by Dawn, M. K.
Britney moved out of his comforting arms even though she wasn’t ready to do so. “Everyone needs to find your loved ones and roommates and go back to your campers. We’re going on a mandatory lockdown until further notice.”
“Are you sure about this?” Archer asked.
“We have no other choice.” Britney stared into the eyes of the scared people of their town. “We don’t know where the infested came from or where it has been or if it has attacked anyone else. Everyone needs to take shelter. Go, now. Spread the word.”
People hurried off in every direction.
“Angie, Mac” Britney called out before they left.
“Yeah, sugar,” Angie said.
“I’ll be right back,” Britney told Axel.
Axel grasped her hand. “You don’t have to stay for this.”
“Yes, I do.” Britney made her way to the schoolhouse with Angie by her side. Rainey and her three kids were the only ones left standing on the porch.
Molly threw herself in Britney’s arms and cried. “It was so scary!”
“I know, baby.” Britney held her tight. “Blake, you doing okay?”
Blake hung on to Rainey’s pants so tightly, his knuckles were white. “Yes.”
Britney waved him over and made room in her arms for both the twins. Over their shoulders, she locked eyes with Carson. “I heard you were really brave today and helped get all the kids to safety. I’m so proud of you.”
Carson puffed up his chest. “If you would let me carry a gun, I could have killed the infested.”
“I’m sure you would have.” This argument had started a few months back. The kid had been around guns his entire life. John taught him how to handle them properly, but Britney wasn’t quite ready for an eleven-year-old to be walking around with a loaded weapon. “I want you three to go to the house with Angie, Rainey, and Mac. Stay inside until Axel and I get back. Lock the doors and windows.”
“Mommy, come with us,” Molly continued to cry. “What if there’s more monsters hiding out here?”
Britney patted the gun she wore on her hip. “I can take care of myself. I’ll be back really soon. Maybe we can play a game before bed. Would you like that?”
Molly nodded, her red curls bouncing all over the place.
Britney kissed each of her kids and gave them one last hug before sending them back to the house.
“Go with them, Brit,” Axel called out. “Archer and I can take care of this.”
Britney wiped the tears from her face and headed back toward the shed. “I’m fine. I want to be here.”
“Why?” Axel cocked an eyebrow. “What aren’t you telling us?”
Britney didn’t want to accuse Nathaniel of getting bitten and not reporting it if it wasn’t true. “I want to know if the infested is one of us.”
“Do you have any reason to think it might be?” Archer asked.
“Not anything definite.” Britney removed her gun from the holster. “When we open the shed, then we’ll know for sure.”
“Fine.” Archer strolled over to the door and banged on it a couple of times.
Axel tipped his head, as if that would allow him to hear better. “No sounds. That’s a good sign.”
“How are we going to get the damn door open?” Archer yanked on the rusty handle. “He barricaded it with something.”
“There’s a latch on the door.” Britney stood next to Archer. “It’s one of those old ones. The wooden barn latches.”
“A latch on the inside?” Archer asked.
“My great-grandfather installed it during World War Two, I think. My dad said the man was a bit paranoid and thought the Nazis were going to show up. He wanted a place to hide his family, and apparently, this was the best he could come up with.”
Axel and Archer stared at her for a couple of seconds, neither speaking.
“What?” Britney rolled her eyes. “That’s just the story my father told me. And it’s relevant because the wood is ancient and rotting away. It shouldn’t be too hard to break.”
“All right. Get your guns ready.” Archer motioned for Britney to move back a few steps.
A couple of hard kicks to the door and the entire locking system gave way.
Archer inched open the door and peered inside before lowering his weapon. “Son of a bitch.”
Britney rushed closer to get a better look inside. On the ground, the infested lay dead on its stomach with a knife protruding from its back. Gus’ lifeless body lay not a foot away and already showed signs of turning.
“It won’t be long before the infested take over.” Archer glanced over his shoulder. “You two should wait outside and let me end this. You were a lot closer to him than I was.”
Britney took a step back into Axel’s arms. She hadn’t even realized he’d been so close behind her. Axel’s body trembled against hers, making her heart ache even more. Gus had been a close friend of his parents, and she knew how difficult this must be for him.
“How did this happen?” Axel mumbled.
To himself or to her and Archer, Britney didn’t know but they needed to find out. “Archer, can you turn over the infested? I want to see its face.”
The shredded clothes it wore, jeans and a flannel shirt, didn’t give them much in the way of a clue about the identity. The face, though altered a bit when turned, would be more telling.
“Are you sure you want to do this right now?” Archer asked. “It can wait.”
“No, it can’t.” Britney stared down at the bodies. She never thought she’d get used to seeing so much death. “If it’s one of ours, we need to know.”
“Okay.” Archer bent over and carefully rolled the infested on to its back.
Britney’s knees hit the ground before she had a chance to breathe. Sobs burned her throat and lungs. She didn’t want it to be true. Couldn’t believe it even though it was right in front of her.
Nathaniel had been bitten and never told anyone. He spent days in his room, knowing that once the bite took his life he would turn, and did nothing. His betrayal killed Gus, but both their deaths rested in her hands.
