Michael plastered himself against her. His face burrowed down into the crook of her neck under her hair. He wrapped one arm around her ribs and slammed her tight against him. She could feel every line of his body, skeletal in its thinness.
One of his knees pushed between hers, coming to rest between her thighs. His other leg wrapped around her calf until their feet intertwined. One hand pressed into her back with shocking strength, and the other buried itself in her hair. His chest heaved with sobs and coughs, but his dehydrated body could produce no tears.
Sophie wrapped her arms around his neck and put her lips beside his ear, trying to soothe him, telling him over and over in Orlisian that he was safe. She didn’t know if he could hear her. Certainly he didn’t look at her or attempt to communicate.
A moment later, Anjali and Kathy appeared at her bedside. Anjali took a hypodermic from the nurse and lifted Michael’s hospital gown. Kathy held Michael’s thigh reasonably steady while Anjali jabbed him with the needle.
Slowly, the frenzy subsided. Sophie rocked him in her arms, crooning as the sobs tapered off. He slipped back into unconsciousness, his hands still clutching her.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she breathed in Orlisian. “I’m here. I won’t leave. We’re together now.”
“Not exactly what I had in mind when I ordered bed rest.” Anjali surveyed the pretzel of limbs on the bed in front of her. She handed the empty syringe to Kathy beside her, thanking her for the assist. The nurse stepped away and left them alone. “Now you understand why we had to keep him from seeing you in the camp.”
The rattling sobs tapered off as the sedative kicked in and Michael lost consciousness. Even under sedation, his fingers dug into Sophie’s shirt, like he was terrified she would vanish if he loosened his grip.
“He’s under now. Come on out. We need to get him hooked back up to his meds.”
She wiggled out of Michael’s grasp. Her shirt was covered in snot, and Anjali sighed.
“I want you on intravenous antibiotics. You’ve just had a ridiculous amount of exposure.”
Kathy handed Sophie a fresh shirt. Together, they moved Michael back to his bed.
“He pulled everything out.” Anjali held up the urinary catheter in disbelief. Kathy and Anjali rethreaded the lines and connected the monitors back up. “His temp is down to about 103. Definitely moving in the right direction. We’re going to need a lot more of both of these meds. I’ll get Meha on that when she gets up. We’ve got a camp to medicate.”
She turned back to Sophie to order her back to bed, but she had vanished. Anjali did a quick spin in a circle. No Sophie. Kathy gestured back to the other bed where Sophie lay, already asleep. Anjali smiled and shook her head.
“Maybe now they’ll both stay in their own beds.”
Chapter 9
February 12, 2014
Sophie woke when the sun rose, exhausted, disoriented, and suffering from a pounding headache. None of which mattered when she rolled over in bed and saw Michael’s sleeping form just a few feet away. She climbed out of her bed and padded over to his.
“Good morning, Mikael.” She softly touched the side of his face. “You are safe. I am here.” The last thing she wanted to do was leave him – even for an hour – but she had work to do before the coalition departed for Parnaas for the day. She would not be joining them, not today, not ever again.
“Sophie?” She looked up to see the nurse from last night, Kathy, watching her with curious eyes. “Dr. Shah has prescribed IV antibiotics for you.”
“Which you can administer later,” Sophie replied. “I have work to do first.” She stepped into the hallway and found her two Soviet soldiers standing near the door. They looked about as well rested as she felt. Both regarded her with caution. She broke the watchful silence.
“Let us talk.”
When she returned to the infirmary after briefing the Rev on how to handle the Commandant, Anjali was waiting for her.
“That had better not be your whole breakfast,” the doctor said, gesturing to the half-eaten protein bar in Sophie’s hand. “And what are we going to do with those two?” Anjali jerked her thumb at the guards sitting outside the infirmary.
“They’re going to hang out here today. They promise not to bring the guns anywhere near you or Michael, and they’ll smoke outside. I’ve told them to help themselves to food. The kid with the dark hair is Sevastian, and the blond one is Sergei. They’re terrified of you, so take it easy on them.”
“These guys work for Der Kommissar himself. Aren’t they a security risk?”
“Not in my opinion.” Sophie sat down and opened her laptop. “If anyone is concerned, just send them around. I’ll talk to them.”
Anjali stared at her in astonishment, then shook her head and called for a nurse to hook Sophie up to an intravenous line to receive her meds. “Fine,” the doctor said. “But tell them if either of them puts a toe out of line, I’ll carve something on their foreheads.”