Plague

giddy for Dekka.
    Taylor was checking her fingernails, being elaborately bored. Sam wondered if he should say something about the kiss. Something like, “I’m really sorry I groped you.”
    Yeah: that would be really helpful.
    Better to pretend it all never happened. Unfortunately Taylor was not known for letting things just drop.
    Furthermore, she irritated Dekka. Dekka was Sam’s friend and his ally. The three people Sam knew he could always count on were Edilio, Brianna, and Dekka. Strange, because it wasn’t like they hung out together. Sam spent his time alone or with Astrid. He barely saw Edilio lately. He had nothing at all in common with Brianna—she was too young, too crazy, too . . . too Brianna to be someone Sam would hang with.
    Quinn had been his best friend back before. But Quinn had a big job, a job he loved. Quinn’s friends were all his fishing crews. They were as tight as a very close family, the fishermen.
    The fourth member of the expedition was Jack. Formerly Computer Jack—there were no longer any functioning computers around. Jack was wasting his days reading comic books and pouting.
    Jack’s superhuman strength might come in handy, but Jack had never been much use. Although, Sam noted thoughtfully, Jack had stepped up during the big fire. Maybe he was growing up a bit. Maybe getting his head out of a computer was actually a good thing.
    “You guys up for this?” Sam asked.
    “Do I have to go?” Jack whined.
    Sam shrugged. “Albert’s paying you, right? It’s better than playing strong man for him all day, isn’t it?”
    Jack’s eyes flashed. Albert had started using Jack’s physical strength—to carry loads to the market, to move furniture— and Jack resented it. In Jack’s mind he was still the tech genius, the supergeek, not the freak strong man.
    “Why do we have to do this in the middle of the night?” Taylor asked.
    “Because we don’t want the whole town knowing why we’re going and where we’re going.”
    “How can I tell anyone if I don’t even know myself?” Taylor stuck out her lower lip.
    “Water. We’re going to look for water,” Sam said.
    He could almost hear the wheels in Taylor’s head spinning. Then, “OMG, we’re out of water?” She bit her lip, took a couple of dramatic breaths, and wailed, “Do you mean we’re all going to die?”
    “That would be a pretty good example of why we’re keeping this secret,” Sam said dryly.
    “I just need to go—”
    “Uh-uh!” Sam said. “No you don’t, Taylor. You don’t bounce anywhere or talk to anyone without me agreeing. Are we clear?”
    “You know, Sam, you’re nice. And so very, very hot,” Taylor said. “But you’re not really much fun.”
    “Let’s get out of here while we can,” Dekka said. “I brought a gun, by the way.”
    “Are we going to be in danger?” Taylor cried.
    “The gun’s in case you get on my nerves, Taylor,” Dekka warned.
    “Oh, so funny,” Taylor said.
    Sam grinned. For the first time in a while he was actually looking forward to something. A mission. And at least a temporary escape from Perdido Beach.
    “Dekka’s right. Let’s get out of here before something happens I have to deal with,” Sam said.
    Just at that moment he heard a sound like something large breaking. It was some distance away. A noise like twigs snapping. Probably some drunk idiot.
    Sam chose to ignore it. Edilio’s worry, not his.
    He headed toward the dark hills above town.
    After a while Dekka took Sam’s arm and slowed him down. She let Jack and Taylor move out in front.
    “Did Edilio or Astrid tell you?”
    “I haven’t talked to Edilio. I steered clear. He’s going to be mightily annoyed with me when he realizes I skipped town and didn’t even tell him.”
    Dekka waited.
    “Okay,” Sam said with a sigh. “Tell me what?”
    “It’s Hunter. He’s got some kind of . . . Well, it’s like these bugs all inside him. Astrid says they’re parasites.”
    “Astrid says?” Sam snapped. “So I guess you did see her before you left. And she didn’t tell you?”
    “We had other things going on.”
    “Oh?”
    “No,” Sam said. “Not like that. Unfortunately. Tell me about Hunter.”
    Dekka told him.
    Sam’s face grew darker as he listened. So much for getting out of town before anything went wrong. This had “wrong” written all over it.
    It sounded as if Hunter wasn’t going to be hunting much longer. Which meant the town would be running out of meat as well