She knew he’d been sick and did nothing. Told no one. She trusted him, and he lied to her.
In that moment, Britney swore on her life she wouldn’t let it happen again.
***
“We’ve checked the entire farm,” Axel said as they finished the walk-through of the hay barn, “and found nothing. I’ll go tell everyone the lockdown has been lifted.”
“No.” Britney wiped her nose. All this running around stirred up a lot of dust. “Not yet.”
Archer joined them. “What’s going on?”
Axel tilted his head toward Britney. “She doesn’t want to lift the lockdown yet.”
“Why the hell not?” Archer holstered his gun. “The farm is clear. People have the right to leave their homes. This isn’t a prison.”
Britney clenched her jaw. “Nathaniel knew he’d been bitten and said nothing. He was the sweetest, most honest kid—person—I’ve ever met. If he hid this from us, so could others.”
“What are you saying, Brit?” Axel asked.
“Everyone needs to be checked for bite marks.” Britney wouldn’t go through this again.
Axel and Archer both looked to each other but neither responded.
“I don’t think the request is unreasonable, do you?”
Archer cleared his throat. “I’m going to check in with Slash, see if she has any updates on when the boy was bitten. You guys meet me in the clinic when you’re done.”
Britney scowled as he walked away. “What was that all about?”
Axel scratched at his temple before answering. “We can’t force people to strip down and be inspected for bite marks.”
“Why the hell not?” Britney couldn’t believe he disagreed with her on this. “Nathaniel attacked the children. Gus died. What if that wasn’t the first place he...it...went? It’s not like the RV park and the schoolhouse are close to each other. He could
have encountered others, bitten others, and those people are too scared to come forward.”
“Can you blame them?” Axel asked. “Hell, we don’t even have a policy in place to deal with a person inside the gates that becomes infested.”
Britney hated what she was about to say. “They’ll have to be put down. We can’t allow anyone to turn within our walls. It puts us all in danger. Look what happened today.”
“Put down?” Axel turned his back to her and stared up at the sky. “Do you even hear yourself? These are people, not sick animals.”
“You think I like saying these things? Or thinking this way? I hate myself for even having to utter the words, but my children could have been killed today. Their skin ripped from their bones as they lay there screaming in agony.” Pressure in her chest made it nearly impossible to take a breath, but she continued, “I trusted Nathaniel, and he killed someone.”
“The infested killed someone, not him.”
Britney let out an agonizing cry. “Don’t defend him. He spent days in his trailer sick. He even told Diego he had the flu. He got bitten and did nothing, knowing after he died he would become an infested. How can I not blame him?”
“Wait a second.” Axel frowned, his eyebrows squished together. “He told Diego he had the flu? Did he go the clinic?”
“He didn’t have the flu, Axel.” Britney threw her hands in the air. “He was bitten and lied about it.”
“Are you sure?”
Britney scoffed. “Last I checked, getting bitten by an infested isn’t a pleasant experience.”
“We should talk to Sloan and Makayla. See if Nathaniel stopped by a few days ago.” Axel didn’t wait for Britney to respond before heading off in the direction of the twenty by twenty shed turned clinic.
“You want to speak with them now?” Britney hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “What about the lockdown?”
“The people can wait a little bit longer.”
Britney jogged until she caught up with him then matched his speed. “You really think he went to the clinic with a bite mark and they sent him home with a flu diagnosis?”
“I don’t know, but there’s only one way to find out.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“We sent him home because he had the flu,” Sloan said as she covered up Nathaniel’s body.
Britney paced the small room, clearly agitated. “Are you sure he hadn’t been bitten?”
“It’s policy to check everyone for bite marks when they come into the clinic exhibiting symptoms such as his. I examined him myself. There were no bite marks.”
“Then, it must have happened after he came here,” Archer said.
Sloan filled out the last few lines of Nathaniel’s chart and filed it back into the cabinet. “That’s the only explanation.”
“How many days ago did you see him?” Britney asked.
Sloan had already done the math in her head, and the timeline fit. “He came in four days ago. In the evening.”
Axel circled the body, rubbing his chin. “How sick would you say he was? Scale of one to ten.”
Sloan never liked the idea of using a scale to measure medical ailments. There were too many factors to consider. “His symptoms caused enough distress that I suggested he rest for a couple of days.”
A sly smile tugged at Archer’s lips. “Slash, what have I told you about the importance of simple speech when it comes to explaining medical things to those less smarter than you?”
“Less smart,” Sloan corrected. Sometimes, the man spoke the most atrocious grammar.
Archer’s smile slipped. “That’s helpful. Back to the kid. How sick was he?”
“I don’t know how to answer that question. His symptoms—fever, headache, fatigue, sweating, and body aches—all indicated that he had the flu. So that’s what I treated him for. And by treat, I mean sent him home to get some rest. There was nothing else I could do.”
“But he didn’t have the flu.” Britney took a seat behind Sloan’s empty desk and rapped her fingers against the partial board. “He was bitten by the infested.”
