Contagion: The Rising (7 page)

“That’s
what they want you to think so you can be “saved”, when they end up robbing and
killing you. Great plan,” Trevor salivated with rage. “I can’t wait to see what
they’ve got in there.” Trevor searched for a way down to the outpost and found
a slight drop from the edge of the forest to the valley floor. “Come on.”

Chloe
groaned again and picked herself up, “what did I do to deserve this?” By the
time she reached the edge, Trevor was already half way to the outpost. A Riser
suddenly came out of the entrance of the makeshift camp. She froze mid step as
she watched Trevor approach it calmly. It stood still as it sniffed at him,
most Risers didn’t have expressions but the look of confusion on the Riser’s
face was nearly impossible to miss. Chloe made a step toward them and the Riser
quickly switched to aggression.

“I
really understand, but you can’t eat her,” Trevor coaxed the Riser as it stared
at him, almost mesmerized. “I think it likes me.”

“Wonderful,”
she said as the Riser snarled at her.

“Careful,
I don’t think he likes sarcasm.” Trevor turned to her, “Say you’re sorry.”

Chloe
stood in shock, “What?”

“Say
that you’re sorry.”

“To
that thing?”

Trevor
grimaced, “don’t call it a thing!” His anger seeped out and he quickly ruptured
a vessel in his right eye. “Shit, just say it!”

“Sorry,”
she held her hands up and didn’t move.

He
wiped his eye as it started to bleed, “Thank you.” He turned to the Riser, “She
said she was sorry.”

The
Riser looked at Chloe and carried on with walking away from them. She waited
until the Riser was out of eyesight and heavily breathed. She nearly fainted
and vomited at the same time.

Trevor
smiled at her, “See? All they want is respect.”

“So,
what are our next steps?” Mark sat down near Sarah as Tony and Kayla worked in
the nearby kitchen. “Are there any?”

Tony
crossed his arms after flipping the leftover food on the pan. “I believe Paul
is still operating the outpost in Canada. The last I heard was that he’s
working on more solar powered generators and getting more food.”

“That’s
one option,” Kayla added.

Sarah
sighed, “We had planned to go to the coastline. I think we can still go but we
have to see how Emma is recovering.”

“I’m
doing fine,” Emma walked in and sat near Mark and Sarah. She winced as she
attempted to relax in the sitting position. “I don’t think the coastline is
going to be a good idea after all though. At least for me.”

Sarah
looked at Emma, “Well, we won’t go.”

Tony
uncrossed his arms and pulled the pan from the flame, “We can do a recon
mission to the coast and make sure it’s feasible to go?”

They
looked back and Emma answered, “Yeah, you can check it out. It might be doable
for you guys, but I won’t be mobile for a while. I might stay here and pull my
weight, so I can try to pay Tony and Kayla back.”

Mark
played with his food as he listened, “Maybe you can still come with us, since
we have the truck.”

“Yeah,
we can pull your ass along, like we usually do,” Sarah laughed.

Rory
sat near Emma, “Who else is going to keep us in line?”

“I
can’t even do that now, you guys are horrible.” She shook her head as Sarah
passed along her plate of extra bananas. “Now, if you bribe me with food, I
might think about going.”

They
continued to laugh as Jeremiah walked in. Emma’s hand locked up and caused her
to drop the plate of bananas. “Shit,” she scrambled to pick up the plate.

“Nice,”
Rory smiled at Emma who glared at him.

Sarah
threw an apple slice at Rory, “Shut up, you!” He laughed as Jeremiah sat near
him at the large mess hall table.

Dani
walked in and saw the plate of bananas on the floor as Emma struggled to pick
them up. “5 minute rule!” She grabbed two, dusted them off and ate them.

“I
thought it was the five second rule,” Mark said as he looked at Dani.

Dani
shrugged, “In my head, it’s five minutes. I’m pretty sure the germs don’t care
and aren’t counting to 5, so it doesn’t even matter how long you wait.”

Emma
smiled, “Great logic.” She put the plate back on the table and grabbed the last
of the bananas from the floor. “Thanks,” she said to Dani who winked at her and
sat near Jeremiah. Tony and Kayla sat at the ends of each bench as they joined
in on the main course. They were able to find more vegetables and made a buffet
of corn, broccoli and green peas.

“Remember
butter?” Kayla pointed to Mark. “Paul had a slab of it, literally a slab on our
first meal out.”

“Where
did he find it?” Jeremiah laughed.

Mark
shrugged and laughed, “Probably from the farm next door. Dairy cows and churned
butter.”

