Contagious (28 page)

“
So tell me more about this compound,” I said with my mouth full.

“
What do you want to know?”

“
Anything and everything. I’m still not sure I believe it exists. We’ve been all over for days or weeks, I don’t even know anymore. But we’ve never seen anything like that.”

“
You wouldn’t know what it was by looking at it,” Hayden began. “It was built over fifty years ago as a bomb shelter. Most of it is underground.”

“
Underground? Well, that’s one way to stay safe.”

“
Yeah. If you drove up to it, all you’d see is a huge, brick estate and a lot of farmland. You get into the compound through the house. It’s a good cover.”

“
And it really is safe?”

“
As safe as you can get. We’re still working on a few things.”

“
Like what?” I asked and finished the banana.

“
A moat. Zombies can’t swim, ya know.”

“
Huh. I hadn’t even thought about that. Makes me want to live on a yacht.”

“
Yeah, you’re telling me. Or go find an island to call home.” He got a faraway look in his eyes, as if he was contemplating finding a boat and setting sail. “But we got shit to do here. Zombies to kill, people to save.”

“
Maybe when it’s over.”

“
The first thing I’m gonna do,” he said as he tore the sandwich in two and passed me a half, “when this is over is park my ass in the sand in Mexico with a bottle of tequila.”

“
Ugh, that sounds so good. I’d kill for a beach and a margarita.”

“
Me too. Literally. But no matter how many I kill, I’m no closer to that beach.” He sighed and ate his half sandwich. I finished mine and leaned against the thin boards.

“
So you really didn’t know about the outbreak?” I questioned.

“
I swear. Imagine my surprise. I came home after two tours in Afghanistan to this.”

“
Oh, God. I’m so sorry.”

“
I should have figured something was wrong.” He stretched out his legs and leaned back. “I still had a little over a month left when they pulled us out. All I could think about was going home. I didn’t want to question something good.”

“
So they brought you guys back to fight here?”

“
I guess. I never found out. I expected my family to be there waiting when I got off the plane. They always did. When they weren’t there…that-that’s when I knew something happened.” His voice grew quieter as he spoke, reliving the memory. “When I got back to my hometown, I saw them for the first time. Just walking around looking normal. Then a fight broke out. It was Mr. Harris from the bank attacking little, old Gina Phelps. When I pulled him off, Gina bit me.”

“
You’ve been bitten!?”

“
Yeah,” he said, proudly holding up his arm, revealing a shiny, crescent moon shaped scar. I ran my finger over the smooth scar tissue. “I’m immune.”

“
Resistant,” I said, echoing Padraic’s words. “Go on.”

“
I didn’t know what was going on. I thought they were drunk or something. But there were others. Most were in the S1 stage, attacking each other. I saw some horrible things overseas.
Really
horrible things. But seeing people you know ripping into the stomachs of others isn’t something you can easily forget.” He shook his head. “I never found my mom and sisters. I don’t know if they got out or… I-I don’t know. My dad skipped out on us when I was a kid. I took care of them. I wanted to make something of myself so they could be proud. So I joined the Marines. I moved up fast. I was good. And I wasn’t there when they needed me most.”

“
You can’t blame yourself,” I told him, though I knew I would feel just as guilty. “I was staying with my aunt. She’s the most passive person ever. And I don’t know what happened to her either. By the time I got back to her apartment, she was gone. It sucks, not knowing.”

“
I wish I knew. Every town we go into, I hope I find them. It’s stupid, I know.”

“
No. You wanna know stupid? I’m totally hoping my grandpa is at your compound.” It surprised me at how relieving it was to say that out loud. “I don’t know what happened to him either. I couldn’t get to his farm until, God, weeks after the outbreak.”

“
You’re from around here?”

“
No. I don’t even know where we are, honestly. We—” I closed my eyes. “—we had been staying at his house in Kentucky. But we had to leave. The last place I remember was this small town in Kansas.”

