The Truth is Contagious (The Contagium Series Book 4) (34 page)

We waited, looking out at the field. A minute
passed and nothing else came. I lowered the bow and turned back to
our unwelcome guests. I’d rather deal with the zombies.

My grandpa wheeled around with more speed
than normal for someone his age. He pointed the gun at Knife Guy’s
face. “Who sent you?” he demanded. Great. He was at it again. “You
were watching, waiting. How long have you been recording us?”

He lowered the shotgun and pulled a knife
from a sheath that was hanging at his side. The handle was wrapped
in electrical tape. I couldn’t tell exactly what had been attached
without more light.

My grandpa flicked a switch. A blue line ran
down the blade, crackling and popping. I didn’t need a light to
know he had attached a taser to the knife. It was so crazy it was
awesome.

“Did you get what you wanted?” He shoved the
taser-blade in front of him. Aubrey screamed, burying her head in
Shawn’s chest. Blue light flickered over his face. His eyes were
wide as he stared down my grandpa, who no doubt looked like a
complete lunatic.

My grandpa lurched forward. “Is that
information stored in the computer chips? They’re not gonna get
it.” He shook his head. “No, I won’t let them. I’ll take it out.
Destroy it like I did before. Can’t find me.”

He turned to me. “Get the hose. Have to use
electricity. It’s the only way to shut the cyborgs down.”

“Grandpa,” I said calmly. I licked my lips,
debating on how to do this. Hayden stared at me, waiting for my
signal. “They’re people, not cyborgs.”

“We won’t know that until they pass the
test.”

I swallowed. “What’s the test?”

“Give ‘em a shock. Cyborgs malfunction.”

I closed my eyes in a long blink and let out
a breath. “And if they don’t malfunction?”

My grandpa tipped his head, pressing the
taser on the blade again. “Never made it that far before.”

Oh my God. Had he killed innocent people? “I
think there’s a better way to test them.”

My grandpa stiffened. He turned his head,
eyes void of emotion. All rationality had left him. Armand Penwell
had checked out and he was replaced by the shadow of a man who had
seen too much. “How?”

“Heartbeats.”

“The cyborgs could have computer chips. They
can even increase the speed.”

I cast a pleading glance at Hayden. We
couldn’t let him tase these people, not with his taser-blade at
least. I could feel the electricity from it all the way over here.
That thing had enough juice to stop a human heart.

“They can bleed,” Hayden said, stepping
forward. “Cyborgs don’t bleed since they have no blood.” My
grandpa’s arm started to relax. “And look at them,” Hayden
continued. “They’re weak, thin…not built like cyborgs at all.”

My grandpa nodded. Then his face twisted into
a scowl. “It’s a disguise.” A blue line of electricity snapped down
the blade. “They can’t fool me. I won’t let them. Not again. Not
after they took my sweet Jenny.” He raised his arm. “You have a
mission. They’re here to stop it.”

“No!” Shawn pleaded. “We’re not cyborgs I
promise! Nobody sent us!”

“That’s exactly what they want you to say!”
my grandpa shouted.

I looked at the field behind me. We needed to
get inside, out of the dark.

“If they were cyborgs they wouldn’t have gone
for the chickens,” I said, exasperated. “They would have gone for
us.”

My grandpa looked at me, eyes narrowed. Then
he slid the taser-blade back into its sheath. “You’re right.
Cyborgs don’t eat. They
can’t
eat. No stomachs.”

“Right,” Hayden said.

My grandpa crossed his arms. “So what I have
is a couple of trespassers.”

I stepped close to my grandpa “Yes. That’s
what we have. What do you want to do with them?”

“Your call, kid,” he said. He was testing me
and this time I didn’t have the slightest idea what he
expected.

“If all they wanted was food…” I looked at
Hayden. “We should let them eat. Then question them.”

“All right.” My grandpa crossed his arms.
“But under my watch.”

* * *

They smelled like they hadn’t showered in
days…weeks maybe. Aubrey clung to Shawn. Her vivid green eyes stuck
out from her dirty face. Her hair might have been blonde. I
couldn’t tell; it was too dirty. It fell in matted clumps around
her shoulders.

“When was the last time you ate?” Hayden
asked.

The man I tackled shook his head. “A few days
ago…maybe. Everything blurs together.”

