Chapter 433: The Boardwalk’s Screamer [5]

When I saw the blood running down Carmen’s arm, I froze.

For a second, my mind refused to understand what I was looking at.

"H...How?" I asked.

Carmen kept one hand pressed against the sink.

"I heard the noise and went outside to look for anyone nearby," she said quietly. Her voice shook with every word. "I only stepped out for a moment. One of them caught me before I could get back inside."

Her eyes dropped to the bite beneath her shoulder.

"I got away. I managed to get back in and bring Shannon upstairs before it got worse. I locked her in the room with me, but..." Her fingers tightened against the sink. "It’s too late."

I stood there, staring at the wound.

The bathroom felt too small.

The Screamer still buzzed outside, its mechanical pulse leaking through the walls. Somewhere below us, Infected moved through the house. I could hear their footsteps across broken tiles and the occasional thud against furniture.

But all I could see was Carmen’s arm.

"Shannon doesn’t know," Carmen said.

I looked up.

She wiped at her face, though tears kept falling anyway.

"I hid it from her. I told her I got hurt when I was trying to block the door." Her lips trembled. "You have to tell Shannon eventually, but first... please get her out of here."

Her face tightened as pain ran through her body.

Carmen staggered.

I caught her arm before she could fall completely.

"You think Shannon will leave without you?" I asked.

"She has to."

"Carmen—"

"She has to, Ryan."

Her voice cracked.

She dropped to her knees, and I lowered myself with her, keeping one hand around her arm so she would not hit the floor. The brave face she had forced herself to wear for Shannon was gone now.

She cried quietly at first.

Then she gripped my sleeve with both hands and broke down.

"I don’t want to leave her alone," she whispered. "I don’t want her to grow up without me."

My throat tightened.

Carmen looked at me through tears.

"She’s just a child," she said. "Please, Ryan. Protect her. It will be hard for her, I know it will, but you have to get her somewhere safe."

I looked at Carmen for a long moment.

Usually, seeing a bite mark on someone filled me with guilt and dread. It meant another person I had to cure through unusual means.

I still felt afraid.

I still felt guilty that she had ever been put in this situation.

But beneath all of it, a surge of relief rose in my chest overtaking all the guilt.

I could save her.

Carmen did not have to die.

Shannon did not have to lose her mother.

"Stay here," I told her. "Promise me you’ll stay here."

Carmen looked confused, but she nodded.

"I promise."

I stood up.

"Don’t leave this room. Don’t open the door for anyone except me."

"Ryan, what are you—"

"I’ll be right back."

I left before she could ask anything else.

I ran into the bedroom, climbed onto the windowsill, and vaulted down into the garden.

"Ryan!"

Shannon hurried toward me the moment I landed.

"Mom! Where’s my mom?"

"She’s okay," I said quickly.

The lie came too easily, and I hated myself for it. But Shannon was already terrified. I could not tell her about the bite while Carmen was still upstairs, waiting alone.

"I’m getting her," I continued. "She’s preparing a few things in case we need to leave fast."

"Oh..."

Shannon’s shoulders dropped a little.

She nodded, accepting the explanation because she wanted to believe it.

Maribel looked at me strangely.

She had heard what I said, and she knew something was wrong. Her eyes moved from me to the upstairs window, then back to my face.

I ignored the question in her expression.

"I’m getting both of you to the cabin first," I said.

"And then Mom?" Shannon asked.

"I’ll bring her right after." I placed a hand over Shannon’s hair. "She wants you safe first."

Shannon nodded again.

"Okay."

I walked ahead of them, keeping my eyes on the garden.

The cabin sat near the back wall, partly hidden by the shadow of the fence and the plants Carmen had kept there. The darkness helped us. The Infected near the house were too distracted by the open front entrance, the gunfire farther down the street, and the Screamer’s noise to notice us crossing the garden.

We reached the cabin.

I opened the door and checked inside.

It was larger than it had looked from the window. Carmen had used it for storage, but there was enough space for the three of them to sit inside. Old gardening tools leaned against one wall. Buckets, boxes, and empty pots filled the corners.

Most importantly, there was a lock.

One on the inside.

One on the outside.

I turned and gave Maribel a signal.

She hurried over with Shannon.

"Get in," I told Shannon.

Shannon stepped inside without arguing. Maribel followed her, but she stopped before I could close the door.

"You’re going back for Carmen," she said.

