The Cure (Book One of The Golden Eyes Trilogy)

Chapter 4: The Bites

Dylan O'Brien as Tommy

Nova

"Hey. Can I ask you something?" Finn said, looking at me with a smile.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

Promise me you'll give them a chance.

"Depends."

"I'm gonna ask you anyways." He said, leaning closer. "Why didn't the Zombies you know...bite you?"

"I don't know if I can tell you." I said, looking away.

I don't like thinking about that night.

At all.

I always have a nightmare when I do.

"Yeah I want to know too." Halley said as she ate another bite of pasta.

I sighed, looking over at Finch for her approval. She nodded, giving me an encouraging smile.

"She'll tell you. But you have to promise not to let it leave this table. Understood?"

Everyone nodded, looking at me again.

"Come on Nova, it's okay. Just show them."

I sighed and pushed my sleeve up, showing them my shoulder.

Showing them the bites.

They collectively gasped, their eyes going wide.

"I got bit the night of the outbreak by...by..." I trailed off, a familiar ache in my chest from thinking about that night. "But I never turned. After that, they didn't try to bite me at all. I'm not sure why either. That's why we need to go to Australia. It's the only safe place left and I might be able to end this. But you can't tell anyone."

They all sat back, taking in the information. Finn was the first to recover from shock. "You think you might be the cure?"

I nodded once. I really did think I was. How else could I be bitten and survive? I should've changed when I died but I didn't.

Well I did change, but not into a Zombie.

I'm still trying to figure out why I'm different too.

"I thought I was going to lose her. She begged for me to kill her but I couldn't. I knocked her out and tied her up to a chair and waited for her to change. She ended up getting really sick and died. I managed to bring her back to life and when I did she was still a human. We'll mostly a human. I can't say anything but those bites did change her. But yeah she didn't change. We were as surprised as you are now."

"I can't believe this." Tommy said, looking at where my bites were again. "I mean shouldn't we tell someone? We might have better chances of making it to Australia if we were with a group or something-No. We will make it to Australia on our own. I don't trust anyone, I still don't even trust you." I snapped, glaring Tommy down hard.

He grew uncomfortable and looked away.

"Did it hurt?" Halley asked, not meeting my eyes.

"It did. It really did. I had a fever of 110, I was throwing up and passing out. I even died but Finch managed to bring me back. But then it just stopped after a few days and I was fine. We didn't understand why either. The next time we went out to get food and stuff we were chased by a Sprinter Zombie. Once it got a whiff of me it left me alone and went after Finch. Now Zombies just leave me alone period."

"Wait...Sprinter Zombie? Like they run really fast?" Lily asked, looking at me confused and scared.

"There's five different kinds of Zombies, at least that we know of so far. Some are Trackers. Once they have your scent they can follow it for miles. Some are Sprinters and they don't lose stamina like we do. They can sprint for miles too. Some are smart. We call them Intelligents. They can open doors, trick you into thinking they're human. There's your stupid average Zombies. We call them Cuckoos. They're the easiest to kill. Lastly, there's new Zombies. They're called Freshies. They're pretty fast but not as fast as Sprinter Zombies. But they're generally just one type. Haven't run into a Zombie that's smart and a Sprinter, or a strong and a Tracker, etcetera. But you still have to be careful with any of them. One bite and you're done. Well, unless you're me." I said with a grin.

"How do you know all of this? Like how did you figure out there were different types?" Finn asked, looking intrigued.

"I studied them. I learned just from watching, and from the ones we've experienced ourselves. Sprinter Zombies are pretty strong too. They're the most dangerous. Next to the Trackers."

"I still can't believe you got bit and survived. That's crazy." Halley muttered, looking at me in a nervous way.

Like I might turn and bite her any second.

"I can't believe it either but I'm here two years later just fine. That's why we need to get to Australia. I might be able to save people."

"Then why aren't we going with a group? They might be able to start saving people now if you did."

I shook my head at Tommy, growing uncomfortable with him. He's really pushing to join a group-and that's not an option.

"I'm starting to feel like I can't trust you. And I don't mix well with people I can't trust." I growled, narrowing my eyes at him.

He looked at Finch but she just gave him a reassuring smile, then glared at me.

"He's just trying to help-We don't need help! We've been fine just us this whole time! I'm not joining a group!"

He put his hands up in surrender and looked away, nodding slowly. "Okay. Fine. So what's the plan then?"

I went into my room and grabbed my maps, bringing them back to the table. "Okay so we're driving through the states, until we reach California. Our aunt Phyllis and uncle John have a beach house there. They also have a boat. We plan on using that boat to sail to Australia."

"We could always sail from here. It would take a bit longer but we could. It would be safer."

I sighed, rubbing my temples.

I really didn't like Tommy.

Why can't he just do things my way?

"They're the only family of ours that didn't leave for the trip. But we're hoping they're still alive and there. If not their neighbors have boats too. We could steal one. The trip is going to take at least two almost three months, it would take even longer leaving from here. It's a straight shot to Australia from here but I did the math and with most boats we'd need close to 20,000 gallons of gas. We can't fit that on a boat. We can just cut across the states and leave from California and stop off in in a few different countries for more gas and supplies. That's been our plan this whole time and we're sticking to it. Feel free to go if you don't agree, I won't mind."

Finn rolled his eyes as Tommy sighed. "Okay. Fine. We do it your way."

Finally.

"Wherever you go, we'll go. Right guys?" Finn said, smiling at me.

"Right." They all agreed in unison.

"Good. Now that that's settled I'm going to feed the animals. Girls you're on dish duty." I ordered before heading outside.

I was right. Fate had brought someone to us. We were going to make it to the safe lands, finally. I just had to deal with them for a few months and then I'd be free.

I can't wait.