Ground Zero (Patient Zero Book 1)

by Adrianne Lemke

  “He would know me,” Mike offered.

  I nodded. “If he recognized you in the dark as you break into his house, sure. But having two shadowy males breaking in is more of a threat than just me.”

  A quick look at Jake confirmed what I was thinking. I aimed the next comment to him. “You know I’m right. This part I’ll leave up to you; either wait outside until I come out with Prati, or head to the jail and start casing it. If you choose option two, just let me know where it is, and I’ll join you there as soon as I have her.”

  “Better option would be once you have Prati, send her with Mike to the others. You and I can then go to the jail and get Rex,” Jake suggested.

  I nodded thoughtfully. It was a decent plan, and would keep Mike from doing anything he might not be ready to do. Once we got to know him a bit more, it would be easier to know if he could handle this kind of mission. Although, he had been handling himself well so far.

  “Mike, what do you think?” I asked.

  He looked between the two of us. “I think Z is right about going in by herself. And I would be willing to bring the little girl to the others and tell you how to get to the jail. Honestly, I’m better at running and hiding than fighting.”

  I gave a decisive nod, exuding more confidence than I truly felt. “Good. It’s settled. You guys wait here. I’ll be back soon with Prati.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Striking out on my own was difficult, even with the boys just behind me. I moved slowly. The wind blew through a couple trees that were planted along the street, and shadows shifted in the moonlight. Probably a blessing at this point. The constant motion of the trees, and the rustling of the branches, helped cover my slow movement across the empty street.

  Once I reached my target, I crouched in the darkness along the outside wall for a moment to figure out my next move.

  Bernice had left a window open, knowing Mike would sometimes stop by. It seemed unlikely that one of the guards would be careless enough to leave a window unlocked, let alone open. Thankfully Kane was not only good with electronics, but also had a bit of an iffy history with the law. He knew how to pick locks. A skill he had been teaching the rest of the group. It had come in handy in our searches for safe places to stay.

  The skill would also come in handy now. It would be the first time I’d done it without Kane looking over my shoulder. I shrugged off my backpack and dug out my tools.

  It wouldn’t be quick or pretty, but I figured I might stand a chance at getting into the house. Tools in hand, I grabbed the backpack and headed toward the back door. The yard was bathed in pale moonlight, allowing me to see the lock well enough. Just in case, I turned the knob before settling the tools in place.

  As suspected, it was locked tight. I only hoped there weren’t additional locks on the door. The scratching of my tools in the lock made me cringe. With all my being, I prayed the light on the other side of the house meant no one was near enough to hear it. Shoving the fear to the back of my mind, I continued my work.

  Several tense moments passed before I heard a slight click and was able to turn the tools, unlocking the door. I felt a grin crossing my face. My first successful lock picking in the field! Kane would be proud to hear his lessons had stuck.

  The grin was short lived. As the door swung open with a slight creak, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed my arm!

  Chapter Thirty

  I let out a squeak as I was forcefully pulled into the house. “What do you think you’re doing?” An angry male voice snapped. “Any other guard would have shot you on sight.”

  “Wait,” I gasped as he dragged me through the house. “Your mom sent me!”

  He paused, fingers still painfully tight on my arm, and I pulled to get away. Scanning my face for any sign of recognition, he answered. “My mom? Why? Wait, you aren’t one of the kids from town. Who are you?”

  I examined him as thoroughly as he’d examined me. His blonde hair was slightly tousled, as if he’d been resting. His hazel eyes were sharp and focused, which took away from my first impression. He waited patiently for my answer, not letting me go, but not making any move to hurt me or call for help either. I stopped fighting his hold, and took a deep breath.

  “I met a new friend, and he brought us to meet Bernice. He wanted to help us, because you and the other guards stole a couple of my kids.” The last part I said with a bit of snap.

  “Your ki…? You’re a kid. You don’t have kids,” he argued. So far, he seemed more perplexed than upset.

