Countdown to Zero (Patient Zero Book 2)

by Adrianne Lemke

  “We should leave,” Rex said with a nervous look around. He didn’t comment on my confession that I’d made two more zombies. Most likely due to my own reticence about discussing that aspect of what I could do. He wouldn’t want to comment and make me shut down.

  Dark shadows grew as the sun set below the trees. “Yeah. The enemy are far enough away that we should be able to make it back to the others.”

  To Jake. I felt a sudden burst of energy at the thought. I started down the path toward the road without bothering to wait for anyone else.

  Siren barked and ran to catch up to me. When she reached me, I paused to allow Rex and the others to catch up. “Sorry guys. I’m a bit…”

  “Excited?” Rex offered with a grin.

  I smiled sadly. “Worried,” I corrected. “Jake may still be alive, but he was badly wounded. And we have somewhere we need to get rather quickly.”

  Rex’s smile faded and he considered our options. “We can’t leave him behind. That’s not even an option.”

  “I wouldn’t even consider leaving him,” I snapped. “What I’m trying to figure out is how we can keep him with us, without slowing us down too much.”

  Alex and Ali exchanged a glance. “We can pull him in one of the wagons,” Alex suggested softly.

  First, we needed to get back to Jake and see that he was actually alive. I couldn’t keep the thought of losing him out of my mind. Rex had told me he was alive, but a part of me wouldn’t believe it until I saw him with my own eyes.

  “Good idea, Alex,” Rex acknowledged. He kept his eyes on me, clearly concerned about something.

  We continued our trek out of the woods. Once we reached the road, Mike walked ahead a bit. The siblings walked behind him, and Rex and I stayed at the rear.

  “My sword!” I said. It lay on the road where the fight had taken place. Near it was my crossbow. I snatched up the sword and reattached it to my belt. The crossbow I strapped to my back. I couldn’t help the relief that flowed through me at having my weapons back.

  Rex grinned when I turned to look at him. “You look more like yourself now.”

  “Armed and dangerous?” I asked with a wry smile.

  He flung an arm around my shoulders. “Absolutely. Armed and dangerous, instead of simply dangerous. No matter what, you’re deadly, Z.”

  It was meant as a compliment. I was certain of it. We both knew I could protect myself well, whether I was armed or not.

  Unfortunately, all I could think of was Jake bleeding on the road. The two men changing into monsters because they touched my tears. The many people changed due to what the so-called doctors did to me. My deadly ability to cause people to turn from perfectly healthy human beings, into bloodthirsty monsters in less than a day.

  Apparently sensing my mood, Rex pulled me to a stop. “You aren’t to blame.”

  “So you’ve said,” I told him flatly.

  “And I will keep saying it until you stop feeling guilty for things you can’t control.”

  “How about feeling guilty for things I can control?” I asked. “I waited until those men were already exposed before I even considered telling them what would happen to them. And I tried to order the creatures to go after Chase. I’m not so sure that was zombie bloodlust talking, Rex. I think it was just me.”

  He shrugged. “So what if it was?”

  Not exactly the response I’d expected. I looked at him in surprise. “Huh?

  Rex chuckled. “Not what you thought I’d say, is it? Look; that guy kidnapped you. He and his friends nearly killed Jake, took you prisoner, and were going to turn you over to the people who hurt you to begin with.”

  He sighed, and stepped away from me slightly. “I think you were in the right to do what you did. We have to survive. In order to do that, we need you to survive. To be honest, I’m relieved by the lengths you’ll go to in order to live.”

  His voice was earnest, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Rex.”

  He took my hand and we jogged to catch up to the others. I paused for a moment at the familiar tingle at the back of my neck.

  “Guys! Hold up,” I said with a gasp. “The zombies! They’re coming back!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  While it wasn’t a huge surprise to have the zombies return after they were driven off, it was yet another pause in our trek back to Jake. And another delay in getting to the guard station to rescue the rest of our friends.

