They Called It The Apocalpse

Chapter 17

They sat round in a group, Tate balanced on the end of Jason's bed, leaning back against the wall. Thalia sat primly across from him, her hands tucked in her lap and her legs crossed. She sat right on the edge of the mattress and Cassie sat on the other end with her back propped in the corner and her legs crossed. Jason sat on the edge of his bed opposite Cassie, he was as far away from Tate as he could manage and he leant forwards with his hands clenched together and his legs apart. No one spoke, they stared at each other intently, waiting for someone to make the first move. "So...." Tate mumbled, reaching for Jason's bag, he pulled it away from Tate's grubby fingers and scowled at him, the attention shifted to Thalia, "You've been out of it for quite a while." Tate explained, returning his arm to rest on his lap, "They must've put you in that tube to save you."
"I think..." Jason wondered aloud, staring at the carpet as he tried to work through his thoughts, "That was a cryofreezer. See they work by freezing organic tissue such as..." he gestured at Thalia then looked back between Tate and Cassie, "a human or Thalia. Anyway if she was frozen they could preserve her body for...." He met her frightened eyes then trailed off again, "A while." He finished, clearing his throat and looking back down at the ground instead of the upset woman across from him. Tate sat forwards and mimicked Jason's sitting position, crossing his hands but keeping his legs crossed. "But what about?" he touched the middle of his forehead with a finger.
Thalia did the same thing, touching the space in her head and pulling her hand away shocked to find that it was squishy and vulnerable. "No..." she muttered, touching it again and depressing it hard enough that it left a finger nail imprint in her forehead, "No. No! No!" She cried, getting to her feet and pacing as she pressed her forehead then pulled her hand away before repeating the cycle. Tate got to his feet and grabbed her arms, retraining them away from her forehead. She gazed up into his crystal blue eyes, focuses solely on them. "You got shot. Get over it." Tate grumbled, he'd turned less happy since they'd discovered Thalia and it sent shivers down Cassie's spine, how she's never noticed his quick personality changes before. "I what?" Thalia whispered back, her arms staying limp in Tate's grasp. "You got a bullet put in your head." He repeated, emotionless and flat but he enunciated his words, making his mouth into larger shapes as if she was reading his lips instead. "How?" She asked, pulling an arm free to touch her head again. Both Jason and Cassie waited patiently for Tate to make an excuse, he never drew his eyes away from her and he watched her examine the flesh with her finger again. "I shot you." Silence filled the room again and Cassie dragged her bag closer to herself, digging around inside until she felt the soft rabbit plush, as she stroked its ragged head she felt herself growing calmer and focusing less on Tate's shocking admission and more on the way she was feeling. Nausea swirled up her throat again and her vision wavered between clear and blurry, the bouts of illness seemed to be getting worse, every time they came back with a renewed vengeance. "Why would you-" Thalia began to ask, shaking free of Tate's grasp and falling backwards onto the bed. "You were sick." Tate replied, staying on his feet and staring down at her, "You we're gonna die anyway." He held a hand out as if to comfort her, his feet shuffled forwards but she held up her own manicured palm to stop him. He froze still as she shook her head a little, the black curls bobbing up onto her shoulders as they dried. "I...I need some time to process this...." With that she got to her feet and headed out of the room, they hadn't even gotten to the bit where she was now living in the apocalypse.

Cassie glanced at Jason, who shook his head to indicate not to go after Tate. She felt her stomach turn then dashed for the door, bursting outside and finding the closest window. She hung her head out of it and vomited violently down the side of the building. Jason must've followed her because he hung silently behind, she could hear his feet kicking against the carpet as he waited for her to turn back to him. She threw up again at the thought of it, the ground below getting closer and then further away as she pulled her head back inside. She brought up her hand to wipe her lips and it came away with a smudge of red smeared across it. She took a deep breath and pulled the sleeve of her shirt down over it. She turned slowly, sniffing and feeling the sting of the fresh air burn her nostrils. Jason waited patiently, his arms crossed and his eyes settled softly on her pale face. "Whats going on?" He asked softly, his brown eyes filled with concern.
"I...nothing, i just probably ate something a little too past the expiry date." She tried a smile but didn't manage it, her face falling back to its tired and sick look. Jason shook his head, knowing that she wasn't going to tell him the truth about what was going on, "Cass, you can tell me anything....you know that right?" He encouraged, crossing over to her and taking her hands into his, she stared up into his eyes and he noted the slight red tinge on the inside of her lips. He opened his mouth to say something but she seemed so hopeful that he couldn't bring himself to say anything, though he knew he had to address what he was thinking eventually. "I know Jace, but honestly, I'm fine. I'm just kind of tired after the day we've had so far." She hooked her arms around his waist and pulled herself closer to him. She tilted her face up and attempted another smile, managing a weak one and as she did Jason noticed the slight tinge of pink on her teeth and felt an unsettling lump form in his throat. He tried to smile back but it came out wonky, crooked and unfamiliar to his face, "yeah, it has been a crazy day." He soothed Cassie, closing the gap between their faces and kissing her gently, the kiss tasted vaguely like metal and Jason felt the worry seeping in. She pulled away from him and took just one of his hands, "Come on, lets go get a nap." She muttered mischievously and Jason smiled down at her, better masking his internal fears. "Alright, but you're going to sleep, you're not just gonna try to make out with me again instead..." she rolled her eyes then dragged him towards the bedroom.