Free The Becoming: Ground Zero by Permuted Press, Jessica Meigs Page A

So instead, I go out of my way to make sure other people don’t have to suffer any more of the same losses they already have, so that maybe they can have a chance at a little happiness in this shitty world we’ve got now.”
    Remy sat up straighter and finally looked at Ethan. He met her dark eyes; they were oddly shiny, as if she suppressed tears. The sight sent a slight pang of sympathy through Ethan’s stomach. “Ethan, that is exactly why I need to help Avi,” Remy said. “If we can do something about this, find out where this virus came from and why, maybe someone can do something with the information and come up with a vaccine or a cure. Maybe we can save everybody left from the fear of contracting the virus. Maybe we can keep some little girl out there from losing her daddy or some woman from losing her husband.”
    Ethan didn’t know how to deny that appeal, not from Remy. Her words hit him like a sledgehammer, going to the root of his feelings on the situation, pressing every button on the way. It was the very essence of what he tried to do—save people from going through the pain he dealt with every day. Ethan ran his hands through his hair again and broke his gaze from Remy’s face. He couldn’t look at her anymore. It hurt too much. “Remy,” he started.
    “Say you’re in this with me, Ethan,” Remy pleaded. She slid off the bed, her slender body moving with a catlike grace, and slunk over to him. She knelt on the floor so she could look him in the face, her hands resting lightly on his knees, a position of total supplication. “Tell me you’re going to help, even if just by giving me and Avi supplies so we can try to put this thing to rest.”
Ethan swallowed hard and forced his eyes to Remy’s once more. Hers were wide and dark, and he felt like he was falling as he stared deeply into them. She bit her lip again, her eyes still wet and pleading, and Ethan nearly leaned forward to kiss her; he’d have done anything to get rid of the look on her face. He shifted his eyes to the space above her head. For the first time since Avi Geller’s arrival, Ethan seriously considered the woman’s proposal and his participation in the attempt. If Remy was going into Atlanta, she would need help. Ethan cared too much about her to allow Avi Geller to be Remy’s sole protection on the dangerous route to the city.
    Ethan swallowed again. Remy still begged him with her wide brown eyes. He couldn’t stand the look on her face, the look he couldn’t say no to. It was the same look that put him in the position he was in, hiding important things from his best friend. He blew out a soft breath and tugged gently at Remy’s upper arms. “Come here,” he said quietly. And once Remy was in his lap, Ethan wrapped his arms around her and held her close, his forehead resting on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through his hair, and he lifted his head to kiss her softly. Ethan knew that, deep in his heart, he had already silently agreed to her proposal. All he had left to do was say it out loud.
    “Okay,” Ethan mumbled against her mouth once the kiss broke. “Okay, Remy. I’ll help you, okay?”

Chapter 8
     
     
    The following morning found the eight people clustered around the large dining table, watching Nikola slowly turn the pages in Ethan’s book of road maps. Remy hadn’t seen the battered paperback in almost three months. Before the world went to shit, Remy had been a religious user of all things Google for her directions. She wasn’t sure she knew more than the basics of map reading without some guidance.
    “We are … here,” Nikola announced. She used a red marker to draw a blood-colored dot on the Alabama map, not far from the capitol, Montgomery. Remy leaned over Nikola’s shoulder and read the small black-lettered label beside the dot. It said, simply, “Maplesville.”
    “So we’re on the border of the middle of nowhere,” Cade clarified. She unsheathed a knife from her belt and