Sorrow's Gift

Chapter Forty-Nine: Noah

Parrish and Crash had explained why they were going on this wild goose chase tomorrow, but he didn't like it at all.

Lily might not be like the rest of them, but it was obvious she'd faced some kind of trauma and had been having a hard time getting over it. She was suffering from amnesia, which really wasn't that uncommon when it came to severe post-traumatic-stress.

Leading them into the unknown as a test to see if she was somehow controlling the super-zombies sounded like a practice in insanity to him.

If they were wrong, they were still putting themselves in danger from the regular zombies out there. They could come across a horde of them and someone could get hurt or killed in the process.

If they were right, they would have to face another group of super-zombies. They'd barely survived the attack in D.C., so why would they willingly walk into another attack?

But Parrish had said it was better that they find out the truth when they were away from the compound, rather than stay here and risk the entire place getting ambushed by those things.

And she was right.

Noah just didn't like the odds. Either way, they were taking themselves away from what had to be one of the safest places in the country and putting themselves back in danger.

He was still hoping he might be able to talk Parrish out of it.

When the others had headed back to the room, he hung back, touching her arm and motioning for her to follow him upstairs.

She glanced toward the others and nodded. "I'll be there in a minute," she said. "Meet you on the roof?"

He nodded and watched as she disappeared into their bedroom. He made his way to the stairwell and up to the roof, amazed at how bright it was at this time of night.

With the electricity still on around town, all the street lights were on. They must have been set on some kind of timer. Floodlights had been attached to all corners and sides of the armory about ten feet apart from one another, the light shining out in all directions.

The shopping mall was mostly dark, but he could see houses with lights shining through the windows up and down the street. Was anyone still alive in there?

He guessed not, since they would have surely realized what was going on here at the armory and come here instead. Still, he liked to think there were survivors all across the country, and maybe even the world, living in their own homes with their families intact. Safe and alive. When all this was over and the rotter population had been eradicated, he hoped those families would be able to rebuild the world.

"What are you thinking about?" Parrish asked softly, coming to stand beside him at the edge of the rooftop.

"I didn't even hear you come up," he said.

"You looked so peaceful just now," she said. "Hopeful."

He smiled. "I was just imagining that there were families in those homes who hadn't lost anyone," he said. "I was thinking how the survivors would be able to rebuild someday, once the rotters were gone."

"Do you think that's really possible?" she asked.

"Some people are immune," he said. "I can't imagine there are many people left who weren't exposed to the virus at all, so that means most people who are still alive can't get sick. If we can find a way to get rid of the rotters that exist now, all that will be left are healthy people, right?"

"That's a pleasant thought. A world without rotters," she said. "I was thinking about Cheryl's baby. She's six months along already, but what happens when that baby is born? We don't know how immunity works. Zoe and I seemed to be immune to the virus, but not Mom and Dad. It could also work the other way around. What if the parents are both immune, but the baby is born with the virus?"