Free Life-After by J. A. Laraque

most wanted to spare me from.
    Over the next one hundred and forty three days we lost all twenty six of the people with us in the bunker. At first we did not know why but soon Richard discovered the reason and one night while watching over Barry he told me the truth.
    “ Richard…why are we still alive?” Clara asked. “That radiation, it killed everyone else. Barry had several broken bones and yet he outlived everyone. How is that possible?”
    I only knew it as radiation at the time. The symptoms began about thirty days after we arrived. At first we believed the cause was the small amount of food and water we were able to consume. We had basic medical equipment and Richard found a scanning device in one of the crates. He spent the next week running tests and as more and more people became ill he had no choice but to give us his results.
    He told us the military was working on new energy sources and that one must have been damaged after the quake. He believed it was leaking radiation and that somehow it was bleeding into our area. By then there was not much more you could tell anyone to scare them any further. To us, it was just another way to die.
    Over the next one hundred days I watched each one of them die and yet I nor Barry or Richard developed any of the symptoms. Soon people began to wonder why we were immune but by then they were too weak to even protest. It was a horrible death, David. Something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. A part of me wanted to die with them. I was tired, I just wanted to let go.
    “ I immunized you.” Richard answered. “What happened to the others was not radiation per say. There was an incident years ago that closed this facility. The military did experiments on humans and energy and one of the test subject developed abilities. He was able to absorb energy and use it to augment his natural abilities, but it had a side effect. He would secrete a bio-toxin from his pores which was deadly to humans. It would cause symptoms similar to radiation poisoning. In the end the toxin affected his mind and he attacked everyone in the facility. The government locked it down trapping everyone in side. Eventually he killed everyone and without any food or energy sources he died.
    The government sent a recovery team but discovered the toxin was even more powerful after his death. Not even their hazard suits would protect them. Only a year ago the Naxum scientists were able to create a serum that would protect the body from the toxin. However, when they were about to begin salvage operations they discovered no trace elements of the toxin. They were going to begin recovery procedures here next week. I believed it was safe but just in case brought along an injection of the serum. It was for my wife. Barry and I were already immunized but by the time my wife left it was too late to retrieve more. I hoped their findings were correct, but I was wrong.”
    “ You only had one person you could save…” Clara gasped. “…and you picked me?”
    Richard confessed that he had fallen in love with me soon after we arrived. He felt horrible for his feelings. He told me about his wife and I told him about you. David, you have to understand. I knew we were going to die and I was weak. I needed so badly to feel someone was with me in those final days.
    Two nights later Barry died. By then we had run out of food and water and I knew it would only be a matter of time. I could barely move. Our energy cells were depleted and had to huddle together for warmth.
    Clara showed me her final moments. She was slumped over, her head on Richard’s chest, his arms around her. It pained me to see her like that, not just the suffering, but also that I was not there. Clara’s pain was at its strongest. Without saying a word she was apologizing to me though her emotions. I wanted to turn away but there was nothing to turn to. I was there, forced to bear witness to the death of the woman I love in another man’s arms.
    It