I paused.
“You want ‘em off or not?” Jones asked holding the knife up.
Surprised, I turned toward the sergeant, and he gave me a single nod.
I held my arms up to Jones and with a quick slice, I was free.
I felt instant relief, stretching my stiff arms and sore shoulders. At least the blood was flowing back into the obstructed areas, and my muscles were moving.
Dr. Simon laid his arm on my injured shoulder. “How’s it feeling?
“It’s manageable,” I smiled.
“Thanks again,” he whispered.
“Of course.” I smiled back.
Sergeant Hawkins pulled out his gun. “All right, keep your guard up. We might have to do some clearing.”
As we neared the home, I could hear something. It didn’t sound like the usual Arvies. It sounded like someone was…crying. And not just crying, they were wailing, “Help me.”
Dr. Simon and Chase heard it too because they paused and turned to me with cautious looks.
Keanu put his strong hand on my shoulder, halting me. “Hold up,” he said to the others, then turned his attention to me. “What is it?”
“Something is inside that place, but I’m not sure it’s an Arvy. It sounds like someone is hurt and crying.”
“You can hear someone crying?” Stevens asked. He appeared to be the most inexperienced, and possibly the youngest. He looked less like a soldier. He looked like a magazine cover model. My Uncle Frank had brought a bunch into the hive, and I swear one of them looked like Stevens.
I nodded.
“She’s right, I hear it too,” Dr. Simon added.
“Me too,” Chase confirmed.
“But be careful,” I added. “These creatures are smart. It could be a trap.”
The sergeant nodded. “Keanu, take point. You and Jones will enter from the front. Jimenez, you’ll come with me ‘round back. Stevens,” he paused and gave him a serious look, “stay here and protect the Readers.”
“Yes, sir.” He seemed fine staying back with us.
I spoke up. “Sergeant Hawkins, could I have my weapon, just in case?”
He glanced at me through narrowed eyes. “Just sit tight. We’ve got this.”
I nodded, knowing that we weren’t in any real danger. I didn’t feel like we were anyways, but I could have been wrong. I’d been wrong before. I wouldn’t push my current freedom though. At least my hands were free.
The soldiers pulled night vision goggles from their packs and put them on. I knew exactly what they were because Finn and I used similar apparatuses at Sanctum. Their weapons were M16’s—standard military rifles. On their belts were holstered handguns.
“Don’t get bitten,” Jimenez teased Stevens before leaving.
“Let’s move,” Sergeant Hawkins said, leading the group.
I could still hear the crying, and it was making me anxious. Who the hell was it? Could it be an Arvy? Or maybe there was another Reader in the house who was hurt? But what would the odds of that be?
We stayed about two hundred yards from the house and watched anxiously. So many scenarios twisted in my mind, the biggest being it was a trap, and they’d all go in and get ambushed.
The Arvies were smart. From the beginning they’d targeted our fuel sources, limiting our travel topside. They knew because they were once us, and the mutation didn't affect their intelligence. I wished it did, then I could believe they were just monsters. Monsters deserved to die because they were beasts; killing was all they did.
As the soldiers disappeared into the darkness, I found myself holding my breath. At the same time, my heart rate jumped, and I could feel a bead of sweat drip down the side of my face.
The crying voice stopped, and I sucked in a breath and held it.
“What’s wrong?” Stevens said, looking at me.
“I don’t know,” I exhaled, waiting to hear something. There were no gunshots. Why had the crying stopped?
A dark figure came around the corner.
“Stevens! Get over here,” Jimenez’s voice called, breaking the silence.
“Let’s go,” Stevens said, staying in between Dr. Simon and me. Chase was on my other side.
I didn’t care if Venge wasn’t ready. She’d have to be if there was danger ahead, even if I dropped unconscious afterward.
JIMENEZ WENT INTO THE HOUSE, as we waited outside. Chase grabbed my hand; he was trembling. Jimenez ducked back outside. “The sergeant wants Dr. Simon and Abi inside,” he said, his expression unreadable.
