Contagious (17 page)

“
It was a frat house,” Raeya cleared up. “But we did have more than that.”

“
Oh yeah,” Lauren said with a wave of her hand. “I forgot about the thawed frozen pizzas.”

“
Maybe we’ll find food in Kentucky,” Sonja said hopefully.

“
Yeah. Kentucky,” Lauren spat and turned away. Shaking his head, Padraic shot me a glance and smiled. I returned the smile. We piled into the cars again, wasting another hour looking for the highway. Once we found it, we drove steadily, making good time. Of course, we had to run into a pileup. I stopped counting the cars involved after thirteen.

“
Hang on,” I said as Padraic put the Range Rover in reverse. “I don’t see any zombies, do you?”

“
No,” Raeya answered automatically. “No!” she said louder. “Orissa, please don’t get out.”

“
This is the perfect place to find a car. There’s a ton of them!”

“
They probably don’t have gas. Or keys.”

“
We won’t know—”

“
Until we look,” she finished. “Fine.”

“
Um,” Padraic started. “No. We can’t see through the cars. Anything could be out there.”

“
Just let me check,” I offered.

“
Here,” he said, motioning to the sunroof. There was a moment of jumbled movement as Raeya and I traded places. I shimmied my way through the sunroof, climbing onto the sun warmed roof of the car. I stood, carefully placing my feet on either sides of the open sunroof. Shielding the sun from my eyes, I scanned the crash. Many of the doors had been left open on the cars in the peoples’ mad rush to escape. Those weren’t worth trying; the batteries had long been drained. The gas tanks, however, might have something to give.

I knelt down, sticking my head over the window. “I don’t see anything moving. We need gas at the very least. Keep the car running if it makes you feel better. I need one person to siphon gas with me to speed up the process.”

“
Is it safe?” Raeya asked.

“
As far as I can tell.”

“
I’ll help. We should look inside the cars too. I’d love a pair of shoes.”

I grinned, reaching inside for my bag. As soon as I jumped off the SUV, Padraic turned it around and cut the engine. Hilary pulled up next to him and rolled down the window. I quickly explained my plan. She nodded and got out to help. Sonja took my place on top of the Range Rover, acting as our lookout. Lauren sat, stretching out her legs, on the Camaro. It was too low to offer a good vantage point, though I didn’t say anything. I didn’t trust Lauren enough to rely on her to keep a watchful eye for the rest of us.

Cautiously, we combed through the cars. Spencer and Jason were in charge of getting gas, filling up both cars and hopefully gathering enough to fill a third. Feeling anxious pressure to get on our way, I rummaged through cars that looked the most promising. Several were locked and the ones that weren’t were missing keys. Purses, food, books, phones, and wallets were left behind. Where had the people gone? I imagined a camouflage bus rolling up, whisking everyone away to some heavenly quarantine. Or, more realistically, everyone became infected and took off in search of fresh blood.

A dead, rotting corpse leaned against the window in a rusty, old pickup. I could smell him through the closed windows and doors. I went around an upside down minivan, trying to avoid seeing the passengers who—luckily—died in the crash. At least it was over for them. A red sedan sat with the door ajar on the shoulder. A body of what I guessed to be a woman based on the long, blood crusted hair, flopped out, her face chewed off.

Shuddering, I hurried past. After many more failed attempts, I found a decent car with the keys on the driver’s seat. I put them in the ignition and fired up the car without a problem. I looked behind me: there was my problem. I was boxed in, with cars on every side.

“
Son of a bitch!” I hit the steering wheel. I shut the car off, mad I hadn’t considered maneuvering the car before. Feeling like I was dragging my feet, I trudged back to the Range Rover. “See anything?” I asked Sonja, pulling the strap of my bag over my head.

“
Nothing,” she answered, sweeping her eyes over the highway. “Argos ran away.”

“
He’ll be back,” I assured her, only feeling mild panic. I sat on the bumper, wishing for a glass of water. My mouth was so dry.

“
Can we go now?” Lauren asked loudly.

