by Lake, D. K.
"Who thought it was a good idea to give Nick a fishing rod? How is it he's great with a needle but can't hold a rod without dropping it?" I said, trying not to laugh as Nick dropped it in the water.
Josh was standing next to Nick with his own rod, and he leaned over to help him retrieve the rod and showed him how to hold it. Drew was the furthest one away, sitting up on the slope, leaning against a tree with a fishing rod wedged between his legs. Lane dropped my bag at the side and showed me where to stand where he had already set up a rod for me with a worm on it. I took the rod and remembered how Drew had shown me how to cast it into the water.
"Huh." Lane said, watching as the worm dropped into the water. "I was going to show you how to do that."
"No need. Drew already showed me." I said without thinking.
Lane didn't say anything as he picked up his own rod and stood next to me. We were far enough away so that if we spoke quietly the others wouldn't hear us.
"I didn't know you had time to go fishing?" Lane said, casting his line into the water.
"We stayed in this cabin in the woods and found some fishing rods so we went fishing the next day."
"Did you catch anything?"
"Yep."
Lane didn't say anything else and focused on catching the biggest fish.
After a lot of serious fishing competition that involved a lot of staring and not much else, we ended up with five fish. Three biggish ones and two little ones, it wasn't much but it was better than eating berries. I was super hungry and really looking forward to eating lunch; there's only so far you can go on berries and water. Drew and Josh gutted the fish while Nick stood by watching with a squeamish look on his face while Lane and I got a fire going. Tobias and Rosie sat on a nearby log, whispering among themselves.
"See! There's something weird going on." Lane gestured at Rosie with his chin. "What are they whispering about?"
"I don't know." I said, poking the fire to get it going.
I looked over my shoulder and saw Rosie standing up.
"I'll be back in a minute." she said and scurried away.
I quickly followed her over to the trees. I wanted to catch her alone and what better time than when she was off to the toilet.
"Hey, Rosie." I gently grabbed her elbow and she spun around, acting a little jumpy.
"Look, I'm sorry if I upset you somehow. If this is about me borrowing the shampoo then I'm sorry, it won't happen again, ok?"
She looked at me like I was speaking a different language.
"This isn't about the shampoo?" I asked, unsure.
"No, I don't know what you're talking about. I need to go to the toilet, don't follow me." she snapped, edging around me like I was contagious. What the hell?
I walked back to the fire and ignored Tobias who was giving me a funny look.
"How'd it go?" Lane asked.
"I don't think it was the shampoo thing that upset her."
"Maybe she got her period."
"Is that your answer to everything every time a girl is in a mood?"
"Yeah."
I shook my head and picked up Lane's machete and wandered over to the trees, keeping watch, feeling a little upset that Rosie was treating me like a leper all of a sudden. I didn't know what I had done wrong. I liked talking to her and now it looked like she wanted nothing to do with me. I just couldn't figure it out. I kept my distance and only returned when Josh called me to tell me the fish was cooked. I sat next to Lane and picked at my fish, my appetite had somewhat evaporated; like my newly formed friendship with Rosie. I caught Drew watching me and looking at the food that was in front of me. I probably looked ungrateful so I forced myself to eat it. It was rather tasty and I did enjoy it, but I didn't enjoy the looks Rosie kept giving me. Like I had done something wrong.
Maybe I should just come out and ask her what her problem is? I thought, but I kept my mouth shut. Tobias was chatting away and everything was fine until Tobias said, "I know we said we'd all travel together but Rosie and I would prefer to be on our own."
Josh's face dropped as though someone had just kicked him in the gut. He was getting on so well with Tobias and now all of a sudden Tobias wanted to ditch us.
"But why? I thought we all agreed we'd be safer to travel in a group?" Josh said.
Rosie said nothing but her eyes flickered to me then quickly back to the berries she was eating for lunch. Why did I feel like it was my fault they suddenly wanted to get away from us?
"I just feel that it's safer for all of us if we weren't holding you back." Tobias explained.
"But you're not." Nick cut in.
"I need to think of our safety and we've decided to go on our own from here." Tobias continued.
"I mean...if you really feel like you must, but can I ask why you really feel this way? Has one of us made you feel unsafe?" Josh asked.
Straightaway Rosie looked at me then back at the ground.
I'd had enough. I pushed my food onto Lane's lap and stood up.
"Ok, what the hell is your problem? One minute we're getting along fine, then the next you're treating me like I've done something wrong and you won't stop sneaking looks at me. I already apologized for borrowing your shampoo, but is there something else I did to make you want to run away from us?"
As I waited for a response from either one of them it suddenly clicked why she was acting this way, watching me, a little jumpy, trying to keep her distance.
"You saw it." I said deadpan.
Rosie finally looked up at me and made eye contact.
"You're infected and you didn't tell us!" Rosie said, trying not to get upset.
Tobias placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Who's infected?" Nick said confused.
"What?! Did you get bit again?!" Lane dumped what he had on his lap onto Nick's lap and stood up next to me and looked like he was about to start undressing me as he pulled on my t-shirt.
