Infection

▪ Chapter Thirteen ▪

"Hello?" I shouted after knocking on my own front door. Even though I was doubtful that anybody would answer, I couldn't stop the slither of hope bubbling up inside of me that someone would open the door and that my whole family would be there: safe and alive. 

Even so, a wave of disappointment washed over me when no reply came, the silence weighing heavily on me. They weren't here.

Pulling out the key, that I would recognise anywhere, from my pocket, I slid it into the lock; just as I had done a thousand times before only this time it was different - I didn't know what I would find on the other side. 

I glanced back at Lily sitting impatiently in the car whilst pouting. She wanted to see mum, dad and Jason for the first time in ages and was unhappy about me telling her to stay in the car. If only she knew...

I had no idea what I would tell her, especially if things were bad inside. She would already be disappointed, even more so than me, that they weren't here. What if something had happened to them? I gulped, not even wanting to consider the idea of anybody being hurt. 

Hesitantly, I pushed open the door, resisting the almost overpowering urge to close my eyes, afraid of just how awful the truth might be. The door swung open revealing the familiar, dimly lit hallway - due to the lack of electricity - that I had walked through millions of times. It was so strange, feeling so scared in a place that once offered me safety and comfort. 

I stepped inside and glanced around, walking cautiously through to the kitchen. Everything looked the same, nothing out of place but it was different. It felt cold and empty, sending shivers up my spine. It wasn't warm and homelike as it used to be and I didn't like it one bit.

"Hello?"I called out again. "Anybody home?" I asked, surprised by the sound of my own desperate, pleading voice echoing in the eerie quietness. Silence. I suppose there really was nobody here. I blinked back the tears that threatened to spill over the edge. Of course we couldn't be that lucky. Nothing was easy in this cruel, harsh world. Nobody could have it all. 

I began searching through the rest of the downstairs, look for any signs of life or clues that would show me when they had left or where they had gone. I spotted Jason's phone sitting on the counter, probably as it was no longer useful. Nevertheless I grabbed it and pressed the 'on' button, hardly surprised when nothing happened. The battery was dead. 

Everything else seemed completely normal, all except for the plate of - now rotting - food. It had obviously been left for a long time, not even recognisable anymore. If my parents or Jason left this here then they must have been in a hurry. My brain began whirring, thinking up situations that would cause them to evacuate in such a rush, most  of them ending badly. I swallowed, now even more worried about them. 

If they had to run, it explains why nobody left a note, explaining where they had gone and why. I knew Jason would have had the common sense to write one and the fact that he didn't, or couldn't, concerned me. 

I sat down onto the bar-stool at the counter defeated. I had no leads. Nothing. How was I supposed to find them? I didn't know where they were, or if they were even alive. A small sob finally escaped, wracking my body as I realised I had lost all connections to my family and that I might never see them again.

I was snapped out of my unpleasant reverie as a sudden 'thud' reverberating from upstairs made me jump. My heart fluttered at the sound. Had I got it wrong? Was someone still here? Jason? Mum or dad?

Excited, I quickly climbed the stairs, taking two steps at once. My hopes refreshed, I called out again, "Hello?" I was startled once again by the instant reply in the form of a loud 'bang'. This time it didn't stop, repeating over and over, becoming louder each time. Pinpointing the source of the noise, I spun around on the landing and came face to face with the closed door to my room. 

The banging sound was being caused by something hitting my door, repeatedly and hard. So hard that the door was shaking in the frame, and groaning from the strain. I took a step back, clutching at the handle of the handgun, cautious and suspicious. That wasn't normal. Not for any sane, alive person. Whoever was in there, they weren't alive. 

"Oh my God... No!" I gasped as I slowly pieced everything together in my mind, covering my mouth with my hand as the tears began flowing once again. Oh my God... Alec. He was in my room. And he was scratched... 

'But he... he died...' a part of me argued. The realistic, rational part of me countered that he was scratched - infected - meaning that he would have come back... as one of them...

My heart plummeted into my stomach, the lump in my throat making it difficult to swallow and breathe. The unstoppable tears cascaded down my cheeks and fell to the carpet below and I clutched at my chest, where my heart sat, trying to stop the unbearable ache. I slumped to the floor, no longer having the strength to stand as a part of my world came crumbling down around me. The merciless pounding on the door continued, relentlessness, ensuring that I couldn't ignore it. 

'Maybe it's not him...' , I desperately tried to convince myself. I had to check. I had to know. I weakly crawled forwards, still sobbing, towards the door and pressed my cheek to the soft carpet, peeking beneath the door. "No!", I gasped, moving back to lean against the wall, as more sobs choked out of me.

It was him. I could tell by the feet - the socks. They were his socks. The ones he had been wearing on the day he... he died. The taco printed ones I had bought for him as a joke, years ago. 

I leaned back, supported completely be the wall, my head in my hands, my shoulders shaking because of my hysterical cries. I couldn't believe this was real, that it was really happening. Yes, I knew he was infected, and that he had died. But I had never accepted it, never mind come to terms with it. I had never had to. But now, with cold, hard evidence in front of me, there was no way that I couldn't. 

I knew I would have to eventually but damn, did it hurt. I loved that boy. I felt like my heart was breaking in half, that I would never be happy again. I thought that he was 'the one', the one I would end up with for the rest of my life. Oh, how fate was cruel. None of this was fair. He didn't deserve this. He was good and sweet and kind. This monster wasn't him. The virus takes away all traces of humanity from a person, I knew that that wasn't Alec, that he was already long gone.

As much as I wanted to leave, to run away and not have to face this - to be a coward - I knew I couldn't. I owed it to him. He wouldn't have wanted to become this, and he wouldn't have let me if things were reversed. I was sure of it. That's why I had to face him, to end his suffering. 

My shaky hands pulled the gun out in front of me and I dried my eyes with my sleeve as much as I could so that I would be able to see. I managed to stand up, still leaning slightly on the wall as I quickly checked that that a bullet was loaded into the chamber of the gun. I held the gun out straight, at head height, and steadied my shaking arm, locking my elbow in place to keep it still.

The tears nor the ache in my heart stopped even as I reached with one hand to twist the door handle. It flung open, revealing the monster on the other side and I quickly aimed at the head as it came towards me. 

"I'm so sorry, Alec." I whispered painfully as I squeezed the trigger. 

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Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

~ Beth xx ~