Chapter 35: Threshold

Rick blocked a fist coming for his head then raised his knee in a defensive position in front of his chest. Rachel’s second fist hit it and she immediately jumped back to put some distance between them.

“Ow, ow, ow.” The blonde shook her hand in the air, hoping to throw the pain away.

Rick brought down his foot to the ground and relaxed his stance, considering the spar over. “Are you alright?”

His opponent was sporting a frown on her face while massaging her knuckles. “I am. Or I will be once the pain is gone. Nothing’s broken so it’s a win.”

“We should stop here.” Rick stretched and went to the edge of the mat to put on his boots.

“You won’t hear me complaining, I’m completely drained. How you can keep up with the test in the morning, dealing with the Captain in the afternoon and our sparring is beyond me.”

Rick turned his head to face her. “Godly stamina. Little reminder for you.” He added a wink to his words.

Rachel snorted. Not for the innuendo but because his face had been more blank than the walls when he did so. She’s spent the last four weeks teasing him and not a single time had Rick reacted like any teenage boy should have. Sure, he popped a few erections, here or there sometimes but his answer had always been blunts and either disinterested or offsetted by his facial expression which didn’t fit his words.

To her, Rick was the funniest roommate and companion she ever had. Even when he was quiet she found him interesting. The only issue she had with him was his lack of openness. His whole mindset was focused on his training, on the job. Anything personal was off the table.

It took her a week to realize that Rick had meant what he had said in the cafeteria on the first day. He wasn’t about to socialize with people when within weeks all but one would stay. She felt a bit miffed that he didn’t believe she’d be the one who’d get the spot. The truth, she found out later, wasn’t that he didn’t think she’d win, it was simply that he didn't care who would.

It only made her more interested in him. His daily check up during breakfast, the time he spent on learning anything and everything through the military manuals, his progress in the afternoon exercises.

He could now last five minutes easily against Captain Walker, something that only her and one other candidate could do and only with trying hard. His gun handling had been amateurish at first. It was obvious he knew what to do perfectly but didn’t have much experience in doing. Now he could do it faster than anyone with his eyes closed and only by ear.

He was the second best with a knife, right behind her and Rachel had a feeling it wouldn’t be for long.

His progress rate was phenomenal to the point she found it unnatural. Nobody should progress that fast in such a short amount of time. Nobody. Yet here was Rick, proving her wrong.

Putting her own boots on, she was glad to see Rick was waiting for her. It was a small gesture but one that meant a lot regarding their relationship. It was acceptance that maybe she was right and would get the spot. He wet his shirt a bit but not completely yet. She knew however that in a few hours, when the Major would announce the results, they'd pass an important point. Him waiting for her was just a foundation of what was to come.

Four weeks earlier, she believed in herself and Rick being chosen now she knew. Some candidates believed they had the spot, because their ‘scores’ were higher. But both she and Rick knew the truth. The criteria the Major was interested in wasn’t the usual ones one would expect for the military. The man didn’t care about their perfect aim, about their time in clearing the obstacle course or their time against Captain Walker.

What he cared about was how they did it.

Did they think outside the box? Did they do their best to neutralize the threat? Will shooting in the knee give them an advantage instead of a shot in the chest or head? Will the use of a knife be more judicious than the use of their firearm?

All candidates failed to realize that. They weren’t evaluated as soldiers. Soldiers could be trained. Instead they were evaluated as survivors and survivors weren’t trained, they were born out of the most extreme hardships or they simply died.

It was all about their rage,will to live and to keep moving forward no matter what.

As the pair left the training area to go back to their room, they came across Captain Walker. The woman told them two things. First that the results will be posted soon, second that he was to meet with Doctor Hunt immediately.

Rick exchanged a glance with Rachel then made his way to the infirmary. The woman was behind a desk, facing a screen and looking at data.

“You wanted to see me, ma’am?”

Mia nodded and finished something on her computer. Turning around on her chair, she invited Rick to sit down and picked up his medical file on the side of her workspace. She didn’t take a deep breath to prepare herself for a talk and went straight to the point instead.

“I finished assessing the ramifications of your body assimilating the viruses.”

It was good to hear to Rick. After all kinds of samples she took from him, from skin tissue to semen, she had hoped she would tell something more about his situation and condition. So far they had only been upside and he didn’t believe for a second it was possible. Nobody was that lucky.

“As expected and determined four weeks prior,” Mia started with. “You are not contagious. The viruses having been broken down, there is no way for you to infect someone with them.”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”

Mia nodded, “but you, yourself, are lethal. For whatever reason, your body considers anything foreign as a threat and attacks. This means, should you give your blood for a transfusion, it will attack the person receiving it and the results are a hundred percent fatal.”

Rick didn’t like what he heard. It sounded as if he was… He didn’t quite know. The first image that came to his mind was a piranha. “No giving blood then.”

“No.”

“What about using my blood for a cure or a weapon against bio-weapon then?”

