Contamination (Invasion Survivor Book 1)

by Hayley Lawson

“No!” The pain made her lose her grip on her sword. In pain and rage and concern for Dave, Paige started struggling.

  She managed to flip around, cursing like a sailor, and felt like she lost a chunk of hair in the process.

  From that position, she wrapped her arms around his legs. Willing all her strength to the fore, she managed, to her complete surprise, to prevent him from taking another step.

  Clinging around the man, she acted more securely than a rope, and even though he couldn’t see it, she was grinning.

  He struggled to peel her off, unable to move, and Paige chose that moment to use her legs. Resisting against the floor, she pushed him hard, and he stumbled and fell.

  She scrambled hastily to her feet and tried to run to snatch up her sword. Using her own technique against her, her attacker grabbed her by the foot.

  Paige jumped and turned, and with speed and precision she couldn’t even believe was possible, kicked him in the head. The force smacked it down against the marble floor.

  The area around it reddened, and he finally stopped moving.

  She didn’t stick around to see how long that would last. Breathing heavily, she lurched across the room to pick up her sword, still freaked out about what she’d done, and rushed to Dave’s side.

  He was still out cold, so she did the only thing she could think of. She slapped him. “Dave, wake up!”

  He jolted to full awareness but still looked kind of disoriented. “What happened?” he mumbled, looking around with a frown that spoke confusion. “Did we win?”

  “Yes, now come on. Let’s get you back on your feet.”

  Nodding, he started to rise but winced and rubbed the back of his head. Paige moved his hand to look and was relieved there was no blood. But he would have a nice little bump instead.

  “It’s just a little boo-boo, you big baby,” she teased and he narrowed his eyes at her.

  “You are lucky you are cute and just saved my life or we would have a different kind of conversation,” he said, winking to take the sting out of the words, and she couldn’t help but smile.

  He hugged her, using her for balance as they started walking. “Didn’t I tell you to leave?” he accused but without actual heat.

  “I don’t follow orders well,” she countered.

  “Clearly. I had everything under control.”

  “So I saw. Were you planning on boring him to death with your bad jokes, or was it the coma routine that should have knocked him out?”

  “The thought did cross my mind,” he replied easily. “Thanks,” he added.

  “Don’t mention it.”

  Without discussing it, they started running again. It was obvious they both wanted to leave that place as soon as possible so words weren’t necessary.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Luckily, they made it out of the museum in one piece and without any further incidents.

  Her heart pounded like crazy, beating fast and furious as she ran to the motorbikes. Paige could hear it in her ears like a drum thumping out a very rhythmic and almost soothing beat. Which was contradictory, of course, but still true.

  After everything she’d been through, she really wanted her dad at that moment. She wanted Dad or Mom beside her, telling her everything would be all right...or even Brooke, she thought, startling herself with that unexpected longing. Brooke wasn’t really there. That was Willow’s mind playing tricks on her, she reminded herself firmly.

  There was no telling how much crap she could take without actually breaking.

  Still, she had already taken a lot. And she’d fought off that man like a professional, not that she was bragging. Adrenaline was really a handy thing, she mused, remembering all the details of their struggle.

  Someone to comfort her or show her the way would be very much appreciated at that moment.

  “Wait up, Paige, you’re running too fast!” Dave complained, snapping her out of her reverie.

  Shaking her head to dislodge the melancholy and to keep focused, she slowed down slightly and waited for him to catch up with her.

  She couldn’t succumb to the stress and pressure. She needed to be strong.

  If anyone around them found it strange that they were somewhat covered in blood and running with a couple of swords, no one raised their voice in complaint.

  And neither would she.

  If they hadn’t been infected before now, there was a real chance they were after that skirmish.

  Dave sent her a grateful look.

  Running over the things that had happened that day, it seemed that this zombie thing was a stage of the virus infection. The first one was becoming zombie-like, and the second had to be a lunatic phase. It was hard connecting all the dots since she still didn’t know jack shit. Paige felt helpless at the thought of how Willow was now surrounded by all those infected people who could start acting as if they were in a horror movie.

  If they turned crazy, why would they bring them to Fort Hamilton? she wondered. But that was a question that probably wouldn’t be answered for quite a long time.

  “Finally,” Dave exclaimed beside her, sounding quite winded.

  And then something occurred to her. “I know this is a bit overdue but do you by any chance know how to ride a motorbike?” she asked him.

  Because she sure as hell didn’t.

  Although she was confident enough she could master it as well as driving a car, motorbikes were a bit dangerous and she wanted to keep breathing for as long as possible, thank you very much. Still, she would give it a go regardless.

  To her disappointment, Dave shrugged noncommittally. “Nope, but how hard can it really be? It’s like a regular bike, right?”

  Paige sighed in exasperation. “We are so going to die,” she murmured.

  He chuckled, taking the handlebars from her, jumped on it, and patted the seat behind him.

  Noticing for a moment how badass he looked with tousled hair, Paige grinned. Why the hell not? Mimicking his movements, she settled on the seat and looped one hand on his belt. She didn’t want to let go of her sword with the other.

