Alive Like Us Read online

  “Thanks,” Kai slipped the ointment into his pocket. “Hey, Doc? Have you ever had to decide who got treatment and who didn’t?”

  “No. I heard that last summer’s fever got that bad, but I was still in New Hope.”

  “I’d start thinking about it now, if I were you. I’ve heard it’s easier if you have a plan.”

  He ran down the steps and crossed the yard, stepping over the young soldier who’d been so thrilled at Theo’s catgut stitches. Frustration seethed in his chest. He didn’t want to be here. He hated places like this, and everything they stood for. Had Esme been with him, they’d have thrown her to the horde for merely existing. He owed these people nothing and yet he could die here if he didn’t help them. It made him feel trapped. Caged.

  “Merrick, wait,” Theo had followed him to the gate.

  “What?” Kai spun around.

  “Well...ah...I haven’t told anyone this—”

  “Spit it out.”

  “I can’t say it’s a cure—yet—but I thought you should know,” he pushed up his

  glasses. “It’s about Sanna. I think—I think we have something in her that could change things for us. As a species.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know, exactly. I need to get her to New Hope. They have labs there—real ones, with equipment.” He took a step forward, his voice dropping to a low whisper. “Do you understand what I’m saying? This could be...what we’ve been waiting for. Dying for. She could be the answer...to everything.”

  A thousand questions crowded Kai’s mind all at once, choking his words. “Scientists have been saying stuff like that since the First Night. What makes this any different?”

  “Her, obviously.” Theo’s eyes shined with a zealot’s passion. “Just think...you’ve seen Sanna come back to life and you’ve known her for less than a week. She died once when we were kids too, when she fell out of a chimney during a siege and broke her neck. I never told anyone. Not even her mother. I was too afraid, and my dad had just been bitten...” he shook his head, refocusing on Kai. “There’s gotta be something inside her to stop this virus. Once and for all. I thought you should know that, so when you’re fighting on the wall, you’ll know what’s at stake.”

  “Is that why you came back, to study her?”

  “It’s one of the reasons.” Theo’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “I don’t think the other one will pan out, though.”

  The siren called again. Things were going from bad to worse.

  “I’d better go.” Kai pivoted and raced to the chain-link gate, then down the pitch-black alley, towards the red glow of the fire. Theo’s words swirled in his mind, taunting him with the possibilities. Could Sanna be the cure?

  Hayes had said there already was one, and that the people in power were keeping it for themselves. He believed that if enough buildings burned, the government would give up its precious treasure and all the uncleans would be saved. Kai had thought that—wished it—for a long time, until he realized Hayes was no better than the people he hated.

  A wall of heat smacked into Kai at the far end of the alley. The fire had crumbled the church and was now devouring the Tavern. Multiple bucket brigades of Erlingers’ were dousing it with water, but it had grown far beyond their efforts. He rushed down the street and spotted a grayish blur streaking towards him. Frankie, yapping and wild-eyed, his fur blackened with soot. “Hey, bud. I knew you’d make it.”

  The dog trailed Kai as he continued to the heavyset person at the head of one chain. Dinah, her doughy face drenched in sweat, was heaving bucket after bucket of water into the flames.

  “It’s a lost cause. You should be soaking the other buildings.”

  “I don’t care about the tavern,” Dinah huffed. “Some old fools panicked when they saw the Alpha and ran to the cellar.” She splashed another bucket onto the flames. “I think they must be trapped.”

  The tavern’s interior glowed a hellish red as smoke poured through the second story windows. If those people didn't escape soon, they’d be cooked alive. Just like the ones at Broken Creek.

  “Give me your coat,” Kai said.

  The giantess passed an empty bucket to the person behind her and excepted another. “Are you crazy?”

  “I mean it. If you hurry, those loyal customers of yours might live to drink another day.”

  Dinah glowered at him for split second, then tore off her coat. Kai dunked it into a bucket of water and flung it over his head. The hem dragged by six inches; the sodden fabric heavy on his shoulders. Sucking in a deep breath of smoke-tinged air, he entered the living furnace.

