Whimper (2 page)

To my surprise, I spotted a guy slumped on one of the black wrought iron benches lined up in front of the bar. Stupid drunks. There must have been one hell of a party
somewhere
last night. That might explain why it had been a slow night at Firebrand. I tapped on the glass, trying to get his attention. He twitched a little, but didn’t turn to look at me. I could go out and deal with him myself, but I was kind of irked that campus police hadn’t already rousted him. I’d end up having to make a bunch of phone calls to find someone who could come pick him up and I had so much to get done already. As I was debating what to do, the guy lurched up off the bench and on to his unsteady feet. He shambled up to the door, while I took an involuntary step backwards. I was used to drunks, sure, but this guy looked
off
. THUMP. Drunk guy smashed his forehead right into the glass, bounced off and started to stagger back for more.

“Right.” Whipping out my cell, I dialed 911. No way was I dealing with this level of drunk on my own. The campus police station is really close to the bar, so I knew they would have a squad car there in moments. I still ducked away from the glass door and snagged the baseball bat I kept stashed behind the bar, just in case. I could hear him outside, slamming into things and screaming out unintelligible, guttural noises. When the police cars finally screeched to a stop out front, I risked approaching the door again, my curiosity overwhelming my fear. It took two campus officers and two city officers to tackle the guy and finally wrestle him into handcuffs. He kept fighting, even after he was handcuffed. I stayed planted at the front door for the entire fight, completely amazed. The kid was my age and kind of scrawny too, but he barely seemed human he was so out of it. Maybe he’d been smoking spice or bath salts? His rage and strength were unreal.

After they hauled him away, I ventured out to talk to one of the campus officers for a few minutes. Josh, one of the officers who usually works nights, would occasionally escort me to make my bank deposit when I didn’t want to walk around with a wad of cash on my own.

“It’s the weirdest thing, Zoe. This is the fourth kid in as many days who has been completely mental. They must be using something new. You seen anything in the bar?” he asked, wiping the sweat from his face.

I knew he wasn’t accusing me of anything, but I still got a little defensive. We made sure that we kept a solid, respectable joint. “You know that if I had seen or heard anything like that, I’d have told one of you guys.”

“Well, just keep an eye out. Maybe have one of us walk you home at closing too. I’d hate to think what one of these guys could do to somebody if they took them by surprise. They’re crazy bastards.”

I thanked Josh for the warning, and forced myself to get busy cleaning. Even with all the morning’s drama, I still had a ton to accomplish. Turning on the garden hose, I started washing down the sidewalk outside. There were several nasty blood smears on my sidewalk and bench, presumably left behind by Crazy Guy. Visible body fluid spills are never going to go over well during a health inspection. As I cleaned, I noticed a guy sitting on one of the benches outside Friendly’s, the sports bar across the street. My neck started to prickle. Once I knew he was there, I couldn’t seem to ignore him. He didn’t look drunk or crazy, but he
was
staring, like
really
staring. He wasn’t bad looking at least. A little pale maybe, but I’m not into guys who do the whole “fake bake” tanning routine anyway. With his cargo shorts, rumpled gray t-shirt, wire rim glasses, and tousled dark blond hair, he seemed like someone I could sit next to in class and barely notice. Despite that, there was something about him that I liked, even from a distance. I caught myself staring back, a smile playing at the corners of my mouth. I considered turning the hose on him, if only to see what his reaction would be. Knowing my luck, he’d end up being from the health department. I turned to inspect my front door, debating whether I needed to polish the brass handles again. When I peeked back over my shoulder to see if my new stalker was still checking me out, he’d disappeared. Well, crap. It would have been nice to forget about the violence of the morning with a little flirtation. I tamped down the vague sense of disappointment I felt shiver through me and went back to my cleaning.

My pulse hammered away in my temples, each throbbing beat reminding me it was a very bad sign. I fumbled in my pocket, pulled out my inhaler, and sucked in a lungful of the cooling mist. Today’s heat could become a problem. I eyed the device strapped to my wrist and sighed uneasily. My core temp was already climbing and it was only early morning. If my internal temperature reached 98 degrees, the virus would be able to replicate too quickly for my body to fight off. Of course, if my temp dropped below 95 degrees then I’d slip into hypothermia. My body temperature was simply one of the symptoms I had to monitor constantly now, even with my meds. I’d developed a special antipyretic blend of drugs which helped stabilize and lower my temperature, but I still had to be very careful. I concentrated on slowing my breathing and feeling the inhaled medication feed into my bloodstream.

Then, I spotted her step out of the bar and start speaking with one of the uniformed officers still at the scene of the latest “disturbance.” Her dark chestnut hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a gray tank top doing very little to conceal the curves of her neck and chest as she leaned closer to the young officer, listening intently. Whatever he’d said had both irritated and concerned her. She had one of those faces that was easy to read, conveying every emotion. She was quite possibly the most appealing creature I’d ever seen. The officer patted her on the shoulder in an affectionate but not unprofessional gesture. She started to unroll a garden hose, totally focused on cleaning up the mess left behind by the brawl. My breath caught, I almost darted across the street to stop her. She was going to come into contact with the blood if she wasn’t careful! I froze, trying to decide what to do, when she looked up and met my gaze.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
I was staring, I knew I was. I also knew Brianna was waiting for me in the alley, gesturing for me to hurry up with increasing impatience, but I was rooted to my spot on the bench until the girl from the bar looked away.