  I hoped if I stated my demand, he would not call his friends to come and get me. Instead, he would cave, and give me Prati. Maybe he’d even help with retrieving Rex.

  “I’m here for Prati,” I stated calmly. “She doesn’t belong here.”

  Allowing some of my anger to show, my voice raised as I continued to speak. “Bernice said you were a good person. She promised you would give her back to us. We’re her family.”

  His grip loosened, and he glanced up the stairs. I followed his gaze. Prati. She was standing on the top step, rubbing her eyes sleepily. When she noticed me watching, her big brown eyes widened, and she grinned happily.

  I tore myself away from the man’s loose grip and rushed to meet her as she came down the steps. “Prati! Are you okay?” I looked her over top to bottom. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

  She threw her arms around me. “They didn’t do anything to me, Z. But one of the bad men hurt Rex.” The small girl threw a glare toward the guard who stood quietly behind me.

  “You’re the one we’re all searching for,” he muttered. “What they say can’t be… it can’t be true. There’s no way a kid your age started…”

  “I didn’t start anything,” I stated. Easy to say, not as easy to believe. Especially when I’d watched people turn simply because they’d hugged me.

  This man reminded me of Scout, to some extent. I wasn’t certain he’d be willing to leave, but he might be willing to help.

  “I’m not responsible,” I continued softly. “The people who want you to bring me to them are. They started this. My friends and I are trying to stop it. But I need Prati, and I need Rex. You know keeping a kid in jail isn’t right. Please help me.”

  I strove to look as innocent as possible. Maybe it would play into his protective instincts. Which, based on how he’d handled Prati, were still alive and well.

  “I tried to tell them we didn’t need to lock the kid up,” he explained with a sigh. “Even offered to keep him locked in a room here instead. They wouldn’t accept that option.”

  “They?” I asked. Prati now stood slightly behind me. If anything went wrong, she would take off while I covered her.

  The man nodded. “My bosses. They don’t tell me a lot—I don’t think they fully trust me—but I think they were hoping you’d come to the jail and try to rescue your friend.”

  My eyes closed, and I let out a deep sigh. “So, it’s probably a trap. Ready to go off the moment I, or anyone else, shows up to get him.”

  He nodded. “I don’t know how I could help. I wish I could.”

  An idea was beginning to form, but I couldn’t quite grasp it. “Let me take Prati, and send her back to her family. If you’re honest about wanting to help, I will be back with my friends to make a plan.”

  “How do you know I won’t double-cross you?” he asked, looking perplexed.

  I shrugged. “I would say I want to trust you to hold up your end,” I said. “But the truth is, we will be watching. If anyone else comes, we won’t be coming back. You won’t catch us coming back to you, if that’s what you’re considering.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t want to hurt kids,” he said. “That’s not what I signed up for.”

  “The main reason I’m going to trust you, is your mother,” I continued. “She said the same thing. And I know for a fact that she is a good person. She’s already helped a friend of mine on multiple occasions.”

  He nodded. “Mike. Good kid. I
hated what was done to his family.”

  It was my turn to look surprised. “You…”

  A smile crossed his face. “Yeah, I know about my mom and Mike. You’re right. She’s a good woman. Wouldn’t let a kid be left out in the cold. She would have taken him in, but he ran after his family… well, they’re gone now.”

  “He doesn’t feel welcome in this town. He’s decided to come with us.”

  I sincerely hoped my information sharing wouldn’t come back to bite me. At this point, I had a good feeling about the man. “You let me take Prati. I’ll be back with my friends soon. Okay?”

  “On one condition,” he said, crossing his arms over his well-built chest.

  I mirrored his position, my dark eyes meeting his lighter, hazel ones. “What’s that?”

  “You keep that boy safe. This little sweetheart too. I would offer to have her stay here, but I don’t think she’d be happy without you guys. She cried herself to sleep tonight.”