Nearing the front stairs, Jones was standing outside the door.
“What is it?” I asked.
He shook his head, running his fingers through his short, jet-black hair.
“It’s messed up,” he said.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked.
He shrugged, and Keanu showed up in the doorway.
Chase dropped to the ground, pulling me with him; his eyes rolled back.
Dr. Simon ran to his aide. “He’s passed out. Grab me some water.”
“Will he be all right?” I asked.
“He’ll be fine. Go ahead, Abi. I’ll be right in.”
“Where’s Sergeant Hawkins?” I asked.
“Inside,” Keanu said, stepping to the side, pointing.
What the hell was going on? I swallowed a lump in my throat, not knowing what to expect.
Steadying my legs, I walked up the stairs and stepped into the house. A strong stench of death and feces burned my nose, bile rising in my throat. Keanu handed me a bottle and motioned for me to rub it under my nose. It was Vicks. My mother used to rub it on my chest when I was sick.
I did as he said and it cut some of the smell, making it slightly more manageable.
As I made my way around the corner, I first glimpsed Sergeant Hawkins sitting on a chair. Five feet from him, laying face down, was the corpse of an Arvy with a kitchen knife sticking out of the side of its right temple. Blood had saturated the floor around him and was already drying.
But my heart dropped as I saw a girl, three feet away from the Arvy, sitting slouched over on the floor. She was gaunt and undernourished, wearing a sundress that was torn and filthy. I couldn’t even guess the correct color of her hair. It was the same color as the sand outside and matted in knots. Her eyes were closed, and she was gasping for air. In her arms she clutched a dirty, worn blanket, swaddling something.
Sergeant Hawkins clicked on his flashlight and shined it on her right side. As I stepped closer, my chest ached. She’d been bitten.
Crimson oozed from a deep, circular wound on her arm, right below her shoulder. But it was already coagulating.
She should have started the change.
“What color are her eyes?” I asked.
“Bloodshot but brown,” he answered. “They aren’t mutating, if that’s what you mean.”
“How?” I started at her in disbelief.
She looked like a survivor, maybe in her late teens, who had been topside for a quite some time. I wondered if this was her home, or if she’d found this place.
My primary concern, or curiosity, was about what she was protecting inside of the blanket. There was no movement, and that terrified me.
“She’s sedated,” Sergeant Hawkins said. “Keanu gave her a mild tranquilizer.”
“How long will it last?”
“Anywhere from four to six hours,” he responded. “Go ahead. I don’t really care to find out what’s inside the blanket,” he said.
Yeah, right. That’s what I wanted to say out loud. I knew he was just as curious as I was, or he wouldn’t have told me to go ahead.
I gave the sergeant a side-eyed glance, and he nodded, holding up his handgun and aiming it at her head.
I kept my distance but leaned forward, stretching my arm to reach the bundle. Touching the edge of the blanket, I pinched it between my fingers and slowly pulled it away from her. Her arm holding the blanket fell to her side, making me jump back. The bundle rolled to th
e ground, unraveling and revealing what was inside.
Bile filled my mouth. I brought my hand up and ran to the door. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I dropped to my knees and threw up. My body was trembling.
Seeing the remains of a dead baby took me over the edge. I couldn’t erase its hollowed out eyes staring at me, or its rotted skin hanging from its bones. The putrefied smell of death permeated her clothes.
“Abi, what’s the matter?” Dr. Simon came over and knelt next to me, but I couldn’t answer. Chase was awake, sitting on the porch.
Emotions overwhelmed me. Not only from what I’d seen but from what that girl must have gone through to keep the child with her. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose a child.
An insurmountable stress had been compounding on my shoulders. Finn, my family, the curse, the Arvies, the government, being held captive, the injections, and the fact I hadn’t slept in over forty-eight hours, all had taken me to the breaking point. I wanted to shut down. I needed to rest.
“What happened in there?” Dr. Simon asked.
