Albert approached Marie’s dad, feeling jittery. “Hey, Vlad.”

He glanced up and gave a small smile. “Albert.”

“Hey, I might not have studied much about omnitocsil, but I read about a chemical that binds the metals of poisons in the digestive tract to keep it from polluting the rest of the body.”

Marie’s dad gave a slow nod. “That’s a good idea. I’ll look into that.” He sounded distracted, and Albert’s heart sank.

“You’ve already tried it?” Albert asked.

Marie’s dad looked sheepish. “One of the first things I tried.”

Both of them turned to look at Marie who was talking with Billy and Edgar.

“I’m sorry,” Albert said quietly. “I thought I’d have time to help her. I was certain. I should have had time-”

“Don’t go down that road, Albert. There is no way you could have studied anything like this while at the S.E.A. skyscraper,” Marie’s dad said. Albert rubbed at his eye, trying to pull himself together.

“Is there anything I can do?” Albert hated how desperate he sounded.

“No.” Marie’s dad rubbed the back of his neck. “At this point there is little else we can do.”

Albert let out a frightened breath, grateful of the chip blocker’s existence.

***

Sophie was still chatting with Nik, even though Harriet had left. Billy, Albert, and Edgar had also gone. Charles and Alice were talking quietly together. Marie eased herself into a sitting position on her bed. Her dad approached her door and gave the door frame a knock.

“Hi dad,” Marie said.

Her dad sat across from her on Sophie’s bed. He had his hands clasped together, and Marie finally saw how rattled he looked.

“We should talk about what I’ve got so far with the cure,” he said quietly.

Marie nodded. “Just give it to me, dad. We don’t have time to test it.”

Her dad gave her a look, worry creasing his forehead. “There’s a small chance it might speed up the process, making it worse.”

“But there’s a better chance it’ll heal me.”

Her dad gave her one more worried look before running a hand through his hair. “And an even better chance it’ll do nothing at all.”

Marie nodded, glancing down at her hands. “I still want to have it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” She took a deep breath, getting ready to prepare what she had to say. The urge to censor what she said was strong. Her dad might over react and treat her like a child again. It might have happened a year ago, but she doubted he would do this now. “I want to take it, because if I don’t and I end up dead, you will have a hard time forgiving yourself.”

Her dad took a shaky breath. “And if you take it and die anyway?” There were tears in his eyes. She tried to smile but found she couldn’t.

“Then at least you’ll know you did all you could,” Marie said.

Her dad nodded, drying the tears from his eyes. “I’ll go get it.”

Marie tried to get up. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, no. Stay there.” He placed a tender hand on her shoulder to keep her in place before he left. The door was open, and Marie could just make out Nik and Sophie talking.

“You need to stop trying to gain their approval,” Nik said quietly. Marie leaned her head closer to the door, even though it did little to actually help her hear.

“I guess, but I feel like I can’t do anything right,” Sophie said. “I just feel so lonely at times.”

“Yeah that’s completely understandable. I’d be surprised if you weren’t,” Nik said. Marie winced. Sophie was confiding in Nik, and Marie was trying hard not to feel a sense of betrayal from that. Sophie always confided in Marie, until her memories got wiped. “Here’s what you do,” Nik started to say before Marie’s dad and Charles walked into the room.

“Alice said she couldn’t give approval because-” her dad said, keeping Marie from overhearing anymore.

Charles gave a wave of his hand, cutting him off. “Injecting people without asking any questions is literally part of my job.” Charles put on some plastic gloves before sitting next to Marie. “Hey, Marie. Which arm do you prefer?”

“Doesn’t matter. How about this one,” Marie said as she brought up her left t-shirt sleeve a little higher.

Charles began cleaning a small section of her upper arm. “Alice and I have been talking. We feel at this point we’re going to take turns coming to check on you every day.”

“Are you sure it’ll be safe? Nik already figured out where we were hiding, others might too,” Marie said.

“It’s a risk we’re going to take,” Charles said as he filled the syringe with the chemical compound. “Write down every little symptom you feel, no matter how small.” He injected the chemical into her arm before sticking a bandaid on it. “Alice and I will stay for another half hour to make sure there aren’t any severe side effects. You take it easy.”

He pulled out a bag and was placing the used syringe in it when he noticed her face. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Marie said, quickly trying to arrange her face so it wouldn’t seem like she was worried about whatever Sophie and Nik were talking about. “I mean, you know.” She let out a shaky breath. “It’s just… needles and cures and… it’s a lot to think about.”

Her dad gave her a comforting squeeze of the shoulder. “It’s done now. Now we just wait.”

Marie nodded as Charles got up and left the room. Marie glanced at the door and could see Nik leaving the table and heading for his supply closet room. Marie pushed down the feelings of jealousy and anger. Why did Sophie go to that old man and not her?

“Marie,” her dad said, breaking her train of thought. “Do you feel okay to dress in pajamas? Do you need Alice’s help?”

“I’m not that helpless.” Marie felt the surge of anger give her the energy she needed to push herself to her feet and start walking. A wave of nausea hit and she slowed, reaching out for something to keep her balance.

Her dad grabbed her arm and steadied her. “Alice?”

“I’m fine, dad. I promise. I can get into pajamas myself.” By the time Marie finished her small little speech, Alice was already there, draping Marie’s other arm over her shoulder.

“I’ve got her, Vlad. Step outside and I’ll help her,” Alice said.

