The Infected: Ripped to Shreds (Book 1): Hush

by Power, P. S.

  How-to advice, like you might find in a manual. In this case it was about striking without damaging your hands in particular.

  It was weird. After all, she'd barely noticed pictures before, in anyone, no more than a few times, now she'd gotten them from two different people inside a few minutes. That could be about their sharp and fine minds, but she didn't think so for some reason.

  Turning to Wally, she started to read and focused on the words. They were mainly about his brother, who, while not a friend of his, was a person he had a history with. Sure enough, as she stared over his head, there were illustrations. In this case it was like an old family photo album. So, unless one of these people had the power to make her powers stronger, it was probably just her own ability. Just being amped up a bit.

  Probably because she was worried about dying. That kind of thing did get a person to focus.

  That sounded totally within what might happen, so she sighed and shook her head, getting Bridget to look at her. There was a small smile on her face.

  The girl was clearly aware of her surroundings however, making a good guess about what the sighing was about.

  "Because you were sent back in here with the weirdoes?" There was a slap to her own chest then. A gentle one, but marking her as the person that someone might want to avoid.

  Cindy shook her head.

  "Well, that too, of course. Believe it or not, but Impulse and Proxy showing up isn't the first thing I wish for each morning. Probably because I don't know you, and how sweet you both are, but you get the idea? I don't want to die, if I can help it. I just noticed that I was seeing pictures and illustrations over your heads. Wally's too, which isn't normal for me. I think it's the worry. That, or me paying more attention than normal. Anyway, enough attention on me. We should try to..." She looked at Wallace, knowing that they were there to reassure him.

  It didn't really seem like that would help. He simply wasn't going to need a lot of hand holding over the idea. Normally he wasn't a bad guy, but at the moment it seemed like he was being a bit bloodthirsty. Glad that his own brother was finally out of the picture and not going to hurt anyone again.

  Rather than go on about that, Proxy shrugged.

  "So, Wallace... You're a telekinetic?" That was based on the idea that his brother had been. A powerful one too. A class four. That meant he could have killed a whole lot of people that way. It was what classes like that meant.

  Wally shook his head, but it wasn't a denial really.

  "Weather control. Useless in a fight. I can make it rain or snow, be sunny, dispel hurricanes and that kind of stuff. It isn't a good thing..." Due to the fact that anything he did tended to mess with the climate in other places. It was a massive ability really, but using it could screw the entire globe, in about a day or two. Possibly forever.

  Bridget nodded.

  "I get it. So probably a class seven?"

  Wally shrugged.

  "Except that I can't actually do anything with it that isn't indiscriminate. I can make floods happen, but other than kill innocent people..."

  There was worry, Cindy could tell. The idea was that a person that was a class three or above was supposed to go off to the IPB. By law. At least the old ones. Proxy got it, and wasn't worried, since they weren't really doing that any longer. It was one of the new rules that he'd made up for them. After he'd saved the world from Braid. Funny, but everyone had kind of just gone along with him on the idea, given all of that.

  Wallace however, seemed to think he was about to be whisked away. Enslaved by the government. A thing that he wanted to avoid. Mainly however, because he was pretty certain that all he could do in the end would be to kill millions of people, in general and broad strokes. That was pretty much evil to him. Powerful or not.

  Cindy looked at all the words and turned to him. After all, he was about to use his power, not meaning too, and they didn't really need a blizzard. No one was ready for it, for one thing. Not there.

  "They don't want you for the IPB. The policy has changed. I don't think you're wrong either. You have a lot of power, but it isn't that useful. Maybe for stopping forest fires? Handling tidal waves?"

  She didn't know that was something he could do, but there was a nod from Proxy then, having worked out a lot more than seemed reasonable from very little information.

  "That sounds like a plan. Can we get with you, if something like that comes up? There are some things to go over about that kind of thing, but Cindy here isn't wrong. The policy has changed. We only recruit from people that want to join up now. It really hasn't hurt our recruitment yet, amazingly."

  Wally nodded, looking away a bit, but seemed to feel a bit better, as if he trusted the man completely. That didn't seem correct to her, but she didn't say anything about it, because it was what was really going on.

  That was too complicated for her, so she ignored it and just kept reading.

  What was being said was fascinating. The important part was in three pieces however.

  They had all come for a reason, and it had to do with Proxy's powers telling him he was needed there. That part got her to nearly freeze, since it was all about the killings in the area. Her work was the reason for him showing up just then. The same place that Brian Yi had come from. There were four of them there, too, for the holiday, which was going to be spent with Proxy's mother and step dad.

  Doug, who was Infected, and from the area, too. That part she got from Bridget, who was fidgeting madly, and searching Wally for clues that he was going to attack her. That idea had actually been on all of their minds, because of the news about his brother. The suspicion had been that he was Infected, after all, and might choose to blame the girl for her part in things.

  That he didn't, and probably never would, was really clear however. He just hadn't liked Clark enough to do that. Even if the girl had ripped his head off with her own hands, that one probably wouldn't have been happening. That was good, in a way. The girl wasn't to blame after all. Not for that.

