VIRUS

EIGHT

Chapter Eight: What's to Come?

The wind was sharp and cold on the rooftop, slicing through the cracks in the tents and making it hard to sleep. Dawn tossed and turned beside Holden, her mind racing despite her exhaustion. She could feel his warmth next to her, but it did little to settle the storm inside her.

Officer Hayes' death had changed everything. The fragile sense of security the rooftop had provided now felt like a distant memory. Every shadow seemed to carry a new threat, every sound echoed with the promise of danger. They were living on borrowed time. Dawn knew it, even if no one else was ready to admit it.

She sat up, carefully peeling herself away from Holden's sleeping form. His arm twitched as she moved, but he didn't wake. Dawn silently slipped out of the tent, shivering as the cool night air hit her. She wrapped her arms around herself and wandered toward the edge of the roof, needing a moment of solitude.

The city below was a wasteland, eerily quiet save for the occasional distant moan of the undead. Dawn's heart ached as she stared out at the once-bustling streets, now devoid of life. It was hard to imagine a world before this, a world where her biggest worry had been homework or trying to fit in at school. Everything seemed so trivial now.

She barely heard the soft footsteps behind her until Karasi spoke.

"Can't sleep either?"

Dawn glanced over her shoulder, surprised to see Karasi standing there. Her arms were crossed, her posture tense, but her eyes carried a softness Dawn wasn't used to seeing from the cheerleader. Karasi had always exuded confidence and control, even in this apocalyptic nightmare, but tonight she looked as lost as Dawn felt.

"No," Dawn replied quietly, turning back to look at the city. "Everything feels different now."

Karasi sighed, stepping closer until she was beside Dawn, their gazes both fixed on the ruined skyline. "It's never going to be the same again, is it?"

Dawn shook her head, hugging herself tighter. "No, I don't think it will."

They stood in silence for a while, the wind tugging at their hair, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Dawn had never imagined that she and Karasi would find common ground like this. Back in school, they had been worlds apart—Dawn the rule-following goody-two-shoes, Karasi the popular, carefree cheerleader. But now, none of that mattered. Survival didn't care about who you were before.

"I've been thinking about Hayes," Karasi said after a long pause, her voice low, almost hesitant. "What she did for us... it wasn't just a choice. It was a sacrifice."

Dawn swallowed hard, her chest tightening at the memory. "She didn't have to save us."

"No, she didn't," Karasi agreed. "But she did. And now, we're here... and she's not."

Dawn felt the weight of those words settle over her. She had been struggling with the same thoughts—why had Hayes chosen to save them? What made them worth it? The guilt gnawed at her, and she knew it was eating away at Karasi too, though neither of them had spoken about it until now.

"It's not fair," Dawn whispered, her voice breaking. "She didn't deserve to die like that."

Karasi let out a bitter laugh. "None of this is fair, Dawn. We're all just trying to survive one day at a time."

Dawn turned to face Karasi, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I don't know if I can keep doing this. Watching people die, feeling helpless. It's too much."

For a moment, Karasi didn't respond. Her dark eyes met Dawn's, and there was something there—something raw, something real. The mask Karasi wore, the one that had always made her seem untouchable, slipped just a little.

"We don't have a choice," Karasi said quietly, her voice softening. "But that doesn't mean we have to do it alone."

Dawn blinked, taken aback by the vulnerability in Karasi's words. This wasn't the girl she had always known—the confident, untouchable queen of the school. This was someone who was just as scared and uncertain as she was. In that moment, Dawn saw Karasi for what she was—a survivor, like the rest of them.

"Thank you," Dawn whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind.

Karasi gave her a small, sad smile, the corners of her lips barely lifting. "Don't mention it."

Before either of them could say anything else, the door to the rooftop swung open with a loud creak. Both girls turned to see Isabel rushing out, her short brown hair a mess, and her glasses crooked on her nose. She looked frantic, her eyes wide with panic.

"You guys need to come inside, now!" Isabel's voice was sharp with fear. "Something's happening. It's Ryland—he's sick."

Dawn's heart dropped into her stomach. "What? Sick how?"

"I don't know!" Isabel's voice cracked as she spoke. "He's burning up, and he can barely move. He says he's fine, but he's not."

Karasi's face hardened, her earlier softness vanishing in an instant. "Shit."

Dawn exchanged a worried glance with Karasi before sprinting back toward the tents, her heart racing. When they reached Ryland and Isabel's tent, the scene was worse than she had imagined.

Ryland was lying on the ground, drenched in sweat, his face pale and his lips dry and cracked. He was shaking, his large frame trembling with fever, but he was trying to brush it off, waving Isabel away with a weak hand.

"I'm fine," he muttered, his voice hoarse. "It's just a cold or something. I'll be good by morning."

"Ryland, you're burning up," Isabel said, her voice barely holding back panic as she kneeled beside him. "This isn't just a cold."

Dawn felt her stomach twist as she knelt beside Ryland, placing a hand on his forehead. He was burning with fever, his skin slick with sweat. This wasn't normal. Something was wrong.

"What happened?" Dawn asked, her voice thick with worry. "When did he start feeling like this?"

"This morning," Isabel whispered, her hands trembling. "He said it was nothing, just a headache. But it's gotten worse all day. I thought maybe he was just tired, but now..."

Dawn's mind raced, her thoughts a blur of fear and confusion. Could this be an infection? Had Ryland been bitten, and they just hadn't noticed? No, that couldn't be it. They had all been checked for bites when they first arrived on the rooftop. But what if...

"What do we do?" Isabel's voice cut through Dawn's thoughts, her eyes wide with desperation.

Dawn looked at Karasi, who was staring down at Ryland with a dark, unreadable expression. The cheerleader had always been tough, but now, she looked like she was fighting her own internal battle, trying to keep it together.

"We have to get him help," Dawn said finally, her voice shaking. "But we can't stay here. If this is something contagious—"

"We can't risk it," Karasi interrupted, her tone hard. "We can't let him stay here if he's infected."

Isabel's eyes filled with tears. "But he's not infected! He's just sick. He'll get better, I know it!"

"We don't know that, Isabel," Karasi said quietly, but firmly. "And if he's not, we're all in danger."

Dawn swallowed the lump in her throat, her heart aching at the thought of what they might have to do. Ryland was one of them. He had been with them through everything, and now he was sick, vulnerable. But Karasi was right. If they didn't figure this out soon, it could spell the end for all of them.

But as Dawn looked down at Ryland, something stirred inside her—a feeling, an instinct. She knew they couldn't abandon him. Not like this.

"We're not leaving him behind," Dawn said, her voice firm. "We'll figure this out. There has to be something we can do."

Karasi hesitated, her eyes narrowing as if weighing Dawn's words. Finally, she gave a curt nod. "Fine. But if he gets worse..."

Dawn nodded, though her heart was pounding. She didn't know what they were going to do, but one thing was certain: the world outside wasn't going to wait for them to figure it out.

They were running out of time.