  “You will have to hold on tighter than that,” he advised, showing it by putting her hand around his waist. There was humor in his voice, but she ignored it.

  “Can we go now?” she asked instead.

  Chuckling, he slipped the key into the ignition and with a gentle twist, the engine roared to life.

  “Awww, the sweetest of sounds,” Dave cheered and Paige had to agree.

  “Here goes nothing,” he added, gripping the wheel and, leaning forward, he revved the engine and kicked the brake off.

  The motorbike sprang forward and they kept going. Paige had an afterthought—maybe Dave should have learned how to ride first without her being on it—but it was too late now.

  The motorbike sped forward at a seemingly uncontrollable rate. Her arms wrapped so tightly around Dave, she wondered if it was too hard and she’d squeeze the life right out of him. Not that she was really that strong.

  She felt his ribs move a little, and she knew he was laughing. He’d gone fast on purpose to force her to hold him tighter. At least, that’s what she thought, though it could be because he didn’t have a clue what he was doing.

  He released the throttle a little and the motorbike slowed a to speed where Paige wouldn’t squeeze him to death but still gave them the thrill of riding.

  She loosened her grip and started to enjoy the ride as the wind blew her hair, sweeping it back.

  Dave made a turn into the madness-engulfed streets which now seemed even worse than before. People, both the infected and those still healthy, flooded roads and sidewalks.

  “Take this, you monster!” a boy with a baseball bat screamed as he pounded someone lying on the ground over and over again. Paige had to look away.

  Tragedies like this one bring out the best and the worst in people, always. She wasn’t sure if the scene was a bad one or a good one. The kid was fighting for his life and he’d won.

  Her
first observation was that the problem was that all the cars that lay ahead of them. Trying to go around them, Dave made a sudden turn, and the motorbike wavered.

  We are going to crash, Paige screamed inside her head.

  “No,” Dave bellowed, and at the last minute, managed to pull them through.

  “Let’s not do that again,” she advised and could practically hear him rolling his eyes at her as her grip tightened around him.

  “Try leaning when I turn,” he yelled loudly enough to be heard over the engine noise.

  “Okay,” she shouted back.

  Paige had to admit that, for someone with zero experience, Dave rode like a pro. Still, there was too much blockage on the road for them to make it, even if he was a natural at it.

  They were bound to crash, and Paige couldn’t let that happen.

  Thinking quickly, Paige suggested, “Go straight through Central Park so we can avoid all this.”

  He nodded, making another sudden turn, and Paige leaned as he wanted her to, making the ride smoother. With empty lanes ahead of them in the park, Dave had more of a chance to practice his new skill and that, unfortunately, made him cocky.

  Not quite focused, he nearly lost control when a pack of joggers ran towards them in a line with blood streaming from their noses. They seemed to be simply following their normal routine, completely oblivious to everything, including the fact they were infected.

  Paige was horrified to see that there were many bodies lying on the ground, but the joggers simply ran around them, and sometimes, even over them.

  Dave continued swerving around the group at a lower speed.

  “I can’t believe this,” he commented, shaking his head at the scene around them and Paige had to agree. But, then again, that was the theme of the day.

  Unfortunately, the roar of the engine woke some of them from their stupor and Paige watched with rising terror as they changed their direction and headed full speed toward them, their faces morphing swiftly into the hungry, avid look she’d come to know. They weren’t unaware of their surroundings any longer.

  She could see the determination in their strange eyes as they approached. They had a mission, a clear target, and Paige and Dave were it.

  “They will catch us.” She panicked, already picturing what that number of people could do to them.

  “I don’t think so,” he responded. He’d noticed them too and twisted the throttle, easing their speed up to get them the hell out of Central Park.

  Dave moved from the path onto the grass, and that made everything that much more difficult. It was hard to steer straight but he leaned forward and really concentrated, keeping them going without mishap.

  Strange noises made Paige turn toward the threat.

  The joggers were screaming and groaning at them. They sounded like a pack of wild wolves, and they were gaining on them.

  Dave glanced over his should at the crazy pack, then his gaze caught Paige’s. For one second, they were crystal blue, like an ocean sweeping him away from everything. But in an instant, they filled with fear. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but it was too late.

  He could see trees from the corner of his eye, and they were heading straight for them. It was way too late for Dave to react.

  They would crash into the tree, and there was nothing they could do to prevent it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Paige believed in that moment that she had some crazy bad karma on her side because she clearly couldn’t catch a break.

  Dave tried to avoid the tree and almost managed it. She skimmed her knee a little, but the sudden impact launched them off the bike. They rolled and tumbled a few times before coming to a full stop beside one another.

  Paige’s whole body hurt.

  “Let’s not do that again,” he said as he pushed himself up and rubbed his head.

  “Dave, behind you!”

  The jogger came at him from behind and gripped him by the arms.

  “Hey, leave me the hell alone, you freak.” He struggled, but the attacker was joined by others and they began dragging him away. Dave thrashed his legs around frantically, trying to halt their progress. He dug his heels into the ground and gained a momentary respite.