“
You’re in Oklahoma. Or what used to be Oklahoma.”

“
Oh. I had a feeling we weren’t in Kansas anymore.” I pulled my knees to my chest. “Where is the compound?”

“
Arkansas. Ever heard of Marble Falls?”

I shook my head.

“
Me neither, until now,” Hayden told me. “It’s near there, if that matters.”

“
Oh.” I was anxiously excited to see this underground safe house. I spent the next few minutes or hours—I had no idea—thinking about it. I imagined cave-like halls and torches for light, with dirt floors and drafty, cold rooms. My eyes were so heavy. Hayden said something quietly over the walkie-talkie. Unable to keep my eyes open, I let them close.

I woke up with my head on Hayden’s shoulder and his jacket draped around me. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I had to remind myself of what had happened and that the compound wasn’t some cruel fantasy my mind forced me to dream about.

“
Morning, sunshine,” Hayden teased.

“
Shut up.” I moved off of him. “How long was I asleep for?”

“
An hour, maybe.”

“
That’s it?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Oh. Damn.”

“
Thirsty?” he asked, holding a half full water bottle. I took it and gladly chugged the rest.

“
Thanks.”

“
No problem.”

“
What’s a S1? You mentioned it earlier.”

“
It’s short for stage one. I’m sure you’ve noticed the trend: insane and aggressive, zombie, then less than a zombie. S1, S2, and S3.”

“
Oh. We called them crazies, zombies, and gummies.”

“
Gummies?”

“
Yeah, ‘cuz they’re all gooey and gummy. It makes sense.”

“
I suppose. You can go back to sleep, if you want.”

“
No. I’ll keep watch. I’m used to it.” I took off the jacket, getting blasted with cold air. “You can have this back. I’m fine.”

“
I’m layered up,” he insisted. “You’re not. Keep it.”

My red, plaid shirt didn’t offer enough warmth. Hayden’s jacket was thick and warm and I really wanted to keep it wrapped around my now gaunt body. “Fine.”

“
Sleep. You probably haven’t gotten much sleep lately either, am I right?”

“
You are. No one else in my crew is any good at hunting or shooting or anything of the likes. I had to keep them safe.”

“
You did a good job.”

“
Not good enough.”

“
You’ve lost someone?”

“
More than one. But who hasn’t?” I rested my head against the barn wall. Nothing but the wind howled behind us. “Do you really think that’s all that’s left? Three hundred people?”

“
Maybe. But we found you.”

“
There has to be others like us.”

“
There are,” he insisted.

“
I don’t know. Don’t you think as time goes on the chance of survival goes down?”

“
In some cases. Or maybe it gives people time to adjust. And there’s so much ground to cover. This is the farthest we’ve gone from the compound yet.” He shifted his weight so he was angled at me. “What was Kentucky like?”

“
Desolate in some places. Overrun in others. Indy was the worst, I think.”

“
Indy?”

“
Indianapolis. That’s where I had been living.”

“
Oh. Ever go to the Indy 500?”

“
Nope.”

“
You lived in Indy but never went?”

“
Well, I didn’t really live in Indy. I was temporarily staying with my aunt until I figured out something to do with my life.”

“
Something to do?”

“
Yeah. I had gotten in a bit of trouble.”

“
What kind of trouble?”

“
I got arrested,” I shamefully admitted.

“
Yeah, just a bit of trouble there. What did you do?”

“
I got a DUI.”

“
Drunk driving? Smart.”

I hated his cheeky comment but I knew he was right. “It was dumb, I know. Really dumb. And I know everyone has an excuse for why they did something bad. I had one of the worst nights in my life and this guy was getting a little too grabby at the bar. So I left. I just got in my car and left. I hate myself for doing it, really.” I don’t know why I trusted Hayden enough to open up like that. There was something about the dark that made people seem safe. Obviously, I knew he was there. But I couldn’t see him, couldn’t see his shocked expression, couldn’t see the judgment in his eyes. He was just a voice in the dark.

