Afflicted

“Shit. Stop her!” I shouted as I wrenched my seatbelt off and jumped out of the truck.

Reese leapt out as well and raced into the house behind Lacey.

“We need to get her out of there!” I yelled as I ran for the house. Footsteps pounded behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to see Jason and the big guy with all the tattoos following me to help.

“Lacey wait!” Reese bellowed ahead of me. Never mind my plan to enter quietly and make sure nothing was lurking inside. I just hoped nothing was here and that Lacey wasn't about to find out that something bad had happened to her family.

I'd lost track of Reese and Lacey in the few seconds it had taken me to enter the house behind them. I paused, wondering if they'd be more likely to be looking in the rooms down here or upstairs.

A muffled thump drew me towards the door at the end of the hallway.

I pulled a pistol from my belt and eased the door open, taking cover by the wall as it swung wide.

The curtains billowed in a breeze that blew in through the broken windows at the back of the house. I scanned the room quickly, looking beyond the couch and tv to the spaces between them where someone might hide. There was no one there but a small movement drew my eye up to the curtain rail.

Four pigeons were perched there, looking down at me in surprise. I wondered vaguely if they were contaminated and if so what had changed about them. They looked like normal pigeons to me. One of them let out a soft coo under my scrutiny.

I pulled the door closed again and turned back to the hallway, almost bumping into Jason and the guy with the tattoos.

I shouldn't have called for their help to stop Lacey but I was so used to calling on my team that I'd done it without thinking. I wondered what Kai would think if he found out I'd dragged a bunch of unarmed civilians into an unsecured location. I smirked at the idea of him telling me off and turned my attention to the next room.

Before I could open the door, a loud sob came from somewhere upstairs.

“You two wait here,” I commanded in a low voice, hoping they'd follow my orders without question. “I'll check it out. If you see anything, shout.”

They nodded their understanding and I moved up the stairs slowly.

The fourth step groaned under my weight and I cursed it beneath my breath. I doubted anything in the house was unaware of us at this point but I'd rather not give my exact position away.

As I reached the landing, I could definitely hear someone crying. I was annoyed at myself; I should have expected something like this and warned Lacey to wait in the truck. Whatever she'd witnessed now would never be scrubbed from her memory.

A male voice murmured something softly and I guessed Reese had found her too.

A door stood ajar at the end of the corridor and I crept towards it, my boots crunching over broken glass from a smashed photo frame.

I leant against the doorframe as I looked through the gap into the room.

Lacey was sobbing in the centre of a double bed and Reese had his arms wrapped around her as she buried her face in his chest.

“We can't be sure of anything yet,” Reese said softly as he ran his fingers over her braids.

I eased the door open, feeling uncomfortable at interrupting them but unable to leave them either.

Reese looked up at me with relief and nodded towards the other side of the room.

I stowed my pistol and moved across the carpeted floor towards the wardrobe. There was a large, red stain on the floor and I knelt down to examine it. Someone had bled here.

I leant forward and pressed my hand down into the centre of the stain. Sticky blood clung to my fingers but it didn't ooze from the carpet beneath the pressure I applied.

I stood and looked up at them to find Lacey peering at me in horror. I moved my bloodstained hand behind my back and sidestepped towards the curtains.

“There isn't as much there as it seems,” I explained. “It hasn't soaked down into the carpet. Someone could live through this.”

“Really?” Lacey asked, scrambling to her feet. “You think they're okay?”

“I don't know. But they could have survived this wound. If they stopped the bleeding, maybe they got away. There's no bodies.” I shrugged. It was the most comfort I could offer her. I wiped the blood from my hand using the curtains as she looked to Reese hopefully.

“You hear that?” Reese said, pulling Lacey under his arm again as he stood too. “They're probably okay. If they had to leave here then they would have gone for the city. Right?” He looked to me for confirmation.