Ten minutes later, the Plague Saint stood in the middle of the flashing neon lights and blaring electronic music of the Diamond Club, completely out of place and clutching her staff like it was her only lifeline. Lights reflected off the beak of her mask, and Winter might have laughed at the image under different circumstances. Right now, she was in shock. She had no idea anything like this existed in Devil’s Pass.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Forrest!” she yelled over the music, hoping one of the people pointing at her and whispering to their friends could help. Either they couldn’t hear her, or they didn’t care.
Thankfully, word of the Plague Saint wandering the club spread quickly. Forrest emerged from the crowd before long and waved. “Plague Saint! What brings you here?”
Winter could barely hear him. “I have to talk to you about the transport of—”
“What?”
“I have to—!”
“Come with me!” Forrest gestured for her to follow him through the crowd. They passed through a door labeled “Employees Only” and entered a cool, quiet hallway. Another door brought them into an office.
“Atherton said he arranged for you to get me some medicine ingredients by tomorrow morning, correct?” Winter asked.
Forrest collapsed into the chair behind his desk and spun in a slow circle. “Uh, yes. Well, a couple of my employees.”
“Well, there’s been a new outbreak in this part of the city. With City Hall and other important businesses so close, he’s asked me to get a head start on making medicine. I’m going to need some of those supplies right away.”
“Right now?” Forrest groaned and rubbed his forehead. “I have a lot going on at the moment.”
In the light of the office, Winter could really study him. His hair was a mess, his yellow shirt was half unbuttoned, and his eyes were bloodshot. “Do you know what time it is?” she asked.
“Uh, six?”
Winter didn’t bother asking if he meant a.m. or p.m. Apparently, this place was open all day. “It’s noon. First case was reported an hour ago, and there have been four more since.” She slammed her hands down on his desk, making him jump. “This is more serious than red plague. They’ll all be dead by the end of the night if they aren’t cured.”
“So? Who are they, anyway?” Forrest’s brow furrowed. “Anyone I know?”
Winter took a deep breath. “Doesn’t matter. They were in this part of town. There is a very high chance of someone coming into this club with it and infecting everyone else. It may have even already happened. And it’ll spread like wildfire in there. Do you understand?”
Forrest’s frown deepened.
“If I start making batches of cure right away, we’ll have enough to treat your customers. But if we don’t, they’ll all die.” Winter leaned forward. “Which means you lose a good portion of your income. And it’s only going to get worse from there.”
That got through to him. Forrest straightened up. “Well, shit. And all you need is to grab the stuff I bought for the hospital?”
“Yes. Where is it?”
“My house.” Forrest stood up and stumbled a few steps before regaining his balance. “It’s on the south side.”
Go figure. That’s where all the nice houses were. The only houses in Devil’s Pass, really. Everyone else was crammed into tiny apartments.
“Short walk from here,” Forrest continued. “I’ll lead the way.”
Winter assumed they would take a back exit, but Forrest returned to the club floor. He shouted at the top of his lungs, “Party at my house starts now!”
People gradually joined the pack trailing behind him, which made it difficult for Winter to keep track of him. Irritated, she lifted her staff. “Excuse me, coming through!”
“Damn, Forrest got the Plague Saint?”
“Forrest’s friends with the Plague Saint!”
Heavens above. Just get the stuff and get out. Winter found herself trailing behind a crowd of people as they moved south. She hadn’t been in this part of the city, and despite her concerns about a crowd of drunk people walking around at noon, they were surprisingly not out of place. Not on this side of Devil’s Pass. She couldn’t believe there were this many people that could afford to sit around doing nothing all day.
Forrest’s home was more extravagant than Winter had expected, too. She’d known it would be big, but the house he led the crowd to was ridiculous. What did he need all that space for?
The home’s interior held expensive furniture and the nicest appliances money could buy, but it was also a mess. Empty bottles and trash littered the tables and floor. While guests helped themselves to food and made themselves comfortable, Forrest fiddled with a big black box. A speaker that would play music. Winter had noticed some of the odd machines back in the club, too.
“If you could just show me where you’re keeping the supplies, I’ll be out of your hair in a few minutes,” Winter told him.
“You can stay as long as you like!” Forrest exclaimed. “It’s no trouble.”
“As nice as that sounds, I’m rather busy.”
“I think you oughta learn how to balance work and play, Plague Saint. Like me.”
Balance? “Right. Sure.”
“See, I have nothing going on today. Why waste time sitting around?” Forrest pressed a button, and music similar to what had been playing in the club blasted from the speakers. Winter wondered how much the machine cost. And why anyone bothered making them.
“Look, maybe I can take you up on your offer some other day. But right now, I’m trying to save your life and your money.”
“Right, right, right,” Forrest muttered. He opened a cupboard over the speaker and grabbed a bottle. “Follow me.”
He led the way down a staircase, through a hallway, and into a large, empty room. Empty, that was, except for the boxes stacked up against the far wall. Winter examined the labels. Some of the chemical names were unfamiliar, but others she recognized from the cure formula. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Forrest,” she said as she straightened up. “I’ll take what I need, and you can have the rest sent to the hospital tomorrow morning as planned.”
