Infection

The echo of the imaginary explosion faded. The crickets started up again.

Frankie holstered the shears. His heart was still hammering against his ribs.

Red stood amidst the drifting smoke of their ordinance. She was breathing hard. Her chest rose and fell in a rhythm that matched his own.

-Status report, Frankie said.

Red turned to him. She didn't salute. She stepped closer.

-Hostile neutralized, she whispered. But I think there was collateral damage.

She held out her arm. A smudge of dirt. A scratch from a branch.

Frankie took her arm. His thumb brushed the skin.

-Contamination, he noted calmly. The toxin acts fast.

-Is it fatal, Frankie?, she asked. Her eyes locked onto his.

-I’m a space adventurer, not a doctor!

He pulled her in. The Venus jungle, the backyard garden, seemed to close in around them.

-I feel feverish, Red murmured. She leaned her head back, exposing her throat to the moonlight. Delirious.

-Symptoms check out, Frankie said.

He kissed her.

It was urgent and desperate, like their oxygen was running out.

Red made a sound in the back of her throat. She gripped his shoulders, pulling him down.

Frankie pressed her against the rough bark of the oak tree. The canopy.

-Protocol dictates immediate decontamination, he muttered against her lips.

Red laughed, breathless. She bit his lower lip.

-Forget the manual, she said. Burn the infection out.

Frankie ran his hands down her waist.

-It’s spreading, Frankie warned. I can feel it too.

-Then we’re in this together, she said.

She grabbed his hand and placed it over her heart. It was beating hard.

-Can you feel that?, she asked. The alien parasite. It wants more.

Frankie looked at the sliding glass door of the house. It glowed with amber light. A beacon in the dark.

-We can't stay here, he said. The atmosphere is becoming toxic. Too hot.

Red nodded. She smoothed her dress, though her eyes were still wild.

-Evacuate to the Red Planet?, she suggested.

-The Red Planet, Frankie agreed.

He took her hand again. This time, he didn't pull her. He interlaced their fingers.

-Let's get out of here, he said. Before we burn up out here.