BITTEN

Chapter Eight

There was silence for a second or two, as we all observed each other.

"Roman," I broke the silence, "you have a daughter too. You'll feel guilty for the rest of your life if you kill Alex."

I watched him shoot the air angrily.

"The next time I pull this trigger again," he spoke, "I'll be aiming for her heart."

"John, I don't wanna die." Alex wailed.

Slowly, I dragged my feet closer to the laptop. I didn't know where to start from.

"I'm not asking for much." Roman smirked, "Just help me with the password. You know your father very well, you should be able to do that."

It clearly seemed like my dad couldn't trust him with such information, but with Alex's life on the line, I didn't really have a choice other than to help him.

"If I help you, promise me you're going to spare her life." I said.

"I swear with the life of my daughter." he replied.

I looked at the laptop, without the slightest of ideas on what the password was.

"Let's get this over with. You're wasting my time." he grumbled.

I watched him pull the trigger, which left Alex on the floor, with a bleeding shoulder. She moaned in pain.

"John, her life lies in your hands." said Roman, while he pointed the gun at Alex with more intent.
He was ready to send her to her grave.

I felt my pores, sweating. In a bid to save Alex, I tried different words, but the stupid machine kept on showing access denied.
I closed my eyes, knowing fully well that any moment from now, I could lose Alex. That was when I was sent down memory lane.

Flashback

It was my parents' wedding anniversary, and we all celebrated like everything was okay. It wasn't. My mom was still cheating on my dad, and my dad had no idea. He was blinded by trust.

"I hope mom has been a good to you." I told my dad.

"Why are you talking like that?" he said.

"Nothing. It's just that I don't want to see you get hurt." I answered, sincerely.

"Come here," he hugged me and whispered in my ear, "lemme tell you the secret of my life. The reason why I still exist is because for me, family comes first."

He stressed those three last words-  family comes first

Now

"Family comes first. That's it." I repeated under my breath.

In a haste to save Alex's life, I typed in those three last words. In a single click, the stupid machine granted me access. I exhaled in relief. I had always hated my past, but this time it was helpful.

Roman pointed the gun at me with a smile. "Gimme the machine, and I'll leave peacefully." he ordered.

"What are you going to do with it?" I asked eagerly.

"That's none of your business. Gimme the machine in exchange for her life."

Reluctantly, I handed over the laptop to him.

"I'll really miss all of you." He smirked.

I swear I wanted to kill him, but he was gone too soon. That made me wonder if I was ever going to have a chance.

I sat close to Alex, who laid on a bed which was inside the hatch. Isaac had managed to remove the bullet in her arm, close to her shoulder. It was really sad for me to see her get involved in all of this.

"Alex," I whispered into her ears, "I never wanted any of this to happen to you. I'm sorry I got you involved in this whole zombie issue."

"John," she replied, "you've done nothing wrong."

"I really miss my family so much." I uttered. I started to weep. I couldn't hold it back anymore.

"It's okay to cry for the people you love." She commiserated me.
I wept until I fell asleep on the cold bare floor.

I woke up the next morning, back to the reality of having no antivirus, and I could yet again face a death sentence. I stretched my hands and looked around. Alex was still sleeping. I found myself climbing my way out of the underground hatch. Nathan was already up and doing.

"You're finally awake." he said, giving me a hug.

"What are you doing?" I questioned him.

"Isaac and I have been planting flowers. Lemme show you."

We walked through the narrow bushy path while he was making jokes, trying to make me feel better. I managed to smile one or two times, until I heard a scream. 
"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I dunno."

We followed the sound, and it led us to the garden which Isaac and Nathan was making. The newly cultivated flowers were scattered all over the soil. Something happened not too long ago. Something not good. The scream came from a man, and he was right there;moaning on the grass. Unlike us, he was dark skinned, with dreads.

"My wife.. " He began.

" Your wife? What happened to her?" I asked worriedly.

"She was just abducted. She's also carrying my baby." the stranger responded.

"Did this happen right now?"

"Yes. Not too long ago."

"What about the person that was right here?"

"Yes," the stranger responded, "I did. He ran after the abductor."

"Omg! Isaac went after them." Nathan lamented.

"Let's go after them. Isaac may be in trouble." I insisted.

"You can't afford to do that. You have to hide in the hatch. Remember, you're still wanted dead." Nathan reminded me.

"If we go after the abductor now," I replied, "we'll be back soon."

In a haste, Nathan and I followed the trails left by the abductor. It led us all the way to a cave.

"Do you think we should go in? It's really dark in there." Nathan warned.

We went in, and just as Nathan predicted, it was really dark inside the cave.

"Don't worry. I always have my torch with me." I spoke, putting it on.

The first thing I saw when I switched it on, was the skull of a dead zombie. I turned away, and the skeletons of a dead zombie fell on me. I shuddered. We could see that we were in a cave of dead zombies. We hoped none were alive.

"This place is too creepy. We have to go back and find another route." Nathan spoke, frightened.
We started to hear the snarling of a zombie, or maybe so many zombies. I wasn't sure. It was then that my torch died on me. Fear gripped me, as I tried to find my way in the darkness. It seemed like we were being chased. We were panting heavily while we ran. I tripped, and fell down. I was injured. It was then I realized that Nathan was no longer with me.

I heard Nathan call out, "John, help me!"

It was echoing, so I couldn't exactly point a finger to where the sound was coming from. While I was still figuring out how to help Nathan, someone behind me hit me hard with a rock. I yelled in pain, and slowly, I became unconscious.