“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I just tripped.”
“Over what?”
“Shine the light in the far corner to your left.”
As the light hit what caused my fall, I slowly dropped my hammer to the side.
“Cammy, come down here.”
She was at my side in no time and we both looked down at the jars of canned food at my feet.
“Is that food?”
“Yes. Help me grab a few jars. I didn’t see anything else down here. I’m not sure how the boy got down here, but we found this thanks to you and your demands to find the basement.”
We loaded up our arms with everything from fruit to pickles and carried our haul upstairs. We laid it out on the floor between the two couches I pushed together. Cammy headed to the kitchen and came back a few seconds later with two forks
“Open the apples first,” she said.
The ‘pop’ of the seal breaking and the sweet smell of cinnamon and apples made both our stomachs growl. I let her dig in the jar first and when she had fished out a big chunk of the treat, I did the same.
“Oh my god, this is so good,” she mumbled with her mouth full. Juice ran down her chin and when she brought her hand up to wipe it off, I saw all the blood and splatter from before.
“Stop. I know it’s good and we need to eat, but we are covered in infected blood and whatever else landed on us. Showers first and then we can finish eating.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. And stop touching your face.”
I was pissed at myself for not making her clean up already. If either of us touched the food with our hands, we could be speeding it up by eating any hint of the virus. Airborne made sense, but without knowing what or how that shit spread, we had to be extra careful.
“Fine. Will you come with me though? I don’t want to be alone.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Being able to hear Jake in the bathroom made me feel a lot better. The feel of the hot water helped wash away the memory of the boy. I never imagined I would come face to face with a kid infected with the virus. I’ve never been one to look at life with rose colored glasses, but the idea of kids…I didn’t like it one bit.
When I finished up, I reached out of the shower and grabbed the towel lying there. The minute my feet hit the floor Jake was there.
“I need to check. You were coated in infection.”
I swallowed hard, then nodded my head as I dropped the towel and stood there, nervously, as he once again inspected my body for sores. The first time he did it, I wasn’t as nervous. This time, I felt my heart pound in my chest at the idea of becoming like the others I’d seen. I didn’t want to be a hindrance to Jake. I didn’t want to try and kill him either.
“You’re good.”
I turned toward him as I wrapped the towel back around my body. “It’s your turn,” I insisted as I grabbed the clothes we’d gone upstairs and collected before deciding to clean up again.
He nodded. “I’m going to strip, then put my clothes in the bag with yours.”
“What will we do with them?”
“I’m going to tie it down then take it to the garage. That’s as far as I’m willing to go right now.”
He was right. We couldn’t go any farther. If we lifted the garage door, it would alert anyone who may be in the area, along with the infected who could still be wandering around. I watched while he dropped his scrubs, slid out of his top, then stuffed everything into the bag. I walked slowly behind him as he marched to the garage door in all his glory, then stopped short of opening the door.
“Do you hear anything?”
“No,” he sighed. “I just don’t know if I’m ready to face another infected.”
“The garage door is down. Hopefully nothing has gotten in there.”
Reluctantly, he smiled in agreement then opened the door. I waited with bated breath, but thankfully nothing came rushing toward us. Instead, he tossed the bag in the far corner, then hurried back in and closed the door behind him.
“See, that wasn’t hard,” I teased then let my eyes run over his body. “Dude, you’re starting to drip. Go get that craziness off you.”
I didn’t have the nerve to wait in the other room. Instead, I stood in the corner of the bathroom, slipping into my gloves and plastic booties Jake insisted I put on. I could hear how hard he was scrubbing his own body. I could understand it though. My own skin was still raw.
I heard the water shut off, then heard a faint, “Fuck.”
“Jake, what is it?” I asked, feeling my heart leap into my throat. Was he infected? My mind immediately imagined some unseen virus eating away at the flesh on his leg or arm.
“I have a cut. I don’t remember where I got it.”
I tried to remember where it could have come from. I didn’t see a cut on him when I inspected his body after he disinfected. Since then though, he’d pulled the guy free of the car, fought with the boy, and inspected the house. “What all did you pack in your bag?”
“Some antibiotics, bandages, stuff for wound care. Just the basics.”
“Okay, get out of the shower, let me check you over, then we’ll clean and bandage your cut to make sure you’re alright.” I had to speak up and take control of the situation. I could hear the nervousness in his voice.
I waited until he climbed out of the shower, then carefully looked him over. I fully admit, I paid closer attention. If there was more than the one cut, I wanted to know. No, I needed to know. When I saw nothing else, I couldn’t help but be slightly relieved.
“I’m going to dress first,” he told me as he quickly dried himself. I waited until he slipped into the clothes he had laid out then sat down on the toilet seat. “I can do it. You know, just in case it’s something you shouldn’t touch.”
Part of me wanted to argue, but this was Jake. He was the smartest person I knew. If he thought it was best for me not to touch the wound, there was no way in hell he would let me. Instead, I stood over him, watching as he pulled out what he needed to clean and set to work. On any other day, I wouldn’t think twice about what I saw. It was a simple cut. Barely broke the skin. Considering what we’d been through lately though, it could be some kind of fucked up death sentence for him.
“It’s not deep.” I wanted to give him a bit of clarity on what was going on. I could see the fear in his face as he worked.
“That’s a good thing. I don’t think it truly broke the skin, but I don’t know how contagious this virus is.”
“Now that we have a place to chill for a bit, maybe you could make a few calls. You said the CDC sent out information five days ago. Someone could still be waiting around to hear from people.”
“Or they may have figured out what this is. They could even be testing a cure.”
His words made me smile. I could only hope his random pondering could somehow turn out to be true. “I’ll hope on that one,” I sighed. “Now, let’s get you in here and get some food in you. It’ll make you stop worrying.”
The look he gave me sent a chill down my spine. It had been years since I’d seen Jake, but I still knew that look. Nothing I said or did was going to stop him from thinking he was infected. I could see his mind working behind his eyes. He was plotting and planning.
“Yeah, you need to eat something. I think I do too,” he finally said, getting to his feet. “Those apples have to go, though. We had blood on us when we opened them.”
“Dammit,” I mumbled as I fell in step behind him.
Making it to the living room, I collapsed on one of the sofas while Jake wiped down each of the cans of food with a disinfectant wipe. Once he finished, he carried the used wipes and opened cans to the kitchen garbage. I watched him drop them in then pull off his gloves and add those as well. Coming back to his sofa, he grabbed a fresh pair then opened a can of peaches. Instead of digging in like we were before, both of us nit-picked, our appetites gone at the prospect of him being infected.