ã€ŠKeep Breathingã€‹


 0. Day 0 - Black blood

    May 17, 2019 - 10:38 AM

    Rheese Murphy

    I knew I was starting to come down when I noticed how dry my mouth was, that, and the grinding pain in my knee. My eyes were crusty as I blinked through the haze, trying to remember where I was. The stained ceiling narrowed my options down to anywhere but the clinic or some half-way house. After a few seconds of sifting through my memories of the last few days, I remembered that we decided the motel would be the best place in town to be left undisturbed.

    ¡°Teddy!¡± My voice cracked as I spoke through the taste of whatever swill had dried on my tongue last night. ¡°Hey, Teddy!¡± No response. ¡°Wren?¡± No response from her either.

    How convenient.

    I rolled over on the bed and planted my feet on the motel¡¯s carpet. It felt uncomfortably wet through the holes in my socks, like it was soaked. Or, more likely, covered in vomit.

    Why the hell did I take my shoes off?

    I groggily looked around the room. It was dark except for a hint of sunlight peeking through the thin curtains. The ugly floral print that lined the walls and the ancient TV in the corner didn¡¯t do much to dispel the growing unease in the pit of my stomach. I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was off. Standing from the bed, any leftover high still swimming in my skull cleared instantly when the pain in my knee came shooting up again.

    Where the fuck is the rest of my stuff!

    ¡°Teddy! Where the f¡ª¡± Just as I started to get annoyed, I stopped myself. The top of Teddy¡¯s dirty mop of hair was peeking out from the end of the bed frame. ¡°There you are... Teddy?¡± I limped around to the front of the bed, only to be faced with something . Teddy was laying there, covered in vomit and something dark and sticky.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Is that blood?

    ¡°Teddy!¡± As I dropped to the floor at his side, my knee screamed in pain. I dragged his head onto my lap and tried to feel for a pulse. He was covered in blood from chin to chest, even if I did find a pulse, it might have been weaker than a half-hearted piss. ¡°Wren, where the hell are you? I need you. Wren!¡± She had to be around here somewhere. After that score the other day, I doubted she would run with our stuff when there was enough for the three of us for like a week.

    Oh shit. Did she OD too?

    ¡°Wren!¡±

    Finally, my fingers found the right spot on his neck. Pressing down on Teddy¡¯s throat, I felt the faint, slight pulse of his heartbeat.

    ¡°Oh thank God! Wren! Get the fuck over here, we need to get Teddy to the hospital.¡± I looked back down at Teddy¡¯s pallid and hollow face. It was clear he already had one foot in the grave. ¡°Hang in there, man. Just hang in there, alright?¡±

    Where the hell is Wren?

    I turned to yell for her again when I finally saw her standing in the doorway to the bathroom. At least a part of her. Her long pale arm was wrapped around the doorframe. I wanted to say something but the uneasy feeling had crawled its way up through into my throat, silencing my voice into a croak. It wasn¡¯t a long before the uneasiness was justified as she stumbled into the room.

    Somehow, she looked worse than Teddy. Bloody and bruised like maybe the two of them got into a fistfight last night after I passed out.

    Did she do this to him?

    Her eyes were hard to make out in the dim light of the motel room, but something in my gut told me she was not right. She moved like the swiveling head of a snake. Her gaze was as severe and heartstopping as always as it drifted toward Teddy unconscious in my arms, before it slowly worked its way up to me.

    ¡°Wren?¡±

    Suddenly, her jaw unhinged and she belted out an ear piercing shriek. I watched on, paralyzed by fear, as she crawled onto the bed. Wren was a rabid animal, black blood spilling from her mouth.

    I felt Teddy stir on my lap. Looking down, his eyes were open and bloodshot. Nearly black. From where my hand had frozen at his throat, I felt his pulse triple, speeding up to match my own. The sound of clambering footsteps was the last thing that I heard before Wren tackled me.

    May 17, 2019 - 10:45 AM

 1. Day 0 - Midnight

    May 17, 2019

    Eury Morrissey

    I tried my best to keep my pace up as I stormed out of the bar. Readjusting my bag so that my oxygen tank wouldn¡¯t dig into my spine was a futile effort, but I did it anyway. I tried not to break out into a sprint the moment I hit the street at the end of the gravel lot that O¡¯Brian¡¯s pub stood on, but I couldn¡¯t help it, especially with the way that I was feeling. That sprint however was cut short on account of my less than whole set of lungs. As I slowed back down to my usual pace I was buffeted by a cold late spring breeze coming in above the river that ran along the other side of main street from where I was walking. The night''s breeze in Sheridan wasn¡¯t usually sharp. Even though it was supposed to be almost summertime the wind always felt distinctly cooler. Maybe it was just a quirk of this shithole, or maybe it was the alcohol. That or maybe it was because I was still damp with sweat from the dancing, mine and my partner¡¯s.

    Partner¡¯s? Jesus, could I even call some young guy I danced with for a few minutes a partner? Maybe an acquaintance? Maybe a dream? It''s more accurate to call him the someone that I wanted something from. That works I guess. Thinking about the guy that I almost went home with, got me thinking back to Davis and the whole reason that I left the bar in a rush.

    What the hell was he doing in there anyway?

    I mean, sure, he lived in Sheridan still. And yeah, O¡¯Brian¡¯s was the only bar in town so I guess it makes sense that I¡¯d run into him. But why the hell did he have to come out tonight? I could feel myself being unreasonable, but the tequila¡ªI could still taste on my breath¡ªallowed me to ignore that stupid opinion just a little bit longer. I kicked at the ground scuffing the pavement with the rubber sole of my boot.

    What were you doing in there?

    Almost the same question, but wholly different context¡ªEury, what are you doing here? You planning on getting back together with him?

    Together? Wouldn¡¯t that require the two of you to be together at some point?

    Shut up. Are you planning on trying to get back to whatever the hell it was before you left? Before you got sick? Is that what you are aiming for?

    ¡­

    Silence from the internal critic, yeah, thought that would be a stumper. Even my own body, my own brain, didn¡¯t have a clue what I was doing in there and after that bombshell he dropped on me what could I have done? What could the next step even be for the two of us?

    I stopped for a second and pulled my bag in front of me and took out my iPod and headphones. It was going to be a long fifteen minutes if I didn¡¯t drown out all these conflicting thoughts. I slipped my headphones on and within my next breath the haunting melodic strings of Brahms¡¯ 3rd symphony drowned out the sound of my strained breathing.

    In the dull yellow street-light, I felt nearly blind as my eyes struggled to adjust to the low light. That didn¡¯t stop me from confidently storming away from O¡¯Brian¡¯s, so why would I let it stop me now that I was halfway back to Alaska¡¯s place already. I turned up the first sloping road that led up to the house. Of course, every single place in Sheridan was uphill both ways, perfect for an athletic phenom, like myself. As my breathing picked up, I felt a sharp pang of cold burst in my chest. Reaching into my pocket I turned up the volume, blasting Brahm¡¯s just loud enough to almost drown out the sound of my panting.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Are you really going to get me to invest in a new set of headphones, lungs?

    What a dumb question. The answer is yes of¡­

    My thought was cut short by the sharp sound of someone¡¯s scream piercing between the high shrieks of the flutes. I turned around just in time to see a man run into the glow of the streetlight at the bottom of the hill behind me. Stumbling over nothing as he crossed the street it was obvious there was something wrong with him. He couldn¡¯t have been further than a hundred feet away, but in the dull yellow light, I couldn¡¯t really make anything else out.

    No wonder eyewitnesses have such a hard time with this shit.

    ¡°Hey! Are you okay?¡±

    Come on, Eury. That wasn¡¯t nearly loud enough and you know it.

    As I was about to call out to him again, another person burst into the light, only a few feet behind the first man and quickly gaining on him. ¡°What¡¯s going¡­¡± As I began to speak, the second person tackled the first man out of the light. ¡°Whoa! What the fuck are you doing!¡± Even though I was out of breath I could still hear my voice above the crashing symphony blaring in my ears.

    Of course, something fucked-up like this was happening my first night back here. Of course!

    I wheeled around and began to march back down the hill, my backpack and the oxygen tank inside hitting me in the lower back as I tried my best to get down to the scuffle. I ripped my headphones off and for the first time, I could hear the fight. Instead of a fight between two people, it sounded more like someone was getting attacked by a dog.

    Or a pack of them.

    What are you doing? What do you plan on doing huh? Bash ¡®em with your oxygen tank or something? Outside of that, what are you going to do, little miss cancer patient?

    Cancer survivor, I corrected my internal critic.

    The thought wasn¡¯t the one that I wanted to hear but I couldn''t help but agree with, at least a little bit. I couldn¡¯t see the struggle, but I knew it was happening and I was the only one around here that could do something.

    ¡°Hey, assholes! You¡¯d better stop ¡®cause I¡¯ve got the cops on the phone already!¡± A lie, but that didn¡¯t stop me from shouting.

    Why was it a lie? What the hell are you doing Eury, get your shit together! I stopped for a second mid righteous march towards the gnashing sounds of the fight and pulled out my phone.

    Walk away, idiot! Call the cops and walk away.

    Fuck off! I¡¯m not running away, it¡¯s midnight, everyone¡¯s asleep, I need to do something now.

    I had stopped directly beneath a streetlight about halfway up the hill from the attack and was probably standing out like a sore thumb. As I pulled up the phone app, I stepped into the darkness and onto someone¡¯s mushy lawn.

    9-1-1. Five rings, no answer. Did the cops have a voicemail?

    Another scream echoed off the buildings that ran along both sides of the street. Oh, Jesus Christ, what are you doing right now Eury?

    9-1-1. Another five rings. Again, no answer. Fucking small-town cops, someone¡¯s about to be killed!

    If this is how it¡¯s going to be, then so be it! I called 9-1-1 one more time but stuffed my phone into my pocket, hopefully, they¡¯d be able to trace the call or something if they ever decided to answer. I took three heavy steps down the hill towards the intersection and the last spot that I had seen the man and his attacker, and then promptly stopped in my tracks.

    As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I just barely made out the shape of another group of people climbing up and over the bank of the river. Within two seconds I counted three more people sprinting across the intersection before they all disappeared back into the dark in the direction of the other two.

    Run.

    I pulled my phone back out of my pocket again, just as another scream pierced the night.

    Run.

    I held the ringing phone against my ear as I took my first step back up the hill.

    Run.

    The symphony blaring from my loose headphones came to its climax as I tried my best to run away.

    Don¡¯t stop.

 2. Day 0 - Back home

    May 17, 2019

    Eury Morrissey

    ¡°Do you need a hand miss?¡± It was the first time that I had seen the ancient bus driver speak or stand since the bus had left Spokane ten hours prior. I still hadn¡¯t really heard him as my headphones were still on my ears but I got the gist of it.

    ¡°I¡¯m good thanks,¡± I said as I struggled to untangle my headphone wires from my cannula¡¯s tubes. After a second of struggling, I decided to at least take my headphones off.

    ¡°Do you need a hand miss?¡± The man unnecessarily repeated.

    ¡°I¡¯m good thanks.¡± There was no doubt that he was just trying to do what he thought was the right thing. The problem was, I didn¡¯t need the hand. Nor did I need the man who looked to be about three-hundred dropping my oxygen concentrator.

    The man nodded as he walked back to his seat and sat back down. I¡¯m sure there was something that he was supposed to be doing outside, but instead, he was sitting there watching me untangle myself.

    Just waiting for me to give up.

    Fat-chance.

    All and all, it took me two-minutes and the majority of a song being shouted out at nearly-max volume by my headphones for me to get all of my shit in order. Upon my standing, the bus driver visibly relaxed.

    Calm down, dude. It wasn¡¯t like it was life or death, just didn¡¯t want to have to go through the actual struggle of resetting my concentrator.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said as I lugged my backpack, my concentrator, and the rest of myself past the driver and down the steep steps. My legs shook worse than a newborn deer taking its first steps, but I managed to make it without falling.

    Wow, you really need to work out.

    ¡°Is this your final stop miss?¡± The driver called out to the back of my head.

    ¡°Yeah, it is,¡± I said without looking back. ¡°As disappointing as that is.¡±

    ¡°Well, just make sure you¡¯re careful.¡± It was late spring and the parking lot was covered in the customary west-coast puddles, not exactly pitfalls I needed to keep my eyes open for.

    ¡°Thankfully, I haven¡¯t completely forgotten how to walk over the last few years,¡± I said as I turned to face him. I did my best impression of people who say funny things without the intention of hurting people''s feelings; the forced smile felt almost natural.

    ¡°Oh, you haven¡¯t heard?¡± The man¡¯s sagging face folded in on itself as he churned over the words.

    ¡°Heard about what?¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not some reporter or somethin¡¯, so I only really know the scuttlebutt.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the scuttlebutt?¡± I cringed as the word came out of my mouth.

    Oh lord help me. It¡¯s infectious.

    ¡°Well, I mean¡­¡±

    ¡°Sir,¡± I tried my best version of the teacher''s voice that I had been cultivating these last few years at university. It was still lacking the ¡®humph¡¯ that I was hoping for, but my usual lack of breath was a good enough excuse for that. ¡°How can I be careful if you don¡¯t tell me what to be worried about?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s just that I heard that there was some junkies runnin¡¯ ¡®round doing god knows what.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what most ¡®junkies¡¯ get up to?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know ¡®bout that. There¡¯s been some rumours of folks getting attacked and the such.¡±

    ¡°In this town? Do you know who? Like their names?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but be worried about the few people that I actually cared about that still lived in this shit-smear of a town.

    ¡°Nah, sorry honey. Didn¡¯t catch any names or ¡®nothing like that.¡±

    ¡°Well, thanks for the warning then. I guess.¡± The driver looked away like I was scolding him.

    ¡°Sorry miss.¡±

    I shot him the classic sucked-in-lip-and-nod smile that meant I was done with the conversation and started to make my way over to the bus terminal. It was damp out. It was also the afternoon on the west coast in late spring so that wasn¡¯t a surprise. While I made a point of buying comfortable shoes, and I made sure to be wearing them for the trip, I definitely did not account for the fact that it would be significantly wetter in Sheridan than it was in Spokane. After I managed to soak my sock before I crossed the parking lot, I made a mental note to change into my boots the first chance I got.

    My bag was waiting for me beside the service counter inside the small terminal. After showing my ID to the attendant she promptly stopped caring about it and me. Without a second thought, she returned to her phone that she had so graciously looked away from.

    My bag was small, but not that small in comparison to me. Its top stood an inch below my waist. With me being 4¡¯ 10¡¯ that meant that it was pretty damn small. Despite its size, I still managed to struggle with it. After getting a handle on its handle, I rolled it over to a bench near the doors that led back out into the blue, cloudy afternoon. There, I sat myself down and took a well-deserved break. I could hear my oxygen concentrator in its bag at my hip, kicking into overdrive as I sat down.

    A little late to the party.

    Opening my suitcase, I grabbed the plastic bag that held my rubber-soled boots and swapped them for the wet converse I had been wearing. As I leaned over, my concentrator kicked into a higher gear again filling my nose with the sweet, sweet, absolutely dry as fuck, produced oxygen that my lungs were screaming for. I side-eyed the tank that I had stored in the suitcase and toyed with the idea of going through the hassle of switching to it to get some relief from the concentrator¡¯s judgement.

    My contemplation was cut short by Alaska¡¯s entrance into the terminal. ¡°Hey there, slowpoke. You ready to get moving?¡± She came to a loud stop in front of me.

    ¡°Sure grandma. Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± She pulled her light-blonde hair out of the way of her beautiful face. The same beautiful face that made her as popular as she was back when we were in high school. And the same beautiful face that must make all the small-time teenage delinquents in town giddy with puberty-fueled glee at the sound of her deputy¡¯s sirens, when they really should''ve been pissing themselves.

    ¡°Grandma? Wow, this is coming from the girl still wearing the same boots she wore in high school? And in university, and¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, leave my boots out of this,¡± I said sliding my converse back into my suitcase. I made a point to quickly zip it up to hide the rest of my outdated wardrobe.

    ¡°Leave them out of my sight and I might just stop ragging on them.¡±

    ¡°With all this rain, I doubt that¡¯ll happen.¡±

    ¡°True-dat.¡± As she said the second outdated phrase I felt a look of mild disgust cross my face.

    ¡°Oh, now we¡¯re getting hip are we?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re planning on being a high school teacher, you really should be aware that is like the opposite of hip.¡± Alaska said paradoxically.

    ¡°Then why¡¯d you say it?¡±

    ¡°Because being ironic is hip right now.¡± I decided it would be easier not to engage. That would at least save me from having to hear Alaska ¡®ironically¡¯ use and misuse outdated slang. After a half-second of conversational dead air, a smirk split her mouth. ¡°Do you want me to teach you how to be cool?¡±

    ¡°God no,¡± I said with a laugh. I stood up and grabbed my suitcase off the bench. Before I could make it even a single step away Alaska already had two hands wrapped around it, pulling it from my grasp. ¡°Hey! I had that.¡±

    ¡°And now, I have it. But seriously, we could count it as job training. Did you need to pad your resume at all? Or does a recommendation from your mom mean that you¡¯ve already got a job lined up at the school?¡± Alaska talked as fast as she walked, and she walked too fast to be considerate.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°I¡¯m not planning on staying in Sheridan, I only told her that I¡¯d check the school out.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that I could convince you to stay? You wanna be roomies or somethin¡¯?¡± Alaska said as she passed through the sliding doors out towards the parking lot. While it wouldn¡¯t be the worst thing to live with Alaska, the idea of staying in Sheridan longer than the two weeks I had already agreed to made my stomach twist just a little bit. Will I even make it that long?

    I made it to the threshold of the doors by the time that she had already thrown my bag into the bed of her brand new cherry red truck.

    ¡°What, did you get a boyfriend who needed to compensate for somethin¡¯ and didn¡¯t tell me?¡± I called out to her as she turned back to face me.

    ¡°Oh, ha, ha. Make your jokes now, but just remember who you¡¯re going to call the moment you need to move something.¡± She made the distance between the two of us in two strides. The benefits of being an actual Amazon I¡¯d say. She lifted my backpack off of me and slung it over her shoulder as she turned back to the truck. Had she been a little closer than she was, my own bag and the oxygen tank I had inside of it would¡¯ve smacked me square in the face.

    ¡°You can stop doing that at any time,¡± I said to her as she haphazardly dropped my backpack onto my suitcase.

    ¡°What? Helping you out? Stop being so you, and just let me pamper you a little. It¡¯s been what, almost a year since I¡¯ve seen you last? Let me look after my little doll.¡± Her smirk had taken on new life as a full-blown obnoxious grin and that made it all the worse.

    There it was, ¡®little doll¡¯. Without a doubt, the worst, most annoying nickname, that I have ever been saddled with. I must''ve been glaring because her smile evaporated the moment she looked at me.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to damage my tanks,¡± I said flatly as I made my way to the other side of the truck and out of her view.

    ¡°Eury I¡¯m sorry! It just slipped out.¡± Alaska started to follow me around the front of the truck but doubled back once she realized she¡¯d have me as a captive audience inside of the vehicle. I heard the electronic locks of the truck disengage and pulled the door open as quickly as I could. I wasn¡¯t quite sure where I was running to because the quicker I got into the truck, the sooner I¡¯d be forced to listen to Alaska¡¯s apology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it just slipped out. I really didn¡¯t mean to say it, honest.¡± The words flew out of her mouth faster than the time it took for her to sit down in her seat. I struggled for a moment getting into the high seat of the truck, the seat of which was only a few inches below my shoulder.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said as I settled into my seat, my condenser kicking into high gear again to give the oxygen I needed to fuel my angry huffing.

    ¡°Obviously it¡¯s not.¡± Alaska had fully turned in her seat to face me.

    ¡°I said it¡¯s fine.¡± The whine of my condenser was the only consistent sound in the truck¡¯s cab.

    ¡°How can I make it up to you?¡±

    ¡°How about you take me out for a drink?¡± I said trying my best to forget that because of my oxygen I couldn¡¯t drink.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you wanna see your parents?¡± And there was another good reason for me to be drinking.

    ¡°There¡¯s a reason I¡¯m staying at your place, Lask. Let¡¯s just go to O¡¯Brian¡¯s.¡± She knew that there was no reason to argue with me, so with a shrug and a push of a button, she turned the truck on.

    ¡°But wait. I thought you couldn¡¯t drink?¡± Of course she would remember that little thing.

    ¡°Can I at least get some bar food then? A bit of grease and some dancing?¡± I said deflecting her good sense. Alaska looked back at her flatly cut nails as they curled around the steering wheel. ¡°And maybe I can find a little bit of non-alcoholic stress relief while I¡¯m there.¡±

    ¡°Okay, that I can get behind. You have been gone for a while, and missed out on some of the better cuts of meat ¡®round here. But I need to get changed at least.¡± Lask said as she pulled the truck into reverse.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind a little bit of a wait,¡± I said as I watched the small bus station shrink away from us.

    <hr>

    It was a solid three ¡®deep¡¯ breaths before the oxygen from my tank made it to my nose. I never did like switching to the tank with the gas already running so that always left me in the awkward limbo between the concentrator¡¯s oxygen and the tank¡¯s where I was forced to actually breathe in¡ªshock¡ªthe surrounding air!

    How do those normal fucks do it all the time?

    That thought was an odd one, but after having a few good nosefuls of pure Sheridan air again, I couldn¡¯t help but think it. The town didn¡¯t smell good. Or, after several consecutive months away, and a few years before that, I just was just keenly aware of the smell again. I guess it is one of those things that you instantly forget the moment you stop thinking about it.

    ¡°Okay, are you ready to get going?¡± Alaska called out to me from the other side of the balcony doors. ¡°What¡¯re you doing out there? Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m taking in the view,¡± I said admiring the better part of the single street that Alaska¡¯s balcony looked out over. The majority of the houses on this street were at least ninety years old, making them some of the newest in town. They did lose that title if one took into consideration the half-finished development on the edge of town that nobody lived in. But for obvious, plumbing related reasons, nobody did.

    ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Alaska asked as she stepped out beside me.

    ¡°It isn¡¯t,¡± I said as I slung my bag back over my shoulder. Cleared out of everything other than my oxygen tank, my iPod, my headphones, and my wallet, it was significantly nicer to carry. Still heavy as hell, but nicer.

    ¡°Oh come on. Do you need to be so negative all the time?¡±

    ¡°I do have a need to be accurate, yes.¡±

    ¡°If you just dropped the sass for a moment you¡¯d notice that this town isn¡¯t so bad.¡±

    ¡°Lask, that¡¯s literally why I¡¯m back in this shithole.¡± Alaska looked at me for a second in her quasi-motherly way until her annoyed expression broke into a confused one. ¡°What I mean is that, sure, I plan to drop my sass, better judgement, and good-taste and give Sheridan another look.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great! I can¡­¡±

    ¡°But! That begins tomorrow. Tonight, I will be as displeased and crabby at the fact that I¡¯m being forced to come back here, and only greasy foods and moderate dancing will bring me back down to publicly acceptable levels of Eury-ness.¡±

    ¡°Oh Jesus, you really haven¡¯t changed all that much huh?¡±

    ¡°If you look at me with a microscope maybe not, but compare me now to the me from a few years back? It¡¯s been a big change.¡± I said as I walked back into Alaska¡¯s bedroom.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right there,¡± she said as she followed me, ¡°you are ready to go though, right? Happy hour¡¯s ¡®bout to start.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I''m a cheap date,¡± I said as I popped into the next room over. ¡°Free actually.¡± It was the guest room that I would be staying in for the next two weeks. The room was small and smelled dusty, but it was quiet and the only window faced the neighbours peeling siding rather than the street, a perfect view for me.

    ¡°You''re not the problem, short stuff. I''m in a rush because I''m not and I want to make the most of the night.¡± Alaska said with a laugh from the doorway.

    ¡°I guess you wouldn''t be,¡± I said as I took out the concentrator¡¯s batteries and plugged them into the charger beside the other four. As I turned back to face her, Alaska was admiring the blue liquid oxygen tank that my Dad had brought over for me earlier that day before I had arrived. She must¡¯ve felt my eyes on her because she snapped back to attention like she was expecting me to yell at her or something. A side effect of getting yelled at every day when she was a G.I. I¡¯d guess. Her posture softened as I adjusted my bag¡¯s straps so they were better camouflaged by my top¡¯s few black pleats. I tried not to make eye contact with her as she mulled over her next words.

    ¡°Your Dad is such a good guy, hey?¡± She said as she rapped her knuckles on the tank. As the most overprotective, over-prepared, person that I knew, I guess that¡¯s how he could be seen. There must¡¯ve been a reason why I had grown up in martial arts. There must¡¯ve been a reason why he was willing to spend thousands on oxygen equipment over the last few years.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I said, trying my best not to look at the tank. The sight of it severely souring my already less-than-great mood.

    ¡°I know better than to ask you what your problem is,¡± Alaska said as I walked past her into the thin hallway and towards the stairwell at the opposite end of the hall.

    ¡°But I get the feeling you''re still about to,¡± I called back to her as I quickly made my way down the stairs away from her and the conversation.

    ¡°Only because I think you¡¯re being an idiot and I promised myself that I would try my best to help your dumb-smart-ass whenever I could.¡± I saw the front door and with it my escape from this conversation.

    ¡°Help? Oh great, I¡¯m excited to hear where this conversation is about to go.¡± I said as I made my way over to my boots and struggled to slide them on.

    ¡°Are you really trying this hard to run away?¡± Alaska said from the landing of the stairwell. The window behind her encircling her in the soft orange light.

    ¡°I¡¯m not running. I¡¯m getting ready to go.¡± I hobbled, one boot half on, over to the bench beside the front door and started to force the second one on.

    ¡°Sure and I¡¯m the queen of Mars. Oh sorry, were we not saying things that are obvious lies?¡± She said in her most obnoxious voice.

    ¡°Oh shut up.¡±

    ¡°Just remember, you¡¯re stuck with me for the next two weeks.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m already dreading it,¡± I said as the thick zipper got caught halfway up the boot.

    ¡°Jesus, you¡¯re so rude,¡± Alaska said as she slipped on a pair of red one-inch heels. I admired her get-up. Black leather jacket over cherry red blouse all on top of tight-fitting ripped jeans. In comparison to her, I felt practically childish in my dress.

    ¡°Are you trying your best to look like a model or something?¡± I said in an attempt to derail her before she really got going.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try and change the topic by appealing to my wonderful fashion sense.¡± She said looking away. ¡°But, you can keep on complimenting me.¡±

    ¡°Maybe after you get a few drinks in me. You know how loving I can get with a few ounces of tequila in me.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you can be such a harsh mistress. If I must, I will abide by your request.¡± She said holding the back of her hand against her head like she was a Victorian fair-lady. Only breaking to see how serious I was about drinking. She must¡¯ve been satisfied by whatever expression I had because she immediately fell back into character.

    The boot¡¯s zipper finally gave, and with that, I was finally ready to go.

    ¡°So, you ready to get walking?¡± Alaska asked as her hand froze on the door handle.

    ¡°Alaska...¡± I felt myself starting to get all unpleasant again but the smile that cracked across her face stopped me.

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding! Obviously!¡± She said with a phony joviality. ¡°It¡¯s no problem that I have to hold myself back now to drive my stupid truck home. But whatever!¡± She sang in the same cheerful-ish tune.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s your fault Eury I¡¯m just being stupid.¡±

    Not my fault. Sure.

 3. Day 1 - Unfamiliar ceiling

    May 18, 2019

    Eury Morrissey

    I awoke to a foreign ceiling. As my eyes took a second to adjust to the near darkness of the room my skull decided that it was time to contract in on itself before feeling like it was about to explode outwards.

    Two double shots and you''re nearly dead. What¡¯re you? Sixteen?

    Ugh, do you really need to start so early?

    Sitting up in bed, I pulled the hard plastic connector down from where I had cinched my cannula¡¯s tubing up against my chin. It was good to know that my rituals were in place enough that even when I was drunk I could still manage to keep myself alive. I guess that¡¯s another reason why they say you shouldn¡¯t drink when forgetting could be such a deadly thing.

    Deadly thing.

    Under the pulsing of my headache, the sound of that attack last night played again and again in my head. There was no way that I could forget that sound. Like a dog attack, but...

    The cops. I needed to call the cops again, and maybe this time they¡¯ll answer the phone. I reached for my cell on the bedside table only to find it turned off.

    ¡°Oh for god¡¯s sake, Eury,¡± I said cursing my last night¡¯s self. Placing it back down on the nightstand, I grabbed my concentrator and unplugged the charging cord. Hefting the shoulder strap on, I started searching for my bag and the charger I had inside. As I leaned over to look under the bed, I heard an odd noise from the window on the other side of the room.

    Something between a yelp and a holler. To tell the truth, it sounded like someone had just kicked a dog or something. And that got my blood boiling, I quickly walked over to the window. I pulled back the curtains to get a better view of whoever it was that I needed to kick the crap out of, only to be greeted with a full-on view of the sun-bleached siding of Alaska¡¯s neighbour¡¯s house. I¡¯ll admit it¡ªI felt a little bit like a fool. Compounding that feeling was the fact that on the table below the window, covered by the hanging curtains, was my backpack. Since it had gotten quiet outside I decided that I could get my phone plugged in first then figure out where the sound was coming from.

    I left my phone in the middle of its startup and walked out of my room. I gingerly opened Alaska¡¯s bedroom door. After the bucket of beer that Alaska drank last night, I doubt she would wake up just from me opening her door but I didn''t want to risk it.

    And the fact that she probably went home with Davis last night meant that she wasn''t there for you to wake up anyways.

    You don¡¯t know that. Plus Davis said that he was getting married, so it¡¯s impossible. And just like that, the righteous anger I had this morning quickly transformed into a jealous rage once again. I opened Alaska¡¯s door and took the first step into her dark room. Blackout curtains made it too dark to see anything on the messy pile that was her bed.

    Get over yourself Eury, what does he owe you? Absolutely nothing.

    I walked over to the thin line of white that was the gap between the curtains and pulled it open. Just a little bit to make sure not to wake up the giant¡ªno doubt hungover¡ªwoman that I had abandoned at the bar last night.

    Looking out over the street there was no kicked dog in sight, nor were there any cars driving past either. Odd, considering that although this town was small, someone should¡¯ve been doing something. After another few seconds of no signs of life anywhere on the street, I decided to give up.

    As I let go of the curtains I heard another yelp through the window. I pulled the curtains away from the window and looked through again. It took all I had to hold myself back from opening up the window and sticking my head out. Mid search I turned my head to see Alaska¡¯s bed blasted with the morning light.

    ¡°Shit Lask, I¡¯m sorry! There¡¯s this¡­¡± I stopped myself as I realized something essential: she wasn¡¯t even there. ¡°Fucking Alaska. Fucking fuck! Did you go home with him? Really?¡±

    I ripped the messy duvet off of her bed¡ªnobody. I felt a scream begin to make its way up my throat, but I was cut off once again by the same yelp I had heard twice already this morning. Only this time, the single yelp had erupted into a small chorus. Within the few steps it took for me to make it back to the window, my boiling blood had frozen.

    Through the window, the sounds were muffled but there was no mistaking it.

    Carefully I peered back out. There was nothing else in this world that I had ever heard that sounded like that. As I searched the street for those people, the sound of the attack last night was playing over and over and over in my head, layering on top of the muffled sounds I heard now. I could feel my chest beginning to tighten as the street remained perfectly serene. No movement. No dogs. No men running for their lives, and definitely no shadow people attacking said men. There was nothing but the dewy north-western morning and the few small birds that called Alaska¡¯s porch roof home.

    Of course, that¡¯s what you¡¯d focus on. That¡¯s exactly why you needed to run away like a little kid last night. There¡¯s someone in danger and instead of doing something about it, what are you doing? Admiring the little birdies and their nests?

    And now you¡¯re getting on my ass for not doing something last night? There¡¯s no pleasing my inner Bitch it seemed. Again, I hated that she was right, but the Bitch was right, I needed to do something. I ran back to my room and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. I dismissed the usual notifications and quickly typed in 9-1-1 on the phone app as I ran back to the window. If the cops actually answered this time, maybe I¡¯d be able to help someone.

    As I pulled the curtains apart once again, the thought hit me.

    What the hell is happening? Honestly, what is happening right now? As I swept my eyes across the empty street in front of the house and heard the long drawn out rings blaring from my phone''s speaker, my mind was preoccupied with the one question I had been too drunk last night plus too hungover this morning to ask; what the hell is happening in Sheridan? It¡¯s one thing if it is dogs running around attacking people. But it''s an entirely different thing if my eyes weren¡¯t lying to me last night and there was a group of people running around attacking people.

    Another long ring came from my phone¡¯s speaker before¡ªcall disconnected.

    Great. What was I expecting? If they took off Friday night, then why not Saturday morning as well.

    Small-fucking-town cops.

    Silence tried to return to the empty house, but the gnashing sound from outside kept coming in through the closed window. I dialled 9-1-1 again and put my phone on the sill of the window. If I couldn¡¯t see the source of the sound from this angle, maybe I could if I stuck my head out there and looked around. I thought about going out onto the balcony, but my half-dressed state kept me from doing that so I reached up and unlatched the window. It was only as I started to lift the wooden frame when I saw the first sign of movement outside.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    The neighbour across from Lask¡¯s place slowly opened her door and took a few slow steps outside, no doubt also looking for the source of the terrible sound. She couldn¡¯t have been younger than my great grandmother but that didn¡¯t stop her from taking a few steps out onto her concrete porch, teal curlers in her white hair and wooden bat in hand.

    You go, grandma!

    My pride in Curlers was quickly overwritten with worry the moment she opened her mouth. I couldn¡¯t hear what she was saying, but the moment her denture-less mouth opened the sound quickly quieted down. I was tempted to open up the window to join her in yelling at whoever, or whatever it was that made the noise. But within a single breath, her expression went from face drooping anger to terrified shaking. She turned heel and disappeared back behind her closing door.

    A few seconds later, a man appeared out from beneath Alaska¡¯s porch sprinting straight across the street and towards the now closed¡ªand hopefully locked¡ªfront door of Curlers.

    ¡°Jesus grandma, what did you say?¡± My breath fogged up the window as I let my inner Bitch voice out.

    In the second that it took me to wipe off the window, the man had already begun to wildly throw himself at the thick door of the woman¡¯s house. And when slamming his body into the door didn¡¯t do the trick, the man switched to using his hands to bang on the door.

    What the hell did she say?

    There¡¯s not a damn thing¡ªof course¡ªthat would throw someone into that kind of fury. Obviously this guy is one of those junkies the bus driver was talking about. Like, Jesus Christ, Sheridan what happened to you?

    While I watched the obviously disturbed person throw himself at the door, it reminded me of something that I had almost completely forgotten about after moving away; Sheridan was home to one of the biggest federal prisons in Oregon.

    Is this guy an escapee or something?

    As I asked the question, the man threw his head back in painful frustration, screaming out the same horrible sound I heard last night, and this morning.

    Oh god, it is people attacking people. What kind of drugs are floating around here?

    I noticed something the moment that crazy-guy noticed it. Grandma hadn¡¯t done the intelligent thing when it came to hiding from crazy people; she didn¡¯t run the hell away.

    In response to the blood-curdling howl, grandma¡¯s front window curtains, only a couple of feet from the porch landing the crazy-guy was standing on, waved with movement. This, of course, was the international symbol of ¡°I want to watch whatever trainwreck you¡¯re in the middle of, but I don¡¯t want to be seen doing it¡± the very same action that I was in the middle of. The only difference between us was the distance to the trainwreck, and that was grandma¡¯s second mistake.

    ¡°Oh fuck no, Curlers get the hell out of there!¡± What control I was able to muster before was nowhere to be found as I unlatched the window and began to push it open. But as I did that, the crazy-guy transformed from unpleasant morning trainwreck and possibly dangerous junkie into actually ridiculously-fucking-dangerous junkie as the moment he noticed grandma no doubt freaking out on the other side of her front window, he dove knee first down into it.

    My mouth hung open as my hungover and tired brain tried to process what I saw. Without even realizing it, my concentrator kicked into its higher setting. Then, a second later, it clicked up again. Then another second passed, and it finally kicked into its highest setting, blasting the cool air into my body involuntarily. The air was flowing, so why did my chest hurt so much? I could hear the concentrator, but I couldn¡¯t look, my eyes locked on the black hole leading into the neighbour¡¯s house.

    With my window now open, I could hear everything I needed to hear clearly. Although everything was happening across the street, the sound was crystal clear in the early morning. There weren¡¯t any birds singing, there were no cars or trucks driving by, hell, the wind even seemed to be quiet. The only sound I could hear through that open window was the same visceral howling sound that I heard last night. That, and the screams. The terrible, weak, feeble screams.

    I could feel myself retreating inside as I had done so many times before. Allowing the folds of my consciousness to fold even tighter, pulling in on themselves until all that I am was contained within the dark in my mind. In here, nothing was wrong. And nothing could hurt me, because in here, I was all by myself.

    Although my mind had shrunk away from reality, my eyes, my body, could not. As the largest of the remaining front bay windows shattered over grandma¡¯s small flower garden, her small pink-sleeping-gown-wearing body flew out of the dark house and onto her wet front lawn. My empty eyes watched as she laid still on the grass. My fingers gripped the wooden window frame tightly enough to make the old wood crack in strain as I watched the junkie pull himself out of the empty window and stalk over to grandma. The junkie stood hunched over grandma¡¯s unmoving body for a moment. For just that moment the junkie seemed calm like he had finally snapped out of whatever rage that had possessed him to attack a helpless old woman. But like most things, that calm came to a quick and sudden end. My mouth grew dry as my concentrator forced more and more and more air into my nose to an unnatural degree.

    The junkie raised his foot high before bringing it back down hard onto grandma¡¯s chest, kicking her over onto her side. From this new perspective, I could see her face better. I could see her bloody, barely recognizable face better. I could¡­

    <hr>

    Had it been minutes? Hours? Seconds? Inside of the deepest darkest parts of my mind, there wasn¡¯t really time. Inside there, there was nothing but dark, forever, and ever and ever and it was nice. It was easy. But then, as the endless seconds passed something pulled me back into reality.

    I blinked to moisten my eyes. However long I had been standing there for, I hadn¡¯t blinked. As moisture returned to my eyes and my mind fully returned to my body, I realized what it was that brought me back.

    I wasn¡¯t looking at Grandma¡¯s bloody face anymore, instead, I was looking at her pink covered body kneeling on the wet grass.

    Oh, thank god! Thank you thank you thank you.

    ¡°Are you okay!¡± I yelled out the window at the woman. Although my voice cracked as it came out of my dry throat, she had to be able to hear me, it wasn¡¯t like I was all that far away.

    Oh god, if she could hear me, then that crazy fuck probably could too!

    I pulled myself closer to the precipice of the window, careful not to bring any more attention than necessary to myself. To my relief, there was nothing, and no one on the street, except for grandma slowly getting to her feet.

    Good thank god again.

    Getting mighty religious lately huh?

    Not the fucking time.

    ¡°Hey! I think that guy is gone, come over here and let me help you!¡± The woman finally managed to stand up, and as she did she looked up at me. Her face was worse than before, her blood and what looked like dried vomit covered the front of her sleeping gown. ¡°Oh shit! Get over here I¡¯ll meet you¡­¡±

    I was cut off by something I couldn¡¯t have expected. Curlers'' bloody jaw fell open and a familiar wail of pain cut across the silent morning.

    ¡°Oh god no.¡± The noise stopped the moment she began to sprint across her yard and the street between us. Quickly enough, she began to bellow out that same terrible scream as the junkie and those people last night.She disappeared beneath the porch¡¯s roof in front of me. Instinctively, I slammed the window closed and pulled the curtains back.

    And what exactly do you expect that to do?

    I don¡¯t know! What should I do, huh? What exactly should I do!

    The woman¡¯s screams seemed to travel through the walls of Alaska¡¯s house. I tried to cover my ears as the banging began. I could only imagine what the woman was doing, what she was thinking? Was she like that guy? Throwing her body at the door? What did he do to her? Was it drugs?

    Some small part of my mind couldn¡¯t help but imagine the crazed junkie as the kind of person that those D.A.R.E programs warned us about as kids.

    Crazy-grandma throwing herself at the front door brought me back to reality again.

    What do I do? What do I do?

    On the floor beside me, my phone began to buzz. Please be the cops! Or Alaska, or my parents! Just somebody who can do something! My hand snapped away from my ear to grab it, letting the sound of grandma hollering at the top of her lungs assault my ears again. I pulled the phone in front of me to answer whatever call I was getting.

    [1-888-999-2731 Survey Corps Ltd. (Known scammer)]

    Of course. Who would be calling you anyway?

    I swiped the red button on the screen to the right shutting the ringing off and turning off my phone.

    In the black mirror of my phone¡¯s screen, I could see streaks down my cheeks where my tears had cut through last night¡¯s make-up. Had I been crying?

 4. Day 1 - Locked in

    <h2></h2>

    May 18, 2019

    Eury Morrissey

    [Missed Calls: 38]

    [New Messages: 12]

    [Alaska 23:23: Eury where are you? Come back!]

    [Alaska 23:24: C¡¯mon Eury! Come back! You¡¯re missing out on the dancing that I¡¯m about to get up to.]

    [Alaska 23:26: If this is because you¡¯re embarrassed or something you don¡¯t need to be, I think Davis is about to go.]

    [Alaska 23:31: Where are you? I¡¯m gonna come grab you.]

    [Alaska 23:46: Why¡¯re you acting like this? I get that all that shit happened back then but the way you''re acting is so stupid!]

    [Alaska 00:04: Fine. Whatever.]

    [Alaska 01:52: I¡¯ve tried to call you please call me ASAP.]

    [Alaska 02:00: I¡¯m going to the clinic downtown. There was a fight at O¡¯Brian¡¯s. I¡¯m okay, and I¡¯m with Davis but a lot of people got hurt. I hope that you¡¯re okay.]

    [Alaska 02:14: Your phone is off but when you get these you need to call me. I think something seriously fucked up is happening.]

    [Alaska 02:47: Don¡¯t leave the house until I get back there. Call me the moment you get this message. Just hole up there and stay safe.]

    [Alaska 02:47 The code to the gun safe is 54-28-15 the bullets are at the bottom. Don¡¯t fire unless you are absolutely sure you are going to hit, and what you are pointing at is something that you absolutely want to go down. Just be careful Eury. I will be back.

    I will be back for you.]

    [Alaska 06:25: I¡¯m sorry. I dont know if I''m going to make it back. My phone is about to die. Please just stay safe.]

    Bang.

    Bang.

    Screech.

    Bang.

    Bang.

    Wail.

    Repeat.

    Hours had passed andCurlersstill hadn¡¯t given up. The early morning light that seeped in between the curtains started to fade as the sun passed over Alaska¡¯s house. I stared at the blank screen of my phone without turning it on. I had already read all of the texts, called everyone I knew. I even called a few people I didn¡¯t really know but had numbers for anyways. I had stopped calling after I had heard Alaska¡¯s answering machine for the thirtieth time. I stopped calling my mom somewhere around the fiftieth. I even tried to call Davis despite my hesitation to still get no answer.

    With a subtle vibrate, I unlocked my phone again. The screen came to life and I stared at my background photo again. It was my mother, my father, and me standing in the front room of my childhood home. My mom was practically a ghost overexposed by the ridiculous amount of sunlight coming in through the windows. She was entirely defined by the two things that could still be made out despite the sun, her bright red hair and the bright red lipstick that she always wore, my father¡¯s favorite. On my other side, my dad stood there, one arm around me and the other hand running through his tightly curled black and grey hair. I¡¯m sure, like he always did, that he was cursing the small afro that he sported since I was a kid. In contrast, he suffered from the opposite problem my mother had; with him being far enough away from the windows, the camera practically adjusted the picture until his dark skin melted into the shadows.

    Finally, between the two of them, in a ridiculous set of short pigtails, I stood clutching a piece of printed paper. I didn¡¯t need to struggle with the crappy photo to know what it said. I had all but memorized it at one point, but the essentials were all that remained of that memory now.

    Something, something, something, the University of Gonzaga is happy to inform you of your acceptance into our faculty of education.

    Of course, being somewhere in the middle between the two of them tone-wise, my face was the only one that the camera actually managed to pick up properly. That had to be the happiest I had ever been, before or since. Of course I was happy, at that moment, I had been accepted into my first choice of university and it was still a few months before graduation and that conversation. Before my number of friends went down from one to zero.

    A sharp familiar pain shot through my chest.

    That¡¯s a bit funny. I wasn¡¯t sure I could feel any worse than I already was feeling. The screen faded to black before the pain in my chest had. I didn¡¯t even know why I had turned it on in the first place. At this point I was practically operating on auto-pilot¡ªand it was barely kept me off the ground.

    Suddenly, the screen lit up.

    [New Message: Dad.]

    My heart practically jumped up my throat as I quickly moved to open the message.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    [Dad 14:29: Eury, I got your voicemails. I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯t answer. You know how bad the reception can be out here. I don¡¯t know when you¡¯re going to get this message but I hope that it¡¯s soon. Baby, we love you so much, please just don¡¯t ever forget that, we both love you so so so so much.

    I can¡¯t say I know for sure what¡¯s happening out there, but it was more than obvious enough to me that there¡¯s something wrong. It¡¯s something wrong with some people out there baby, there¡¯s something in the water, or maybe the food I don¡¯t know, but folks are getting sick and acting real bad. I don¡¯t really know what to say doll other than folks are going bad. It¡¯s not safe out there. Sheridan¡¯s not a big place but there¡¯s more than enough of ¡®em running ¡®round out there to make it too dangerous for you to go anywhere.

    If any of my instincts are right about this then I think it shouldn¡¯t be too long until the national guard is here. PANG base isn¡¯t too far from here, and I have already started an emergency broadcast on the CB so they know that we¡¯re here. If I hear from them before then, I¡¯m going to try and get another message to you. But if I don¡¯t hear from them by then we¡¯re going to them. Either way baby, please just wait for me.

    Okay, baby-doll, you need to get ready because I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s going to take for all this to blow over, so you need to be prepared. The tank that I left there has enough LOX for the next 143 hours. If you brought all the batteries for your concentrator they should last 12 hours. And finally, if you brought the two E tanks and the one D tank like I asked you to, that should last you another 23.5 hours. That¡¯s a total of 178.5 hours, just under 7 1/2days. I know that seems like a lot Eury but whatever this is it could last that long or longer, so please, please, please baby just stay there. You have just under a week¡¯s worth of oxygen and that is quite a lot I know. But something like this, it¡¯s really not good baby, especially for you. Eury, make sure that you¡¯re charging your concentrator, and make sure that you¡¯ve filled all of your tanks. If this is as bad as I think it is it¡¯s possible the power will be out within the next 36 hours. Thankfully the water will last a while longer than that, but the tower only has so much water in it so stockpile as much as you can now. Depending on how many other people are out there it might not even last the week. Just be ready for anything love. The moment the power is out you need to start using those tanks. The moment one gets low you fill it back up from the LOX. You do not, I repeat DO NOT let your tanks get empty, and please baby don''t use the concentrator unless you absolutely need to.

    If you can, try and save as much O2 as possible. As much as you can stand it, drop your intake down to 75% if you can. Don''t go lower, we have the time. But every minute counts here love.

    I can¡¯t tell you how glad I am to hear that you¡¯re okay, that¡¯s going to be the only thing that¡¯s going to keep me going. If you get this message please just send me one back, tell me everything that¡¯s going on with you and when I get it I¡¯ll try and answer as quick as I can.

    It¡¯s just like we¡¯ve done since you were a little girl, just prepare yourself, baby.]

    As I read the message the fear of everything that I had seen, everything that I imagined, solidified. Something has happened, people were going bad, and it wasn¡¯t just the junkies. For the first time since I got sick, I found myself struggling to pray to a God that I didn¡¯t truly believe in. After re-reading my dad¡¯s message another handful of times, I wrote out my response. There was no way to know how long it would take for it to reach him¡­

    If it ever reaches him.

    And there was no way to know if he could respond.

    [Eury 14:35: Dad, I¡¯ll do everything that you¡¯ve always taught me to. I¡¯ll do everything the way that you¡¯ve raised me to do it, trust me, I can do this. Please don¡¯t come for me, not yet at least, it¡¯s too dangerous. I¡¯ve seen some things that I can never unsee. It¡¯s really really bad out here. Stay out of town until this blows over, I¡¯ll stay at Alaska¡¯s, she¡¯s got enough food for me for a while. I have everything that you told me to bring, I have all the water, food and O2 that I need, so if you don¡¯t hear from me by the end of the week, come for me. But not before then. Please, dad, don¡¯t do anything stupid for my sake.

    Not again.]

    As I hit send, my eyes started to burn with tears. I squeezed my phone in my hand. My grip tightened further as Curlers¡¯ banging resumed it¡¯s laboured rhythm beneath me. The sound of the hollow bangs, just loud enough to reverberate through the empty house.

    <hr>

    The quiet rhythmic beep of my concentrator woke me from a terrible dream. One where I was alone, and in the dark. Screeching voices in the distance, sweet and rotten perfume. Regardless of how terrible reality seemed, pretty much anything was better than that place. I steadied myself on the door frame as I stumbled across Alaska¡¯s room. Both of my legs had gone numb, I guess sitting in the same spot for hours can do that to you.

    No shit sherlock.

    In the light of the hallway, I checked my phone, its black screen remained that way as I took a better look at it under the hallway light.

    Great.

    In my room, I pulled the power cord out of my bag, and plugged it in above my concentrator¡¯s batteries. As I switched the batteries out on the condenser, and the beeping stopped, I realized just how quiet the house had become.

    The banging had stopped.

    Was Curlers gone? I tip-toed back into Alaska¡¯s room and opened the curtains as slowly and quietly as I could. The street outside was dark, so it had to be at least eight already. Had I really sat here all day?

    Sure you did, what else were you supposed to do? You¡¯re practically useless, didn¡¯t you already prove that this morning?

    I carefully closed the curtain as I ignored the thought, even if I couldn¡¯t help but agree with it.

    So, I guess Curlers really did give up.

    Or died.

    And now I was all alone again. I let out a sigh of relief as I walked back into the light of the hallway. No junkie, no Curlers. But just as the relief started to wash over me, my chest constricted again. No Alaska either. I looked out the back window above the landing of the stairwell. From this vantage, I could see a surprisingly good amount of Sheridan. Or at least I could have, if it wasn¡¯t almost completely dark, save for the street lights.

    Every building as far as I could see was dark and empty. As someone who had spent the majority of my life alone, it surprised me that I was still as capable today as I was then; to be able to feel so empty and alone. It was like the world was dark.

    Completely dark.

    Wait.

    The hall light!

    With the loudest movement I had made since this morning, I quickly dove for the light switch behind me. The next moment, the hallway, and the house were dark just like every other house in the neighbourhood. My concentrator kicked into higher gear, matching my heart rate. Had I screwed myself already? Alaska¡¯s being the only house that had any sort of light in it, made me stand out that''s for sure. So the answer there was probably. But at this point, if the junkie or whoever else is out there wanted to find me, I knew it was already too late.

    I walked back into my room¡ªresigned to my doom¡ª and laid face down in the bed. That lasted as long as the teacup worth of air my lungs could hold ran out and I was forced to lay on my back again.

    That¡¯s right, be a good little doll and lay down. Hey, maybe when they come to rescue you, you can go full princess routine and give the prince a big o¡¯l kiss. Just make sure you don¡¯t put any wrinkles in your dress, or else he won¡¯t want to kiss you!

    The only thing surprising about the thought was how long it took. I mean, I had been conscious for a few full minutes so of course my bitch of a subconscious would spit out that humdinger of a shitty opinion. I was probably about to die and the only thing I could think about was how helpless I was.

    But what else could I do?.

 5. Day 2 - A lazy day

    May 19, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 173 Hours / 7.21 Days

    Eury Morrissey

    My phone was cold in my hand. I had resisted the urge to turn the screen on a total of fifteen times already, and that wasn¡¯t counting this most recent bout. There was nothing on there for me to see. I think my desperation ended the same moment my cell connection did. It wasn¡¯t like there was anyone outside of Sheridan for me to call, but knowing that I had the ability to, made the difference. I spent this morning searching for answers, and as much as the internet could give them, I found precisely nothing of use. Aside from a bunch of annoying real-estate and tourism links, searching for Sheridan Oregon gave me three helpful-ish results;

    The first link was a single web-page that contained a link for Sheridan¡¯s disaster response manual. Thinking that there might¡¯ve been something of value there, I downloaded it quickly. After opening it, I quickly closed it and got to reading the other two. If I cared about that sort of thing, I would¡¯ve thought it was a waste of data looking at the dark-gray scanned sheets. The date listed on the front was for 1972. The moment I closed it in disgust was when I saw that one of the sub-headings had IN CASE OF SOVIET AIR INVASION written on it. The other two results were pretty innocuous. One was an article written by someone back when I was in high school here in Sheridan. The moment I saw the date I knew better than to even keep reading it. I¡¯m sure it was something that was important back then, but not now. I had only stumbled across the damn thing because it had been saved to some Portland newspaper I never heard of¡ªso that was bordering on interesting.

    Though, the name on the by-line did look familiar.

    The last link was to some weird video-sharing website I had never seen before. The title of the video was SHERIDANOREGON051719 so that was a bit of a red-flag. The video itself was nothing overly interesting if I was being honest. It was hard to really make anything out on the dark and blurry video. At first, I could see what looked like people dancing in a club, then after a minute or so of shitty unfocused filming, I could see what looked like a bar fight break out on the other side of the room from the camera. Then a few seconds of the cameraman trying to get a better shot. It was a wasted effort as the crowd was already trying to get away from whatever it was causing the fight meaning that all the video captured was blurry footage of people running around.

    Under the video, in an annoyingly hard to read font, was the description:

    ¡°Bar fight in Sheridan, Oregon, May 17th 2019. Did you see that drunk asshole get the fuck knocked out of him?¡±

    I¡¯ve never heard anyone get the ¡°fuck knocked out of him¡± but who am I to argue grammar on the internet. Regardless, there was a fight in a bar in Sheridan. Meaning, that nearly useless blurry video was probably a video of the fight that happened at O¡¯Brian¡¯s last night. The same one that sent Alaska and Davis out to the clinic.

    I watched it for another four or five times until my phone finally died. It was at that moment I realized the power must''ve gone out sometime last night. I hadn¡¯t noticed that it was wasn¡¯t charging until it was too late.

    It hadn¡¯t even been forty-eight hours and Dad was right¡ªof course, he was right¡ªthe power was already out. The only saving grace was because of my father''s forewarning, I had made the decision to switch to the first of my two E cylinders overnight.

    In an effort to save O2¡ªand because if I''m being honest, I didn''t want to poke my head out of the hiding hole I made¡ªI spent the day in bed. I even went as far as to reduce my O2 to half of what I normally need, meaning if I tried to move around too much I¡¯d be liable to pass out. At this rate, the full E cylinder I had switched to would last me well into the morning. So, knowing that my hands were tied, I laid still in my bed and began tracing designs in the stained stipple ceiling above me.

    <hr>

    When you opened your eyes again, you were right where you left. The same old stipple, the same designs that you had been making just moments before. Had it only been moments? Through the window, the sky had changed dramatically. When you turned your O2 down, it had been pretty early in the day still¡ªaround three if you remembered correctly, but now, now it looked like it was past midnight. The sky outside was covered with an unrelenting cloud cover and was twinged a familiar orange. It reminded you of something. Something that had been so familiar once, what was¡ª

    Bang. Bang. BANG!

    The door to your room slammed open suddenly. From the dark house beyond, two figures entered the room like a pair of prowling tigers. In the front, a tall well-built man. His face was bruised purple, and his shirt was torn, bloodied, and covered in dried vomit. Behind him was someone who you are much more familiar with. Curlers followed behind him in her blood-covered pink nightgown. It was at that moment that you recognized the man. It was the junkie from outside.

    Oh god. Oh god no. You thought, but God had nothing to do with this.

    Stress began to wrap itself around your heart. Your mind went blank as you tried and failed to figure out what you were going to do next. The pair of them began to encircle you, their glassy, empty eyes never breaking away from you, giving you a vision of what you will soon be.

    You rocked forward, getting your feet beneath you. As you jumped towards the door, you launched your pillow at the junkie¡ªnot like that would matter much in the long run. The explosion of action seemed to trigger something in them as they both pounced at the bed, mauling the spot you had just been. You were out the door and into the hall before they pulled themselves from the bed. You slammed the door behind you.

    It was thin but it was something between them and me. But you knew that it only delayed the inevitable.

    It was only a moment before they slammed heavily into the door, shaking it in its frame. The hairs on the back of your neck stood erect as one of them began to howl. That haunting, inhuman howl, it was fear that was running through your blood. Regardless, you spun quickly and began to run towards the head of the stairs.

    Where are you going, Eury?

    Away. Anywhere else. You thought.

    You swung yourself around the bannister and began to rush down the stairs. As you passed beneath your door, it exploded off of its hinges. Bouncing heavily off the bannister above you. They¡¯re coming for you now.

    The junkie roared in triumph as he and Curlers chased after you.

    You were at the bottom of the stairs by the time they were at the top. You had three options; garage, front door, or back into the house.

    Which one? If I go outside, then¡ª

    You knew that you would die. There will be more of them out there.

    Fine then the kitchen for a¡ª

    Do you honestly think you can overpower two crazed monsters?

    You could hear the two of them scrambling down the stairs behind you. Out of options, you opened the door to the garage, opening it just enough for you to get inside. You pushed it closed, just as the pair of them reached it.

    They began to throw their bodies at the door, over and over and over again, screaming in pain¡ªor was it bloodlust¡ªas the door barely held up against their assault.

    You thanked god or Alaska or whoever made the thick metal door with a heavy lock on it. It should keep them out for a least a little while. But you knew deep down that it wouldn¡¯t keep you safe for long.

    You found the switch for the lights. Flipping it illuminated the old garage in a soft yellow light. You turned to face the broken down rustbucket of a car rotting in the center of the room¡ªanother reminder that you will never leave this house. You jogged over to the shelves that lined the opposite wall regardless.

    ¡°There had to be something here heavy or deadly enough to¡ª¡± You began to think.

    Suddenly, you stopped mid-search. Looking around, you couldn¡¯t help but shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

    The heavy rattling of the door got you back to work.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Alaska, you¡¯ve got to have something that I can use!¡± The sound of your voice sounded wrong to you. You didn¡¯t know why.

    What the hell is happening? If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    You asked yourself, but of course, you were too stupid to understand.

    In that moment of helplessness, you remembered Alaska¡¯s text. Her gun safe. You knew that it had to be around here somewhere.

    In the back corner of the garage, beside the workbench, the safe stood almost taller than you, which was easy since you are barely more than a child. You jogged over to the safe, the wrong feeling only growing as you did. Without even thinking, you spun the dial of the lock. With a simple click the door to the safe opened.

    What? How the¡ª

    Another terrible howl from behind the door interrupted your thoughts.

    Gun. You needed to get the gun loaded now but you wouldn¡¯t have enough time, so why bother? Still, you grabbed the pistol and a handful of bullets from the box below it. You removed the magazine then quickly began to load it. You had only shot once or twice before with your father. He never was one for guns, but he wanted you to be prepared for anything. Another stroke of luck for you that the people around you were much more capable than you are.

    Splinters of the wooden door frame sprayed over you as the door burst open. You slammed the half-filled magazine back into the gun. Before you even had a chance to think about it, you unloaded the first three shots directly into the junkie. While the impact of the shot pushed him back slightly, it was like you had shot him with popcorn rather than bullets. You pulled the trigger another four times, two to the head, another two to the chest, for the same effect. The man continued to trudge towards you. With every step, black viscous ooze leaked from the small bullet holes. You were already almost out of bullets.

    I need to get out of here. I need to escape.

    Your only escape routes, the door to the house and the garage door switch were both behind the two of them. You are trapped.

    You ran away again. But this time, there was nowhere for you to go¡ªno university, no other life, nowhere. You put the rusty car between yourself and the two of them. When you tried to get more bullets for the pistol the few bullets you had left, slipped out of your hands.

    Just give up Eury.

    No!

    You unloaded the last two shots into Curlers. Then you weakly threw the empty pistol at the junkie as he lunged at you.

    It¡¯s hopeless Eury. Give up.

    ¡°Fuck off!¡±

    You screamed futilely as you backed into the garage door. The moment your skin touched the metal, the large rolling door began to shake. Inches away you could hear the hundreds of howling, moaning, freaks screaming for you.

    It¡¯s too late now. It¡¯s time to let them in.

    ¡°No!¡±

    The banging on the garage got louder and louder as the two of them closed in on you.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to give up! Fuck you.¡± Your voice was weak as you yelled at them. As a last-ditch attempt, you tried to make a fist. While the years of taekwondo came flowing back to you, it was useless anyway.

    You couldn¡¯t help but get a little excited the moment you squeezed your fingers into a fist.

    Of course! Why didn¡¯t I think of this sooner! A black belt in taekwondo, I could take a fucking junkie and a god damned grandma! You thought.

    Why was I even worried? I was in taekwondo right up until the cancer, I mean it was ten years of¡ª

    Oh, right. Finally, you realized your reality.

    The cancer.

    I think it¡¯s time that you let them in, don¡¯t you?

    The voice that spoke in your head wasn¡¯t your own. It was mine.

    You looked at the light, and instantly, it turned off.

