Sightless

She Didn't Deserve That

The scenery slowly changed. The fields became hills and the streams became rivers. For a while we rode in silence, enjoying the change of landscape. Norah decided it was too quiet and began singing, "Twinkle, twinkle little tar, how I wonder wonder are. Up apup the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle little tar, how I wonder wonder are." She carried on like this for quite some time, until Ashton told her to be quiet. She glared at him. "You be quiet." Kyle laughed. "You tell him." Ashton grunted and rolled his eyes. "No, seriously, shut up. We're reaching a forest and I don't know if it's safe or not."

I glanced up. Sure enough, a large, dimly lit forest loomed ahead. I stared at the trees. For a second I could have sworn that I saw a shadowy figure dart between the trees, but I shrugged it off. If anything, it would be an animal or something. We entered the forest and I immediately noticed a difference. It was deathly silent. Whereas before there had at least been insect noises and the occasional bird, there was nothing now. The silence was oppressive; almost as if I was being sealed in my own tomb. For a few minutes, all was quiet except for our wheels spinning over the forest floor.

Kyle's voice broke through the silence. "Go! Go! Go! Move fast, now." I glanced behind me to see a large group of Sightless pouring out of the gloom. So that's what I saw. I turned around and pedaled harder than I ever had in my whole life. Without warning I was launched into the air. I hit the ground exceptionally hard and lay there stunned. I shook myself off and got up. Miraculously, I wasn't injured, unless you count a few cuts and bruises. I righted my bike, only then did I realize that the child seat was empty.

I hurriedly glanced around, searching desperately. Everyone else had already left me. I suppose that they hadn't realized that I had fallen. I heard a scream behind me and I whirled around. Norah was being chased by a female sightless; it was gaining. I pulled my glock out of my bag, carefully took aim and squeezed off three shots. The first missed terribly and embedded itself into the trunk of a tree; the other two found their mark.

The sightless was thrown backwards from the force of the bullets and hit the ground with a thud. It snatched at Norah as it fell. I swept her up and plunked her down into the child seat. My bike hadn't sustained any damage other than a few nicks. By now, the other sightless were almost upon us. I could hear their insane giggles and their bestial yells. I sped off, not bothering to strap Norah in. "Hold on, Norah!" I yelled.

We rode at top speed until we reached the edge of the forest. We slowed a little and I kept my eyes out for my team. I found them parked on the top of a hill. I stopped and lifted Norah down. Reina, Evan and Kyle hurried over. "We were so worried!" "We thought you'd been eaten or something!" "I'm so sorry that we left you behind!" I acknowledged them and was about to reply when I felt a tug on my shirt. I looked down. Norah was standing beside me. "Evva, look. My neck hurts." I crouched down by her and inspected where she pointed. There was a small cut, no longer than my pinkie nail. Yet, it was as dangerous as a saber tooth tiger that hadn't eaten for three days. I held back a gasp. The skin around the cut was discolored; a greenish blue. The sightless had infected her.

I called Evan over. "You're the medic. Look at this." His face paled when he saw it. He pulled me aside and hugged me. He whispered, "I'm so, so sorry. Really I am, if the cut were on an appendage, I could help her. But we can't amputate her neck. There's nothing we can do." I sagged in his arms; feeling faint. "Can I have a Band-Aid?" Norah called. I ignored her. "What am I supposed to do?" I whispered. Evan held me at arm's length and looked me eye to eye. "I think you know what has to be done. The transformation is very painful and you don't want her to suffer, do you?" I shook my head and turned away.

Evan pulled out a Band-aid and handed it to Norah, a big smile plastered on his face. "There you go!" She ran off to roll down the hill and his smile faded. "How much time does she have?" I asked tentatively. "About twenty minutes, given the location of the infection." I hurried past him. I had already wasted ten minutes bike riding. She only had ten minutes left...

I ran down the hill where I found Norah rolling in the tall grass. I called her over and put on a fake smile. "Do you want to play a game?" I asked in a cheerful voice. "Eye spy!" She exclaimed. It was her favorite game. I swept her up into a tight hug, burying my nose in her warm, golden hair. She hugged back and then squirmed trying to escape. I laughed, my voice slightly choked. "Okay, I spy something...red" She ran off, looking. I quietly pulled out my gun. I loaded it and cocked it, then placed it in my back pocket. Norah came running back holding a red flower. "Is it this?" she asked. "No. Let's go up the hill and see if you can find it up there." She placed the flower in my hair and sped off. "Last one there's a rotten egg!" She called back.

I followed her. When I reached the top, she was standing there, back to me. Her hair blew gently in the breeze, flowing gracefully behind her. I pulled out the gun and took aim. I looked at her one last time. She was so beautiful, so young. She didn't deserve this. I wanted to throw the gun away and run to her, hug her, kiss her, anything. But I had to do this. "Goodbye Norah. God forgive me." I whispered, and pulled the trigger.