The Becoming (Book 4): Under Siege by Jessica Meigs Page B

out how he was reacting. So at Brandt’s prompting, he focused
inward, studying not only his mental state—shaky at best—but his
physical state too. And, much to his surprise, he discovered that
the hunger was gone, that he was feeling better than he had since
emerging from the months of insanity brought on by the Michaluk
Virus. With a startled jolt, he looked at Brandt, nodding. “I
feel…like me,” he tried to explain. “Healthier. Stronger. It’s
gone. The hunger…it’s just gone.”
    “What is going on?” Cade demanded then.
Brandt didn’t tear his eyes away from Ethan as he answered her.
    “I’m not certain,” Brandt admitted. “I have
my suspicions, but…” He trailed off and shook his head. “I think we
couldn’t have timed this committee meeting any better than we have.
Derek’s got some answers he needs to start handing out, and a lot
of them have to do with Remy and Ethan. I want to know what’s going
on with them, and I want to know yesterday.”

Chapter 6
     
    Remy felt a sense of freedom and liberty she hadn’t
felt in months as she walked underneath the trees surrounding
Woodside. The sun shone down through the thick tree canopy above
her, and the breeze felt more refreshing than it did when it eked
over the wall and into the community. She breathed in deeply,
smelling the scents of damp earth, rotting leaves, and foliage: the
distinct smell that accompanied every forest and woody area she’d
ever been in. Closing her eyes for the barest of moments, she sent
up a silent thank you to whoever was listening that Dominic had
been nice enough to get her out of the community, if only for a
little while.
    She looked to the man in question, who
walked ahead of her, almost creeping through the foliage, following
a deer track toward destinations unknown. Remy didn’t care where
they were going; Dominic had mentioned searching out supplies, but
they could have been taking a trip to the moon and she’d have been
just as pleased. Her eyes lit onto his broad shoulders as he
meandered along the path, and she smiled as she watched him pause
to check his compass. He beckoned to her, and she hurried to catch
up.
    “What’s up?” she asked.
    “We’re coming close to town,” Dominic said.
“Maybe another half mile.” He paused before adding, “There are
infected in town.”
    A bright smile spread across Remy’s face
before she could stop it. “Infected?” she repeated. “I’m game for
taking on some of those.”
    “I know, and that’s what I wanted to talk to
you about,” Dominic said. He paused, as if gathering his thoughts
and figuring out what to say. “I want—no, I need you to
please stick close to me. Don’t rush off to fulfill whatever
burning need you have to slaughter any of the infected. I’m
bringing you along to watch my back, not to perform wholesale
slaughter.” She must have had a disappointed look on her face to
match the disappointment she felt, because he hurried to add,
“Besides, you do it sloppily, and if you’re still going to go with
me to Philadelphia, you need to learn how to do it more effectively
and efficiently.”
    “And, what, you’re going to teach me?” Remy
asked, stopping in the middle of the path and folding her arms over
her chest. It was a challenge, and she knew it, but she wanted his
promise that he was going to do so before they went any
further.
    “Actually, yes,” Dominic said, as if
realizing that answering in any other way would send her on the
warpath. “But you’re going to learn how to kill them my way.” He took her elbow and tugged. She let him lead her down the
trail as he continued. “I’ve got actual training in how to take
down enemies, remember?”
    “What, they actually taught you how to kill
zombies in the DIA?”
    Dominic snorted. “No, not zombies. Just
people,” he said. “But the infected are people. They’re just
sick, and some of them are dead.”
    “And still walking around trying to eat us,”
Remy