The Truth is Contagious (The Contagium Series Book 4) (32 page)

“Why didn’t he come himself?” the woman
pressed.

I looked at Wade and smiled. Would they even
believe me? “He wanted to get some sleep before sunset,” I
answered. “So I offered to bring you the eggs.”

The woman shook her head. “I know Armand. He
wouldn’t trust strangers.”

“I’m not a stranger.” I stuck the arrow back
in the quiver. “I’m his granddaughter.”

A few seconds ticked by with everyone staring
at me. “Orissa?” the woman finally spoke.

“In the flesh.”

She blinked several times. “Really?”

“She is,” a younger woman said, pushing past
the line of people. “She looks just like the girl in the picture.”
She stopped in front of Bentley and studied me. “And she has the
same greenish-blue eyes that Armand has.” She inhaled. “He swore
you’d make it.”

“I did.” I took the bag of eggs off my
shoulder.

Bentley moved forward to take them from me.
“The old man said he had a granddaughter, but he never said she was
hot.” He winked.

“It would be really creepy if my own
grandfather described me as ‘hot’.” I let go of the bag. Bentley
was several inches taller than me, which made looking down my shirt
easy. I pulled the quiver strap between my breasts, pushing the
tank top in and blocking his view. “Do you guys need anything
else?” I asked, backing away from Bentley.

“Company,” he said and pushed his hair back
from his face while biting his bottom lip. It was something he’d
practiced, something he knew drove women wild. Just not this
one.

The older woman took the bag from him and
looked inside. “No, we’re good, thank you. We just went on a run
with Armand—your grandpa I mean—a few days ago.” She didn’t take
her eyes off of me. “I just can’t believe it. I almost didn’t
believe you were real. Well, I mean I knew you were from the
pictures but the stories he told about you.” She shook her head.
“Look at you! You’re here—alive. With a bow and arrows just like he
said,” she laughed. “You grandpa wouldn’t stop talking about how
good you were at archery.”

Bentley laughed. “We don’t know if she’s
really
that good.”

“She is,” Wade said through gritted
teeth.

Bentley held up his hand. “Settle down there,
solider.”

“I’m not a soldier,” Wade said slowly. “I’m a
Marine.”

Bentley rolled his eyes. “There’s a
difference?”

I put my hand on Wade’s arm. “There is,” I
said. “A big difference that you’re obviously too ignorant to
know.” I wanted to leave before this Bentley guy pissed both of us
off.

“Do you want anything?” the older woman
asked. “We have running water.”

It was hot in the school. And I was thirsty.
Ever since I was intubated, a dry throat led to a sore throat, and
I wanted to avoid that if possible. “Sure,” I said. “But then we’re
gonna leave. I haven’t seen my grandpa in a while.”

She moved her head up and down. “I
understand, honey. I’d love to hear your story if you don’t mind.”
She turned, waving us into the room they’d emerged from. “I’m
Marla, by the way. This is my sister Anne.” The younger woman gave
me a tight smile. Marla went on to introduce the four others in her
group, but I didn’t pay much attention. I wanted to get home.

We went into a classroom. It was set up like
a studio apartment with different types of furniture making up
little rooms. The back wall of the room butted up with the
courtyard. Electrical cords came from a solar powered generator,
powering lights, an MP3 player, and several fans.

The wall to our right had a doorway sized
hole cut into it. A sheet hung above it, currently pulled to the
side. Marla led us through it. The second classroom also had a view
of the little courtyard. Students with perfect attendance or those
who’d made the honor roll got to eat lunch in the courtyard on nice
days.

I never did...

A garden had been planted where the picnic
tables used to be. From the quick look I took, it appeared that the
crops were doing well. Buckets had been set out to collect
rainwater from the storm.

Beds were set up in the second room. There
were more lamps and fans in here and half the library. There was
another hole functioning as a door. Marla lifted the curtain and
went into the teacher’s lounge.

“I always wondered what it looked like,” I
said out loud. Surely it had been rearranged since school
permanently let out. It was set up very much like a living room,
with couches and lounge chairs angled around a flat screen TV. Next
to that was a little kitchen. Boxes and cans of food were piled on
the small counter.

