I was a walking disaster, causing pain to everyone around me. I couldn’t stop biting my knee. My teeth hurt, and it was soothing to bite into something, anything, even if it was my own body. I heard their voices in the living room but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Suddenly, one sentence stood out.
“She needs to feed.”
It was Rhona who’d said it. The voices went quiet.
Chapter 47
Not much later, the bedroom door opened, and Charlie stood in the doorway. He held a mug in one hand, the other hand held onto the door handle.
“Can I come in without you attacking me?” he asked.
“Yes, of course.” I wiped the tears from my face.
Charlie let go of the door handle, but I noticed he left the door open, just in case.
I can’t blame him.
He sat on the edge of the bed and offered me the mug.
“Here, drink this.”
“What is it?”
“Blood, you need to feed.”
“Where did you get it from?”
“Don’t you worry about that. Just drink it before it congeals.”
He put the mug in my hands. As he did, I noticed his bandaged wrist.
Oh my god, he is giving me his own blood.
A shiver went down my spine. I looked into the mug and noticed it was only half full.
“Smudges don’t give a lot of blood, do they,” I said, immediately regretting my words and hoping I hadn’t offended him.
Charlie smiled.
“Well, no, they don’t. Just drink it, will you?”
I lifted the mug to my mouth. The rim touched my lips. The idea of drinking blood from a mug was not appealing to me at all somehow. The blood looked like black slurry. I hid my mouth behind the mug.
“It’s not blue either,” I said. I didn’t know if he remembered that time in the cabin when I’d almost compared him to a little, fictional, blue character.
“Just drink it,” Charlie urged me. With a broad smile, he pushed the mug back to my mouth. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It took me some courage to tip up the mug enough to make the lukewarm liquid run into my mouth.
To my surprise, it tasted great. With a few large gulps, I finished the drink and licked my lips. I held the mug upside down above my mouth to catch the last drops. I even tried to lick it clean.
“You like it that much, eh?” Charlie said with worry in his tone.
I nodded and gave him back the mug.
“Well, I’m afraid there’s not much more where that came from,” he said and sighed.
“Is Rhona okay?” I whispered to him after I wiped my lips and licked my hand for good measure.
“Yes, she’s fine. Please don’t do anything like that again, though.”
How can I promise this? I don’t know if I can control my thirst in the future.
“I’ll do my best,” was all I could say.
I expected Charlie to leave, but he remained sitting on the edge of the bed. I looked at him expectantly.
“Kate …” he said. He seemed extremely uneasy. “Kate, when the curtain fell … you just stood there …”
I kept looking at him, my expression blank.
Are you really trying to rub in how wrong I was?
There was an awkward silence before I realized what he was saying.
Holy cow! Rhona had gone into a seizure, and I hadn’t.
As I sucked in air with the revelation, Charlie said my thoughts out loud.
“You didn’t have a seizure.” His brows furrowed, his eyes intent on me.
I felt like a student who had to give the teacher an answer to his question, but I didn’t have one.
“I know,” I said slowly, trying to buy myself some time. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not saying anything,” he said, quickly looking away and straightening a small part of my bedding. “I just noticed you’re different.” His eyes locked on mine again.
I smiled and punched him carefully on the arm.
“But you knew that already.”
Charlie’s face became mellow.
“You try to sleep now, you need to rest.”
He got up, kissed my forehead and left, closing the door behind him.
I undressed this time and slid in between the sheets. I was so tired. Before I drifted into a restful sleep, I heard those words in my head again, the words that Charlie had said.
‘You’re different.’
Chapter 48
Late that evening, Charlie woke me. I supposed he’d let me sleep as long as possible but wanted to wake me before I woke up hungry. He sat on my bedside again and handed me another mug. This one had a substantially smaller amount of blood in it than the one he’d given me earlier. I must have looked disappointed.
“Sorry, but Harry told me I couldn’t give you any more, or I’ll get into trouble.”
I admired Charlie’s sacrifice but didn’t know how to express my gratitude.
What do you say to somebody who offers you their blood, literally?
“I … um … You shouldn’t have …”
Oh god, what to say?
I looked this way and that, avoiding his gaze. I had put him through so much, and yet he was offering me his blood. Again. I couldn’t handle such a sacrifice.
Charlie saw me struggle and said, “I’m okay. Just drink it.”
I emptied the mug as I did the first time. As he took it from me, he kissed my forehead again and left the room. I couldn’t help but like his kisses. They made me feel loved, maybe even more so than him giving me his blood.
That could just be self-preservation.
I got dressed and walked into the living room. Harry and Rhona were sitting on the couch. The first thing that came to mind was that I needed to apologize to Rhona.
“I’m so sorry, Rhona, for what I did, for pushing you …”
“It’s okay, Kate. I’m fine,” she said. “I understand what you went through. Been there, done that.” She smiled.
It was a load off my mind that she wasn’t holding a grudge.
