WE ALL DIE ▸ NICK CLARK

iv. oxy

Nine days had gone by. The military was everywhere - taking care of the organized madness.

"What's wrong?" I walk towards Madison.

"Uh... how's Nick? He- He doesn't talk to me... I thought that maybe... I don't know..." she lets her head to her hands.

"Hey... whatever you need, I'm here." I assured her. "Nick's fine... I think. He's acting normal."

"I found this on the counter." She showed me his pill and I sigh. "Try to talk to him... please." She gives it to me and I nod as I walk towards the poor where he was.

"Hey." He says as soon as he sees me and starts making him and the float he was laying in get closer to me.

"H-Hi?" I say confuse in how he's acting as nothing has happened and as if the world wasn't falling down. "Uh, your mom found this..." I show him the pill.

"Oh, yeah. Guess I forgot." He says the way to calm as he gets off the float and swims towards me.

"Oh, you forgot?"

"Yeah. I guess I did."

"Ok, then here it is..." I give it to him but he refuses. "I don't think that's the best idea."

"Look, tell her to give it to Griselda. She needs it more than I do. You said so yourself." He looks at me slightly hurt.

"Yeah, you say a lot of shit too and I don't even attempt to bring it up, so that was fun." I almost snap at him and I roll my eyes. "What's going on?" I ask and he starts to swim away. "Look, I've been in this place enough times to know that whatever the hell happened... doesn't happen. So you better tell me what the fuck is going on-"

"It did happen." He interrupts me but I can see in his eyes that he's lying.

"I'm not going through it again, Nick," I say and he looks at me. "I'm not," I repeat. "This time you better chose between me, and whatever the fuck you're doing. The pill's there." I tell him and walk away.

"Kat." He calls me and I look back, noticing he's looking around to see if someone's there. "Come here."

"What?"

"Don't hate me..." He pleaded and I took a deep breath already knowing what was coming. "There are some sick people around here, that- that isn't gonna make it, who-who aren't gonna get anything from the medicine they are giving and I-"

"Nick..." I sigh wanting to draw him right here and now.

"It can help me, Katherine." He touched my leg and I pushed away.

"Do you know who else helped? My mother. Do you know how she is now? Dead." I officially snapped at him. "I couldn't take it then, and I definitely can't take it now!" I say as tears threaten to leave my eyes. "I can't lose you! Not now! Not now."

He got off the pool and got close to me to clean my tears but I slightly push him away.

"I don't care if the world's ending. Or you stop, or I'll leave. Your choice. I love you and I'm not staying here watching you kill yourself, so chose fast." I walk away.

I walk past Maddy towards his room.

"What did you do this time?" I hear her asking him and he groans loudly.

__

"All right, listen up here, folks." The soldier says as he gets up on the back of the truck. "As commanding officer of this detachment, I am proud to announce that we are infected free for a six-mile radius around this perimeter. We are on the offensive. The tide has most definitely turned." He says and people start clapping.