Page 136 (1/2)

If the outbreak was bad enough, they’d start diverting all but the ain: An outbreak in Weed would have a liraphically isolated enough to mop up without too much secondary loss of life An outbreak in Seattle or San Francisco would kill millions, and then spill out of the city to kill millions more We were the stoays on this ship, and there was only enough fuel to get one person safely to the other side

"You should call a staffher head against my shoulder She was affectionate like that only ere alone, even ere kids She never wanted the Masons to see

"I know" I left ie’s creon’t be the only worried ones"

"Did we have anyone in Florida?"

"Not Florida, but we had a Newsie in Tennessee, and I think a couple of Irwins in Louisiana They were doing the bayous" Their faces flashed behind my eyes, still photos that would have looked totally natural up on the Wall I was gri up there soon Alana Cortez, who loved reptiles and had been bitten by ht to survive encountering, and Reggie Alexander, a walking est claim to fa about it They were both solid, well-trained, and on the way to having lucrative careers in the news But they’d been in Louisiana And Louisiana wasn’t there any evento be convincing thehed "Yeah, I know"

George put a hand on the back of my neck Maybe I should have been disturbed by the fact that I could feel it, but I just couldn’t work up the energy I was too busy being grateful that she was there at all

"Hey, George?"

"What?"

"That stuff I said before… before" Before Kelly died, before Dr Wynne turned on us, before we fled the CDC hours ahead of a disaster of Biblical proportions--before everything Before the world changed

"Yeah?"

"I didn’t mean it I really, really didn’tat rave "Don’t leave me Please don’t leave me I can’t do this without you, and if you try toto be okay"

"Don’t worry about that" Her sainst the back ofsolid and warm and alive If this was crazy, God, I wasn’t sure I was capable of wanting anything else "I’ anywhere"

"Good," I whispered I sat on the couch withto the voices froet us through this one in one piece