Chapter Nineteen.
When Bryce made it back to the marina, Paige and Billie were nowhere to be found.
"Billie!" he hollered, stepping away from the SUV. "Paige!"
He heard a faint cry on the other side of the marina, where some of the larger boats were docked and immediately took off towards the sound. When he arrived, he found Paige, Billie, and a woman covered with blood.
"Thank G.o.d," cried Paige, who was crouched down next to Billie.
"What happened?!" hollered Bryce, rushing over to him. "Oh my G.o.d, were you bit?"
He was lying on his side with blood seeping out of a wound on his neck. "Yeah," he whispered, his voice hoa.r.s.e.
Bryce took off his T-shirt and pressed it against Billie"s neck. He looked at Paige. "What happened to him?"
She swallowed. "When you were on the boat, about five zombies appeared out of nowhere, surprised the c.r.a.p out of us. I think they were heading towards the river like the other ones, you know? Anyway, we ran away from them and back here. Then, when we were about to get back into the SUV, Billie thought he heard a baby crying so we both rushed over here."
"Zombies?"
"Yeah, well, two of them were on this woman," she said, her eyes full of tears. "It was," she shuddered," horrible and too late, you know?"
"So, how did they get Billie?"
"Well, he slipped on the wet dock and they..." she closed her eyes and began to cry, "they pounced on him before he could shoot or I could do anything to stop them."
"What happened to the zombies?" he asked, looking around.
"I...I...killed them," she said, opening her eyes. "And pushed them into the water."
"It"s so hot," whispered Billie, his face pale. "My skin feels like it"s on fire."
"You"re going to be okay," said Bryce, forcing a smile. "We"re going to bring you back with us and get this little wound of yours taken care of. It"s really not that bad."
"No," whispered Billie, grabbing Bryce"s wrist. "Too dangerous. I can feel the virus spreading through me already."
"Don"t argue," said Bryce. "You"re going to be fine. Ca.s.sie beat this thing, so will you."
Billie"s eyes began to close. "Save the baby," he whispered.
Bryce"s eyebrows shot up. "Baby, what baby?"
"On the boat..."
"Hold this," he said to Paige, motioning towards the shirt.
She nodded and held it against Billie"s neck while Bryce stood up and walked towards the Carver.
"I don"t think there"s a baby around here, guys," said Bryce, climbing onto the deck.
And that"s when they both heard it, a faint cry from inside of the cabin.
Bryce opened up the cabin door and disappeared inside. Seconds later he re-appeared, his face full of shock. In his arms was a bundle of what was obviously more than just a pile of blankets.
"Oh my G.o.d," gasped Paige, when the baby began to cry, its little arms flailing, angrily.
Bryce sighed. "Yeah. A baby."
"c.r.a.p, what are we going to do?"
"I"m going to give you the baby. Then I"ll come back for him, before the rain picks up again."
"Is it safe?" she asked, staring down at Billie.
Bryce"s lips thinned. "I don"t know. But I just can"t leave him. He"s alive right now. Plus, he"s one of us. We"re not leaving anyone behind."
"You could tie him up, somehow," said Paige standing.
"Good idea."
She held out her arms and Bryce placed the infant into them. "Oh," she smiled staring down at the small baby, who couldn"t have been more than a couple months old, "she"s so sweet."
"How do you know it"s a she?" asked Bryce, kneeling down next to Billie.
Paige kissed the baby"s forehead. "Because," she said, softening her voice, "she obviously cries when you hold her and now that I"ve got her, she"s content. You have that effect on women."
"Thanks," scowled Bryce.
"See, she"s smiling at me," said Paige.
"What do we need for the baby?" he asked. "Don"t babies need diapers and milk or something?"
"Diapers and formula," said Paige. "We"re going to have to pick some up somewhere."
"I"ll search the boat after everyone is safe. Let"s get you both to the SUV first."
They were back on the road thirty minutes later, with Billie restrained in the back, with rope they"d found on the boat.
"They had a first-aid kit," said Bryce. "I put some iodine on his neck and bandaged it up. He"s got a fever though and I couldn"t find any aspirin."
"What about things for the baby?"
"Well, there were only a handful of diapers and I couldn"t find any formula on the boat. We"re going to have to stop somewhere."
"We need a car-seat, too," said Paige, staring down at the baby, who was sleeping. "It"s against the law to be traveling like this."
Bryce snorted. "What law?"
"I know, but we still need one. It"s safer."
They found a small grocery store on the edge of town which appeared quiet and free of zombies.
"Stay out here with her. I"ll be back," said Bryce, grabbing the gun.
"What if he changes into a zombie?" she whispered.
"He"s tied up. Even if he does, he can"t get to you."
Paige sighed. "Poor Billie."
"He might make it through this. Don"t give up."
"I hope you"re right."
"I"ll get some peroxide for that wound and bandages. Obviously they won"t have any car-seats but they"ll hopefully have formula."
"We can always find another vehicle with a car-seat," she said, looking hopeful.
"Keep a look out for one then."
Bryce got out of the SUV and Paige watched as he ran into the store. Even from this distance she could tell that the place had already been ransacked by other survivors. She hoped none of them had babies.
"What"s your name, little one?" she whispered, staring down at the sleeping baby. "I guess you"re too young to tell me."
"Paige," mumbled Billie, from the back.
She stiffened up. "Uh, yeah Billie?"
"Why are my hands tied?"
"You were bit by a zombie, remember?"
He didn"t say anything.
"Billie?"
"Yeah."
"Are you okay?"
"I"ve felt better."
"Um, you were right about the baby."
"What baby?" he asked, struggling to sit up.
She turned around. "The baby on the boat. Don"t you remember?"
"No."
The only thing he could remember was getting bitten by the zombie and then the intense heat. Even now he could still feel the fire raging through his veins.
"You don"t look so good."
"I feel like s.h.i.t. Do you have any water?"
"No, but we"re at a grocery store. Bryce should be back in a few minutes."
Billie turned and stared at the building. "He went in alone?"
"Well, I certainly could go in with the baby."
"You could have left the baby in here."
Not with you, she thought. After what had happened to Austin, there was no way she was going to take any chances around Billie.
"Looks like he found what we needed," she said, relieved to see Bryce leaving the store with a large box of diapers and a bag.
"Hey bro," said Bryce, opening up the back of the SUV. "How are you feeling?"
"Not good."
"Fortunately for you, I found some pain medication and a bottle of seltzer water. Everything else was pretty much picked over by looters."
"Looks like the looters didn"t need diapers," said Paige.
"Or formula," said Bryce, setting down the bag. "I wasn"t sure which kind to get so I grabbed a couple different kinds along with some plastic bottles. Oh, and wet-wipes."
Paige glanced down at the baby, who was beginning to get restless. "Um, I have a feeling we"re going to need a lot of things. Things we"re forgetting. Well, my mom will know what to do once we get the baby back to Ca.s.sie"s grandparents."
"I"m sure you"re right," said Bryce. "I still remember when Bobby was a baby, seems like we went through diapers and formula like water. Speaking of which, I did find some distilled water in the back of the store. I"ll have to go back for it."
"Bryce, you gotta untie me, man."
He sighed. "I just can"t. It"s for everyone"s safety."
"I"m not turning into one of them," he snapped. "Take off the d.a.m.n rope!"
Paige and Bryce looked at each other. It was obvious that Billie was already showing signs of aggression.
"Settle down, man. We have to wait until we get back to the house," said Bryce.
Billie clenched his jaw. "This is bulls.h.i.t."
"Sorry. Here," he said, opening up the bottle of pills. "Take a couple of these and try to sleep. Your body needs it."