“Yes, but still … I shouldn’t have done it,” I said as my right hand grabbed my left elbow. I felt silly standing like that and let my right arm swing back down.
I didn’t know what else to say, so I let myself fall into one of the chairs. I heard Charlie doing dishes in the kitchen.
“Is it okay for Charlie to be doing this?” I asked Harry, and I pointed at my wrist.
“Yes, but not for long, and it won’t be enough to feed you,” he said. He threw a glance at Rhona, who nodded.
I turned to look at Charlie and sighed. Automatically my hand went to my mouth, and I began biting my nails. Being infected didn’t take away any nasty habits.
“You’re not the only one with a supply problem,” Rhona said, who probably had mistakenly interpreted my nail biting as hunger. “I didn’t feed last night, and I’m starving too.”
All of a sudden it hit me I had no idea how Harry and Rhona had come to be here with us.
“What happened?” I blurted out at the both of them, ignoring Rhona’s remark. “How did you guys get here?”
They looked at each other, and Rhona prodded Harry in the ribs.
“You tell her,” she said.
Harry kissed her and began to tell their story.
Ooh, they’ve moved to the kissing stage already.
“We’d done as we’d agreed and went back to Duncan to tell him you two had been killed by a couple of humans,” Harry said.
I didn’t want to interrupt, but I couldn’t contain my curiosity.
“What did Duncan say?”
“He didn’t say much, actually,” Harry said. “He took in the information and dismissed us.”
Jerk.
“So why are you here? Something must have happened?”
“Just hear them out, Ms. Impatient,” Charlie said as he walked into the room.
Images of Sasha flashed through my mind
.
“Please don’t call me that,” I whispered to him as he sat on the armrest of my chair and put his hand on my shoulder.
“Okay, I won’t,” he said.
Harry continued his story.
“I didn’t know if Duncan would believe us, so before we joined the gathering, I prepared a get-away car.” He nudged his head in the direction of the car in my driveway. “We came across a funeral center, and I hot-wired a hearse, ready for take-off.”
“How in heaven’s name did you know how to hot-wire a car?” I asked.
Harry chuckled.
“My brother, Tom, taught me. Our father is a military man and very strict with his rules. Tom’s more of a rebel than I am and hangs out with a different crowd. He learned a set of skills Dad doesn’t approve of. Fortunately, Tom taught them to me, as a good big brother does.”
Would Harry have another brother called Richard?
All the while, Rhona was looking at Harry with adoration, her arm hooked into his, still chewing gum to death in her mouth.
Would it still be the same piece of gum?
“Anyway,” Harry said, “we thought we’d gotten away with it and that you were safe, but then this guy stormed in and told Duncan two infected had escaped in a car. Before Duncan could put two and two together, Rhona and I ran for the hearse and drove off.” He looked at Rhona and placed his hand over hers. “I was so happy Rhona actually wanted to come with me. I can’t imagine what Duncan would have done to her if she hadn’t.” He smiled such a sweet smile.
“I’d go anywhere with you, honey,” Rhona beamed back at him. They kissed.
Embarrassed, I looked up at Charlie. He kissed my head.
“So would I, Kate,” he said.
I couldn’t help the huge grin appearing on my face.
Number three.
Dearie me, I’m counting his kisses now.
Charlie smiled back at me, but with a suspicious frown. I kept my thoughts to myself and turned my attention back to Harry.
“Did you have any problem getting out? Did you stop in the little village?” I asked, dreading how the story would go on.
“Nope. No problems whatsoever. We told the guys at the perimeter that you escaped, and that Duncan had ordered us to get you back. They let us go without a hiccup. Charlie told us about your crisis in the village. Good thinking, Kate.”
“We should thank you,” I said. “It was you who saved our lives there, again.”
“That may be true,” Charlie said, “but it was you who thought of saying Harry’s name.” This time he was beaming at me with adoring eyes instead of kissing me.
Bummer.
I looked at Harry again. “So how did you know where to find us? I can’t remember telling you where we were going.”
“That was just pure luck. We drove back to Bullsbrook since it was the place Caleb was last seen with his pack, and I assumed you would start your search here. We were looking for that Hansel and Gretel house of yours. Meeting you in the street was pure coincidence.”
You have no idea.
I looked at Rhona.
“When did he tell you … you know, that he … that we … all … weren’t infected?”
Rhona put her gum to the side and smiled a wicked smile.
“As you entered the hearse, it was clear you were bitten, with the blood dripping from your neck and all. I didn’t understand why anyone would want to bite another infected, you know. I thought ‘what the fuck?’ Then when I looked at Charlie for an explanation, he told me you had been unbitten. He then told me he, too, was still unbitten.”
I turned my head to Charlie in alarm. “Weren’t you afraid she was going to bite you?”
“Don’t worry,” Rhona said before Charlie could answer. “There was too much urgency to get you to safety and tend to your marks.”
Charlie chuckled.
“You did offer to bite me.”
Harry looked at Rhona in surprise.
“You did?”