Sergeant Hawkins’ voice answered from behind. “We have a dead Arvy and a female survivor who’s been bitten. She was found clutching the corpse of a baby.”
“Has she been restrained?” Dr. Simon asked.
“She will be,” he answered. “She’s sedated right now. Doctor, I’d like for you to come and examine her. She’s been bitten by an Arvy, but isn’t showing any signs of mutation.”
Dr. Simon paused and then nodded. “Alright.”
“We have to set up a perimeter,” the sergeant ordered his men. “Jones, you and Stevens set up a few trip wires to the south and west. If we do have visitors, I’m pretty sure they’ll be coming from that direction, the same as they came toward the last town.”
“Yes, sir,” Jones answered grabbing his pack, then giving Stevens a nod.
They’d come prepared.
Dr. Simon pulled me into a hug, assuring everything would be okay. “Get some sleep. You need to recharge.” He patted my back, then stood to follow the sergeant.
Keanu dragged the Arvy outside and buried it. The girl was taken into one of the back rooms and tied to a bedpost. Per my request, the sergeant wrapped the baby back up and placed it on her lap. She’d been protecting the child, and if she woke up with it missing, who knew what could happen.
Dr. Simon returned after his assessment. “So what do you think?” I asked.
“She could be the one we’ve been searching for; the first to survive an infectious bite. There might be some life-saving antigens in her blood that could save our population,” Dr. Simon said.
“So she’ll be coming with us?” I asked.
“Of course. She’ll need to be tested.”
“Another rat for the cage,” I sighed.
Sergeant Hawkins stepped outside. “If her blood can save thousands of survivors, including everyone you love, don’t you think that’s worth it?”
To that, I had no response. Everything…every single thing I was doing—separating myself from my family and searching for a safe place to live—was to keep them safe.
The sergeant’s stare went distant. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see her eyes. They were wild. Whoever she once was is not there anymore. She was…gone, and I don’t believe it was because of the bite.”
“How are we going to take her with us if she’s crazy?” I asked. “I heard her. She was using telepathy to call for help. That means she can use it to call the mutants. She could put us all in danger.”
“But you can hear her, right?”
“Yes.”
“If she does anything to put us in danger, let us know, and we’ll take care of it.”
“How do we know that her bite won’t infect us? What if she’s a carrier?” Chase asked.
“We’ll make sure she is secure and can’t injure herself, or us. As soon as we get to the next town, we will find a way to contact the others. For tonight, we’ll take two-hour shifts. Two on the roof at all times.”
“I can’t sleep in that house,” I said. It wasn’t only the smell, it was what I’d seen.
“I’d prefer to sleep outside too,” Chase said.
The sergeant gave us permission to sleep on the roof with the two soldiers on guard. We’d proven ourselves for now, so we didn’t need to be restrained. The first two on duty were Jones and Stevens. Jones was tinkering with the radio, trying to get it to work.
The roof was at a slight pitch, which allowed us all to be in one area. Jones covered the west and south, and Stevens covered the north and east. The stars and half-moon provided enough light to see in the distance. So far, nothing was coming our way, and my mind was quiet.
Stevens took out an energy bar, which they had in the bunker, and offered us some. Chase and I refused. I knew that if I closed my eyes, I’d sleep. My entire being was beyond the point of exhaustion.
Stevens, wide awake, tried to make small talk. “Isn’t it odd that this single house is in the middle of the desert, miles from any other structure?”
“No,” Chase answered. “My parents had a place in New Mexico that was at least thirty miles from anyone. I remember my mom driving us into town to get supplies. My dad hated the city life. We had a small farm with chickens, cows, and goats while mother kept a huge garden. She grew most of our vegetables. During the summer, my dad would leave for weeks at a time to hunt. It wasn’t a conventional life, but it was all we knew.” He patted his pack and laid his head down. “I was five when he died, and then my mom met an asshole, and the apocalypse happened.”
“Your childhood, before the apocalypse, sounded nice,” I said. “I’m sorry about your dad.”
