The Truth is Contagious (The Contagium Series Book 4) (21 page)

Gabby was still in the hospital ward. Her
wounds were superficial but the mental trauma was deep. Once she
stopped hysterically crying, she became quiet…too quiet. She didn’t
talk to anyone and wouldn’t eat. Worried, Padraic gave her a shot
of something that helped her relax and Hector was able to get her
to take few bites of her dinner. She was a little better today than
yesterday. Padraic told me she talked to her father and ate
lunch.

I bit the inside of my cheek. I could only
assume that she felt the same way about the guys in her group as I
did in mine. If anything happened to my friends…no. I didn’t want
to think about it.

Pastor Jim closed the
Bible
and bowed
his head, reciting a prayer my mother used to say with me every
night when I was a child. The crowd murmured “amen” and then
dispersed, some going back into the shelter to get out of the rain
while others went to the wooden memorial plaques and said their own
words of prayer.

Hayden and I stayed until the last of the
residents went inside. Ivan and Brock came up to us, stopping by
the plaque. Raeya, Sonja, Jason, and Olivia were a few steps behind
them.

“What’s going to happen?” Sonja asked, voice
shaking. Her eyes fell on Hayden.

His hand trembled ever so slightly and I
didn’t think it was from the chilly rain. I moved in closer,
slipping my hand from his and wrapping my arm around his waist.
Hayden pulled me close, leaning into me.

“We’ll rebuild our groups. A lot of the A2s
are getting really good with weapons.” Hayden looked at Jason. “The
formal training helped the others, but your brother’s doing just
fine without it. He fits in with us.”

Normally, Jason would be grinning ear to ear
from the compliment. But today he just nodded.

“But nobody wants to go out on missions,”
Sonja said quietly. Her eyes were the same dark shade of brown as
Jason’s. She crossed her arms and stepped closer to her brother,
shivering from the rain. “They said it wasn’t safe before. And
now…now no one will go.”

Thunder crackled as it rolled through distant
clouds. I turned my head up, studying the sky. “We will tell them
they can stay here where it’s safe and starve or they can go out
and get supplies.” I looked at Sonja. “Someone will step up.
They’ve got to or we can’t keep going. Our supplies will run out,
and I’m not just talking about food. This place has become as close
to normal as we can get it: movie nights, hot water, washing
machines…that will be the first to go when we’re scraping for
supplies.”

Sonja took a shaky breath and turned to
Olivia, who was equally as shocked. “I never thought about that,
but you’re right.” She moved her eyes up to mine. “I’ll do it. I’ll
go out with you guys on missions.”

“No freaking way,” Jason objected.

Hannah huffed. “Older brothers are the
worst.”

Hayden’s hand tightened on mine. The wind
picked up and the rain fell harder. Wanting to avoid another
session of pointless family drama between brothers and sisters, I
suggested we all go inside. Brock defused the tension by reminding
both Sonja and Hannah that they could start as A3s and work their
way up. I knew there was no intention of letting them move up.

Maybe we should let them. Hannah was no sharp
shooter, but she could handle a gun with confidence and
accuracy…most of the time. And Sonja was fast and quiet. During our
time running from the zombies, she had come in very useful by
sneaking in somewhere and getting what we needed.

We parted ways with our friends and trudged
upstairs to our room to change. Hayden took off his wet clothes and
sank onto the bed, leaning over with his head in his hands. I
pulled my shirt over my head, tossed it in the laundry and shimmied
out of my pants. I sat on the bed behind him, massaging his
shoulders.

Hayden let out a sigh. His muscles were so
tense and his skin cold. I pressed my fingers into him a little
harder, working out a knot. He tipped his head to the side. I
pressed my lips against his neck.

“Hayden,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.” Everyone
had been telling Hayden how he’d figure this out, how we’d pull
through. But no one stopped to think that Hayden was not only
worried about our survival, but he was grieving as well.

He put his hand on mine, his skin was
callused and rough. He twisted, sliding his hand up my arm until it
hooked around my body. He gently pulled me into his lap, embracing
me.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you, too.”

