Countdown to Zero (Patient Zero Book 2)

by Adrianne Lemke

  “Rex, Kate and I will have weapons ready in case anything goes wrong, but we will do whatever we can to not distract you. Do your thing, Z,” Jake interrupted. He gave me a smile and squeezed my shoulder. “You got this.”

  I focused on the strong tingle at the back of my neck and pushed to allow my mind to connect to the creatures. “Let’s go,” I said. “They shouldn’t pay any attention, just move slowly. Don’t draw attention.”

  The horde wasn’t in a blood frenzy. If they had been, I suspected this particular trick would be ineffective. Mostly due to the fact that I would be drawn into the bloodlust and be unable to do my job: protecting my friends.

  As it was, we wrinkled our noses at the stench, averted our eyes from the sight of rotten former humans, and walked through the horde as they parted down the middle to allow us to walk through. Not a single one gave us a second glance. At least, not until one of the ones on the edge sniffed, then shakily turned toward us.

  My head already ached with the pressure of pushing my will into so many of the enemy, but I bit back a groan of pain and pushed against the one who’d noticed us.

  We were nearly through. I let up the pressure a bit once the observant monster moved on without alerting the rest of the horde. The throbbing in my head eased a little, and I breathed a nearly silent sigh of relief.

  I was vaguely aware of my companions gripping their weapons tightly as we walked. Even Rex and Jake eyed the passing creatures warily as they lead me through. I couldn’t stop until we were clear of the horde, and no longer close enough for them to smell us.

  I clenched my hand around Rex’s arm and closed my eyes against the strain. He started a bit, but seemed to understand. He continued to follow directions, and remained silent as he led me through the last of the horde. He continued until we were far enough from them to stop exerting my will into the web of the hive mind.

  “You doing okay, Z?” Rex’s voice was soft, and filled with concern.

  I peeked my eyes open. A spike of pain shot through my head. A whimper escaped and I closed my eyes again. “Not really,” I answered, just as quietly.

  “Got it,” Rex said. He rested one hand on my shoulder. “Just relax. We’ll find a place to stop for a bit. Get you some water, and maybe something for that headache, huh?”

  I gave him a tight smile. “Sounds good. How are the others?”

  I would have preferred to check for myself. A good leader thinks of other’s comfort before their own. Right?

  “They’re fine,” Rex answered.

  “How is she?” Jake’s voice broke in to our discussion.

  I cringed at the added noise.

  “She’ll be okay,” Rex said. “Do you know if we have aspirin or ibuprofen or anything? Seems pushing so many zombies takes a bit out of her.”

  There was silence for a few seconds. “Yeah, I think so. We’ve got a couple small first aid kits. They’ll most likely have at least a few tablets each.”

  A bit of relief sounded like heaven right now. Rex led me to a place to allow me to sit down against what felt like a tree. I let myself drift for a few minutes. When Rex nudged me, I squinted my eyes open and accepted a bottle of water and a couple pills.

  “We’re going to check our maps and figure out where we’re going. You rest for a bit, okay?” Jake told me.

  “No problem. I should be good soon.”

  The strain had already improved a little. Pretty much as soon as I’d stopped the connection with the zombies it was as if a tight band snapped. The water helped, and given a few minutes the pain meds should wipe out the last of the discomfort.

  I kept my eyes closed and sipped at the bottle of water until it was gone. When Jake came to get me, only a hint of the headache remained.

  “I’m good to go,” I told him. “Did Kate figure out our best route?”

  Jake nodded. “She’ll lead for now, but yeah. Rex and I have a pretty decent idea where we’re headed. It’s not too far off where we just were. Probably why the guards would be comfortable enough to move Scout from their base at Ground Zero to their main base.”

  Siren barked. I jumped up, my eyes wide. “I’d nearly forgotten about her,” I told Jake with a laugh. “What’s she barking at?”

  The dog whined, then barked again. She danced around as if she wanted to take off into the woods by the road, but didn’t want to leave us.

