Free Sick by Brett Battles

grateful.”
    Hamilton considered him for a moment, then stood up. “It’s late. Spend the night and you can get an early start in the morning.”
    “You’ll lock my door and keep me from leaving.”
    Hamilton shook his head. “No. If you want to leave, we won’t stop you. But we also won’t be able to protect you.”
    “I can protect myself.”
    Hamilton nodded. “I’m sure you’ll do the best that you can. I only ask when they do track you down, you don’t mention the ranch or any of us here.”
    “They won’t track me down.”
    Matt remained silent for a moment, his expression blank. Finally, he said, “I’ll have Pax show you to your quarters. If you decide to stay the night, you’re welcome to join us for dinner at seven.”
    Ash answered with a single nod.
    “One more thing,” Hamilton said.
    He limped back over to his desk and pulled a package out of the credenza. It was the same package Ash had been given in the desert. One end was open now. Hamilton reached in, pulled something out, then walked back over to Ash.
    “I believe this is yours.”
    He held out his palm. In it was a watch.
    Ash tried not to shake as he lifted it up. It wasn’t an expensive brand, but it was priceless to him. He turned it over. Engraved on the back, just as he knew it would be, was:
    Happy Birthday,
    All My Love,
    Ellen
    He had assumed the watch was destroyed in the explosion. He had thought he’d never hold it again. “This was in the package?”
    Hamilton nodded.
    “What else is in there?”
    “That was the only personal item of yours.”
    “Are you lying to me?”
    “I told you, we have no room for lies here.”
    Ash stared at the watch a moment longer, then put it on.
    For the first time since the night that life as he knew it ended, he cried.
     
     

14
     
    By the time Len and Chuck found their friends Jimmy and Walt at the campground, it was well after dark but they had the excuse of a lifetime.
    They joined the other two at the campfire and recounted the afternoon’s events. Chuck played it up to its morbid best, while Len exaggerated his friend’s freak-out at finding the body.
    “He threw up everywhere! If I hadn’t jumped out of the way, I’d have been covered in it,” he said. “Then he refused to go back inside, like he thought the guy was going to jump up and come running after him.”
    “Yeah,” Chuck said, smiling. Jokes at his expense never bothered him. “Like a zombie, man. Hey, you never know.”
    Someone threw an empty beer can at him as the rest laughed.
    By the time their fire died down to a few coals, they’d retold portions of the story half a dozen times.
    “I’m beat,” Len finally said, getting up. He swayed a little bit, and had to steady himself by putting a hand on Walt’s shoulder.
    “Whoa,” Jimmy said, laughing. “Drink a little too much?”
    Len scowled at him. “Ha ha.”
    He’d actually had only two, but it had been a long day—the driving, the dead body, the police—so it was a wonder he could even keep his eyes open.
    “If you guys are going to stay up, keep the noise down,” he said. “I want to get some sleep.”
    “No guarantees,” Walt told him as he popped open another beer.
    “You guys suck,” Len said.
    He headed over to the tent he and Chuck were sharing. As he unzipped the door, he coughed and then cleared his throat. Stupid dry desert air, he thought. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the cooler and crawled inside.
    • • •
    There was a knock at Dr. Karp’s door. Without looking up, he said, “Come in.”
    The door opened and Mr. Shell entered. He was a lean and muscular six-foot-two with sandy blond hair, and a nose that had been broken at least once.
    Karp had been expecting him, so he waved to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.” Once Shell was situated, he said, “Pleasant trip?”
    Shell’s mouth moved up and down in a quick smile. “Pleasant enough.”
    “Any further update on this