“
Soon enough,” I said shortly, though, I was just as eager to leave. I stayed in my spot, taking over Lauren’s job as watchman. Spencer and Jason found three gallons of water with the safety seals still around the caps. Ecstatically, I ripped one off, putting the jug to my lips. Water ran down my face as I drank. I passed the jug to Jason, who drank and passed it to Sonja. After Spencer took a long drink, he offered it to Lauren.

“
Ew, I’m not drinking that after you four just did,” she scoffed.

Sharing drinks never bothered me. I knew it grossed some people out—Raeya included—and I respected that. Given our current situation, fear of cooties needed to be overcome.

“
Sorry we didn’t pack cups,” I spat.

“
Can’t I have a bottle of water?”

“
Can’t you just drink from the jug like the rest of us?”

“
Zoe and Lisa got their own water bottles.”

“
Zoe and Lisa are very sick children who can’t risk getting sick from other people’s germs,” I reminded her.

“
So you admit to having germs then.”

I threw my hands up. “We all have germs.”

Padraic and Raeya joined us.

“
Who has germs?” Raeya asked.

“
Everyone, apparently,” Lauren pouted.

“
We do,” Padraic told her. “Why is that a problem?”

Lauren pointed to the plastic gallon of water. “They want to share from that. I think it’s gross.”

“
I think we should only open one at a time,” I interjected. “The others have seals. We should keep them that way until we need them.”

Padraic shrugged. “I suppose it’s a good idea. As a doctor, I normally advise against sharing food and drinks, but I think we have to bypass what we normally do.” He picked up the water and took a drink. “And you can pour it into your mouth, if that makes it less gross.”

“
I want my own bottle,” Lauren insisted.

“
Oh my God,” I vented. “Just take a damn bottle and shut up.” I grabbed a small bottle from inside the Range Rover and chucked it at her. She barely caught it, shrieking that she broke a nail.

Raeya called me over to show me that she found a pair of purple Pumas that were her size, as well as more snack food. Hilary did as well; she was the last to return, setting her armload of sustenance on the hood of the Camaro. It was time to eat again. Everyone agreed on picnicking in a less crowded area where we felt a little safer. Argos trotted to us in time to jump in the back of the Range Rover and lay down before we stuffed the extra water and food in the back.

Zoe woke up when Hilary started the engine. She said she had to pee and couldn’t hold it any longer. I told her I’d come and keep watch for zombies. She was shy and didn’t want anyone to see her so we ventured farther from the cars than I would have liked. I took her behind a semi truck, promising her the boys couldn’t see.

She had just pulled up her pants when I heard it. The gargling snarl. I took Zoe’s hand, whispering for her to be quiet. We weaved our way around the semi. My heart was racing. The crazy banged on a car window nearby, scaring Zoe. She jumped and whimpered, clutching onto me. I put my finger up to my lips and shook my head. Zoe nodded.

Her slippers skidded with each step, sounding so incredibly loud. I picked her up and instantly wished I hadn’t. Though she didn’t weigh much, my battered body couldn’t handle much at the moment. Keeping my eyes on the crazy, I didn’t pay attention to what was in front of me. My foot caught on something metal. It scraped the street, echoing like a beacon.

Shit.

I froze. We were several yards from our cars. Our companions could no doubt see us. I set Zoe down, holding onto her hand so tight I had to be hurting her. My bag was in the car. I had nothing. I looked at what I had kicked. It was a bent rim, which had probably been popped off in the accident. I picked it up thinking I could use it as a shield.

Poor little Zoe covered her mouth. Her eyes bulged and her body convulsed. She was trying not to cough. Tears filled her big, green eyes. The crazy spotted us, lips curling to reveal her teeth. Like an animal, she growled and lunged forward.

“
Get to the car,” I instructed. “Now! Go!” She took off, tripping and falling. Hands bloody from the asphalt, she scrambled up. Raeya, who was in the driver’s seat of the SUV, opened her door. I glimpsed Zoe climbing in right as I swung the rim.

It hit the crazy in the jaw. It seemed to only anger her and she came at me with even more fury. I was sore, so sore. Every muscle was stiff. It felt like the stitches ripped out of my shoulder as I leaned back and kicked her in the chest.

