bullet boy • joel miller

one • the reunion

Theo choked down the raw meat, blood dribbling down his chin. His hands moved from food to mouth, fingers tearing into the body of the rabbit as if it was his divine purpose. There was no time to be civil, not when his stomach lurched at the foreign feeling of food. The familiar taste of iron left a bitter taste on his tongue yet he choked it down nonetheless.

All he could do was focus on the crippling need to survive.

It was over as quickly as it started, the rabbit laying unrecognisable before him. His stomach lurched and he turned to the side, throwing up everything he fought so hard to keep down. Tears pricked at his eyelids but he refused to let them spill, rubbing furiously at his eyes despite the fresh blood staining his fingers.

He couldn't lose hope, not now, not after everything he'd been through. There'd be no coming back from it.

He took a shaky deep breath and looked around the room, eyes blurred and unfocused. They stopped on the body across the room, still breathing despite the rubble pinning it down. It stared back, eyes lifeless and fungi growing from its head. He paid it no mind, tuning out its rugged breaths as he focused on his own, leaning his head back against the cold wall. He figured he'd get some rest.

Theo wasn't sure how long he'd been out when he awoke to the sound of voices. They were off in the distance, muffled, but loud enough to startle him out of his slumber. He wanted nothing more than to ready himself for a fight but his body betrayed him, exhaustion running through his veins. His muscles tensed, tired and aching, and he fell back, more aware than ever that this was the end. Footsteps sounded overhead and he held his breath, following them with a tilt of his head. There was a pause, a moment of hesitation that crept through the ceiling before a sharp creak tore through the air.

Andrenaline punched him in the gut, a fist made out of titanium, and his body spurred into action. He stumbled to his feet, legs moving faster than he could think as he hid behind the rubble. There was a thud mixed with shuffling before the footsteps made their way closer.

A beam of light shone in his direction and he shied further into the shadows, ignoring the ache in his bones. Footsteps moved closer and closer, slow and steady, until it fell silent.

Theo held his breath and peered his head around the corner. He hadn't had enough time to think before he moved and fear clamped its cold hand over his heart, squeezing tight. To his surprise, however, there was a young girl standing mere few feet away from him. She wasn't looking at him, wasn't even turned in his direction. He watched with bated breath as she crouched down, staring at the Infected with an expression he couldn't place and a knife in her hand.

She moved the knife forward, pushing the blade an inch into its skin and dragging it down. Neither of them reacted and the silence was so thick Theo thought he might choke on it. He had half the mind to announce his presence and ask her for food, water, anything, but the knife in her hand deterred him.

"Did you do this?" She whispered, tilting her head toward the torn-up remains of the rabbit and the bile. There was no answer. "Huh." She drew her hand away from the Infected for hardly a second before plunging it back down, the knife splitting into its skull with a deafening crack.

She stared down at the dead body before her with an awful glint in her eye before turning on her heel and leaving as quickly as she had appeared. Theo watched as she left, sighing with relief as he leaned back against the wall. His body ached and exhaustion fought the adrenaline that lingered in his bones, threatening to take over once more. His eyes fluttered shut as he listened to the footsteps overhead, noting when one set became two, and there were voices again, quieter than before. He tried to hear what they were saying but sleep settled deep into his bones and curled behind his eyelids, sending him into a restless slumber.