  I watched her until I heard another bark. This time from the trees. My head shot up and I stared into the shadowy trees. “Someone is there,” I informed the others softly.

  I drew my sword, and I could hear the clicks as both Rex and Jake prepared their weapons. The other dog barked again, and emerged from the trees to bounce around Siren in excitement.

  “King?” Rex lowered his weapon. “If he was in there, maybe…”

  “Maybe some of our friends are too,” I finished. “We have to check.”

  Chapter Eight

  Mike

  Bath time was—thankfully—quite uneventful. Other than King’s desire to play in the river rather than get clean, that is. I heard and saw no further signs of either creatures or guards, and thanked my lucky stars I seemed to be in the clear for now.

  I had to be thankful to have a dog who would willingly take on a zombie if he had to. If I didn’t have my own weapon, at least I had a protector.

  A protector that had his ears up and was growling toward an area near the road. I retreated behind another tree. I could hear the shuffle of footsteps. A sudden breeze brought the smell. My nose crinkled up against the rot, and my arms scraped against the bark of the tree as I attempted to disappear into it.

  From what I could hear, it seemed this was a huge gathering of the creatures. My plan to stay hidden until they were gone made me feel like a coward, but—even with King—I had no chance against so many.

  The dog stalked forward, and I risked a rush away from the tree to grab him and pull him back with me.

  “No boy,” I whispered. “Stay.”

  He gave another low growl but settled down next to me. King remained tense, his ears pricked forward as the zombies passed. I prayed the creatures wouldn’t notice us and would simply continue on their way. My hand dug into the dog’s wet fur. Not normally a calming sensation, but, for right now, it was how I was able to remind myself I wasn’t completely alone.

  My hands trembled. Even if this horde passed without an issue, and even with King’s ability to stand against them, I couldn’t see survival as a likely outcome for me. I needed to find Zero and the others, or somehow catch up to the guards and my new friends. Captivity seemed a better option than death.

  A cold wet nose jabbed into my face, forcing me from my thoughts. “You’re right, boy. I shouldn’t give myself to them. I should try to find Zero and the others first,” I whispered.

  Which probably meant I should move on. I’d been in the same general area for a couple days already. It was time to start looking for help.

  Decision made, after the last of the horde shuffled away, I stood and walked toward the road. I had to see exactly what was out there. From the shadow of the woods I could see nothing.

  To my surprise, as we drew nearer to the road, King’s ears pricked forward and another dog barked. King looked at me and gave a soft whine as the other dog barked again. He wagged his tail and barked in response before he took off toward the sound.

  I wanted to shout at him to come back. The words were on the tip of my tongue. What stopped me was that I had no idea what he was about to run into. I couldn’t run after him or yell to him without giving away my position to potential enemies.

  Instead, as King disappeared from sight, I slowly followed. It had been my plan to head for the road anyway. Maybe the dog would stop soon, and I would find him again.

  I tried not to think of what would happen if I couldn’t. I would be on my own. No protection. No companion. Just me.

  My whole body trembled. I had to lean on a tree in an attempt to steady myself. Then I heard some
thing unexpected.

  Voices. I couldn’t hear their words, but I definitely heard human voices. Humans plus how King had acted… could it be friends? Someone who could help me to survive?

  The voices drew closer, and I heard leaves crunch under their feet. “Good boy, King. Is anyone out here?” a girl’s voice asked.

  A familiar girl’s voice.

  “Zero!” Without thinking, I dashed out from behind the trees in excitement. I flinched at her automatic, defensive stance. She held her sword in front of her, ready to use against any threat.

  For a tiny girl, she held herself with full confidence. I was bigger and stronger, but in that moment I believed she would beat me in a fight.

  Jake huffed, apparently reading my trepidation. “Yeah, Mike, she would definitely have you beat. But don’t worry, she doesn’t fight unless she has to.”

