Ground Zero (Patient Zero Book 1)

by Adrianne Lemke

  Prati was suddenly reaching around the edge of the wagon, almost unnoticeable as she slid a handgun into the hand I held behind my back. I hid a grin. Now I might have a decent shot at helping to protect everyone.

  Our current adversary was not amused by Jake’s posturing, and made the error of turning away to whistle for his friends. I was moving before he finished his whistle, and had my blade against the side of his throat. The handgun was aimed at about mid-torso.

  “You may want to reconsider,” I said coldly. These were my kids. My responsibility. I would not let this troglodyte put them at risk.

  He was smart enough to freeze, his gun dropped to the ground.

  “Guess these kids know what they’re doing, huh?” Jake stated calmly, his rifle aimed at a man newly arrived from the edge of the woods. I heard a slight rustling as the other kids raised their weapons toward the other people who had appeared at their leader’s call.

  “Guess so,” the man admitted. Oddly, he still seemed more amused than worried. “I ain’t interested in dyin’, so how ‘bout we all go our separate ways? You may want to reconsider your direction, though. The guards at the wall won’t be nearly so friendly.”

  Guards would definitely not be our friends. From what I’d heard they had been given the okay to kill anyone trying to cross from an infected zone. Unless it was someone with connections. Connections to who, I wasn’t sure.

  A tingle at the back of my neck told me turning around wouldn’t be an option. I stretched my senses toward the approaching creatures, and mentally kicked myself. The horde I’d dismissed as a threat had kept coming. Now that we’d been stopped for a while, they’d been able to catch up. “Too late,” I said. “We’re about to be attacked.”

  “How many?” Rex asked. He was straining for calm, but I could hear the worry in his voice.

  Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. In the open we were sitting ducks. To survive, I would have to do everything in my ability to drive off the enemy. Nothing I wouldn’t normally do, of course, but I would also be exposing some of my secrets to people who had tried to attack us.

  The blue eyed man stared at me critically. “How would you know that?”

  I shook my head as the heavy scent of death drifted toward us on the breeze. “Doesn’t matter.” I turned toward Rex. “I was wrong about this horde. I thought they weren’t a threat. There’s at least twenty of them.”

  My sword dropped away from the man’s neck. We had bigger problems now. “You can call me Zero.”

  Groans and shuffling sounds were getting louder. The creatures’ timing made it certain that our two groups would have to work together.

  “Scout,” he answered gruffly, reaching slowly for his gun.

  “Get it,” I told him, turning toward the approaching horde. “You’ll definitely be needing it.”

  Chapter Eight

  Scout only had five other people with him. Three men and two women. Like him, they were all dressed in tactical gear and carrying high-powered rifles. As long as they didn’t decide to turn those weapons on us again, I was ready to accept them as allies. At least for now.

  “What are you doing?” Rex hissed as I rejoined him by the cart.

  “Whatever I can to protect us,” I answered. “They seem like they’d be good in a fight.”

  “Right, that’s why they bully kids traveling along the road. And why you disarmed him,”—he gestured toward Scout—“so easily. Because they’re so good in a fight.”

  I shrugged. “Honestly, it didn’t seem like they were trying too hard. He held the gun like he knew what he was doing, and he left me an opening when he turned away.”

  Rex narrowed his eyes. “That’s supposed to convince me?”

  I answered with a slight eye roll. “He made it too easy. Almost like he wanted to see what we would do.”

  “You’re perceptive, Zero,” Scout interrupted. “Yeah, we saw your group and figured it was a good test run for our ambush strategy. Then I wanted to make sure you were actually up to protecting yourselves.”

  I scoffed. “A blind man could see the opening you left for me, dude. It wasn’t hard to figure out that you weren’t even trying.”

  Scout raised his face mask, a smirk on his face as he glanced at Jake. “Spunky kid, huh?”

  Jake smiled, eyes barely flickering from the shadows approaching through the trees. “You have no idea.”

