Chapter 4: The Choice

The Illusion of Choice. I Thought I Understood. I Was Wrong.

CW: Terminal illness, grief, family loss, emotional distress, hospital setting, pandemic trauma. This story contains mature themes and is intended for adult readers.

Welcome back to The Everly Files.

Today’s testimony returns us to 2048, where after receiving a devastating diagnosis, I am faced with an impossible choice:

---

The light filters turned on, and the beeping of my hospital monitors brought me back to reality.

Oh right, I’m dying, I thought wryly.

The smell of coffee drifted toward me from the bedside. It smelled like the real thing. Derek had brought me a thermos. Bless him. He stood at the window, shoulders hunched, staring out toward the sprawl of the Boston skyline. Morning had come again.

Derek turned when he heard me stir.

“I’m sorry for how I left yesterday,” he said, handing me the thermos. Steam rose from the lid. It smelled like heaven.

Huh, is that what heaven will smell like? Freshly brewed coffee and printed books? When was the last time I held a book? Have I even done enough to get to heaven, assuming there is such a place…

“You were upset,” I said, shaking off my thoughts. “So was I.”

“I went to see my father. He’s going to talk to some people. There’s an experimental trial for your diagnosis.”

“At ViraRx?” I asked, incredulously.

“Technically a subsidiary. But yes.”

“I don’t know, Derek…” I hesitated. “I have so little time. I want to spend it with the people I love—not hooked up to machines, clinging to the hope of more time without being able to enjoy it.”

“No, this would be different. This is a cure, Mia,” he said desperately. He took my hand in his, the other gently cupping my face. “I need more time. We need more time.” He held my hand to his chest. “Please, please trust me.”

I sighed. “Tell me about the treatment. Dr. Tran said this was incurable.”

He leapt to the smart wall and waved his hand over it. The interface lit up as his cochlear and subdermal implants synced. He pulled up a cascade of documents and diagrams. He explained that the treatment used injectable nanobots that target and reprogram damaged cells before self-deactivating and safely excreting from the body once they’ve done their work.

“Gene editing has come a long way in twenty years,” he added, almost reverent. “This is the pinnacle of a new frontier.”

He was a good salesman, but I wasn’t sold.

“What are the risks?”

He deflated like a popped balloon. “Who cares? Do you want to live or not? Don’t you want a chance to have a future with me?”

“You know I do,” I snapped, then softened. “But you’re asking me to be a test subject for something completely unproven. What if the side effects are permanent? Or it doesn’t work?”

“Then you’re dead either way,” he said flatly.

Silence fell over us. I stared at the smart wall. The words Everly Protocol flashed across. I pointed toward them. “I want Dr. Tran’s opinion on all this.”

“You can’t. She can’t know. No one can. This is proprietary and classified. I only have it because—”

“Your father works for ViraRx,” I cut him off. My thoughts splintered. I rubbed my temples, trying to hold them together.

Derek stepped closer, gripping my shoulders, locking his eyes to mine, and forcing me to look at him. “I love you, Mia. I want you to live. I want you to choose us.”

It’s not fair, I thought. That could be the title of my new theme song.

I rolled my eyes at myself.

“I need time to think…” I began, but his tenderness quickly turned into rage.

“What the hell is there to think about?” His voice sharpened. “Either you love me, or you don’t. You’d rather die than try to have a life with me? I’m trying to save you! Are you so damn self-righteous you’d rather die than take help from my father?”

“No, of course not! This has nothing to do with your father. It’s my life! My body. My choice.” My voice rose, arms crossed.

He scoffed and backed away. “I need some air.”

“Derek!” I called, but he was already gone.

I pulled my pillow over my face and screamed into it until my lungs burned.

IT’S NOT FAIR.

Tears again. Ugh, how many tears can the human body make? Am I going to shrivel up like the shrimp?

I laughed bitterly and exhaled. My body was calm again.

Derek might’ve found a way to save me —or kill me faster—or change my life beyond recognition.

I don’t know what to do.

I don’t trust ViraRx. Gallagher & Burke have several open cases against them.
But I trust Derek…don’t I?

***

Will stopped by in the afternoon. I was allowed one visitor at a time —an old 2032 pandemic policy. But I was surprised to see him. I hadn’t told anyone where to find me. As far as I knew, only Derek knew. I was still processing my diagnosis, and I didn’t know how I could possibly tell anyone else.

“Hey,” he said gently, leaning in for a hug. “How are you feeling?”

“Gotta headache. Otherwise, okay, I guess.”

“Yeah… I saw your fall. Scared the hell out of us. What’s going on?”

"I have terminal cancer." I said, matter-of-factly.

Well, I guess that’s one way to break the news.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just sat there, thoughtful. I looked down at my watch, not wanting to meet his gaze. Grammy smiled up at me from the screen, holding a much younger version of myself. Simpler times.

"How long have you known?"

"About twenty-four hours. Give or take."

He exhaled and dropped his face into his hands, elbows on his knees. “God.”

“Yeah,” I said, voice cracking. Sadness blindsided me.

He took my hand. “How long do you have?”

“Months, if I’m lucky. Probably weeks. I’ve never had a lot of luck.” A lump in my throat appeared. I squeezed his hand reflexively.

Damn. I really don’t want to cry again.

His eyes welled too. “Do you remember me telling you about my brother? He died when we were kids.”

