Phobia (Interracial Paranormal Romance) (Wisteria) (9 page)

“
I was doing okay,” Wisteria protested.

“
Then why did Sabine have to risk firing a gun to get you out of trouble? Get in the car and lock the doors. We’ll take care of this.” Her mother placed the new tire over the rim.

“
I can take care of myself,” Wisteria argued with her mother. “I can—”

“
Now,” her mother commanded.

Giving Sabine her gun, Wisteria complied. She didn
’t have the strength to argue with her. Moreover, this wasn’t the place to have a debate, it was the place to keep quiet and out of sight.

Once inside, she locked the car doors
and watched Aunty Jenny battle the nearing biters with an axe. Sabine also did her best to thin out the growing swarm. Suddenly, Wisteria looked in the opposite direction at her mother who was still working on the tire. She saw a pair of biters shuffling toward her mother, but her mother couldn’t see them. Unlocking the door, she grabbed her sword and dashed to the pair of infected men. Stabbing the first in the forehead, she cut off the head of the second in two swings.

Three more biters appeared from the darkness and ambled toward her. Before Wisteria could take a step forward, the three biters fell as darts appeared in the heads.

“I told you to wait in the vehicle.” Her mother gripped her arm. “This isn’t a game Wisteria. Get your butt in the car now. Everyone in now, I’m done.” She stomped to the car jumped in and started the engine.

“
They were coming after you.” Wisteria sped after her.

“
Good job.” Sabine hobbled down from the roof of the car. “You did the right thing. I see why you were such a good tracker.”

“
Don’t encourage her.” Her mother started the car. “We’ve got to go.”

Wisteria slid in behind the passenger seat. Sabine sat next to her while Aunty Jenny got in front and her mother drove.

“Sabine watch the right side, Jenny take the left.” Her mother zoomed through the roads of Pottingham village, now teeming with biters, thanks in part to Sabine’s gunshot.

“
This isn’t normal,” her mother noted. “The trackers were out here yesterday. They wouldn’t have come this far if there were this many biters in the village. Even Hailey’s shot wouldn’t attract so many unless—”

“
A swarm might be moving through,” Wisteria guessed.

At times, thousands
of biters or a swarm travelled in the same direction and would overrun almost any community.

“
I—I hope not,” Aunty Jenny stuttered. “I heard—they can be quite unpleasant.”

“
If we encounter an overrun we’re as good as dead, so keep your eyes on the road,” Sabine stated.

“
And keep quiet.” Her mother drove while swerving to miss the biters now crowding the streets. This feat became even more difficult with her lights off as a precaution against attracting any more biters.

Finally, they reached the main road that led to Norton. Getting there, they saw
the street packed with flesh eaters. There seemed to be no way for them to move forward.

“
This
is
a swarm.” Wisteria realized aloud.

“
Hold on.” Her mother reversed the SUV, but stopped as a crowd of hundreds of infected moved toward them.

“
We should use the gas to cure them,” Wisteria proposed. “We’ll have to hold our breath, but it’ll get the biters out of the way.”

The scientists on the island
developed a poisonous gas able to kill the infected. As a tracker, her mother normally kept a few cases in the car.

“
I’d use the gas if we didn’t have to drive into it, otherwise the gas will kill us too,” her mother countered.

“
We’re dead anyway.” Sabine sounded amused. “We might as well do it.”

“
Not necessarily.” Her mother parked the vehicle.

“
What are you doing?” Wisteria asked.

“
Get the gas.” Her mother moved up to the skylight.

The biters began bang
ing and scraping against the sides of the car.

Wisteria reached over into the trunk and grabbed the bag wit
h the cans of gas. She handed a can to her mother.

Removing the wax used to cover the can, her mother tossed
it into the swarming biters outside. “More.”

Wisteria kept handing her mother the gas cans until there were none left.

With the last one gone, her mother slid down, locked the skylight and sat behind the wheel. “Okay.”

By now, t
he windows on the car were covered with the bloody hands of the biters struggling to get in.

“
Could some of the gas get inside here?” Wisteria wondered aloud. “Is this even going to work?”

“
Yeah, it will. If it doesn’t kill us first.” Sabine yawned. “If it does, we’ll go in our sleep.”

“
You think—” Wisteria’s eyes became heavy. The next thing she remembered she was opening her eyes and squinting to adjust to the sunlight.

They were still parked on the Pottingham Street in the SUV, but n
ow rays of sunshine were shinning through the darkness. She must have passed out after being exposed to some of the poison gas. Her head pounding, she struggled to see what could be blocking the windows. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw all the bodies of the biters pressed against the glass. By the look of them, they’d been cured by the gas.

Peering
through the rear window, she saw hundreds of cured biters scattered on the motorway as a few unaffected ones staggered across the street.

“
The worst of the swarm has passed,” her mother whispered.

Wisteria jumped.
“You startled me.”

“
Shh.” Her mother started the SUV and drove forward. “There’re still some biters around.”

The vehicle rocked as they moved over the fallen infected.

“Lara, can you see through the bodies blocking the windows?” Sabine asked as she looked all around.

Sabine had a point.
Six biters were strewn across the windscreen. It was a wonder Lara could see at all. “I’ll move them,” Sabine groaned as she shook her left foot. “Dammit.”

“
Let me.” Wisteria climbed up to the skylight.

