Deathly Contagious (21 page)

“You have crap in your hair,” Hayden told me regretfully, moving out of the water to dry off and get dressed.

“Son of a bitch,” I swore. “The one time I didn’t put it up…” I tipped my head and let the ends of my hair dip into the water. I was shivering so badly it was hard to suds up my hair. Not sure—and not caring—if I rinsed all the soap out, I straightened up.

Something moved with the swift current, bobbing just under the surface. I narrowed my eyes, unable to descry exactly what it was. It went under and got caught on something. I waded out into knee deep ice water to get a closer look.

Sunlight reflected brightly off the sparkling water, temporarily blinding me. I held up my hand and waited for my eyes to adjust. I leaned over the strange object, only able to see my reflection on the shiny surface. Maybe it was nothing, I thought to myself and began to turn.

Then it sat up. Water slimed fingers grabbed my leg and pulled. I fell into the water, scrapping my painfully cold hands on the sharp rocks that lined the river. The zombie let out a gurglely growl and pushed me under water. I grabbed a handful of small rocks and smashed them against its head. It didn’t even react. My hand hit the water with a loud splash.

My hands pushed against its arms; watery flesh melted off with my touch. I scrambled back, cutting my heel on something wickedly sharp. I pushed myself to my knees and punched the zombie in the side of its face. It let out a harrowing yell right as the bullet nestled its way into its skull.

Arms wrapped around me.

“Orissa!” Hayden cried and embraced me. Trembling from fear of the sudden attack and from cold, I leaned against him. “Are you ok?”

“I’m alive,” I said, my teeth chattering.

“Let’s get you out of the water.”

I nodded, wincing with each step.

“Fuck, you’re bleeding,” Hayden said and scooped me up.

“Put me down,” I protested. “I’m fine; it’s just a little scratch.” Hayden didn’t listen and continued to carry me. He set me down on the tailgate.

“I think I’ll pass on washing up,” Ivan said with a slight smile. He looked through the scope on his rifle. “The water doesn’t seem so clean anymore.”

“Yea, and you always gave me hell for not liking dark water,” Brock added, his eyes wide. “Are you alright, Orissa? He didn’t get you, did he?”

“Nope. Just tried to cop a feel, that’s all,” I joked, shaking uncontrollably from the cold. Hayden took off his jacket and wrapped it around me. “You’re all wet,” I dumbly stated. “And y-you don’t h-have any more c-clothes,” I chattered.

“They’ll dry,” he said quietly, inspecting my hands. “I’d rather have wet clothes than have anything happen to you.” Brock tossed Hayden my clothes and turned back to face the river as I got dressed. Hayden stepped away and returned with the first aid kit. He flattened my palm and wiped an alcohol pad over the scrapes.

“I c-can do it m-myself,” I told him, though I was still shivering so much I didn’t know if my fingers could function.

“I’m gonna take care of you,” Hayden said and I remembered his conversation with Padraic.

“Ok, thanks.”

“Does this hurt?” he asked when he got to the slice on my left heel.

“A little. Honestly, I’m s-so cold I can’t r-really feel anything.”

He nodded and quickly disinfected the cut and bandaged it up. “You might get hypothermic,” he said, sounding concerned.

“You too,” I reminded him. “Your clothes are soaked.” I held up his jacket. “Put it on.”He closed the first aid kit and took his jacket. I hobbled into the truck and fired up the engine. Brock kept watch while Ivan quickly washed the shit off his skin. Once he was dry and dressed, Brock did the same. I rolled down the window and yelled at Hayden to get in the warm cab.

“She’s right, Underwood,” Ivan advised, “unless you’re hoping to get into a sleeping bag with me. You know you want some of this,” he joked, gesturing to his body. Hayden laughed and got into the driver’s side, holding his cold hands up to the heater vents.

“You’re shivering,” I pointed out. “Now we’re both gonna have to get naked with Ivan.”

“I’ll just get naked with you,” he said with a grin. Body heat was the best thing for someone suffering from hypothermia. I didn’t bothering telling Hayden that two people with lowered temps wouldn’t help each other out.

“Take your pants off,” I instructed.

“Riss, not here,” he said, sounding offended.

“Shut up. Take them off. They are soaking wet.”

“They’ll dry.”

“Hayden, please. I don’t want you to be cold.”

“I’ll be fine.”

I leaned against the seat. “You’re more stubborn than I am. Suit yourself and be cold then.”

