The Grace Series (Book 2): Tainted Grace by M. Lauryl Lewis

his eyes wide and his hair mussed.  He was also smeared with blood from Bill falling on top of him.
    “I’ll add some wood to the fire,” I offered. 
    “Better hold off,” replied Nathan.  “It’s near dawn.  We don’t want to attract attention,” he explained.
    I nodded.  “Right.”
    “Aldo, we need to check you too.”
    “I’m not fucking bit,” said the crazed-looking man.
    “We just need to make sure, brother,” said Gus in a soothing voice.
    “Fucking A.  I’m not your brother !  And no one’s fucking going to touch me!”
    Aldo’s voice was rising, his anger becoming more and more apparent. I sighed, realizing he was a much bigger jerk than I had bargained on.
    “Cool down, Aldo,” said Nathan.
    “Fucking A.   I’m not your brother !  And no one’s fucking going to touch me!” repeated Aldo.  His face wore a mask of pain.
    “We heard you the first time,” said Boggs, who had been quiet till now.  He sounded irritable and tired.
    Aldo tilted his neck to the side, as if trying to crack it.
    “Fucking A.   I’m not your brother !  And no one’s fucking going to touch me!”
    There was a tiny tickle deep within my mind.  At first I wondered if Bill wasn't truly finally dead, despite the bullet hole that had pierced his head.
    “Oh no,” I said loudly.  “Boggs, shoot him.  Shoot him now.”
    “Fucking A.  I’m not your brother !  And no one’s fucking going to touch me!” repeated Aldo for the fourth time, followed by a scream of agony.
    “Boggs, he’s turning, shoot him!” I screamed.
    The room went silent as Aldo raced forward with inhuman speed, toward Gus. A shot rang out, as Boggs finally processed what I had said.  The bullet hit Aldo in the chest, causing him to back up several feet, but failed to drop him.  Before Boggs had time to re-aim, another shot rang out from behind us.  Emilie had joined us from the other room, likely responding to my screams, and made her mark true.  Aldo dropped backward, finally still.
    I was trying to process what had happened to Aldo by analyzing the senses that had gone on in my head.  It was different than anything I had experienced so far.  It happened in front of us, while Aldo was still alive.  I hadn’t witnessed anyone turn while still alive before.  I started to shiver.
    “Shit,” said Gus, breathless.  “What the fuck happened?”  The look on Gus’ face was strained.
    “He was alive,” I said.  “He turned while he was still alive!  What if it’s mutated, Gus?”  I felt like panicking but knew it wouldn’t help the situation.
    “Red, can you go back in and help get Abbey checked out?  This feels really off and I want to regroup as soon as possible.  Frankly, I want to get the hell out of here.”
    “Sure Gus.  She looks ok so far, though.  Abbey, I mean.”  Emilie looked shaky.  I noticed for the first time her kind, young face was showing signs of this harsh world.  She turned to walk back to the bedroom, then stopped and called back.  “Gus?  Be careful.”
    “I will be, Darlin’.”
    She disappeared into the back room, and shut the door behind her.  I could hear Abbey crying.  This whole mess was hard enough on me at twenty years old; it must be so much more difficult for someone as young as her. 
    “We need to look Aldo over.  Try to figure out what happened.  Let’s take extra precautions to not come into contact with fluids.”
    “We have some gloves,” said Nathan.  “I’ll grab them.”
    Nathan shuffled through some boxes back by the bar and produced a zip-lock baggie full of latex gloves.  “We found these under the kitchen sink,” he explained.  “They’re kind of small but should work ok.”
    “Thanks,” said Gus.  “That’s perfect.”
    Gus, Boggs, and Nathan all donned gloves and set to work undressing Aldo.
    “I’ll be in the back room,” I said.  I didn’t want to see the dead man naked.  He had been creepy enough while alive and