* * *

A full tray of food balanced precariously on
my forearm as I opened the door to Hayden’s office. He, Ivan,
Brock, and Jason, were crowded around the desk. Raeya sat cross
legged on the floor, scribbling things down in the notebook. Wade
had spent the afternoon with Gabby. It was seven in the evening and
they were still together. I hoped she found comfort in him.

“I can’t believe you gave them the master
list,” she mumbled, shooting daggers at Hayden. He looked up from
the map, dark circles clinging to his eyes. Three days had passed
since the memorial service and Hayden was still stressed.

“I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to,” he
said.

Raeya shook her head so fast her thick brown
hair fell into her face. She pushed it back. “We have a copy
machine,” she said pointedly.

“I didn’t think we’d need it,” Hayden said
quietly.

Raeya looked up, guilt pulling down her face.
She opened her mouth to apologize when I came in.

“Food,” Ivan said, looking up from the map
that was spread across the desk. “Thank God.”

“Call me Orissa,” I said with a smirk. Brock
cleared papers off the little table across from the desk. I set the
tray down and looked at our dinner.

“I’d do anything for a pizza,” Jason mumbled
when he picked up a bowl of canned vegetable soup. “And a salad.
Never thought I’d say that.”

I nodded, crushing saltine crackers and
dumping them into my bowl. “I would eat a bag of lettuce plain. I
miss it.”

“The garden’s getting bigger,” Brock reminded
us. “Maybe you can eat a head of lettuce soon.”

“Is it weird that I would totally do that?
God I miss fresh fruit and vegetables.”

“And cheese,” Raeya added. I grabbed another
bowl and sat down next to Raeya. She took the soup and winkled her
nose. “I used to like canned soup.”

“It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t watered
down,” Jason said and added salt to his bowl. “I bet the cooks
serves themselves a big bowl of condensed soup with barely any
water. Then serve us this thinned out crap.”

“I should have been a cook,” Brock mused and
took the salt from Jason.

The office grew quiet except for the clanging
of spoons on bowls. I pushed my crackers to the bottom. I liked
them extra soggy.

“So,” I said after I finished my soup. I set
the bowl down and stood. “What’s the game plan?”

Raeya flicked her eyes to me and then the map
before quickly going back to her list, moving her pen so fast I
knew she wasn’t really writing. I stared at her, waiting for her to
feel my eyes. She ducked her head into her chest. Clearly she
wasn’t going to give me an answer.

“There are a few decent sized cites we
haven’t checked out yet a few hours north,” Hayden started, “since
they were overrun. But now—”

“You think the herds have dispersed,” I
finished for him.

“Exactly.”

I moved to the desk, close to Hayden and
looked at the map. “Where are we headed, captain?”

He put his finger on the map. “Kentucky.”

Kentucky. The state I grew up in. The place
my grandparents lived and the place we had run to, seeking shelter
from the horrible world. We had found peace, come to know each
other and develop friendships that would last throughout the most
harrowing times. It was funny how that one word stirred up so much
emotion.

“Ok,” I said without missing a beat. “Do you
have a specific location?”

“Bowling Green,” he said, close to cringing.
Raeya must have told him. I know for sure I hadn’t.

I nodded. “I’m familiar. We lived close to
there.” I looked across the desk at Jason. “Do you remember much
from when we drove around?”

He lifted his shoulders. “A bit. I watched
you, mostly,” he admitted. “Was Bowling Green the town you,
Padraic, and I were in when those kids hiding under the cars got
eaten?”

Shit. I hadn’t thought about it since it
happened. “No. But it was close.”

Raeya narrowed her eyes. “What? Why did I
never hear about this?”

Jason and I looked at each other. “Uh…” he
started.

“I didn’t want you to hear about it,” I told
her. “They were the first people we had come across since getting
you that weren’t infected. And they died before our eyes.”

She gripped her notebook. “I’m glad I didn’t
know. Thanks.”

I gave her a tight smile, making sure I
looked calm and collected. Inside, I was conflicted, confused at
why going back to Kentucky seemed so hard. It was just a state.
This was a mission. Being only miles away from my grandparent’s
farm shouldn’t matter.

But it did.

“When are we leaving?” I asked.

Hayden looked up, his eyes wide.

