Once Bitten, Twice Dead Read online

  “Describe what you can of his wounds.”

  “He was made up to look like the tip of his nose and lips were gone. One side of his face was hollowed out, as if his cheek were missing, and there were what looked like teeth marks all around the wounds. There were also brown stains on the edges of skin and on his clothes like dried blood. And he stank like rotting flesh.”

  “But the second man had none of the disfigurement?” Xavier seemed very interested, almost clinical in his questioning.

  “The second guy looked okay. All his features were intact, but he also had the brown stains around his mouth and down the front of his shirt. Like I said, his skin was gray, and it had a powdery sheen and he smelled as bad as the first guy. I don’t think either of them had bathed in weeks, but it was more than that. They must’ve augmented their natural stink with something else. It stank of death.”

  “Which one bit you?”

  “Both, actually. The first one had my feet and he chomped on my thigh. The second perp held my arms and bit me on the shoulder.” She raised the arm that wasn’t hooked to the IV and gestured toward her opposite shoulder.

  She couldn’t see it, but she assumed there was a small bandage there, unless in the week she’d been out the bite had healed sufficiently for them to forego covering it. It didn’t feel sore when she moved, so maybe the bite hadn’t been as bad as she’d thought. She didn’t feel the tug of a bulky bandage, but it could be a small one she wouldn’t necessarily feel. The doctors had looked closely at her thigh, blocking her view as they unwrapped the dressing, then rewrapped it with a little less gauze. It didn’t really hurt.

  In fact, she was starting to feel better the more she talked. The longer she was awake and alert, the more her head ceased to pound. That was weird. She would’ve expected the exact opposite, but she wasn’t a doctor, so what did she know?

  “Now that I’ve given you what you wanted, how about telling me what this is all about?” She didn’t want to think about those men…creatures…anymore. She wanted some answers. “Were those jokers yours?”

  “Yes and no.” He flipped his little notebook closed and stowed it in a pocket along with his pen. “First of all, you need to know that everything you saw was real. That wasn’t makeup or special effects.”

  He paused, probably to let those startling words sink in.

  “You’re kidding, right? No way was that real. I mean, it had me fooled at the time, but with a little perspective I can’t believe any of that was legit.”

  “You should.” His eyes narrowed. “You are one of only a handful of people to have survived being infected with a contagion inadvertently developed by a team of military scientists. They were trying to do something good—creating a biological substance that would induce rapid healing of battlefield injuries—but something went wrong. Really wrong. The dead marines they were testing the substance on became reanimated and started attacking others. The brass thought they’d handled the problem and disbanded the team of scientists, but in the months since that first incident, there have been two known flare-ups. One at the army base where I was stationed until last week and here, on Long Island.”

  “No way.” She had to stifle a giggle. He was nuts if he thought she was buying any of his bull.

  The captain straightened and rested his hands on his utility belt. “We’ve traced the outbreaks to members of the scientific team. They apparently broke their agreement with the government to drop this line of research and have been working independently. The creatures you saw were very real, Officer Petit, and very deadly. Like you, I survived being bitten. The substance actually did what it was supposed to and gave me quick healing abilities. I’m here to contain this outbreak and eradicate the threat.”

  Yeah, right. Next he’d be telling her martians were about to land on the hospital roof. She stared him down, waiting for the truth.

  Chapter Two

  “What?” He didn’t like the way she was staring at him.

  “I’m trying to figure out which one of the X-Men you think you are.”

  He couldn’t believe it. This woman refused to take anything he said seriously.

  “I mean, the one with superhealing ability is supposed to be the guy with the blades in his hands, but the Cajun-accent guy is the hottie with the playing cards. And then you said your name is Xavier, and I figure you’re the head honcho. So which is it?”

  He gave her a long, disgusted sigh. This woman was a hard case. “None of the above. Like I said, I’m Captain Xavier Beauvoir, with the U.S. Army Green Berets. I was sent up here to check on reports of a possible zombie problem.”

  She burst out laughing, clearly mocking him.

  “Are you one of those science fiction guys from the university? I know I gave some of your conventioneers a hard time last year, but they really were disturbing the peace. Lightsaber battles on Main Street at four a.m. aren’t something we ignore around here.”

  “For the last time, this is no joke. You were bitten—do you know what that means?” His voice rose along with his anger.

  “What? Did the guys have rabies?”

  Her smart mouth was just begging to be kissed.

  Now, where the hell did that thought come from? Xavier pushed it aside. He had to stop thinking about how gorgeous she was and concentrate on how annoying she was.

  “Not rabies.” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “A contagion designed and developed under auspices of the U.S. Navy. It was meant to boost natural healing, but in ninety-nine percent of those who’ve been infected, the test agent is lethal. You’re one of the very lucky few to have survived, Officer Petit. If you hadn’t had natural immunity working for you, you’d have died. Then your corpse would have been reanimated by the contagion. You’d have been just like that poor soul who attacked you.”

  “So, worse than rabies.”

  Clearly she still didn’t believe him.

  “What will it take to convince you I’m on the level?”

