She supposes that makes sense, though she isn’t eager to see what might come running.
Their current guests are in the front yard, so they toss the clock out back before Wyatt points the gun through a half-openwindow and waits. It doesn’t take long for the whole herd to show up once the alarm goes off, and then all she can hear are gunshots one after another until her ears ring.
It’s stupid to be so bothered. She has to get used to these things. Her whole body is sensitive these days to sounds, smells, and touch. It’s all ten times worse than it otherwise would be. This cacophony of bullets is enough to have her stomach rolling.
She rushes into the bathroom, lifts the toilet lid, and throws up her breakfast like she’s being paid to do it.
When she finally stops dry heaving, there’s nothing but silence until he knocks at the door.
“Come in,” she groans, leaning against the bathtub.
“All clear.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“Doing okay?”
“Oh, fine. Just morning sickness in the afternoon. It’s false advertising.” She gets up to rinse her mouth out. “You think it’ll only be in the morning, but it’s all day.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No. I’ll be okay. I think it stopped for now. Can we go back out?”
He nods, stepping out of the way for her to pass as they head into the kitchen.
“The alarm was a good idea,” he tells her, stuffing a few supplies into his bag.
It’s almost funny how quickly that simple compliment lifts her spirits, if only for a moment. A bashful half-smile creeps up as she shrugs like it’s no big deal, and really, it’s not, but she’s starved for any positive reinforcement. Her flutter of pride is fleeting, though. She can’t be happy about anything until Emma is home again.
At least Vincent isn’t here, she thinks, following Wyatt out into the woods. He’d have killed her already for making such adumb mistake. Not because he loved Emma, but because he’d jump at any chance to lay blame at her feet. He wouldn’t have the first clue how to find her, either, but Wyatt seems more than capable.
They’re so lucky he’s here. She winces the moment that thought enters her brain. She hardly knows him yet. Just the other day, she was considering how she might stab him. Allowing herself to get too comfortable too quickly is a terrible idea.
“She couldn’t have gotten far. Might have heard the shots and could be running our way,” he says.
Addison hopes that’s true, but after a mile, they’re no better off than when they started.
“Earlier, you mentioned someone named Gwen. She knew about the runners?” She needs to talk to keep her mind occupied. Otherwise, she might curl up on the ground and not move for the foreseeable future.
“She knew more than anyone. It was ground zero up there.”
Addison’s eyes widen. “Are you serious? The news cut off before they told us how it happened.”
“Gwen worked at a research facility up in Barrow. She studied the effects of the melting ice, so I’m assuming it had something to do with that, though we didn’t really have much time to get into specifics once everything fell apart.” He goes quiet for a moment, his voice turning softer. “I’d bring her supplies. She made me coffee sometimes…we were friends.”
“Were. She didn’t make it?”
Wyatt shakes his head with a scowl. “She fucking might have if she listened to me. I wanted to take her to the safe zone, but she was so worried about the animals in the wildlife center that she was staying in.‘Who would care for them if I go now and we can’t come back? At least if I stay, I know you’ll come for me after you take them.’That’s what she said. I listened. I listenedand took a cargo full of birds and seals off to some safe zone that doesn’t even exist anymore, and when I finally got back for her, she was already gone. Two bites away from patient zero.”
“You couldn’t have known how bad it would get.”
“She knew.”
“Then she probably knew there wasn’t any hope for her, anyway. That’s why she made sure you tried to help the animals instead. There was a chance for them. You can’t blame yourself for—”
“None of that matters. Over and done with. To answer your question, she thought the runners were a mutation. That this thing kept testing out different options until something fit. That’s why they behave differently in different places. It’s all a theory, though. Not like she got much chance to research any of it further.”
“It about took a year off my life when I saw them running at us. I’m not good at any of this yet,” she admits, remembering how she froze when she could have reached Emma. If only she just kept going…