  The last remark almost seemed to be aimed at Zero, reminding her that I wasn’t an enemy. The girl in question lowered her sword, but didn’t put it away. “We should move,” she told us. “The horde isn’t very far away, and I don’t like the risk.”

  She turned and walked away. My heart sank, and I felt a sting of disappointment at her reaction. There had to have been some relief, but I didn’t see it.

  My face must have given something away, because Jake patted me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. She’s happy to see you. I think she was just hoping there would be more of our friends here.”

  I lowered my head sadly. “They were captured. I got away.”

  The man frowned. “How? They should have-”

  “Are you guys coming?” Zero called. “We need to get back to the others.”

  We ran to join her where she stood, her sword held tip down to the ground. “The enemy is starting to realize we walked right by them. We need to get moving,” she told us.

  That right there was another reason the girl made me nervous. She could read the zombies. Connect to them and control them, even if it was only in the slightest degree. She intimidated me a bit. To be completely honest, more than just a bit.

  Jake moved to her side and ran a hand gently through her smooth black hair. “Settle, Z. We’ll find the others. Mike said they were captured. So I think we’re on the right track.”

  “They want you to follow them,” I told her as we walked. “The reason they took your friends was to get you to turn yourself in to them.”

  Her eyes crinkled. “How did they know I would figure out they were taken? They could have been killed or transformed by the horde. How would I have known for sure they were captured?”

  I could see her hand tighten around the hilt of the sword. “They let you go,” she realized. “They wanted someone to tell me where they were going. But why would they let you go? Of all my friends, why you?”

  Her words would have hurt, but she seemed genuinely perplexed. Not upset, but confused. “Why not me?” I asked. “Any of us would have been sufficient to deliver their message.”

  She looked like she wanted to speak again, but Jake broke in just as we cleared the tree line and reached the rest of Zero’s group. Rex’s face lit up at Zero’s reappearance, and I almost wished I could disappear back into the woods.

  “—message?” Jake’s voice cut into my thoughts.

  I shook my head. “Sorry, Jake. What?”

  “I said, what was their message?” Jake asked. “They let you go to deliver one, so what was it?”

  Zero and the others watched curiously. “Yeah,” I scratched the side of my head nervously. I hated having people’s attention fully on me. “From what the guards were saying, their bosses were going to give you only a certain amount of time to turn yourself over to them before they start sending your people into the horde one by one to either be changed or killed.”

  All of them had wide eyes and seemed paler than they had when I’d begun to speak. Of course I felt bad as well, but those captured were their friends. Their family. I was new. I could hardly remember anyone’s name besides Zero, Jake, and Rex.

  “It’s going to take us several days to get to the guard’s headquarters,” Zero said with a frustrated huff. “How much time are they going to give us before they start hurting our friends?”

  Chapter Nine

  Zero

  Two weeks. We had two weeks to figure out exactly where our friends were, and how to rescue them. I hoped we’d be able to do it without becoming prisoners ourselves. I would not turn myself over to those people. Not willingly. They would get exactly what they wanted if I did: their lab rats back under their control.

  If we managed to get close to them, I hoped we could turn the horde against their creators. The distraction could be enough to allow us the time we needed to get our friends out.

  “At least they gave us a decent time frame,” Jake said with a sigh. He rubbed his face and looked over at Mike. “Why so long?”

  Mike shrugged. “Not sure. Maybe they didn’t know I would find you so quickly? They had no idea where you were, or how long it would take for you to even realize there was an issue.”

  I huffed. “Not so great at planning, are they?”

  “They might have some way to communicate with the guards at Ground Zero,” Jake argued. “Chances are, the big bosses know you were there. If they know anything about you, then they know you won’t leave your friends in harm’s way.”

  Rex nodded. “Seems they had some idea of the timing.”

  My gaze drifted over to Mike again. If he truly was one of the experiments, there was no way the guards would have let him go. Unless they had no idea he was one. I didn’t feel any different with him nearby than I did when we were separated. We may have been wrong.

