Dead Hearts Grow Cold: A Post-Apocalyptic Novella
Page 5
Why did she hide this from me earlier?
I took out the vial I had kept in my pack.
“Arm,” Ben chirped from behind me, “put it in her arm.”
I stuck Freja in the arm with the needle and pushed the medicine in. Nothing happened right away, but I still let out a sigh of relief and fell back into my spot on the boat.
Ben grabbed my arm with what little strength he had, “You got bit,” he said, pointing to my wrist.
I forced a smile back at him, “Don’t you remember, Ben? Biology!”. He gave a light chortle and closed his eyes. I shook him back awake.
“So we know the cure works, right?” I asked, “You used it on that Remy guy.”
Ben sighed, “No...Dale and I talked on the drive...turns out he was looking for a way to get rid of Tex for months...He gave me one of their trucks...called in that message on the walkie...for my vial...and a promise to kill Tex,” He laughed, coughing droplets of blood onto his pants. “I just drove around for a while with...corpses hanging out the trunk til I had enough Reds...for the trap. I never thought he’d be immune…too”
The onset of the delirium from the blood loss made it difficult to find my words. Ben saw me struggling, and slowly raised his fist. I responded, in kind.
Ben had another coughing fit, spurting gobs of blood across the boat. “I don’t know if I’m gonna make it, little bro,” he said feebly. “You keep each other safe, okay?” He closed his eyes. “Mom would’ve liked her.”
As Ben passed away, Freja regained consciousness. She looked at me lazily, then over to Ben, then back to me. I crawled over to her and kissed her. She leaned into me, pressing her body against mine. I grabbed her hair, she pulled at mine. The boat rocked back and forth as we got more physical. I could taste blood.
Looks like one of us bit down a little too hard.
She made her way down my neck, stealing pieces of flesh with each bite.
Mom would like this girl.
We continued til the sun set, devouring each other, and as we feasted on the remains of my older brother, I decided that I’d be happy spending the rest of my life with this girl.
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