Page 27 of A Wilderness Within

“Caro…” He growled her name and tried to look over his shoulder, but one of the men grabbed him and swung his fist right into Lincoln’s face.

8

I am weary of days and hours,

Blown buds of barren flowers,

Desires and dreams and powers

And everything but sleep.

—“The Garden of Proserpine”

by Algernon Charles Swinburne

January 2020

Adam threw himself into his office chair, and Lincoln followed, lingering just inside the door. The briefing with POTUS hadn’t gone well. Everyone was terrified of Hydra-1 and everything it represented.

“Dr. Kennedy at the CDC is doing her best to develop a vaccine, but they can’t seem to grow a live virus in the lab. It kills the host cells too quickly for them to learn much, and it won’t grow in isolated dormant cells.”

“Adam,” Lincoln said, clearing his throat. “Mr. Vice President. What can I do?” There had to be something, a mission, a race to find the right scientist, something. He couldn’t stand feeling this helpless.

“What you can do is call your parents, Lincoln.” It was the second time Adam had told him this, and knowing what Adam really meant chilled him to his core. They weren’t going to win this fight.

“Do it here, my office.” Adam nodded toward the black leather chair in the corner by a wall of bookshelves.

Lincoln sat, shifting his weapons, and pulled out his phone. He hadn’t dialed that number in over a year. His heart raced as he put the phone to his ear and listened.

“Hello?” His mother’s voice came through.

“Mom.” He almost had to repeat himself, the word came out so rough.

“Lincoln?” Her joy at hearing his voice stung him with guilt. He loved his mother, but as long as she was married to his father, he couldn’t talk to her without having to think about or interact withhim.

“Mom. Listen, are you at home?”

“Yes, why?”

“Sit down, okay?” He waited until she confirmed she was sitting down. “Something bad is coming. You’ve heard about the virus on the news? It’s going to spread. Things are going to get bad. Real bad. You need to buy bottled water, canned foods, bullets for Dad’s rifles. And you need to move to the cabin by the lake. You understand?”

“My God, Lincoln…” His mother, a true mother to a soldier, knew better than to ask a million questions or let emotions run away with her. “Where are you?”

“DC.” He glanced to Adam, who nodded. “With Adam. It’s bad, Mom. I want you to stay at that cabin. Do not go into the city, do not go looking for your friends. You have to close yourselves off. Do you understand?”

“I…I understand.” Her voice trembled. He hated having to deliver such an awful warning to her, but it was the only way he could give her a chance.

“Mom…”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

She sniffled. “I love you too, Lincoln. Do you want to speak to your”

“No.” He cut her off. Even if the world burned down around him, he wasn’t going to talk to that man.

“But”

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