Deathly Contagious Read Online Free PDF Page A

water and putting the straw to his lips. After taking a drink Hayden explained. “Whatever they gave me made me sick.”
    “I can see that,” I said with a smile, gingerly sitting on the right side of his bed. I brushed my fingers against his cheek. “I’m gonna go out and get you some new meds that won’t make you puke.”
    “Thanks,” he said before his already ashen face turned grimmer. “You’re leaving?”
    “I won’t be gone long. I’m the best, remember? I’ll get what you need and come right back.”
    “I don’t want you to leave,” he said quietly.
    “Two days, if even that much, is all I will be gone. Padraic said he has meds that will make you sleepy so you won’t even notice I’m gone.”
    “You are good, Riss, but you’re better when I’m with you. We’re a team, remember? Stay here until I can come.”
    “That won’t happen for a while,” I said gently. “Hayden, I don’t like you being in pain. I just want to get the drugs and make you better.”
    Hayden opened his eyes. “Orissa, there’s something…” he trailed off, about to get sick again. I grabbed a trashcan just in time. Padraic and the B3 rushed in, apparently hearing the vomiting. Padraic ushered me out. I didn’t even get to say bye to Hayden.
    I ran into Dr. Cara on my way to the C level.
    “Thanks for the samples,” she said, her voice monotone.
    “Oh, yea,” I told her. I had forgotten about them until now. “You got them already?”
    “Yes. Blood doesn’t stay fresh. I had to test them right away. I might need more.”
    I nodded curtly. I took a step forward but Cara grabbed my arm. She flipped it over and ran a finger over the vein in my wrist.
    “Can I have some blood?”
    “Uh, sure.”
    Her thin lips pressed into a smile and she motioned for me to follow her back into the hospital ward. My eyes scanned the door that separated me from Hayden.
    “He’s going to be alright, you know,” Dr. Cara told me with no emotion in her voice. “Well, unless he gets an infection. Then he won’t be.”
    I didn’t try to hide my ‘why the fuck would you say that?’ expression. Hayden was right: Dr. Cara was so socially awkward. She snapped on rubber gloves, hastily rubbed a cotton ball of alcohol over my arm and jammed the needle into my vein. I watched the deep scarlet blood rush into the vial.
    “Are you getting any closer to finding a vaccine?” I asked, knowing the answer would most likely be ‘no’.
    “Possibly. I’ve found some similarities in Hayden and Parker’s blood. When I have the samples to compare it to I might know more. Hayden’s resistance to pain medicine could be something too. Of course, having someone to test the vaccine on would help.” She scribbled my name on a sticker and wrapped it around the vial. “Can you bring me a monkey?”
    “Huh?”
    “A monkey. You know…” she imitated a monkey, complete with scratching her head and jumping up and down while making a horrible noise.
    “Yea, I know what a monkey is. Why do you want one?”
    “Primates share most of our DNA. I might be able to infect one.”
    “Oh, yea. If we don’t have enough problems on our hands already, let’s throw in a crazy, homicidal zombie-monkey.”
    “I’ll let you shoot it in the head if it goes crazy.”
    “Gee, thanks.” I raised my eyebrows. “If I find a monkey, I’ll bring it back.” I shook my head and left, pondering where the hell I’d even find a monkey. Chances are every animal in a zoo was dead; there was no one left to care for them.
    It was easy to convince Fuller to let me go. He thought it would ‘do me some good’ to get my mind off of everything that had happened. I packed a bag and hugged Raeya goodbye. Like Padraic, she didn’t want me to go. I snuck into the hospital ward and explained everything to Hayden, who was fast asleep. I doubted he could even hear a word I said.
    I hadn’t interacted much with the six other A1’s: Gabby, Jessica, Alex, Mac, Jose, Noah. I