Days of Decay

Chapter Twelve

Half an hour went by. Finn was deathly quiet as they continued their journey. He just stared out the window and sat motionless; his eyes looked like they'd lost their spark.

Asha wanted to ask him how he was, but that was a pointless question. She distracted herself momentarily by looking around and checking on the others. Daisy had fallen asleep, Piper was trying her best to get a peek at her arm to make sure it was all okay. Kit had picked out one of the books from their stash and was reading it, though she could tell he was merely doing it for show; his eyes weren't concentrating on anything in particular. She turned back around and stared at the road ahead.

The music continued softly around them, but it didn't serve as a distraction anymore, not in Asha's case anyway. What she'd seen in that house was a horror. It ranked closely to the first night, but her family's murder would always come out on top.

She just couldn't shake the image of Finn's brother's final moments out of her head.

She thought about how he must have poured over every possible scenario, how he decided what he did. She imagined him pulling his wife aside as she watched the news intently. She saw his wife's look of defeat as she knew what he was going to suggest. She could see his kids' faces and how they lit up when Mummy and Daddy had a 'surprise' for them upstairs. She thought about how his wife bundled the kids up onto the bed with tears streaming down her face while her husband grabbed the gun from the wardrobe. How they told the kids to wiggle under the sheets for a game, their excited squeals filling up the safe room. She heard the deep breaths he took as he thought, can I really do this? And when he decided yes, she saw him give a nod to his wife who mouthed 'I love you' before descending under the covers too. She could see his veins bulging as fear began to be broken down by a need to protect. She imagined how the first shot shuddered the entire room. She heard the other child screaming only to be comforted for a second by their mother before their time came. Another shot and the wife was gone. He was left alone, a sudden flash crossed his eyes, maybe I can go it alone, he thought before cursing himself for thinking such a thing. Then he pointed it in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

BANG.

"So, this Harbour," Asha started with a quick intake of air. "What exactly is it?" She asked curiously, turning to Max.

She realised she hadn't really delved much into where they were headed; she just went along knowing it was somewhere safe. She heard Kit put the book down; she knew he was as curious as she was.

Max cleared his throat and kept his eyes on the road. "We have a research facility on the island which specializes in bio warfare. Handy, huh?" He paused for a moment. "Y'know, considering that Nox was an attack. No thanks to the Global Peace Corporation...I mean, they did a smashin' job, didn't they?" He groaned slightly. "We were lucky enough that some of the scientific team didn't turn. Luck is a strong word because some 'em did and most of 'em didn't survive the Sickness," he clenched his jaw. "But now, six months down the road, we're fully set up. Wind and solar power keeps Harbour goin' and with everyone on the island having jobs, it works well."

"Sounds like a dream community." Asha smiled. It all sounded so quaint and perfect.

"Basically," Max shrugged. "One that's trying to save the world," he grinned.

"About that..." Kit piped up from behind. "How is that you've already made some magical thing to keep the infection from fully turning you... in six months. Doesn't that stuff take years?"

"Well, we already knew of something of its kind being in development, that's the kind of government know-how we were privy to. We just weren't sure how it was goin' to be released, or when... And when there's nothin' else to do apart from work on that, it gets done pretty quickly," Max stated.