head. Feet pounded like a damn stampede. We reached the truck where an unknown handed out boxes of syringes. Dominic couldn’t be involved, he’d still be in Spokane.
An Idaho license plate and friendly smile on the man lulled me, along with everyone else.
Maybe Connie and Grandma Jean had worked this step into their strategy. They had Mom on their side, after all. She might have suggested sending more vaccines down the line. I hadn’t been with them in a while and had told them to figure things out. Good move, if you asked me.
The boxes were passed out. Each person took a syringe and moved the boxes along. One went through my hands. I took a syringe.
The small plastic body had an intimidating significance. I fingered the needle, pulled off the cap. What would happen? I was already infected. Would a vaccine have the potential to cure me? Did I dare test it out? The smallest chance that the vaccine could act as a cure grew as hope in my chest. In my hour of darkness, the smallest glimmer of hope blinded me.
Surrounded by the crowd, no one noticed that I stared at the needle. They were all wrapped up in the urgency of protecting themselves. A woman stood feet from me, smiling at a four-year-old boy. “It’ll only hurt for a second, okay?”
People one-by-one lifted their shirt sleeves or yanked down the back of their pants to reveal a hip. Small grunts and squeaks filled the highway as each person popped themselves or helped with another.
Clear fluid filled the base of the syringe. Muscle mass would be thickest in my ass but I di dn’t have the balls to drop my drawers in the crowd. There were girls around.
I lifted my left arm and stuck the needle deep into my tricep s and pushed the pump. The empty syringe slid easily from my skin.
A hazard ous materials box sat at the edge of the ambulance. I dropped my needle and turned toward the trees.
W hite flashed across my vision.
Someone groaned.
Why hadn’t Connie and Grandma Jean sent someone out here to give the vaccines the right way? It didn’t sound like something they would do.
I blinked, twice.
Why was that old man chewing on that kid’s arm?
I held my hands out like I might fall. I think I pushed someone. They turned on me and hissed, their pupils dilated. My answering growl subdued them. I’m not sure if it was a male or a female. Details slid in and out of my conscious. I couldn’t get my head on straight.
Screams filled the air, but they changed to growls and groans.
I reached the trees, falling against rough bark as I slouched for support against a thick pine. The scent reminded me of my Dad’s old cars and their air fresheners.
Dominic ’s laugh filled my mind. A sound I swore I’d never hear again. He was there. He’d made it. The ass was in my head. I gripped my ears. Pushing up from my spot on the tree, I stumbled further into the woods, further from him. But the sound didn’t stop.
I’d made it about ten feet, my going slow, when a hand gripped my shoulder. I spun, too weak to hold my hands up to defend myself. I should have eaten one of the idiots before they’d turned zombie.
Dominic’s fist connected with my lower jaw. Momentary darkness filled my sight. I think I bounce d off a log before landing in a pile of dry pine cones. I closed my eyes.
A foot slammed into my right side. I curled and rolled , hoping to avoid more attacks. He grabbed my hair, the tear as it pulled from my scalp louder than my breathing. Now I would match Heather.
“You really are panting after that bitch.” Dominic wasn’t immune to exertion either. His shallow breaths underscored his efforts. I rolled to my back. “ Where is she? I’m craving brunette bitch tonight.”
I couldn’t move. He stood above me, his hands on his hips. At least my heart still beat. I licked my lips. “How did you find me?”
“That’s my saliva you jabbed in your arm.” He crouched beside me. “You’re one dumb kid, aren’t you? You already have the virus, why
An Idaho license plate and friendly smile on the man lulled me, along with everyone else.
Maybe Connie and Grandma Jean had worked this step into their strategy. They had Mom on their side, after all. She might have suggested sending more vaccines down the line. I hadn’t been with them in a while and had told them to figure things out. Good move, if you asked me.
The boxes were passed out. Each person took a syringe and moved the boxes along. One went through my hands. I took a syringe.
The small plastic body had an intimidating significance. I fingered the needle, pulled off the cap. What would happen? I was already infected. Would a vaccine have the potential to cure me? Did I dare test it out? The smallest chance that the vaccine could act as a cure grew as hope in my chest. In my hour of darkness, the smallest glimmer of hope blinded me.
Surrounded by the crowd, no one noticed that I stared at the needle. They were all wrapped up in the urgency of protecting themselves. A woman stood feet from me, smiling at a four-year-old boy. “It’ll only hurt for a second, okay?”
People one-by-one lifted their shirt sleeves or yanked down the back of their pants to reveal a hip. Small grunts and squeaks filled the highway as each person popped themselves or helped with another.
Clear fluid filled the base of the syringe. Muscle mass would be thickest in my ass but I di dn’t have the balls to drop my drawers in the crowd. There were girls around.
I lifted my left arm and stuck the needle deep into my tricep s and pushed the pump. The empty syringe slid easily from my skin.
A hazard ous materials box sat at the edge of the ambulance. I dropped my needle and turned toward the trees.
W hite flashed across my vision.
Someone groaned.
Why hadn’t Connie and Grandma Jean sent someone out here to give the vaccines the right way? It didn’t sound like something they would do.
I blinked, twice.
Why was that old man chewing on that kid’s arm?
I held my hands out like I might fall. I think I pushed someone. They turned on me and hissed, their pupils dilated. My answering growl subdued them. I’m not sure if it was a male or a female. Details slid in and out of my conscious. I couldn’t get my head on straight.
Screams filled the air, but they changed to growls and groans.
I reached the trees, falling against rough bark as I slouched for support against a thick pine. The scent reminded me of my Dad’s old cars and their air fresheners.
Dominic ’s laugh filled my mind. A sound I swore I’d never hear again. He was there. He’d made it. The ass was in my head. I gripped my ears. Pushing up from my spot on the tree, I stumbled further into the woods, further from him. But the sound didn’t stop.
I’d made it about ten feet, my going slow, when a hand gripped my shoulder. I spun, too weak to hold my hands up to defend myself. I should have eaten one of the idiots before they’d turned zombie.
Dominic’s fist connected with my lower jaw. Momentary darkness filled my sight. I think I bounce d off a log before landing in a pile of dry pine cones. I closed my eyes.
A foot slammed into my right side. I curled and rolled , hoping to avoid more attacks. He grabbed my hair, the tear as it pulled from my scalp louder than my breathing. Now I would match Heather.
“You really are panting after that bitch.” Dominic wasn’t immune to exertion either. His shallow breaths underscored his efforts. I rolled to my back. “ Where is she? I’m craving brunette bitch tonight.”
I couldn’t move. He stood above me, his hands on his hips. At least my heart still beat. I licked my lips. “How did you find me?”
“That’s my saliva you jabbed in your arm.” He crouched beside me. “You’re one dumb kid, aren’t you? You already have the virus, why
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