The Main Event (The Human Race Book 3)

by Tahnee Fritz

  “I’m sorry I ever left. I don’t know what was going on with me, but losing you was too much to handle.”

  He squeezes my hand tight and says, “Don’t worry about it. You did what you had to do and we wouldn’t be here right now if you hadn’t.”

  “Where are we?” I ask. “I know we’re in a hospital, but where?”

  “The city.” He states. “Dwayne brought us both here. A few others managed to get here a couple days ago too. Jason and some scientist guy, Neil, and that man and his daughter.”

  “Phil and Sarah. I’m glad they made it.”

  “Me too.”

  I run my fingers through my hair and lift myself off the pillows and sit up. My head feels light and my muscles are stiff. That’s what I get for being dead for a week. I take a deep breath and run my fingers through my hair. It’s soft and tangle free and the skin on my face and neck is still so smooth.

  I turn my eyes to Ryder’s and let them linger on those beautiful hazel orbs staring back at me. For the longest time I thought I’d never see him again. And here he is staring back and me with the same look in his eyes that I fell in love with the first time I saw him. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while now.

  I put my hand on the back of his neck and bring his face closer to mine. I press my lips against his and close my eyes, letting the wonderful sensation flow through me. Knowing I can kiss him without consequence is by far the best thing the monster could have ever taught me.

  “I’ve missed you so much.” I say as I pull myself away from him.

  “So have I,” he replies. “I hope I never have to lose you in any way ever again.”

  “You never will. The monster is never coming back and I ain’t going anywhere without you.”

  He smiles and runs a hand through my hair, “I don’t want to rush you, but Dwayne wanted me to bring you downstairs as soon as you woke up. They wouldn’t let me go to the house, but they did wash your clothes. I even made sure they kept those boots and that jacket you had on. I don’t know what it was, but I really didn’t want to keep my hands off you when you were dressed like that.”

  I smile and roll my eyes, “I guess the monster had other things to say about that, huh.”

  “Yeah, she was a little hard to get, but I broke through in the end. About the time you started coming back, I knew I had her.” He jokes.

  “You always did.”

  He kisses my forehead, then stands from the bed. I push the blanket away from me and stand beside him. My knees pop and my ankles are very stiff as I move them. They limber up slightly by the time I make it to the counter and sift through my clothes. My trusty shades are sitting on the counter beside the clothes and I let the smile creep across my face.

  * * *

  I got dressed quickly, then let Ryder lead me out of the room and into a dimly lit hallway. One of the fluorescent lights above us flickers and buzzes and a few others are out completely. I notice that this entire section is empty. There are no humans or living beings at all. I sniff the air and I can smell them nearby, but the rooms around us are empty as well as the hall.

  Ryder takes my hand and we turn left away from the room. I slide the sunglasses over my eyes and we walk to the end of the hall, then turn another corner heading for the stairs on the right. The sun is shining brightly through the tall windows and I squint in order to see as we descend the winding staircase. The number three is plastered on the landing between the sets of stairs and we have two more to go before we make it to the lobby.

  “Everyone is waiting for you. Dwayne’s been checking in ever since I woke up and now he can stop bugging me.” Ryder explains.

  “Is he the only one that’s been asking about me?” I ask.

  He shakes his head, “No, that Neil guy came in a lot, with some other doctors. As much as I told them to wait until you woke up, they insisted on taking your blood. They were able to reproduce it so they won’t have to steal the cure from you anymore. That was two days ago and you won’t believe what all has happened since.”

  “I can’t wait to find out.” I say, utterly relieved and shocked that things have happened so fast.

  I assumed it would take months for anyone to reproduce my cure so I won’t have to bleed myself day after day after day. I never expected things to transpire this quickly and have the world change before my eyes right after I wake up from a week long death.

  We make it to the first floor landing and I hear voices coming from a room not far from us. They are loud and happy, filling the hospital with laughter and jokes about life. My hands start shaking and the smells of human life drift up my nose and it is just as intoxicating as before. The sweet scent has me drooling over them and I can remember just what my monster did when I let her take over.

  I remember the man with the Mohawk. He was the first one and his blood was the tastiest. Then the few others I took when Jason and I were trying to escape. They were just as good as the first. Then there was Trevor whose blood took things over the top because I knew I craved it more than anything else. The revenge made his taste like candy and killing him was the only way I could end the thirst I felt for it.

  At the bottom of the stairs the scent gets stronger and I feel myself slowing down. If I walk into a crowd of humans and they see me as something that is capable of killing them, they will lock me in a room from which I will never be able to escape. They will see me as something only nightmares can create and I will always be yearning for the blood that flows under their luscious flesh.

  I stop walking and let go of Ryder’s hand. I can’t face the people that deep down inside I want to devour. I run a hand through my hair and shake my head when Ryder turns to face me.

  “What’s the matter?” he asks.

  “I don’t think I can do this.” I reply.

  “What are you talking about?” he takes a small step closer to me.

