The Apocalypse | Hempires

Chapter Four: Yet it Only Ever Hurts my Family

This liquid...

It's not a natural material.

But then again...

Nothing is anymore.

Why...?

Why did they do this?

Why did I do this?

This makes no sense.

Well nothing really makes sense anymore but...

I should be making sense of it though...

After all...

I did this..............................

Shelby and Katherine had been dating for about two weeks when it happened.

Scott and Jimmy were off looking for food, Doc was clearing out some skulk so they could sleep without worry of giving the infected their location, Gem was trying to make necklaces out of flowers and shells (that they had gotten when the had found a beach), and both Shelby and Katherine were looking out for infected.

Katherine was with Scott and Jimmy, so that left Shelby with both Gem and Doc, who weren't the worst company to have.

Doc was always very polite, and had been slowly warming up to both Shelby and Katherine the longer they had been staying with them, and Gem was always cheerful and trusting.

It almost made Shelby sad that hybrids were considered no better then infected by clans. They made wonderful company (especially in an apocalypse).

Shelby spotted some movement in the corner of her eye, and she motioned for Doc and Gem to stay silent.

She didn't need them alerting it of their location if it was blind.

Darting through the patches of grass and trying her hardest not to step on any with Doc and Gem watching, Shelby made her way over to where the infected should have been.

But to her surprise.

There was nothing but the all too familiar clumps of skulk that clung to almost everything.

"Wha???"

Just then a scream echoed to where Shelby had once been.

It was Gem.

Shelby raced towards the sound, accidentally stepping on some skulk in her hurry.

When she got back she saw Gem curled up in a ball clutching her hand, and Doc was grappling with an infected, his hunting knife discarded.

Without any hesitation Shelby grabbed her scythe and ran up towards where Doc was fighting, and stabbed the infected straight in the head.

Shelby didn't even process what she had done, she immediately let go of her scythe, leaving it in the body of the infected as she ran over to Gem who she now noticed was sobbing, and letting out pained whimpers.

"Gem! Are you ok!?" Shelby asked, but then she saw it.

Gem's hand was almost completely cut off, and blood was staining her clothes.