Nobody Survives in the End

Chapter Seven • Snow Storm

Emma:

My feet were frozen and numb. I wasn't even sure if they were there anymore. The snow continued to fall from the sky, blinding me. a never-ending pain seemed to ache throughout me with each step or head turn.

The cold, painful, icy winds prevented me from remembering much. All I could remember was being at dinner with Laura, finally being able to eat warm food. The harder I tried to remember the rest, the more it seemed to escape me.

I was scared, cold, alone, and suddenly very tired. I don't remember lying down in the snow, or even closing my eyes. Sleep felt comforting in comparison to walking in the storm. I let my body sink into the ground, and my eyes glue themselves shut.

———
Abel:

My tears coated Laura's clothes, and my cries filled the room. She wouldn't wake up, she just lied there limply in my arms. "Laura!" I sobbed, "Please...please..."

I had gone on like that for quite some time, enough time for the moon to disappear and the sun to take back its territory in the sky above us.

I felt numb as I sat there quietly, incapable of crying anymore. My eyes moved to the mangled mess of what used to be Bob. I felt no remorse and almost had enough energy to kill him again.

I stood, pulling away from her body gently. The sight of her lying there, pale, shook me to my core. Looking down, I remembered my uniform was gone. My black tight-fitting, boxers were the only clothing left. I shivered at the reminder that I was going to be dinner.

—-
A few hours had passed, long enough for me to shower and change into some of Bob's clothes. I refused to wear the uniform of the branch that left me in such a position as I am in now. A black long sleeve that was slightly too big and   His jeans that didn't at all fit me. His belt was almost pulled to the last loop to keep them on.

I was starved but the idea of eating anything in this house made me wretch and heave. I decided I couldn't tell Laura and Emma what they actually ate, it would ruin them. Especially Emma, she's so young.

Emma. Where is she?

Emma was nowhere to be found, but her belongings rested right where we left them. My eyes caught a glimpse of her small shoes peeking from under the bed. Wherever she was, she was barefoot. I swallowed the lump in my throat before rushing to quickly check the house once more.

The door to the once locked room was open, but my feet refused to move. I had been trained to handle these situations. I couldn't understand why I was choking now. I should have been able to save her. To save them.

Shoving those thoughts from my tired mind, I forced myself to enter. The room still held an unspeakable stench and odd humidity. "Emma?"

Along the right wall near the door was a switch, I braced myself. A dim yellow light filled the room, revealing all of its secrets to me. The infected I had killed still lied where I left it. The corpse was fresh, meaning the infection was recent. I now wondered if Bob let them die this way and why. Did he eat infected as well?

A freezer was buzzing in the far corner, the outside dirty and rusted. I pulled open the door, allowing the blue light to spill over my clothes.