by Em Garner
About an hour later, the president addresses the nation. He sounds tired, and the broadcast isn’t entirely clear. He talks a lot about safety and precautions, and the importance of citizen cooperation. I can’t really follow a lot of what he’s getting at, because all of his words sound like they were written by someone who was more interested in seeing how many syllables they could use than being easy to understand. I think maybe that’s on purpose.
One thing stands out, though. Unlike the first time around, this Contamination isn’t limited to the United States. It’s not limited to the consumption of one single product, either. According to the president, there’s a pandemic in motion, the source of which is unclear. Possibly terrorism.
“Do you believe him?” I ask Dillon.
We’re huddled under a blanket, listening to the broadcast. Opal has fallen asleep beside Mom. We keep the volume low so they don’t overhear. I wish I didn’t have to listen, but I can’t stop.
“I don’t know. I think… maybe, yeah. But all this other stuff about martial law and the military being here to protect us… from what?” Dillon asks. “The Contaminated? Or each other? Or them?”
I reach for his hand and squeeze it. “Thank you, Dillon. For unlocking the collar.”
“I wasn’t sure it would work. I really wasn’t.”
“But it did.” It’s too early to tell if my mom will be okay, but for the first time, I’m not afraid she’s going to turn Connie on us. That, at least, I believe.
“I was wrong when I said it would all be okay,” Dillon says. “This isn’t okay.”
Under this blanket, it would be easy to forget the world out there. We could pretend we’re just two kids kissing in private. We could pretend a lot of things, none of which is true, and even though I’d like to, I know Dillon and I are going to face the truth.
At least we’re going to face it together.
Neither of us knows what to do or say, so we listen to the president’s speech until the very end. One thing’s clear, the world as we knew it is gone. The world we’ve grown accustomed to is gone, too. Now we can only wait and see what’s going to happen next.
About the Author
Em Garner began writing at a very young age, always preferring the stories about what goes bump in the night. An avid reader of horror, science-fiction and fantasy, she first turned her hand to short stories about the sorts of things that hide under the bed… and she kept right on going.
Now Em spends most of her time in front of her computer, writing away at all the ideas she has swirling around in her head and hoping she can get them into a story before she forgets them.
She loves zombies, unicorns, and rainbows, the color purple and the smell of roses. She hates the smell of lilies, the feeling of corduroy and biting sandpaper. (Well. Who doesn’t?)
She lives at the beach with her family, where she spends a lot of time reading and sticking her feet in the sand. She is afraid of sharks, but that doesn’t stop her from going in the water.
Copyright
EGMONT
We bring stories to life
First published by Egmont USA, 2013
443 Park Avenue South, Suite 806
New York, NY 10016
Copyright © Megan Hart, 2013
www.egmontusa.com
www.emgarner.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Garner, Em, 1971-
Contaminated / Em Garner.
p. cm.
Summary: Velvet fights for her family’s survival after a widespread contamination turns a segment of the population, including her mother, into ultra-violent zombie-like creatures.
eISBN: 978-1-60684-355-0
[1. Science fiction. 2. Horror stories. 3. Mothers–Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.G18422Con 2013
[Fic]—dc23
2012024472
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright holder.
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