Contagious (31 page)

“
Where are my friends?” I asked.

“
They have rooms,” Hayden responded. We went through a door into a dark room. Hayden slid his hand up and down the wall, feeling for the light. It flickered on. “You’ll need more clothes,” he said and waved his hand at the shelves in front of us.

A lot of the clothes were new and still had price tags. I speculated the guys raided a clothing store. I was too tired and sore to give a damn about clothes at the moment. I got only what I would need for that night.

“
That’s all?” Hayden asked when he saw my armful.

“
For now. I just want to sleep. My body hurts.”

He took the clothes from me as if they were too much for me to carry. It would take too much effort to object. We went back into our room. I took the pajamas to the bathroom to change.

“
It gets cold in here at night,” Hayden said when I came back into the room. “There’s something wrong with the heating system for the house. We had hoped to find a mechanic.”

“
Instead you got me.” I crawled under the covers.

“
I think it’s a fair trade.” He smiled and turned out the light. For the first time in months, I felt safe. I slept soundly. That is, until a loud alarm sounded.

-Chapter 11-

I sat up. The beeping blared, echoing throughout our room. Something was wrong. Had zombies gotten in? We were under attack?

“
It’s ok,” Hayden said sleepily, seeing my fear. “It’s my alarm.”

My heart was still racing. He picked up the little clock from his nightstand and turned it off, threw the covers back, and begrudgingly got out of bed.

“
Do I need to get up too?” I asked.

“
No. Not yet at least. You have time to rest, too.”

“
Thank God.” I flopped back down and pulled the blankets closer around myself. “What do you have to do?”

“
Workout,” he mumbled. “You can go down for breakfast whenever. Soldiers don’t have a scheduled time like the others do.”

“
I think I’ll stay in bed,” I informed him. I didn’t want to get out of bed yet. It felt good to get several straight hours of sleep but I could tell my body would instantly hurt when I moved.

“
Ok. I’ll be back in awhile. You can, uh, do whatever I guess.”

“
Sounds good.” I planned on going back to sleep and then on finding Raeya. I closed my eyes, intending on sleeping for only a few hours. When Hayden came back into the room around noon, I couldn’t believe how long I had slept. I washed my face, brushed and rebraided my hair, and got dressed. Brewster was in our room, talking and laughing with Hayden.

“
Welcome to the A club,” he said when I entered.

“
Thanks, I think.” I flashed him a smile.

“
Ivan Brewster, at your service,” he joked and shook my hand.

“
Am I supposed to call you by your last names or address you as Private or Sergeant or whatever?” I asked and sat on my unmade bed.

Hayden shook his head. “We don’t keep up with the formalities anymore. They don’t really matter in this world.”

“
Makes it easier for me.”

“
Orissa Penwell,” Ivan said slowly. “I want to know everything about you.”

“
Uh, everything?”

“
Why not? Coming across someone like you doesn’t happen every day. You’ve sparked my interest.” He spoke affluently and professionally with a smooth voice.

“
I can handle a gun and I don’t want to die. That’s really it,” I simplified.

“
I don’t buy that for a second.”

“
My parents are ninjas,” I supplemented wryly.

Ivan smiled and turned to Hayden. “I like her.” Hayden smiled and nodded, appearing oddly shy.

“
Want to eat?” he asked Ivan and me. I nodded and went with the boys to the cafeteria. A door was open in our hallway. I curiously looked inside at the two guys that were watching TV.

Ivan and Hayden were dressed in combat boots and camo pants with black shirts tucked in. They looked like what I thought soldiers should: put together in an effortless way, confident, and muscular. Ivan was making a joke about someone he referred to as ‘Crazy Cara’ when we walked into the cafeteria. It was packed full, with a line of people waiting to get their trays. A little boy saw us enter. He tugged on his father’s shirt and pointed. The dad looked up and elbowed his wife. They put their hands to their hearts and nodded with respect in our direction.