“Well, you know …” she said slightly embarrassed, “if Kate was one of us now, maybe Charlie wanted to be as well … and I was hungry.”
Charlie rescued her from Harry’s accusing stare.
“I did consider it, and I thought it was very kind of you to offer.”
I kissed Charlie’s hand as I thought it was kind of him to make the awkward situation pass. Apart from the fact that I wanted to keep the kisses coming.
“But what about Harry?” I asked Rhona. “At the time you thought Harry was infected. When did you find out about him being uninfected?”
“After we cared for your marks and lay down to sleep, I realized this ‘rare blood disorder’ had been a cover-up,” she said. “I asked Harry if he was still uninfected as well, and I only had to look into his eyes to know the truth.” She looked into Harry’s eyes again, reliving the moment.
“Weren’t you afraid she would bite you?” I asked Harry.
“I was,” he said, only having eyes for Rhona, “but she didn’t do it. She just kissed me.”
Rhona was drowning in Harry’s eyes.
“I love you just the way you are, honey,” and she kissed him to make her point.
Love is a strange thing.
Yeah, why does he get kissed on the mouth?
I wished I could give the couple some alone time. I would have liked some alone time with Charlie as well.
Chapter 49
Charlie broke the moment.
“We still have the mystery of Kate not being affected by sunlight.”
“Yeah, how did you manage that?” Rhona asked wide-eyed.
“Do you have any special medical conditions, Kate?” Harry asked.
“No, not that I’m aware of. I’m not allergic to anything as far as I know, and I haven’t got any disease,” I said.
“Okay, tell me everything that’s happened to you since your first encounter with the infected. It must be something that’s happened to you in the last few days.”
I told him everything. How Caleb had pierced my skin but not my jugular. How I had an aversion to light from then on but didn’t have any seizures. How the magnesium had sent me into this white place. I ended with my recent exposure to sunlight with no ill effects.
“Hmm, I think I understand.”
We were all listening intently as Harry explained his theory.
“When you were first bitten by Caleb, his saliva must have entered your bloodstream, but it wasn’t enough to infect you, turn you properly. It must have done something to your immune system, though. It prepared your body for a proper infection by making antibodies that prevent you going into a full response to light.”
“Like a vaccine?” I said.
“Yes, exactly. Like a vaccine, but the vaccination only affected your light sensitivity, not your need for blood.” He looked at Charlie with a knowing smile.
“No need to tell me,” Charlie huffed. “But then how do you explain about Kate’s white light experience from the magnesium? And her not liking the light from the army tank after she was bitten by Caleb?”
“Yes, that …” Harry stroked his chin. “The magnesium light exposure happened before she was properly bitten. It probably was so intense and close-up that it must have caused the effect. Not being like a normal seizure but an overall reduction of being able to move, and, for some unknown reason, not being able to see colors.”
“But what about my aversion to the tank light?” I said. “I’d been infected when that happened.”
“Yes, but it happened very shortly after Caleb’s bite, so my guess is that your system hadn’t had time to adapt yet,” he said.
“Wow.” I sat back, deep in my own thoughts.
No one spoke. Charlie had been right. I was different. I was an infected that could walk in daylight. A daywalker.
Holy shit, this is scary.
The possibilities and implications hit me.
What if there are more like me? Humans won’t even be safe during the day.
“Could I get vaccinated, so I can walk in sunlight?” Rhona said all of a sudden.
The three of us stared at her.
Oh no, here we go.
Harry’s face turned into delight. “Oh Rhona, if it worked, we could live in daylight together.”
I could understand his point of view. For Harry to live with Rhona as she currently was would mean to live in eternal darkness. I could understand they wanted to have a normal life like we all used to have, before the outbreak. However, Rhona was still feeding on humans. I could see the future horror of gatherings in daylight. The infected roaming free, attacking anybody, anywhere, anytime.
Would they cause their own extinction at some point?
“Would you be willing to try, Kate?” Harry asked me.
Hearing my name brought me back from my time warp.
“Sorry, Harry. What would I be willing?”
“Well, biting Rhona like Caleb bit you the first time,” he said.
“But she’s already infected. Wouldn’t it be too late?”
“Not necessarily. Chickenpox vaccinations given after exposure work. It’s worth a try.”
Both Rhona and Harry were staring at me full of hope, sitting on the edge of their seat. How could I refuse them their happiness?
Suddenly I felt drained of all energy, unable to struggle anymore.
“Alright,” I said.
Besides, it may not work at all.
Chapter 50
My fangs dropped that night. It hurt like hell, much more than when I had braces. I had thought that had hurt, but this was the super-sized version of it.
After having a shower, I admired my new slicers in the mirror. They looked so much better than the fake ones, so much deadlier. For a moment, I even pretended to bite into a neck with them but stopped when the images of dead bodies floated back into my mind. I closed my mouth with a snap. As I looked at my mirror image, I felt disgusted. I quickly finished brushing my teeth and got out of the bathroom.
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