I pulled off to the side of the road outside the ruins of a small town called Aptos, near the Highway 1 onramp. There was flat ground in all directions, giving us an adequate line of sight on anything that might be looking for a snack. My bike was running rough enough that I wanted to get a good look at it, and adding more gas probably wouldn?t hurt. Dirt bikes have small tanks, and we?d covered a lot of miles already.
Shaun turned toward me as he dismounted, grinning from ear to ear. The wind had raked his hair into a series of irregular spikes and snarls, making him look like he?d been possessed. ?That,? he said, with almost religious fervor, ?was the coolest thing you have ever done. In fact, that may have been the coolest thing you ever will do. Your entire existence has been moving toward one shining moment, George, and that was the moment when you thought, ?Hey, why don?t I just go over the zombies?? ? He paused for effect. ?You are possibly cooler than God.?
?Yet another chance to be free of you, down the drain.? I hopped off the bike and pulled off my helmet, starting to assess the most obvious problems. They looked minor, but I still intended to get them looked at as soon as possible. Some damage was beyond my admittedly limited mechanical capabilities, and I was sure I?d managed to cause most of it.
?You?ll get another one.?
?That?s the hope that keeps me going.? I balanced my helmet against the windscreen before unzipping the right saddlebag and removing the gas can. Setting the can on the ground, I pulled out the first-aid kit. ?Blood test time.?
?George??
?You know the rules. We?ve been in the field, and we don?t go back to base until we?ve checked our virus levels.? I extracted two small handheld testing units, holding one out to him. ?No levels, no van. No van, no coffee. No coffee, no joy. Do you want the joy, Shaun, or would you rather stand out here and argue with me about whether you?re going to let me test your blood??
?You?re burning cool by the minute here,? he grumbled, and took the unit.
?I?m okay with that,? I said. ?Now let?s see if I?ll live.?
Moving with synchronicity born of long practice, we broke the biohazard seals and popped the plastic lids off our testing units, exposing the sterile metal pressure pads. Basic field test units only work once, but they?re cheap and necessary. You need to know if someone?s gone into viral amplification?preferably before they start chewing on your tasty flesh.
I unsnapped my right glove and peeled it off, shoving it into my pocket. ?On three??
?On three,? Shaun agreed.
?One.?
?Two.?
We both reached out and slid our index fingers into the unit in the other?s hand. Call it a quirk. Also call it an early-warning system. If either of us ever waits for ?three,? something?s very wrong.
The metal was cool against my finger as I depressed the pressure pad, a soothing sensation followed by the sting of the test?s embedded needle breaking my skin. Diabetes tests don?t hurt; they want you to keep using them, and comfort makes a difference. Kellis-Amberlee blood testing units hurt on purpose. Lack of sensitivity to pain is an early sign of viral amplification.
The LEDs on top of the box turned on, one red, one green, beginning to flash in an alternating pattern. The flashing slowed and finally stopped as the red light went out, leaving the green. Still clean. I glanced at the test I was holding and let out a slow breath as I saw that Shaun?s unit had also stabilized on green.
?Guess I don?t get to clean your room out just yet,? I said.
?Maybe next time,? he said. I passed him back his test, letting him handle the storage while I refilled the gas tank. He did so with admirable efficiency, snapping the plastic covers back onto the testing units and triggering the internal bleach dispensers before pulling a biohazard bag out of the first-aid kit and dropping the units in. The top of the bag turned red when he sealed it, the plastic melting itself closed. That bag was triple-reinforced, and it would take a Herculean effort to open it now that it was shut. Even so, he checked the seal and the seams of the bag before securing it in the saddlebag?s biohazardous materials compartment.
While he was busy with containment, I tipped the contents of the gas can into the tank. I?d been running close enough to empty that the can drained completely, which was scary. If we?d run out of gas during the chase?
Best not to think about it. I put the gas cap back on and shoved the empty can into the saddlebag. Shaun was starting to climb onto the back of the bike. I turned toward him, raising a warning finger. ?What are we forgetting??
He paused. ?Uh? to go back to Santa Cruz for postcards??
?Helmet.?
?We?re on a flat stretch of road in the middle of nowhere. We?re not going to have an accident.?
?Helmet.?
?You didn?t make me wear a helmet before.?