Age of zombies

[70] Ethan

We sat there in silence for a few moments, just catching our breath. The chaos had faded, the distant explosion still flickering in the night sky, and for the first time in what felt like hours, there was a strange, fleeting sense of calm. I leaned back against the railing, closing my eyes for a second, letting the exhaustion sink in.

Then Ethan started laughing, that high-pitched, nerdy chuckle that always came out when he was trying to lighten the mood. I opened my eyes, glancing over at him, confused but smiling a bit despite myself.

"Man," Ethan started, still chuckling, "you remember JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? Part 2? When Caesar sacrificed himself to save Joseph?"

I blinked, taken off guard. "Yeah, I remember. Why the hell are you bringing that up now?"

Ethan set down his glasses carefully, wiping the sweat from his forehead before looking at me with an intensity that made my gut twist. Slowly, almost too casually, he lifted his shirt. My heart stopped.

There, on his side, just above his ribs, was a bite mark. Dark and angry, the skin around it already turning a sickly gray. My stomach dropped, and for a second, I couldn't breathe.

No. No, no, no.

"This... this isn't real," I muttered, shaking my head in denial. "This can't be real."

Ethan gave me a sad smile, the humor fading from his face. "Jake," he said softly, his voice calm, too calm. "It's real. I got bit during the fight, and I didn't want to say anything because... well, fuck, man, I didn't want to believe it either."

I stared at him, my throat tightening. "You're joking. Right? You have to be fking joking, Ethan. This... this isn't happening."

He shook his head, still smiling, but there was no joy behind it. "I wish I was, man. But I can already feel it. The infection... it's spreading. I don't have much time."

My heart pounded in my chest, my mind racing as I struggled to make sense of it all. "No," I said again, my voice shaky. "No, we can fix this. There's medicine, right? There's something we can do."

"Jake," Ethan interrupted, his voice firmer now. "There's nothing you can do. I'm... I'm gonna turn."

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. All I could see was the bite mark on his side, the ugly, festering wound that meant one thing and one thing only: Ethan was dying, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

He laid back against the railing, wincing a little as he got comfortable. "You know," he said, his voice quieter now, "you're the best friend I ever had."

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, my chest tightening with grief. "Don't say that," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Don't fking say that like it's goodbye."

Ethan chuckled softly. "It is goodbye, Jake. I don't... I don't want to wander around as one of those things. Please... you have to... you have to end it before I turn."

I shook my head furiously, the tears streaming down my face now. "No. No, I can't. I can't do that. You're my best friend, Ethan. I can't fucking kill you."

"Please," he begged, his voice trembling now, fear creeping into his usually calm demeanor. "I don't want to die, Jake. But I can't... I can't become one of them. I don't want to hurt anyone. Please. You have to do it."

I sobbed, unable to control it anymore. The weight of the moment crashed down on me, and I felt like I was suffocating. My hands were shaking as I reached for him, gripping his arm, holding on as if I could somehow keep him here, keep him alive.

"I can't do this," I cried, my voice barely above a whisper. "I can't... Ethan, I can't."

Ethan took a deep, shuddering breath, his face pale now, his body already beginning to weaken. "You have to, Jake. Please. If the world ever goes back to normal... delete my browser history, okay?"

I let out a half-sob, half-laugh at that, my tears blurring my vision. "You fking nerd," I muttered, shaking my head. "Even now, you're thinking about your goddamn browser history."

He grinned weakly. "I know, I'm an idiot. But seriously... do it, man. Do it before it's too late."

I looked at him, my heart breaking into a million pieces. His body was trembling now, his breaths coming in shallow gasps. He didn't have much time left.

I reached for my katana, my hands shaking so badly I could barely grip the hilt. I stood over him, tears streaming down my face as I looked into the eyes of my best friend.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice cracking. "I'm so fking sorry, Ethan."

He smiled up at me, that same goofy, awkward grin I'd seen a million times before. "It's okay, Jake. You're doing the right thing."

I closed my eyes, trying to steel myself for what I had to do. My hands tightened around the katana, the weight of it feeling heavier than ever before.

"Do it," Ethan whispered, his voice barely audible now. "Please... just do it."

With a roar that came from somewhere deep inside me, I swung the katana down, the blade slicing cleanly through the air. I didn't feel it connect—I didn't want to. I couldn't bring myself to look.

When I opened my eyes, Ethan was gone.

I collapsed to my knees beside his body, the sobs wracking my entire frame. I dropped the katana, the blood-stained blade clattering to the ground beside me as I wept, my body shaking with the force of my grief.

My best friend was dead.

The world around me felt like it had stopped, the distant sounds of chaos and destruction fading into the background. All I could hear was the sound of my own breathing, my own sobs echoing in the empty night.

I had done it. I had killed my best friend.

Q: Can we get an F in chat for Ethan?