Contagious (16 page)

“
Fine, come with. But if you get hurt or killed, don’t complain to me.”

Raeya wasn’t happy about me going out looking for trouble either, but she knew better than to object. I advised her to lock the door and only answer when I knocked a rehearsed, repetitive knock.

The fire red trees were alive with birds, loudly chirping and chattering. Seeing the Range Rover parked on the curb brought a question to mind.

“
The GPS in your car, it doesn’t work, right?”

“
Right. It says the satellite signal was lost.”

“
Why?”

“
It’s because of everything that’s going on.”

“
That doesn’t make sense.” I pulled the band from my braid, combing out my hair with my fingers. “Are there zombies in space? There’s no reason satellite signals would be lost.”

“
I don’t really know how that stuff works,” Padraic said, his blue eyes fixing on mine.

“
Me neither,” I admitted. “It just doesn’t seem right.”

“
Does any of this?”

“
Hell no.” I sighed, scuffing my feet along the pavement, kicking leaves as I did so. Argos trotted ahead, following a scent trail into someone’s yard. We walked in silence until we reached a fork in the road. I stopped in the middle, looking to my left and right. More houses lined the street to my left. Turning right, a park came into view. Swings blew slightly in the breeze, displaying rusty chains and peeling rubber seats. We passed through the overgrown baseball field, emerging onto what used to be the main street of the town.

“
When did you move to the city?” Padraic asked, unable to keep quiet.

“
Uh, about a month or so ago.”

“
Looking for a job after college?”

“
Not exactly.” I walked faster, less than eager to talk about my reasons for moving in with Aunt Jenny. The windows to the post office were shattered, though it didn’t look like zombie virus infected people did it. Stones had been thrown through, and cigarettes and beer bottles littered the dusty, tile floor. We hiked up and down the street, finding everything to be empty. The stitch in my side came back and I clutched it, trying to push the pain away.

“
You doing alright?” Padraic sounded concerned.

“
I’ll be fine,” I said through gritted teeth. I took a deep breath and dropped my hand, marching forward with as much dignity as I could muster.

“
Why do you do that?”

“
Do what?”

“
Act like nothing can touch you.”

“
I’m not acting,” I retorted.

“
Orissa,” he exhaled, reaching out, his fingers wrapping around me. “Stop. You’re in pain. Just stop for a minute.”

“
Fine.” With his hand still on mine, Padraic led me to a long forgotten bench. Sitting felt good. I let out a deep breath, wishing I could relax.

“
This must have been a nice town at one time,” Padraic noted.

“
Yeah, seems like it.”

“
Maybe we could stay here awhile.”

“
We don’t have enough food to stay. And remember what happens in the winter?”

“
Yes, I know it gets cold,” he said, smiling. “It’s a nice day today, as far as fall days go, wouldn’t you say?”

“
I guess.”

“
Look,” Padraic pointed to the sunset. “My gran used to tell me that red sunsets are a sign of good things to come.”

“
It reminds me of blood. Like not even the sun can shine through all the blood and death anymore.” I spoke hoarsely, vaguely aware of the concerned look Padraic was giving me. “The sun shines on us and the sun shines on them. Human, zombie, or crazy, we are all under the same sky.”

“
Hmm.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t figure you out, Orissa.”

“
There’s not much to figure,” I assured him.

“
I disagree. You put up this ‘I’m too tough to give a shit’ front, but underneath it, I can tell that’s not who you really are.”

“
You’re wrong.”

“
Am I?”

“
I said so,” I urged, trying not to sound unsure.

“
I disagree.” A faint smile pulled his full lips up. “I bet I can crack you.”

“
Take your best shot.” I leaned back, painfully stretching my abdomen.

“
Just tell me true or false, alright?”

“
Sure.”

“
You had your heart broken.”

I snorted back a laugh. “Who hasn’t?”

“
Ah,” he nudged my leg with his, “the truth comes out.”

“
Next question.”

“
You were really close to the person who broke your heart.”

“
You kinda have to be close to a person to give them enough of your heart to break,” I said.

“
Ok, yes. You thought you could trust them.”

“
True.”

“
And you didn’t see it coming.”

“
True.”

“
Your world shattered after they broke your heart,” he said softly.

“
True.”

“
And you had to start all over because everything you thought you knew was gone.”

“
True.”

“
You thought you’d never love anyone again.”

“
False.”

His winning streak broken, Padraic frowned. “They hurt you so much, you closed off your heart to anyone else.”

“
False,” I said after a moment’s consideration.

“
It’s hard for you to trust new people.”

“
Very true.”

“
And that’s because of what happened.”

“
True.”

“
You gave everything to this person.”

“
True.”

“
You thought you’d be together forever.”

“
False. And come on, what am I sixteen? I know better than to expect forever.”

“
Hah! Expect. Expectations. You don’t get close to people because you’re afraid of them not living up to your expectations.”

“
Saying true will make me sound like a horrible bitch. I might be a bitch at times, but not a horrible one….I like to think at least.” Padraic softly laughed. “What about you? You seemed to be drawing from personal experiences there.”

His smile disappeared. “It seems we both have our secrets.” His blue eyes got misty and he looked above me, pretending to examine the courthouse across the street. I wondered how someone could break his heart. He was a hot, Irish doctor. Isn’t that what girls want? But I knew his type: a do-gooder. When you wear your heart on your sleeve, it’s easy to break.

“
Why aren’t you mad?” I blurted.

“
Mad?”

Really? How could he be clueless? “I lied to you.”

“
Orissa, I thought we resolved that.”

“
Still, don’t you hold some sort of resentment toward me?”

“
No.”

“
I would be mad at you,” I assumed.

Padraic crossed his arms. “It was wrong of you to lie, there’s no way around that. But you did it to save someone you care about. And you did.”

