group.
As Kade, Tiny, and Mick traveled the hallway, a weeping sound came from the bedroom.
“Who asked to stay over?” Tiny asked.
“You two were the only ones who asked,” Kade replied.
Mick put his back against the wall beside the door and twisted the knob.
“Tiny, mind giving it a boot?” Mick said.
On cue, Tiny kicked the door, while Mick swooped into the room.
“Freeze!” Mick shouted.
On all fours beside the bed was what looked to be a person. However, red foam gurgled
out of the man’s mouth and down his shirt, making him appear feral. His hands were
torn and bleeding and the walls were covered blood and scratches. Argos pushed through
them and barked at the man. Kade barely recognized him as one of Jem’s friends from
the night before.
The man spun in a panic, his hands and feet tearing across the room as he vaulted
over the bed and through the closed window. The man’s body exploded through the glass,
showering shards across the yard. Kade’s jaw dropped open as the man fell out of
sight. Jem’s friend had just leapt out of his sister’s second story window. There
had been plenty of boys he had wanted to throw out that window over the years, but
never thought he would see the day.
Mick rushed into the room and looked out of the shattered window while Tiny hurried
back downstairs. Kade stood in a dumfounded paralysis until he heard something smash
into the sliding door. The sound reminded him of the occasional bird that had the
bad luck of crashing into a window, but was much louder.
Taking the steps two at a time, Mick and Kade ran downstairs. They joined Tiny and
Ashton in front of the glass door, which was spider cracked and smeared with blood.
“I think his leg was broken,” Tiny said, as they all stared into the fractured view
of the backyard.
Kade clapped his hands, startling them. “Folks, we don’t have time to go into shock.
You read the letter. A foamer just jumped out of Ashton’s window. I know you guys
may think there is a lot I would do to get out of work, but I don’t know a single
person I could have paid for that performance. It’s time for Shenanigans .”
Ashton’s breath was quick and forceful and her face drained of color. “What’s the
plan?”
“Make some phone calls. Anyone who is still alive and can meet us at Lucas’s by sundown
can come along,” Kade said.
“How do you know Lucas didn’t get a flu shot?” Tiny asked.
Kade answered Tiny with a smirk.
“Right. Stupid question,” Tiny said.
“While we make our calls, I want Ashton to pack some practical clothes and the first
aid gear,” Kade said.
“Did you really have to say practical? I’m not an idiot,” Ashton said.
Kade rubbed his temple with his middle finger and continued. “Tiny, take an empty
hiking pack and load what you can from the kitchen. We’re going to need the bus.”
“I wouldn’t consider leaving Old Yeller behind,” Tiny replied.
“Mick, I just want you to stand guard in case our new friend decides to come back.
Regroup in fifteen minutes,” Kade said and everyone dispersed.
Kade made his way to his room. He sat on his bed, staring at his phone. There was
one number he had to call for his brother. One number he knew he should call. The
same number he dreaded calling. He listened to the phone play back classical music
as he waited to see if his brother’s ex-fiancé would take his call.
Kade still had no idea why his brother had left her, but shortly after he was recruited
by the company developing the vaccine, he had called off his engagement over the
phone. The last time Kade had seen Victoria was when she had come to the house looking
for answers. When he had none for her, she became wild and violent. A situation he’d
rather not remember. She was a medical researcher like his brother, but unlike him
she was emotionally driven, making her both powerful and dangerous.
“Make it quick,” Victoria said over the phone.
“Did you get a flu shot?” Kade