THE LIVING CURE: Rebirth in the Apocalypse

Chapter Two

Maya POV

The air outside the facility smelled like burning rubber and copper. In my past life, I ran blindly into that chaos.

I was a terrified intern who tripped over her own feet and nearly got dragged out of a car window by her hair. I survived by pure, dumb luck.

This time, I didn't run... I walked. I pulled the hood of my dark jacket over my head and moved with a lethal, measured grace toward the loading bay.

My enhanced hearing already kicking in from the infection burning in my veins picked up the exact location of the screaming.

Main street is a trap, I noted, listening to the continuous, deafening wall of car horns and the wet, tearing sounds of the infected feeding. Too many vectors. Too many headlights.

I turned sharply into a narrow alleyway behind a row of brick warehouses. It was dark, lit only by the distant red glow of fires starting downtown.

My heart was pounding, but not from fear. The virus was already doing its work, pushing my body temperature higher.

I felt a wave of dizziness, but I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood, using the sharp pain to anchor my mind. I couldn't afford to pass out yet. Not until I reached Mom and Leo.

I crept to the edge of the brick wall and looked around the corner. A block away, a man was bent over a still body on the pavement. He was ripping at the clothes with his bare hands. But I wasn't looking at him. I was looking at the shadows.

There, two more on the fire escape, one by the dumpster.

In my last life, I was the prey. Today, I was the apex predator. I reached into my backpack and pulled out the heavy metal pipe I had stolen from the lab's maintenance closet.

I also pulled out a small, industrial-strength laser pointer I had swiped from Dr. Henderson's desk. I aimed the laser at the metal dumpster across the alley and clicked it on. The red dot danced across the steel.

The infected man on the pavement froze. His head snapped toward the light with a sickening crack of his neck.

He let out a loud, wet roar and charged the dumpster, completely ignoring me.

The two on the fire escape dropped down, scrambling on all fours to join the frenzy. I slipped past them like a ghost.

I didn't have a gun, and I knew better than to make noise. I sprinted down the alley, my lungs burning. I didn't stop until I reached the edge of the woods near the old reservoir. The air here was cooler, thick with the scent of pine and lake water. I had outsmarted them; I had survived my first step.

Then, I heard the heavy, mechanical hum from above.

THWACK-THWACK-THWACK...

Huge, blinding searchlights snapped on from the top of the highway bridge. The powerful beams cut through the darkness, pinning me and a nearby dented pickup truck in a spotlight of bright, white light.

My stomach dropped. No! It's too early. They shouldn't be here yet.

Heavy military trucks painted in matte dark green swerved around the reservoir bend, blocking both sides of the escape road. Soldiers in full tactical gear jumped out, raising their assault rifles.

A tall officer with a sharp, scarred jawline stepped forward. Captain Marcus Vance.

In my past life, Marcus Vance was the man who ordered the military to fire on the civilians at the bridge, causing a stampede that killed hundreds. I hated him.

But I also knew something the current me didn't.

I knew that when the world truly collapsed, Vance was the only military leader who eventually turned his back on the corrupt government.

He was a ruthless son of a b***h, but he wasn't evil.

He raised a heavy black megaphone to his lips. "Do not move! This entire sector is under a Category 4 quarantine. Step away from the vehicle and put your hands on your heads!"

The driver's door of the pickup truck flew open. My mother, Sarah, stepped out. She looked like a soldier, holding her heavy bolt-action hunting rifle tightly against her shoulder. Inside the passenger seat, little Leo was peeking out, his eyes wide with fear.

"My daughter is standing right out there!" Sarah shouted, her voice fiercely loud. "Let her come to the truck, or I swear to God I start shooting!"

Marcus didn't flinch. He slowly leveled his sidearm, pointing it directly at Sarah's head. "Ma'am, you have three seconds to drop the weapon."

"Mom, don't!" I screamed. I stepped directly into the line of fire, walking toward Marcus.

"Captain Vance!" I yelled, my voice cutting through the tension. "You have a massive breach in Sector 4.

The parasite is airborne in the lower levels. Your men are wearing standard gas masks, but they won't stop the blood-to-blood transmission.

If you shoot us, you're wasting bullets on uninfected civilians while a horde of infected is about to flank your left side."

Marcus froze. His sharp gaze shifted from Sarah to me. He squinted, confused. "How do you know about the parasite?"

"I'm an intern at the lab," I lied smoothly. "I read the classified files before the alarm went off. I also know your radio isn't working because the lab is jamming all military frequencies in a ten-mile radius. They want you blind."

I was bluffing about the radio, but I knew the chaos of the outbreak meant command was already breaking down. Before Marcus could respond, a blood-curdling shriek ripped through the tree line. The woods came alive. A dozen infected burst into the light, sprinting on all fours with terrifying speed.

"Sir! Incoming vectors from the flank!" a soldier yelled.

"Hold the line!" Marcus barked. "Fire at will!"

The reservoir erupted into chaos. The deafening roar of automatic gunfire filled the night air. I didn't dive for cover like before. I ran straight for the truck.

"Maya!" Sarah screamed, swinging her rifle to shoot an infected that lunged at me.

I slid over the hood of the truck, landed on my feet, and yanked the passenger door open. I shoved Leo into the middle of the bench seat and slammed the door shut.

"Drive, Mom!" I yelled.

Sarah jumped in, shifted into reverse, and stomped on the gas. The tires spun wildly on the gravel. Through the side window, I watched the military line breaking.

Two soldiers were dragged down into the darkness. Marcus was firing his weapon smoothly, backing up toward his tactical vehicle, but an infected man lunged from his blind spot, aiming straight for his throat.

I hesitated for a fraction of a second. If Marcus died here, the military would be completely leaderless. He was a bastard, but he was a useful bastard. I grabbed my metal pipe and threw it out the window with all my enhanced strength.

The heavy steel pipe spun through the air like a helicopter blade and smashed directly into the infected man’s skull, dropping him instantly before he could bite Marcus.

Marcus spun around, his eyes wide, searching for the source. I met his gaze through the glass. You owe me, Captain.

Sarah didn't look back. She smashed the truck through a wooden guardrail, steering them onto a service road that bypassed the main highway.

Inside the cab, the silence was heavy, broken only by Leo’s quiet whimpers.

"Maya," Sarah breathed, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. "That was... insane. How did you know all that? How did you know Vance?"

I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window. I could feel the fever spiking now. The world was starting to tilt on its axis.

"Had a bad feeling, Mom," I murmured, my voice thick.

I looked down at my jacket. The scratch on the back of my left hand from the night guard was oozing a mixture of red and black blood.

I quickly pulled my sleeve down, my heart hammering.

Just hold on, I told myself. You survived the fever last time. You will survive it again.

"Mom," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Take the dirt road. The one Dad used to take. Head to the cabin."

Sarah glanced at me, her brow furrowed. "How did you know I was going to the cabin?"

But I couldn't answer. My vision was starting to blur, the edges turning a faint, glowing red. The fever was claiming me.