Deathly Contagious (50 page)

“Our dog?” Padraic tested.

“Fine. But he loves me more.”

“Ah, I doubt it. I bring him table scraps,” Padraic chuckled.  On an excitement overdrive, Argo slipped on the tile floor in his mad attempt to run across the room and bring me a homemade toy—a water bottle inside a sock.

I snagged it away from his strong grip and tossed it in the air before I remembered how bad it freaking hurt to use my shoulder in that capacity.

“Do you want some aspirin?” Padraic offered.

“Kinda,” I replied. Carefully, I extended my arm. “It feels like it will feel better if I can stretch it. But I can barely move it on my own.”

“Here,” Padraic offered and motioned for me to sit on his bed. “Normally, I’d recommend you go see a chiropractor for this. Don’t worry; I’m not going to try anything crazy. Let me know if this hurts and I’ll stop right away.”

“Ok,” I told him.

With gentle movements, Padraic took a hold of my arm and helped me stretch it out and up. He moved slow and assessed my pain ever few seconds. When he straightened my elbow, I inhaled quickly at the pain.

“Where does it hurt?” he asked.

“Pretty much everywhere,” I complained.

“Can you pinpoint where it starts?”

“Yea, here,” I told him and put my fingers on the spot.

“Lay down,” Padraic said. I did what I was told. He held my arm so that it was off the bed. He moved it around a little longer and then started massaging the sore area. It hurt like a bitch at first but soon gave way to relief.

In a matter of minutes I felt better. I relaxed and was very much enjoying being massaged. I watched Padraic, remembering the first time I saw him at the hospital. The first thing I noticed about him was his incredibly good looks. Then I realized his heart was just as incredibly good.

“Any better?” he asked, his accent a little heavier than normal.

“Yea, thanks,” I said, feeling almost disoriented. I sat up and looked intently into his deep blue eyes. “Thanks,” I repeated.

“You’re welcome. You know I do what I can to help ya out.”

“And I appreciated it. Really.”

Padraic sat next to me. He smiled a little too sweetly and suddenly I felt awkward. Argos jumped up, eagerly licking me in the face.

“Have you met the newest residents yet?” I asked. “One of them is really weird; she thinks the zombies are possessed by evil spirits.”

Padraic laughed. “I think that’s the real mythology behind zombies, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know, it sounds right though.”

Padraic’s door creaked. I looked over to see who was there but saw no one. I turned back to Padraic when it creaked and opened a few inches. He sighed and stood up.

“Looks like Petunia got out again,” he said and walked to the door. He squatted and extended his hand. A dark sable ferret curiously walked over. He scooped up the little weasel and brought her over to me. Argos nosed his face into my lap, curiously sniffing the little animal.

“Oh my God, she is so freaking cute!” I exclaimed. When I was little, I wanted a ferret. I even saved up a summer’s worth of allowance for one and read every book about ferrets I could get from the library. But my grandpa told me they were useless and bought me a dog instead. Two weeks later, my dog ran away, never to be seen again. “Where did she come from?”

“Cara has a few of them,” Padraic explained. “I’m not really sure how many, to be honest. This little gal is a Houdini; she gets out all the time.”

“Should we take her back?”

“Nah. I’ll keep her for a while. Cara’s in the lab today. And Argos likes her.”

“What’s Cara working on?” I asked and set Petunia down on the floor. She hunched up her back and sprang up, making a quiet clucking sound. “That sound is called dooking,” I told Padraic. He got a pair of socks from his dresser, balled them up and rolled them at Petunia. When the soft ball hit her, she jumped up, bit the socks, and spazzed out again, causing both Padraic and I to laugh. Argos jumped down off the bed and laid on the floor, gently pawing at Petunia when she came close to him.

We played with her a while longer, laughing at her antics. Petunia would run, randomly jump and switch directions, grab and bite at our hands and feet, scurry under the dresser, and then lay completely flat and still for a few seconds before springing up and doing it all over again.

Padraic didn’t get upset when she pooped in the corner of his room. He quickly cleaned it up and left to dispose of the soiled paper towels. When he returned, he had a cup of water. Not thinking, he set it on the floor. Petunia was of course curious. She rose on her back haunches, stuck her nose in the water, and then dumped it all over the floor.

