Page 69 of Grave Danger

“Oh, we’ll have time for that later,” Demmy said. “I still need a turn, remember?”

“You know I can hear you both,” Tracey said, not looking up from the card catalog. “And I’m officially grossed out.”

Cody sighed and returned his attention to the tiny, slanted writing in the book before him. He slowly turned pages and tried to convince himself Tracey wasn’t watching his every move.

“I have no idea how to even start here,” Cody said with a heavy sigh as he sat back. “This feels overwhelming and useless right now. Outside of this building, people who should be in caskets are walking around, and they’re biting people and turning them into zombies.”

Tracey gave him a sharp look. “Someone’s been turned from a bite?”

“Oh, yeah.” Demmy twisted around in his chair to look at her. “This guy who was a mechanic at an auto repair shop near our office was bitten. He attacked me, and to save me, Cody hit him in the head with a rock.”

A nervous twist in Cody’s stomach preceded a tightening sensation high in his chest. He felt a quick wave of nausea, but it passed.

He had killed a man. And not that long after hitting the mayor with his truck. He’d really been racking up the body count lately.

Tracey and Demmy were talking, but Cody couldn’t focus on what they were saying. He looked at the book before him, and the words blurred and merged together into one nonsensical mess. The sight of it made him feel even more sick to his stomach, and he stood.

“Excuse me,” he said. “Bathroom.”

He headed for the door, peeling the cotton gloves from his sweaty hands. The hallway that had seemed narrow before felt even more closed in, and he paused a moment to close his eyes and suck in a stuttering breath. This was fine; everything was fine; he was okay.

Someone had burned something in the ancient microwave, and the smell of it hung heavy in the still air. With one hand against the wall, he walked along the hallway and sighed with relief when he stepped out into the relatively open area behind the desk. The bearded man with the glasses stood a few feet away, his back to Cody as he checked out books for a woman. She gasped at the sight of Cody, and the bearded man snapped his head around, eyes narrowing behind his black frames.

“What do you want?” the man asked.

“Bathroom?”

Bearded and bespectacled waved in a general direction to Cody’s right. “It’s over there.”

Cody bumped through the swinging gate and walked in the direction he’d indicated. His feet felt heavy and his head hollow. Every step he took seemed to echo inside his skull. What the hell was happening to him? Had he become infected as well and was turning into a zombie?

The bathrooms were around the corner from the main desk, and he banged through the door for the men’s room. It was mercifully empty, and he went into the single stall and closed the door. Leaving his pants up, he sat on the toilet seat and put his head in his hands, taking slow, deep breaths. What the hell was going on with him?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Demetrius didn’t find much useful information in any of the books Tracey suggested for him. There were references to the risen dead, but everything was short on detail. The only thing that each book seemed to be in agreement on was a blow to the head was the only way to stop them.

He had been distracted while researching, however, worried about Cody. He hadn’t looked good when he’d left for the bathroom, and he hadn’t come back. After some time, Demetrius had sent him a text asking if he was okay. Cody had responded after a time that he was fine, but the room had been getting to him so he was waiting in the truck.

“Thanks for your help,” Demetrius said as he removed his gloves and dropped them in the basket next to the table. “I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.”

Tracey brushed by him and walked off down the hall. Demetrius heard her talking with someone and figured it was more than likely her possessive bearded boyfriend, Heathcliff, who Demetrius had seen earlier lurking within the shelves. Demetrius stepped from the hallway into the space behind the desk and found the two of them standing close together, talking quietly. Heathcliff noticed him and touched Tracey’s arm, and they both stared at him without saying a word.

“Thanks again,” Demetrius said, and gave a quick wave before hurrying out from behind the desk.

He stopped into the men’s room, then exited the library and walked quickly to the truck. Cody had moved it to a shaded spot beneath a tree, and he sat behind the steering wheel, windows down and seat tipped back, the local classic rock station on the radio.

“Hi there,” Demetrius called when he was a short distance away. “Feeling better?”

Cody stirred and smiled. “Hey. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Demetrius got in on the passenger side. “Good. Sorry if that was boring for you.”

“It was fine. That tiny room started to feel claustrophobic after a while, and I needed to get out of there. Find out anything?” Cody raised his seat back.

“Nothing more than we already knew. Sometimes the old books just don’t come through.”