  One advantage to our conversation was that it helped distract from the strange feelings starting to take over. Of course I wanted to scare the creatures away and prevent them from hurting anyone, but a small part of me wanted to join in the freedom of destroying everyone around me.

  Something must have shown on my face, because Rex nudged me… hard. “Stop it, Z,” he snapped.

  Scout seemed confused, but I had no desire to explain everything to him.

  “They’re about to attack,” I warned. “Whatever is driving them is about to push them toward us.”

  “What do you mean, ‘whatever is driving them?’ They’re just mindless killing machines at this point,” Scout said.

  He didn’t know about the hive mind. Probably not many did. I only knew because of my connection to the creatures. It was creepy and invasive, and I just wished I would stop feeling like I wanted to know what my friends’ blood would taste like as I tore through them.

  “Z, you need to scream,” Jake said calmly. “There are too many, and they’re getting too close.”

  I shook my head. “Can’t. I… they need me.”

  I took a step toward the woods, but something held me back.

  “What’s with her?” Scout asked, struggling to hold me.

  “Can’t explain right now. Just start shooting! We have to drive them away!” Jake didn’t sound calm anymore.

  The crack of gunfire split the air, startling me out of the strange, trance-like state. I shook my head. “I’m good,” I told Scout, who still held an arm around my body. “You can let go now.”

  “Gladly.” His gun was up as soon as he’d let go, and he was firing into the horde.

  Raising my handgun, I fired, wishing there was another way. Feeling in my bones there was something else I could do to help, but having no idea what that something might be. It was an awful, hopeless feeling, and it welled up inside me. An emotional bomb almost ready to explode.

  Prati screaming was the detonator.

  Chapter Nine

  My scream stopped everyone. It exploded from me, a weapon capable of stopping the largest horde in their tracks. Unfortunately, it also came with a dangerous side effect. Tears streamed down my face unchecked.

  The scream continued. The horde pulled away, racing into the protection of the trees. In addition to the sudden reprieve offered by my repelling scream, the path ahead of us was now clear.

  I stopped screaming, my voice worn as I said, “We’ve gotta move. They’ll be back before long.”

  “Which way?” Rex asked, tossing me a towel from the back of the wagon. I dried my face and stuffed the towel into a plastic bag provided by a stone faced Shanti.

  I gestured. “Keep going the way we wanted to go. We should be able to put some distance between us now. Although, if what Scout says is true, we’ll have to detour a bit to find an unguarded part of the wall.”

  For their part, Scout and his men were still eying the woods warily, as if expecting the enemy to reemerge at any second. Scout himself glanced at me, a strange look on his face.

  “They’ll be gone for a few minutes, at least,” I assured them. “But we need to move before they decide we’re worth the risk.”

  My kids and Scout’s gang headed in the same direction. Scout’s people kept their weapons raised, alert at every moment for the return of the enemy. My group stayed relaxed, only occasionally glancing toward me to see if I was able to tell whether the creatures were returning.

  After a moment, the adults seemed to realize they were wasting energy by being extra vigilant, so they relaxed. Only by a bit. The
weapons were lowered, but not holstered. I could feel Scout’s gaze on me as we walked, but I couldn’t show my unease.

  The other kids and Jake were—or at least had been—the only ones who knew about my connection to the outbreak. If others found out… well, it could be bad. I had no idea what to expect from Scout and his people once we were out of harm’s way.

  “We can split up soon.” Jake’s suggestion sounded more like a demand.

  At Jake’s snappish tone, I glanced at him curiously. His cold gaze was locked on Scout. Ah. He’d apparently noticed the man’s interest in what I’d done.

  A smile crossed my face at his protectiveness. I wasn’t the only one ready to fight for the people in our group. The other kids continued eying the adults warily, and even Shanti looked to me quizzically. They were obviously wondering when we’d break away from them.

  “Jake’s right,” I answered. “We should be clear for now. You and your people can go do… whatever it is that you do.”

