There were too many men now to fit around Joe, and they had to take turns beating him. Surly wondered who was watching the Infected. She gently flapped her wings, testing them. No way. She wouldn’t be able to do it in time.
“That’s enough, boys. I want to make sure he remembers this lesson. Get him onto the table.” Gray picked up the pliers. He leaned over Joe. “You know what’s coming,” he growled. Joe twisted and whipped for a few seconds, until the others restrained him, smashing him hard onto the table. “Open your mouth,” ordered Gray.
Surly flapped again. Her wings were finally starting to work. She hopped a little. Everything ached and she had a whistle deep in her chest, but there was no more time to recover. Not if she wanted to help Joe.
“I need more light,” shouted Gray and one of the men ran to the door beside Surly and opened it so the morning sun streamed in, spotlighting Joe as he writhed on the table. The man propped open the door so he could return to aid Gray, who told another man to hold Joe’s nose closed. That forced Joe to open his mouth.
Surly saw her chance. No one was watching. She could go. She could fly away and never see this place again. She could find the warm sun and ripening berries and clean air. She didn’t need to help Joe. She didn’t even need to think about him or Gray or the screaming Infected ever again.
What had humans ever done for her? She didn’t like them, she reminded herself, and they’d always hated her. Ten years in the pet shop and never adopted. Why did she need a human now? No one had ever been kind to her. Not the owner, not the attendants or customers, not even the other animals.
But that wasn’t quite true, was it? Joe had been kind to her. He’d stroked her feathers and cared for her. He’d kept the other man from eating her, like they’d eaten Princess.
Joe screamed behind her, and Gray laughed wickedly. He had Joe’s tongue pulled too far past his lips with the pliers. Surly at last gathered her strength and burst upward with an echoing shriek, one she’d heard over and over from the Infected the night before.
Gray’s men whirled around, panicking and releasing their hold on Joe. Gray barked orders and they scattered to find the Infected that were on the loose. But Gray wouldn’t be moved from his task. His knife slithered through the thick sponge of Joe’s tongue, slicing half of it off.
Joe’s gagging screams filled the shop as Gray turned to face the bird. Surly dove like a hawk, attacking the arm holding the knife, tearing the skin of his hand with her claws, still screaming like the Infected, echoing Gray’s deeds back at him. She took off again and landed on the back of his neck, slamming her wings into his head.
Joe turned to his side on the table, coughing on a mouthful of blood. Surly stabbed at Gray’s ears and cheeks with her beak, trying to work her way around to his eyes while avoiding the man’s hands clutching for her as she attacked the back of his neck. He was shouting for his men to return, to help him. Surly didn’t let up, screaming the Infected’s shriek and battering Gray as he backed further into the pet shop.
Attracted by the shouts and no longer herded back into the large clothing store, the Infected had sprinted to the pet shop. Gray’s men struggled to control them. For weeks the Infected had been bound and walked to the point of exhaustion, fed only enough to keep them on their feet. Gray’s men had become lazy and neglectful, lulled by the seeming ease of controlling them. But the Infected were well rested by their pause at the mall and the screams from the pet shop had excited them. Some had torn their hands free of the ropes that bound them and clawed at their captors or pulled the mouthpieces from their own faces. One had gnashed through his mouthpiece while his hands were still bound. He roared, tattered streamers of cloth drooping and fluttering around his neck like an old shroud as he closed his ragged teeth on a captor’s shoulder.
Gray’s men were surrounded, and they brandished knives and axes as if it would deter or delay anything. The bitten man howled and bashed at his attacker. Another Infected growled deep in her throat and leaped onto the bitten man’s back, clawing at his throat. Disoriented by the parrot’s frenzied attack, Gray stumbled right into the middle, pushing past a few of the Infected without even realizing it. The cluster of Infected closed in, roaring and grabbing at Gray and his men.
Surly swooped away, wary of the snapping jaws as the Infected began to feed. She heard Joe tumble from the table behind her and turned in a tight loop. For the slightest second, she could see him lying on the floor near the open back door. The sun highlighted his bruised, swollen face. A pool of blood spread under his cheek as it dripped steadily from his mouth.
Then someone’s hand shot out of the tangle of teeth and claws and skin. It grabbed her, hard. She was spun around now, feathers bending between Gray’s clumsy fingers. The fury on his face scared her more than his iron grip did.
“Fucking chicken…” he hissed, wrapping his other hand around her and squeezing harder. Surly Shirley shrieked. A parrot scream, her true voice, crying out in pain as she felt her left wing bones snap.
One of the Infected bit down on Gray’s leg and with a roar he let Surly go. She hurtled through the air, slamming hard to the floor and sliding into the back room. She lay there for a few long moments, the chaotic fight behind her fading beneath the pain electrifying her body. Short reports of gunfire followed by shouts brought her back to reality. She realized Gray’s men were shooting their Infected, trying to save themselves.
The melee died down as Gray regained control and the men left to restrain and herd the remaining Infected and fix their own wounds. Surly struggled to stand up, wobbling and dragging her broken wing. The whistle in her chest was louder now. She tottered up to Joe’s face. His eyes were closed.
“Pretty Joe,” she chirped, hopping sideways in front of him. “Pretty Joe, Surly Shirley. Nuh-night. Nuh-night Paws and Claws. Come again.”
Joe didn’t move.
“Pretty Joe. Nuh-night.” She tried to beat her wings, tried to make a light breeze over his face. Pain arced through her again as her left wing only thudded weakly. So Surly bit his finger gently and pulled at it. He opened one eye a crack. It was too swollen to open further. Joe reached out and stroked her feathers for a moment. “Ahh-ee—” he started and then groaned as he realized he could no longer speak. He coughed on more blood oozing from his severed tongue.
“Pretty Joe, Surly Shirley, nuh-night,” she said. He picked up his head an inch or two and saw that she was hurt. He reached out with one hand and gently scooped her toward him. She squawked but let him pull her into his chest. He tucked her gently into his shirt, careful not to touch her limp wing. He got up on all fours and began crawling. Walt appeared behind him.
Surly saw him over Joe’s shoulder. “Bad bird!” she screeched. “Bad bird!” Joe turned over to see who was there.
“Shut up, you damn chicken,” muttered Walt. Joe put a big hand around her protectively and Walt shook his head, then bent over Joe. “Why’d you do that? So stupid, Joe. Why couldn’t you just keep your head down and follow orders for another two days? Why bring the soldier into it? What does the herd matter anyway? They’re just Infected. Nobody wants them. You think anyone’s going to want them even if they’re cured? Nobody wants a monster in their neighborhood. You were always thick, though. C’mon, I’ll help you get to the wagon.”
Joe shook his head.
“I have to, you’ll die if I leave you here. Just be quiet and we’ll be back home by tomorrow night. Gray’s crazy. I’m not being paid enough to get eaten by some zombie. I’m going home. I’ll drop you at that doctor lady’s place. Just don’t let Gray hear you.”
He pulled Joe up onto his feet, and they stumbled out the back door to an old pickup truck, Joe’s hand cushioning Surly as they walked. The cab had been sawn off and there was a scrawny horse yoked to it. Walt dropped the tailgate and dumped Joe onto it. “Just stay quiet. I’ll be back after the trade in a few hours.”