  She pretended to think. “I doubt there’s anything you can say that will make me believe some cockamamie story about zombies running around on Long Island.”

  “How about the fact that if the contagion did what it was supposed to do in your system, you will heal just as fast as me?” He rolled up the sleeve of his camo shirt and pulled a knife out of his boot. She scooted back in the bed, her eyes wide.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Watch and learn, sweetheart.” He didn’t even flinch as he ran the tip of the sharp blade over his forearm. Blood welled in the shallow cut, but then something miraculous happened. His skin started to knit together right before her eyes.

  “Holy cow,” she breathed, looking from the healing cut to his face and back again. In a matter of seconds, the shallow cut was only a thin red line. He used one big thumb to wipe away some of the blood and she saw even the red line begin to fade.

  “Seeing is believing, isn’t it?”

  She wasn’t prepared to go that far just yet. “Was that some kind of trick? You got a latex prop on your arm or something? Special effects?”

  “Sorry, darling. Just my flesh and bones. No titanium on my skeleton, either, in case you were wondering.”

  He winked at her and she caught the teasing reference to her earlier crack about the X-Men.

  “Let me see your arm, then,” she dared him. But he moved closer, holding out his arm for her inspection.

  “Careful of the blood. I’m clean as a whistle—the docs monitor me closely since the bite—but it’s still frowned on nowadays to be touching other people’s blood without a mask and gloves.”

  She studied his arm, not touching the blood, but she’d be damned if she could see any kind of trickery. Her stomach felt hollow as his words began to take hold. Maybe he wasn’t crazy after all.

  “Did they put my things in the closet?”

  He seemed surprised by her question but went to check, opening the door to the small closet opposite her bed. She saw
that some of her clothes and gear had been put in there, minus her firearms, of course.

  “Would you mind bringing my utility belt over here?”

  He didn’t say anything as he picked up the heavy black leather belt and brought it to her. It was still loaded with most of her gear. She sought and found what she was looking for—a small box cutter.

  “Hey now…” He seemed ready to try to stop her.

  “I’m testing your theory. If what you say is true, the same thing will happen to me, right?”

  He seemed cautious. “It should. As I told you, there are only a handful of people who’ve survived to tell the tale after being infected. So far, all have the speed-healing thing. It’s likely you will, too.”

  He folded his arms and leaned one hip against her bedside, down by her feet. He stood back, and his body language said he was prepared to let her do what she wanted. She liked that. He wasn’t trying to pressure her either way.

  Holding her breath, she ran the sharp blade over her forearm. The cut was even shallower than the one he’d made. She didn’t want to do any real damage in case this guy really was a fruitcake. A thin line of blood welled in the shallow cut, then healed over. She wiped at the blood to find the cut, but it didn’t exist.

  Damn. She tried again, making a shorter, deeper incision. It hurt like hell, but only for a moment. Then the healing began.

  “It feels warm and kind of tingly,” she said aloud, cataloging the sensations.

  Xavier nodded. “Does that for me, too. You want to take a look at your shoulder? There’s no bite mark up there. That’s why we didn’t realize you’d been attacked by two of them.” He opened the drawer in the bedside table and took out a small mirror. She took it with wide eyes.

  He was on the level. She’d been attacked by…zombies. He’d called them zombies. Damn.

  She tugged at the collar of her hospital gown, exposing her shoulder, then held up the mirror in her free hand. The other hand was attached to the IV and immobilized. Looking at her reflection, she was shocked to find her neck and shoulder were blemish free. Nothing marred her skin, not even a red mark. She lowered the mirror to her lap and reached to touch her shoulder, examining her skin with her fingers.

  Nothing. Not a raised bump. Not a depression where a scar had formed. Nothing. It was as if she’d never been harmed, never been bitten.

  “He sank his teeth into me right here.” She rubbed the spot absently. “I thought they were trying to eat me. The other one—” She broke off, remembering the pain in her thigh. Her gaze shot to the army captain. “The other one took a bite out of my leg, didn’t he?”

  Gravely, Xavier nodded. “It’s repairing itself, but he got a piece of you. The docs are watching it closely. The skin and muscle are growing back at a really fast rate.”

  Sarah felt queasy. Just the idea that someone—something, really—had eaten her flesh made her want to barf. She took deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart and uncertain stomach. Only one thing really mattered now.

  “Did you catch them?”

  Xavier straightened, all business once more. “Not yet. For one thing, until you woke up, we could only guess at what went on in that building. We assumed only one assailant. Now we know that one is making others.”

  “Making others?” The thought sent shivers down her spine.

  “The first man you saw. The one with the disfigured face. That’s a classic sign of someone who’s been attacked by one of these creatures. The victim is infected with the contagion and dies. A few hours later, his corpse rises and starts attacking others. For whatever reason, these creatures like to bite and infect more people, though they don’t seem capable of speech or other higher brain functions.”

  “What’s with the claws?” Both of the perps had abnormally long, sharp, yellow fingernails that had scratched her skin.

