Contagious (12 page)

The girl muttered incoherent grumbles and crossed the hall. I struggled to take hold of Argos, who desperately wanted to bolt forward. In the two seconds it took the crazy to go from one room to another, I saw the bite marks on her arms.

Zombies went after crazies.

It made sense, why they would. Crazies still had beating hearts and fresh blood. They were in the process of dying, or un-dying, but they were one hundred percent alive.

“
I have a plan,” I said excitedly and whispered it to Jason. He took Argos, leaving me alone on the stairwell. I had more faith in the dog than I did in Jason’s ability to shoot. This stairwell was dark and dreary without the threat of getting eaten alive. It was downright terrifying today.

I smelled him. That’s how I knew a zombie had crawled up the stairs. I put my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming in frustration. Dammit Jason, I specifically told you to
close the door!
One of the zombie’s eyes was hanging out of his head, flopping around with each jerky movement. His hands slapped the cold tile stairs. I couldn’t shoot him. It wasn’t time yet. Jason couldn’t have made it to the other side; he needed more time.

Frantically, I pressed myself against the wall, praying he wouldn’t see me. My body prickled with fear, every nerve on end. I wasn’t sure I could move my feet even if I tried. This zombie was slow and I did after all have the gun, but he wasn’t going to ruin my plan.

He kept moving, probably following the scent of fresh blood. I should have kicked it down the stairs when I had a chance. Idiotically, I didn’t. And now it was above me, two stairs away from the top. The zombie turned, its only good eye bloodshot and dull. The pupil twitched. I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe. If I could momentarily stop my heart from beating, I would have.

It felt like a year passed. The zombie didn’t continue on. He just stood there. My eyes were glued to him, I was afraid to blink; afraid the minute movement would set him off. The knock echoed through the stairs. I jumped. I needed to act, now.

And this son of a bitch was in my way.

“
Fuck it,” I said, and shot him in the head. I leapt past his finally dead body and burst through the doors. “HEY! Come and get me, you meat-eating freak!” I shouted. With a harrowing scream, the crazy took off after me. I sprinted down the stairs, my body chattering with adrenaline. I slammed into the doors on the second floor, drawing my gun. The crazy had tripped over the zombie body, acting as a perfect booby trap and allowing me to gain a few seconds head start. I shot her, the bullet hitting her arm like I planned.

Blood—fresh, juicy, and red – stained her already filthy Purdue University hoodie.

“
Smell that, you stupid zombies? Come and get it while it’s fresh!”

All of the zombies marched in our direction in a petrifying parade. The crazy ignored me, going for the bigger crowd. She was no match for them. Without further ado, I madly dashed down the stairs, across the lobby, the commons and into another stairwell where Jason waited.

“
It worked!” he said in disbelief.

I nodded, too winded to speak. I grabbed his arm and dragged him back up onto the second floor. Distracted with the yummy crazy girl, all the zombies surrounded her body, fighting to get a piece. We reached her room; the door was still closed but not locked. If possible, I felt even more nervous as I opened it.

The room was empty. I didn’t let myself think about it being good or bad. I couldn’t just leave. Not after all we went through. There had to be something, some clue, like a note saying where she had gone.

And there was: the calendar on the wall. A big X was drawn through every completed day. The last X was on Friday, October 21
^st
. She had at least made it until them. I didn’t know what day it was today. I had no idea how much time had passed. A week, maybe? Two weeks? My appointment for a checkup was only a few days after that. That’s when the virus hit Indy. Had it hit the campus sooner?

‘
Seth’s Party’ was written in black and orange marker in the Saturday, October 22
^nd
square. Yes! Seth, she’d be with Seth! And Seth lived…shit. He lived in a frat house. But which one?

“
Betas,” I said out loud.

“
What?” Jason asked.

“
Seth is a…a beta something. Or a something beta. Shit! I can’t remember!”

“
The Beta Theta Pi’s?” he asked, picking up a flyer for the Beta’s annual Halloween party.

“
Yes! Oh thank God, thank you! She could be there, let’s go.”

