My brain was so sluggish when I woke up that it took me a few minutes to realize I was even awake. Then Lilly stirred next to me, and her presence helped me orient myself. I looked over and saw Les on the other side of the room. He was sleeping on a small cot. Even asleep, I could tell he was different. He'd slept through the night since a fairly young age, but was always a restless sleeper. He'd be up several times a night, and we'd always put him back in his own bed. Now, however, he was completely still. Only the slow rise and fall of his chest let me know he was okay.
We could fight this. I'd done it before, and I'd been completely unprepared for the symptoms of the disease. Now, I knew what was needed to keep the lethargy and loss of mental capacities at bay—proper diet and music. The problem was, I doubted there'd be much opportunity to find either of those things out in the middle of nowhere.
I automatically put myself back in the leadership role. I'd done it before because, even as a teenager, I'd been the best person for the job. I'd been the one who'd discovered that music could help Zombies stay sharp. And I'd been the unique Zombie with a culinary knack for making cow brains appetizing. But more importantly, I'd been the one to figure things out and rally the others to finally take a stand against Garret. And people had followed—Zombies and the uninfected alike.
In the years since the cure, I'd fallen into the usual role of an early twenty-something newlywed and new dad. I worked my way up the ladder at my job, paid my bills, and took care of my family. I'd been just a normal guy again. But still, lurking somewhere deep inside was that guy that had taken charge and made things happen. It was that part of me that was coming out now. It didn't matter there were adults around that were older than me. It didn't matter that two of those adults were my mother and Kieran, both very capable people. I was the one who had to fix this.
I sighed and stared up at the ceiling. This was all my fault. And I felt my reasoning for that assumption was pretty solid. The fact that the person who was doing this had left Bibles at all of the abduction sites and was signing them as Garret told me they were connected to him, which meant it led back to me. Because I'd been the one to stand up to him and lead others against him. And while I might not have struck the killing blow, his death was surely on my hands. Not that I regretted it—not for a minute. But I did have to accept responsibility, as well as these new consequences.
I didn't know exactly what I was going to do to make things better, but I did know one thing: I couldn't do anything from this lumpy, uncomfortable excuse for a bed. Gently, I pulled my arm out from under Lilly and crawled over her. She was normally a light sleeper, and I'd never have been able to get out of bed without her waking up.
I headed to the main living area where I assumed the others who'd taken up residence in this particular building would meet. I knew my mom, Kieran, Rob, and Melanie were here, but wasn't sure about the rest. The first step to fixing this mess was gathering information, starting with the first person who'd been dumped here.
Kieran was sitting on an old wooden crate, in front of a table that didn't look much better. He looked up when I entered the room and struggled to pull himself together. Suddenly, the thing that had been gnawing at the back of my mind finally broke free. I realized something I should've figured out yesterday—the virus was moving much faster than it had before. It hadn't taken as long for the lethargy to set in, for the hunger to feel like something clawing at my stomach from the inside.
"I figured you'd be up early," Kieran said. Each word came slowly, like he was struggling to get them out. "And have questions."
I nodded and took a seat on a rickety chair across from him. He'd been here for days so I could only imagine how much worse he was doing than I was. And I appreciated the fact that he was willing to put forth the effort.