  The stairwell leading to the second floor had collapsed, leaving a gaping hole engulfed in flames. Kai tucked his chin into the steaming collar and scrambled over the burning chunks of railing and steps. The fire was slowly spreading across the dining room, towards the bar, where bottles of Dinah’s homebrewed liquor sat waiting to explode.

  The basement stairs led down to a wide landing, where a pile of rubble blocked the cellar door. Muffled voices cried out as he flew down the steps and shoved away the rubble, his hands throbbing.

  The house groaned above him. Bits of flaming debris snowed down from the second story, singeing his sleeves. He finally reached the main problem—a beam wedged between the cellar door and the staircase. He wrenched it free and the door flew open. A stream of terrified people rushed out, most old enough to be his grandparents.

  “Keep going!” Kai ordered when a few hesitated at the top step. “Don’t stop!”

  An ancient man hobbled through the opening. Kai grabbed his thin arm. “Is there anyone else in there?”

  The man shook his head and started to climb the stairs on wobbly legs. Kai looped an arm over his shoulders and helped him the rest of the way up. Pop! Pop! Pop! Kai ducked, pulling the old man down with him. Liquor bottles burst, sending glass shrapnel flying through the air. The elderly woman leading the line screamed, a red veil of blood pouring down her face.

  “Help her!” Kai shouted.

  The man behind her grabbed the woman’s elbow and led her out. The rest of them followed close behind.

  The night air felt gloriously cool on his heated flesh as Kai staggered onto the street. The man he’d guided took Kai by the cheeks and pulled him closer, planting a kiss on his forehead.

  “Thank you, thank you,” he murmured, tears streaking down his leathery face.

  A wave of raucous cheers and applause took Kai by surprise as the line of water-bearers surrounded him, thumping his shoulders and whooping to the sky. Dinah cut through the crowd. “You did it, Merrick! I’d pour you a drink but—”

  A deep, terrible crack silenced her words. The group dropped to the ground, their hands protecting their heads, as the tavern collapsed with a blast of immense heat. Red-hot sparks floated through the air above them, hunting for another structure to consume.

  Kai was the first to stand. “This whole street should be evacuated.”

  “What about the Alpha?” Dinah searched the sky as if the mere word could summon her. “Anyone not fit to serve on the wall is either out here or hiding in their basements.”

  “Ivan Iron Tooth got her pretty good. I bet she flew off to lick her wounds.”

  “You heard him!” Dinah bellowed to the cowering group. “Half of you search the cellars, while the rest keep soaking the fire.”

  Kai studied the rows of shanties and dilapidated buildings. One spark from the tavern’s flames and they could all go up like dry tinder.

  A ribbon of smoke curled out from the roof of the nearest building, a squat, square structure with a single cracked window facing the street. Kai sprinted over and bashed down the door. He scoured the spartan, threadbare interior. It was empty with no basement. He left quickly, coughing as the thickening smoke burned his lungs, and headed to the next one.

  Tonight, he was putting the ghosts of Broken Creek to rest. One burning building at a time.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
/>   Sanna awoke in a dark room, the air smelling of musty earth. Her pale hand was splayed on the cracked cement floor. Confused, she lifted it up, studying her long, milky fingernails that ended in sharp points.

  This isn’t my hand.

  A skirt was bunched around her legs. The fabric was light and summery—unlike anything she'd ever owned. Worse yet, was the body beneath. Her strange hands flew over her legs, her stomach, her chest. None of it was her. Her legs weren’t that long. Her chest was sunken, her skin stretched over her ribs.

  She was someone else. Something else.

  She explored her face, her panic edging into horror, then touched her hair. Something tugged gently at her fingers and when she looked down a hank of auburn hair lay across her palm, still rooted to a piece of her scalp. A silent scream tore from her throat as the realization crashed into her. I’m...Infected.

  How long had she been like this? Why had her hair turned red? Where was she? She leapt up, scanning her surroundings. Like everything else, the basement was unfamiliar.

  Slats of weak light filtered through the narrow windows near the ceiling, just enough to cast shadows around moldering boxes of forgotten junk. A staircase rose from the center, ending at a door. Her stomach growled.