We laughed again and I helped Padraic clean it up. Finally, the little girl wore herself out, climbed up onto Padraic’s bed, and fell asleep under his pillow.

I got up and carefully stretched my arm, which was hurting again.

“I can get you some pain meds,” Padraic reminded me.

“Nah, save them for someone who really needs it,” I told him. “I’ll live.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t mean you have to be in pain,” he reminded me, flashing a brilliant smile.

“If it gets worse, I’ll let you know.”

“Alright. And I’ll tell Fuller you need to rest,” he said with a wink. “Ray told me fixing the fences and gates on the farm got moved up on the list.”

“Oh, joy,” I moaned, though, really it was a smart idea.

Very gingerly, Padraic picked up Petunia. “I’m gonna put her back with her ferret family,” he told me. “And see how things are going in the lab.”

“I thought today was your day off,” I said.

“It is,” he agreed ruefully. “I won’t do any work, don’t worry.”

“Good, you deserve to rest too, you know.”

He sighed. “I know. Now that the flu outbreak seems to be under control it has been better. That wasn’t fun.”

“I bet! I wouldn’t want to be around sick people all the time; it’s depressing.”

“It can be,” he agreed. “I’m not sure if this is fortunate or unfortunate, but survival of the fittest seems to be at play now. I doubt you’ve noticed the lack of the chronically ill here.”

I tipped my head. “You’re right. I never thought about it before. It’s kinda sad…but I guess good too. We’re not equipped to take care of really sick people.”

“No, we’re not at all.” He turned right to go into Dr. Cara’s room, shutting his door so Argos wouldn’t get out. “Well, on that happy note, I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Yea, see ya.” I smiled and waved goodbye. I slowly walked up to my room, dug around in Hayden’s snack box and settled on a box of cookies. I fluffed the pillows and got comfortable in bed, deciding on reading more of
The Hobbit
until Hayden rejoined me.

The next few days passed in a similar, uneventful fashion. Those who weren’t injured went out to the farm to fix the fences, gates and work on widening the moat. Under the care of Dr. Sheehan, I wasn’t cleared for labor. I played cards with Raeya, Sonja, Olivia, and Padraic while Hayden and the rest of my team went out to work under the hot sun.

Alex had a deep cut on his calf and hobbled when he walked. Still feeling slight animosity toward each other, he avoided me, sitting as far away as possible in the game room. Addison and Lizzy had become friends with Lisa and the few other children at the compound. Parker—the only person other than Hayden we knew to be resistant to the virus—was playing with Hotwheels cars with Quinn.

Scarlett buzzed around, happily introducing the new residents to everyone and retelling her story of how heroically Hayden saved her. I noticed her story got more and more farfetched every time she told it. When I asked Hayden about it, he wasn’t able to recall the nitty gritty details. He said it was a regular rescue and didn’t even think Scarlett’s family was in immediate danger.

Sweaty and dirty, Hayden came in before lunch. I left my friends to go find him so we could shower together. Every day that passed eased the tension I still felt from the attack on the farm.  When one week had passed, the hope of our survival was back in my heart. My arm didn’t hurt anymore, much to Padraic’s surprise. He still advised me to stay away from hard work. But with the lack of pain I was feeling, I couldn’t justify my friends slaving away while I sat comfortably inside.

Zane became an A2, replacing one that we lost. Colin had the skills and know-how to be on the A level but declined any sort of position that dealt with zombies. Hayden told me Fuller was disappointed that Colin wouldn’t ‘help us out’ but he said Fuller wouldn’t push it; if someone didn’t want to face the zombies anymore, they didn’t have to. I remembered Hayden telling me a similar thing when we first met. He assured me the compound wasn’t run like a prison and promised I’d still have most of my free will.

Against Sonja’s protests, Jason applied to move up in the ranks. Like his sister, I preferred him to stay stowed safely away in the stone watch towers. It was sturdy and secure but still crucial to our survival. I considered asking Hayden to tell Fuller not to let Jason move up but stopped, realizing it was selfish. And, I reminded myself, I can’t keep everyone safe forever.