  A heavy sigh escaped. Maybe now wasn’t the best time. “Okay. So, they knew somehow where we might meet up with Mike. While I would love to find out how they could possibly know our location, I guess we can just accept it for now.”

  “We need to figure out exactly what we can all do towards the rescue effort,” Mike said. “I know you’ve all known each other for a while, but I don’t know you.”

  I looked at him, my head tilted as I considered his words. He was right. We hadn’t exactly been around enough for him to get to know us well.

  “Do you know what it is I can do? What my connection to the creatures entails?”

  “Other than being able to tell where they are, and the scream to scare them off, no,” Mike answered.

  I met Jake’s eyes and took strength from his slight smile. “So… I was the start of the outbreak,” I told him. “I was kidnapped and made into… this. I am Patient Zero.”

  I went on to explain everything I was aware of when it came to my connection to the zombies, and those who had changed me for their own purpose. While I talked, we walked slowly down the road. I kept my senses open for the non-human threats and trusted Rex and Jake to watch for human and other potential problems.

  “There were apparently five of us. Maybe six if what Alex said is right. I’m not certain.”

  Shanti took over when I stopped. “We’re still trying to figure out who the fifth one is, although, now that we were told there’s a sixth, we need to figure out who that is as well.”

  He shook his head once the story was done. “Wow. All I can say is, I’m sorry you guys have had to deal with all that. Compared to you, my experience has been easy.”

  I gave a wry smile. He sounded upset that he hadn’t suffered in the same way as us. “Honestly? That’s a good thing. I’m glad for you. No one should have to deal with this stuff.”

  Jake tapped a hand on the back of my head lightly. “That includes you, kid. Don’t ever forget, none of this is your fault.”

  “Guys? I don’t know for sure, but we may have some trouble up ahead,” Rex interrupted. We peered ahead to see what the issue might be.

  A group of men—armed to the teeth, and who didn’t look happy—were headed straight toward us.

  I looked to Jake, Kate, and Rex. “We can’t afford delays. Is th
ere any way they haven’t noticed us? Did you see any turn offs that we could use to get around them without a confrontation?”

  “No way they missed seeing us,” Rex answered. “As for the rest… I would say we could go through the woods, but we’d probably lose some of our supplies. I doubt the wagons would handle the rough terrain.”

  Jake shook his head. “We may not have a choice but to confront them. We’d lose a lot of time trying to work our way around them, and there’s no guarantee we’d avoid the fight even if we tried.”

  “I think we should have our weapons ready and keep walking,” Kate offered. “Walk with a sense of purpose, and they may think we’d be too much trouble to deal with. Confidence is sometimes the key to avoiding confrontation.”

  Another option had just entered the picture. One I wasn’t sure I wanted to share with the group. Jake, for one, probably wouldn’t agree with my semi-developed plan.

  I waved the rest of the group over to us. “Guys, we need to keep walking. Walk with purpose, and hold your weapons with confidence. We’re hoping they won’t pick a fight.”

  The other group had drawn closer while we talked, and their eyes were definitely on us.

  Fair, since our eyes were on them as well. Most likely a common thing in our current world. Pretty much no one trusted anyone else. It was a common theme with every zombie book and movie, and seemed to be the case in reality as well.

  I kept my mind open for the other defensive—or maybe it would be considered offensive?—move. We stayed on one side of the road. The other group did as well. Right up until they were only a few yards from us. Then they spread out and stopped, guns up and aimed our direction. Six fairly large men, all armed and apparently ready to use the weapons on a bunch of teenagers. And Kate and Jake.

  We stopped and I raised my crossbow while the others raised their guns. “We aren’t an easy target, guys,” Jake warned, his glare like steel over the sight of his rifle. “I would think very carefully about your next move.”

  The apparent leader of their group stepped forward, his shotgun aimed directly at Jake. A sight that almost drove me to the same bloodthirsty rage I’d felt when connected with the horde. “You have supplies. We’re going to take them. A bunch of kids aren’t going to stop us.”