    That¡¯s right, you remembered that the power had turned off last night, hadn''t it? The room fell into a darkness so deep, that even your fist in front of your face disappeared.

    ¡°You¡¯ll never be free of me. Don¡¯t you ever forget that again.¡±

    My voice whispered in your ear as invisible hands dove deep into your chest, ripping and shredding your lungs until you were completely nothing.

    You collapsed from the pain, gasping in the dark for more air, for some sort of relief from the all-encompassing agony.

    <hr>

    Then, after what felt like an eternity of pain, and darkness, I heard something.

    A loud bang. And then, for what felt like the first time in forever, I felt air in my lungs.

    <hr>

    As the moments ticked past, I felt the first sliver of my consciousness return to me. Fear. Fear of them. That when I open my eyes, they would still be there.

    Bang.

    ¡°Hey! Let me in!¡± There was a voice in the distance. Something too far away to sound real. It was that thing, still preying on me.

    The fear totally paralyzed my body. Nothing could be done except squeeze my eyes as tightly as I could. Then I began counting.

    Then, a few seconds later, another part of my mind returned to me. Something small, logical, that knew something was wrong. Not enough oxygen was flowing into my brain. These were just nightmares. There was nothing there, and when I opened my eyes, I would know, I reassured myself.

    But what if you¡¯re wrong?

    I hesitated a moment longer. But then, just as all of those vicious subconscious thoughts came to me from nowhere, a burst of confidence appeared just as suddenly, and I opened my eyes to see an empty room.

    Silence. Finally.

    Then, I heard what I hoped I could go a lot longer without hearing again: a banging at the door¡ªfor real this time.

    Just as I was about to press a second pillow over my ear to drown out the noise, I heard something I absolutely didn''t expect; words.

    "Hey! Open the fucking door!" The man''s voice was louder than I was comfortable with, and after what happened when I called out to Curlers, who knew what that noise he was making would attract. "Let me in!" The guy was loud but not quite yelling. He was probably at the back door rather than the front, because, and I couldn¡¯t be sure, but I swore I heard at least another few them running down the street sometime during the day.

    I fumbled at first when I tried to stand. My legs screamed at the movement, and my head was still swimming, but I managed despite my low oxygen. I grabbed the tank in both of my hands, ignoring the same ache I found in my arms as well. It took me until I was already in the hallway for me to begin to feel a bit better.

    Standing at the top of the stairs I froze in place again. There was no protest from my muscles, or a sudden dizzy spell. No. It was fear. Because up here, I was safe. But down there? Beyond the bannister in the inky-black void that was the first floor, it was a whole different story. Except for the moonlight, the main floor was completely dark and the uncertainty of what it hid paralyzed me.

    ¡°Open the damn door! I think I hear them.¡±

    Should I help him?

    I should, it was wrong for me to even hesitate, yet I still did. Frantic, and out of breath, he was waiting for a response. He was waiting for me to help him, but even knowing this, I hesitated.

    What if he¡¯s just like them? What if...

    You¡¯re afraid because you¡¯re weak. You¡¯re just a little doll, waiting to be rescued.

    Regardless, if he was normal, I couldn¡¯t leave him out there. Alone. Like I was in this house.

    In the distance, I heard screams.

    I made up my mind. With the tank in my hands too heavy to hold, I scrambled down the stairs faster than my legs could really carry me. My body was still trying its best to stop me from doing the right thing.

    ¡°If you¡¯re in there and not crazy, open the damn door or I¡¯m gonna have to break it open!¡±

    Suddenly I became very thankful for the weight of the tank. The sound of the man¡¯s voice and the shadow he cast onto the curtain of the back door window made me freeze again.

    ¡°Open up!¡± Again, the man¡¯s voice was strained, getting too loud to be called a whisper.

    ¡°Go away! I have a weapon!¡± The second thing I said today, and it was a threat. Great.

    The real weapon I should¡¯ve had, the gun, was still back in the gun safe. Alaska¡¯s text stopped me both the times I had went to grab it earlier: ¡°Don¡¯t fire unless you are absolutely sure you are going to hit, and what you are pointing at is something that you absolutely want to go down.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god! There¡¯s actually somebody there!¡± Again, in only a moment, my mind changed. The sound of relief in his voice softened me but I couldn¡¯t force myself to move another step. I heard an all too familiar sound on the other side of the door. Screaming. Howling. The same sounds from my nightmare. ¡°Please, let me in, I think I can hear them getting closer!¡±

    ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not like them?¡±

    ¡°One of them? Have you heard a single one of them talk?¡±

    ¡°All I¡¯ve seen them do is attack people. How do I know that you aren¡¯t just going to do that the moment I open the door?¡± Another howl caused me to tighten my grip around my canister. Over the sound of the wind outside I could just barely hear something getting closer.

    ¡°Because if I was planning on killing you, then I would¡¯ve come over here yesterday when I saw you put out that light! Now open the door because I¡¯m not looking to break it and let those crazy fucks in there too.¡±

    The sounds were getting louder, the movement, the howling, all of it was getting louder, anchoring me further to the floor. Every second was passing like an eternity, and within those excruciatingly long yet short moments, the world began to swirl again, just like it had before.

    ¡°Open the damn door before they get here and it¡¯s too late! I just don¡¯t want to die! Please, please just help me!¡±

    Two steps. It should¡¯ve been easy, but between the dizziness and my fear made the steps near impossible.

    ¡°Hurry up!¡±

    Another shriek, closer than the others, rang out as my fingers turned the lock.

    ¡°Oh god no!¡± As the lock clicked into the door, he twisted the knob and flung the door open. Directly into me. The force of the metal corner colliding with my face knocked me on my ass. I tried my best to get my bearings but it was useless. The world around me was spinning too fast for me to stop it. My legs seemingly forgot how to move. As the strength in my body started to leave me, I heard two distinct things.

    The sound of the door locking.

    And the sound of footsteps coming towards me.

    ¡°I think they¡¯re here.¡± The man said, in a surprisingly familiar tone.

    The face that entered my ever-shrinking vision was ink-black as if all the details had been lost in the darkness. All but a fine row of white teeth.

    O2 Remaining: 161 Hours / 6.71 Days

 6. Day 3 - Through other eyes

    May 20, 2019

    Leo Kelly

    Between the little food I had that day, and the complete lack of sleep, I just managed to carry the girl out of the kitchen and into the main room of the house. I don¡¯t know if they saw me getting in here, but I had no confidence the glass on that door would hold if they did. So, once I moved the girl to the couch, I grabbed my sword and leaned against the door and waited. It was quiet. Quiet enough I could hear the tattered leather grip squeak as I tightened my hold on my sword even more.

    Stupid, cheap, knockoff weeb shit!

    One of the first things I had to do after I found this thing was re-string the lace that made up the grip. Then, I had to actually sharpen the damn thing and doing that in silence was harder than I thought it would be. Using one of those fancy metal stick things that they sell with the way too expensive knives wasn¡¯t easy in the slightest.

    I waited a few more minutes with my ear against the door before I decided it was safe. After putting my sword down on the faux-granite counter, I opened the fridge. It was almost a shock that the light didn¡¯t come on. But I guess, there¡¯s no telling what you¡¯ll find weird after everything goes to shit. I grabbed half a bag of pepperoni sticks hidden beneath half a metric ton of vegetables.

    I decided that I''d rather get sick off the processed stuff, shit for two-weeks straight, then actually get sick from veggies gone bad. The faint stench told me it was the right decision not to risk it, anyway.

    I grabbed my sword and made my way back to the main room. I found a comfortable seat across from the couch where I dumped the girl. I had never seen someone that looked as young as she did need an oxygen tank, but there it was anyway. Just looking at her, she looked like she couldn¡¯t have been much older than seventeen, maybe eighteen? And that was being generous. Not to mention that the oxygen tank felt heavier than she did. But I guess she did say that she had a weapon.

    After I finished the first three pepperoni sticks, I tried my best to start pacing myself. The food I had in my hands was probably more than enough for the girl if she rationed herself, and here I was eating half of her supply without so much as a ¡°please¡± or a ¡°thank you.¡± I grabbed one more and returned the bag to the fridge.

    After sitting back down again, I tried to sleep. I was more than exhausted enough to sleep standing up if I had to.

    I waited fifteen minutes before I found out I couldn¡¯t sleep. The noise outside didn¡¯t really help. So, I decided to get up and walk around the house. Maybe a patrol or two would calm me down. Level off the adrenaline.

    On my first patrol of the house, I didn¡¯t notice much. There was the lingering feeling that some crazy might pop out from behind a closed door or something. After my first once-over, I slowed down and took a real look.

    It was odd. I couldn¡¯t help but notice that there weren¡¯t any photos of the girl on the couch.

    The woman in the photos was beautiful though. Long legs, curly blonde hair, and perfect turquoise eyes paired with her ¡°I know I''m hot¡± expression a little too well. It all came together to make me feel almost uncomfortable. I found myself looking at her, anyways. It was a welcomed distraction from staring at the back door, and it felt significantly less awkward than staring at the unconscious girl on the couch.

    It still didn¡¯t stop me from looking at her though. It was curiosity more than anything else that kept me coming back to her. I also felt kind of lonely in this manicured semi-punk, semi-suburban, rural middle-class temple. I guess that¡¯s why I was so drawn to the girl, something about her told me I wasn¡¯t as alone as I felt and maybe she could understand. It was easy to look at her oxygen tank and see her as a kindred spirit¡ªsomeone who¡¯s been the odd one out¡ªbut maybe that was just wishful thinking. I guess that was assuming that when all of this was over, there was some sort of normal for us to compare ourselves to.

    As the sun began to rise outside, and they got more active, I found myself wanting to fall even further from my own reality and discover more of her¡¯s. As far as I could tell, my initial guess was dead on¡ªshe didn¡¯t live here. The house belonged to the model or someone obsessed enough to hang pictures of her everywhere. The big blue oxygen tank in the second bedroom upstairs told me that, at the very least, the girl was staying here but everything else¡ªthe still packed suitcase included¡ªtold me it hadn¡¯t been for long. After my third strafe around the house, I decided there was nowhere better for me than sitting across from her. Poking around in other people¡¯s things was bringing back bad memories. So, the cracked leather armchair became my best option.

    No matter how many times I forced myself to look away, my eyes kept wandering back to her. Sleeping on the couch, she seemed so calm and tranquil. I could imagine her eyes, wide, glassy, and serene¡ªdoll-like¡ªlike all the shit that was happening around us, wasn¡¯t really happening to her. That she was unchanging despite everything else.

    Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as the girl¡¯s eyes began to open. As they did though, the illusion about her disappeared as well because as her eyes opened, so did her mouth. Then, the silence that had hung in the room like grains of dust exploded when she gasped for air. Her ragged breathing from before was now a completely different beast. I was on my feet within the second, but it was like she was drowning on land and I was powerless to do anything about it.

    In all the chaos around the girl, I couldn¡¯t help but realize just how right I was. The glazed, barely-there look about her made her seem even more like a doll, that was until her arms began to move frantically. She searched for something, and whether it was the panic or lack of sleep, it took me several seconds to realize what she needed. Her oxygen.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    I grabbed the tank from the ground. My first instinct was to show it to her.

    I felt like I was just waving the tank in the flailing girl¡¯s face, not so much helping her do anything with it. So, feeling like a massive moron, I turned the top back to myself and started looking at it. The knob was there, so I twisted it. No change. Okay, there was a gauge, but the needle was in the middle. Looking back at the girl again, the panic in her eyes made me panic even more.

    ¡°Uhhh. Ahhh!¡± I tapped the gauge and suddenly, the needle dropped to the dark red area at the bottom.

    Oh!

    I dropped the tank a little too hard on the ground. Then I bolted for, and practically leap up, the long set of stairs. I got to the top in less than two seconds flat. Down the hallway, I skidded to a stop in the room with the big blue oxygen tank. I dismissed the five-foot tank as an option right away. I ran to the bedside and looked around instead. Beside the bed, there was a pair of green tanks, a smaller one and one identical to the tank downstairs sitting inside a carrying bag, as well as a tangle of other medical looking crap.

    I grabbed the bag with the bigger tank in it and turned around towards the hallway.

    I thanked God that my old bad habits may have just saved this girl.

    As I came to a screeching halt beside the couch, I grabbed the empty tank and looked it over. I saw where the thin plastic tubing connected the girl to the tank, but I couldn¡¯t for the life of me figure out how to take it out without breaking it.

    She closed her mouth and glared at me before she quickly pulled on a small metal ring where the tubing met the tank. Understanding what she was doing, I dropped the tank again and held up the full one for her. With a practiced motion, she slammed the metal ring into the corresponding cylinder on the tank¡¯s top. I spun the knob on the side, and a few seconds later, the girl started to breathe deeply.

    ¡°Holy shit,¡± I said, ¡°that was fucking stressful, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    As the girl sucked air in through her nose, she kept her mouth closed. That was probably for the best since she wore the same deadly glare as before. A few stressful minutes later, she seemed to have finally caught her breath.

    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    ¡°You can call me Kelly,¡± I said as I extended my hand out to her. Because of the way I squatted down beside her, the small gesture threw me slightly off balance.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing in my house, Kelly?¡±

    I retracted my hand. ¡°Saving your ungrateful ass it seems. Holy shit! I thought I was being nice.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, mister nice-guy, knocks the fuck out of me the moment I decide to help him. Thanks for the headache, by the way.¡±

    ¡°Well, fuck me! I didn¡¯t mean to but by all means, feel free to crucify me. Want me to carry you and the cross or what?¡± The girl sat up on the couch and looked back towards the ever brightening kitchen.

    ¡°Carry me? You probably weigh as much as I do!¡±

    I shook my head. ¡°You highschool kids are all the same. Ungrateful as all hell.¡±

    Surprisingly, this elicited a cracked smile from her, followed by a small high-pitched laugh.

    ¡°A highschooler? Me?¡± The girl snorted as I nodded, confused. ¡°Is that what I look like to you? Maybe that¡¯s why nobody at O¡¯Brian¡¯s wanted to take me home the other night!¡±

    ¡°O¡¯Brian¡¯s? You were at the bar? The night all that shit went down?¡± The girl¡¯s laughter quieted down quickly.

    ¡°Yeah, but not when everything happened. A friend of mine was there though. Do you know what happened?¡±

    ¡°A bunch of them showed up and caused a fuckin¡¯ riot, that¡¯s what,¡± I said, trying to quiet the howling screams of that night from my memory.

    ¡°Them? The junkies?¡±

    I scoffed. ¡°They ain¡¯t fucking junkies.¡± And I would know. ¡°I don¡¯t know what the fuck they are, but they ain¡¯t fucking that.¡± For the first time in days, I felt anger. Real, white-hot anger. And it was all aimed at this girl with an oxygen tank, sitting helplessly on a couch.

    What a fucking joke I¡¯ve become, haven¡¯t I?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean¡ª¡± The girl began.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. Just¡­ just know that they¡¯re not just junkies, or whatever you thought. They¡¯re sick. There¡¯s something else going on here.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± The girl looked around. Her eyes settled behind me and quickly grew wide. She was looking at my sword sitting on the coffee table. I backed up quickly and grabbed the sword.

    That just makes you look like you¡¯re going to kill her.

    Immediately, I stepped over the coffee table, away from her. I stumbled until I found the brick fireplace mantle and left my sword there.

    ¡°See. I¡¯m not dangerous,¡± I said, moving far from her. And the sword.

    ¡°Alright.¡± She said as she turned her body, putting her feet on the floor.

    Smooth move, dumbass! First, you slammed a door in her face and then you went for your sword, she probably thinks this is some sort of freaky B&E situation.

    ¡°No, seriously, I¡¯m not. That thing with the door and the sword were just accidents.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± She said as she grabbed her bag and put the tank inside of it. In a quick motion, she had the bag on her back with the front strap fastened on tight.

    She was ready to run.

    ¡°Okay. Okay! Let¡¯s just calm down.¡± I said as I walked into the corner of the room. Any further from her and my sword, I¡¯d have to sink into the wall.

    ¡°I¡¯m calm.¡± She said. Her eyes flicked back and forth between me and my sword.

    Think about it, what would the cops get you to do?

    Instantly, I sat down on the ground, cross-legged with my hands on my head.

    Seeing the opportunity, the girl darted across the room for the sword. To my surprise, she easily took the blade out of the scabbard, losing the flimsy plastic and wood on the couch. She pointed the tip of the sword at me, holding it in two hands.

    ¡°Feel better now?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not really.¡± She said, shifting her grip. I couldn¡¯t help but notice that even the little bit ofmovement had left her panting slightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m Kelly, by the way.¡±

    Didn¡¯t you already tell her?

    ¡°You said that already.¡±

    Shit. ¡°Well, usually, this is where people would introduce themselves.¡± The girl chewed on her bottom lip as she thought. It was at this moment I realized just how wrong I had been about her eyes. The glassy look I was so sure they¡¯d have was nowhere to be seen as she eyed me down. Nothing but cool. Calm. Intensity.

    ¡°Fine.¡± She said, lowering the sword. ¡°My name¡¯s Eury.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± I said, still trying to maintain the same faux-genuine tone I had perfected working at the clinic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid. Alright?¡± She said as she walked away from me, still holding the sword.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

 7. Day 3 - And then there were two

    May 20, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 150 Hours / 6.25 Days

    Eury Morrissey

    I stood in the kitchen and watched the back of Kelly¡¯s head.

    He wasn¡¯t very big. Pretty short for a guy¡ªI know it¡¯s rich coming from me of all people. Aside from that, and the ridiculous samurai sword he carried around, there was just something about him that I couldn¡¯t shake. Something that just felt off. It wasn¡¯t like he was doing anything suspicious, but he seemed like a suspicious guy. So, after I woke up, I went to the garage and took out the pistol from the safe. It felt heavy holstered on my belt, hanging beneath my tank-bag, but that same heaviness gave me confidence. No matter what this guy did, I would be ready for him.

    He turned from his seat on the couch to almost face me. I had purposefully positioned myself as far away as I could, to make it difficult for him to look at me. Of course, now that he practically twisted his head around, I felt like my effort was wasted.

    ¡°So, are we going to talk or are you going to keep trying to set me on fire with your eyes?¡±

    ¡°I can just move on to gasoline if you¡¯re looking to get it over with,¡± I said, giving in to the conversation. I took my pepperoni stick and walked through the small hallway connecting the kitchen and the living room.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll pass. Seriously though, I¡¯m getting a bit sick of the awkward silence.¡± He said with a cheeky smile.

    ¡°You¡¯d rather have an awkward conversation?¡± I said as I moved in front of the fireplace, keeping my distance from him. Even though I had stored his sword in my room, I still didn¡¯t know what this guy was capable of.

    ¡°I mean... that was before it started getting awkward.¡± He said turning to face me again.

    ¡°What¡¯s so important you interrupted my contemplative staring?¡±

    ¡°Glaring, I¡¯d say.¡± He corrected.

    ¡°Fine, what was so important to talk about that you interrupted my glaring?¡±

    ¡°I dunno. I just¡­ I think I just wanted to get to know you or something.¡±

    ¡°Oh great. Now, what is this, a meet-cute?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Probably?¡±

    ¡°Well you already know my name, and you already know that I want you outta here as soon as possible, so what else is there to know?¡±

    ¡°Your sign?¡± My eye roll was so obvious it was practically audible.

    ¡°Fine, fine! How ¡®bout, uh, what do you do?¡± He asked, eager to please like a dog begging for a treat.

    ¡°What did I do, you mean?¡± And with that amendment, the puppy dog excitement fell away.

    ¡°Sure, yeah. What did you do?¡±

    ¡°I was a student. I was going¡ª¡±

    ¡°I knew you were full of shit! You are in high school!¡±

    ¡°Shut up, will you?¡± He did when I waved the pepperoni stick at him. ¡°I just graduated from Gonzaga, I¡¯m a teacher, or I was gonna be a teacher. God knows what¡¯ll happen after all this shit¡ª¡±

    ¡°Stop.¡± He said, holding up a surprisingly calloused hand. ¡°I just don¡¯t wanna talk about that, you know? Anything else is fine with me.¡±

    ¡°That? That? That¡¯s what you¡¯re gonna call the end of the world?¡±

    ¡°First of all, you don¡¯t know if it''s the end of the world. It could just be Sheridan. You said it yourself, there wasn¡¯t anything on the net.¡±

    ¡°I guess, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°But nothing. I don¡¯t wanna talk about it, okay?¡± Talking about that seemed to have struck a nerve. ¡°And to address the second part, what would you want to call it then?¡± He didn¡¯t let me answer. ¡°That is good enough for me.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m sure you could come up with something more creative than just that.¡± He shifted forward on the couch. Instinctively, I flinched at the sudden movement. One hand pointing the pepperoni stick, while the other began to reach for the handgun. When he smiled, my hand stopped, and returned to my hip.

    ¡°Jesus. Do you know what¡¯s hilarious? You sound exactly like my high school english teacher, Mrs. Morrissey. Maybe you really were born to be a teacher.¡± I must¡¯ve looked sheepish at that moment because he smiled like a wolf. ¡°What? What is it?¡±

    ¡°Mrs. Morrissey? You went to Sheridan High?¡± Just like me? I forced myself to relax. This wasn¡¯t the time to play helpless.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Born and raised right here in this shit smear!¡± He said with a hint of too much pride. ¡°Why?¡±

    Gross, but I ignored it. ¡°Mrs. Morrissey is my mom.¡±

    I must¡¯ve shocked him because Kelly took several seconds to process the information.

    "Mrs. Morrissey, huh?" He looked thoughtful for another moment.

    ¡°I know. Not much of a resemblance, right?¡± Of course, there wasn¡¯t. My mom was a tall, porcelain-skinned woman; everything that I¡¯m not.

    ¡°No!¡± His outburst surprised me. ¡°No, that¡¯s not it, I just¡­ didn''t know that she had a daughter.¡± Kelly relaxed back into the couch. ¡°That makes sense though, following in Mom¡¯s footsteps, huh?¡±

    ¡°Not really. I¡¯m going to be teaching biological sciences.¡± For a second, it looked like Kelly realized something important. But just as quickly, he returned to his normal affectation.

    ¡°Science? Huh. You¡¯re definitely giving off more of a bookish vibe.¡± There was a slight difference in the tone of his voice. The way he pretended to beam was just a little dimmer than before.

    ¡°Yeah, not so much,¡± I said.

    ¡°I mean, really, you¡¯re small, and you¡¯ve got the hair for it.¡±

    My hair? Unconsciously, I ran my hand through the messy nest of curls I somehow managed to tame in the dark this morning.

    ¡°All you¡¯re missing is the glasses then¡ª¡± He almost made me jump when he clapped his hands. ¡°Boom! Presto! Your classic book geek!¡±

    I narrowed my eyes at him. ¡°Is that a roundabout way of calling me a nerd?¡± I said, pointing the half-eaten pepperoni stick at him.

    ¡°Well, you are a nerd. You just admitted that yourself a minute ago. But don¡¯t worry, you make for a cute nerd.¡± I glared at him, but it didn¡¯t seem to stop him from smiling anyways.

    ¡°You must be hearing things then ¡®cause I never said that.¡± The lack of sleep was getting to me. It must¡¯ve been because I almost found that charming.

    ¡°Ah there it is.¡± He said leaning back into the couch again. He began chewing on his thumb nail while he stared at me.

    ¡°There what is?¡± I said, worried something was at the front door. There wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Your smile! It finally showed itself. If only for a second.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what this was all about?¡± I said, annoyed that it had almost slipped right past me; the fact that Kelly steered the conversation away from That without me noticing. Or at least without me noticing right away.

    Interesting.

    ¡°Not all of it. I mean, I¡¯m still waiting to hear about your star sign.¡±

    ¡°Oh Jesus. I¡¯m done. I¡¯m grabbing something to drink.¡± I said as I walked past him back into the kitchen.

    ¡°Soooo, uhh.¡± I turned away from the fridge to look at him as he spoke.

    Where the hell did that come from? For the first time since I woke up this morning, he actually seemed to be worried. Up until now, he had been really glib and it was almost getting on my nerves.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna level with you. I¡¯m not heading back out there.¡± He didn¡¯t turn to look at me when he said this, nor did he take his nail out of his mouth. ¡°Not alone, at least.¡± Suddenly, I became very thankful for the handgun on my back. Maybe my suspicion wasn¡¯t unfounded.

    ¡°And what¡¯s gonna stop me from kicking you out.¡±

    Kelly shrugged. ¡°Honestly? Nothing, really.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got that right.¡±

    ¡°Listen. If I go back out there, I¡¯m dead. I¡¯ve actually been outside. You haven¡¯t. And I know I can¡¯t survive another three days out there. Not again. There¡¯s no way in hell I could.¡± His jaw kept churning on that nail while he stared straight ahead. ¡°And something tells me you¡¯re not going to kill me.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what I¡¯m capable of.¡± I snapped back at him.

    Don¡¯t fool yourself. You are incapable. There isn¡¯t a damn thing you can do, no matter what this idiot junkie is worried about.

    ¡°What if I offered to help you?¡±

    What?

    ¡°Help me? How? By eating my food?¡±

    Is that really what you want Eury? To push him away like everyone else? You can lie to yourself all you want, but you know that you¡¯re lonely.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to be a science nerd like you to know you need that.¡± He pointed at my oxygen tank. ¡°I saw what happens when you run out. You aren¡¯t useless, but you might as well be when you don¡¯t have it. So what do you do then?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t be running out for a long time. Not until long after you¡¯ve gone.¡± I said, walking back into the living room with my glass of water.

    Not until long after he¡¯s abandoned you more like it.

    ¡°But what happens then? When you run out of oxygen. You might as well be a fish on land, gasping for air without your O2.¡± I hated to admit it but he was right. Still, though, I betrayed nothing. ¡°What you need is a plan B. Somewhere to go when you need more oxygen and lucky for you, I need someone to be around. Where¡¯s the problem with that?¡±

    ¡°From the way you¡¯re eating my food and drinking my water, I think it¡¯s called parasitism.¡±

    Kelly stopped, glanced down at his hand, then back up at me.

    ¡°For how long?¡±

    ¡°How long for what?¡±

    ¡°How long are you going to have that food for? Better question, how long before you run out of water? Even if you didn¡¯t have a limited supply of air, what about everything else? What if a horde of those freaks knocks down your door, or the government suddenly decides to drop a nuke? Either way, you¡¯re living on borrowed time and you know it.¡± Kelly leaned forward in his chair. Looking directly in my eyes, his lips formed into a soft smile. ¡°So what do you have to lose?¡±

    ¡°Better question, what do you have to gain?¡±

    ¡°Is it so bad that I wanna spend the end of the world with a cute girl?¡± Another blindside. I¡¯d be lying to say it didn¡¯t put me off balance. Regardless, I kept my face still. There was no knowing what his endgame was.

    ¡°Calling me cute now, parasite?¡± I had to give it to him, he had me playing his game again.

    ¡°Oh, to think how naive I was, thinking a mouth like yours could belong to a highschool girl. Talking to you in the meantime has shown me the error of my ways. This parasite, humbly asks for your forgiveness.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hypothetically say I agree to keep you around, what do we do first?¡± I asked, trying to ground the conversation back in reality.

    ¡°Other than getting our food and water rationed out? I don¡¯t really know.¡±

    ¡°...You are about as helpful as a parasite, you know that?¡±

    ¡°Hey. At least I¡¯m trying.¡± Kelly scratched his head, more like a monkey than the thinking man. ¡°What was your plan then, huh?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m good here for at least the rest of the week, then after that my dad¡­¡± Go on princess. Tell him. ¡°On the 25th, my dad¡¯s going to come for me. He¡¯s got solar panels out at his acreage so I¡¯d be able to charge my concentrator¡¯s batteries. Plus he¡¯s got a bigger system set up that can store a lot of O2.¡±

    ¡°So, until your daddy comes and rescues you, you¡¯re just gonna suck on your tube of oxygen? I could think of worse plans except how¡¯s he supposed to come for you?¡±

    Kelly¡¯s sudden blow put me on my back foot. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I mean, he has a truck so he can¡ª¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that¡¯ll work.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°The streets ¡®round here aren¡¯t so bad¡ªsure¡ªbut downtown, the bridges, and mainstreet are a shit show.¡± He shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no way he can get through that mess. And besides, have you seen those freaks outside move? I guarantee you, the moment they hear a truck, every single one of them is gonna come running from miles around.¡±

    ¡°But he said¡ª¡±

    It¡¯s not like it¡¯s the first time he hasn¡¯t been there when I needed him.

    Shut up. Just shut the fuck up! He¡¯s coming, and that¡¯s it.

    ¡°He said he¡¯d come for me so that means he¡¯s coming.¡± I continued.

    ¡°But what if¡ª¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t fucking know him, so don¡¯t act like you do!¡± I shouted. I grabbed for my handgun when I did. But the moment I touched metal, I let it go. ¡°He said he was coming, so he¡¯ll be here. I¡­ I just know he will.¡±

    I have to trust him. If I don¡¯t, then what else do I have?

    ¡°I don¡¯t doubt your daddy¡¯s gonna save his little princess, but think, realistically, how much time do you have left?¡± I considered the gun again when he took that little crack, but I thought better of it.

    Begrudgingly I did the math in my head.¡°...By my calculations, I¡¯ve got just over 150 hours with the tank upstairs and the batteries I¡¯ve got. But if I run my O2 at seventy-five percent or less, I should be able to stretch it out a bit longer.¡±

    Calculations? Oh good God, did I really just say that? Instantly, I could feel my cheeks getting red.

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t you pass out if you run it too low?¡± The red in my cheeks quickly faded as Kelly ignored the softball of a joke for more serious matters.

    ¡°That. Or worse.¡± I said.

    ¡°So then you¡¯re not running it low! Are you stupid or something?¡± He snapped at me.

    Why was he getting mad?

    ¡°Hey, fuck you! I¡¯m just doing what I gotta, to survive.¡± I snapped back as I started towards the stairs. I didn¡¯t need this stupid conversation.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can¡¯t just survive on doing the bare minimum.¡± He said, the intensity lingering on his words. ¡°Like, what happens if you don¡¯t get enough oxygen while you¡¯re running or something?¡± He said as his thumbnail returned to his teeth. ¡°I sure as hell don¡¯t need to be a science teacher to know the answer to that one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a risk I¡¯m willing to take.¡±

    ¡°Did you not hear me? I just told you in no uncertain terms that he couldn¡¯t get here, and what? That doesn¡¯t mean shit to you? How¡¯s he supposed to get you more oxygen? Without a truck how do you think he¡¯s going to be able to get you outta here?¡± Kelly asked.

    ¡°He¡­ he could¡­¡± I took a breath in as I realized what had just happened. ¡°Then I go to him,¡± I admitted. Clearly it was his idea but he nodded along like it was mine.

    As I spoke, he relaxed, letting his hand fall from his face. Then, he smiled. Nothing smug. More out of relief, really. ¡°I couldn¡¯t have suggested a better option myself.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t try and mess with me. I¡¯m not as stupid as you think I am. I know what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    Kelly blinked. ¡°Would you believe me if I told you I was banking on oxygen deprivation?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s called hypoxia. And you are scum.¡± I said while I started up the stairs.

    ¡°Oh Eury please. I saw that smile!¡± He called up to me from the bottom of the stairs.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not the one who¡¯s hypoxic?¡± I retorted as I walked into my room. ¡°I mean, you are having hallucinations.¡± I stopped a step into my room, and turned around. ¡°Also, try not to shout, there is a fucking thing going on right now.¡±

    ¡°Them? You don¡¯t really need to worry about it to be honest.¡± He said walking up the stairs. ¡°They¡¯re crazy, they¡¯re violent, but they aren¡¯t super-powered. Or that smart either. If you¡¯re quiet enough, or you¡¯re in a house or something, as long as you don¡¯t really yell, or whatever, they can¡¯t hear you. Not unless they¡¯re right up against the door.¡± He confidently walked into my room behind me.

    I carefully unlatched the other E cylinder from the liquid oxygen tank, making sure to twist the valve on the larger tank tightly.

    ¡°I guess I didn¡¯t really ask yet, but how the hell did you get here?¡± I said.

    ¡°I travelled at night, of course. It¡¯s not like they have super night vision or anything. Hence all the black.¡± I had noticed his odd attire, black jeans and oversized windbreaker, but paid it little attention. It was still May after all. ¡°Plus I have this.¡± He said holding out an odd piece of cloth.

    ¡°And that is?¡± I asked as I took a seat on my bed.

    ¡°Look!¡± He pulled the cloth over his head. His sandy blonde hair, and light skin were nearly covered by the stretchy black cloth. Only his light green eyes were still visible. ¡°With this on, they can¡¯t see me unless they¡¯re right on top of me. Helpful yeah?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± I said, imagining him army crawling across the city. Then, I imagined myself attempting to do the same. That will not be happening.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re quiet and you travel at night, it¡¯s pretty straightforward. You stay out of sight and they don¡¯t see you. Easy as that.¡±

    ¡°Okay, now how are we going to get anywhere with that?¡± I asked, pointing at the five-foot cannister in the corner.

    ¡°How heavy is that thing?¡±

    ¡°Full? Around fifty, maybe sixty pounds. Empty, closer to thirty.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so it¡¯s not the lightest thing around.¡±

    ¡°No it isn¡¯t. And now you see my issue. I can¡¯t go anywhere, and if I do, I gotta come back here, unless I find some O2 tanks laying around.¡±

    ¡°And since this isn¡¯t a video game, that¡¯s not gonna happen,¡± Kelly added, finishing my thought.

    ¡°That would be correct.¡±

    ¡°Well, then how do we transport the thing? I could carry it but¡ª¡±

    ¡°But if you drop it then I lose all my oxygen supply, and you probably freeze to death.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s dramatic.¡± He said, scratching his head again.

    ¡°Yes, yes it is.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe we just stay here then?¡±

    ¡°You yourself just told me that wasn¡¯t going to work!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that was before. Like, how the hell are we going to get that damned tank anywhere?¡± Kelly said. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ve got a radio-flyer tucked away under that bed or something?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little bit. Just imagining the huge tank getting carted around in the same kind of red wagon kids in the fifties and sixties would pull their little dogs in. It was enough to make me smile.

    I looked back at Kelly just in time to see the smile on his face as well.

    ¡°What?¡± I snapped. And then, just as quickly as it came, my smile left.

    ¡°Nothing, you just have a cute laugh.¡±

    ¡°Geez drop the rom-com schtick. I thought we already talked about this.¡±

    ¡°We did, but I never said that I was going to stop telling you what was on my mind.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have something better to be doing than just standing around harassing me?¡±

    That was a little harsh, wasn¡¯t it?

    ¡°Harassing you? I¡¯d hate to see what you¡¯d call anything more than a little bit of light flirting.¡±

    This was light flirting? I hate to admit it, and I¡¯d never say it to him, but this was probably the first time ever that somebody¡ªwho didn¡¯t come off like a creep¡ªdecided to keep flirting with me after seeing all of the baggage that came along with me.

    ¡°Sorry. I¡ª¡±

    Kelly interrupted me before I could finish. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s just get back to our strategy meeting.¡±

    ¡°Fine, yeah, sure.¡±

    And now you¡¯re sulking. Do you want the boy to flirt or not?

    ¡°That wagon idea isn¡¯t too bad actually,¡± I said, ignoring the thought.

    ¡°What? Really? Do you actually have one of those things hanging around?¡± He asked.

    ¡°No, but I¡¯m sure someone around here does. What¡¯s stopping us from finding one?¡±

    ¡°You mean breaking into the neighbour¡¯s? I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll work, but you¡¯re just full of surprises aren¡¯t you miss bookworm.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. And why not? You¡¯re already dressed like a burglar.¡± I said, smirking at my joke.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t out there for the last three days. When things go to shit, people aren¡¯t looking to play nice.¡± And without warning, his affable persona disappeared beneath a layer of severity.

    ¡°Do you mean¡ª¡±

    ¡°I mean, people like you and me, the healthy ones, aren¡¯t out there to look out for us. They¡¯re looking out for themselves.¡± He said, gradually getting quieter like he was telling me a secret.

    ¡°Then what if we go somewhere there aren¡¯t any people?¡± I said, realizing the way forward.

    ¡°No people? How are you supposed to know? I only knew that you were here because I happened to be watching this house before the power went out. Then I just took a chance.¡±

    ¡°Well, I know that the house across the street is empty.¡± I offered.

    ¡°Really? How?¡±

    ¡°Because¡­ because I watched the neighbour¡­ leave.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said solemnly.

    ¡°Tonight then?¡± Kelly said, grabbing the now full E tank and pretended to swing it like a bat.

    ¡°If you think it¡¯s a good idea.¡±

    Kelly looked me right in the eyes and shrugged. A flippant way of agreeing to something that could be so dangerous. But I understood. There wasn¡¯t any other option. Even if the option sucked, it was the only one we had.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve got a better plan. I¡¯ll get the food sorted downstairs if you want to rest.¡± For a moment I worried about the food¡ªwhat was going to stop him from running off with all of it? But the worry disappeared as I remembered the sheer volume of it.

    ¡°Yeah, sure. Thanks.¡± I said.

    Kelly¡¯s bottom lip slipped into his mouth as he nodded. He walked into the hallway, closing the door behind him. I got up quickly and tip-toed to the door. With a finger on the lock, I waited until I heard him descend the stairs.

    ¡°Sleep well.¡± He called out to me from down the stairs.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I grabbed my headphones from my side-table beside me. My iPod still showed 87% battery power on the faded monochromatic screen. The only thing they did right with this old piece of junk. They gave it enough battery power to last weeks if you didn¡¯t use it all the time.

    I set the sleep timer for half an hour, that should¡¯ve been long enough. That being said, I managed to stay up to hear De Luca¡¯s Melancholy for Flute cut off moments before finishing. A nostalgic song, fitting for the moment.

    After that, I proceeded to spend the better part of the next six hours parsing through whatever the hell that all was. Did I really just suggest that we rob Curlers? Were we nuts for even thinking about going outside? Should I just wait for my dad after all? Wait, did he say he thinks I¡¯m cute? What the hell was that?

    O2 Remaining: 149 Hours / 6.33 Days

 8. Back then - Part 1

    Ten years ago - October, 28, 2009 - 8:02 AM

    Leo Kelly

    I watched in anticipation as Wren¡¯s jet-black lips wrapped around the filter of my cigarette. I could practically feel my blood rushing below the belt as she began to suck on it. I swallowed, but the smoke had made my throat dry. I desperately needed to cough, which annoyed me because I was in the middle of the best show of my whole goddamned teenage life. The moment she pulled away the lipstick-stained cigarette from her lips, I couldn¡¯t hold the cough back any longer.

    Wren watched me as I doubled over, coughing onto the crisp, long grass beneath the picnic table we were sitting on.

    I looked up to Wren the moment I calmed down, only to see another of my favorite sights. The cheeky smile on her face as she blew out the drag she had just taken.

    ¡°You ¡®kay, Leo?¡± Her tone was way more sarcastic than concerned.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, wiping my lips clean. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡±

    ¡°Whaaat? Are baby¡¯s little lungs not¡ª¡± I didn¡¯t hesitate to throw my bag in the direction of Teddy¡¯s voice. He must¡¯ve hopped the fence to get back here so quickly. ¡°Ow!¡± His voice bounced between the metallic sports shed and the old portables.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even ask what that was for,¡± I said, looking back at the stupid hurt look on his face.

    ¡°You just want to look cool in front of¡ª¡± Teddy shut up real fast when I threatened to throw my dad¡¯s lighter.

    ¡°Ugggh,¡± Wren interrupted. I turned around on the rotten picnic bench to face her.

    ¡°Sor¡ª¡± I started before she continued.

    ¡°Can we just fuckin¡¯, I dunno, just leave or something?¡± she said looking through the chain link fence beside us. The view here was pretty cool. Or at least it would be if I hadn¡¯t stared out at it every morning from my english class. The weather wasn¡¯t too bad right now, but the dark clouds coming over the distant mountains told me that I wouldn¡¯t be able to meet up with Wren again after school. I turned back to her, seriously considering joining her if she decided to cut class.

    ¡°I would, if you wanted to,¡± I said. She looked over and rolled her eyes at me, while she took another drag off my cigarette.

    She continued after passing it back to me. ¡°Calm down,¡± she said sardonically, ¡°you know that if I miss another class this early in the year, Principal Aino will finally have the excuse to be on my ass after staring at it for so long.¡±

    ¡°Maybe after lunch or something then? Who¡¯s gonna tell ¡®em? Don¡¯t you have shop class? I don¡¯t think Mr. Laennec has ever done attendance, so how would he even know?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not Laennec who¡¯s the problem. It¡¯s Mr. Davis. He just won¡¯t give me a fuckin¡¯ break, so you know I can¡¯t miss Bio. Plus, I told you about that quiz, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    Wren pouted slightly as she waited for the cigarette, fingers extended.

    ¡°Well I don¡¯t think being on the rag is a¡ª¡± I turned around and stared daggers at Teddy. Looking back at Wren, she didn¡¯t seem to even notice that he spoke.

    ¡°Yeah, what an asshole,¡± I said, trying to ignore the idiot as well. Teddy was quick to speak, though not the quickest to think. He was a year younger than Wren and I, and wasn¡¯t really someone that I would¡¯ve chosen to hang out with, but he was Rheese¡¯s younger brother, so that earned him a spot with us at the bench even when he was a freshman. Now, a year later, Tim, Rheese, and Nikki were all gone, and we were still stuck with the dead weight. I had spent all of September and October trying to figure out the best way to get him to give us some space, but an idiot like him couldn¡¯t get a clue if it smacked him in the face.

    ¡°Guess the bell¡¯s gonna ring soon,¡± Wren said, looking across the faded football field. My gaze stayed on her dark brown eyes for a moment before following them. The few students trickling in from the East Gate had quickly grown to a steady stream. I didn¡¯t recognize most of the kids. Most of them avoided the East Hall doors¡ªwhich led directly to the shop hall and the club rooms¡ªand rounded the back of the school to get to the North Side.

    The only person I saw that went to the East Hall door was a tall black kid in a flashy jacket. I did vaguely recognize him. I was thinking maybe we had a class together when Wren plucked the cigarette from my mouth, tossed it under the bench, and stomped it out with her boot.

    ¡°What the fuck?¡± I said, annoyed, but couldn¡¯t be too pissed. Wren¡¯s hand smelled really good when it was close to my face, so I got something out of it at least.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Here comes little miss teacher¡¯s pet.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± I looked around for the girl that Wren was talking about.

    ¡°Her.¡± She nodded toward a girl I had missed as she walked across the field toward us. Her blotchy, dark green jacket helped her blend into the field at a distance, and even as she got closer, she still appeared far away like some optical illusion.

    Wow, she¡¯s really short, isn¡¯t she?

    ¡°She¡¯s one of the teacher¡¯s kids or something,¡± Wren said.

    ¡°A freshman?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Nah, a junior too. She¡¯s in my bio class with Mr. Davis.¡± That was a shock. From the way that she was curled in on herself, she reeked of freshman shyness.

    ¡°Why is she coming over here?¡± I whispered as the girl approached.

    ¡°Some stupid shit probably.¡± Wren plastered an unnatural smile across her face. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up?¡± she asked, managing to sound not completely dismissive.

    ¡°Did you¡­¡± The wind picked up through the smoke pit, and drowned out her soft voice. As the girl was talking while muted, Wren¡¯s saccharine smile melted a little, sagging into a sugar-coated snarl that was more familiar to me and Teddy. Wren was readying her talons to sink them into the little mouse-like girl.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what did you say?¡± Wren¡¯s tone of voice became decidedly sharper.

    ¡°Did you do your half of the assignment?¡± It was a little funny to watch someone else start to squirm when Wren turned the screws on them, but this girl was next level. Before Wren even had a chance to twist anything, I watched her eyes dart from Wren, to me, Wren again, then to her feet, the sky, all before ending up again at her feet.

    ¡°Assignment?¡± Wren asked playing dumb, ¡°which assignment was that?¡±

    ¡°The cell presentation? Did you do¡ª¡±

    ¡°Did I do what?¡± The girl flinched when Wren interrupted. ¡°Last time I checked, we decided that because you¡¯re so quiet, you didn¡¯t want to present so I would have to do all the talking. And you¡¯d handle everything else.¡±

    ¡°But I didn¡¯t¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t do it! Oh my god, can you believe this?¡± Wren said, dramatically turning to me and Teddy.

    ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± I heard Teddy choke back a snicker. We both knew what was coming next. I almost felt bad for the girl.

    ¡°Right, how are you going to get this done? I¡¯m so busy with my classes I couldn¡¯t possibly find the time!¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± The girl¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t meet Wren¡¯s again.

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Wren repeated.

    ¡°I¡­ I guess I could still finish it.¡± The girl¡¯s shoulders drooped as she continued. ¡°At lunch or something.¡±

    ¡°Would you? That¡¯s amazing! Thank you.¡± And with that bell-like lilt at the end of her sentence, I could tell Wren had decided the girl¡¯s screws were sufficiently tightened. Retracting her talons, she faced me, her sickly-sweet smile transformed into the devilish one that I enjoyed so much.

    Wren sat silently and watched my eyes. I felt the rhythm section quicken in my chest as she stared at me, silent and unblinking like the most aesthetic statue. Seeing that, the girl nodded and, with her shoulders just a bit lower, turned to cross the field. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bad for her.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t that a bit harsh?¡±

    ¡°Give me another cig,¡± Wren said, ignoring me as she laid on the bench. I handed her another one of my cigarettes. She took it, and without looking at me, she asked, ¡°lighter?¡± As soon as I reached into my coat pocket, the first bell chimed loudly over the loudspeakers around campus. Wren threw her head back, before sliding the cig in between her cleavage¡ªan action that lifted up more than just my spirit. ¡°Later then.¡±

    I heard Teddy leave as he crunched away toward school.

    ¡°Are you just gonna sit there?¡± Wren said. With a sigh, I grabbed my bag as well, and quickly followed her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that was a little harsh?¡± I repeated, then immediately regretted saying it.

    Do you really want to pick that fight?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the Pet. She¡¯ll be fine. Either she gets it done, or Davis gives her an extension.¡±

    ¡°I thought you said Mr. Davis was a hardass?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he is, to everyone but his little pet,¡± Wren said with enough venom to kill an elephant. I backed off a bit. Even when she was angry I still thought she looked cool, so as long as she didn¡¯t come after me, there wasn¡¯t any issue. ¡°The plaything doesn¡¯t ever have to worry about that.¡±

    The plaything?

    ***

    After grabbing my lunch from my locker, I cut through the East Hall on my way back out to the smoke pit. I absentmindedly stared through the windows into the various club rooms. Only stopping outside of the dark computer lab, my attention grabbed by the light of one of the computer monitors. The blue-lit face was none other than the girl from this morning¡ªor Pet, as Wren called her¡ªsitting in the dark, no doubt working on Wren¡¯s half of their assignment. The girl was dutifully typing away, not even looking down as she did so. It was creepy about how still she was, and paired with her features: big wide eyes, smooth dark skin, cute curly hair, that whole shy demure act, it stitched together into this perfect look. I wondered if Pet realized just how much she looked like she could be a doll.

    Maybe she really is just destined to be a plaything.

    I pulled away from the door¡¯s window when she glanced up from her work. As I pushed open the East Hall doors, and caught a glimpse of Wren¡¯s flowing platinum hair from across the field, I couldn¡¯t help but realize one more thing. Just how different the two girls were.

 9. Day 3 - Night raid, A-side

    May 20, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 141 Hours / 5.88 Days - 6:50 PM

    Eury Morrissey

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Kelly asked me as he walked into the mostly dark garage.

    I commandeered the workbench in the garage, and by the light through the open door, I worked on my weapon.

    ¡°Making a spear,¡± I said, without looking up. The kitchen knife I used was sharp but hard to whittle with. I had almost taken the point of the broom handle down too thin a few times before when I was careless. I didn¡¯t want to risk looking away again, not when I was so close.

    Still though, with the spear slowly shaping up, I couldn¡¯t help but worry that it would break in a real fight, leaving me with just a stick and within arms reach of them.

    ¡°A spear?¡± He sounded surprised. I wouldn¡¯t have thought I¡¯d be making one either. ¡°What? Wanted to get a theme going?¡± That stopped me mid whittle.

    I put the knife down as I looked at him.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what?¡±

    ¡°Okay, that was supposed to be a joke, but obviously you didn¡¯t get it.¡± I waited for him to continue because I still didn¡¯t. ¡°I¡¯ve got a sword, you¡¯ve got a spear, now all we need is someone with a bow or something and we¡¯ve got a D&D campaign!¡±

    ¡°Well, Legolas can have his bow I¡¯d rather have this instead.¡± I picked up the handgun and showed him. I made sure to fully load it, along with the spare magazine that sat beside the bullets inside the safe.

    Kelly stepped back. ¡°Whoa! Where¡¯d you get that thing from?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Alaska¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Right, right, right. The model¡¯s a deputy too. Of course.¡± He scratched his head. ¡°If you¡¯ve got that thing, why the spear?¡±

    ¡°Because guns are loud,¡± I couldn¡¯t help but look at him like he was an idiot, ¡°have you really never heard a gun before?¡±

    Kelly thought about it for a second, his gaze somewhere up in a corner then shook his head. ¡°In my defence, it¡¯s not like they offered much skeet shooting at chalet au Sheridan.¡±

    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Har har. Well then if that¡¯s the case, I guess I¡¯ll hang onto it then.¡±

    Not like you were ever going to let him touch it.

    But it wasn¡¯t like he needed to know that.

    ¡°Fair enough. Sheila¡¯s all I need, anyways.¡± Kelly said with a straight face.

    ¡°Shelia? Please, tell me you didn¡¯t name it that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding! Don¡¯t worry.¡± Kelly looked back towards the living foyer, facing away from me, I couldn¡¯t help but imagine the face he was making. Was he embarrassed because he had named it, or worried that I caught onto how weird he was? Too late, buddy. Too late. ¡°So, is your broom-spear ready?¡±

    ¡°Close enough,¡± I said, grabbing the wooden spear from the workbench. I showed off the tapered tip.

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty good actually! But don¡¯t you think it¡¯ll be a bit hard for you to use?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep them away, and you finish them off. Sheila¡¯s a lot more durable than anything I can make.¡±

    ¡°Then, worst-case scenario, you have the gun?¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    Kelly took a second to contemplate.

    ¡°Okay, one more thing, what if grandma doesn¡¯t have a wagon or anything? Like I know you¡¯re not expecting her to literally have a radio flyer, but what makes you think she¡¯ll have something like that?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I just know she¡¯s not home and that makes her the first stop. If we don¡¯t find something there, then we try the next house and the next house after that. We do it until I run out of LOX, then it¡¯s not a problem anymore.¡± I tapped my foot on the concrete floor. ¡°That being said, if it takes that long, I¡¯m pretty much screwed regardless of whether or not we have the wagon.¡±

    ¡°Okay,¡± he said, taken aback, ¡°well, we¡¯ll see about that.¡± He seemed a little surprised by my candour, but I¡¯ve already thought this through. Right now, the wagon would be our best option to get out of here. But if it takes us a couple of days, then we won¡¯t have to worry about that tank and we can just leave. If it does come down to it though, I only have at most twenty-five hours on full tanks, and another twelve on the concentrator. Still a lot of time, but not nearly enough to get to dad and mom¡¯s place.

    Not when you¡¯re alone, either.

    Good thing I¡¯m not then.

    ¡°Well then, we should get started as soon as possible, right?¡± He said, stepping towards the door.

    ¡°Right,¡± I said, following him out into the house.

    May 20, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 139 Hours / 5.79 Days - 9:12 PM

    I was never one for sneaking around. I never snuck out of the house as a kid¡ªnot that I had any friends to go see anyway¡ªand I felt that lack of delinquent training as we crouched behind the partially opened fence gate. We decided to go out the back door, not because of anything, in particular, we were looking to avoid through the front, but because there was more between the street and the back door. Meaning, more time for us to run away if we needed to.

    Kelly looked over at me from the other side of the gate. We were supposed to check down both sides of the street, but with the porch and half the house on my side, that wasn¡¯t happening for me.

    He nearly poked himself in his eyes, then pointed out at the street.

    *See anything?*

    I shook my head.

    He gave a thumbs up.

    *Ready?*

    I nodded.

    Seeing this, he closed his eyes for a second, breathed in, out, then quietly crept out onto the front lawn of Alaska¡¯s house. I watched as he scanned the street from side to side before continuing. Seeing nothing on my side of the street, I kept my eyes on our target, the unpainted side gate of Curlers¡¯ fence. It was more or less directly across from Alaska¡¯s, making this easy enough, but I still couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous.

    My heart jumped. Kelly stopped at the end of the small hedge running between Alaska¡¯s front lawn and her neighbour¡¯s.

    What did he see?

    I tried to look over the hedge, but when I was crouched and well hidden, I couldn¡¯t force myself to stand up and risk the chance of being seen. I just¡­ I just needed to trust Kelly. As difficult as it was, I needed to.

    Three seconds passed, and I heard nothing. Another five. Still nothing. My patience wore as thin as the smear of gum on the concrete at my feet. Although my conscious brain had gotten acclimated to the constant stream of adrenaline in my veins, it seemed like my subconscious, and my habits had not. After another five seconds, I tapped on Kelly¡¯s shoulder.

    He jumped at my touch, and slowly looked at me. I raised an eyebrow at him and held up a thumb.

    Although he looked like he was about to jump out of his skin, he nodded, and with little hesitation, started across the street.

    We stayed low as we crossed. I kept my gaze forward at the fence gate at Curler¡¯s where it accessed the backyard. By the time we were halfway across the street, my heart already battered against my chest. My lungs burned since this was the first non-dream exercise I had in the last week. Or maybe it was because I was holding my breath without even realizing it.

    As my shoes sank into the grass of Curlers¡¯ front lawn, I accidentally took in a deep breath.

    Kelly stopped and looked back at me, his face twisted with worry. He waited until my breathing became normal, though somewhat heavy, before he continued to the gate. Just as planned, the moment he reached it, I turned around and faced the street as a lookout. I could hear Kelly scrambling up the slick planks of the fence gate behind me while I did my best to calm down. Anything could be out in the street, now dark as pitch. I needed the quiet to hear. The gate clinked slightly against its hinges as Kelly clamoured over, then landed with a soft thud on the other side. Silence followed. I swept my gaze up and down the street. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    A second later, the gate creaked open. Silhouetted by the moonlight, all I saw of Kelly was his gloved hand waving me over.

    We repeated the process, checking then advancing when we got to the edge of the house. This time though, I was significantly less worried. The chances of something or someone, being back here were slim to none.

    And yet¡­

    And yet nothing. Jesus, fuck off.

    We crossed the backyard to the small shed in the corner. I scanned the backyard again, Curlers¡¯ house, then the neighbours. Searching for any movement, anything to indicate that we were being watched, or worse, stalked.

    The shed doors were unlocked. After stepping inside, we closed them back behind us. After a second of fumbling, Kelly pulled out the flashlight and lit up the cramped interior.

    I started to search the packed shed with Kelly but stopped fairly quick. It was obvious that at a glance, among all of the gardening tools in the shed, the wagon we¡¯re looking for wasn''t here. ¡°Kelly,¡± I whispered.

    He nearly jumped through the ceiling of the shed. ¡°What? Are you okay?¡± He said in a rapid-fire whisper.

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± He relaxed, dropping his shoulders. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°I was just going to say that I don¡¯t see it here. Want to try the garage?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yeah. Yeah, lets. How do we get in?¡±

    ¡°Front door¡¯s probably locked. Maybe through that window?¡± I said referencing the broken front windows.

    ¡°D¡¯you think you can get up there?¡± Kelly said with a whiff of condescension in his voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like it¡¯s on the 2nd story or anything,¡± I said, snapping at him.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± He gestured to the doors like an usher. ¡°Ready?¡±

    I nodded.

    He nodded as well and clicked off the flashlight.

    At the door, Kelly took a deep breath before slowly opening the doors. He peeked his head out, cautiously panned from left to right, then waved for me to follow. We crossed the yard, only stopping at the gate. After repeating our safety checks¡ªpeek, left right, then follow¡ªwe hugged the wall of the house until we were under the broken open window.

    At that moment, I took a slightly closer look at our surroundings. Without the streetlights on, the street was only lit by the faint glow of the moon. While Kelly had shown up already dressed head to toe in black, I had to mix and match some of my clothes with Alaska¡¯s to achieve the same effect. My hair and skin were already on the darker side so I didn¡¯t need a balaclava like he did. And for the most part, it worked to our advantage to dress like bargain bin ninjas. Except now. Pressed up against the obnoxiously white walls of Curler¡¯s house. The two of us couldn¡¯t have looked more obvious if we painted bullseyes on our chest. Needless to say, my stress climbed up several levels. I tried to calm myself down as Kelly did cleared the glass shards left after the man attacked Curlers.

    The wind picked up, and under the whistling wind, I swore I heard the sound of far off screams.

    At least you think that you¡¯ve imagined them.

    ¡°Okay, let us go.¡± I whispered to Kelly.

    What I intended to do was lightly tap him on the back, to spur him to pick up the pace. Within an instant, though, any immediate danger I felt was taken over by total embarassment. What I ended up doing was slapping him right on the ass while he wiggled over the window frame. His legs kicked wildly as he fell and landed face first on the floor below.

    ¡°Oh gross.¡± He said, just a little too loudly.

    Gross? Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my fucking god, he thinks that me touching him is gross! Holy fuck, I know that it¡¯s a meme for young people to want to die, but please, somebody come over here right now and kill me.

    Back in high school again, are we? What did you think his response was going to be? Did you really think he was interested in a disabled girl like you? Get real.

    And with that thought, my embarrassment left me. I had only a deep, empty hole of regret.

    ¡°Eury?¡± Kelly¡¯s whisper brought me back. He stood in the window frame wiping something slimy off of his shoulder.

    Maybe¡­ Maybe that was what he was talking about?

    Doubt it.

    Kelly peeled off his dirty glove, and stuffed it in his windbreaker¡¯s pocket. Then, bracing one foot on the sill, he leaned down, offering a hand to me.

    Pity, huh? Just like what you¡¯re used to, eh?

    I passed him my spear, then grabbed the window sill. With a jump, I was able to pull myself up and over, only running out of oxygen the moment the wooden sill was on my gut. Facing the ground, I saw what Kelly had been wiping off of himself. In the dark, it was hard to make it out with any sort of certainty, but it definitely looked like vomit.

    Yep, smelt like vomit too after a few breaths of it.

    As I struggled between pushing myself up into the house, and trying not to get covered in that crap, Kelly took charge and grabbed me by my bag¡¯s straps. He couldn¡¯t lift me up outright but he managed to take the pressure off my diaphragm, allowing me to get into a better position. After a few seconds of awkward flailing, I was standing in Curlers¡¯ living room. A small square of couches and recliners separated the living room from the large dining room table behind. Beside the brick fireplace, there was a small hallway.

    ¡°You good?¡± Kelly asked, in a whisper.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I grabbed my spear from where he had left it on the ground, and walked towards the hallway I assumed led to the garage.

    I couldn¡¯t even bear to look at him as I walked past. It wasn¡¯t often growing up in white as fuck, rural as hell Sheridan, that I was thankful for having dark skin. At least in the dark, he couldn¡¯t see how red my cheeks were.

    Like the rest of the house, the hallway was dark, but even then I could still see a trio of closed doors. One was obviously the garage door¡ªthe metal gave it away¡ªwhile I¡¯d guess the other two were probably a bathroom and a boot room, maybe a laundry? Anyways, not particularly useful for me right now. Confidently¡ªbut with my spear raised in front of me¡ªI approached the garage door. I reached for the handle, but was stopped when Kelly laid a hand on my shoulder.

    It was me who jumped this time.

    He held up the flashlight, offering it to me.

    ¡°Hands are busy.¡± I whispered, holding up my spear.

    ¡°I got it then.¡± He responded. The tone of his voice was a bit curt.

    Jesus, am I going to be stressing over everything the guy says now?

    He clicked on the flashlight and taking that as my cue, I opened the door. It was a tense few seconds while I waited for Kelly to sweep the space with the light. I had began to regret being at the vanguard of our team. Luckily though, he found nothing. I breathed a sigh of relief.

    There was a surprising amount of cardboard boxes and plastic totes that lined up and down the center of the space where a car would normally be.

    Suddenly, the likelihood that we¡¯d find a wagon or a shopping cart here just shot up exponentially. After the wider first pass, Kelly lightly tapped my shoulder. That was my second cue. With my guard still up, I descended the wooden steps into the garage. Kelly followed close behind, still scanning the garage.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s here.¡± I said to him, lowering my spear.

    ¡°Yeah, looks like it.¡± He turned around and closed the door lightly. The moment he did, and the light was as far away from me as possible, I felt my face contort into all of the emotions that I avoided showing to him.

    Jesus, I felt like I was in highschool again.

    Yeah, it is just like back then, you¡¯re obsessed with someone who has zero interest.

    At least my inner-bitch was the exact same as she was back then.

    ¡°Okay¡ªholy shit it¡¯s dark isn¡¯t it¡ªlet¡¯s start at the back and work towards the garage door.¡± His voice sounded more relaxed than it had before. It was reassuring yet disappointing at the same time.

    ¡°Sure. Sounds good.¡±

    Was it so bad that I didn¡¯t want to be the only one feeling weird about all this shit?

