Immune-ish

Chapter Six

XANDER:

I've just killed another corpse when a man's hand falls on my right shoulder. I jump and whip around, aiming my gun right for Zane's head.

The blond man, only a couple years older than I am, doesn't react. He grabs the barrel of my rifle and turns it away from him with a swift kind of authority.

"Mr. Wolfe," he says. His hard features and light blue eyes don't mix well.

"Zane," I curtly reply. "What do you want?" He's my boss and I shouldn't speak to him in this way, but my hatred for him cannot be contained.

"You heard the alarms, I presume," he starts, clasping his hands in front of him, having released my gun.

"Of course," I reply. It's hard not to hear them when every noise echoes around the whole valley and the town is usually dead-silent.

"That likely means there was an attack."

He is always so slow to the point. "Yes. That is exactly what it means."

"Mr. Wolfe, if any uninfected people show up, you let them in and bring them straight to me. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

He smiles, but it fails to reach his eyes. "Good. Be on high alert for the rest of the day."

I'm on high alert every day. "Yes, sir," I repeat.

He nods at me then turns and walks away briskly, always in a rush.

I turn at the sound of a moan and shoot before even surveying the creature because I know Zane is watching over his shoulder. He doesn't need to know my weaknesses. I don't need to give him any more reasons to hate me.

A corpse comes and begins to eat the one I shot. If I gave Zane any reason to distrust me or hate me worse, that would be my horrible fate. Being eaten by the dead would still be better than becoming one of them, though. My death would likely be better than living like this. But Chloe keeps me here, so until she is cured against all odds, here I will stay.

I shoot the second one and leave the two bodies to rot in the sun and fill the air with a putrid odor. I breathe through my mouth.