Contagious (13 page)

“
I’m going in,” I said. “I think they all came out already and are hopefully dead. Or deader, in the case of the zombies.”

Padraic’s eyes were filled with wonder. He slowly nodded, though I doubted he knew what he was doing. Leave it to him to go into shock.

“
Guard the girls,” I instructed. “There’s a zombie across the street.” Jason immediately raised the rifle. “No,” I said, putting my hand on the long barrel. “It doesn’t have legs.” I watched it drag its pathetic body through the grass. “If I’m not out in ten minutes, go.”

I turned and ran. The chance of running into more zombies or crazies scared me. My muscles were alive with the fight-or-flight syndrome, and I was ready for a fight. Something moved behind me. I spun, dagger raised.

“
Argos, don’t do that!” I whispered. He was absolutely disgusting, covered with blood and thin zombie skin. He whizzed past me. I heard his paws bounding up the stairs. The Beta house was big, really big. And, currently, elaborately decorated for a Halloween party. It helped me pretend the dead humans in the hallway were merely props.

If she were here, she would be upstairs. Like Argos, I quickly ascended the stairs. The smell of death was so strong I gagged, retching up what little I had to eat that morning. My bloody hands did little to help when I covered my nose. “Hello!” I called, hoping to draw someone out—friend or foe. I couldn’t be in this hall anymore. Not with the decaying bodies and the smell. I wanted out.

Argos had disappeared again. He was a bad ass when it came to taking down enemies; he was lacking on the loyal guard dog side. Forcing myself to not give up, I went to the end of the hall. Something moved behind a closed door. Its footsteps weren’t clear. When I thought I heard dragging feet, I hightailed it out of there. It seemed closed doors were a challenge to zombies, and this one could stay in there.

Argos barked. My nerves jolted with electricity. He barked again. I took off, running past dead students, Halloween decorations and disheveled furniture. Damn this house for being so big. I was panting by the time I got to Argos. He was looking at the ceiling. My eyes flew to it and I gasped.

“
Hello?” I tried again. “Is anyone alive up there?”

“
Orissa?” a muffled voice replied. The attic stairs creaked as she pushed them down. “Oh my God, Orissa!”

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. “Raeya. You’re alive.” I couldn’t help the gooney smile that broke out across my face. I couldn’t believe it. Half of me didn’t. Maybe I had died, and this was heaven. An arm was strewn a few feet from me. No, this was no heaven.

This would be hell.

I stumbled up the stairs, throwing my arms around my best friend. “I knew you were alive,” I exclaimed.

“
I’ve been waiting for you,” she cried. “See,” she said to someone behind her. “I told you she would save us.”

We broke apart, Raeya still holding onto my hands. Two people huddle behind her; there was a boy I didn’t recognize and a blonde girl who looked vaguely familiar. Still smiling, I looked Raeya up and down, realizing that she was in costume.

“
A sexy nurse?” I teased. “How original, though I have to say the 1980’s yellow blazer puts a brand new spin on it.”

“
I was cold and it was the only jacket up here,” she retorted. “And, please, do I have to remind you of some of the cliché costumes you’ve worn?”

“
They fit my personality,” I countered. “But this, this is so not you. I bet Seth picked it out in hopes of a little role playing later on.” Then it hit me. Seth wasn’t in the attic. “Oh, God, Seth?” Raeya shook her head, tears rolling down her face. I hugged her again. “I’m so sorry, Raeya.”

She sniffled and nodded. I looked around the attic; the junk had been pushed aside and blankets had been spread out, even covering the windows as make shift curtains in an attempt to make the drafty room seem homey. That would have been Raeya’s doing. The blonde girl was dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood, her red cloak wrapped tightly around her body. The boy had on dirty overalls and a stained white shirt with what looked something that was supposed to be blood, except it was too bright red to be real. His pale makeup had been streaked across his face, making his costume indiscernible.

“
What are you supposed to be?” I asked, though it was beyond important.

“
A zombie,” he replied gravely.

I burst into laughter. “Sorry,” I muttered, trying to compose myself. “We need to go. Do you have any weapons?” Raeya grabbed a tennis racket and a can opener, holding them up proudly. “That’s it? You have nothing sharp or pointy?”

