Read Online The Truth is Contagious (The Contagium Series Book 4) by Emily Goodwin - Free Book Online

hiked the bow up on my shoulder and swatted
away the swarm of mosquitoes. The grass gave way to cracked and
faded pavement. My gait slowed as I took it in. Where the hell were
we?
    Hayden and I walked in sync, our boots
hitting the hot pavement together. I kept my eyes on the water,
looking for any sign that this would be a good place to set up and
wait for an unsuspecting animal to cross our path and become our
dinner.
    Hayden’s feet scuffed as he came to a sudden
stop. He grabbed my arm. I tensed. If there was a zombie or crazy,
why didn’t he grab his gun?
    “What the fuck?” he asked slowly. I followed
his eyes to two large stone statues. Faces had been carved into the
rock and each had its lips puckered as if about to offer a
kiss.
    “What the fuck is right,” I muttered. “Those
are the ugliest things I’ve ever seen.”
    “Yeah,” Hayden agreed. He shook his head and
looked around. His shoulders tensed. I bet he was feeling the same
unease that I was.
    “There,” I said and used the arrow to point.
“We can set up by that bridge and wait.”
    Hayden nodded and we picked up our pace. A
wooden bridge crossed the river. The planks were dark around the
edges from being soaked with water. The center was gray and
cracked, dried out from the sun. Since I was the lightest, I went
first. I hooked the bow around my arm and put my hand on the
splintering railing.
    Hayden kept a constant vigil. I lifted my
foot, carefully moving it onto one of the worn boards. I put my
weight on the ball of my foot and slowly rocked my boot back,
distributing the weight.
    The bridge creaked. I took another step. The
whole thing shook. But it didn’t crash into the water. I moved as
fast as I dared and finally jumped off onto the dry land. I reached
behind me for an arrow, stringing it on the bow just in case. I
stepped away from the bridge and watched the surrounding area as
Hayden made his way across.
    He was roughly five inches taller than me and
at least fifty pounds heavier. The old bridge groaned under his
weight. I flicked my eyes to his feet, watching as he took a
tentative step.
    Water lapped the bottom of the bridge. I had
always like the sound of running water. There was something calming
about it. The stream behind my grandparent’s farmhouse was the
deepest in the spring. On very quiet nights I could hear the rush
of water over rocks from my room.
    Something blundered through the woods behind
us. I whirled around, pulling the arrow back. Low tree limbs swung
wildly. Hayden hurried to get off the bridge. He looked up, taking
his eyes off the weak boards. A gargling growl came from the
trees.
    The board broke with a sickening crack.
Hayden’s foot went through, causing him to fall forward. He dropped
the rifle; it landed with a heavy thud on the wooden planks. His
hands smacked against the bridge.
    The zombie tumbled out of the trees, tripping
over broken branches. Her brittle bones audibly snapped and pushed
right through her skin. The scent of rotten fat and muscle
permeated the air. The broken leg caused her to tumbled forward and
roll down the slope that led to the water.
    Her spine twisted; her legs and torso faced
opposite directions, and one of her arms was tucked behind her
body. She reached out with her free hand, eyes latched onto Hayden.
I took a step to the side and released the arrow.
    “You ok?” I asked Hayden, moving to the
bridge. I set the bow down and put my hand on the railing.
    “Don’t,” Hayden said. “It’s not strong
enough. And yes, I’m fine. Just, uh, stuck.”
    “If your foot went through it can come back
out.”
    “True.” He pushed himself up and sat, looking
at the hole. “I don’t want my shoe to fall off,” he said with a
smile. “I hate wearing wet shoes.”
    I rolled my eyes and smiled back. “Me too.
The constant squishing bothers the shit out of me.” Hayden pulled
his leg up and winced. “What?”
    “Got cut. Not a big deal.”
    “Oh, ok.” I turned around,