Chapter 3 3

The yellow school bus rattled down the street.

It was packed. Bodies, backpacks, noise.

Aden sat in the middle, by the window. He wore noise-canceling headphones, but they did nothing against his new hearing.

He could hear the scratching of a pen three rows back. He could hear the gum snapping in someone's mouth.

And he could hear the squelching.

It wasn't just Emily.

He scanned the bus. He lowered his sunglasses just enough to peek.

The thermal vision flickered on.

Three rows ahead, the captain of the football team sat with his arm around his girlfriend.

Inside his chest, wrapped around his lungs, was a cold blue mass.

Two seats behind him, a freshman girl was reading a book. A parasite was coiled in her stomach.

Aden counted.

One. Two. Five.

Seven infected students on one bus.

He felt sick. It was an invasion, and no one knew.

The bus hissed to a halt in front of Argent High.

Aden got off. He kept his elbows in, avoiding contact.

The hallway smelled of floor wax and that underlying rot. The scent of the infected.

He reached his locker. His hands were steady as he spun the dial.

Whack.

A hand slammed onto his shoulder.

Aden spun around. His fist was already clenched, ready to strike.

It was Chadwick.

"Whoa, easy, tiger," Chadwick said, hands up. He was grinning. "You jumpy today?"

Aden exhaled. He scanned Chadwick quickly.

Warm red heat. Normal organs. No blue shadow.

"Sorry," Aden said. "Just... tired."

Chadwick looked down at Aden's legs. "Dude. Where's the stick?"

"The cane?"

"Yeah. You're standing. Like, actually standing."

"New meds," Aden lied. "Doctor said I might have been misdiagnosed. It's... remitting."

Chadwick punched him lightly on the arm. "That's awesome, man! Serious. We can finally play co-op without you needing a nap every hour."

"Yeah," Aden said. "Awesome."

They walked to history class.

Aden kept counting.

The infection rate was staggering. At least thirty percent of the students he passed had the rot inside them.

They walked differently. Smoother. More predatory.

He sat at his desk in the back.

Mr. Henderson was writing on the whiteboard.

"Today we discuss the fall of Rome," Mr. Henderson said.

His voice had a strange resonance. A low hum that made Aden's eyelids heavy.

Aden shook his head. He looked at the teacher.

Mr. Henderson turned around.

A nictitating membrane-a second, translucent eyelid-flicked across his eye and vanished.

He was one of them.

Aden gripped the edge of his desk. The wood creaked.

In the front row, Chloe Lane was filing her nails. She was the queen bee of the junior class.

A large fly buzzed around her head.

She swatted at it lazily.

The fly moved to the girl next to her. Jessie.

Jessie was staring straight ahead. She didn't move.

The fly landed on her collarbone.

Aden watched.

Jessie's jaw unhinged slightly.

Thwip.

Her tongue shot out. It was too long, pink and wet. It wrapped around the fly and retracted in a blur.

It happened in a tenth of a second.

No one saw it.

Except Aden.

Jessie chewed once and swallowed.

Then she turned in her seat.

She looked directly at Aden in the back row.

She smiled. The smile went too wide. It stretched her cheeks until the skin looked like it would tear.

She raised a finger to her lips.

Shhh.

Aden felt a cold drop of sweat slide down his spine.

They knew he could see them.

The bell rang.

Aden grabbed his bag. "We need to go," he whispered to Chadwick.

"What? Why? It's taco Tuesday."

"Just come with me."

Aden dragged Chadwick toward the boys' bathroom. He needed a place to think. A place with no eyes.