Free Contagion: The Rising by John Carter Page B

been giving
off.  Trevor suddenly stood up and sniffed the air.
    “Ah,
here’s one now.”
    Chloe
cowered behind him and waited to see what he was talking about. A small bandit
walked in with his pick axe.
    Trevor
stood still as he could hear the man’s heart beating. “Drop it,” he said as he
listened to his breathing quicken. “Quickly shaken, I like that.” The bandit swung
at him with his axe but missed as Trevor just pulled the axe away from him. “I
told you to drop it.”
    The
bandit jumped up and pushed Trevor slightly. The sudden hit angered Trevor who
went into a rage and attacked the bandit. He bit at his throat and held his
jaws shut on it until the bandit stopped breathing. Trevor unhinged his jaws
from the bandit’s throat and wiped his mouth with the bandit’s camouflage
jacket.
    “Not as
good as I thought he would be,” Trevor smirked at Chloe, who stood near a fire
barrel and shook in terror.
    “What
the fuck are you?”
    He
grimaced, “I don’t know. I guess, I’m a Riser. Kind of?” He laughed as she
attempted to hide in the tent. “What the. What are you doing?”
    “Hiding
from you.”
    “That
makes sense. I can hear your heart beating and smell where you are. I’m pretty
sure I can pinpoint the next spot of where you’re thinking of hiding.”
    Chloe
stopped and watched as Trevor walked over to her. His bloodshot eye had turned
milky white while the other eye remained normal. He doubled over in pain, “Damn
it.”
    “Can
you still see out of it?” she asked as she inspected him.
    He
shook her hands off, “Yes. I don’t need to though.” He finally showed her the
scratch he received from Parker. Her eyes widened as she moved away from him.
“I won’t bite you.” The purple veins circled the area of where the scratch was
at one point. The skin surrounding it had peeled off and deteriorated when he
touched his arm. The rank smell she discovered before had come from the
scratch. He showed her the gunshot wound, which appeared to have healed quickly
after he stitched it up.
    “How
did that happen?”
    He
looked at her, “I guess, I heal quickly now.” He looked at his arm, “I suppose
no retro-heal then?”
    Her
thoughts focused on the bandit, “What about him? Is he going to turn?”
    “I
don’t know,” he waited and watched the bandit’s body. “I hope so.”
    The
bandit’s body lay motionless for a few seconds as Chloe and Trevor walked
toward the fire barrels and looked outside for more bandits. They walked back
into the tent and found the bandit standing. He stared at Trevor and watched as
he got closer to him. Chloe stayed quiet and remained near the fire barrel.
     “So,
can you understand me?” Trevor asked the bandit, who instantly nodded. “Are
there more of you?” The bandit nodded once again and pointed toward the
entrance of the tent. “How far are they?”
    The
bandit dropped his arm, “A few miles south of here.”
    “Are
they on their way here?”
    “No, I
go back,” the bandit walked to the entrance and snarled at Chloe.
    “Leave
her alone,” Trevor said as the bandit snapped out of it. “Let me know when you
get here.”
    The
bandit nodded and walked out.
    Trevor
laughed, “Did you see that? I can have a freaking Riser army here.”
    Chloe
looked on in shock as he continued to laugh. “Ar-army?”
    “Yes,
an army. They really won’t be expecting that.” She started to tear up and
sobbed quietly. “Oh no, no no. We don’t have time for that. The instant these
Risers see you crying, they’ll think you’re ready to be eaten and I know you
don’t want that. Right?” She shook her head. “Okay, so you know what we do? We
set up a trap for these bandits and “recruit” them for our needs. I’m sure Parker
and Jeremy would appreciate the troubles we’re going through to get back at
those who harmed them.” Chloe nodded and continued to sob. “It’s okay, you can
cry for now but don’t let the others see you. I can’t really