  “I don’t know if I can control myself around them. They already know what I can do. They know what I have done and they saw me kill Trevor the way that I did. What’s to stop them from locking me away?” I ask.

  Ryder moves closer to me and places his hands on my shoulders, “You’re crazy, you know that. The people out there could care less about how you killed Trevor. The moment I woke up and told them what happened, they fell in love with you and the cure. They were even happier when Neil was able to make more of it and none of them can wait to see you. Dwayne has already cured so many of them and is constantly bringing more here every day. You have nothing to worry about.”

  He smiles and I stare at his lips for a few seconds. All this time I thought the world would only see me as the demon who was bitten by a vampire and zombie. I never thought they would accept me for this.

  I guess I was wrong.

  I take a deep breath and say, “Then let’s go out there.”

  He takes my hand again and we walk out of the stairwell and into a short hallway. Our footsteps echo slightly on the marble floor and we walk into a large room with a receptionists desk facing a wall of windows at the front entrance to the hospital. A couple dozen people are grouped together by the old and closed up gift shop. I recognize Keith standing amid the group and he is the first one to spot us.

  A wide smile crosses his face and he takes a step away from the other members of the security force. He claps his hands together and shouts my name in praise. The others soon join him and they smile as they move toward us. This is a much warmer welcome than I ever could have expected.

  “Glad to have you back, Bridge.” Keith exclaims, patting me on the shoulder when he gets closer. “The team was lost without you.”

  I smile and nod my head, “I’m sure they were.”

  He laughs and the others with him laugh as well, “Dwayne is waiting for you outside with the rest of them. Go enjoy this. You deserve it.”

  “Thank you.” I say and walk with Ryder to exit the building.

  My hands are still shaking as Ryder pushes the glass door open. We walk thr
ough it with Keith and the others following close behind. The human smells are getting stronger with every step I take out of here and my hands won’t stop shaking. Ryder can feel it and he squeezes my hand tighter. He nudges me with his shoulder and we walk through the second door in the foyer and step outside into the cool Autumn air.

  * * *

  A crowd of people have grouped around the hospital. They are dressed in warm clothing and foggy breath emits from their mouths. There are too many of them for me to count and every single one of them is here to see me. Some of them I know are citizens of Des Moines and others I don’t recognize. Their pale skin tells me that they have recently been cured and I couldn’t be more grateful to see them all here.

  We walk further away from the doors and I spot Jason standing with Phil and his daughter Sarah. Our eyes meet and he tries to smile, but it is forced. The smile across my lips is forced as well. Things will never be the same between us. I remember the few moments that monster used him to destroy me and it worked. She was able to hurt a friend while tearing my heart right out of my chest whenever she kissed him.

  I shake those thoughts from my mind and turn away from him and the others. More familiar faces come into my line of vision. Rose and George are standing with Katie and Adam. Annah stands with that little boy I saved from the truck stop and each one of them turns their attention to me.

  Something warm hits my cheek as I stare at the friends I saved not long ago. Each one of them is alive and safe in the city while my cure is being sent across the country. I wipe the stray tear away and smile at them.

  “Bridget!” I know that loud voice.

  I turn my head and see the bubbly Sherry running through the crowd, cutting across the pavement just to get to me. She leaves Seth and her father to stand with Isaac and her nephew Dillon. They wave and cheer for me and soon the rest of the crowd joins in.

  Sherry runs to me and throws her arms around my shoulders. Ryder’s hand slips out of mine and I stammer back a couple paces from the force of Sherry’s hug. I wrap my arms around her and hold onto my best friend for a long moment. I make the mistake of sniffing her and smelling the warm blood under her skin and I have to pull myself away.

  “You are so lucky you’re alive. I was ready to come after you and kill you for leaving me like that.” Sherry states, speaking fast and loud just like always.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t get the chance.” I reply.

  She shrugs, “It’s okay. I forgive you this time.”

  We both smile and another familiar face approaches us. Dwayne doesn’t wear a smile as he walks this way and a small crowd of guards walk close behind him. I eyeball the pistols hanging at their waists and the smile fades from my face.

  I knew this moment would come. They have to be cautious and keep this city safe. I’m not human after all, but I am not a threat either.

  Dwayne steps up to me and takes a deep breath. He plants his feet firmly on the ground so his body blocks my view of the crowd behind him. I hear their cheers and words of praise, some shout my name and clap their hands, but the expression on Dwayne’s face doesn’t match their happiness.

  “Thought you were dead.” He speaks slowly.

  I nod, “So did I.”

  “You should be dead after everything you went through. I heard the story and could hardly believe a word of it. Then Ryder woke up and Neil convinced me to let him do an experiment. A group of zombies and vampires showed up two days after you got here and I watched each one of them come back to life because of you.” Dwayne explains. “I don’t know how this is possible, I don’t know how this happened nor do I want to know. The only thing that matters is that this cure is possible and good things can happen.”

  Finally he smiles and I breathe a sigh of relief. For a moment I thought he was going to treat me as a prisoner and take me to the small jailhouse in the center of the city. I’m glad that didn’t happen and I feel a strange sensation taking over my entire being.

