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Boden went in once to tell Max and Stella that we were just outside if they needed anything, but he came back to report that they were sleeping. Stella in her bed, and Max and Ripley on the floor beside her.

“Jovie is watching over them, making sure that Stella and the baby are stable, and she has other nurses and assistants to watch when Jovie is otherwise occupied,” Boden informed me when he returned. “She thinks we should get some rest. Why don’t we see if we can go find our new house and get a good night’s sleep?”

“You should do that,” I agreed. “But I’m going to stay out here.”

“On the porch? All night?” he asked.

“We’re safe in the city walls, and it’s only August,” I reasoned. “I should be fine, and I need to be close to Max and Stella.”

I thought he might argue with me and insist that I go somewhere safer to rest. Instead, he took off the flannel shirt he wore over his tee shirt and draped it over my shoulders.

“In case it gets cold tonight.” He bent down and kissed my temple. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

25

Remy

The earlier storms of the day had brought in a rather chilly night, but the sky was clear and the stars were bright. Although they were not quite as bright as I was used to out at the lakehouse. Emberwood had enough people and electricity to through off a fair amount of light pollution, and that was definitely not something I missed about civilization.

I sat on the bench outside of Jovie’s clinic, with my legs folded underneath me and Boden’s flannel shirt tightly around me to ward off the cold. The roads directly passing by were empty and dark, outside of a few lamp posts, but the air was filled with the scent of a bonfire and the distant sounds of laughter and music.

The screen door to the clinic swung shut, and Jovie came outside carrying two mugs and a crocheted blanket underneath her arm.

“I brought you some tea with honey.” She held the mug out to me, and when I took it she handed me the blanket. “And this, in case you’re cold.”

“Thanks,” I said. “You didn’t need to do that.”

“I know.” She sat down beside me, holding her mug in two hands.

“How are they doing inside?” I asked.

“All are asleep, all are good.”

“Good.” I sipped my tea while people cheered in the distance.

“They’re having a feast to celebrate a prosperous hunting season,” Jovie explained. “Mayor Vaughn is always trying to find reasons to celebrate.”

“There are worse things to do with your life than find excuses to be happy,” I supposed.

“You don’t have to stay out here, you know,” Jovie said. “I have extra beds and cots inside.”

“I’m better out here,” I replied simply, because I didn’t know how to explain the overwhelming nausea and terror I felt stepping beyond the threshold. The bright lights, the scent of cleaners and illness, everything about it was too much.

“Boden mentioned that you couldn’t really stand to be around medical stuff,” Jovie said. “I’m not about to pry about what you’ve been through, because lord knows we’ve all been through hell. So all I am saying is that you can stay out here for as long as Stella is under my care, if that’s what’s easier for you.”

“Thank you,” I said quietly. “What do you think are Stella’s chances of surviving all this?”

“Her blood pressure is down since I’ve given her Hawthorne berries and IV fluids,” Jovie explained. “So her chances against the preeclampsia are slightly improving. But we both know that is not the worst of her issues.” She exhaled deeply. “I have never seen anyone survive a zombie bite.”

“But she doesn’t have any symptoms of infection yet,” I persisted with uncharacteristic optimism because I needed it to be true.

“That is correct,” Jovie allowed. “But it hasn’t even been twelve hours yet, and it takes at least twenty-four hours for signs to start appearing. Most people don’t go full zombie until around seventy-two hours after exposure.”

“What about the baby?” I asked. “If Stella is sick… how long before the baby is too?”

“The good news is that the fetus likely isn’tinfected at all,” she said, but not in a way that sounded like it was actually good news. “The lyssavirus attacks the central nervous system, so there’s very little risk of it crossing into the placenta.”

“So what does happen to a fetus if the mother turns into a zombie?” I asked, even though I wasn’t sure I actually wanted to know.