Page 52

CHAPTER 51

Noah

“W hat are you talking about, lady?” Mallory questions.

The zombie stops in its tracks, sniffing the air but not rushing towards her. It's odd watching something I’ve seen a dozen times attack anyone else, but Mallory just stands there. The zombie couldn’t care any less about her. It’s not going after her like a happy meal you would expect.

“It’s beautiful; I–I could never imagine, this is just beautiful.” The other doctor mutters, his eyes glued to Mallory.

“Don’t be creepy,” Mal hisses. “I’d appreciate it if you'd tell me what you mean by ‘ she’s what we’ve been waiting for.’ Not great first impressions.”

“Leash subject X,” Mom orders. The guard does as he is told, backing the zombie up.

“There’s only one percent in the entire world who has Rh-null. It’s almost unheard of to find a living person with it. You see, the human body is unique, especially when it comes to their blood. A positive, B positive, all of them. But only two in the world who stood a chance during the outbreak. Rh-null has a unique makeup; it’s been known to be called ‘the golden blood’. They lack the RH antigens in their red blood cells. It makes them the universal recipients for all blood types. But unfortunately they can’t take any other blood. So while useful during most transfusions and operations, it can be… difficult to keep them alive. Our late Rh-null patient unfortunately died.”

I stand there, Reed’s head pressed against the back of my leg. I try to hold my composure, but I just can’t take it anymore.

“So what you’re saying is I’m some kind of freak?” Mallory asks. I roll my eyes; of course that would be her first question.

“No, darling, I’m saying you’re special. So special that they don’t care about you. I would love if we could test?—”

“Yeah, no. I’m going to stop you there. I don’t do well on tests, and we’re in a little bit of a time crunch.”

“We’re not testing you; it’d be your blood.” Mom tries to reason.

“What does this have to do with Reed?” I finally speak up. Mom glances over Mal at me, the slight twitch in her brow as if she had forgotten I was even here. No love. Nothing.

“Patient X, he has the other rarest blood type. While it’s rare, it’s not uncommon to find. You just have to search a little harder.”

“What are you talking about?” I snap.

“AB negative. Just like Rh-null, only one percent of the population has it, but it’s their plasma that we want. You see, while Rh-null is undesirable to subject X?—”

“So you’re saying I’m immune?” Mallory interrupts.

“Yes, you’re immune. It’s been shown that those with Rh-null blood can be bitten and not turned. Whereas our Patient X, he’s turned?—”

“A zombie?” I shake my head, blinking slowly.

“Yes. He’s not fully human anymore, though he’s also not like subject X. But not all AB negative blood types have been turned. Some just simply die; they don’t come back, nor do they wake up. It’s like going to sleep and never waking up.” Mom explains.

“That can’t be; I’ve seen him—he eats, drinks—he’s never eaten a person.” I whisper, confused.

“Like I said, he’s not fully like subject X. He can eat, drink, and do anything a human can. But he’s not fully human either. In a way he died when he was bitten; his blood just fought off the infection but left the virus.”

“So you—you were what? Experimenting on him? What were you injecting him with?” I yell.

“We’re scientists; if we can’t learn from our past mistakes, how do you expect us to learn from it?” Mom asks, tilting her head to the side, clearly wanting to be done with this conversation.

“That doesn’t explain what you were doing to him!”

“It’s none of your concern.”

I glance over my shoulder, my eyes falling to Reed, my mind racing, trying to piece together every moment we spent together. He never once looked at me like I was food. Sure, he had a horny expression, but it was never like he wanted to actually take a bite out of me.

Milky eyes.

The muzzle.

There were signs the entire time, and I was too dumb to put them together. I was too blind by loving him to see?—

“I don’t care.” I blurt out. “We’re leaving this place; you’re not keeping him.”

Mom opens her mouth when suddenly the building shakes. The distraction.

The other doctor screams as pieces of crumbling ceiling come down. The guard's grip loosens on the leash, the zombie’s finger gripping into the nurse's arm. Her high-pitched scream echoes around the room just as the zombie latches its mouth into her skin.

An alarm blares through the room, all the lights turning red. Maverick is running into the room, not stopping until he’s looping an arm around Reed’s back and lifting.

