Vander sat by the river. They had spent the previous evening walking there and the night catching a little sleep in old archways. Now as the day took hold, the fever did too. It was rising up through him again: lap, lap, lap. Each wave came nearer, threatening to surge over him.
He had left Mary carefully tucked behind some cardboard on the bank. He reckoned he had two hours to find food and more permanent shelter before the water of the river overtook them and made this hiding place useless.
Once again his lack of long-term planning annoyed him. He hadn’t really thought this all through when he’d started. He’d just known that he had wanted to get Mary out of the Facility and give her a life, and the moment had presented itself. Luckily, she had no expectations, so he’d succeeded in living up to that low bar. However, in the Facility there was heating, regular nutrition and a bed. He wondered if she wished that she were still there. Perhaps he would ask her. If she wanted to go back, it would solve a lot of problems, including his guilty conscience. At least the sores on her arms had healed now that she no longer had needles stuck in her every day. She had learned to laugh.
Vander got up and started to shuffle along the shoreline, looking down for anything shiny. Last night Mary had nestled up to him, trying to get warm, and they had gone to sleep wrapped around each other. It probably meant very little to her, other than body heat, but for him, it was the closest he could ever remember being to another person. Hugs and kisses had been discouraged after the Red Plague – no intimate contact, even with close family members. He tried to recall being in his mother’s arms but couldn’t. A vague memory struggled to the surface, of holding his younger brother – before his father had sent him away. He had been a plague orphan. Girls had never given him a second look. Had he sprung Mary from the Facility for cuddles? Of course not … though was it wrong to hope she might give him the love and affection he wanted so desperately? Just because she didn’t know any different, it was still not right to keep her locked away. If only he had planned it better.
He couldn’t regret this sense of being really alive for the first time, being able to give pleasure. It was the best feeling ever, and she thought he was good and safe and strong. It was just a shame that he wasn’t going to be able to spend long enough with her to break the illusion.
Vander slowed to an amble, out of breath and hardly able to pull each foot from the sucking mud. He had only walked a short distance, but his legs hurt. Perhaps it was time to tell Mary what was happening, so she wouldn’t be surprised. He decided to sit down to get the energy for the walk back, but it was more like a collapse, with him dropping onto his bottom and gasping for air. Their time together had been too short. He wanted to be her hero, but he doubted that she even knew what a hero was.
Sitting upright was hard work. Vander lay down, just for a moment. The river mud shifted around his body, moulding into a comfortable, if slightly smelly, bed. If they could get some supplies together, perhaps they should head out of the city. They could find a small place and set up home. If there were no people around, they wouldn’t have to answer awkward questions. They could grow things to eat and start their own family, who would love them regardless.
Vander’s feet were now so cold that he couldn’t feel the water lapping over his shoes and around his ankles. He imagined the sun warming his body as he picked red tomatoes from the plants; he smelt the apples on the trees and listened to the swish of the grass around them. The sound reminded him of the waves of the river as it rose back up the banks. As he fell into unconsciousness, he pictured himself and Mary. She didn’t question him or shout at him. She loved him for who he was and for saving her from the Facility. He was all she wanted and all she needed.
As the waves rose, they lifted his body from the riverbed, and quietly he started to float upstream with the incoming tide.