 “I’ll wash your shoes,” Brock called. He picked up my boots and dunked them in the freezing water, swishing them around to clean off the shit. He tossed them to the ground and did the same with his and Hayden’s.

“Thanks,” I told him when he and Ivan got into the truck. “Now what?” I asked Hayden.

“We can’t stay here,” he said, looking at Ivan for suggestions. “I say we drive somewhere, start a fire and dry out our shoes—and my pants. It won’t kill us to wear them wet, but I’d rather not.”

We all murmured in agreement. Hayden put the truck in reverse and floored it away from the river. None of us spoke as Hayden drove, all too cold to carry on a conversation. The truck slowly filled with warm air, coaxing my stiff muscles to loosen up.

Since it provided guaranteed safety from a large attack on one side, we stayed alongside the river.  We ended up in a park; Hayden stopped the truck next to a giant anchor planted in cement. I eyed it curiously for a minute and then realized it was a sundial. Ivan and I kept watch while Hayden and Brock ventured off to find fire wood.

The damp ground quickly soaked through my socks. I lifted one foot up for a few seconds, temporarily alleviating the cold. I cupped my hands around my mouth and exhaled, trying to warm them.

“Soon enough,” Ivan said with a half smile. “We will be wishing for the cold.”

“Not me,” I told him. “I’ve been cold so much in the last few months. I can’t wait for the day it’s ninety degrees and humid out.”

Ivan laughed. “The cold is tolerable. You can put more clothes on to warm up, but the heat…there’s not much you can do about that.”

“I’m used to hot Kentucky summers,” I reminisced. “My grandparents didn’t have air conditioning until I was fifteen. God, I hated it and complained every night about being too hot to sleep.” With a smile I said, “When it was really hot, I’d sleep on the basement floor.”

“You don’t have an accent,” Ivan obviously stated.

“Stereotype much?” I said pointedly. “Not everyone does.”

“Oh, sorry.”

I shrugged. “A lot of people are surprised. And neither do you, mister New Jersey.”

“Very true. And we’re not all drunken losers that patrol the boardwalk every night. I’m from Somerville, which isn’t close to the shore.”

I climbed up in the bed of the truck, looking out for signs of danger. Hayden emerged from behind a tree carrying an armload of firewood. Brock was a few yards behind him with more wood to burn. They dropped it in a pile near the truck and I took over building the fire. Not wanting to waste time struggling with the damp branches, Ivan carefully poured a little bit of gasoline over my perfect campfire. I lit a match and tossed it in.

We stabbed sticks into the ground and set our boots on them, making sure they were close enough to dry but not so close to the fire the rubber soles would melt. Hayden took his pants off, shivering in just his jacket and boxers, and hung them up near the fire. I stuck my cold hands over the flames, opening and closing my fists to get the feeling back into my fingers. I needed to be able to work my gun. Hayden stood next to me, doing the same. Brock poked at the fire with a stick and Ivan leaned against the truck.

When my face felt too hot, I walked over near Ivan and put the tail gate down to sit on.

“So,” Ivan started, turning to face me. He crossed his arms and flashed a brilliant smile. “So, I heard you and Underwood, huh?”

My jaw might have dropped. “W-what? How-how…you know?” I stammered. “Ohmigod, I’m gonna kill her! Raeya is such a loudmouth!”

“No,” Ivan said calmly. “You are. I
heard
. Those walls are pretty thin, ya know.”

An incoherent noise escaped my lips and I gaped at Hayden. He shrugged and smiled. “I told you that you were loud,” he said with fake innocence.

Brock stabbed the fire and snickered. I glared at Hayden, annoyed with him for not caring.

“Don’t worry,” Ivan assured me. “We didn’t tell anyone. We kinda figured you didn’t want anyone to know, hence having the not so secret sex.”

“How long have you known?” I asked, still feeling slightly horrified.

“Pretty much since you got back,” Ivan confessed.

“And you knew they knew?” I accused Hayden.

 He shook his head. “No, but I figured someone would hear us—well you—sooner or later.”

I crossed my arms and pouted. “You’re an ass,” I spat, trying to sound like I was actually mad.

“That’s not what you said last night,” Hayden said suggestively.

Brock stabbed at the fire once more before standing. “I don’t need to hear details; I already hear enough as it is. And, holy shit, don’t you people ever get tired? I’m exhausted just listening to you,” he joked. I shook my head and went back by the fire.

