The Truth is Contagious (The Contagium Series Book 4) (14 page)

All eyes fell on me. I recalled the layout of
this place and gazed out the window. Everything looked different on
the ground. “There should be another bridge that way,” I said and
pointed. “If we can cross it and stay in the tall grass along the
river, we might be able to get by unseen.”

“But
we
won’t be able to see
anything,” Wade reminded me.

“Damn. You’re right.” I bit my lip,
thinking.

“Let’s just do it,” Ivan suggested. “We are
sitting ducks in here.” He cocked his gun. “We don’t have to take
them all out,” he reminded us. “Just enough to make them not as big
of a threat.”

“Everyone got their cocktail?” Brock
asked.

We nodded. “Ok. Let’s do this.”

Ivan went first, making sure the coast was
clear.

And it was clear…eerily clear.

* * *

I couldn’t help the sick feeling that the
crazies were planning something. We ran across the lot and into the
woods, bypassing the old two story office building all
together.

The calming sound of running water echoed off
the trees. Anxiety balled in my stomach and my eyes involuntarily
flicked to Wade’s arm. Would the smell of blood draw in the
crazies?

“You’re the lightest,” Ivan said, casting a
glance at me. I nodded and moved forward. I made it across without
an issue. Jason crossed next, followed by Wade and Brock. Ivan was
last and jumped off the old wooden structure. We took a second to
collect ourselves before pushing on.

“There,” I whispered and moved a branch back
to peer through the trees. I had been happily surprised at how
quietly Jason moved behind me. I could tell he was really trying.
“The fourth building.”

“That’s where you saw them?” Ivan
whispered.

“Yep.”

“You two go around, catch the stragglers. The
three of us will light it up.” He pulled his lighter from his
pocket and held up a wine bottle filled with explosives.
“Showtime.”

Nervous excitement rippled through me. I
unlatched my back, getting my own Molotov cocktail ready. Jason and
I slipped through the trees, racing to the nearest building. I
ducked behind it, pressing my back to the wall. I wrapped my
fingers around an arrow, just in case. Jason had traded his rifle
for a pistol, which was better for shooting when the crazies were
right in our fucking faces.

“Do you hear that?” Jason whispered. His
knuckles were white from gripping his gun.

“Yeah,” I whispered back. Weird chatter
spilled from the building full of crazies. Real words weren’t being
said, but there was a definite tone to the clicking and
growling.

“They’re talking.”

“We’ll be ok,” I assured him. He didn’t have
to tell me he was terrified. I knew he was because I was too. I
felt like we were walking into Eastmoore again, but this time we
had a piss poor plan.

“On three,” Brock’s voice came over the
walkie. There were a few seconds of silence before he came back,
tapping on the walkie three times. I closed my eyes and braced for
the explosion.

Jason jumped when the bottle smashed into
pieces and the fire ripped along the wall of the building. Two more
blasted after that.

And then chaos broke loose.

The crazies tore out of the burning
structure. Some were on fire. Jason and I pushed off the wall,
running into the street. Black smoke billowed around us, making it
hard to see the crazies until they emerged from the thick
cloud.

My ears rang from the loud shots that blasted
from Jason’s gun. I fired arrow after arrow, each one getting lost
as the crazies fell. We dodged around another building, trying to
stay on the sidelines and out of a direct fight.

The smoke choked me. My eyes watered, making
it hard to see what was in front of me. Jason doubled over,
coughing. I fired one more arrow before I lowered my bow.

“Jason,” I said and went to him. I hooked my
arm under his. “Hold on.” I helped him up and dragged him around
another building. He was panicking, gasping for air. “Hey, Jason,”
I said and put my hands on his shoulders. “Stand up straight. It
will help you get more air.”

His eyes widened even more and he made a
strangled noise of surprise. I whirled around. A crazy barreled at
us. One of his arms was on fire and, instead of reacting to the
pain or trying to put out the flames, he used the fire as a weapon,
waving his arm in the air.

Flakes of charred skin fluttered to the
ground and the smell of burned flesh made me sick. He was too close
to shoot with the bow. I grabbed the knife from my hip and threw
it, hitting the crazy in the neck. He sputtered, not giving up the
pursuit just yet.

