Yesterday's Gone: Season Three (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER)

to hear Rose whisper, “I can’t wait to wake up with you tomorrow,” each night before the cool of his pillow sent him to sleep.
    “Dr. Williams will be back in a minute,” Boricio said. “And he has something that will make you better. Do you want to be all better Rose?”
    She nodded, still holding his gaze, as her eyes filled with something Boricio dared to call hope. “Yes, I want to remember.” Rose surprised Boricio further by adding, “And I want to walk again.”
    “You will,” he promised.
    Tell her about the risks. Tell her maybe you should both wait. Give it a bit more time.
    Tell her!
    Before he could give voice to the warnings or ask her again, the door opened and Williams entered the room.
    “Are we ready?” he said.
    Boricio nodded, as did Rose one second behind him.
    Tell him no. You need more time to think about it!
    But Boricio couldn’t open his mouth. He’d forced Williams into this position. If Boricio pulled out now, Williams might tell him to fuck off and just run to Will with everything, and they’d lose what might be Rose’s only chance at a normal life. It was now or never and Boricio couldn’t let fear make the choice.
    Williams opened a small black case, then withdrew a syringe filled with an oddly colored lavender liquid, almost beautiful behind the clear glass. He ejected the last bit of air into a second glass vial, not allowing any of the serum to spill out.
    Williams rubbed a swab of alcohol across Rose’s arm, then said, “You’re going to feel a slight prick, but it shouldn’t hurt for more than a second. Is that okay?”
    Rose nodded, and Williams pressed the syringe to her arm, slowly pushing the plunger until every drop of lavender had disappeared.
    Rose squeezed Boricio’s hand during the long minutes of silence which followed, as Dr. Williams paced back and forth in front of the room, waiting for some instant reaction. Boricio wasn’t sure what would happen to signify that the serum had worked. Would she suddenly feel her legs? Would she burst into tears remembering every memory that had been sealed away? Or would the change be more subtle? If so, the Doc might be pacing a while.
    Boricio wondered how much longer silence would choke the room, and was surprised when it was Rose — the light in her eyes making a return - who finally broke it.
    “Am I supposed to be feeling something?”
    Dr. Williams said, “Just give it a few minutes, Rose. The serum has to work through your body.”
    Boricio was thrilled at the light in her eyes, the first indication since the accident that someone was home.
    “Can I turn on the TV?” she asked.
    “Sorry, Rose,” Williams shook his head, “but I want to keep our full attention on this right now. Do you understand why?”
    She nodded, but glanced over toward the remote sitting four feet from her fingers on the bedside table. Boricio said, “What does it matter if she’s watching something while we’re waiting to see what happens?”
    Before Williams could answer, a smile spread across Rose’s face.
    “My legs,” she said. “They feel tingly.”
    Boricio tore the sheet from her and let it drape off the bed. Her legs were still bandaged, both of them in casts from her knees to her feet, with only her toes showing. Rose began to wiggle her toes and laughed hysterically.
    Williams said, “What does it feel like, Rose? What’s happening right now?”
    She couldn’t stop smiling. Her face was pink and soft and starting to glow. “It feels warm everywhere inside my body, almost hot. But not quite painful. Like an itching burn.”
    “But good, right?” Boricio asked, thrilled with how much vitality Rose was speaking.
    “Oh, God, Baby, yes!” she said, her voice stronger. “I already feel a million times better!”
    Boricio’s voice was a cracked whisper of disbelief. “Baby?” he said. “Can you remember me?”
    “Yes,” she said, crying and nodding, “You were planning a special day for me, weren’t you?” With a playful smile Boricio couldn’t believe he was seeing, Rose said, “Was this what you had in mind?”
    Boricio erupted into laughter, then dropped her hand and pulled her into an embrace before he showered her with kisses. He smothered Rose’s right cheek, then turned from her to Williams and threw his arms around the doctor.
    “I love you, man,” he said. “And I’ll never forget this. I know you didn’t have to—”
    Boricio’s thank you was severed by a sudden scream from