Hush (The Infected: Ripped to Shreds Book 1) (27 page)

To his mind it was
Advocate Yi
who needed to do that, or at least find a person to fill that role. He had been
the one to rescue her and take her in, but as of that moment, the girl was just
floating from person to person. Like a cork on the sea.

Bridget kind of got that same
thing, but didn't really know what to do about it. She was a kid herself, and
too young to be a mother, even to a great and easy to handle super child. That
part was in there too. This kid needed a parent that could handle her, if she
ever threw a fit.

Thinking about it for a bit, Cin
nodded.

"Hi! Sara? I'm new here.
Call me Cindy. We're headed over to medical, so the doctor here can give me
some shots, or at least poke me with stuff. Want to watch?" They were
supposed to go do that, and while it wasn't what she wanted in particular, the
green girl, who was about a foot and a half bigger than she was, nodded.

"S'hellow. I'dsh like that.
I go theres shom times. S'they givesh me candy." She looked at Bridget,
but the girl needed to eat nearly as much as she did, it seemed, so no one
bothered to keep her from the junk food between meals.

Bridget
was
a bit
concerned for her well being though, since hanging around with psychopaths
wasn't a healthy thing for any kid. It was just the truth, but Cindy wasn't
exactly going to pick a fight with the green kid. For one thing she didn't want
to be slapped down that hard. Not that the girl was that kind of person. She
was physically gifted, but she liked dolls, too. Playing house and all that.
Her life in the foster system had simply made her feel like being big and
strong was a thing she needed to be all the time.

In a way however, it was good
that Bridget was thinking about that kind of thing. It was that she'd had a
proper upbringing that way herself. Most of it done by her grandmother, Rachel.
It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what was most likely needed there,
either. She flipped to Rachel Chamber's book in her head, and started on the
relevant search inside the woman's head. She didn't crave children really,
having raised two already, but she
was
good at it, and not unwilling.
True, Sara wasn't exactly normal, but neither Scott nor Bridget had been either,
and she still loved them both. Like they'd been her own.

The big thing there was that no
one had actually pointed out that the girl might need some help that way. When
she wondered what the woman would say about that, thinking the words, an answer
was found easily. She'd say yes. There wasn't even any hesitation to the idea.

"Um, Bridget, can I borrow
your phone?" That got her looked at, a bit suspiciously as they were
walking. She kind of thought that Cin had figured out some way to escape that
might work and wanted to arrange for help to come and rescue her.

That didn't stop her from passing
the all black thing over, straining to listen in case a secret code was about
to be delivered. At the same time she didn't really want to seem like she was
guarding a prisoner, since, the hope was that eventually Cin wouldn't be that.
It would be easier then, at that later date, if Cindy didn't hate them all.

It took a moment, and she handed
Sara the bags she was carrying in order to do it, which were taken happily enough.
The kid had a good nature to her, even if she was a little sad all the time.
That was both from her mode and abuse in her past. Mainly beatings, because she
was different, and ugly in her green form. Hobbs, and medical, had been right
however. Sara was a shape changer, at least between the two forms. She could do
it on purpose when she
wanted
however, it didn't take her being relaxed
or happy. She just didn't
want
to at the moment.

That kind of made sense really.
At the base, being big, strong and tough kept her safe and kind of fitting in
with everyone else. A little girl would be at a disadvantage that way.

Rachel was in a meeting at the
moment, and didn't want to be, so that gave Cin an in that way. She just had to
play things right, so no one was scared off or offended. On the good side
Rachel was in the phone, listed as G-MA, and only four down the list of names. One
and two were Turner and Tibs, and three was her mother. Prime was there but a
few below that, which was interesting, because Cin would have bet the girl was
closer to her dad than mom.

Hitting the right name got a
voice to come back at her a few seconds later.

"Hello? Bridget? I'm in a
meeting right now..." She was hoping not to be, since it was with Marcia Turner,
and while she liked her all right as a person, the woman was a detail maven of
the highest order, which tended to slow everything down. It bugged her a bit.

"Sorry, no joy there. This
is Cindy? From Thanksgiving? I was hoping you could meet us in medical? I might
have something for you. It could be important." Which was true, but no one
knew what the heck she was talking about. It worked anyway.

"Be right there. Is it an
emergency?"

"Important, but no need to
run. Ten minutes?" The walk wouldn't be that far, since she could see the
white and tan brick building they were moving toward. It was four stories tall,
and big enough to be a real hospital. There was even a name on it, or at least
some letters that said medical center. Not the
something or other
Medical Center either. Just a simple label to inform people where to take the
bodies.

The phone was given back, and
Bridget looked like she really wanted to know the secret, but she didn't ask,
figuring that it might be something special that had been picked up by Cin's
powers. It kind of was, but not in the way the girl was guessing, which all
involved secrets and intrigue. Possibly a clever escape plan.

Inside the door there was an
official desk, which Bridget navigated easily, by simply slapping the top so
that the woman in blue from behind it would look up. It got a smile and the
lady stood, in order to see them all.

"All right Nera, we come
demanding candy... And Dr. Burrows. I have a present for her. Is she in?"
The red headed teen turned and smiled at Cin. "She does shift work at
times, so we might have to come back."

That, it seemed wasn't needed
this time, given how quickly a tidy looking Japanese woman in tennis shoes
moved from the back. She was all in blue, except her white coat, and nifty red
and black checked shoes. The lady looked at Hobbs like he was good to eat, her
interest there not being strictly professional, or subtle. Then she looked at
the rest of them, and smiled.