  She knew, somehow, that food came from up there, and she was so, so hungry.

  A thin ribbon of yellow light flickered at the base of the door.

  Something hissed from the opposite corner. Sanna scuttled deeper into the shadows, terror needling her skin. Two white orbs glistened in the dark. Chains scraped across the floor.

  The monster was awake.

  Sanna had to stay away. Far away. If she got too close, her skin would hurt.

  Footsteps creaked across the floorboards above, sending rivulets of dust through the cracks. A heavy thwack made Sanna jump. Her mouth watered as the coppery scent of blood wafted down the stairs.

  The monster’s chains rattled. The door creaked open and a chunk of flesh landed with a wet thud at the base of the stairs. The monster pounced, ripping off chunks with its claws and teeth.

  Sanna edged closer, knowing she shouldn’t take the risk, but her stomach ached. She ducked beneath the wooden steps. Her hunger sharpened to a sheer, jabbing pain. No food. No hope. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

  The door opened wider, throwing a wedge of light on the opposite wall. A male silhouette filled it. “Ruthie?” The first step creaked beneath his weight. “Honey? Where are you?”

  The man’s boots settled on the wooden step right in front of her nose. The roar of the blood rushing through his legs filled her ears, drowning out the painful, mewling noise he was making. She grabbed his ankle through the open steps. The man jerked his leg, but she held firm, turning her head sideways to fit through the slat. So close. So close. Her mouth watered.

  “Let go, Ruthie! Bad girl!” the man shouted, kicking back.

  She paused. The voice—did she know it? Her head started to pound. She released the man’s leg just as he kicked out again. The momentum sent him crashing down the stairs, where he laid in a heap of legs and arms. His neck was bent at an odd angle, away from her.

  The monster’s chain scraped across the floor. Ruthie pounced on the body and dragged it out of its reach, desperate to fill the aching void inside her.

  SANNA JERKED UPRIGHT, gasping for breath. The dank basement was gone. She was in the clinic. She tasted copper and traced her bottom lip. Blood stained her finger. Had it all been a dream?

  It had seemed so real.

  Ruthie. Where had she heard that name before? She stared at the blood on her finger, trying to remember. Two silhouettes fell over her. She jolted back, but then her brain re-shuffled.

  Haven. That was the girl’s name who stood beside her bed, frowning softly.

  A beam of light shone into Sanna’s eyes, piercing her amorphous thoughts. She winced, her head pounding, and rubbed her temples. The sweet scent of perfume tickled Sanna’s nose. Haven’s lips were moving, but her voice was a muffled, underwater drone. Her words slowly took shape.

  “...you were in a coma.”

  Sanna shook her head to clear the cobwebs. Her stomach growled. She was starving, just like in that weird dream. “How long was I out?”

  “Two whole days.” Theo studied her from the foot of the bed.

  “We didn’t think you’d make it,” Haven added. “Your burns were the worst any of us had seen.”

  The memory of the fire, the Alpha, and her father’s death came rushing back. “Kai.” Sanna gripped Haven’s arm. “Is he okay?”

  “Your Outsider is fine,” Theo said. “Actually, he’s better than fine. The whole town thinks he’s a hero. The fire took out about a quarter of our buildings but didn’t kill anyone, thanks to him. Erling suffered some heavy losses though, and the horde is still out there, growing every day.”

  “Theo.” Haven shot him a warning glare.

  Sanna glanced down at her bandaged hands. The coppery tang of blood still lingered in the air, or maybe it was just the remnants of the vivid dream. “I knew I was healing faster than normal before I went in after Kelsey. I had a cut that healed in a few minutes—”

  “A cut? That fire burned you to a crisp,” Haven said.

  “I know.” Sanna squeezed her eyes shut. The agony of her tortured flesh still haunted her, even if her wounds were healed.

  “I can’t believe you went in there after what Kelsey did to you. I thought you were over your stupid death wish but—” Haven squeezed her lips into a bitter line and shook her head. “You know what? Never mind. I’ll go tell Anne you’re awake. This is only the second time she thought her granddaughter was dead in the week.”

