Fever by Kailin Gow Read Free Book Online

himself.
                “What?” I demand. “What’s so funny?” span>
                “Not funny,” Jack says. “You know before you were asking how I knew you weren’t like one of those things? Well, how many of those do you think would stop to help people? Now strap yourself in, we’re going down.”
               
     

 
    SEVEN
     
     
     
     
     
    J ack takes the helicopter down, not heading directly for the flashes, but close. That’s a hard one to judge. We need to be close enough to help, but not so close that we’re right on top of any creature like the one that chased us before. In the end, Jack puts us down behind a stand of trees that back onto a small, square, concrete building with a glass front.
                As the rotor blades idle, he leaps into the back of the helicopter, grabbing supplies. The submachine gun is just the start. He even grabs grenades. As for me, he throws a spare gun my way, along with a couple of clips of ammunition.
                “You know how to use it, right?”
                I nod, checking the chamber of the gun before loading and cocking it. I holster it alongside the other pistol Jack gave me. I briefly think about grabbing even more weaponry, but if two pistols aren’t going to be enough to keep me safe, I don’t know what will do the job.
                We hop down from the helicopter, heading around the corner of the building. There are other buildings nearby, set off from the road. They look like office buildings, though the only sign on them is a highly stylized symbol a little like a star in the middle of a series of interlocking rings that remind me a little of the way people draw atoms.
                The flashes of light came from here. I’m sure of it. It’s just a question of where. There are a few more buildings around us, forming a loose, open compound. In theory, the flashes could have come from any one of them.
                “Where…” I begin, but Jack lifts a hand to cut me off. He presses himself flat against the wall of the building, reaching back as he does it to press me to it too. I’m so tight against it that I can feel the roughness of the concrete against the skin of my cheek. Jack is so quiet and focused now, edging forward, the weapon he holds leveled to fire in whatever direction he’s looking from moment to moment.
                A heavy set man in his late fifties rushes from the building opposite us, lumbering across the ground between the buildings. He’s wearing a suit and a lab coat, both stained with something darker. Something almost black. What does it say about my life these days that I recognize the blood stain for what it is instantly?
                For a moment, I think that Jack might shoot him, he’s so ready for action. Certainly he aims at the running man, before pulling his gun down, obviously recognizing that he isn’t an immediate threat. Light flashes, and this time, it doesn’t come from a creature touching anyone. There’s a beam of it, flashing out from the shadows of the building’s entrance, missing the running man by inches. He hits the ground in something that seems to be half a dive and half a stumble. Whatever it is, he ends up down in the dirt, scrambling to get to his feet.
                He looks terrified, and right then, I guess he has every right to be. Even so, the expression on his face is painful to watch. People shouldn’t look that scared of anything. There shouldn’t be things in the world capable of doing that to someone. The trouble is, I know exactly the kind of thing that could make someone that scared. I’ve seen them. I’ve been chased by them.
                Jack pulls me away from the wall. “Celes, you get him. Make sure that he’s safe. I’ll…”
                “You’ll what Jack? Take on one of those things on your