"Get off! I didn't get bit again!"
"Again?" Tobias spoke up.
"Ok, let's just calm down! I think there has been a misunderstanding here." Josh said, climbing to this feet. "Alex isn't infected." Josh sort of laughed.
"Then how do you explain the bite mark on her back?" Rosie stood up and Tobias copied her movements.
"What Alex and Lane get up to is their own business." Josh said trying to lighten the atmosphere but no one found it funny or even believable.
"If she's infected then it's only a matter of time before she turns into one of them." Tobias said, using his hand to gesture to me like I was some kind of animal.
"It's not what you think." Josh argued.
"I think we'll be leaving now." Tobias said, and he told Rosie to get their bags.
"Whoa! Slow down!" Josh followed them over to their bags and tried to reason with them.
I sighed and put my hand on my hip, not quite sure what to do as they had already made up their minds.
"This is stupid. That bite mark is old." Lane said, standing next to me and watching as Josh tried to talk them out of leaving but he didn't do a very good job of it because they already had their bags on their backs. I didn't want them to leave, I liked Rosie, and Tobias was still healing and wasn't really in any fit state to fight off a deadbie.
Drew walked past us, briefly looking in my direction before walking over to Josh and the others. Nick didn't get involved and stayed with us.
"How did she see your back?" Nick asked.
"When I took my clothes off and got in the river. I completely forget about the damn thing." I reached up and touched the other bite mark on my collarbone that Nick had managed to stitch back up and hide, and the one on my leg didn't look like an obvious bite mark, but the one on my back stuck out like a sore thumb.
"You always kicked up a fuss when I wanted to examine you anywhere and you just took all your clothes off in front of a complete stranger." Nick said randomly.
"It's different...Rosie's a girl!"
"Trust me I wasn't interested in looking
at your-"
"Seriously stop talking, Nick!" I stomped away and marched towards the others.
"It's dangerous out there, you shouldn't leave. You can't even fight yet, you're not healed. Please, if you come back to the fire we can talk about this." Josh said but they ignored him and were just about to leave when Drew spoke up.
"Can I ask you one question before you go?" Drew said.
Rosie and Tobias looked at each other and then Tobias turned to Drew and nodded for him to continue.
"Have you ever seen a bite before?" Drew asked.
After a little thought, Tobias shook his head and Rosie just chewed on her lip.
"Well, I have and they don't heal up again. Once you're bitten that's it, they stay open leaking blood and pus, and the smell," Drew laughed darkly. "Don't even get me started on the stench, it literally smells like sewage it gets that bad."
Tobias turned to me. "So why do you have a bite mark?"
All eyes were on me. There was no way I could lie my way out of this one, I knew the bite mark was really obvious and had left a nasty scar, it wasn't something I could laugh off and say a chipmunk had done it. I was going to have to tell them the truth or risk losing them, and I didn't like their chances without our help while Tobias was still getting better.
"Ok...so the truth is..." I started.
Josh scratched the back of his neck, Lane crossed his arms, and Drew did that thing where he stands in front of me all protective-like but trying not to make it look too obvious but I could tell what he was doing. He probably knew what I was going to say and was hoping they wouldn't freak out and think I was some kind of deadbie mutant that was going to bite them as well.
"Um...I was bitten by a zombie or whatever you want to call them."
Nick came closer to listen.
"You see the truth is, we didn't all just meet each other, Lane's brother is a scientist and he was working on a cure."
They both looked at Nick and he wasn't sure how to react so he kinda just smiled.
"It took about two weeks to get me from Utah to Colorado where Nick was stationed in a government laboratory. I got really sick, and I nearly turned, but Nick saved me."
Rosie blinked and looked back and more forth trying to work out if I was telling the truth.
"So yes it is a bite mark from one of them but I'm not infected anymore, tell 'em Nick." I nudged him.
"It's true. We're on our way to Washington, D.C. with the cure."
Tobias laughed. "You're being serious?"
"Very." I said.
Tobias rubbed his forehead and Rosie looked at me differently.
"So you're not infected?" she asked quietly.
"No, and I'm not infectious to anyone, right Nick?"
"Right. I tested her about a week ago and she was still clear of the virus."
"So you're saying you can reverse the effects of the virus?" Tobias asked.
"Yes, and in time I'm hoping we can create a vaccine that makes humans immune to it. But so far we have a cure that can stop you transitioning depending on how far along you are."
"So you have the cure in your bag?" Rosie asked curiously.
"Uh, no. It's all up here." Nick tapped his head.
"Why don't we all sit down, you can ask any questions and we will happily answer them and then afterward you can decide if you want to leave, ok?" Josh suggested.
Tobias agreed and we all sat back down by the fire. Drew took his crossbow and disappeared into the trees, I didn't think he liked listening to Nick as he explained the different stages of the virus and what state I was in when I arrived because Drew remembered what it was like close to the end, and it wasn't pretty.
