by S. Wolf
“Josh?” She began crying.
“I’m ok,” he said, “At least for now. But stay away from me.”
“I’m scared.”
His voice softened. “I am too.”
“I need your arms around me.” Her tears came harder.
“Just stay away Emma. Please.”
“Maybe you won’t get it.”
He breathed hard, the panic rising from inside of him. He stood and pulled up his pants, quickly zipping and buttoning them. She stood with him.
“Are you feeling anything?” she asked.
He paused to think about it. “I don’t think so.”
“What are we going to do?” Her tears flowed again.
“Take the walkie-talkie from my belt.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re going to need it more than me.”
“Josh, don’t talk like that.”
“Take it Emma.”
She tentatively reached out and pulled it from his belt.
“Now the knife in my pocket.”
“No Josh.”
“Emma, I don’t want to hurt anyone. I don’t know what I’ll be like. Please take it.”
She stepped closer as he held his hands away. Reaching into his pocket, she pulled out the folding knife. She put both in her pocket and wiped her cheeks, which were soaked with her tears.
“Josh?”
“Yes?” His voice was soft again.
“Can I stand close to you? I promise I won’t touch you.”
He considered it. “Ok, but only for a moment.”
She stepped to him and their faces were inches apart.
“I want you to know…” She stopped, unable to continue as she began to cry.
“Emma.”
She put up her hand, and tried to hold back the tears. “I want you to know…” She almost broke down again, but managed to continue, “even though I’ve only known you a day, I love you.”
He felt the tears coming himself. He smiled softly and said, “And I love you. I wanted to say that to you earlier, but I thought we had more time.”
She smiled and wiped her cheeks again.
“Emma?”
“Yes?”
“Whatever I turn into, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say that. We don’t even know for sure if–” She stopped as she looked down. There was a large bulge at the front of his pants. She took a step back.
“Oh my god,” she whispered.
He followed her gaze down and saw what she was looking at. The sight of his erection jolted through him, and he was too stunned to think.
“Emma, I–” but he couldn’t finish the sentence as memories of her started to fill his mind. Memories from the car last night: her breasts visible through the thin material of her bra; her straddling his leg and pressing her pussy into him. Memories from the closet today: her standing close with her hand caressing his cock; the feel of her soft and warm pussy in his hand as she came. Memories from earlier when she took his cock in her mouth and accepted his cum inside of her.
The memories overwhelmed him. He found it hard to concentrate as they swirled in his mind.
He pressed his hands against his face and said, “Go Emma. Get away from me.”
She took another step back but froze in place, unable to run.
His cock tightened to full hardness as the cloud of lust sank over his mind. He thought about how her pussy felt in the closet and wondered what it would be like to slide his cock in there. He thought it would be nice and warm. Yes, that was a great idea. They should fuck. And right now.
She was staring at him with wide eyes, wanting to run but unable to take the first step. He was looking at her with a confused expression.
Yes, he thought, we could fuck right now. And if Billy and Amber walked in on them, they could join in. He wouldn’t mind fucking Amber too. She had a hot body.
“Josh?” Emma asked quietly.
He grinned at her. It wasn’t the grin she had been seeing the past day as she got to know him. This grin was different. There were no feelings for her behind it. There was only lust. She finally found the will to run.
He lunged for her but she was a step ahead, darting away and heading for the door. He turned to chase her, trying to make his body move faster, but it refused to listen.
She opened the door, ran down the steps, and burst out into the hall. She expected to run into some soldiers, but the place was empty. They must have finished packing and moved out.
She heard the door bang open behind her and knew that Josh was close. He panted after her as she ran down the hall.
“Fuck me,” he called to her.
“Billy! Amber!” she screamed as she ran past the door to the other observation room, hoping they could hear.
Glancing behind her, she saw Josh was still chasing. Even with her speed he was enough of an athlete that he normally could have caught her easily, but he had acquired a lumbering stride that slowed him down.
Her walkie-talkie squawked. “Josh?” It was Billy’s voice.
She had to slow down as she pulled it from her pocket, and Josh gained on her. Picking her speed back up, she spoke into the two-way.
“Billy! This is Emma. Josh has the sickness and he’s chasing me!”
There was a short pause before Billy said, “Where are you?”
“Just ran past where you are. Hurry!”
Billy said something else but she was already putting the radio back into her pocket, and his voice was garbled.
She skidded on the tiles as she turned the corner to the long hall of hospital rooms. The other end seemed to be a mile away, and Josh was gaining on her. She could hear his grunted breaths close behind.
Her sides hurt as she pushed on. With the long straightaway, she was able to gain some ground. She finally reached the double doors and launched her body into them, not sure what was on the other side. They flew open with a loud bang, and she nearly lost her balance and went down, but she managed to steady herself and continue.
She was on it without warning. The broken electrical cord was lying across the floor in front of her, sitting in the large pool of water. Her hurdles training kicked in, and she launched herself into the air, soaring in a graceful arc over the long puddle. Unfortunately the landing wasn’t as graceful, and her ankle twisted as her foot hit the floor and she crashed hard, tumbling over before sprawling out flat.