She caught my foot.

I wasn’t counting on any logic coming from her. She yanked and I fell, the wind getting knocked out of me on impact. She was over me, sniffing as if sizing me up. The horn honked. The crazy’s attention snapped to it, long enough for me to grab her hair and twist her head.

Her neck didn’t snap. She flopped to the side, off of me. I crawled away, reaching for the tire rim. Her grubby hands closed around my ankle. I thrashed wildly, breaking her hold. I forced myself up, grasping the rim. The rusty metal sliced open the palm of my hand as I whipped it. It broke her nose. Blood dripped down her face but it did nothing to slow her down.

He flew over me in a flash of fur and fangs. Argos’ teeth sunk into the crazy’s jugular. He shook his head, tearing open her flesh. She clawed at him, not reacting to the pain. When her body finally went limp, I weakly slipped my unbloodied hand under his collar and limped back to the SUV. Raeya stomped on the gas as soon as Argos and I were in. I pressed my thumb on the cut on my left hand, trying to stop the bleeding. We raced down the highway, getting off at the first exit. Not bothering with the map, Raeya turned to the right.

“
Pull over,” Padraic told her.

“
No way. We’re too close.” Raeya’s eyes were wide in fear and her knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel.

“
Orissa’s bleeding,” he reminded her.

“
It’s just a flesh wound,” I said with a horrible British accent. Raeya laughed, turning to me. Her humor disappeared as soon she saw the blood. “Really, it’s ok. It’s just my hand.” At least the pain of this cut made me forget about my agonizing gash on my back and my recently cut open abs.

“
You’re already injured, Orissa,” Padraic told me as if I’d forgotten. “And even though it’s just your hand you can still lose a decent amount of blood.”

“
I know,” I agreed. “When we find a clearing we can pull over.” The next few minutes passed painfully slow. Raeya pulled into an empty church parking lot. We let Argos out first; he was proving to be more and more badass as the days went on. Padraic got some first aid supplies and met me around the side of the car. He unfolded my hand, pouring water over it to try to wash away the still oozing blood. I watched as he scrubbed out the dirt and carefully extracted little shards of metal.

“
Have you had a tetanus shot recently?” he asked.

“
Yeah, I have actually. A few months ago.”

“
Good,” he said, exhaling. Tiredness hit me and I leaned on the car. “Orissa?” he asked.

“
Yeah?”

“
You doing alright? Well, I know you’re not alright, alright.”

“
I’m tired,” I confessed. “That’s all.”

“
Do you want to try to find a place for the night?”

“
No. I want to go home,” I said without thinking. “I mean, Kentucky,” I added quickly. Padraic didn’t mention my slip up as he bandaged my hand.

“
I know you’ll hate this, but I think it would be best if we found some sort of rubber gloves to put over your hand to keep zombie blood out.”

Yes, I hated that idea. Nevertheless, it was smart. “Sure.”

Zoe was next, crying as Padraic cleaned her cuts. She hugged me once she was patched up.

“
Thank you for saving me, Orissa.”

“
You don’t have to thank me, Zoe. I’d save you anytime.”

“
You got hurt because of me.”

“
No, I got hurt because of the monsters. That’s not your fault.”

“
I’m not worth saving,” she cried.

“
Don’t ever say that!”

“
But I’m not. My mommy didn’t come back for me.”

I kissed the top of her head. I wanted to tell her that her mother was a douche-bag asshole that didn’t deserve to have children. “I’m sure she tried,” I lied.

“
No,” Zoe objected. “They were with me. In my room at the hospital. They left when the monsters showed up. They went to get my brothers but didn’t take me.”

I held her tightly. I wished I could punch her mother in the throat. How can you leave your own daughter, no matter how sick she was? “Are you hungry?”

“
Not really.”

“
Oh, well you should eat anyway.”

Raeya had already started making lunches for everyone. We got back in the cars after we ate. Padraic offered to sit in the back again, letting me have the front where it was more comfortable. Raeya looked at the map, somehow knowing where we were. She traced our route with her finger, telling me we only had a few hours left and that we should make it to the farm by nightfall.