Three zombies couldn’t get their grubby hands on the body. They wandered away, moaning loudly as if complaining. I shot one in the ear, its brains exploding like a jar of overheated spaghetti sauce. Jason aimed, fired, and missed. Argos barked. I slipped my fingers under his collar before he had the chance to take off.

“
Heel!” I told him. That word had no effect. I dragged him along, causing pain to radiate once again through my torn skin. The bright sunlight seemed unreal after the living house of hell we had just been in. Birds even chirped. I felt like someone was mocking us.

I caught a glimpse of Padraic’s broad smile as we bolted from the dormitory. We dove into the Camaro, with me yelling at Jason to drive before he got the keys back into the ignition. No sooner than the engine roared to life, a dozen zombies ran outside.

Literally ran.

Full bellies must have given them an energy boost. Argos snapped and snarled at the window. Jason slammed the pedal down. The engine revved but we didn’t move.

“
Put it in first gear!” I shouted, pulse pounding. The zombies were close. “No, that’s third, or second! Shit, I don’t know!”

He moved the clutch, punched the gas and the car stalled. A fat zombie pounded on my window.

“
Ok, ok,” I ranted. I had a boyfriend who drove a stick. I’d watched him shift gears before and vaguely remembered him explaining how to do it. I had driven his truck once; he had his hand over mine, shifting the gears for me. “Put it in neutral and turn the car off,” I instructed. Two more zombies clawed at the car, their nails scraping against the metal. We were being surrounded. My hands shook. A newly turned zombie clambered onto the hood, roaring and desperately trying to claw through the glass to get us.

Argos jumped at her, saliva spraying as he fiercely barked. I struggled to push him back and out of the way. I closed my eyes, trying to remember what we had to do. The car shook when another zombie climbed on the hood. The young, female zombie climbed on top of the car, nails raking against the T-Tops. They wouldn’t hold much longer.

The fat zombie made it around the car and was banging on the driver’s side window, blocking out the sun. Jason turned the key; nothing happened. More zombies circled the car. We were going to die, there was just no way out of this. Trapped like sardines in a can, the zombies would peel back the lid that was the top of the car and tear us to pieces.

The Camaro lurched, struck on the side. It threw me sideways into Jason. Oh, God, they were trying to roll the car! Horrified, I turned. Three zombies on my side withered down, thick blood streaking the window.

“
Padraic,” I said and watched the black Range Rover back up and jolt forward, pinning the zombies between his grill and the Camaro. They popped like zits, guts and pus oozing from every orifice. “Again,” I told Jason, remembering that I needed to do something with the clutch. It was hard to shout out instructions over Argos barking. Jason heard me and the most beautiful sound of the engine rang out. “Please work,” I prayed and shifted into what I hoped was first gear. The car lurched forward, running over several zombies. Jason jerked the wheel, hoping to knock off the bitch on the top of the car. He hit a stop sign, bashing out the passenger side lights. The zombie girl flew off, rolling on the pavement, her rotten skin peeling off with ease on the rough street.

I forgot about going to the Beta Theta Pi house. My brain’s only thought was getting the hell away from here and surviving. It took a minute of video game style driving through the abandoned streets of Purdue for me to break out of my timorous haze. I looked around, not able to fathom where we were logically. I had spent four and half years on this campus; I should know it well. Passing the Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education building jarred my memory.

“
We need to get on State Street,” I told Jason, knowing fully that he had no idea where that was. I gave directions. Some of the buildings had been burned down. My stomach twisted at the sight of them, at the sight of what our world had been reduced to. I debated if we should try the highway and sneak in the back. Afraid it would be another frozen traffic jam, I decided against it.

We drove through the perfectly manicured lawn, smashing over Halloween decorations and trampling the bushes.

“
Maybe you should stay here and keep the car running,” I said as my trembling hands gripped the door. My wide eyes scanned the yard. When I saw nothing, I got out of the car, Argos right behind me.

“
No,” he countered. “Hilary needs to drive. It’s no secret I don’t know how to drive a stick.”