“He had leukemia, right?”

“Yeah. I used to get angry thinking about it. It felt so unfair. You know, most kids survived, even back then. So why him? And the worst part is that with today’s tech—gene therapy, organ printing—he’d be alive. He deserved the chance to show the world who he was. And I honestly could not think of anyone more deserving of more time than him... until I met you, Mia…” His voice faltered. “You have so much to offer this world. You’re just getting started. It’s so damn unfair.”

Awe, he knows my song.

He embraced me in an awkward hug, heads touching, as we cried together.

Eventually, Riley knocked softly as she entered to restock supplies. We had composed ourselves with the aid of several tissues, but her eyes lingered on our puffy, red, faces. She gave a small, sympathetic smile and left without a word.

"Have you told your parents?" Will asked after she left.

"No," I replied quietly, "I don't know how. Not after Sophie..."

He knew the story. My little sister, Sophie, had died in 2032 during the Avian flu outbreak. Everyone lost someone back then. We lost our grandparents right before her.

I was heartbroken, though it was oddly comforting to imagine Grammy looking after her now.

Sophie was only two years younger than me. My best friend. We always made up games together. I always wanted to be the hero, and of course she always had to be a princess, waiting for me to save her.

I was furious with myself for not saving her on that day. I wasn’t even allowed to say goodbye when the quarantine bus came. The Sanitary Threat Inspectors came in hazmat suits, hauling away the symptomatic. The sick were too weak to resist. Each house marked for quarantine was sprayed with red paint as a warning sign to neighbors.

My dad held me back as I kicked and screamed, “DON’T TAKE HER!” while they carried her limp, pale body to the door. My older brother, Leo, had also tried to resist them. I still remember the way he writhed on the floor after they shocked him. It must have been a low voltage, but enough to incapacitate. Mama was in hysterics beside him, cradling his head as he seized.

I managed to break free by elbowing my dad in the face. I still remember the shock in his eyes as blood gushed from his nose. I ran to Sophie, weaving through the officers just as they reached the door. I raised one hand in surrender and held her teddy bear in the other—the one she always slept with. I couldn’t let her go alone.

One of the officers took the bear and tucked it under Sophie’s arm.

And then she was gone.

Her ashes came back in a plain metal canister.

“I still see my mom’s face from that funeral,” I murmured. Her heart was shattered, and she never fully recovered. “And now…”

I shuddered, picturing Mama’s face, sorrow etched so deep it sat permanently in her brow lines.

“They need to know,” Will said. “If you had five more minutes with Sophie, wouldn’t you take them? Your parents deserve every minute they can get with you.”

I nodded. “You’re right.” My voice was barely audible.

And I knew there was a way to give them more time. Derek’s voice echoed in my head. This is a cure, Mia. Was I being selfish if I didn’t choose the treatment?

Will stood up and kissed my forehead before he left. We didn’t say goodbye. We couldn’t. He had unknowingly left me more conflicted than ever.

Lina had been waiting to see me too and slipped in as soon as Will left.

“I saw Will leaving,” she said, lifting a brow. “I was wondering why I had to wait so long. Derek said you were free.”

“Sorry.” I rolled my eyes at her.

“No worries. Girl, the waiting room here? So magna! Private pods, snacks, full VR. I was livin’. I must’ve played On the Farm for an hour.” She smiled wide.

“I’m glad,” I forced a half smile, but she saw through it.

“No, really, I was only teasing about Will. And I know you’ve had a rough couple of days. But they’ll discharge you soon. You’ll be back at GBLS fighting for humanity before you know it!” She shrugged, optimistic.

Except I wouldn’t be.

“Lina…” Words failed me again. My face distorted into dry sobs. My chest bobbing up and down silently. Shrill sounds escaped me while I gasped for air.

“Oh…” Lina’s eyes widened, and she climbed into the bed and wrapped her arms around me. “I get it. You’re not gonna be okay, are you?”

“Nooo,” I wailed. She just held me.

“I got you,” she whispered over and over. For the first time in days, I felt safe.

When I could breathe again, I laid it all out like a case brief, except the classified parts, and she pieced together the rest.

“Look, I can’t tell you what to do,” Lina said, once I finished. “This is an impossible choice. But I want you to finish this sentence, and don’t think—just say it. I want to…”

“Fight.” I said without hesitation.

She smiled, “Exactly. Mia, we’ve known each other what, eight years? I know you’re scared, but I’ve never seen you back down from something that mattered. Remember the Aquaryon acquisition protest? They came at us with volt sticks, and you stood your ground. Said they’d start arresting people, and you didn’t flinch. You knew what was right and you didn’t budge. So, whatever you decide now, I’ll support you. I trust you to make the choice that’s right for you.”

---

Lina’s voice still echoes in my memory as Daniel stands abruptly.

“Just to clarify for the court,” Daniel interrupts, “you volunteered for this generous, life-saving treatment that only ViraRx could provide after receiving that devastating diagnosis?”

“I chose to accept the experimental treatment,” I reply sharply. “But I didn’t choose to be treated as an experiment.”

“And what does that mean exactly?” Faith redirects. “Was there a cost, Everly?”

“A price I could never have anticipated.”

“Please, continue.”

---

Disclaimer: The Everly Files is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, organizations, or events is purely coincidental.

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Thank you for being here. The trial continues.

— Everly Stevens