“
No,” Raeya said quietly, her shoulders sagging.

“
It’s better than nothing. It’s good, really good,” I told her reassuringly. “Let’s go.” The four of us had just made it to the stairwell when one of the cars honked. “Dumbass,” I hissed, imagining Padraic honking impatiently. “Why doesn’t he just tell all the zombies we are here?”

Turns out, he didn’t have to. They already knew.

Jason stood on top of the Range Rover, rifle pointed. He shot, hitting someone somewhere. Blood splattered in the air. Still, they marched. There had to be dozens of them.

“
Get in the car!” I yelled to Jason. I gripped the dagger, preparing myself. “Go to the cars,” I shouted to Raeya and the others. Our sprint was interrupted by a crazy and four zombies. The guy yelled, throwing his hands in the air. He ran forward, desperately wanting in the safety of a car and leaving the three of us girls to defend ourselves.

I heard the gun fire a few more times and I knew before I saw Jason swinging the gun like a baseball bat that he was out of bullets. I went for the closest zombie, eviscerating him in one quick swipe of the blade. His intestines fell out, darkened, rotting and foul smelling. The zombie kept walking, unaware that his organs were spilling with each jarring step he took.

His large intestine flopped out, hanging and swinging as he moved. It tangled around his feet. With horrified curiosity, I watched the zombie fall, tripping over his own insides. Someone screamed. A slow moving zombie advanced on Raeya. Its skin was flaking off in chunks and most of its hair was missing. It came at her opened mouthed; most of its teeth were gone. The few that remained hung limply on dangling roots.

“
This is for Seth!” she shouted and swung her tennis racket. Like a rotten tomato, the zombie’s skull popped. “Eww!” Raeya squealed, shaking her tennis racket. Bits of gooey zombie stuck to the wires. “He’s all gummy!”

Gummy, but easy to kill. I looked up just in time to see Jason slip and fall.

“
Jason!” I screamed. Another gun fired. Padraic. I couldn’t see what was going on. We needed to get to the car. The slow marching horde of zombies was getting closer every second. The crazy hissed, eyes on Raeya. Another zombie limped forward. It too was flaking apart. “Get that one!” I yelled to Raeya. She held her tennis racket out, at the ready.

“
Which one?”

“
That one!” I said, as I took on the crazy. “The gummy one!” This crazy must have been at the point of dying, or undying. Her skin was gray and she twitched uncontrollably. She grabbed my arm, nails digging into my wrist. Underestimating her strength, I yanked my arm back expecting to easily free myself. She countered, whipping me forward. My head cracked against hers. Little spots clouded my vision. I stumbled, catching one foot on the other and fell.

With her death grip around my wrist, she fell too. She growled, opened her mouth and bit me.

-Chapter 6-

It hurt like hell. I somersaulted back, breaking the connection. For my own pleasure, I kicked her hard in the ribs before sending the dagger into the nape of her neck. Raeya was beating a deteriorating zombie over the head. Chunks of its skull came up each time she raised the racket, splattering her costume with blood.

The Range Rover zoomed over, hitting a zombie on its way. Padraic was driving and Jason was in the passenger seat. He had made it.

“
Raeya, let’s go!” I shouted and looked around for Argos. “ARGOS!” I yelled. We didn’t have time to wait. Sonja threw open the back door, beckoning us in. “Argos!” I shouted again. Raeya leapt in, cramming into the back next to Sonja and Zoe. As soon as I was in, Padraic pressed the pedal down, speeding away from the zombies.

I madly looked for the dog, heart sinking when he was nowhere in sight. The street was full of zombies. We couldn’t hit them all without getting stuck. Padraic swerved onto the sidewalk, bumping over planters as we detoured around the zombies. We had driven almost a mile when Zoe yelled ‘stop!’

There he was, running like wild, chasing after us. Padraic slammed on the brakes so suddenly that Hilary almost rear ended us in the Camaro. Jason opened his door and Argos jumped in, his stumpy tail wagging. Careful not to elbow Zoe in the face, I climbed into the back. Raeya leaned out of the way to allow Argos to join me. He licked my face excitedly.

