Friends

The question reverberated through the room, for a second killing even the sounds of breathing. Xia and Eve looked into each other's eyes without blinking, neither willing to back off. In that battle of wills and beliefs, Celina could only watch from the side and be ready to console the loser.

It was Xia who looked away first. "I can't afford to, Sister," she said bitterly. "If you say that you don't need help, then I'm done here. Lin-Lin, let's go."

Celina nodded and threw an apologetic look at Eve, before following Xia outside of the room. Only when she was left alone again, did Eve let out a breath she held in. Her hands clenched on her blankets hard enough that her knuckles turned white. There was an unpleasant feeling in her chest, as if an icy hand was holding onto her beating heart.

'Why do you need to be so stubborn, Xia?' Eve asked herself and closed her eyes. 'Why my friends need to be so… unreasonable?'

For a moment she wondered if she should've agreed with Xia, if only for her own sake, but immediately threw this thought away. There were things that affected a single person, and things that could decide fates of billions. While research Eve did on Victor belonged to the first category, the benefits she drew from it belonged to the second one. From a rational standpoint, Xia and Celina were much less valuable.

Even if it made her feel even worse, Eve knew she can't afford to choose with her heart, not when all the people dying from zombies' hands depend on her. What's more, in this situation, her heart wasn't in that either. Eve knew she was right. As unstable as Victor was, his instability was predictable, and therefore controllable. In retrospect, it was Eve herself who largely influenced his last outburst—if she'd didn't oppose him like she did and looked for another way to get Victor's agreement (talk to him again later, maybe?), it would've ended differently.

Eve wished she knew enough about psychology and social interactions to come to that conclusion when it was needed, and not a day later. She also hoped that Xia won't do anything too idiotic and that Celina will stop her if she will try. These disturbing thoughts had swarmed in Eve's head for a while longer, not letting her to return to sleep until the sky lightened, announcing the approaching sunrise.

⠀⠀⠀

The next morning, instead of eating together with everyone else at the table, Xia took her portion and went outside, and Celina soon followed. That left Eve and Victor alone on their own, which she accepted with relief. With Victor, at least, she didn't need to feel torn about anything. She didn't need to work her tongue off trying to get her point to the people who wouldn't accept it anyway, and she didn't need to care for anyone's trust in her abilities. Whatever problems she had with Victor were in the realm of cold logic and were, therefore, decidable.

On the opposite side of a small table, Victor watched Eve with unreadable eyes. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for becoming a reason for the argument between her and Xia, but he felt it won't be welcome. In that aspect, Eve was like him—both of them buried their emotional hurts in work. Victor guessed that the best he could do for her—is cooperate with her research as well as he could. Away from Eve's fear, it wasn't as unacceptable as yesterday. Compared to the turmoil in her heart, it was much better. As for his boiling hormones, he did his best to relieve them with his own hands.

"Doctor Ziffer, I think I will be able to cooperate with the tests today."

Eve threw him a sharp look. Her eyes narrowed as she studied his face, looking for signs that would convince her that this time Victor wasn't overestimating himself. He met her eyes with his own hazel ones, resolution written in the rigid lines of his eyebrows and the straightness of his spine.

"Good," she said, stabbing a piece of fried egg on her plate. 'I guess there isn't really much to do about it besides being prepared and careful.'

After finishing their food, Eve and Victor went towards their previous testing spot. There were no signs of Xia or Celina anywhere, and it made Eve frown. It felt like a calm before the storm. Eve was sure that Xia won't give up easily. It was extremely annoying, even if Xia did that for Eve's own sake. Eve didn't need that. As good as friends were to have, sometimes they didn't know where to stop.

"We are followed," Victor said out of the blue. He didn't stop walking, and there were no changes in his mannerisms. "It's Miss Qiao, on seven o'clock, in about seventy meters."

'Like now,' Eve thought, consciously suppressing the desire to look in that direction. She suddenly remembered how Xia mentioned she had been a sniper in the past, and that she still had a stolen gun with her somewhere, and it definitely had bullets. The thought made a spot between her shoulder blades itch as if there was a red laser dot on it; she couldn't imagine why Victor, of all people, was so calm.

"She only watches. I don't feel killing intent from her," he replied to her thoughts.

Eve nodded. She herself didn't notice when she not just became used to it, but even started to expect Victor to reply to her unasked questions. What originally was annoying, now almost became a norm. She didn't need to waste words with him, and could only speak when she wanted to. How long had it been since Victor came out? Three days? There, in the middle of nowhere, days blurred one into another.

"If she keeps like that, her presence is going to interfere with the testing," Eve said under her nose.

She stopped in her tracks and looked towards the direction Victor pinpointed. Eve couldn't see anything besides the trees and wilted underbrush, but she didn't doubt Victor's words. 'I don't know what Xia wants, but I know what I want, and it's to finish the testing in peace!' With that thought, Eve stomped forward. After a pause, Victor followed, keeping a dozen meters between them.

When Xia walked from behind a tree, her sudden appearance almost spooked Eve. The former soldier put on a camouflage suit—one that, Eve remembered, belonged to Celina—but it alone wouldn't have been enough to hide so well. Now, Xia was staring at Eve with a look of steel in her dark eyes and arms crossed on her chest.

"I'm surprised you've noticed me, Sister Eve. I thought I hid my presence well." Xia slightly frowned and threw a sharp glance at Victor. "Or was it Kraust?"

Eve rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Xia, why were you following us?"

"Because I care for what happens with you, Sister, isn't that obvious?"

"Xia…" Eve paused, swallowing her initial, harsher words. "It's good that you care, but you are going to interfere with my experiments. Can you keep a one kilometre distance from the testing site?"

"Not without a rifle that can shoot that far," Xia said without a pause.

Eve pursed her lips, unimpressed. Xia kept staring at her with the same eyes that exuded the stalwart determination, and Eve knew she won't be able to deter her easily.

"Xia, this wasn't a suggestion. I need you away from me and Victor during the testing. Otherwise, there's no way I will be able to help him without turning him into a vegetable!"

"So what if he becomes one? Your well-being is much more important."

"There are things that are even more important than my well-being, and the resources that Victor would give us if I help him are one of these things."

"What resources are that good, Sister?" Xia raised her brows in disbelief.

"A working laboratory, for starters."

"Why would you need that? I thought you could do that magic of yours without it."

Eve suppressed a desire to sigh at her naivety and just threw Xia an annoyed look. "I'm not a sorceress. I would've been able to work much quicker and better if I had proper equipment, not to mention assistants, and until now Victor is the only person I've met who even knows the meaning of 'scientific method'."

Xia opened her mouth to ask what it was, before closing it and puffing her cheeks. "So what?"

"Xia, go away," Eve snapped. "I don't need your help, and I don't need your care. I know what I'm doing, and if you don't believe that, then you should just stick to listening to the orders of people more knowledgeable than you are like you were trained to."

Xia pursed her lips, a flicked of pain appearing in her eyes for a moment, only to disappear as if it wasn't there in the next. "Fine. I can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves! Don't cry to me when Victor does something with you again!"

She turned and walked away, her steps quick, loud and full of anger. The same anger was burning in Eve's throat, threatening to spill in more hurtful words.

"I didn't cry to you the first time," she muttered and turned towards the man in question. "Let's go."