EVELYN

Once again Evelyn found herself following Jonathan, as he navigated them out of the facility and through an intricate maze of residential buildings. River District was made up of an eclectic collection of residences each with a different style of architecture. Some were modern apartment and townhouse buildings while others looked like tiny cottages from the late 18th or early 19th century, there were also several buildings that looked as though they were halted in the middle of construction, likely when the first wave of the pandemic hit. The left-over scaffolding and machinery had clearly been adapted by the survivors of the colony to be useful in the new world. Rope bridges and pully systems hung from the buildings like Christmas lights. Even the large spaces of land dug up for infrastructure had been repurposed and were being used as farmland. It was a beautiful patchwork of civilization, a true testament to the will of humanity to survive. Evelyn had little time to take in the sight of it all as Jonathan steered her towards the side of one of the unfinished apartment buildings.

"This way," he said, motioning for her to follow him as he began to climb.

Evelyn took hold of the scaffolding with a sweaty hand, "Jonathan," She whispered, and he paused, turning to look back down at her.

"What?"

Evelyn pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose, "umm... I was just thinking, your stitches. Maybe there's another way around."

"Stop worrying about me, I'll be fine," He said continuing to climb, "if I pop one of my stitches you can say I told you so."

Evelyn placed her other hand on the scaffolding. The bars felt slippery between her fingers. Though her feet hadn't left the ground, she could already feel her arms and legs tingling. Jonathan was already 10 feet up.

"Are you coming or what?" Jonathan asked, peering down at her. He stared at her for a moment in confusion and then a knowing look passed over his features as he registered what the problem was.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of heights," he said.

Evelyn blushed, "a little," she admitted. It was a stupid fear, not even based on anything traumatic or remotely rational. She had camped on the roofs of gas stations before and climbed trees as a child but for some reason staring up at the dizzying height of the apartment complex was too much. It didn't make sense. She didn't trust she could make it. Fear was strange that way, it was not always consistent, it didn't always make sense, but it was always inconvenient. Jonathan slowly climbed back down next to her.

"You know what it's fine," he reassured her, "there's another way around but we're going to have to be careful, the second route runs right beside town square."

"Thanks," Evelyn said, trying to casually rub her sweaty hands against her jeans without Jonathan noticing, "I'm sorry that I'm so much trouble."

"It's okay. I'm pretty sure I'm more trouble." The right side of his mouth curled into a smirk, "I'm the lightning rod, remember?"

Evelyn smiled back gratefully and the two of them crept around the building, clinging to the wall like shadows. The whole experience reminded Evelyn of the game of spies she used to play with Elliot. Most 10-year old's would have said they were too old for imagination games like that, especially with their big sisters, but not Elliot. Any opportunity for him to pretend he was Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible was instantly his favourite game. He would have scaled that scaffolding no problem because he was fearless...

He'd be 12 now, she realized with a start. Just like with Kevin, the image of her brother was frozen in the past. The thought of it made her chest feel hollow and she strengthened her resolve to keep going. She would see Elliot again. She would see all of them again.

Evelyn was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Jonathan had stopped moving and nearly crashed into him. She was about to apologize, but he raised a finger to his lips, "They're going over the pandemic update."

"Usual onset of symptoms still appears to be within the 24-hour range following contact with the blood or bodily fluids of a live specimen otherwise known as transmission." A woman in a military uniform said reading from a clip board to the crowd, "Intelligence confirms that after initial infection the host may present as developing symptoms which may include paranoia, confusion, tremors, disorientation, and a lack of sensitivity to pain. Within a variable about of time, symptoms include cerebral dysfunction, hallucinations, agitation, seizures, and blackout episodes that increase in length and spontaneous violent, erratic behaviour. This state of existence known as becoming a lost soul. This state is considered a tier 2 threat due to its unpredictability. We are still trying to understand exactly what causes the virus to go "live" resulting in final conversion into soullessness but what we do know is that once the virus has had time to spread fully through the body, the host is no longer lucid and will lapse into routines that were once followed in life. This state is typically considered a tier 1. Most soulless will enter a state of agitation if the expression of emotion is minimal, this is considered a tier 2 threat. Stronger emotions will trigger a larger more deadly response in the infected. These violent outbursts will progress soulless to a tier 3."

Jonathan shook his head in annoyance, "another big fancy speech just to recap that we still don't know jack squat about anything."

"There is no cure for this virus, we must continue to be vigilant and to survive. Face coverings have proved effective for moderate protection against transmission and has also limited cases of emotional expression. Disinfection and quarantine procedures are still in place in this colony."

