Fallen Grace Read Online Free PDF Page A

her.”
    Reluctantly, Nate stood and made his way to where Abbey and Bobby sat. He wrapped his arms around the girl and embraced her as a father might.
    “Gus, you’ll need to hold her down.”
    “I know. I just hate doing this.”
    “Me too. Tell me where it’s safe to cut, ok?”
    He nodded, and then positioned himself to hold Susan’s arms down.
    “I think closest to the heart is best, as opposed to an arm or leg. Just go down the center of her chest; just not too deep. Maybe five inches long? She’ll need to bleed if we have a chance of it working.”
    We looked at each other, knowing that we had to infect her. I straddled her, sitting just above her pelvis. I used the knife to cut down the center of her shirt.
    “Wait, Zoe. Bobby, can you bring us the rubbing alcohol?”
    Bobby quickly ran back to the box of medical supplies and shuffled through them until she found the bottle of alcohol.
    “Bobby, I need you to hold her legs. Can you do that?”
    Her eyes wide, Bobby nodded and positioned herself so that she was sitting on Susan’s shins. She didn’t question our motives.
    “Nathan, Brother, no matter what you hear I need you and Abs to stay over there. I need you to trust us. Zoe, pour the alcohol on her skin and the knife. Let it dry.”
    I did as instructed. I felt sick to my stomach.
    “Your palm, too, Love. I’ll be busy holding her down or I’d do this myself,” he explained.
    I looked up at him in horror, not realizing the plan had been for me to cut myself. I took a couple of deep breaths and poured the liquid onto my own hands, and then rubbed them together.
    Once my hands felt dry, I picked the knife up and held it to the skin on Susan’s chest, just below her neck. As she felt the tip of it puncture her skin, her eyes opened wide. As soon as the initial shock of the pain wore off, she began struggling and screaming. Gus held her good arm and the opposite shoulder. She was unable to fight back with the swollen, broken appendage.
    I paused right after that first puncture, keeping the knife in place the best I could and looked at Gus for some sort of permission to continue. He nodded, and I focused back on the wound I was creating.
    Not too deep, he warned.
    I tried to steady my shaking hand and drew down on the knife, creating a thin line of bright red blood that was quickly spilling down Susan’s sides. I stopped when I thought the line was about five inches long and looked back to Gus again. His face was strained with the effort to keep Susan immobile. She had seemed so weak that her new struggle was surprising. I looked at my left palm and wasn’t sure I could do it. My hands were shaking almost violently.
    “Zoe, I can’t let her go. You have to do it. Just don’t think about it.”
    I was too scared to reply, so held the knife to my left palm and quickly sliced downward. It hurt like a sonofabitch, and I cried out.
    “Quick, just hold it against her wound,” barked Gus.
    I placed my wounded palm down flat against her chest and willed whatever it was inside of me to transfer into her; to heal her. She began screaming for God to forgive her for aborting her baby. I cried with her. I cried for her.
     

CHAPTER 4
     
    Within minutes, Susan closed her eyes and with a shuddering breath lost consciousness once again. I forced myself to stop crying and looked back to Gus, who still sat facing me. I held my hand out to him, my palm throbbing and still bleeding. He let go of Susan’s shoulder and arm and took my hand in his. He gently wrapped a thin kitchen towel around the wound, tying it at the back of my hand.
    “All we can do is wait,” he said quietly.
    Abbey was still being held back by Nathan, and her sobs were muffled against his abdomen. I was glad she had him, especially if Susan didn’t pull through this. Boggs was beginning to stir again. I un-straddled Susan and stood stiffly. I hadn’t realized I had been tensing. My hip stung from the activity of the dead outside and my