Free Bleeders by Max Boone

heroin try to run a marathon.
    Slowly and without making any quick movements, we reached the wall I'd told them about without any trouble. While Alison kept watch and Jeremiah stood there like a drugged gorilla holding himself up against the wall, I searched for the smaller panel I remembered from when I worked there. The head groundskeeper was an older black guy by the name of Andre. He was one of the nicest guys I'd ever met, and he'd shown me more in that stadium than he ever needed to show a kid working through college, an act most guys in his position would consider a waste of time. Back then I didn't think to thank him beyond buying him a can of soda once or twice. To Andre it seemed like thanks enough.
    Looking back, he just might have saved my life.
    It didn't take long to find the release knob. With a pull, the wall panel came loose. I pulled down the advertisement for season tickets and set it against the wall, admiring the exposed sprinkler access.
    "Bingo." I looked back at Alison to gloat. I was just in time to see a man a head taller than her run right at her. He had red eyes and his hair was matted with sweat- a full-on Bleeder. Alison's back was turned to him, and I called out for her to look out.
    She almost didn't see him until it was too late. At the last second she side-stepped and the man careened past her and slammed into the wall head-first. It made way too much noise for my liking. A few heads turned our way, all of them with red eyes and blank stares. The action was drawing attention, which was the absolute last thing we needed. Luckily they didn't move.
    The sweaty Bleeder got up from where he'd fallen and stumbled back to his feet with a new gash across his forehead. The skin was split open and blood began pouring down his face and into his eyes. He shook his head, dizzy and confused.
    I looked back at the sprinkler access. The pipe led down into the basement where we could find our way out. Andre had told me about the time a few of the players got drunk and dared each other to climb down to the basement. He wouldn't tell me who it was, only that they took the bet, and that they won.
    Escape was inches away. Helping her meant possibly giving that up, with more Bleeders starting to wake up and notice the fight. Jeremiah was no help. The sobering power of the slap was quickly wearing off and he was barely holding himself up on the wall.
    The moment the Bleeder saw Alison, he forgot about the head wound and the blood getting into his eyes and everything else and went at her again. Before I could decide whether to help her or not, she surprised the shit out of me by running at the Bleeder instead of away. He hesitated a second, long enough that she slammed into him and knocked him down to the ground.
    Alison fell down on top of him and began clawing at his face with her fingernails. I watched in shock as she screamed and tore at him, gouging his already bloody eyes. The attack was brutal, and on her face was the kind of expression I'd only seen on Bleeders.
    That's why the Bleeder hesitated- he'd mistaken her for one of his own.
    I looked over at the crowd. Two Bleeders were heading toward us, one of them with his shirt torn open, his chest field-dressed. They hadn't started running yet, a miracle I knew wouldn't last, but they were interested in what was going on.
    With no time left I ran over to Alison and pulled her off the Bleeder. His face looked like hamburger and he was dancing death twitches. I asked Alison if she was alright and she nodded, so I ran back to the exposed sprinkler access and checked the way down was clear. "Come on, you first, " I said, reaching back for Alison's hand, but she hadn't moved. She was staring down at the dying Bleeder. "We need to go now," I urged.
    "It changes you," she said quietly.
    "What? What are you talking about?"
    "The virus. It makes you someone else, someone worse. I'm not sure that person needs to keep going." She looked up at me with red, haunted eyes.
    I