I climb into the bed Anna and I were going to share, and pass out almost instantly.
When I wake, I feel warmth next to me. I reach out for him to run my hands through his fur. There is no fur and he stirs and clears his throat. I open one eye and frown, "Why are you in here?"
Jake smiles, "I was worried. You've been sleeping for like eight hours and you seem weird. Thought you might want to talk about it all."
I shake my head, "Tired, too tired."
I close my eyes and let the bed take me again. I feel his fingers brush through my hair.
"Em, you don’t have to be so strong. You can let me in."
I open one eye, "There is nothing to let in. I'm a science experiment. My real father is a bowl of mixed ingredients, my mom was an idiot who was tricked easily, and my dad was the only person who ever tried to keep me safe from this all. Well, dad and Granny and Gramps. I still have to stop him, I have to. I need to end this." I close my eyes and nestle into the blankets. He wraps his arm around me and pulls me into him. It feels nice, like the sleep on the couch, when he had a fever and kissed me. I don’t want him to kiss me now though. I want him to hold me and care about me, but I don’t want him to kiss me. It's not like that for me, even if I want it to be.
I drift off again.
My eyes shoot open when I hear a scream. It had blended into my dream at first, but with my eyes open, I know I'm not dreaming. Jake is passed out on the bed. I shake him till he stirs.
"You hear that?"
He shakes his head, "What?" The scream rips through the halls again. It’s a high moan.
"Infected," I whisper.
He moves closer to me. I grab my bow and quiver from the floor and pass him Anna's rifle, "Don't shoot me."
He makes a face, "Funny."
We climb off the bed, moving slowly. The sound comes again, only now I think there are two.
The little hairs on my body are standing on end. Peeking around the corner of the doorframe, I see nothing. I slip into the hall. I can feel the heat from Jake behind me. I ignore him and focus.
I hear the ragged breathing coming from the bottom of the stairs.
When I reach the end of the hall I see the matted dirty head of the sick. It was once a lady with long, dark hair. She had ripped pants and shirt. Her body is emaciated with backbones showing through the holes in the ripped clothing. Old scabs, running sores, and the ragged breath are the things I focus on. I pull back the arrow I've pulled and let it go at her head. It slices like it would have a watermelon. Jake gags. I ignore him and walk down the stairs past the dead lady. Her stink and rotting flesh bring the fear of the real world into the safe haven we have been enjoying. When I get to the kitchen, I see him. He's shoveling food from the counter into his decayed face. He eats a piece of napkin with cheese on it.
Behind a cupboard to the left, I catch a glimpse of a reflection in the steel fridge. It's Anna. She's holding a knife. I pull the next arrow and hold it steady at him. He looks up from his meal, flashing a milky eye at me. I release the arrow as he screams the high pitch moan.
"Anna?" I whisper.
She slips from behind the cupboards, "They came up the driveway so fast."
My heart starts to panic, "Where Leo?"
She swallows, "Outside still."
I hate the look in her eyes. She's scared of me or scared to tell me something.
I turn and run for the front door. The hot air of the summer day hits me, as I run from the shade of the front porch. I see him, fighting four of them. I pull the arrows fast. I take down the first one closest to me and run closer. I have the second arrow pulled and ready. I watch the head of the monster bob and move. I release the arrow and miss.
"Shit," I mutter.
I pull another and take him down.
Leo takes the third to the ground, but the fourth one jumps on his back. I pull an arrow and hit the large infected in the back. He doesn’t flinch or stop. I pull another but it hits him in the arm and almost hits Leo. I pull another but run at them. I dive onto the pile. As his slimy face turns to face me, I stab the arrow down on his eye. He stops as Leo rips the head off the one he's got. He looks back at me and growls. I get off him and the dead. Looking around, I see we are not alone. They came in a huge group, the biggest I've ever seen. They are a swarm, like in the city.
My breath is heavy as I assess the situation.
Only Leo and I can fight them. Everyone else risks exposure. I still don’t believe I'm immune, I can't help but feel like I should run.
Jake comes out the front with the rifle.
I walk back slowly, watching them shuffle towards me. One scream fills the air. I shudder.
Will comes out the front door, snatching the rifle from Jake's hands. He tosses me a gun like I have never seen before. I shake my head, "You use this one." I pass it back and take my rifle. I site the first one in. They're moving quickly across the gravel to us.
