Beside the Dying Fire

Cameron's POV

It was a shame to see what happened to Nate, but I still had to keep watch more often to cover for his loss. I stood in the patrol booth with nothing but a fire based in an oil drum to keep me warm. I stood there, each exhalation being visible to the naked eye. As I stood there shivering, my watch began beeping. The digital numbers read, "12:00 AM". It was Christmas morning. I leaned over to the counter in the booth. I prepared for this moment by simply bringing a can of soda. A Diet Coke was my way of celebrating this holiday. I popped the tab off, creating a subtle bang that echoed in the booth. I immediately took a swig of the expired soft drink. It's stale taste stained my mouth, but I still enjoyed it.

Bang!

As a distant gunshot rang out, I ran out of the booth and into the pouring snow to look around. I held my soda can with my right hand whilst my left pulled out a pistol.

Bang!

This time, I had the building in sight. I saw a flash inside of a room in the nearest apartment building. I dropped the soda can into the snow and took off running to the origin of the gunshot.

I finally reached the apartment complex and burst through the lobby doors. Based on what I had seen, I had to go to the 8th floor. Rather than taking the dreadful stairs, I frantically and repetitively pressed the elevator call button. The elevator car arrived after a seemingly long wait and I jumped right in. I hit '8' and I began moving upward very slowly. The doors glided open to the floor where I saw Savannah outside of a room, looking very shocked. I walked over to her. She looked up at me, but her expression didn't change. She looked back down at the floor.

"I told everyone else who came to see what happened to go back into their rooms. I told them that everything was under control," a few tears streamed down her face. "That was a lie. It wasn't under control."

As she sat against the wall, I went into the room. Sree was pacing the floor and Laila sat miserably on the couch. Sarah lay on the ground, covering her face with her hands. Hannah and Sydney were sat against the walls, but I saw the problem. Both of them had gunshots through their skulls.

"Hannah was bitten," Sarah said without removing her hands. "Sydney killed her, then herself."

"Are you guys okay?" I asked her.

She removed her hands and stood up with rage.

"DO YOU THINK WE'D BE OKAY?! I WANTED TO SPEND THIS CHRISTMAS WITH KAI, DANNY, AND SAVANNAH! NOT WATCHING SOME SUICIDE FESTIVAL!" she screamed at me, crying much like Savannah was.

"Well, what I meant was can I go back to the guard station or do you need me here?"

"I'm going with you," Savannah came into the room. "You shouldn't have to spend today alone."

She looked at Sarah.

"Sure, whatever," Sarah agreed to come along.

After we trudged through the snow, we arrived back at the kiosk. Just outside, I leaned over to pick my soda can up from where I had left it, but nothing but a bit of cola-stained snow lay there. That's when I looked into the window of the booth, which was tinted white from the snow. The fire from inside cast a shadow of a figure... drinking my beverage!

I burst the door open, pistol in hand. However I put it away upon seeing who it was.

"Woah there, Cam!" Kai yelled.

"That's my soda," I grunted at him.

He tossed me the nearly empty can and I rolled my eyes at him. He had blood on him, lots of it. He seemed to be limping. Then, Savannah and Sarah walked in. The 2 twins stared at each other with wide eyes upon seeing each other.

"S-Sarah," Kai walked towards her to embrace her.

Before Kai reached her, she slapped him across the mouth so hard that he fell into the snow.

"WHERE WERE YOU?!" she screamed at him.

"I w-was looking for you," he answered.

"FOR 3 DAYS?!"

"I had to-"

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED WITHOUT YOU HERE?! 3 GOOD PEOPLE DIED IN THE LAST 24 HOURS! HANNAH WAS BITTEN, SYDNEY KILLED HERSELF, AND HENRY KILLED NATE!"

"Why would he kill Nate?"

"Because she left him behind and he wanted revenge. Nate was trying to stop him, so Henry killed him," Savannah explained.

"YOU WEREN'T THERE! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!" Sarah yelled at Savannah.

Savannah threw her hands up in disbelief.

"Nate tried to stop me, too. I didn't think he was that-"

"SO IT'S OKAY THAT HE DIED?! HE LOST HIS TWIN SISTER AND DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT! EVEN AFTER HE GOT THE NEWS, HE STILL HELPED US!" Sarah took a moment to catch her breath. "I guess Nate and I have one thing in common then..."

She leaned in very close to Kai who still lay on the ground.

"...Neither of us have a twin."

She pushed his head backwards and walked out into the snow. She began strolling down, presumably to her home. That's when Kai got up and limped out of the shelter to yell at her.

"IF YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING BACK TO THE HOUSE I GOT FROM MY DEAD SISTER, THEN YOU, SARAH, MUST BE THE DUMBEST PERSON I KNOW!"

She looked back at him in disgust before taking off in another direction, most likely to the apartment that was newly vacant due to Sydney's death.

I looked back at Kai. He sat against that wall of the booth, holding back tears.

"Kai, why are you bleeding?" I asked.

"Gunshot."

Savannah came out and offered Kai her hand up. He accepted and was pulled to his feet.

"C'mon, let's get you home," she embraced him. She supported him with his wound as the 2 of them stepped around Sarah's tracks and went home.

I went back into the booth. I was pretty upset about Kai drinking my soda, but at least I still had this warm fire to drown out the sorrows of what every day held.