“Time to go!” He yells. I swallow the lump in my throat and grab Mallory's hand. Racing out of the lab's door, I take the second hallway, pulling Mallory with me. I hear Reed grunt in pain behind me, and while I want to yell at Maverick, I know he’s doing this to help us. Chaos breaks out, scientists running out of their rooms, searching around for the problem. Each step almost feels like my last as I push forward, pushing the fear of being caught behind. I don’t have time to stop, no time to think.

I lead us to the back of the lab, where there’s an exit that is used only for emergencies. I can taste the freedom as we round the next corner. The path feels endless, stretching out in front of us. Every sound feels like a potential threat.

One more step.

One more.

We round the second corner, the heavy metal door coming into view. I hear the guttural noises behind us, people screaming, begging for help.

“Oh, fuck!” Mallory screeches. “Mav, wh–what did you do?” She asks as I trip into the door panel.

“Nothing.” Maverick grunts. “But you might want to open that door before we become supper for the dead.”

My finger trembles over the panel, keying in the code. Just as I hear the hiss of the door opening, I turn around, frozen at the sight of zombies painting the white, sterile walls now red.

“Yup, time to go!” Mallory screams, pushing the door open. Chaos erupts; my vision blurs as the four of us stumble out the door, zombies growling and snapping their teeth. We race out the door, yelling, and gunfire echoes from the building.

Looping my arm around Reed's side, Maverick and I nearly drag Reed across the lawn. I can feel them behind us, chasing us like a happy meal on wheels. People scream, alarms blaring. The facility is drowning in disruption. The cries for help rip through the air, shrill and panicking. The clearing becomes a blur of motion—people running, fighting, and falling to the ground as zombies tear their skin apart. Blood stains the ground as screams pierce the air. The zombies tear into the people roaming about without hesitation.

My eyes zero in on a woman, clawing at the pavement, her nails breaking as she tries to pull herself away. The zombies latch their teeth into her flesh, blood soaking her shirt. Blood sprays from her wounds, her scream slowly dying.

“Don’t stop!” Maverick shouts.

A man in front of us swings a metal pipe at a zombie, crushing its skull. I open my mouth to warn him that there's one behind him, but it’s too late. The man is knocked out, his chin bouncing off the pavement. The thing's teeth sink into his back, flesh hanging from its mouth.

My breath is sharp and burning as I try not to trip over my own feet. Reed is counting on me—I need to remember that. But every step feels like a struggle; his knees wobble, his head hanging low. Reed’s weight presses me down, each movement testing my own limits.

“We’re almost there!” Mallory yells.

The dock comes into view, my eyes zeroing in on Rue and Ghost already there. Rue sees us, shouting something to Ghost.

We’re so close I can taste the freedom. The air is thick with the scent of iron and death, echoes of screaming drowned out by the inhuman growls.

Our feet hit the wooden planks of the dock, rattling beneath us as we reached the boat. Rue holds a hand out, helping Mallory and then us. We scramble to the bench, fear gripping me as Ghost tugs on the engine. He curses under his breath when it doesn’t start. My body trembles as zombies race towards us, their teeth snapping.

He tries two more times, “Fuck!” He growls when it doesn’t start. I grip the edge of the boat, waiting for the nightmare of being torn into two to happen.

Ghost yanks the cord one more time, the boat roaring to life. It jerks forward, Mallory falling backwards. Maverick grabs her wrist, pulling her back down. “Sit down,” he orders.

“Yes, sir,” Mallory mutters.

Everything feels numb as I watch the dock slip away, slowly fading until there's not much but the sound of screams coming from the island. I turn my face towards Reed, his eyes dropping as exhaustion quickly takes him over.

“You’re safe now; I got you,” I whisper to Reed. Wrapping my arm around his waist, I lean forward, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You can rest, baby; I got you.”

It’s not until we’re several yards away that the island suddenly goes up in flames; the deafening sound of the BOOM carries over the water.

“Oh fuck,” Rue cringes.

“Rue, you’re never going to guess what I found out,” Mallory grabs her hand, pulling Rue into the seat next to her. “I’m fucking special.”

“Uh huh,” Rue raises a brow, glancing over at me.

I smile, looking at the island that I once called home being burned to the ground.