“Shoot me, if it will make you feel better, but I’m taking you out of here.”
She didn’t ask who he was. She simply lowered the weapon and nodded.
That was so much easier than he’d anticipated. He had to wonder, was she infected?
“Are you bitten or scratched?”
“No.” Her eyes were drawn to his arms.
He looked down and realized he’d definitely been bitten more than once, but the wounds started to heal even as he watched. “Doesn’t matter. I’m immune.”
“Really? I’d love to look at your blood.” She bit her lip. “Um, maybe not here. But… somewhere.”
“Goddamn it. You’ve unleashed a zombie apocalypse, and you’re still trying to play God.”
“No, that’s not it at all. The zombie apocalypse is here and it sucks, but you have a cure in your veins. Why wouldn’t I want to study it? Maybe it doesn’t have to be an apocalypse?” Her tone implied he was stupid for thinking otherwise.
“The cure is in your blood, too. Although, a bite would most likely kill you. But hey, you wouldn’t turn.” He shrugged.
“How do you know so much about it?”
“Because our blood is… similar.” He spun just in time to catch another revenant as it launched itself into the room. Adam caught it midair and beheaded it.
“You’re very strong. I wish I was that strong.” She tucked the gun into the waist of her slacks and swung the ax up over her shoulder. “Lead the way, big guy.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Do you know who I am?”
She nodded. “Well, I don’t generally run off with strangers, although in the middle of this shitstorm, I’d probably leave with most anyone. But Polidori told me you’d come for me, if you’re Adam?”
“I am he.” He scanned the room. “And where is John?”
“I don’t know. He locked himself in a safety pod.” She pointed to the wall.
“I can’t believe he left you here to face this alone,” he snarled. Adam was completely disgusted. “I’m sure he’s immune to the infection as well.”
“He said you were coming. That I’d be fine.” Elizabeth lifted her chin. “It seems I am. Let’s go. I don’t care where he is.”
“I do.” He ran his hands along the wall where she’d pointed, the electric current shorting out the door on the safety pod. It whooshed open, but he was not all surprised to find it vacant. A hole had been torn in the steel of the ceiling and that was likely how Polidori had made his exit.
“I told him I was going to kill him.”
Her need for revenge, or maybe it was justice, it didn’t matter, but it was still a heavy weight that settled like manacles around him.
“Do you want me to kill him for you?” he offered casually, as if her answer was of no real consequence.
But it did matter. It mattered so much he could taste it.
“No.” She shook her head. “I just want to get the hell off this island. John will get what’s coming to him, I’m sure. He abandoned his post in a crisis. The people I work for have… rules about that.”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing?”
“No. You’re going to help me get to a safehouse on the other side of the island.”
“My boat—”
“I have to get in touch with the mainland before I do anything. I’m not putting my neck on their chopping block, too, for abandoning my post. It’ll be safe. Just get me there.”
He sighed. He didn’t think it was the right choice, but what did he know? She was the one who worked for Bureau 7. She seemed confident that Polidori was going to be punished ugly for what he’d done, and maybe she had firsthand experience.
“How far is it?”
“About eight kilometers through dense forest. There’s a trail.”
“That all of the staff working here know and so, too, probably, do the revenants.”
“So we need to move fast and hope we get there first.”
“Then let me carry you.”
“Excuse me, what?” She eyed him.
“I didn’t stutter. I can move much faster than you can. I’m immune to their bites. You need to get there fast, and I can get us there fast. I don’t need to stop to breathe. I don’t need to worry about rocks or uneven ground.”
“So, should I just climb on your back, or what?”
She looked so doubtful, he couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t want to smile. This was serious business and there shouldn’t have been anything to smile about.
But smile he did.
“Well, it is a bit ridiculous, isn’t it?” She smiled back.
By the angels in heaven… or perhaps it more like by the demons in hell… The smile transformed her face. He’d never liked looking at one of them so much as he did this one—humans. Women.
He wanted to keep that smile on her face always because she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She was enough to make him believe in the divine.
“Come, like this.” He swept her up, taking her ax, and pressing her against his chest.