"Yes."

Maribel’s eyes narrowed.

"Ryan—"

"I’m bringing her back. Just wait here."

She looked like she wanted to press me for answers.

The Screamer buzzed again.

A distant snarl followed it.

Maribel swallowed whatever she had been about to say and nodded.

"Be careful."

"I will."

I shut the door and locked it from the outside.

For a moment, I stood there with my hand still on the lock.

Shannon was safe for now.

Maribel was with her.

That was enough.

I took a breath, turned, and rushed back toward the house.

I crossed the garden, jumped, caught the window edge, and pulled myself upward. My arms burned as I hauled myself into Carmen’s bedroom, but I barely noticed.

"Carmen."

I walked into the bathroom.

She was still standing near the sink.

She had wiped most of the tears from her face, but the effort had not made her look better. Her skin had grown paler. One hand rested against the counter, and the other held a small box against her chest.

She looked at me as soon as I entered.

"Are they fine?"

"Yeah," I said. "I locked Maribel and Shannon in the cabin."

Carmen gave a weak nod.

"O...Okay."

She held the box out to me.

"Can you give these to Shannon?"

I looked at it.

"What is it?"

"Some things she likes." Carmen’s voice shook. "A picture. A few of her things. I thought... if I can’t—"

"You can give them to her yourself," I cut in.

Carmen’s eyes widened slightly.

"I can’t, Ryan. It’s too dangerous. I can feel it already." She looked at the bite. "I feel wrong. Like something is moving under my skin."

"Come outside first," I said.

She frowned. "What?"

"Just come into the bedroom."

Carmen hesitated, then nodded.

She walked out of the bathroom with me. The box remained clutched in her hands.

I turned to face her.

"Carmen, I have the power to cure an Infected bite."

She went still.

Her face did not change at first.

It was as if her mind had not understood the words.

Then she took a step forward.

"W...what?"

Hope appeared in her eyes so suddenly that it hurt to see.

"I have a Symbiote inside me you know that," I said. It can destroy the Infected virus."

Carmen stared at me.

"R...really?" She gasped. "Really?"

"Yeah."

A fragile smile began to form on her lips.

She looked like she was afraid to breathe too hard in case the hope disappeared.

"You can save me?"

"I can," I said.

Carmen’s hands shook around the box.

"Then do it," she said. "Please. I’ll do whatever I need to do."

I held her gaze.

"There’s one thing you need to understand first," I said, keeping my voice as calm as I could. "To cure you, I need to transfer part of Dullahan into your body."

"Transfer? Then do it. I can take it," Carmen answered quickly, almost impatiently. Her hands were clenched tight in her lap.

I paused, steeling myself before I met her blue eyes directly.

"Yeah... but the transfer—" I forced the next words out. "It’s through sexual intercourse."

She blinked once. Then she froze completely.

"Sexual... intercourse," she repeated, the words coming out slow and stunned.

"Yeah. That’s how I transfer a part of my Symbiote. Once it’s inside you, it takes over and finishes the cure." I swallowed. "It has to be done through sex, Carmen."

Silence stretched between us. The only sounds were our breathing and the steady, scraping clawing of the Infected against the bedroom door.

"Ryan—"

"Believe me, I know how fucked-up and weird this sounds," I cut in, glancing anxiously toward the door as another heavy scrape made the wood shudder. "But it’s the truth. I can cure you. The only way is through sex."

Carmen stared at me for a long second. Then her voice came out quieter, almost careful.

"But... you can save me. You can cure me. That’s what you said."

"Yeah. I can. I promise you that."

"I trust you."

She said it, even as tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. She pressed one hand, against her chest, right over her heart.

"Please," she whispered. "If you can cure me... if you can let me live longer with my daughter... then please do it."

I hadn’t expected her to accept so quickly. The desperation in her eyes hit harder than any of the Infected outside. I nodded once.

"Then let’s do it." I gestured toward the bed, the movement awkward. "Just... get ready."

I didn’t wait for her reply. I turned away and checked the window first, street still empty, for now, then looked back at the bedroom door. The wood was already starting to splinter in places. It wouldn’t hold much longer.

"R... Ryan."

Her soft voice pulled me around slowly.

Carmen was sitting on the edge of the bed, shoulders tense, hands gripping the mattress on either side of her. Her eyes were still wet, but her expression was set with quiet resolve.