Contagious (7 page)

I’ll be the first to admit my wardrobe was more than a little bipolar. The right side of my closet was full of ‘going out’ clothes: tight jeans, short skirts and dresses, low cut tops that showed off my boobs and the likes. The left side housed practical clothing from my summers spent at my grandparents’ Kentucky farm: comfortable pants, thermal shirts good for layering, old tank tops that were meant for getting dirty. I changed into a clean pair of underwear before pulling on a pair of stretchy skinny jeans that would be good for running but still offered more protection than thin athletic pants. I yanked a long sleeve shirt on before stuffing my arms into a fleece lined, brown hoodie. I pulled mismatching socks from my drawer.

I guessed Sonja to be about my size, though not quite as tall. I yanked a pair of loose fitting jeans so hard the hanger broke. Oh well. It’s not like I’d be needing it. I picked out a thick hooded sweatshirt and another pair of socks. I could provide Lisa and Zoe with sweaters and hoodies too, but nothing I or Aunt Jenny owned would fit Hilary. And then there were the guys to think about. Padraic definitely couldn’t gallivant around in thin scrubs.

I dragged a suitcase out from under the bed, throwing a few more long-sleeve shirts, another pair of pants, several more pairs of underwear and socks in it. Without explaining what I was doing, I rummaged through the small apartment looking for anything that could be useful. I took minimal personal hygiene supplies from the bathroom, vitamins, a can opener and the rest of the knives from the kitchen along with matches, candles, bleach and duct tape.

“
Feel free to help,” I snapped at the remaining four that sat dumbly in the living room.

“
What are you doing?” Padraic asked, his voice level.

“
Getting supplies,” I replied, though I assumed it was obvious.

“
How can I help?”

“
Get supplies,” I huffed, covering my nose as I opened the fridge and poured the spoiled milk down the sink, rinsing the container with water from the bathtub.

“
What are you doing?” Jason asked innocently, thinking I was cleaning. “I mean, does it matter anymore?”

“
It’s for gas,” I explained. “We need to get as much as we can.”

“
How? I don’t think the gas pumps work.”

I chuckled. “Do you know how a siphon works?”

“
I don’t know what that is.”

“
You will,” I promised. Together, we gathered up anything we could think was useful. I raked my long hair to the side, pulling it over my left shoulder and braiding it. “You need clothes,” I told Padraic. Right as I was about to suggest we go to his or Logan’s house, it dawned on me that tons of other people lived in this apartment complex. Leaving Logan and Hilary to guard the sleeping girls, I led the way into the hall, pacing to the neighbor’s door. I knocked and pressed my ear to the door. Nothing stirred inside. Stepping back, I kicked the door.

It didn’t break. I kicked it again, right next to the dead bolt. The frame buckled. Two more kicks and I was in. When I caught Jason looking at me like I was Wonder Woman, I said,

“
These are really cheap doors. They break easily.” The smell of decay hit us. I almost puked when I saw the dead bodies lying on the floor. Both had gunshot wounds to the head. I pried the gun from a wilted, dead hand, clicked on the safety and stuck it in the back of my pants. “There has to be ammo in here somewhere,” I said. “Look for a box of bullets. And take anything that could be useful.”

Padraic and I left Jason and went back into the hall. Padraic kicked the next door in on his second try, revealing to me that he was stronger than I expected. Another body lay on the floor, though this one must have died from the virus. We loaded up a bag with canned beans, tuna, and crackers. A set of keys hung on the wall. I grabbed them and went on to ransack the medicine cabinet.

“
Padraic!” I called when my hands gripped something. “Will this help?” I tossed him the inhaler. He read the label.

“
Yeah, I think so.” He gawked admirably at me. Glaring, I told him to hurry up and check the closet for clothes. I knocked on the next door. “Why are you knocking?” Padraic asked.

“
One, I’m listening to see if anything reacts to the sound. And two, if someone kicked down my door, I’d shoot them.”

“
Oh, right.”