"No blood? Nice to see. So,
I heard my name, what can I do for you?"

She was looking at Sara, which
was all about how tall she was, and nothing else. Being short, it was the kind
of thing that Cin was used to as well, but it was weird to see it happen that
openly, given that the woman knew, for a fact, how young the girl was. Plus the
woman wasn't huge herself, so that should have made a difference.

Bridget didn't care about that,
and just pointed at her.

"New recruit. Her first
mode, we think anyway, it makes her a serial killer. A kind of killing mania?
Trivia thinks that's the case and no one can lie to her power, so that's
probably right. So, you know, change her?"

Burrows let her lips curl up,
into a Cheshire grin.

"Really now?
Excellent
.
I'll need some DNA samples, blood, a few other things? Are you willing to do
that? Also, are you going to kill me? I
hate
that, by the way." The
woman didn't seem to really care and was just joking, though Sara didn't think
it was a game. She looked at the nice seeming white woman and had to fight to
not shrink away in terror, worried that she was going to be hurt. That wouldn't
be happening, given everything, but the kid didn't know that really.

So Cin answered Burrows to
reassure them all.

"Nope. I only like a certain
kind of man for that. Apparently ones that look like my third grade teacher...
Who was apparently a good guy.
I
never liked him, but I guess that was
my problem and not him. Everyone else is reasonably safe. Plus, if I get out of
hand, Sara here will slap me around until I behave. There's
no
way I can
take her in a fight. Not even armed. I don't have a physical power."

The doctor didn't seem to care
that much about her abilities, waving for them to follow along to the back for
samples. Rachel came in the front as they started to move, which got her waved
along, as if she were part of the group. They looked short and red, as a group,
over all. She was a blonde, but Hobbs wasn't, and Rachel was only as tall as
she was, with Bridget being the short one. Burrows was nearly five-two, so
looked like the big one there, except for Sara, who kind of stood out.

The older Chambers looked at them
all, not getting it yet. Still, she came along, trusting that whatever the news
was would be good. Or not. It still wasn't the tedious meeting.

Cin was half pushed up on a
padded paper covered bed thing, the blue paper under her butt making the whole
thing weird. Then, without warning or notice she was stabbed three times and
swabs were taken from her cheek. Burrows kind of wanted to get other ones from
her, but they really weren't needed. She just liked to be thorough. It didn't
take too long, but there was a payment due. From the doctor, and
that
would be in candy. The good kind.

When she left to go find some,
Cin waved at Sara.

"Rachel, this is Sara. She
needs a mom. A
real
one that will stay with her. Right now people are
ignoring her, which is
bullshit
. After careful consideration your name
came up for the job. You don't have to do it, but you're the best one for the
position." It was mean doing that in front of the girl, who expected the
tiny pretty lady to reject her, but she didn't know the character of Rachel
yet.

The woman beamed at Sara.

"That's a great idea! I'd
love to do that. If you want, Sara? We can go get something to eat, and talk
about it? I have to eat a lot."

The girl nodded, her face not
showing her real emotions.

"Me'sh toos. I'sh eatsh a
lot."

The rough amount flashed on her
page, written clearly, but in crayon. After reading for a bit, Cindy shrugged.

"Well, in
this
form
she does. She can also change into a little girl at will. Possibly some other
forms, once she learns how. She just doesn't feel like it right now, which
I'm
cool with. For one thing, she doesn't have the right clothes yet. Plus, green
is a great color. So I can see that one, personally." The idea was just to
let Rachel know the score, not make trouble for Sara. She was about to keep
going, but the woman nodded, since more wasn't really needed.

"We can get you some? That
way if you want to trade back and forth you can do it. This is a good look for
you too, if you're on the base. It will make it easier to stay in training, I
bet. Unless you're this strong in your other form?"

That got a big, kind of slow head
shake.

"No's, ma'am. Nosh
really"

Bridget clapped. It was a happy
thing, and ended with a hug, first for Sara, and then for Rachel.

"Perfect! I should have
thought of this myself. Rachel is my grandma, and the best parent
ever
!
That makes you my aunt, I guess? Good, you can get me a pony for Christmas. It
doesn't have to be big." She was joking, but Sara seemed to think that it
might be real. She didn't know, and ponies didn't grow on trees, so it was
actually worrying her for a moment.

Cin snorted, and then smiled.

"Don't let her fool you
Sara, it's her job to get
you
a pony, not the other way around. Not that
you should get one of those here. That wouldn't be fair to the horse. You
should try for a dog though."

That got Bridget to hug the girl
again, nodding.

"That's true all the way
around. Now, I need to get Cindy someplace to stay. I meant to be doing that
now, but I'm glad I didn't miss this. We can stuff her in my room tonight if we
have to." There was a sly look at her, but it was more kidding around.

Cindy just nodded.

"That's fine. I don't need
all that much as far as things like that go." The doctor came back in,
with candy for everyone there. Hobbs looked at the thing, knowing what it was,
but wondering what he was supposed to do with his, not wanting to eat it. The
problem was that it was either a gift, or a tribute, both of which could mean
different things. The problem there was that he didn't know which would be the
case given the circumstance.

Either thing meant he must take
the candy, of course, but doing so could be either a pledge to protect Burrows
in combat, or might mean he was expected to return the favor at some point.
Getting that wrong could give offense. In his world that might require lethal
battle over any slight perceived. Here it would be softer, and not as harshly
settled, perhaps, but even these folk could take offense, and did at some very
different things than he would have ever understood. Including the meaning of
words.

Cindy just handed her candy to
Sara, who took the small yellow hard candy with a head bob.