“Sure thing. Help yourself.” Forrest took a sip from the bottle in his hand and walked off.
Winter dug through the boxes, grabbing vials and bottles and packing them into her bag. Strangely, rather than medical ingredients, some of the boxes were filled with plain water bottles. As she worked, she wondered how the hell she was going to make the cure and get it to people like River with guards in the lab.
Wait. There was one lab Marcus had all but forgotten about. And she still had the key somewhere in her bag. Winter picked up the pace now that she had a plan, grabbing the last few things she’d need. She also hunted down some empty bottles, since she couldn’t risk going back to the hospital to get anything. Based on the formula she’d skimmed, she had everything else she needed.
Her bag much heavier now, she trekked back up the stairs. More people had arrived, filling the rooms around the entry way. Winter scanned the crowd and spotted Forrest arguing with someone. Curious, she moved closer.
“—and I don’t remember inviting you in the first place!” Forrest’s words slurred together, barely audible. It was almost impressive how much drunker he’d gotten in the time Winter had been downstairs.
“You invited every damn person in earshot,” the man in front of him snapped back. “And I’m not here for the party. I’m here to ask you where my payment is.”
“Payment for what?”
“My company spent weeks installing equipment in your new factory. You agreed to the price when you signed our contract. Send me my check, or I’ll take this to court!”
“Whatever.” Forrest sipped his drink. “My lawyer’s cheaper, anyway.”
“This isn’t the end of this, Forrest.” The man stormed off, shoving his way through the crowd of oblivious partiers.
Winter wanted to kill Forrest. Not to save her brother. Not to save the city. She wanted to watch the light leave his eyes.
She needed to get out of here before she did something rash.
Plus, it was uncomfortably hot under the uniform. Almost enough to make her miss the cold.
The walk to Marcus’s lab changed her mind on that pretty quickly. It wasn’t snowing at the moment, but gray clouds loomed over the horizon in every direction, warning that precipitation was on the way. And while it was warmer inside the lab, there was still a definite chill.
Winter took off the mask and set it on the counter. The lab was still empty, and unlike her last visit, there were no signs of recent activity. No new footprints in the dust or random tools under the counters. Still, she worked quickly and jumped at every sound.
The instructions involved a painful amount of waiting. While she waited for the final chemical reactions to run their course, Winter paced back and forth for a while, then laid on her back on the floor and tried not to think about all the terrible things clawing at her chest.
The ringing of the timer she’d set made her jerk awake. The cure was ready, it was near seven p.m., and Winter was starving. She’d never had anything to eat after the croissant, had she? She climbed to her feet. She had to get the medicine to River first. Then she’d worry about food.
Winter didn’t make it ten feet into the hospital before she was swarmed. A couple of visitors asking about their loved ones, nurses inquiring about treatment schedules, and Dr. Liang wanting to know when the new batch of Red-X would be available.
“One at a time, please.” The words came out snappier than Winter had intended. “I’m sorry for my absence, but I’ve been dealing with something important. Now, has anyone seen my assistant?”
The receptionist chimed in behind her. “Phoebe? She left an hour ago.”
Right. It was past seven. Of course Phoebe wasn’t here.
“Plague Saint,” Dr. Liang began, her tone cautious. “The new hospital director showed up an hour ago. He said you had a new project and that you wouldn’t be working with patients anymore.”
Shock spread through the lobby. Anyone who hadn’t already been watching the commotion turned their eyes on Winter. Their expressions brimmed with confusion. Fear. Grief.
Of course Marcus didn’t want Winter working with patients anymore. She’d cured too many people for his liking, already.
“A lot has happened today,” Winter said. “I’m still coming to an agreement with the new director, but at the moment I am working under his instructions. I do have a new project, and I promise it will be worth it.” Her gaze swept across the lobby. Across the crowd of anxious, terrified people. “But please, I need space tonight to do my work.”
Winter turned to Dr. Liang and continued. “Keep doing your work, doctor. It is difficult, but the people need you and the others doctors now more than ever. I am not a saint. I am one man, and you can go on with or without me by your side.”
Dr. Liang nodded, albeit reluctantly. “Thank you for everything you’ve done, Plague Saint.”
The crowd dispersed, and quiet chatter filled the space. Winter hurried into the halls beyond the lobby and walked to River’s room.
He was fast asleep, but he looked healthy. This cure stuff was a goddamn miracle. Winter added more to the IV line. Marcus’s dosage recommendations weren’t as specific as they’d been for previous treatments, but he had some rough guidelines based on his testing of the cure. Winter used half of the bottle she’d made and tucked the rest back into her bag.
Hunger still gnawed at her stomach. Winter went to a bathroom to change, then returned to the night. She paused just outside the hospital to tip her head back and study the dark sky. Amidst the thick clouds, there were sparse patches through which she could see stars glittering.
How many people were out there across the Earth, looking up at the same space? What were lives like in the other cities and territories? Were they all as rotten as Devil’s Pass, or were there places where people took better care of each other?