  “Stop resisting,” a jogger said, and the command was echoed in unison by his companions.

  “Like hell I will,” Dave shouted, kicking and pushing his captors, but to no avail.

  There are too many of them.

  Paige was stunned. She’d experienced affected people acting in a certain way depending on their viral stages but had never seen them working together like this before. And possible implications of that were simply too terrifying.

  Normally, they’d go after me, not Dave.

  “Let go of me!” He managed to free one hand and swung wildly at the person holding him on his left. The poorly dressed man took it like a pro without so much as a blink, and Dave’s hand was recaptured.

  She caught movement from the corner of her eye. Another gang of joggers had appeared, and these now focused on her.

  “Dave!” Paige couldn’t help him now that she had her own struggle, but by some miracle, she still had her sword firmly in her right hand. Without conscious thought, she simply started swinging even while scrambling to her feet.

  Her survival instinct clicked in, a deep-down determination to act without thought. The drive was relentless, spurred on by the knowledge that this was an all-or-nothing fight. The luxury to give up or break down was no longer available.

  They charged at her, a howling mass of destruction, but she planted her feet firmly and swung her sword like an automaton. She would kill every last one of them, one by one, without mercy.

  A female jogger dressed in a cheerful pink outfit was the first to reach her. She had no weapons but that didn’t make any difference. Her face reflected a mindless frenzy and vicious intent. Not wanting to be outmaneuvered in any way, Paige charged as well, meeting her halfway. She managed to nick the woman’s left arm in the first swipe.

  The jogger charged again, and this time, Paige had a better angle and slashed her across the stomach. She fell with a shriek but immediately, another took her place.

  To her disbelief, her next opponent apparently knew some martial arts and wanted to be a Bruce Lee kind of guy. Even in his zombie state, he apparently wasn’t afraid to use it.

  On the other hand, she had a Samurai sword that she wasn’t afraid to use either.

  He attacked her, a whirlwind of guttural sounds and limbs, flipped in midair, and tried to kick her in the head. She twirled away to avoid his outstretched leg, but his foot caught her on the shoulder and she staggered a little from the blow.

  The man landed on perfectly his feet and came at her again. Paige raised her sword, focused on his limber frame as she tried to anticipate his next move. Unbelievably, she got lucky.

  Unafraid to meet the blade with his bare hands, he launched forward. She swung and slashed his hand off, but that didn’t slow him down. He slapped her so hard with the other, her ears started to ring.

  Not daring to stop, she gritted her teeth against the pain and used the opportunity. He stood close, and with a yell of her own, she threw her weight behind the sword and stabbed it into his chest. The blade went right through him and she yanked it back. It pulled against his flesh, then stuck.

  “No,” she screamed, panicked now. It was her only real weapon, and she couldn’t lose it to this crazed attacker.

  He stumbled, taking the sword with him, and she reached frantically for the haft. Clutching it with his remaining hand, he dropped to the ground. Paige wasted no time. She planted her foot on his chest and summoned the strength she didn’t know she had to yank it out. With a shout of victory, she spun back and continued fighting. She wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.

  For what seemed like forever, she hacked, slashed, and stabbed until the last of the hoard fell with a gusty cry and she dispatched him with a final thrust.

  Panting deep, ragged br
eaths, she eased her sore hands and looked at the carnage around her. It took a moment for her senses to absorb the truth. Her attackers heaped the ground while their blood soaked into the once-green grass.

  Nothing made sense, she realized. Paige flinched every time she noticed another infected person, but the vast majority of them completely ignored her.

  She had to wonder what made those who came after her different. That was only one of many unanswered questions, so she pushed it aside and added it to the pile.

  “Dave?” She called out for him, moving in the direction of the place she’d seen him last.

  Pretty soon, she heard him yelling, so she picked up her pace and ran toward him.

  When she rounded a corner, she noticed that he’d managed to fight two joggers off but still had his hands full with the remaining adversaries.

  He punched one in the face and when he stumbled, kicked him as well. The man crumpled, out for the count.

  At least for now.

  Another came at him from behind.

  “Dave, look out!” she yelled.

  He spun around and fended him off, but the man charged again. Then, to her and Dave’s shock alike, he hugged him instead of hitting him.

  “What the hell?” Dave exclaimed, clearly freaked out.

  The jogger stuck to him like glue, and even in that moment of distress, Paige couldn’t help but notice what he wore—the most ridiculous Sexy and I know it fishnet T-shirt. Still, she was confident that with a little coaxing, he would relinquish his prey.

  “Let go of me. You really aren’t my type,” Dave yelled, violently indignant and still fighting to free himself.

  The man hugging him tighter, drawing near as if to kiss him. It might have been funny but for the crazed look on his face. Paige hissed in a horrified breath.

  The jogger is trying to bite him!

  She charged and with a banshee yell, thrust the sword through the man’s heart. Dave’s eyes bulged in shock. Her aim was slightly off, and she almost sliced him in the process, but hey, no one was perfect.

  The jogger slumped to the ground but the another wearing a yellow bandanna wound around his forehead returned to the party.