“I miss
butter,” Tony said quietly, which caused everyone else to erupt in laughter.

“Ouch,”
Emma said as she stopped laughing suddenly.

“Be
careful, your wound isn’t completely closed yet,” Jeremiah looked over to Emma.

“I’m
fine,” she said sharply, which caused Jeremiah to suddenly get up.

“Well,
I might as well get back to the lab,” he left the room quickly as Emma covered
her face.

“Oh
god, what did I do?” Emma looked down as Rory patted her on her back. “I didn’t
mean that. I’m just tired of being told that.”

Sarah
looked as Emma rubbed her eyes, “Well, explain yourself to him. I’m sure he’ll
understand.”

“What
can I tell him? ‘Oh, I’m sorry that I’m such a bitch’.”
               
“That’s a start,” Rory said as Mark smacked his arm. “Ouch. I mean, he’ll
understand.”

Sarah
shook her head at him, “Remember, I’m exactly like her, so watch yourself.”

“Emma,
I’m sorry,” Rory attempted to apologize.

“Don’t
worry about it,” Emma got up from the table and walked over to the door. “I
hope he does understand.” She walked out of the kitchen area and towards the
lab. She heard a huge slap as Rory yelped in pain. “Damn, Sarah,” Mark laughed.

Emma walked
over to the lab and took a deep breath. She finally walked into the lab and
found Jeremiah working on the console.

He
stopped her from talking, “Don’t worry, I won’t be bothering you at all. At
least, for the rest of the day. The console took it’s last command and we may
be out of a computer.”

She sat
on the stool near the console and watched as he attempted to bring up the
prompt to get into the program. “I’m sorry.”

He
stopped and looked at her, “No, I should be the one saying I’m sorry. I’m just
worried about you.” He looked down and typed in a command. “Got it!” He
celebrated quietly as she shook her head.

“You
don’t have to be worried about me. I should be fine in a few weeks, and then
I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Why do
you feel like you’re such a burden? I’m here to help you get better,” he sat
down on the stool next to her.

“I’m
holding them back from leaving to the coastline,” she said as tears ran down
her face. “I’m trying really hard to get better quick, so I don’t take too much
of yours or Tony and Kayla’s. I feel like I’ve leeched too much already.”

“Look,
we’re here to help people. Regardless of them paying us back, we help them,” he
wiped away her tears with his handkerchief, and handed it to her. “I’m sorry
that I’m being overbearing, but I just want to make sure you’re doing okay. I
really care…about you.” He tried to stop the words as they came out of his
mouth.

She
looked at him as his face reddened. Jeremiah got up and stood over the console,
attempting to ignore what he just said. She got up and nervously stood there
for a few seconds before grabbing Jeremiah’s face and kissing him. He stood
still as she let go of him and smiled. Emma wiped the excess tears off of her
face and handed back his handkerchief. She plainly said, “Thanks.”

“No
problem,” he said automatically.

She
grabbed his shoulder and smiled, “not for that.” Jeremiah awkwardly stood
straight up as she walked away and out of the lab. He finally exhaled and his
face stayed reddish.

Trevor
sat in the makeshift outpost waiting for the bandits to return. “I’m thinking
they’ll be back pretty soon.”

“That’s
what I’m worried about,” Chloe shifted her feet and sat near the entrance to
keep an eye out.

“You
don’t have to do that,” he grinned. “I’ll be able to “sniff” them out before
they get here.”

She
looked at him like he was going crazy. The bloody red eye he had wasn’t helping
the appearance of looking normal. His suspenders dragged on the ground and his
clothes were dirty with blood and soil. He smelled like a rotting corpse but
his skin didn’t look infected or the sickly pale color like the Risers. She was
thinking the gunshot may be leaking out some of the rank smell he’s been giving
off.  Trevor suddenly stood up and sniffed the air.

“Ah,
here’s one now.”

Chloe
cowered behind him and waited to see what he was talking about. A small bandit
walked in with his pick axe.

Trevor
stood still as he could hear the man’s heart beating. “Drop it,” he said as he
listened to his breathing quicken. “Quickly shaken, I like that.” The bandit swung
at him with his axe but missed as Trevor just pulled the axe away from him. “I
told you to drop it.”

The
bandit jumped up and pushed Trevor slightly. The sudden hit angered Trevor who
went into a rage and attacked the bandit. He bit at his throat and held his
jaws shut on it until the bandit stopped breathing. Trevor unhinged his jaws
from the bandit’s throat and wiped his mouth with the bandit’s camouflage
jacket.