Audible groans sounded from a group huddled around a figure dressed in beige. Evelyn's body stiffened. She remembered the Serenity Society. The group emerged soon after the initial outbreak, claiming that the virus was a revolution for the human race and encouraged people to be infected at their Sigma parties. They twisted and perverted the values of Zen and Buddhism until it was unrecognizable, calling the state of soullessness, "no-mindedness". They praised docility yet hypocritically declared war on science. They were the reason the cure was a myth. It was this group that laid waste to laboratories and executed scientists and researchers in the early days of the pandemic.

The woman cleared her throat, obviously disturbed by the disruption to her speech.

"Diagnostic measures will continue to primarily consist of questioning and blood testing, at this time. Saliva testing will continue to be self-administered before and after every work rotation. Now, Johnson will debrief you about the reason we've called this tribunal."

A man moved forwards to take the floor and Evelyn got her first clear view of Johnathan's father without his armoured suit. The man was in his late forties with short cropped salt-and-pepper hair. He was average in height but from the way he carried himself, he seemed taller. With his good looks, military garb, and serious expression, he looked like he had walked right out of one of Michael Bay's action movies. Evelyn realized with a shock that apart from their height, age and hair colour, Jonathan was the spitting image of his father.

"As many of you know, we lost Ben today in a soulless attack. Before rumors start, I want to be clear: there is no breach, it was another case of spontaneous conversion. There is no possible transmission opportunity within the border."

Whispers rippled through the crowd and the woman with the clipboard was quick to shush them. Jonathan's father gave her a brief nod of thanks and continued, "Though he was a newcomer to this colony, he was a good man and will be missed. As usual, a memorial will be held in the gardens tomorrow night for those that wish to attend, and curfew will be extended by half an hour to accommodate."

"What about Martha?" a distraught voice sounded from the crowd.

Jonathan's father shot the person who had spoken a steely eyed glare, "The Soulless have no name." The air was electric and tense, though no one spoke it felt as though a storm was brewing within the crowd.

The woman with the clipboard came forward again, changing the subject before the situation could unravel, "We lost people today, but that is not the only reason we have gathered here. Today has marked the surprising return of one of our own, as some of you already know, Jonathan Johnson has returned. He is currently in quarantine and receiving medical treatment as per protocol. He has, however, brought a stranger with him and our colony is once again faced with the dilemma of allowing a newcomer into our midst."

The crowd erupted into voices.

"Bad things always happen when there are newcomers!" Evelyn heard one person shout.

"After what happened to Ben? You can't be serious!" Another yelled.

"How is this going to impact the rations?"

"How many more of these spontaneous conversions does it take to recognize that this is no longer a safe haven?" An emotionless, robotic voice cut through the sea of clamoring. The voice was low and monotonous. The crowd parted to reveal the Serenity Society member. "We have banished those hypocrites we called scientists, yet we still cling to a military who do nothing more than march at the bell, follow routines and protocol— that is what the soulless do after all, though they can do so peacefully! Humanity is the problem. But all is not lost, we can still be redeemed for it is time to join the new world order—"

"That's quite enough!" Jonathan's father roared. The sound was like a thunderstorm, loud, deep, and booming. It sliced through the chatter like a knife and suddenly the crowd was silent. Evelyn was not sure if it was just her imagination but for a moment, she swore she saw Jonathan's invisible mask slip. It was the subtlest flash of a look in his eyes and just like that it was gone, replaced by his usual hardened stare.

At first the crowd did nothing but then from the depths of the crowd began a chant. "Stop the lies! Stop the lies!" The surrounding group soon joined in until nothing could be heard above the screaming of the words at the top of their lungs.

Evelyn startled as she felt Jonathan's hand on her arm, "Now's our chance," he whispered, and she allowed him to pull her behind the boisterous crowd across the square.

"We hear your concerns!" Evelyn could hear the woman with the clipboard shouting from somewhere in the middle of the circle, "As always, we will hear your concerns at the tribunal before a final decision is reached. Please line up according to your sectors—"

Jonathan pulled her inside one of the buildings. The building must have once served as a bank because there was a metal gate barring them from entering the main lobby. Evelyn's suspicions were confirmed as she noticed the dilapidated looking bank machines on either side of her. The machines had been reduced to little more than dented empty cans. Most of the wiring had been torn out and from the scrapes and scratches it looked like it had already been plundered for its contents.

Jonathan was fumbling with a large key ring as he tried to unlock the gate but paused when he noticed Evelyn staring.

"People," Jonathan scoffed, "the whole world's gone to shit, and all some people can think about is how much paper they have in their pocket."

"What was—?"

"All that?" Jonathan asked, his eyes shimmering in the low lighting as he glanced back out at the gathering in the courtyard.

Evelyn nodded.