  Sanna watched her storm out of the room. “What’s gotten her so upset?”

  “She’s worried. We all were, actually. You came out of there looking like raw meat formed into a human. Even Kai figured you weren’t going to make it.” Theo grabbed some instruments from a nearby cabinet and placed them on a metal tray by her pillow. “I’d like to take some vitals. And some blood.”

  “Sure.” Sanna sat up, swinging her legs over the side. Her gaze caught on the gray sweater and pants she was wearing. A stranger’s clothes.

  “Let’s see what your skin looks like, shall we?” Theo unwound the bandages wrapped around her arm, starting at her elbow. “Amazing,” his fingers traced the smooth skin. “Not even a mark.”

  “I don’t understand. Haven said I was burned to a crisp.”

  “You were. Some might write it off as a miracle,” he reached for a syringe on the tray. “But I’d like to figure out how it works.”

  Sanna forced a smile. “You haven’t changed at all, have you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re like...one of those robots in the stories your dad used to tell us.” She shifted her attention to the dark whirls on the pine-planked wall, not wanting to watch.

  “I’m not a robot.” Cool metal pinched her arm. “I just know what it takes to make scientific discoveries. Focus. Dedication. Sacrifice. It’s the only way we can defeat the virus.”

  “I know,” Sanna heard the syringe clink on the tray and shifted her arm.

  Theo pinned it down. “One more. Please.”’

  Her stomach ached. She was starving, and the blood draw made it worse. “Okay. But afterwards I need some food.”

  Theo drew a second vial, then padded the crux of her elbow with gauze and wrapped it in clean linen. He slipped the samples into his coat pocket and left her alone in the exam room. “I’ll see what I can find.”

  Sanna unraveled the bandages on her other arm and rubbed the flawless skin. The constellation of freckles along her forearm was gone, as well as the fishhook-shaped scar she’d gotten the first time she’d scaled the wall. She'd been ten, and her grandfather had been so proud when she rang the bell at the top. “That’s my girl,” he’d crowed, opening his arms wide the minute she’d landed on the other side. She’d run to him, laughing, so happy that sh
e didn’t even feel the nasty cut.

  The scar was gone now. Just like Ivan. She’d never see his face again or hear his voice. Tears dripped onto her lap. Never seemed like such a long time.

  The door opened and Sanna stiffened, wiping her face with her sleeve.

  Theo tossed her a bundle of dried meat. “This is all I've got. They might still be serving lunch in the armory—that’s where Dinah has set up, since the tavern burnt down.”

  Sanna unwrapped the fabric and ripped off a leathery hunk with her teeth. It would be better fresh—raw, even—but at least it dulled the ache in her stomach. She polished off the stack of jerky in minutes, licking her fingers clean.

  Theo was watching her, his eyes magnified by his thick glasses. She felt like a pile of cells under his microscope. “Where’s Kelsey?” She hopped off the bed, dusting her hands on her pants. “Is she alive?”

  “She’s in the cell,” Theo said as Sanna brushed past him. “Hey—you should rest.”

  “I’ve been sleeping for days.” Sanna strode to the main room and spotted the girl inside a corner cell. She was curled into a ball under a pile of blankets. “How is she?”

  Theo hovered behind Sanna, agitated. “Not great. Her burns weren’t as bad as yours, but still pretty severe. Unfortunately, she doesn’t heal like you.”

  “And Simon?”

  “The Lieutenant is still looking for him.”

  First her group of friends, then her father, and now Kelsey. She was supposed to protect people, not be the reason for their deaths. “Theo,” Sanna faced him, “promise me something.”

  He took a step back, surprised. “W-what?”

  “I—I need you to promise to treat her and let her go.”

  Theo frowned, opening his mouth to speak. Sanna talked over him. “I mean it. You can’t let the Lieutenant execute her. I know you have clout. You can make something up about the CVC.”

  “Sanna, you know the Lieutenant won’t allow it. Or your mother, frankly,” Theo said evenly. “Kelsey put the whole town at risk that night and so much property was destroyed. Not to mention your father's death—grandfather, I mean.”