Heart Hunters

TWELVE

E L M I R A

The bushes rustled behind me. Javi's eyes flashed flame-blue as he whirled around, gun raised.

"Whoa, whoa!" I grabbed his shoulder before he could fire. "Easy. Just an opossum. See?"

"What?" He blinked once, twice. The giant rat-thing lumbered away, dragging its wormy tail on the ground. He sighed, letting the Lens fade away. "Sorry."

"You've been... twitchy... lately." My eyes narrowed. "Your Lens doesn't usually activate so easily."

He shrugged my hand off, lowering the rifle. "It's— I was — bored."

I raised an eyebrow. "Bored. Really."

"What, I'm not allowed to be? You're the one always complaining about never getting attacked!"

"First off, it's called a joke. Second off, that doesn't sound like you at all." My long curls swung, bouncing lightly as I leaned against a tree. Shrub twigs tugged at my mist-gray NODE uniform. "If you need to see the facility psychiatrist, I can hook you up."

"I don't think so."

"I'm serious. That woman is amazing. I visit her office whenever I get the chance, and I feel great!"

His face pulled into a frown. "Wait, wasn't the psychiatrist a man?"

"Oh, that one got shot. The new one is a lady."

He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I'm serious. You look like crap—"

The Lens flashed blue. "Well, I feel like crap, okay?!"

"Whoa." I took her hands off my rifle, raising them to my head. It hung there by the strap, its muzzle dipped towards the ground. "Easy there."

He swore under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose until the Lens went away. "I'm sorry for breaking conduct. This won't happen again."

I shrugged, lowering my hands. "If you're not going to tell the doctor, can you at least tell me?"

He scoffed, turning his hooded, sagging eyes to the road. "Believe me, you don't need this on top of everything else. I'll be fine."

I scowled. "Need I remind you how many times you almost shot the local wildlife since this morning?"

He sighed. "Trust me. You don't."

"And does that sound 'fine' to you?"

"Better than getting Re-Infected."

"And why would you worry about that?"

His jaw clenched. "I told you, you don't need—"

"Hey." My clay-colored eyes came level with his. "You don't get to decide what burdens I get to carry."

He stared at me for a long moment. he looked away, rubbing his tired, aching eyes. "Hell. You just don't give up, do you?"

"I like to think it's my most endearing quality."

"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." He fixed his eyes on the horizon. "Have you ever noticed anything strange about these Walker sightings?"

"Not particularly."

"There's been more of them lately. Before, it was maybe one or two. But yesterday an entire family got Infected." He turned to me, his face drawn. "Three generations, El. Why would Rudy wipe out a family? You've seen how much he likes his legacies."

"Don't look at me like I should know. I haven't even seen the guy."

"Rudy wouldn't allow that," he muttered, chewing on his bottom lip. "Rudy would never allow that. He hasn't said anything about it, which means he's trying not to bring attention to it. Something is wrong."

"Are you sure you're not looking too deeply into it?"

"None of the Walkers we've seen since the past month have had machinery in their bodies. No Curados, no Re-Infection." His teeth dug into the skin of his lip, tearing it open. "If Curados aren't affected, it might be a—"

He doubled over, gasping for breath.

"Captain, snap out of it!" I grabbed his shoulder and shook him. "You're hyperventilating!"

"The bites, El!" He whispered, his voice a wheeze as he struggled for air. "The bites weren't—!"

A hand was sticking out of his stomach. Blood blossomed around the hand, darkening the uniform fabric. It slid out, slowly, and Captain Javi fell to the ground.

A small boy stood behind the body, his left hand dark and wet.

"What an idiot." He looked down at Captain Javi, nudging him in the side with a bright red hi-top. "Not only did he fail to keep his mouth shut, he did it when I was out watering the plants. I was just about to leave, too."

I clapped a hand over my mouth, but a giggle escaped between my fingers. "You."

"Yes."

I point at him, trying to sneak words between giggles. "The. The fake blood. It's all over your hand."

"Fake?" He glanced at his hand, then back at me.

I fall to my knees beside the Captain. "Hey. Get up. Oh. Whoa. Your expression is so —!"

I burst into laughter.

"Don't tell me I broke another one." He sighed, grabbing my wrist and lifting my hand to his mouth. "Oh, well. I'll find a use for you."