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A shot rang out as a hand closed over Katie’s ankle.
Her panicked cry filled the cab, and I grabbed her by the shoulders, trying to pull her back inside.A low moan echoed up from underneath us, and I leaned forward enough to see the infected’s hand around her ankle and a hint of its head emerging from the undercarriage.
I pulled harder as she kicked and tried to dislodge its hold.
Another shot rang out.Then another.Suddenly, she flew back into me.
“It let go,” she panted.“I think he got it.”
“Did it bite you?”I asked, glancing at my watch.
“No.My boot wasn’t even fully out the door.If it did bite me, it didn’t break through the leather.”
“Get in the back,” I said.
While she moved to the rear, I aimed my firearm at the open door and waited.
“No movement,” Brandon said after a while.“Was Katie bitten?”
“No.I’m fine.Well, not fine.Can I give my two weeks now?”Katie said.
Brandon laughed into the radio.
“Not worth the loss of your pension.”
I leaned forward, grabbed the door, and slammed it closed.
“Tell him I’m trying my side,” I said.
Once she did, I opened my door and watched below as I extended a leg.No hand thrust out to grab it.
“Stay here,” I said to Katie.
“But Patrick—”
“The timer’s running,” I said, cutting her off.
“Oh.”
I felt bad for saying it, but we couldn’t just take her word that she hadn’t been bitten.Leaving her in the Humvee, I started my sweep under Mateo’s watchful eye.
“You’re clear,” I said to Brandon.
He got out and helped me sweep the rest.We found three more infected hidden in places they shouldn’t have been able to hide.
“How the fuck do they do that?”Brandon said under his breath after shooting one and pulling it out from its place near an axle.
“Look at its leg.”There were friction and heat marks there.“They can’t feel pain, and I bet they don’t feel exhaustion either.That means they’d hang on forever.”
The last vehicle to check was my own again.Brandon and I shared a look as we approached.Katie slowly turned her head.
“Still alive,” she called when she saw us.“Can I get out now?”
Exhaling in relief, I opened the door for her, and Brandon signaled that everything was clear.
Katie gave me a weak smile.“That was a close one.Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again.”
Since it felt like the last three weeks were filled with close calls, I doubted her wish would come true.