  Scout fumbled for a moment, but eventually gave a curt nod. “Good. Just… be careful. The world is a scary place to be right now. And guards won’t hesitate to take out anyone at the walls—even kids.”

  I nodded, certain he was correct. “Thanks. We will be.”

  Scout and his group turned at the next split in the path, leaving us on our own again.

  “Was it just me, or were those guys a bit… odd?” Rex asked.

  “Not just you,” Jake said, watching behind us guardedly. “We’ll have to watch ourselves.”

  Prati came up to me and slipped her hand into mine. “They won’t come back, right?” she asked nervously.

  Considering the thoughtful and cagey looks I’d been getting from Scout, I couldn’t be sure they would stay gone. It wouldn’t calm the group any to hear my concerns, so I pasted a smile on my face.

  “No, pretty Prati,” I assured the young girl lightly. “They owe us now, right? They’ll stay away.”

  Jake met my eyes as I looked up from the now giggling girl. The worried look spoke volumes.

  “It will be fine,” I said again.

  He didn’t look convinced. And frankly, neither was I.

  Chapter Ten

  Darkness had fallen, but after the events of the day no one asked to stop. It seemed all we wanted to do was gain distance from the most recent horde. Not to mention the armed group who could potentially be a threat.

  Unfortunately, as we drew nearer to the wall, it became clear that Scout hadn’t been lying. We were definitely in the wrong area to attempt an escape from our zone.

  One positive outcome of coming this way was finding a trail that cut through the woods, just out of sight of the wall. The brightly lit area was still noticeable, and we heard voices as guards swapped stories during a dull evening shift.

  I motioned Jake and Rex toward me. “We’ll need to keep moving,” I informed them.

  Jake eyed the tired group. “They won’t be able to keep going much longer. But you’re right. We can’t camp this close to the guards.”

  A tingling in my mind told me we wouldn’t be able to backtrack either. Although the path parallel to the wall seemed clear at the moment. “We need to go this way,” I said, pointing out the path.

  Without question, Jake and Rex moved to the front of the group, aiming them in the correct direction. Knowing they would be going the same direction for a while, I paused to take a moment by myself.

  The lit guard station was a risk. The creatures would likely want to attack. If a large enough horde came through, it wouldn’t matter how many guards there were. All would be killed or turned, and the creatures would be free in yet another zone.

  A sigh escaped. There was no way to know for certain the creatures hadn’t simply done what we were planning to do, and broken through the fence at an unguarded location. It wouldn’t be hard. Electricity was a good deterrent, but it wasn’t infallible. Was there anywhere truly safe?

  I continued walking, still able to hear the turning of the cart wheels ahead of me. My mind drifted, and I kept my pace steady. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been walking, but the group was still within hearing range.

  At the sound of leaves crunching behind me, I jumped. The sudden noise made me realize I’d been kind of zoned out while walking, although I had kept my senses open to threats.

  It felt like someone was watching me so I sped up. The thought of someone following made me eager to meet up with my group once again. My hand rested on the hilt of my sword. As the crunching continued, my breaths sped up.

  Finally, the group was in sight, and Aly ran toward me. “Finally. Where were you?” she asked.

  I glanced behind me nervously, but nothing was there. Had I imagined the sounds? I had been feeling paranoid since we’d run into Scout’s group. It had probably just been an animal or something.

  Slowing my breathing, I smiled. “Just thinking. Don’t worry.”

  My heart was still pounding, and I vowed to not separate from the group again. At least for a while. Not worth the risk.

  “Zero, there’s a clearing ahead. Can you tell if it’s clear?” Ben asked. Apparently, he was scouting ahead a bit as the others walked.

  My heart still thudded quickly, but I forced myself to concentrate. After a moment I nodded, almost surprised. The trail must have turned a bit, the horde was no longer on my radar. We’d managed to get away from them. For now, anyway. “Seems to be. How long were we walking?”