I grabbed Jason under the arms, ready to haul
him off to safety. And then the crazy fell. Jason clung to me,
still unable to breath. Had he inhaled hot smoke? Had his lungs
burned on the inside?

He let go of me, falling to the ground. I
bent to pick him up but he pushed me away and threw up.

“I have to get you out of here,” I said over
the crackling flames and screams. Jason wiped his mouth and stood,
still coughing. “You inhaled too much smoke.”

“I’m fine,” he said between coughs.

“No, no you’re not.” We moved around another
building and away from the smoke. Jason leaned against it,
wheezing. I reached for my walkie and walked a few yards away,
looking around the corner for crazies. I pressed the button and
raised it to my mouth.

“Riss!” Wade shouted. I looked up and saw a
crazy running toward me. He was holding something, something that
looked familiar. Oh shit. The crazy cradled the Molotov cocktail
against his chest. Fire burned on the cloth stuffed into the jar.
“Look out!”

But it was too late. The cocktail exploded
before I had a chance to get away.

Blood and guts splattered over me. I closed
my eyes. Something warm and thick dripped down my face. I held my
arms out, horrified. Had bits of glass torn open my skin? If they
had, I was infected for sure.

“Orissa,” I heard Jason pant. The bow slid
down my arm and clattered to the ground.

“Fuck,” Wade said. Boots pounded on the
pavement. I hoped it was him running over and not a crazy. I
couldn’t open my eyes without getting some sort of crazy juice in
them. “You ok?” he asked, just inches from me.

I nodded.

“Hang on.” He moved closer and wiped my face
with the hem of his shirt. “That’s as good as it’s gonna get.”

I opened my eyes. My eyelashes stuck
together. I looked down at myself. My entire front was covered head
to toe in red. I picked part of, what looked like, an ear off my
arm.

“She ok?” Jason wheezed and made his way
over.

I nodded again, still not wanting to open my
mouth and risk tasting a crazy.

“Let’s get out of here,” Wade said.

I didn’t object. He took the walkie from my
belt, grimacing when his fingers became covered in blood, and
radioed to Ivan and Brock. They were still fighting off crazies and
said they would meet us at the bridge.

I picked up my bow, the grip slippery with
blood. The three of us took off, not stopping until we go to the
bridge. A crazy stood in the water, putting out the flames that
spread across her back. Wade shot her in the chest. She fell and
blood washed out, staining the water. We crossed the bridge and
turned, waiting for Ivan and Brock.

I looked into the water. The bank wasn’t
steep. I hurried down it, going a few feet upstream from the dead
crazy. I knelt down and cupped my hands, splashing water on my
face.

It smelled like dead fish. But it was better
than having liquefied human parts on my lips. I rubbed water on my
arms, washing away some of the splatter.

“They’re coming,” Wade said.

I hurried back up to the bridge. We didn’t
hesitate. As soon as Ivan and Brock set foot on the wooden bridge,
we took off, racing through the woods and not stopping until we
were in the parking lot by the SUV. Ivan unlocked it and in a
jumbled mess, we piled in.

“Everyone ok?” Brock asked from the front
seat. Two rifles sat awkwardly in between his legs. He turned
around, mouth falling open when he saw me.

“Not sure how it happened,” I started.

“An S1 caught a cocktail I threw,” Wade
filled in. “And ran straight for her.”

“Like a suicide bombing?” Jason asked,
leaning forward. His cheeks were bright red from coughing.

“I don’t know,” Wade said, shaking his head.
“I couldn’t tell if he knew what it was. He caught it like a
football and ran.”

“And exploded all over me,” I huffed.

“Did it get in you?” Ivan asked.

“I don’t know.” I looked at my boots. A molar
was stuck in the laces. I shuddered.

His question hung in the air. Was I
infected?

* * *

“Jesus, Riss.” Hayden’s eyes slid down my
body. “What the fuck happened?” He had been waiting at the guard
tower for us to arrive back home. I got out of the Range Rover as
soon as I saw him. He put his hands on my arms, which were crusted
in crazy goo.

“Ever wonder what happens if a crazy holds a
Molotov cocktail when it goes off?” I gave him a wry smile, but
inside I was panicked.

“Are you ok?” Worry aged his handsome
face.

