Survivor Read Free Page B

water, they make do. The strong are in smaller packs, plenty are doing it alone, and they’re as strong as they were on day one, maybe even more so.”
    â€œThe ones just drinking water will die out if they don’t start getting some nutrients in them,” Starkey said. “Hell, we’ve already seen plenty who hyper-hydrated to the point of fatal disturbance in brain functions.”
    â€œThe others?”
    â€œThe others . . .” he shrugged. “Well, they might just be around forever.”

3
    â€œW here does that leave me?”
    WHe kicked at an empty drink can in the snow, looking pained. “Just go,” he said. “Soon as you can, whether you find your friend or not. Get out and don’t stop until you find someplace safe.”
    When the explosion happened, I was full of homesickness for Australia. Would it be wrong to turn my back on New York now, when it needed me most? For all I knew Felicity was alone out here somewhere . . . could I just leave?
    Was there anything left of New York to see before I went back? Dave said his parents lived somewhere out near Williamsburg. Maybe there was still time to go and see his folks, check on life beyond this island. To tell them what a mate he’d turned out to be in the end. Or was that part of my past, never to be revisited? I knew that to survive, I had to think of the future.
    â€œKeep heading north,” the man was saying. “Far as you can.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œI sent my family to Canada. That’s as sure as I can tell you I am.”
    â€œCanada’s okay?”
    â€œThat’s what I last heard.”
    â€œWhat about Australia?”
    He slung his rifle over his shoulder, adjusted the strap, then put his hood on.
    â€œPlease,” I said, “if you know something—”
    He shrugged. “I’ve heard nothing beyond what’s here and now in my backyard. That’s a big enough problem for me. Just head for somewhere upstate at least. Hole up, find others, a town or somethin’, safety in numbers. Keep off the major roads in your travels—there’ll be more like us and worse.”
    He looked down at his feet, then across at his buddies in their big-wheeled trucks, now passing through the next intersection.
    â€œWhy north?” I asked. My breath fogged in front of me, fast jets of steam.
    â€œThis illness,” he said, looking down at me, “it does better in the heat. Lives in the air, on the ground, stays active longer, stays alive, you understand?”
    â€œNo, not really.” I didn’t want to sound dumb, but I felt I had to know, whether or not he took me seriously enough to explain.
    â€œThe biological agent is still a threat, see? The cold kills it, it can’t live without a host for long.”
    â€œHow long?”
    â€œI’m not sure. Days, less than a week.”
    I hoped a week would be long enough to find Felicity and the others, to persuade them to come with me. Safety in numbers, right?
    â€œBut we’re leaving now,” Starkey said, as if reading my thoughts.
    Was that an offer?
    â€œI can go and check on Felicity, if you wait here. I’ll be quick.”
    He shook his head. “Can’t take no baggage, sorry, kid. I gotta go.”
    I thought fast. Could I give up on my hope of finding Felicity—so fast, so easily? “If it’s a problem to wait . . .”
    I mean, could I even be sure that she actually existed, anyway? She could just be another illusion like Mini, Anna, and Dave. How could I trust myself after being alone all this time? Starkey hadn’t looked as if he believed me, that’s for sure. It’d be stupid to let this opportunity of rescue, of safety, to slip through my fingers because I’d run off to find someone who wasn’t there.
    Then again, if I found Felicity and came back, Starkey might not be here because he didn’t exist either. But this had to