  I relaxed my arms and let one rest over Prati’s shoulders. “They’ll be safe. We know how to protect ourselves.”

  He studied me, staring into my eyes as if he was trying to read my mind. I didn’t blink. These kids were my family. I wouldn’t let anyone take them.

  He must have seen something in my expression, because he relaxed and nodded. “Good. Mike is… he’s special. Once he gets to know you, he’s sure to open up.”

  Whatever that meant. I pushed Prati behind me. “Did you have any of your stuff, Prati?”

  “The other guards took her bag. I managed to get her clothes back. The food was put in the town’s supplies,” The man said. “Her bag is upstairs.”

  I nodded toward the stairs, and Prati ran up, returning shortly with her backpack in place.

  “We’ll be back,” I said. “Just remember: we’re watching.”

  He made no move to stop me as I took Prati’s hand and led her outside. “We need to be very quiet now,” I warned. “Move slowly, and stay in the shadows.”

  A vehicle drove by, I froze. Prati took a step, but stopped when she felt my hand grip hers more tightly.

  “Quiet and slow,” I whispered again when she glanced back at me. “We don’t want to be seen.”

  Her head bobbed. “Sorry, Z,” she whispered back.

  The wind had died, but once the guard’s vehicle drove by, we didn’t see anyone else. Before long we were back by the boys.

  “Nice work, Z.” Jake hugged Prati in relief. Despite following my lead, I knew Jake took our protection seriously. Having any one of us in danger heightened his protective instincts.

  “You’re okay?” he was asking, patting Prati on her shoulder.

  The little girl nodded firmly. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, but she spoke confidently. “I’m good. Now go get Rex, okay? He needs help.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Despite the tension I felt—or maybe partially because of it—I had to bite back a yawn. Prati had gone with Mike willingly. After the events of the last few days, I worried they would run into trouble on their way out of town. I prayed silently that they would be safe.

  Jake and I remained outside the guard’s house. My eyes grew heavy as we watched for any sign of guard activity. No lights came on in neighboring houses. At our target house, there was no undue activity. Mike had given us directions to the jail, just in case. The little niggle of a plan that had started earlier required a guard on our side. The plan was growing more solid, so I preferred having Bernice’s son as a part of it.

  Jake probably wouldn’t like what I planned. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t even like it. My idea wasn’t without risk, no matter how I worked it out. If we could do it without the unknown variable, I would love to. Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out a way to get in and out of the prison without help.

  Once again proving how much he trusted my judgment, Jake didn’t fight me on including the guard. He may have also been sold by Bernice’s glowing recommendation that her son was trustworthy. Either way, I hadn’t needed to argue to get him to go along with it.

  He did, however, want to wait a while before heading over. Just to be certain no one was coming. We sat through another guard patrol before finally making our way across. My whole body tingled with nerves. Rex needed us. He was counting on us, and we were trusting an unknown variable to help us rescue him.

  I shivered a bit as the breeze picked up. Jake slowly approached the door, testing it quietly. He nodded, and pushed it open slowly. Another point in favor of trusting this guy. I really should learn the man’s name. We entered silently.

  Jake stood inside the door, unsure where to go. Pushing past him, I made my way to the lit room. It was where I’d left the guard before, and I suspected he’d still be there.

  My thought was proven right when he jumped up from his chair, eyes wide. “You came back! I… I wasn’t sure you would.”

  “Had to,” I told him with a shrug. “You’re integral to our plan to get Rex out. There is some risk your involvement will be discovered. If you want out, now is the time.”

  Jake looked at me, eyebrows raised. I hadn’t yet shared any part of my plan, besides that I needed this guard.

  There was also an offer I was about to make that Jake was unaware of. “If you’re in, and want a way out of this town, you are more than welcome to come with us.” Jake’s head swiveled toward me, mouth opening as if about to interrupt. I kept pushing forward. “We’d welcome you. Fair warning; our plans lead us right through the newer infected zone.”