“
No,” her mother ordered.

Sabine tried to gra
b after her, but was slowed by her injury.

“
I’ll be fine I’m feeling much better. I normally have more energy in the morning.” Wisteria hoped it was true as she said it. Even though it wasn’t the smartest thing she’d volunteered to do, she needed to remind everyone and herself she could take care of them too.

“
Jenny go after her,” her mother smacked her sister’s arm.

“
Lara, come on. The girl is going to be fine,” Aunt Jenny croaked as if she were still sleepy.

Sliding the skylight open, Wisteria pushed the biters on top off. Then climbed out and sat on the roof, she looked around at the eleven or so infected that lay motionless on the vehicle
and started kicking the bodies off.

When she cleared the infected from the passenger side, her aunt opened the door and stepped out examining
them.

As
Wisteria removed the bodies, something grabbed her ankle.

“
Ahh!” She kicked back and pulled her foot back.

“
What are you doing out here?” A familiar voice called from below. Garfield Simon, her eighteen-year-old best friend and fellow tracker, stood frowning down at her with his crossbow hung over his shoulder.

“
Garfield, what are you doing here?” She felt so glad to see him.

“
Looking for you.” He pointed to three SUVs parked on the street. “The real question is why are
you
in Pottingham?”

Wisteria slid down the side and hugged him.
“I’m not sure I can explain what happened.”

“
You’re going to have to because Coles is livid. He thought you ran away.”

“
It’s none of your business Garfunkel.” Her mother wound down the window.

“
You almost got my friend killed, so it is my concern,” he replied. “What were you thinking, leaving the island at night?”

“
What did you say to me child?” Wisteria’s mother narrowed her eyes at him.

Stunned, Wisteria peer
ed up at her tall curly haired friend in disbelief. No one spoke to her mother that way, least of all Garfield.

“
Good one, Garfield.” Sabine laughed, banging on the window. “I’m glad there is a man inside you.”

“
We’ve got to get you all back or Coles will murder me before he murders you lot,” he spoke to Wisteria while entirely ignoring her mother.

“
Let’s get back.” She attempted to move away from him, but felt queasy from the events of the night before and slumped back into his arms.

“
Whoa.” He caught her. “I’ve got you.”

“
I’m fine.” She forced herself to her feet and out of his arms. “I’m giddy from the gas we used last night.”

“
You used gas? And you guys didn’t leave?” He stared at her mother. “You could’ve suffocated.”

“
We couldn’t leave because there were too many biters. It was impossible for the SUV to move,” Wisteria explained.

“
Well that explains all these.” He gestured to the bodies. “Trust you to cure over two hundred biters, even when you’re still recovering from Nero.”

“
Ladies, sorry to break up the reunion, but we need to go now.” Piers approached carrying a machete in one hand and a dart gun in the other.

“
Shut the hell up Piers.” Garfield laughed.

“
Why does he keep calling you a lady?” Glaring at the pompous jerk, Wisteria wanted to lunge at him, but didn’t have the strength. “Doesn’t he get you can take him?”

Once upon a t
ime, Garfield had been a skinny, short kid with wild curly hair. When she’d met him, he’d been an inch or two taller than her, but now he stood over six feet tall and was more athletic. It was clear why Amanda Weiss finally fell for him. He turned into a hot guy.

Still, the soldiers picked on him from time to time because of who he use
d to be.

“
Wisteria, your girlfriend was so worried, he almost—” Piers continued.

“
Piers, shut up, we need to get back to Smythe.” Garfield fumed. “We don’t have time for this.”

“
Ah, shut up yourself, Garfunkel,” Piers retorted.

“
You should be nicer to me, Piers. I can make Wisteria to get Steven to talk to Lexie. She’s going to be pretty vulnerable now that her benefactor’s dead,” Garfield replied sarcastically. “Since clearly, you’re a lower life form and need to spend time with your own.”

“
Seriously, you bring up Steven here?” Wisteria shuddered.

There seemed to be
no love lost between Garfield and Steven. Mainly, because Steven gave Garfield a hard time when Garfield first arrived in Smythe. Steven alone still called Garfield
a rat boy
, referring to the time when Garfield worked as a rat catcher on the island.

“
Are you two done? Because we need to return to Smythe now,” her mother reminded them.

“
Lara, we wouldn’t be here if you’d not taken this little field trip to Pottingham,” Piers noted.

“
And I’ll remind you that I’ll shoot you in the face.” Her mother produced a handgun. “If you don’t shut up.”

“
Lara, you’re not going to hurt me.” Piers smirked. “Coles won’t allow it.”

“
Son of a—” In seconds, her mother jumped out of the car and held Piers on the ground with his arm behind his back. “Say one more word pretty boy and I’ll break your arm off.”

“
Mum.” Wisteria hurried over. “Stop.”

“
You’re crazy.” Piers struggled to get free.

Prying her mother off Piers, Wisteria noticed a biter shambling toward the group.
“We’ve got to go now. There’re biters coming.”

Glancing
over at Wisteria and then at the biter, her mother released Piers and stomped into the car. “Let’s go.”

Getting behind her mother, Wisteria couldn
’t believe her mother reacted the way she did. Normally, she took out her frustration on biters.

“
What was that about, Lara?” Sabine asked as they drove off.

Her mother didn
’t answer.