Duality (The Hitchhiker Strain) by Kellie Sheridan Read Free Book Online Page B

Is that it then? Death by lethal injection?
    She takes the cap of the syringe and squirts a tiny amount out of the massive needle. I ’m holding my breath and my fingernails dig into my leg where my hands are tied down against my body. I want to loosen my grip—I do—but the beast needs something to fight against and my body is all we have left.
    Strangely though, the more I concentrate on forcing my grip to relax, the more clearheaded I become —not unlike when I first got this damned bite. The beast wants me to take over, to make this better, and to find a way to save us. But like a caged animal, it’s too desperate to give up control entirely. We’re nearly out of time, and I’m not doing enough to get us out of this.
    There ’s nothing I can do.
    The liquid insid e the syringe is clear with the faintest tint of blue. The color is all I can look at as my warden approaches me. Her face doesn’t betray even the smallest hint of fear. It would seem I’m not the first monster these people have captured and she’s more than confident in her ability to control me.
    Someone tears away the remaining fabric on my shoulder and swabs my arm, wiping away months of dirt and bacteria. I don ’t even bother to turn and watch. No, instead I’ll watch the substance that will be my final undoing.
    “ Ready.” Finally, the doctor looks right at me. “This is going to hurt. And then it’s really going to hurt. The first time is always the worst.” Our eyes remain locked on each other, but I have no time to decipher her words before the tip of the needle is pressed against my skin.
    I can feel every inch as the needle slips under my skin, but that pain is nothing compared to what comes next. At first it’s a shooting pain down my arm, but the feeling quickly spreads. And amplifies. And burns.
    Fire.
    Ice.
    A thousand pinpricks, all racing through my veins.
    Stop! No. It’s too much. Please. I can’t take this anymore.
    Someone help me!
    Unlike my neighbor, I remain silent. I scream internally, my jaw locked together in an effort to fight back the agony. Then my back arches up so violently that I swear my spine will break. I hope it will.
    Too much. Too much.
    For once, unconsciousness would be a gift. Relief never comes.

Chapter 8 – Savannah
     
    Our first day out ended up being kind of boring but left me feeling on edge when we finally reached our destination the next morning. I'd left Initiative Headquarters expecting a fight and instead spent all of my time loading various supplies into a small moving van Eduardo had found in the garage of a long abandoned house. We found almost everything we'd been looking for in record time—Dooley and Eduardo had been doing this for months now and knew what was needed and where we had the best chance of finding it. I was just getting in the way until Eduardo set me loose in a department store to go to work picking out clothing. Members of the Veritas Initiative have a communal stockpile that they can all pick and choose from as needed.
    A year ago, a shopping spree like this one would have been a dream come true. Two hours to pick through the entire store, taking whatever I wanted at no cost. But there isn't a whole lot of challenge in shopping for seven hundred scientists. Everything I’ve picked out would fit someone , and I doubted anyone would appreciate my creativity when it came to their fashion choices.
    At least Eduardo didn ’t question whether or not I could be trusted to take care of myself. We'd encountered both varieties of the infected when we'd cleared the vet’s office and some of the houses in Kearny. They were mostly people who had trapped themselves inside wherever they'd died. Never more than two in one place, and all easy to dispatch of, but it was enough for me to prove to this new group that I was capable of keeping myself alive. The superstore ended up being home to quite a few long-deceased locals too, so there is plenty to keep me busy as I wander