The Defiant

Awake

Atlas

I gasped as I was yanked out of my dreams. 

"Huh-"

"-Shh," Gabby said, hovering over me. 

I looked at her with sleepy eyes and shook my head incredulously. "What are you doing?" I mouthed. 

She gestured for me to follow her. 

Concern began to grow in me. Gabby hadn't visited in quite a while, and usually, she only visited when she had news. 

I carefully navigated my way out of bed without waking my loves. I took one last glance at them sleeping peacefully before leaving to the hallway, Gabby in tow. When the door shut quietly, I turned to her and scanned her panicked expression. "What's wrong?"

She put a finger to her lips. "Don't speak out loud. Just listen, and do not start to panic."

Goosebumps ran up my spine, and I shivered. 

My sister's expression turned from panicked to sorrowful as she looked into my eyes. "There's a newly awoken person that the General has got. They can drain souls within the connection array of all the Z-infected people."

My mind was trying to piece together what she was saying. "What-"

"-Atlas listen," she urged, " When the souls are drained, they drain into the afterlife. The bodies become empty husks. They've already drained two people. Atlas..."

"Say it," I urged, my eyes growing firey. 

"They are in room 327," she strained. 

I grit my teeth and began to take slow steps in that direction. My heart thudded in my chest as I approached a scene I most likely would not want to see. 

This room. I knew this room. "This is..."

"I'm sorry, Atlas, I didn't see them till they were gone."

My fist hit the door three times, but there was no answer. 

"Lyla? Hattie? Ariah?... Delta?"

Again, no answer. 

"Atlas, they are draining a third right now..." Gabby trailed off.

A fire raced up my spine, and I jostled the doorknob, but it didn't budge. "Delta?! Lyla?! Hattie?! Ariah?!"

I contemplated kicking the door open, but right before I could raise my foot it opened, and an angry-looking Ariah glared at me from inside the dark, silent room. "It's three in the morning. What do you want?"

I didn't have time to explain. I pushed past her and ran over to the first bed to grab the arm of the first person I could get. "Wake up!" I yelled. 

The body was warm but still. 

Ariah walked over. Her voice was a bit shaky now. "What are you doing?"

"Fuck," I strained. My feet thudded on the ground as I ran to the other side of the bed and grabbed the other figure by its shoulders. "Wake up! Wake up right now!" 

I kept shaking their shoulders, but they did not respond.

"N-no..." Ariah said, walking over to the bed she was sharing with Delta. She shook their shoulders but to no avail. 

"D-Delta?" she asked quietly. 

There was a dreaded moment of silence before...

"What?" They asked quietly.

"Holy shit," I said in shaky relief, joining Ariah by their side.

Ariah let out a strained sound that almost mimicked a whine. "What's wrong, love?"