Hush (Venom Epidemic, #1)

Chapter 06 - The First Kill.

          Her eyes opened with a start and met with the sunrays shining from the small glass window of the shed. She had been dreaming about the nightmare she was going through in real life. Her breaths came out in short gasps and fast through her parted lips.

          To her right she saw that Fleur was still fast asleep, and to her let, she could observe cardboard boxes, tool boxes, etc. In front of her the door was still safely closed and not a splinter was broken away from it.

          She felt like a little girl again. Not knowing if anything was going to be alright, but she knew that she had to be the one to be brave. Facing the reality was the only way and denial wouldn't help at all. She knew that.

          Catching her breath and taking huge gulps of air, she managed to throw away the feeling of helplessness. If she continued to feel this way she would surely break down later on in the day. She had to be fearless at least to the world.

          Fleur was the only person she knew right now and she couldn't dare think if something bad had happened to her family, who weren't even in the same city as her. She wondered how they were doing. How her friends were doing. How everyone going through this nightmare were coping. And how many had been added to the horde of blood-suckers.

          She hissed in through her gritted teeth and realised that she had been trying not to cry. She had to keep the tears at bay, otherwise they may never stop and she might give up. Perhaps she was being stupid to bottle up her feeling right now – she wasn't the one to do that – but today everything changed, even her.

          Katrina was usually a much optimistic and bubbly person. She loved to tell jokes and hear them in as well. But how could she be herself in this situation; there was a time and place for everything and hence, now was the time to be serious and careful. Her own – and Fleur's – life had probably depended upon it.

          Thoughts ran through her mind like a the windows on a train, Can someone actually die from the contagiousness of being effected? She frowned from the perplexity, dread, and disturbance. Why hadn't somebody done something about this, to prevent this apocalypse from happening? How could they, whoever the hell they are, let this happen?! She shook her head. We have to stay away from those things until everything gets back to normal...

          Fleur stirred and yawned. She blinked her eyes open for a while and tried to make out where she was before remembering last night's occurrences. Dread and realisation pasted across her features. She turned her head to look at her friend. "It's morning," she said knowing, and raised her eyes. She had said it in such a way, that it was clear of what her tone was actually meant, 'Are they still there?'

          Katrina nodded knowingly and looked at her hands. "Somewhere," she muttered, "but I sense, in a way, that we're safe here for the moment." She paused to smooth the free strand of hair behind her right ear, and look up at Fleur. "I think we should move to a safer place until help arrives. Find something to eat as well."

          Fleur agreed with a stern nod. "OK," she said. She sighed and leant back against the wood. She tilted her head slightly so she could observe the webbed light bulb on the ceiling, as well as the corners up there. Flinching, she moved away from the corner that she had been habituating, brushing the nonexistent webs on her right side. A shudder sounded from her.

          Katrina involuntarily smirked a little. "Spiders are just like us, they need a home, too," she murmured.

          Fleur looked up at her and gave a small smile, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Since when did you turn dark?" she asked half-heatedly. They both knew that they were trying to lighten the mood and forget, if just for a short moment.