Page 41

A few days later, Amos is cleared by the medical staff from what’s left of The Manor House community.

Cleared meaning he won’t turn into a zombie as it’s been well over twenty-four hours since he’d been bitten and no sign of infection.

Days of sleep have done him good, but Amos has a long road to recovery ahead of him.

A road we will take together.

Jonah, to my surprise, is coming with us back to The Valley.

He’d spoken to Amos during one of the rare hours Amos was awake and lucid.

Whatever he said to Amos was enough, convincing him of his worth, at least enough to keep him alive as a prisoner for now.

Dana was hesitant to let Jonah go with us, worried he would lead us into a trap.

But we’ve had no trouble on the road.

Amos has been instructing me on how to get back to The Valley since I’m unfamiliar with the roads out here.

This was only my second time leaving the safety of campus.

What a hell of a week it’s been.

My mom must be worried sick.

She hated the thought of me going on patrol, but knew how much I needed to do this.

To help. To fight back.

I wonder what she’ll say to Jonah.

I told her my worst memory of who he’d become.

Amos too. And yet…he still allowed Jonah in the car with us.

As I pull up to the gate next to the pedestrian bridge, Amos waves out the window, giving the safe signal but also the sign for prisoner.

The guards on the bridge hurry to relay the news to the guards at the gate.

A minute later, the doors open.

Amos’ hoarse voice instructs me to drive in slowly and follow the guards who will grant us safe passage inside.

I can tell Amos is fighting to stay awake.

His body is so weak from all the blood he lost, but his skin has regained some of its color.

A color that reminds me of a watered-down chai latte.

“What are you thinking about, Copperhead?” he asks, catching me glancing at him.

“Nothing. Just that you are looking much better,” I say as five of The Valley’s patrol guards surround our car.

The one in front waves us forward.

“Better than?” Amos asks, holding onto the “n” sound.

I dare not look at him as I carefully drive the car down the short distance to the medical center.

“You think I look better with one arm? Had I known, I would have chopped it off months ago.”

A smile explodes on my face as I think about the months I had dreamt about Amos, not knowing if he thought of me as anything more than a liability.

Now that our feelings are out in the open, I can breathe easy.

The prisoner in the back seat complicates things a bit.

Not that I would ever choose Jonah over Amos, just the idea of Jonah being here, at The Valley.

It was hard to find a path toward a peaceful life before.

And now? The imminent threat of what Doctore poses to us, to the rest of the world, is right at our doorstep.

I never thought I’d get a happy ending, not since prom night.

With Amos, I know I’d die happy at least.

The guards to my left step onto the curb and motion me over.

I follow their instructions, pulling over as close as I can get, and turn off the car.

Though it’s a hybrid car, we are still instructed to turn off any vehicle we operate once the car is put into park.

Fuel is a difficult commodity to come by in this world, and these hybrid cars can only go so far on electric power.

One of the guards holds open the door while two others point their weapons at Jonah, motioning him to exit the car.

“Why is the prisoner not restrained?” a guard asks; I think his name is Ryan.

Amos responds with, “He’s not a danger to us. In fact, he saved our lives. But he is a legatus of Dr. Tuwile’s Praetorian Guard.”

At the mention of the Praetorian Guard, every single one of the guards on duty outside our car grips their weapons tighter, focusing their aim directly at Jonah’s head.

“Calm down, boys,” I say, turning around to see Jonah take a hesitant step out of the car.

“Listen to Lori. This man has sensitive information. He is not to be harmed. Escort him to conference room three.”

“Yes, sir,” they all say in response.

As the guards surround Jonah, taking him inside, I hop out of the car to help Amos.

My mom intercepts me though, pulling me into a hug that would likely suffocate me if she didn’t stop in the next ten seconds.

I gently nudge out of the hug and slither over to the passenger side of the car where Amos has already opened the door.

My mom screams when she sees the stump of his arm.

“Oh my god, Amos! What happened?”

“I’m fine, Cathy.” Amos hops out without any assistance, but I’m there a second later as he loses his balance.

When I steady him, I take a step away to give him some space, not wanting to smother him.

“Angie and Ruth patched me up with some of Lori’s skin.”

“Your arm,” my mom says in shocked astonishment, as if she didn’t hear a single word Amos said.

Amos looks down at the phantom limb.

“It’s…gone. Oh my god, Amos. What happened?”

I interrupt my mother’s interrogation.