“
Good boy,” I breathed.

As the adrenaline wore off, the pain hit me. My stab wound was agonizing and I had a serious stitch in my side. Not to mention the bumps and bruises I received in the fights. Trembling with fear, I looked at my right arm. Little half moons imprinted the leather. It had stopped her teeth from sinking into my skin. This was my new favorite jacket.

We just kept driving north, speeding down the roads until there was nothing. Really, nothing except barren cornfields. No one had spoken in the time it took us to get to this desolate place. Padraic stepped off the gas and let the SUV coast to a stop. He turned it off and said,

“
Care to tell me what that was all about?”

I didn’t need to lie anymore. I rescued Raeya. I didn’t care if he hated me for the rest of my life (and the rest of my life might end today). “I-I brought you an assistant,” I said innocently. I watched Padraic’s confusion show obviously on his face.

“
I was at a costume party,” Raeya mutter through clenched teeth, pulling the ugly yellow blazer around herself. She narrowed her eyes at me before laughing.

“
What is going on?” Padraic asked, sounding angry.

“
Let’s get out and talk about this,” I suggested. Sitting on the bag of medical supplies wasn’t comfortable. I put the gun in my bag, slinging the strap over my head. I didn’t see anything, though I’d rather be safe than sorry.

“
That’s the purse I got you!” Raeya pointed as we got out of the car. I patted the leather satchel and half smiled.

“
Yeah. It came in handy after all.”

“
I knew it would! I told you, everyone needs a practical bag.”

I didn’t like the bag at first. It was bigger than anything I liked to carry. It was made out of nice leather and was expensive, so it was a waste not to use it. Plus, it reminded me of my best friend. Roomy, sturdy with a latching top, who knew this would be the perfect purse to have when the apocalypse struck?

Zoe had taken the ties out of her hood and fashioned a leash for Finickus. She tied one end around his neck and the other around her wrist. Holding him tightly, she got out of the car, walking into the street with Sonja and Jason.

“
Orissa,” Padraic began. “There never was a quarantine, was there?”

“
No,” I confessed.

“
Why did you lie?” There was pain behind his pretty eyes. I felt guilty; I shouldn’t have lied.

I grabbed Raeya’s hand. “This is my best friend, Raeya. I had to get her.”

“
Hi,” Raeya said with a smile and wave, trying to break the tension. “Nice to meet you.”

“
Yeah…you too,” Padraic muttered, taken aback by her formality. “Then why didn’t you just say so?” he asked me.

I shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d come with. It was a shot in the dark, no offense Raeya.”

“
None taken,” Raeya assured me.

“
I didn’t even know for sure she was alive. But I had to check, I just had to,” I admitted.

Padraic shook his head. “You didn’t have to lie. And about a quarantine? That was low, Orissa. We all had hope—”

“—
you had your chance!” I interrupted. “But you didn’t take it. There is no magical quarantine, Padraic. And, besides, how would I know more about a quarantine than you?
You
were the one who told me about the zombies in the first place! No one wanted us because we were too sick and too weak. They don’t want us, don’t you get it! There is no one coming! There is no place to go!”

“
That doesn’t mean you had to lie!”

“
I didn’t have a choice!”

“
Yes, you did! You could have told us, uh,
the truth
!”

“
No, ‘cuz you wouldn’t have followed me there!”

“
Wonder why? Maybe because it was a bad idea and you knew it?” he countered.

“
No, well yes, but it worked out, didn’t it? And really, did you
really
believe that I knew about a quarantine?”

Padraic dropped his voice. “Deep down, I knew it wasn’t true. B-but I wanted to believe it. I wanted to be rescued. I wanted to be safe,” he sighed wearily and then smiled. “You saved three people.”

“
Yeah. I did, I guess. And I’m sorry, alright? Really, I am. I never wanted to purposely put you in danger. I couldn’t go anywhere else without checking if she was alive.” I crossed my arms and leaned against the car, putting pressure on my wound. I winced.

“
Are you hurt?” he asked, no longer angry.

“
Not anymore than before.”

“
What about your side?” he said, going into full doctor mode. “You had surgery not all that long ago. And you-you were amazing back there.”