Dead Friends Series (Book 2): Dead Friends Running Read online

  3

  I hung up the phone, struggling to remain straight-faced. I don’t even think I said goodbye to Jason. I think I literally just hung up.

  Spencer’s presence was suddenly so overwhelming beside me that I had trouble focusing on anything else.

  Buck was dead…dead?

  I pulled at the paper-thin collar of the white gown around my neck. It was beginning to feel constricting.

  And I was hot.

  Really hot.

  They needed to lower the air conditioning. Stat.

  My palms beneath the nitrile gloves were starting to sweat and the mask was no longer just itchy on my face. I was almost certain it was also responsible for my instant inability to breathe.

  I had to get out of here.

  Out of this room.

  This hospital.

  Especially out of all this gear that was just a reminder that Spencer was infected with the same virus Buck had, and receiving the same treatment too.

  My stomach coiled.

  Did that mean Spencer was going to die too?

  I looked at him closely, at his face. He was pale, so very pale.

  “So what did Jason have to say?” he asked, offering me a strained smile. “Something lovey-dovey, I bet, right?”

  A sudden urge to puke hit me. Spencer was going to die, wasn’t he? After everything, he was still going to die.

  We couldn’t save him.

  There was no cure.

  “Dee?” A crease formed between his eyebrows in question. “Everything okay?”

  “Uh-uh,” I stammered, fighting down the nausea.

  Hot.

  God, it was so hot in here.

  I needed air.

  The door behind me opened almost on cue, and I jumped up from my chair, eager to escape.

  My rash move caused him to furrow his brow more. “Going somewhere?”

  “Um…”

  Act like everything is fine, Jason had said.

  WAS HE KIDDING ME? How the heck was I supposed to do that?

  “I’ll be right back,” I mumbled, once again not sure if I even said it or just thought it, and darted—well, half-ran, half-walked—for the hallway.

  I made sure to avoid eye contact with Mrs. Reign and the nurse as I passed them coming into the room, but I could feel their gaze follow me.

  I was grateful the moment the door shut behind me, blocking their line of sight. Ripping the mask off my face, I took a deep breath, and leaned against the wall, momentarily trying to get a handle on myself. The air was cooler out here, the hallway felt bigger. But I was still a basket case. My heart was still racing, my stomach still knotting, and my mind, forget it, it was all over the place, bugging out.

  I knew I could seriously cry. Or vomit. Or both.

  And I may have, had I not spotted Missy right then at the other end of the hall, still standing near the reception desk.

  Pushing off the paint with my shoulder, an entirely new thought came to me and I hurried toward her, yanking the gloves off my fingers forcefully.

  I wasn’t going to sit around here and just wait for Jason to call me, to tell me if Spencer was going to live or die, if Buck’s death was related to the virus or not.

  No.

  I was going to go find out for myself because there was no way I was going to be able to pretend everything was fine. I’m just not that believable.

  I ignored the random patients and nurses that I passed, and got closer to where my best friend stood.

  Once I was in hearing range I called her name.

  She peered over her shoulder, saw it was me, and spun around. “I’m still waiting,” she complained, frustrated. “I even rang that stupid bell thingy.” She pointed to it on the Formica countertop.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I replied. In the next step, I caught up to her, linking my arm in hers and pulled her away with me. “Let’s go.”

  “What? Where?” She didn’t fight me though, but I could tell she was startled. I headed toward the elevators.

  “I can’t tell you here.” I needed somewhere private. The doctors couldn’t overhear. No one could.

  Just as we were nearing the doors, I saw the arrow light up above the elevator and the small ding that indicated someone was about to get off. It only took one glimpse of white to realize it was my mom and Mrs. Frink in their sterile gowns.

  And it was enough to have me whip a sharp left, and rush to the emergency stairway. I ushered Missy inside, quickly following suit. The elevator doors shut about the same time our door to the stairs did.

  Mentally sighing in relief, I started jogging down the steps.

  “Okay, hold up!” Missy said, dragging her feet. “Why did we just run from our parents? What are we doing? Where are we going?”

  I kept moving.

  “Dee, come on! Tell me something.”

  I paused, but only long enough to pull my white gown off my shoulders. “I need my cell phone and my car.”

  “Your car? Your car is at your house.”

  I faced her. “Yeah? So? It’s only a six mile walk from here.”

  “Six miles. In this heat?” She crossed her arms, crinkling her gown. “Screw that.”

  “It’s not like there’s many other options,” I countered.

  “Well, I could think of one, we don’t go anywhere since we are already grounded.”

  “Then stay,” I exhaled in exasperation. All of a sudden my best friend had a conscience.

  I turned to go back down the steps, discarded gown in hand, but she grabbed my arm.

  “Just stop for five freaking seconds, will ya, and tell me what’s going on?”

  I’d rather tell her once we were in the car, by ourselves, already on the way to Pennsylvania, but to be honest, I didn’t blame her for wanting to know why I wanted her to leave in the first place. I know I’d be demanding an answer.

  I’m usually the reasonable one though.

  No offense to her.

  I peered over the railing to make sure no one was in the stairway, glanced back at the doors we just came through, and finally told her why.

