Scourge

Chapter 6

We scoured the home for supplies. There were a couple of hiking backpacks that needed to be emptied. We made more water and stored as much as we could in some bottles without making our bags too heavy. We took a lot of food, expired or not, and put them in her bag. We put all of the alcohol, towels, and other things that could be used as medical care into my bag. We changed clothes one last time before doing a final sweep.

"Got everything?"

She pats the pockets of the deep green utility jacket she found.

"Yep."

She managed to find a jacket and black biker shorts and sneakers. I didn't get that lucky, as most of the men's clothes here are too large. I was able to change my shirt and nothing else.

"So what's the plan for when we get to Georgia? I don't exactly know where we are, but we can't be too far from the marine corps base. After that, we'll reach Wilmington, which is mostly the city."

Her knowledge of the area is extensive. I don't even know my own state like that.

"And your plan after that?"

"The Cape Fear River runs into the Atlantic, which means we can take the river to get as far east as possible. But I don't think we can make it to Atlanta like that."

"We can take the bus."

"What kind of bus is driving around in this hellscape?"

"Government sanctioned buses. They pick up infected individuals and take them to the nearest shelter. They don't actually stop at The Shelters. There are different bus stops and access points for the bus, but it drives up and down the entire east coast. We can take it all the way to Atlanta and figure it out from there. We'll have to lie and say that we have family in Atlanta so they don't force us to get off at an earlier stop."

Frost rapidly taps her fingers against the table.

"You'll need this then."

She slides the jacket off her shoulders and drops it onto mine.

"Why?"

She points to my arm.

"You don't have any sores. So you have to cover as much skin as possible. When we're on the bus, fake some coughs to really sound sick."

"Okay."

I take it from her and quickly put it on. We scan the perimeter and determine it's safe to leave. We have to head back into the city to see exactly where we are. Everything is going smoothly. Well, almost everything.

Frost was lagging behind and struggling to hold herself upright. How are we going to walk all the way to another city if she's like this? She walked up to a large tree and leaned against it before vomiting and coughing up some blood.

"Shit. You need water."

She kept coughing but shook her head.

"I'm good, just give me a moment."

I rest the back of my hand against her forehead. She's burning up. I grab a towel and soak it in water before pressing it to her forehead. She sighs and takes it from me before putting the cloth on her cheek.

"The coughing started to get bad about a week ago."

I hook her arm with mine to help her walk. No fighting back this time.

"You're going to be okay, I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Well, there's only one way to find out."