Kiss of Life Read Online Free PDF Page B

concentrating on the word, concentrating on making his lungs move and his mouth open, his tongue like a piece of cold rubber as he tried to form the word. She could feel his awareness of the seconds ticking by into minutes as he tried to complete his sentence. The trad kids in the class were used to being patient with the db kids' mode of speech--Adam himself had been infinitely patient-- but she knew that his patience would not extend to himself.
    He's so helpless, she thought, and hated herself for thinking it. She couldn't understand why Adam wasn't coming back faster. Even terminally slow Kevin Zumbrowski, who sat next to Colette on the futon, was more "returned" than Adam. Colette was changing, her limbs were more pliable, her skin less ashen. Her hair was closer to the dark brown it had been when she died. Phoebe knew that Margi was spending a lot of her time with Colette. The time together seemed to be doing both girls good. Phoebe was happy for them, and she did her best to tell herself that she wasn't a little jealous too.
    In contrast to the slowly returning, there were Tommy and Karen, whose stillness now seemed more like a mark of maturity than a sign of death.
    "...you," Adam said, finally completing his response.
    Phoebe sighed with relief. She saw that Angela's smile, at least, was free from the pity she'd seen on so many other faces.
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    Adam could take the disgust and hatred, but she knew that the thought of someone pitying him filled him with fury he was not capable of releasing.
    Angela nodded. "You're welcome."
    Phoebe looked up at the sound of a shuffling noise coming from the hall outside, and wondered if a new student was joining them--the ranks were certainly depleted from the last time that Adam had been in class; even with Margi back the class was still down a few people. It was like an episode of some bizarre prizeless reality show; Tayshawn Wade dropped out, Sylvia hadn't come back yet, and Evan Talbot would never be returning again, thanks to Pete Martinsburg and his cronies. They'd reterminated him and got away with it.
    Alish Hunter, his lab coat hanging loosely over his spidery, skeletal frame, entered the lounge. The old man's rubber-soled loafers slid along the thin beige carpeting in short, arthritic movements. Phoebe watched his feet and wondered at the static charge the old man must be building; in her mind's eye she could picture him throwing his hands to the sky and shouting "Life!" as he shot Adam with a bolt of pent-up static electricity from the metal head of his cane.
    "My boy," Alish said, his bushy gray eyebrows knitting as he stared down at Adam. "I'm glad to see you haven't left us. We can learn a lot from you, Mr. Layman."
    Adam didn't even try to respond to that.
    "Welcome," Alish said, beaming as though he were reuniting lost relatives over an expansive meal. He led two new students, zombies, into the room. They sat next to Thornton
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    Harrowwood on the long orange futon. Thorny, who still played on the football team even though Tommy had quit and Adam was no longer able to play, looked especially glad to see Adam back in class. Thorny was the smallest kid on the team, but Phoebe'd heard he was getting a lot of playing time, not only because of the Undead Studies kids dropping out, but because Pete Martinsburg and TC Stavis were kicked off. She was surprised, actually, that Thorny hadn't been injured yet.
    "Welcome, students," Alish was saying. "Please help yourself to refreshments. We have coffee and soft drinks."
    Phoebe watched the two new zombies. The boy looked typical enough as far as zombies went, a pale, thin kid with gray-black hair, wearing a flannel shirt, jeans, and scuffed work boots. The girl next to him was different, starting with the mass of hair that billowed around her head like a bright red cloud. It reminded Phoebe of Evan, the only other zombie she'd known with red hair. His had been a faded red, but the new girl's was rich and coppery. But that wasn't