  So they all just stood there for a bit, while she got the other things she needed from them. The bit about them kind of being there for her was powerful... But they weren't. Not really. They were there to try and find a serial killer.

  They also weren't taking that too seriously. They thought it was probably just some crazy, but normal, person. Not Infected. That meant they weren't allowed to get involved.

  In five days they'd be gone. After the holiday had ended.

  The best news however was that none of them were telepaths. They weren't even real investigators. Impulse even figured that the whole thing was just an excuse to get a free vacation at government expense. She was there to visit relatives, and get in on some free food.

  Also, she was starving, at the moment. She pretty much always was, it seemed. The red and gold glowing letters said that. Giving way more information than that kind of thing did, day to day. That probably had to do with her current desire to know about them.

  Cindy nodded and waved at her, slowly, not wanting to die. The kid was a combat vet known for striking first. Everyone in the world probably got that about her. So making fast movements about her wasn't a great plan.

  "You should go and get something to eat. Is that good with you Wally?"

  He looked at her strangely, but didn't mistake her meaning. He got that she was trying to get rid of them. So did the others, it was clear, but Brian nodded.

  He looked over at the small red head.

  "Good plan. We... We should all get together later? For dinner? I know it seems a bit weird, but..." He looked away, not making eye contact with her, in particular.

  For a moment she was worried that his power had clued him in about her, but it wasn't that. She could read the words, after all.

  No, he just thought she was cute enough to date, and that she might not be too anti-Infected to give him a shot. The whole being one herself thing being kind of a sign that she might be more open minded that way than a normal cute girl would be expected t
o manage. There was real hesitation however. Due to the lousy relationships he'd had in life so far. Pretty much all of them, actually.

  Plus, there were things he wanted to work out, like how Clark Clarkson's little brother had ended up in his home town. Working at the same library he used to go to. He figured he knew, and an image of a rather nice looking woman with dark tan skin, and a long black and gray braid came to mind. She was fit and looked Native American to Cin.

  Tilting her head she made a guess, which had to seem totally wrong.

  "Braid?"

  The guy just nodded. After all, he was used to people reading his mind, so got the general idea. He also didn't care that much about it.

  "That's my guess. This is awfully coincidental otherwise, isn't it? So, that's a good enough reason to get together? Even if we are government agents?"

  A part of her wanted to avoid them all, since death and destruction tended to follow at least two of the three. The other one was mainly a walking fighting manual, which was kind of fascinating however.

  The deciding factor was a simple one for her. If she was around them, then she'd have a chance to see what they knew, and then, if possible, do something about it. It was a risk, but not one that was too big for her. After all, she just had to get through a few days of it. Then she could let them leave, and take up her hobby again, once they were convinced that it was a normal killer.

  That would remove them from the picture totally. Without her even breaking a sweat.

  She nodded then.

  "Sounds good. At seven-thirty? We should meet someplace." That required an exchange of numbers, which Brian handled. Different scenarios ran through his head about things, including how to get her out alone, but he decided to play it safe. Going out in a group was the better idea that way.

  Wally, for his part, really wanted to beg off. The letters were really large on that idea. Avoiding these people wasn't just about not being killed or inducted into a military unit he wasn't really right for either. His main goal was to not have to think about his embarrassing brother any more than was required for him.

  So, after a few minutes of hemming and hawing, the others left, and she was able to finally get to work.

  The whole thing was so dangerous that it left her with a bit of a tingle. The good kind.

  It was a dangerous game, but that was the best thing in her life. So feeling happy enough about it all, she actually did her job for the rest of the day. Smiling when no one was looking.

  Chapter two

  Work was boring. Especially in the days before any major holiday. Thanksgiving wasn't even a real thing, to Cindy's way of thinking. Losers ate too much, and had to hang around with their family. The more adventurous watched sports. There wasn't even a real tradition to it. The whole thing was just a gimmick to bring people together during the Civil War.

  Literally. Lincoln had just wanted a way to distract people, so came up with the second lamest holiday that people still celebrated in the U.S. The worst one was Arbor Day. Celebrating by planting a tree was ridiculous. Plus, something like five people even noticed it happening.

  Still, it was big, and that meant they were going to be closed for a day while it went on. Of course that meant losing pay for two days that week, but she saved her money, not needing much, so that wasn't a big deal. She had her rent and food covered. The rest would take care of itself.

  There were a few new knives that she wanted to get, but that could wait. Especially if she was going to be hanging out with the freaking IPB. Taking Impulse to the flea market to buy blades probably wouldn't be the smartest plan in the world. It would be even worse if she stole them, which was how she'd gotten all the others.

  Like most days Cindy marked time, and helped two people with school reports. They were high school kids, so she did most of the work for them, getting the resources they needed and literally opening the books and pointing at the information they needed. She hinted that they needed to rewrite things in their own words, but at least one of them wouldn't.

