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“What?”
“That’s the other reason we’re going to wrap Kang. The tank is unwieldy.”
“Where’s he going?” Yet as the words left my mouth, the ugly picture came together. Scowling, I smeared the brain puree over Kang’s chest. “Pierce’s top priority is prepping for the exodus of the Tribe. Kang’s some sort of asset to him, and he wants to kickstart Kang’s recovery and make sure he survives the move.”
Jacques gave a sharp nod. He stood and dropped the case of gauze onto the cart, then began to unwrap bandage rolls, jaw tight.
“You don’t want to be mobile, do you,” I said. “You’ve been through this exodus thing before.”
He released a long breath. “Twice.”
Jacques had never revealed even this much personal information to me before. “It’s bad?” I asked.
He lapsed into silence. I took the hint and returned to goop-smearing while I did my own quiet pondering. Jacques’s reaction to a possible exodus didn’t put me at ease.
Once I had Kang slathered in brain puree, Jacques tossed me a bandage roll, then unwound one of his own and dipped it into the melted paraffin and cinnamon. I followed suit, and together we worked met
iculously to mummy-wrap Kang.
I finished Kang’s right arm and pressed the end of the gauze to seal it. “Fake brains would help. Stop the need to run, I mean.” Non-zombies would have a lot less reason to condemn us as monsters if we didn’t rely on eating their relatives.
Jacques met my eyes. “Pseudobrains are our greatest hope of salvation.”
“Dr. Nikas is close to developing them.” It was a statement and a question.
Jacques smoothed out a lump of paraffin. “It’s Pierce’s belief that Kang knows what we’re missing, or part of it, at least.”
“So that’s what he wants so bad,” I murmured then frowned up at Jacques. “Hang on. Is that why Kang’s the only one who’s regrown his body? Because he has the missing whatever it is?”
“That’s Dr. Nikas’s theory.”
I started to run my goopy fingers through my hair and caught myself in the nick of time. “Holy crap. Did Kang know he had this super thingy that’ll save us all?”
Jacques spread his own goopy hands. “That, I don’t know.”
More questions crowded in, but I realized Jacques likely wouldn’t know the answers. Plus, if I kept pestering him, we’d never finish wrapping Kang. Better for now to see if I could come up with answers on my own, like I had with my theory of why Kang regrew.
“I don’t want to do this exodus bullshit either,” I said as I helped sit Kang up to wrap his torso. “We’ll have to do everything we can to avoid being exposed until Kang’s awake and Dr. Nikas creates the fake brains.”
“And pray that Dr. Nikas succeeds before Pierce decides the risk is too high for us to remain.” He exhaled, shoulders drooping. “The noose tightens.”
He sounded miserable, as if he was watching hope unravel. Anger stirred in my gut on his behalf. To hell with the tightening noose. None of us wanted exodus. Even though I wasn’t working with the head honchos, there was plenty I could do to pull my weight and do whatever needed to be done. We’d get out of this mess. Somehow.
We finished Kang’s torso and laid him flat again, then I began on his lower legs while Jacques wrapped his head. Brain hunger nipped at me as a tingle began in my fingers, but the simple rhythm of dip-and-wrap helped me ignore it. We worked in silence, and at long last Kang was a fully wrapped, bona fide, zombie mummy thing.
Jacques stepped back and peeled paraffin from his hands. “Thank you,” he said with sincerity as he headed for the door. “I’ll get the final data and meet you in the hub.”
I gave him a smile as I cleaned up. “It’s not over yet. We’ll hold it together until Dr. Nikas concocts the fake brains to save us from the mobs.”
“To save us from ourselves.” His eyes were liquid sorrow as they met mine. “I slew and ate those I held most dear. We are monsters.”
• • •
By the time Jacques gave me the readings from Kang’s assessment, I’d managed to shake most of the sick fear his statement had created. Ate those he held dear? No wonder he looked haunted. Monsters. He’d nailed it. There was no sugar-coating the truth.
On a less horrific but more annoying note, the tingle in my fingers had crawled up my arms. My typing speed wasn’t epic to begin with, and it took me twice as long as usual to enter the information in the computer. It was way past time to get my butt out to the car and top off with brains. I glanced at my watch. Only two hours since my last dose of V12. It usually lasted closer to six, but I’d no doubt burned through it faster with all the stress. I’d give myself a little bump as soon as I made it to the car. After all, I wasn’t going to run out of my special mod any time soon.
Humming to myself in happy anticipation, I grabbed my bag and headed for the sliding doors.
