Page 37 of Such a Feral Little Lamb
I move ahead of them as we ascend the steps into the church. Even in as poor repair as it is, it takes my eyes a second to adjust to the change in light.
I freeze at the sight before me. Otto is sitting on one of the pews, Sal on one side of him, Emma on the other. She has her hand over the bite mark, but when she looks up and sees us, it falls away…
Revealing smooth, unmarked skin beneath.
I almost drop my bat. Years of muscle memory keep it in my hand, but my fingers twitch all the same, a momentary weakness.
Otto shrinks back. His eyes are clear, skin its usual pale hue. No fever. No signs of the virus.
“How?” I ask, but I’m not the only one who speaks.
“What thefuck?” Dane snarls. He raises his hatchet high. “You were supposed to take care of him.”
Emma cocks her head to one side. She’s tall but carries none of Dane’s bulk; still, she’s not at all intimidated by him. “We did.”
“That’s not—He’s not—” Rae snaps her mouth shut and shakes her head.
“It’s notpossible,” Blake says.
Autumn isn’t speaking at all. She’s gone pale, practically swaying on the spot. I think she might pass out.
Mason comes up on my other side. His fingers brush my arm. “All kinds of things are possible,” he says lowly. He looks at me through pale lashes. “They’ve taken care of it.”
I don’t know what to say to that. I move closer to Otto instead, and Sal bristles, but Mason must make some gesture because he doesn’t get to his feet. Emma holds my gaze for a second, then shuffles aside.
I reach out and run trembling fingers over the spot on Otto’s skin where Iknowhe was bitten. Nothing. He’s warm to the touch, as he should be. The press of my fingers turns into a grip of his shoulder.
“You feel okay?”
Otto nods quickly. “Yeah.” He darts a look at Sal, then Emma. Whatever they did, he’s not going to tell. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Fuck this. He’s not one of us now,” Dane snarls. He storms off down the church and Blake hesitates for only a second before he follows.
I look back at Rae. She has tears in her eyes and one hand on Autumn’s arm tight enough to bruise. “Come on,” she says and tugs Autumn along with the others.
“You should—” I begin, but Sal interrupts.
“He can stay with us.” He casts a dark look down at the altar, where Dane is banging things around. “We already got his stuff.”
“That what you want?” I ask Otto.
He chews his lower lip, darting a quick look back at the others. “Might be for the best. For now.”
“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” My voice is hoarse. I squeeze his shoulder again. “I’m glad you’re okay. Really.”
Otto smiles up at me, a fleeting thing, and when I let go and step back, Sal and Emma draw him away and over to the door that leads under the church.
Mason doesn’t make a sound behind me. I feel his presence, something giant and dark, ready to consume me whole.
“You knew they’d do that, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Mason says. He’s closer than I expect, and his voice sends a shiver down my spine.
I think back to the interaction, just after Otto was bitten. It’s fuzzy from adrenaline, from fear.
“Youtoldthem to do that.”
I know I’m right. I know I’m right the same way I know I’m right about Mason being around that first day, about him appearing with the zombies that first night.