“Damn it!” I whispered, willing my pulse to slow back down as I quickly moved across the street and into the bushes by the alley. I’d only come here because I’d overheard the police scanner traffic about an out of control male who seemed to be under the influence of an unknown substance. I had suspected that he might be infected, and as I’d watched them haul him away, I was fairly certain that I was right. If so, it would be the fifth case I’d been able to identify in two days. My sister, Brianna, had been right to suggest we come to this campus after all. I hadn’t been sure when the first two deaths made the news. After all, they could have been anything. Kids die on college campuses; they’re dangerous for so many reasons.

I paused, still unable to tear my eyes away from the girl. “Brianna, he’s observationally confirmed, but I couldn’t risk getting close enough for a sample.”

She walked over to where I was loitering, “What’s up? You have a funny look on your face.”

“I think my temp is spiking. Can you go get the ice ready? I’ll be there shortly.” I was avoiding answering the question, hoping she’d be worried enough that she’d rush ahead without me. That would give me a few minutes alone to think.

“Nice try. I’m not going anywhere without you, big brother. So, get moving.”

“Okay, yeah. Give me just a minute here,” I answered vaguely, inching closer into the bushes so that I could get a better view of the front of the bar.

Fight or flight.
That
was what my neurological functions are supposed to be shrinking down to. While what I was feeling was pretty closely linked to basic human functioning, I couldn’t blame it on the virus. In every other case I’d studied, lust and attraction were practically non-existent once the virus took hold. But I was feeling something covetous alright.
She
glanced around the street, looking a little nervous. Either she could feel me watching her, or she was still tense from the fight that had taken place right outside her place of business. When she’d caught me staring earlier and actually smiled back, I’d almost crossed the street to strike up a conversation. Six months ago, before infection, the old me would have climbed over barbed wire for a chance to talk to that girl. But flirting with pretty girls had to take a back seat to my mission now. Beautiful bar girl rolled the garden hose back up into its container and locked the top, then gathered up the rest of her cleaning supplies. My heart lurched when she went back inside, and I had to stop myself from following after her.

“Elliott Carter, are you seriously standing there staring at a girl from the bushes like a serial killer?” Brianna snickered from behind me, snooping when I hadn’t explained myself to her satisfaction.

“Something like that. Anyway. Come on, Twerp. Let’s get back. We’ve got stuff to work on.” The sun was burning away the remaining wisps of early morning fog, and bringing the air temperature up as well. I needed to get back to the hotel room, get out of the heat and work on serum production.

When the girl was out of sight it was easier to turn and walk away, but I couldn’t get her out of my head. By the time we made it back to the hotel, I’d decided that Brianna and I would pay a visit to The Firebrand once the sun went down. Sure, she probably wouldn’t still be working. That would be best anyway, but maybe I could satisfy my curiosity by finding out her name. I’d really like to know her name.

I sighed with relief as the chilled air filling the hotel room poured out over us when we opened the door. Behind me, Brianna did the same. She pushed past me, pulling out a digital thermometer and scanning my forehead.

“97.6 degrees. Haul your infected ass to the bathtub, Elliott. I’ll get the ice.”

“We should probably do a round of injections too, just in case,” I said as I sat heavily on the edge of the bed. I dug in the mini fridge for my bottles and syringes, feeling my pulse pound in my ears as I bent over. I could slow down my metabolism for a while, long enough to let my body rest and get a bit of energy back. The ice would help lower my core temp and keep my brain from being affected by the virus. It would only hurt like a son of a bitch.

Gritting my teeth, I found a vein in my forearm and jammed the needle home. The liquid scorched through my arm and up into my chest. Burning, tearing, it felt like I was being ripped to pieces. Agonizing fire spread through my limbs and blazed into my core. Brianna grabbed the syringe out of my hand and helped me to my feet, supporting my weight as I stumbled for the tub.

I practically fell into the bathtub, smacking my head against the smooth tiles before plunging down into the ice. The ice water was bliss, cooling the effects of the medication that made me feel as if I was boiling, roasting from the inside out. Brianna poured more ice on top of me, my flesh shivering despite the fact that I couldn’t feel the cold. Darkness closed all around me, and only Brianna saved me from drowning in a tub of ice water as I lost consciousness and slipped below the surface.

A torrent of air gushed into my lungs as I gulped in oxygen greedily. Hovering near the brink of death shouldn’t be beneficial for anyone. I’m sure that it’s taking a toll on my body in many ways, not to mention my psyche. But, I was living on borrowed time anyway and this was the best method I’d come up with to keep the virus from advancing. If I lost my mind then I couldn’t fight the disease, couldn’t fix the problem I’d helped create.

“How are you?” Brianna asked quietly from the doorway. She’d removed my soaking clothes, drained most of the ice, and covered me with a thin blanket while I was unconscious. I’d be dead so many times over if it wasn’t for Brianna. It was unfair, putting her through so much. She should be in grad school herself, finishing her degree and having a good time. I never should have put her in this position.

“I’m okay, I think. Thanks, Bri. How long was I out?” I shifted, shivering, and covered myself with the blanket as I shakily rose from the tub. She rushed forward to help me, but I waved her away.

“It’s seven at night. You’ve been out for nearly twelve hours. I was about to give you an epinephrine injection to try to bring you out of it. Your breathing was really shallow this time.” Brianna’s voice cracked, tears welling in her eyes.

“Hey, we’re almost there. I only need a few more samples. I know there’s a cure for this. I’m going to find it. You were right to bring us here, and this time we’re ahead of them.” I forced as much optimism into my voice as I could, for Brianna’s sake.

“But will
you
make it? You have all these noble reasons for fighting this virus, but I’m only here because of you. You’re the only family I have left. I can’t lose you too.”

I pulled her over and gave her a hug, clammy skin forgotten. “Hey, let’s go do something fun tonight, okay?” I felt a little guilty about having a hidden agenda, but knew Bri would enjoy going out tonight too.