The Ink Infection [Brief hold and Editing]

Chapter 17

I stepped backward, unable to get my eyes off the black veins on Tim's face.

"Tim..."  My voice shook. "W-what did they d-do to you?"

Tim sighed. "They put me in a cell with the Inks,"  he spat.

Taken aback, I stayed silent. Why would the school do such a thing? Was Tim infected? I hoped not.

Around me, people started to back away, afraid that they might also contract the infection. It didn't make sense. We had been breathing the same air as the Inks, and we weren't infected. Why was Tim infected if he had stayed in the same room as the Inks? Unless... the Inks attacked Tim...

I looked back at him.

"Did anything happen while you were in there?" I asked softly.

Tim rolled his eyes, clearly frustrated that I was asking too many questions. "It just tried to attack me, and I fought back!"

Right. Of course, I knew that. I put up a fake smile and started nodding my head.

"Right...." I trailed off. "What did you do to get those consequences?"

Tim huffed. "For beating a guard to try finding you, so that the guards won't find you and torture you." He glared at me through his red eyes.

"I-I'm so sorry." I apologized. It was my fault Tim was hurt. It was my fault that Tim was here, now, in front of me with black veins under his eye. It was all my fault.

"But how did you know about the torture?" I asked Tim, completely puzzled about how he knew about it.

Tim shrugged. "Jack told me. He found my room and started to talk to me, telling me to do what the guards told me to do if I didn't want to die. It was the night before they transported us here. He told me all about it if you disobeyed their orders."

I slowly stood up and looked over at Cody and Derek.

"What should we do now?" I asked them. "He seems completely normal."

Cody bit his lip. "Well, not the other students." 

I turned around in a complete circle to see that everyone had retreated to their tables, keeping an eye on us. I sighed. It was going to take a lot of convincing to do.

"He's fine, guys!" I shouted at them. They just stared back at me blankly. 

"Look, if you're worried about the infection spreading, we were trapped in this room with those Inks." I pointed at them in the middle of the room, screaming and trying to push through the bars.

"We have been breathing in the same air as them, and breathing the same air with Tim won't hurt at all." I continued, looking at the students who seemed clearly unconvinced.

"What if he turns into one, and then what?" One of the students shouted back.

I turned towards Tim. "Did they do anything to you after you fought with the Ink?" 

Tim shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I was in a haze and barely conscious, but they did spray me with a white smoke or something."

I nodded. "That must have been a way to control the infection," I noted.

I turned towards the students who seemed to be farther away from me now. "He's been treated!" I shouted at them. 

A few students hesitantly stepped forward. I looked at Cody and Derek.

"We will be fine. We're almost close to figuring out the cure!" I energetically said to them.

Derek furrowed his eyebrows. "A fog?" He questioned.