Others noticed us, having a similar reaction as the little boy. A hush fell over the room. An old man saluted us. Then, as if on cue, everyone burst into applause. I didn’t know what to do. Looking at Ivan and Hayden for direction, I, too, smiled. We walked to a table in the back, getting stopped and thanked.

“
Does that happen all the time?” I asked once we were seated.

“
Yeah,” Ivan told me. “I always said people would clap for me someday. I thought it would be for my mad guitar skills and not my hostile takedowns, though.”

It was nice we were appreciated. After the awe wore off, a young woman ran over. Thinking it was some sort of fan-girl, I didn’t look up. When I heard her voice, I jumped and wrapped my arms around her.

“
Raeya! H-how are you?”

“
Peachy,” she said with a laugh. “I was so scared they took you away for some reason.” She brought her tray over, Lisa trailing behind, and joined us. She had been told the same things about being sorted and the ways of the compound as I had. She and Lisa were sharing a room with a middle-aged woman who lost everyone. She said everyone in the C category thought of the A1s as the new celebrities.

“
I’m gonna hang out with Raeya,” I told Hayden when we finished eating.

“
Ok, see you tonight,” he said with a slight smile.

“
What are you guys doing tonight?” Raeya asked as we walked into her room. “Top secret soldier stuff?”

“
No,” I said, crushing her excitement. “We, uh, are roommates.”

Her eyebrows went up. “You are?”

“
Yeah.” I waited, judging her reaction. She pressed her lips together and let it go. Her room was small, set up like a dorm room in some ways. It had a bunk bed and a single bed, two large dressers, a desk, and an uncomfortable looking ugly, pale pink chair. We sat on Raeya’s bed—the bottom bunk—and talked about the compound. The C’s had a strict schedule to stick to. Raeya supported it and thought it was needed to keep a place like this in order. She was nervous for her sorting test, afraid she wouldn’t be worth anything more than a dishwasher.

Scarlett Procter was the self-appointed Welcome Committee. She was one of the first occupants in the shelter, along with her husband, two children, mother, sister, family dog, best friend and her family. She even had time to pack up her valuables. The high heels, skirt, and silk blouse she wore would look good on a news reporter. On someone hiding underground from crazy, carnivorous humans, it looked incredibly stupid. Her ID badge hung from a beaded necklace. She was chipper and thankful and had no idea what it was really like out there or what it felt like to lose the ones you love.

She took us on a tour, showing us the ‘game room’, which was a large room, painted—wait for it—white. There were tables and chairs and bookshelves filled with books and games. She showed us the ‘theater room’ that was very much like the game room but with a large TV and couches. She showed us the supply rooms and then took us down another level.

The second basement, as she called it (though technically it was the third) housed the hospital ward, offices, weapon supply, and more living quarters that housed the A2s, 3s and Bs as well as some spill over C’s. She only had access to the living quarters.

She led us back into the theater room, where kids were watching some sort of animated movie. I was happy to see Lisa sitting next to several other girls her own age. Scarlett was telling us about how the shelter is always full of gossip since there isn’t much else to do other than talk.

“
I heard about the new A1,” she gushed, leaning in and lowering her voice. “Apparently, he really made an impression on Hayden Underwood and Ivan Brewster.”

“
Why are those two so important?” I questioned, avoiding Raeya’s eyes. The girl couldn’t keep a poker face to save her life.

She smiled, pleased to know something I didn’t. “They are the best.” She winked. “And cute too, don’t you think?”

“
How did this noob impress those two?” I asked.

“
You didn’t hear it from me, but my girlfriend Minnie’s son is an A3 and he overheard the A1s talking about the new A1 and how he just pulverized the hostiles. And—get this—he is daring and brave and almost killed himself by saving the ten civilians and the guys.”

“
Wow. Do you know how this amazing, brave, and awesome and probably good looking A1 did it?”

Confusion muddled Scarlett’s face for a brief second at my words. “I guess he drew the hostiles away so everyone could escape.”