    For the next twenty minutes, we sifted through Curlers¡¯ garage. My guess about all the boxes was she planned on cleaning out her house. A lot of the totes were filled clothes and other disposable stuff while a few of them had pictures and other important memories for the old woman. I guess maybe they aren¡¯t so important now.

    Kelly stopped our third time around the garage, at the halfway point.

    ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t think anything¡¯s here.¡± He held the flashlight so the beam rested on my chest.

    An accident, for sure.

    Oh fuck o¡ª

    ¡°Wait a sec.¡± Kelly said, cocking his head to the side. ¡°No, shit! Is that¡­¡± He jogged towards the back wall with a gigantic pile of crap that had accumulated over what I assume has been decades of Curlers¡¯ living here.

    ¡°What is it? Did you actually find a cart?¡± I asked in disbelief. I had given up on this house about ten minutes ago, but didn¡¯t say anything because Kelly was still so focused.

    ¡°Okay. I saw this thing last time around, and didn¡¯t pay much attention to it.¡± He said, pointing to a metal X buried near the bottom of the pile. ¡°But I just saw this!¡± He pulled away a pair of boxes sitting in front of and under the X. ¡°Look here,¡± He pointed at a thick black piece of plastic on the ground. Getting closer, I saw it was the wheel of a wagon.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we actually found one!¡± I said, just a little too loudly. I covered my mouth after I spoke.

    He let out a muted ¡°whoop¡± before reaching down, moving the boxes out of the way. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get this uncovered and get the hell out of here. We can celebrate later in your dad¡¯s apocalypse bunker.¡±

    For the first time since this all began, I finally felt hopeful. Maybe it wasn¡¯t impossible. Maybe we could actually get out of here okay.

    It took us another ten minutes to get the cart uncovered. The hardest part was getting it out without causing an avalanche of pots and pans. God only knows how loud that would¡¯ve been. After a few test spins, we discovered the wagon rolled louder than a shotty shopping cart¡ªfor at least now¡ªwith the amount that it rattled. The rolling door wasn¡¯t and option since it had no power¡ªnot to mention being too loud and obvious as well¡ªso we carried the wagon out of the garage door.

    Kelly led the way, walking backwards as he held up one end of the wagon. The wagon wasn¡¯t very heavy, but every step left me more haggard than the last. I sucked it up though.

    Even in the dark, I could tell that Kelly¡¯s eyes were fixed on me intensely, watching me to make sure that I was okay.

    He¡¯s just waiting for the disabled girl to stop pulling her weight.

    I consciously paced my breathing, even though my lungs began to burn. Still, I forced a veneer of normality like I wasn¡¯t suffering. There was no difference between me and any other person on the street, well, maybe there¡¯d still be a bit of a difference these da¡ª

    ¡°What was that?¡± Kelly asked, stopping as we passed by the last door in the small hallway.

    ¡°What was what?¡± I held my breath, trying my best to hear over the hissing of my O2.

    Kelly took another step and leaned back to see around the corner.

    ¡°I think that¡ª¡± He began to speak, only to stop suddenly.

    In a flash, he dropped the wagon hard onto the ground and had his sword out before I even fully understood what had happened.

    May 20, 2019 - 10:39 PM

 10. Back then - Part 2

    December 14, 2009 - 3:20 PM

    Leo Kelly

    ¡°Mr. Kelly. Come here.¡± Mr. Laennec called to me as I passed his office on the way out of the shop class.

    I stopped dead on the spot like I stepped on a glue trap. For such a chill teacher, Mr. Laennec had a voice that could shoot icicles down your spine. It also didn¡¯t help I¡¯d been slacking off, and just welded dicks into my metalworks project with Jared for most of the class. So I prepared myself for the worst as I walked into his small office, the only place in the shop you didn¡¯t choke on sawdust. I could only hope he wouldn¡¯t me after class when the day was about to end.

    ¡°Mr. Laennec,¡± I said, matching his severe tone. A move that only elicited a glare from him¡ªwhich wasn¡¯t exactly what I was aiming for.

    ¡°Leo,¡± He said. I saw the axe about to fall. ¡°have you ever taken a picture before? And I don¡¯t¡ª¡±

    ¡°Clothed or unclothed?¡± I practically froze him mid-sentence. Mr. Laennec grimaced, but I continued anyway. ¡°Follow up question, do selfies count?¡±

    ¡°Ughh. Please.¡± Laennec said, holding a dirt blackened hand in front of me. ¡°Can I take that as a yes?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Laennec, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s the eighties anymore. Of course, I¡¯ve taken a picture. My sister¡¯s got a little digital camera that she gave to me forever ago.¡±

    ¡°Marcie did, huh?¡± Each word he said was wet with satisfaction when he thought about my sister. Who, thankfully, was also in her thirties as well. My skin crawled like I was covered by a plague of locusts, but I did my best not to give him the satisfaction of bothering me. ¡°And don¡¯t even get me started with how much better the eighties were. I was a baby. Life was good. No annoying teenagers bothering me. Good times.¡± I tried not to smile, but I broke after a few seconds. Smirking in triumph, Mr. Laennec continued. ¡°Alright, here¡¯s the deal. I¡¯ve got a photographer who¡¯s off sick from the comms club for a while, and I know you¡¯ve got nothing better to do for the next two weeks other than¡­ hang out,¡± He said, meaning dripping from his tone, ¡°so I want you to go with one of the other guys in the comms club and take some photos.¡±

    ¡°And there¡¯ll be a $100 per photo fee?¡±

    ¡°There will be wonderful memories made at once-in-a-lifetime events?¡± Mr. Laennec said, countering my offer.

    ¡°How about you¡ª¡± I stopped myself just short of asking him to buy us a beer, so I settled on the next best thing ¡°¡ªbuy us lunch or dinner or something.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, here¡¯s the rub, I¡¯m not comin¡¯ with ya¡¯ll. So can¡¯t do that neither.¡± The moment he said that I felt half excitement and half annoyance. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be joining us at some random event over the winter break meaning no buttering him up. But it also means that we can goof off and no one''s going to get on us about it. ¡°How ¡®bout I make it up by¡­¡± Laennec hesitated a moment while he thought of the right wording. ¡°Let¡¯s just call this extra credit. And if you don¡¯t disappoint me, let''s just say I¡¯ll overlook a few ¡®past-mistakes¡¯.¡± He clasped his hands together. ¡°How does that sound?¡±

    ¡°That sounds great!¡± I didn¡¯t hesitate to take him up on his offer. If I understood him correctly, and by his low conspiratorial tone, I think I did, he offered to take away the couple of ¡®youthful-indiscretions¡¯ that I had near the beginning of the year. Or, at least, that was how we finally settled on wording it when he had to write me up for my September in-school suspension. Principal Aino had wanted blood for what we did, and I didn¡¯t mind getting thrown to the sharks. Mr. Laennec appreciated it then¡ªlike I knew he would¡ªand now he was looking to help me to make up for that. I mean, what was the use for the both of us to get thrown under the bus when he could actually lose his job. What did I have to lose anyway?

    ¡°Alright.¡± Mr. Laennec said, extending a hand to me. I shook it as he continued. ¡°That¡¯s a deal then. I¡¯ll need you out front on the 18th,¡± The last day of school for winter break. Great. ¡°and on the 22nd.¡±

    ¡°Seriously?¡± I said, dropping his hand.

    ¡°Serious as the clap. There¡¯s a Christmas concert on the 22nd, and the snowball dance is on the 18th. I would¡¯ve thought a young¡­ strapping¡­¡± Laennec slowed down as he began to laugh. ¡°Who are we kidding. It¡¯s no surprise that you¡¯re not going to that dance other than to work it.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it wasn¡¯t high on my priority list.¡± Wren already decided for me when we started going out that we wouldn¡¯t be attending any dances, formals, or graduations because ¡°there¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯ll be caught at one of those fucking retarded dances.¡±

    ¡°If I recall correctly, Marcie was the same way.¡±

    ¡°Sure she was. They never did teach formal dancing over at Rivercrest. Guess the apartment¡¯s grand-hall was always booked!¡±

    Mr. Laennec rolled his eyes. ¡°You done?¡±

    ¡°Yeah probably. So, what time? And who am I meeting anyways?¡±

    <hr>

    December 18, 2009 - 6:15 PM

    Standing outside of the school, collecting a light coating of snow, was a guy that I vaguely recognized.

    ¡°Sully?¡± I asked. Laennec had told me little about my partner in crime for the next couple of days. So this entire time, I fully expected some brace-faced nerd who couldn¡¯t walk two steps without sucking on his inhaler.

    Not Sully, who was built like a Greek god. He was tall, seriously tall¡ªrich, I know, coming from a short-stack like me¡ª but this guy had an extra foot on me. Although Sheridan didn¡¯t really have any tracks that divided the town, he was definitely from the better side. He had on a jacket that was probably as expensive as the camera he had with him.

    ¡°Hey! You must be Leo, right?¡± There was something about how he talked that set me on edge. I think it was the fact that it was so affable and kind, but whatever it was it caught me off guard.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Alright, so, this is for you.¡± He handed me a small cloth camera¡¯ case. I looped the strap around my neck. ¡°They¡¯re not gonna let us in until around 6:45 so if you want to take a few practice shots out here, do it now. It¡¯s not gonna be much brighter in there.¡± I curled over a little to protect the camera and the extra lens in the bag from the snow. I pulled out the camera and quickly found the ¡°on¡± switch. ¡°Do you know how to change the ISO? Shutter speed? Also, I think they¡¯ve got the place lit up really blue, so you might want to change the colour temp while you¡¯re at it.¡± I stared blankly at Sully, while I tried to decipher the foreign language he had suddenly begun speaking.

    ¡°So, there¡¯s this setting called AUTO? I was just gonna use that.¡±

    Sully took a second but eventually, he started grinning. To go along with his personality, he also had a knock-out smile¡ªpractically movie-star quality¡ªforcing me to realize that I was going to have to work really hard to hate this guy later.

    ¡°Let me guess, you¡¯re not from some photography club that I¡¯ve never heard about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna say no. Not unless Mr. Laennec decided to start one without consulting me.¡±

    ¡°Okay, well then that changes things. Keep it on AUTO tonight, and just focus on keeping things in focus. And if possible, try and get some good pictures of people dancing and having a good time and all that boring shit.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s funny,¡± I said, looking back down at my camera.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t take you for the jaded type is all. I took you more as a ¡®go dance with the head cheerleader type but got caught juicing before the game¡¯ kind of guy.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but I don¡¯t play sports.¡± He said, losing the movie-star smile.

    ¡°What? Really? I¡¯d think at least basketball.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you say that to all the tall black guys, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Oh shit, that¡¯s not what I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry dude, I was just fucking with you,¡± Sully smirked as he spoke. ¡°They¡¯ll be grabbing us pretty quick here. So, if you want to just take a couple of practice shots, it¡¯ll be easier for me to give you pointers out here before everything turns to shit inside.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure,¡± I said, trying to hide my embarrassment. After a few practice shots, I couldn¡¯t hold it in. ¡°Hey Sully, I¡¯m¡ª¡±

    ¡°Dude, seriously. It¡¯s fine. I¡¯d know if you were being a dick, and I know you can¡¯t help it sometimes.¡±

    What the fuck does that mean? Without me even realizing, my blood began to boil.

    ¡°I mean, it¡¯s in your DNA.¡± He said while scrawling something in his notebook. ¡°The shortness, I mean.¡± And with that, he flashed that same smile. ¡°Gotcha.¡±

    ¡°Har, har,¡± I said, bringing the viewfinder to my eye. Alright, I¡¯ll really have to work hard to hate this guy.

    I took a couple more photos of the school building, trying my best to work with the classrooms that still had light in them. The camera had a hell of a time picking them up, but after Sully gave me a few pointers, I managed to snap a few good ones.

    <hr>

    A few hours into the dance, Sully waved me over to him. He was standing near the doors that led back to the atrium of the school. Beside him, there was a pretty brunette girl, looking at me very expectantly. Or was she annoyed with me? It was hard to tell.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I shouted over the loud music.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk out here!¡± He said as he opened the door.

    A bright beam of fluorescent light hit me like a wall as I followed behind him. I couldn¡¯t help but notice that the pretty girl followed closely as well.

    ¡°Hey, so¡­¡± Sully said, aimlessly flipping through the pages of his notebook. ¡°Do you¡ª¡±

    ¡°You done already?¡±

    ¡°Is that a bad thing?¡± He asked, grimacing slightly.

    ¡°God no. I don¡¯t care, dude. There are only so many ways I can take a picture of people trying not to get caught dry humping.¡±

    ¡°Really? Oh, thank you, God.¡±

    ¡°You can really just call me Leo,¡± I said, flashing a smile.

    ¡°Thank you so much, Leo. You¡¯re literally a lifesaver.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but notice that he glanced back at the girl as he said that. ¡°Could you come with me to my locker real quick? I just gotta get the camera off you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course,¡± I said, falling in line behind the pair of them.

    The brunette girl started walking in line with Sully. I assume that she¡¯s his girlfriend. She definitely had the whole impatient girlfriend vibe about her, but they weren¡¯t holding hands or anything.

    At Sully¡¯s locker, I handed him the camera bag, but after looking back at the girl, he sucked on his teeth.

    ¡°Would you mind doing me one last favour? If it¡¯s not too much.¡±

    Honestly, if it was a little more work or something easy like that, Sully was a cool enough guy that I didn¡¯t mind so much doing it for him.

    ¡°Sure, I guess. But you¡¯ll owe me.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your price?¡± He said with a smirk.

    ¡°Your firstborn?" I said with a laugh. "I dunno. Buy me lunch or something when schools back in sesh.¡±

    ¡°That I can do. Thanks, man.¡± He gave me one of those bro hugs¡ªthe kind that all the normies make a habit of doing too often¡ªthen handed me the camera bag alongside a plastic case full of spooled cords. ¡°Just go through these and choose the best ones. Make sure to delete the shit ones too. I can make the final decision on which photos we pick so don¡¯t worry too much.¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be too hard. I mean, I am practically a professional photographer-man after tonight.¡±

    ¡°Sure! Not even close at all but sure!¡± He said flashing the movie-star smile.

    ¡°Go on and be the generic protagonist, and I¡¯ll just go deal with this,¡± I said, pulling the camera bag over my shoulder. His expression twisted a little bit before he chuckled.

    ¡°Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.¡±

    So did the girl too, I bet. ¡°No worries,¡± I said.

    The two love birds went back into the dance while I started off towards the parking lot, but a slight buzz in my pocket stopped me. A text from Marcie. She was getting held late at work and wouldn¡¯t be able to pick me up until after 10. An hour later than originally planned. Great.

    I contemplated walking home in the below-freezing weather, but I decided to get a head start on these photos instead of braving the cold. Looking out the windows, the light dusting of snow that we were having over the last few days had finally graduated to a full-on blizzard. A part of me was worried about Marcie because I could barely see the lights that ran alongside the highway. And another part of me was still peeved that I had to do school work this late at night.

    I walked back to the east hall and found the comms-lab key tucked alongside the cords in the plastic case.

    Jesus. That guy was way too trusting. What the hell would he have done if I was a piece of garbage like Teddy?

    After taking a few minutes to log in and set up all the cables and whatnot, I finally was able to open up the SD card. Then, like the harsh god that I was, I quickly got to culling all the shitty photos I had snapped that night. Starting from the most recent and working my way backwards was sort of reverse cathartic. The most recent photos were by far my best. I finally figured out how to focus the damn camera and other basics like how it was best to stand between the light and my subjects. Further into the file, I deleted more and more shitty photos. Then, once I reached the near-black photos I had taken outside, I hovered my finger above the delete key when I noticed something odd in one of the still-lit classroom windows.

    It was a blurry photo, taken in the dark, by an amateur photographer, in a light snowstorm, but in the upper corner of the photo, two people stood close to one another. The photo was too distorted to make out anything, but their body language said it all.

    A short, curly-haired girl, was being embraced by someone with a black mop-top haircut, the guy looked more like a man than any student, even that was obvious.

 11. Day 3 - Night raid, B-side

    May 20, 2019 - 10:39 PM

    Leo Kelly

    ¡°What was that?¡± I asked, stopping as we passed by the last door in the small hallway.

    I could¡¯ve sworn I heard a scratching sound, but it might¡¯ve just been my imagination. Adrenaline had been running wild in my body since we left the house. And I practically jumped at everything so far.

    ¡°What was what?¡± Eury breathily said. She sounded okay despite her heavy breathing. Was she going to be okay?

    ¡°I think that¡ª¡± I began to whisper, as I leaned my head beyond the corner.

    Although the living room was partially lit by the moonlight coming through the large windows, it was mostly dark. Shrouded in the kind of impenetrable darkness my eyes had to struggle with for a while, adjusting to the low light to see anything. So, it took me a moment before I saw that in the corner of the living room, a figure was hunched over like they were violently heaving. But they made no sound. As if sensing my movement, the figure turned. It was an old woman. Curlers. And the moment her weeping eyes locked onto me, a jolt of panic shot up my spine.

    Fuck!

    Fuck fuck fuck!

    She¡¯s not supposed to be here!

    Without even thinking, I dropped my end of the wagon. The metal frame clanged hard on the ground¡ªprobably loud enough to attract the whole neighbourhood¡ªbut it didn¡¯t matter. At that moment, I had a much more pressing issue. And it was staring at me like I was a roast beef sandwich. I unsheathed Sheila and prepared for what came next.

    The old woman let out an ear-piercing shriek as she broke into a sprint towards me. Her first few steps slipped in all the vomit and everything else that covered the ground, which gave me the extra second I needed to think.

    ¡°Eury, run!¡± I called back to her, ¡°I¡¯ll distract her, just go!¡±

    Even though every fibre of my being felt as heavy as lead, I dragged out a step towards the woman. Then the next, then another. Fighting through the nerves tangled up in my legs.

    I managed to raise my sword when I met Curlers beside the dining room table, and in that single moment, I thanked my past self for all of those idle samurai daydreams. I swiped down at the woman¡¯s outstretched arm, connecting just above her elbow. The blade bit into her fleshy arm, then shuddered to a stop when it hit bone.

    ¡°Oh come the fuck on!¡± I said. I expected to chop her arm with a single strike.

    The old woman barely even reacted to the fact I turned her arm into a knife block. Just continued to lumber forward, still focused on gnawing my face off.

    I tried to yank Sheila from her arm, but I ended up letting it go when the old woman lunged for me. I staggered a few steps back while the old woman grabbed the blade, ripped it out, and tossed the sword over the recliner and under the coffee table.

    That just might be the most metal thing I¡¯ve seen in my life.

    I considered just running out of there and call it a night, but Eury was stuck in here too. So, even though I was weaponless, I grabbed the woman by the scruff of her puke-covered nighty and launched her onto the thick, oak dining table. But she had managed to grab me with a surprising amount of force, so I went along with her.

    Up close and on top of her, the old woman hissed and screeched at me like a wild animal while I held her down. Her face was swollen and purple. Not bruised. No, it looked worse. It was like her face was a balloon, skin stretched to the limit, filled to the brim with blood turning rancid. I gagged a few times when her rotten breath wafted onto my face. So, I fought the animal fear that told me to run and channelled the flight to fight, punching her putrid purple face. The strike connected, but it was like my punch was just a pillow that slammed into a brick wall.

    She ripped at my jacket, knocking my locked out elbow loose. I grabbed at the woman¡¯s shoulder again, but she reacted like a wild dog. Biting and snapping at my hand. I punched her again, and again, anything to get her to stop.

    Is her jaw made of titanium or something?

    I could¡¯ve been Muhammad Ali and still couldn¡¯t knock her out, so my self-preservation kicked into an even higher gear. I had to get away from this thing yet still keep her away from Eury. I pushed off of the table, breaking her grip on me and landing on the floor. Without missing a second, the woman had rolled over herself and pounced on me, pinning me to the ground. Without hesitating, I launched another punch at her ugly mug. This time, I felt something crack inside my hand.

    ¡°Oooh hhhhm!¡± I pursed my lips like a lemonade had punched my face.

    ¡°Elbow!¡± From somewhere inside the dark garage, Eury called out to me. ¡°Elbow! Elbow!¡± She repeated with a little more emphasis.

    Elbow? What the hell is she¡­ Oh!Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    I swung my elbow as hard as I could at the side of the woman¡¯s head. The strike seemed to do the trick as the woman¡ªwho seemed stunned by my attack¡ªfell off to the side, giving me enough time to get back to my feet.

    ¡°Where is that fucking thing!¡± Eury¡¯s voice was drowned out by the sound of several boxes collapsing.

    ¡°Eury get the hell out of here!¡± I hissed in the direction of the garage.

    As Curlers scrambled to her feet, I looked around for a weapon. Although the chairs were solid wood, they looked too unwieldy to use and last time I checked, this wasn¡¯t the WWE. My best option was probably still Sheila. Or the gun.

    ¡°Eury! The gun!¡± I hissed again.

    Nothing. Just more boxes overturned in the garage.

    As Curlers clumsily got to her feet, I started around the long way to get to Sheila. Getting closer to the front window, the stench of excrement¡ªvomit and shit¡ªwas overpowering. Just as the dark black of the open garage door came into view, another loud crash came from it. Curlers, now on her feet, snapped her attention to the sound.

    Shit, shit, shit!

    ¡°Hey! Over here, you ugly old bag!¡± I said. I couldn¡¯t risk her going after Eury. This was my only option.

    Curlers, incensed by my yelling, turned to face me and did something that I never thought I¡¯d see an old woman do.

    In the short run-up she had, she broke into a sprint, even though I had the table between me and her. The table, which I honestly thought she was going to run into when instead, she dove at the table, planting both hands followed by both feet on the wood surface, then like a tiger with its prey in reach, she launched herself at me.

    Well, fuck me ragged.

    The shock¡ªand mostly surprise¡ªrendered me completely still, allowing Curlers to barrel into me. I snapped out of it the moment my head hit the ground. The ringing in my ears deafened me to the snarling Curlers on top of me. Again. I struggled. Squirmed, but the old woman was sheer unpredictability and relentlessness.

    I couldn¡¯t end this barehanded, and there was no way I could get a weapon. In other words, I was screwed. At this moment, the best ending I could hope for was the one where Eury got out alive, and¡­ And I guess that was good enough.

    Here ends the Ballad of Leo Kelly¡ªmauled to death by a rabid old lady.

    I could only hope I paid back in full for what I did.

    My arms were burning with exhaustion, legs even more tired. I was getting so spent that I just wanted to scream and I couldn¡¯t even do that. It was as I was practically waiting to give up when I heard the sound of footsteps running on the hardwood.

    Finally, just get to safety already, Eury. Dying is tough work, you know?

    Once the footsteps stopped, I just assumed Eury left so let my arms finally give out. Curler¡¯s dripping wet, swollen maw fell down on me almost in slow motion.

    Thunk!

    Then the diseased-looking mouth stopped coming towards me. I looked to my left and saw what my savior was: a sharpened broomstick handle, driven through the soft fleshy woman, planted in the ground an inch above my shoulder at a sharp angle.

    ¡°Move!¡± Eury whispered as loudly as she could at me.

    For the third time that night, I got away from the snarling woman. This time though, she wouldn¡¯t be coming after me.

    She immediately proved me wrong. Falling onto her shoulder, the spear was pushed back out of her a little. The exhausted sounding Eury stumbled back from the old lady, the look of shock on her face matched mine.

    ¡°What the fuck is this going to take?¡± I asked, exasperated. Then it occurred to me.¡°Sheila!¡± While the woman stumbled to her feet, Eury looked on in horror.

    ¡°She¡¯s crying. She¡¯s¡­ She¡¯s in pain.¡± Her voice sounded so empty, so hollow.

    ¡°Get away from her!¡± I whispered back to her.

    I had to find Sheila. Fast. I jumped over the couch separating the dining room from the living room. I knew it was somewhere around here. And once I found it I could put her out of her¡ª

    Thwack!

    Thwack!

    Thwack!

    I whipped my head around in horror. Eury stood over Curlers¡¯ body, emotionless and still, with a bloody wrought iron fire poker in hand. Dark murky blood leaked from the gnarly gash over the woman¡¯s silver hair.

    I grabbed Sheila from where she slid under the coffee table, swiftly returned to Eury¡¯s side, and led her to the garage hallway. Without much prompting, she dropped the fire poker in the wagon¡¯s thick metal bottom. It landed with a twang, but she didn¡¯t so much as flinch while I did. I looked at her but there wasn¡¯t anything on her face. No sadness. No worry. Just nothing.

    Unlocking the front door, we cautiously made our way back across the street. But, this time, something was different. Maybe it was because we successfully defended ourselves; not that I could do it again so soon. Or maybe after leaving Alaska¡¯s, I was so worried about our first encounter with them, but just like that, all that anticipation and worry shaken up inside was now cracked open. Just kind of fizzled out. It wasn¡¯t like it was not as bad as I assumed it would be¡ªif anything, it was significantly worse¡ªreally, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like some sort of innocence was now gone. After all, we¡¯ve done the one thing I hoped to never do. I guess beyond that there wasn¡¯t much else that I could worry about.

    The moment we got back to Alaska¡¯s, Eury placed her end of the wagon down and walked past me, whispering something just before she broke into a run towards the stairs.

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    A single word that hit me worse than my throbbing hand. After a few moments of nothing, I walked over to the pantry.

    I found a roll of paper towels and carefully got to work cleaning the wagon by the moonlight. The work was slow. Boring. Repetitive. So much so, I almost nodded off several times, but I couldn¡¯t. I was locked into this moment, this feeling, and that¡¯s why I worked. I couldn¡¯t help but feel like trying to lay down now would be useless.

    <hr>

    It was sunrise when my body was finally exhausted. I had painstakingly cleaned every drop of blood from not only the wagon but Sheila and Eury¡¯s poker as well. After that, I organized all of the non-perishable food and jugs of water that we¡¯d be bringing with us. Once we got that huge tank into the cart, we¡¯d be able to pack it up. But that¡¯s work for after I¡¯ve gotten some shut-eye.

    I walked up the stairs, heading for Alaska¡¯s room which I took for myself. As I approached Eury¡¯s door, I held my hand back from knocking. Through the thin door, I heard exactly what I was hoping to avoid ever hearing again.

    The quiet sounds of Eury sobbing.

    May 21, 2019 - 5:32 AM

 12. Back then - Part 3

    December 19, 2009 - 12:42 PM

    Leo Kelly

    I sat down at Marcie¡¯s computer with my lunch and booted up MSN messenger. I had tried to call Wren last night after the dance but I assumed that she was already asleep by the time I got home. The moment I changed my status to online, Wren¡¯s changed as well. Then a second later, for the first time ever, Wren messaged me first.

    [Wrenahead says: Is that pic what I think it is?]

    Wren never was one to waste any time on pleasantries.

    [Leo~The~Lion says: I dunno! It looks like a teacher and a student, though. Doesn¡¯t it?]

    [Wrenahead says: u sure?]

    I went into my email and pulled up the photo that I had sent to Wren last night. It took a long time for Marcie¡¯s ancient computer to finally load it, but when it did, Wren had messaged me again.

    [Wrenahead says: No. Fucking. Way.]

    [Leo~The~Lion says: Wild right!]

    I looked closer at the blurry, dark photo. If I was being honest, there wasn¡¯t much there¡ªnothing concrete at least¡ªbut there was no denying what it looked like.

    [Wrenahead says: That fucking bitch!]

    Why was she mad all of a sudden? I put down my lunch and started reading, then re-reading our conversation so far.

    [Leo~The~Lion says: What? What¡¯re you talking about?]

    [Wrenahead says: Don¡¯t you see it? That¡¯s Mr. Davis! Tell me that¡¯s not.]

    [Leo~The~Lion says: I dunno, I didn¡¯t get into Bio 30.]

    [Wrenahead says: Right, I forgot you¡¯re an idiot.]

    [Leo~The~Lion says: Wow! Rude.]

    [Wrenahead says: Whatever. I¡¯m telling you, that¡¯s Davis, and that in his arms? I know that¡¯s that little bitch Eury.]

    [Leo~The~Lion says: Eury? Who¡¯s Eury?]

    [Wrenahead says: That little black slut! Eury Morrissey! The teacher¡¯s pet?]

    [Leo~The~Lion says: Ohh, the doll girl.]

    I wrote without thinking much. I hadn¡¯t given that girl, Eury, much mental attention since fall.

    [Wrenahead says: Doll girl? What the fuck are you talking about.]

    Oh shit. Think fast dipshit.

    [Leo~The~Lion says: It¡¯s nothing. Just a stupid joke. Do you really think it¡¯s her?]

    As I tried to pivot the conversation away, I leaned towards the hot monitor. I could feel the static build as I did.

    [Wrenahead says: I know it¡¯s her. And now, everyone else will see it too.]

    [Leo~The~Lion says: Everyone else? What are you talking about?]

    [Wrenahead says: I¡¯m just gonna take that bitch down a few pegs.]

    [Leo~The~Lion says: What do you mean?] I instantly felt myself begin to sweat. What had I done? [Wren! What do you mean?]

    [Wrenahead says: You¡¯ll see.]

    And with that cryptic message, she signed off.

    <hr>

    January 4th, 2010 - 8:20 AM

    Marcie decided to do me a solid and drove me to school the first day back from winter break. Even though she didn¡¯t have work that morning, we still arrived only a few minutes before the first bell.

    In spite of coming to school a handful of times over the break to help out Sully, it somehow felt like a brand new place that day. After the cryptic messages the day after the dance, I met up with Wren and she felt more like my girlfriend than ever before. A huge departure from the cool detachment that she usually had. So to say that I was actually looking forward to today would be a huge understatement.

    I rushed to the east-hall, out of the school and to the backfield. I desperately wanted to see Wren again. But once I got outside, I saw that she wasn¡¯t at the smoke pit. Instead, Wren, Teddy, and Jared were all in front of the old portables with someone I didn¡¯t recognize. A freshman probably. And it didn¡¯t look like this person was having fun.

    While we weren¡¯t exactly ¡°model students¡±, we weren¡¯t really into shaking down kids for their lunch money either. But, with the way Wren had acted lately, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she graduated to that sort of thing.

    I got closer to them as the cold wind picked up.

    ¡°Is that how you got such good grades?¡± Wren shouted down at the kid.

    She looked about ready to throw a punch, or maybe pounce on them. Although it definitely would not be the first time if she had, I¡¯ve never seen her this angry before. When the kid didn¡¯t respond, the silence just made Wren even angrier. And when Wren got angry, she was like a volcano about to explode, the pressure just silently built and built until exploding all over whoever was nearest.

    Teddy jumped in looking to fill the silence with some cheap jabs. ¡°Is it an arranged marriage or something? Don¡¯t you people do that kind of thing?¡±

    What the fuck are they talking about?

    At first I thought it had something to do with grades like, I didn¡¯t know, maybe she ratted on Wren or something. But then Teddy threw a spanner in the works and went on about arranged marriage? Jesus Christ. It was like watching two bipolar brain cells fire off at once.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± As if reading my mind, the girl finally responded.

    I joined my friends and stood beside them.

    ¡°I mean, you are Mrs. Morressiey¡¯s daughter, and it is like a whole thing between your kind, right?¡± Teddy accused her again. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    It was then I realized who they were talking to. Eury Morressiey, the little doll.

    She looked up from the ground. Tears ran down her cheeks, leaving a shimmering frozen streak down her face.

    She looked kind of pitiful. Like a child, who didn¡¯t quite understand what was happening.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything to say for yourself?¡± Wren shouted at her.

    ¡°Yeah! C¡¯mon, say something.¡± Teddy said, getting in her face, then he grabbed her binder from her arms and threw it on the snow.

    ¡°Hey!¡± She said, turning around quickly to grab the papers beginning to get wet.

    Teddy leaned forward and yelled down at the girl. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your husband-to-be to¡ª¡±

    I couldn¡¯t stop myself. I shoved Teddy hard, knocking him into the snow-covered mud. He screamed from the cold shock, and probably from the pain of landing face-first on the ground.

    I quickly ran over to the girl, only stopping to yell at Teddy, who was already getting back onto his feet. ¡°Are you fucking brain damaged or something, Teddy? If you had two brain cells to rub together, you¡¯d realize she¡¯s not Paki, you dumbass!¡± I turned to the girl. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You alright?¡± I said, offering her a hand up from where she knelt while she rapidly stuffed the rest of her papers back into her binder.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine! Don¡¯t touch me.¡± She swatted away my hand like I was nothing other than an insect buzzing over her. "And you saying that isn''t much fucking better, asshole." Realizing what she meant my temper was flaring in every direction, but somehow mostly at myself. A moment later she had her binder repacked and was already scurrying away towards the school. I watched her go, just trying to make some sort of sense of what was happening.

    ¡°What¡¯s your fucking problem, man?¡± Teddy shoved me back, but I managed to keep my footing.

    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s that about? Do you like her or something? She¡¯s just some dirty fucking black girl. Why do you care?¡± Wren¡¯s words stung like venom in my ears. I watched the girl speed away, holding herself closer than ever before.

    ¡°Shut up! I don¡¯t. I just¡­ It¡¯s just not¡­ That was just too far.¡± I said, yanking my pack of smokes out from my jacket.

    ¡°You owe me,¡± Teddy said, wiping the mud and snow from his ratty jacket. ¡°You know that my mom¡¯s gonna yell about the mud.¡±

    ¡°Here,¡± I said, flicking a cigarette at him like a dollar to a pestering homeless bum. ¡°Now shut the fuck up.¡± As I took a long drag, I made a point to avoid eye contact with Wren. There was no telling just how pissed she was and when she got like this. The last thing I wanted right then was for her to start yelling again and honestly, I was kind of pissed at her.

    It was from that moment on I was made aware of that girl. I almost ruined her life and didn¡¯t even realize it.

    <hr>

    June 14, 2011 - 4:02 PM

    For the rest of my junior and senior years, I worked to simultaneously avoid her and kept an eye out for her. There was enough guilt there that I didn¡¯t have much of a choice. In the end, she ended up becoming just it¡ªthat girl. The person that everyone knew but didn¡¯t really know anything about. Balancing that with skipping classes, my part-time job as a drug dealer, and trying not to piss off Wren, my life was more difficult than I could handle to be honest in addition to worrying about someone else. But eventually, it finally all came to an end. My day of reckoning was the final day of my senior year.

    I arrived at the last day of the school reeking of pot and cigarette smoke. Having zoned out through every class, I didn¡¯t even know why I bothered to show up. Maybe it was some sick need for me to rub it into my teacher¡¯s faces.

    Look! Here¡¯s your biggest failure this year: your¡¯s truly!

    After that last day of school, I sold to all my customers one last time on school grounds¡ªa tradition that I passed onto my juniors that year¡ªthen Wren, Teddy, and I all went and sat on that same rotten bench we had sat on every day for the last four years.

    ¡°God damn, that was cathartic,¡± Teddy said, blowing out the long drag he had just taken.

    ¡°Tell me about it. You know how long I was waiting to do that?¡± Wren said, turning over on my lap.

    I always loved it when she laid in my lap, sort of curled up like a cat. I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.

    ¡°How ¡®bout you, Leo? What¡¯chu do with all your stuff?¡± Jared, the junior member of our ¡°after-school-club¡± asked me.

    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean, ¡®my stuff?¡¯¡± I said, taking a drag from my cig.

    Wren sat up nearly knocking it out of my hand.

    ¡°Really?¡± She said with sneering smile. ¡°You seriously didn¡¯t clean your locker out? It¡¯s practically four already!¡±

    ¡°Do I have to?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Only if you don¡¯t have anything in there that you don¡¯t want Mr. Aino showing to the cops.¡±

    Oh fuck.

    I broke into a sprint across the quad for one last time.

    My locker was along the western side of the building¡ªa long way from the shop hall that I would have preferred¡ªand nearest to the science labs. Meaning that my kind of people weren¡¯t seen here often.

    Minutes later, with an armload of binders and doodled on paper, I walked down the hallway to the nearest trash can. After dumping the only evidence that I ever went to school here¡ªand pocketing the only evidence I had drugs on campus¡ªI began the long walk back to Wren and the boys. The sound of two people talking stopped me in front of the dark bio lab. They spoke quietly, so it was hard to hear exactly what they were saying, but I couldn¡¯t help but be curious. An abandoned classroom on the last day of school? Of course, I was interested.

    ¡°In a couple of days it won¡¯t matter anymore, so I don¡¯t see why it¡¯s a problem.¡± It was a girl¡¯s voice. And if things were going where I thought they were, I couldn¡¯t help but get a little excited.

    ¡°It¡¯s a problem because I¡¯m still your teacher. This is ridiculously inappropriate and I¡ª¡± The man was interrupted. I wasn¡¯t close enough to hear why exactly, but it was easy enough to guess.

    Ho-lee-sheit. Not only was this a secret rendezvous, but with a fucking teacher too! I couldn¡¯t believe it!

    ¡°Eury stop¡ªthis isn¡¯t¡ªstop!¡±

    Eury? Why did that name sound so familiar? Wait, wasn¡¯t that the name of that girl? The one who¡ª

    And with that, the last two years of half-heard rumours and gossip crystalized into truth.

    I could barely contain the deluge of thoughts that followed the realization.

    Mr. Davis, you are the biggest dipshit on the planet. Not only do you agree to meet with the one girl who it¡¯s common knowledge has a crush on you. But you, the one male teacher in all of Sheridan county who has these suspicions flying around, decide that it would be fine to meet here, now, and that¡¯s not even mentioning that you¡¯re in the empty bio-lab, in the empty school after the last day. Nothing could possibly go wrong here.

    He must be a genius.

    ¡°Stop it? Why?¡± Eury asked.

    ¡°Because it¡¯s inappropriate. I¡¯m still your teacher.¡± I couldn¡¯t really tell, but it seemed almost like he didn¡¯t even fully believe what he was saying.

    "How about you stop. You and I both know that after today, you¡¯re not my teacher anymore. You can¡¯t hide behind that anymore. I know the truth, I know what your heart truly feels.¡±

    ¡°How? How can you claim to know what I don¡¯t even know?¡±

    ¡°That uncertainty is exactly what I¡¯m talking about! You wouldn¡¯t feel like that if I was just your student.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re not my student, you¡¯re¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m what? Hmm?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re my friend.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± The girl¡¯s voice echoed into the empty hall. ¡°There¡¯s no fucking way that I¡¯m your friend after this. Make the decision right now, admit it or I¡¯m gone. There¡¯s no weaselling out of this now.¡± Eury got more and more agitated with every word. ¡°This is all that fucking rumour¡¯s fault, isn¡¯t it? You know who¡¯s behind it, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s that bitch Wren and her pot-head friends!¡± Her desperation was punctuated by the sound of choked-back tears.

    ¡°Eury, please. Just¡­ Just try to understand, please. What you¡¯re asking me to do is impossible. I just¡ª¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible for you to say that you care for me? It¡¯s impossible for you to be honest with me and reassure me that all the love I¡¯ve felt for you over the last four years hasn''t all just been a waste?¡± Eury said, reaching out for anything now begging for any scraps of emotion he had for her. And with every word I couldn¡¯t help but feel for her.

    ¡°I can¡¯t say that Eury, because it isn¡¯t the truth.¡± The wavering tone in Mr. Davis¡¯ voice gave away the truth of the matter. No matter what happened here, there was no winner. Even I could see that.

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± I heard a crash from within the classroom. Judging by Mr. Davis¡¯ response, he wasn¡¯t hurt. Not physically, at least. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m¡­ Don¡¯t.¡± Eury¡¯s words stammered out between deep sobs. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡±

    ¡°Eury. Wait.¡± Mr. Davis¡¯ voice was quieter than before, like he didn¡¯t really want to stop her. I can¡¯t say that I blame him however, not after that shit show.

    The girl that I had only barely known through rumours, gossip, and one terribly timed photograph stormed past me on her way out of the classroom. For a single moment our eyes met, and in that moment, I felt nothing but the utter despair and heartbreak that was surrounding the girl.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I stuttered out, not knowing what else to say.

    The moment I spoke, her face collapsed in on itself in utter agony. My heart broke at that moment. It wasn¡¯t my feelings being disregarded, and I wasn¡¯t the one being thrown aside, yet I couldn¡¯t help but feel every single ounce of despair that girl felt when I looked in her eyes.

    All that I could do was watch as she walked away leaving a dark scar of pain in her wake.

 13. Day 4 - Bright and too early

    May 21, 2019 - 3:34 PM

    Leo Kelly

    I actually managed to get some sleep during the day, which was fast becoming the norm. Asleep during the day, awake at night. I was practically nocturnal by now. I massaged my sore hand while I laid in bed staring up at the ceiling, meditating on all the times I fucked up in life.

    I really seemed to love making myself suffer¡ªespecially when it felt like I was regressing.

    The only upside to being drunk or high all the time was all the holes in the colourful tapestry that was my past. I would¡¯ve had a lot more regrets if I didn¡¯t. Even before I started waking up in gutters. But after high school and getting booted from my mom¡¯s house, it was almost always cloudy then. Like all the colour from the rainbow got washed out to a flat grey. The colour usually came back when I flirted with sobriety¡ªtwice at rehab and once at FCI Sheridan¡ªbut it never stayed long.

    I know I was plenty stupid as an arrogant teenager, never needed anything harder than weed to act like that. And, sometimes, it still felt like that same arrogant teenager was still fucking my life up.

    I stopped myself before I dove into the fresher wounds. I forced myself out of bed and started dressing. After rolling around in all that crap from last night, I made the effort to wash my clothes, but couldn¡¯t get it to smell quite right and the stains didn¡¯t go away right no matter how hard I scrubbed. And as much as I shuddered at putting them back on, these clothes were all I had, so I slipped into my stained black jeans and damp grey t-shirt.

    Gross.

    I looked for Eury on the main floor and in the garage, finding no one, leaving me to assume that she was still in her room. My eyes lingered on her door, with memories of last night playing on repeat.

    Eury sobbing behind that closed door.

    Jesus.

    Right when I crawled out of my hate spiral it dragged me right back in.

    I shook my head, needed to focus. There was work that had to be done.

    The first thing on my hit list was the goddamn wagon. The wheels rattled like crazy when it was empty. So, as a test, I grabbed a couple of potted plants from around the house and placed them in the cart. Then I took them for a walk. Around the living room at least.

    ¡°The test proved to be inconclusive,¡± I muttered into my hand like I had a voice recorder, nothing but a little stupid fun to amuse myself.

    While it was a lot quieter, it probably had more to do with the even surface of the floor than anything else. The wheels themselves weren¡¯t rattling but every time it ran over a small bump, there was still a loud ¡°pop!¡±. I stopped at the foot of the stairs where the foyer¡¯s tile met the living room¡¯s hardwood and carefully rolled the cart back and forth a few times before stopping.

    ¡°Maybe if I put something soft on the wheels?¡± I said into my non-existent recorder. ¡°Maybe I could slap some rubber on? But where would I get rubber though?¡±

    A floorboard creaked. I snapped my gaze up the stairs and saw Eury standing there. ¡°Just cover the wheels.¡± Eury said in a matter-of-fact way, ¡°something to dampen the sound would take away the issue. And if you measured it right, it wouldn¡¯t hinder the wheel¡¯s speed.¡±

    ¡°Cover them? Like, make a casing? ¡®Cause that¡¯s sort of what I was thinking.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I heard that. But that¡¯s not what I meant. Just a blanket would do. Hang it down the side to just above the ground. It¡¯ll take some work if you needed to take off or something, but it¡¯ll be much easier than anything else.¡± Eury said, looking the wagon up and down. ¡°Are there still those pepperoni sticks?¡± She asked, switching conversations quickly.

    ¡°Uuuh.¡± My mind took a second to readjust to the new conversation we were apparently having. I was too busy thinking about last night and her elegant solution to troubleshooting the wagon to follow her tangential thought. ¡°Yeah... I think?¡±

    She nodded and slipped past me. I glanced at her eyes as she passed and it was clear she hadn¡¯t been crying recently. Or, at least, not in the last little bit, which was a relief for me.

    After raiding Alaska¡¯s bed for her large duvet, I laid it out over the wagon, then tested it out again with the potted plants.

    ¡°That¡¯s not gonna work,¡± Eury said from the kitchen. She came back with two glasses of water and a pair of pepperoni sticks.

    ¡°You were the one who suggested it though?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and apparently I¡¯ll be the one who has to explain why that¡¯s gonna be a problem.¡± Handing me the refreshments, she walked over to the wagon and pulled it to the living room. Although the ¡°pop!¡± was muted now, there was a terrible scratching noise much louder than the wagon¡¯s wheels were before.

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm.¡± She said, walking to the wagon¡¯s side. ¡°Can you run upstairs? There are some big hair clips in Alaska¡¯s bathroom. Grab them for me.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    I zipped up the stairs. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little happy.

    I¡¯m useful to her now! If she hates me after last night, then this is at the very least a start.

    I returned with six snapping hair clips ranging from large to ridiculous. Eury had already done the majority of the work, putting the bulk of the duvet back into the wagon itself. All that was left was to line the edge of the cover with the ground and clipping it in place. She worked slowly, methodically, until it was all tightly clamped down. She stood up and admired her work beside me. The oxygen hissed as she breathed deeply.

    It¡¯s that much work for her and you just let her do it? Nice one.

    She side-eyed me and quickly grabbed her water.

    ¡°Shall I?¡± I said, offering to test out her dampener.

    I was worried about the handle because, from the way she had clipped the duvet, it really should have lifted the whole thing. A few seconds of seeing it in action though, I could see the care that she had put into the design. It was almost like the fabric around the handle¡¯s stem was a separate piece that was only tangentially related to the rest of the work.

    Other than a very muted ¡°pop¡±, there was barely any noise at all when I pulled the cart around the main floor for a grand tour.

    ¡°And, I¡¯d wager that sound you¡¯re hearing is because the hardwood is all connected. Outside, on the concrete, the sound won¡¯t travel as much.¡± Eury said with a mouthful of pepperoni stick. It was only after she finished talking that she realized and covered her mouth. ¡°Not half bad, huh?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say as much! Awesome job.¡± I smiled at her, but instead of reciprocating, she looked away.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to get my things together. When you have a chance, please help me move the LOX tank.¡± She said, quickly retreating up the stairs.

    Great. Perfect! Exactly what I was hoping for. Stonewall Eury. Good job, Kelly.

    I rubbed the sore joint in my hand again, sighing.

    <hr>

    A half-hour later, the two of us finally finished carrying the heavy tank down the stairs. And with a bit more struggling, we managed to get it on the wagon. The long tank hung over the edge of the wagon by a good two feet, but the cart still moved when we pulled it. I took that as a win since it was the only one I had so far that day. I tried a few times to chip away at Eury¡¯s icy front, only to get hit by her infamous glare. Not exactly how I was hoping this day would go.

    But what did I expect? I utterly failed to protect her.

    I shook my head as I ran back up the stairs¡ªit wasn¡¯t the time for me to wallow in self-pity. I collected the other two tanks as well as Eury¡¯s concentrator. Part of me wanted to offer to help carry the device with me, considering it really wasn¡¯t that heavy and I¡¯d rather not store all of Eury¡¯s essentials in one basket. Really, what would¡¯ve made me feel safest, was in addition to the one that she needed to carry with her, I¡¯d also carry one of the tanks and the concentrator too.

    But...

    But, if I asked her, She would just stare at me like I had five heads, or worse, look at me like I was planning something. Regardless, I kept my mouth shut and loaded them on the wagon. As I did, Eury dumped the first haul of food into the empty area of the wagon.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t gonna work.¡± She said looking down at the cart.

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°¡®Cause the moment we make a sharp turn or whatever, that thing is going to tip over and explode.¡± She said, pointing at the liquid oxygen tank.

    ¡°What do you suggest then? It won¡¯t fit diagonally.¡±

    ¡°Well, at the very least, we need to tie the thing down.¡±

    ¡°Okay. To the side here maybe?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if you want to make sure it flips over.¡± She said, shaking her head. ¡°We¡¯ll need to center the weight.¡±

    ¡°If we do that though, won¡¯t it just slide from side to side? Plus won¡¯t it take a ton of rope just to tie it down?¡± I said. A lot would be lost if we strapped it down in the center by tying it to the wagon¡¯s walls.

    ¡°Get me a screwdriver and a hammer,¡± Eury said. She was looking very intensely at the wagon, but a nagging part of me decided that she just avoided looking at me. A minute later, I returned from the garage with the tools but she was already working. She had removed the food that she had dumped into the wagon and doing something to the duvet with a kitchen knife. ¡°I¡¯m sure Alaska won¡¯t mind given the situation.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll¡ªI¡¯m sorry, what are you doing?¡± I said, watching her cut an X into the duvet cover. Then, she stabbed into the fabric, only for the knife to bounce off of the wagon¡¯s metal base.

    ¡°I¡¯m trying to cut a hole in this thing.¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± I traded the hammer and screwdriver for her knife. ¡°Let me.¡± I placed the knife at an angle, and holding the duvet in place, I slide the knife into the X she had already begun. The tip scraped against the base, but it did the job. ¡°This knife is dull as hell so¡ª¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± She said curtly.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± I got out of her way.

    She glanced up at me with an odd look.

    She pressed the tip of the screwdriver into the metal base of the wagon. Then, with a single test strike, she brought the hammer down onto the screwdriver handle. Instead of doing what I think she imagined, both the hammer and screwdriver jumped from the force.

    ¡°Woah!¡± For the first time today, she sounded like she had some life in her. ¡°That was unexpected, huh?¡± She looked at me. The moment our eyes made contact, she looked away. ¡°Do you mind doing this? I think I saw some rope in the garage.¡± She dropped the tools before I could respond before escaping to the garage. She returned after I poked two holes through the base.

    It took some doing, but I managed to thread the rope through the holes and back over the tank. Eury suggested that it would be for the best if I did both the front as well as the back, just to give it as much stability as possible. So, I redid both the front and back of the wagon. With the tank fully strapped down, we were finally ready to pack everything else in.

    The wagon was packed tight with the other oxygen tanks, extra clothes, food and water, as well as the other supplies including Sheila and Eury¡¯s fire poker. That was everything except for one small black bag¡ªthe concentrator. It had been with Eury¡¯s other things so I wasn¡¯t really paying much attention to it.

    ¡°So¡­ I was wondering.¡± She began.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll figure out¡ª¡± I interrupted, but she didn¡¯t seem to notice and continued talking.

    ¡°I was wondering if you wouldn¡¯t mind carrying my concentrator. I know we have the cart and everything, but just in case, I didn¡¯t want to be left without any options. I can even carry the batteries if it¡¯s too heavy¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yes! Absolutely not an issue.¡± I said, beaming. ¡°And don¡¯t worry about the batteries, I¡¯ve got them. Is there anything else you want me to carry?¡±

    I¡¯d like to think that it was because she saw my smile, but regardless, Eury finally smiled for the first time today.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s it. Thanks.¡± Eury looked away as I tried the bag, on. ¡°I¡¯ll trust you.¡±

    May 21, 2019 - 7:26 PM

 14. Day 4 - Leaving

    May 21, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 115 Hours / 4.79 Days - 9:13 PM

    Eury Morrissey

    ¡°Breathe.¡± I hissed at Kelly as he struggled to pull the wagon across the damp grass.

    It hadn¡¯t rained since I had gotten to town, yet Alaska¡¯s grass was still damp. I stopped pushing on my end the moment I ran out of breath. Kelly stopped as well.

    ¡°I. Am. Breathing.¡± He whispered back. Hands on his knees, straining to breathe.

    Since the wagon was more than a hundred pounds weighed down by the LOX tank and all our supplies, we thought carrying it down the single step in the back would be easier than banging down the several in the front. Which it was! For a single solitary moment, I felt smart. Then, while my brain engorged with my brilliance I quickly felt all of that confidence deflate the moment the lawn swallowed the wheels and we had to drag it through.

    After a few seconds of catching my breath, I gave him a thumbs up.

    *Ready?*

    Kelly nodded, grabbing the handle of the wagon again. It took a long time¡ªon account of all the breaks I needed¡ªbut we managed to get out of Alaska¡¯s backyard. The slanted front yard made it significantly easier to get the wagon to the sidewalk. It was careless getting out of the mud so fast¡ªwithout double-checking for any more of them¡ªbut I was too fed up to care in my moment of haste.

    Turning the wagon onto the sidewalk, Kelly quickly stopped and grabbed the handle of his sword. We both looked around for any movement. I hadn¡¯t seen any of them since last night, and even then it was just¡­ Curlers.

    And you sure did see a lot of her, didn¡¯t you?

    Just like last night, the street was empty.

    Kelly produced a page protector from within his windbreaker, unfolded it, then double-checked the map we made earlier today. I was the more artistic of the two of us so the cartography fell to me, but I had been away for long enough that everything but the main streets drew a blank. The path that we had decided on would see us head out of the ¡°¡®burbs¡± of Sheridan, down the river, across the bridge, and up Mainstreet to O¡¯Brian¡¯s, then to the clinic. And Kelly didn¡¯t like the plan, not one bit.

    The problem was, that no matter what he said, I still needed to go. I didn¡¯t know much about what happened to Alaska that night, but I did know two things: she was at O¡¯Brian¡¯s when this all turned to shit and that she headed for the clinic. There was no way for me to know if she made it to the clinic, and after Kelly¡¯s horror stories of that first night, I needed to do my best to retrace her steps. I needed to see if there was any trace of my best friend left in this insane world.

    To Kelly¡¯s credit, after telling him that, there wasn¡¯t much of an argument at all.

    O¡¯Brian¡¯s was on the way to the clinic from here anyway, so my reasons to go overturned any of his concerns.

    Unable to change my mind, Kelly focused on guiding me through the streets like a seeing-eye dog. Starting. Stopping. Leading me this way, then the next. This gave me a chance to think about the infection. I knew there wasn¡¯t much I could do to help them, but I had a responsibility to at least try and understand. They deserved that at least.

    All that I could gather from last night, was that they puked¡ªa lot. Perhaps a form of horizontal transmission to spread the disease? But at the same time, what kind of disease was this? The loss of fluids was comparable to cholera and Ebola, but neither of those turned anyone violent. Rabies might do something like that, but the onset of symptoms took time and none of those incubation periods were anything close the speed I saw this thing work at. My mind kept going back to drugs. There was just no time for this to be a disease¡ªCurlers proved that¡ªand a really, really bad trip would make so much more sense. I did understand biology better than Kelly, but I was no Davis. Sure, he was just a high school teacher in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere, however, he was by no means dumb. If anything he was the smartest man that I had ever met. At least when it came to scientific theory. Interpersonal relationships? Not so much.

    I was proud of how well our wagon was holding up. With everything tied down and stationary, the wheels dampened, it worked like a dream. The only thing that wasn¡¯t working as I hoped was my olive branch.

    I had asked Kelly to hold onto my concentrator as a sign of my trust.

    Or something like that. It was unclear¡ªeven to me. It just seemed right in the moment, but instead of being the opening salvo of a barrage of gratitude from me and apologies¡ªall that crap¡ªinstead, he chomped at the bit to help me and the conversation died the moment I saw that big stupid smile on his face.

    And think, you could¡¯ve gotten him killed. What does that make you?

    Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

    I watched as the concentrator¡¯s bag bounced off of his hip with every step. And with every step, I felt myself getting more and more flush. This wasn¡¯t going well. And now that we¡¯re out here, there was no way for me to even talk to him! I needed to explain myself. Not that I even knew how to.

    Why couldn¡¯t I have met you in high school or something? Maybe then somebody I actually wanted to see would¡¯ve shown up to the hospital when I got sick. Maybe then I wouldn¡¯t be as thorny as I am these days. Maybe then¡ª

    Suddenly, Kelly crouched low, moving slowly to put the cart between him and the street beside us. After a beat, I realized that I was still standing in full view of whoever Kelly was hiding from. I dropped down beside him and started scanning the street.

    ¡°What do you¡ª¡± The moment I began to whisper, Kelly looked at me, a single black-gloved finger pressed hard against his covered face, then his attention went back to the street. He watched for a few seconds before he relaxed slightly. I placed my hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Without looking at me, he pointed out the space between two houses. Laying between the buildings looked like a pile of... Snow?

    I leaned closer, trying in vain to get a better look.

    While it did, in fact, look like a pile of dirty snow¡ªwhite with black chunks of mud¡ªthe angles on the pile looked too crooked. And then the pile moved. It was a small pile of people, not snow.

    I couldn¡¯t tell how many there were, but the first couple, both wearing white clothes¡ªjackets maybe?¡ªshifted in the pile before falling still again.

    Were they... sleeping?

    I entertained the possibility in my head. If they were sleeping, then maybe they¡¯d also need to eat and drink. Like any human would fundamentally need to survive. That could explain why they were going after people, fresh meat? Oh god, that¡¯s¡ª

    Suddenly, my bubble of thought popped when Kelly pulled his sword from its sheath. Apparently, he didn¡¯t think we¡¯d be in the clear for long so any more scientific inquiries would have to wait. I grabbed my fire poker and looked to Kelly. After another few seconds of watching, he stayed low and began to pull the cart down the street.

    The pile of people stayed, more or less, still. As we slowly rolled past. Following Kelly¡¯s lead, I stayed hunched over behind the cart with my eyes glued on them. I silently thanked past-us for draping a dark blanket over the cart. Hopefully, that was enough to help us blend into the fence behind us, the small hope that kept me focused and calmed. By the time we made it to the end of the street, and by extension the end of the suburbs, we were still alone. I released the sweaty grip I had on the handgun at my hip.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Turning onto North Bridge street, I finally saw exactly why my dad wouldn¡¯t have been able to come. The road¡ªthe four-lane thoroughfare crossing the river¡ªwas littered with cars across the majority of it. Most looked as if they had just been in minor accidents while others looked significantly worse. The windshields and windows that appeared to be bashed in. It looked like a group of them came through and tore into the cars. But that didn¡¯t explain the few windows that were bashed out.

    As we pulled the wagon through the wreckage, a particular car caught my attention. It was a minivan, the front window was caved in like it crashed into someone. What got me to stop were the three holes that had been punched into the window. I couldn¡¯t be sure it had been ¡°punched¡± in but the holes were only a bit bigger than my fist. The edge of one of the holes was ringed by dark blood as well. As I leaned my head closer to the hole, Kelly grabbed me by my shoulder and pulled me away.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look.¡± His wispy breath was visible in the cold night air. ¡°We need to keep moving.¡±

    When he spoke, something inside of the van responded. The howl was higher pitched, squealing almost, more wild than anything I had ever heard. It stabbed at something in my mind¡ªdeep into the reptilian part of my brain. I had to do something, now, but the wagon with my fire poker was too far away.

    I grabbed the handgun from the holster.

    ¡°Eury, no.¡± Kelly¡¯s voice was quiet but harsh. ¡°Leave him.¡±

    Him?

    Far away, more of them called out to the deafening scream. It was difficult to see through the dark side-window but the way he moved¡ªthe tiny flailing arms¡ªI knew I couldn¡¯t leave it there like that.

    Kelly tried to pull me past the van again.

    ¡°We can¡¯t leave him.¡± I pulled against Kelly¡¯s grip.

    It felt like every scream, every wail that echoed off the buildings around us, a fog got thicker and thicker in my mind.

    ¡°Do you not hear him? Can¡¯t you just¡­ Can¡¯t you tell?¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s¡ª¡± I jerked my arm out of his grip.

    ¡°He¡¯s sick and they¡¯re coming. If we don¡¯t go now, we¡¯ll be dead. Do you want that?¡± Kelly¡¯s eyes stayed on the south side of the bridge.

    ¡°I¡­ Okay. Let¡¯s go.¡± I said, keeping the gun in my hand. I hesitated only a second longer. Then through the worry and uncertainty, the thought came to me.

    End it.

    My grip on the handgun grew slick with sweat. I watched the tiny wailing form only get more and more manic as the seconds passed.

    Do it. Shut that little fucker¡ª

    ¡°Eury!¡± Kelly¡¯s voice blasted through the fog that clouded my mind. ¡°Put the fucking gun down!¡± Kelly called out to me. My arm dropped to my side, the weight of the gun felt like a hundred pounds. ¡°They¡¯re coming, let¡¯s go!¡± Kelly didn¡¯t whisper anymore. His voice rang loud in my ears as a headache began to pound on my skull like a drum.

    I didn¡¯t look back. Just turned to run after Kelly, who started running towards the south end of the bridge. I could only get a few feet away from the van before my lungs started to burn. A few more yards before I had to slow down to a jog.

    ¡°Just lea¡ª¡± I began to call out to Kelly but stopped when loud howls came from the north end of the bridge.

    They were here.

    I had done this to myself. It wasn¡¯t fair for me to risk his life again, just for mine. As I crossed the halfway point of the bridge, I watched Kelly pull the wagon to the side and withdraw his sword.

    ¡°Get out of here!¡± I called out to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re already halfway! Get over here.¡± He hissed back at me, barely audible over the sound of the wailing.

    ¡°Leave!¡± I turned around. Gun raised. Taking aim at the first of two figures sprinting toward me. My breath wheezed, making it difficult to steady my aim. Fucking lungs.

    Deep, calm breathing. In. Out. In. Out.

    A quarter way down the bridge. I drew a bead on a figure as he barrelled over the hood of a car. I tried my best to drown out the screeching sound droning from the van in front of me.

    In, out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t pull the trigger unless you¡¯re absolutely sure.¡±

    I was, I had no choice. They left me no choice. Sure they sleep, but wasn¡¯t enough to make them human by itself.

    In, out.

