Free Only Love Survives (Love and Zombies) by Renee Charles Page B

shivered at the memory of those whiskers brushing her cheek. His arm tightened around her and she looked away.
    Megan reminded herself not to become too fond of him. After all, he wasn’t exactly accompanying her because he couldn’t live without her. He was going to Vegas to look for his sister. Besides, any feelings Megan might develop toward Sam couldn’t possibly amount to anything. The scar on her arm would make sure of that. A wave of guilt washed over her.
    She should tell him. Hiding the scar was the same as lying, and Megan had no use for liars. But, she couldn’t bring herself to say the words. She’d been shot at enough for one lifetime by people who didn’t care to listen. Although Megan didn’t believe for a second Sam would shoot her, he might decide to leave her there in camp. And that just didn’t work for her. She had to get to Vegas. It wasn’t only about Sam…or her for that matter. It was about the survival of humankind. Maybe, given the chance, she could undo this mess.
    Megan felt Sam stiffen next to her and it drew her attention back to the conversation going on around them.
    “Summer Woods? You met a doctor named Summer Woods.” Sam lifted his arm off Megan and leaned forward. “Where was she?”
    “I only stayed a month. I think they are way off base with their research. Last time I saw her, she was in the genetics lab. You a relative?” The woman who asked was thin and pale, with dark circles under her eyes.
    “Her brother. What the hell was she still doing in Vegas? I told her to come home.”
    “Vegas has an open door policy for most people. However, they discourage anyone with skills they deem necessary from leaving. Summer is a geneticist. Once she stepped in that door, they were never going to let her go.” The woman said it like that answered all his questions.
    “She’s a prisoner?” Sam stood up and paced between Megan and the fire, kicking up dirt in his wake.
    Megan stopped herself from reaching out to him.
    “She’s only a student. What do they want with her?” The timbre in his voice grew frantic, and Megan wished there was something she could do or say.
    “A student of genetics, not to mention a doctor. She went there the same reason we all did. To help.”
    “You worked with her, how did you get out?” Sam stopped pacing and demanded an answer.
    The woman turned her head. “I escaped.”
    Sam slapped his hands on his thighs in exasperation.
    Then she pinned him with a hollow stare. “I hid in the garbage.”
    “Son of a bitch!” Sam stormed away from the campfire swearing.
    Megan shuddered.
    The woman turned to Megan with a mixture of desperation and defiance clouding her expression. “They didn’t like Summer’s theories, but they wouldn’t let her go either.”
    “What theories?” Megan was almost afraid to ask.
    “We believe it’s an astrological organism equivalent to a virus. The infection began, close as we can tell, the day after the Lulin Comet passed.”
    Megan couldn’t believe her ears, “You’re telling me it’s the space flu?”
    She nodded eagerly. “The illness is just like any other plague. It will take its toll, and then it will pass, rearing its ugly head from time to time throughout history. But the people who will survive are the ones spread out, away from large communities. The corpses may be walking around, but they are also decaying. As long as no new cases are contracted, they will eventually rot away like a fallen log does. The warmer the climate, the faster the process. But places where the snow never melts…those corpses will take a long, long time to die off. Maybe never. It’s like keeping a body in cold storage. I imagine those places will eventually become prohibited for travel.”
    “What about a cure?” Megan couldn’t help herself, she had to ask.
    “When I left, there were rumors of people who are immune, but more research has to be done. I wasn’t willing to risk my life to stay and do it.”
    How