Feeding Frenzy

Chapter 38

 Evey lifted her head off Ford's chest. He looked at her with his usual stern expression. Nausea crept into her stomach. What did Ford have to say? He had something to confess? What would he be holding back?

"What is it?" she asked.

Ford let out a deep breath. He reached out and brushed a curl behind Evey's ear. Her chest tightened, and she struggled to breathe.

"Thyestean," he said.

Evey recalled the word. The soldiers had said that it was the name of the Virus. They would not give any details about it other than the fact that the government named it. Johnson was making them hide the truth.

"What about it?" Evey asked.

"It was a mistake," he said. "It wasn't supposed to turn out this way."

"What are you talking about?"

Ford sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked up at the ceiling. The flame from the candle caused shadows to be cast across his face. His other arm was around Evey's naked body.

"We were originally stationed to protect the scientists that were creating Thyestean," he said. "None of this was supposed to happen."

"Thyestean was created?" Evey asked. "By the government? Is that why the government named it?"

Ford nodded. His fingers curled deeper into the flesh of her hip.

"It was a virus that was created that basically eats other viruses," he said. "AIDS, hepatitis, Ebola, the flu. It was supposed to kill viruses inside the body. It was designed to save people."

"Then what happened?" Evey asked.

"It either mutated, or something else went terribly wrong. Something happened. It turned the test subjects cannibalistic."

"That's how this all started?"

Ford nodded. He continued to stare at the ceiling as he could not look at Evey. Was carrying around the truth a heavy burden on him?

"They killed the first few people that it infected," he said. "They thought it would eradicate Thyestean. They weren't prepared for it to be airborne. That's how it infected the world so fast."

"Why aren't we sick?" she asked.

"I already told you."

Evey furrowed her brows.

"You told me?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I don't really understand it. I was never good at science, but it is some T-cell thing. Thyestean cannot attach to our cells, so we cannot get sick."

"Why was my family sick and not me?"

Ford shrugged.

"Everyone has different genetics," he said.

Evey closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. Ford raised his hand from her hip and trailed her fingers up her spine. Goosebumps broke out across her skin. Ford refused to look at her, and she tried to study his face. There was a crease between his brows, and his lips parted slightly.

"It was a bad idea," Ford said. "We should have stopped it."

"How would you have done that?" Evey asked. "Kalen, you are not the one who created this."

Ford dragged his hand up Evey's back until his fingers were in her hair. He rolled his head to the side and finally looked at Evey. He stared, and Evey's heart fluttered. He analyzed her face, looking at the freckles splattered across her skin and the gap between her front teeth.

"There was one good thing about Thyestean," he said. "It brought me to you."

Evey giggled and shook her head.

"The world ended," she said. "Don't try to romanticize this."

The corner of Ford's lips lifted into a faint smile.

"We may die," he said. "I have to say it while I can."

Evey lowered her head so that it was resting on his chest. She listened to his heart beating and closed her eyes. Ford held her close, and Evey was at peace for once in weeks.

---

The group heard a mixture of screeching and shrieking as they stood at the edge of the city. There was the odd Infected wandering as they walked down the highway. Ford or Johnson would kill them with a knife to the skull, not wanting to use a gun and gain attention.

The sun was setting, and they would be in darkness in under an hour. Evey prayed that her theory was correct. They would all be dead in minutes if she was wrong.

Johnson, who was leading the group, quit walking, and everyone stopped. He slid his bag off his shoulders and set it on the ground. He unzipped it and pulled out knives.

"We don't know what we might encounter," Johnson said. "I want to make sure that you are all armed."

"Finally," Gomez said.

"Not you," Ford said.

"Everyone," Johnson said, empathizing the word, "is getting a weapon."

Ford scowled. Evey put her hand on his arm but quickly removed it when Gomez raised a brow. She could not give him any more reasons to be suspicious of their relationship. Johnson handed Gomez a knife.

"Don't make me regret this," Johnson said.

"I don't like it," Ford said.

"You don't like a lot of things," Gomez said. "Only Evey."

Ford balled his fist at his side and gritted his teeth. Gomez smirked when he saw that he was irritating Ford. Johnson rolled his eyes.

"Don't do it, Ford," Johnson said. "I can't deal with you two fighting. Now, everyone, take a knife."

Connar pushed himself past Anjo and held his hand out. Johnson handed him a knife. He smiled before slashing the air multiple times. Anjo took a knife and inspected the long blade. Fiona's hands were shaking as she took hers. Johnson handed the last one to Roger, who shook his head and held his hands behind his back.

"I can't," he said. "I wouldn't be able to do it."

"You may die," Johnson said. "This gives you a fighting chance."

"My odds are with God."

Evey grazed her fingers along the dagger strapped to her thigh. Would she have to use it? How many was she going to have to kill?

Joey pulled on her sweater. She kneeled next to him. His eyes were glassy with tears, and his bottom lip wobbled.

"Josie," he said.

Evey let out a shaky breath. Joey had been asking about Josie all day. She tried to explain the reality of her being gone to him, but he could not understand.

"She's gone," Evey said. She did not know how else to explain it.

Tears rolled down his cheeks, and he wrapped his arms around her neck. Evey's heart ached as she listened to him sob. Once he calmed down, she told him that he could not make a single noise once it was dark.

The sun set, and they walked into the dark city.