Marie was too exhausted to fight. Alice quickly helped Marie get in her pajamas before easing her on the bed. There were two warring ideas in her head. She had just been given a shot that may save her life, but might also end it. And Sophie, her best friend in the entire world, had made friends with someone else. Someone other people considered a mad scientist.

Her dad and Charles came back in, and she heard them chatting. Alice brushed something off Charles’ shoulder, which must have been small because Marie couldn’t see anything.

Marie’s attention was far away. Was this sacrifice she made worth it? Would she live long enough to see how it all ends?

Sophie knocked on the door frame. “Hey, sorry to interrupt. I was just wondering, would it be okay if I slept out here? I’m really exhausted, and I’m afraid the lights from all that stuff will keep me up,” Sophie said, pointing to the monitor.

“Yeah, no trouble. It can be obnoxious if you’re not used to it,” Charles said as Alice quietly hooked Marie up to an IV.

The tennis ball in Marie’s throat threatened to burst and make her sob. Instead she forced herself to give Sophie a small smile and a nod. Sophie smiled back and turned and left.

Marie knew it was ridiculous to feel betrayed like this, but she did. Despite the growing concern of the omnitocsil, despite her dad looking on with deep concern, despite all of this, Marie couldn’t help but look through the crowd and see Sophie setting up her cot in the main room and getting settled for bed. Marie finally had to face the difficult truth that Sophie was a different person now. And unless Marie did something, their friendship would disappear.

***

Abe arrived at the house pretty early. Even then, there was still a group working hard at fixing it. Abe rolled up his sleeves and glanced at the task list.

“Good to see you here,” Sam said.

Abe jumped before he let out a shaky breath. “So glad it’s you.” He found he was more jumpy than usual. Sam seemed to notice this too.

“You okay?”

“Fine, fine.”

“Hey, there’s some shingles we need to get done on the roof. Are you afraid of heights?” Sam asked.

Abe gave a stretch as he rubbed the top of his head. “That’d be ironic.”

Sam gave a smile before he ushered Abe outside. They both climbed the ladder and started to work.

“I wanted to let you know of our meeting,” Sam said quietly as he got on his hands and knees and started pulling out the old shingles.

Abe winced, knowing Sam brought him out here for this very reason, but he still found himself glancing around to check if there were any cameras on the roof.

“There isn’t anything here. I checked already,” Sam said.

Abe gave a small nod as he knelt down next to Sam. “I hate how paranoid I’m getting.”

Sam gave him a pat on the back. “A few more weeks, Abe. The meeting went amazingly well. I guarantee we’re going to double, if not triple our numbers by tomorrow night at our next meeting.”

The bumpy shingles bit into Abe’s palm as he steadied himself. He fell into a rhythm of pulling out the old shingles. “Maybe you shouldn’t tell me when the meetings are. Just to stay safe.”

Sam gave Abe a glance. “You’re probably right.” A shudder ran through Abe’s body as he kept removing shingles. “Abe, are you okay?”

“I have to be.”

“This is a really stressful situation for you. It’s okay to not be okay.”

His hands trembled as he went back to pulling out nails. “Macbeth,” he muttered under his breath.

Sam grabbed the hammer Abe was using and forced it out of his grip. “Talk to me, Abe. What’s going on?”

Abe was on his hands and knees, staring at the roof, feeling the rough shingles under his palms and knees. “I do better by ignoring the situation. Ignoring how terrifying it could all be if I get caught. If anyone gets caught. I can’t think about it.” Abe closed his eyes. The walled part of his brain broke down and all the horrible outcomes flooded his mind. Abe opened his eyes, trying to ground himself in the present. “I’m trying so hard Sam. This is all some psychological game for Josef, and he is winning. He’s done nothing physical to me yet, but I’m still suffering.” Abe ran a shaky hand through his hair, not caring about the particles of dirt and grime from the roof that were now in his hair. “I honestly don’t know how much longer I can do this. Josef’s getting me ready for his workshop, I just know it.” Abe had every intention of not breaking down in front of Sam, but once the first tears came he couldn’t stop them. Sam set his own hammer down. The release of tension in Abe’s chest came with his quiet sobs, but he felt like an idiot.

“We’re going to make it through, Abe,” Sam said. “I know it’s tough, and you’ve done incredible. I promise, one more week will give us the numbers we need to push back against Josef. My wife will hide you somewhere Josef cannot find you. Can you make it a week?”

Abe gave a nod as he dried his eyes. He honestly didn’t know if he could, but he gave a nod because he didn’t know what it would do to his psyche if he said no.

***

Someone rustled in Marie’s room, and Marie cracked an eye open. The room slowly came into focus, and Charles was sitting beside her bed, looking at some files on a laptop.

“What time is it?” Marie asked.

“It’s almost three,” she heard her dad say. She glanced over to see him sitting in the corner.

“In the afternoon?” Marie asked.

He nodded. Charles got up, checking Marie’s eyes with a flashlight then looking at a screen.

“Can you move your fingers for me?” Charles asked.

Marie lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers. The joints still felt stiff, but not nearly as bad as the night before. Her face relaxed as she smiled.

“Good,” Charles said. “This is good.”

“Did it work?” her dad asked.

“Still too early to tell, but I’m going to do a few more tests,” Charles said, going back to his laptop and pulling up some files.

More than anything, the hope Marie saw in her dad’s eyes made her feel as though maybe she could start to believe that things would be okay.