She twisted her body and looked back at the door, her eyes wide in terror.
“Josh! Stop!”
He came through the door a second later, moving almost as fast as she had been but with much less grace. In his addled state he never noticed the cables and water, and ran right into it.
He made it three steps before the contact was made, and a huge spark filled the hallway. His body arched in pain as the electricity bolted through him, and he took a few more steps before his momentum stopped. He stood in one place, his feet seemingly anchored to the floor as the rest of his body did a spastic dance with flailing arms.
Emma screamed.
A second later Billy burst through the doorway and launched his body into the air. He flew in a perfect arc, sailing straight at his friend. His shoulder drove into Josh’s back, and both of them carried forward.
They landed on the floor, inches past the puddle, and rolled to stop, both of them still, lying against each other.
Emma stared in shock before leaping to her feet. She hurried over and tried to pull Billy away from Josh, her muscles straining as she dragged his dead weight across the floor.
Amber appeared through the doors, and Emma could hear the panic in her voice. “Billy! Are you ok?”
“I think he’s alright,” Emma said, “he’s just unconscious from the fall. Josh has the sickness. Help me get Billy away from him.”
Amber moved quickly down the dry edge of the hall.
“We saw this on our way up,” she said, “Billy tried to warn you.”
Together, they pulled Billy
away, and Amber bent down to him, running her hands over his shoulders and chest.
“Billy! Wake up!”
Emma went to Josh and looked down at him. He wasn’t moving at all, and he didn’t seem to be breathing. She knelt down next to him.
Amber was crying, calling to Billy through her tears. She slapped him hard on the face.
“Billy!”
His eyes fluttered open. “Amber? What happened?”
“Billy!” she cried, and bent down to hug him, squeezing him tightly.
“Ow,” he said, “that hurts.”
She pulled back up, and was smiling.
“You’re ok,” she said.
“I guess.” His eyes opened wide. “How’s Josh?”
She turned her head up to the other couple and let out a surprised gasp.
“Emma! No!”
Billy turned his head to see what was bothering her, and saw Emma leaning over Josh, giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
“Emma!” he called, “Stop!”
But Emma continued. She had taken the classes and knew exactly what to do. If she didn’t, Josh was going to die. She would face the consequences later.
“Billy,” Amber said, “Stop her.”
Billy scrambled to his knees and crawled over to the couple as Amber followed.
“Stop them,” Amber repeated.
When Billy didn’t move, Amber crawled forward, reaching to pull Emma away.
Billy’s hand shot out to her arm and held her in place. “No,” he said, “It’s too late. Don’t touch her.”
Emma continued working, filling Josh’s lungs with oxygen. After every few breaths, she would pause and check his pulse before resuming.
She was pulling away to check his pulse when his arms suddenly came up around her, holding her tightly.
She screamed and tried to pull away, but he held on, drawing her downward.
Billy moved quickly, tearing Josh’s arms away from Emma and pushing her to the side. He straddled his friend’s chest and pinned his arms to the floor, leaning over him.
“Josh! Don’t make me kick your ass!”
Josh blinked up at him, a confused expression on his face.
“Josh?” It was Emma, back by their side.
“Emma, get back.” Billy’s voice was firm.
Josh was still blinking and looking around.
“Don’t hurt him,” Emma pleaded.
“Get back Emma,” Billy warned again.
“What?” Josh said, his eyes still looking around in confusion.
The other three stared at him, their mouths open in shock.
“Josh?” Billy asked.
Josh looked up at his friend. “Billy?”
“Josh?” Billy repeated.
“What’s going on?” Josh said. He eyes finally found Emma and stayed with her. “Emma?”
“Josh, is that you?” Her eyes brimmed with tears.
“I think so,” he replied. “What happened?”
“Haley gave you the sickness.”
Both Billy and Amber looked at her. “Haley?” they said in unison.
“Yeah, I remember that,” Josh said, “and I remember you and me talking afterward, but after that everything’s black. How did I get here?”
“You chased Emma,” Amber said, “and then you hit these electrical wires and they knocked you out.”
Emma was crying. “Oh Josh, you’re ok.”
“I’d be better if Billy wasn’t sitting on my chest.”
Emma gave a short laugh.
But Billy still held him down. “We have to be sure.”
“How?” Emma asked.
Billy paused to think. “What’s the square root of 739?”
Josh stared up at him. “How the fuck should I know?”
Billy moved off. “That’s Josh alright.”
Emma laughed again, and moved to Josh, reaching out to hug him.
Josh moved quickly away. “Don’t touch me. I may still be contagious.”
“Josh, I…” Emma said.
“What?”
“She already touched you,” Amber said.
“What do you mean?”
“You were gone,” Amber said, “She gave you mouth to mouth. She saved your life.”
He turned to stare at Emma, “Why?”
