Read The Becoming: Redemption (The Becoming Series Book 5) for Free Online

to
look. Jude swatted him away, and then he wrote on the back of the
sheet.
    How about we get started on that sign
language lesson you wanted?
    Keith grinned. “I think that’s an excellent
idea.”

Chapter 6
     
    “How are your legs?”
    It was minutes
before sunset, and Kimberly’s question cut through the silence like
a hot knife through a stick of butter. Walking on the uneven,
cracked pavement of a quiet back road that ran parallel to Highway
17, Ethan glanced at her, and it took everything in him to not
laugh at her question. She had asked him variants of it almost on
the hour of every hour that had passed since they’d set out on
their mission, and it was beginning to verge on the ridiculous.
    Ethan suppressed a smile and hitched his
backpack higher onto his back. He debated telling her the truth,
that his legs hurt like hell and if they didn’t find some sort of
vehicle to use soon, he would probably fall over. However, he
didn’t want to deal with Kimberly’s potential mother-henning. Not
that she was the type to play mother hen and flutter around
him; she was more the consummate medical professional.
    “I’m fine,” Ethan settled on. He stepped up
the pace to emphasize his point, hoping it would be enough to keep
her from questioning him further.
    “You sure?” Kimberly asked, her voice
doubtful. “It took you a bit to answer the question.”
    Ethan shrugged. “Maybe I had to think about
it.”
    Kimberly snorted. “Yeah, okay, if you say
so.”
    “What, you don’t believe me?”
    “You were practically bedridden for months,
Eth,” Kimberly pointed out. “Now you’re up and moving around, with
absolutely no real period of rehab, and you tell me you feel
fine. Can you honestly blame me for being skeptical?”
    “Not really,” Ethan said. “I do feel okay,
though, considering I’ve been walking off and on for…” He paused to
look at his watch, “about eight hours.”
    “Your legs do hurt, don’t they?”
Kimberly prompted. “And don’t lie about it, either, because mine hurt like a son of a bitch.”
    “I’ve never understood that phrase,” Ethan
said. “Hurts like a son of a bitch. What does that even mean? ”
    “Ethan…”
    He sighed. “Yes, Kim, I’m sore, and I would
hand my left arm over to the next infected guy that asks for it if
I could sit down somewhere.”
    They were silent for a few moments. Ethan
scanned their surroundings, looking for a suitable spot to rest
while trying to decide how much further he could make it without
having to stop. His perusal was interrupted when Kimberly asked,
“Why the left arm?”
    “Out of all that, that’s what you pick up
on?” Ethan asked, and he grinned, unable to help himself. “Left
hand is the hand of the devil, you know,” he joked. “It’s the hand
for doing evil things.”
    “What sorts of evil things have you been doing with your left hand?” Kimberly asked, the grin on her
face slanting toward mischievous.
    Ethan gave her a wicked grin and didn’t
answer the question. Instead, he shielded his eyes from the setting
sun so he could look ahead of them. “Do you think it’s time we got
ourselves a car? It might get us where we’re going much faster so
we can get back and find the others sooner.”
    “Do you think we’ll be able to find them
again?”
    “I don’t have the luxury of considering that
possibility,” Ethan replied, feeling his good mood start to
evaporate with the thought. He found a new burst of energy
somewhere inside him, one that was enough to help him speed up his
walking pace.
    “It is a possibility,” Kimberly
replied. She picked up her own speed to match his.
    “Yeah, well, it’s not a possibility I’m
willing to entertain,” Ethan said. He gritted his teeth, not liking
this direction of the conversation. Deep inside him, somewhere near
his ever-present hunger, he sensed the ball of anger inside him
beginning to stir, and he fought to suppress it. He didn’t want to
be angry with