“You’re going?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah,” told him, raising an eyebrow.
“Why wouldn’t I?”

His cheeks slightly flushed. “I just thought
you’d want to stay here.” He made a deal of smoothing out the map.
“With me,” he added quickly. I sucked in a breath. Hayden wasn’t
going? I blinked, shaking myself. Right. He couldn’t go. He had to
stay here and keep things running smoothly. Still, I didn’t believe
that. Somehow he’d find a way to leave, a way to come with me.

Hayden ran his hand through his hair. “I’m
not sure how we are going to do this, honestly.” He sighed. “If we
go as we normally did, who would be left to guard the compound?” We
looked at each other, none of us wanting to split up.

“There’s really no one else to take over?”
Raeya asked.

“There is,” Ivan answered. “There are plenty
of people who are able to defend the compound.”

“They don’t want to do it,” Brock said
bitterly.

Anger built inside of me. “Ugh! This is so
frustrating!” I turned, bringing my hands up toward my face. “And
complete bullshit! Is anyone else feeling majorly taken for
granted? It’s time for people to buck up, grab a gun, and stand the
fuck by the gate!”

“Yeah,” Jason said. “I was an A3. It’s not
hard. Scary, oh yeah. Very. But I was in the tower, relatively
safe. If we saw anything, we called for help, basically keeping our
hands clean.”

“Remember when the zombies pushed through the
fence?” Brock said. “Right after we got back from that mission.
Everyone pulled together and we did it. We can do it again.”

“If they’re forced,” I said and rolled my
eyes. “People need to realize that we are living on the edge of
life and death every single day, that each time that sun rises over
that bloody horizon and we’re alive to see it is a victory. They
need to know that it takes blood and sweat and tears to keep this
place going and that we’re here, scraping the bottom of the barrel
for food and medical supplies while hoity-toity twatwaffles sit
safe and sound drinking tea and eating cookies not giving a damn
about us!” I let out a breath, heart pounding.

“She’s rather inspiring when she gets all
fired up,” Brock whispered to Raeya loud enough for me to hear.

“Really, she is.” She tipped her head at him.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

He beamed, eyes sparkling. “We need to work
on her language though.”

She shook her head. “I’ve tried. For years,
literally, with little success. I’ve gotten her to go from unruly
drunken sailor to well-educated drunken sailor at least. And by
well educated I mean her vocabulary of swear words increased ten
fold.”

Brock nodded. “Impressive!”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, temper
high.

“See what I mean?” Raeya asked, speaking out
of the side of her mouth. She turned to me and smiled. “You are
right, Rissy. The people here have gotten used to the comfort. I
haven’t even seen a zombie since we came and I am so, so thankful
for that. But I still remember what it’s like.” She closed her
eyes. “The way they smell. I won’t ever forget it.” She opened her
eyes and inhaled. “Each day that goes by makes me feel a little
more normal and a little more healed and I can only hope it does
the same for everyone else. So yes, maybe they do take you guys for
granted. Maybe if they heard what you just told us, they’d feel
more inspired to help.”

I blinked. “You want me to give an
inspirational speech?”

“Yes.”

I leaned away, laughing. “That’s a horrible
idea. Have you met me?”

“Over fifteen years ago.” She beamed. “And I
don’t mean a literal speech. Just talk to everyone, telling them
what you told us. But with more detail, perhaps. Your fiery spirit
might give off a few sparks. It’d be really nice to have
volunteers.” Her eyes flicked to Hayden and I knew what she meant.
If people volunteered, then Hayden wouldn’t have to force
anyone.

“Ok,” I said. I would do anything to help
Hayden. Anything.

* * *

I looked out my bedroom window. Ivan and
Brock drove toward the gate, the Range Rover bumping along the long
driveway. They were leaving on a mini mission to recover the truck
full of baby supplies that had been abandoned and were taking one
of the new A1s with them.

Raeya was right. We had spent the next few
days talking to the residents. I hadn’t realized before that some
of them were pretty clueless as to what went on here. I scoffed at
that notion at first, saying it was impossible to not know how we
operated. But Hayden reminded me of the efforts Fuller had taken to
make sure the residents were not only safe but comfortable, living
as close to normal as he could provide.