The Deathless Trilogy

1.11. In the Lab

I walk to the cafeteria with Mom and Declan, vaguely listening to them discuss their dreams from last night and what they want to eat for breakfast; but my mind is too busy juggling my anxiety over seeing Nathan again—not just seeing him, training under him—that I don't really pay attention. I don't want to fight, I don't even want to learn how, but I know I will need it in the bunker. Envisioning the rest of my family here with us is the only thing keeping me calm right now.

When we enter the cafeteria, I focus on the bright white floor. I can't risk looking up and finding Nathan's face like I did yesterday, or anyone else's for that matter. I'm too embarrassed. I've never yelled like that at anyone before, and I don't want people to think I'm cruel; but the deed's been done. I've already let my anger get the best of me, so now I'll just hide my face until everyone forgets about it.

I'm so focused on remaining under the radar that I don't even pay attention to Mom or Declan until they tell me it's time to head to training, and I hug Mom goodbye before following Declan to the lab. I keep my head down in case Nathan is in the office, but when I look up I see it's only me, Declan, and Dr. Patel who sit at the desk.

"Where's Nathan?" I ask, trying to play it off like I'm not freaking out about seeing him.

"I understand that there was a disagreement between the two of you yesterday during dinner," Dr. Patel begins formally, as always. "So to avoid further aggravation, I asked Nathan to join me in the lab a little earlier than usual today." He rests his elbows on the desk and leans toward me. "Do you see how your behavior last night could be perceived as immature?"

"My behavior? What about his?" I ask in shock.

"I don't mean to display any favoritism, as I have none." Lie. "But this disagreement needs to be settled, and I hope you can both move past it. We are a team here on the Immortal, and we all need to behave accordingly."

I look at Declan who shrugs in defeat, so I throw up my white flag. "Okay. Sorry for the inconvenience," I say, but I'm sure he can hear my insincerity.

"Thank you," he says. "This morning, Declan will be spending the majority of his time with you. That way he can review what you learned yesterday and assess whether or not you're ready to move into the lab. Dr. Kunkle, you are free begin at any time, unless you have any questions."

"Nope," Declan says. "I got it from here."

Dr. Patel heads into the lab, off to meet Nathan who obviously lied and threw a fit about last night, but I breathe away my frustration.

"Sorry about that," Declan says.

I shake my head. "It's not your fault. Let's just get started so I can get into the lab with you."

"Sounds good to me," he says. "Let's start talking about your notes from yesterday."

I agree, and begin to tell Declan about genetics and cellular structures and evolution, things I've known about for years. But now I have someone to discuss them with, since physics and astronomy always interested Daniel more. We talk about how life is created and sustained, and how the human body works to keep us alive. We rummage through different books for information, and read as much as we can together for a couple of hours. Our words flow from us like water and we're happy to swim about the room uninhibited, two fish gliding in and out of thoughts. Then I get to the end of my notes, and it's as if someone has pulled the plug from our pool. We float back to our feet.

"What now?" I ask. "Am I ready?"

"Well... you still have more to learn, but I've always learned better with hands on tasks," he says, his thin lips stretched into a smile.