Eventually, we completely split up. I felt like I was burglarizing when I nosed through cabinets and drawers. I kept looking behind me, both for crazies or the homeowners, as if they would show up any second. Even if they did, what would they do? I wondered if there were any police left. It certainly felt like we were the last ones in the city, which couldn’t be true. If we had made it, surely others had. And what about Rebecca and Karli? Yes, they got infected in the end, but they survived for awhile and they weren’t prepared for the outbreak.

“
Preparation is the key to survival,” I mumbled.

“
What did you say?” Padraic asked, startling me. I hadn’t heard him sneak up behind me.

“
Nothing. It’s just something my grandpa used to tell me.” I looked at the unopened bottles of cranberry juice in his hands. “Awesome, that’s my favorite,” I said honestly.

“
Mine too.”

“
Now only if I had a little Vodka…” I said with a hint of laughter, meeting Padraic’s eyes. He had changed into jeans and a light blue T-shirt. Since his body wasn’t covered up in baggy scrubs, I noticed for the first time that, though he was slender, he was firm and well built. A gray jacket was folded over his arm.

“
We should get back and rest.”

“
Sure.”

We found Jason at the end of the hall, proudly carrying a box full of what he thought was useful supplies. I’d have to go through it later. We dumped everything out in the middle of Aunt Jenny’s living room, sorting the stuff into piles.

“
So,” Hilary asked, pulled a sweater over her scrubs. “What is our plan?”

“
Go North,” I said, my face serious and neutral. “There might be quarantine by Chicago since there are so many people.”

“
There were a lot of people here,” Padraic interjected.

“
It’s worth a shot,” I spat. “And it’s not that far. Since we have no traffic laws to abide by, it will take less than half a day.” He still didn’t look convinced. “And if there’s nothing we can try something else.”

“
You make it sound so easy.”

I pressed my cold hands on my cheeks, red and warm from the rush of looting others’ homes. “That’s where I’m going. You don’t have to come then.”

Padraic actually leaned away with surprise. “Split up?”

I shrugged. “That’s where I’m going,” I repeated.

“
North,” he questioned. “You said it yourself: it’s getting colder every day. Shouldn’t we go south?”

“
Eventually,” I said, since that was part of my original plan. But I couldn’t go without seeing if she was alive or not. “I’m going to check Chicago first. Since it’s close,” I reiterated, my voice level.

“
Do you really think there’s a quarantine there?” Hilary asked.

“
It’s my best guess,” I lied. I’m a good liar. I could look someone in the eyes while I did it and my stories always stayed consistent. Over the years I’ve discovered the best lies were the simplest lies. The less you have to remember, the less of a chance you have of messing it up and blowing your cover. “If we leave now we can make it there before nightfall.”

“
Leave tonight?” Jason asked, displeased at my haste.

“
Why not? It’s not like we have anything holding us back. The sooner the better anyway. It’s only a matter of time before those, those things realize we are up here.”

Padraic shook his head. “We’re not rested. The five of us didn’t get much sleep on that rooftop,” he reminded me. Even though only a few hours had passed since this morning, the whole hiding on the roof from zombies seemed like it happened days ago. I hated that he was right.

“
Fine. We’ll rest. It will give me more time to get supplies and find a good car. But as soon as the sun comes up tomorrow morning, I’m leaving and I’m not forcing anyone to come with me.”

“
We can’t stay here,” Jason voiced my earlier reasoning. “We will die.”

“
We will,” Logan said softly, meeting my eyes. “Tomorrow morning it is, then. We will go north to find the quarantine.”

I nodded. “Well, I’m gonna rest up then. One of you guys should too, so someone can take the night watch with me tonight.” I walked out of the living room, pausing right before I got to my door. “And maybe barricade the door. It’s easy to get in, as you all saw.” I kicked off my boots, set the gun on my nightstand and crawled under the covers. I was tired. My body was sore and my side pinched when I moved. I hoped my insides had healed enough to not rip open. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind. I hadn’t truly wanted to split up, but maybe it would be better to. If she wasn’t alive then I’d be going there for nothing. No, she’s alive, I told myself. And if not, well, the others could just deal with it. I was sure I could find
something
to make the trip worthwhile.

