The Becoming: Ground Zero (6 page)

“Go out after who?” a voice asked.

Gray and the others turned as one. A slim brunette woman stood in the doorway leading to the kitchen. She was covered in blood and dirt and grime and who knew what else; she clutched a handgun in one hand and a long machete-like weapon in the other. Her dark hair was in disarray, pulled mostly free from a ponytail and tangled down her back. Her face was pale and sweaty, and the left sleeve of her jacket was ripped nearly free at the shoulder. She still panted from the exertion of getting to the house.

“Jesus Christ,” Gray breathed as he took in the sight.

It was, unexpectedly and impossibly, Remy Angellette.

Ethan reached Remy in four large steps, stopping short of pulling the woman into his arms. “Fuck, are you okay?” he gasped out. His hands were out to grab her, but Ethan didn’t dare. Remy was dirty, reeked of smoke and gas, and had been stained with potentially infected blood. No one in the group had managed to establish how long the infection could survive outside the body. As a precaution, they treated all blood as if it were infectious. It wasn’t yet safe to touch Remy. Ethan’s fingers curled, and he withdrew his hands, tucking them into his pockets before he did something stupid.

Remy’s knees tried to give out on her, and she dropped her weapons with a clatter, slumping against the kitchen doorframe. It was obvious she was exhausted. Ethan could imagine the adrenaline that pumped through Remy’s veins quickly leaving her. He glanced at the handgun and the long, bloodied knife on the floor at her feet and frowned. All he wanted was to get her cleaned up and into her bedroom, where she could relax and rest after her trying ordeal out on the streets.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay,” Remy answered dismissively. She waved her hand absently in Ethan’s direction, and his forehead scrunched in concern and no small amount of annoyance. It was an odd mixture of emotion to have, but for the second time that day, he’d been flatly dismissed. It was all he could do to not lose his temper.

Ethan hesitated again. He still wasn’t sure what to do. When it came to Remy, any confidence and certainty he had flew out the window. Ethan had never seen Remy look so exhausted. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Ethan persisted.

Remy ignored his question. A clatter of hurried footsteps came down the stairs, and Remy’s brown eyes cut to the staircase. Ethan followed her gaze and saw everyone staring at them. Gray was white as a sheet; he looked as if he’d seen a ghost. Brandt was gathering towels from one of the bags under the dining table. Cade and Theo appeared behind Nikola and Avi, and they both pushed past and went straight to Remy. Theo paused at one of the first aid bags and tossed Cade a pair of latex gloves before he donned a pair himself. Ethan put his hands out for Theo to throw him a pair, but Theo didn’t see his gesture, much to Ethan’s disappointment.

“God, Remy, you’re still in one piece?” Cade asked jokingly. Ethan rolled his eyes at Cade’s wise-ass remark. Cade slipped her gloves on and pulled the younger woman away from the doorway. Remy obediently held out her arms, and Cade stripped Remy’s soiled jacket off, shoving the damaged clothing into a plastic trash bag Theo held out.

Remy ignored Cade’s question, giving equal treatment to Theo as he checked her for injuries. Oddly, Ethan was relieved at her reaction; at least she wasn’t being dismissive solely to him. Remy nodded her head in Avi’s direction. “Who is that?” she asked as Cade and Theo continued to manhandle her.

“Avi Geller,” Ethan spoke up. He hovered nearby, watching Theo and Cade’s every move. As Theo examined Remy, Ethan breathed out a slow sigh of relief. Remy didn’t appear to be seriously injured—a miracle in itself. “We’ll discuss that later, okay? Right now, you need to get cleaned up, and you need food and rest. You’ve probably been on your ankle
way
too long—”

“No,” Remy contradicted. “I’m fine.” She studied Avi for a long moment, her eyes narrowing slightly. Ethan followed Remy’s gaze to the blond woman who stood on the bottom step. He wondered what was on Remy’s mind as the skinny visitor returned their looks. Ethan knew what was on
his
mind, and it was all less than flattering. “She wants something,” Remy finally said. “More than just shelter or food like the last person who found us.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow and looked at Remy. The woman hadn’t moved her eyes from Avi. The young woman’s perception was admittedly impressive. Ethan had known Remy Angellette for just under a year, and in that time, he’d often wondered if Remy was psychic or telepathic or one of the other -ics that people always used to talk about. Remy always seemed to know what someone else thought or felt without having to be prompted. Ethan was sure Remy was a master at reading body language and expression, a skill he often wished he had. She was as sharp as a razor blade, and it never failed to drive him crazy. Just trying to figure the woman out was an adventure in and of itself.

