Sierra and I roll the squeaking cart to the fire station where everyone else is. I stare at the front left wheel turning around and around rapidly. It doesn't follow the other wheels and makes an annoying sound.
Sierra holds open the door for me and I push the cart through. "Thanks." I mutter under my breath as I go to the group of people.
"Just put the cart over there and come join us. We can unload it afterwards." Casey directs towards me as she points to the fireman pole in the corner. Sierra sits down and I push the cart over to the pole while taking in what has been my home since my parents died.
The walls are lined with red brick, some chipped from years of wear. There is a metal pole right in front of me and a black spiral staircase to my right. To the left of the pole is a big closet of food. It used to be where the fireman kept their coats. I turn around and start walking back to the group of 10 people I know and love and the 1 person I know and hate.
I sit down in the blue seat and start to analyze everyone around me when someone coughs, Elliot. Immediately, I go into panic mode and just stare at him. His grey hair is in curls and his brown eyes hold years of wisdom. He is the oldest in our small group and never fails to leave me in awe. He came to us when the last of his family, his granddaughter, died. Suddenly, everything seems to go in slow motion. Taylor runs to him. She has gotten the closest to him, despite the age difference. When Taylor's granddad died, the last in her family, Elliott opened his arms to her and she ran right in.
Her 8 year old hands touch his 80 year old hand and clutch it. She blows her shoulder-length, straight brown hair out of her face and whispers something to him that only he can hear. He smiles through his coughing fit and squeezes her hand. Her green eyes well up in tears and a drop runs down her rosy red cheek. Even though we know everyone is going to die, death still seems to sneak up on us.
Taylor sits on the ground and lays her head on Elliot once he stops coughing. He runs his hands through her hair. All eyes are redirected towards Casey.
"Ok. Let's review our duties." Casey says with her hands on her lap.
"Haha! Duties!" Zach spits out. I stare at him but in the corner of my eyes I notice everyone else showing a slight smile, even Elliott and Taylor. Casey cracks a smile in the corner of her lip and motions to Will.
"Today, Mark, John, and I did some further research." Everyone but me leans forward to see if a cure was finally found. I had given up hope already. "But," The once hopeful faces fall in defeat, "it will take some more time to figure out a cure."
With that, Will motions to Taylor and Elliott. "No one progressed to the next phase except what you saw earlier. Joy is at stage 3 still and Elliott is at stage 2, as we all witnessed earlier." Taylor states, showing off the wide range of vocabulary she learned from Elliott.
"Did any of the two groups find anybody still alive?" Elliott says, his voice hoarse.
Zach and Casey shook their heads. Jessica fiddles with Paul's fingers for a moment then both of them whisper, "no" as if they had just woken up and were still finding their voices.
"We'll that leaves is to unpack the food from the cart. Thanks Sierra and Frankie for going to the store and getting food." Casey says and stands up.
Everyone stands up except Joy, as she is at stage 3 and no one wants to push her to do work her last few days of life. Elliott gets up with Taylor at his side. They work their way over to the shopping cart. Elliott grabs a bag of food and slowly walks over to the closet. As soon as he puts the bag up I hear heavy breathing. "Hhhuhh huh hhuhh." Everyone stops working and turns to Joy. She has black curly hair that falls below her shoulders and eyes as green as grass. Her lips are pale pink and-she is not breathing heavy. My head whips around to where Taylor and Elliott stand. In only a few short minutes, Elliott has moved to stage 3 already. The plague waits for no one.
As my eyes slowly follow Elliot's body as it moves up and down, my mind races through everything that has happened. My brain can only say short sentences.
My mom died. Life went on. My dad died. I went to the fire station. The fifteen people accepted me. As I was. Through all the pain and suffering, we all stayed strong. There wasn't always 12. There were others in our group.
Taylor. The little girl who wouldn't lose hope. Alive.
Joanna: The one who brought a smile to even my life. Dead.
Will. Kind and caring. Alive.
Jessica and Paul. Newly weds. Alive.
Sierra. My best friend. Alive.
Hope. Patient as the moon. Dead.
Mark. Still figuring out life. Alive.
John. Just wants a friend. Alive.
Karla. The singer. Dead.
Joy. The 20 year old. Alive.
Casey. The leader. Alive.
Megan and Grace. Twin Sisters. Dead.
Camden. The smartest person I knew. Dead.
Zach. The last and final that came. Alive.
Me. Alive.
Sometimes I question rather it is worth living or not. It would be easier to just die but, I feel like there is a reason I'm still here.
I watch Elliott's breathing start to become normal. That could have been me.
We finish unpacking the food and drinks and I go into zombie mode. When everything is finished I head upstairs. After about 20 minutes when no one comes up, I decide to figure out what is wrong. I head down the steps and fall silent at the bottom when I see what has happened. Elliott is on the floor with Taylor sobbing over his chest. I walk over in a daze, again.
"Stage 4- paralyzed from the neck down" Sierra states while staring at Elliott just like I was 21 minutes ago.
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Author's note
I know that was a rough chapter but it had to happen. Sorry!
Anyway, I'm going to make a goal of updating at the latest- Tuesday (a week from now). So I will try to update as much as possible before then but, if not, expect an update on Tuesday. I'll probably end up writing it in the next few days though (especially if I don't have school tomorrow because of a snow day!!)
That's it! Thanks for reading and don't forget to comment and vote (you can vote once per chapter)
Let me know if anything is spelled wrong... want my book to be the best it can be;)
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This is not the End
Macera*COMPLETED* Recently a plague, called The Trojan, has struck people around the world. They are losing their lives while the ones they love also struggle beside them. Young and old. Dead. Frankie has lost her friends and family by The Trojan, except...