The sound of their crunching feet on the driveway is frightening. I pull the trigger and a body drops. Will does the same.
"There's too many. You should go inside and lock the doors," I say.
He shakes his head, "After you."
I grit my teeth and pull it again. I drop the rifle and pull my bow and quiver again. I can shoot faster with arrows. Leo crouches and attacks to the far flank. He knows if we're shooting he needs to stay to a side.
I drop two more and see a shape beside me. I glance over as Anna grabs the gun and starts shooting. The three of us have enough distance to kill them, plus the few Leo kills. The ones who weren’t killed properly twitch in the driveway, as the last one falls to the ground.
Bernie comes out of the house with a mask and gloves and an odd-looking contraption. He walks up to the infected dead and shoots flames at them. Some scream or twitch. I gag when the smell of the cooking flesh hits me.
"Leo."
He lifts his head and looks at me. I slap my leg and walk to the side of the house. I pull the garden hose that I gave him water from the other day. He comes and lets me hose him off. Normally, I would find a water source and force him to have a bath, but this works. I spray chunks of skin and bone from him. The dark blood is harder to get off. He lifts his face and lets me clean his muzzle. We've been doing it since we were little, he knows the routine.
I spray myself off and glance over at Will and Anna talking, "I'm going to shower and then I'm leaving."
Anna scowls, "We should stay here for a while."
I shake my head, "You're staying, I'm going."
Her blue eyes light up with her stubborn fire. Her and Will make the same face. "I'm coming."
I shake my head, "No. You're not coming. Most likely, I'll end up in a breeder farm. You definitely will. I can lie and say I'm twenty-eight—you can't. Will is older too. They won't breed us if they think we're older. We can look like professionals. Bernie is going to take us in, like he's on a food run." I've come up with the plan while I was sleeping for a whole day.
Will nods, "That works."
I give Jake a look too, "You and Anna will be safe here with Star and Bernie."
Jake crosses his arms and leans against the doorway, "I don’t think this is a good idea for one, and for two, I can pass for twenty-eight far better than you can."
I shrug, "Yeah, but you have sucky survival skills and you'll be a liability."
His face tightens, "Whatever." He turns and leaves for the inside of the house.
I walk after him, but grab the feet of the infected lady. I drag her out into the front yard. I walk back in, grabbing the feet of the guy, and do the same thing. I look under the sink for cleaner.
"What are you looking for?" Star asks.
I turn back to her, "Bleach."
She walks past me and into a doorway. She comes back, seconds later with a huge jug. I pour it onto the stone floor and start cleaning the greenish blood from the floor.
She grabs rags and starts helping.
"You should have a mask," I say.
"I'm immune," she mutters.
Instantly I feel sick. I look up, "What?"
She nods, "I can't get it. I'm like you. It's how I knew Marshall was right about you."
The reality of it all starts to hit, "How old are you?"
She swallows hard, "same age as you."
I frown, "What?"
She nods, "We have the same dad, I guess."
I don’t want it to, but it changes everything. She is instantly part of my ‘us’. "Your mom?"
She nods, "Yeah. She wanted a baby and there was a fertility clinic. My dad was older, he couldn’t have kids easily. She went for treatments and got pregnant. The man she was with died and she met Bernie's dad. He became my dad. I thought I was his, but Bernie told me the truth a few years ago. We noticed the differences." She flashes a scar on the underside of her arm, "And I got bit."
I gasp, "You were bit?"
She nods, "Yeah. Bernie figured it out. It changed everything for him. He stopped working in the city so much, moved out here where he had the house off the grid anyway."
I had assumed it was the rape of Star that changed everything.
Her face lightens, "You know it doesn’t matter who our dad was. Bernie's dad raised me, he was sweet and kind and he loved me. My dad from before Bernie's dad, was a sweet man too. That’s the people that matter. The man in the science lab doesn’t matter."
I scowl, "Why did Marshall let you stay but kick me out?"
She grins, "I hide my mutant blood better than you do. He never knew. But when he turned you out, I left, just in case."
"You heal fast?"
She nods, "And I run fast. And I'm strong."
I snicker, "You hit like a girl."
She sticks her tongue out, "I blend."
I feel a cold shiver and wipe up more of the dirty bleached goo off the floor.
Bernie walks in, stinking of cooked, rotten flesh. He grins, "You girls having a chat?"