    I waited. Waited for them to cross the threshold. The car in front of the van served as my demarcation line.

    In. Out.

    The second one stumbled as he rounded the trunk of the car. As the first, a man in a plaid shirt and blue jeans, crossed between the two vehicles, it was like time slowed down. It wouldn¡¯t be like that nightmare. This would work. This will work. I lined up his face with my sights. Just like Curlers, he too was crying.

    Were they in pain?

    My concentration shattered when metal clattered loudly against the asphalt a few feet behind me.

    How the hell did they get behind me?

    I spun around, my gun still raised, only to lower it as Kelly rushed past me.

    ¡°No!¡± I yelled at him, but he didn¡¯t stop. Again, for the second time in two days, he threw himself into danger. ¡°You stupid¡ª¡± I began as I stuffed the handgun away in the holster. ¡°What the fuck are you doing!¡± I ran over to the fire poker.

    As Kelly''s blade struck deep into the plaid man¡¯s neck, dark blood sputtered out of the slice. Then, he backed away from the man as he shambled forward another step. Fire poker in hand, I took the low road and swiped at the man¡¯s knees. His head slammed hard into the ground with his legs buckled.

    ¡°Get the... hell¡­ out of here.¡± I said, out of breath. Holding my breath while I aimed that gun took even more out of me than I realized.

    When the second man, bald and wearing a white shirt stained in blood, arrived, I moved without thinking¡ªI was too angry for that¡ªand swung hard at the man¡¯s bloated face. He dropped like he ran into a brick wall. I leaned over, wheezing for air.

    In the distance, rumbling under the child¡¯s wails, I could hear more distant howls. ¡°Now, get going. I¡¯m just going to slow¡ªHey what the hell!¡± I said as I suddenly found myself being carried.

    In my exhaustion, I couldn¡¯t put up a fight when Kelly scooped me up in his arms. And started jogging towards the cart.

    ¡°Can you hold this?¡± He slapped the sword against my thighs.

    ¡°I¡ªyeah, okay.¡± I awkwardly took the sword, alongside my fire poker.

    It¡¯s too bad you decided to get out of that dress of yours. You could¡¯ve really pulled off the helpless damsel here.

    ¡°Can you put me down?¡± I said, as my wits finally returned to me.

    With no hesitation in his response, he said, ¡°Can you run?¡±

    I was not as quick to respond. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯m carrying you.¡±

    We crossed the end of the bridge, now a few feet from the intersection.

    ¡°Why? Why didn¡¯t you just listen when I told you to run?¡±

    ¡°Because¡­ Because I owe you, I¡¯m not just letting you die for no reason.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sacrificing myself just because. I was doing it to make it up to you. Plus, that all was my fault anyway.¡±

    ¡°Last time I checked, this partnership didn¡¯t come with a suicide pact. You hear?¡± He deposited me on the sidewalk beside the wagon. ¡°Are you okay to move?¡± He asked, taking his sword back.

    To my surprise, I actually was. The few moments of being carried in his arms helped me catch my breath. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ¡°This way.¡± He said, leading me towards the shops that backed onto the river.

    The moment Kelly returned his sword to its sheath on the wagon, I heard a clear howl. And it didn¡¯t come from the north side of the river. Just beyond the first few shops off Bridge street. As clear as a ringing bell over the still night air. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    He began pulling the wagon quickly down the sidewalk. This time, we switched our focuses. His eyes were laser-focused on the shops in front of us while I was scanning each of the street inlets around us, as well as the north side of the river. Kelly picked up the pace as another howl echoed off the buildings.

    ¡°They¡¯re coming,¡± Kelly said quietly. He peeled away from me, getting to the first brick building that was the first shop of the strip. Now behind the corner, Kelly looked back at me, concern splashed across his face like neon paint.

    ¡°Go,¡± I said, still managing a slow jog. As he turned towards the shop front, my vision began to blur at the edges.

    Tunnel vision. Again. For christ¡¯s sake.

    I just kept my focus on his back. That was, until a scream louder, deeper, more anguished than any before emanated from the North side of the river. Unconsciously, I turned towards the sound and watched as a pack of them sprinted down the riverbank road, heading towards the bridge.

    May 22, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 112 Hours / 4.67 Days - 12:24 AM

 15. Day 5 - What next?

    May 22, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 112 Hours / 4.67 Days - 12:24 AM

    Eury Morrissey

    Kelly grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the propped open door of the shop. Inside, he closed and locked the glass door, but I could still hear howls and screeches they were making.

    After double-checking the door, Kelly leaned in close to my ear and whispered, ¡°I need you to go first, find somewhere to hide. If you see something or someone, shout.¡± His hot breath against my ear caused static ripples down my neck.

    I nodded without thinking. Kelly¡¯s lips disappeared as he nodded solemnly.

    I took a moment to take stock of our new surroundings. The building that we picked was a clothing store. Specifically, it looked like a baby clothing store. This was good for us since none of the racks were tall enough to hide in. But, that fact worked both ways and the lack of big, vision-obscuring racks meant we would have a harder time finding anywhere to lay low. Other than maybe the few aisles of shelves that made up the back of the store.

    When it became clear none of them followed us to the shop, I hugged the side wall, and led us deeper into the store to avoid any window shoppers looking for their next meal.

    I quickly regretted agreeing to go first. There was no way to know what, or who was waiting in the confines of long shadows. But that was all animal instincts compared to the real threat at the front, so I pressed onward to the back wall of the store. Reaching the dark back corner, I saw an opportunity, a simple wooden door at the opposite end of the wall. One that could have been our salvation. I didn¡¯t know whether I should have breathed a sigh of relief or hold my breath. Whether it was our safe room or not, there were still the aisles to worry about that. The ones that opened to the maze that was the rest of the store.

    Whoever designed this shopfloor deserved to be shot.

    I slowly approached the first aisle. Peeked around the corner. And then thankfully found it empty. That being said, it did give me a good look at the glass storefront and the street beyond. Thankfully, it too was empty. Aisle after aisle. Nothing. No-one. The street was still empty, but I could hear the howling from them a little better.

    As I approached another aisle, I heard a loud crash of broken glass and the whine of twisting metal outside cut through the quiet. I stopped, stared down the aisle.

    Had they broken into the shop? Or was it...

    For a tense few seconds, I stood there. Waited. Lungs craving more O2 than my cannula provided.

    But nothing came.

    I assured myself that they weren''t coming. A lie to be sure, but there was only one more aisle. We were almost at the door. So close to safety. I continued on to the last aisle and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that like the others, it too was empty. I quickly opened the door for Kelly, letting him go first as I stood guard. But as he struggled to get the cart through the small door, my heart stopped.

    Across the street, a pair of tearful eyes appeared, looking directly at me. It was as if my entire body was suddenly flooded with adrenaline. My heart began to pound as I stood as still as possible. A storm of O2 rushed through cannula as I tried and failed to breathe. The woman shuffled slowly across the street toward the shop, never taking her eyes off of me. But when the cart banged against the back door, the woman writhed slightly, breaking her hungry glare, her attention-drawing towards the front door instead.

    ¡°Shhh,¡± I whispered.

    Kelly froze. Thankfully silent.

    Her eyes flowed almost indecisively between me and the front door of the shop, never stopping on either one for long.

    Could she not see me? We were in the dark, maybe between the glare of the glass and the shadows we were hidden.

    ¡°Leave the cart,¡± I whispered again.

    Kelly quietly emerged from the door with a confused look on his face. I pushed my hand down.

    *Leave it.*

    He nodded, then his eyes widened. I turned slowly to see what grabbed his attention.

    A man had joined the woman at the window, looking inside, but seemingly more interested in what the woman was doing rather than us.

    I felt slight relief at the fact that he couldn¡¯t see us too. Or at least he was too distracted to.

    Then, just as suddenly, another man joined them. Then another. Then one more. Before I even realized, five of them, hands pressed against the glass, were skulking and hunting for us. I was frozen. Another torrent of O2 rushed into my nostrils as fear gripped my lungs. Kelly, having not let himself be paralyzed by his own fear, laid a soft hand against my shoulder and gently guided me first into him, then through the door.

    After carefully pushing the cart out of the way, he gently shut the door behind us. In the dark, he put a single finger against my lips. I felt his hand travel down my arm, slowly. The fear that I had running around in my chest transformed into a wholly different kind of anxiety.

    His hand stopped when it met the cold iron of the fire poker in mine. With a meaningful shake, he let go.

    Grow up, Eury.

    I heard his clothes rustle as he prepared something, then, with a click, the small backroom was lit up by his flashlight. The sudden flash of light made me jump as I frantically looked to the darkened corners and edges.

    My subconscious couldn¡¯t accept that we were alone here. So, I kept searching as Kelly advanced into the backroom. Down a small hall made by the void between the shelves that lined the wall, and the cardboard boxes of packed merchandise.

    Opposite to the door into the back room, there were another two rooms. Kelly used his sword to open the first. Satisfied, he progressed to the second. Opening it, he quickly walked inside, taking the light with him. As I found myself in darkness again, I felt an odd sense of relief. With the return of the darkness, the return of the quiet, I was alone, and somehow, I felt safe. The seconds passed quietly. Eventually, the muscles in my legs thawed allowing me a few trepidatious steps toward the room at the back. My legs were exhausted like I had run a mile in a minute.

    The soft glow of the flashlight spilled out of the open door. Inside, it was silent.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    That¡¯s relieving.

    Walking inside, I was greeted by an interesting sight. Kelly sat on a comfortable looking rolling chair, legs resting open, with his head laying back like his neck was broken. I slowly closed the door behind me. I spoke the moment the door shut.

    ¡°I think we¡¯re¡ª¡±

    ¡°Uggghhh.¡± Kelly interrupted me with a long, drawn-out sigh.

    ¡°¡ªfine to talk. You okay?¡± I asked but he didn¡¯t even look up.

    ¡°Yeah. I''m good." Kelly responded, in an unconvincing monotone.

    After taking off my bag, and untangling my cannula from the straps I took a seat on a small foldable chair. It felt like my knees fell off my body as my muscles finally, fully relaxed. We sat in near silence for a few minutes. The only sound being the sound of oxygen being forced into my nose, and Kelly¡¯s laboured breathing.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± I asked again, finally looking at him.

    He leaned forward in his chair and looked at me. It was like he had just finished a marathon. Exhausted, probably dehydrated, most likely hungry¡ªjust like me¡ªalready desperate to call it a night, even though we only just started.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± He repeated, in the same monotone.

    I lightly kicked his chair. ¡°Okay, seriously, what the hell¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°It''s just¡­ I¡¯m just¡­ I¡¯m tired I guess.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that was¡­ pretty hectic.¡± I chose my words carefully.

    ¡°You could say that.¡± As he leaned further forward, it was like a switch flipped in him. Gradually, his affable demeanour began to rise to the surface like scum on broth. ¡°You could also call it a cluster-fuck. But hey, tomato, tamato.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you run when I told you to?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I thought I already answered this.¡±

    ¡°No, you just turned it around on me,¡± I said pressing the issue.

    ¡°And then, I called us both suicidal idiots, or something like that, didn¡¯t I?¡± Kelly responded.

    ¡°Idiot or not, why didn¡¯t you run?¡±

    Kelly screwed up his face, confused like logic left the room. ¡°Because then you would¡¯ve been hurt. Or worse. And god knows what using that gun would¡¯ve done.¡±

    I crossed my arms. ¡°It would¡¯ve done what guns usually do.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, go boom and probably bring down the whole infected population of Sheridan for a fancy feast party. Not a great plan, unless you haven¡¯t figured that out.¡±

    ¡°...I have.¡±

    ¡°Also, in case you¡¯ve forgotten in O2-deprived noggin, I¡¯m not looking to let you die. And I promise that I¡¯m gonna do everything in my power to keep you safe while I keep you alive. Physically and mentally.¡±

    Mentally?

    Far too late for that isn¡¯t it?

    Kelly continued, ¡°I just¡­ I want to make it up to you, and right now, this is all that I can do. And I¡¯m not gonna let this chance slip through my fingers again.¡±

    Again?

    ¡°Make it up to me? What the hell are you going on about?¡± Kelly looked away from me which made me more curious. ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°it''s nothing, I¡¯m just pissed at myself is all.¡± He massaged his hand. ¡°I fucked up last night, then I nearly messed it all up again. I just keep getting you hurt.¡±

    ¡°Hurt? How have I been hurt?¡± I wasn''t enjoying the cryptic talk.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie. Not for my sake. I heard you yesterday, I know.¡± Kelly looked at me with remorse in his eyes.

    ¡°Know? What the hell are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°I heard you crying last night! Plus you¡¯ve been pissed at me all day because of what happened last night, and¡ª¡±

    ¡°Pissed? Oh god.¡± That was how he saw that? I was trying to be nice. ¡°I¡¯m not angry at you. I¡¯m angry at myself!¡±

    Kelly¡¯s eyes flung open, shocked. For fuck''s sake, of course, that¡¯s how he¡¯d see it.

    ¡°Because of... what happened with Curlers?¡± What started out as a statement quickly became a question as he asked it.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve at least got that part right,¡± I said.

    ¡°Then you are angry. I knew¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut up please,¡± I said, interrupting him. ¡°I¡¯m angry and upset about what happened last night, you¡¯re¡ª¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s wh¡ª¡±

    ¡°I told you to be quiet for a second. I¡¯m upset with myself, about what happened, and to tell you the truth, it makes me even more mad that I made you think I was mad at you.¡± I said, staring at my boots. They were soaked. I didn¡¯t even remember going through any puddles. ¡°I¡¯m mad because I almost got you killed, all for me. All because I made a stupid mistake. I¡¯m so sorry. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt because, if you haven¡¯t noticed, I can¡¯t do this without you.¡±

    A few seconds later, I looked back up at Kelly, who was staring at me. Without blinking.

    ¡°Can you stop it? You¡¯re being creepy.¡± I said, trying to break the tension a little.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I was just joking.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s all of this. It¡¯s a fucking nightmare. I just wish that I could wake up from it soon.¡±

    ¡°God, I know what you mean.¡±

    Finally, for a few sweet minutes, we were quiet, and I felt a huge weight of tension float off the both of us.

    But then, Kelly began to chew on his thumbnail again.

    Why¡¯s he nervous now? He wasn''t the only one though. There was something about being back here alone with him.

    ¡°So,¡± He hugged his knees closer to his chest as he spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t really know how to ask you this.¡±

    ¡°Spit it out,¡± I said, I could feel my blood pressure rising. Was it excitement or anxiety?

    ¡°Do you¡­ Do you hate kids or something?¡± What the hell? Was that a weak-ass proposition or something? Not really the best line to open open things up with.

    ¡°What? I mean I¡¯m flattered but¡ª¡± I began, but I was interrupted by his laughter.

    ¡°No! I mean, don¡¯t flatter yourself but that¡¯s not what I was talking about.¡± Before continuing, he looked back up at me with a genuine smile. I couldn¡¯t help but notice the worry that still lingered in his eyes. ¡°Thanks for that though.¡±

    ¡°For letting you turn me down, or?¡±

    ¡°For making me laugh a little. Things have been¡­ really terrible and then¡­¡± He trailed off.

    ¡°Then what?¡±

    ¡°Then the bridge happened.¡±

    ¡°The van, you mean?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Even though it hadn''t been half an hour, thinking back to it now, it almost felt blurry in my mind.

    ¡°What was that even about?¡± He asked.

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t really know. I barely even remember, to be honest.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t remember it? You were standing there holding that gun at¡ªIt doesn¡¯t matter, it was like you were possessed or something.¡±

    ¡°Possessed?" I asked before seeing the similarities. "I mean, that is a way to put it."

    ¡°Like the Manchurian candidate or something?¡± He glared at me warily. ¡°You¡¯re not actually crazy or something, are you?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. But in a way I sort of feel like I am.¡± I fidgeted with the cannula tube. ¡°I don¡¯t really know.¡±

    ¡°The brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Go go go." He said, with a smile. "Is that your kill phrase or something?"

    I leaned over and flicked his head.

    ¡°Ah! That hurt.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a sleeper agent, you parasite. I just don¡¯t feel like myself. It¡¯s just that since I¡¯ve been back here since all of this began, I just¡­ Everything just feels wrong.¡± I collapsed back into my chair. ¡°I feel like maybe I¡¯m starting to become like them?¡±

    ¡°Them? You can¡¯t be serious, right?¡± I nodded.

    He shook his head. ¡°Then you must be crazy because you aren¡¯t anything like them. I¡¯d know. It¡¯s not like I¡¯d stick around if I thought that you were. Whatever¡¯s wrong with you¡ªif there¡¯s anything wrong with you¡ªit ain¡¯t whatever¡¯s happening out there. When would you have gotten sick anyway?¡±

    ¡°My dad thinks that it might be in the water, or the air or something,¡± I mumbled.

    Maybe he''s right? Maybe I''m not infected like them, and maybe all these thoughts, those almost actions, maybe they''re just me. Am I really just going crazy then?

    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± He said definitively.

    ¡°How can you be sure?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡­ I saw it. First hand. I know what it looks like. I know the symptoms. And you don¡¯t have it.¡±

    ¡°The symptoms? You said that you didn¡¯t know!¡±

    ¡°And I lied to you!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Why? Yeah, why wouldn¡¯t I want to relive some of the worst weeks of my fucking life? I wonder.¡±

    ¡°Weeks?¡± There was no way that this has been going on for weeks. This sort of thing? Alaska would have known about it long before I even got here if that was the case. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. I¡¯ve seen them change. It takes hours, not weeks.¡±

    "It wasn''t quick at first.¡± As he spoke, it looked like the emotion of the memories were starting to get to him.

    ¡°At first?¡± A part of me was unwilling to press him, but at the same time, there was that same feeling, that need to know. ¡°Did you know them well?" The question I really wanted to ask was whether or not they were addicts or not, but I knew better than that.

    Kelly nodded slowly. His eyes still, empty.

    ¡°Oh god, Kelly, I¡¯m so sorry,¡± I said, standing up. In my haste, my cannula came loose, but I ignored it. By the time I made it to him, tears had begun streaming down his face. I brought him into my arms, his sobs muffled as I pressed his head into my stomach. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± But I knew the right words to say weren¡¯t there. Because the reality was, there was nothing that I could say that would make this right.

    It took a long time, but eventually he finally stopped crying. Not much longer after that we created a bed out of clothes and laid down for the night. There was no way we could continue on for tonight. Not like this.

    May 22, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 111 Hours / 4.63 Days - 1:24 AM

 16. Day 5 - Moonstones

    May 22, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 109 Hours / 4.54 Days - 3:02 AM

    Eury Morrissey

    Two hours later, my eyes were still wide open while Kelly tossed and turned restlessly with his back against mine before finally rolling over onto his stomach, leaving me both cold and awake. Part of my mind told me to get back closer to him¡ªhe was so warm after all¡ªbut at the same time, the exhausted part of my mind saw this as the opportunity that it was.

    As quietly as I could, I stood up, slipped on my O2 tank, and collected the flashlight and my fire poker. I slinked out of the office, only turning the flashlight on after I lightly closed the door. I couldn¡¯t help but be nervous as I walked to the only other door in the back room. I liked to think it was the lack of sleep.

    I closed the bathroom door with the same, if not more, care than the door to the office. I did my business as fast as my sympathetic system allowed, only taking a long moment to double-check the seams of the door before flushing.

    After washing my hands in the sputtering sink¡ªwhich I took as a bad sign¡ªI checked my O2 tank under the flashlight. I was already three-quarters of the way through this one.

    That left me with two choices: grab the concentrator Kelly had brought with him into the office; the easy, but dumb decision, or go and get the cart from the storefront; the hard and still dumb decision. The concentrator was enticing¡ªplus it meant I could go back to sleep faster¡ªbut it would mean using up the very limited battery supply. But if I grabbed the cart, it would be dangerous if I made any noise. I could always ask Kelly to help me out. But, it did take him quite a long time to get to sleep, so that was not a great choice either.

    It only took me a moment to decide on the cart. It was right in front of the door, and it had been hours since all that craziness outside. Plus, if things went south like the magnetic poles suddenly got turned on its head, I still had the handgun. But I wouldn¡¯t let it get that far though. If things did get out of hand, I¡¯d close the door and get Kelly before I started fancying myself a cowboy. The one-lunged gunslinger of Sheridan just didn¡¯t have a ring to it. Regardless of everything else and of what happened before, he and I both proved ourselves more than willing, and more than capable to do what needed to be done.

    And just what does that say about you?

    Carefully, I opened the door to the storeroom. Flashlight off. The majority of the shop was dark, even in spite of the moonlight. Instinctively, I looked to the window and the street beyond. Seeing that none of them were walking around gave me a little more confidence.

    I stuffed a baby-shoe from a nearby rack under the door, then, carefully guided the cart in. Surprisingly, it was easier than I anticipated. But it was while I slowly closed the door behind me when something caught my eye.

    Inside the backroom, I quickly changed tanks and attached the almost empty one to the LOX. Returning my bag to my back, my tired feet were guided back out to the storefront.

    Just beyond the window, I saw them. Two to be precise, a man with a woman in his arms, laying on the uncomfortably thin grassy planter. It couldn¡¯t have been comfortable, yet they were there. Their faces tear-stained and bruised. I took another step towards the window. Too close, some portion of my mind told me but I disregarded it. The woman¡¯s hair was broken and wild, some portions shortened down to the scalp while others were long enough to reach her shoulders.

    Why?

    The woman curled further into the man¡¯s arms. Shivering. Of course, she was. It was so cold, my breath turned to vapour. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the shivering. It was just an autonomic response, after all. Like how a person breathed without conscious input. Rather, it was the way that she was held, cradled in the man¡¯s arms.

    I took another step. Close enough to the storefront that I could see my transparent reflection.

    The man¡¯s arms were bloated, purple and black like he had been beaten. His body ravaged by the sickness.

    If they bruised, then their blood was still pumping. Heart beating. And even though they didn¡¯t look like it, it meant they were still alive, beholden to their human physiology like the rest of us. Just like me.

    It was ironic. My wish finally came true in a way. Now everyone knew what it was like to be sick. I won¡¯t be the center of attention when I walk down the street anymore. At least, not for my cannula, anyway.

    My breath fogged up the glass. I didn¡¯t know why I got so close. Curiosity? Sure. But when I saw their forms intertwined, I couldn¡¯t help but cry. Then, as quickly as the tears came, the world began to spin. Without even thinking, my hand reached out to the window to support myself.

    A bass sound boomed out from the glass. I quickly pulled my hand away, standing still. My world was still spinning, but the sudden reaction from the pair of them oriented my focus instantly. Suddenly, the woman¡¯s eyes were open, looking in my direction. Even though I was standing exposed in the moonlight, it was like she couldn¡¯t see me. When she twisted her head farther than naturally, I saw why. Her eyes were milky clouds of white streaked with shocks of red. The white moonlight orbs looked more like polished stones than anything else. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    I slowly stepped back into the shop, slipping back into the dark, as the man stirred under her. The pair of them uncurled from one another. Then, slowly stood. Step by step I disappeared further into the shop, never prying my eyes off of them. The two spread out, skulking around the sidewalk in front of the store, hunting for me.

    Holy shit.

    They really couldn¡¯t see.

    In the back office, I laid back down, going over everything I learned from that little incident. Firstly, they weresick. Still normal people, in a way. Secondly, if they were just sick and this wasn¡¯t some sort of undead curse or something more insane, it meant they probably needed to adhere to human biology. And thirdly, the realization that put the smile on my face, assuming the two observations were correct, they still needed food, water and air.

    Twenty-one days without food.

    No way you¡¯ll make it that long.

    A few minutes without air.

    Something you¡¯re more than familiar with right?

    But, at most, one week without water.

    They had an expiration date, and sure it was a lot longer than mine, but I was smart enough to make it.

    My mind raced with excitement.

    One week. That was it. I just needed to make it for that long until all of this would blow over.

    One week.

    But...

    But, I couldn¡¯t exactly be sure of that. With around four days of O2 left, I needed to know that I¡¯d make it. So, I turned my O2 down to sixty-percent before I rolled over, looking at the slow rise and fall of Kelly¡¯s chest. Just one week, and then, maybe all of this would be back to normal. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what will happen then?

    May 22, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 109 Hours / 4.54 Days - 3:20 AM

    <hr>

    May 22, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 98.8 Hours / 4.11 Days - 8:30 PM

    Kelly led the way out of the shop. Even with their expiration date, there was no way that we could stay there, no matter how safe and cozy it was. My dad was still coming into town any day now, and Alaska was still out there somewhere.

    I tried telling Kelly why I had to keep my O2 low, however, he was not having it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, what the hell are you talking about?¡± He asked, following my explanation.

    I could understand him being upset. From his perspective, we had agreed to keep my O2 high, but I decided to turn my O2 down to 60% last night. I awoke to my air pressure spiking with O2 forced into my nose like I stuck my head out of a moving vehicle. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you think is going to happen. Can you guarantee me they¡¯ll be gone in a week?¡± He did have me there and knew it even before he asked me.

    ¡°No, I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Then we aren¡¯t risking it!¡± And that was the end of it.

    I can¡¯t say I enjoyed being bossed around by him, but the look in his eye told me it wasn¡¯t the time to fight him on it. After last night, I could finally see the hint of fragility that lingered just inside him. It wasn¡¯t that I couldn¡¯t do what needed to be done, I just didn¡¯t need to tell him what I was doing. That was why I turned my O2 down to 80% as we left the store.

    As we retraced our steps down back toward Bridge street, another thought popped into my head. Curlers. They were still people, no matter how crazy and diseased. I liked to think what I did to Curlers was a mercy.

    Mercy? You stabbed her, then bashed her brains in! Can¡¯t wash the blood off that easily, Mrs. Macbeth.

    She was sick. In pain. So¡­ So, of course, I did what I did.

    Murderer.

    No, it wasn¡¯t like that it was¡ª

    Liar.

    There was no winning against myself. The house always won.

    I followed behind Kelly, silently. Closer to the bridge, his hand quickly raised, pointing at the bridge. Then, continuing on, he dropped his hand down to his sword handle a few moments later.

    I looked over to where he had pointed. In the center of the bridge where the van had sat. It was still there, but now, on its side.

    And that would explain the crashing glass I heard last night.

    What about that kid you almost murdered?

    Several feet from the overturned van and the bodies of the two men who attacked us, there was a shattered pile of... something. From the hard breaks, rounded corners, maybe it was the car seat. But, besides that, even further from the van, was something small. It couldn¡¯t have been much wider than a foot or two. It was still. Just, motionless.

    I stared as long as I could. I knew that I had a responsibility. This was what I needed to do. I needed to know. I needed to understand. I needed to see, and I let the images burn themselves into my mind, so they would never be forgotten.

    I followed Kelly¡¯s steps. Matching his pace and speed. Staying low when he went low. I turned my brain off. Let him lead the way. There was no other option.

    May 22, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 97.8 Hours / 4.08 Days - 9:46 PM

 17. Day 5 - Play it again...

    May 22, 2019 - 10:50 PM

    Leo Kelly

    About a mile away from the bridge, Eury needed to take a break. I was surprised that she was doing so well up until now. With her suddenly changing her O2 intake last night, I should¡¯ve expected it, but how she looked was still a shock. Compared to yesterday, she was noticeably more lethargic. Breathing harder. Sluggish like she was walking in waist-high mud. I just hoped what I said, convinced her to keep the O2 up before she passed out or something worse.

    After a while, we entered downtown Sheridan. And by ¡°downtown¡±, I just meant a set of three-streets running parallel to the river with the center-most street hosting the small town hall across from the largest park in Sheridan. One that I was quite familiar with.

    From the gas station that we holed up in for our rest break, it was a fairly straight shot down mainstreet to get to O¡¯Brians. I had swallowed my worries and complaints about stopping there after Eury told me about Alaska. I knew if I was in her shoes, I¡¯d want to know what happened to my friend too. But steeping in the bloodbath there that night, seeing first hand what happened, I wasn''t in a hurry to return.

    From O¡¯Brian¡¯s, it would only be a few blocks further to the clinic. Not long if we were walking at a normal pace, but between trying to be silent, jumping at every single sound, and one of us¡ªnot naming any names¡ªhaving only one functional lung and refusing to use more oxygen, we weren¡¯t exactly burning rubber here. I looked back at Eury, who had slowed to a stop a few steps behind me. We had just turned back onto mainstreet after avoiding a couple of freaks sleeping on the meridian. It was still so weird to see them sleeping. Those first few days, they barely seemed human with how they prowled the streets, looking pants-shittingly terrifying in the dead of night. In a way they seemed just a little more human these days. A bit more normal in a homeless kind of way, even though they would rip me inside out if I accidentally woke them. I walked back to Eury to see what had caught her eye. Looking out over the river like she did, I couldn''t see much even with the sporadic moonlight. It was cloudy. A good thing for us. In our dark clothes, we were practically invisible, but it meant that we couldn''t see them much better either.

    Lightly, I grabbed Eury by her shoulder. Her gaze turned to me, slowly, like she was running at half speed. I considered trying to play charades to see what was up, but thought better once I saw how glassy her eyes looked.

    I leaned in close to her, nearly putting my lips against her ear. ¡°Are you okay? What''s wrong?¡± I waited for her answer. I pulled away when I got none.

    Even in the dark, it was clear she was crying. Barest hints of tears still clung onto her cheeks. Being out here, it was beyond obvious the world could never be the same. Not after this. Even if things somehow did return to normal, how could we?

    Last night it was my turn to break, now it was her¡¯s. I brought her in for a hug. To my surprise, she allowed me to wrap my arms around her¡ªfor a few seconds at least¡ªbefore she pulled away. With a single sleeve, she wiped her eyes.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I repeated.

    Her lips pursed tightly, then nodded. We continued on.

    My footing felt a little less sure as we reached the edge of the gravel lot beside O¡¯Brian¡¯s. The parking lot, still half-full of dirty cars and trucks, reminded me of the shit show that night. If I closed my eyes, I could play out the events moment by moment. Somehow, the old sagging bar looked even more decrepit with none of the flickering yellow lights that normally dotted the porch. Even though it had been the better part of a week, not much had changed outside. The only thing that had changed since that night, was the one thing that I had hoped we could avoid. The corpse of the bouncer wasn¡¯t where I had pulled myself off him, that night. Instead, where he should¡¯ve been on the steps of the old wood porch, there was a conspicuous nothingness.

    The wagon crunched too loudly on the gravel so I left it close to the berm that separated the parking lot from the bar. I grabbed Sheila, and Eury held her fire poker in both hands. After pulling the concentrator¡¯s sling tight across my chest, we were ready to go. My head on a swivel we crossed the lot. The cold sweat of effort that I had built up getting here turned hotter with every step. Made even more difficult because each step threatened to be loud enough to get anyone¡¯s attention. As we approached the porch, I felt some of my tension release.

    The porch squealed like a pissed pig the moment I put my weight on it, freezing both Eury and me on the spot. The seconds ticked past. No response. Was O¡¯Brian¡¯s empty? I breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was quiet, and we might just have been safe.

    The last time I had been here, it was anything but on that last Friday.

    <hr>

    May 18, 2019 - 12:40 AM

    I couldn¡¯t help but feel awkward when I walked into the motel¡¯s sickly green lobby. And the slack-jawed gaze from the desk clerk didn¡¯t make me any more comfortable either. He couldn¡¯t have been much older than eighteen. His face covered in enough acne it looked like he bathed in pizza grease.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ looking for someone.¡±

    Nice going Kelly, way to look incredibly suspicious.

    ¡°That ain¡¯t helpful, dude.¡± He said, looking back down at the flickering desktop.

    ¡°There¡¯s three people here, two guys and a girl. All of them mid-twenties?¡±

    His eyes flicked back up from the desktop again. The recognition was obvious on his face. ¡°Okay, but it isn¡¯t like I can just tell you if they¡¯re here.¡±

    Except you just did, dipshit.

    I plastered on a nice, polite smile. ¡°Look, I know these guys. I haven¡¯t seen ¡®em in three days, and they¡¯re not at the shelter. I just wanted to make sure they were alive and not rotting in some drain or something.¡±

    ¡°So what? You¡¯re a cop or something? Just get a warrant, man.¡± He said, looking back down again.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a cop, and they¡¯re not in trouble. Least, not that kind of trouble. I just want to be sure they¡¯re okay.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but¡ª¡±

    ¡°Let me guess, they haven¡¯t paid up for the night yet, right?¡±

    ¡°They¡­¡± The kid¡¯s eyes floated over to the sheet beside his desktop. ¡°Okay, no they haven¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and they won¡¯t. So, instead of calling Sheriff Keefe down here, how about I go and deal with your problem?¡±

    The desk clerk held my gaze as he mulled my offer over. After sucking on his teeth loudly, he pushed himself away from his desk.

    ¡°Fine.¡± He agreed, without sounding all that happy about it. He brought with him a large key ring from under the desk and a baseball bat from behind him.

    I followed him out into the neon-lit parking lot of the motel. The clerk was a lot bigger than he looked hunched over behind the desk. He must¡¯ve been a football player, or maybe a powerlifter or something. Steroids would explain the acne, now that I think about it. Every step he took, the keyring in his left hand jangled. And with every other step, the aluminum baseball bat he had in his right hand clinked against the ground.

    ¡°You¡¯re probably not gonna need that.¡± I said, at the back of his head.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    The desk clerk shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just policy, man.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s policy to threaten your clients with a baseball bat?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s policy to threaten the non-paying ones, yeah.¡± He said, shutting the conversation down.

    We stopped in front of Room six. ¡°After you open the door, do you mind hanging back for a second? Just let me talk to them first.¡± I asked.

    ¡°Alright, whatever dude.¡± The desk clerk flicked through the couple dozen keys on the ring until he found the correct one.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you knock?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s policy.¡± He shoved the key into the lock, turning it and opening the door with such ease that it must¡¯ve been rehearsed. No surprise there. This motel was the only cheap place to stay, or shoot up, in town.

    The door creaked open into a dark room. The blinds had been drawn. Lights were off. The only light was from the dim bulb under the overhang above me, and the slowly flashing neon sign out front.

    ¡°Hello?¡± I called into the darkness. Whether it was fear or instinct, I don¡¯t know, but something kept me from taking a single step into the room. ¡°Hello?¡± I called out again, finding my voice a little more.

    The desk clerk leaned beside the door. ¡°Maybe they ain¡¯t here.¡± ¡°

    Hey, Rheese. You here, man?¡± No response. ¡°Hey guys¡ª¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The desk clerk stepped in front of me. Flipping the switch to the old tired lights. ¡°You¡¯ve tried, and I¡¯m getting cold. They¡¯re obviously not¡ª¡± The room¡¯s lights flickered on after a moment. And the sight shut him right up.

    The floor, walls, and ceiling were covered in red splatters. It was so thick and dark that it looked like a can of black paint exploded. And the epicentre of that explosion was on the bed.

    It was impossible to be sure that the thing on the bed was him, but I recognized Rheese¡¯s long blond dreads on the bed beside the red and black mash that used to be his head. Below that, it was like his chest had been torn open, and everything inside had been devoured.

    I stumbled away from the door, but the clerk stood stark still.

    ¡°What¡­¡± The clerk stammered out. The world around me spun as the horror burned into my eyelids. I puked up my dinner onto the sidewalk. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± The clerk continued.

    A tearful moan drifted out the open door.

    ¡°Stay back!¡± The clerk said suddenly. His tone changed from shock to quivering fear.

    I got my bearings, turning back to the door, just in time to see the clerk take a few steps back. Then, without warning, a bloody and sick looking man tackled the clerk, knocking him off his feet. As I rushed to help him, a wave of terrible familiarity came over me.

    ¡°Teddy? Oh god, what the fuck are you doing! Get off him!¡± I barreled into Teddy, knocking him into the slatted wall of the motel, stunning him for a moment. Turning back to the desk clerk, I recoiled. His throat sputtered out more and more blood from the gaping hole Teddy had torn out of his neck. ¡°What the fuck!¡± I felt my breath growing shorter and shorter as panic took hold.

    I backed away as Teddy slowly got back on his feet. Before I could even question what was happening, something at the back of the room moved.

    At the back of the room, a thin woman with patchy platinum-blonde hair stumbled out of the bathroom. Even more than Teddy, she was covered in the black blood. The moment that our eyes met, I recognized her. Of course I did, there was a time that I was in love with her.

    The moment that she saw me, Wren¡¯s jaw unhinged. And from somewhere within the deep blood-covered hole that was her mouth, an exceptionally loud, traumatizing shriek erupted. The sound blasted my mind clean of every thought and feeling save one.

    Fear.

    The moment she sprinted at me, deftly avoiding the vomit and sick that covered the carpet of the motel room, the adrenaline that drowned my brain finally yelled at my legs to move. And move they did. I ran faster than I ever had before, straight for the busiest place in Sheridan on a Friday night.

    O¡¯Brian¡¯s, someone could help me there. There had to be.

    May 18, 2019 - 12:54 AM

    <hr>

    May 23, 2019 - 12:02 AM

    Carefully, I pushed open the door into O¡¯Brian¡¯s while consciously avoiding looking at the bloodstains where Wren had taken the bouncer down. As I peered into the dark, empty bar, I pushed the memories of that night further and further down as I stepped in. The door closed quietly behind Eury. I froze, listening for any movement. The seconds ticked past mercifully quietly. Eury stepped forward, and suddenly, I could feel her breath against my ear.

    ¡°Light,¡± Eury said.

    I clicked on the flashlight. In the slight panic that always followed entering a new place, I quickly swept the empty bar with the flashlight. Nothing too alarming at the entrance and first seating area. The floor, however, was something else. I gagged at the smell of vomit, blood, and bile that stained the floor. I pinched my nose, a futile attempt to block the smells. The same smells from that night.

    ¡°Oh god.¡±

    I spun around to face Eury. In the flashlight, I could see her clearly for the first time since we left the store. Her eyes were bloodshot, glistening with tears.

    ¡°She¡¯s dead,¡± Eury whispered, but her words hit like a loudspeaker against my ear.

    ¡°Who¡¯s dead?¡± I quickly scanned around the room again. Even though there were so many people here that night¡ªso many people hurt¡ªthere weren¡¯t any bodies around. No evidence of the insanity that no doubt unfolded after I left.

    ¡°Alaska. There¡¯s no way... Look at all the blood.¡±

    ¡°And not a single limb lying around. No bodies.¡± I turned back to her. ¡°There¡¯s a chance she¡¯s still at the clinic. So until we have definitive proof, don¡¯t jump to any conclusions, okay?¡±

    ¡°No I¡­ I didn¡¯t tell you about her last text.¡±

    ¡°Last text?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think she¡¯s¡­¡± With every word, Eury¡¯s emotions fought to take her down.

    ¡°Maybe she¡¯s just holed up somewhere, just waiting for¡ª¡± she interrupted me before I could finish my excuse.

    ¡°Be safe. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°That was her last message to me: Be safe. I¡¯m sorry. So, come on¡­ let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Wait, Eury,¡± I said, grabbing her by her tank bag. Turning around she ripped her bag away from me, but she stayed silent. I kept the flashlight low, to not betray the uncertainty I felt and knew I couldn¡¯t hide. ¡°Why are you in such a hurry? Just take a moment, we need to talk about this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in a hurry because I thought being back here would give me hope, or maybe help me understand something about this thing that''s happening. But instead, it just sucked any hope out of me.¡±

    I bit my lip. I wanted to double down on the clinic angle, but I knew better. Getting stuck downtown during those early days? That was a death sentence. That was why I crossed the river into the suburbs so quickly. More places to hole up in and fewer people. Fewer people meant there¡¯d be fewer people to go full crazy. Even that first night, it was obvious that there were way more out there than just Wren and Teddy.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving. Now.¡±

    A flare of rightfully placed anxiety erupted in my brain. There was no way that I could let her leave all emotional and erratic. She needed to cool off first. Even though O¡¯Brian¡¯s wasn¡¯t the safest place to calm down, it was certainly better than outside. ¡°Eury.¡± I said, grabbing her again. Immediately she tried to yank her arm away, but I held on tight.

    ¡°Let go!¡± Her voice raised just a little too loud, so she spoke quieter. ¡°Let go, now.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not leaving until you calm down.¡±

    ¡°Calm down?¡± I glanced down at her fire poker as she raised it slightly. ¡°When in the history of saying calm down has that ever worked!¡± She punched the air with the poker, violently enough for me to flinch and lose my grip on her. ¡°Fuck off, Kelly. I¡¯m leaving. With or without you.¡± She started towards the door, swinging the fire poker at her side with every step.

    ¡°Wait.¡± I said, starting after her. ¡°Eury, stop, now!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but raise my voice.

    She stopped a step away from the door. As she turned, I could see her chest undulating beneath her jacket. Quick, jerky movements. I raised the flashlight, revealing the truly terrible state she was in.

    Her skin was clammy, slick with sweat. Eyelids heavy and sluggish on her face. Tears were draining down from her nearly lifeless eyes. And her mouth was the worst. Like a fish trapped on land, it was opening and closing wildly.

    ¡°Kelly, I don¡¯t feel¡ª¡± A violent coughing fit interrupted Eury.

    Her fire poker rattled loudly against the ground when she reached up to cough into her hands. Once the coughing subsided, she looked at her hands, her face even more lifeless than even just a moment before. In some sort of futile attempt to have me help her, she showed her bloody red hands to me.

    Suddenly, the door behind her slammed open, sending her aside. I only saw the large man tumbling in for a moment before he disappeared into the darkness of O¡¯Brian¡¯s.

    I searched frantically with the flashlight and after a tense moment, listening to his drawn out moans, scattered shuffling, I finally found him.

    He was hunched over Eury¡¯s unconscious body, hands wrapped around her throat, and his open mouth only inches from her face.

    ¡°Hey! Put her down, you fuck!¡±

    His animalistic gaze broke from Eury to meet mine. The light of my flashlight was reflected back at me in his single bright-white eye and was seemingly swallowed whole by the lifeless black stone that was the other. Seeing me, his jaw unhinged and unleashed a pained wail into the bar.

    May 23, 2019 - 12:26 AM

 18. Short of breath - Part 1

    October 2, 2011

    Eury Morrissey

    I kept staring straight ahead as heavy clicks and clacks of people walking the length of the hallway drifted under the door of my hospital room. The cardiac monitor beside me dutifully beeped faster every time I heard footsteps coming down the hall, betraying the small amount of hope I still had.

    Why are you getting so excited, huh? He¡¯s not coming. No one is coming and you know it.

    That was the benefit of going to a university across the country¡ªno one knew me. And it was supposed to be a fresh start, especially after the clusterfuck that was that last year of high school.

    Don¡¯t go believing your own bullshit. You know you planned on heading here well before you got dumped.

    I needed my music. Now. I looked around and saw my bag on the other side of the room. If I sighed any harder, I could have cramped what was left of my lungs. The night nurse was annoying that way, making my life more difficult than it was. First the stupid bitch in my head, now the nurse. I sighed again. For a moment, I considered fighting against the pain and wobble over like a baby doe, or develop telekinesis. Whichever I could manage first.

    Let''s be honest, even if it was right beside you, you¡¯d have a hard time getting to it in your sorry state.

    The bitch had a point. The pile of tubes and wires they strung me up with made it hard for me to move. And with the hole in my side and the broken rib they gave me, my bag might as well be in China.

    I fingered around until I found the mostly smooth surface of the nurse ¡°call¡± button. I pressed it down as hard as I could, which was probably not much harder than a light autumn breeze but whatever, it got the job done. Probably.

    A good five minutes and three contemplated button presses later, the overworked nurse finally shuffled into my room.

    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Her smile seemed genuine enough, but those kettle red cheeks told me that she was only a few stupid statements coming from me away from being a lot less interested in being friendly.

    ¡°I just need my bag if that¡¯s alright.¡± I tried my best to lift my finger, however, she had already sauntered over to the bag and brought it to my bedside.

    ¡°Of course, honey. What are you looking for?¡±

    ¡°My iPod should be in the front pouch. Grab that and my headphones.¡±

    ¡°I...pod?¡± The woman spoke under her breath as she poked around in my bag. ¡°Oh wow.¡± She said as she withdrew the iPod. ¡°How old is this thing?¡±

    ¡°Old enough, I guess,¡± I said, trying my best to smile. When my lips pulled away from my teeth, I swore something in my mouth scraped. Dry from a rusty, unused smile.

    The nurse placed the iPod and large over-ear headphones on my lap.

    ¡°Alright, here you go honey.¡± She had already put my bag on the floor beside my bed and began walking towards the door. ¡°Was there anything else that you needed?¡±

    ¡°I got it. Thanks.¡± My hands inched towards the headphones. It then took me a full three minutes to untangle the single cord of the headphones which was annoying. Whoever took it off of me last night must¡¯ve made a point to mess it up before putting it away.

    You should make a point of chewing out that no-good night nurse tonight.

    And piss off the only semblance of kindness I get here? Great idea. I¡¯ll schedule it in somewhere between her pillow fluffing and my sponge bath.

    After plugging my headphones in, I started bringing them up but before I could navigate them on my head, I heard a knock on my door again.

    ¡°Hello?¡± I asked. The door opened a crack and the mess of black curls on Mr. Davis¡¯ head popped into view, followed a second later by the rest of him. Unconsciously, I spent a few seconds reacclimating to his face. Just enough for my drug-addled, sleep-deprived brain to put together just how much he looked like a goofy Italian mobster.

    Davis waved, almost like a party clown. ¡°Hey-a Eury, how are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°Mr. Davis, hey. I feel like I¡¯m missing an internal organ.¡± I felt myself slipping back into our old pattern again. A mistake I would not make twice. I put away the smile that had stayed stuck on my face by the drugs, replaced it with a more suiting, half scowl.

    ¡°Well, a part of one at least!¡± His same stupid smile was violently stretched across his face. ¡°And I appreciate it Eury, but I¡¯m not your teacher anymore. You can just call me Michael. I¡¯d never say it to their faces, but being called Mr. Davis by my students always made me feel too old, like my dad or something.¡±

    All sorts of sour memories crawled out as he spoke, ones I tried to get away from. All the same, memories that the drugs had masked.

    ¡°Alright, Davis it is. Is there something you need?¡±

    ¡°Seriously, Eury, there¡¯s no need to be so formal. And I¡¯m here on behalf of everyone back home! Word got back to us about you and Principal Aino thought it would be good for someone from town to come by and send you our best. Maybe bring a bit of home to you.¡± He said, bringing forward the medium-sized, sickeningly colourful bouquet of flowers. No doubt bought downstairs at the hospital flower shop.

    ¡°So you got drafted for it?¡± I said, looking somewhere between his ear and his mouth, making a point not to look him in the eyes.

    ¡°No, of course I volunteered.¡± Again that stupid smile.

    A small flicker of warmth pushed through the drug-induced fog, but I kept it down by focusing harder on everything else besides him. ¡°You volunteered to drive ten hours across the mountains?¡±

    Why bother coming all this way? Such a waste of money especially if it was just to come to see you.

    ¡°I flew.¡± Another unnecessary expense.

    ¡°That¡¯s even worse.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not so bad. I have some friends that still live here and I¡¯m planning on looking around the old campus again.¡± He took another step into the room. He was moving slowly, deliberately. ¡°Did you know that I was an alumni here?¡± His eyes hid between his tilted down forehead and his thick-rimmed glasses.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    ¡°A happy coincidence.¡±

    Davis laughed sheepishly. ¡°I guess. Right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Right.¡±

    Of course, why wouldn¡¯t you play along with his stupid game? This isn¡¯t any different than when you played all through high school, and if you thought it would be you are delusional.

    ¡°I gotta tell you. I was pretty happy you decided to become a teacher, plus your mom must be happy that you¡¯re following in her footsteps. You¡¯ll be great, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    ¡°Not exactly following in her footsteps am I? English never was a subject I was good at.¡±

    ¡°Well, with your grades, of course you went the biology route. You were always exceptional in my class.¡± He said, beaming with a little too much pride. In himself, but also in me too. At the sight of it, I felt my cheeks begin to redden. There was a reason that I fell for him once upon a time.

    Don¡¯t act like it was years ago.

    ¡°Exceptional? Huh.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Davis looked me over once before looking back down to his own hands, and at the obnoxious bouquet that he had brought with him. ¡°I almost forgot! These are from everyone back home.¡±

    It was a weak attempt to change the conversation, but I welcomed it. Anything that got my mind away from everything that happened.

    More like, what didn¡¯t happen?

    ¡°Everyone?¡± My cheeks cooled as the dull wave of anger reared its head again.

    ¡°Yeah! All your friends and classmates. Even Mrs. Meyers pitched in.¡± He made a face like I was supposed to care what the miserly old hag spent her pennies on.

    ¡°All of my friends? I only had one friend back there.¡± Davis winced as the words came out of my mouth. ¡°It¡¯s not like I have any other friends, so I¡¯m not quite sure who you are talking about.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, Eury, aren¡¯t they beautiful? What if I just put them over here.¡± He crossed to the other side of my bed, pulling a small rolling table with him. ¡°They¡¯ll get some sun here,¡± he said looking out at the overcast view of Spokane, ¡°and you¡¯ll be able to get a good look at them.¡±

    ¡°Davis. There¡¯s a trash can in the hall. Put those where they belong.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, is it so bad just to leave them here? Bring some life to this room?¡± He said, contemplating which device would hold the flowers best: the paper water cup or the full pen holder on the counter.

    ¡°Ouch. I feel like death, but now I look like it too?¡±

    ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant. If I leave these¡­¡± He tried to push the flowers at me. Even if I could grab them quick enough, I wasn¡¯t in the mood.

    ¡°Davis. Trash. And take yourself out with it.¡±

    ¡°I might not be your teacher anymore but you shouldn''t be so rude to me. I did come to visit you after all.¡± He said pulling the flowers back to himself.

    ¡°In what capacity?¡±

    ¡°Capacity? What do you mean, Eury? I told you, I¡¯m here for every¡­¡± Without finishing he dropped his hands to his sides in frustration.

    ¡°Why did you volunteer to come?¡± I asked, knowing what his answer really was.

    Not that he¡¯d ever admit it though.

    ¡°Because I was your teacher.¡±

    ¡°So what happens when someone like George Lacoursiere gets sick? You¡¯re just gonna go all the way to Boston to see him? Or how about Emily Vestez? One little cough and you¡¯ll go running off to her too?¡± Davis looked back down at the bouquet in his hands. His fingers fiddled with the stem of one of the roses. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t just a cough.¡± He said without looking up.

    Maybe I really do look a little like a corpse.

    I could feel the light heat of blood pooling in my cheeks.

    ¡°What difference does it make though, huh? It¡¯s not the cancer that you¡¯re here for. It''s me isn¡¯t it? So, for once, tell me why you¡¯re here and say it straight. And if you say as a teacher one more time¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here as your friend.¡± As he spoke, Davis actually had the balls to look me in the eyes. I had to give him credit, that was better than what he did last time we had this conversation.

    ¡°Ha. Last time I checked, you made it very clear that we weren¡¯t friends. Not even as much as that.¡±

    ¡°I said that we¡­¡± And there it was¡ªthat reaction. As his voice faded away, his stress tick came out. Thick fingers through thick black hair. Jesus, I could watch that for a long time. ¡°Eury, why are you being like this? What could I have¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m being like this because I don¡¯t have the time to play these games with you anymore,¡± I said. ¡°Let me guess, this was all just some game to you, right? Let¡¯s see how much we can fuck with the girl with no friends! Hur dur. You know what? You¡¯re probably the worst of all of them. At least they had the balls to spit in my face. At least they didn¡¯t make excuses for themselves when the reality was that they were too fucking childish to just admit their feelings and tell me exactly how worthless I am in their eyes!¡± The cardiac monitor beside me began to beep faster and louder.

    ¡°I¡¯m your teacher, Eury, I can¡¯t¡ª¡±

    ¡°Not anymore!¡± Even with half of my lungs missing, I was glad that I could still manage a bit of a shout. Davis¡¯ eyes shot over to the machine that displayed my ever accelerating heart rate. ¡°Just get the fuck out of¡­¡±

    ¡°Eury. Please. Calm down.¡± The look of worry on his face just made me angrier.

    You have no right to be worried!

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me to calm down!¡± As I took a deep breath to shout, my lungs reminded me they were in no state for that.

    ¡°You¡¯re starting to have a panic attack,¡± Davis said, stepping forward, concerned. My chest was burning despite the drugs and oxygen pumping through my nose. My breathing became shallow and rapid. ¡°If you don¡¯t calm down, it could be bad.¡± He threw the flowers onto the rolling table and came to my side. My body sunk deeper and deeper into the bed with each step he took.

    ¡°Get away from me!¡± I tried my best to shout, but my shallow breaths weren¡¯t enough to project loud enough.

    ¡°Eury. Try and breathe deeply. I know it hurts but just take slow, long, deep breaths.¡± The beeping from the machine grew faster as the sinking feeling transformed into the unmistakable sensation of falling. A wave of cool sunk deep into my forehead. I refocused my eyes enough to see Davis¡¯ hand resting on my head. ¡°Just calm down, you¡¯ll be alright. I¡¯m here.¡± The machine seemed to get louder as he spoke.

    ¡°Shut that fucking thing up!¡± I had hoped to yell that time, but my voice was even quieter than before.

    ¡°The doctor is coming, just hang on for a few more seconds. It¡¯ll be all fine.¡± Davis held the call button in his other hand.

    ¡°Get away from me!¡± I couldn¡¯t hear my own voice over the sound of the beeping cardiac machine, but the look on his face told me Davis heard me. The second his cool hand left my forehead, another pair touched me. A pair of too-warm thick hands cupped themselves around my face, limiting my vision to a small circle on the ceiling. I kept struggling to find my breath, lungs on fire.

    ¡°Eurydice. Eurydice! Are you paying attention?¡± I recognized the thick Indian accent as the one that belonged to my oncologist, Dr. Basak. ¡°Now, Eurydice, look at me.¡± As he spoke, Dr. Basak¡¯s wide brown eyes crept into my vision.

    I tried to speak, to say anything, but the only sounds I could make were choked gasps.

    ¡°This is just a panic attack. I¡¯m going to give you something to help you calm down, so just close your eyes.¡± I could feel the numbing drug working its way up my arm. ¡°It¡¯s all going to be fine.¡± Dr. Basak¡¯s voice was deep, soothing, more soothing than the wave of numb that was making its way into my chest. ¡°Close your eyes, Eurydice.¡±

    The moment I closed my eyes, the falling sensation stopped. My world became dark. I had fallen into a dark lake on a moonless night. The water was warm, and still, yet it burned as I breathed it into my lungs. It tasted sweet and dry and wet and sour all at the same time. Seconds ticked past as I allowed myself to fall deeper into the water, welcoming the burning release while it enveloped me.

    It was easier here, and finally, I was alone.

 19. Day 6 - Drowning

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 95.6 Hours / 3.98 Days - 12:31 AM

    Eury Morrissey

    Crash!

    My eyes hurt as they fluttered open. I took a deep breath, and my lungs drank in the air. The burning pain was intense like I had been breathing liquid fire for the last few hours. It took a second for my eyes to focus on the light cast on the wall in front of me.

    As my mind slowly woke up, my attention was drawn to an old poster on the wall. It was for a concert a schoolmate of mine had at O¡¯Brian¡¯s I went to a long long time ago. I think that the girl got pretty famous if I¡ª

    Bang!

    Then breaking glass shattered down to the floor. Finally, the rest of my body got the memo that something very wrong was happening and slowly sprung to action. Limb by limb, I rolled myself over, off my O2 tank that I landed on, and onto my knees.

    Smash!

    Looking beyond the light of the flashlight, there was only darkness, and the sound of grunting and squealing rubber soles.

    ¡°Kelly?¡± When I spoke, it felt like I had swallowed a hard rock, or like vomit had solidified in my throat.

    ¡°Eury, run!¡± I heard Kelly yell.

    ¡°No!¡± Was what I wanted to say but even another word was too sharp and jagged to come out. Either way, I wasn¡¯t going to let him tell me what to do. No, I was done.

    I slammed one hand forward on the ground, then another as I crawled for the flashlight. The effort was excruciating for my body like I was dragging a ball-and-chain behind, but I didn¡¯t care.

    I don¡¯t want to be weak. Not anymore.

    Once I had the flashlight in my hand, I fought my way to my feet, then staggered to Kelly and the giant disease-ridden man fell into its¡¯ light. The animal instinct in my brain screamed off an alarm, one that my arm was more than willing to follow through. I slammed the flashlight into the man¡¯s bloated bald head, stunning him for a moment. The flashlight flickered from the strike. Kelly, exhausted, barely managed to push the man off. At his hip, his scabbard was empty, meaning the best option to finish the man off would be¡­

    I flicked the light around O¡¯Brian¡¯s foyer and spotted my fire poker on the floor. I snatched it up, right as the man¡¯s head came into the tight spotlight of my flashlight.

    I drove the metal tip into the man¡¯s milky white eye, only looking away as his black blood gushed out of his head like I struck a pus-filled wound.

    Kelly got onto his feet while the giant continued to squirm. Tearing the flashlight from my hand, he immediately turned it on me, unintentionally blinding my vision. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    I raised a hand to block the light. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be asking you?¡±

    Why would you? He¡¯s the normal healthy one. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s already got one foot in the grave.

    ¡°You passed out. And all that blood?¡±

    ¡°Blood?¡± I asked.

    Kelly turned my hands over, revealing the semi-dry blood coating them.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± He stammered out before blinding me with the flashlight again. The light seemed way too bright. His words were way too loud, for sure. ¡°You look like shit to be honest.¡±

    ¡°Gee thanks,¡± I said, the words coming out a little easier than before.

    Kelly leaned in closer, close enough that the heat of his breath was enough to make me nauseous. I recoiled away as his eyes kept raking over my face.

    ¡°Are you infected?¡± The words floated out of his slack mouth.

    And with those three words, my stomach churned up through my body.

    ¡°Do you think I am?¡± I reached for my cheeks, feeling for tears. Pulling away wet fingertips, my heart crumbled, and my lungs constricted inside my chest. ¡°Oh god, I¡ª¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sick, but not infected. I¡­ I just¡­ We need to get to the clinic. Right now.¡± Kelly clicked off the flashlight and pulled me towards the door.

    ¡°Your sword,¡± I said, stumbling behind him.

    He stopped suddenly, turned the flashlight back on, quickly scanning around the room for it. ¡°Oh shit.¡±

    As he jogged back to the bar, a thought popped into my mind. Something sweet, not panicked and worried. He was so concerned for me that he forgot about his sword. What an idiot.

    He¡¯s just like everyone else. Willing to trash their lives just so that you can live. Again and again. Don¡¯t you have any shame?

    I hadn¡¯t felt the tears draining out of my eyes before, but now, the sensation was overwhelming.

    He looks at you and sees what? Cancer girl. The handicapped one. You¡¯re nothing more than a project that likes to talk back. The fact that you constantly seem to forget that just goes to show how delusional you are.

    ¡°Alright, we need to go,¡± Kelly said, jogging up beside me. ¡°Are you okay to walk?¡±

    I wiped my tears away before the flashlight got to my face. Seeing me, all the colour dropped out of Kelly. He grabbed me by my arm and started to drag me towards the door again.

    All the heartache you¡¯ve caused. All the effort wasted on you. Wasted, wasted, wasted.

    With what strength I had left, I stopped us both.

    ¡°Let me go, Kelly.¡± I tried my best to put down all the emotions that were riling up in me. Control. I needed to take control again. Of myself and this situation. ¡°Just leave me be. I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid don''t be stupid!¡± Kelly was anything but controlled. ¡°That¡¯s my job, okay? You¡¯re still standing, and you¡¯re not like them!¡± He said, illuminating the slowly draining corpse of the giant only a few feet behind us.

    ¡°I¡¯m sick. I¡¯m¡­¡±

    Go on. Admit it.

    ¡°I¡¯m dying.¡±

    ¡°Then let me be your hospice or whatever.¡± He begged. ¡°Just let me do something. Infected or not, I am going to make this right. Fluff your pillow. Get you a pudding cup. I¡¯m going to do something, rather than just¡­ just let you go. I¡¯m not letting that happen again.¡±

    Pity.

    ¡°Please, just let me do this for you.¡± He said, holding my hand even tighter than before. ¡°Please, Eury.¡±

    Self-aggrandizing, self-serving, virtue signalling, delusional pity.

    ¡°Please, help me.¡± I said, letting him lead me out of O¡¯Brian¡¯s.

    You two are doomed.

    ¡°I will.¡± Kelly said without looking back at me. An unconscious kindness that I was thankful for. I didn¡¯t need him to see the doubt and pain that I couldn¡¯t keep from my face.

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 95.6 Hours / 3.98 Days - 12:35 AM

    <hr>

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 95.1 Hours / 3.96 Days - 1:10 AM

    Kelly walked close beside me while he dragged the cart behind him. Every few steps, his eyes darted over to me.

    Finally, Kelly spoke. ¡°Are you cold?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I said, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. Without missing a beat, his hand shot towards my forehead. ¡°Well ¡®course I¡¯m gonna be hot now. We¡¯re moving pretty damn fast.¡±

    He took his hand away. ¡°You¡¯re burning up.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just hot. All this is just¡ª¡± Kelly¡¯s hand shot up as he turned the corner. He retreated back behind the building, and got close to me.

