“Gloves and masks,” Calix reminded them, moving us a good ways away from them.
Nathan nodded and put gloves and a mask on, handing the extra to Micah as he came back with a saw and a new axe. Once they were covered, Nathan grabbed a bottle of whiskey Calix had brought with the medical supplies and shoved it in Jay’s mouth, and Jay drank it like water without even opening his eyes. Nathan placed a piece of something in his mouth to bite on right after.
Everything else unfolded in front of me in a blur. I was watching it in the same room as it happened, but it didn’t feel like I was. When Micah began to saw Jay’s arm off, my hearing went static, and Jay’s eyes flew open as he screamed. Even with his scream being muffled, it was still piercing.
Micah continued sawing his arm as Nathan jolted up to run and hold the furniture in front of the door as the horde outside began to bang on it.
The saw hit concrete, and Nathan rushed back over with the blow torch Calix had left in the pile. He put the flame against the head of the axe till it glowed a deep red, then passed it to Micah so he could cauterize the wound.
Jay’s screams had stopped sometime between Nathan securing the door and heating up the axe since he’d passed out.
“There’s antibiotics too,” Calix murmured. “We have two bags full of pain relievers and antibiotics.”
The horde finally stopped banging on the door a few minutes after Jay passed out.
“We need to finish gathering supplies. There are two decent-sized wagons in the back. Pile them up with as many bags of supplies as you can,” Micah told us, and I nodded numbly beforeturning with Calix and going to retrieve all the supplies we could while I tried to block out the reality of what had just happened.
23
TORI
Sunlight streamed through the cracks of the wood holding the windows shut, and the groans and moans outside had seemed to have amplified since last night. I rolled over and realized all the guys had gotten up already from our spot in the back corner where we’d slept.
Jay was still asleep where we’d dragged him to, on the other side of the back of the warehouse, and I could see the sweat pouring off of him even from being a good ways away. Pushing up off the hard floor that was not softened by the sleeping bag, I made my way to the front of the warehouse, stretching out my sore muscles. I hadn’t had time to process what happened yesterday, but I was thankful to be alive with my men.
Micah and Nathan had climbed up on the top of the shelves and were looking out the window, whispering to each other, and Calix rummaged through the wagons of supplies.
“I don’t think Jay’s going to make it,” I murmured, barely recognizing my own voice.
The three of them whipped their heads toward me, but Calix was the one to come over and bring me into his warm embrace while the other two kept watch.
“I know, honey. He’s running a fever, and he’s been having seizures throughout the night. All signs of the zombie virus.” He held me tighter. “We tried though.”
“Isn’t he supposed to have twenty-four hours? He’s declined so rapidly. It hasn’t even been twelve hours since the bite.”
“Maybe the amputation sped it up, but I don’t think it’s due to infection from the amputation. I don’t want to waste the medicine on him since he’s going to die anyway,” Calix explained, and I nodded.
“I understand that.”
“So this is the zombie virus?” A rattled cough sounded from behind us, and we jumped to glance over at Jay, who stood in the aisle with a defeated expression. “I shouldn’t have let my guard down. Because I did, Daisy…” He swayed on his feet as he clutched his chest.
“It was your mom,” I murmured. “I can’t imagine how hard that must’ve been.”
He shrugged, letting out a weak chuckle before sliding to the floor. “You never liked her much anyway.”
“I never wanted her dead, Jay,” I snapped, and he nodded.
“So what now? Are you going to kill me before I turn?”
“Is that what you want?” Nathan asked, pointing his gun at Jay from his spot up by the window, and a jolt of surprise ran through me. But I did nothing to stop him.
Micah and Calix didn’t look the least bit surprised.
Jay paused for a moment, but before he could answer, the door burst open, and a flood of zombies shoved the furniture out of the way, letting it clatter hard against the floor.
“Calix, Tori!” Micah shouted, and adrenaline slammed into me as Calix and I raced toward the aisle.
Both Calix and I were without our weapons, but we climbed the shelves just before the zombies started grabbing at thesupplies on the shelves and throwing them to the ground as they tried and failed to climb after us.
