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“He’s slept next to you three nights in a row.”
“He takes the space next to me when I’m already sleeping and is gone before I wake up.There’s no pillow talk if that’s what you’re hoping for.I see him at dinner like everyone else.Then he stays up, watching movies with whoever isn’t on guard duty.Rinse and repeat, Patrick.What’s going on?”
He leaned forward and laced his fingers together on the surface of the table.
“He was bitten and didn’t turn, Andie.We need to know that he’s actually on our side before we take him back to Irwin for a cure.”
My conversation with Katie came back.
“He needs to be on our side and willing to come with us,” I said.
“Of course,” Patrick said too quickly.He even added a wave as if that gesture magically erased all of my concerns.It didn’t.
“Spread the word,” he said.“We head west in the morning.”
My chest tightened at the thought of going home.
I nodded and left the kitchen, going back outside.When I reached the barn, I glanced back at the house and saw Mateo on the roof with Roni.I lifted my hand to let them know everything was fine then walked around the side of the barn toward the growing body pile.
It didn’t matter that I was armed.Crossing that field in the open was a stupid thing to do, and I hadn’t come this far only to die.Which was why I needed to test my theory before we left this place.
Several hundred feet still separated me from the infected pile when Molev jogged out of the trees.
“Hey, Molev.Looks like you’re going for a record.”
He stopped in front of me and said nothing.
“Can we talk?”
“We are talking.”
I smiled slightly.He was very literal.
“There’s a place on the west coast that has access to a lot of scientists and other smart people who want to stop this sickness from spreading and save whoever is left.Patrick wants to go there with you.They’re going to want to take samples of your blood to study it and see if they can find a way to come up with a cure or a vaccine against whatever is killing us.”
He looked off toward the buildings.
“Mya warned us that humans would either fear us or try to use us.”
“Mya sounds pretty smart.”
“She is.”
“Then you already know you’re going to get a lot of both—fear and manipulation—if you head west with us.”
He pinned me with his gaze.“Do you fear me?”
“There’s not much I fear lately.Fear tends to get people killed.”
He grunted.
“Should I go?”he asked.
“That’s something only you can decide.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
I gave a dry laugh.“I feel like you’re testing how selfless I am.I won’t pass that test, Molev.Yes, I want you to go with and endure rounds of testing and face the very real possibility that some idiot might try to restrain you just so I can save my nephew.