  A heavy burden has just been lifted from my shoulders and the world is saved now. Humans have another shot at survival and can take the world back from the undead. It will take years to cure everyone and get things as close to normal as it ever can be, but it’s possible now.

  Dwayne turns away from me and faces the crowd as he speaks, “A lot has changed over the last ten days. That group that came here to be cured wasn’t the only ones we’ve gotten to. While Neil was working on reproducing it, I sent troops out to gather others and bring them back here to receive it. Some even went pretty far south just to get them. They were mainly looking for their families that they lost along the way and some have managed to find them, but we got a lot more as well.”

  He steps out of the way and I scan the crowd one more time. There are faces of people I have never met before mixed in with plenty that I have. Young children all the way up to old men and women, stand together as they catch a glimpse of the thing that saved humanity. They clap their hands and cheer, inching closer to me but keeping their distance at the same time.

  I move closer to Ryder and wrap my fingers around his hand once again. The smiles crosses my lips and I couldn’t have hoped for a happier ending to this story. The human race has a future in the world again and I was able to be a part of that. A big part of it actually. But it’s in their hands now and it’s up to them on getting it global.

  “I told you no one would see you as a freak.” Ryder says, squeezing my hand gently in his.

  I shake my head and say, “I know.”

  “Are you happy?” he asks.

  “Of course I am.” I reply.

  He nudges me with his shoulder and leans closer to me, “I mean, are you happy that they have a cure even though you still don’t?”

  Slowly, my head bobs up and down in response as the words fall out of my mouth, “I think I can be okay with it. Who knows, maybe one day Neil will find a cure for me. If not, I’ll be okay like this.”

  “Me too, no matter how disgusting your new diet might be.” He says and we both share a laugh.

  * * *

  Another two weeks has passed since I woke up. The cure has now been spread to every corner of the country and they are working on finding ways to get it overseas. Neil and the rest of his team work day and night, producing as much of the cure as they possibly can. I’m happy to say that they don’t need me for it. I actually don’t care that they will never come to me for more samples of my blood.

  More and more of the undead are being brought here every day to be cured as well as troops are being sent out to distribute the cure to villages across the nation. They travel all over the place, scooping up stragglers along the way and letting Neil work his magic in the basement of the hospital. New faces come out of that place with a brand new life to lead and no idea where to start. Dwayne feels that the city is good place, which is why most of them are brought here.

  Ryder and I are back at our small house next door to Sherry. It’s empty and annoying without Carter being here to make me pick up after myself. We remember him and think of him every chance we get. Ryder even prays before he eats his dinner now while I listen to his words and keep my thoughts in my head.

  Our lives in this house are coming to an end. We have made plans and neither of us want to stay in the city. This isn’t meant for us and, now that the wall will soon be coming down, we want to go out and explore the rest of the country. We will be safe with the cure still in my blood and I can see firsthand the many zombies and vamps that get brought back to life. I feel useless being here and both of us want to start another chapter of our lives doing something that will make us happy.

  We are leaving in the morning. Ryder is upstairs packing up anything he feels is important to him. Mainly clothes and water, but there are a few books and things he wants to have with him. Life on the road will get boring at times and a good book will keep us entertained for a while. He tried conning me into bringing that damn cat with us, but I put an end to that and promised Phil and his daughter c
ould keep it when they move into this house after we’re gone.

  I think I’d eat that cat after a while anyway. It would be more like a treat to me knowing that annoying little life of his would be over.

  I walk through the kitchen with the sunglasses covering my eyes. The windows are wide open and the sun shines in, cutting through the bare branches of the trees outside. Since winter is almost here, our first destination is somewhere down south where the weather will be warm and the snow will be scarce. It will be easier to get around in warmer climates and Ryder will be happier.

  The car we managed to get a hold of sits on the street and I eyeball it as I step into the living room. I can see it through the bay window and smile. I’ve never driven before and I am more than looking forward to doing so. The car is pretty nice too. A small blue sedan with tinted windows and a sunroof. Dwayne filled up the tank and put two gas cans in the trunk that are completely filled as well.

  I hear Ryder’s footsteps on the floor above me. He is stomping around up there as he goes through our things. I turn to face the stairs and slowly let my feet take me to them. As soon as I step on the bottom step, a knock comes from the front door.

  Sherry is out to lunch with Seth and her father. Phil and Sarah won’t be here until after we are gone tomorrow and everyone else should be busy at the wall. The Mayor and the rest of the security force plan on having it down as soon as they can. Dismantling a steel structure like that will take time and a lot of their effort for the next few months.

  I move to the door feeling slightly on edge about not knowing who is on the other side. I sniff the air, catching a tiny hint of familiarity coming from the other side. It isn’t a strong scent and I slowly move across the hard wood floor under my leather boots. I run my fingers through my hair, brushing a few strands away from my eyes and reach for the knob. I take another inhale as the visitor taps on the door one more time. Still, I can’t pinpoint why this scent is familiar.