Behind You

III

RESEARCH PATIENT 302 HAS BREACHED CONTAINMENT

RESEARCH PATIENT 302 HAS BREACHED CONTAINMENT

RESEARCH PATIENT 302 HAS BREACHED CONTAINMENT

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The air was heavy as they stared at each other. In only the headlights, Daya could see that these girls were not in good condition. They didn't seem infected, but they definitely weren't super healthy.

Neither of them moved, too frozen in fear. Daya took a shaky breath before opening the car door, stepping out into the cold night air. The girls' eyes followed every movement as she approached, studying her closely.

Daya stopped walking, still a few feet away from them. She opened her mouth to speak, until all the breath was knocked out of her body and she was pinned down to the dirt ground in one swift movement.

With a gasp for breath she stared up at the sight above her with wide eyes, a sharp knife pressing against the side of her neck. A one-eyed girl stared back at her, her expression panicked.

"W-Who are you?" She stuttered despite her efforts to sound strong as she held Daya down. "W-What are you after?"

Daya could feel the tip of the knife against her racing pulse. "I-I'm just passing through-" She tried to explain. "I swear I'm not infected I-I'm just trying to find someone-"

The girl kept her down, but Daya could tell she was thinking. The second girl approached, laying her hand on the one-eyed one's shoulder. "Let her go..." She whispered. "You're not strong enough to take her on anyways."

They were frozen for a minute before the girl sighed. She pulled the knife away and stood up, backing away from Daya. "I'm sorry..." She whispered. "We haven't seen another person in a long time..."

Daya shook slightly as she stood back up, trying to dust the dirt off of her clothes. She looked up at the two girls again, finding them still watching her. Their fear seemed to radiate off of their small frames. Despite that first greeting, they couldn't be much of a threat. "...I'm Daya." She introduced herself, still keeping the space between them. "What are you two doing out here at night? Don't you have somewhere to go?"

The two girls shared a look before the one who had made the first attack spoke again. "I'm Bosco..." She said quietly. "And that's my sister, Irene. We used to have somewhere but...um..."

"I got infected." Irene said quietly. "They threw us out. Even when the infection was stopped..."

That caught Daya's attention. She perked up a bit, eyeing the spot where Irene's arm had once been. "You stopped the infection?"

"Through amputation." Bosco said hesitantly. "It was the only thing I could think of. After that, the infection wasn't able to spread to the rest of her body. But we weren't believed by the refuge we came from."

There was a new spark of hope ignited in Daya. She didn't want to believe Crystal was infected, but if she was, then there was still hope to get rid of it and save her. She didn't have to be so far gone. "Interesting..." She whispered, thoughts racing through her head.

They stood in silence until there was a loud groan that broke through the air. Each girl froze, their eyes widening in fear. It was too dark to see the space around them, but the sound was close. Too close for comfort.

Daya turned to get back in the truck, looking over her shoulder at Bosco and Irene who stood closer together. "You should um...get in." She said. "It's not good to be out here alone like this."

Bosco was hesitant. "W-We don't know you..." She said. "How am I supposed to know you won't hurt us?"

"Because if I was going to, I already would have." Daya shrugged. She had no need to hurt them. She knew one of the most important rules was to never leave someone behind. And these girls had already been left behind.