Ti mounted the stairs two at a time when we reached them. I could see the trail of ash and gobbets of flesh behind us as we made our way back to Providence General’s lobby.
Zombies don’t have look-away like vampires do. And so while I could see the mass exodus of vampires pouring out of Providence General, no one else could. All they could see was Ti, holding me, as he strode through the bays of the emergency room, shedding ash and meat. People were picking up phones. I hid my face in Ti’s armpit as people tried to take our picture.
“Stay back!” Ti growled, and the good employees of Providence General did so. We made it to the ambulance entrance, just as a dark-tinted car flew into the drive.
Ti opened the back door, and we sank into the car together.
“Drive,” Ti commanded as he closed the door, and Sike’s car raced off.
Ti cradled me to his chest. I clung to him, feeling parts of him sift away like hourglass sand. And then I started to feel like that too—drifting and lost. “Edie, wake up,” he said.
“Are we there yet?” I asked without opening up my eyes.
“No. Edie—”
“Are these my guts, or yours?” I asked, nestling my head into his shoulder. Moving hurt less and less now. Hooray for me.
“Mine. Maybe. Edie—just be quiet for a second, will you?”
“No,” I said, but then was quiet anyhow.
“Edie, I’ve got to go.”
“No—”
“At the meth lab, I’m sure people saw me. But even before that—there’s only so many times you can get burned and survive and your coworkers don’t think it’s strange. Add that to the fact that I don’t age—and that that entire hospital’s staff saw me there tonight, looking like a Frankenstein—”
“No one believes night shift.” I curled my hand into his chest. He was warm compared to me; I felt so cold. “I’m tired, Ti. You can’t leave me. Not now.”
“I’ve got to. At least for a while. But I don’t know how long that’ll be.”
“This—that—that’s not some euphemism for dying, is it?” I looked up at him. His face was blurry, and I didn’t know if it was all his new skin or my tears. “Because you—that’s not fair.”
“I’m not dying, Edie. Just going. We’ll get you to the hospital first, though. I’m not leaving until I know that you’re okay.”
“Don’t go.” I hid my face against his chest, felt the flesh there give beneath me. Another wave of exhaustion and chill pulled me down. “We’ll talk about it when I wake up, right?”
“Good—” I heard him begin, and I knew he was about to say “good night” or “good-bye” but I didn’t hear enough.