Apocalypse [Pentatonix AU | Kavi / Scomiche]

Chapter 31 - Inconvenience

Mitch stared upward through the moonlight, his eyes attempting to focus on the bare trees above him in order to distract him from the sharp pain in his chest. It had to be either late January or early February by now, but he'd lost track. He'd lost track a while ago, around the same time he lost his will to live.

Mitch felt as if the world truly had fallen from underneath his feet. Although Travis- the man Mitch had fallen in love with Travis- had technically died a long time ago, his actual death was the final blow. Mitch's life had been crumbling around him for so long, but now that Travis was completely and irreversibly gone, he felt as if he was truly suffocating.

Scott was the only one keeping him going.

He wasn't necessarily doing anything specific, but he was still the only reason Mitch could bring himself to wake up every morning, the only reason he continued to live in this hell. Scott just existing was enough to keep Mitch alive.

Thinking about Scott caused Mitch to look toward him. His eyes were focused forward toward the horizon, determined and unblinking. Behind them walked Kirstie and Avi, hand in hand, followed by Kevin.

They'd made the mistake of leaving the trailer as soon as they left for the CDC, about two weeks ago now, figuring they wouldn't need two separate automobiles now that there were only five of them left. This was clearly a mistake, however, when only two days later the prius broke down. An disagreement had ensued between Scott and Avi, with Scott arguing they should turn back and Avi arguing the opposite. Avi had ultimately won, and the group continued their journey on foot. It would be at least another couple months until they reached Atlanta.

Mitch's breathing was growing shallow, the pain in his chest becoming near unbearable, but still he kept his mouth shut. Silently he let beads of sweat roll down his skin despite the cool air, not wanting to slow the group down. As long as he could will his legs to continue to move forward, he could keep going. He had to keep going.

Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Mitch tried to let out one short cough, but just that was enough to send him into one of the worst coughing fits of his life. He doubled over, his lungs struggling to attain air while he continued to cough violently. Immediately the group had circled him, and Scott was helping him to sit down.

"Avi, quickly, hand me that water!" Scott shouted.

"What happened?" Kirstie asked, voice frantic with concern.

"I don't know," Scott said, clearly more panicked than any of them. Mitch couldn't bring himself to stop coughing. "Breath, Mitch. Breath."

Scott then handed Mitch the water, which he gulped down quickly. It helped subdue the coughing, even if just momentarily. This gave Mitch enough time to actually breath, letting his lungs fill completely with air for the first time in minutes. It also gave him time to check his sleeve, which he realized was covered with spots of blood that had come from his throat.

Scott noticed the blood as well. "Oh my god."

"I'm... fine," Mitch wheezed through shallow breaths.

Kevin hurried over, placing his hand against Mitch's forehead. "He's burning up."

"Shit," Scott said, beyond worried at this point. He was rubbing Mitch's back as Mitch broke into yet another fit. "What do we do? He's coughing up blood!"

"He's not bit but has a fever, which points to pneumonia," Kevin said. "He needs to rest, we need to get him to an actual bed as soon as possible. Then we need to work on finding antibiotics."

"Can't people die from pneumonia?" Avi said quietly in horror.

"The sooner we treat it, the better," was all Kevin said in response.