Elliott swallowed and steeled himself as Ryan led him into the Georgia Dome’s offices. He was anxious and afraid and so eager to see her again.

Rose lay on a cot in a small office, her eyes closed, pulse weak. Elliott did a quick examination. The rash on her abdomen was dark red and had spread up to her neck. Her face was ashen; dark bags hung below her eyes. But she’s alive. He was thankful to see her again, to hold her hand, still warm, pulse beating, if only to say goodbye.

He turned to his son and told him what they had to do.

Nearly an hour later, they reached the RV Elliott had parked off Marietta Street. He knocked three times, then two, then once, and waited. Three seconds. Then four. The door cracked, and he saw his neighbor’s face.

Ryan took off the blankets piled upon Rose. He hoisted her out of the wheelchair and carried her into the massive motor home. The kids lounging on the bed sprang up at the sight, allowing Ryan to gently set his mother down on the bed. The instant he released her, Sam ran into his arms, and they were both crying and shaking as they hugged each other. Adam joined them, clinging to his parents, them embracing him, and Elliott was there too, wrapping his arms around the three of them for a few long seconds before crawling into the bed to lie beside Rose. They had brought medicine and oral rehydration salts, but for the most part, all they could do now was wait.

Elliott pulled her freezing body close to his. The tears flowed fast now.

“It’s going to be okay, Rose. I’m here. We’re going to fix this. Everything is going to be all right, you hear me?”

She said nothing, but he felt one of her tears touch his cheek.

He held her tighter. “Don’t give up. Please.”

Chapter 107

Chapter 107

After Desmond administered the cure to Peyton, he and Avery found William in another container and injected him with the cure.

As Desmond had suspected, Charlotte was confined to a shipping container as well.

Avery read his question before he asked. “I ordered the team at SARA to capture her. It seems she’s connected somehow.”

“That was good thinking.”

They freed Charlotte, and she thanked Desmond as he administered the cure.

The warehouse was huge, the size of a football field, stacked three tall with sea freight containers in rows. According to Avery, the building was in Port Adelaide, a suburb northwest of Adelaide, Australia. She led them to an office above the warehouse floor, where two camo-clad soldiers were laid out, glassy eyes staring at the ceiling, both shot in the chest, center mass.

“Where are the rest of the soldiers?” Desmond asked.

“In a cargo container,” Avery said. “They were more compliant.”