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you been watching too many zombie movies? They went out of fashion, oh, like 10 years ago, you know.”
    â€œYeah! Are you sure?” a frightened kid spoke up. “Maybe you were too far away. Maybe they were eating something else.”
    â€œThat’s right!” said Dyanne. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
    A few other kids nodded hopefully.
    Jae spoke up again, “Listen, guys. We were near enough to see them clearly. Okay, they may not be zombies, but they definitely don’t look human.Something’s happened to them, and we need to find out what. We need to find out if they are a danger to us.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Kyl said. “You think they can attack us?”
    â€œYes, I think so. One of them almost spotted us. I don’t know what would have happened if she had found us,” Jae said.
    Suddenly, he turned his gaze on me, probably wondering why I was being so quiet. “Umm… are you okay? Oh no, there’s blood running down your arm.”
    I touched my arm, and sure enough, I felt something hot, wet and sticky. I stared at my left arm. The cut inflicted by Tattoo Guy was still raw and angry-looking.
    Suddenly, it all became too much for me. I pushed past the kids, and ran towards the back of the house. In my dazed state, I could hear Jae scrambling after me, and the kids shouting and arguing over what to do about the adult problem.
    When Jae caught up with me, he touched my arm gently. “Are you okay?”
    I nodded, still traumatised.
    Suddenly, he pulled me into a tight hug. I stiffened, not expecting it. Then I relaxed and rested my head on his chest, taking in the warmth of his embrace and the feel of muscle under his shirt. He rubbed my back softly and said, “It’ll be fine. Don’t cry, okay?”
    I nodded, my chest tightening. I fought back my tears.
    â€œI’ve never seen them like that before. They were never this bad,” Jae told me, somehow managing to run his fingers through my long tangled hair.
    I nodded again, still unable to talk, but this time, for a different reason. I was acutely aware of his hand around my back and his breath on the back of my neck. I didn’t want to ruin the moment.
    Jae stroked my hair until I relaxed completely. Slowly, I pulled myself away and smiled at him awkwardly. “I’m okay now, thank you.”

CHAPTER 18
    Jae took an old rag out of his pocket and pressed it to my arm. The cut wasn’t very deep, but it hurt like anything. I hoped the rag was clean.
    I winced. “Ouch!”
    His deep green eyes stared intently into mine as he held my injured arm. My heart beat a little faster. What was I doing? I thought. This wasn’t a time to be crushing on some boy I just met!
    He led me to the toilet, dipped the rag into the pail of water and put it on my arm. I held it there while he rooted around the toilet cabinets for a bandage. He found a plaster and positioned it gently on my arm.
    â€œC’mon, apple blossom, let’s get out of this stink hole,” he said, trying to cheer me up.
    Apple blossom? I rolled my eyes.
    We walked out into the backyard and slumped on the stinky sofa. When he put his arm around me, I didn’t complain. Then out of the blue, he bolted out from the seat, bent over and threw up. He clutched his bandaged arm, his face now pale.
    I looked at his arm, my eyes widening with concern. I saw a bead of blood snaking down from his bandage.
    â€œGosh…” I whispered. I felt so wretched.
    I was so wrapped up in my own misery and pain that I hadn’t even stopped to consider that Jae might be in pain too. He had not once complained about his already injured arm. The fighting must have made it worse.
    â€œSit back,” I ordered him. Now it was my turn to take charge.
    The wound, I saw, had not been cleaned properly. It was all swollen and looked infected. Yellowish pus was oozing from the long gash that stretched