“You can examine him inside, Mom, and ask us whatever questions you have.”

My mom nods, standing aside to let us through.

“I’ve sent someone to fetch Anna and Jeremy. Norman has been bothering me for days about where the two of you could be. He had a theory that you weren’t taking this mission seriously and had shacked up somewhere to fornicate.”

I burst out laughing and Amos gives a little chuckle, holding back the pain he must be feeling.

“Is that your wording, Mom? Or Norman’s?” I ask.

“Norman’s,” my mom says with a laugh.

Then she inspects me closely, eyeing me suspiciously.

I can’t help the blush that spreads across my pale face, making it so obvious.

“You two didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?” My voice instinctively turns on its defensive mode, which makes me sound incredibly guilty.

“Fornicate?” Amos asks, the weight of him getting heavier as I hold him up.

He must be at his limit.

“Yes, we did. Many times. Even after I lost the other end of this.” Amos holds out his arm, putting the stump on full display.

“Though she was much gentler with me.” He has no freaking shame right now, whereas I’m sure my face is the color of a beet.

I’m gonna hit him. I’m gonna punch him right in that beautiful, perfect face.

“You’re lucky you’re injured,” I scowl, but I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips.

Amos chuckles again, the deep tones of his laughter pulling at my core.

My mom clears her voice.

“So you were fornicating.”

The three of us burst out laughing, a sound that should not be possible after the week we had.

As if the universe needed to knock us back in balance, Norman comes rushing over, staring at Amos and what’s left of his arm.

“What happened? Why did you bring back a member of the Praetorian Guard? Where is the rest of your arm?”

Comedic relief scene over.

Now it’s back to business.

“Let’s go somewhere private. One of the medical rooms, perhaps?” I suggest, now seeing all the curious eyes looking our way.

My mom nods, leading us upstairs and into the room I had once occupied as a pseudo prisoner.

Norman keeps quiet in the corner, allowing my mother to examine the healing wound that is Amos’ arm.

Angie had stitched a large patch of my skin over the stump, covering more than was necessary to allow for a bit of cushioning over the bone.

To everyone’s astonishment, my skin healed the incision.

It took longer than if it was a wound on my body.

Still quite miraculous.

Even the stitches have been removed.

As my mom continues to examine the closed wound that should have taken weeks to get to this stage of healing, I say without thinking, “I keep wondering if I could have prevented this from happening. If my skin can do this, what if I acted faster and…I dunno…sucked the zombie venom out like you do with a snake bite?”

My mom gasps and Norman jumps up from the corner, whisper shouting, “You were bitten! And you came back to The Valley? Amos, you know our rule. Anyone bitten must remain outside our walls. There are no exceptions.”

“It’s almost like you wanted me to die out there, Norman,” Amos says casually, doing his best to keep his cool-guy persona up even though he’s about to collapse.

“I was bitten four days ago. No fever. No sign of infection. Jonah sliced off my arm within seconds. He stopped the virus from spreading. He saved my life. That is why I brought him here.”

Anna and Jeremy walk in with questions and concerns for Amos while my mom asks, “Jonah’s here?” and Norman says, “Fascinating. Where exactly was the bite?”

“Okay, okay. Let’s do one question at a time, folks!” I yell, feeling overwhelmed all of a sudden.

“First, we need to let Amos rest. He had to be on alert during the entire drive to give me directions back here.”

“I’m fine, Lori,” Amos says, reaching out for me with his injured arm as if he forgot he had no hand attached.

I can see the sorrow in his eyes at the realization of what he tried to do.

In two steps, I stand in between his legs, holding him tightly in my arms. “I know you are fine , Amos. But you need to sleep. Please. I can handle their questions.”

I feel him sigh in relief, his breath tickling against my collarbone.

When I release him, he looks up at me with tired eyes, ready to give in.

I lie him down on the bed he’s been sitting on and press my lips against his forehead.

“I’ll be close by if you need me, okay?”

He smiles drunkenly, eyes fluttering closed as he falls effortlessly to sleep.

Amos needed more sleep than I thought, so I stayed in his hospital room for the night, cuddling up on the armchair in the corner.

I spent hours with my mom, Norman, Anna, and Jeremy, answering their endless questions.

There was only so much I could say.

The rest was for Jonah to answer.

As everyone recessed for the night, I pulled Anna back into the office we had been conferring in, asking what Amos and I needed to do to get one of those couples rooms. I thought I’d surprise Amos when he’s ready to leave the health center.