“Yes, I do,” Avi confirmed. Ethan didn’t take his eyes off of Remy, watching her reaction. She accepted a towel from Brandt and began to dab the dirt and blood off her face absently. She didn’t respond to Avi’s words whatsoever. “I need help.”

Avi’s words sparked something in Ethan’s chest. He gritted his teeth. He needed to take control of this situation.
He
was the one in charge here, not Avi. The last thing he needed was some random woman throwing the entire group, the group he’d fought to mesh into a strong cohesive unit, into disarray.

“She wants us to take her into Atlanta,” Ethan interrupted.

The silence was palpable. Ethan could feel it sitting on his skin, making him itch. Theo shifted uncomfortably. Gray and Cade looked impassive. Brandt clenched his fists at his sides, his jaw tight with suppressed emotion. Ethan wondered what they were thinking. He would have bet that Remy knew. If only she would look somewhere other than at Avi.

“Why?” Remy asked.

Cade stayed silent, opening a bottle of water with a sharp crack. Ethan startled at the sound and shot her a dirty look, but she ignored it, wetting the end of Remy’s towel and handing it to the woman. Ethan had to give the Israeli woman credit; she could have spoken up and said something right then or at any point prior to that. But she’d obviously decided to allow Avi to explain her reasons herself. The ability to keep her mouth shut was admirable, and Ethan wished it were a quality everyone in the group possessed.

“I believe there’s more to the story than what we’ve been told,” Avi explained. “I think the government is covering up something about this virus, and I think the answer to what that something happens to be is in Atlanta.”

Ethan rolled his eyes again, doubt seeping into his brain. He still couldn’t believe this woman had the
nerve
to suggest something so risky. And he couldn’t believe he was even allowing her to present the asinine idea to the rest of the group.

“Atlanta is pretty …” Theo trailed off. Ethan looked at the other man and frowned. Theo studied a cut on Remy’s forearm attentively, dabbing at it with a square of clean gauze. He didn’t look up as he added, “Atlanta isn’t a city we go into. Georgia isn’t even a
state
we go into.”

“I know,” Avi said. She leaned against the staircase railing and crossed her arms. “I’ve been informed of that already.” Her eyes lit on Ethan; he stared back at her unblinking, challenging. “I think it needs to be done, but I can’t do it alone. And I thought maybe we could be of some good to people who are still trapped inside the city.”

Brandt hovered behind Cade, trying to help clean Remy up. He looked up at Avi’s words and shook his head. “No. No, no,
no
. You have
no
idea,” Brandt said, his voice quiet but hard. He fell silent and turned his back to Avi.

Ethan was glad he had an ally in Brandt. He really should have expected that, though; he knew that Brandt would have some problems with the very idea of going into Atlanta and would offer a straightforward refusal. Brandt was the only one who had experienced the city on a personal level. Needless to say, Brandt did exactly what Ethan thought he would do.

“But don’t you want to help people?” Avi asked. Desperation edged into her words, and Ethan barely fought back the smirk threatening to spread across his lips. Desperation meant she was losing her argument and knew it. “Even if just by getting me into the city and helping me get what I need?”

“Where exactly in Atlanta do you want to go?” Nikola spoke up.

“She wants to go to the CDC,” Remy said thoughtfully. “Don’t you?”

Avi nodded slowly. “Yes. You’re right. I need to get into the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and get whatever information I can find about the Michaluk Virus. They studied the virus there, and I want to know everything
they
knew. Everything about where it came from, how it got out, and if they ever began development on a cure.”

