share, or you fuck off."
"I only came here because Erikson and Shauna brought me," I tell her, feeling as if I'm being talked down to a little. "I'm on my way to Lake Ontario."
"Lake Ontario?" She frowns. "Why the hell are you going there?"
"I just..." I start to say, before I realize that maybe she's got a point. Once I accepted that there was nothing left for me in New York, I just assumed that Lake Ontario was my only option, since that's where Mallory and the others went. Now, however, I'm starting to wonder whether there might be a better option somewhere else. I mean, I can't even be sure that they ever made it all the way over there. There's a chance that they changed course, or maybe they ran into trouble. For all I know, they might be dead, and even if I make it all the way up there, I might never find them. "I don't know," I continue after a moment. "I'm still trying to work things out."
"You got any family left alive?"
I shake my head. "I don't think so," I add.
"That's rough," she replies. "Everyone's lost someone. Most people have lost everyone. That's just how it's been going lately. You're in good company, kid. We're not sure how many people are dead, but it seems to be north of 99%, maybe 99.5% or higher. You know what that means?" She waits for me to answer. "It means there might be just a few hundred people left in the entire country, or even in the entire world. I don't know if that makes us lucky or unlucky, but I can tell you one thing for certain. You're not the only one who's alone. Everyone here has lost loved ones, family members, friends... And that's before you even get to some of the other craziness that's been going on."
"Like what?" I ask, still feeling as if I don't really understand what's going on here.
"You not seen them?" she asks.
I stare at her.
"You're lucky," she continues. "There's something going on. Something we haven't managed to figure out yet, but it's the reason you ended up with a bullet in your shoulder. There are creatures... things... They're dead people, but they're a danger. They're not zombies, before you start getting too excited. They're something else, and there aren't many of them, but they're dangerous and we think they might be massing slowly."
"I've seen one," I tell her.
"Where?"
"In New York. In a car. My brother and I found one. We killed it."
"You did, huh?" She pauses. "Where's your brother now?"
"Dead," I tell her.
"Did the creature get her?"
I shake my head.
"Accident?" she asks.
"He was shot," I continue, "by a guy in our apartment building."
"Sorry," she replies.
"It's okay," I say, hauling my legs over the side of the bed and slowly getting to my feet. I have to ignore the sharp pain in my shoulder, but eventually I feel as if I can at least get about. The last thing I want to do is sit here and have some kind of deep conversation about Henry, so I figure I need to change the subject. "Are you sure you took everything out?" I ask, convinced that there's more metal in my shoulder. "It feels like there's something sharp in there."
"It's clear," she says. "Don't worry, it's just a small amount of damage from where the bullet grazed some bone. If we had a proper hospital, I'd have fixed that too, but in the circumstances I couldn't help. You'll get used to it eventually, and it'll pass in a week or two. Until then, if you want my advice, try not to complain too much. People around here won't like it too much if you act like a martyr. That might sound harsh, but the truth is, everyone's carrying aches and pains, so you're hardly special in that regard."
"I got shot," I point out.
"And you're going to be fine," she replies as she walks across the room and opens the door. "Trust me, there are people here who aren't going to be fine. Not at all. Toad, for example, has seen some things. He doesn't talk about it, but I know something traumatized him. He used to be better at talking, but he's started to withdraw into his shell, and now he barely
"I only came here because Erikson and Shauna brought me," I tell her, feeling as if I'm being talked down to a little. "I'm on my way to Lake Ontario."
"Lake Ontario?" She frowns. "Why the hell are you going there?"
"I just..." I start to say, before I realize that maybe she's got a point. Once I accepted that there was nothing left for me in New York, I just assumed that Lake Ontario was my only option, since that's where Mallory and the others went. Now, however, I'm starting to wonder whether there might be a better option somewhere else. I mean, I can't even be sure that they ever made it all the way over there. There's a chance that they changed course, or maybe they ran into trouble. For all I know, they might be dead, and even if I make it all the way up there, I might never find them. "I don't know," I continue after a moment. "I'm still trying to work things out."
"You got any family left alive?"
I shake my head. "I don't think so," I add.
"That's rough," she replies. "Everyone's lost someone. Most people have lost everyone. That's just how it's been going lately. You're in good company, kid. We're not sure how many people are dead, but it seems to be north of 99%, maybe 99.5% or higher. You know what that means?" She waits for me to answer. "It means there might be just a few hundred people left in the entire country, or even in the entire world. I don't know if that makes us lucky or unlucky, but I can tell you one thing for certain. You're not the only one who's alone. Everyone here has lost loved ones, family members, friends... And that's before you even get to some of the other craziness that's been going on."
"Like what?" I ask, still feeling as if I don't really understand what's going on here.
"You not seen them?" she asks.
I stare at her.
"You're lucky," she continues. "There's something going on. Something we haven't managed to figure out yet, but it's the reason you ended up with a bullet in your shoulder. There are creatures... things... They're dead people, but they're a danger. They're not zombies, before you start getting too excited. They're something else, and there aren't many of them, but they're dangerous and we think they might be massing slowly."
"I've seen one," I tell her.
"Where?"
"In New York. In a car. My brother and I found one. We killed it."
"You did, huh?" She pauses. "Where's your brother now?"
"Dead," I tell her.
"Did the creature get her?"
I shake my head.
"Accident?" she asks.
"He was shot," I continue, "by a guy in our apartment building."
"Sorry," she replies.
"It's okay," I say, hauling my legs over the side of the bed and slowly getting to my feet. I have to ignore the sharp pain in my shoulder, but eventually I feel as if I can at least get about. The last thing I want to do is sit here and have some kind of deep conversation about Henry, so I figure I need to change the subject. "Are you sure you took everything out?" I ask, convinced that there's more metal in my shoulder. "It feels like there's something sharp in there."
"It's clear," she says. "Don't worry, it's just a small amount of damage from where the bullet grazed some bone. If we had a proper hospital, I'd have fixed that too, but in the circumstances I couldn't help. You'll get used to it eventually, and it'll pass in a week or two. Until then, if you want my advice, try not to complain too much. People around here won't like it too much if you act like a martyr. That might sound harsh, but the truth is, everyone's carrying aches and pains, so you're hardly special in that regard."
"I got shot," I point out.
"And you're going to be fine," she replies as she walks across the room and opens the door. "Trust me, there are people here who aren't going to be fine. Not at all. Toad, for example, has seen some things. He doesn't talk about it, but I know something traumatized him. He used to be better at talking, but he's started to withdraw into his shell, and now he barely
Similar Books
