The Virus

Forty Three

I lower my gaze and feel blood rush to my cheeks. "Don't be embarrassed. It's just the human body. Sorry, I'll leave so you can get some clothes on" He says. I smile and thank him before he exits the water. I watch him as he walks over to a cliff and dives in. He glances over at me and gives me a thumbs up, I smile back at him. He goes back up to the cliff for a second dive, when I'm sure he is out of sight I return to my clothes and pull on my clothes as quickly as possible.

Seconds after he arrives with a broad smile on his face. we lay side by side staring up at the clear sky. I feel... at home. Ethan interrupts my thoughts and brings me out of my reverie. "What are you thinking? You've got your eyes squeezed shut like your life depends on it." He asks.

I open my eyes and stare forward. "I was thinking about home." I murmur.

"What's so upsetting about home?" He ask.

"It's slipping away." I whisper barely audible.

"What do you mean?" He asks, confused.

"I can't feel it anymore. I don't remember how it feels to be there. I'm forgetting." I say. He shakes his head and assures me it will be fine.

Later, we head back to the house . "So, a girl like you has to have a boyfriend." Ethan says. 

I shake my head and refuse the urge to roll my eyes, even if this was a genuine question and not just a pick-up line, it was too personal.

."No?" He exclaims, surprised.

 I shake my head again and look up at him. "I don't want to talk about it," I reply, meeting his eye.

"I'm sorry. Is he gone? Or is he gone?" He asks, gently.

"I don't actually know." I reply. "It was a while ago. I'm over it. I don't want to talk about it." I say with conviction.

We make our way back slowly with slow conversation. "What's the time?" I ask.

He glances at his watch. "It's actually nearly eleven. We were there for a while." He replies. We were there for over an hour.

We get to the house and get some lunch made by Anne. I help clean and cook, I feel it's the least I can do since they're letting us stay for a few days. The place is strange though, there's an altar at the end of the garden. It's a dark grey and it creates a shadow over the entire place. It's not that bad its sort of like a cool historical place. But I avoid it at all costs. The entire structure creeps me out and makes me feel uneasy.

Before I go to bed, I suggest that Marley and I take Kay for a walk. It's late but not too late. I take a knife and a gun for any emergency. I meet Marley outside when I realise it may be dangerous not having her on a leash. I walk up the steps towards the front door. I walk in and am about to turn the corner into the kitchen when I hear what they're talking about.

"What about the dog? When it's done, what do we do with it?" I hear Laurie ask.

"We'll let her go afterwards. It doesn't matter whether it survives afterwards. It's not our concern." Bill answers.

"We need to do it quickly. Tomorrow night. I'll ask Ophelia if she wants to go on a walk and I'll knock her unconscious. Marley is less aware and weaker, she'll be easy." Ethan says.

I knock on the door and walk in with an innocent smile and stop. "Hey, do you have like some rope or something. I want to take Kay for a walk but I don't want her her to run off." I say breezily. I meet Ethan's eyes and give him what I hope is a friendly smile. 

They all freeze for a moment but then try to act as normal. "Yeah, yeah." Ethan murmurs searching around for some rope.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He asks. 

I shake my head but keep smiling. "Me and Marley are gonna take her. It hasn't been just the three of us in a while." I say as lightly as I can. Ethan gives me an awkward smile and hands me the rope. "Don't be out for too long, it's dangerous." he warns. 

I nod and leave, taking time to walk down the steps and away, I couldn't seem panicked or worried, they would know. I feel eyes on me from the window behind me. I fight the urge to turn around and meet their eye, there were too many of them. 

My main concern was to not cause a panic. For anyone. 

Marley giggles and jumps around with Kay before looking up with a smile, she sees my expressions and freezes, I stare at her for a moment and give her a fake smile. She looks at me eyes and a smile appears on her face as well. 

She walks over slowly and I thank God that she realises what she needs to do. I hand her the lead and she bows to attach it. I talk to her about how happy I am, in case they can hear us, and she plays along. 

We begin to walk slowly, Marley gives me a worried look. After a few minutes of walking and listening for anyone following us, she turns to me and whispers, "what is wrong? What happened?" She demands, still glancing around suspiciously. 

I blink and pause, "I'm not sure," I reply with a shake of my head. 

She gives me an incredulous look. 

"We're not safe there. I heard them talking. They're getting rid of us, they were talking about getting rid of Kay once we were gone. I think they're gonna kill us, I don't know. I didn't hear much. I didn't want to freak out and get us all killed. There's seven of them. Ethan said he was going to take me for a walk tomorrow night, he said... he said he was going to knock me out," I mutter, confused even by myself. 

What did all of that even mean? What were they planning? 

In reality, the details were mainly irrelevant, all that mattered was that now we knew they were dangerous and they were planning something against us. And they weren't going to succeed. I had come this far, I had pushed through everything. I had Marley and Kay, there was no way I was going to allow them to be hurt. 

"What do we do," Marley asks, turning to me again. She sounded tired, drained. 

I couldn't blame her. It felt as if there was no reprieve from all the violence or danger. It felt like there were no good people left on the planet. It felt like we were all alone and constantly watching our backs. 

I sigh and pat her shoulder. "It'll be okay. We know now, we can be prepared. We can win. We will win, and we get out of here. There is no way I'm letting you die," I reassure her. 

She smiles slightly and gives me a tight hug. "I trust you with my life," she tells me. 

"I do too," I reply, smiling. I pull back and meet her gaze, "We have to be prepared, and if you get the chance you're gonna run," I tell her, "I wish we could just leave and never go back right now, but all I have is my gun and knife on me, we need our stuff, and we'll get it. If you get the chance, kill. Throw your knives. We'll kill them all if we have to," I tell her, "without question." 

She flinches slightly but nods, with a sad expression.

"I'm sorry it has to be like this."