“There is no cure!” Ethan snapped before he could stop himself. He stepped closer to Avi and snarled, “How can there be a cure? You can’t even make a vaccine from the virus, because it will only change you into one of those
things!
” Ethan jabbed his hand at the front door emphatically. “If there was a cure—” Ethan broke off and turned away, emotion welling up in his throat. To his utter disgust, he realized he was shaking slightly, and he drew in a slow, deep breath in a poor attempt to steady his nerves. Remy’s hand rested gently on his forearm, squeezing it reassuringly. The gesture didn’t do much for his mood, but he was grateful for it.

“I know that,” Avi said, moving her eyes away from Ethan. Ethan clenched his jaw. He’d been dismissed. Again. “But all we
really
know is what the government deigned to tell us at the time. I know for sure the story was embargoed for the media. There’s no way to know if what they told us was the truth, the
whole
truth, unless we go in and find out for ourselves.”

Avi Geller was all pretty words, but Ethan knew, he just
knew
that she didn’t understand how horrible it actually was out there. This was a woman who didn’t live in reality, who had obviously not faced up to the fact that what remained of humanity was now at war. She was deluded on a massive level. The thought that she’d managed to survive despite being so ignorant of the circumstances in which they lived astounded Ethan.

Ethan looked at Remy again. To his shock, she nodded slowly, as if she agreed with Avi. Ethan gritted his teeth and jerked his arm from her grip. He glared at her, eyes narrowed. “Remy,” he hissed. Anger flooded into his veins. He couldn’t
believe
this.

“No, Ethan, she’s right,” Remy said. She started to unbutton her bloodied shirt, stripping down to the white tank top underneath, revealing her tattooed olive-toned shoulders. The dragon wrapped around her left bicep contrasted sharply with her complexion. Ethan averted his eyes. “People need to know,” Remy continued. She stuffed the shirt into the trash bag. “They
deserve
to know what happened.”

Ethan turned on Remy and took a step closer to her. He was aware that his anger was making him irrational, but the knowledge didn’t stop him from leaning into Remy’s face. “Not at the expense of our fucking lives!” he barked.

“I’m with Ethan on this,” Theo announced. He stripped off his gloves, careful not to touch the outsides of them with his bare skin, and dropped them into the trash bag. Ethan spared Theo a grateful look, but Theo didn’t notice; instead, he turned away to retrieve a fresh, clean pair of jeans for Remy. The young woman ducked into the kitchen with the jeans and closed the door between them.

With Remy gone, Ethan shifted his eyes to Gray and Nikola as he schooled his features into a neutral expression. The teenage girl still hovered on the stairs, watching them all warily. Gray stood at the bottom, a few steps away from Avi. “What about you two?” Ethan asked, watching them both attentively. He tried to read the decisions in their eyes like Remy always did. It was a frustrating practice, and while Remy had it to an art form, Ethan never managed to succeed at it.

“I’m not … I don’t know,” Nikola said, her voice trembling. Her eyes swung like a pendulum back and forth between Ethan and Avi, visibly bewildered.

“Gray?” Ethan asked pointedly. His eyes darted to Gray’s face, watching the younger man for his response and sizing him up. Ethan was certain that Gray would intentionally oppose him. He always did, regardless of the topic.

“I’m with Remy,” Gray announced.

“Figures,” Ethan muttered in disgust. Gray made a face and crossed his arms over his chest in a manner that struck Ethan as stubborn, especially as he refused to look anywhere remotely near Ethan’s direction.

“She’s right,” Gray added. “People need to know.”

Ethan shook his head, grimacing as he ran his hand through his hair, tugging at the strands in frustration. He couldn’t believe how easily everything had slipped through his fingers. Ethan caught Cade’s eyes, and she looked at him questioningly, prompting him for a decision. Ethan turned away from the Israeli woman and shook his head again, putting his back to all of them and trying to decide what to do. He didn’t want this. He wasn’t willing to put any of them at risk, not even Gray, as much as he disliked the younger man. The potential results weren’t worth it.