Infliction |Infected Book 2|

Epilogue & Playlist

3 Months Later

Cody

I gazed through the open back door, watching Desi as she stood bracing the deck railing. Her hair was blonde again, now hanging to halfway down her neck, almost touching her shoulders. She was gazing out into the ocean, watching the tide roll in.

I had asked her before, why she always stood out here, and she said. “Because I can.” Finally, there was no one around to orchestrate us, no one confining us, except within our own paradise.

When we had first landed in Mexico, we were immediately handcuffed by officers wearing masks, afraid that we might be infected. They took Desi and Aundrea in one direction; Ryder, Durbin, Doc and I in the other. With the males and females split up, we were lined up naked in a shower room and hosed down while we kept our hands on the walls in front of us. Our blood was taken and read for infection and our vital signs were checked. The process had been a little longer for me considering I was bitten and didn't have B positive blood.

After we were cleared to be infection-free, we were assigned houses on the beach in our new refugee community. Desi's house was right next to mine, but she rarely used it, staying with me most of the time. My mind reeled back to when Desi and I had walked out of the medical center hand in hand.

I glanced over at her, tears dripping down her face, and I stopped walking, pulling her close to me. “What's wrong?” I whispered in her ear as she sobbed into my shoulder.

“It's all over,” Desi said, raising her head to look at me, water swimming in her eyes. “I can't believe it's all over. We get to be normal now.”

The word 'normal' felt so odd coming out of her mouth, considering the past couple of months had been anything but normal. But I could see why the thought of it would make her want to cry.

“We get to go to the beach,” she said, a smile showing through her tears. “We get to go out on dates. We get to worry about making coffee and taking out trash.” She started to cry again, the thought of freedom becoming overwhelming for her.

That was why she always told me, “Because I can”, everytime I asked her why she was doing anything. She had always smiled afterwards, infecting me, almost making me fall to my knees in front of her, her smile was that beautiful. Especially now since she could truly be happy.

I walked barefoot across the wood floors of my living room and through the back door, so that I could stand by Desi. I stared out into the ocean with her, not looking at her as I spoke.

“Why are you standing out here?” I asked her, waiting to hear her usual response, but instead, I got nothing. I turned my head to look at her, instantly noticing the trails of tears on her face. “What's wrong, Desi? Did you have another nightmare last night?”

Desi shook her head, her cheeks blushing. “No, it's not that.”

“Then tell me, please.” My body turned to face her now, my hands grabbing for hers. She still stayed quiet. “You're starting to scare me.”

Desi

I was afraid to tell Cody. Afraid of what he might think, even though this was nothing really for him to worry about. I glanced towards the empty house, that stood next to mine, the house that hadn't even been stepped in since we all got here.

“Where is he?” I asked, turning back to Cody, but avoiding his gaze. “Why would Ryder just leave without telling anyone goodbye? How could he just do that to us?” I was mainly talking about me, but he owed all of us an explanation after all we have been through. I brought my eyes back to Cody, half-thinking he would be mad at me, but of course, being as good as he always is to me, his eyes softened.