Outer Banks Read Free Page A

pestilence we had to confine or get rid of. No longer part of the human race, they were seen as animals to be hunted.
    That was where I came in.
    This boy had been collecting the blood left behind from processing meat. It was a non-violent way for him to live, but I still needed to take him in. It was my job.
    In his case, I believed taking him to OBX was for his safety. It wouldn’t be long before some overzealous asshole took the matter of protecting the community into their own hands and hurt this kid. At least in quarantine he would be given clean blood and a safe place to stay.
    He slid back out of the window feet first and landed a foot from me with a light thump. His head only came up to my nose.
    He jumped when he realized I was there. His dark eyes looked up at me in fear, but he didn’t try to run. Instead, his shoulders slumped as he sighed and said, “Aw, hell .”
    â€œSorry, kid. You’ve gotta come with me.” I frowned and he nodded. “You need anything from your place?”
    â€œNo. I don’t have anything. I’ve been sleeping in a shed.” He shrugged.
    â€œOkay, let’s go. I have some food in the van. I’m guessing you’re probably hungry.”
    He looked up at me and nodded in defeat.
    â€œAm I going to the Outer Banks?” he asked.
    We had begun preparing the Upper Peninsula to hold Haunts, but so far it had been unnecessary.
    â€œThat’s the only facility we’re using right now. Unless you’ve got the cash to get into the Florida Keys.”
    The boy looked down at his dirty clothes.
    â€œI seem to have left my gold card in my other pants.”
    â€œAre you going to give me any trouble? You can sit up front with me if you don’t try to run. Otherwise I’m going to have to lock you up in the back.”
    â€œI can barely walk fast. You’d find me from my panting if I tried,” he explained rolling his eyes. The gesture wasn’t lost even with his eyes being completely black. You can just tell.
    â€œOkay then.” I kept a slow pace with him as I led him back to my van. “Do you know about when you fall asleep? I can set my watch.”
    â€œNah. I don’t know exactly.”
    I got a bag of blood out of the cooler, what some people called a juice box. After taking another look at him I grabbed a second bag. He didn’t look so good. I was surprised he could stay up this long in his condition.
    With the permit in my wallet, I was able to acquire blood at any hospital or clinic. I was also allowed to be in the company of a Haunt without being fined for harboring.
    Lawmakers had been scrambling to put together new rules to cover the extent of our mandate. The big one, whether it was murder to kill a Haunt, had yet to be resolved.
    Many of the Haunts had death certificates on file, created during the time they were underground. Given the strange ways in which their biology worked now, some tried to argue they weren’t just legally dead, but no longer human—and you could only murder humans.
    â€œDon’t bite me,” I warned as I handed the boy one of the bags. He tore into it right away as he followed me to the passenger’s door.
    It was always a strange sight to see. The one time the infected no longer seemed quite human was when they fed. It was like something else inside them took over, just for a second. But in his case he didn’t growl or snap like some I’d encountered. Other than gulping, he was downright civilized.
    He already had the first bag finished by the time I walked around to the driver’s side.
    â€œBuckle up.”
    â€œI can’t get hurt,” he said, but did as I asked.
    â€œYou can get hurt, you’ll just heal fast. There is an extremely uncomfortable difference.” I chose not to mention how he was not unbreakable.
    â€œMaybe I just don’t care anymore,” he said.
    â€œRight, well, I don’t need you flying over