“I’m happy for you two,” Ivan said sincerely. “It’s not easy in this world anymore. It’s nice to have someone. And I know Underwood’s had a massive crush on you since the first time he saw you.”

“Yea,” I agreed. “It took him forever to man up and do something about it.”

“You’re kind of intimidating,” Hayden insisted, not entirely joking. I looped my arm though his and rested my head against him. Forgetting the fact that we were waiting for our shoes to dry because we had to escape from a herd of zombies through a sewer, I could pretend we were a normal group of friends hanging around the campfire.

We wasted two more hours letting our boots almost dry before we set off again in search for the hardware store. At least Hayden didn’t have to wear wet clothing; his pants had completely dried. After three hours of blindly driving around, we realized we were in Missouri. After a quick break to get out and pee, Hayden steered us south.

“So how come you’re not telling anyone?” Brock asked with his mouth full of candy.

I unwrapped a peanut butter cup and looked up at the review mirror, catching Hayden’s eyes. “We don’t want to get separated.”

“Separated?”

“Yea, we weren’t sure if Fuller would let us be roommates if he knew about us. And we thought maybe he’d worry that going on missions together wouldn’t be a good idea or something.”

“Good point,” Brock noted. “I don’t think he’d care. Not anymore at least. And we all know how much he loves Hayden.”

“Shut up,” Hayden said. “He doesn’t treat me any differently.”

“Yes he does,” we all said in unison.

“I don’t think it would matter to him either,” Ivan told us. “Maybe before, but not now.”

“I’m not gonna risk it,” Hayden said, his eyes flicking up to the mirror to look at me.

“Ah, aren’t you just so cute,” Ivan teased. I opened my mouth to say something catty back but abruptly stopped when something came into view.

“Uh, guys, we got company,” I said, a little unsure of what I was seeing.

“We do?” Hayden asked.

“Yea. You’ll want to slow down and look. Trust me.”

A naked female S2 staggered along the road. Dried blood was crusted down her front. Her blonde hair lay in a matted mess around her face and her obviously fake boobs were bruised and discolored.

“Now there’s something you don’t see every day,” Ivan noted with a smirk. He turned to Brock. “Finally, a girl who will like me for my brains,” he joked.

 The boys ogled at the zombie’s huge boobs for a second, all agreeing it was a shame she got infected before Hayden rolled down his window and shot her in the forehead.

“Two points,” I called. “Thanks, baby.”

“That doesn’t count,” Brock argued. “She was on his side and I’m stuck back here.”

“Don’t be a sore loser,” I laughed. We spent the rest of our daylight driving around, trying to figure out just where the hell we were. We had a map, so once we found a sign with a town name or a major highway, we’d easily be able to get home.

At dusk, we decided to find a place to stay for the night. We pulled into a library parking lot; the small brick building was seemingly untouched. Quickly yet thoroughly we patrolled the area while Ivan picked the locks on the front door.

 “I’ll check upstairs,” I whispered. Hayden’s face twitched but he nodded.

I silently moved up and down each aisle of the children’s section. A table in the back was still covered with craft supplies; a cup of Elmer’s Glue had spilled across a pile of construction paper. I tapped the hardened glue, curious as to what the kids had been making.

The finished papers were lined up on the floor, probably set there to dry. Covered in glitter, glue, buttons and beads, the point of the project was to have the kids draw a ‘moral lesson’ they learned from a book. I held a particularly glittery one up to the light. The child who drew this was a talented artist. Amelia, she had signed in flowing script at the bottom. She had drawn a castle and a princess holding a sword and had written “jealousy destroys love” in the clouds.

“Are you still alive, Amelia?” I asked and let the paper fall to the ground. I checked behind the counter, the bathroom, the supply room and even pressed my ear against the elevator. Deeming it safe, I went back downstairs to see if Hayden had finished covering the larger first level.

I found him in the fiction section, rifle raised. I waved, making sure he knew it was me in the dark.

“Riss,” he whispered. “Everything good upstairs?”

“Yea,” I whispered back. “Find anything here?”

“Nothing undead.”

“Good.” I took a spot by his side and combed through the rest of the library with him. He called Ivan and Brock in, who brought in our sleeping bags and food. After eating a scrumptious dinner of protein bars, dried fruit, Halloween candy, and water, Hayden and I unrolled our sleeping bags and zipped them together. We only dared to remove our boots before we got inside.