  He started shaking his head before I finished speaking. “I can’t leave. Not unless I have no other choice. My mom needs me. But I will help you in whatever way I can.”

  We spent about an hour going over my plan, and trying to iron out any sketchy details. The plan itself was simple, but following through on it wouldn’t be easy.

  As we planned, I wished I would have sent a note back with Mike. It would have been nice to have several of the others make some sort of ruckus up in the woods to draw the attention of the guards. As it was, I would be on my own for the distraction. Leaving the two men working together to get Rex.

  “You guys ready?” I asked.

  They nodded. Bernice’s son raised a hand to halt us momentarily. “I’ll be right back,” he said. He rushed up the stairs, and was back down holding two little, black, box-type objects.

  “Walkie-talkies,” he explained. “I’ll have one, Z will have the other. Then I can let her know when to start her distraction.”

  “Thank you…” My voice trailed off. I was ashamed to realize I still hadn’t gotten the man’s name.

  “Ben,” he informed me with a smile. “And you are welcome. Good luck on your end. I’ll contact you when it’s time.”

  Jake and I exchanged a meaningful look, and I nodded. “Be careful. Don’t get yourselves in trouble.”

  I made my way out of the house. Once again, I felt the hyper-nervousness that came from wandering alone. The moon was lower in the sky now, and shadows were prevalent. Staying hidden on my way out of town shouldn’t be a problem.

  Before moving away from Ben’s house, I glanced inside for one more glimpse of Jake. The men would follow shortly—after a faked confrontation at the door of Ben’s house. In order to get any kind of distraction set up, I needed at least a couple minutes head start. Even so, I was only a couple blocks away when I heard muffled yelling.

  With a glance backward, I picked up the pace. My target location was close to where the group had entered this zone the day before. It was far enough from where our friends currently waited that they wouldn’t be found. Yet close enough that I shouldn’t have a problem reaching them once my part was done.

  Besides the walkie-talkies, Ben had also given me a box of matches and a couple lighters. Fire always made a good distraction. Just as I had no desire to burn down the woods, the guards wouldn’t want any part of their zone burning to the ground. My goal was to pile dry wood along the edges of the woods where the ground
was mostly dirt and rock. From town, I hoped the fire would look like it was in the trees. Even if it didn’t, it was likely the guards would come out to determine what had caused the fire. Either way, it would accomplish my goal.

  By the time I had the branches set up—some dug lengthwise into the dirt in order to make them look more like burning trees—an hour had passed. If all went according to what Ben told us, Jake should be nearly through processing. Once complete, they would lock him in a cell for the night.

  What the other guards didn’t know is that Ben had given Jake his cell key. Being one of the in-town guards, Ben was often in charge of the prison. He would push his coworkers to leave Jake and Rex alone in the cells for the night. He’d try to convince them they might be more open to interrogation in the morning.

  Of course, by morning they would have mysteriously vanished. Jake would leave Ben’s key somewhere the two had agreed on beforehand. The cells closed and locked. No one would know Ben had anything to do with it. Our group should be into the new infected zone by the time Jake and Rex were discovered missing.

  I paced nervously along my intended fire line. Waiting for Ben’s call was killing me. To pass the time, I added more brush to my piles.

  Finally, the walkie-talkie beeped, and Ben’s voice came through. “You’re on, Z.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  My fingers fumbled with the lighter as I moved along the back edge of my wood piles. Eventually, I was able to get the dry leaves to catch fire. Before long the fire caught one of the smaller branches, so I moved along the line to another section and got it started.

  The skin on my face started to feel tight from the heat. The flames were dancing in the dark. People in town should start to notice soon.

  “It’s started,” I said into the walkie-talkie.

  “No kidding,” Ben’s voice responded. “Get outta there, kid. Hang onto the walkie in case you need help. Keep it turned off until you need it.”