Children of the Plague

Chapter Four: Penny Thoughts

Chapter Four: Penny Thoughts

Lanni moved her finger from the trigger, but continued watching Alex through the white dot on the pistol's sights. She resisted the urge to run over and hug him. He was different. He radiated menace. She silently prayed that he hadn't turned into one of the crazy, zombie people Pete told her about.

His eyes locked on hers, but he seemed to be staring through her. His thin, parted lips simulated a clumsy smile. "How is your head, Lisa Ann?" he asked, somewhat automatically.

Her fingers drifted to the side of her head, grazing the tender, but miraculously well-healed wounds above her ear. "It's fine," she said, resuming her two-handed grip on the pistol. "What did you do to Pete?" Goosebumps rose all over her body, stimulated by the increasingly familiar electric tingling.

Alex blinked at the limp police officer and let go of his wrist, snapping out of his trance. The spidery sensation crawling over her skin intensified and then stopped.

"You can't be too cautious," he said, glancing at the gun, "even with me."

"What happened? What did you do to him?" Lanni asked again.

"Only what I had to do. Three hosts have come for me in the last hour, Lanni. Five of their puppets, too. Pete, here, could have been under their control. He might have been one of them." He dropped a long, black duffel bag on the floor. "Clothes for you. Weapons, too. Kit up. We have to get away from here."

Alex flinched as Lanni fired two rapid shots. A brain-faced monster like the one that almost ate her head, clacked into view through the open door. Blue ichor spattered the door frame.

The monster leapt out of sight with remarkable agility for a creature with two bullet wounds. It didn't scream or make any sounds other than the clack of its claws on the tile. A stench like a flaming skunk saturated the air.

"Wait!" Alex said, stepping in front of her. "Leave it alone. It's with me."

"It's with..." she began. "It's with you? No, Alex. That's just not going to work for me. I don't ever want to see that thing again, and I sure don't want to smell it! No way."

"I'm not sure how to tell you this," Alex began, obviously struggling to find the right words. "It's just, neither of us would be here right now if it weren't for that thing."

"Exactly," Lanni said. "So why is it still alive?"

"That's not what I mean. We'd have both been killed at least twice on the way here if it hadn't saved us. I know it hurt you, but it didn't know what it was doing. It was less than a minute old. It followed us all the way here. I think it knows we're its family."

"Family? You and I are all that's left of our family. That thing killed the rest. It killed our mother! I watched it eat our father."

"Yes, you're right. All we have left is each other. No one will ever come before you in my eyes. But what's done can't be changed. The world we knew has become a dangerous place, and that thing can help us survive in it."

Pete's head twitched as he inhaled a convulsive breath. It reminded Lanni that they had bigger things to worry about. No more sounds came in from the hallway. If the thing was still out there, it wasn't moving.

"How long have I been out? That thing has tripled in size."

"Almost five hours."

Lanni lowered the pistol. A lot had happened in such a short time. She needed to know more about what was going on outside, and she was worried about Pete.

"You shouldn't have hurt him. Is he going to be okay?" she asked. Judging by Alex's expression, her anger must have been obvious. He stepped closer and touched her shoulder, careful to avoid any bare skin.