Marla turned the sink on, letting the water
run for a few seconds before she stuck a glass under it.

“Thanks,” I said when she handed it to
me.

“Does your boyfriend want some?” she asked
me, casting her eyes to Wade, who stood in the threshold.

“I’m sure he does,” I said. “But he’s not my
boyfriend.” I drained the glass and set it on the counter. The
school wouldn’t be my first choice to stay, but it worked. My
grandpa had made it safe and these people had made it livable. I
never would have thought of any of this.

I left the teacher’s lounge, finding Wade
talking to one of the guys, who had asked where we had come from. I
went into the hall, compelled to keep watch in the halls. The last
time the guys and I went into a school things ended badly.

His cowboy boots scuffled along the carpet in
the classroom behind me. I pretended not to notice.

“Why so eager to leave, sweetie?”

I hated pet names. I hated them even more
when a stranger used them. “Maybe it’s because I’m eager to see my
grandpa. It’s been a while, ya know.”

“It’s been a while for a lot of things.”
Bentley leaned on the door, crossing his arms over his chest. His
light brown hair fell into his eyes. He pushed it back, tossing his
head up a bit. Why did he look so familiar?

“Are you from here?” I asked.

“Nope. Born and raised in Texas, baby.”

“Ugh. Texas,” I huffed. I could never go back
and it would be too soon.

“You got something against the Lone Star
State?” he asked, raising his eyebrows in a lame attempt to fake
offense.

“Not the state but some people in it.” I
could still smell the charred flesh from the explosions. I blinked
and tore my eyes away from Bentley. It bugged me that I couldn’t
remember where I had seen him.

“Ex-boyfriend?”

“Nope.” I pulled on the quiver. Sweat beaded
under it.

“Current boyfriend?”

“Why would I have something against a current
boyfriend?”

Bentley laughed. “I’m just guessing here,
lady.” He moved closer. His eyes were blue. Not as vivid-blue as
Padraic’s. I felt suddenly homesick…homesick for the compound and
my friends. I sighed and leaned against the wall, propping one leg
up behind me.

“What?” I said, feeling Bentley’s eyes on
me.

He laughed and ran a hand through his hair
again. “I’m sorry. I just haven’t seen a good looking woman in a
long time.” He held up his hands. “Not that you’re only good
looking because of that. I’d hit on you anyway.” He flashed a
smile. There was something about him that was so familiar. It
bugged me in the worst way.

“Now you’re staring,” he said, flashing that
smile again.

“You look familiar.” I shook my head. “But I
can’t remember where we would have met.”

He straightened up. “I supposed I might.” He
stuck out his hand. “Bentley Owen.”

I stared at his hand then back up at him,
confused. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

Bentley’s face dropped. “You’ve never heard
of me? Seriously? Have you been living under a rock?”

His blatant distaste stuck a cord. “No
rocks.” I turned away.

“Then you must not like good music.” He
recovered fast, smiling again. Then it clicked. I had seen his face
on an album cover from Hayden’s iPod. Right. Bentley Owen was a
country singer.

“The worse taste,” I said sarcastically.

“I think I can forgive you.”

“Great. I can sleep tonight.” I pushed off
the wall and walked down to the main door to check for danger.

“Mmm,” Bentley said to himself, purposely
loud enough for me to hear. “I hate to see you go but…”

I rolled my eyes. His one-liners and
compliments might have worked on fan girls but would do nothing for
me, even if my heart didn’t already belong to someone else. I
turned around, walking back to the classroom. “So,” Bentley asked.
“You really as good with that thing as your crazy grandpa says?” He
pointed to my bow.

Big mistake, Bentley.
Big
mistake. “My
grandfather is not crazy.” It was a flat out lie. My grandpa
bordered insanity on a regular basis. But I wasn’t going to let
someone get away with calling him out on it. “I can promise you, if
it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t be alive.”

“Damn. You and your solider boy have quick
tempers.”

“He’s a Marine,” I repeated slowly.

“Hey now, I didn’t mean to offend. You’re
right. Armand is a crazy son of a bitch but he’s the reason we’re
standing here and I’m eternally grateful for that.”

Wade walked out of the classroom. “Ready,
Riss?” he asked.

