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.Minimal risk.Our priority ishere. He gave a chin nod toward Philipand me, then frowned at the distantsound of sirens. Quickly.A shudder went through Philip, but Isensed that it was from agony rather thanthe out-of-control frenzy state of earlier. Oh god& oh god& kill me. Thewords tumbled out of him in cracked andpain-filled sounds. No more& please.My low growl shifted to a trillinghum.Very carefully and cautiously, Ieased the pressure on the bite.Briantook a step closer and crouched. Angel, he said quietly. We needto leave before the authorities arrive.Doyou think you can get him to myvehicle?I gave a slight nod, then released thebite completely and began to lick thewound.I knew it should have beenweird and gross as all hell, but it wasn t.It was right.I tried not to think too muchabout that.A moaning sob caught in Philip sthroat. Done& can t take it anymore&kill me. Trust me, I murmured, continuingto lick the bite, though totally ready toclamp down again if he started to freakout. I ll take care of you.He bowed his head and went stillexcept for a heavy, generalized shaking.Taking that as consent, I slowlyunwrapped my legs from him, though Istill kept hold with my arms. C mon, Isaid as I gently tugged to get him tostand. I won t leave you.Brian straightened, swept his gazearound to check on the progress of hispeople.Apparently he was pleased withtheir results because he returned hisattention to us. All right, Angel, hesaid, still outwardly calm, but I heard ahint of an edge in his voice. Everyoneelse is in the van, and we need to gobefore the police get here.Philip stood, swayed slightly while Ikept an arm around his waist.His gazerested on Brian, and he growled, butsubsided when I smacked him on thechest. Behave, I ordered. You have totrust me.A tremor shook him, and I bared myteeth up at him.I knew we had to lookpretty damn ridiculous.Philip was atleast a foot taller and weighed abouttwice as much as me, but he allowed meto steer him in the direction Brianindicated, though he maintained anaudible growl as we moved.By the time we reached Brian sEscalade, Philip s growl had begun todevelop the wet rasp that told me lungtissue was beginning to break down.Igot him into the back seat, buckled himin like a kid, then slipped an arm aroundhis waist and draped a leg over his,maintaining as much contact with him aspossible.Then I fished another bag ofslushy brains out of my pocket and heldit for my great big zombie-kid to eat asBrian drove us away from the school.I lost my virginity on the footballfield of East St.Edwards High School,and had been kidnapped from that sameplace years later.And now I d just beenin the thick of a crazed zombie mob onthe Tucker Point High football field.Might be best for everyone if I avoidedfootball in general from now on.Chapter 24I expected Brian to head to the same labI d visited the other day, where I d seenKang s head and met Dr.Nikas, butinstead he stopped after about twominutes of driving and pulled up to aloading dock behind an old brickwarehouse.It bugged me that the arealooked familiar, and it wasn t until Icaught sight of the battered sign by thestreet that I realized we were on theback end of the building I d followedPhilip to last night, where he d beggedCharish for brains.Damn good thingwe d come here instead of the other lab.I didn t think Philip could tolerate a longdrive, and apparently Brian thought thesame.Brian parked and came around toopen the rear passenger door as Ifinished stuffing the last of the brainsinto Philip s mouth. Let s go, Philip, I said. We regoing inside.We ll fix you up.He managed a tight nod, painflashing across his face from even thatsmall movement.I quickly unbuckledhim, then helped him out of the SUV withBrian s assistance.Philip didn t growlat him, which was damn good since Ididn t know enough about the bite thingto be sure it would work again to calmhim down.As soon as Philip was somewhatsteady Brian backed off and led the wayto the back door.It was opened beforehe reached it by the door security guyfrom last night, so apparently we wereexpected. That s it, I murmured to the veryunsteady Philip, keeping an arm aroundhim. Almost there.Brian led the way inside and down ashort hallway to a small room with labequipment and a single computerworkstation.Two narrow mattresses,obviously dragged in from elsewhere,dominated the floor space.I glanced up at Philip s face as wewalked.My gut clenched at the rigor ofpain and concentration I saw there.Every movement was agonizing, yet hesuffered in silence. Angel, Brian said,  if you can gethim on a mattress, that would be ideal.I gave him a quick nod toacknowledge I d heard. Okay, Philip,darlin , I said, maneuvering him to thenearest mattress. I need you to lie downnow, and then you can be nice and still,okay?He sank to the mattress, kneesbuckling at the end and near-collapsingthe last foot or so.A wrenching cry ofdespair that was echoed in his eyesnearly broke my heart.I lay down besidehim, keeping as much contact along hisside as I could without putting pressureon him that might cause more pain.A few seconds later I heard lowvoices and footsteps from the hallwaywe d entered through, and then Heatherand Dan appeared, practically carryingKyle between them.His head lolled buthis eyes were open, and he seemed to betrying his damndest to make his legswork well enough to walk.Heather gaveme a quick wink, then helped Dan getKyle settled onto the other mattress. Do you need brains? Dan askedKyle, but the other man shook his head ina drunken gesture. Strange, Kyle slurred. Nothungry.At all [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]