That was something I could relate to. I was
still pissed they were going to steal from my grandpa, but in a
sense I felt bad for them. And as long as they weren’t planning on
stealing anything else or attacking us, I wanted to help.

My grandpa sat in the corner of the room,
shotgun in hand, muttering about droids sending more cyborgs. The
three strangers passed his test, but I knew he wasn’t convinced
they weren’t brilliantly disguised cyborgs. The only way he allowed
them in his house was to ‘bring them in for questioning.’ Once
inside and in the light, he saw how ragged they were. The logical
part of his brain began to surface.

“Take it slow,” Wade said when he gave them
each a can of peaches. “You can easily get sick if you eat too
fast.”

Aubrey cradled the can like it was the Holy
Grail. Her face crinkled as if she was crying yet no tears fell
from her eyes due to dehydration.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice small. She
stabbed a slice of fruit with her fork and put it in her mouth. I
leaned against the table, giving them a few minutes to devour their
food before questioning them again.

The man who I tackled was named Joel. He was
Aubrey’s brother. They were from Indiana and met up with Shawn
several months ago. The three had stayed at a camp with nearly a
hundred people. Food became scarce and tempers rose. The people
were too busy fighting with each other when a herd came
through.

They ran, and had been running ever since,
scavenging for food and shelter. Joel admitted that he saw Wade and
me in the Jeep this afternoon and followed us back. When he saw the
chickens pecking the ground outside, he came up with the plan to
sneak in at night.

“Why didn’t you just ask us?” Jason stood,
shaking his head. He waved his hand at me. “Like she said, we would
have helped you. That’s what we do.”

“You’ve very nice people,” Joel said.

“No shit,” I said, frowning at a nick on my
bow. “We’d be even nicer if you rang the fucking doorbell and asked
for help.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking up from his can
of peaches. “We didn’t think about the people here…only the
food.”

“The past is the past,” Jason said. “Just
don’t do it again.”

I smiled, turning my head away from Jason. I
kind of felt bad thinking he was cute trying to be authoritative.
He tried so damn hard, and I was proud of him for that.

After Joel, Aubrey, and Shawn ate, they
showered. Hayden and I pushed the coffee table aside in the living
room and laid down blankets. Our plan was to let those three sleep
here, under supervision of course, then drop them off at the school
tomorrow before we left for our mission.

We went back to our posts. Hayden and I
stayed inside this time, moving from window to window all the while
keeping an eye on our houseguests. Around three in the morning Wade
and Jason switched us out. I stripped out of my clothes and crawled
into bed with Hayden, falling asleep almost immediately and not
waking until around eight the next morning.

* * *

Hayden put the truck in park. A few zombies
were in the school parking lot. They walked through the cars
aimlessly, only turning their attention to us once we got out of
the car.

“I’ll take care of it,” Hayden said. “Get
them inside.”

I did a quick count. There were two zombies
and three gummies scattered across the lot. “Fine.” I wasn’t happy
about leaving Hayden, but he could handle it.

“I want some practice,” he said with a smile
and reached for my bow.

I took the quiver off my shoulder, extending
my arm. “Don’t lose my arrows.”

Hayden smirked. “If I do, I’ll let you punish
me.”

I rolled my eyes, laughed, and pulled my
knife from its sheath, holding it out in front of me. “Follow me,”
I told Joel, Aubrey, and Shawn. We hurried to the gate. I undid the
lock, slid the panel of fencing away, and ushered them in.

I raised the drop down gate. “Hello?” I
called. “It’s Orissa again.” I pulled the gate back down once we
all were through. Boots echoed through the hall. Great. It was that
douche bag Bentley.

“I knew you couldn’t stay away,” he said and
rounded the corner. He stopped short, blue eyes narrowing. “More of
your friends?”

“Not really,” I said. “But they will be
yours.” I turned. “They’re gonna—”

“Are you Bentley Owen?” Joel gushed.

Bentley flashed his brilliant smile. “Yes,
yes I am.” He ran his hand through his hair and winked at me,
striding forward. He had a guitar strapped to his back and was
wearing a black cowboy hat.

Seriously
?

“Always glad to meet a fan.” His eyes ran up
and down my body when he walked past. He extended his hand to
Joel.