“That’s impossible.” Hadn’t they already gone over this? “I examined him and found no bite marks, no black lines. The bite happened after he left the clinic.”
“The question shouldn’t be when it happened,” Archer said, “but where. How does a sick kid get bitten by an infested when on bed rest?”
“Obviously, he didn’t follow Sloan’s orders.” Britney fidgeted in the chair. “He had to have left the property...somehow.”
Axel scrubbed his hands over his face. “Sloan, is that even possible? I mean, I had the flu about five years ago and barely had enough energy to get off the couch to pee.”
“It’s possible, but I agree, unlikely.” Sloan remembered how much Nathaniel had struggled to lift himself onto the exam table. “He was weak and had shortness of breath. Leaving the property would have been near impossible.”
“So,” Britney’s tone dripped with sarcasm, “the only possible way he could have gotten bitten was if an infested somehow found its way inside our property and into Nathaniel’s camper without being seen. Bit him but left no blood. And then escaped without harming anyone else.”
“Maybe it’s still here,” Archer said, “trapped somewhere. Are others missing?”
Axel rolled his neck from side to side. “Not that I’ve heard. Anybody hear anything?”
They all shook their heads, which didn’t surprise Sloan in the least. A missing person was a serious issue and was dealt with swiftly as to avoid what happened today.
“Dammit.” Axel looked to Britney. “I’m starting to think your idea might be our only chance of figuring this thing out.”
“What idea?” Sloan asked
Britney looked at Sloan from underneath her lashes. “Check everyone for bite marks.”
“Everyone?” Sloan lowered herself in the patient’s chair across from her sister. “You think that’s necessary?”
“After what happened with Nathaniel, I think it’s the only way to ensure our community is safe.” Britney chewed on her thumbnail. “We have to make sure no one else is infested and hiding it from us. I don’t want anyone else to die.”
“None of us want that.” Archer leaned against the table. “But I’m not sure this is the way to maintain the trust of the people living here, do you?”
Britney threw back her head and groaned. “Trust is overrated. Safety should be our number one priority.”
Sloan eyed Axel for some sort of explanation on Britney’s sudden change in attitude.
Axel shrugged. “Nathaniel lied, told everyone he was sick.”
“A teenager lying,” Archer smirked. “Never heard that one before.”
“This isn’t a joke.” Britney slammed her hand on the table. “He attacked the school. My children could have been killed.”
“Sorry.” Archer locked eyes with Britney. “I didn’t mean it that way. I just mean, kids lie for a lot of reasons, scared being one of them. Maybe he thought that if he told you the truth, you’d be mad at him. So, he locks himself in his camper hoping that would keep him from hurting anyone.”
Sloan crossed her arms on the table and watched as tears streamed down her sister’s face.
“Why doesn’t matter anymore.” Britney rummaged through Sloan’s drawers and pulled out a handkerchief. “But we have an obligation to this town and all the people in it to make sure no one else is sick.”
“Okay.” Even though Sloan didn’t think this was necessary, she understood why Britney felt this needed to be done. “Makayla and I can go door to door and do full body examinations. But Brit, you’ll need to come along and explain the situation.”
Britney pressed her palms to her eyes. “Thank you.”
“I’ll go with Makayla,” Axel volunteered. “Archer, if you want to go with Brit and Sloan? I think it might help.”
“You want armed guards to be present during the examination?” Sloan asked. “You don’t think
that might make people more hostile?”
“I’m hoping it will help defuse any potential situations,” Axel said. “Maybe make people see the importance of their cooperation.”
Sloan thought armed guards would have the opposite effect, but she kept her opinion to herself. It was best they stuck to the task at hand and got this over with as soon as possible. People had already been confined to their rooms for the majority of the day. No access to food or the facilities tended to make people angry. Angry people rarely cooperated when asked to perform reasonable tasks.
And accusing them of lying and making them strip down for an examination was nowhere near reasonable.
***
“Well, that didn’t go as bad as I thought it would,” Archer said as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
Sloan chuckled. The temperature couldn’t be more than fifty degrees, still perspiration beaded along Archer’s hairline. The stress of the situation must be getting to him. He didn’t care much for confrontations, which Sloan found odd, since he’d spent years in the military.
“The Jones are an easy couple to get along with.” Britney ran through the list on her clipboard, marking them as clear. “Let’s head to the next camper. I’d like to get our half done before sunset.”
“Wouldn’t it have been easier if Makayla and Sloan each took the group of people they were more familiar with?” Archer asked.
Before Sloan had a chance to respond, Britney answered, “Easier? Yes. But if each takes the other group, then no one can complain about favoritism or accuse each other of not being fair.”
Sloan glared at Archer. She’d told him before they left the clinic not to question Britney.
Archer caught Sloan’s eye and cleared his throat. “I didn’t even think about that. Good call, Brit.”
“Thanks,” Britney said with a smile.
Sloan turned her head to keep from laughing.
Archer wrapped his arm around Sloan’s waist. “’Whose camper is this?”
Sloan stared at the fifth wheel and sighed. “Jerry’s.”
Archer busted out laughing. “This should be interesting.”