Infectious

7~The Mission

- Emilia

Present Day

I sat on my bed in almost perfect silence. The quiet ticking of the clock was the only noise in that room.

Tick, tick, tick.

It was ticking away at my youth.

Tick, tick, tick.

It was ticking away the seconds before I had to go.

Tick, tick, tick.

It was ticking away towards my death.

I always hated that noise. I listened to it every night as I tossed and turned, trying to get sleep. The simple white clock became one of my worst enemies.

So, here I am: waiting for the officers to barge into my room and tell me it's time to leave. I've never been off on my own like this. I know I'll have the other soldiers but they'll be following my command and I've never held this sort of power before.

I have everyone's lives in my two pale hands.

Footsteps pounded down the hall and my heart sped up. This was it.

My door slowly opened and my mother stuck her face in.

"Come on, Emilia. They want you to come now." She said softly. I nodded and stumbled to my feet. I followed my mother down the hall and saw her fidgety hands.

"It's alright." I said awkwardly, giving her a small smile. I've never really comforted my mother before. I mean, I've only seen her cry once. It was when this whole thing happened. We weren't hit directly by the infection, but the North-East states were hit hard. Her parents, my grandparents, were living up in Maine.

They didn't make it.

When she got the phone call from my cousins, she broke down. I couldn't do much to calm her down. I guess I was too much of a colleague than a daughter.

We got to the control room and I saw a group of soldiers in dark blue uniforms like my own. They less like a sophisticated group of fighters and more like a ragtag team.

"This is your team, Miss Pantano. We have Rugger, the main shot. Next, there's Riles and Willow, the scouters. Finally, there's Hannan. This will be his first time in combat. These soldiers will follow your every command and will be willing to lay down their lives for the good of the mission." A man explained. I saw Hannan fidget a bit at the last sentence.

Rugger gave me a quick nod of respect. His light brown hair was pulled under a navy blue cap, same as Hannan. I gave him a small smile back and quickly looked away.

Did he know I was leading them to their deaths?

Riles and Willow looked like complete opposites. Riles had bleach blonde hair and a light, happy face. Willow, on the other hand, had dark brown hair that matched her skin. She looked at me sourly, but I really didn't blame her.

"When are we leaving?" I asked quietly. The man checked his watch for a moment and gave a small 'humph'.

"It's time already. If anything, you're already late. Rugger will show you all to the boarding jet." He explained. My stomach tossed and turned as I walked with the others out of the room.

As we got out of earshot, Hannan grabbed my arm.

"Please tell me you know what you're doing." He pleaded. I looked into his deep caramel eyes and hesitated for a few seconds.

"I've been out in action before. Don't worry." I replied. Hannan didn't look convinced but he turned away. Rugger stopped suddenly and I almost crashed into his back.