She returned his gaze. “I had to.”
He smiled softly at her. “Thank you.”
“At least we’ll know for sure if you’re contagious or not,” Emma added.
“Electricity huh?” Josh said, “Could that have cured me?”
“Seems likely,” Billy said.
Josh paused to think. “Electricity,” he murmured.
“What’s on your mind?” Billy asked.
“An experiment.” Josh pushed himself to his feet with a groan of pain. “Damn, that hurts.”
They all stood with him. He pulled Emma to him and held her close, needing to feel her.
“What’s next?” Billy asked.
“Look in these rooms for one of those portable defibulators,” Josh said. “There should be some around.”
Billy grinned at him. “I like the way you think.”
A short time later they met back in the hallway, with both Josh and Billy holding one of the small backpack units.
“Who’s going to be your guinea pig?” Amber asked.
“An old girlfriend.”
Haley was still lying where they had left her, and it occurred to Josh she might be dead. But she murmured when he nudged her with his foot.
“I think she’s more asleep than unconscious,” Billy said. “She’s probably dead tired from all that fucking.”
“Hopefully,” Josh said, “she’ll be like me and not remember any of it.”
“If she does,” Billy replied, “she’s going to need therapy.”
“We ready to give this a shot?” Josh grabbed his backpack unit and quickly read the instructions. Opening it, he pressed the power button. The unit began emitting short beeps.
“Says it takes a minute to warm up,” he explained.
He turned to Emma. “How’re you feeling? Any effects?”
She gave him a sly grin. “Horny as hell for you.” After a pause she added, “But I’ve been feeling that way all day.”
He shook his head and smiled. “You gotta joke at a time like this?”
She grinned again. “Sorry. Seriously though, I’m fine. Perfectly normal.”
The beeps turned into a steady hum. He knelt down next to Haley.
“Everyone ready?” he asked.
He placed the paddles on Haley’s back and pressed the trigger. Her body jerked in a jarring spasm and was still. She looked the same.
“How are we going to know?” Amber asked.
Josh nudged her with one of the paddles. “Haley. Wake up.”
She murmured again.
“Haley! It’s Josh! Wake up!”
Her eyes opened slightly. “Josh?” she said with a weak voice.
“It’s me Haley,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m sore,” she said, “and sleepy.” Her voice trailed off.
Josh grinned. “She’s back. The electricity is the answer.”
Emma held out the blanket she had gotten from one of the nursing stations. He took it and spread it over the sleeping girl. He brushed her hair away from her face and said, “Go to sleep Haley. You’ll be fine.”
He stood, and they looked at him expectantly, waiting to hear what their next move would be.
“Did you find your mom?” Amber asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t think she was here.”
“I thought this is where they brought the… sick ones?” Amber couldn’t bring herself to use the z-word.
“This was just where they tested on them. There’s too many to control in here. They’d need a bigger place.”
“Any idea where?” Billy asked.
“Yeah, I have a guess.”
“Where?”
“The high school gym.”
“Why there?” Amber asked.
“Both the soldiers we saw from the closet, and the ones in the room below, talked about this happening before, and both times they insinuated it ended badly.”
“What’s that have to do with the high school gym?” Billy asked.
Josh looked at him. “Billy, you of all people should know.”
“Oh my god.” Emma whispered.
“What?” Billy said.
“He’s talking about Salem.” Emma said.
Josh nodded.
Billy’s eyes opened wide. “Seriously?”
“I think your conspiracy theory is right,” Josh said, “I think the government did blow up the gym, but not for the reason you think. They did it to get rid of this problem.”
“Oh my god,” Amber said.
“Mother fucker!” Billy exclaimed. “They murdered those people?”
“It’s just a theory,” Josh replied, “but it all fits.”
“And the guy in charge here,” Emma said, “Lieutenant Strang, talked about something happening at midnight. Do you think that’s what it is?”
Josh nodded again. “I’m afraid so.”
Billy looked at his watch. “It’s almost eleven.”
“We should go.” Josh turned to Amber and Billy. “Can I talk to Emma alone for a second? I promise we won’t be too long.”
“No problem,” Billy took Amber’s hand. “We’ll be waiting downstairs.”
After they left, Josh turned to Emma with an embarrassed look. “I wanted to apologize for anything… I mean, whatever I did while I was sick.”
“Josh, you don’t have to.”
“Did I hurt you at all?”
“No. I took your advice.”
“What advice?”
“I ran. Ain’t no zombie catching my ass.”
Josh grinned. “I couldn’t catch you?”
“Of course not Mr. Slowpoke. I’m the track star, remember? Of course, it may have been the adrenalin too. Maybe you could come to my next meet and chase me down the track? World record, here I come.”
Josh laughed before turning serious again. “Did I say anything?”
“You wanted me to fuck you. Which I actually considered, but decided I’d wait for another time.”
Josh grinned again. He pulled her to him and held her close. He leaned back and said, “I also wanted to thank you for not only saving my life, but risking yours to do it.”