“For the former, it’s impossible. At least for now. With years of study, perhaps we may find a way. At the very least, we may find answers on how to neutralize the viruses. All viruses.”

“All viruses?” Rick had an eyebrow arched in skepticism.

“I tested your blood with all known viruses I could get my hands on. Ebola, HIV, Cholera, Malaria and many more… All suffered the same fate. Your body is the ultimate virus destroyer.”

He shrugged. “Good for me, I suppose. Shame for the rest of the world.” It was good news. If he ever goes through another outbreak then he knows he won’t be infected.

“Next is your abilities. They are limited. No matter how hard you train you won’t be stronger or faster. Arguably, it’s not much of a problem, since you far surpass olympic level. It is possible however that in contact with another virus you might develop more. For obvious reasons, I cannot verify this. Not with blood samples only.”

‘Meaning, she’d have to inject me with the viruses to see what’s happening. Note to self be careful of injections.’

“Considerate of you, ma’am. I know a scientist who wouldn’t have hesitated a second to not use me as a guinea pig.”

“Annette Birkin.” Mia brought the name of the blonde woman who did so much shit in Raccoon City, with a hint of disgust and loathing. “I’m well aware of her experiments and methods. Brilliance but no wisdom.” She shook her head then moved on to the next topic. “Lastly, you’re sterile.”

Rick had absolutely no reaction to this. He had never thought about children. Not his own at least. He had spent years living in the streets, the abuse he had survived before that and his young age never allowed him the opportunity to think about siring children. About being a father.

The thought was asinine. The only thing he knew about being a parent was beating your child and tearing them down, which was monstrous. No, fatherhood wasn’t in the cards for someone like him and it was for the better for everyone involved.

He simply gave her a nod of acknowledgement. At least if he was used as an experiment, he won’t be used as a cum dispenser to sire a small army of super soldiers. That was a plus.

“I have yet to determine if it’s a genetic defect from birth or a result from contact with the viruses.”

Rick was amused by that. “It doesn’t matter much, ma’am. I have no intention to be a father to begin with. However, I do like to know that I don't have to wear condoms anymore.”

Mia gave him a flat look but said nothing more. Done with the presentations of her findings and results she sent him his way and went back to her computer.

Rick went back to his room in a good mood. Minus the fact he couldn’t donate his blood, he had heard only positive news. For the first time since Claire broke up with him, he didn’t feel miserable. Not as much at the very least.

Rachel noticed the difference instantly. His expression was the same but not exactly. Rick looked more relaxed, lighter. She could see it from his eyes. There was no prying from her part but her curiosity intensified. It didn’t stop her from teasing him about it.

“Did the doctor give you a good time?”

“Yeah. Probably not as good as you would have though.” He shot back without thinking.

That made her chuckle a bit. “Probably not, no. There is only one way to find out.” She purred and crawled from her position on her mattress to the edge of it. Her body moved like a cat, with grace and agility. Her back was arched and her ass was up in the air while her torso was down. It was as if she was stretching. “Too bad you’re too young.”

Rick wouldn’t take the teasing laying down. “Too bad you’re too old.”

It worked, Rachel’s expression turned murderous. “I’ll have you know, I’m 23!”

“Huh. I would have said less.” He replied non-chalantly. “Still over 18, so too old and so the law says. In five months though… I’ll let you have a ride if you’re nice.”

The deadpan tone he gave her was comedy gold in her opinion. Changing her position to sitting cross legged, she thought about his proposition. She had seen what Rick was working with, in the morning. Her roommate may have been a kid but he sure packed like a man. Once or twice she had imagined playing with his tool while taking a shower to take the edge of.

“Don’t say things you can’t take back.” Rachel warned with a grin.

“Right back at you.”

A commotion outside their room caught their attention. Taking a look, they saw the other candidates moving in a controlled hurry towards the training area. Not bothering with exchanging a single glance, the pair followed, believing, rightfully, that the results had been revealed.

On a board near the entrance, a single page was pinned. From the nasty looks they received it was obvious who was at the top and got the slots. They were proven right when they read their names in first and second position. It wasn’t much of a surprise. They had known for a while now. The surprise came from the fact that Rachel scored higher than Rick by ten points.

He knew then that she would never let him live it down knowing her personality. The closest candidate after him had a 55 points difference. It was huge. Already he could hear the stares turned into grumbles towards him. Men and women who had done far better in this or that discipline. That is, following usual military criteria.

“Wanna go back to our room to break the bed and the law as a celebration?” He joked.

For the first time, Rick smiled at Rachel. She was taken aback for a moment but realized that now that they made it, it was time for him to get to know her. Something she really looked forward to.

“You know what? Let’s do it!”

She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the training area. The tension rising hadn’t escaped her either and it was high time to leave. Not that she was afraid of the trouble brewing, not with Rick with her, but she didn’t want to be bothered by it and waste her time.

“W-what?!”

Rachel ignored his dumbfounded remark and kept walking back to their room. There would be no sex but she sure would go as far as she could to make him think there would. All for her entertainment.