"Long story short, River District was walled off in early pandemic as a military aid center. There's less military presence now, post-Blackout, so it's became more of an independent colony. The tribunal makes most decisions though I think the growing presence of the Serenity Society is not helping. The leaders were elected by the group, but most tend to be military or ex-military or near military. We, the Colonel—my father and I left another military compound about a year ago. Believe me, this is better than if it was 100% military controlled." He waved a hand through the air as if saying you don't want to know.

He went back to focussing on the lock and finally managed to find the right key. He slid the gate open just enough for he and Evelyn to slide inside before locking it behind them. "Jokes on them though," he said nodding back towards the bank machines, "the soulless don't care how much money you have. They'll kill you either way."

Evelyn followed Jonathan behind the teller desks. He pulled out two small handheld flashlights from his pocket and offered one to her.

"Now we search," he said.

Evelyn watched as he clicked on his flashlight and began rifling through one of the many file cabinets that lined the back wall. Gingerly, she reached out towards the nearest cabinet. Her family could be here, their whereabouts noted in the meticulously filed River District records. Evelyn wasted no more time; she'd waited long enough. She tore through the files, like a woman possessed, searching for anything that looked remotely relevant. The air was tense with anticipation. Every time she opened a new file, she felt her heart sink when all she saw was catalogues of supply runs, chatter transcriptions or worst of all obituaries. She prayed she would not find an obituary that she recognized.

"Evie?"

Evelyn jumped at the sound of Jonathan's voice, he had been so silent in the corner that she had almost forgotten he was there, "yeah?"

"Your parents aren't doctors, are they?" He asked studying a file so hard his eyebrows seemed to crash together.

"No" Evelyn said automatically, "well not here they weren't, their degrees weren't recognized but in China—"

"I keep telling you," Jonathan said softly, holding up a composition notebook that was tucked within a thick manila file, "in the apocalypse it doesn't matter, as long as you have the skills. This was filed with the research documents."

Her heart soared as she read her father's name off the cover of the battered book.

"They're not here." Jonathan said, quickly dashing her hopes, "the whole file here is... uh... dated from before the Blackout, maybe during the early days of the pandemic."

"What?" Evelyn asked, "why would the military have this from pre-pandemic?"

She bit her lip thinking about the days just before the pandemic when she had visited home for winter break. She'd barely seen her parents. They had stayed up late into the night huddled in their joint office talking in hushed tones. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, her parents always worked hard, but even then, they had seemed especially focussed.

"Just talking shop," her father would always say as he brushed off her questions, "nothing to worry about."

Jonathan shrugged and flipped through the notebook's worn pages of sloppy scrawl, "I don't know about you, but this looks like a lot of chicken scratch,"

"Doctor's writing," Evelyn corrected, taking the book, and struggling to decipher her father's messy cursive mixed with notes jotted down in the Chinese characters she'd never learned to read. Evelyn frowned; her father might just as well have written the whole thing in code.

For a moment neither of them spoke; the only sound came from Evelyn turning the pages of the book. He was reading over her shoulder, his head leaning in so close that Evelyn had to take care not to knock her head into his. She could feel the heat of his breath and it made her skin tingle with the awareness of his proximity to her.

"Hang on, look at this," Jonathan said as they came toward the end of the book. "Imagine if you will that these symbols over here are numbers."

"Wait no, you're right," Evelyn said vaguely recognizing the Chinese characters lining the right side of the page, "hang on, let me try something!"

Evelyn grabbed a pen from one of the desks and Jonathan handed her a scrap of paper. Carefully she sketched out the numbers one to ten in Chinese and matched them to the characters in her father's notebook. She beamed at him, "Jonathan, you're brilliant!"

Jonathan stiffened and Evelyn got the feeling he wasn't sure how to process the praise. "Okay so that's the date notation," he said, ignoring her compliment, "but the ones over here, they're laid out differently. I'm not sure but the way they're written they look like..." He reached over to the pile of papers he had pulled out of the file and grabbed the map that was perched on top.

"Coordinates." Evelyn said, finishing his sentence as she noticed the denotations hovering above the numbers.

"Don't you just miss Google maps sometimes," He muttered as he looked back and forth between the papers. Evelyn let out a small laugh; she could not count the times she had wished for the old conveniences of a GPS. Jonathan's brows pinched together as he studied the numbers on the page again, cross referencing them with the ones on the map.

After several moments of staring at the map and tracing his finger across invisible lines, he looked up at her. She hadn't noticed before, but his eyes were grey and dark in a way that made him seem stormy and pensive. Despite herself, Evelyn shied away from the intensity of his stare, and she reverted her gaze to the notebook. As her eyes found the page, she zeroed in on a single word that made her gasp.

"Jonathan?" She whispered, "how much do you know about the cure?"