The Plague

Chapter Four

Edith POV:

This particular day, I felt extremely tired. My eyes wandered to the unoccupied cots in the room, but against my better judgement, my feet started moving towards the piece of furniture slowly. I knew I shouldn't take a nap when so much still needed to be done, but a part of me argued against the reasonable part of my brain, saying I deserved this break, I needed this break. I hesitated once, then collapsed onto the cot and slept peacefully for the first time in days, with a light blanket wrapped around my body, hugging me tightly.

When I opened my eyes again, I heard voices. James, Elizabeth, Winnie, and Father, I realized. This was puzzling. They would have woken me up if the family needed to have a conversation. Either way, I was glad to snag a few extra minutes in bed, and I was about to drift off into sleep again until I heard something quite concerning.

"Father, we can't leave Edith here to die! We are her family, we can't just abandon her!"

"Enough! She is nothing but a girl. Surely sitting beside her on her deathbed would not be more important than risking your own safety?" This voice belonged to Father. I felt hurt that he only thought of me as a girl, not a daughter or anything of value, but in the end, I knew Father only really cared for his son, James, and Mother. The rest of us were just disposable creatures. However, what did he mean by deathbed?

"She may be a girl, but she is still my sister," James argued. "Right, Elizabeth? Winnie?" I could practically feel the tension in the air. It was so thick that I felt that it could have been cut with a butter knife. After what seemed like an eternity, Winnie spoke.

"James, you have to understand this. Edith is a lost cause. She has the Plague, and I don't want you to die either. I lost Mother and soon, Edith, and I don't want to lose you, either." Winnie finished with a hint of sadness, and I felt like my heart jumped out of my chest and burst into two. The Plague? I have the Plague?

Reluctantly, I heard James sigh. "Fine. I'll meet everyone outside." Then, I heard the stomping of feet and boots finally fall silent, and I sat up in bed only to have a surprised looking James standing above my face.