I shook my head. “I want to shower. Like
yesterday.”

Hayden stared at me. “Yeah. Of course. Go,”
he said, looking at the SUV. “I’ll catch up.”

“Bring me clothes?” I asked. “I don’t want to
go in our room like this.”

“I don’t want you to either.” Hayden wrinkled
his nose. “Yeah I will.”

I got back into the Range Rover, squeezing in
next to Jason. Ivan stopped in front of the brick house. I went
straight inside and down to the quarantine room.

“Sick,” I said when I took off my boots. The
laces were gooped to the leather. I put them inside a garbage bag.
I shoved my clothes into a bag as well, tying it shut. I should
take them out back to be burned.

I pulled the drain stop on the sink and began
filling it with hot water. I took Hayden’s dog tags off and dropped
them in the water and then undid the clasp to a delicate chain. A
single silver leaf hung from it. Belonging to my grandma, the charm
had great sentimental value. I swished the necklaces around in the
water until the dried blood softened. Then I scrubbed them clean
and got in the shower.

Hayden brought me yoga pants and a t-shirt
but forgot a bra and underwear. I sat on the closed toilet wrapped
in a towel—inspecting my body one more time for open wounds and
waiting for him to come back with underwear. Thankfully, I found no
cuts or gashes in my skin. Once dressed, I sat on the couch.

“Are you staying?” I asked Hayden, who sat
next to me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in, lying
down so that I was resting on top of him.

“Yes,” he said softly and kissed me. I moved
my wet hair over my shoulder and put my head on his chest. “That
was awful,” he told me. “I’m not doing it again.”

I lifted my head up. “You freaked out, didn’t
you? Not knowing what we were doing or what danger we were in
caused you to panic, right?” I smiled and Hayden laughed.

He hugged me tight. “You know damn well I go
crazy without you.”

“Maybe you’ll go crazy with me,” I mumbled.
It still scared me to think that I had been covered head to foot in
pureed crazy. “I should probably have Dr. Cara test me.”

Hayden sat us up. “You should. Now.”

* * *

He went with me to the hospital ward. Jason
and Wade were still there, getting treated. Olivia was taking care
of Jason and I couldn’t help but smile. Though we had never had a
chance to finish our conversation, I knew what Jason had been
getting at back at the coaster. He caught my gaze. I wiggled my
eyebrows and pointed to Olivia, whose back was to me. Jason
flushed.

Dr. Cara was off today so Karen, another one
of our nurses, tested my blood. She said she didn’t see any traces
of the virus but would have Padraic or Dr. Cara go over it later
that day to be sure.

Hayden and I headed back to the quarantine
room along with Wade and Jason.

When we got there, Ivan was in the shower and
Brock stood in the small kitchen area warming up a bowl of pasta
that had been put in the mini fridge for us. He dished it out in
bowls; I grabbed one and plopped down on the couch.

“Is anyone gonna wonder why you’re in here?”
I asked Hayden and put a spoonful of pasta in my mouth. I didn’t
care if anyone did, but I assumed Hayden would.

He shrugged. “Maybe. It’s getting late,” he
said and looked at the clock. “So it’s not like I’d be doing
anything, uh, official anyway.”

I bent my legs up so that they rested on
Hayden and smiled. Jason put in a movie and the six of us
eventually settled on the couches.

“Tired?” Hayden asked me half way throughout
the movie. His arms were around my waist. I tipped my head up.

“Yeah. And sore. My hands still hurt.”

He put his hands around mine, bringing them
up. “They’re scabbed over already.” They had scabbed over before
the crazy had thrown the cocktail, so I hoped that would be good
enough. I hoped Padraic or Doctor Cara would give me good news.

Hayden laced his fingers through mine and
nestled his head into my neck, gently nipping at my skin. I closed
my eyes and arched my back, leaning into his chest. I twisted and
wrapped my arms around him. “Lay down,” he suggested and stretched
his legs out in front of him. The couch wasn’t comfortable. We
moved to one of the twin beds in the back of the room.

“I’m glad you’re with me,” I said to Hayden
as we climbed under the covers. He put his arm around my waist
again, spooning me.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” He brushed my
damp hair over my shoulder and kissed my neck. “I love you,
Orissa.”