“Not as
good as I thought he would be,” Trevor smirked at Chloe, who stood near a fire
barrel and shook in terror.

“What
the fuck are you?”

He
grimaced, “I don’t know. I guess, I’m a Riser. Kind of?” He laughed as she
attempted to hide in the tent. “What the. What are you doing?”

“Hiding
from you.”

“That
makes sense. I can hear your heart beating and smell where you are. I’m pretty
sure I can pinpoint the next spot of where you’re thinking of hiding.”

Chloe
stopped and watched as Trevor walked over to her. His bloodshot eye had turned
milky white while the other eye remained normal. He doubled over in pain, “Damn
it.”

“Can
you still see out of it?” she asked as she inspected him.

He
shook her hands off, “Yes. I don’t need to though.” He finally showed her the
scratch he received from Parker. Her eyes widened as she moved away from him.
“I won’t bite you.” The purple veins circled the area of where the scratch was
at one point. The skin surrounding it had peeled off and deteriorated when he
touched his arm. The rank smell she discovered before had come from the
scratch. He showed her the gunshot wound, which appeared to have healed quickly
after he stitched it up.

“How
did that happen?”

He
looked at her, “I guess, I heal quickly now.” He looked at his arm, “I suppose
no retro-heal then?”

Her
thoughts focused on the bandit, “What about him? Is he going to turn?”

“I
don’t know,” he waited and watched the bandit’s body. “I hope so.”

The
bandit’s body lay motionless for a few seconds as Chloe and Trevor walked
toward the fire barrels and looked outside for more bandits. They walked back
into the tent and found the bandit standing. He stared at Trevor and watched as
he got closer to him. Chloe stayed quiet and remained near the fire barrel.

 “So,
can you understand me?” Trevor asked the bandit, who instantly nodded. “Are
there more of you?” The bandit nodded once again and pointed toward the
entrance of the tent. “How far are they?”

The
bandit dropped his arm, “A few miles south of here.”

“Are
they on their way here?”

“No, I
go back,” the bandit walked to the entrance and snarled at Chloe.

“Leave
her alone,” Trevor said as the bandit snapped out of it. “Let me know when you
get here.”

The
bandit nodded and walked out.

Trevor
laughed, “Did you see that? I can have a freaking Riser army here.”

Chloe
looked on in shock as he continued to laugh. “Ar-army?”

“Yes,
an army. They really won’t be expecting that.” She started to tear up and
sobbed quietly. “Oh no, no no. We don’t have time for that. The instant these
Risers see you crying, they’ll think you’re ready to be eaten and I know you
don’t want that. Right?” She shook her head. “Okay, so you know what we do? We
set up a trap for these bandits and “recruit” them for our needs. I’m sure Parker
and Jeremy would appreciate the troubles we’re going through to get back at
those who harmed them.” Chloe nodded and continued to sob. “It’s okay, you can
cry for now but don’t let the others see you. I can’t really guarantee your
safety if you look weak.”

 Mark
waited for Emma outside of the lab. “Emma, we need to talk. I’ll be leaving to
Canada to check in with Paul.”

“We
really don’t, Mark. You have your responsibilities now,” Emma said as he
followed her to the triage room. “I’m very grateful that you stayed with us so
long, and for helping my sister when this whole thing went out of control. I
really couldn’t have done it without you.” She hugged him and walked over to
her bed.

“I
don’t feel right leaving and not tell you thank you,” Mark looked down.

She sat
down, “For what? All we’ve given you are a few years of headaches.”

“No,” Mark
sat down on her bed beside her. “You made me a part of your family, when I
didn’t have one.”  She smiled at him as he hid his own smile. “Don’t look
at me like that you goober.”

“Now
we’re starting with the names again,” she said as she poked his arm. “Thank you
too. We’d be in different places.”

He
nodded and got up from the bed. Emma slid her feet under the covers and sat up.
“I can’t say how much we’ll miss you.”

Mark
gave her small peck on the cheek as she lay down and covered up, “Get some
rest.”

“You
better come back in one piece though. You wouldn’t want me to get my ass up and
hunt people down,” she muttered as she turned over.

“Jeremiah
must really like you, huh?” Mark asked as she became quiet.

“I hope
so,” She incoherently muttered as he smiled. He waited until she fell asleep
and walked out of the room.  He decided to stop by the lab before going to
talk with Tony.

Jeremiah
was typing away at the console and cursing at it. “Come on, you piece of shit.
Give me those read outs.”