After Tobias and Rosie had grilled Nick on all sorts of questions about the cure and what he did to me, I think they finally believed we were telling the truth, and Rosie apologized for the way she had acted towards me. They eventually decided to stay with us which I was really pleased about. We packed up our things and planned to walk as far as we could before nightfall.
Chapter 24
We had topped up our water bottles and had been walking for hours, leaving Colorado behind us and making our way into Kansas, leaving behind the forest and the protective shield from the trees and we were now walking along a narrow road surrounded by fields. A bird flitted past us, tweeting, and shot into the tall, overgrown field. I sipped my water and screwed the cap on again, reminding myself to slow down and save some for the morning. My feet hurt and I wanted to check the back of my heel, it didn't hurt but I wanted to get my boots off and give my feet a rest anyway. The only good thing was we could see anything coming from a mile away it was so open out here. The sun was starting to set but we kept walking, planning to find a spot near a tree and set up camp in a field, it's not like there was anywhere else to go. We had bumped into a few deadbies along the way but nothing we couldn't handle. Josh had worked it out that it would take us a week and a half to walk to Missouri, avoiding Kansas City because it could be a hotspot for deadbie activity. We planned to stick to the countryside and see what we could find along the way, we still had our fishing rods and we'd not done too bad with catching our own dinner. Finding a river or lake tomorrow was another matter though.
"Alex?" Rosie softly called my name.
"Hmm...what's up?" I smiled at Lane and told him and Nick to go on without me while I dropped back to talk to Rosie. Tobias walked on ahead leaving us girls at the back of the group. Drew and Josh were wandering around the fields looking for dinner. Rosie and I hadn't properly spoken to each other since our little talk back at camp.
"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for jumping the gun earlier. I just saw the bite and assumed you were infected."
"It's ok. I would have thought the same thing if I hadn't seen a bite mark before."
"We have met people that have been infected but they had their bites covered."
"That's because they're not exactly pretty to look at, and they smell kinda gross."
"It left a nasty scar on your back."
"Yup."
"And your forehead, I got a glimpse of it when you were in the river, I didn't know it was that bad, you have stitches, did they hurt?"
"Yes, we didn't have anything I could take and I had to make do with alcohol which didn't help much while Nick stitched me up."
"After you bumped into something?"
"No, I lied. This was from the helicopter crash."
We had told them the whole story, including the helicopter and the others we had lost trying to get out of the university grounds.
"Do you think the people in D.C. will believe you when you tell them about the cure?"
"I don't know, but that's Nick's part. I'm not going all the way with him, there's no way I'm letting anyone lock me up and run tests on me again. They might not let me out."
"But you're living proof."
"They don't know that. They just need the cure."
And a little of my blood but no one else needed to know that.
"It's just safer this way." I added. "Hey, when we get to Eden..." Not that I believed Eden existed. "Can we keep all of this on the down-low? I don't really want too many people finding out about it, you never know what they'll do with the information."
"Of course." she replied with a smile.
She seemed to get my point. Everyone in front had slowed down and I could see Drew and Josh walking back to us. Josh had a long, thick stick resting on his shoulder and attached to it were six rabbits, and Drew had another two in his hand, carrying them by their ears.
"Enough food for a small feast." Josh smiled proudly.
Drew was chewing on a piece of straw and said nothing and walked off into the field.
"I guess we're gonna set up a camp that way." Josh said.
"That's quite a collection you have there, Josh. Well done." Nick said.
"Oh, um, Drew shot them, I just carried them. The fields are full of them."
We followed Drew to the middle of a field and
stopped where there was a large knobbly tree, bending in all directions. The boys sorted the meat out and Josh taught Tobias how to strip a rabbit, the way Drew must have shown him, while Drew sat on his own, stripping his own rabbits. Nick wasn't interested in stripping dead animals of their fur and insisted Lane and I show him how to make a fire from scratch. It took him a while to get the fire going, I kept offering him a lighter but he kept pushing it away, and after twenty minutes of me pulling my hair out and nearly yelling at him and Lane telling him to blow on it some more, he finally got a fire going, and he was very excited about it.
"I did it! I made fire!" Nick said proudly.
"Ok, caveman." I laughed.
I patted him on the back and pocketed the lighter I had originally taken from the creepy stuffed animal store and it had a cute little baby deer on it, and I might have packed seven more that all had different pictures on because I couldn't decide on just one.
Nick continued to stoke the fire and really got it going.
"Careful!" Drew scolded and we all turned to look at him, wondering what his problem was. "You'll start a bushfire if you don't control it."
"Bushfire." Lane scoffed.
"He's right, don't get too fire happy." I said, crouching down and building up more rocks around the edge of the fire. After I was happy it was safe enough I wandered over to where Rosie and Tobias had set up a little camp of their own but without the fire. Rosie had a deck of cards in her bag and Lane and I joined her for a few games while Josh and Tobias helped Nick cook the meat using the grill thing Nick had found back in the house that first night we were outside. And Drew cooked his own meat, of course. Nick came over to me and handed Lane and me a stick each with overcooked rabbit meat on it.
"Gee, thanks. What is it again?" I teased.