“Thanks,” he breathed.
“Have you talked to Chloe lately?”
“No,” he replied. “Since the incident, I haven’t been able to hear her at all.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He raised his head and looked at me. “If it gets her out of the Reader program, I’m happy. She shouldn’t be there.”
“You’re a good brother,” I said.
“I keep trying to tell her that.” He laughed and lay back down.
Jones and Stevens were making small talk, and I overheard them mention a secret team.
“Did you guys get new tattoos?” I asked on a whim.
They both looked at me, surprised. “How did you know?” Stevens asked.
“I have my sources,” I replied, shrugging.
Stevens smirked, then rolled up his sleeve and showed me the tattoo Finn had on his arm. Arvy Outbreak Task Force. “This tattoo?” he asked.
My heart skipped a beat. They must have known each other.
“Yeah, I’ve seen it before, on a soldier in the bunker. He must have just gotten it because it was bright red.”
His brow furrowed. “We weren’t allowed to show the general population.”
“I’m not part of the general population,” I sighed, tapping on my temple.
He laughed, and I knew my answer satisfied him.
“Stevens, shut the hell up and let her sleep,” Jones huffed. “Doctor’s orders.”
Stevens rolled his sleeve down. “Night guys,” he said, then looked through the scope on his rifle.
“Night,” Chase and I repeated.
I turned on my back and gazed up at the evening sky. It was magical. A tear trickled from my eye. My chest was aching, knowing Finn was somewhere under the same blanket of stars.
“I love you,” I whispered quietly, clutching the ring he’d given me close to my heart.
TERRIFIED SCREAMS STARTLED ME AWAKE. I shot up, sweat beading on my forehead.
“What is it?” Jones asked.
“The girl downstairs. She’s awake and screaming. They need to shut her up, or they’ll come,” I panted.
“I don’t hear anything,” Stevens said.
“She’s screaming,” I repeated myself, squeezing my head, trying to shut it off. “Tell the serge
ant, now!”
Jones turned to Stevens. “Go.”
Stevens sighed but made his way to the corner of the roof and climbed down.
I turned to Chase, who was sound asleep. He wasn’t stirring.
Why hadn’t he woken up? Couldn’t he hear her?
The cries were so loud it was making my head throb, and she wasn’t stopping.
“I have to go,” I said getting up and heading inside. I had to make her stop. My body was exhausted and shaking. Once my feet touched the ground, Stevens popped his head out of the door.
“Are you sure you can hear her?”
“Yes.”
He turned and waved me in. “Come.”
I covered my nose with my T-shirt, trying to mask the stench. Stevens pushed open the door, where Dr. Simon and Sergeant Hawkins were standing next to the girl’s bedside. She was silent, her eyes were closed, and she was still. But I knew she was screaming inside her head.
What the hell was going on?
“She’s awake,” I said. “She’s screaming, and if someone doesn’t make her stop, we’ll have hundreds of more Arvies on our ass.” I looked to Dr. Simon. “Can’t you hear her?”
His eyes shut tight, then popped open again. “I can’t. Are you sure it’s her?”
“She’s the only one it can be,” I said.
Her eyes snapped open and locked on mine. They were wide, and I could see the whites all around. She was scaring the crap out of me. Her mouth wasn’t moving, but she was screaming obscenities at me.
My body became heated, and I felt Venge stir.
“Stop,” I commanded, staring into her eyes. But nothing happened. Her deafening screams continued. I turned to Dr. Simon, baffled. “It’s not working on her.”
Sergeant Hawkins touched my shoulder. “Is she still—”
“Yes, and she’s going to put us all in danger.”
He stepped out of the room. “Keanu! Bring the tranquilizers.”
Keanu came into the room with bloodshot eyes, and his hair matted to one side. He was shirtless, and I couldn’t help but notice his well-defined chest and arms, all the way down to his perfect six-pack abs.
“Give her another dose,” Sergeant Hawkins ordered.
Keanu’s dark brown eyes narrowed on him like he was crazy.