Pogo had been in his cage for an hour now. Somehow he had survived the consumption of infected meat. Judging by Edwardo's other patient, it didn't take that long for the infection to take hold. That either meant eating the infected doesn't spread it, or the much more likely option. Cats are immune.

Edwardo let Pogo out. His neighbor was making him nervous, and big cats shouldn't be nervous. The rust colored eyes peered at them from the other cage, claws swiped at the cat making him jump back before running to Edwardo's side.

They eyed the blood soaked patient together. Edwardo was curious if what he had done would matter, Pogo was just glad he hadn't turned.

If it was a matter of DNA then there wasn't much Edwardo could do, but if he had drawn out enough plasma with the blood, then maybe the injection could strengthen Jessica.

Maybe it would prove to be a viable cure. Straight away, as soon as the apocalypse kicked off Edwardo Steven Garcia may have lucked into a cure. The thought baffled him. It couldn't be true, but if so then a good thing is a good thing.

Edwardo waited. He waited for a long time after the infusion of jaguar blood, but it just wasn't enough. Jessica was snarling and drooling blood from her busted lip. Her pale skin was still torn and bruised from her scuffle with the zombie daredevil and having his motorcycle dropped on her. She was dead, and the only proper thing to do was let her body rest.

He pressed the barrel of his gun to her head, and she let out a long, broken-voiced groan, "e-e-edwaaardo."

His finger slipped from the trigger. Had she just said his name? She was still very dead. If not... then, she would feel no solstice in enduring her plague. If anything, she might wish for death. Had he created a monster?

"Scarlett?" Of course he only knew Jessica's stage name from being Richie's second, she only knew his from seeing the show as well. They had talked a time or two on the road, but she had stuck mainly to her trailer and small group of friends. He had kept to his trailer and the animals that were his friends. Still, they were a part of something bigger. Carnies through and through. And carnies stuck together, dead or alive.

Edwardo slowly inched his hand between the cage bars. Several moments she twitched and snapped as if to bite him, but she fought the urge. He came to a stop on her heart searching for a pulse.

She was cold to the touch and her heart beat only once for all of the minutes he stood there looking into her rust colored eyes.