Minutes to Burn

She backed slowly away from the bed, refusing to lower her eyes to the baby-corpse on the floor. Justin watched her as she walked to the fireplace. She righted the chair, stood on it, and freed Ramon. His body flopped over her broad shoulders, bloodless arms dangling over her back. Justin stayed where he was. She was grateful to him for not offering to help. She carried Ramon to the bed and laid him beside his wife. Noticing the newly healed cut on his index finger, she wondered if that was the route by which the Darwin virus had entered his body. Or maybe it had reached Floreana directly. Cameron's feet felt numb beneath her legs, insensate blocks.

Her face felt hot, burning beneath the skin. She rarely became emotional, but when she did, she carried the signs clearly on her face. Blood-shot eyes, flushed cheeks, a redness along the bridge of her nose. Her mother had always said that it was her one tender trait.

Without a word, she turned and passed Justin, heading out into the twilight. After a moment, Justin followed her. He walked a few paces behind her back to the camp. Tank had started the fire up again; Cameron could see it from the road. She approached it slowly, the logs coming into view, then the soldiers.

Cameron reached the camp first. "We're killing them," she said.

Derek's head snapped up. "Excuse me?"

"Whatever's carrying this virus."

"What are you… what are you talking about?"

"It can spread to humans. Floreana gave birth to a… thing. It killed her. Ramon hanged himself. If you'd seen it." Cameron inhaled sharply, her nostrils flaring. Her mind raced with more thoughts than she could grab hold of.

Diego took a step back and sat down heavily. Derek's fingers fluttered once, then formed themselves into fists. Cameron felt Szabla's eyes on her, steady and hard.

"We need to shift our objectives," Cameron continued. "We need to contain the virus. I'm not leaving this island until we exterminate all car-riers."

"That's not the mission," Derek said. "Those aren't your orders."

"Fuck the mission," Cameron said. "Fuck my orders."

Derek set the larva aside and stood, glowering. He came at her in a charge, but Tank and Justin stepped in his way, and then Savage and Szabla were up, both of them flanking Cameron protectively. Savage swung the heavy freezer bolt casually, whistling a couple bars of a melody.

Derek squared himself, pulling back his shoulders. He seemed stretched taut under the weight of it all, ready to snap. But if he made a second charge, there would be a fight, and there were four of them and Tank, and there was no way he'd dare.

Eyes wild, Derek looked from one face to the next. His mouth hung slightly open, but no words came out.

Cameron stepped out in front of the others. "I think we got it from here, LT," she said. She sounded miserable, even to herself.

Derek rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, blinking tight around them. He started to speak, but still nothing came, and he closed his mouth dumbly. He turned to the larva, which squirmed along the top of the log. It arched upward, its true legs extending like antennae.

With trembling fingers, Derek reached down and smoothed his hands on his worn cammy shirt. One of his cheeks was twitching, just beneath the eye. He glared at Cameron for a long time. She met his gaze, unblinking.

Lowering his head, he stepped around the others and walked into his tent.

The silence seemed to fill them up, separately and together. Diego started to walk toward the larva, but Szabla took his arm at the elbow, very gently, and held him back. She shook her head.

Cameron looked at Tank, and then at Derek's tent. Tank nodded and walked over, standing guard by Derek's flap. She caught Savage's eye and something passed between them.

Savage picked up the larva roughly, swinging it by its posterior end. It squealed, a rush of air creaking through its cuticle, and tried to curl itself upward. Its wiggling shadow fell across their faces as Savage passed them, taking the spike that Cameron silently offered and heading into the dark night behind the tents.

Rex did not look over. Diego closed his eyes, lowering his head. He sat down heavily.

The air swarmed around Cameron and she felt her head go light. She refused to look behind the tents, afraid she'd see Savage with the spike cocked back over his head. Diego's eyes remained closed, his breathing heavy and irregular. Cameron thought he might be crying.

They waited, each alone with their thoughts. No one made eye contact.

Finally, Savage's figure cut from the blackness. The larva dangled beside him like a rag doll, the back of its head caved in. He looked at Cameron. Cameron thought of the virus running through the larva's body and nodded at the fire. He swung the body once, up and into the fire, where it crackled in the flames.

Savage handed Cameron the spike and sat down beside Szabla on the log.

Diego cupped his hand over his forehead, rubbing it hard. "Jesus Christ," he whispered. "You didn't even hesitate."