Free Deathly Contagious by Emily Goodwin Page A

obvious.
    She gave me a horrible yellow sundress, advised me to shave my legs and trudged out of the room.  I did twenty minutes of yoga and felt considerably better after that. I showered, braided my hair and put on the ugly dress.
    Delmont was sitting on the bed when I stepped into the room.
    “Wow,” he said, licking his lips. I wanted to punch him in the face. The hot shower made me feel a little lightheaded so I just glared.
    “How do you keep the zombies away?” I blurted. I had been curious about that for quite some time.
    He shrugged. “Seems they haven’t crossed over this way much. Only seen a handful on the property.”
    I nodded. I knew it wouldn’t last. Maybe I’d get lucky and zombies would attack. I could get away then.
    “Want to see the shop?” he asked.
    “No,” I replied flatly, not caring what kind of ‘shop’ he was referring to.
    His eyes narrowed. “Rest up,” he said. That phrase was really starting to annoy me. “I’ll have Ma bring you somethin’ to eat.”
    He didn’t lock the door. Using it to my advantage, I padded out and peered into the room next to the one I was in. It was a mess and smelled like a hillbilly frat house. I wrinkled my nose and moved on. Olivia was on her hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom floor.
    “Olivia,” I said quietly, not wanting to startle her. She looked up at me, eyes widening in terror. She dropped the sponge and crawled over.
    “You shouldn’t be here! Quick, go back to your room!”
    “What, why?”
    “Please, Orissa! Just go before they see you. I-I’m not supposed to talk to you.”
    “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.”
    “That’s the thing, you c-can’t leave.”
    “What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice was calm but my heart raced.
    “They won’t let you. They won’t let me…not that I could survive out there.” She cast her eyes down. “Maybe I should be grateful.”
    “Grateful? Olivia…” I didn’t know what to say. I shook my head, causing the headache to worsen. “What happened to you last night?”
    Tears filled her eyes and her body trembled. A creak came from the stairs. “Go!” she whispered. “Please!”
    I nodded and quickly trotted down the hall. I sat on the bed, feeling dizzy again. Who the hell were these people? What did they want with Olivia and me? A moment later, Sue Ellen came into the room, carrying a tray.
    “Hello, dear,” she cooed. A steaming bowl of vegetable soup actually smelled good. She handed me the bowl and a spoon. “How are you feeling?”
    “Not so good,” I lied. “I feel like I’m getting sick again.”
    She pressed her hand against my head. “You don’t feel hot.”
    “My stomach. It hurts.”
    “Oh, well, you’n lay down. We wantcha as healthy as possible.”
    I smiled, playing along. Really, I was wondering why. I had all night to think about it. I got locked in again. I was too anxious to sleep, which pissed me off because I knew I needed to rest in order to get better. I did more yoga and attempted to relax my muscles and drift to sleep. At around what I guessed was three AM, I finally did, waking only hours later from a horrible nightmare.
    Delmont brought me breakfast that morning. I didn’t want anything from these people, not their food, their fake hospitality or their shelter. Again, knowing I was useless while I was weak and sick, I ate. He asked if I wanted to see the shop again. This time, I agreed.
    Bart owned a junk yard. Behind the house was a warehouse full of odds and ends with a workshop at one end. Behind that were acres filled with rusty cars and other disguarded pieces of unwanted crap. It had snowed more since my arrival. A path had been shoveled from the house to the shop. My combat boots had been ‘misplaced’ so I was forced to wear only a thin pair of slippers.
    The shop was huge. There were rows upon rows filled with random junk. Dishes, old lamps, pieces of broken furniture, heaps of clothes, a black