The 50/50 Vaccine

Chapter 6

Release Day

The hour has finally come for us to be released. Thank goodness, we are all over-excited to be out of here. They dismissed us by room, and each set of two was escorted out of the block and up some stairs into a locker room. We needed to scan our IDs on the locker matching our patient number to unlock them. Inside is our belongings that we handed over at the beginning of the trials. Now, I find myself hastily changing out of the scrubs and into my regular clothes and shoes. From there Lexi and I follow another escort through a series of tunnels and stairwells before a door is opened and we are sent down what seems like an airplane gangway into a bus with blacked-out windows. The front of the bus where the driver sits is completely black out as well so we can’t see the driver and I’m assuming the driver can’t see us. Climbing into a bus through the back exit is strange, but they have their reasons. Lexi and I take a seat together and wait for the bus to get full.

“What are we doing?” I ask Lexi.

“They bring us to the bus terminal where our identities are well preserved. They have a special entrance and what not to avoid being obvious. Outside the windows look see-through, but the bus looks empty. When it leaves the parking garage it’ll appear as all the others that are parked here now. An empty bus going to pick up its passengers. It’s all-new safety protocols with the increasing protests and bad press.” Lexi explained pulling her phone out of her pocket. “We can turn these on now that we are out of the building.”

“Oh, okay,” I reply pulling my phone out and turning it on. As soon as it was powered on, it began to buzz. Emails, 20 missed calls, and 75 unread text messages. I began scrolling through them and saw that most of my miscalls and text messages were from Doug, which is a bit surprising. The first message was “I pray you make it through, and I’m sorry you felt so alone that you needed to do this.” The last message came in six days ago, which was the day after I was supposed to be released. “I’m not sure if you are just not talking to me or if you died. I miss you, Mandy, and pray everything is alright. Call me when you get this if you survived, even if it’s to say not to contact you again.”

“Everything okay?” Lexi asked looking at me carefully.

“Yes, and no,” I admit. “I wasn’t expecting him to reach out so much.”

“All that was from him?” She asked glancing over at my phone.

“Yeah, which is crazy considering how he was acting before I decided to do this.”

“Maybe he’s looking for a similar conversation…” Lexi shrugged going back to her phone.

“Yeah,” I whisper as I ponder what to say to him. Finally, I sent him a quick message. ‘We had a delay in the lease. I cannot discuss it, but know I’m okay. I’ll be by in an hour or so. We need to talk.’ I hit send and settled into my seat as the bus’s engine turned over and we began to move. When I see the familiar spot I realize the parking garage we are in is the one I spent many years driving in and out of for work. This is why they shut my office down. They bought the garage to help disguise the surviving participants.

“When we get to the bus terminal you can either grab a bus home, or I can give you a lift. I parked my car there and took a bus knowing this is the protocol and routine for exit.” Lexi informed me.

“Are you sure? The bus is totally fine for me. I don’t want to delay you,” I answer.

“None sense, us bunkies stick together. I’ll give you a lift, that way if you need help going somewhere else after your talk with your guy, I can help.” Lexi insisted. “I’ll hang out in my car and keep answering my emails and text messages.”

“I’m not even sure if he’ll be home,” I admit looking at the clock. “He usually works until 5.”

“Oh, well I can still at least give you a ride home. Also, here’s my number so we can stay in touch.” Lexi took my phone and quickly typed in her number before handing it back to me.

The rest of the ride was silent, except the sound of the engine reving every time it stopped and started again. Just as we were pulling into the secret tunnel leading to the bus terminal, my phone sounded with a notification. Doug sent me a text message, ‘Hey, I’m glad you made it through. I will not be home until late tonight, and to be honest, when I didn’t hear from you all week, I packed all your things and put them in the back of the closet. I’m sorry, Mandy. I guess you were right in your note if I’m being honest. I spent a lot of time thinking about your note. Things did just fizzle out, and I think it’s for the best if I let you live your life without me holding you back. I was just so content that I forgot to keep trying in the relationship, and we became more roommates than partners. I wish you the best.’

“Well, that isn’t what I expected,” I mutter as I turn my screen off and put the phone in my pocket. “I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Are you alright?” Lexi asked as we exited the bus.

“Well, I just got a text telling me that my assumption of the relationship being over was right and that my belongings are all packed up for me. I guess I just need to get my things.”

“Seriously? He didn’t give you a conversation?”

“To be fair I did just leave him a note and disappear for three weeks. I was kind of in the wrong and did a b***h move. I can only imagine the process he went through when I walked out. I started this, he just had to clean up the mess.” I confessed. “I’ve spent the last three weeks going over how I screwed up, but what’s done is done and all I can do is move on.”

“Wow, you are taking this so well my friend.” Lexi smiled as we walked through the bus terminal and out to the parking garage where her car was. We get on the elevator, take it to the fifth level, and get off. It takes her a moment to locate her car, but eventually, she stops at a blue Lexus sedan.

“Seriously, your name is Alexis and you drive a Lexus?” I smirked trying hard not to laugh.

“Yeah, there was just something about the comical irony that forced me to buy it. It causes quite the laugh for most people when they make the connection.” She answered unlocking the car and getting in.

I quickly followed her lead and got into the car as well. I gave her directions to the home I shared with Doug so I could go get my things and leave him my key. “If your offer to go to this community thing in Texas is still there, I think I should take you up on it. Especially now that I’m homeless.”

“We have a long drive ahead of us, but if we take turns driving, we can make it there by the end of the week,” Lexi replied. “I’m glad to have company for the trip.”

“Thanks,” I get out and head into the building. Inside, I noticed that he really did remove everything that belonged to me, or showed any signs that there was a female presence in here. I locate the four boxes containing my belongings in the back of the bedroom closet as Doug had told me, and begin removing them to the front room one box at a time. From there I brought each box out to the car and placed them in the trunk before returning to leave my key on the kitchen counter. I locked the door knob before returning to the car feeling even more empty than I did three weeks ago walking out. I started this process when I left and took a chance on a vaccine, leaving Doug to go through the process of losing me. I gave him a note telling him how I felt, but never gave him a chance to respond or talk it out with me, which is extremely out of character for me, but the stress and pressure were becoming too much and I felt like I was alone in the sea, so I chose to swim.

“All set?” Lexi asked when I got into the car.

“Yeah, that’s everything.”

“I know it sucks, but in time you’ll be alright.”

“I was a b***h leaving without talking to him,” I stated.

“Owning it is half the process.”

“I have always talked things out with him, but I just felt…”

“Everyone has moments like that. Please take it as a lesson learned, and move on from here. Please don’t keep beating yourself up over it. You made a choice, and he made his. Was it what you hoped, no, but I don’t hear you complaining about harsh feelings. This is the regret and grief process you’re feeling, it’ll work out in the end.” Lexi assured me as she began to drive toward the highway. “I’ll take the first leg until we stop for gas, then we can switch or what have you. I hope to be two states over by nightfall, but we’ll see.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll take a small nap if you're good with that. I’d feel better driving if I got a bit of sleep.” I admit.

“Rest up my friend,” Lexi smiled, turning on the radio with barely audible volume. I am rather optimistic about my future with Lexi as my new friend. We’ve survived some crazy experiences and witnessed things we can’t share with anyone else, but at least we have each other. Hopefully, she’ll be willing to talk with me about things openly now that we are out of Greenway Industries.