“A world of yes,” I told him.

Marla thanked us again, still a little
flabbergasted with the whole situation. She said she’d walk us out,
wanting to make sure everything was locked correctly after we left.
She was smart.

Bentley followed, telling us about how many
zombies he had killed and how awesome he was at it. Marla caught my
eye and smiled, shaking her head.

“Be careful out there,” she said and lifted
the metal drop down gate. “And tell your grandpa we miss him.”

“I will. You guys be careful too.” My hand
flew up out of instinct to grab an arrow.

“Will we see you again?” she asked then
quickly shook her head. “Sorry, I know you want to see your
grandpa. I have so many questions for you.”

“Understandable,” I told her with a
smile.

Bentley rushed forward to get the door for
me. “I hope we do see you again.” He smiled at me, flashing those
white teeth. I resisted the urge to make a gagging sound and walked
out the door.

* * *

Hayden and my grandpa stood out in the rain,
looking at the machine gun mounted on the bed of the truck. A smile
crept up on me no matter how hard I tried to resist it. Hayden
pointed to something and my grandpa nodded. He clapped Hayden on
the back, smiling.

Was this really happening? I blinked. Of
course it was. I meet the man of my dreams, someone my grandpa
actually liked, when everyone around us was dying. It wouldn’t
happen any other way for me. I stepped on the gas, turning the Jeep
off after it came to a halt.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out, holding
my hand over my face to keep rain from splashing in my eyes.

“Hey, Riss,” Hayden said, looking up at me.
His eyes met mine and my heart skipped a beat. “Everything go
ok?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “Whatcha doing out
here?”

“Your grandpa wanted to see the machine gun,”
Hayden said. He stepped away from the truck and pulled me to him,
pressing his lips against my forehead.

“You guys getting along?” I asked
quietly.

Hayden nodded, giving me a small smile.
“We’ll be in soon.”

“Ok. I won’t intrude.” Wade and I went
inside. I took off my boots and flipped my head upside down,
fluffing my wet hair to help it dry faster. I could see Jason
walking back and forth on the back porch, keeping an eye on things.
Wade went outside with him, leaving me alone in the house.

I pulled my t-shirt over my head, leaving on
my tank top, flipping it right side out to dry and wrapped a
blanket around my shoulders and settled onto the couch in the
living room, tucking my legs up under me.

Why had I missed the compound last night? My
eyes moved around the living room.
This
was home. This was
where I belonged. I closed my eyes and leaned against the arm of
the couch. Raeya would be happy to come back.

Padraic too, maybe. I’d want the rest of my
friends to come, and Jason would bring his sister and Olivia of
course. And then there was Hannah… I sighed. It would never work.
We were needed at the compound.

An odd sense of duty washed over me. The
people at the compound relied on us to survive. No one had ever
counted on me in that way before, not until the dead started eating
the living.

I would never get my grandpa to leave
home…and I didn’t want to leave him. Not again. Hayden wouldn’t
leave me. My chest tightened. I saw no easy way out of this. I
opened my eyes and stared at the fireplace. It was stupid but I
felt like I was betraying this place. I wrapped the blanket tighter
around myself and rolled over so I was facing the back of the
couch.

“Tired?” Hayden asked when he came back
in.

“Kinda,” I answered. My body was exhausted
and begged for sleep. My mind, on the other hand, was too
distraught with conflicting feelings to shut off and let me rest. I
sat up. “You’re soaking wet.” My grandpa stood behind him. “Both of
you.”

“That’s what happens when it rains,” Hayden
said with a wink. “I’m gonna go change now.”

My grandpa took off a long camo-print jacket,
shaking little water droplets onto the floor. My grandma would have
had a fit.

“Hayden told me about the compound,” my
grandpa said.

I didn’t breathe. My muscles tensed and I
stared wide-eyed at my grandpa. “Oh, did he now?” My grandpa nodded
and sat on the couch next to me. “And?” I asked.

“I’ll go back with you.” My grandpa smiled.
“Just to check it out.”

I blinked. Had I heard him right? “You’ll
come with us? I needed to hear him say it again.

He nodded. “Not permanently. Hayden explained
everything.”