  After the extreme emotions I’d felt that day, it wouldn’t be difficult to work up a scream. Rex glanced at me, nodded, and stepped back. Alex, Ali, and Mike gathered around me. Their proximity made my connection to the horde stronger, so I hoped to drive them off for a longer period this time.

  I glanced at Mike, still uncertain of his inclusion in the group of experiments. Some part of me seemed to recognize him as one of us. Even with no proof, I wanted to trust my instinct and keep him close.

  “Let’s get them away from us to begin with, shall we?” Rex suggested. “You can feel them, Z. Even without the others. Just make them go away. Don’t use the scream unless you have to. Try to connect and gain more control.”

  The gathered emotions made it difficult to accept the easier solution. Part of me wanted a fight. A part which Rex wanted to talk down. He clearly wanted me to forget the fight and just shoo them away. The other part—the larger part—wanted to make this quick, so we could get to Jake.

  “Make it quick, Z,” Rex urged again. “Send them away.”

  Mike nodded urgently, his face pale in the growing darkness. “I agree. Get rid of them. We need to get to the others and find shelter for the night.”

  With the others in agreement, I fought down the part of me that wanted the confrontation. Instead, my mind followed the now familiar mental path into the zombie’s web. These creatures seemed as though they were starving. They felt almost the same as those I’d seen at Ground Zero. The creatures there had turned to eating each other. I hadn’t seen such behavior from any of the other zombies we’d come across.

  Now I began to wonder if it was a natural evolution of the disease. When left with nothing to eat, would they simply eat themselves out of existence? If the healthy humans stayed hidden, would the outbreak end?

  I tried to dangle the scent of human in the opposite direction as we were headed. Since the zombies were behind us, they only had to turn around. They wouldn’t come near us. If I could only get them to follow the scent.

  “I’m having a bit of trouble,” I admitted softly. “Alex, Ali, reach out to them and make them think the human scent is coming from back the way we came. Then we can move on.”

  Oddly, this time I could feel as their minds connected to the small horde. The sensation nearly jolted me out of the web. With a surge of effort, I managed to stay connected and pushed my message through harder.

  This time it seemed to take. The creatures hesitated. For a lingering moment it felt like they would fight off our influence. I could sense their reluctance through the web. What was left of their brains seemed to be trying to remind them that they had smelled us ahead of them.

  Then they finally turned. “Keep pushing,” I said. “Make the scent impression more permanent. Make sure they don’t smell us behind them.”

  The horde continued in the direction I’d chosen. None even turned in our direction.

  After several minutes, I felt confident our ruse had worked. “Let’s get going.”

  I looked around and realized how late it had gotten. “It’s almost fully dark,” I said. “Will you guys be able to get us back to Jake?”

  Rex huffed and took a step back, his hand over his heart in mock outrage. “You wound me, Z. Of course I can get us back to him! Who is the best scout in our whole group?”

  “My apologies, Rex. Lead the way. I’d imagine he’s not too far from here, since this is where we got separated earlier.”

  “Nope. Not far at all. And I think there’s an empty farm house nearby as well. Shouldn’t take much to ge
t Jake into one of the wagons and to shelter for the night,” Rex added.

  I almost relaxed, but true relief wouldn’t come until I saw Jake for myself. Soon, we left the easy-to-follow road and entered the dark woods.

  “They should be back here,” Rex said.

  I reached out quickly to grab his hand. “I don’t want to get separated,” I explained in a rush of embarrassment. The darkness hid the blush that blossomed over my cheeks at my desire to simply remain close to him.

  “R-right,” he stammered. He tightened his grip for a moment. “No problem. We’re nearly there.”

  I smiled as we walked hand-in-hand through the dark woods. The tactile reminder I wasn’t alone was definitely welcome after this day.

  “How will we see them?” Mike asked. “They’d know better than to build a fire or make noise.”

  “So, we should make a bit of noise for them,” I said. “There aren’t any more creatures around. I can’t say there are no more people nearby, but it seems unlikely.”

  I felt Rex shrug, then he stage whispered, “Kate! Shanti! Where are you guys?”