I couldn’t pinpoint why his understanding bothered me. Maybe, deep down, I was mad at myself for being so selfish. I supposed, really, it didn’t matter. I needed to get through this alive before I started worrying about my inner self. Padraic didn’t try to speak on the walk back. Argos met us halfway to the house, proudly carrying a dead rabbit. I pushed the gate open, happy that it creaked loudly, and walked up the cobblestone. Padraic stopped short. I spun around, fear grasping my heart. Instinctively, I drew the gun, moving into a defensive stance.

“
What is it?” Padraic asked.

“
Did you see something?”

“
No,” he answered.

“
Why did you stop so fast then?”

“
Oh.” He looked down, blood tinting his cheeks. “I-I just wanted to tell you something.”

“
Couldn’t it have waited until we were inside?” I asked, nerves on end.

He laughed. “Yeah, I’m sorry. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I’d follow you anywhere.”

I had the gun pointed at his face. I blinked, lowered it, and clicked the safety on. “Like you have a choice,” I teased.

“
I did, and still do.”

“
Not if you want to live,” I reminded him. I smiled once and knocked on the heavy, wooden door, glad that awkward moment was over. The smell of lemon scented cleaning products was heavy in the air, hitting me as soon as Lauren answered the door. Raeya, wearing yellow, rubber gloves, sprayed the counters in the kitchen.

“
What are you doing?” I asked, setting the gun on the table.

“
I found disinfectant under the sink,” she explained, holding up the bottle. “This house is neat, but not clean.”

“
I don’t think it matters anymore, Raeya.”

“
I don’t want to eat off a dirty surface,” she said matter of factly. She sprayed the table next, wiping it down with a towel. “And,” she added, lowering her voice, “I’m trying to eliminate germs. I know Zoe can’t fight them off very well.”

Feeling like I was getting stabbed all over again, the sudden remembrance of Zoe’s fragile state set in. There was so much else to worry about and fear; I had pushed our normal issues under the rug.

“
Good idea. I knew I rescued you for a reason.” I beamed at her. After Raeya was satisfied, she made peanut butter sandwiches for everyone, serving them on paper towels—she had found a roll under the sink as well. We divided up the fruit, knowing it would be the first to go bad, and ate a bland but filling dinner.

Spencer had a watch. Deciding for the adults to take six hours shifts, everyone but Padraic, Hilary, and Spencer went upstairs to sleep. Zoe, Raeya, and I shared the bed in the master bedroom. Argos stretched out at our feet. His weight was heavy and annoying, but he offered heat for our cold toes. Zoe, who was nestled in between Raeya and myself, fell asleep quickly. She always seemed tired, and it worried me. I felt like I had barely slept when Hilary gently shook me awake. I whispered to her to just let Raeya sleep. I saw Hilary frown in the dim candlelight but she did as I requested. Padraic was making his way up the stairs, rubbing his eyes.

“
Did you get any sleep?” he asked gently.

“
Enough,” I replied. “I can’t really sleep given the conditions.”

“
Me neither.” He smiled weakly and brushed past me. I was tired and needed to move around to keep myself vigilant. I packed up all of our stuff, sticking the bottle of cleaning spray and paper towels in the bag with the medical supplies.

“
Want any help?” Jason asked.

“
No, thanks. You can sit on the couch and rest. I’ve got it.”

“
I can help.”

“
Don’t worry about it,” I said, meaning it to be interpreted as me being nice and letting him rest. Jason’s shoulders sagged and he slunk away. I laid out fruit and nuts for breakfast. I wanted everything ready to go as soon as the sun was up. I knew we could get to Kentucky in roughly six hours. If the roads weren’t blocked, maybe faster since we had no traffic laws to obey anymore. I had no idea where we were at the moment, and I wasn’t the best with directions.

Zoe started coughing that morning. With her lowered immune system, she caught what Lisa had. I could tell Lisa felt horrible, though Padraic assured her over and over that it wasn’t her fault. I overheard Hilary telling Padraic that Zoe’s medication was running low. I had to give her credit for grabbing it when they ran for their lives from the basement days ago.

We loaded into the cars. Padraic’s eyes were full of worry when he looked at Zoe, making a lump form in my throat. He wrapped her in a blanket and placed Finickus on her lap. She tied the leash to her wrist again. I got in the back of the Range Rover next to Argos.

“
Do you have any music?” I asked Padraic as he steered down the country road.

“
I listened to satellite radio mostly. But I have a few CDs under the passenger seat.”

Raeya dug them out, handed one to Spencer, who popped it in. Padraic liked coffeehouse music, totally not my style but it was better than nothing.

Three hours later we pulled over next to a vast field of nothingness, still nowhere near the highway. Everyone got out, using the break to stretch and pee. I inspected the flat land on either side of us. It was quiet and still, with no signs of zombies or humans. I walked over to the Camaro to check on Zoe. Hot from being wrapped up in blankets in a car with the heater on, she removed her extra layer of pants and her sweatshirt. Her arms were covered with bruises. When she caught me staring, she said,

“
I bruise easily.” She put her hand over her arm. “Look! It’s a hand print!”

I smiled along with her but it really made me feel sick. Padraic gave Zoe and Lisa a bottle of water, telling them he wanted them to drink the whole thing by the time we got to Kentucky. I admired the way he was with them: patient, caring, and so calm. He made them peanut butter sandwiches with the last few pieces of bread. The rest of us snacked on junk food.

“
After eating nothing but Twinkies and beer for two weeks, I would have loved a sandwich,” Lauren scoffed under her breath. I met Raeya’s eyes, telling myself it wasn’t worth it to get into it with Lauren.

“
Twinkies and beer?” Padraic inquired.