The First ~10K~ (book 1)

17: Zombaby! (Part 2)

10K POV---

My stomach turned at those words. But it also could've been from the nausea that washed over me. My chest was in pain from breathing in that powder. My muscles seemed to tense up, like you worked out for a long time. My breathing became distressed and shorted. My throat was also beginning to hurt. My eyes felt heavy and I become dizzy, like I was going to pass out. The ground seems to disappear from under my feet, as I started falling, and then it was black.

Maddi POV---

I saw a blur next to me and then the sound of a body hitting the ground. I turned and saw 10K on the ground.

"Oh, my god! 10K!" I shouted, kneeling next to him.

Addy and Doc ran over to help. I grabbed 10K's face. He was burning up.

"He's burning up." I said.

"He has it. This disease." The farmer said.

My stomach dropped. I felt the tears coming as I looked at 10K.

"We gotta get him out of here." Doc proposed.

"And take him where?" Warren asked.

"I dunno. Someplace without anthrax or anthrax zombies or anthrax sheep." Doc replied.

I put my hand back on 10K's forehead. I took one of his hands and squeezed it.

"What he needs is antibiotics. You got any of those?" Vasquez asked.

"Yeah, maybe." Doc said, getting up. He patted my back before running to the car.

"We have a place for people like him. We can keep him there." The farmer told us.

"Okay, thank you." Warren replied.

"Hey," Doc yelled. "Serena's water broke!"

"Dammit," Warren sighed.

"I'll take care of them." Addy said as she went to help.

Doc came back and lifted one of 10K's arms. I followed and lifted him off the ground. We wrapped his hands around our necks and followed the farmer to a little red barn.

I could tell this place was a death bed.

Dozens of sick people, men, women, and children, laid in beds. Blisters covered their faces and bodies. 10K already had a few in his face.

Doc and I laid 10K gently on a bed. Warren stepped in and placed a hand in his forehead. 10K was sweating.

A Mennonite woman pushed her way past us and gave 10K a pill and water. He took it without much difficulty.

Warren squeezed 10K's shoulder. She grabbed mine, trying to make me leave, but I pushed her away.

"You're not staying in here. You're gonna get sick, too." She said.

"I don't care. I'm staying with him. He needs me." I told her. I felt 10K slip his hand into mine.

Warren took that as a sign not to argue, because she saw 10K's hand. She saw that he needed me.

Warren and Vasquez left, leaving me alone in a barn full of dying people...

And my boyfriend.

+++

As time passed, 10K got worse.

I heard the faint screams of Serena in labor. I thought about what it would be like if I was in labor. How much pain would I be in?

10K groaned and turned his head away from me. His neck gleamed with sweat and some blisters were starting to form. His hands turned clammy, but they didn't let go of mine.

I didn't care if I got sick. If I got sick, I could be with 10K. He didn't want me to leave and I didn't want to leave him.

Mennonite people walked around tending to the sick, but they didn't come to 10K. Only one woman did and it was to give him water.

10K's breathing was distressed and fast. His eyes squeezed shut everyone once in awhile. He was sweating profusely which I wiped away with a rag.

I poured some water on the rag and rested it on his forehead which seemed to help a little. He stopped squirming and his breath got a more easy for him to breathe.

10K opened his eyes and looked over at me. He started coughing. Coughing so much he coughed up blood.

My stomach dropped as some of it landed on my leggings. It dripped out from the corner of his mouth onto the white pillow. I choked back tears as I wiped it away.

"Don't you leave me, Tommy." I whispered in his ear. He looked in my eyes. He must've noticed I called him by his real name and not 10K.

I gripped 10K's sweaty hand tightly. "You're gonna be okay. You aren't leaving me to this sickness. No way. You can fight this, Tommy. I believe in you. I love you so much and I can't fight in the world without you. So please, fight. For me."

I placed a hand on his cheek and heard some commotion. I looked over and saw Warren and Vasquez with their weapons drawn.

"Bruda. Sestre." The leader farmer said. "I thought you might come. It is the medicine you want?"

"It's just," Warren said, clearing her throat. She put her hands up, saying she didn't want to harm anyone. "We got to keep going. Our team, we gotta get to California. Our man, Murphy, he's immune. There's a lab to make a vaccine. Medicine. Medicine that will help a lot of people. Save a lot of people."

Warren made her way to the medicine and Vasquez walked over to 10K and I. I helped him lift 10K out of the bed and wrap his arms around our shoulders. The Mennonite people were praying in German. We walked out and headed to the big red barn.

"I'd feel a whole lot better if they at least tried to kill us." Vasquez said.

"Only in a messed up apocalypse was that the right thing to do." Warren said, her voice slightly cracking.

We walked into the barn, Serena's pain filled screams filling my ears.

Vasquez and I set 10K down on a stack of hay. I almost didn't see Addy. Her flaming red hair caught my eye.

"She has it, too?" I asked.

"Yeah. How're you feeling?" Warren asked, popping a pill in Addy's mouth

I shrugged. Mentally, I wasn't okay. But I felt fine health wise.

"Fine." I replied.

Warren patted my arm and walked off with Vasquez. Serena's screams made me cringe. Thinking about the pain she's going through...

I held both 10K and Addy's hands. The screams echoed in my ears.

Then finally, the sound of a newborn baby crying warmed my heart.

Sorry for leaving it at a bad place. I just wanted to get this second part out and done with.

And thank you so much for 4K reads! Like, whaaat?? I love you all ❤️