“Ridiculous?” Tammy asked.
“I was going to use a more colorful metaphor, but in reality, the only thing that came to mind was ‘fucked.’” She gave her a defeated look. “I’m trying really hard not to adopt the local language.” She glanced at the guards who dropped the ‘F’ bomb like an Oxford comma.
“You won’t even notice after a few months.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sick of this place and would give anything to hit the surf again.”
“California girl?”
Tammy shook her head. “Hawaii.” She grinned as the memories of the weekends flashed through her mind. “I made sure to only apply there for my bachelor’s.”
“Let me guess, Marine Biology?”
Tammy nodded. “You read my file.” She turned and gave her a knowing grin. “Loved every second of it.”
Carol sighed as she stared at the woman still strapped to the table. “We can’t leave her like that forever.”
Tammy spun her chair around and looked at the specimen. “We’re pushing a nutrient IV, and she’s looking as normal as she can, considering. As long as her vitals remain strong, she can stay strapped there indefinitely.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Carol stood and stretched her neck. “I feel like she’s going to break free at any moment and eat us all.”
Tammy shrugged. “She could, and she most definitely would, given the chance. But I think those restraints are strong enough, even for her.”
“I really wanted to find something…anything before the time ran out.” Carol’s voice was low and soft, her eyes scanning the lab. “Andre is probably right, but I hate to just jump ahead and start testing guesses.”
Tammy gave her a solemn stare. “You weren’t here when Dr. Higgins was doing his thing. Trust me, giving her a minor dose of LSD is nothing compared to the stupid shit he was doing.”
Carol tried to push the mental image from her mind. She scooped up the brain scans again and stared at them. “I know I’m missing something.”
Tammy shook her head. “Maybe if we had something to compare it to…but with what we have? You’re seeing what everybody else is seeing.”
Carol stood from her chair and stepped closer to the woman, causing her to tug against the restraints again. “I just wish she could tell us.”
“Tell us what?” Tammy crossed her arms. “She’s even more aggressive than the original Zeds.”
Carol turned and stared at her. “How far are we inland?”
Tammy shrugged. “Too far to drive to the coast for some waves, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Carol shook her head. “For a short time, I was holed up with a woman who was cured.”
Tammy’s eyes widened. “Like, trapped? Or staying with her on purpose?”
Carol laughed. “Both, I suppose.” She glanced back at the woman then to Tammy. “If we could get her to come here…”
Tammy was up out of her chair. “You mean invite her?”
Carol tapped at her chin as she paced. “She wasn’t my first choice for a roommate, but she did save our bacon from a Zed one night.”
“But you said she was cured.”
Carol nodded. “She mentioned something about understanding each other when she was infected.” She looked to Tammy and shrugged. “Have there been any cured Zeds wandering close to here?”
She shook her head. “They wouldn’t tell us if there were.” She fell back into her chair and sighed. “And to be honest, if they still looked infected, odds are these trigger happy idiots would just shoot them.”
“Damn.” Carol pressed both hands to the worktable and clenched her jaw. A moment later her head popped up and she eyed one of the guards. “I need him.”
“Woah…what are you thinking?” Tammy reached for her but she was out of the lab and marching toward the soldier.
Simon sat on the cooler and stared into the woods. He hated the idea of what Trent and the others had planned, and he hated even more that it was his big mouth that had planted the seed. He squeezed his eyes shut and cursed himself.
“Whatcha doin?’” Lana purred.
“Thinking.” He didn’t mean for his voice to be harsh, but that’s how it came across.
She stood behind him and rubbed the muscles of his neck and shoulders. “Oh, wow. You’re tense.”
He nodded absently. “I think I fucked up.”
Her hands paused for a moment but then she continued kneading the muscles. “How?”
“I ran into Trent during my little stroll.” He closed his eyes and hung his head to the side as she worked at the knots.
“And?”
“And, I stepped in it.” He felt her grip tighten and he rocked his head to the other side. “When I mentioned that people were the biggest resource these days, I meant…” He groaned. “Easy. Not so hard.”
“What happened?” She stopped rubbing his shoulders and he looked up at her.
“So he was asking me about the world. If the people were really gone. That sort of thing.”
“Go on.”
“So I told him the truth. Turns out those three boys were running from the law. That’s why they wanted me to get them out of the woods. They thought maybe the cops would still be after them.”
She stepped around and stood in front of him. “I thought the big guy had been down before. He got the food trailer.”
Simon nodded. “Found it waiting on the first highway he came to.” He looked up at her and his face was stoic. “He didn’t know that the rest of the world was as empty as that highway.”
She squatted in front of him. “Okay. So?”
“So…instead of going back down and taking what they want…”
She waved her hand in front of him. “Spit it out.”
He looked into her eyes. “They want to rape the women here. Take over. Have the men serve them, that sort of thing.”
She raised a brow at him. “And what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that if I’d kept my fucking mouth shut, they’d have packed their shit and gone back to the apocalypse. Instead, they want to destroy what little is alive up here.”
She crossed her arms and shook her head