  “Over an hour,” Ben answered. “We put enough distance between us and the enemy?”

  “The combination of my scream driving them back, and us walking nonstop at a quick pace has them off my radar. We’re good.”

  The relief was tangible, and I couldn’t blame them. It had been a long couple days, and it wasn’t over yet. Getting through the wall would come with its own challenges. I didn’t anticipate everything would go smoothly. Nor did I expect the others to take my plan to split up well.

  Problems for another day, I mused as I helped set up camp for the night. I needed to sleep. It wasn’t something I could avoid forever. To allow some relaxation, I helped set tripwires and other traps around the clearing. We also made sure everyone was aware of who was on watch and when. We would never be fully unprotected. Rex, Jake, and I were each on different watch cycles, and everyone knew to wake me with any concerns either way.

  When camp was finally set, I settled down on my blanket and curled toward the outside of the circle. Everything had been quiet as we set camp, and it didn’t seem to be changing now that everyone was settled in for the night.

  But I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that we were being watched.

  Chapter Eleven

  Morning came with a gentle warmth that belied the horror story we lived in. I stretched on my blanket and yawned before sitting up and checking on everyone. Squinting my eyes against the already bright sunlight, I saw only a couple people up and moving.

  Aly and Prati were working on making breakfast, one of the boys having gathered firewood the night before. It was always nice to start the day with a decent meal. Although we were a bit short on ‘decent’ food. We did what we could. Today it looked like some kind of soup. Once in a while, we were lucky enough to come across vegetables growing in old gardens, and sometimes we managed to trap some meat. If memory served, we were out of meat, but had a small store of veggies left.

  Steady food. It was another reason splitting up seemed like a better plan. If we could get the others set up properly in a safe place, they could grow their own food.

  “Everyone up!” Jake ordered as the two girls finished heating the meal.

  Those still sleeping finally stirred, apparently reveling in the gentle warmth of the morning as much as I had.

  As we ate, I considered what we needed to do. “Rex!” I waited for him to join me before continuing, “What is our supply situation?”

  “Not bad after our stay at the gas station,” he said. “We have about thirty cans of different kinds of
soups, some canned vegetables, several kinds of sugary treats, and tons of jerky and chips. We pretty much cleared the shelves, and the back storage room. Not sure how it was missed during the initial raiding, but I’m glad it was.”

  I nodded my agreement. “Good. Any canned fruit in there? I know the ‘fresh’ fruit I saw still on the shelves was pretty rancid.”

  “Not many,” Rex answered with a quick head shake. “Maybe five or six cans of mixed fruit? Not sure. It definitely won’t last long.”

  Not long, but with everything else we had, it should be okay. We wouldn’t need to spend time looking for food today, at least.

  “That’s fine,” Jake said as he came around to collect our dishes. “We have enough for now. We’ll worry about a stockpile when we have a decent place to keep it.”

  “We should get packed up and move.” I slapped my hands on my lap and rose.

  Jake glanced around. “Some is done already. We’ll get the rest shortly.”

  Neck suddenly tingling, I glanced behind me towards the woods. It was the same area I’d felt like someone was watching from the night before. “The sooner the better,” I said quietly.

  Rex and Jake exchanged a look. “What is it?” they asked in unison.

  I turned back to them. “I think we’re being followed. But it’s not a creature.”

  “You sure?” Jake asked. “You’ve been a bit… well, off, since we ran into the horde yesterday. Are you sure it’s not because of that?”

  It annoyed me that I couldn’t tell him for certain that it wasn’t. “I don’t know, okay? I’m not sure whether it has anything to do with that, or the strange look that Scout gave me before we separated yesterday. I just know that I feel like someone is watching me.”

  “You?” Rex’s eyes narrowed. “Not watching us, but watching you specifically?”

  The feeling faded, and I sighed. “Look, maybe it is just from yesterday, but I’d feel better if we get out of here.”