The Virus

Chapter 2

Max swiftly sprints out of the door, May following close behind. They meet the rest of the group near the entrance. Emily stands by the window, her face distorted by anxiety. Max instinctively pulls out his Beretta M9 and prepares himself for a fight.
"We go out the back. Quietly", Emily commands. Max puts his M9 back in his attached pocket and leads the way to the back entrance. Everyone quietly sneaks behind him, Emily being at the very back. They make it to the back and stealthily make their way around the herd of the infected. Once far enough, Emily and Max switch places, Emily picking up her role as the leader and Max picking up his role as the protector. The team makes their way through a big open field while the sun sets.
They've been walking for three hours now.
"Are we lost?", asks Keith.
"Of course not", answers Emily.
"Are we almost there?", asks Keith.
"Keith, please", Emily loses her patience fast.
Keith buckles down instantly, subconsciously keeping distance between him and Emily. May walks beside him and places a hand on his shoulder. She gives him a comforting smile and he smiles back in appreciation. Victor casts a nervous glance at Emily. After assessing the situation and further analyzing Emily's body language, Max finally decides to step it. He walks up to Emily and peaks over her shoulder onto the map for a while.
"What is it, Max?" Emily says, annoyance clear in her voice.
"We passed that forest about half an hour ago. We could go to the bigger hut in the next forest, but considering how tired everyone is, it would be best to rest at the lodge. You and I can deal with all of the other necessities later", Max suggests nonchalantly. Emily silently stares at the map while deep in thought, until she finally comes to a stop.
"You make a fair point", she mumbles underneath her breath. Max tries his best to prevent his prideful smirk from making itself known. Emily sighs with exhaustion.
"We better get going then."
Emily turns around and starts walking towards the lodge in the nearby forest. The rest of the group drag along while Max assumes his position at the back.

Just as Max predicted, it took about 30 minutes to arrive at the pathway into the forest and another 17 minutes to arrive at the lodge. Keith runs in immediately, launches himself on the couch and sighs in relief. Victor starts complaining about Keith hogging the couch while May and Shawn just sit down on the wooden floor. Emily makes her way to the smallest room which. Max ignores the kids and goes to check on Emily. She has been acting more anxious than usual, which is really saying something. She's also usually a lot better at masking her anxiety. The way she lashed out at Keith is concerning.
It doesn't take long before Max finds himself standing by the doorframe of the walk in closet.
"Hey Em. How are you holding up?"
Emily drops whatever she was holding in shock at hearing Max's voice.
"Didn't hear me come in? You usually know exactly who's approaching just by hearing their footsteps."
"Max, I am not in the mood."
"Is it...that time of the month?"
"What? No!" Emily exclaims in bewilderment.
"You can't blame me for thinking that with your heightened emotions."
"Max. Just leave me be."
"You almost snapped at Keith."
"Max, leave!" Emily picks up a piece of paper from the floor.
"You're keeping something to yourself again, aren't you? Emily, we've talked about this before. I'm not a kid. I'm 21 for crying out loud! You made me second in command for a reason, didn't you? You can trust me. Whatever you're going through, you don't have to go through it alone. I'm here for you."
"Max, I am a little over two times your age. Besides, you wouldn't understand."
Max scoffs. "Try me."
Emily doesn't answer. She looks down on the paper she picked up. Max shifts slowly to get a better angle. The paper appears to be a photo. The only person Max can see is Victor. The rest of the photo is covered by Emily.
"We all have family members and friends that we miss and/or worry about Emily."
"I know Max."
"If that's not what's bothering you, then what is?" Max is starting to sound desperate.
"I really don't want to talk about it right now Max."
Emily turns towards Max ever so slightly. She looks exhausted and her voice breaks a bit as she speaks. Max is taken aback by how broken Emily looks. He opens his mouth to say something, but his throat has suddenly run dry. He nods in response instead. He makes his way out of the room, but then decides to stop at the door.
"Is there anything I can do? We could just sit in silence if you need company," Max offers quietly. Emily stays eerily still for a few seconds. She eventually nods. It's a very small and barely noticeable nod. Max lets go of the door handle and leans against the nearby wall.
The two adults stand in silence for a while. Emily sighs and turns towards Max.
"Thank you Max."
"I meant it when I said that I'm here for you."
There's a knock on the door. Emily puts the picture down on the windowsill before giving permission for whoever is behind the door to enter. Victor peaks in, his eyes wide with childish wonder.
"Hey mom, hey Max. How are you doing?"
"We're fine. Is there anything that you need?" Emily replies before Max.
"I just miss your company," Victor says with a shoulder shrug.
Emily smiles her iconic warm smile that she reserves for Victor and only Victor. The two of them meet in the middle of the room and hug each other. Max awkwardly watches them while debating whether he should leave or not. That's when he remembers: May is alone with Shawn.
Max bolts out of the room and enters the living room at the entrance within seconds. May and Shawn are still sitting on the couch. May is on the far left side while Shawn is on the far right side. Both of their attention has been averted to Max.
"Hey Max! How is Emily doing?" May cheerfully greets her brother.
"Probably a lot better now that Victor is with her," Shawn responds even though no one asked him.
"What are the two of you up to?" Max asks May.
"Can't we ever hang out without you being suspicious about what we're doing?" Shawn quickly gets annoyed and defensive.
"Hey, why don't we play a game? This house has a monopoly board, right? Or maybe snakes and ladders?" May quickly tries to calm both boys down. To defuse the boom before it has even started ticking, if you will. Normally, Max would never fall for such an obvious diversion, but May knows him too well. She mentioned his favorite game, the only one that he can play with others without starting a fight. She also mentioned her own favorite game, the one that brings back so many happy memories from when it was just the two of them and their-
"Sounds good to me," Max says firmly. He will not think about that. Not right now. Not while there are others around. Maybe later, when he goes on a solo mission, he can allow himself to finish that thought and the string of thoughts that will follow. Judging from the odd look that May gives him, she must have noticed the forceful undertone in his voice. Damn it! Why can she see right through him so well!?
"I guess we have some time for a quick round of Monopoly," Shawn says nonchalantly.
"No you do not," Emily suddenly enters the hallway.
You'd think that at least one of the three people in the living room would have heard her, considering how her treading is the only one that they can always correctly identify. Emily stands proud and tall. She's definitely back to being her usual self. Good. They need her leadership.
"Max, Shawn, you're with me. We're going to go get more supplies. May, you stay here and take care of Victor and Keith," Emily commands.
The group all salute and chant an affirmation. Max and Shawn empty their bags of their clothes and bring nothing but two weapons each. They meet up with Emily just outside the door.
"You remember the rules. If you even think about starting a petty argument while we're scavenging, there will be more consequences than potentially getting caught by the infected."
Shawn and Max both nod in unison. Emily gives them both a warning glance.
"We won't start fighting this time," Max confirms out loud.
"You said the same thing last time," Emily mutters underneath her breath. She swings her bag over her shoulders and gestures for the boys to follow her.