As soon as the farm was not only fixed but improved, Alex and his team were given two days off to rest before they would set out on a supplies mission. Along with food, we needed household items like toilet paper, soap, cleaning products, and fans since we weren’t running the air conditioner upstairs.

Back to our regular routine, Hayden and I grumbled about getting up early to work out. Fuller ventured down into the workout room, assessing our improved strength and abilities. He complimented me on my improvement since I first joined the A1 ranks. I had never considered myself to be out of shape, though I definitely noticed an increase in my strength.

I set down the weights I had been lifting and walked over to the bench my cup of water was on.

“How’s your arm?” Fuller asked from behind.

I turned. “My arm?”

“Dr. Sheehan informed me you sustained an injury.”

“Oh,” I took a drink. “Yea. I did. I’m better now.”

Fuller nodded. “Carry on.”

“Uh, ok.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Why Hayden thought he was so great, I’d never understand. After working out, I showered, found Raeya, Sonja, and Olivia, and sat in the game room talking with them until lunch. I ate in the back with the other A1’s.

I hadn’t bothered to keep track of the date. Lisa informed it me was Friday and asked if I’d attend the weekly movie night with her. After a nod from Hayden saying he’d go too, I promised I’d sit next to her while we watched a movie, no doubt one we’d seen many times before.

Fuller flagged Hayden down on our way out of the cafeteria. I accompanied him into Fuller’s office.  I spied a list on his desk; a mixture of excitement and dread bubbled through me. We were going on a mission.

“Once the others get back and have a day or two to rest, your team will set out,” Fuller told Hayden. “I want you to go on a seek mission, not just looking for people but looking to see what state the world is in. If you find a herd, do whatever it takes to bring them down. We can’t risk another one passing through.”

“Yes, sir,” Hayden automatically said.

“Even if we find a herd and kill every last undead asshole that’s in it,” I said carefully. “I don’t think it will help. They outnumber us ten to one, or more. Probably more.”

To my surprise, Fuller didn’t disagree with me. “I like to think it will help. I had imagined most of the S2’s would have deteriorated into the S3 stage by now. Taking down one herd won’t put a dent in the numbers, but if it stops just one person from becoming infected, then it’s worth it.”

“I didn’t say it’s not worth it,” I clarified. Hayden glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, worried I might start an argument. “And I agree; I would have thought the zombies wouldn’t be so…so spry anymore.”

Fuller gravely sighed and ran a hand over his head. He unrolled the big map and went over possible locations with Hayden. I noticed the Pennsylvania border had been traced with a fat, black Sharpie like that would keep us from crossing the state line next time.

They decided on Texas; it was relatively close and unexplored. The weird symbols painted on the doors of houses flashed through my mind. Months had passed since Hayden and I discovered the strange houses with running water and electricity but it still bothered me in a way that I couldn’t describe.

I was getting a little bored listening to Hayden and Fuller discuss the fine details of our mission. As far as I was concerned, the important stuff—like location and time allowed to be gone—had already been covered. Absentmindedly, I played with the silver leaf pendent I always wore.

The delicate chain had gotten tangled with the ball chain of Hayden’s dog tags. I unhooked both and worked on separating the two. I put my grandma’s necklace back on and examined Hayden’s tags, reading over his information yet again before slipping the chain over my head.

Fuller dismissed us and walked us to the door. He paused, his dark eyes flicking from me to Hayden and then back again.

“Have  you,” he began, eyeing me up and down before smiling, “have you considered having kids?”

My jaw might have dropped. Incredulously I turned to Hayden, who looked just as shocked as I was.

“What?” I finally asked.

Fuller laughed softly. “Underwood is resistant to the virus. You heal very fast. I can only imagine how unique your children would be.”

“And good looking,” Hayden quickly joked. Unnerved, he took my hand and took a step toward the door.

“It’s just a thought,” Fuller said casually. “Keep it in mind.”

“Yes, sir,” Hayden muttered. Awkwardly, we left Fuller’s office.

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to take his advice,” I said to Hayden when we were back in our room.

“Uh, no.” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong, Orissa, I love you and if things were different, I’d knock you up in a heartbeat.” He gave me a cheeky grin. “But…no. Just no. I-I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Me neither. I don’t want to bring a child into a world like this.”

“Let’s not even talk about it.”