Duality (The Hitchhiker Strain) Read Free

place.
    Okay, maybe it ’s not quite that simple. After all, their first supposed cure for the virus that was reanimating the dead really just served to create a stronger, smarter breed of enemy. Now they work night and day, hoping to cauterize the damage they’ve caused.
    Pushing the thought from my mind, I stretch out on the couch and put my head in Cole's lap, sighing as he runs his fingers through my hair that's fanned out over his jeans.
    "Hey, have you seen Zack yet today?" Cole asks.
    "Nope. Can't say I'm surprised though. I rarely ever see him after breakfast anymore.”
    "I kind of figured you guys hung out all the time when you went to get your shot.”
    “Nope. He works down there somewhere with Roger on tissue samples I think, but we were never in the same place at the same time for more than a couple minutes. He hasn’t said anything, but I think he still feels kind of off. Not totally like himself yet. I think he might be avoiding me.”
    “ He was sick a lot longer than you were,” Cole reasons. “It’s probably been a tough run for him, fighting it all off.”
    “ Yeah, I guess. He will get better though, right? I mean, he was still Zack when we got here, still hanging on to who he was. There’s no possibility that he’ll…” I trail off, unwilling to finish the thought.
    The truth is, Zack has been a little off since we arrived at Veritas, like he ’s always on edge. He went through a lot though, with the destruction of our town and his capture by the Militia. He probably still needs some time to work through things. After the year from hell, we could all use a vacation.
    “ He’ll be okay, right? We didn’t find him too late?”
    “ You worry too much.”
    “ That’s basically the motto of the apocalypse, isn’t it? Worry about what can, could, and will go wrong. Don’t act until you’re absolutely sure you know what the end result will be.” The last part comes out a little harsher than I intended, and by the way Cole’s looking at me, his eyebrows furrowing together, I know he noticed the tone, too.
    “ All right, enough of this slacking off," I say, plastering a smile on my face. I pull myself up into a sitting position and hop off the couch. "Let's go see what our fearless leader has in store for us today.”
    When we make it to Doctor Silvers’s office, we find the room empty. As usual, there are stacks of paper and clutter everywhere, but nothing stands out as being intended for us.
    Cole scratches his head and peeks back out into the reception area, looking for his dad . "He said he'd be here. He probably ran out for a coffee break or something."
    "Mmm, coffee," I say. "I could go for some coffee.”
    Ever since I realized there were enough coffee beans here to keep me awake for a year, I’ve basically been mainlining it into my system. It’s a small reminder of life before . Every time I drink it, I can spend a few seconds imagining that I’m in a coffee house or sitting at my kitchen table on a school day morning while my parents putter around me.
    “ You go grab that and hopefully my dad while I’ll get started on all this.” He gestures at the mess in front of us. “Drag him back here by the ear if you have to. We have a lot of stuff we’re supposed to get through today, and I don’t even know where to start.”
    “ Or I’ll try asking nicely and see how that goes.”
    “ Good luck with that.” He winks at me before I back out of the room. Hopefully I can remember how to get from here to the closest kitchenette without getting lost within all of the identical corridors that make up the administrative section.
    I poke my head into each open door as I pass, smiling awkwardly at anyone who sees me. I don ’t think any of these rooms are supposed to be restricted.
    I make it through two rows of office suites before I ’m officially lost. I’m not even sure I could make it back to Cole, let alone to my destination. If only life were more like a cartoon and the