    ¡°There¡¯s a few of them ahead. The clinic is right there, we¡¯re going to have to go through.¡±

    Killing these people was just trading their lives for mine, could I really live with that? And having Kelly do it was him risking his life for mine, which was even worse. Kelly unsheathed his sword and continued to drag the cart behind him. I followed close, clutching the fire poker as tightly as I could. As he crossed the corner, my conscience forced me to speak up.

    ¡°Wait, Kelly, we can go around.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have enough time. I¡¯ll draw them away. Just hang back.¡± He whispered.

    Not this shit again!

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious?¡± I felt my fever rise a few degrees with my anger. ¡°If we¡¯re doing this, we¡¯re doing it together.¡± There was no way that I could let him do this alone, not for me. I couldn¡¯t let him. ¡°Don¡¯t fight me on this.¡± I said. On the surface, I hoped I looked calm and composed because I was far from it.

    Kelly looked me over once more. ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°I have to. There¡¯s no choice here.¡± And I wasn¡¯t going to let him choose for me.

    ¡°If you think that there¡¯s even a slight chance that they¡¯ll overrun you, use it,¡± He pointed to the holster on my hip. ¡°Do. Not. Hesitate.¡±

    I nodded, even though I had no intentions to. I couldn¡¯t risk drawing in more of them, not when we were so close to the clinic.

    ¡°Stay close, and if anything happens¡ª¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare tell me to run. I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡± I managed to say before waves of nausea crashed into me, as my fever crescendoed.

    Regardless, I smiled. Still, Kelly¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t change from their worried shape. But after a beat of silence, he spoke. ¡°I guess I should¡¯ve learned that won''t work, huh? Just stay close to me.¡±

    Judging by the look in his eyes, there was more he wanted to say but he held back. After a second to check his gear, he walked out onto the street.

    I took a deep breath and followed him as we crossed the corner onto the street. With infected on both sides of the street, our only option was down the middle. I could only hope that like the woman from last night, that these people were also blind. Or at least partially so.

    I couldn¡¯t be sure whether it was the fever, the worry, or my frustration that was making my heart rate slowly increase as we slowly crept onward.

    At the far end of the street, six or seven businesses down, I could finally see it¡ªthe clinic. Its stark white exterior practically glowed in the moonlight and served as the light at the end of this tunnel. The street leading to the clinic had a few cars parked on either side, but closer to the clinic, there were a multitude of cars littering the street. A few were parked normally, but most were haphazardly abandoned in front of the clinic.

    It was hard to be sure, but on both sides of the street appeared to be several masses of sleeping infected.

    Halfway down the street, my burning lungs told me that I had been holding my breath. As quietly as I could, I sucked in a breath, taking in even more than what my cannula could provide, and to my surprise, beyond the stench of human retch hanging in the air, I could smell something pleasant. At the very back, hidden behind layers and layers of disgusting, was a smell that I felt nostalgic for; it was the first gathering hints of dense clouds, heavy with rain and the sweet¡ªThis content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    My singular moment of calm was overrun by terror as a man stumbled out from an alleyway between us and the clinic. Even more so than the other infected that we had seen up until now, he barely seemed alive. His right arm ended above his elbow, the rest was nothing but a black-blooded hanging mash. The infected man hobbled, hardly able to keep upright on a pair of stumps that looked no different from his arms.

    Kelly, who had been focused on the three sleeping infected to our left, was caught off guard by the man. The man seemed to be as blind as the others, but what small relief that was, was dashed a moment later As he lunged for Kelly. Kelly fell back under the weight of the man, crashing into the cart. I don¡¯t even know what it was that the stumped man heard, but even just the slightest noise was enough to get his attention. A terrible realization to have standing only a few feet from so many of them, made worse standing so close to one that knew we were here.

    The moment that he regained his balance on his bloody stumps, the man¡¯s head fell back, opening his mouth wide.

    I felt the immense, immediate, need to scream out, to warn him, but instead, all I could do was run.

    I pushed past the fear and weakness that was screaming for me to stay still, that was pleading with me to do nothing, but I couldn¡¯t.

    Before the man could scream, I swung my fire poker into his throat, sending him off balance, and slamming into the cart, causing a whole different wave of panic to set in as his disoriented clattering threatened to wake the whole street. Kelly jumped at the man, trying his best to get a hold on his bloodied clothes, before, after a few seconds of struggling, he sent him sprawling onto the asphalt only a few feet away from us.

    On the ground, laying still, instead of trying to get up, the man did something I thought and hoped he couldn¡¯t do¡ªhe screamed.

    Like we just rang the dinner bell, the dozen or so infected around us came to life. These ones were much less spry than the infected that we had come across before. Just another mystery to add to the pile of mystery that was surrounding all of this. One that my brain didn¡¯t have time to process.

    ¡°We got to run, now!¡± I whispered to Kelly, grabbing and pulling him forward for once.

    ¡°What about the cart?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have time.¡± I hissed.

    With a sidelong glance, Kelly pulled away and went to get the cart.

    With the shambling infected coming for him, I ran back to his side and prepared to fight. But the moment I found my feet solid on the ground, it was like the ground beneath them became liquid.

    Remember? You¡¯re not much different from them. That disease is worming its way into you, do you really think you can fight back now?

    Shut up!

    Despite my spinning vision, I swung for the first infected who got to us, then the next, then the one after that while Kelly pulled the cart. It felt great to knock them off their feet, but the fact they didn¡¯t stay down was not. After three swings, I was already feeling the fever and panic compounding on me. Kelly managed to get the wagon pulled past the alley that the stumped man had come from. The same man whose screams were only getting worse, more laboured and anguished.

    That was when something unexpected happened. As I ran back to Kelly, prepared to face whoever or whatever came next, I watched as the infected descend on the stumped man like a pack of lions devouring a wailing-downed wildebeest. Their wild, blind mauling ripped apart the already piecemeal man while I watched on in horror. His screams first intensified, but when his throat was torn out, they stopped entirely.

    While the small group of infected were preoccupied, we got as far away from them as possible. That was an advantage that only lasted as long as it took for us to cross the alleyway. The moment that we had, another howl called out from within, drawing the attention of everyone on the street, infected and uninfected alike.

    A tall gangly man burst out from the darkness of the alley sprinting towards me. However, at the last moment, he turned to tackle Kelly. Like me, Kelly had no time to prepare as the Gangly-man sprinted faster than I thought the infected could.

    Is it possible that he wasn¡¯t sick? Or maybe he had just recently turned?

    He skidded to the ground with the man on his chest. Struggling to keep his snapping jaw away from his face, but the sudden attack, and the heightened level of mad ferocity¡ªone that I hadn¡¯t seen since Curlers was attacked¡ªwas too much for Kelly to keep the infected at bay. Without thinking, I dropped my fire poker and unholstered my pistol.

    So this is how you choose to die?

    I took aim, attempting to line a clean shot on the Gangly-man. Deafened by my racing pulse, I tried to ignore the group of shamblers I knew would only be a few feet behind at this point. And focused on the shifting pile of bodies that was the fight.

    ¡°Get the fuck off me, Teddy!¡± Kelly shouted.

    As if in response, the Gangly-man shrieked back in his face.

    Teddy? Did Kelly know him?

    Whether it was Kelly¡¯s pleas or something he did, the infected man stopped for a single moment. Just enough for me¡ª

    Boom!

    The sound was louder than I imagined. When my father and I went shooting, wearing all the hearing protection, every shot didn¡¯t sound much louder than a heavy book dropped in a silent room. That shot though was more like a small explosion. Ringing as it bounced off all the buildings around us.

    I¡¯ll admit it, I was shocked.

    And maybe it was the shock that kept me from pulling the trigger.

    Boom!

    Another shot rang out from down the street.

    It seemed that I wasn¡¯t the only one shocked by the sound. Teddy, who had up until moments before been focused completely on Kelly, tore himself free from Kelly¡¯s hands. On his feet, the gangly man stood hunched over his would-be prey, before Boom! Another shot sent him running back into the alleyway he came from.

    Confused, but unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth, I would have to file that incident away for later. I ran over to Kelly and helped him to his feet.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Did you shoot?¡±

    Boom!

    ¡°Not me. But it doesn¡¯t matter right now. We¡¯ve got to go.¡±

    He nodded, grabbed the cart as we headed towards the clinic and the source of the gunfire.

    Beneath his balaclava, I couldn¡¯t be sure how Kelly was feeling, but his wide-eyes and sharp breathing told me enough. I glanced back again at the infected, who slowly stumbled down the street behind us. The few who had stopped over the stumped man had begun to follow us as well.

    Boom!

    ¡°That one sounded closer than the others,¡± Kelly said between breaths.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± I forced myself to keep up with him.

    Paradoxically, I had somehow begun to feel a little alright. I knew better than to think it was anything more than endorphins finally kicking in.

    Closer to the clinic, I saw my first potential sign of hope in a long while. Crashed into the side of the building was a familiar-looking red-truck. The entire front passenger side was crumpled in where Alaska¡¯s truck had driven into a concrete pole that held up the building''s overhang. The crash must¡¯ve been a brutal one, but the driver''s side looked like there wasn¡¯t any damage, which was good, and the front seats themselves weren¡¯t occupied, so that was even better.

    She made it. She actually made it here. Thank god.

    Kelly didn¡¯t slow down to gawk at the truck but I couldn¡¯t do the same. I slowed down at the truck¡¯s window, only giving the slow-moving infected a few seconds to catch up, but it was more than enough time to see inside.

    Boom!

    I felt the booming bass of the shot in my chest.

    The truck¡¯s cab was covered in blood. Seeing that, any hint of hope that I had drained out of me quicker than it arrived. I purposefully kept my eyes off the dark streaks that started below the window frame. I didn¡¯t need to look to know. In the pit of my stomach, I knew what was there. Along the other door, contorted unnaturally, around the back of the front seat was the corpse of a man, jaw unhinged in a way that I have become all too familiar with. He seemed to be the other major source of blood in the car. A dark sludge was spilling out of his mouth, pooling at the bottom of the seat.

    Putrefaction? This quickly? How in the hell?

    Boom!

    The sound of the shot shook me out of my mind. By the sounds of it, whoever was shooting, was getting closer. Just as I peeled my eyes from the truck, I could¡¯ve sworn the corpse moved.

    No.

    No. No. No.

    Nope.

    I hurried over to Kelly¡¯s side.

    Scared of your future are you? Why don¡¯t you just go ask your boyfriend to kiss it all better?

    I didn¡¯t have enough energy to ignore the thought as it came. I just added it to the thousand cuts that I was already bleeding from.

    It took both of us to get the door open, but with how weak I was feeling, I doubted that I helped at all. As the door inched open, the horrible screech of metal grinding against the floor was accompanied by a wet sloppy sound.

    Close behind, the group of infected, drawn in by the sound, called out for us. Their screams were weak but still forced my hairs to stand on the nape of my neck. With another shove, Kelly was able to open the door enough to get us and the cart in. Inside, he handed me the flashlight, and went push the cabinet back into place, then locked the door.

    I clicked on the flashlight. Stupidly, I had it aimed at Kelly and the door, revealing the blood-blackened skin of an old man who was crushed beneath the cabinet.

    I spun on my heels. I was already feeling lightheaded and nauseous enough, didn¡¯t need to add to my misery.

    ¡°Pharmacy,¡± Kelly whispered, pointing to the shuttered cutout just off of the main waiting room. ¡°They¡¯re close. We need to get something for you, then get the hell out of here.¡± He said, leading the way toward the hallway that ran beside the pharmacy.

    Bang!

    Even through the shut door, the sound of the shot was still deafening.

    ¡°What are we even looking for?¡±

    ¡°God if I know, you¡¯re the scientist ain¡¯t ya?¡± Kelly dropped the cart¡¯s handle as he walked into the tight hall.

    I noticed he didn¡¯t comment on the brown, black, and red pools and streaks that covered the hallway beyond the pharmacy¡¯s door. Neither did I. It was better that way. He started pulling on the door but it didn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°I¡¯m a science teacher, not a damn doctor, so how the hell would I know,¡± I whispered back. He yarded on the door again before I stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s locked. There might be a key behind the desk or something.¡±

    He looked visibly annoyed, but relented and went to check the desk in the waiting room.

    At the desk, Kelly pulled out one drawer after another. The sound of slamming the drawers was intensified by the banging at the door, that almost took it off its hinges. It sounded like every one of the shamblers collided with the door all at once. Even though it was loud, the cabinet holding the door shut barely moved under the weight.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have fucking time for this!¡± He said, slamming a drawer closed.

    ¡°Not if we start losing our cool.¡± I placed a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off immediately.

    Kelly jabbed at the door. ¡°No. We don¡¯t have time because they¡¯re right fucking there!¡±

    ¡°Can we pry the door open maybe?¡± I knew better than to think it was possible but I felt like I needed to keep trying to figure out some way forward.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. The door¡¯s pure fuckin¡ª¡±

    BOOM!

    ¡°That was right outside,¡± I said, looking at the silhouettes barely visible through the frosted glass of the front door. ¡°Do you think they¡¯re¡ª¡±

    ¡°We need to run,¡± Kelly said, pulling on my arm again.

    ¡°Run? Why? Maybe whoever is out there can help us.¡±

    Kelly looked at me, and after a moment, he pulled his balaclava down. The look on his face was pain incarnate, worse than last night in the shop. An expression worse than I had ever seen on anyone¡¯s face.

    ¡°There¡¯s no telling who¡¯s out there. Please Eury, just trust me on this.¡± He said, pulling his balaclava back on, his point already made.

    I looked back to the door at the hands and heads banging against the glass.

    BOOM!

    The frosted glass exploded in, showering all over the waiting room. Kelly dropped down to the floor, pulling me down with him. Wrestling my arm from him, I crouched up to see what was happening. The group¡ªten or so of them¡ªhad turned away from the door, just in time to get battered by a man who hadn¡¯t been there a moment before. He was quick and efficient with his strikes, his baton moving quicker than I could follow. It wasn¡¯t much of a surprise though. I was sure as a sheriff''s deputy, he probably had a lot of practice.

    BOOM!

    Another shot, the other window and another one of them went down. I couldn¡¯t see the shooter, but their aim was amazing. With less than a handful of them still at the door, the deputy was able to move quickly enough to beat the rest down with several savage strikes. There was no hesitation in his actions, no remorse. The moment he finished, the deputy started moving their bodies out of the way of the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m checking the truck, get that door open.¡± A woman¡¯s commanding tone was loud enough to hear from inside, while still not much more than a whisper. The voice of the shooter no doubt.

    The deputy began pushing on the door, struggling against the cabinet as we had minutes ago.

    ¡°Get the damn door open, Boyde!¡± Finally, with another deep grunt, the cabinet gave way. ¡°C¡¯mon! They¡¯re coming.¡± The woman¡¯s commands were quiet and harsh.

    Boyde breathed heavily, bordering on a snarl, as the pair of them stalked into the waiting room. With a pistol in his hand, it was obvious he was ready to kill at a moment''s notice. Behind him, calmer than I would have imagined was the shooter. Shotgun in her hands, and her long, curly blonde hair tied back in a tight bun, she looked like barbie, G.I. Joe edition. Of course she did. She never really could shake those model looks no matter the dirt and blood. I practically jumped the moment I saw her, but Kelly¡¯s tight grip on my kept me down.

    ¡°Alaska?¡± I shouted from behind the counter.

    ¡°Who the fuck is there!¡± Boyde said, full of piss and vinegar. Kind of like how he looked.

    ¡°Eury?¡± And, for the first time ever, Alaska sounded exactly how she looked.

    A short jog and a second later, Alaska was at the side of the nurse¡¯s station. As I untangled myself from Kelly, her strong hands pulled me to my feet.

    They say that you never realize what you had until it was gone. What I¡¯d add to that was you never realize what you need until you get it. And in that moment, wrapped in her arms, pulled in so tightly that I could almost explode, I realized that I so very desperately needed it.

    ¡°I was so so so so so worried about you!¡± Alaska said, pulling me in even tighter than possible. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know if you were okay. I¡¯m so sorry, Eury. It was all my fault, I should¡¯ve¡ª¡±

    I pulled my face out of her chest just long enough to interrupt her. ¡°It was my fault! I was the one who ran off. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I couldn¡¯t come for you.¡± As she spoke, I felt her tears fall onto my head. ¡°I tried, but it was just¡­¡±

    ¡°I know. It was too insane out here for anyone. Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s nothing to apologize for.¡± With one final squeeze, she rested her cheek on my head.

    ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re alright.¡±

    Without warning, our reunion was cut short. The door to the clinic burst open. Struggling to get through was a man covered in bloody gashes, helping him through was another familiar but wholly unwelcome sight.

    Davis.

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 94.35 Hours / 3.93 Days - 2:03 AM

 20. Day 1 - Just another night

    May 18, 2019 - 2:05 AM

    Alaska Bell

    The truck door creaked open. My first step out was a stumble. My baby was totalled. Her beautiful face crumpled against a damn concrete pole. And I only had another twenty-thousand left before she was paid off.

    Inside, Davis was unconscious, slouched against his seat belt while the crazy asshole in the back¡ªthe one who caused me to crash¡ªwas still awake, flailing in the backseat next to the other passenger I picked up at O¡¯Brian¡¯s.

    He was super fucked up. Like bad. And I didn¡¯t mean just trashed on alcohol because I¡¯ve seen my share of drunks. PCP maybe? I didn¡¯t know. Whatever he was on, it seemed to dull him from any kind of pain. Something I was pretty jealous of because my body felt like I rolled down flights of stairs made of fists.

    I jumped back in the truck and with one hand I unlatched Davis¡¯ seatbelt while I grabbed his shoulder with the other, pulling him over the center console since his door was crushed. As I started to pull him over the center console, I realized just how stupid this was since you weren¡¯t supposed to move people in a car crash, but I continued because honestly, the fog was still lifting from my probably concussed brain and the crazy asshole in the back was insufferable.

    He growled and snapped and goddamn, why were unconscious people so heavy? By the time I got Davis halfway out of the truck, a familiar voice called out to me. ¡°What the hell happened?¡± I glanced over and saw Deputy Boyde jogging over from the clinic. ¡°Bell? What the hell¡¯s going on?¡± His hair was more dishevelled than usual. Must¡¯ve been a rough night all over. ¡°Holy shit, are you okay?¡±

    I must¡¯ve looked like a hot mess. I think I ditched my heels a while back, and my hair was like bad eighties hair-metal chic. Overall, my outfit was a little too fashion conscious given the circumstances, but I wasn¡¯t expecting to be back on duty so soon. ¡°Oh you know, fucking peachy. Grab him, will ya?¡±

    With a fair amount of struggle, Boyde and I managed to get Davis into the clinic and onto a gurney, thank God. The moment we laid him down, the nurse started to bombard me with a barrage of questions. I pretty much blindly bubbled in the answers, more or less forgetting them only seconds after. Before I even realized it, I was sitting in one of the waiting room chairs. Boyde, still in full uniform, stood over me wearily. ¡°You okay?¡±

    The question was pretty dumb, even for Boyde, considering I stumbled out of a collision on the worst night of my life.

    ¡°Just smelling the roses. Why do you ask?¡± I didn''t even bother to look up.

    ¡°You look like you had a rough night.¡±

    I scoffed. ¡°You didn¡¯t hear about what happened at O''Brian''s?¡±

    ¡°Sure. A bar fight or something, right? Donno and I were on a call already so we couldn''t roll backup.¡±

    ¡°Whatever you think happened at O''Brian''s, it was way worse. Speaking of which, can you go back to the car and check on the two I''ve got in the back? Pair of ''em were at O''Brian''s with me. One¡¯s out cold, the other is acting like he''s out of his goddamned mind.¡±

    ¡°Another one?¡± Boyde nervously ran his fingers through his hair. He practically caught the attention of the half dozen or so people in the waiting room. Looks like it was a busy night for everyone in Sheridan. I felt bad for the desk nurse who already looked like he was drowning.

    ¡°The one on the right is real bitey.¡±

    Boyde pondered his next words, chewing on them carefully before continuing.¡°Do I gotta take him in?¡±

    ¡°He''s the reason my truck is totalled.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡ª¡±

    ¡°You know what? Just do whatever you want, kid. Cuff him. Leave him. Beat him until you end up on the 9 o¡¯clock news. I don¡¯t care. I''m not on duty, and I''m in a fuck-load of pain right now.¡±

    Boyde looked at me, the door, then back at me again. He must have seen something while on the call because he almost looked afraid. Still, the kid was by the book, always waiting for someone to tell him what to do because making decisions didn¡¯t jive well with him. He did want to go into the military, after all.

    After another second of indecision, he jogged out the door of the clinic.

    <hr>

    I finished tapping out my thousandth text to Eury since she ran off from the bar.

    Your phone is off but when you get these you need to call me. I think something seriously fucked up is happening.

    Looking around the waiting room, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like that was an understatement. In the fifteen minutes since I brought in Davis, another ten people had shown up, all with similar or worse injuries than the pair that I had in my truck.

    Boyde had called in some backup for Bitey and now, his knee jittered annoyingly while he watched the couple dozen people in the waiting room. I couldn¡¯t blame him. It was obvious something was going on, something that wasn¡¯t just a few junkies, or rowdy bar-goers and it scared him. And, to be honest, it scared me too. But there was no way I could let the rookie see that.

    The walkie-talkie on Boyde¡¯s shoulder crackled to life when Deputy Donovan¡¯s voice came out as clear as mud.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m outside. Come out and¡ª¡± Boyde jumped out of his chair and was halfway to the door before he spoke.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m on my way,¡± Boyde said into the mic. Then, just before leaving, he turned his attention to me ¡°I¡¯ve got to go help Donno, you good here?¡± I nodded, he was concerned enough already. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be right back. Don¡¯t go anywhere.¡±

    As he jogged out of the clinic, a tall black man walked in past him.

    The desk nurse looked up from his paperwork. The expression plastered on his face was pretty much the mood of the night¡ªexhausted and stressed, but the moment he saw the man, most of it washed away. The tall guy couldn¡¯t have been much older than me, but there was something unshakeable about him. A stoic strength that plopped down some much-needed bedrock in this bloody mess. He didn¡¯t break stride as he gently pushed through the line-up. The moment he crossed behind the desk, threw his jacket into a corner, the nurse turned away from his work like a kid who was in over his head.

    ¡°Bernard! Oh, thank god.¡± Even though I was a few feet away, the relief in the nurse¡¯s voice really carried.

    Bernard pulled the nurse over to the corner of the long desk nearest to me. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± He asked quietly.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± The nurse began but immediately trailed off, ¡°I think it¡¯s dogs or something? Lots of bite marks, cuts and such. Looks like people have rabies or something? Maybe¡ª¡±

    ¡°Actually,¡± I interjected quietly. Bernard snapped his attention over to me, not blinking as I made my way over to them. ¡°This ain¡¯t dogs. It¡¯s people.¡±

    ¡°People?¡± Bernard repeated.

    ¡°Yeah, a couple of folks were saying that they were attacked or something. I was thinking maybe there¡¯s like a rabies outbreak or something?¡± The nurse said, offering up his explanation.

    Bernard shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s idiotic.¡±

    The nurse, looking a little defeated, just nodded slowly.

    ¡°I think rabies takes awhile to start. Least it did when my parent¡¯s dog came down with it.¡± I said to the nurse.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t have anything else to offer, I¡¯d like to get back to this,¡± Bernard said with the same unflinching glare before turning to the paperwork on the desk.

    I guess his medical school didn¡¯t teach him bedside manners because holy hell, his haughty attitude pissed me off, but I knew better than to start a spat here. That could wait until tomorrow when all this shit was over. I started towards the chairs but stopped.

    ¡°They were puking, like, a lot,¡± I added.

    ¡°Puking?¡± To my surprise, his stoic expression broke into a smile. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good. That¡¯s really good. Chuck, go to the pharmacy¡¯s backroom and grab the box that¡¯s on the table in the back.¡± The nurse ran off while Bernard prodded with more questions. ¡°What colour was the vomit?¡±

    ¡°Color?¡± Ew. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I can¡¯t say that I stuck around to get a good look.¡±

    ¡°Okay, what else can you tell me then? Did you recognize them? Were they¡ª¡±

    Interrupting him, Chuck returned empty-handed. ¡°Hey Doc, I can¡¯t find the box you¡¯re¡ª¡±

    Now his turn to be interrupted, a horrified scream from the waiting room cut him off. I jumped at the sound. And as the room full of sick and injured started to scatter, I saw the cause of all the panic. Standing in the doorway was Boyde¡ªhis face, uniform, and shotgun covered in blood. His expression was blank, like the room full of screaming people weren¡¯t even there.

    ¡°Boyde! What the fuck!¡± I sprinted over to try and obscure him from everyone else. ¡°What the hell happened to you?¡± I looked into his eyes as I spoke, but they were empty too. I glanced around the waiting room and saw everyone had put something between themselves and us. ¡°Hey everyone! It¡¯s all good. We¡¯re with the Sheriff!¡± No effect. Great. I turned back to Boyde. ¡°Give me that!¡± I said, grabbing at the shotgun. The moment I touched the weapon, Boyde jumped to life, pulling it and himself back out the door.

    ¡°No!¡±

    It was like I flipped a switch and Boyde¡¯s demeanour went from mannequin to manic, like a wild animal trapped on all sides.

    ¡°What happened?¡± I tried to close the distance, but for every step I took, he took three back, until he bumped up against a car.

    That wasn¡¯t there before. In fact, neither were the rest of the cars that littered the intersection in front of the clinic.

    What the hell?

    To my right, the clinic¡¯s small parking lot was totally filled. In it, with lights still flashing, was the squad car. It never left Boyde¡¯s sight, even as I grabbed the shotgun from his hands. Stolen story; please report.

    Call it caution, training, or whatever else, but while I crept towards that car, hands slick with sweat around the grip and pump, I called it fear. The pure, uncut kind that made every step slow and deliberate. It dragged out the seconds I spent approaching the popped open trunk, then the back door. I raised the shotgun as I stepped around the car, giving me a full view of the carnage inside. Deputy Donovan¡ªDonno¡ªwas closer to the door. The only solace I had was that he faced away from me. The perp¡¯s bloodshot eyes were still open, and blood still slowly leaked out of the hole blasted into his chest.

    Oh God, did the perp do that to Donno? What the hell was I going to tell Mary-ann?

    After a few moments, the shock subsided, if only just a bit. Enough for me to pull away from the car. Still, I felt my expression harden. I needed to know what the hell was going on.

    Boyde watched me as I returned from the squad car. He was wearing an expression I was familiar with. It was easy to tell when it was someone''s first time seeing the truly horrible shit people can do to each other. I remember seeing that a lot back in Afghanistan. Hell, I remember the first time I pulled that face.

    But now was not the time to think, right now, it was time to act. ¡°What the fuck happened?¡±

    Boyde raked his hair, trying to find the words. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t¡­¡± He trailed off. My image of Boyde had little depth to it. He was nothing more than what it said on the tin¡ªDumb-jock, canned in water¡ªnot a damn thing more. But seeing him like this, speechless and deflated, I didn¡¯t like it. After a moment, he managed to string some words together. ¡°He just¡­ All over him. He was all over him, and when I got there¡­ I just couldn¡¯t let him keep¡­ eating him.¡±

    Eating him? Oh God, what the¡ª

    My thoughts were interrupted by screaming again.

    ¡°We gotta go,¡± I said to Boyde, but he was stone still. ¡°If you ain¡¯t coming, call this shit in. Get Keefe down here ASAP.¡± Again, no response from Boyde.

    I left him outside while I went back inside the clinic. A few steps from the door, Bernard was on his knees beside an unconscious man on his back, bleeding from long gashes down his face. Bernard waved me over.

    ¡°Hey. You¡¯re a cop, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, a deputy,¡± I said, letting the shotgun hang on its sling at my side.

    ¡°Okay, good. Get on that side.¡±

    I rushed to the unconscious man. I quickly went down the checklist from my first aid training, trying to remember anything I could. Then, I realized, I didn¡¯t even know what the hell was even wrong with this guy. My specialty was in bullet wounds, falls, cuts and scratches, but this guy just looked sick as hell. Like most of the other people in the clinic.

    Just as I realized my uselessness, Chuck returned with a gurney.

    ¡°If Chuck¡¯s still here, what do you need me for?¡± I asked Bernard as the three of us lifted the man onto the bed and they started towards the closer of the two hallways that led deeper into the clinic.

    ¡°Just in case this guy wakes up and feels like fighting again.¡± Bernard began removing the man¡¯s shirt while Chuck pushed the bed into the back hallway. And I just followed along third-wheeling on their little date.

    ¡°Fighting?¡± I looked at the unconscious man. He looked more like my grandpa than a brawler that got impatient while waiting in line. ¡°Did you knock him out?¡± I said to Bernard. It wasn¡¯t completely out of the question. He was weirdly muscular¡ªin a lean, tall guy kind of way¡ªbut at the same time, he seemed too nerdy to knock someone out.

    Bernard was too focused on his work to bother answering my question as we passed by the five or so examination rooms down the hall before we passed the first surgery room. God damn, this place was too nice for a town like Sheridan. Bernard grabbed the door beside the OR while Chuck pushed the gurney into the small room. Instead of an examination room, we were now in a... large closet?

    Chuck locked down the gurney as Bernard kept working on the unconscious man, who now had his shirt off. Chuck, seeing the confusion on my face, quickly explained.

    ¡°We¡¯re full up everywhere else,¡± Chuck said.

    ¡°So you put someone... in a closet?¡±

    ¡°We took a violent patient away from the others. There¡¯s almost twenty people out there right now, and I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m not looking to be sued because grandpa here can¡¯t keep to himself.¡± Bernard said without looking away from his charge. ¡°Now, if you don¡¯t have any other questions we have work to do.¡±

    I threw a hand up and took a step back.

    Jesus, Bernard, you are an asshole, aren¡¯t you?

    While Bernard and Chuck examined the man, I took the opportunity to write another text to Eury.

    Don¡¯t leave the house until I get back there. Call me the moment you get this message. Just hole up there and stay safe.

    Whatever the hell was going on, it wasn¡¯t safe outside for anyone, but especially for her. My only hope was that she actually made it back to my place.

    Oh god. The thought of Eury being out there alone. And me being here, trapped helping some scuzzy teacher, and the rudest doctor ever. I closed my eyes, trying to shut everything out for just a moment, but I only saw Eury getting attacked just like Donno. Just like all those people at O¡¯Brian¡¯s. Over and over and over. Helpless to do a damn thing about it.

    The code to the gun safe is 54-28-15 the bullets are at the bottom. Don¡¯t fire unless you are absolutely sure you are going to hit, and what you are pointing at is something that you absolutely want to go down. Just be careful Eury. I will be back. I will be back for you.

    Almost hopeless.

    Bernard¡¯s harsh voice barked out another order. ¡°Chuck. Get the ECG and I really need that box of Nitazo¡ª¡±

    ¡°Dr. Sullivan!¡± A man shouted from outside.

    Dr. Sullivan? Who¡¯d be dumb enough to think that the mayor would be working in his clinic right now? A quick glance at my watch told me it was already quarter past three in the morning.

    ¡°Dr. Sullivan!¡± Upon the second holler, I started to recognize the voice. Who did that sound like?

    ¡°Hold him down!¡± Bernard suddenly shouted as grandpa woke up and suddenly began to flail. With Chuck out of the room, I jumped to action holding the old man down. Looking at him, he barely looked like a man. More like a rabid dog. Biting and snapping at the both of us. ¡°Mr. Heywood! I need you to¡ª¡±

    The door burst open, sending grandpa into even more of a fit.

    ¡°Sully! We need to go.¡± The voice was gruff, tarred by years of cigarettes. It was Sheriff Keefe. ¡°Sully come on!¡± And he sounded almost desperate.

    ¡°What the hell are you talking¡ªhold him!¡ªI''ve got work here!¡±

    Sully? Why did that name sound so familiar? I looked at the young doctor''s face, maybe a little too long to not be creepy, until I finally made the connection. I''m surprised I hadn''t recognized him earlier, he did look exactly like his father after all. But I guess it was made harder because his asshole attitude didn¡¯t match up with the Sully I heard of back in high school. I had never met him personally but I heard he was generally friendly and chill with everyone. A far cry from the man in front of me now.

    ¡°Dr. Sullivan has called for a town-wide evacuation. We got to get¡ª¡± It took Keefe a moment to realize I was standing in the small room as well. ¡°Bell, we need to get everyone healthy here to Marguerite school as soon as we can. Do you have your truck?¡± Behind him, Chuck returned with the ECG.

    ¡°It¡¯s the wrecked one¡ª¡± I struggled to keep Grandpa down. ¡°Actually, give me your cuffs.¡± Keefe handed me his cuffs and I latched grandpa down to the bed. Now that he was restrained, Bernard and Chuck could continue their work. With that opportunity, I pulled Keefe aside and in a low tone, I whispered to him, ¡°Sheriff, Deputy Donovan has been killed.¡±

    ¡°Wait what? Donovan? Are you sure?¡± Keefe said, pretty much shouting his question back at me.

    ¡°It looked like the perp he brought in on a drunken disorderly attacked him.¡±

    ¡°Oh my god.¡± He took his hat off, running his fingers through his thin white hair. ¡°Where¡¯s the perp?¡±

    ¡°Outside in the squad car, Boyde put a slug through his chest.¡±

    He chewed on his lower lip, then nodded.¡°Good. An eye for an eye.¡±

    In that moment, I didn¡¯t know who or what was worse Keefe and his stupid cowboy law, or all the people losing their goddamned minds around here.

    ¡°Why¡¯d he call for an evacuation,¡± Bernard asked, still focused on drawing blood from grandpa.

    Keefe put his hat back on. ¡°I dunno son, he didn''t tell me much. Just that we gotta.¡± Of course, the mayor wouldn''t tell him much. Keefe was just a dog, ordered to go fetch and ask no questions. ¡°But your father asked me to come to get you personally, Sully. You and everyone else at the clinic. How many personnel are on shift right now?¡±

    Chuck chimed in. ¡°Including me and Dr. Sullivan, there¡¯s four doctors and six nurses.¡±

    ¡°Ah shit.¡± Keefe scratched his short white beard. ¡°I''ve got room for four in mine and there''s a van on its way. Enough room for at least the rest of the doctors and nurses.¡±

    ¡°Go without me,¡± Bernard said without hesitation.

    ¡°No can do, son. Your father was very specific.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really care what my father¡ª¡± Bernard was interrupted when Keefe walked over to him.

    He tried to whisper, but that deaf asshole couldn¡¯t to save his life. ¡°Your mother asked for you too.¡±

    Bernard¡¯s eyes never moved from grandpa, and his hands never stopped working, but after hearing that, it was clear that he wasn¡¯t here anymore.

    ¡°Please Sully, I don¡¯t exactly know what¡¯s going on, but both of ¡®em are real worried about you. I couldn¡¯t¡ª¡±

    ¡°Fine.¡± Hearing the words as they left his mouth boiled my blood instantly.

    ¡°Fine? What the fuck do you mean fine?¡± I got in Bernard¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re just gonna pack up and leave everyone? You''re just gonna run the moment your mommy and daddy said so?¡±

    ¡°It isn¡¯t like that!¡± He didn¡¯t bother to look up from Grandpa, but he finally stopped working.

    ¡°Bull-fucking-shit. These people need your help, and you can¡¯t just leave ¡®em here!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ I want to¡ª¡±

    Suddenly, Deputy Boyde pushed into the storage room. ¡°Sheriff they¡¯re all packed up.¡±

    Keefe nodded at Boyde, then turned to Bernard. ¡°Sully, we got to go. Now.¡±

    For a single moment, Bernard looked at Sheriff Keefe before glancing back at me. Reluctantly, Bernard removed his bloodied-latex gloves. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± He left first, followed close behind by Keefe then me.

    ¡°You fucking coward. You useless, worthless coward!¡± The waiting room, full of injured people and their loved ones, watched us as we spilled from the hallway. ¡°If you run away now, I¡¯d better never see your damn face again. ¡®Cause next time, Doctor, I will make sure you get what¡¯s fucking coming to you.¡±

    Sheriff Keefe stopped me from following him out of the clinic. ¡°That sounded an awful lot like a threat Deputy Bell. If you don¡¯t want to lose your job, I¡¯d suggest you calm down. Before you say something else stupid.¡±

    ¡°Stupid? Stupid! You think I¡¯m going to say something stupid! Fuck you, Keefe.¡± I stabbed a finger at him, then at Bernard. ¡°And that fucking coward doctor.¡±

    ¡°Now¡ª¡±

    I projected my voice so everyone in the waiting room could hear. ¡°You¡¯re just going to let all these folks wait and wait for what? At least tell them all the doctors are gone!¡±

    That did the trick. The waiting room erupted into a panic when everyone who could started for the door. The worst of them that could still walk swarmed around Chuck who stopped behind the desk to grab his coat. Trying to take control of the situation, the Sheriff began to shout. ¡°Folks, folks! Calm down! Everyone who isn¡¯t sick, please make your way to Marguerite School as soon as you can. There will be food, and space for everyone there!¡± The people seemed to be in even more of a rush hearing that. As the tide of people dwindled off, Keefe looked at me. ¡°You are welcome there as well, but just know, the moment this is all over, you will be under review.¡±

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think so.¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°I quit you, fat fuck.¡±

    Keefe shook his head while he whistled through his teeth. ¡°Boyde, when you¡¯re ready. I¡¯m sure we can find a spot for you,¡± he said, looking past me.

    I didn¡¯t turn around to look at Boyde. I just knew he¡¯d leave like a good little boy scout, all rules and no brains to go against the grain even when it was the right thing to do. ¡°I¡¯m staying, Sheriff.¡± Except he didn¡¯t. ¡°Gotta make sure Alaska and the others left make it to Marguerite, you know?¡±

    Now, that was a surprise. A pleasant one as well. But it was kind of cute that Boyde thought he would be the one to get me there. Either way, I appreciated the sentiment.

    ¡°Hey Nurse, you coming?¡± Keefe said, looking over me without paying my glare attention.

    ¡°I ahh¡­ I think I¡¯m gonna stay too. Thanks, though.¡± Chuck said, still behind the desk trying to calm the few remaining patients down.

    ¡°Alright. Suit yourselves.¡± As Keefe walked back towards his jeep, I turned back to survey the hole I just dug for myself. The waiting room was mostly empty, thank God. A few people were still sleeping in their chairs, but hey, I had bigger fish to fry so I ignored them.

    ¡°Hey Chuck, how many people do you have in those rooms back there?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve got about twenty or so rooms and I think they¡¯re all full.¡±

    ¡°Good god. This night couldn¡¯t get any worse could it?¡± I muttered under my breath.

    And as if the universe couldn¡¯t wait to slap me in the face again, a scream of terror came from the hallway. At the end of it, Grandpa was standing over Davis. His hand bleeding profusely from where he had pulled free from the tight cuff, peeling back the skin, revealing the muscle and bone beneath.

    May 18, 2019 - 3:21 AM

 21. Day 6 - Reunion

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 94.35 Hours / 3.93 Days - 2:03 AM

    Eury Morrissey

    Davis stopped in his tracks like I was a glaring stop sign. ¡°Eury?¡± The man beside him didn¡¯t really get the memo and took a few more stumbling steps before colliding into an overturned chair.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re with him,¡± I said, looking to Alaska.

    Alaska shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not like I wanted him around. I brought him here when things went south, and he came with us after it got worse.¡±

    ¡°It is your job to protect and serve, isn¡¯t it?¡± Davis said, helping the man up. For the moment that the man¡¯s hands were away from his face, the strips of skin between the deep lacerations were loose and fell apart from themselves until he held them back together.

    ¡°That ain¡¯t the department''s motto dipshit!¡± Alaska retorted. ¡°Now get Chuck to the back. And Boyde, go with him. Make sure there ain¡¯t any crazys, then I¡¯ll need a hand locking this place down.¡±

    Boyde nodded, leading the way with his flashlight and baton.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay,¡± Davis said to me as he walked past with the groaning Chuck.

    ¡°Can¡¯t say the same,¡± I muttered as they disappeared into the hallway.

    ¡°Who¡¯s your friend?¡± Alaska asked, finally acknowledging Kelly, who had until then had managed to blend into the dark wall, holding his sword.

    ¡°That¡¯s Kelly. He¡¯s¡­ cool.¡±

    Cool? Cool!? What the hell is wrong with me? Is that really the best I could come up with? Good god.

    ¡°Cool, huh?¡± Alaska studied my face for a moment, then turned her inquisitive gaze on Kelly. ¡°What are you supposed to be, some sort of bargain bin ninja?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all I could find,¡± Kelly said, not moving a muscle.

    ¡°Uh-huh. Can you use it?¡± Alaska pointed at the sword, which he lowered.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Good. ¡®Cause there¡¯s a group of ¡®em coming and they are mean, like, Black Friday mean. Ain¡¯t like those ones outside.¡± She said, pointing to the small pile at the doors.

    ¡°Were they faster? What did they look like? How sick?¡± I rattled off questions as they came to mind.

    Alaska scratched her head. ¡°They look kind of like rotten blueberries, and smell like them too.¡±

    ¡°So like those ones?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Something like that.¡±

    But were they fast?

    Oh god, could I be wrong? Were they drinking water? They didn¡¯t seem to be aware enough for that but¡ª

    ¡°Earth to Major Eury! Hello!¡± Alaska snapped her fingers in front of my face. ¡°You there?¡±

    ¡°Not at a hundred percent,¡± Kelly said, walking up to my side. I appreciated the censor, but if anyone here could understand, it was Alaska.

    ¡°Are you sick? Did one of those fucks get you?¡± Alaska said, her voice heavy with worry.

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡ª¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Kelly interrupted. ¡°Not sick with this thing, at least. She¡¯s just feeling a bit weak from all the running around.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t¡ª¡± I tried to say again, but Alaska didn¡¯t hesitate to interrupt me for a second time.

    ¡°Is there anything I can get for you? Anything I can do?¡± Alaska¡¯s oddly smooth hands squished my cheeks as she held my face. ¡°Maybe we could ask Chuck. I¡¯d ask a doctor, but all of them around here appear to be raging assholes.¡±

    Kelly picked up where Alaska left off. ¡°We just need the key to the pharmacy. Did that Chuck guy work here or something?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he did, and I¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± I interrupted them both and broke free from Alaska¡¯s vice grip. ¡°Forget about my cough. Let¡¯s worry about the problem coming down the fucking street.¡±

    A mob of at least twenty or so infected were coming at the clinic. They moved slightly faster than a slow walk and were surprisingly focused.

    I felt a lump form in my throat.

    ¡°Get the door!¡± Alaska yelled, and Kelly jumped to action, starting to push the cabinet back in place. ¡°What¡¯s that cart?¡± Alaska pointed at our wagon.

    ¡°My LOX and our supplies.¡±

    ¡°Get that out of here as fast as you can.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡± I asked, then I saw Alaska load her shotgun from the pouch of shells at her hip. ¡°Oh okay.¡±

    ¡°You can help Davis with Chuck. I need Boyde out here. Now.¡±

    ¡°What? Why me?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯ll be¡ª¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯ll be dangerous? For fuck¡¯s sake, Lask. I¡¯ve made it this far, haven¡¯t I?¡± I said, showing off my fire poker.

    ¡°You¡¯re the closest thing to someone with a brain here, and Chuck¡¯s gonna bite it if you don¡¯t help.¡± She finished slipping in the last shell. ¡°I¡¯ve got this. You get that. And besides,¡± Then, with a definitive motion, she racked the slide. ¡°My stick is bigger than yours¡±

    I didn¡¯t like it and I liked the idea of working with Davis even less, but she did have a point.

    ¡°Use this instead.¡± I offered my fire poker, ¡°It¡¯s how you use it. At least this way, you won¡¯t draw any more of them.¡±

    Alaska shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t take your only weapon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got this,¡± I said, unholstering the handgun. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±

    Seeing the pistol, Alaska smiled.

    Like a banshee¡¯s wail, a scream drowned out all of the grunts and forlorn howls approaching the clinic. There was something terribly familiar to me about that sound. A clear ringing bell, vibrato and all. It sounded no different than the night we crossed the bridge.

    Kelly looked first at me, then at Alaska, who¡¯s face told me that the scream was familiar to her as well.

    ¡°Boyde. Now.¡± Alaska grunted out. Although she was gripping my fire poker tightly, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that her shotgun was still close at hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon,¡± I said before I disappeared into the dark hallway with the cart. I looked back at Kelly and our eyes met one more time. ¡°Be safe, not stupid. Remember this isn¡¯t a suicide pact!¡±

    Kelly laughed nervously but nodded anyway. ¡°Same goes for you.¡±

    I looked away as the first of the mob arrived at the door. The sound of the fighting, and screaming, wasn¡¯t enough to drown out another one of the banshee¡¯s wail.

    Deeper into the clinic, the sound of the fighting faded, replaced by moans of agony and pain at the end of the hallway. Blood and sick and broken doors lined all the way down I went. I could only imagine the chaos that happened on the first night. Assuming what Kelly said was true, I have no clue how Alaska and Davis even got out of here. I ignored the crunch under the cart''s wheels as I crossed a particularly dark patch on the ground.

    I reached the surgery room in time to see Boyde rip open the already ransacked cupboards. In the center of the room, half illuminated by the flashlight, I could see Davis fighting to hold down a flailing Chuck.

    ¡°Chuck! I know it hurts man but just pull it together. We¡¯ll get you something quick!¡± Davis said, trying his best to shout over Chuck¡¯s groans of pain. ¡°Boyde!¡±

    ¡°What the fuck am I even looking for? There¡¯s nothing even here!¡± Boyde slammed one of the cupboard doors in frustration.

    ¡°Bandages, gauze, I dunno. Hydrogen peroxide?¡± Davis continued wrestling with Chuck on the operating table as I approached.

    The flashlight, knocked over in the struggle, did little to illuminate Chuck, but even then, I could tell he wasn¡¯t doing well. I picked the light up from the floor and shone it directly on him so that I could survey the damage. Or evisceration, in this case. I highly doubted some gauze and peroxide was going to help. The large gashes, that were obvious even in the dim moonlight in the waiting room, were only the largest of a multitude of cuts and gashes that separated the skin across his face. Deputy Boyde ran past us, opening a side door near where I left the cart. It couldn¡¯t have been anything but a fairly large supply closet.

    ¡°OOooooh! Fuck!¡± To my relief, Chuck actually spoke like a person, and not like one of them. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    I looked down on Chuck¡¯s diced face and said the only thing that came to mind. ¡°Oh god.¡±

    I doubt he¡¯s with us anymore.

    ¡°Here,¡± Boyde said, dropping a mismatched pile of loose bandaids alongside gauze and a larger bandage or two.

    ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Davis said, throwing the bandaids off of the table.

    ¡°It¡¯s what was there! If you want to fuckin¡ª¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted. ¡°You, Boyde? Lask needs your help.¡± Then, begrudgingly, I turned to Davis. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m gonna need a hand here, get him ready. We¡¯ve got to wrap this all.¡±

    For the second time since I¡¯ve met him, Boyde snapped to attention and ran off towards the waiting room. Closer to a dog, rather than a deputy. A wild dog maybe.

    ¡°Thanks, that guy¡¯s such an¡ª¡±

    ¡°Shut it. We¡¯ve got work to do.¡± Not only was Chuck bleeding profusely, but I also had no inclination to talk to Davis at that moment. The cauldron of emotions that were slowly spinning in my heart, were poisoned by whatever this sickness was. Even knowing that Alaska was alright wasn¡¯t enough. There was a dour, anger that was fogging everything else. The only thing that made it better was focusing. And Chuck just happened to need a lot of that.

    Davis had already gotten most of the blood wiped off his face, using a rag from who-knows-where but it wouldn¡¯t matter for long. I opened the bottle of peroxide and a second before getting started, I realized that my patient was still gasping at the pain like a fish.

    ¡°Chuck! Close your mouth and eyes. This is gonna burn like hell.¡±

    ¡°Should we give him something to bite down on, like a wallet or something?¡± Davis asked.

    I hesitated for a second and looked at him. The idea was dumb enough to give me pause. ¡°Do you have a wallet?¡±

    ¡°I think I lost it.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t offer.¡±

    Chuck managed to close his eyes and mouth, so I dumped the bottle of peroxide over the entirety of his face. The clear liquid first washed a majority of the blood from his face, then a pink foam began to violently bubble from the largest gashes down to the smallest scrapes.

    So, I¡¯ve been through some medical pain in my life, multiple surgeries, injuries during my years of martial arts training, enough that I had a particularly acute empathy for injuries. But the kind of pain Chuck was going through the moment that pink foam turned red, could only be described as indescribable. Even with Davis holding him down, the small man shot up in his seat, shaking off Davis¡¯ full body weight. While Davis managed to keep one of his hands down, the other¡ªmy responsibility¡ªmade it to his face. Within the second it took for me to wretch his hand back on the operating table, Chuck managed to dig his grimy fingers into his wounds. Not only did it make things worse, it spread the pain to his sliced open fingertips.

    ¡°Jesus, Chuck! What the hell were you thinking!¡± Davis shouted at the man, but his words barely seemed to register.

    ¡°We need to bandage him before he does anything else stupid,¡± I said, ripping open as many packages of gauze as I could. I got to work placing them all over Chuck¡¯s hatchwork face. Each of the crisp white squares turned blood red the moment it touched his skin. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to be enough. The pharmacy would have what we¡¯re looking for, but the damn door is locked.¡±

    Suddenly, Davis reached into Chuck¡¯s deep pockets of his magenta scrubs and retrieved a ring thick with keys. But, the moment he took his hand off him, Chuck¡¯s hand returned to his face, ripping at the gauze.

    ¡°Fuck! Okay, bandage this shit up first, get him settled and¡ª¡± In mid-sentence, my knees buckled a little from under me. Whether it was the sight of the blood, the intensity of everything happening all at once, or just plain old hypoxia, my strength was just enough to keep me standing.

    ¡°Eury are¡ªChuck! Stop!¡ªEury, are you okay?¡± Davis struggled to divide his attention between the half gauzed Chuck and me.

    ¡°I think¡­ I think he might be infected, Davis.¡±

    ¡°What? No. There¡¯s no way, he¡¯s been fine, he¡¯s just bleeding.¡±

    ¡°Euuuuahhhhhowww! It burns! My fucking face!¡± Chuck said, writhing again.

    ¡°Hold him down,¡± I said, fighting against the world spinning around me while I reorganized the gauze, replacing the ones that I could, then tightly bandaging them all down.

    ¡°That should be good for now,¡± Davis said, although Chuck still kept trying to claw his face.

    ¡°I¡¯ll head to the pharmacy, grab some more bandages. What should I get him for the pain?¡± I said, rechecking the handgun at my waist.

    ¡°Opioids, probably. Morphine, oxycodone, oxycontin, maybe lidocaine if you can find it? Anything to numb his face. I might be wrong, but I doubt Chuck¡¯ll give you a straight answer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± I really wished that I didn¡¯t have to.

    I grabbed the key and Kelly¡¯s flashlight from the cart before leaving for the pharmacy.

    The waiting room was under siege. The door¡¯s windows were blocked by chairs stuffed into the frames. This left enough room for Kelly and Alaska to slash and poke through the gaps. While beneath them, Deputy Boyde pressed against the filing cabinet, holding the doors shut.

    I flicked through the keys until I found the one labelled ¡°Pharm¡±. I moved fast once I got into the pharmacy. The fighting looked exhausting, and there was no way they could keep it up. And it was only a matter of time before someone got hurt.

    Using the flashlight, I searched the pharmacy¡¯s storeroom for any of the drugs Davis had mentioned. The bandages and gauze were easiest to find. Several severe injury first-aid kits were near the front. I grabbed one of them, then moved on to the medicine. Thankfully, the drugs were alphabetical order, so if there wasn¡¯t any morphine, the oxycodone would be close. And lidocaine wasn¡¯t much further. At the ¡°M¡± section, I worked my way down the shelf. Finding nothing, I prepared to work my way up the ¡°O¡± section, but, as I switched shelves, an unsorted and packed box sitting beneath the ¡°N¡± shelf caught my eye. Amongst the perfectly organized storeroom, the small, damaged cardboard box felt kind of out of place. Curious, I pulled the box out. It contained several hundred tablets of something called Nitazoxanide¡ªan anti-parasitic. And from the invoice, it arrived at the clinic only a day before I got to town. The packaging was ripped open and it looked like a bottle was missing.

    My curiosity was interrupted by another one of the Banshee¡¯s screams reminding me of my time limit and of my situation.

    Back to my search, I found some oxycontin, and then found a small bottle of lidocaine. Trying to balance my haul in my hands, I rushed back out to the hallway. Then, I heard the shotgun get racked.

    ¡°Boyde, no!¡± Alaska tried to stop the deputy, but she was too late. An infected man had managed to break one of the thick glass windows of the waiting room. And just as he appeared, his head was disintegrated by the shotgun blast.

    BOOM!

    My ears rang worse than after a long night at O¡¯Brian¡¯s.

    Then, if the situation couldn¡¯t get any worse, the Banshee¡¯s wail raised in both pitch and fervence. It was getting closer.

    ¡°Kelly, Lask, we¡¯re getting the hell out of here!¡± I yelled from the hallway.

    Kelly, who unlike Alaska, was not currently attacking an infected, turned from his kill station and hurried to me.

    ¡°Did you get something for yourself?¡± Kelly whispered just loud enough over the tinnitus.

    ¡°No!¡± I hissed. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just get back over there, and get ready. I¡¯ll be bringing Davis and Chuck up here soon enough.¡±

    Alaska looked back at us for a second, but before she could say anything, another one of them showed up and occupied her. Boyde, too engrossed in the fight, barely noticed Kelly away from his post.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there. Go!.¡± I said, heading back towards the surgery room.

    Kelly wanted to say more, but he was clearly needed at the barricade, so he let the matter drop for now.

    As I continued on towards the surgery room, it sounded like Davis was still having trouble with Chuck. The oxycontin and lidocaine would hopefully calm him down.

    Looking back at the siege in the waiting room, a single thought came to mind. How the hell are we supposed to get out of here? That thought was immediately followed by another.

    In body bags, or shambling out, by my reckoning.

    Shut the fuck up! Shut up! It¡¯ll be fine, we¡¯ll figure¡ª

    My thought was cut short when I returned to the surgery room. Instead of struggling on the table where I left them, Davis was now nowhere to be found, and the haphazardly bandaged Chuck was banging on the door to the supply room.

    In my shock, I accidentally dropped the bottle of lidocaine.

    Chuck turned and charged at me.

    I dove out of the way, letting him slam into the wall. Scrambling to my feet, I reached for the handgun, but in my haste to stand, the world around me began to whirl violently.

    Fucking body!

    Chuck had already recovered from his collision, and aimed himself at me again. Without even thinking¡ªor truly aiming¡ªI squeezed the handgun¡¯s trigger.

    BOOM!

    The shot left my ears ringing. Though, unlike the shotgun, it didn¡¯t put Chuck down. In fact, I don¡¯t even think it hit him. Again, I had to leap out of the way to avoid his outstretched arms. There was no wall for Chuck to run into so he recovered faster than I could stand. I stumbled to get my footing, but I managed despite the spinning floor.

    Chuck agonized moan increased to a fever pitch as he charged. Without thinking, I stepped behind the cart, hoping that like before, Chuck would barrel head-on where I was standing, as he had before. And he did. Directly towards the cart. Davis took a step out of the storage room right when I realized my mistake.

    At the same time, Kelly jogged into the surgery room. There was no time. No time at all.

    ¡°Run!¡± I screamed at Kelly. As Chuck collided with the cart, I dove into Davis, tackling him back into the storage room.

    From behind the storage door, I heard the cart clatter to the loud on the ground like a church bell dropped. I covered my ears, hoping the door would hold against the following explosions. Except, as the seconds passed, I was still laying on top of Davis, and there was no explosion. Not sound at all.

    I looked up to see Davis¡¯ perplexed face staring down at me. I took my hands away from ears but heard nothing. No explosion. No Chuck banging against the door. Then, I heard the door behind me swing open, and Davis¡¯ face was illuminated by a flashlight.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Kelly¡¯s voice was quiet and curt.

    Davis awkwardly looked at me still on top of him. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± He said.

    I got to my feet, which was easier said than done since neither of us wanted to lay a hand on each other. By the time that I was up, Kelly had already managed to get the cart righted.

    ¡°Is the tank okay?¡± Kelly asked, shining the flashlight at it.

    I nodded.

    While I didn¡¯t see any damage, I couldn¡¯t help but notice Chuck¡¯s blood splattered over the tank.

    As I ran my hands over the metal, I left a streak of dark red blood. Panic set in as I began searching myself for the source. The amount of blood that had been on my hand couldn¡¯t just be from a small cut.

    ¡°There¡¯s a door over here. Mr. Davis, you grab the cart, I¡¯ll get the others.¡± He said as he stepped into the hallway. ¡°I¡¯ll get the others and we¡¯ll meet you back there.¡±

    ¡°Uh, okay,¡± Davis said as he tried to move the cart. but instead of rolling along with him as it usually did, it took two hard tugs before he got it rolling.

    Davis and I followed Kelly out of the surgery room down to a small hallway with an exit sign above it. I guess Kelly had been here enough to know about the tucked-away escape route.

    I shone the flashlight at my bloodied hand. It was red, bright and fresh, not dark like Chuck¡¯s.

    Davis leaned his head back and sighed. He must¡¯ve been exhausted, god knows how long they were running for. I felt the same, but I had no time to rest. I eyed Davis up and down, searching for anything that was out of the ordinary, or anything that¡ª

    That was when I saw it. It blended in well with the brown leather of his belt, but it was blood. Maybe Chuck scratched him while they were wrestling on the operating table.

    Or maybe, Davis just didn¡¯t tell anyone.

    If he was still acting normal, I couldn¡¯t do anything about it.

    But should that really stop you?

    I clicked off the flashlight. He didn¡¯t need to see me, and I didn¡¯t want to see him. Time crept by, as I watched his silhouette shift back and forth.

    Do it. Now¡¯s your chance.

    The thought came like a wave of nausea. My lungs burned like I needed to cough, but I held it in harder than I held the pistol in my hand.

    It would be easier if I couldn¡¯t see his face. So fucking easy.

    Don¡¯t you¡ª

    ¡°Thanks for that back there,¡± Davis said, breaking the spell I was under. ¡°If you weren¡¯t here, god knows what would have happened.¡± And he sounded so sincere too. He didn¡¯t know how lucky he was because I decided not to do it.

    Still, as the rest of the group arrived, I leaned towards Davis¡¯ silhouette and whispered, ¡°we need to talk.¡±

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 93.50 Hours / 3.90 Days - 3:10 AM

 22. Short of breath - Part 2

    May 17, 2019

    Eury Morrissey

    O¡¯Brian¡¯s had an unusually large dance floor for a small town fake-Irish pub. Then again, it also doubled as a dance club, sometimes a reception hall. While odd, I enjoyed it. It meant more dancing, less standing around, and not being interrogated by Alaska or worse. I wanted nothing more than to find someone tonight. And maybe end up somewhere other than Alaska¡¯s in the morning.

    I¡¯m sure that¡¯ll happen.

    I ignored the thought and watched Alaska as she took long swaying steps across the empty gravel parking lot. I readjusted the straps on my bag more out of nervousness than necessity.

    What were you even worried about Eury?

    People, being denied, general idiocy in public¡­

    Shut up.

    While right, I didn¡¯t need that bitch spelling every little thing out for me. I followed behind Alaska. An overgrown berm was between us and the bar making the slouching building look collapsed and eaten by the tall grass. Alaska climbed, then descended the berm with surprising efficiency, considering the heels she wore. The hill was too high for me to scale comfortably, or safely.

    Or alone. Just let her take care of you, you baby. Just let her¡ª

    I stomped over to where the gravel lot met the main street, in time to get a faceful of river-scented wind. It had a certain industrial scent to the water that my dad liked to blame on the mines. The very same mines who employed the majority of the people in town, just after the federal prison, and that Marguerite School on the hill outside of town. So, it was safe to say that all of his activism wasn¡¯t well-received at town hall. Personally, I blamed the smell of sewage on the other three towns upriver.

    As I rounded the berm back towards O¡¯Brian¡¯s, I felt Alaska¡¯s gaze as she stared me down. A look of pity and ¡®understanding¡¯ was obvious as she stood, hand on hip, at the dimly lit patio of O¡¯Brian¡¯s.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Alaska asked me as I got closer to her.

    ¡°Yep.¡± I tried my best at a genuine smile.

    There was no reason for you to be like this with her and you know it. She cares, is that so bad?

    Yep.

    ¡°You ready to cut several new rugs tonight, dear lassy?¡± She asked, cringing in tandem with me at her bad Irish accent.

    ¡°Food, then dance until I die,¡± I said, intertwining my arm with hers.

    ¡°Well, let''s try not to die. Not tonight, at least.¡±

    Inside, O¡¯Brian¡¯s was tacky and dilapidated, but that didn¡¯t stop the immediate hit of nostalgia. This was the place where I rediscovered my love of dancing after I lost the bottom half of my lungs. There was a time I resented my parents for forcing me into dance when I was a kid. Alongside everything else they got me to do. Nowadays, the wild, unstructured movement of club dancing was something I had grown to adore. It seemed to be the only kind of exercise I could stand, and it was at O¡¯Brian¡¯s that I always had the most fun. Maybe it was the DJ, the atmosphere, the lax dress code, or the woman that always seemed to make sure we went every time I came back to town, but whatever it was, I did know I couldn¡¯t find a place like this anywhere else. It had a kind of charisma to it. A friendly neighbourhood, homeless-man charm.

