don't know what it was, but her attitude pissed me off. The idea of quitting got under my skin. "That's great, lady. Our way out is staring us in the face and you get some kind of end-of-life crisis? I don't know why you bothered to help me in the first place."
"I wasn't helping you," she said. "I sat next to you because I hoped you'd wake up as one of those things."
"What are you saying? You wanted me to kill you?"
She didn't answer, but she was on the verge of tears. If she didn't get it together soon I would have to escape on my own. I maybe felt a little bad for her, but I wasn't about to give up my life for some woman I just met in a fucking quarantine.
Jeremiah was in bad shape. The big guy had both hands on the wall and looked like he was ready to fall down on his face again. I was at a loss, but then I noticed a detail about Alison I hadn't before: she wore a very small cross around her neck. "I can't take care of Jeremiah by myself," I said.
"I'm sorry I can't help you."
"I'll tell you what- just help me until he gets through the change. If he turns out to be one of them, I won't stop him from doing...whatever. But if he lives, then you did one last, good thing for someone. That's like a do-not-pass-go to heaven. What would Jesus do, am I right?"
The Bleeders were getting close now. I didn't understand why they didn't run at us like some of the others, but I wasn't going to waste time trying to figure out the logic of monsters.
Alison looked from Jeremiah to me and said, "Okay."
"Good. Now help me lower his big ass down there."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Alison carefully climbed down the pipes, proving to be surprisingly agile as she touched down in the dark basement below. I helped Jeremiah step through the open panel. He was just lucid enough to follow my orders and climb down. The large pipe groaned under his weight but managed to hold as Alison guided him from below. Meanwhile, I climbed through and reached back for the panel to cover our way out.
The two Bleeders following us had gotten distracted by the fresh body Alison left for them, so they didn't notice me grab the panel and pull it back into place behind me, shutting out most of the light and plunging us into darkness.
I waited until Jeremiah reached the bottom before I started my own climb down, not wanting to put any more stress on a pipe not meant to hold our weight. I couldn't see him but I could hear Alison guide him down to the floor and tell him where to step.
I didn't even get three feet down before a loud thump overhead made me jump. It came from the replaced panel, and it sounded like someone bumping into it. Then came the other sounds: hands, two sets of them, beating and clawing at the panel from the other side. The two Bleeders must have lost interest in the body and come to investigate, finding only a wall for their troubles.
The dead body back on the field was a Bleeder, was that why they didn't care about it? Did that mean they only liked chewing on uninfected people, not anyone who had the virus? It was worth thinking about if it meant some kind of safety. At the same time, that very same Bleeder had attacked Alison, and she was clearly harboring some serious Bleeder traits, so they must not have been too discriminating. Either way, it was time to go. The thought that I might not have secured the panel well enough to keep them out crossed my mind, so I pushed all the doubts away and concentrated on my descent.
At the bottom I dropped down the last few feet and found myself in a place I hadn't been in a few years, though it was a lot darker this time around. In power-down mode the basement was lit by one in ten overhead lights, and a chain of emergency lights near the ceiling and around doorways. It was enough to let you see if you were about to bang your shin on a steam pipe, and that's about it. "The army must have left everything turned off when they took over,"
"I wasn't helping you," she said. "I sat next to you because I hoped you'd wake up as one of those things."
"What are you saying? You wanted me to kill you?"
She didn't answer, but she was on the verge of tears. If she didn't get it together soon I would have to escape on my own. I maybe felt a little bad for her, but I wasn't about to give up my life for some woman I just met in a fucking quarantine.
Jeremiah was in bad shape. The big guy had both hands on the wall and looked like he was ready to fall down on his face again. I was at a loss, but then I noticed a detail about Alison I hadn't before: she wore a very small cross around her neck. "I can't take care of Jeremiah by myself," I said.
"I'm sorry I can't help you."
"I'll tell you what- just help me until he gets through the change. If he turns out to be one of them, I won't stop him from doing...whatever. But if he lives, then you did one last, good thing for someone. That's like a do-not-pass-go to heaven. What would Jesus do, am I right?"
The Bleeders were getting close now. I didn't understand why they didn't run at us like some of the others, but I wasn't going to waste time trying to figure out the logic of monsters.
Alison looked from Jeremiah to me and said, "Okay."
"Good. Now help me lower his big ass down there."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Alison carefully climbed down the pipes, proving to be surprisingly agile as she touched down in the dark basement below. I helped Jeremiah step through the open panel. He was just lucid enough to follow my orders and climb down. The large pipe groaned under his weight but managed to hold as Alison guided him from below. Meanwhile, I climbed through and reached back for the panel to cover our way out.
The two Bleeders following us had gotten distracted by the fresh body Alison left for them, so they didn't notice me grab the panel and pull it back into place behind me, shutting out most of the light and plunging us into darkness.
I waited until Jeremiah reached the bottom before I started my own climb down, not wanting to put any more stress on a pipe not meant to hold our weight. I couldn't see him but I could hear Alison guide him down to the floor and tell him where to step.
I didn't even get three feet down before a loud thump overhead made me jump. It came from the replaced panel, and it sounded like someone bumping into it. Then came the other sounds: hands, two sets of them, beating and clawing at the panel from the other side. The two Bleeders must have lost interest in the body and come to investigate, finding only a wall for their troubles.
The dead body back on the field was a Bleeder, was that why they didn't care about it? Did that mean they only liked chewing on uninfected people, not anyone who had the virus? It was worth thinking about if it meant some kind of safety. At the same time, that very same Bleeder had attacked Alison, and she was clearly harboring some serious Bleeder traits, so they must not have been too discriminating. Either way, it was time to go. The thought that I might not have secured the panel well enough to keep them out crossed my mind, so I pushed all the doubts away and concentrated on my descent.
At the bottom I dropped down the last few feet and found myself in a place I hadn't been in a few years, though it was a lot darker this time around. In power-down mode the basement was lit by one in ten overhead lights, and a chain of emergency lights near the ceiling and around doorways. It was enough to let you see if you were about to bang your shin on a steam pipe, and that's about it. "The army must have left everything turned off when they took over,"
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