Turns out it’s a bit of a process to secure one of those couple suites.

They are exclusively for couples in a serious relationship.

I hadn’t thought much about the seriousness of our relationship, as it’s brand freaking new.

But I know one thing: I don’t want anyone else but Amos.

Still, I’m not sure we are meant for this kind of relationship.

The steady climb to marriage, which will then lead to having children.

Amos and I are fighters.

Domesticity isn’t the life I had imagined.

Maybe once we defeat Doctore.

Maybe. And yet…I still asked Anna if we could apply for one of the couple’s suites.

I fell asleep thinking about how different life would be with Amos if we didn’t live in this messed up world.

Then again, would we have ever met?

I’d likely still be with Jonah.

The door to Amos’ hospital room opens, but my mind is still too groggy from sleep, so I keep my eyes closed, hoping whoever it is will leave us alone.

“Can I come in?” Jonah asks.

I don’t hear another voice.

That must mean he’s on his own.

Or perhaps someone has escorted him here.

My eyes are too tired to see for myself.

Amos lets out a grunt of approval and the next thing I hear is the door closing behind Jonah and his footsteps approaching Amos’ bed.

Their hushed tones spark my curiosity, so I keep my breathing even, pretending to be asleep as my ex and my new boyfriend have a civil conversation.

“Did anyone try to kill you?” Amos asks.

“A few. Lori’s mom and Norman were very convincing. I answered all their questions, kept nothing from them.”

“So you kept your word. Good.” Amos sounds stronger today, his voice rich and deep.

Just the vibrations of his voice send me into a frenzy.

Jonah clears his throat before saying, “I hope you know I won’t try to get in the way between you and Lori. I love her. I will never stop loving her. But I don’t deserve her love again for what I’ve done to her. To us. When I saw the two of you, I felt a pang of jealousy but also relief. All I want is for Lori to be happy. Thank you for being that person to bring her happiness. Thank you for saving her life. Two things I couldn’t do for her.”

Amos is so silent I’m about to open my eyes to see his reaction when he says, “Then I won’t have to kill you.” There’s no tension or anger in his voice, just a passive understanding of a simple fact.

“Before I go, I wanted to fill you in on something I briefed the other leaders on.” Jonah pauses, waiting for Amos to respond.

“Go ahead.”

“Doctore has been looking for Lori. That is why our attacks have been more frequent and, well, messier. He’s been able to replicate her reaction to the cure, but he needs more of her DNA to purify the concoction. A few more subjects were successful but didn’t have a lasting effect like Lori. They ended up turning after a few weeks. Lori has been the only success. He’s becoming desperate to create this army of super soldiers. Even testing on his own soldiers which has created doubt among his people. I’ve weeded the doubtful out, careful not to shine a spotlight on us. There were not enough of us to fight and win, but I’m hoping they are continuing to plant more seeds of doubt.”

Amos makes a sound, like a grunt, then is quiet for a long time before he says, “Lori told me about the baby.”

Jonah’s sigh of grief nearly pulls me from my fake sleep.

Then I remember how he denied our baby.

How he dropped me off at the lab when I was bleeding.

How he said nothing.

Just as he’s doing now.

Remaining silent.

“Do you know what Doctore has done with it?” Amos asks.

My heart pounds in my chest so loud I’m sure they can hear it.

When Jonah answers, I squeeze my fingernails into my palms to keep from screaming out.

“Yes. He showed me. She didn’t…it took everything inside me not to break when I saw her decayed body. Doctore took from her just as he took from Lori. He explained to me then why it was essential to get Lori back. That he couldn’t use the DNA of her undead offspring. It wasn’t enough. Then he incinerated her little body right in front of me.”

Tears of fury force their way out from underneath my eyelids.

I fight to hold back the shaking that radiates from my heart.

The pounding in my ears blocks out everything else Jonah and Amos say.

It isn’t until I feel a warm hand on my cheek that I open my eyes.

Amos’ golden eyes glow with concern.

“I didn’t know you were awake. I’m so sorry you heard that. Are you okay?”

The grief I was holding inside me rushes forward like a broken dam.

I throw myself into Amos’ outstretched arm.

I don’t know how, but he lifts me up and brings me to the bed, placing me on his lap as he kisses away my tears.

“I’m so sorry, Lori,” Jonah says, standing awkwardly by the door.

Before I can answer, Amos says, “We’ll continue our talk another time.”