“
Hey, your criminal record is gone now,” he reminded me.

We both laughed. “Yay, thank you zombies.”

“
How did you team up with the rest of your group? You friends with them all?”

“
No. Raeya, the tall brunette, is my best friend. I got her. The others…it’s kinda a long story.”

“
Tell me.”

I told Hayden about my surgery, the crazy on the stairs, and waking up in the basement. I lost track of how many times I yawned and finally gave in to Hayden’s requests to sleep. I didn’t think I could fight it for much longer.

The zombies had moved on by morning light. Hayden and I gathered up the arrows, I found my bow—covered in zombie brain bits—and transferred the weapons and ammo from the truck into the Range Rover. We sped back through the field. I never thought an old insane asylum would ever look so welcoming.

Forgetting I was still wearing Hayden’s jacket, I didn’t understand the look Padraic gave me. Was that jealousy in his pretty, blue eyes? Raeya looked more like her normal self. She told me that the soldiers had debated about going back to the compound this morning since they had seven people to look after. They had orders to go farther and Brewster thought they should continue on. She said they were looking for something, but they talked in hushed voices and didn’t seem to want her to know what they needed.

I told her I’d talk to Hayden about it. For some reason, I trusted him. Everyone else had already eaten breakfast by the time Hayden and I got back. They saved us some bland oatmeal and apple juice. Hayden said he was going to sleep for a few hours before we left since he had stayed up all night. He advised me to try to get some shut eye too, reminding me I only slept on and off for a few hours last night. I kicked off my boots and crawled into a sleeping bag next to Hayden.

I slept for three hours. I woke, warm for the first time in days. Hayden was still asleep. He was facing me. He looked oddly innocent when he was sleeping. The guys packed up their stuff with impressive speed. We loaded the gear into the back of the trucks. The soldiers wore their uniforms and I couldn’t help but notice how good Hayden looked all suited up, weapons strapped to his fit body and a gun slung around his shoulder.

Raeya, Argos, and I drove with Hayden. We were headed back to the compound. In mere hours, I would be able to shower. Hayden said there was even warm water. Raeya was ecstatic. We put several hours behind us before we stopped. Hayden, Brock, and Wade got out first, guns ready, and gave us clearance. My M9 was loaded and an extra clip nestled safely in my pocket.

I went with the girls to a ditch on the side of the road to pee, Raeya grumbling how unfair it was for the guys when it came to stuff like this. Lisa had a cough again; I guess there was mold in the hayloft that triggered her asthma. Even Argos was fed. Hayden told me they had several German Shepherds back at the compound that had been military dogs at one point. A few were trained to find cadavers. They were being retrained to find living people. He promised me Argos would be well taken care of.

I didn’t want to say anything. I wanted to pretend I didn’t see it. We were only three hours (give or take) from the compound. Raeya, Hayden, and I were reminiscing about our favorite childhood toys, laughing for the first time in weeks. If I ignored it, I would feel guilty. And I was trying to change.
Sonofabitch
.

“
Is that smoke?” I asked, thinking maybe I was seeing things.

Hayden braked. Yep, it was. Speaking through the walkie-talkies, he told the others what was going on. The soldiers told us to say in the cars. Ginger, I mean Rider, was forced to stay behind as his injury slowed him down. Hayden gave me two more clips and whispered that there was more ammo in the silver box in the bed of his truck.

The smoke was coming from an official looking brick building. A chain link fence surrounded it, bent and pushed down in parts, telling me it was not zombie proof. For our safety, the trucks were parked a good fifty yards away. I nervously watched the four Marines disappear inside the fencing. The minutes ticked by.

Argos growled. Thinking he caught a glimpse of Hayden or Brock exiting, I shushed him. Then I realized he wasn’t looking at the building.