Page 150 of Silent Shadows

“Both of you?”

We both nod.

Jax gasps theatrically. “FINALLY. Shared suffering. The strongest intimacy.”

Miles chokes on coffee.

I cough.

Nobody wins.

By nine, the crew makes an executive decision to take a day off. Or, as Taylor calls it, an excuse to shop at roadside antique stores. She and Maya head into town in the 4Runner for supplies.

Jax announces he’s taking the dirt bike “to reconnect with joy” in the mud.

Owen vanishes with his truck to go scout something nearby.

No one says it outright. But somehow, suspiciously, everyone leaves.

Whether because they’re giving us space or because they’re afraid of our sickness remains to be seen.

Rain patters softly against the roof.

Miles and I end up on the couch.

Lots of blankets. Tea for me. Coffee for Miles, even though he continues to hate it today. Our laptops balanced on our laps, because when has either of us taken a day off?

I sit cross-legged under a blanket, laptop open, trying to cut together podcast clips for social when I’m not losing my train of thought because of Miles’s rattling coughs. “You need medicine,” I say.

He squints at thermal footage. “I need answers.”

“You need NyQuil.”

He points weakly at the screen. “That thing moved.”

“You’re hallucinating.”

“Probably.”

“You’re warm,” I say. He looks over. My hand is already against his forehead. I freeze. He freezes. Neither of us says anything. His forehead burns hot, and his glasses slip slightly down his nose.

And suddenly he looks—God. Like someone exhausted enough to stop guarding himself. He reaches and grabs my hand, pulling it away from his forehead, and resting it on his thigh, holding it.

“Fever,” I say quietly.

His mouth twitches. “You gonna make me soup too?”

“Don’t tell me you get man-sick.”

“I’m charming when I’m sick.”

“Lies.” I roll my eyes, but I don’t move my hand.

And neither does he.

The rain keeps tapping overhead.

Somewhere deeper in the Machine, the generator hums with its usual faint mechanical whine. The whole place smells like damp backpacks, peppermint tea, and whatever cold medicine Maya left in the cabinet labeled MEDICAL / MAYBE EXPERIMENTAL.