I volunteer to go out on a run with Griffith as we step outside into the cool, morning air. I hand him the beanie that he had lost a few days ago. I've retrieved it from the dark depths of his closet.
"I love you, I love you, I love you!" Griffith continuously exclaims. He picks me up by the waist and twirls me around. The fence blurs in my vision as he turns faster and faster.
"Me too. I love you too!" I laugh. He sets me down and stares at me, raising his charcoal eyebrow.
"Really?" he asks. I sheepishly nod my head and bury my freezing face into my knit brown scarf. He traces the outline of my jaw with his hand and laces our fingers together.
"All this compassion over a hat?", I ask.
"My love, it's so much more than that," he responds. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and I give him a quizzical look.
"You're so beautiful," he says dreamily. A blush creeps onto my cheeks. I hear a gagging noise and we both look over to see Arianne pretending to shove two fingers down her throat. Griffith and I simultaneously roll our eyes.
"Does this gross you out?" he playfully asks Arianne while leaning in to kiss me. I push away his warm, plump lips.
"Nice try lover boy!" I joke, sticking out my tongue. He pretends to be sad.
"Oh please," I say, rolling my eyes. I turn to Arianne. She's laughing at Griffith's facial expression.
"What's up?" I ask, crossing my arms to conserve heat.
"I came to tell you that we need to go on the run," she says, turning her attention towards me. Her dark, braided hair brushes the frame of her oval face.
"Okay, let's go," I call out in my boyfriends direction.
"Coming!" he shouts while jogging to catch up to me. One at a time, we scramble over the fence, fingers raw from clinging onto the freezing metal.
"Can I come along?" I hear Mike ask as he hops over the fence.
"Not like your giving us a choice..." Griffith trails off. I shoot him a scolding look. He shrugs at my expression. Holding my gun closer to my chest, I glance over at Mike.
"Sure" I answer.
"In that case I'll go back," Arianne tells us as she climbs back over the barrier. I watch her walk off, a fuzzier image as she gets farther away.
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We duck under the poking limbs of trees and make our way through the maze of a forest. Emerging through a patch of bushes, I recognize the seven eleven in the distance. I run to the store, careful not to draw attention to myself. My boots lightly scratch the pavement as we tiptoe along. We stand outside of the main entrance, ready to bust open the glass door when Griffith grips my forearm. I turn to him, a worried look plastered onto my face.
"Stay outside and stand guard," he tells me. I give him the death glare.
"Come on," he shoots me a pleading look with his charming eyes.
"Fine," I sigh. I look at eighteen year old Mike and can't help but wonder. What was he going to be? What was I going to be if this hadn't happened? His blonde hair falls into his eyes as he gives Griffith a crazed look. My significant other puts up a finger and turns my way. He presses his warm lips against mine and in my entire existence, kissing has never felt so right. He snakes his hands onto my waist and mine onto his neck and I reel him in, loving him with every ounce of my soul. We pull away from each other, gasping for air. He opens his mouth to say something but I gently press two fingers against his lustful lips. His soulful gaze searches my eyes and I can tell exactly what's racing through his mind. He doesn't need to say it.
"Me too," I say, ushering him to the door. I reluctantly let go of his black sweater and my eyes follow his structured body as he enters the store. He brings the gun up to his chiseled face, his biceps stretching. I let out a heavy sigh and face the road, keeping watch.
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I begin to hear a ruckus inside. Gun shot after gun shot rings out.
"YOU NEED HELP?", I shout. No answer, more firing. It's okay, they're okay. I slightly turn my head to the right and my eyes grow wide. A large heard of zombies is coming and they're only about five meters away. I begin to shoot and back up at the same time. The spurting sound of brains is everywhere as multiple heads cave in.
I trip over my own feet and land on the concrete as I reload. That's when they begin to get to close for comfort. I struggle to get up and I realize it's no use. A million things flash through my mind as I feel the agonizing pair of teethe sink into my arm. I manage to scramble away and make it to the trees. I slump down against the trunk and breathe heavily, my heartbeat pounding in my head. I begin to hallucinate, imaging Riley at my side. He caresses my shoulder and kisses my forehead as the edges of my vision fade into black.
"You did well," he says to me.
"But I could've done better," I barely whisper. I'm aware he's not really there, but the idea is so appealing. I'm being tugged into a deathly abyss. Tongue swelling and sandpapery in my mouth, sky flaring with white spots. My body's a sea of boiling water, I can feel it melting away.
YOU ARE READING
Infectious
Teen FictionLove, an apocalypse, and survival. Three things that should not be combined in a sixteen-year-old's life. Raine was a girl with a picture perfect life. That was until the virus broke out. A tale of sacrifice, secrecy, and the hunt for a cure.
