Undead Rises

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴛᴡᴏ

ᴄᴏʀᴀ ʜᴇɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴏɴ

After putting Ben to bed, I left the dormitory in search of Aria. I walked through the compound when I didn't find her in her room. Some part of me felt anxious, thoughts of insecurities entered my mind, but I tried to push them away. However, I couldn't stop them. Was she avoiding me?

I made my way back to the dorm and slept in my bed for the night. And then the next. And then the night after that. Before realizing it, a week had passed, and I hadn't seen Aria since then. I checked her room every night. I walked through the walls on every break. But I could not find her, she was avoiding me.

I used my anger and anxiety in training. Sargeant Jackson kept pushing me every day, and every day I felt stronger. I could run farther. I could finally do a pull up. And I could operate a M16 assault rifle with my eyes practically closed. It wasn't easy going through the days as if my heart wasn't shattering in my chest, but I had no other choice than to ignore it. I spent more time with Ben, my brother, and everyone else who mattered to me.

Zoey and Jasper were finally nursing patients without someone hovering over them the entire time. Joseph said the research was going well. And Ben was the base's celebrity, he had a crush on every pretty soldier he saw.

No one asked me where Aria was though. They choose to ignore it, probably thinking they're doing it for my sake.

Before either of us even knew it. We had been at the base for two weeks. That was a week and five days since the last time Aria spoke to me.

"Henderson! Get your head out of your ass and finish your drill!" Sargeant Jackson screamed before blowing the silver whistle that was pressed between his teeth. I rolled my eyes but did as I was told. There wasn't a moment in a day that I wasn't thinking of Aria, thinking of what I could've done wrong.

I dropped down to the ground after my last rep. My calloused hands were white, void of any color from hanging onto the pull up bar. I dropped down and did the number of push-ups that were expected of me. I wasn't out of breath compared to when I first started, I learned how to breathe through it. 

"Good. You're done for the day."

"Have you heard-" he cut me off before I continued, probably because I asked this question every day. "I saw her in David's office last night. She's fine. You need to focus on your training, not on your friendship with Aria." he sighed before walking towards the door. Friendship. If only he knew.

The doors burst open, Zoey and Tobias were doing this strange thing between a run and a walk. Sargeant Jackson shot them a strange look before leaving the training room. "What's up guys? It looks like you've just seen a ghost." I stated and it wasn't false, they were pale and looked seriously stressed out. I started to get nervous. "Guys? What's wrong?" I questioned, hoping they would give me an answer instead of looking at me like that.

"It's Ben. He's missing."

"What do you mean, he's missing?"

"We can't find him."

I started running towards the doors, I needed to look for the little boy I was responsible for. Tobias and Zoey followed me as we searched the hallways calling his name, soldiers would ask us what we were doing and we would explain who we were looking for, after explaining almost every person who asked joined the search. We looked everywhere but we came up with nothing.

When everyone else was heading to bed, telling me that we would look in the morning, I left and went to Aria. I did not give a shit if she was avoiding me, we had to find Ben.

I didn't even knock on her door, I barged in. Aria immediately sat up from the bed and looked like a deer caught in headlights. "What're-" I cut her off by raising my hand, silencing her. I ignored all the anger and hurt that I had been feeling for the past few days. "Ben is missing. We have looked everywhere. Can you think of any place on this base he could've gone?" I questioned her.

"He isn't missing."

"What kind of vague shit is that? What do you mean he isn't missing." I practically yelled at her. Aria stood up from the bed and approached me, placing her hands on my arms. I took a step back, separating the connection. "My father found out about Ben. They're running tests on him in the restricted area. He is fine." she was trying to reassure me, to calm me down.

"They are testing him like some kind of lab rat. And you didn't think to come tell me!"

"He could be the cure! He could be the end of this! Don't you want that?"

"Does that mean you told him about me?" I questioned her, she got quiet. The slight look of hurt in her eyes caught me off guard and somehow fueled my anger. "I would've never told him." she tried saying but stopped. Aria had told her father about Ben and me. The only difference was that I wasn't being tested, but he did know.

"You have known that kid for a few days, he could be the reason we don't have to run for our lives anymore."

"Do you really think I would be okay with that? He is a child! You have until tomorrow night to figure out a way to get him out of the restricted area." I demanded as I walked towards the door, ready to leave. "Or else what?"

"There is no 'or else what'. It's a chance to prove you haven't lost your fucking humanity like everyone else." the lump in my throat made it hard to speak. I left the room, leaving the girl I thought I was falling in love with behind. But how could I ever love someone who was okay with throwing away a child's life?

I didn't sleep, I walked around the empty hallways until I had to report for training. Sargeant Jackson pushed me, as he always did. The training kept me distracted, kept me from barging into David's office and tackling him into the ground. Throughout training and sparring with Jackson, I imagined David being thrown to the ground. 

When training was over, I looked for Aria until I found her. She was sitting in her room with her head in her hands. When I entered her room, we didn't say anything at first. Until Aria released a sigh and looked up at me, hopelessness in her eyes. "I spoke to my father, and there isn't a way to get him out without a level 10 card." she sighed, running her hands down her face. I shook my head, I was disappointed. For a soldier, she wasn't very clever for letting the enemy know what I wanted. So, I said nothing and stood silently, thinking of a plan.

"I'm sorry! Is that what you wanted to hear? He wanted you but I wouldn't let him." she spoke, her voice quaked but I said nothing. "Why does it feel like this? Why do I feel like this?" she questioned before looking down. I looked at the woman who I thought I loved, my heart shattering in the process. "Congrats, you've lost your humanity. I hope you can find it one day; I hope you find hope." I told her before turning to leave.

I had a plan. Tell my friends to get out of here and trade places with Ben. I was young but I already lived a life good enough for me. Ben deserved to try.

"Where are you going?" Aria questioned as I walked down the hall, but I didn't respond. I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to speak to her again. 

Some part of me never wanted to.