Lunar Virus ✔️

Chapter Twenty-two: Elodie

“You know how humans and chickens share about that half their genes with each other?” Jayne begins. I glance at her suspiciously. Where’s she going with this?

“No?” I wait for her to finish.

“Well, that cashier dude most definitely shares more than half of his genes with chickens.”

“Jayne!” Sheila gasps, “Give the man a break. He’s probably infected or something.”

Jayne grunts unhappily. “We should have gotten two motel rooms. I might just have to kill Sheila. I swear, if she snores too loud . . . .”

Sheila levels a glare at Jayne, and I watch the face-off with a careful interest. The dim light of the motel room creates shadows under their eyes, and it doesn’t help that the sheets on the bed smell suspiciously sweaty. After a rigorous debate, we decided that sitting on the beds might be more sanitary than sitting on the couch, but I’m starting to doubt it. Everytime I move, I get a waft of a stale body odor coming right from the blanket. I get the urge to go and take a shower, but I’m afraid of what I might find in there.

Dev is currently taking a shower, apparently immune to the stiff towels and grungy shower curtains, and Elie is asleep on one of the other beds. The room only has two beds. Sheila and I would be sharing a bed, while Elie and Dev share the other, and Jayne takes the couch.

Listening to Sheila and Jayne argue, I begin to nod off. I would have fallen asleep, but just then, Dev comes out of the bathroom looking marginally more disturbed from even the first time he laid eyes on the unflushed contents of the motel toilet.

He walks up to the window right next to the flimsy door and draws the curtains back a little to peek out. I’m immediately on guard. “What is it?”

“The coupon. That one Jayne found in the gas station--”

“What!” Jayne bristles, “What about the coupon? Drop it already!  I told you, I didn’t see that it wasn’t valid anymore and that’s why I tried to use it. Honesty, let it go.”

“No,” Dev rolls his eyes, exasperated, “Someone wrote something on the coupon. I accidentally got it wet in the bathroom and writing appeared.”

“Wait, why the hell did you bring the coupon into the bathroom in the first place?” Jayne snorts.

“Oh, come on! I had to poop and I brought the coupon in with me so I could look over it. And it turns out, I found something useful.”

Sheila starts laughing a wheezy, silent laugh, while Jayne massages her temples as if she’s in charge of taking care of a household of babies. I’m surprised Elie hasn’t woken up yet.

Holding out my hand, I ask, “Where’s the coupon?” Dev strides into the bathroom and comes out with the soggy coupon. I take it from him and gently smooth it out. It isn’t hard to figure out the meaning of the note, and what it is written scares me: if they come asking about it, come to me. I’ll handle it.

I feel my stomach lurch and the blood drain from my cheeks. Letting the coupon flutter to the ground, I start stuffing our belongings into the bag. “We have to go.” I eye the locks on the door. The door itself isn’t very nicely build. It’s nothing more than a flimsy slab of wood with a patchy coat of yellowing paint. The actual lock is the same as the one fitted on the doorknob of the bathroom, and part of the chain lock that’s supposed to be attached to the door is loose, with one of the screws completely missing.

Elie finally wakes up with half his hair stuck to his forehead and a red mark of the scratchy blanket imprinted on his face. “What’s going on?” he rasps. Dev wordlessly hands him the coupon.

His eyes widen and he rushes towards the door, squinting to look through the peephole. “You know,” Jayne drawls, “There’s a window right there that can give you a much better view.”

“I don’t want to risk being seen,” he replies calmly. Jayne shrugs and stares in the direction of the window, even though the curtain blocks the view. The curtains aren’t that great either. The material is an opaque, gauzy material with a few stains dotting the bottom. It allows moonlight to stream in so that even if the lights were closed, the room would be delicately litwith a soft glow. A realization hits me; the lights are still on! Anyone outside would be able to see our silhouettes.

Tripping over the bag, I lunge for the lights and flick them off.

“What the hell, Elodie?” Jayne whines. I put a finger to my lips and start shoving my feet into my shoes. I don’t have any socks on, but it would have to do. We have to leave as soon as possible and start driving. Start driving far, far away.

I swallow my fear through the thumping of my heart, dreading what might come next. Why did we leave the sanctuary of stability we had with Dungworth? Why are we here waiting to be mugged and murdered?

My whole being freezes as I hear muffled voices not too far from our door. Elie, who’d been staring through the peephole, starts to slowly back away. I catch his arm as he nears me, trying to calm my nerves, which are completely shot. The door is our only escape and our enemy’s only entrance. If they are right outside this door . . . .

I look at Elie, Elie looks at me. I loosen my hands from around his arm and slowly tip-toe towards the door. I stop within two feet of the door, fearing what I would find on the other side. I feel a warm hand rest on my shoulder. Elie nods his chin towards the door, silently asking if I wanted him to open the door instead of me.

But I know I can’t let Elie do this. Looking into his eyes, I can tell that he’s scared. Maybe even more scared than me. And the fact that he offers to open the door instead, even though he’s scared, gives me courage. More courage than I can ever explain. I’m still afraid. My heart still pounds and my stomach still twists, but this time--I ride it. I ride the wave of fear.

I ride the wave of fear, unbolt the locks, and I open the goddamn door.

***

Author's Note:

Ha-ha! Hahahaha! I have left you with a cliffhanger and have updated about twenty minutes before midnight.

Yeah.

Okay, I'm going to sleep now. I can feel my eyeballs burning.

Until next time! (Probably at the same time next Sunday).

♥️♥️♥️