  “Something about the way they die and regenerate on a cellular level. The science team explained it better than I can. From what I recall, inert cells like those in fingernails and toenails respond differently to the contagion. Hair, too. All the zombies I’ve seen had hair that was at least a few inches longer than when they’d died. The nails seem to lengthen by at least an inch as well. They get thicker and turn yellow. Those things can do some serious damage to unprotected skin.” His face tightened as if in painful memory. “After being exposed to the contagion, they’re not human anymore.”

  “The perps made a sort of moaning sound,” she said, remembering. “It sounded like a sick cat or some kind of wild animal. It didn’t sound human at all.”

  “I’ve heard it. Chills you to your bones, doesn’t it?”

  They shared a moment of commiseration until she got back on track, out of the fog of frightening memory.

  “So what now? How do we catch them?”

  Xavier eyed her strangely for a moment, then relaxed. “Ordinarily, I’d tell you that your part is done and I’d handle it from here.” She was about to object when he held up his hand, palm outward to forestall her. “That’s ordinarily. But as you can imagine, this situation is far from ordinary. For one thing, you are now the only one, outside of a few military personnel, who has been proven immune to the contagion. In fact, I’m the only one they could spare to investigate this incident. Now that we have confirmation it’s a zombie infestation, I’ve been assigned to solve the problem as I see fit. I think you can be instrumental in helping me fulfill my mission. For another thing, you’re a highly trained officer of the law. You know how to shoot and how to be cool under pressure. I’ve seen your file and your fitness reports. Your superiors speak highly of you and your abilities. I’m inclined to believe them.”

  He gave her a little nod of guarded respect. She interpreted it to mean he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, within reason.

  “And since you’re immune, that, more than anything, makes you qualified to go after these guys. Are you willing to help?”

  “Willing?” She couldn’t believe he was asking. “Of course I’m willing.”

  “Hold on a minute there and think about your answer. It would mean facing a bunch of zombies, more than likely, with the full knowledge of what they are and what they can do. If they manage to trap you, they’ll eat you, and because of your immunity, you won’t have the mercy of dying quick.”

  The queasiness in her stomach returned at his words, but he wouldn’t scare her off that easily. If she was one of the few people who could hunt these creatures without fear of turning into one of them, she had to help. It was her duty.

  “I’m in.” She managed a tight nod.

  Xavier gave her a sexy grin. “I was hoping you’d say that. As soon as they spring you from this joint, we’ll go back to the building where you were attacked. I’ll want you to walk me through what happened. We’ll start there. Sound good?”

  “Sounds like a plan. I assume you’ll square all this with my chain of command?”

  “Already done.”

  That lopsided smile of his threatened to make her mouth water. He was altogether too appealing for her peace of mind.

  “You were that sure of my answer?” She couldn’t help but be amused by his overconfidence.

  “In my experience, lady warriors are often fiercer than some of their male counterparts. I know what your fellow officers think of you. I would have been disappointed if you’d shied away from this challenge.” He winked and sauntered toward the door, turning to speak as he grasped the doorknob in one hand. “I’ll be back in the morning. The docs will want to keep you for study, but it’s more important to stop the creatures before the contagion spreads. Innocent people will die unless we go out and end this as quickly as possible.”

  “You’ll get no argument from me.”

  “Good. I’ll see you around 0700. Rest up.” He paused as if remembering something. “Your friend Terry came to visit but we couldn’t let her in. Likewise, your dad and brothers have been asked to leave you be for now. You can call them if you like, but you’re
not to give them any specifics about your condition or what happened to you. If they ask—and I’m sure they will—just tell them it’s a matter of national security.”

  “Oh, they’re going to love that.” Her tone was sarcastic enough to make him smile.

  “I talked to Terry. She said she was looking after your place and had a key to your house. I asked her to bring a clean uniform and some other stuff. It’s in the closet. I hope that’s okay with you. Even though you’ll be working on my team, it’s better if you’re outfitted in your official gear for now.”

  “I prefer it, actually. Thanks for thinking ahead.” She was touched by both his words and his tone. He seemed more human in that moment, displaying a capacity for thoughtfulness she wouldn’t have expected.

  He gave her a sketchy salute. “It’s part of my job, Sarah. I’ll be back in a few hours. Get some sleep.”

  He left without further words, and only then did she look out the window and realize it was nighttime. There was a clock on the table next to her bed. Its glowing numerals told her it was close to midnight. He must’ve been waiting for her to wake. Who knew how long he’d kept vigil in the halls of the hospital. The thought gave her pause and caused a warm glow to begin somewhere in the region of her heart.

  She’d been alone a long time. Oh, she had her family, but her dad and brothers tried to smother her at times and disapproved of her choice of profession. Her mother had died a long time ago, so Sarah had almost always been the odd woman out in a house full of overbearing males. She placed the inevitable phone call to her dad and spent a good part of the next hour reassuring him that she was all right.

  As she had predicted, her dad didn’t take well to the national security argument, but as a retired New York City police detective, he understood when some things had to be kept under wraps. He wasn’t happy by any stretch of the imagination, and he kept asking subtle questions to get her to give him more details. He was a skilled interrogator, but his daughter had picked up a few things from him over the years. She didn’t reveal any more than she had to.