“
Right.” The Range Rover stopped next to us. Zombie parts stuck to the front. Without thinking, Padraic got out and rushed over. He put his hands on my shoulders, his blue eyes drilling into mine.

“
Are you hurt?” he asked.

“
Not really.”

“
Good.” Still holding onto me, he looked up at the huge, brick fraternity house. “What are we doing here?”

“
Um, looking for supplies.”

“
You’re not going in there,” he stated.

I turned to the house. The front door was open and most of the windows had been shattered. There was no hope, really, and I knew it. I had made it this far and I wasn’t leaving. Not without exhausting every possibility.

“
I have to,” I blurted.

“
No you don’t. We don’t need supplies; we have enough to last us awhile.”

“
Weapons. We need more guns.”

“
I don’t think you are going to find any guns in a Frat house, Orissa.”

“
I doubt you ever were in a fraternity. You’d be surprised at what you might find,” I tried.

“
I’m sure that house is filled with surprises, but not an arsenal.”

“
You don’t know that,” I spat back, knowing it was a horrible attempt to sway his mind.

“
Orissa, there are strict weapon laws in place here.”

Before I could come up with some stupid lie, a crazy burst through the open door. Argos got to it first, taking it down and clamping his sharp teeth into its face. Four more took its place. Jason shot at one, actually hitting him in the shoulder.

The gunfire echoed across the lawn like a dinner bell, drawing more crazies and a few zombies from neighboring houses. I shot one crazy and two zombies in the head. Padraic had the dagger from earlier. Before I could acknowledge whether or not it was a bad idea, I shoved a new magazine into the .22 and traded him weapons. I didn’t trust him in hand-to-hand combat and I didn’t want to see him get hurt.

“
Aim for the heart,” I told him, hoping that if he missed the bullet would still have a chance of lodging in a stomach or face. I yanked the sheath off the dagger and rushed forward. “I’ve come here to pledge,” I leered at the crazies. They whipped around at the sound of my voice, drawing some of the danger away from the rest of my party.

I crouched, waiting. It would have worked out better if one was a bit faster than the other but, no, they got to me simultaneously. Taking a stance, I leaned back and kicked the bigger of the two crazies in the stomach, planting my foot back on the ground and whirling in one swift movement, the blade slicing through the air.

It caught the other crazy across the chest. Any normal person would have fallen, shouting in pain, clutching their bleeding front in fear and agony. I leaned back, avoiding his blood crusted hands, swooping the dagger up and into his neck. Blood splattered and I closed my eyes, not wanting to get infected.

In that second the big crazy jumped at me, his fat arms wrapping around my waist. We fell to the ground with him on top of me. Jostled out of my hand on impact, the dagger lay only inches away from my fingers. Fatty licked the crazy’s blood from my face, swallowed gratifyingly, opened his mouth and dove down. I caught his head with my hands. Drool fell on my neck as I desperately tried to push his face away. On instinct, I kneed him in the balls. Crazy didn’t even react. I tangled my fingers in his blonde curls and twisted.

It was revolting, the sound and feeling of a spine snapping. Revolting, but efficient. His body went limp. I rolled him off just in time to get attacked again. A slender, dark haired crazy boy growled at me, showing off his fangs.

What the fuck, fangs!? My fingers closed around the welcome metal of the dagger and I flipped myself onto my feet, ducking out of the way of his body as he dove through the air at me. He rolled to his feet and dove again, a predictable move I easily avoided. The first crazy I sliced crawled after me. He was running out of blood and wouldn’t make it much farther.

I was ready when Fangy jumped. He stabbed himself, impaling his heart on the dagger, body twitching and then going limp. I crawled out from under him, eager to roll him over and look at his teeth. I pried his mouth open and laughed. The fangs were plastic, held onto his teeth by putty. Oh, right. Halloween. He was dressed up as a vampire.

I whirled around. Two zombies lay dead on the ground. I didn’t recall hearing the guns fire. Obviously, they had. Jason stared at me with his mouth agape. I wiped my hands, which were covered in blood, on the grass and jogged over.