    Even though the music was already blaring from the stacks of amps around the dancefloor, the floor itself, in all of its multicoloured glory, was practically deserted. Except for two surprisingly drunk women sloppily dancing in front of the DJ booth, and the apparent ghost of a hundred-year-old cowboy silently tapping his boot off beat across the dance floor from them. He felt like an omen of something weird.

    ¡°It is Friday, right?¡± I yelled into Alaska¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± She said, scanning the room around us.

    ¡°Where¡¯s everyone then?¡±

    ¡°Give ¡®em some time. Last horn at the mines only blew an hour ago.¡±

    Alaska pulling me by our intertwined elbows, she dragged me to an empty booth squished off to the side of the room. The spot gave us a great view of the dancefloor, the front door, and the three screens playing staticky music videos along with the music. Within a few seconds the waitress, confusingly dressed in a bright orange bavarian-esque barmaid outfit, came to a stop tableside. Over the thirty years, O¡¯Brian had changed hands so many times, the tonal whiplash did not bother me at all.

    ¡°Hi there, dearies. What can I get for you this evening?¡± The waitress asked in her faux-Irish accent. I eyed the drink menu up and down before settling on a glass of water to start. It took a moment, but the waitress finally recognized Alaska as the sheriff¡¯s deputy she was, then she finally took a good long look at me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, love, could I see some ID? We have a strict no minors policy here.¡±

    My expression soured.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Eury, it¡¯s a compliment! It just means that you look young.¡± Alaska tapped my shin while giving the waitress her widest smile.

    ¡°It is the law.¡± The waitress repeated, forgetting her accent.

    ¡°The law,¡± I muttered as I grabbed my ID. Looking young, a boon past forty, a curse when eighteen trying to get into the campus bar, and beyond fucking annoying when you were almost thirty. The shock on the waitress¡¯ face was a familiar one. Other than the bags under my eyes that I developed in university, my face hadn¡¯t changed dramatically since I was sixteen.

    ¡°Great! Thanks, lass.¡± The waitress fell back into her accent before taking both of our drink orders. A mug of light beer for Alaska and a stiff drink of cold water for me.

    When she returned, I ordered a basket of chicken fingers with a side of the greasiest fries that I had ever eaten¡ªthe perfect pre-dance fuel. The bar slowly filled as we ate our food. By the time that Alaska had moved on to her second beer, the dance floor finally had enough drunken bodies for me to lose my self-consciousness.

    ¡°I¡¯m going in!¡± I shouted at Alaska as I slipped out of the booth.

    ¡°Happy hunting!¡± Alaska raised her beer at me splashing some in my general direction. If she continued on like that, we¡¯d be taking a cab home tonight. A pang of shame overcame me, but I tried to ignore it.

    I walked past the other full tables that overlooked the sunken dance floor. I tried my best to ignore their eyes and let the music start to flow into me. A disgusting combination of electronic dance and country was blaring over the speakers, but as the singer sang a lonesome ballad about his dog running off with his truck or something I let the hard and fast bassline start to control my shoulders, anyway. I put a hand on the thick gold railing that ran down the short set of stairs to the dance floor and descended into the pit of bodies writhing against one another.

    It was the perfect time of night. Early enough that most people hadn¡¯t yet drunk themselves stupid, yet late enough to lose whatever inhibitions. I began to let my head sway along to the beat as well. With a single, wild guitar riff ripping through the speaker above me, I felt the last of my hesitation leave me as I let my body move to the beat.

    My physical jubilation lasted a solid five minutes. In that time, my mind went blank. The iridescent strobe lights blinded me about fifty times, and I let three different boys dance with me before they took off. The first saw my face, and a moment later he looked like he didn¡¯t want to risk the perceived jail time. The second got a better look at my cannula and must¡¯ve decided the logistics of taking me home would be too much effort.

    The third was a bit less disappointing than the other two.

    At least at first.

    We took a song to size each other up; I knew that my dancing was way better than someone else in my position, and he was good enough too. Let¡¯s just say that I got the impression that he knew how to move his hips. Obviously, he liked what he saw because we spent the next slow song together, very close. I could taste the tequila he had been drinking¡ªmaybe he was here with a bachelor party? Just as the song was coming to its end, he leaned in tight to my ear.

    ¡°Want some blow?¡±

    He put his hands up as the strobes turned a bright ocean blue. It highlighted the small baggie of white powder in his hand. The baggie, as well as the buckets of sweat streaming down his face and dampened his shirt.

    Holy shit! How the hell¡¯d you miss that?

    ¡°It¡¯s cool if you don¡¯t wanna! Just thought¡ª¡± Mid-sentence, his face suddenly scrunched up, followed by an onslaught of drowned out sneezes. Looking back up at me, he looked confused for a moment, before pointing towards the front door. I let him run off without much concern. The last I saw of bachelor number three was him sick against the wall outside the bathroom. Overall though, I wasn¡¯t too broken up about it, there was still a lot of night left.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    That was until a thick hand tapped me on the shoulder.

    His deep voice floated towards me on the scent of cheap whiskey he spoke. ¡°Hey there. It¡¯s a surprise to see you here, isn¡¯t it, Eury?¡±

    ¡°Not if you knew me,¡± I said as I turned to face the man.

    I felt my hands flexing open. There were exactly zero people in Sheridan who both knew my name, and who I wanted to see right now. And once I finally recognized the man under his new short-on-the-sides haircut and the short beard, all of the fun that I had that night fell flat as his feet were.

    My hands immediately shut. ¡°Mr. Davis?¡± I shouted over the new power ballad blaring over the speaker.

    The smile that slashed across his face made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

    Do not be that excited about that, asshole!

    Davis closed the distance and the other dancers sealed us in.

    Davis leaned in. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure it was you, but I¡¯m glad that I came to say hi!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it is me,¡± I said, consciously trying to back away from him, although that didn¡¯t stop him from keeping his face close to mine.

    ¡°So how long have you been back in Sheridan?¡±

    ¡°I got back in today,¡± I told him.

    He mouthed ¡®oh¡¯ as he pulled his face away from mine. A second later, it occurred to him that he was just awkwardly standing close to me, not even dancing So he proceeded to move his heels off beat.

    ¡°Your mom had mentioned that you were planning on coming home! I didn¡¯t realize it was this week though. I¡¯m glad that I caught you though. Can I buy you a drink or something?¡±

    What the fuck is your game here, Davis?

    It would¡¯ve been much easier if I was drunk, then, at least, I had an excuse for thinking so slow. For three and a half years in high school, this man was my friend¡ªmy only friend¡ªand maybe something more until I realized I was catastrophically wrong. I didn¡¯t want to make the same mistake that night.

    I shrugged and made a hand gesture that I didn¡¯t hear him.

    And if I kept doing that, maybe he¡¯d get the hint and leave.

    Davis stopped his ¡®dancing¡¯ for a moment and considered diving back in towards my face. A glare and a sour expression kept him away however. A sweaty shoulder bounced into me and I realized I wasn¡¯t dancing anymore.

    How long have you just been standing there creep? I¡¯m sure we already look like a Children of the Corn reject, try not to stand out too much more.

    I tried my best to fall back into the beat but every step felt like I was lagging behind everyone else. At the very same moment, I became acutely aware of how difficult every single step was on my lungs. How every movement threw my oxygen tank off balance. And since Davis approached me, I found all of those inhibitions I had lost ten minutes prior. Frustration began to pile at my feet, lungs, backpack. It made my breathing harder, even more so with Davis around.

    ¡°Eury?¡± Davis said, pulling me in by my shoulder. But, somehow, that small bit of contact felt more intense than any of my past dance partners. ¡°If you want to take a rest, I¡¯d love to buy you a drink and catch up. Want to find somewhere to sit?¡± There was something electric in his voice that stripped away my defences. If it wasn¡¯t, then why did every small-hair on my body stand at his every word?

    ¡°I...We¡­¡± I could feel my face burn up as his got closer to mine.

    ¡°Are you okay? Is it your lungs?¡± His hand stayed where he held me.

    ¡°How ¡®bout we get that drink,¡± I said turning towards the stairs leading out of the dancefloor.

    His hand dragged itself down my arm as I tried to lead him through the crowd.

    Oh? All according to plan eh?

    I turned a sharp right, away from our booth¡ªand Alaska¡ªand towards the bar. Lask would only complicate the plan that was quickly forming. A pair of stools were abandoned at the far end of the long wooden bar. Perfect.

    Perfect for what?

    Isn¡¯t that a good question? If my body wasn¡¯t going to cooperate with him around, I might as well take the reigns and steer this in the direction I wanted to all those years back. I pulled myself onto the stool against the wall, and kept my back to the frayed cedar, facing the empty chair. Somewhere along the way, my excitement had grown from just a small spark into something thunderous. Once he took the stool, I finally got a good look at him.

    It was at that moment I realized something was missing. Not a tooth or an eyebrow. Nothing that obvious at a glance. Instead, it was something I found in some of my previous dance partners at least for the first little while, a sort of fire that Davis lacked.

    As his gaze travelled up and down my face, he tucked one lip behind the other. There was no passion to it. No longing. No hunger. Rather, he looked at me like I was a restaurant menu he has browsed over a hundred times. Not a single thing about me lit a spirit in him, and it was about to kill me.

    ¡°So, what¡¯re you drinking?¡± Davis asked. Out of habit, or maybe stress, I adjusted my cannula. ¡°Oh shit! I¡¯m sorry, can you even drink with oxygen? I remember reading something¡­¡± He trailed off as he dove into his own memory for the factoid. Of course, it was one that I was very aware of.

    There were many reasons as to why one in my position shouldn¡¯t drink. ¡°Hey! Can I get three doubles of Tequila over here!¡± But not a single one could trump my reason to drink right now, that was for sure. The bartender that had, up until I had yelled for her, been admiring something or someone out on the dance floor snapped to attention at my voice.

    I guess my teacher''s voice was coming along.

    ¡°Wait, wait. I don¡¯t drink Tequila.¡± Davis leaned into the bar, putting himself between the bartender and me.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine. I was ordering for myself.¡± I said as I tried my best to avoid his eyes.

    He mouthed ¡®oh¡¯ again and leaned back on his barstool.

    Those damn, cold eyes. The same icy blues that I had fallen in love with when I was sixteen. And when I glanced at them now, there was nothing. Not then, and not now.

    As the bartender lined up the three shot glasses, I felt a pang of hesitation. Even if it was to forget for just one night, did I really want to risk this? All for the ability to ignore what was plain as day, written all over his face.

    The second the first shot was poured, I grabbed the tequila and threw it down the hatch. I slammed the glass down, then grabbed the second and threw that one down as well. And right as the bartender pulled the bottle of Mexican-Gold away from the counter, a large slender hand shot out from behind me and snatched it.

    ¡°For me? Thanks!¡± Alaska¡¯s words had a light touch of slurring. Of course, at least sixty ounces of light beer and she was barely affected. Country girls in a nutshell. ¡°Wooo!¡± Lask¡¯s face scrunched like she had just sucked back half a lemon. After a few seconds, her face had returned to normal. ¡°So, Eury,¡± as she slid the shot glass back onto the counter, she wrapped an arm around me, ¡°who¡¯s your friend?¡± Lask was burning hot, and that wasn¡¯t pairing well with the stomach ache I had brewing.

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t recognize him? I could¡¯ve sworn all y''all had a crush on him too! Or back in the day at least.¡± Damn. The Tequila was really working its way into my brain.

    ¡°Too?¡± Davis asked nervously before Alaska leaned in close to his face.

    ¡°Oh shit! Is that Mr. Davis? My god!¡± Alaska was in full social mode, the perfectly wrong thing for this moment. She even had this almost valley girl lilt. ¡°It¡¯s been forever! How¡¯re you?¡±

    ¡°Hey¡­ there.¡± Davis turned back to the bar and grabbed his tumbler of whiskey, and brought it to his lips.

    Lask leaned away from him and spoke directly into the top of my head. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were drinking tonight? Or ever.¡± I turned to glare at her, but she was right, so I really had nothing to say. Back to Davis, she continued with her schtick. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you forgot about me! You were one of my favourite teachers!¡±

    ¡°When you weren¡¯t out skipping with my sister that is.¡± The moment I said the words, I regretted them instantly. Helen wasn¡¯t a topic of conversation that Alaska and I touched on. Ever.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m pretty terrible with names.¡± Davis stammered. Alaska looked hurt, but more than anything I was surprised. How could he have forgotten her?

    ¡°Alaska? Alaska Bell? Really?¡± Alaska reminded him. It took a few seconds but slowly it dawned across Davis¡¯ face.

    ¡°Oh yeah! Of course! So sorry about that! I¡¯ve had a lot of students, I¡¯m really sorry Alaska.¡± Lask nodded along, happy to be remembered.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you do! Who knows what I¡¯d do if you forgot me completely.¡± She said as she turned her attention to the bartender. ¡°Hey! Can I get another thirty-two of the blonde!¡± As Alaska was distracted by her order Davis looked at me with wide apologetic eyes that seemed to scream I¡¯m sorry, who the hell is she? I couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan tonight? Your place or hers?¡±

    ¡°Alaska, what the fuck!¡± I spun hard on my stool, both to avoid Davis, and to get a better angle to kick her in the knee.

    ¡°What? I thought that was what was happening here? If I¡¯m not mistaken that was exactly why we¡­¡± But Davis¡¯ hand on my shoulder interrupted her shitty apology.

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. I wasn¡¯t trying to do anything Eury, please don¡¯t¡­¡± And then it was my turn to interrupt.

    ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry Davis. I know that wasn¡¯t your plan, but, but¡­¡± Come on Tequila, don¡¯t fail me now, ¡°but what would you say if I told you that was my plan?¡± In less than a second, his cheeks turned bright pink, and it wasn¡¯t because of the whiskey. I intently watched his eyes. There was no way that he could ignore me after I said something like that. There was no seeing me as that little girl you knew back then. I was a woman now and he¡¯d better respect that.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Eury. I think there¡¯s been a big misunderstanding, I mean, I¡¯m¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh god, if you say that you¡¯re my teacher or something stupid like that, I swear to god that I¡¯m going to fucking burst!¡±

    ¡°No, what I¡¯m trying to say is that I¡¯m taken,¡± Davis said, hitting me like a runaway train. ¡°I¡¯m getting married at the end of the summer.¡± He couldn¡¯t even look me in the eyes before he grabbed his empty glass of whiskey. He took a dry swig off it, before putting it down onto the bartop again. He stared at the clear glass, while I stared at him.

    I dropped off the barstool hard. The thick rubber of my boots¡¯ soles dampened the sound, but I felt the drop like a punch to the gut.

    ¡°Eury, what¡¯s going on? Are you okay?¡± This time, it was Lask who was concerned for me.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said as I took the first step away from them.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Lask¡¯s nails dug into my shoulder as she stopped me, spinning me to face her. Instead of the same smile, she had a sad tinge to her look.

    ¡°I¡¯m going back to your place.¡± I tried to pull away from her grip but she kept me still.

    ¡°Let me walk you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking pity me! Let me go. I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡± Alaska said, but I pried her fingers off of me. ¡°Eury, c¡¯mon! Just wait up for me, I gotta just¡­¡±

    ¡°Finish your fucking beer and I¡¯ll see you at home. I¡¯m going and don¡¯t fucking follow me.¡± And with that, I disappeared into the crowd and out the door. As I opened the double-wide wooden doors, letting the cool night air wash over me, I looked back at the bar, but quickly looked away. I didn¡¯t need to watch as Alaska returned to Davis¡¯ side. I just needed my music.

 23. Day 6 - Sheriffs station

    May 23, 2019 - 3:13 AM

    Leo Kelly

    The streets behind the clinic were fairly empty. It made sense. All of them had been drawn to the fighting at the front of the clinic. That being said, it was a shock to me, that in the end, there were so few of them that actually made it to the barricade that we had set up. The original mob that had come for us looked to be at least twenty-strong, but by the time we got out of there, there weren''t more than ten or so more dead at the door.

    Not to mention that shrieking. That goddamn shrieking.

    As we crossed the street, Alaska took charge of leading the group. At first, I didn''t know where she was taking us, but after a sharp turn down another alleyway two blocks away, and her confidence only increased, I figured it out.

    She stopped at a door beside a nondescript garage door with ¡°LOADING DOCK¡± emblazoned on top, with a small faded image of the sheriff''s crest under it. Alaska withdrew her key ring from her back pocket, unlocked it, then motioned for me to do the honour. Slowly, I twisted the doorknob and pushed the door in. Alaska went in shotgun first, followed by me with my flashlight. After we cleared the small loading room, I went to bring the others in. I stepped out of Davis¡¯ way as he dragged the cart in, bringing him closer to me than I liked. Eury was the last to enter.

    Oh god. She looks even worse than before.

    Eury jumped slightly when I put my hand on her shoulder and leaned into her ear. ¡°Are you feeling okay? I¡¯ve got something that might help.¡±

    ¡°Later. I¡¯ve got to¡­ Talk to Davis first.¡±

    Davis? Davis! She wanted to talk to him? I wanted to ask why, but Eury had already followed the rest into the sheriff''s office proper. Since nobody freaked out or fought on the other side of the door, it was safe to say this haunted house ride won¡¯t end in me mauled to death. Stepping through the door, I found myself at the end of a long hallway with several closed doors lining it. In the end, there were a few desks and chairs that made up the main room of the sheriff¡¯s station, lit by sporadic strobing flashlights. I made my way down the hall, pinching my nose all along the way since every building seemed to have this same wall of stench.

    Of everything that this fucking sickness did, all this vomiting, and shitting and whatever else all this crap is, this smell was close to the worst of it.

    That¡¯s not true. You know that¡¯s not true.

    No, I guess it wasn¡¯t. And seeing Eury as she was right then¡ªslouched, and not even a hollow version of herself¡ªI saw the real, exceptionally real, worst side of it.

    ¡°Boyde, go check the basement, I¡¯ll get this side here.¡± Alaska said in this hush-hush tone of voice. I bet it killed her to be this quiet. ¡°Hey, Samurai. Go and check those offices back there.¡± She said, pointing behind me.

    ¡°I can, but I need to give Eury¡ª¡±

    ¡°Clear the area first, then do whatever you need to do. Pressing matters first, matters of the heart second.¡± She said with a conspiratorial wink.

    ¡°It¡¯s not¡­¡±

    Alaska had already walked away, so there was no point in finishing that half-hearted excuse.

    Oh well. Obediently, I scoped out the office. It was plain-looking. The papers on the desk were still stacked and orderly like someone just stepped out for a coffee break. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. I stepped back into the hall.

    It was stupid of Alaska to call it a matter of the heart. It¡¯s a matter of the goddamned mind, Eury¡¯s sick and these meds are going to be what she needs to get better.

    I hope.

    It killed me that I couldn¡¯t tell her that, but at the same time, there was no telling how dangerous a wrong assumption could be. Would they be willing to put her down? Just like I had with Chuck? Maybe that changed things since they¡¯ve been burned once maybe they won¡¯t be as willing to take a second chance.

    Oh good god. What the hell are we going to do?

    Before my thoughts could spiral any more, I opened the door across the hall. The room must''ve been a storage room of some kind. The large metal racks had been knocked over and their contents spilled across the floor. The stench was definitely the worst here. Taking a few steps inside, I quickly realized exactly why.

    At the back of the room, an unpleasantly familiar sight awaited me. Just like that first night at the motel, there was an explosion of black blood that painted the ground and walls. It likely spewed out from the three rotten corpses. The center was barely recognizable except for a pair of intact legs. The other two were too destroyed, too decomposed for me to make out anything more than just their basic shapes.

    Taking in another breath set off a warning signal in my mind. Panic set in and the animalistic part of me got me back out the door before taking in another breath. In my hurry to get out, I slammed the door behind me.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Alaska asked. She must have finished her end of the search.

    ¡°There¡¯s¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say. Hey, I found three of your cop buddies and they were kind of¡­ disintegrated?

    Disintegrated?

    Wait a second, how in the hell? It¡¯s been what, six days max? How in the world are they that bad off that quickly? I¡¯m not some sort of scientist, but I know that meat doesn¡¯t go bad that fast and it¡¯s not like it¡¯s exactly hot in here. I was still a little cold even though I was wearing a jacket and running all over town.

    Alaska placed a hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t go in that room,¡± I said, letting her hand slide off my shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s really not pretty in there.¡±

    I expected her to press for more detail, but she didn¡¯t bother. I followed Alaska back to the bullpen, and Eury was nowhere to be found. Neither was Davis.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Eury?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Davis was with her a second ago. They probably ran off somewhere.¡± Alaska didn¡¯t sound happy about it either.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve gotta talk to her about something.¡±

    ¡°Same here.¡± Alaska took a seat behind one of the desks. She scooted the shotgun aside when she kicked her feet up.

    ¡°So you¡¯re just gonna... sit there?¡±

    ¡°How long have you been hanging around Eury?¡± She started to pick her teeth with her fingernails, then she stopped when she saw the grime underneath.

    ¡°For about four days now, I think?¡±

    ¡°Then you should probably know what she¡¯s like by now. Eury ain¡¯t the kind of person who likes others butting into her business.¡± She flicked her gaze up at me. ¡°What¡¯s the look for?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I just got the impression that you and Davis didn¡¯t get along.¡±

    Alaska checked her nails. She sucked on her teeth when she noticed one of them was chipped. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then why¡¯re you cool with it?¡±

    ¡°Who said I was?¡± Alaska said. ¡°I¡¯m not cool with it. I just know there ain¡¯t no convincing stubborn. I¡¯ve already learned that lesson once, and I ain¡¯t doing that again¡±

    It was kind of weird how my Eury was different from hers. Sure, Eury was pretty quick to tell me off¡ªmy nickname spelt that out¡ªbut at the same time, there was also this other side of her. The one that matched her small, sweet, smile a little closer.

    ¡°The way I see it, there isn¡¯t much harm in letting her do whatever the hell she needs to do.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit, how old is this girl?¡± Boyde cut into the conversation. I hadn¡¯t heard him return from the basement. ¡°¡®Cause, the way you¡¯re talking ¡®bout her, Bell, she sounds like a spoiled ten-year-old.¡±

    ¡°Fuck off, Boyde. It¡¯s not like that, I just¡­¡± Alaska looked down before continuing. ¡°She¡¯s been dealt a rough enough hand already, and I just don¡¯t want to be the one to pile onto it.¡±

    ¡°Dealt a rough hand? Have you looked around? We¡¯ve all been served a cow turd for a last meal. So why¡¯s she the one getting spoiled?¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    ¡°Because that¡¯s what I want. Now shut the fuck up before I smack you.¡± Alaska didn¡¯t even bother to look at him to threaten him.

    Boyde thought about talking back, but he shut his mouth instead. I wouldn¡¯t want to get on her wrong side either. Her photos didn¡¯t show it much but watching her swing that fire poker around was brutal and efficient.

    As silence hung in the air, a bunch of questions ran through my mind. As gory as it was, I still wanted to know what happened after I left O¡¯Brian¡¯s and the days after. But what I wanted to ask about more than anything else was Eury.

    ¡°Do you know anything about what¡ª¡±

    An office door on the far side of the bullpen swung open. Davis walked out first, followed by Eury. I flashed them with the light, but neither of them betrayed a thing.

    What¡¯re you looking for huh? A hickey or something?

    Then I noticed the gun in Eury¡¯s outstretched hand.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Boyde levelled the shotgun at Eury.

    ¡°Hey, hey!¡± Davis had his hands up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s alright.¡±

    ¡°Eury, you wanna tell us what the hell is going on?¡± Alaska said, getting to her feet.

    ¡°I might be able to explain it a bit better,¡± Davis said, standing as still as possible. ¡°It¡¯s just a precaution, and I don¡¯t want anyone to freak out when¡ª¡±

    ¡°Spit it out, Davis!¡± Alaska barked.

    ¡°There¡¯s a possibility that I might be infected, but we don¡¯t know for sure.¡±

    ¡°How did you come to that conclusion? We don¡¯t even know how this thing is spreading, so where¡¯d that leap of logic come from.¡± I asked. A part of me couldn¡¯t help but feel like this was some sort of projection from Eury. Between the two of them, the perfectly healthy Davis, versus the clammy Eury. As much as I hated to admit it, if I thought either of them were sick, I''d be much more worried about the girl with the gun rather than the guy with his hands up.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know everything, but we do have some clues,¡± Eury said. ¡°The biggest being the most obvious¡ªbodily fluids. Why else do you think there¡¯s all this shit everywhere?¡±

    With all of the blood, vomit and tears spewing out of every orifice from the sick, I could imagine how that slip n¡¯ slide of filth would get someone infected.

    ¡°Alright. But still, when the hell would you have gotten sick?¡± Alaska asked Davis.

    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, we don¡¯t really know for sure if I am.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then aren¡¯t you awfully quick to jump to conclusions, little miss,¡± Boyde said.

    ¡°Turn around,¡± Eury commanded. ¡°Show them.¡±

    Davis did and lifted his dirty navy button-up, revealing the bright red slash just above his belt line. The cut seemed to have stopped bleeding, dried into a spider web around the wound.

    ¡°Jesus!¡± Alaska took a step closer to look. ¡°When the hell did you get this?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Maybe when¡­¡±

    Alaska eyed him like he¡¯d been drunk driving. ¡°When that chick cut up Chuck?¡±

    Davis nodded. ¡°I¡­ I just thought I got lucky, I didn¡¯t know she got me. Not like that, at least.¡±

    ¡°Jesus Christ! Were you gonna let us find out when it was too late? Did you want to wait until absolutely hit the fan or what?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I just¡­¡± Davis stuttered, then he came crumbling down like a paper man. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to lie to you all. I just didn¡¯t know what to say, or if it was even bad in the first place.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why I brought it up,¡± Eury said, ¡°with this as an assurance,¡± she waved the handgun, which made Boyde a little nervous. ¡°We wanted to talk about what we¡¯re doing next.¡±

    ¡°We?¡± Alaska and I asked simultaneously.

    ¡°Yes, we. We¡¯re going to put Davis into quarantine for the night, and if anything happens, or if he starts acting¡­¡± Her unsaid words rang louder than everything else she said. ¡°Then we¡¯ll figure out what¡¯s next.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t just stay! We don¡¯t have the time,¡± I retorted.

    ¡°We do! We¡¯ve made it this far with just the two of us. Now that we¡¯ve found Alaska, we can just get out of town.¡±

    ¡°Just get out of town.¡± I scoffed. ¡°Are you for real? Correct me if I¡¯m wrong, but it¡¯s not gonna be that easy. We¡¯re what, at least five miles from the bridge out of town?¡± I said looking to Alaska, who nodded. ¡°Great, so that¡¯s at least a whole night. And then how many more to your parent¡¯s place?¡±

    ¡°Fifteen miles,¡± Eury said without looking up.

    ¡°Fifteen? Jesus christ.¡± I had to sit down.

    ¡°With all of us here, we can make the last five in no time. We have time to quarantine Davis, until at least tomorrow night, then we leave.¡± The look in Eury¡¯s eye when she spoke said more than her words.

    ¡°We should leave now while the streets are still empty and most of them are dealt with,¡± I said. Eury glared at me, and I suddenly noticed everyone else¡¯s silence. Especially Alaska¡¯s.

    ¡°I¡¯m only asking for one day. That¡¯s it. Then we move on.¡±

    ¡°If he got attacked the same time as Chuck, why didn¡¯t he go berserk back at the clinic? It¡¯s been long enough already. He should be fine.¡± Every word felt like coughing out razor blades. I couldn¡¯t believe I was arguing to not cut the sleazebag down, but if it got Eury to leave while it was safe then who cares.

    ¡°Chuck was half dead before they got to the clinic. The way I see it, his immune system was already compromised. Davis isn¡¯t. It¡¯s gonna take some time to know for sure, and we¡¯ve got the time.¡± Eury sounded more clinical than she ever had before.

    Immune system?

    ¡°How about these then.¡± I removed the small bottle of pills from the concentrator''s bag.

    ¡°What are they?¡± Alaska said, grabbing them from my hand, looking them over like an ape learning to use a tool.

    ¡°They¡¯re antivirals. I¡¯ve had them before. They don¡¯t feel like they work¡ªat least at first¡ªbut they do the job.¡±

    ¡°And you have them because...?¡± Boyde eyed me like I had a tentacle growing from the side of my head.

    ¡°Because of situations like this! What the fuck do you think?¡± This was getting close to a witch hunt, and I¡¯d hate it if it happened to Eury.

    ¡°And what, you think those will work?¡± Boyde said, continuing his effort to piss me off.

    ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know! At least I¡¯m trying to figure out an alternative to using buckshot. It¡¯s the best I got¡±

    Your best, like that¡¯ll do anything. Like that¡¯s ever done a damn thing.

    Been a while since I heard that little voice in my head. The sharp motherfucker that knew which tender place to twist the knife in.

    Davis leaned forward and grabbed the pills from Alaska.¡°I¡¯ll take these, but I should still quarantine. Just in case, you know.¡±

    ¡°Fine by me if you want to stay,¡± I said, grabbing the pills back from him. ¡°But you¡¯re only getting enough for the next few days.¡±

    ¡°Kelly!¡± Eury¡¯s tone was venomous. ¡°Get a grip! We can¡¯t just leave him here.¡±

    ¡°We sit here and do nothing. For how long? In case you¡¯ve forgotten, you¡¯re on a time limit here!¡±

    I must have struck a nerve.

    ¡°What? You think I¡¯ve forgotten? Holy shit, how about you get a grip. You think since you¡¯ve been hanging around these last few days that you know? You don¡¯t know shit. Now back the fuck out of my goddamned business.¡± Eury stared like knives trying to carve my face. I almost staggered back when she stepped up, gun still in hand. She ripped the pills from my hand and pushed them into Davis¡¯. ¡°Find somewhere to lock up. I¡¯m getting something to eat.¡± Then she stormed off to the same back office where they had their little pow-wow. In the doorway, she stopped and looked back at me. ¡°And in case it didn¡¯t make it through your thick skull, I was right. They are getting slower, and in a day or two, it won¡¯t even matter so get over yourself.¡±

    The door closed with a definitive click.

    Davis looked to Alaska and Boyde. ¡°You guys have anywhere that¡¯ll work?¡±

    ¡°I can think of a few,¡± Alaska said with an awkward smile.

    Alaska led Davis and me down the only other hallway on the main floor. The room at the end of it had two empty cells. She opened one for Davis who entered without hesitation.

    ¡°And there¡¯s your seat,¡± Alaska said, pointing to a desk and chair near the door.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Alaska locked the cell door, then turned to me. ¡°Are you going to be alright?¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± After that blow up, I was surprised that she didn¡¯t jump down my throat too. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been up all night though, how¡¯re you planning on walking out of here with no sleep?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve done more on less sleep.¡±

    Alaska still looked concerned though. ¡°If you think you¡¯re gonna nod off, come grab me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll probably swap out after a few hours.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯d be fine.¡± Alaska glanced at Davis who was already on the cot. ¡°If anything happens, don¡¯t hesitate. I don¡¯t want Eury seeing that.¡±

    Even though I thought Eury was being an idiot, I knew putting her through that gallow¡¯s execution wouldn¡¯t be anything close to fair.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Alaska smiled widely and patted me on the shoulder.¡°Good stuff. I guess you aren¡¯t as bad as you look.¡± She opened the door back out to the bullpen.

    ¡°Thanks... I guess.¡±

    ¡°Mmmhmm. See you soon," she said leaving without looking back.

    ¡°Yeah, see you,¡± I said to the closed door.

    From my chair, I could barely see Davis sitting on the cot. Not that I wanted to see any more of him. After a few minutes of silence, I tried to spy some sort of pattern on the walls.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that this isn¡¯t exactly ideal.¡± I barely heard Davis say.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I said that I was sorry.¡± He repeated.

    ¡°Yeah, whatever man.¡± I didn¡¯t really feel like talking to him. Just the sound of his voice reminded me of that last day of school. Of the look on Eury¡¯s face back then.

    ¡°You know, I think I remember you.¡± This time, his voice was crystal clear.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry what?¡±

    ¡°I said, that I remember you. Earlier, you called me Mr. Davis. And that got me thinking. I don¡¯t remember teaching anyone named Kelly, but I just remembered that I did teach you. Leo.¡± There was no inflection, no tone to his voice, yet there was something that felt undeniably sinister and it was so very different from who he was just a few minutes ago, in front of everyone else.

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°I just thought it was unfair that while I was getting the hard edge from Eury, you weren¡¯t. So I figured, maybe, the only reason why that would be the case is she doesn¡¯t remember you from back then. Am I right?¡± Still, his voice seemed to hold no malice, yet his words oozed it.

    ¡°So fucking what? What are you gonna do?¡±

    ¡°Do?¡± Davis laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna do anything. I¡¯m gonna sit here, and I¡¯m gonna wait until tomorrow night.¡±

    ¡°Then what?¡± As I asked, Davis laid down on his bed like he was resting on the beach.

    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just have to see.¡±

    May 23, 2019 - 3:58 AM

 24. Day 6 - Watching

    May 23, 2019 - 8:24 AM

    Leo Kelly

    A few hours after we arrived, the sun started to shine through the small cell windows. Davis had stuffed one of the blankets into his window and returned to his spot on his bed. I did the same with the other, turning the room dark again. It was surreal. I was struggling to stay awake, and yet it was practically broad daylight outside. It felt like I was on the wrong end of a graveyard shift. Or like I was waking up from a long night at the bar with the taste of the bar mat still on my tongue. I wanted to sleep so bad, but I had a job to do in case Davis went psycho. And combined with the worry, I didn¡¯t think I possibly could.

    My exhaustion was obvious. I was slouched half over and under the desk like a depressed snail. And I think the worst of it, was that I knew I was right. It was dumb to stay for another day when we had at least another three hours last night to get out of town. I was right yet, I still felt incredibly guilty because no matter how right or logical the decision was, it wasn¡¯t the right decision.

    The right one was the compassionate one, and lets just say, last night, I wasn¡¯t operating with compassion in mind.

    My duty on the other hand was an easier pill to swallow. There wasn¡¯t much for me to see, or notice for that matter, but when I did notice something, anything, then I would be quick to act. I had a duty to Eury, and annoyingly, to Davis as well, no one deserves what this thing does to them.

    I could feel myself nodding off, winks turning to sleepy blinks, like I was sitting through a lecture that was as boring as quiet.

    I don¡¯t know, should I get Alaska?

    If anyone deserved a few hours of sleep it should be the Amazon. Compared to me, Alaska was definitely the better fighter. Still though, being awake during the day was killing me and it wasn¡¯t like Davis was going anywhere.

    What I hoped was only a few minutes later, I was awoken by a pair of sounds. Behind me, the door opened up, sending my heart racing as I quickly got to my feet and unsheathed Sheila. The second, was a distant howl that was filtering in through the windows.

    Eury stood in the doorway, wrapped in a soft blanket, looking sheepish yet kind of stern. I shamefully took my hand off the sword. Eury¡¯s expression was frozen on her face, until after a second her expression thawed into a smile, then a snicker.

    ¡°Sorry to wake you.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± I said, forgetting my indoor voice. Adrenaline was still thick in my blood. ¡°I mean, nah. I wasn¡¯t sleeping.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Eury grabbed a folded chair leaning against the wall.

    ¡°Can¡¯t sleep?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡± Eury said, staring straight at the cells. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re having the opposite problem. huh?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ guess.¡± And just like that the conversation was dead in the water. My tired eyes were now firmly open, as I desperately tried to look not desperate.

    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s infected?¡±

    ¡°I dunno. I thought that was more your realm of expertise.¡±

    ¡°Sure, like I¡¯m some sort of expert on this.¡± Eury leaned back in her chair but kept her eyes focused solely on the dark cells. ¡°Guess I would be, I suppose. I am the one who might be sick too.¡± She nonchalantly said like she had a hangnail or something. She didn¡¯t seem overly concerned if Davis heard her.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m implying.¡± I said, making a point of being quieter, ¡°you¡¯re the science nerd supreme, I¡¯m the idiot packmule. I didn¡¯t want to take over your schtick.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for your concern over my schtick.¡±

    I let the room get silent. It wasn¡¯t that I had nothing to say. Far from it. I had so much to say, but there were so many ways to say it wrong. So I settled for one. ¡°I don¡¯t think either of you are sick.¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Eury snapped a glare my way like a desk lamp in interrogations. ¡°Is that why you just so happen to have antivirals on you?¡±

    ¡°Well, I think you''re sick, but I don¡¯t think you''re sick, sick. You should still get some though.¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll have to wait until Davis is awake to get that bottle back.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well if you weren¡¯t being so dramatic back there,¡± I said, grabbing the concentrator¡¯s bag from the ground beside me, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t need to break out the backup bottle I grabbed.¡±

    ¡°Nicely done, parasite,¡± she took the bottle I offered. ¡°Now, these won¡¯t get rid of you, will it?¡± She said with a small smile.

    I shrugged. ¡°Not unless you want them to, I guess.¡±

    Her eyes narrowed at me, but she fumbled the cap off. Then she proceeded to force a pill into the back of her mouth followed by an audible swallow.

    ¡°First, try not to take my jokes so seriously.¡± She said, before repeating the disgusting process with the second. ¡°Secondly, why would I actually want you gone?¡±

    I sidestepped her difficult question, with a more pressing matter. ¡°You do know we still have water, right?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t swallow pills with water.¡± I was impressed that she managed to say that with a straight face.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re not serious are you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s sooo weird. Good work! You noticed aberration #135 of the Eury-praxis. Anyways, why are you suddenly acting like I want you to hit the road?¡±

    It felt like a trick question that I had absolutely no way of knowing the right answer to, so I just went with the closest thing to the truth. ¡°...Because you told me to?¡±

    Eury rubbed her eyes for a second before looking at me. ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry. Things were getting heated last night, and¡­¡± She hesitated for a moment, trying to find her words. ¡°And I didn¡¯t really want to listen to you. But it doesn¡¯t mean that I wanted you to just leave! Don¡¯t be stupid.¡±

    ¡°But being stupid is sort of my schtick.¡±

    Thankfully, that garnered a small smile.

    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed. And, uh, I hope that you don¡¯t mind that I borrowed it last night.¡±

    ¡°Bit of an understatement, but I don¡¯t mind. Just don¡¯t go stealing it.¡± I looked at Davis¡¯ cell, feeling the itch you¡¯d get when someone¡¯s been staring at you. But I was confident that Davis hadn¡¯t moved so much as to itch his ass in the last few hours, so that was reassuring.

    ¡°Thanks for not saying anything about me.¡±

    ¡°About your little fever? Of course I wouldn¡¯t say anything, I¡¯m not that much of an idiot.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate it, anyway.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s my pleasure.¡±

    ¡°Gross.¡± She said, shoulder checking me lightly. ¡°You know¡­ I didn¡¯t want to just quarantine Davis today. I really wanted to put myself in one of those cells too.¡±

    ¡°You just have a fever.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not fighting with you right now. What¡¯s done is done, and obviously, I didn¡¯t go in there too. What I¡¯m trying to say is that this is just as much for me as it is for him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that Eury, trust me, this thing is a lot worse than just a fever.¡±

    ¡°But it starts with one, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°So does the flu! So does half the shit you can get from forgetting to wash your hands.¡±

    ¡°Still, it is a symptom. And you and I both know violence is one of them too.¡±

    ¡°Defending yourself doesn¡¯t make you violent.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯ve wanted to be. The bridge, the moment I saw Davis at the clinic, I thought about it then. Then again when I saw that cut on his back. Hell, I even wanted to end that little conversation last night early.¡±

    ¡°I appreciate you walking away then.¡±

    ¡°Best part about a gun is that it works from a distance.¡± She said with a slightly unsettling smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s not funny.¡±

    ¡°Who said I was joking?¡± She said, as her expression softened.

    ¡°You seem fine now though.¡±

    ¡°I feel fine now. Ish. I feel fine-ish. Sleep did me good. Last night was a little too long for me, I think. ¡±

    ¡°Same here. I¡¯m glad to hear you¡¯re feeling better though.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, me too. But I still can¡¯t get it out of my head.¡±

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s it. You just convinced yourself that you¡¯re sick with this thing, and now you can¡¯t stop thinking about it.¡± I wanted to say that maybe those pills could help fight a nocebo with a placebo. But knowing about it would only ruin the whole thing. ¡°Maybe you just need to ignore it? Let those pills do their job?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Eury muttered a quiet, ¡°I guess,¡± before looking at me. ¡°Can I tell you something stupid?¡±

    ¡°I thought I told you not to keep stealing my schtick?¡±

    Another small smile. Another light shoulder check. ¡°Seriously though. Do you promise not to say anything?¡±

    ¡°Who am I gonna tell?¡±

    ¡°No, I mean, promise that you¡¯re not gonna try and convince me or try and make me feel better or whatever you always try and do?¡±

    ¡°I can try.¡±

    ¡°You want to know why I didn¡¯t just go in there too?¡± She said nodding towards the cells. ¡°I think when it came time to say that I might be sick as well, I couldn¡¯t stand the idea of actually putting myself in there. If I did, then this would be real. And nothing you or anyone would change that.¡± Eury¡¯s breathing picked up ever so slightly. Flashes of O¡¯Brian¡¯s played in my head, of how she was just before she passed out. ¡°So I guess that just makes me a chicken. Or worse.¡±

    ¡°Well I , for one, am glad you didn¡¯t. It would¡¯ve just made shit worse. Why would you feed that dark thought in your mind? Just sit here and wait. I promise that it¡¯ll be alright. I¡¯m here to help you work through whatever you gotta.¡±

    After chewing on her lip for a moment, she spoke. ¡°I thought you promised not to say anything.¡±

    I smiled, ¡°I said that I¡¯d try. It¡¯s in the fine print.¡±

    I half expected another shoulder check, but this time, she rested it against me instead.

    I think she fell asleep sometime later.

    I tried my best not to move, but it wasn¡¯t long until Alaska came to relieve me. Seeing the two of us like that, a goofy smile crossed Alaska¡¯s lips.

    ¡°Good night, huh?¡±

    May 23, 2019 - 8:36 AM

    <hr>

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 80.4 Hours / 3.35 Days - 7:03 PM

    Eury Morrissey

    The rest of the ¡°night¡± after talking with Kelly was a blur. Enough so that when Alaska shook me awake, I didn¡¯t realize I had somehow ended up back in a bunk room.

    ¡°Hey, wake up and start getting ready. It¡¯s almost sundown. We want to head out the moment it¡¯s dark.¡± Alaska then shook someone on the bunk above me. ¡°Come help me get some ammo and supplies.¡±

    ¡°Wha?¡± It was Boyde. His voice was still a little bleary from his deep sleep, it seemed. In a panic, Kelly sat up in his bed. All the shuffling around in the dark must have set him off.

    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± He was trying to calm his breathing.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s almost time to go,¡± Alaska said, walking towards the door.

    Kelly looked at me, then carefully spoke. ¡°And you¡¯re alright with that?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± I said. We needed to be careful of Boyde. It might¡¯ve been a bit dangerous to say too much. ¡°If Davis is good to go, all we need to do is keep an eye on him.¡± And me. ¡°That being said, I think those meds did the trick.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it.¡± Kelly said with a smile. Boyde shuffled out of the bunkroom, running his hands through his hair left it as a series of sharp tendrils. Kelly laughed. ¡°I should probably wash up first.¡±

    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll head out and get things ready.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good.¡±

    In the main room of the station, on a table at the center, several small different coloured boxes and two walkie-talkies were spread out while Alaska, holding a small flashlight in her mouth, was taking apart and cleaning her shotgun.

    ¡°D¡¯you think these can pick up transmissions from CB radios?¡± I said, grabbing one of the walkie-talkies. ¡°My dad probably has his CB hooked up. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he was trying to reach out to the military or whoever might be listening.¡±

    ¡°I reckon these ones are old enough. With a bit of tweaking, we could scan through the civilian bands. I think their range is like a couple miles maybe? We¡¯d need to be a lot closer to get ahold of him. I don¡¯t know. Boyde or Davis would probably be better suited to figuring that out though. Damn things are cursed for¡ª¡± A small crash and a grunt from Boyde interrupted Alaska. ¡°Hold that thought.¡± She jogged over to the hallway behind her.

    While Alaska handled that, I walked over to the cart and uncovered the LOX tank. I switched out the E-tank I was using for the smaller D-tank, and let the larger one fill. The gauge on the LOX told me I had less than a third left. Not great, but between what was left in there, my O2 tanks and the condenser, I had just a little over three days remaining. More than enough to get out of town, to my parent¡¯s place, and then some.

    And if we could get that radio working and let my parents know we were coming, then all the better. Hell, maybe he could even drive out to meet us. Between that good news and the fact I was absolutely right about the infected, I was smiling.

    After our argument last night, I knew that I said some pretty bad shit¡ªthe exhaustion and fever saw to that¡ªbut Kelly was out of line too. On the other hand, later on he did help walk me back from the edge.

    Then I guess it was all a wash.

    Then again, with Davis not being infected, and the fact that I didn¡¯t go bonkers overnight were another two strikes against me.

    Honestly, I could just ignore those.

    There was another small crash, then Alaska and Boyde came into the hall with a small crate each.

    ¡°¡ªI know what I saw! I¡¯m not an idiot.¡± I heard Boyde before I saw him.

    ¡°You and I both know that¡¯s not true.¡±

    The two of them put the plastic crates down on the floor.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Boyde thinks that there¡¯s one of them following us,¡± Alaska said as she resumed tending to her shotgun.

    ¡°She is! I saw her out there!¡± Boyde grabbed the sidesaddle for the shotgun and started filling it with shells. ¡°I swear to God she¡¯s out there somewhere ain¡¯t she no boogeyman either.¡±

    ¡°They are attracted to sound. Maybe that¡¯s why she¡¯s following you guys.¡± I said, starting to fill my other E-tank from the LOX.

    ¡°Thank you, Eury. That¡¯s what I said too.¡± Alaska said.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. I saw her when we went into that coffee shop, she was there again when we left, then at the clinic, and then again just now.¡± Boyde turned to face me, ¡°did you see any others stick around after a couple of days?¡±

    ¡°One did.¡±

    ¡°See! It ain¡¯t so special.¡± Alaska said.

    ¡°It was her own house though,¡± I added.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Eury, I thought you were on my side,¡± Alaska said with a chuckle.

    ¡°See, okay! Look, that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about. This chick was there outside of the coffee shop, then I saw her again outside the clinic too!¡± Boyde was getting excited about being validated.

    ¡°Well if she was at the clinic chances are she ain¡¯t walking around now. Not unless she was with that last group.¡± Alaska said.

    ¡°That¡¯s my point. She was there a few minutes after everything started going to shit. Then I saw her run off.¡±

    ¡°Run off?¡± Alaska stopped cleaning the shotgun and looked up.

    ¡°Right? That¡¯s weird right?¡± Boyde was starting to get more emphatic as his point was finally coming to the surface.

    ¡°I saw one like that too.¡± I said, ¡°it was just before we got to the clinic actually. It was this guy, he was super skinny, and tall, but he was quick. Quicker than the others around here. I thought he must¡¯ve gotten sick pretty recently or something.¡±

    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s what I mean. Get this, this chick seemed quick too! Do you think that they¡¯re connected? Like had you guys seen this guy before?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t but Kelly recognized him. Someone named Teddy I guess?¡± He didn¡¯t look like anyone I knew, and really, disfigured by all the sickness, I barely even recognized him as fully human, let alone someone I knew from before.

    ¡°Teddy?¡± Alaska muttered under her breath. After a second of thinking, she continued, ¡°Boyde, what¡¯s this girl look like?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s skinny too. White. Maybe five-five? Five-six? Blonde with dark roots.¡± He said rattling off her features in a way that seemed like he had done it a hundred times before. ¡°I¡¯d say she looked a bit like a tweaker but that would be important only if most people out there didn¡¯t share the look these days.¡±

    ¡°I know them.¡± Alaska looked like she had seen a ghost. ¡°I know those two. And what did you say that your friend¡¯s name was? Kelly right? Do you know if his first name¡¯s Leo?¡±

    ¡°First name?¡± For a moment I felt like an idiot. I never really even asked what his first name was. Really, I think that in my mind he was just Kelly. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Well, if it is then this is all starting to make some sort of sense. You said that he called the tall lanky one Teddy right? Well I¡¯ve had Teddy Johanssen locked up a few times for possession. Most of the time, a chick named Wren Shaw¡ªwho¡¯s description matches Boyde¡¯s girl¡ªcame to bail him out. And wouldn¡¯t you know it, the few times that both of them end up in the tank? Well, that¡¯s when a Leo Kelly showed up to bail them both out.¡±

    Wren Shaw? Why did that name sound so familiar? There was the flicker recognition in my mind. But the remnants of the fever, and the sleepless nights clouded my memory.

    ¡°No shit¡­¡± Boyde said, ¡°I thought that I recognized her.¡±

    ¡°Well, you should¡¯ve seen her enough times on intake that you should''ve been best friends,¡± Alaska said without looking up from her work.

    ¡°So now the question is, why is your friend Kelly hanging out with two of the most down and out of the down and outs in Sheridan?¡± Boyde¡¯s tone quickly shifted to something more akin to an interrogation. Alaska¡¯s hands stopped as her raptor-like eyes flicked to me.

    ¡°Kelly¡¯s a leader at NA.¡± Even though I answered with a hint of conviction, under the harsh scrutinizing glare of Alaska, it felt more like I was lying to my parents. Alaska¡¯s eyes scraped up and down my face while she chewed the thought.

    ¡°Maybe Wren¡¯s got something against us since you¡¯re in that uniform.¡± Alaska offered, looking away from me.

    ¡°I guess that makes sense,¡± I said, ¡°but why are they both so aggressive? Teddy looked like he had been infected like yesterday.¡±

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t.¡± I hadn¡¯t seen Kelly arrive, but from the dark hallway leading towards the bunkrooms he spoke. ¡°Teddy and Wren were both sick leading up to all this crap, they were at O¡¯Brian¡¯s that night, and they were more than infected then.¡±

    ¡°Wait that was them at O¡¯Brian¡¯s?¡± As Alaska asked another realization was clear on her face. ¡°Where you were¡­ Was that you?¡±

    Kelly nodded while staying silent. His expression, grew more passive as the moments passed.

    ¡°Well don¡¯t just stand there! What the fuck happened? You kick all this shit off then what? Then just fuck off back into the dark doing enough damage to¡ª¡±

    ¡°Alaska!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but interrupt her. It wasn¡¯t like I knew the whole story, but I knew Kelly well enough to know that he wouldn¡¯t just¡ª

    ¡°Yep, you got it. It¡¯s me and mine who are responsible for this. Now if you don¡¯t mind I¡¯m gonna go and let Davis out. Assuming I didn¡¯t get him killed too.¡±

    ¡°Kelly wait!¡± Kelly stopped before going into the cell room, but he didn¡¯t turn around. ¡°It¡¯s not¡ª¡±

    ¡°Do you just want me to go too? It is pretty fucking dangerous having me hang around here.¡± Kelly kept staring down the dark hall leading to the cells.

    I jogged over to him, winding myself in the process, and dragged him into a side office. ¡°That was some rude shit she said back there, but you don¡¯t need to go. I know that she¡¯s full of shit. She doesn¡¯t know you and just¡ª¡±

    ¡°But she¡¯s not wrong.¡± As he spoke, his lips mashed together, only producing a slight smile after a second.

    ¡°No! She¡¯s just being stupid. I know the truth.¡±

    ¡°How? You don¡¯t know what happened. You weren¡¯t there.¡±

    ¡°I know that you wouldn¡¯t do anything like that on purpose! Whatever happened I know that. That¡¯s not who you are.¡±

    Where¡¯s that coming from? Suddenly you¡¯re miss trusting?

    ¡°But I did do it on purpose! You know what my only thought was when the two of them were chasing me?¡± Kelly¡¯s painted on smile held firm as he spoke. ¡°Where are there people? Where¡¯s it gonna be busiest? Is that what you thought huh? And that¡¯s the truth.¡±

    ¡°You were scared. After what happened this week, I know how you were feeling. You were just scared.¡±

    ¡°And being the coward I am, I ran off and fucked over everyone else. Real fucking hero I am. Standup guy and all that.¡±

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re going through. I do. I get it¡­¡± Kelly¡¯s tear-filled eyes met mine before I continued. ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t get it. It¡¯s beyond fucking brutal what happened, but when you told me that you were going to help me I trusted you.¡±

    Did you though? Not all of you that¡¯s for sure. Not even most of you, just the sad little part of you that still has hope.

    I took a deep breath to calm myself. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m saying this, but I trust you. I do. Whatever you did before, whoever your friends were, whatever your past was, it doesn¡¯t matter now. I know that you didn¡¯t do anything on purpose. And I know that you¡¯re just as much of a victim in all this as everyone else. More-so even. Alaska is just a fucking block head sometimes and speaks before she thinks, I¡¯ll set her straight. I promise. I trusted you back at O¡¯Brian¡¯s, now it¡¯s your turn to trust me.¡±

    I held a hand out for him. It felt so stupid, so cheesy, and I just couldn¡¯t get why people did it on shows and in movies. But, after a moment, when he grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly, I realized why. It was at that moment that I knew that we needed to stick together. We¡¯re both fucked right the hell up, but maybe that¡¯s our way forward. Two messed up people helping each other navigate towards something else.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 79.47 Hours / 3.31 Days - 8:12 PM

 25. Short of breath - Part 3

    October 18, 2011

    Eury Morrissey

    I sat at the dining room table, staring at a pile of papers neatly organized into three separate columns. The first pile had every job-posting currently available in Yamhill county. And every single one of them was crossed out.

    I had no degree so none of the offices in downtown Sheridan would look twice at me. I couldn¡¯t drive. I couldn¡¯t lift. I could barely walk a mile without getting winded. That only left me with one option¡ªcustomer service. And I still doubted any place would hire me. The moment they met me, they¡¯d come to the same conclusions as everyone else. Either she¡¯s so quiet, there¡¯s no way she could ever work here! Or wow! Her personality is just the worst! I¡¯d never want to hire her. So that pretty much knocked the rest of the options off the table.

    To my right was the second stack. On the top was the letter from the University of Gonzaga, kindly informing us that although we were still on the hook for first semester¡¯s fees, but due to my condition, we wouldn¡¯t need to worry about the second. I had finished almost a full month of classes, so that was fair. On the other hand though, the thing that stung, I would still need to retake¡ªand pay for¡ªthose same classes. Thirty-two thousand dollars instead of sixty-four thousand. What a deal. Beneath that letter were my hospital files. My father had combed through them several times, preparing for when I came home. It was what he did best, and I think it was how he coped. The same day I returned home was when the small-industrial sized medical oxygen tank arrived.

    ¡°I bought it online! Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s never been used!¡± He told me as I stared, dumbfounded at the silver barrel that took up the majority of the backyard shed.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point, dad. Why¡¯d you even bother?¡± I said, looking out my bedroom window. It was there that I got a firsthand view of the lengths that man was willing to go. All for something that barely even mattered.

    I did not have to look at the bottom of the sheet. I had read it enough times to recite it from memory. The total on the hospital bill came to one-hundred and three thousand dollars and fifty-six cents

    I had enough from scholarships and savings to cover the university bill. But this? There was no way that I had enough for this. There was no way anyone had enough for this, shy of making a deal with the devil.

    I shuffled in my chair. The O2 tank dad had set up in a little rolly-bag rolled forward and fell to the ground, pulling the tubing down with it, and me face first into my very own deal with the devil.

    The center sheet was that deal. A single, greyscale sheet that they stuffed into my patient file with all the rest. One that I hadn¡¯t noticed until my father had pointed it out earlier that morning. The insignia at the top of the sheet was from a company called Ingenitech. Their offer was a simple one. Almost too good to be true. I would need to go through several long, and intensive periods of something similar to chemotherapy, but not. My dad scoffed at the page when he first saw it. To him, the lobectomy had done its job: cleaning out all the bad, leaving all the rotten me behind. But the reality was a little more grey than that.

    Sure, it did do the job, it did get rid of the lung cancer, however, Dr. Basak was a little more skeptical. And when he told me to be ¡°vigilant¡±, it took the drive home for me to understand that it was coming back. I stared at the offer. That was the reason why it was so enticing. Or at least, half of it. The other half was the compensation. One-hundred and three thousand dollars. Paid in full, upon completion of the trial.

    That was when all the bells and alarms that my brain could produce when off. It was too perfect. Too helpful. Exactly what I needed when I needed it. I was sure that was no coincidence, but it just stunk.

    ¡°Why are you even looking at that thing baby?¡± I jumped when my mom¡¯s head appeared over my shoulder. I¡¯m sure if I wasn¡¯t deafened by this stupid oxygen thing around my head that I would¡¯ve been able to hear her.

    ¡°Because¡­¡± I still hadn¡¯t figured out the right way to explain my suspicions. There wasn¡¯t much that I kept from her but¡ª

    Not much except for a little fling with one of her coworkers.

    I shut my eyes before she walked into view. Just avoid, deflect, and if I couldn¡¯t do either of those, just do anything but look in her concerned eyes.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t need to take the day off from work. I¡¯m fine on my own.¡± I said, trying my best to push the thoughts down.

    ¡°Honey, we¡¯re here because we wanted to take care of you.¡± She said, standing with her hands on her hips, leaning on the table when I opened my eyes. ¡°Also, because is a terrible answer. If you¡¯re going to do something, do it for a reason, not just because.¡±

    As annoying as a lecture was, I would rather take that than tell her the truth.

    ¡°I¡¯m going into town later to do some shopping, do you want to come?¡±

    ¡°I dunno.¡± I muttered, looking down at the papers again.

    ¡°It¡¯ll help if you do, baby. Give you something else to do. You¡¯ve been cooped up in here since you¡¯ve been home. Have you even been to town yet?¡±

    ¡°I went with dad to the yard the other day.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°The lumber yard does not count as ¡®going to town¡¯.¡± She flipped over the offer from Ingenitech. ¡°How ¡®bout we go down main? I¡¯ve got a few quick errands to run, Then after that we can go to that new clothing shop that they opened up, and finish off with a coffee at Lleone¡¯s.¡± She leaned down until she was practically laying on the table, all just to force herself into my vision. The moment her pleading green eyes entered my field of view, I started to crumble.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really have the money for that, mom.¡±

    She laughed. ¡°And why would I be expecting you to pay, huh? What kinda mom do you think I am all the sudden? I¡¯m not inviting you out to have you pay, I¡¯m inviting you out for a treat! I can¡¯t remember the last time that we went shopping together, anyways.¡±

    I did. I was eight, and it was when all the others, the foster kids, were still living with us. She had piled the six of us into the van. Took us all down to go shopping down at the Lloyd center in Portland. It was the first time I had ever been in the mall, and the first time that we¡ªas a family¡ªhad been anywhere outside of Sheridan. The trip was a disaster. An unmitigated, uncontrollable disaster. The boys ran wild causing havoc. While Helen and the other girls disappeared doing god knows what. By the time it was all said and done, my Dad had to drive up to Portland to deal with it. All the while I had spent the majority of the day sitting alone and forgotten on the bench I had been told to wait on. Like the diligent little-doll I was. While the rest of the kids were running wild, I was just forgotten. Faded into the background for the first time. That was the day that set the pattern for the rest of my life, and it didn¡¯t end even after the fosters left.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine either way. I don¡¯t need any new clothes.¡±

    She cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Need? You¡¯re being quite presumptuous today. Let''s get you something pretty because we want to.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you should be spending any more money on me. It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m feeling sick, anyways.¡±

    Mom¡¯s expression dropped, and she stood quickly.

    ¡°What do you mean more? Honey. It¡¯s fine!¡± She circled around the table and wrapped her long arms around me, filling my nostrils with the same scent of perfume that she had worn since I was born. It was my dad¡¯s favorite, and if I was being honest¡ªbut would never admit it to anyone¡ªa favorite of mine as well. To me, it smelled like that first breath of a spring morning. After it rained all night long. Petrichor.

    ¡°Have you seen these?¡± I said, gesturing to the pile. ¡°There¡¯s no way this is fine.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about those, baby. They don¡¯t matter to us. You do.¡± She squeezed me just a little tighter. ¡°Nothing in this world matters more to us than you.¡±

    Now. You only matter to them now.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to just let you pay that, mom! It¡¯s not fair, it¡¯s my problem, just let me deal with it.¡±

    ¡°Baby, every single thing that you have to worry about, every single thing that you have to deal with, is something that we will deal with as well . That¡¯s what it means to be parents. We are here for you. As long as you need however we can.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t bear to hear her say that.

    ¡°That¡¯s stupid.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s stupid?¡± She didn¡¯t sound surprised. In fact, her saccharine tone of voice didn¡¯t even shift at all. ¡°Taking care of you?¡±

    ¡°No! Wasting your life just for me! It¡¯s not even worth it. I just should¡¯ve¡­¡±

    ¡°Should have what?¡±

    ¡°I should have just died there. Or better yet, I should¡¯ve just dropped dead before I even went to Spokane.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡± She held me closer, not tighter, a hostage in her grasp. ¡°Don¡¯t ever even think that.¡±

    ¡°Why? It¡¯s the truth, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Stop it.¡±

    ¡°Stop what? I¡¯m just telling the truth.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not. You¡¯re telling yourself terrible lies. Lies that might have some sweet thought at their core¡ªsome sort of kindness that you¡¯re trying to give us¡ªbut they¡¯re still nothing more than that. We don¡¯t care about the bills, or the work. Just you.¡±

    I knew she was trying her best to get through, but there was no way. Every word she said made me realize how bad it really was like sugar over cyanide.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to ruin your damn lives just to keep me alive! It¡¯s not fair!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re enough reason, Eury.¡± I felt another arm wrap around me. I didn¡¯t hear my dad come into the room. ¡°At the end of the day, everything we do, we do for you.¡±

    ¡°Stop it!¡± I tried to squirm out of their arms. ¡°Just let me go damnit!¡±

    ¡°Not gonna happen.¡± Dad said. Plainly like it was fact, and I hated it.

