O.N.E. VIRUS

22: thalassophobic

[a/n: i can't believe this book is already over! it feels like it was only just yesterday that I got introduced to the tanji virus series and got inspired to make this all the way back in the end of 2022! thank you all so much for the support on the crazy adventure that this story was, and I hope to make a similar adventure in the future! ^ ^ i hope you all loved reading this just as much as I loved writing it! <3]

[WARNING. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS... alcoholism, blood, cursing/offensive language, gore, vomiting, virus, infections, violence, insanity, mentions of death and weapons, mentions of kidnapping and torture, brain damage, references to sadists and traitors, "romantic references", body horror ...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED]

[RESUMING BRYCE HANSEN POV]

Heading home after saving everyone we needed to, and killing everything we needed, was hard. But we made it home. When we were teleported home, we didn't make it exactly to the spot we needed to be at, so we ended up having to walk for a while under the lamps, at night, when it's dark and cold and the perfect setting for something to scare me- I mean scare Scenty- out of her shoes. Ignore that sh#t I said, I didn't mean it.

We did not talk at all on the way home. All we did was just walk forward, forward, forward, and stepping on ground hurt her a little bit and I'm not sure why it does. It never hurt me before.

My arm started to hurt for bit more and I leaned onto a lamp post for support. It... is not a big deal though. "Schade.." I whisper. Wait, since when did I know German? Anyway, I walk with Scenty towards my house. I try to open the door but it won't budge. "That's weird," I try again, but to no avail. "Let me try," Scenty tugs on the door hard, harder, harder.. Nothing. "Aw f#ck.." I sigh.

I don't remember locking the door, but maybe I did. I walk around the back of the house to the window and see that a tiny bit of it is open. Perfect. I reach my hand, and I lift it up my arm, surprisingly stronger than normal. I enter the room to find everything trashed, the cage in which we put the infected is burst it open, but some of the infected appear to be dead. This is horrible. We can't even heal them now.

Bradley Silva Junior is laying on the ground with a gaping hole in his stomach. There are worms that are crawling inside of it, feasting upon anything they can find. His eyes are rolled back, revealing just white.. That is usually not a good sign, but considering if he was alive, he would kill me..and that there is no cure right now, and there won't be one for a really long time. It's good, then. I think Bradley is still alive, but unconscious, thankfully...

Wait since when did I call him Bradley? And when did I call Junior his full name? I shrug and step forward to close the bars in the cage. I pull them closed.

That's when I realize people are missing.

G is missing, Moldy- I mean Charlotte- is missing as well.. So weird. I look up to see G across the room, staring. "Are you OK?" Scenty asks me. I slowly pushing her back a little bit and taking a step to G.

"What do you want?" I ask. She doesn't answer. The room feels darker and colder and... Damp? I stepped in something that looks like... blood.. or maybe it's vomit? I don't know, it's some dark substance. I step over it and walk over to G. "Get out of here!" But she won't listen. She stands there and doesn't move, just turns toward me with a smile.

"Oh, welcome back Bryce," she smiles and takes my hand.

I step back from her and tell her, "This is not you, this is someone f#cking else! You have to come back." But I know it won't work because I've tried this with Bradley, and I've tried this with Junior, and I try this with everybody who is infected that I've met.. that does not work.