Promise

Would she keep her promise to Yves, or would she stoop to the lowest and vilest level of humanity when survival was on the line?

…

The rescue squad was coming, and we had more than enough resources to keep us alive until then.

The promise of abundance gave Yvonne confidence. She and Yves started eating through resources like they were nothing.

They did their laundry with clean water from the water purifier, consumed emergency medicine like antibiotics as if they were supplements, and even took out batteries from the sanctuary's electronics just to charge their music player.

And then it was the evening of the third day. Only half an hour left until the rescue squad's arrival.

I was in a meeting with my teammates, but Yvonne barged inside and interrupted us unceremoniously. "Give me the serum, Sieghart!" she ordered imperiously.

A frown creased my forehead, and I raised my gaze to meet hers. "Why? Someone infected?"

The answer that came from Yvonne shocked everyone into disbelief.

"No, but Yves has a fever. It's 102 degrees! I had him take fever pills, but it didn't work! Just stop talking and give me the serum! He needs the injection!"

I slowly stood up from my seat. With icy frigidity in my voice, I said, "Do you have any idea how important this serum is? I spent three years developing it. It can stop the zombie virus from spreading through the body if injected within five minutes after first contact.

"It's still experimental, but this is humanity's last hope, and the one I have is the last dose."

"I know, I know!" Yvonne waved her hand dismissively, impatiently. "But your serum kills viruses, right? Yves is really uncomfortable right now, so give that serum to me already! You're wasting my time!"

And then, a pregnant pause slid into the meeting room. The silence weighed heavily on all of us. My deputy was the first to break. He rocketed up from his seat in fury.

"Is there even a brain in that head of yours, Yvonne? You're going to waste precious serum on a goddamn fever?"

"What do you mean I'm wasting it?" Yvonne shot back. "Yves is weak to begin with. That fever can kill him if left untreated! And serums are meant to save people!"

I refused to hand the serum over. Something cruel within Yvonne pushed her past the edge. She pointed her gun at my head. "Hand it over. Don't make me make you."

One of my teammates tried to stop her. "Are you out of your mind, Yvonne? You can't…"

Yvonne fired at him, and the bullet nearly hit the guy.

I looked at Yvonne. She was the woman I used to love, and I cursed myself for being so blind. In my previous life, I tried to save her time and time again, and every time, I risked my life to do it.

This time, she was going to hold my life hostage to help Yves. Though reluctant, my teammates had to hand the serum to her, and they could only watch as Yvonne injected our precious liquid into Yves.

Minutes later, Yves' fever went down, and color returned to his face. I sneered in silence.

The man feigned weakness and pushed himself up. There was redness in his eyes as he looked at us. "I'm sorry. I know that serum's precious. You shouldn't have used it on me. I… I keep holding you guys back. Makes me feel useless."

My teammates turned their heads away, but not from shame. They did it out of disgust. Yves' act was apparent.

Concerned for Yves, Yvonne held his hand. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Don't say that. Your life is worth more than any serum!"

Lovingly, Yves said, "You've been so kind to me, Yvonne. I swear, I'll protect you forever, even if it is the last thing I do!"

The stench of their affair nearly made me throw up. I risked my life more times than I cared to count in my previous life to save her, but all she said was, "It's your job to protect me."

And now she looked moved beyond anything just because Yves made a promise that hadn't been proven to be good.

This was a joke.

Soon, the roars of rotors approached the sanctuary. The rescue squad was here. We packed up our gear and came out of the sanctuary.

Yvonne grabbed Yves and tried to jump onto the chopper, but her excitement was stopped by a soldier. "Sorry, we need to verify your identities."

My teammates got onto the chopper without any problem, and the smile slowly disappeared from Yvonne's face.

The soldier flipped through the list, but the more he did, the tighter his frown became. "Yvonne Brown… Yves Claude…"

In the end, he said, "Sorry, but you're not on the list."