  Next thing I knew, I was waiting on the steps alone, staring at the stained bare walls. Missy had come up with a better plan, one a lot quicker than walking—but only if she could pull it off.

  4

  The door swung open. “I got forty bucks,” Missy boasted, waving it in her hand.

  She hurried over to me, handing me the cash. “I played the low blood sugar card. Both your mom and my mom gave me a twenty for food.”

  She smirked, as she yanked off the wrinkled mask and gloves I had given her so Mr. Reign would let her back in the room. “It’s a good thing you have a legit medical condition.”

  The mask and gloves fell into a crumbled mound at her feet, and she pulled the gown off her shoulders next. “Forty should be enough to get a cab, right?”

  I nodded, considering how she conned the money. “Hey, did Spencer say anything--about me acting weird, I mean?”

  She bent down, picking up everything she had tossed down now that the gown was off. “He just asked me if you were okay. Once I said your sugar was low, he stopped asking questions. Again,” she added, stretching back up, hands full. “It’s a good thing you have an actual medical problem. Now let’s stop standing around, and go call that cab.”

  I ran in and out of my house quickly, grabbing my keys, my cellphone, and a book bag of snacks, a few water bottles and my purse (I didn’t want to make that mistake again). I could have been out sooner, but I lingered inside for a moment, debating whether or not to leave a note for my parents. In the end, I figured that was best after the whole Spencer running away thing. I didn’t write much though, just that I’d be back tomorrow, that I was sorry and yes, that I knew I was grounded for life.

  Missy stood by my car waiting for me, her long hair pulled into a messy knot on her head. The summer sun was blazing in the clear, afternoon sky and her pale skin was already flushing from the heat. It probably
was a good thing we didn’t walk those six miles after all.

  “I grabbed a few bottles of water and some of those semi-okay multigrain breakfast bars. Are you fine with that?” I asked, “Or do you want to stop somewhere for something else?”

  “A double gulp icee would be great right about now, especially since PA doesn’t have them and it’s so damn hot out.” She turned to open the door, her hand pausing on the handle. “But only if you don’t mind stopping.”

  “I probably need to fill the gas tank anyway,” I replied, swiftly moving past the bumper, both bags in my hands swinging as I walked. “Give me two minutes to call Jason though, so I can let him know we are coming.”

  Opening the back door, I tossed everything on the back seat, retrieving my cell phone out of the front pocket of my purse. Leaning back, I scrolled through my call log and dialed Jason’s cell. I hadn’t called it enough to memorize it yet, otherwise I most likely would have called him from the hospital, instead of the cab service.

  The phone kept ringing and while I waited for him to answer, I decided to start the car, to let the air conditioner run and cool things off inside.

  His voicemail message picked up after five rings. Making a face, I hung up and redialed.

  Missy shot me a look, and I shrugged. “No answer, trying again.”

  Five rings later, I got the same result.

  Furrowing my brow, I shut the back door and sank into the driver’s seat, and told his voicemail, “Jason, hey, it’s me! Give me a call on my cell as soon as you get this. Missy and I are on our way to PA too. I’ll explain why later. Bye.”

  Hanging up, I dropped my phone into the center console. “Should we swing by the motel?” I glanced over to Missy.

  “That’s the opposite way,” she groaned. “And they probably already left. Hence, why he won’t answer because he’s busy driving.”

  I reached out, pulling the door closed. “Yeah, you are most likely right. I’m just antsy, sorry.”

  I thought in silence for a moment, placing my hands on the steering wheel, feeling the still hot air blowing out of the vents into my face.

  After about a minute, I mentally sighed.

  “So—do you even remember how to get to Buck and Kyle’s trailer?”

  Because I sure the heck couldn’t.

  We were halfway to Pennsylvania, about an hour and a half into the drive, when my cell started ringing.

  It wasn’t Jason.

  “Crap, it’s my dad.” I glanced at the cell phone screen one more second then shifted my attention back to the road. There was a sedan ahead of us and I didn’t like how much the driver was swerving in the lane. The license plate was from Georgia. I guessed the guy kept drifting off behind the wheel.

  “Well—don’t answer it,” Missy warned beside me, picking at her nail polish as usual.

  “No shit, Miss.” I wanted to get around this guy. “He must have come home early from work or my mom called him.” I bit my lip, and glanced at my side view mirror to make sure it was clear to pass this car. “I can only imagine how pissed they are right now.”

  “Honestly,” Melissa snickered, as I clicked on my turn signal, easing into the other lane. “I’m sort of surprised it took them this long to catch on. I mean, considering our track record of lies lately.”

  I shook my head, picking up speed now that I was no longer behind the sedan. “We are only trying to help Spence. It’s only ever been about that.”

  “I know,” she responded hesitantly, followed by more nail polish chipping. “But Dee, not for nothing, say Buck did die from the virus, what exactly can we do about it?” A pause. “Not saying I disagree with what we are doing, I get needing to know, I just don’t really get how it will make a difference.”

  Her voice trailed off and from my peripheral vision I saw her turn her head, to peer out the window. “We just got to accept Spencer might die.”

