The Rabid by Ami Urban Page B

nodded toward one hiding behind a slot machine to Jack's left.
He turned to look.
    "They're
not going to hurt us anymore. Or anyone else."
    "But
we'll starve!" A voice rang high above us on a stairwell. A few murmurs echoed
afterward.
    Jack
rolled his eyes at me. "Then hunt shit."
    A
tickle of humor hit me.
    "Hunt
what?!"
    Jack
pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh, my God..."
    "Hunt
the infected." I didn't think my words were offensive until everyone went
quiet. Even Jack was eyeing me. " What ?"
    "wouldn't
they all get infected?"
    I
shook my head slowly. Did they really not know the basics? "Rabies can only
spread through coming into contact with saliva or nervous tissues of someone
who's been infected with the virus."
    They
all remained quiet and staring. Jack made a circular motion with one hand,
urging me to continue.
    "So,
cook them well. Stay away from the brains, organs and bone marrow. And avoid
the area where they were bit. Got it?"
    There
was some shuffling around the room. "We...we can eat them..."
    "Yes."
    An
eruption of rejoice filled the casino. The man behind the slot machine jumped
out and began to dance. Jack stifled an amused chuckle. The dancing man pushed
past him and threw his skinny arms around me. My muscles tightened.
    "Christ..."
    He
smelled like three-week old rotted food. He was sticky and half-naked. I shut
my eyes tight.
    "Thank
you," he whispered in my ear.
    I pushed
my arms out to get him away from me. He was smiling while missing most of his
teeth. "you're welcome."
    An
amused smile spread across Jack's face. "I think you have an admirer."
    "Can
we leave?" I tried to brush the dirt off my shirt, but all I managed to do was
smudge the greasy human sweat into the cotton.
    "Oh
yes!" The man pointed to the locked entrance. "You leave through there."
    "Thanks.
Rex! Alex!"
    The
two children looked our way then came toward us. I grabbed Rex's hand and
hurried toward the door without hesitation. The men unlocked the chains to open
up our prison. The air smelled so sweet.
    "Thanks,
dudes!" Jack waved goodbye to them before the door closed behind us. Then, he
caught up to us like a child running to their parents. "That was great. you're
funny."
    "Funny?
How is narrowly escaping death funny? How is killing another human being with a
walking stick funny?"
    Jack
screwed up his face. "I changed my mind. you're no fun at all."
    Alex
giggled.
    "See?
Even she thinks you're a stick in the fucking mud."
    Even
though I felt like laughing for the first time in months, I kept it to myself
and shook my head instead.
    "You
said a bad word, Jack." Alex appeared at his side and gingerly took one of his
hands. It was a sweet sight to see.
    "Did
I? I guess I did. Well, it's the end of the world, so not like it matters,
right? Fuck it."
    Alex
giggled again. "Yeah. Fuck it."
    "Hey!
That wasn't an invitation to throw your manners out the window. Watch
it, young lady."
    Alex
laughed, which made Rex laugh. Jack joined in, but all I mustered was a smile.
     

 
     
    October 17
    The
school was huge. At least, I thought it was a school. It could have been
anything. It was so overgrown with ivy and caked with dust that I couldn't
decide on the spot. All I knew was that it was the only place we'd be safe.
Okay, so maybe I wasn't one-hundred percent sure, but we were all dog tired and
needed a shower. Plus, none of those... things were around.
    I
pulled the SUV to a stop on a gravel blacktop that looked like it used to be a
basketball court. After switching off the ignition, I took a long look at Lisa.
She was sound asleep against the glass window. It was enough to make my stomach
hiccup. If stomachs can do that.
    "Oscar,
Uniform, Tango!" I used my "six-inch" voice so I didn't scare them or draw any
attention to our position.
    Lisa's
eyes fluttered open. "What?"
    "NATO
alphabet."
    She
paused while brushing fingers through her tangled hair.
    "Why?"
Alex asked from behind me.
    "Because
it's cool. how's little Romeo doing back