“
Wow,” I repeated. “Simply amazing!” Raeya elbowed me. Scarlett went on to tell us about the plans for the shelter that couldn’t be executed until the spring, such as planting crops. I didn’t pay a bit of attention to what she was saying because, frankly, I was too distracted to care.

I surveyed everyone in the room. No one looked particularly miserable. The ones that weren’t watching the movie were chatting quietly, reading, or drawing. An old lady sat near the children working on a cross-stitching thing that I’m sure had a proper name. Needlepoint, maybe? I thought about it for a second more before realizing it didn’t matter. Nothing about today was ordinary and yet everyone carried on. It’s a funny thing about the human race, how we crave normalcy so much we are able to adapt to almost anything. And normal was feeling safe, being relaxed and comfortable, not hiding in fear.

“…
and then he burst through the door,” Scarlett said breathlessly, putting her hand on Raeya’s arm. I was glad she wasn’t sitting next to me. I hated when people touch me during a conversation. “Oh, my! Speak of the devil!”

“
Orissa,” Hayden called. I stood to face him. He tossed something to me that I instinctively reached out to catch. I yanked my left arm to my side, wincing in pain. “Oh, sorry, I forgot.” He picked up the ID badge. Normally I would refuse to wear a lanyard around my neck. But the A1 status looked so good next to my name that even I couldn’t resist. I pulled it over my head, patting it against my chest. Scarlett’s eyes bulged.

“
You’re
the new A1?” she asked incredulously.

“
Yep,” I replied. The look on her face was absolutely priceless.

“
Hi, Hayden,” Raeya said politely. Hayden said hello back but I could tell he had forgotten her name.

“
Orissa,” he said. “Fuller wants to get you programmed in and give you the pass codes.”

I said bye to Raeya and followed Hayden down to the next level. We went through one of the doors Scarlett wasn’t authorized to go through and into a surprisingly high-tech room. My hand got scanned into the computer and I was given a list of codes to remember. I was warned not to lose the list, since reprogramming the codes was a pain in the ass.

When we were done I wandered around until I found Raeya’s room; it blended in with the others and I had passed it once. She was refolding her clothes and sorting them into color groups.

“
Want to find Padraic?” she asked. “I haven’t seen him since the quarantine.”

“
Uh, no. I’ll pass.”

“
Why?”

I sighed. I had hoped to avoid him until enough time had passed that things wouldn’t be awkward. “He kissed me.”

“
What?” She smiled. “When?”

“
Before we had to leave. It was…weird.” I wrinkled my nose.

“
Weird? Are we thinking about the same hot doctor here?”

“
I’ll admit he’s hot—”

“—
and kind and caring and smart.”

“
No.” I shook my head. “It’s still weird.”

“
Why?”

“
I don’t know,” I lied. “Ok, I do. He reminds me of Ted.”

Raeya set a sweater down and sat next to me on the bed. “Your stepdad?”

“
Yeah.”

“
The last time I checked, your stepdad was overweight and balding. How in the world can you even compare those two?”

I folded my arms. I hated deep conversations like this when I was forced to admit something that made me feel like scum. “You know I’m not Ted’s biggest fan. And you know as well as anyone that I had no reason for giving him hell. He’s done nothing but make my mom happy. And I say I hate him, but really…really I can’t think of any good reasons why I do. He’s a good person, I have to admit. He does the right thing; he puts faith in people who don’t deserve it. People like me.” I looked up at Raeya and shook my head. That crap about getting a weight off your chest was true after all.

“
So since Padraic’s a good person you don’t like him?”

“
It sounds bad when you say it like that.”

“
No, this is good. I think we’re coming to a breakthrough.”

“
We are?” I asked, playing with a button on my shirt.

“
Yes. Why do you hate Ted?” she asked.

“
He took my mom away from me.”

“
He gave her something you couldn’t.”

“
I could,” I started arguing. I snapped my mouth shut.

“
He did something you couldn’t do and you never let that go,” Raeya analyzed. “And you’ve overcompensated your whole life at excelling at everything you do.”