  I didn’t respond. Instead, I just put my foot down on the gas pedal a little harder as if getting there faster would matter. Truth was, deep down, I knew Missy was right. This was useless. I just wasn’t ready to admit it out loud.

  Three seconds later, my voicemail alert sounded on my cell.

  I had absolutely no interest in hearing that message. Ever.

  5

  We finally made it. Well, to the turn that changed our lives forever at least.

  Slowing down, I made a right onto the narrow road that I swore to myself I’d never drive down again.

  We officially had less than ten miles to go.

  My car bumped and rocked over the uneven ground as we got closer to the base of the mountain.

  I kept my hands positioned at ten and two o’clock on the steering wheel, unfolding and refolding my fingers to prevent a white knuckle grip and sweaty palms.

  Ascending up was never the scary part, I could deal with the steepness. It was the lack of railing on the side of the mountain.

  It was freaking scary knowing at any moment you can drop off the side.

  And even worse for me this time, because now I had the memory of what driving off the cliff felt like.

  I also had the memory of hitting a guy around the peek too, but I was trying desperately not to remember that moment.

  We wear nearing the top, the exact area where the GPS craped out on us the last time. Considering we pretty much knew how to get this far, we didn’t even bother setting it up. We decided it was more beneficial to save our cell phone batteries, just in case, especially since we were still waiting for Jason to call.

  Though now I was afraid even if he did call, we wouldn’t have any reception.

  I was hoping I was wrong about that.

  Once we reached the summit, I felt a little better because I could finally see what was coming up on the other side. Seeing that the road was clear for some hundred feet, I was able to drive more in the center of the road and away from the edge.

  My nerves eased up just enough that I felt less tense and more comfortable, and continued driving down the sharply curving lane, focusing on staying away from the edge as much as possible.

  I’d talk to Missy after I was successfully down this thing. By the lack of noise from her, it was a safe bet to assume she was remembering unpleasant things too.

  It had only taken like fifteen minutes of silence after her last comment before I spoke again, and when I did, I just pretended like she never said it. She got the point.

  Peering out the windows now, my eyes shot back and forth from middle of the road to the edge.

  Middle to the edge.

  Middle to the edge.

  Mid—a flash of yellow darted out of the woods to my left (the opposite side of where I was looking) running right in front of my car.

  A dog.

  nstantly, I slammed my foot down on the brake, hearing Missy yell beside me in a panic.

  The momentum had me flying forward, my eyes rounding. I wasn’t sure I was going to stop in time.

  Two people emerged from the shadows of the trees, hollering too. I yanked the emergency brake, desperate.

  The car screeched to an abrupt stop…

  The dog stopped too.

  My body whipped back against the driver’s seat, my head hitting the headrest.

  The dog sat, head turned toward me, panting.

  We stared at each other for one second, his brown wide eyes fixated I swear on my face through the windshield—or maybe it was just the bumper— then just like that he got up, running back to the people that were calling his name. Tail wagging and everything, not caring about the fact he literally just stopped mine and Missy’s heart and I’m sure his owners’ too.

  I glanced down at my shorts. Missy's cup with the melted blue icee had tipped over, and the liquid was splattered all over them.

  Terrific.

  Exhaling, I reached for a napkin, fingers trembling, at the same moment the guy outside came jogging up to my window.

  I flinched, out of reflex, and jolted closer to Missy. She grab
bed my arm, old memories flooding our minds.

  “Are you okay?” The guy gasped, out of breath, his loaded backpack bouncing on his shoulders as he hurried to the driver’s side.

  Up close I saw his light brown eyes misted over, tears leaked onto his freckled cheeks.

  “I’m so sorry about Anubis. He didn’t see, we didn’t see.” More tears sprouted in his eyes. “There was a steep drop and a bunch of trees.”

  Affection and regret filled his words, and my anxiousness quickly subsided. This man was obviously perfectly healthy, and fit, if the hiking gear was any indication.

  “We didn’t realize the road was right there,” he continued, rather upset. “I never should have let him off the leash.” He swiped at his face. “Are you two hurt? Do you need me to call nine-one-one? What can I do?”

  “We’re fine,” I said, swallowing the lump that had caught in my throat and patting Missy’s hand on my arm in reassurance.

  “Y-yeah,” she choked out, sounding almost as bent out of shape as the guy was. After all, Missy was a huge animal lover. And that was too close a call for her and her nerves.

  Hell, mine too.

  “Is he… is he okay?” she asked hesitantly, as if she was afraid to know. Her breath blew through my hair, as she spoke.

  The guy nodded, swiping once again at his eyes, before glancing back over his shoulder to be certain it seemed. He was wearing a large brim hat, one of those floppy kinds with the strings that come around the chin and clasps together. I noted he had even more freckles on his face and neck then Jason. He was also about twenty years older than us.

  I followed his gaze toward the woman who was on the edge of the road—the edge up against the mountain, not the cliff—she was hunched down in front of the golden dog, petting it with one hand, holding the collar with another. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a short pony tail, a few sweaty looking curls falling out of it, skimming her jaw and collarbone.

  Two hiking poles and a pack were discarded on the ground beside them.

  The guy’s posture seemed to relax some when the dog glanced back at him.