  That boy had spent half his time trying to touch her, which was a bit creepy. Not that the fifteen year old wanted to cop a feel. That was simply biology. No, it was that he was thinking that she wasn't going to notice his hand brushing her ass like that. That happened when she walked to the stacks with him, to get the book he needed. It was about Mesopotamia, which was heady stuff for a kid.

  As soon as they were in place, he moved closer. He wasn't cute, and she was short enough that he might think she was younger than she really was, but that still didn't mean she was too idiotic to notice him creeping up on her. She nearly laughed when he started in, brushing her hip. She drifted away, since getting it on in the library wasn't a dream of hers, but he followed along.

  After a bit, probably feeling pretty clever, she turned to look at him. The words over his head...

  Were all about the work he wanted to do. The bumping into her hadn't really been on accident, but from what was being said, it had largely been due to hormones and a need for contact with someone. No one in his life really touched him, after all. So he got that contact where he could.

  That caused her to nearly laugh again. Still, knowing the reason for it let her just pat him on the arm, pull the book he needed, and get on with her day after a bit of explanation about how to put a paper together. It wasn't hard, but a lot of kids panicked over the idea.

  The other kid had clearly been planning to plagiarize. Not that it bothered her, but doing that from major resource works was a good way to get caught. That wasn't her business however. She'd done her bit, telling him not to.

  There were some calls too, which were actually nice to get. At least someone needed to find information that wasn't available online. That was about it. In the end, just to find something to do, she ended up going out and cleaning the place up. Restocking books, mainly. Most people weren't pigs. Not there. The building itself, with its history and traditions caused most to be pretty respectful.

  So, she marked time, and clocked out at six-thirty. She half expected Glenda to whine at her about having taken the first half hour to talk to people. In fact, the woman kept looking at her and did track her down in the back room before she could leave. At first Cindy really expected a dressing down, but the words, those magical symbols above her bosses cranium, told on her.

  She was just freaked out.

  She might not have been the best person in the world, but Glenda Graeves was fairly intelligent. She'd worked out, with a bit of computer time, who Wally's brother was, and that the Infection often ran in families.

  That explained the hiss that came. It wasn't needed, given Wally had left nearly two hours before.

  "Cindy! What... What did the IPB tell you?"

  She nearly lied, and said nothing, but realized that a nothing like Glenda didn't really need to be protected from the truth.

  "That Wally's brother Clark is probably dead. It was the Devorah Timberland thing. The alien woman? Anyway, no one knows for certain. Wally wasn't thrilled to hear it, but also isn't that worked up. It seems like his brother was kind of a pervert. Sleeping with a young girl. Impulse, in fact. So I think he was pretty happy to be rid of the man." She wanted to shrug, but waited, seeing what the woman was really trying to get at.

  It didn't take long.

  "If... If this Clark was Infected, then what about Wallace? That kind of thing carries, doesn't it? One person gets it, then the people closest to them do too. We could catch it... Maybe I should ask him to leave?"

  That got her to snort and roll her eyes.

  "You know it doesn't work that way. They teach it in health class at school." She managed not to call the woman an idiotic bitch about it. Barely.

  The woman didn't stand on her fear at least, which was kind of impressive, given how often she really did.

  "I know. I know. But, if he's Infected, then he could hurt us. Infected people are crazy. Everyone knows that. That primary method thing?" The words first mode flashed above Gl
enda's head then, showing that she knew the correct phrase for it. Also text explaining that she didn't want to look like a bigot, even though she was a bit of one.

  "He isn't. For one thing, if he were dangerous, we'd all be dead by now. He's been here for years. Longer than I have. He's been nothing but nice to me. To you too, even if you are a bit of a witch towards him part of the time."

  That created a very interesting split suddenly. Glenda crossed her arms, and glared.

  "Excuse me?"

  Cin nodded, and read the text which said she knew exactly what she'd done to Wally over the years. It was worse than Cindy had ever seen, personally. If she had, they would have argued about it already.

  "Sure. You give him the worst hours, dump the lion's share of the work on him, then make fun of him with the girl's in the back when he's doing all their work. Sure, he isn't great looking, but he's the best worker here. You should treat him better, but don't. Probably because..." She shrugged, and looked over the other woman's head again, seeing the text, scrolling like a screen, going through a lot of data as she was watched.

  Most of it was showing a bit of panic, and was gearing up to try and attack Cindy. With words and veiled threats. That mainly had to do with being fired.

  Cindy put her hands out.

  "So, think about it. If you can get away with all that, and he's done nothing, I think you're not just pretty safe, but really safe. Given that, you should be nicer now, right? After all, if he is Infected, then pushing him wouldn't be a great plan. Besides, you can't fire him for being Infected. After the IPB showed up, even if he went around glowing all the time, you couldn't. It would be grounds for a lawsuit." Which was simply true.

  She knew that if she got fired for being Infected she was suing the bitch. She'd get Wally to as well, if it happened, after being told about it like she had been.

  Glenda didn't pick up on anything expect her being fairly warm and honest with her, so didn't really get mad, and managed to think for a moment before going for her.