  “Rex?” Shanti called. “This way. Follow my voice. Did you find her? Is Z with you?”

  A smile crossed my face at the older girl’s concern. Not so long ago, I thought she didn’t care about me. Now I knew different. “I’m here, Shanti,” I assured her. “How’s Jake?”

  “He’s good. Or… well, he will be,” Kate answered. “He’s sleeping for now.”

  We came to a slight clearing, and I saw Kate and Shanti. Well, silhouettes I knew were them, anyway. “Are you two okay?” I asked. “Any trouble while you were on your own?”

  King ran to meet Siren, and the two dogs bounced around happily.

  “Count on you to be kidnapped and still worry about everyone else,” Shanti said with a laugh. “No. Nothing else happened. We cleaned and wrapped Jake’s wounds the best we could and put him on a blanket instead of the dirty ground.”

  “What’s the plan now?” Kate asked. “We may not have had trouble out here so far, but it seems like a bad idea to stay in the open.”

  I allowed the others to answer, opting instead to kneel at Jake’s side. “Jake?” I whispered. “You’re still alive?”

  He didn’t answer. I leaned closer to him, in order to hear him breathe. When I took his hand, it felt warm and alive. Not at all what I’d expected to find after we’d been separated.

  My eyes burned with unshed tears, but I forced them back. I would not put my friends in danger. Not like this. I lay next to Jake on the blanket and kept my hand on his.

  I must have either fallen asleep or zoned out for a while, because the next thing I knew, someone pulled Jake’s hand from mine.

  Rex held my hand for a moment and stalled my wordless complaint. “It’s okay. We’ve got the wagon ready for him. We just need to move him and the blanket, then we’re ready to get to shelter.”

  Shaking off my momentary confusion, I allowed Rex to help me to my feet. “Right. Got it. Ready to go.”

  I straightened my sword belt and brushed myself off a bit. Kate, Rex, and Mike lifted Jake—who stirred, but didn’t awaken—and set him gently into one of the wagons. I couldn’t wait to get somewhere with light so I could actually see him.

  We slowly made our way out of the woods. The route out was a bit rough, but we had Jake surrounded by as much of our bedding as we could to make his ride as comfortable as possible. Once we got to the road it was much easier to pull both wagons.

  Jake remained… asleep? Unconscious? The entire way. It took us only a few minutes’ walk to find a farm house to try. I looked around for a moment before issuing orders. “Rex and I will check it out. You guys wait out here. I don’t feel any creatures nearby.”

  The two of us separated from the others and crept into the dark, seemingly abandoned, house. Out of curiosity I flipped a light switch. Nothing happened. Not surprising. One of the dogs outside barked at something, but stopped quickly. Rex’s form was hardly visible in the dark, but he moved through the house with caution. I followed, unwilling to get separated from him so soon after our reunion.

  “We should head upstairs and check the bedrooms,” he suggested softly.

  I tugged his arm. “Hold up. Let’s check the drawers in the kitchen and see if we can find a flashlight or something.”

  I heard movement from the upstairs. A thump, followed by little footsteps running across the floor. Rex and I searched through the drawers with no luck. Then I noticed—and by noticed, I mean ran into—a shelf near the door. “Here, Rex,” I whispered while rubbing my hip, which I was certain would be bruised now. “I found one.”

  I flicked the switch and was relieved to finally see Rex’s face, even in the dim light of a small flashlight. “Okay, let’s look upstairs.”

  I grabbed my sword so it would be ready if we ended up needing it. There was another loud thump as we climbed the stairs. Then I heard a curious meow. “Aww, it’s just a kitty,” I said. “Hi, kitten.”

  The small cat ran toward us, then hesitated and backed away. “I think kitty is scared of us,” Rex said softly. “We should check the other rooms before we get too comfortable.”

  The doors were all open except one. I heard nothing other than the cat, whose soft footsteps followed behind us hesitantly. We peeked into each room, the light hidden behind our hands until we were fairly certain the rooms were empty, then shone around to confirm it.