I re-sheathed the knife and crossed my arms.
It was stupid to get excited over a celebrity—if you could even
call them that anymore. He was just one of us, a survivor, no
different than anyone else. Actually, he was different. He had no
training, no past that was helpful.

“They’re going to be stay here for a while,”
I said.

“The more the merrier, I always say,” Bentley
said. “As long as it’s not the undead,” he added, earning laughs.
He turned, waving down the hall. “Come on in, I’ll show you
around.” They walked past me, following Bentley down the hall.

“You’re not coming?” he asked me when I
didn’t move.

“Not yet.” I looked outside. “Waiting for
someone.”

Bentley laughed. “I hope it’s not that
mysterious fiancé of yours. I see your ring disappeared.”

I had left the ring on top of the dresser in
my old room for safekeeping. I turned to Bentley, eyebrows raised.
“Yes, it is him.”

Bentley strode over, stopped next to me, and
licked his lips. “He’s a lucky guy.” He stared at me so hard I
could feel his eyes fucking me. “You look like a proper woman
without that bow and arrows.”

I took a breath. It wasn’t worth it…it wasn’t
worth it.

“And by proper, I mean hot.”

I whipped around. “Keep your boner-lusting
eyes off me, asshole. I’m not interested in you. At all.”

Bentley leaned back, eyes wide in shock. Then
he laughed and put his arm on the wall. “And what if I don’t?”

“You’ll be sorry.”

He leaned in more. He really thought he was
hot shit. “You gonna sic your fiancé on me?”

I smirked. “Don’t have to. I can take care of
myself, thank you very much.” The gates scratched against the
cement sidewalk outside. I turned, opening the door for Hayden.

He was clean-shaven this morning, wearing a
gray t-shirt and dark jeans. Blood had splattered across his face.
His eyes went to mine, a smile subconsciously pulling his lips
up.

“Everything go ok?” I asked, raising the
metal gate.

“Yeah,” he said and ducked under, holding his
rifle to his side. “It was a piece of—Bentley Owen.” Hayden
straightened up. “You’re Bentley Owen.”

Come
on
,
Hayden
,
not
you
too
. I shook my head.

“I love your music,” Hayden blurted. “You
preformed for us overseas four years ago. I’ve been a huge fan ever
since.” His eyes lit up. I moved next to him, close enough to feel
his body heat. I hooked my fingers under the strap of my quiver.
Hayden’s arm went slack as he let me pull it off him.

“Careful, sweetheart,” Bentley said and
winked at me. “Those sticks are pointy. Maybe you should leave the
weapons with the big boys. You look much better without it.”

Hayden blinked. “What did you just say to
her?”

Bentley’s cool smile faltered. Did he really
think he could use his past star status on my Marine? I put the
quiver over my head and took the bow.

Bentley laughed, tipping his head up so his
hair fell back. “You gotta admit your woman is good looking. And
those are few and far between these days.”

Hayden’s shoulders tensed. He stepped up,
right in front of Bentley. Hayden was a few inches taller and more
muscular. His body went rigid, ready for a brawl. “Orissa isn’t my
woman
; she doesn’t
belong
to me.”

Bentley held up his hands, apparently
not
ready for a brawl. “Hey now,” he said, trying to back
away from Hayden’s instant anger. “I didn’t mean it
offensively.”

“Treating a woman like a piece of property
is
offensive no matter how you meant it.” Hayden shook his
head, eyes flashing in anger.

“All right,” Bentley said. Fear pulled down
his face. “Sorry, buddy.”

“I’m not your buddy.”

Bentley took another step back before turning
to the stunned faces of Joel, Shawn, and Aubrey. I looked at
Hayden, not meaning to smile as deviously as I did. I shook my head
again, having to remind myself it wasn’t worth is. Bentley hurried
down the hall.

“Fucking soldiers,” he muttered.

It happened fast: I grabbed an arrow, strung
up the bow, and fired. The arrow sailed through the air right
though Bentley’s cowboy hat. It flew off his head and stuck to the
wall.

“Riss!” Hayden exclaimed, eyes wide.

“Oops. Lost control of my pointy sticks,” I
said innocently. “And they’re not soldiers. They’re Marines.”

Aubrey stared at me with her mouth agape.
Between my grandpa last night and now me, she probably thought we
were one headache away from turning crazy.