    <hr>

    After a long day of shopping with a woman who loved to shop¡ªwhen the most you had done in the last few years was done alone¡ªwas extremely tiring. The moment my butt hit the rickety metal chair on Lleone¡¯s patio, the exhaustion hit me all at once. Mama Lleone took our order, and within a few minutes, we were sipping the best coffee in town. I allowed myself to get drawn into the caffeine as I continued to avoid thinking about this morning. I couldn¡¯t help but be thankful that the two of them were so hellbent on wasting their money on me. But it meant that there¡¯d be a long time before I¡¯d be able to look either of them in the eyes again without feeling guilty.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Helen¡¯s friend?¡± Mom said, looking down the sidewalk behind me.

    ¡°Who?¡± I turned to see a small group of guys walking towards Lleone¡¯s. At the center was the tall, beautiful, Alaska Bell.

    ¡°The blonde girl?¡± My mom asked as I turned back to face my coffee.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s Alaska.¡±

    It was the first time I had seen her since she was sent off to some military academy in our freshman year. I hadn¡¯t seen her in a long time, but between pictures on Facebook and the fact that all the broad strokes of her were the same as they were before, it would¡¯ve been hard to forget someone I thought of as my best friend for so long.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say hi?¡±

    ¡°I doubt she remembers me.¡±

    ¡°Well, she is coming over, so...¡±

    ¡°What?¡± I turned in my chair just as she approached our table.

    ¡°Mrs. Morrissey. Eury! It¡¯s great to see you two.¡±

    ¡°It is!¡± My mom said, not hesitating to stand and hug her. She was always the hugging type.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I said, trying not to make it too awkward, but with my gaze firmly on my coffee I didn¡¯t scream casual either.

    ¡°It¡¯s been forever! Do you mind if I sit?¡± Alaska asked, eagerly hovering over a chair.

    That broke my trance on my coffee, and I was glad that it did. Mom and Alaska were looking to me for my answer.

    ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±

    Alaska took the seat beside me. And within minutes, she had punched through my unwieldy defenses and had me talking. And for the next seven years. Alaska and I would meet at this little cafe every time we were in town. It was the beginning of the first true, no-caveat friendship I ever had.

 26. Day 6 - Shot in the dark

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 78.81 Hours / 3.28 Days - 9:00 PM

    Eury Morrissey

    Boyde was the first through the door. Baton in hand, pistol at his hip. He jangled slightly with every step, the ammo he brought with him clinking together in the pouch strapped to his leg. Alaska followed a few feet behind him, her shotgun hanging from a sling, baton in her hand as well.

    The tension was thick. I wished it was something as simple as worry, or stress. But after Alaska accused Kelly, it didn¡¯t seem like she¡¯d be letting that one go. I glanced back at Kelly pulling the cart behind me. I couldn''t tell how he was feeling from the balaclava. But, judging by his downcast gaze, and stiff gait, he probably wasn''t doing well. Looking forward at Alaska, her shoulders were tight, scrunched in as she walked. Both her and Boyde were scanning the streets around us for any signs of them. Paradoxically, I couldn''t help but feel like she didn''t have a care in the world. Of course she was worried about the physical dangers, but what she said didn¡¯t seem to bother her. It was bothering me. And I knew it was bothering Kelly. But when I tried to get Alaska to talk back in the station for the first time in our entire friendship she had nothing to say.

    Davis rounded out the back of our little caravan, helping out Kelly with the cart while keeping a lookout as well. I was the only person not actively doing something, which made me feel useless like I was the escort. And quite honestly, I was.

    I glanced back at Davis, who, signaled to me.

    *Is your oxygen good?*

    I gave him a thumbs up and turned around.

    It was annoying that he cared¡ªespecially after his quarantine last night¡ªbut it was way worse that he was only just double checking his handiwork.

    A few minutes before we left the station, Davis had approached me.

    ¡°Can I see your hands?¡± Davis was holding a flashlight.

    ¡°What are you, playing cop now?¡± I said, letting him shine the light at my fingers.

    He flipped my hand over, examining them silently. ¡°No, it¡¯s just when you touched me last night, your fingers were cold.¡± He looked into my eyes earnestly. ¡°Looking at them now, I know why. What¡¯s your O2 intake set at?¡±

    My charade was up. I had been running my O2 at eighty-percent since Kelly and I left Alaska¡¯s, all in an attempt to outlast all the crazies running around. That being said, Davis didn¡¯t approve of my decision. In fact, he reminded me of Kelly when I first turned my intake of O2 down.

    Davis crossed his arms. ¡°Are you trying to get hypoxic?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not! And keep your damn voice down.¡± I pulled him into the same office I had threatened him earlier. ¡°I¡¯m doing it because if you haven¡¯t noticed, I have a very limited supply. So until I get to my parent¡¯s place, I have to ration what I have.¡±

    ¡°Your fingers turning blue isn¡¯t fine. You need this O2, Eury. You¡¯re looking worse for wear. And who knows what kind of long term damage you¡¯re doing to yourself. There¡¯s no way to treat you if you do.¡±

    ¡°And what makes you think I¡¯ll listen to you?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t then I''ll say something to Alaska and Kelly. And then, you¡¯ll have three voices saying the same thing.¡±

    That was how the conversation ended. Davis acting like a caring adult while I agreed like a good little doll that needed to be looked after. Gross.

    The feeling was compounded by the fact I was only standing in the middle, holding my fire poker, the useless support character.

    Can you get a damn grip? Or are you going to always be this fucking hung up?

    For the first time in a long time, I actually agreed with my inner-bitch.

    What if I led the way? Or maybe make up the plans? I was the one who drew the map right? And I set the course when it was only me and Kelly.

    Alaska jogged back to the group, stopping us before we turned onto another street. Instead, she led us into a dark alleyway.

    But... that was more to just get us to O¡¯Brian¡¯s then to the clinic. I wasn¡¯t so much making decisions, rather I was forcing us to go chasing after Alaska¡¯s tail.

    So that¡¯s out.

    As the cart crossed from the sidewalk, onto rough asphalt, a loud pop rang out from it. I stopped. Dead in my tracks. The sound itself was relatively quiet, but in this situation, at this moment, it was anything but stealth. Kelly and I were seemingly the only ones of us to realize that there was even a problem as we both rushed to the cart and crouched down beside it.

    ¡°What was that?¡± I asked him. ¡°Did you run over something?¡±

    ¡°Not that I could tell.¡±

    ¡°Just amazing.¡± I muttered. ¡°We gotta check the wheel, lift the skirt.¡± Kelly and I examined the wagon, while Alaska and Boyde returned to loom over us. I looked up as Kelly uncliped the skirt and saw Alaska use hand signals to give out orders to Davis and Boyde.

    With an affirmative nod, Boyde was off, jogging to the far end of the alleyway. But Davis, miming something I couldn¡¯t make out, took a few seconds before he slunk off to the close corner.

    Alaska rapped the baton against her palm while she stood over us. It was almost unnerving, in a sense. The way she simultaneously emanated safety and impatience. Ready to either defend us at a moment¡¯s notice, or whack us upside the head to speeden things up. I fished out a flashlight from the cart,, and handed it to Kelly as he laid down on the ground to better assess the issue.

    It was funny, before all of this, it would¡¯ve been unthinkable for me to lay down or even touch the asphalt of an alleyways. But after this past vomit covered week, this asphalt was more than clean enough for both Kelly and I. And I¡¯m glad it was, because after a few seconds, I laid down beside Kelly to take a look as well.

    It wasn¡¯t good. The swiveling axle of front wheel was nearly shorn off. Whether it was from the weight of our supplies, or the crash it took from Chuck, I didn¡¯t know, only that the wheel was not going to last much longer. I looked at Kelly. His eyes were blank and empty. I thought it was from the wheel, but he was staring at the ground.

    ¡°Get up.¡± I pushed myself off the ground. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this.¡± I hissed at him.

    Alaska peered at me from the corner of her eye.

    ¡°The wheel¡¯s broke.¡± I whispered. I didn¡¯t have the patience to mime it to her.

    I raked my hair. The cart was probably out of commission now, and fixing it, even if we could, would be too risky out in the open. But I needed to get my LOX tank, plus the other O2 tanks, and¡ª

    It¡¯ll all be that easy, huh? You¡¯ll just carry that LOX tank? And what? Strap the rest of the O2 to your back as well? I mean, lets not forget the food and water just gonna load that all up at the same time?

    She had a point. There was no way that I could grab that damn thing.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I had only one option, and I¡¯d rather bash my head against the wall until my yoke spilled out.

    Getting to his feet, Kelly looked mournfully at me, then, just as his eyes started to drift to Alaska, Davis suddenly appeared, panting, accompanied by a familiar melodic wail. It was the Banshee.

    Following his appearance, Davis did the worst thing that anyone could have possibly done in that moment. He tried to be helpful.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Davis quietly shrieked. And in his panic, he grabbed the cart as he passed by, giving it one hard yank like a ripcord to a lawnmower.

    It all happened so fast. I didn¡¯t even have time to freak out. As Davis and the cart slowly rolled down the alley, the end of alleyway he came from was filled with infected.

    Seeing the group, Alaska turned towards the opposite end of the alleyway and whistled a single, loud note, before turning to the mob that was quickly approaching us.

    ¡°Get that damn cloth out of the way!¡± Alaska ordered while she jogged backwards, readying her shotgun.

    Kelly and I quickly tore the blanket free from the cart.

    ¡°What¡­ are¡­ you doing?¡± Davis asked in between heavy breaths. ¡°Why is this thing so heavy?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s broken, and we¡¯re unpacking. Keep going.¡± I said to him, grabbing the small bag of beef jerky and tossing it away. Kelly followed suit. He opened my condenser¡¯s bag and dumped the few remaining granola bars inside. Together, we picked through the cart, leaving only the bigger food items.

    In the mob, a man faster than the rest pushed his way through the slow crowd, not quite running though quicker than a shamble. He let out an ear piercing screech that bounced off the walls and dumpsters of the alley making it seem like they were suddenly coming from every direction simultaneously.

    BOOM!

    Alaska took the frontrunner out with a slug from her shotgun.

    Then, Bang!

    Davis went down. The front of the cart crashed into the ground. ¡°Grab the tanks!¡± Kelly yelled out, having finally snapped out of his stupor.

    As Davis got to his feet, and Alaska reloaded, I grabbed the E-tank that was closest to me. Alaska quickly grabbed the second after filling her shotgun. Kelly started untying the LOX tank, but it was practically a Gordian knot.

    ¡°There¡¯s no time, just leave it!¡± With my hands full of O2 tank there was no way that I¡¯d be able to stop them, nor would I be of any help by the time the mob got to us. ¡°Leave the damn tank! We got to go!¡±

    ¡°You need this!¡± Kelly said, still struggling with the knot.

    ¡°Screw the tank. I need you, now let¡¯s go!¡±

    Alaska passed the other E-tank to me. ¡°I need two hands.¡±

    BOOM!

    Three infected fell from her shot. Without missing a beat, she repeated. Again and again. Breaking only to slide in more shells. Alaska took a second to blow out another clear, loud whistle. This time, there were two responses. The first, a similar whistle from the other end of the alleyway as a response. The second, another high-pitched melodic wail from the Banshee.

    BOOM!

    ¡°Where are we on that tank!¡± Alaska¡¯s voice was straight as an arrow, but I couldn¡¯t help but hear a slight waiver also.

    There was no time.

    ¡°Oh my god. Forget about it!¡± I shouted, but Davis and Kelly were completely absorbed in getting the tank loose.

    To my slight relief, Boyde finally arrived behind us, quickly withdrawing his pistol, he didn¡¯t hesitate to take a few quick shots into the group.

    Bang, bang, bang!

    Kelly hit the tank. ¡°This fucking rope!¡± He said, frustratedly looking at the encroaching mob. This was getting ridiculous. If they were going to be as stubborn as a mule, they might as well start acting like one.

    I shoved one of the tanks into Davis¡¯ arms. ¡°We¡¯re leaving. Kelly, Alaska, let''s go!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Kelly said, without looking up from the knot that we had triple tied.

    ¡°Kelly we don¡¯t have the time, let''s go! They¡¯re almost here.¡±

    Another wail called out for us from behind the shambling mob. She was here. Whenever a mob of them gathered like this, she was there too. I wanted to think about it longer, but another barrage of shots broke my train of thought.

    BOOM! Bang, bang!

    With it, another few of them fell to the ground, only to be trampled and then no doubt mauled by the others in the pack.

    ¡°Hey, Leo.¡± Alaska said, calling over her shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re out of time. Leave it.¡±

    Hearing that, Kelly kept working on the cart without acknowledging her.

    ¡°Leo, it¡¯s time! They¡¯re here!¡± Alaska repeated with emphasis.

    Kelly ripped the E-tank from Davis¡¯ hands, as he got to his feet.

    ¡°Grab whatever supplies you can.¡± He commanded Davis, then Kelly started off towards the opposite end of the alley.

    BOOM!

    ¡°Boyde, gather whatever supplies you can and go. Keep that end clear, we gotta have a way out of here.¡±

    ¡°I got it.¡± Boyde said, holstering his pistol. He grabbed a pair of milk jugs we repurposed into water containers, and quickly followed after Kelly. Davis, both arms filled with whatever he could grab, quickly left behind him. Leaving only Alaska and me, staring down the mob of crazies.

    ¡°They¡¯re gone, we¡¯re good to go.¡± I said, turning away from the slowly encroaching crowd.

    ¡°You go, I¡¯ve got to do something.¡±

    ¡°Alaska c¡¯mon! They¡¯re right there!¡± With the closest of the group, a woman curled and weakly advancing towards us, only a few feet away, the looming wall of grasping hands and gnashing teeth felt even closer than before.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Alaska began to speak but cut herself off, pulling the shotgun up to her shoulder as she did it. ¡°C¡¯mon you bitch, I know you¡¯re¡­ There!¡±

    BOOM!

    ¡°Fuck! Fuck, fuck! I think I missed. Eury, get the hell out of here, I¡¯ll be right behind you.¡±

    ¡°Bell! Let¡¯s go!¡± Boyde had jogged back from where the other two were waiting near the end of the alleyway.

    Alaska hadn¡¯t pulled the shotgun away from her shoulder, still searching for whoever she was aiming for.

    BOOM!

    Another shot. This time, just like last time, I couldn¡¯t see who or what Alaska was aiming for, but the look of pure concentration on her face told me she could.

    BOOM!

    Suddenly, Boyde appeared beside her, grabbing Alaska by her shooting arm, pulling the shotgun down. ¡°We¡¯re going, move it!¡± I started moving ahead of them, but my eyes were drawn backwards.

    ¡°The walkie-talkies!¡± Alaska darted for the cart, seconds before the mob reached and surrounded the cart. Clipping the walkie-talkie onto her belt, Alaska ran after me. But, just like me she was stuck looking backwards as well, still searching for her target.

    Another melodic wail bounced off the flat walls of the alleyway, causing Alaska and Boyde to turn around. Alaska raised the shotgun to her shoulder again, and Boyde unholstered his pistol.

    ¡°Where is she?¡± Boyde asked.

    ¡°Last I saw her she was almost dead center of the mob.¡± Alaska responded instantly. From this distance, it was difficult to make out anything overly distinguishing about any of them, and yet, Alaska and Boyde, both were scanning the crowd.

    I watched as the mass of people engulfed the cart, a few of the dumber¡ªand probably blind¡ªones were running into it, creating enough of a racket to draw attention to themselves and the cart.

    ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea.¡± Boyde said, changing his aim slightly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Alaska spoke, but didn¡¯t look away from the shotgun¡¯s sights. ¡°Boyde, seriously, don¡¯t.¡± Boyde didn¡¯t say anything as he continued to aim. ¡°Eury, get the hell out of here right now! Lets go!¡± Suddenly, Alaska dropped her shotgun into its sling, grabbed my arm and started running for the other end of the alleyway. ¡°Boyde! Don¡¯t do it!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve got this Bell, don¡¯t worry!¡± Boyde called back to us, before letting off the first shot.

    Bang! Ping!

    It only took one shot for me to realize what he was aiming for, and it took me one more shot to realize exactly how dumb of an idea it was.

    Bang! WHOOSH!

    He hit his target on the second shot. Blowing the cap off the LOX tank, and creating a highly pressurized rocket, driving it first into the ground, then ricocheting off the walls and asphalt. After several quick bounces, it blew through a brick wall between the mob and us. A moment later, a huge fireball came screaming through the hole in the bricks, sounding for a moment like a jet taking off.

    Knocking both Alaska, and me to the ground, while throwing Boyde back from where he was standing. The fire ball quickly burnt through the high density of O2 that had been propelling the rocket forward for the last second, setting momentary fire to all the infected and the alleyway itself. After a bright moment the fire nearly instantly burnt through its fuel, all that remained were a scant few infected not blown over by the rocket, nor by the fireball that followed it. Their clothes, all in varying stages of burning.

    I looked to Alaska and she was mouthing something, but I couldn¡¯t hear anything over the screaming of the fireball that still hollered in my ears. I slowly got to my feet, trying my best to stand up straight but the screaming in my ears wouldn¡¯t stop. It was loud enough to make me dizzy.

    Alaska, more stable than I was, scooped up the O2 tank that I had dropped, and quickly helped Boyde to his feet. As they started for the street beyond the alleyway, Kelly ran over to me, picking me up by my shoulder, carrying me away from the incoming infected.

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 32.7 Hours / 1.36 Days - 9:38 PM

 27. Day 6 - A chosen mausoleum

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 32.24 Hours / 1.34 Days - 10:14 PM

    Eury Morrissey

    We were a mile away from the alleyway when my hearing finally came back in full. We had been staying close to the facades of the buildings that lined the street, hidden from the moonlight under the overhangs and awnings of the businesses and apartments that lined the street. Even though my hearing had returned, the screaming that I had been hearing for the last half an hour wasn¡¯t coming from tinnitus, instead, it was the Banshee, and the mob that she was able to gather was still close behind us. On one hand, for the most part, I was right, the majority of the infected were slow, and if we moved a bit quicker than a fast walk we put some distance between us easily. That being said, no matter how fast we moved, no matter how far we thought we got, her screech was seemingly always just a single street away. And as an added problem, I was suffering something-fierce after turning my O2 back down to eighty-percent. That way, I could stretch the thirty or so hours of O2 I had remaining to a little bit closer to forty. But you¡¯d think that after nearly a week of lower O2 I¡¯d get used to it or something. But if that was the case, it was all irrelevant to our situation right now. Before, there was no running. There wasn¡¯t even any jogging. Really, we spent more time standing still than we did moving when it was just Kelly and me. With Alaska and Boyde around to take care of whoever came at us, we were able to move a lot faster but that didn¡¯t mean we were invincible, not by any stretch. It was obvious that the Banshee could do something to gather the others, and it was that ability that was the most dangerous thing for us at this moment.

    Alaska led us around the corner, depositing us on a street that I finally recognized. It was one of the last streets before the bridge that led out of town towards my parent¡¯s house. Finally, even after losing the LOX and constantly being hunted by the Banshee, I felt a little bit of hope. That is, I would¡¯ve felt some hope, if the street in front of us, and the highway that it connected to, weren¡¯t anything less than a sea of infected. What was easily a third of the town¡¯s population were infected, shambling, and standing between us and the bridge.

    Alaska, and Boyde behind her, stood stiff, watching the closest of the masses, bruised and blue, practically black in the shadow covered night, shambling nowhere in particular. It had been days of watching these people devolve. Descend from humans, true and undeniable, into whatever they are now. Defined more by their sickness and pain than anything else. And in my mind, they¡¯re defined by something even simpler than that. They were fear. Fear that walked, shambled, and never stopped until a bullet was put into them. I guess that was the one thing they still had in common with humans.

    The rest of us watched Boyde and Alaska, waiting for their decision. After all, combined, the two of them managed to put us into our biggest danger yet, and save us from it at the same time.

    Without a word, Alaska glanced back at the rest of us. The worry that had become a permanent fixture on her face since leaving the sheriff¡¯s station was even more severe than ever. Her eyes met mine, and she made her decision. She pointed directly across the street.

    Low to the ground, and as slowly as we could manage, we crept across the hill-top intersection. Looking down towards the highway, it was another familiar sight. Not exactly the same, but still too familiar. An unknowable amount of danger, just That first night, which felt like it happened months ago, came to me fresh as could be. That night I watched a man die. I never allowed myself to realize that until this moment. There was no way that he didn¡¯t, but in my mind, I was quick enough to ignore it. Another item to add to the list of things that I could hate myself for.

    Across the intersection, Boyde began trying the doors, understanding Alaska¡¯s next move without asking. After the third door, a glass front door opened, revealing a short entryway and a set of stairs leading up into the darkness above. Our hands full, Alaska grabbed Kelly¡¯s flashlight, lighting the way for Boyde to clear the way up. Through a thin wooden door at the top, we were in a small office, I didn¡¯t catch the name of but looked too boring to be anything but an insurance company or maybe a real estate firm. Windows led from the hallway into the offices, and from there out to the street beyond. They cleared the offices quickly, and to my supreme relief, there wasn¡¯t even a whiff of vomit or shit. It was an island of boring normalcy that I would have loved to savour. If I wasn¡¯t on the shortest deadline of my life.

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here,¡± I said the moment the door leading back downstairs was closed.

    Alaska looked at me, but after an exasperated sigh, she did nothing but drop the shotgun onto the front desk and walked into an office. Boyde following suit, followed her into the office, only to return to the hallway a half-second later with the door closing behind him. He stood still, blocking the door.

    ¡°No, there¡¯s no fucking way we can stay here! C¡¯mon! Alaska.¡± It would''ve been more effective had I been speaking with the door itself, the amount of attention that Boyde paid me.

    Boyde turned to give the rest of us an explanation but as he opened his mouth the only sound that rang through the building was the Banshee¡¯s melodic howl. Satisfied that served as a reason enough, Boyde walked over to the front desk and collapsed into the chair there.

    Kelly slipped one of the E-tanks behind the desk, and Davis did the same. Davis, who looked even more exhausted than Boyde, just found a dark corner and curled up in it, closing his eyes immediately. Kelly, the only one still standing other than me, approached me with all the severity of an oncologist ready to ruin my life again.

    ¡°Just¡­ Just take a break.¡± He didn¡¯t bother to stop walking until he reached the last door in the short hall. Walking in, he left the door open behind him. Blindsided, and shocked, I just stared back at the space that he had just stumbled out of. The emptiness that Kelly had just been in felt just a little more empty than it should¡¯ve.

    Standing in the middle of the office, with Boyde and Davis exhausted and resting to one side, and Alaska and Kelly bottling themselves up in offices, I couldn¡¯t help but feel like the only one who realized exactly how deadly this situation turned.

    Because the only one that is truly in trouble here is you. Did you forget? The rest of them don¡¯t have a ticking clock like you do.

    Often, there wasn¡¯t a damn thing that my rational brain would take from inner-bitch. Not a single iota of agreement as long as I thought about it for a minute. But at that moment, there wasn¡¯t a damn thing that my mind could come up with to disagree with that thought. Nothing that didn¡¯t sound half-hearted or braindead.

    Seeing exactly how right my inner bitch was, I allowed old habits to take over. I grabbed one of the E-tanks and found my own office to sulk in. If I couldn¡¯t beat them, why not join them! To my great annoyance, the only office remaining was the one directly across from Kelly¡¯s chosen mausoleum. If we were all going to die anyway why not at least get our own cushy digs while doing it. Without even thinking about it I slammed the door behind me. And with a quick pull, I lowered the curtains. For the first time since leaving Alaska¡¯s, I felt alone.

    For a single second, the feeling wasn¡¯t bad. In fact, it was relieving. But, it was exactly that, a single moment of relief.

    The open window on the other side of the office gave me a view of the street. It wasn¡¯t a good one. When we were outside the infected had been mostly stumbling around aimlessly on the lower street and the highway it led to, but now, it was like a huge mass of them had migrated up here. Hundreds of them on the street in front of the building took away any choice we had in the matter. This was going to be my mausoleum, this was it.

    I looked behind the desk for a chair, only to find a sagging blue exercise ball.

    ¡°Jesus, fucking, christ. Can I not get a break?¡± I muttered to myself.

    Resigned, I sat on the floor behind the desk. My fire poker under one hand, and my E-tank under the other. Turning down the O2 rate even further could stretch the two and a half hours on this tank to maybe another four and a half. Not a lot, but it was something.

    As the O2 audibly slowed, I closed my eyes. Preparing for the waves of fire that would start in my lungs and travel to my brain as my body did everything it could to tell me that I was dying. Little did it know that I had already come to terms with my doom.

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 32.04 Hours / 1.34 Days - 10:31 PM

    <hr>

    You awoke in an almost familiar room. At first, you were confused. The room itself was dark, lit only by the dull blue glow of the fish tank in the corner across from you. So, you convinced yourself that maybe that was the problem. In the dark all sorts of things look wrong, you tell yourself. But as the seconds drip past slower than molasses, you begin to notice things. Little mistakes, little problems that the dark should¡¯ve hidden. As more and more inconsistencies reveal themselves to you, and as you realize that this place, this place that looks like it should be so familiar to you, was anything but. Then, you find yourself frozen in fear. As the moments pass, and you watch your breath curl out your mouth, you realize just how true that turn of phrase was, you were cold, extremely cold.

    Hello?

    You try to speak, but like your breath, your throat was frozen. Or was it paralyzed?

    Mom? Dad?

    You try to call out for them, it was their home after all. Wasn¡¯t it? At least it looked like it was to you.

    Out of the wide bay-windows, you see a still-night. Snow had fallen, they called it a freak snow-storm you recall. The barely luminescent orange of the highway street lamps that reflected off the low-grey clouds left the world all oranges, blacks, and whites. After a moment, you remember this night, the memory hazy but the emotions clear.

    Dad! Please! Anyone! Mom! Again, you try and call out for your parents, you wish to get up and run, to search for them, find them and dive back into them. Back to the place that you were safe if only one more time.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    For the first time since you awoke, you finally heard a noise. It was the fish tank in the corner. You didn¡¯t realize just how quiet it had been until that moment, and now, the quiet murmur of the tank¡¯s air supply was deafening.

    ¡°Do you honestly believe that they¡¯re trying to keep you alive?¡± Hearing my voice, but not seeing the source, you once again find yourself paralyzed to the chair, afraid like a new-born kitten scared of the world. ¡°Why would they be?¡±

    You search the dark room frantically, begging whichever god you had suddenly become so devout to, that you could find the source of your torment. You tried to move your arms but they were nothing but melted and useless flesh, unwilling and unable to move.

    ¡°It won¡¯t be long now.¡± My voice repeated over and over in your head. ¡°I will see you soon.¡±

    Then, in the deepest darkness, you finally saw me. My teeth, my eyes, watching you. Waiting for the moment that you slip, and then, and only then, you knew that you would become mine forever

    <hr>

    May 23, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 31.17 Hours / 1.30 Days - 11:57 PM

    I awoke to the sound of the door closing behind Alaska. Shaking off the mire of half-remembered nightmares, I tried to speak, only to find that alongside the oxygen that my lungs were screaming for, I was desperate for water. Noticing, Alaska held out a water bottle. As I turned my O2 back to a more reasonable amount, I waved her and the water over.

    ¡°You alright?¡±

    I nodded between sips, one second of water, one second of oxygen, the only way that I could get both fast enough. I couldn¡¯t do that again. There¡¯s no way that I could survive at sixty-percent for that long.

    ¡°You kinda look like shit. Did I mention that?¡± Alaska said, confirming what I instinctively knew.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone has.¡± I could feel the dryness in my mouth flake off and gum up my words, but they got through anyway.

    ¡°Do you mind?¡± She said, gesturing to the empty wall beside me.

    ¡°Pull up some floor. There¡¯s ¡®nuff of it,¡± but as she sat, I couldn¡¯t look her in the eyes. Every moment I was awake, I remembered more of those emotions I had been piling upon one another since seeing her again. The relief at our first meeting was immeasurable, but then, moment after moment, the problems had piled up.

    ¡°Did you look out there?¡± Alaska said, leaning her head against the wall.

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°That fucking blows, huh?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like a damn airport out there and I¡¯m not looking to get sick.¡±

    ¡°Same here.¡± After a few silent beats, Alaska held her hand out. As I handed her the now half-emptied bottle, she smiled. ¡°Glad I could help.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, I really needed that.¡± The backwardness of the conversation hit me as she chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I should¡¯ve thanked you first.¡±

    ¡°Nah, that ain¡¯t your style.¡±

    ¡°Am I really that bad?¡±

    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s just your style. Would you have expected me to say thank-you if you were in my shoes?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know? Probably?¡±

    Alaska laughed again. ¡°Absolutely not. Had I not mentioned it¡ªas a joke by the way¡ªyou wouldn¡¯t even have thought about it. Like I said, ain¡¯t your style.¡±

    ¡°I must have pretty-shitty style then,¡± I said taking the offered water bottle again.

    ¡°I mean¡­¡± She said pointing to my muddy and now almost falling apart boots, ¡°you are still wearing those things.¡±

    ¡°I guess I am.¡± Even though it felt a little weird, I still smiled. The pressure of everything else¡ªeverything that we both said¡ªwas still hanging heavily in my mind, but it was always like this when I spoke to Alaska. It was minutes, not days or years like it had been before, that it would take for me to get over, or move on, or really, at least go with the flow. That was Alaska''s power over me. For all my defences it only would take the lightest of prodding by her for me to lower them, just as much as she needed.

    We sat in silence for a few minutes, letting the gentle hiss of my O2, and quiet sloshing of the slowly dwindling water bottle fill the room instead. The bottle finally empty, Alaska twisted it shut and placed it on the ground beside her.

    Then, suddenly, and with an unexpected burst of enthusiasm, she turned to me and grabbed my hand.

    ¡°I really am sorry. About last night, and everything that happened before the clinic, and¡­¡± Alaska, let out an exasperated sigh, closing her eyes, she muttered under her breath ¡°fuck,¡± then with a sharp breath she continued, ¡°and for what happened when we got here, and just like being a total bitch back at the station to Kelly.¡± Letting my hand go, her intensity faded as she slumped back against the wall. ¡°Jesus.¡±

    ¡°Shit,¡± I said, dumbfounded.

    ¡°What?¡± Almost out of breath, Alaska looked like she just sprinted a mile.

    ¡°Well, that was just... a lot. Plus, if saying thank-you isn¡¯t really my thing, saying sorry is really really not your style.¡±

    ¡°Geez, then my style must suck too,¡± Alaska muttered.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s the only reason why we can be friends.¡±

    She turned her head to face me. The corners of her mouth were pulled into a smile, but she was anything but happy. ¡°I still can¡¯t take back what I said about Kelly though. God, I feel like such an idiot.¡±

    ¡°Why the sudden change of heart? Didn¡¯t wanna wait until it was too late?

    ¡°Shut up, you¡¯re not dying here.¡± Seeing the futility of her false smile, Alaska¡¯s expression relaxed into a soft scowl. ¡°We¡¯re not dying here.¡±

    ¡°So? Then why are you suddenly apologizing?¡± When Alaska was ¡°right¡± she was right, and she seemed pretty ¡°right¡± in her opinion of Kelly back at the station.

    ¡°Because I was wrong. He¡¯s not a bad guy.¡±

    ¡°I know that.¡±

    ¡°Well shit! Sorry that I didn¡¯t get the memo right away. It was hard to judge when all I saw of him was the geeky sword and his ninja get up. Then, when I realized who he was, I wasn¡¯t exactly the happiest about that either.¡±

    ¡°But you could¡¯ve trusted me. I wouldn¡¯t just be hanging around with someone who¡¯s a bad guy.¡±

    ¡°People lie Eury. And you¡¯ve been lied to before, I just didn¡¯t want to see you get hurt again.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve learned my lesson there. Getting caught up thinking instead of jumping in has become a sort of bad-habit of mine.¡± I tried to push memories of being flustered by Kelly¡¯s flattery barrage to the back of my mind. It¡¯s who he is, and I can¡¯t really blame him for trying his best to disarm me when we first met. ¡°Anyway, you weren¡¯t there. Those first few nights, he did some things that laid the groundwork.¡±

    ¡°Did he massage your feet?¡±

    ¡°Jesus Lask, no,¡± I said slapping her thigh. ¡°He was there when I needed him to be. A bunch of times.¡±

    Alaska stayed quiet enough that all I could hear was some snoring coming from the next room over. Kelly didn¡¯t snore, so that had to be Davis or Boyde. My money was on Davis.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I wasn¡¯t there for you.¡±

    ¡°Hey no, you¡­ you¡¯ve had it bad enough, you don¡¯t need to apologize. Like shit, you¡¯ve had to put up with Davis this whole time. If anything I¡¯m sorry for you!¡± I added.

    ¡°It was pretty brutal being with that guy for so long. But by the end of it, Boyde and Chuck were both with me on telling him to shut up.¡±

    ¡°Was he that bad?¡±

    ¡°Oh god, I can¡¯t even tell you half of it. All he would do, every single day, was theorize and stress. Then he¡¯d wake us up in the middle of the day to tell us some new thing that he thought he figured out. It was fucking exhausting.¡±

    ¡°God, I can¡¯t help but cringe at the thought of switching roles with Davis.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡± Alaska looked hurt.

    ¡°Because, if I had even one other person who I thought I could talk to about this thing without them getting upset about it, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d be able to contain myself either.¡±

    ¡°Trust me, I was getting plenty upset.¡±

    ¡°I know. But that¡¯s not what I mean,¡± I said. Alaska rested her head against the wall again.

    She nodded, then asked, ¡°was it that bad?¡±

    ¡°As far as I can tell, those two that you mentioned? The ones from the bar? They were something like his best friends. For a time at least. After he got clean, they didn¡¯t. I guess he stuck around with them to try and get them sober.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fucking rough man. It ain¡¯t easy to kick a habit when everyone around you¡¯s still hooked. I¡¯ve seen enough of that around town over the last few years to get a good idea of it,¡± Alaska said.

    ¡°I can only imagine.¡±

    ¡°Truthfully, it¡¯s the same for me. I see it but I don¡¯t really know.¡± Coming back to Sheridan back then was Alaska¡¯s choice and the most logical one in her mind, but I still couldn¡¯t imagine coming back here by choice. ¡°But that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about. I can tell that he isn¡¯t all bad. Just¡­ maybe associated with the wrong people,¡± Alaska said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t I know it, he decided to tag along with me.¡± Alaska chuckled, but again, the room fell silent.

    After a few seconds, Alaska scooched closer to me and then leaned her cheek on the top of my head. ¡°This is all sorts of fucked up isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it is.¡± An understatement of the largest magnitude, but I didn¡¯t feel like being rude. Really, I didn¡¯t feel like doing much else other than sitting there and just waiting. It would be easier to do that.

    ¡°What the hell are we gonna do now?¡± Alaska asked.

    ¡°Why¡¯re you asking me?¡±

    ¡°Because of the two of us, you¡¯re the one that I trust with our next move.¡±

    ¡°Another surprise.¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°¡®Cause you¡¯re you. I¡¯ve never known you to be anything less than in charge.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not. Not all the time at least. I just¡­¡± Alaska raised her hand to her face. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to fuck this all up.¡±

    ¡°If anyone can get us through this, it¡¯s you.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t do this alone.¡±

    Alaska had all the affect of a scolded child, but she said the words anyway, ¡°fine, then¡­ how about, if anybody can get through this, it¡¯s us.¡±

    ¡°I can live with that.¡±

    ¡°What the hell are we gonna do Eury?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe¡­ maybe for just right now, we wait.¡±

    Again, the only sound in the room was my O2 whistling away into my nose. I couldn¡¯t help but begin to nod off, my body, exhausted and almost hypoxic, was ready to sleep at the drop of a hat.

    But, before we slept, Alaska broke the silence one last time. ¡°I¡¯m really scared.¡±

    ¡°I am too.¡±

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 30.64 Hours / 1.28 Days - 12:36 AM

    <hr>

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 30.00 Hours / 1.25 Days - 1:24 AM

    The silence was deafening when the burning in my lungs woke me up. I was panicking as I quickly detached my cannula from the empty D-tank. I tried to calm myself as I scrambled for the E-tank that had rolled under the desk. Alaska woke up in the middle of my struggle, but by the time she realized what was happening, I already had the cannula attached.

    I leaned against the wall again as the O2 began to flow steadily. It was only once the burning began to subside that my panic did as well.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s¡­ Fine.¡± The D-tank in my hands was empty. I was one more step closer. One step closer to being no different from the rest of them out there. Wanting for something that I just couldn¡¯t get.

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 29.99 Hours / 1.25 Days - 1:25 AM

 28. Day 7 - The calm before

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 19.91 Hours / 0.83 Days - 2:20 PM

    Eury Morrissey

    Alaska watched out the window for a moment longer before turning back to the rest of us.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you guys, I think that now¡¯s the time.¡± Davis had gathered us all at the window to share his theory. ¡°They¡¯re blind, slow, and above all, they¡¯re starting to pass-on. I told you that I noticed that they were being affected by dehydration. But look at them now!¡±

    ¡°Are you blind? Have you seen how many of them are out there?¡± Kelly said pointing at the window.

    ¡°I have, but I¡¯m telling you, they¡¯re docile. At this point, I¡¯d wager the vast majority of them haven¡¯t eaten or drank anything in the last six to seven days. The fact that they¡¯re even still standing right now is a miracle in itself.¡±

    ¡°More like a magical curse,¡± Alaska corrected.

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as magic,¡± I interjected. ¡°The world is plenty fucking bizarre that we don¡¯t need add that shit to the pile of what if¡¯s. And besides, I agree with Davis on this.¡± Alaska and Kelly both looked at me, their mouths slack. ¡°What? It¡¯s what I¡¯ve been saying this whole damn time. Kelly, I told you this what? Four days ago? It¡¯s the water. If they¡¯re not even bothering to sleep properly, then they sure as hell aren¡¯t drinking water.¡±

    ¡°What about that girl, Wren?¡± Boyde asked.

    ¡°That Banshee¡¯s a special case,¡± I spoke before Davis could, ¡°I have no clue what the hell¡¯s wrong with her, but that bitch isn¡¯t like the rest of them.¡±

    ¡°Teddy too,¡± Kelly added, ¡°and that¡¯s why I¡¯m against going out there. God knows how many others like them are out there.¡±

    ¡°One or two is nothing. We¡¯ve got three guns, a ton of bullets, and two crack shots. We can easily take out two sick people,¡± Boyde retorted.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you haven¡¯t noticed, but it isn¡¯t just the two of them to be worried about. The Banshee can do something to rest of them. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s able to control them or direct them or what, but whatever it is, she¡¯s more of a danger than just one sick person,¡± I said. Even though I agreed with Boyde in a way, I couldn¡¯t let him downplay how dangerous Wren was. The average infected out there? They made sense, their sickness progressed in a way that just made sense. But Wren? Teddy? They didn¡¯t make a lick of sense, and denying that would probably get us killed.

    ¡°Regardless! Look! Just look at them and tell me that you think they can see a damn thing,¡± Davis said pointing to the window. ¡°To them it might as well be midnight! Speaking of midnight, how long do you even have Eury? By my best guess, you should have what, maybe twenty hours left between those tanks and that concentrator?¡±

    ¡°Less than twenty at max. At eighty percent, just a bit more than twenty-four hours?¡±

    Kelly glared at me the moment I spoke. I had forgotten that he wasn¡¯t aware I was running my O2 lower, not since he had scolded me last time.

    Alaska, looking more fed up by the seconds said, ¡°even if the bridge is less than a mile away, and assuming we can get through the crowd¡ª¡±

    ¡°We can,¡± Davis interrupted, but threw up his hands after Alaska shot him a dirty look.

    ¡°If we can get through the crowd, then we¡¯re looking at a fifteen-mile hike up into the mountains to get to the Morrissey''s.¡± Alaska looked around the group to see if anyone had anything else to say. ¡°At that rate, we can wait. Fifteen miles in even twenty hours is easy enough, we can do this.¡±

    ¡°I think we should leave as soon as possible,¡± Kelly¡¯s switch of positions, caught me off guard.

    ¡°You said it yourself, it¡¯s too dangerous out there right now. We can¡¯t get through hundreds of them like this!¡± Alaska looked over to me, but then, her gaze fell to the empty silver E-tank beside me. ¡°We¡¯re down three people who we need carrying supplies.¡± What Alaska wasn¡¯t saying was that because of my condition, I might as well have not even been there to top it off. After last night¡¯s bout with sixty-percent, I was feeling and looking worse than I had since before O¡¯Brian¡¯s.

    ¡°With the two of us running point, and everyone else sticking close, what difference will it make if we go now or later?¡± Boyde asked.

    ¡°Because they¡¯re out there now! I know you¡¯re hot shit Boyde, but there¡¯s more to this than that,¡± Alaska said.

    ¡°All I¡¯m hearing is that either we take a chance now,¡± Kelly¡¯s tone had dropped even further, ¡°or we wait until it¡¯s too late and waste our window.¡±

    ¡°We can make fifteen-miles in less than twelve hours! Stop being ridiculous!¡±

    ¡°You all can,¡± I interjected, ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can.¡±

    ¡°Eury c¡¯mon. Don¡¯t be¡ª¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know how bad it can get. When things start to go sideways, you don¡¯t know how bad it can get,¡± I said, cutting Alaska off.

    ¡°She¡¯s pre-hypoxic. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if liquid has already started to gather in her lungs. The longer Eury is out here, and the longer she¡¯s on low intake, the more likely her body is going to start shutting down. Now that we have a chance, we gotta take it.¡± Davis was backing up my case with facts. It figured, of all of us, he¡¯s the one who would know.

    ¡°We¡¯re rested, and they¡¯re even slower than last night. We haven¡¯t heard that Banshee chick since last night. Now¡¯s the time.¡± Boyde added.

    Alaska took in a sharp breath before almost yelling, ¡°look! Look with your own fucking eyes, and tell me that we can get through that.¡± I didn¡¯t look. I didn¡¯t need to. I knew that she was right, but so were we. ¡°If we go out there right now, we, will, die!¡±

    ¡°And if we wait, then I die. You all can stay here. But regardless of what happens, I need to go, as soon as I can.¡±

    ¡°Eury wait, you¡ª¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going with her.¡± Kelly added instantly. I met his glance with a small smile.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go too.¡± Davis added. Hearing that was a pair of conflicting emotions, both of which I pushed down. The three of us looked at Boyde, but I knew that was a useless argument waiting to happen. There was no way in hell that he¡¯d leave Alaska.

    Alaska¡¯s scowl finally broke, if only ever so slightly. ¡°But what if¡ª¡±

    ¡°If I stay, I die. Alaska, I love you, and I¡¯m not asking you to do this. But I have to go. And if I go now, there¡¯s at least a chance that I¡¯ll be able to help. That I¡¯ll be able to fight.¡±

    Alaska¡¯s whole expression changed as I spoke. At first, she was worried, and angry, even a little sad. She closed her eyes, and ran her hand over her head. After a few seconds of thinking, she looked up. ¡°We¡¯ll go. Get you stuff, we leave in five minutes.¡±

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 19.82 Hours / 0.83 Days - 2:27 PM

    <hr>

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 19.65 Hours / 0.82 Days - 2:40 PM

    It didn¡¯t take long for us to gather everything we had brought. Between eating and drinking at the office, and going through two of my three O2 tanks, we barely had anything left. Other than about ten hours of O2 left in the tank on my back, we had a few jugs of water, and a couple of beef jerky and chocolate bars that we could scavenge from the vending machine in the small office. Other than what we could eat there, it was too dangerous to bring along anything else. They have proven time and again that their sense of hearing was beyond normal, regardless of whether or not they were blind.

    ¡°Where¡¯s that other tank?¡± Kelly asked me just as we hit the bottom of the stairs.

    ¡°Up there,¡± I answered

    ¡°What?¡± Kelly caught himself. This close to the door, even the near-dead outside could¡¯ve heard him if he didn¡¯t. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s empty. Why would I bring it?¡±

    ¡°Because¡­¡± Kelly stopped to think. That was just like him, act on feeling before really getting a whole thought in. ¡°Because, you might need it. It¡¯s not like those things grow on trees.¡±

    ¡°Well I don¡¯t have a third arm to carry it in. So, that¡¯s not really an option.¡±

    ¡°I can just carry it. I don¡¯t mind it¡¯s not¡ª¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯m letting any of you get weighed down by my shit. You carrying that damn concentrator is enough. I¡¯ve got this.¡± I readjusted my slipping grip on the jugs of water I was carrying.

    ¡°But¡ª¡±

    Alaska shushed us just as Kelly was about to continue. The street out front clear, she pushed open the door. Kelly¡¯s eyes lingered on mine, before he followed Boyde. Davis, stuck behind me, was responsible for what little was left of the food. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    I held my breath as we stepped onto the sidewalk. The nearest person to us was no further than ten feet away, beyond the large heavy-set man, the next nearest were only a step or two, beyond them, the street was like the Lloyd center the days leading up to Christmas. Packed shoulder to shoulder, walking aimlessly. In a way they really were like shoppers on the lookout for a deal.

    In a tight line, we followed Alaska who led us away from the direction we first came from. Being quiet, and moving quickly, it was hard to tell if any of the masses of infected we weaved through noticed we were even there, but it was obvious that every time she sidestepped a blind shambler, Alaska¡¯s whole body went rigid.

    As we passed a small gap between the first office building we were in and the next set of shops, I instinctively tensed. I needed to be ready. Our luck with alleyways up until now has been too bad to not be prepared. I was relieved as Alaska passed by without incident. Boyde, then Kelly as well. Finally, when it was my turn, I made the mistake of looking into the gap. I looked away quickly enough to not catch any real details, but Davis who wasn¡¯t stood shocked for a moment.

    Maybe if I could¡¯ve seen the alley that Teddy had come from back before the clinic. Actually, I guess I did see his work, the stumped man did come from there as well.

    A few steps later, Davis caught back up. My fire poker rattled between Kelly¡¯s back and his sword, as he suddenly stopped. Standing at the next street corner, Alaska held up a flat palm to us, only letting Boyde approach carefully. Now that we were closer, I could see exactly how far gone these people were. For the majority, their skin was stained black and blue. Most were covered in their own sick and blood. And worst of all, their eyes. To combat their slowly lost vision, their eyelids were practically peeled open. For some, the glassy inflamed red and white was bad enough. But for the most unfortunate, black and red empty sockets and the accompanying torn flesh leading away from them scarred their faces. Their blood must¡¯ve been thick at this point, I had no clue how else they haven¡¯t bled to death.

    Alaska and Boyde stepped out from the corner, but Alaska¡¯s hand stayed up as they strafed across the street.

    Kelly tapped me on the shoulder, and pointed up past the awning we were beneath. Following Kelly¡¯s finger, I looked up to the sky. The clouds were rolling in from behind the building above us. They were a boiling, rolling sea of dark grey.

    And that explains why it¡¯s so dim out here.

    And as the clouds moved further in, invading the light grey haze of extremely high clouds, the street itself only got darker. The cloud cover was so absolute, it was almost as if night had fallen. With this, there was a chance that we could actually do this. I felt actual hope for the first time in a long time.

    From the other side of the intersection, Alaska waved us over. A minute ago, creeping past the crowds of barely-alive infected, I would¡¯ve been worried to cross the street. But seeing them now¡ªafter an up-close view of their deterioration¡ªit was obvious that the vast majority of them were too far gone to be much of a threat.

    That means that they¡¯re too far gone to be saved too doesn¡¯t it?

    As was quickly becoming my habit over this last week, by the time we met up with Alaska and Boyde and started toward the highway, my mood had soured by the realization that this wasn¡¯t likely something that we could come back from. Despite my rags of hope still being maintained for our survival, I couldn¡¯t help but feel worried about the town at large. There was a value to that hope though. I had been there before, that hopeless pit, and being that way wasn¡¯t going to save us. Back at Alaska¡¯s, the day before Kelly arrived, that was the lowest I had been since my surgery, but at the time I don¡¯t even think I realized it. It was funny in a way, there wasn¡¯t a specific thing that Kelly had done to break that doom-loop I had fallen into, and yet, it was implicit in my subconscious that it was his doing that got me out of there.

    Again, Alaska stopped at the last corner before the street met the highway. The buildings here were a far cry from the brick and mortars that lined the streets further into town, these ones were new. Sleek steel and glass. They practically looked like they belonged in some big city somewhere not in the middle of nowhere Sheridan.

    I was staring at the back of Kelly¡¯s balaclava¡¯ed head. He was still. Laser-focused forward, just like the rest of us. I guess, except for me.

    I imagined that Kelly was pretty good at his job before all this fell to shit. There was something about how he was able to step into a situation that he knew nothing about, and slowly worm his way into it. I remember that first moment that I realized just how dangerous talking to him really was. Not dangerous in the scary way, but in the way that after all the doom and gloom I had subjected myself to for the days leading¡ª

    Days? My inner-bitch was quick to correct.

    Okay, yeah.

    ¡ªfor all the doom and gloom that I had subjected myself to for the vast majority of my life, he felt like a goddamned wizard for being able to come in and help me find a way out of my spiral. And at the end of the day, all he really did was show up and talk. About nothing in particular and anything at all¡ªwith only one understandable exception. That was probably the reason why I never felt too bad around Alaska too. Sure I¡¯d give her shit but at the end of the day spending time with her was always the highlight of my summers off from Gonzaga.

    Kelly glanced back at me, and our eyes met. Even with everything else going on. The sick and crazed all around us. My oxygen reaching it¡¯s last dregs. I still smiled. It caught him off guard¡ªof course it did¡ªbut it only took a second before the bags under his eyes scrunched up. That was another good thing about him, he smiled with his eyes.

    A sharp crack above us snapped me out of my idle daydreaming. The metal awning we were under was suddenly dented.

    Pwang. Pwang.

    A pair of footsteps above us. Alaska turned away from the highway, eyes wide and mouth ajar.

    ¡°Move!¡± In the single syllable, Alaska¡¯s expression changed three times. Shock, horror, then anger. Kelly, Davis and I all scattered, trying our best to avoid whatever was above us, but also the few infected that were on the street around us. The same infected who after hearing Alaska¡¯s command, already were starting to surround us. Our only saving grace was that this street, unlike the highway or the other two was relatively empty, only a dozen or so severely deteriorated shamblers.

    By the time my foot hit the asphalt, Alaska had already drawn her shotgun, dropped it back into its sling, and withdrew her baton. Another step away from the sidewalk, I craned my neck to see what it was that had her so panicked.

    Backed by a tumultuous near-black sky, a towering man stared back down at us. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin that had been mostly white when I last saw him was nothing more than purple and black. His shirt was completely torn from his body, giving us a full view of the pustules and burst lacerations that slashed across his chest.

    Had he come from the roof? What the hell was he doing up there?

    It was obvious that the others¡ªthe ones mindlessly shuffling around us¡ªwould never have been able to get up there on purpose. Just like the Banshee, Teddy was different, and now the disparity between him and the rest was obvious to everyone. His blood-red eyes flicked between us purposely until finally landing on Kelly. Seeing him, Teddy¡¯s jaw unhinged at its edges, spraying black blood as he garbled out an enraged battle cry.

    Kelly stumbled back a step as he fumbled to draw his sword. Teddy leaped off the awning slamming into Kelly, then to the ground. This time, he wasted no time and Kelly had no chance to defend himself. With Kelly¡¯s arms protecting his face, Teddy went to the opening he left over his stomach. Teddy¡¯s first few swipes weren¡¯t much more than wild and unaimed ferocity, but within the first second, he had already managed to grab and tear open Kelly¡¯s jacket with terrifying strength. Another grab, another pull and Kelly¡¯s shirt was ripped away. Like me, the rest of our group was almost completely frozen. Even though we were on high alert, there was no way that we could have prepared for something as ferocious and focused as this. Everything up until now had felt so random, so instinctual, but this, this was different.

    Teddy was trying to tear into Kelly¡¯s stomach flesh, but without a cut in the skin, or a weapon in his hand, it was fruitless. But it barely mattered, the flurry of punches and swipes and scratches was more than enough to break the skin and probably the bones beneath.

    Do it.

    From the moment Teddy appeared, until that thought, it was as if time had slowed to a crawl for me, but as reality and my thoughts began to flow normally, I didn¡¯t hesitate. Consequences be damned, it wasn¡¯t hesitating this time.

    I dropped both jugs of water, then it was a single fluid motion for me to reach beneath my tank bag, and withdraw the pistol holstered there, and take aim at the man violently attacking Kelly. Alaska and Boyde had already begun sprinting towards them, but there was no telling what the difference of a few seconds would make.

    Bang! Bang!

    I pulled the trigger and the handgun jumped in my hand, what strength I had back in the clinic had deteriorated further as the very weight of the gun was almost too much for me to hold.

    Whether it was the first shot or the second that did it, Teddy launched himself off Kelly, away from me. Rolling first over his shoulder landing on his back, before quickly scrambling to his feet. As he got up, Alaska¡¯s baton met his face, sending him stumbling back into the window behind him. Seeing Kelly¡¯s motionless body on the asphalt I took aim at Teddy again. Alaska¡¯s movements were quick and precise, but it was seemingly useless against Teddy, who looked almost no worse for wear even after I put a bullet in him.

    I had a half-second between when I heard the weak moan of the man behind me, and when his hands were already wrapping themselves around me. I ducked to avoid his curled purple hand, but his second had followed me down, grabbing my hair. With a surprising amount of strength, the man pulled me backwards.

    Disoriented, hypoxic, and distraught, I struggled to remember my self-defence training. Training that was made simultaneously more difficult and somewhat easier with the pistol in my hand. After trying to bat his arm away with the pistol, as I was taught, I realized my situation. I looked away from the man¡¯s nearly-desiccated face and pulled the trigger.

    Bang!

    His grip on my hair didn¡¯t loosen but as he fell, my hair began tearing away from my head.

    ¡°Fucking, ow!¡± I screamed, bashing the limp arm until it finally finished its painful removal of the chunk of hair.

    Boom!

    Free from my attacker, I spun around again, raising the pistol to where Teddy was. But the scene I returned to was completely different from before. Alaska, standing in front of a cracked window of a shop, was aiming down the sights of her shotgun towards the highway. Boyde was hovering over Kelly saying something but all I heard were hard spat S¡¯s and F¡¯s. Almost thirty seconds had passed and somehow, Davis was still in the same spot he was before, only his head moved as he was now staring at the highway beyond the rest of the group.

    The sound of shuffling steps behind me spurred me into movement. With one hand I holstered the pistol, while the other grabbed one of the water jugs. As I ran over to Kelly, Boyde took that as an opportunity to grab the stunned Davis. Kelly¡¯s stomach was exposed and bruises were already forming at the bottom of his ribs alongside the shallow cuts that must¡¯ve been from Teddy¡¯s nails. I knelt down beside him and unscrewed the cap of the water jug. I drained the jug onto his exposed flesh, cleaning the wounds as best as I could. Kelly¡¯s eyes shot open and he let out a quiet groan, as he tried and failed to sit up.

    ¡°Kelly! Are you okay?¡± His eyes looked glazed over, a look I had seen before. A common one after grappling matches. ¡°We gotta get going!¡± I tried my best to ignore the rapidly spreading bruise along his rib, there was nothing we could do about it right now, and we couldn¡¯t stick around here. With Alaska¡¯s help, we got Kelly to his feet, and the group of us slowly made our way towards the highway.

    Behind us the weak moans from the shamblers around us were almost more pitiful than anything else. The sound of Davis muttering something to Boyde was also concerning.

    As we approached the highway, the huge mass of infected that had gathered there were now slowly making their way to where Teddy had attacked us. They were slow, but the amount of them was more than overwhelming. If we slowed down or even hesitated there was no chance. They would overtake us and that would be it.

    But, as the Banshee¡¯s wail rang out from the direction of the highway Alaska stopped and turned towards the sound. The cry cut through the wind that had been picking up progressively since we left the office. The shambling infected around us all looked towards the source that was no doubt just beyond the buildings across the street.

    ¡°She¡­ she¡­ knows.¡± Davis stammered out.

    He was right. She was looking for us. And we just gave ourselves away.

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 19.22 Hours / 0.80 Days - 3:12 PM

 29. Day 7 - Petrichor

    May 24, 2019 - 3:13 PM

    Leo Kelly

    It was like the whole week just disappeared from my mind, and all I could think about was the distorted, semi-human image of Teddy. It was practically seared into the back of my eyelids. Opening them made it easier in a way, but now my world was spinning off its axis. It was a goddamn miracle that my legs were somehow unconsciously stumbling forward. I felt like I was sleepwalking.

    ¡°Kelly! Are you okay?¡± I heard Eury say. Her voice was definitely registering, but it took a second for me to place her. ¡°C¡¯mon, you gotta be okay.¡± I looked around me, but she spoke again before I found her. ¡°Please.¡±

    I looked down and saw her struggling to hold me up.

    Seeing her, a floodgate opened in my mind. The memories that the fear and concussion had momentarily suppressed returned in a confusing pile at a hundred-miles an hour. By the time I could fully understand what was happening we were more than a hundred feet down the highway from where the street met it. Alaska, Boyde and Davis were further ahead, batting down the few infected that stood between us and the bridge. I tried to dislodge my arm from Eury¡¯s grip, but she held tightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m okay.¡± I managed to slur out.

    ¡°No, you obviously are not,¡± Eury said, adjusting me like I was a backpack strap.

    I tried weaselling my hand out of her grip, but she held me like a pair of cuffs. ¡°Let go, I¡¯m fine. I can walk, see?¡± I took a staggering step forward. Eury glared at me, clearly not convinced.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a concussion! You barely have the coordination of a baby.¡± To make her point, she let go of me for a moment, and I nearly crumbled onto the ground before she caught hold of me.

    ¡°Maybe you¡¯ve got a point. But I¡¯m still slowing you down.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, you stupid¡ª¡± A blood clotting wail sapped the words from her mouth. It was the Banshee. Even my concussion-rattled brain could figure that out.

    Eury turned to look behind. ¡°Oh my god,¡± she said, her pace slowing down a gear.

    That was when I had to turn as well. I didn¡¯t know why. Probably thought I was prepared for whatever I would see. I¡¯d been seeing all three of them every time I closed my eyes after all. I instantly recognized her standing on one of the abandoned cars on the highway. Even though she was far away, skin eaten black and blue from infection, Wren¡¯s patchy platinum blonde hair was unmistakable. My stomach folded in, making bile scrape at my throat. I had to turn away. We had to keep moving. Wren¡¯s wail had riled up the infected. Any that were wandering around aimlessly joined the shambling riot stumbling toward us. Growing in mass like a hungry tumour.

    ¡°I remember her,¡± Eury said, her voice cracking out between ragged breaths.

    ¡°What d¡¯you mean?¡± I asked like I didn¡¯t know.

    That¡¯s what you¡¯re going with? Playing dumb?

    I tried to blame it on the concussion. But I knew better.

    ¡°From high school. She was the one who spread all the rumours about me and Davis.¡± The path cut through the infected by the others was closing off, so I had to be the one to keep pushing us forward even despite my unsure legs. ¡°You went to Sheridan High. You knew her too, don¡¯t you?¡± I looked at her, my eyes moon-wide with worry.

    ¡°Eury it¡¯s¡ª¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I know.¡± And with those three ice-cold words, I realized that the game was up. I couldn¡¯t help but believe her, she did know. She remembered exactly who I was, and some part of me knew that she even knew what I had done. Without another word, she returned to her quick pace.

    Our path effectively closed, by the aimless wandering of the few truly destitute infected in front of us, we had to fight our way through. There was no way Eury could fight while holding me up at the same time.

    ¡°I can walk,¡± I said to her.

    Whether she believed me or not, Eury didn¡¯t fight me this time and let me go.

    I stumbled a little but not enough to fall or catch her attention. Eury began swinging at the shamblers with her fire poker. They were slow and easy to deal with, but they were still more than she could handle alone. I unsheathed Sheila and got to work alongside her. It didn¡¯t matter that every swing hurt, I needed to push through the pain. I could feel Eury¡¯s frosty anger. She was something more than pissed off at me, and there wasn¡¯t a second that I was going to be able to talk to her about it. There was no way that I could fix the mess that I had built up around me.

    Alaska stopped, having finally noticed we¡¯d fallen behind. ¡°Eury!¡± she shouted, starting towards us when Eury waved her on.

    ¡°Keep going! We¡¯re fine!¡± Eury told her.

    I wouldn¡¯t say we¡¯re skipping through daisies or anything, but we didn¡¯t even need to hit them more than once to knock any of them to the ground. Their flesh had the give of rotten fruit. I¡¯d hack off a limb without meaning to. Regardless, Eury¡¯s strikes were a lot more aggressive than usual. More than once, her fire poker would get stuck in one of their heads, forcing her to wrench it out.