I hadn’t wanted to entertain the thought of possibly being the only ones left. When we ventured out tomorrow, I was sure, we would find others doing the same. We could all band together and survive this somehow.
I
would survive this somehow.

I slept for a whole forty-five minutes. Unable to shut my mind off or feel safe enough to let my guard drop, the long nap was the best I would get. Wanting my sore muscles to have a chance to feel better, I stayed in bed for another hour, trying not to think about zombies. Unsuccessfully, of course. Something didn’t seem right. And it wasn’t the obvious there-is-a-zombie-apocalypse thing happening. I threw back the covers and got out of bed, prepared to go interrogate Padraic.

Logan, Jason, and Hilary sat at the kitchen table, playing cards. Padraic slept on the couch. Damn it. I wasn’t about to wake him up. I sat at the table next to Jason. My stomach growled. Jason nodded, silently telling me he was hungry too. Soup seemed appetizing, if only I could heat it up.

“
I can,” I said aloud. I got up, my chair scooting on the tile. I padded into the living room and took several candles from my ‘candle and lighter’ pile. I arranged them on the counter in between four tall, glass cups. I set a pot on the cups, dumped the soup in and waited.

“
You’re brilliant,” Jason told me when I dished the warm soup into bowls.

“
So I’ve been told,” I said with a smile and devoured my soup. The girls woke up, the smell of food driving them out of their slumber. After they ate, I played several painstakingly boring games of Go Fish. Time passed by so slowly. But when the sun began to sink, I felt a hand of dread grip my heart. It would make sense that the crazies couldn’t see in the dark. They were still human, after all. Like me, darkness left them vulnerable. I had a nagging feeling that it left me more vulnerable. The crazies had nothing to lose. I wished I had found a pair of night vision goggles.

I tossed my cards in the middle of the table. I strode to the door, removing the chair that had been repropped under the handle.

“
What are you doing?” Logan asked.

“
I’m going to see what’s up there,” I said, pointing above me, meaning the third floor. “Before it gets dark.”

“
I’ll come with you.”

“
Ok,” I agreed. I wasn’t too keen on going up there alone anyway. He picked up a knife and joined me by the door. “I’ll knock, but don’t open the door until you make sure it’s us, ok?” I told Jason. He nodded. “Keep them safe,” I added before he had the chance to try and join us. With Logan close behind, I nervously walked to the stairs. I clicked the safety off of the gun.

“
Do you know how to use that?” he asked skeptically.

“
Yes,” I replied shortly.

“
If you say so.” He didn’t question me any further. Out of everyone, I thought I could get along with Logan the easiest.

There was a zombie in the apartment of the first door we forcefully opened. I think he had been old when the virus took him. It was hard to tell due to the decomposing state of his skin. My heart raced in fear and I struggled to hold the gun steady. Instead of rushing at us, opened mouthed and hungry, the zombie dragged his feet slowly in our direction, tripping over a rumpled rug. I looked at Logan, who stared back at me just as confused. I lowered the gun, not wanting to waste any ammo. Logan crossed the room and sunk the knife into the zombie’s back, piercing the heart. But it didn’t die.

“
Haven’t you seen any zombie movies?” I exasperated. “You have to get the brain.” I held back a giggle, turning around just as the knife sliced through the air, aiming for the bottom of the zombie’s skull. I did a quick sweep of the apartment, finding nothing of significance. Wiping the bloody knife on a towel, Logan followed me down the hall.

“
Wait,” I told him, holing up a hand. “Do you hear that?”

“
No,” he said after a second.

“
Well it stopped now.” I shook my head. I knew I had heard something. “It was like a high pitched whine,” I explained, moving forward. With the gun ready in my right hand, I pressed my ear against another door, three down from where we had been. I heard it again. “There!” I whispered. It sounded familiar and very non-zombie.

“
Skip this one?” Logan suggested.

“
Don’t you want to know what’s in there?” I asked.

“
No. Let’s go back and eat.”