Plagued: The Midamerica Zombie Half-Breed Experiment (Plagued States of America) (11 page)

Twenty-Eight

He heard the tumult around him, the rising and falling of voices, the urgency of their words. He dipped in and out of consciousness. Moaning surrounded him. Dull echoes of hammering on doors soon became a repetitive whump. He felt weightless as though he were in the duck again, its noisy engine groaning beneath him, the heat of it radiating. He felt a body beside his, warm and soft.

“That’s one hell of a way to make sure you get to keep her,” Tom could hear his brother saying. Was it some kind of joke? It wasn’t a memory that he knew of. His brother had never said anything like that before.

Tom opened his eyes to find himself inside a helicopter, his brother sitting in a seat over him with a headset on. Tom was strapped to the floor with a blanket covering him, Penelope by his side, her head completely under the cover, her arm over his chest, her grip fierce.

“You’re awake!” Gary said. “This is the second time I thought you were dead.”

“Where am I?” Tom asked. Gary wore a long cast over his right leg keeping him from getting up, but he managed to unclasp himself and slide to the deck beside Tom. He offered Tom a headset and helped him put it on.

“Relax, little brother, it’s over. We’re heading home.”

Tom looked sidelong. Penelope was shivering under the blanket, her head covered except for her eyes. She was still handcuffed to him, he could feel it. He put his other hand up to her head and stroked her hair beneath the blanket. She wasn’t cold.

“What happened?”

“You were all holed up in the control tower, surrounded by hundreds of zombies trying to get in. When the choppers came, the zombies all ran away into buildings. Well, they shuffled away. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a zombie run. It was eerie though. The rescue team pulled you all out.”

“How many made it?” Tom asked.

“Including you two?” Gary replied, not waiting for an answer. “Eight. One of them was bit.”

“Where are they?”

“The other choppers,” Gary said with a wave. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you alive, little brother,” Gary said with a wide smile.

“Yeah,” Tom replied distantly. He wondered how he would tell Gary and his father what happened. He didn’t want to tell them about Larissa. He hoped those other half-breeds fed her the one he’d killed. He hoped it killed Larissa too. A secret he could take to the grave with him now. He didn’t have to tell his family anything. Besides, he had someone else to look after now. He looked down at Penelope’s frightened eyes. “It’ll be fine,” he told her reassuringly.
He wondered if they would let him bring her across the channel. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” She looked deeply into his eyes. “I promise,” he added, stroking her hair again. At least he could save someone. She took in a long, relaxing breath that he could feel against his side. He could feel her grip on his cuffed hand. “I promise.”

The End