you?”

I cocked an eye. “What is wrong with you?”

“What do you mean?” She pursed her lips. “I want to know more about Christina. Willow will be so excited to see her again.”

The more Mother spoke, the more I suspected something was off. Her voice was almost gleeful. She was happy, airy. Nothing like a woman worried about her only daughter dying.

“I never found Christina, Mother, but I did find someone who could help us.

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