  “No one,” I said in my normal tone. “You’re all alone in here, huh, kitty,” I crooned. “Not for long. We’ll find you food, and make sure you’re left to go free when we leave.”

  Rex had a small smile on his face. “You know it can’t understand you, right?”

  I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. For some animals, the sound of someone talking to them helps them relax.”

  With another glance at the cat, I walked back to the steps. “We need to get the others in here. It’s empty. We’ll be safe here for the night.”

  “Hopefully, anyway,” Rex muttered.

  I didn’t take his doubt personally. Zombies travelled at all hours, so could appear at any time, and the human threat was completely unpredictable. As they’d proven today.

  We had come close to losing people before, but I almost couldn’t push myself past this. Most of our friends imprisoned, one badly wounded, myself captured—even if it was only for a short time… It was too much.

  “You should let Alex, Ali, and Shanti do the lookout work tonight, Z,” Rex suggested. “They can sense the creatures now. Maybe not to the same extent as you, but the pressure isn’t fully on you anymore. You need sleep.”

  Not fully on me. The idea felt both good and bad. I’d been in charge, and the only one who could sense the creatures, since the outbreak began. If I wasn’t the only one, would the group need me anymore?

  Would it be so bad if they didn’t?

  Rex smiled gently. “You wait in here. Take a look to see if there’s any decent food left. I’ll get the others and help bring Jake in.”

  I nodded and made my way to the kitchen to begin my search. In the process of trying to find food, I found two more flashlights. One was a larger spotlight-type one. I set it on the floor and turned it on to illuminate the contents of the pantry. I didn’t even want to think about opening the refrigerator. Who knew how long the power had been out here. We wouldn’t stay long enough to want to clear it out, so it didn’t matter.

  I grinned when I saw what was in the pantry. Then I yelled outside. “Rex! Bring the camping stoves and water in. We have a few boxes of macaroni and cheese. There’s some ranch dressing we can use to help make it creamier. Unopened bottle. And more bottled water.”

  “Sounds awesome, Z,” he called back. I could almost hear the smile in his voice. “I’ll have that stuff in for you in a few minutes. We’re just getting Jake settled on the couch.”

  I grabbed the large flashlight and ran into the other room. “Here. This should make things easier to see.
”

  “Thanks. I’m going to go find some pans and stuff to make the food. I saw some canned fruit and a few unopened boxes of cereal in there too, so we’ll have a decent breakfast tomorrow.”

  A glimpse of Jake stopped me in my tracks. My grin faded at the sight of him. His shirt was soaked with blood, and he seemed tense even in his sleep.

  Rex gently pushed me toward the kitchen. “I’ll have the camp stove in shortly. Go. We’ll try to wake him to get some water and food into him in a little bit. Once he’s awake, we’ll change his bandages and clothes.”

  “Right. Do we have enough bandage material?” I asked. My voice shook a bit too much to pull off the attempt at normalcy.

  Rex glanced at Kate who shook her head. “Probably not,” she said. “If someone wants to look for any kind of first aid kit or medicine cabinet, it certainly wouldn’t hurt. We’ll need as much bandage material as we can find. His wounds will probably take awhile to fully heal.”

  “Antibiotic ointment too, since we have no way to close up the wound,” Alex suggested.

  I smiled. “Good idea. And, like Kate said, check the medicine cabinet for any kind of antibiotics or anything. Laying out in the woods with an open wound isn’t exactly sanitary.”

  Alex nodded, and I continued. “How about you and Ali search for the first aid supplies. Shanti, set up sleeping areas. Once we’ve eaten we’ll want to get some rest.”

  “On it, boss,” Shanti answered with a smile. “Good to have you back.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mike

  Left without a specific task, I chose to help Shanti set up the beds. “With all the space in here, why are we all going to sleep in the living room?” I asked as we laid out the blankets and pillows.

  She shrugged. “I think partly to make sure we can gather together in a hurry if necessary, and partly to keep an eye on Jake. Also, the people on watch will likely use the upstairs windows to get a better vantage point. Having people clomping in and out of the rooms isn’t the best way to get sleep.”