Page 38 of Creepy
“Hell, no.Mabel, we aren’t actually related, but we might as well be.She’s my cousin’s cousin.And besides, she’s with your brother.”
“I thought Lucy was with my brother.”
“They’re both with him.”
“Okay...How does that work?”
Wade made an aspirated noise, implying it hadn’t worked well, but relented, “I guess there’s a new reality and the norms have gone out the window.Don’t think bad of Joey.It was Lucy who wanted it, so her friend wouldn’t go without some...protection.Might not have been the case if Arlo had been around all along.Women are scarce from what I’ve heard and seen.”
“So, I’m your only option?”
“No, but if you were, I wouldn’t complain.It was just that the four of us stuck to ourselves for so long, trying to not contract the virus.Women were honestly the last thing on my mind, but if I’d been interested in finding someone, I could’ve.”
“You all aren’t survivors?”I knew the answer from my conversation with Mabel but needed to know who was in danger.
“We all are except Joey.”
“Excuse me.”My heart sank.“Explain,” I demanded in disbelief.
“Your brother wouldn’t leave me while I was sick, the stubborn dumbass.I told him he should go, evacuate to wherever would take him.But he never got sick either.Just like the CDC said to, I locked myself in the basement, waiting to die.But I didn’t die.Oh, I had wanted to.Once I was better and left the basement, I found out Joey stayed behind.In his defense, they were burning entire neighborhoods.”
“What?”
“Yeah, they told us to lock ourselves up and then burned down our houses.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Joey’s probably the only reason I survived.After that, we went looking for my dad.He’d gotten out, as far as we could tell, but we ran into Lucy and Mabel across town at my aunt Milly’s house.They both had survived, so forbidden to evacuate.Since then, we’ve kept our bubble small to not risk Joey.”
“What about Arlo?”
“Arlo showed up at a low point, and we invited him in.We were running out of food.We could’ve robbed him and left him to die, but that’s not us.We invited him to travel down here since he was a survivor too.”
“Poor Joey.He’s in danger here.”
“Maybe not.I was thinking since you survived, hopefully, this immunity runs in the family.”
“Is that what you’ve heard?Did the CDC say anything about that?”
“After the evacuations stopped, the updates stopped too.But word on the street is that survival is genetic.”
“It didn’t matter with my Papa.”
“Maybe your immunity comes from your mom’s side.Besides, I don’t think anyone over forty survives, no matter what.”
“So, Joey could’ve gone into a quarantine zone, whatever that is?”He still could.
“Quarantine zones are one step away from the past.Normal again.He could’ve but not with Lucy and Mabel.And that’s another reason I’m here tonight.I figure once they’re all asleep, I can go bust out your friend.There’s no reason a pregnant woman and someone not immune should go tomorrow night.I know Joey won’t listen.And Mabel, she’s too valuable to lose.”
“Yeah, having a nurse around would be nice.What about Arlo?He could help.”
“He’s no count.I mean, he’s a smart guy, useful but won’t help in a fight, karate or not.It’s better if I go alone.”
“I’ve been there before with the Stayers.”
“That’s why I’m talking to you first.I’ve got to know where to go.I mean, I know Rapides Parish pretty well.I only need a location.”
“I’m going,” I said in a rush.
