Jake Morrison's Arc

Chapter 27 of 54

The doctor knocked and stepped inside the cabin. She carried her kit and a small glass vial. She looked at Jake's healed arm, then at his face. "I took a sample from you last night," she said. "When the fever was worst. I want to draw another one now, awake." She rolled up her sleeve and tied a band above Jake's elbow. "I have a hunch. I need clean blood to prove it." Marisol held Jake's other hand. She had not let go since morning. Her thumb traced the brown scab like it might crack open. The door swung again. Marcus came in first, wrench still on his belt, Sofia right behind him. Marcus grinned when he saw Jake sitting up. "How's the Incredible Hulk?" he said. "Dude takes a bite and still keeps going." He shook his head like the whole thing was a bad joke that ended well. Sofia crossed the room and gripped Jake's shoulder. She was the one who barred this door and kept him away from the nine survivors. "I'm glad you're okay," she said. Then she looked at Marisol's hand on his and softened. "And now you're a dad too." Marcus turned. "Jake's a dad?" "I'm pregnant," Marisol said. She lifted her chin. "It's ours." Marcus laughed once, loud, and clapped Jake on the back. "Man survives a bite and finds out he's a father in the same morning." But his eyes were wet. He wiped them with the back of his hand and pretended it was nothing. The doctor pressed the needle into Jake's vein. Dark blood filled the vial. She capped it and held it to the light. Then she set both vials on the table, last night's and this one, side by side. "They match," she said. Her voice was low and careful. "I checked the first one under the scope twice. I didn't believe it. So I needed a second." The room went quiet. Marcus stopped smiling. Sofia stepped closer. "There's an antibody in your blood," the doctor said. "I've never seen it. Not in any survivor, not in any sample from the mainland shelter." She looked straight at Jake. "It's why the bite scabbed over. Your body killed the virus. Fought it and won." Jake stared at the two vials. "So I'm just lucky." "No." The doctor shook her head. "If I can grow this antibody, if I can copy it, it could stop the virus in other people. A treatment. Maybe a cure." She let the word sit. "Your blood, Jake. It might be the thing everyone out there is dying for." Marisol's grip tightened. Jake felt the weight land. He had spent weeks trying to seal one island shut and keep his people safe behind a wall. Now the thing that could save the whole city ran in his own veins. And the shelter on the mainland already knew this island existed.