    It was kind of captivating to watch in a way. So much so that I didn¡¯t notice the growl coming from the crowd we were wading through. I was taken completely by surprise when Teddy¡¯s snarling face appeared in front of me. Instinctively, I swung Sheila down as hard as I could. Teddy dodged, but the blade still connected and sliced his left arm.

    Teddy recovered and before I could hack his head off, he had me on the ground. Again, I was trying to keep his snapping jaws away from my throat. Sheila was knocked out of my hands during my fall, skittering toward Eury, who was busy with her own infected. I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d notice, but before Teddy could sink his disgusting teeth into my neck¡ª

    Bang!

    The shot had clipped his shoulder. Teddy¡¯s grip loosened for a moment, allowing me to throw him off like a bad one-night stand. I scrambled for Sheila but infected blocked the way. The mob of sick heads had shifted their focus from Teddy and me to Eury because of the gunshot.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Three more infected dropped to the ground hard.

    ¡°Here!¡± Eury said. I heard her fire poker clatter down beside me.

    It wasn¡¯t exactly Sheila, but it would have to do. I felt my brain flip several times over when I sat up, but I managed to get it right as Teddy pushed his way through the other shamblers. I barely had the strength to stand, let alone fight, so Teddy mounted me once more in this comedy of errors, grappling while the infected mob slowly began to encircle me and Eury.

    BANG! BANG!Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    I heard more gunshots go off. I was practically hiding beneath Teddy while some of the infected blindly tried to find me. When I looked over at Eury though, I noticed she was swaying from side to side as her legs started to give out from under her.

    ¡°Alaska!¡± I shouted. Half beg, half prayer, Eury needed help and there wasn¡¯t anything that I could do. The strength in my arms was barely even enough to keep Teddy from getting to me.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong!¡± Alaska replied, sounding far away.

    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know, I think she¡¯s passing out!¡±

    KABOOM!

    A moment later, Alaska fired her shotgun. The sound hurt like I stuck my head in a ringing church bell. ¡°Where are you? I¡¯ll come get you too!¡±

    My arms began to ache from holding off Teddy. With the concussion, it was like fighting through a fog, and Teddy¡¯s weight pushing down on me didn¡¯t help either. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Just¡­ just get Eury outta here!¡±

    ¡°Keep talking, I¡¯ll get to you!¡±

    KABOOM!

    ¡°Get out of here!¡±

    ¡°Kelly!¡± It was Eury. A small part of me was happy that she sounded worried for me. It felt like I was forgiven just a little bit.

    I swallowed the knot that tied up my throat. ¡°I¡¯m fine! Just go! Get to your parent¡¯s house!¡±

    I doubted I was getting out of this mess with my ass intact. The more I yelled, the more aggressive the infected got. Even if Alaska blasted her way to me, there was no way she could get out with the mob closing in. I¡¯d rather she save Eury than me. And besides, while I looked into the black hole that was Teddy¡¯s gaping mouth, I thought maybe there was justice in this, having him to be the one to do me in. If I had treated him better, set him right and away from the drugs, he wouldn¡¯t have been like this now. It was only right to die by my own mistakes.

    Maybe it was the irony of the situation, or how much I really hated crying. Either way, it didn¡¯t matter. I started to laugh while I cried. It could¡¯ve been that I just didn¡¯t expect to cry again so soon, or it could be that I was crying for the things I¡¯d taken rather than lost. I didn¡¯t know. It could be both.

    Above me, a flash of lightning split the boiling sky. Seconds later, the rain followed in a torrential downpour.

    That was when I heard Eury scream.

    May 24, 2019 - 3:27 PM

    <hr>

    Two minutes before - May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 19.05 Hours / 0.79 Days - 3:25 PM

    Eury Morrissey

    One moment I was dancing around the reaching hands from the shamblers, and the next I was on the ground with Alaska picking me up.

    ¡°She¡¯s¡­ I¡­ I don¡¯t know, I think she¡¯s passing out!¡±

    It was pathetic how useless my lungs were. Failing me as I was trying to get back to Kelly, to save him from Teddy, but there were just too many of them. I had no chance.

    Not with your body.

    As Alaska hoisted me onto her shoulder, I tried to call out to Kelly. To say something, anything, but my throat was dry and my lungs burning.

    KABOOM!

    ¡°Where are you? I¡¯ll come get you too!¡± Alaska shouted into the crowd.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. Just¡­ just get Eury outta here.¡±

    Go back for him! I wanted to say.

    ¡°Keep talking, I¡¯ll get to you.¡± Thank you, Alaska. Thank you, thank you! I wanted to scream it out while she pushed back another of the horde.

    KABOOM!

    ¡°Get out of here!¡± The infected around us had all but forgotten about us, as they began to swarm around Kelly.

    I struggled in Alaska¡¯s hold, like Kelly did before, trying to get to him. And like I did, she tightened her grip around me. ¡°We have to go.¡± Alaska¡¯s words were quiet and definitive.

    No! We can¡¯t leave him! I tried my best to argue, to fight like I always had, but I couldn¡¯t. I hung almost lifeless on Alaska¡¯s shoulders weighing her down. If I wasn¡¯t, then she would¡¯ve been able to get to him. If I was stronger, I would have been able to save him. But instead, because of my weakness there was nothing that either of us could do.

    ¡°Kelly!¡± It was all that I could force out.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine! Just go! Get to your parent¡¯s house!¡±

    Alaska turned on her heel, and made a beeline for Boyde and Davis. I tried to contort myself, to turn back and see him. But even that was too much.

    BOOM!

    Alaska blew a hole through the shamblers that stood between us and the open road. Safety was quickly approaching with every step away from Kelly.

    Useless. Now, more than ever before in your entire pitiful life, you are useless. This is all your fault. Every single thing that happens will be your fault. Never, ever, forget that.

    BOOM! CRACK!

    ¡°No!¡± I wanted to yell, mustering that burst of power I had a moment ago, but my throat was so arid. All I could manage was an unintelligible scream.

    I needed water. I needed air. But more than anything, I needed Kelly.

    Alaska pushed us through to the empty highway beyond, just as the sky above was lit up by a bolt of lightning. A waterfall worth of rain started to batter down. By the time that we made it to Davis and Boyde, we were all completely soaked.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Kelly?¡± Davis asked while Boyde helped me to the ground. I let myself collapse as my mind raced. ¡°Where is he?¡± Davis pressed again.

    ¡°Back there.¡± Alaska said as she reloaded her shotgun.

    ¡°I¡¯m going back for him,¡± I huffed out.

    I spun the regulator around, turning it up to give me an extra boost of O2. Whether or not it would help in the slightest I couldn¡¯t be sure, but I needed to do something. Anything. I didn¡¯t know if it was anger, the rain itself, or what, but it was like I tapped into this hidden store of power I needed to continue on.

    ¡°Are you an idiot!¡± Alaska snapped at me like an angry dog. ¡°We can¡¯t do anything for¡ª¡±

    I heard the Banshee alongside a clap of lightning. A screech like metal grinding metal. Inhuman, it almost bordered on mechanical. Her call was nothing like her mournful wails, nor did it sound like a human being at all. Screeching followed by a long note. If anything, she sounded more like an injured bird than a person.

    ¡°What the hell?¡± Boyde, who had been looking Alaska over for any cuts or scrapes, stopped to look towards the mob. Every single infected had paused to stare at the sky, mouths open.

    All four of us were now on our feet, watching as the whole mob began opening and closing their mouths. ¡°What are they¡ª¡±

    ¡°No... No!¡± I withdrew my handgun and fired into the crowd. I needed to distract them. I couldn¡¯t allow them to drink anymore when most were so close to dying. And there was still time. Maybe this was my last chance to get to Kelly before it was too late.

    ¡°Eury! Get back here!¡± Alaska¡¯s screams were barely louder than the rain coming down around us.

    Was it already too late?

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Ten feet, more or less. That was how far I got before I saw Kelly. Maybe it was a mirage, or a hallucination. Or an answer to all those prayers that had been flowing through my head. Whatever it was, as I got closer to the wall of infected, Kelly crawled out from between the standing shamblers.

    ¡°Kelly!¡±

    Bang! Bang!

    My vision was spinning. I was no doubt hypoxic, but I knew that moment was my only chance. I failed him once, I couldn¡¯t fail him again.

    Reaching the open highway, Kelly used his sword to slowly stand himself up. If his ribs weren¡¯t broken before, they must¡¯ve been now. He seemed to wince with every step he took.

    He hadn¡¯t been far from the front of the wall when Teddy emerged from the crowd. He was covered in blood with my firepoker sticking out of his stomach. Teddy wasn¡¯t as vicious as he was before, but it barely mattered when Kelly stood in the way of a clean shot.

    ¡°Move!¡± I cried out, but my voice was drowned out by another explosion of thunder and lightning.

    Teddy began to stumble forward faster, charging Kelly from behind. At the last second, Kelly turned around slashing his sword wide. The blade clipped Teddy¡¯s limp arm, and knocked Kelly off balance.

    There was no way he could survive a fight in his condition. I had to save him. He needed me.

    Kelly stumbled, catching his balance, sword gripped in both hands, facing the imposing presence of Teddy, who approached him with nothing less than bloodlust in his bloodshot eyes. Teddy grabbed the metal handle from his stomach, ripped out the firepoker, then brandished it as he stared Kelly down.

    Teddy screamed as I began running towards them. But, it wasn¡¯t just Teddy charging at Kelly though. No. Some of the infected turned their attention away from the rain.

    They sprinted at him, and I opened fire.

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 18.99 Hours / 0.79 Days - 3:28 PM

 30. Day 7 - Those youéˆ¥æªe wronged

    May 24, 2019 - 3:28 PM

    Leo Kelly

    One of the newly rejuvenated sprinters got to me first. I sliced up high, cutting it in the jugular with a stroke of luck. I was amazed that I could still fight, let alone walk.

    I kept an eye on them while I retreated a few more steps. Another one, a woman in board shorts and a tattered tank top, came running for a bite. I swung Sheila as wide and fast as I could without throwing myself off balance. The woman went down, but she almost took me with her after I unplugged her head from her shoulders. I was feeling almost confident when Teddy and another of the happy bunch barreled in. A gunshot took the sprinter down while Teddy whacked the sword out of my precarious grip with the fire poker, and this was getting repetitive.

    Bang!

    Another gunshot. I didn¡¯t know if it was meant for Teddy or somebody else, but at least she was still there.

    Teddy raised his one good arm for another strike. I threw myself into the bastard, knocking him down. I hoped it would¡¯ve disarmed him too, but not everyone had a lousy grip like I did. The heavy sting of the fire poker raked across my back as he fought on the ground. It was like his arm was moving on its own, as his head was like a wild dog rabid at the smell of meat.

    Remembering my fight with Curlers and Eury¡¯s advice, I slammed my elbow down into his bloated and disfigured face. With Teddy reeling from the hit, I dove across the asphalt for Sheila.

    Bang! Boom! Bang!

    More shooting. Probably from Alaska and Boyde covering for Eury as she made her way to me. I couldn¡¯t spare a glance in their direction, not when Sheila was in my hands. Before Teddy could floor me another time like a chump, I sidestepped him, went low, then slashed at the back of his knee. The swing was sloppy. It did the trick though. Teddy buckled down, and he couldn¡¯t get up on the leg.

    As he tried and failed to stand, I looked into Teddy¡¯s eyes. And, for the first time in a long time, I saw someone I recognized. It was still Teddy. Still the kid that followed Wren and me around all those years ago. So many good days, so many moments. And alongside all the good memories, all the bad ones came flooding in too. The first time I offered him a drag from my cigarette. The first time I offered him a line. And the first time that I had to take him into the hospital when he OD¡¯ed. His first day at NA. His fourth first day and every time after that that he tried and failed to get sober. All those terrible moments that I was responsible for.

    Since that night, I had one thought running through my mind.Stolen novel; please report.

    If only I was there.

    If only I was there to stop them, to pull them away from whatever it was that got them like this. Maybe they could¡¯ve been saved. Maybe none of this would¡¯ve happened.

    But really, that was just wishful thinking. Reality was that it would¡¯ve been better if I had never been there at all. I was the one who put him on this path. I was the corrupting influence. I was the guilty one here.

    The pure rage in his eyes told me as much. He wasn¡¯t like the rest of them, mindlessly running around attacking. No, he knew. He knew who I was, that I was the one to blame.

    I didn¡¯t know if I could kill him. Not that I couldn¡¯t lift up my sword, I had it pointed at him as he scrambled to me.

    ¡°Parasite!¡±

    Eury.

    Her voice could practically part the storm clouds. ¡°Don¡¯t just stay there, you idiot! You need to survive!¡±

    But I don¡¯t deserve to.

    I couldn¡¯t leave Teddy like that, yet I couldn¡¯t bring myself to kill him either.

    ¡°We need you!¡±

    You¡¯ll be better off without me.

    ¡°I need you!¡±

    I can¡¯t do it.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Eury¡¯s voice was pain itself. Worse than anything I felt at that moment. ¡°Please!¡±

    Maybe¡­ Maybe I can do it for her.

    I allowed Teddy to shamble into the point of the sword. It got lodged in between his ribs and I held him there.

    If it¡¯s for her, maybe I can keep going.

    More of the infected were coming for me now. I was mere steps away from the mob of mouths looking to turn me into a pile of hamburger meat.

    As I backed up, Teddy, bloodied, falling apart, barely alive, stumbled after me.

    What would happen to her if I just gave up here? Would she be better off?

    All of this gunfire made me tilt-a-world nausea now. I thought about letting Teddy tear my throat out instead. Then I wouldn¡¯t have to suffer through this conveyor belt of physical and emotional beatdown. But that was the easy way out. Still painful, but a relatively quick way out.

    I can¡¯t risk that. I can¡¯t risk her getting hurt too. Not because of me.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Teddy.¡±

    I took the plunge, pushing Teddy off the point of the sword so I could drive it into his skull. It was the only mercy I could give him in life. My only regret was I hadn¡¯t done more.

    I could smell the black blood that coated his mouth.

    As he came to a shuttering stop, emptiness, was all I became.

    As if sensing the loss of Teddy, Wren belted out a long, drawn-out wail. Her voice reverberated in my skull like a dozen echoes in a cave, judging me for what I had done. I watched as the mob of infected went into a frenzy. Whatever she did, it really poured gas in their tanks. Their blind, weak bodies suddenly became quicker and meaner. This was retribution.

    They were coming for me.

    Eury¡¯s hand pulled me back down to reality.

    ¡°I¡¯m not letting you die here.¡±

    May 24, 2019 - 3:31 PM

 31. Day 7 - The river

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 18.85 Hours / 0.78 Days - 3:31 PM

    Eury Morrissey

    I held onto Kelly as we ran back to the others. For a single silent moment where all that I could hear was the sound of the pouring rain, and my heavy breathing, I was thankful. I was so glad that he had the strength to fight on. And that I was strong enough to protect him when he needed me the most. It was ten steps of happiness.

    But, the sound of hundreds of footsteps gaining on at our backs dragged me back down to the concrete. I could hear the Banshee screeching out, spurring her infected on. Alaska and Davis met us halfway while Boyde provided continuous cover fire. Davis rushed to take Kelly out of my hands as Alaska went to grab me. I didn¡¯t know how weak I felt until I was in her arms. My body had always been against me for years, but never as bad as these last few days. Fever. Hypoxia. Stress. Everything was just piling higher and higher and higher.

    Davis was dragging Kelly behind him. Kelly¡¯s eyes were dull, but at this moment we had bigger problems than that. All that mattered was that he was still alive. That he was still breathing. Everything else we could deal with when we got out of here. Now that there was a chance, as slim as it was, we needed to go, and not look back until we were safe again.

    Step after step, I found running to be near impossible but I kept my mouth shut. We were getting close, close enough that I knew I couldn¡¯t stop.

    ¡°Get on,¡± Alaska said.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Get on my back, let¡¯s go!¡± This wasn¡¯t the time to argue, so I jumped onto her back and let her carry me.

    I hated it. Partly out of embarrassment, partly out of pride. But, more than anything else, it was Alaska¡¯s ragged breathing that upset me the most. Her eyes were trained solely on the old girdered bridge ahead, never daring to glance back at the horde. We were less than three hundred feet away from open territory. Our way out of town.

    That was when a realization hit me. Kelly¡¯s windbreaker was ripped to shreds. Alaska¡¯s jeans and her too-big boots were soaked. The clothes Davis and Kelly had on were terribly thin. There were no buildings to hide in and wait out the torrential downpour. None of us were prepared for this rain, and we still had a long way to go without any proper cover. And at this point, everyone looked as exhausted as I was. Fifteen miles of running while being chased? We couldn¡¯t even make it fifteen minutes before we¡¯d be caught and devoured. Or worse.

    And yet, everyone just kept staring forward, charging toward what I knew to be certain death, and none of them seemed to mind.

    Were they waiting for someone to say something?

    Were they waiting for me to say something?

    They didn¡¯t want to die. None of us did, so why would they just continue running toward its waiting maw?

    We were closer to the bridge now. The rust colored girders were dark brown, soaking wet. It was a bridge that I had seen so many times as a kid. By far, it was the most familiar sight in all of Sheridan for me. I knew that if I walked this road for long enough, I¡¯d eventually get home. That was the way, right there. Yet, it couldn¡¯t be the path we took.

    When Wren screamed out again, she sounded sorrowful yet brimming with rage.

    Had she found Teddy?

    I ignored it. The distance to the bridge was shrinking, but so was the distance between us and the infected at our backs. They¡¯d be on us soon if we didn¡¯t do something fast¡ª

    Then, it came to me.

    ¡°This way!¡± I said.

    I suddenly pushed myself off of Alaska¡¯s back, breaking off to the right of the road, then vaulted over the steel divider. I slid down the gravel embankment leading to the river.

    Alaska was hot on my heels but stopped before following me down. ¡°What the hell are you doing, Eury!¡±

    ¡°This is the only way! Get everyone down here.¡±

    Boyde arrived a second after Alaska, followed by Davis and Kelly.

    ¡°Get Kelly down here now! We don¡¯t have time to argue,¡± I repeated.

    ¡°But the river?¡± Alaska cringed at taking the dive, more for my sake than for her. ¡°There¡¯s no way either of you can swim in your condition!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way we can outrun them either!¡±

    Alaska glanced behind her. Between the mob and the river, Alaska decided the river was the lesser of the two evils. Boyde, Davis and Kelly followed. It was hard to watch how the two of them had to help Kelly get down the bank. I had no doubt that his body was messed up during that fight, but I didn¡¯t think it would¡¯ve shaken him that much. His movements looked mechanical like he was operating on nothing more than autopilot. I wished I could snap my fingers and make it disappear, but we¡¯d need to survive this mess before we could start solving that problem. For now, my focus was on getting us out of here.

    With all of us at the river¡¯s edge, I braced myself for what I knew was coming next.

    I led the charge into the fast-moving river, pushing my legs against the onslaught of water. Four feet in, the water finally managed to sweep my feet out from beneath me, and I lost all control to the river. Sharp spikes of cold speared my chest. The shock knocked out what little air I had in my lungs. Behind us, it sounded like a landslide as a tide of infected tumbled down the gravel bank. But that quickly became the least of my worries. My tank bag was dragging me down, and the cold had already sapped the energy from my muscles. I could barely keep my head above water, no matter how much I kicked.

    That was until Alaska came to my rescue for the hundredth time today. She wrapped her hand around my chest, pulling me up onto my back. ¡°Lay there as best you can, get your arms around your chest,¡± she said. I sputtered the freezing water out of my mouth as she turned her attention to the boys. ¡°Group up!¡±

    The tumultuous sky above disappeared as we floated beneath the bridge. It was a moment of reprieve from the rain, but as we crossed back into the open, it wasn¡¯t just rain falling from the sky. Infected fell from the bridge at the command of the Banshee. Most of them succumbed to the cold like we had, their damaged bodies failing to recover from the shock. The few who managed began their assault. The water around us exploded into grasping hands and snapping jaws.

    A long time ago, I watched a triathlon on TV. It was a perfect example of survival of the fittest. Everyone, competitors and friends alike, were blindly fighting through the water, unsure of what they were doing other than paddling and kicking. In the river, like the competitors on the screen, we were doing anything and everything we could to stay alive. It was the survival of the fittest after all.

    After a few seconds of wrestling with the woman who had climbed on me, I managed to pull the handgun from the holster.

    Bang!

    With a single shot, I was free from her grip. Alaska, who had pulled away from me when they fell down on us, had drawn several infected away from me. She struggled for a moment before she was dragged underwater as three of them piled onto her.

    BOOM!

    But, with a single blast from her shotgun, they floated away dead in the water.

    In the fight, my cannula had been pulled loose, forcing me to search around in the water for it. At that moment, my mind spit out another worry that I hadn¡¯t even considered.

    My concentrator. Where the hell is my concentrator?

    There was no way I¡¯d make it back to my parent¡¯s place without it, even if we somehow made it out of this freezing river. I had just enough time to jam my waterlogged cannula back into my nose. Back on the bridge, Wren screamed out. At the riverbank, the few infected that weren¡¯t plunging into the water had crouched down to drink at the river¡¯s edge.

    That cannot be good.

    Everything was happening too fast. The river, the infected, everything was just happening all at once and I couldn¡¯t keep any of it straight. But then, Kelly¡¯s voice called out ¡°Hel¡ª¡± He was barely louder than the splashing water and infected bearing down on him. I started swimming as fast as I could to get to Kelly. But even though the shock had run its course, my muscles were weaker than paper paddles, and nothing changed the fact that I sank like a rock every time I had tried to swim in recent memory.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    I was halfway across the river when Kelly¡¯s head disappeared beneath the water.

    ¡°Kelly!¡±

    No, no no! Where the hell is he!

    ¡°Kelly!¡±

    Don¡¯t you mean where¡¯s your concentrator? That¡¯s what you¡¯re truly worried about, isn¡¯t it?

    The thought was disgusting, but I couldn¡¯t argue against¡ª

    Bang! Bang!

    Boyde, who was much closer to Kelly, dumped a couple of shots into an infected trying to sink him, freeing him up to help Kelly. Meanwhile Davis, a strong swimmer in his own right, kept himself above water despite an infected fiending to bite him.

    All I could think about was my survival from second to second. I cared about Kelly. Of course, I did. But it was obvious that when the chips were down and it was me or him...

    Whether it was guilt or self-serving survival, I kicked like I was chased by a shark and struggled through the water until I was at Kelly¡¯s side. His face was still under, and his legs were kicking furiously to keep his arms up above water. I did my best, trying to propel him up with me.

    ¡°Bwah!¡± He sucked in a deep breath the moment his head cleared the surface.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Is the concentrator alright?¡± That was the first thing he said.

    So selfless as always. If it were me, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to do the same. It made me feel like I was still the same self-serving person when all of this began.

    I wanted to bite my lip. ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s fine,¡± I said, trying to take his mind off it. We had bigger things to worry about. His wide-eyed panic didn¡¯t subside though. ¡°Just lay on your back as best as you can. We need to get the hell out of this river as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Something¡¯s got!¡ª¡± Alaska, who had fallen to the back of the group, suddenly slipped under too.

    Infected? A cramp? Was she too exhausted because of carrying you? Because she was protecting you?

    ¡°Go! I can handle myself!¡± Kelly shouted to me after seeing the indecision on my face. The second time, he showed me how little I had changed.

    I started swimming against the current, searching through the dark water for Alaska. Hopefully, she¡¯d still be floating downriver, even if she was trapped below the surface.

    ¡°Boyde! Alaska went under!¡± I called out for him. Out of all of us, Boyde was in the best shape and swam like he had webbed feet.

    If it wasn¡¯t life or death, it would¡¯ve almost been funny to watch Boyde working so hard and not move an inch forward in the water. I kept paddling towards her as well, but it was irrelevant, because as the bridge disappeared behind the bend of the river, Alaska, drenched and screeching in pain, resurfaced a hundred feet behind us.

    Now that she was floating downstream again, Boyde intercepted her, but the moment he did, she yelled at him.

    ¡°Ugghhhh! Don¡¯t fucking touch me!¡±

    Not resisting the current anymore, they drifted toward me and I caught onto Boyde¡¯s sleeve. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I dunno, but I¡ªfuuuuuuck!¡ªgot pulled under, and now my arm is¡ªugggh!¡± She had her right arm pulled in close to her body like the wing of an injured bird, and she winced with every kick to keep herself afloat.

    ¡°I think you might¡¯ve broken it, what the hell were you¡ª¡± That was when I suddenly found myself falling.

    It was funny, I didn¡¯t even hear the waterfall¡ªmy mind was racing too fast to pay attention to more than one thing at a time¡ªbut I definitely felt it when I smacked down into the water ten feet below.

    The wind was knocked completely out of me. My entire body now rolled in pain. I think I might¡¯ve blacked out for a moment, only coming to when my shoulder smashed off a rock at the bottom of the river. I gasped and screamed all at once. The agony in my shoulder was distracting, but I tried my best to ignore it and search for Alaska. She was floating on her back, but certainly down for the count from how log-still she was. I needed to take control. And the first step was to do what Alaska would do.

    ¡°Feet downstream! On your backs!¡±  I managed to actually sound like I knew what I was doing.

    Boyde had already wrangled Alaska while Davis supported Kelly, which meant I had to fend for myself. Dizzy, freezing, and thrashed around by the rapids, I wished that I had someone there to support me.

    Maybe it was just desserts. I was only concerned with myself at that moment, so why would I deserve to have anyone concerned for me.

    <hr>

    I had no way of knowing how long we were thrown around in the river for. It could¡¯ve been minutes or an hour, but finally, the river began to calm down. Between hypothermia, hypoxia, exhaustion, and melancholia; it was impossible to choose which was the worst. That was not even considering all the bruises, cuts, and the probable concussion I gathered along the way. The river slowed as it began to pool in a wide meandering bend. The rain was still pelting down while we pulled ourselves out of the water and onto the stony beach.

    Finally back on dry land, I laid there for a moment in a pathetic attempt to get my bearings. Beneath my frozen skin, I could tell the fever that I thought was gone was already rearing its ugly head as a violent shiver.

    ¡°Ughhhaahh!¡± Alaska howled when Boyde pulled her out of the water.

    I forced my way to my feet and ran over to her. ¡°Oh good God that¡¯s¡ª¡± I had to stop before I said another word. Alaska¡¯s forearm was twisted around, almost backwards at her elbow like someone wound it like a clock. ¡°What the hell do we do?¡± Davis sounded hysterical, pacing back and forth like it would solve anything.

    But Davis was right. Trauma care was more of Alaska¡¯s specialty than mine. The thought of screwing her up even more made me dizzier, but she wasn¡¯t in the right frame of my mind and I was the next best thing.

    ¡°Splint. We need to wrap that thing now.¡± I said more to myself, then out loud to them. ¡°Kelly, I need some branches.¡± He looked at me like the words barely registered, so I pointed to the branches near him.

    Kelly stared at me for a moment too long before he nodded.

    ¡°Davis, I need a belt, or shoelaces, whatever you¡¯ve got to strap it all down.¡±

    Davis stared at Boyde, who looked taken aback until he realized he was the only one among us that wore a belt. At least he wasn¡¯t reluctant to give it up though. He took it off and handed it to me.

    A few seconds later, Kelly returned with some branches I think he hacked with his sword.

    With everything I needed, I immediately got to work. I had Boyde and Davis hold on to her. Once I rallied some courage with a few quick breaths, which Alaska did as well when she figured what was about to happen, I set her arm straight. Snap! Alaska was instantly possessed with pain. She kicked and squirmed, and the memories of Chuck came to mind. As I wrapped her arm tightly, I discreetly checked her for any other wounds. As far as I could tell she was bite-free, I think. Minutes later, satisfied with my slapdash splint work, I stood.

    After surveying the rest of the group, I came to a quick assessment¡ªwe all looked like shit. Kelly was staring into the forest, and I couldn¡¯t tell if he was concussed or scared. Davis looked tired and beaten up, no doubt from helping Kelly. Alaska looked as good as someone with a double fracture could be. And Boyde looked like a guard dog just shy of having rabies.

    As for me, I knew the concentrator on Kelly¡¯s back was good for twelve hours, which I had no doubt that I¡¯d need. I took off my tank bag and turned my O2 down. Judging by the half-filled gauge, and the slightly increased airflow, I was able to guess at the time¡ªquarter past four¡ªsince my watch hadn¡¯t survived the river. At the new rate, this tank should last me until at least midnight. After that, if I ran the concentrator as low as I could, it could get me well into the next day.

    There might be a way that this works. It was actually possible.

    And it¡¯s all thanks to Kelly sacrificing his well-being for yours.

    I shook my head as I slipped my bag back on.

    You don¡¯t have time for this Eury. This isn¡¯t the time, nor is it the place. You have a job to do. These people are depending on you. Your friends are depending on you. Just move on for now. If you survive, you¡¯ll have time to hate yourself then.

    And so, I set about figuring out where we were and how far away from my parent¡¯s place we were. The small inlet that we had landed on was at the base of a steep wooded hill. Climbing would be difficult even in the best of cases and right now, we were not in the best of cases. While it would be a little rockier, we could head back downstream, try to get back on the road and walk from there. But, unless the mob of infected that forced us into the river to begin with magically disappeared, that option was off the table. We could cross the river. No matter how far downstream we had gone, I knew that the highway would be directly across from us eventually. The only problem was that there weren¡¯t many places to go from there. It would just become a race against time to find somewhere that I could get more O2. That, or find somewhere I could go comatose and hope that liquid didn¡¯t build up in my lungs too quickly.

    Even considering that option made my blood boil. The way I saw it, no matter how difficult or impossible, the hill and the mountain was our only option. And if I were to die along the way, then at least it would be with dignity and grit. I recognized the mountains, but not enough to map out exactly where we were by them. After all, when you really get down to it, the mountains all looked about the same to me. The sun covered by the blanket of dark clouds took it out as a guiding option. Leaving me with only one choice.

    ¡°My parent¡¯s place is this way,¡± I said, pointing away from the river.

    ¡°How do you know that?¡± Davis asked. Of course, the only one else who seemed to be fully together was the only one to question my leadership. If I was Alaska, maybe I would have said ¡°Because I said so¡± or something along those lines. All I could muster was, ¡°It¡¯s my best guess.¡±

    Davis didn¡¯t look convinced, only daunted by the climb in front of us. ¡°If¡­ if you say so.¡±

    ¡°Are you okay to move?¡± I asked Alaska.

    She was leaning against Boyde, looking extremely blue-lipped and out of it but, after a few seconds, she looked up at me and our eyes met. ¡°I think so.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Get ready, I¡¯ll grab Kelly.¡±

    I needed someone to add a little more time in the oven for my half-baked plan. I needed Kelly to fight me on this one, poke holes in it until the water came out like a sieve. That would be the only way that we had a hope in hell of surviving this. As it was now, there was no way this could work, and yet there was nothing and no-one to help me figure it out. Except for him. I thought he could be the one again when I saw how familiar he looked. The roundness of his shoulders, the ridiculous balaclava that hid his surfer hair, even the shape of his just-about-muscular legs. I wanted to believe he was still there to be my crutch, but when I looked into his eyes, my heart dropped.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    And I couldn¡¯t tell if he had complete faith in me, or if he had just given up.

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 17.87 Hours / 0.75 - 4:20 PM

 32. Day 7 - A dark and snow-filled night

    May 24, 2019 - O2 Remaining: 12.01 Hours / 0.50 Days - 11:39 PM

    Eury Morrissey

    The dark came suddenly and completely. The rain had let up as the twilight turned to night, but resumed after it was already pitch black. We had no water, no food, and worst of all no light. The river had seen to all of that. All that we had was the dark forest in front of us.

    At first, the winding, back tracking, and trudging wasn¡¯t so bad. The effort was nice, in a way, it got my muscles moving and warmed up. But it wasn¡¯t long until all the warmth I worked up began to leave just as quickly, and everything started to feel cold and numb. Every sensation at my feet felt dampened, yet each step was like frozen pins and needles. I wanted to sneak a peek over my shoulder, to see if the rest were still following me on this blind climb over a mountain. I couldn¡¯t bear the sight I might find so I didn¡¯t. From what I could hear past my own grunts and laboured breathing, it was not reassuring at all.

    My lungs were sore from all the frigid air I sucked in. The temperature must¡¯ve been getting close to freezing. Despite the rain, at least there was a little bit of heat during the day until the sun set and we started gaining altitude.

    As I continued to make my way up the mountain, I gulped another breath, but this time, there was no relief. The O2 had stopped flowing through my cannula.

    Oh god!

    I took another deep breath before the tank was completely empty.

    ¡°I need the concentrator!¡± I blurted out in a panic, looking for Kelly. He had started the hike directly behind me, but Boyde¡¯s silent insistence had forced him and Alaska as close to the front as possible. Even in the pitch darkness, I could see faint outlines of Boyde and Alaska in front of me. Alaska¡¯s pale skin stood out in the. Another painful breath and Kelly still hadn¡¯t made it to me. ¡°Jesus! Hurry the¡ª¡± Then, out of nowhere, the bag was in my hands.

    I flipped open the bag, pulling the concentrator out, thankful for all the times I had to do this in the dark. I had separated the batteries from the device to save the charge, so there was even more work to be done in the dark. I was involuntarily beginning to hyperventilate. There was next to nothing I could do to stop it, and with every breath, it only got worse. After attaching the cannula to the concentrator, I pressed the start button. After a few seconds, the small readout on the top of the concentrator should¡¯ve lit up in the dim mono-chromatic blue. Except it didn¡¯t. I tried to calm the panic growing inside by pressing the button again, this time holding it for five seconds.

    Still, nothing happened.

    Oh god.

    It¡¯s broken. Dropped in the river, drenched in rain, bashed around, what did you expect? Of course it¡¯s broken. You should¡¯ve just carried it yourself, but instead, you pawned it off on him and he broke the damn thing. I hope that you enjoyed what little pity you managed to garner by giving it to him to hold, because now it¡¯s your turn to pay the piper.

    Panic.

    I¡¯m going to die. This is it. Oh god what the hell did I do to deserve this?

    My short breaths devolved into strained choking sounds, like a fish gasping for air as my body involuntarily grew more desperate. I had no time for this, I needed to act fast. I slid out the second battery, and with a few practiced movements, I took the broken one out and replaced it. I held the button down, and silently prayed to whatever deranged god was doing this to me for a little relief.

    But there was no relief for me. There was nothing for me. I stood there soaking wet, trying my best to take in the most basic of all necessities and I couldn¡¯t. Kelly was saying something, but the sound was drowned out. All at once, everything became incredibly loud. It was like the rain was crashing down on cymbals. Thunder ripped across the sky with a deafening boom. Yet somehow, my useless rapid breathing was the loudest.

    Suddenly, my prayer was answered. The darkness was broken by the small blue screen on my concentrator lighting up. It immediately kicked into its highest setting, blasting O2 into my nose and down my throat, faster than I could even breathe it in. I allowed myself a few moments of proper flow, before my breathing had returned to normal. The burning sensation that had grown, however, did not subside. Neither did the fear that held my entire body hostage. Without even really realizing it, I sat down on the base of a tree.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Kelly asked. His even tone was reassuring amongst so much uncertainty ¡°Did something go wrong with the concentrator?¡±

    It was weird to hear his voice. Other than that single defeated word, I hadn¡¯t heard him speak since we left Sheridan. I wish I wasn¡¯t so angry at the moment to appreciate his return to form.

    ¡°The battery¡ª¡±

    ¡°Was it dead? Didn¡¯t you charge it?¡± I didn¡¯t think Kelly meant it in an accusatory way, more so out of worry and concern, but it still didn¡¯t help the frustration that fattened inside me.

    ¡°I charged it. But it¡¯s broken, or dead. Whatever it is, it¡¯s fucking broken.¡± I was trying to keep my nerves in order, but looking down at the small readout, it was impossible.

    Flow rate - 1 L/min - Time remaining - 6 Hours

    Can I even last that long? There was no way to know how much further it was to the road, let alone how much further it was until we reached my parent¡¯s house. For all we knew, it might as well be light years instead of miles away. Kelly stood over me, watching me override the safety features, the automatic flow adjustment, and finally the flow rate itself.

    Flow rate - 0.8 L/min - Time remaining - 7.5 Hours

    Only seven and a half hours? That was it? I had been suffering this whole week at eighty percent and that was all it got me? Another hour and a half? God damn it.

    Flow rate - 0.6 L/min - Time remaining - 10 Hours

    I sucked in a deep breath, and I could barely even feel the O2. My lungs immediately began to howl for more air, but I kept my breathing slow and steady. Ten hours. I had ten hours to get there. Before it was too late.

    ¡°Did the... battery get wet?¡± Like a remorseful child, Kelly¡¯s tone immediately pissed me off even more.

    ¡°I think so.¡± There was no use in getting angry, I couldn¡¯t and I shouldn¡¯t. I just needed to move forward.

    ¡°Oh god no.¡± But Kelly¡¯s tone, it was so empty. So defeated. So unlike him. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Eury.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Despite the futility of it, I kept trying to suppress the rage that was building.

    ¡°Don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Just¡­ just leave it.¡± I got to my feet, still gasping in what little air I could. ¡°We gotta get going.¡±

    ¡°But I¡­¡± Kelly stopped himself. I suspected it was because there wasn¡¯t anything that he could say.

    I kept my feet moving in a straight line beneath me, but it wasn¡¯t long before everything began to cave around me. My whole body was already numb, but now my thoughts were becoming fuzzy too. I pushed on, forcing my lungs to work even harder despite their insistence that they couldn¡¯t.

    The path uphill was steep and made up of slick mud and loose gravel. During the middle of the arduous climb, I stopped when I heard an odd sound. Metal clinking against metal. Up until that moment, all that I could hear¡ªand what kept me moving¡ªwas the sound of grunting, people slipping against rocks, and worst of all the ragged sound of everyone¡¯s breathing. But the moment I heard that sound, I knew instinctively what it was.

    Kelly, with my oxygen tank.

    Flow rate - 0.6 L/min - Time remaining - 9.75 Hours

    <hr>

    Midnight or-so

    Alaska Bell

    I couldn¡¯t quite see her, but I did hear Eury stop. It was pretty dark of course, so I couldn¡¯t tell what she was doing exactly, but as she partially slid down the path beside me, I had a good enough guess. She stopped about where Kelly was. Really, it didn¡¯t take much for me to put two and two together.

    Eury took a wheezing second to gulp in some air. ¡°Why¡­ are you¡­ bringing that?¡± she said, her voice was barely louder than my chattering teeth.

    ¡°Because you need it. These things don¡¯t just grow on trees, you know.¡± Kelly said, trying to be his same stupid jokey self. Given the situation, I could respect that.

    As for Eury though, I don¡¯t think she exactly appreciated the attempt. ¡°Even if¡­ they did, why¡­ would I want you to carry it?¡±

    ¡°Because you need it, and¡­ the battery.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.¡±

    ¡°Eury, I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    ¡°I said, it¡¯s not your fault.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re mad.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you, I just can¡¯t waste any more time than I already have.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re mad, Eury. I can pretty much feel it radiating off of you.¡± I said. They¡¯d be here for hours if I didn¡¯t speak up. Kelly wasn¡¯t looking to stop, and Eury¡ªgod bless her stubborn heart¡ªwouldn¡¯t let it go either.

    ¡°I¡¯m not! I¡¯m just frustrated¡­ and I don¡¯t have much time! This is just stupid!¡±

    ¡°Then can we get a move on! It¡¯s fucking freezing, and if you haven¡¯t noticed, Alaska isn¡¯t exactly doing great either.¡± There was something to be said about Boyde¡¯s way of putting things succinctly. But it didn¡¯t seem like either of them even heard him.

    ¡°You need this, and I¡ª¡±

    ¡°You want to feel useful? You want to make it up to me? Jeez Kelly, give it a break. Will you please drop the damn tank?¡±

    ¡°No! That¡¯s not it. I¡­¡± This time, Kelly trailed off rather than getting interrupted. As much as Eury was being rude, she did have a point.

    ¡°What is it then? Huh? I know what you¡¯re trying to do, and all that I can say is drop it. There¡¯s no point in worrying about it, so don¡¯t. What¡¯s done is done, and you didn¡¯t mean to do anything, so then it¡¯s fine!¡± The disconnect between Eury¡¯s words and her passionate tone was too much. She was pissed, but that was more or less par for the course, what was interesting was that she wasn¡¯t really laying into him like she normally would have. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    She wasn¡¯t wrong when she said that she had changed a bit, huh?

    ¡°Is it so bad that I want to help you?¡±

    ¡°No, but there¡¯s not a damn thing I can do to make that battery get un-wrecked. And there¡¯s nothing you can do about it either. So instead of letting that fucking tank get in your way, just listen to me. Drop. It.¡± Eury was really struggling to not be so harsh, yet she was rattling off like a machine gun, increasing in speed alongside her sharp breaths.

    ¡°Eury, I think you might need to calm down.¡± Now it was Davis¡¯ turn to try and bring some rationality. Like Boyde and me though, it was like he wasn¡¯t even here.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that there¡¯s nothing I can say that¡¯s going to make you feel better. Because, the fact of the matter is, I¡¯m mad. I¡¯m furious even.¡± With every word, her breaths became even louder and more hectic. ¡°But I¡¯m mostly mad at myself, and if you¡¯re feeling bad I¡¯m sorry to hear that, but I don¡¯t know what to do about it. But, a good start would be to drop that useless tank! You don¡¯t need to¡­ always... put me¡­ first¡ª¡±

    Thunk.

    ¡°What was that?¡± It took a moment for me to register what happened.

    ¡°Eury?¡± Kelly scrambled over to her. ¡°Eury! Please wake up!¡±

    <hr>

    Time remaining - 9.5 Hours

    Eury Morrissey

    I am not all that I am.

    I am a part of a pair within my own mind.

    The conscious, the me, and the subconscious, the her.

    The voice. That other me. She was the shadow that lived deep within my mind. The pain and anger and bitterness that I couldn¡¯t help but listen to. When I was awake, I was in control. Mostly. At the very least I was in control of my actions. But when I fell asleep, my control slipped away like a boat unmoored from its harbour.

    The fall down into the chasm of my subconscious was long, dark, and webbed to choking with fear. I was always afraid that if I slept I would see her face in the darkness. If I closed my eyes, my subconscious would take over and after that moment it would all be over. But that was then. Now, there was no choice. I was spiralling into Wonderland to meet my Dark Queen.

    Time remaining - 9.25 Hours

    ¡°Open your eyes, Eury.¡±

    The voice I heard was not my own. It was deep, comforting and twanged with the same almost-southern drawl that I had heard my entire life. It was my father¡¯s voice. Excitedly, I opened my eyes to find I was in a nearly dark room, without my dad to be found anywhere.

    And I wasn¡¯t at Alaska¡¯s either. Or any of the other places that I took refuge in for the last week.

    Instead, after adjusting to the dim light, I found I was in the living room of my parents'' house. The world beyond the wall-spanning windows was the same as it had been the first night I had left for Spokane. A moonless, starless, snowy September night. The cloudy sky was tinged slightly orange from Sheridan¡¯s streetlights miles away, but were none-the-less still there.

    The window pane vibrated ever so slightly as a whispering howl shook the thick glass.

    The Banshee.

    Wren Shaw.

    She was looking for me.

    Time remaining - 9 Hours

    Even here, standing was still exhausting but I continued anyway. Ghosts escaped from my lips as the temperature dropped by several degrees.

    ¡°Dad?¡± I called out to the freezing, empty house. As I rubbed my arms they felt like they were covered in a thin layer of ice.

    I remembered this night so vividly. It snowed almost two feet over the last two days, and the freak storm covered the skies in thick clouds for a week, when I told my parents what happened on the last day of school. Or at least a portion of the truth. That I was heartbroken. Rejected by the only person I thought of as my friend. The beating heart of my first love callously stamped upon. It was into that same bitterly cold snow that I ran to after I couldn¡¯t find the words to fully explain myself.

    I tore my eyes away from the window. I didn¡¯t need those memories souring this moment. I was home. Finally. Exactly what I wanted. I made it somehow.

    And yet, I was still alone.

    ¡°Home? Of course you would think that." Another voice spoke quietly. Distorted and garbled, it was scraping at the edges of my hearing, yet I could barely parse it from my own thoughts.

    ¡°Hello?¡± I looked toward the kitchen and the familiar silhouettes were all there. All of them except for one. Even in this unfamiliar version of my childhood home, I thought I could at least find my mother in there. I had seen her so many times, so many happy moments, fluttering past the double-wide doors between the living room and the kitchen. But now, the kitchen was dark and empty, just like the rest of this house.

    ¡°Eury, please.¡± I heard my father say, which made me jump as I turned around. I expected the familiar bump from my O2 tank in my bag, or at the very least a pang of exterion from my lungs. But instead, neither happened. I realized that I wasn¡¯t wearing my bag, nor were my lungs hurting.

    Time remaining - 8.75 Hours

    ¡°Dad? What the hell¡¯s going...¡± I trailed off when I saw what the voice was coming from. It wasn¡¯t my father. Instead, it was an unfamiliar figure who stood in front of me.

    ¡°Please, take a seat.¡± The figure formally extended its hand. The hand, just like the rest of the figure, was as dark as an oil spill. In the dark, it was nearly impossible for me to make out any details, and the sight left me dumbstruck and still.

    Regardless, I suddenly found myself sitting across from the figure.

    ¡°I¡¯m certain that you have some questions right about now, yes?¡± The figure said, using my father¡¯s voice. It slowly began to be illuminated by the brightening glow from the aquarium behind it. I hadn¡¯t even noticed it until, but the moment I had, it was hard for me to keep my eyes off of it. The soft blue light was so mesmerizing. The featureless face of the figure looked to the light, shifting as it did so.

    Time remaining - 8.25 Hours

    ¡°What the hell are you?¡± The moment I opened my mouth it was like some sort of hypnosis that I had been under broke. A dam had broken in my brain. And a multitude of thoughts began flowing forward, fighting each other to be realized first. ¡°Where am I? What the hell is happening right now? Where are my parents? Where¡¯s Kelly?¡±

    Its head twisted slightly like liquid shadow trying to stay together before it spoke again.

    ¡°I think you already know all that, don¡¯t you?¡± Its mouth didn¡¯t move when it spoke. Instead, unchanging, unflinching, the ink-black thing sat there, speaking at me without truly speaking.

    Time remaining - 8 Hours

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad you are finally admitting it. We¡¯ve been waiting a long time for that, haven¡¯t we?¡± The figure said while its voice began to slowly change. It became more distorted with every word. ¡°But, how can we blame you for that?¡± The thing¡¯s voice didn¡¯t even seem to float across the room. Instead, it just appeared in my ears, or in my mind. Second by second, it felt like the ice that had built up on my skin was slowly reaching into my muscles. The window beside me rattled again, the howl of the Banshee even closer than it was before. My teeth began to chatter as my body curled into a fetal position.

    ¡°Eury, Eury, Eury, how old are you now? And you¡¯re still acting like this? Still snapping like a little twig under the slightest pressure.¡± As the voice continued, it became more and more malformed, more and more distorted away from the voice of my father, until it couldn¡¯t even be compared at all. ¡°Letting everyone around us pick up all the pieces the moment we break.¡±

    Time remaining - 7.5 Hours

    ¡°Wait, what do you mean by we?¡± The words, like the thoughts that formed them, kept pressing at my lips, fumbling as I spoke them.

    The figure¡¯s head twisted even further, cranking audibly as it twisted further than any human body would allow. Then, as its words entered my mind, one more time, I felt nothing but familiarity, once more.

    It¡¯s time for you to let it in. Isn¡¯t it?

    It spoke with my voice now, It was in my head, and it was my own thoughts. I began shaking while I tried with every fiber in my body to pull my gaze away from the figure¡¯s dead stare. For a split second, I was able to wrestle my sight away from whatever control it had over me, landing momentarily on the soft blue glow of the fish tank. Inside, there was the beautifully scarred beta fish¡ªOrpheus¡ªmy father had nursed back to health all those years ago; it now floated motionlessly in the water.

    Time remaining - 7.25 Hours

    I couldn¡¯t look away for long though. A pain worse than any that I ever felt forced my focus back to the figure. Nearly impossible to see in the rapidly fading light, the figure¡¯s ink-black arms sunk into my chest.

    Time remaining - 7 Hours

    This is much less than what you deserve.

    Time remaining - 6.5 Hours

    Blood dripped from its obsidian hands as it retracted from my chest.

    Time remaining - 6 Hours

    I tried to breathe. Nothing. I opened my mouth to scream. Silence.

    Time remaining - 5.5 Hours

    Why even bother?

    Time remaining - 5 Hours

    The figure¡¯s hands came up to the hole in its face. It stretched to fit the bloody mashed pink meat that was my lungs in before it disappeared into the nothingness.

    Time remaining - 4.5 Hours

    Please. Please. Please. Just let me breathe. Just let me¡ª

    Time remaining - 4 Hours

    Let them all have you. Destroy you and make sure that there¡¯s nothing left of you.

    Time remaining - 3.5 Hours

    Its words came for me one after another, faster than my own thoughts. There was less than nothing I could do as it encompassed my entire vision.

    Time remaining - 3 Hours

    ¡°...No...¡± With my final breath, I was able to eke the word out.

    Time remaining - 2.5 Hours

    The light disappeared as the ink-black figure swallowed me whole. Suffocating me not only physically, but from the insides as well, into a kernel of absolution. Imploding in like the collapse of a star until I was condensed to the essential core of who I was.

    Time remaining - 2 Hours

    There was nothing for me anymore. The faint blue light that managed still to burn itself into my mind, was all that I could cling to.

    Time remaining - 1.5 Hours

    Cling to.

    Time remaining - 1 Hours

    Depend on.

    Time remaining - 0.75 Hours

    Let me in. The voice, her voice that was everything and everywhere repeated.

    Time remaining - 0.5 Hours

    ¡°Please, please, wake up.¡±

    Time remaining - 20 Minutes

    It was another. A voice that wasn¡¯t mine spoke. Something beyond the darkness.

    Time remaining - 19 Minutes

    ¡°I need you. You can¡¯t go. Please Eury, I¡­ I think I love you. Please don¡¯t leave me.¡±

    Time remaining - 17 Minutes

    Kelly?

    Time remaining - 15 Minutes

    The thought was difficult, but I pushed against the pressure, against the ink-black darkness. And remembered. I remembered him.

    Time remaining - 13 Minutes

    Kelly was there. I know he¡¯s there. I can¡¯t remember a time that he wasn¡¯t now. Maybe¡­ Maybe he can be a reason.

    Time remaining - 11 Minutes

    Let him rescue you? Save you from what? Demons in your own head? You¡¯re no different than before. Just a little doll waiting to be rescued.

    Time remaining - 9 Minutes

    ¡°Please, I can¡¯t¡­ I just can¡¯t do this alone. Please.¡± Kelly¡¯s voice pushed through the garbled static. The pressure was getting worse but the feeling was returning to my legs. Excruciating pain ran wild through my body as the feeling returned everywhere slowly at first, then suddenly all at once.

    Time remaining - 7 Minutes

    You can¡¯t escape me. You¡¯ll never escape me. There¡¯s no way.

    While that may be true, I think¡­ I think I¡¯m okay with that. I can live with it. I just need to be stronger than you.

    Time remaining - 5 Minutes

    Never. You are weak! You will never, ever be free from me! I will always¡ª

    Wrong.

    You. Are. Wrong.

    Time remaining - 3 Minutes

    You are nothing but some weak, insignificant, worthless part of my brain! You are nothing.

    You say that. But I can wait. I will wait until you think you have defeated me so assuredly. Until you think that no matter what I do now I cannot bring you back to me. That¡¯s when I will be there again.

    But know this.

    I will always be here.

    I will always be waiting for you.

    In the deepest part of you, that is where I will be. Until the day that you are mine.

    Time remaining - 1 Minute

    The final burst of pain was in my lungs. Firey, sudden convulsions, overcame me as a spastic fist around my chest. Pulling me out of the darkness.

    <hr>

    I forced my eyes to open. The smallest movement, a herculean task. But, as I did so, I was met with a sight that was worth all of it and more.

    Kelly¡¯s sleeping face rested on the thin, polka-dotted bedspread that was draped over my bed. He was comfortable enough to even drool a little. Soft golden sunlight filtered in through the drawn blinds, but it was more than enough for me to get a good look at him. But, as the seconds ticked past, my eyes began to close again. Too heavy for me to keep them open.

    But it was okay. I knew it was because I am not all that I am.

    I am a part of a pair, and I¡¯m stronger because of it.

    It¡¯s me, and it¡¯s him.

    I am not alone. And I don¡¯t want to be.

    And I am not weak.

    May 25, 2019 - 2:45 PM

 33. Day 9 - Golden light (End of book 1)

    May 27, 2019 - 7:19 PM

    Leo Kelly

    I opened the door to Eury¡¯s bedroom after raiding the linen closet for the newest load of blankets. Golden rays of sunset peeked around the loose drapes, landing softly on Eury¡¯s sleeping face. Despite everything that had happened to her, all the pain that she had gone through, even in this coma, she still managed to look beautiful.

    I was placing the pile of blankets at her feet when Eury stirred suddenly.

    I jumped at the small movement. She hadn¡¯t so much as wiggled a toe in days. But this was good though. I rushed to her side immediately.

    ¡°Eury?¡± I said as her eyes slowly opened. Dehydration had done a number on her, but the worst of it was her eyes. Slightly sunken, and ringed in a faint bruise. Just opening them looked painful.

    She opened her mouth and said something too quiet for me to hear.

    ¡°What? What did you say?¡± I leaned in closer to hear her, but again her mouth moved and no words came out.

    Another few inches closer, and now, I could feel her faint, hot breath.

    ¡°I can¡¯t hear¡ª¡±

    ¡°I said, get over here.¡± Eury wrapped her hand around the nape of my neck, pulling me in close to her, then the unthinkable happened.

    Our lips met, in a wonderful, sweet, dry, wonderfully dry, kiss.

    Frozen by shock at first, I barely moved. But, it only took a moment for my body to catch up. I leaned in a little deeper, savouring the moments and the taste of her lips. I hadn¡¯t known it until that very moment just how desperate I was to know exactly how her lips felt. And the satisfaction I felt at that moment was almost too much for me to handle. A second later my heart was already beating so hard I could smell the faintest hint of blood in my nose.

    Holy shit, are you seriously going to have a nosebleed right now?

    My ears got fuzzy as Eury¡¯s hand slipped away. Like I was locked in place, I stood hunched over the bed¡ªa particularly unsexy position I¡¯m sure¡ªand I stared at her dumbstruck.

    After a few seconds, she coughed. I stood up straight as a board after I got the cue.

    With a sheepish smile, I broke the silence. ¡°That was unexpected.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± she said, suddenly too bashful to make eye contact. "I just¡­ didn''t want to miss the opportunity."

    It wasn¡¯t like I was staring, but I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes off her. It was probably all the oxytocin¡ªor whatever¡ªthat was flooding into my brain, keeping me slow and stupid.

    Yeah. It was totally the oxytocin.

    As our eyes met again, I couldn¡¯t help myself. I dove back in for another kiss, and for another few moments I savoured her completely. But this time, with a single light hand she pressed me back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too hasty, just yet. I probably look as bad as I feel.¡±

    ¡°You look beautiful. I mean you also look like you¡¯ve been running for your life for a week.¡±

    ¡°And yet, I¡¯m here now.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes we are.¡±

    Getting to the Morriessy¡¯s house was nothing short of a miracle. But, just as amazing as it was, I was nothing but embarrassed. I was weak, physically, mentally. Just at the thought of it, my bruised and bandaged stomach stabbed at me.

    Eury¡¯s smile was nothing but a knife twist further. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°Because you were there when I needed you. You were strong when I needed you to be. That¡¯s why.¡±

    ¡°But I wasn¡¯t. I¡­ I was too weak.¡±

    ¡°Weak? No you were¡ª¡±

    ¡°No, I mean, I couldn¡¯t carry you. Davis had to. I was too weak.¡± And there it was. Plain as day, no half-truths to make myself sound better. Just another thing that¡ªA case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Eury¡¯s dried and cracked lips slowly widened until I felt too embarrassed to even continue thinking.

    I hesitated to ask, but I couldn¡¯t wait, ¡°what is it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I would much rather have you than Davis. But you were already so tired, even before the forest. There¡¯s no way that you could¡¯ve carried me. Not without hurting yourself.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t get it, do you? The reason you couldn¡¯t carry me for that last little bit, was because you¡¯ve been supporting me this whole time since we left Alaska¡¯s. I don¡¯t care who brought me through the door. Without you, I would still be waiting at Alaska¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I carried you all the way here.¡±

    ¡°Did I say that you did? I don¡¯t need you to be my packmule, Kelly. You¡¯re my... partner.¡± She continued while looking at the window. ¡°And trust me, I really would¡¯ve hated it if you did carry me the entire way. I don¡¯t think I could forgive you for treating me that badly.¡±

    ¡°Badly?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not some damsel in distress, despite my recent performance.¡±

    ¡°Damsel? Careful what you say, I might have a hard time forgiving you.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Please, feel free to explain.¡±

    ¡°If how you were acting, pulling us through that rotten nightmare, dragging me back to reality, shooting that pistol like it was the O.K. Corral, if that was how a damsel acts? God, I don¡¯t even know what that makes me. The jester may¡ª¡±

    ¡°The heroic parasite maybe?¡±

    We shared a chuckle. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°Any time.¡± Eury glanced past my legs. ¡°I thought I told you to drop that thing.¡±

    I looked at the beat up O2 tank I had carried with me the rest of the way up the mountain.

    ¡°I¡¯m glad that I didn¡¯t,¡± I said, looking back to Eury. ¡°Those things don¡¯t grow on trees.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t really explain it but, just being there when I needed you most¡­ how easily I came to rely on you¡­ I think that¡ª¡±

    The words kind of came out on their own. ¡°Did you want a grab a coffee or something? You know, like a date?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think any coffee shops are open right now.¡±

    ¡°I know that. I mean like, do you want me to make you coffee or something and we can sit down and talk about whatever it is that people talk about on first dates? Like the weather, or what you do for a job?¡±

    ¡°How about you get me some water, and we can start there.¡±

    "I can do that."

    <hr>

    May 27, 2019 - 10:57 PM

    Eury Morrissey

    It took me a while to leave bed, especially with all of the blankets and Kelly nursing me. But, eventually, I knew that I had to. He was cagey with the details, but I gleaned from him that everything wasn¡¯t exactly hunky dory here.

    Every inch of my old bedroom seemed to be painted in a layer of nostalgia. Like sure, it had only been ten months since I was last here, but in that time, and after everything that had happened, it was like stepping into a time capsule where the world went static in here compared to the one outside.

    Or maybe, it was the subtle differences between the real place and that place¡ªthe one in my nightmares¡ªthat were making the slight-unfamiliarity too intense.

    Kelly helped me out of my room, and down the hall to the kitchen. The both of us needed a break once we got to the table. Most of the power in the kitchen was used to keep the fridge humming away, so there wasn¡¯t enough to power the lights as well. We had to use the flashlight in order to find the chairs.

    The moment we sat down, the back door opened.

    ¡°Thanks for helping me figure that out, I never did¡ª¡± It was Alaska, talking a bit too loud for how late it was, but I couldn¡¯t blame her. It was who she was after all. Seeing me she instantly went in for a one-arm hug. ¡°Eury! Oh my god! Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay, Lask. Thanks.¡± Her other arm was covered in a makeshift cast, a reminder of what it took to get here. ¡°How are you?¡±

    ¡°This?¡± She said, nodding to her arm. ¡°Your dad did some really good work. It ain¡¯t perfect, but it¡¯s better than nothing. I guess that¡¯s the benefit of having someone like him around.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a real swiss army dad, all right. Problem is it¡¯s a bit annoying when the world isn¡¯t falling apart,¡± I said with a sarcastic smile.

    ¡°I thought you enjoyed all the daddy-daughter time we¡¯ve had over the years.¡± The moment I heard and saw him¡ªthe real him, not some kind of figment or disembodied voice in my mind¡ªI couldn¡¯t hold down the tears.

    My father was like a cast in his own way, when he wrapped his arms around me. It felt like he was one of the only things keeping me together at that moment.

    ¡°Of course I loved it,¡± I said between difficult breaths and my tears, ¡°I loved every moment of it.¡±

    He tried to say something, but all that came out was an ugly, mournful sob.

    I was crying too, I couldn¡¯t even put into words how much I wanted to be here, for real, and be held by him like this. But when he finally was able to get out a single word between all of his tears, did I realize that these weren¡¯t tears of joy.

    <hr>

    I opened the door to my parent¡¯s bedroom. The room was dark except for my flashlight, and filled with the familiar stench that caused my nose to wrinkle. In spite of the Pavlovian response to turn around and retreat, I took the step in. I wanted to do this alone. I needed to see this, and understand this all on my own.

    When I levelled my flashlight at the bed though, I had no words.

    The heavy wooden bedframe began to rock like a possession when the light landed on her. Her black and bloodshot eyes slitted to a knife¡¯s edge, instantly peeled her gaze away. I wanted to look away too. Avert the beam of my flashlight, miring her in darkness as if nothing was wrong. But I couldn¡¯t. She was bound to the frame by thick rope tied around each of her limbs. Her jaw dropped open, unleashing this animalistic screech that I couldn¡¯t imagine would come out of my own mother¡¯s mouth.