Dead Blood

Revelation

The outside air, even though it was filled with blood and death, it felt amazing. It was better than that disgusting air conditioning in the hospital that mixed with the smell of rotting flesh and blood. Still though, aside from the corpses limping around and the bloodstained streets being overrun with exploded cars, it was a pretty nice day out.
Greg had been driving for a while, occasionally wincing in pain from his broken bones. All he wanted to do was take a nap and sleep the pain away, but he couldn't. He would look behind him to check up on Guillermo, who laid in the back seat like he was sleeping, but he was just staring at the roof of the car.
Star, who decided to ride in the passenger's seat, was staring out the window, trying to make heads or tails of what she saw. She saw Greg shirtless, and she... she almost drooled. 'Holy fucking shit!' She thought as she looked over at Greg.
Guillermo growled as he sat back up. "Stop the car," he said in a grave tone.
"Why? We have places to be, dude. Cures to find, and zombies to kill," Greg said as he smirked, thinking he was clever in what he said.
"I said STOP THE FUCKING CAR!!!" He screamed all while whining in pain.
Star shook for a moment. She didn't like when people started yelling or arguing. It made her anxious, like she couldn't breathe without crying.
Greg peered over at her, and saw her about to break down. He pulled over abruptly and stopped the car. "Get out of the car, Guillermo," he ordered as he stepped out himself.
Guillermo hopped out and pulled out his gun. "What do you think you're doing?"
Greg looked at him, perplexed as all hell. "Right now, I'm getting you out of this damn vehicle before you cause Star over there to break down."
"Oh yeah, her break down, and here I am in pain, but nobody cares," Guillermo said in the tone of a pouty child.
"You cut yourself with a knife, you idiot. Of course I'm gonna prioritize her. Hers is more psychological, and is being caused by you yelling. You decided it was a good idea to slice yourself like a fucking tomato," Greg said as he took a closer look at the wound. "That being said, take off the bandage."
Guillermo froze for a moment. "No, it's fine. I'm not bleeding," he said trying to cover up the wound.
"I said take off the bandage, Madriz," he said as he approached him to take the bandage off.
Guillermo didn't like this one bit, and threw a hard right, which connected with Greg's face. "I said I was fine."
Greg, who was brushing his face after he just got bruised by his friend here, was not having anymore of this bullshit. "You have been nothing but a whiny bitch ever since we left the hospital, and now you just punched me in the fucking face. Take that fucking bandage off before I rip it off of you," Greg said in the calmest tone he could muster up at that point.
"No," Guillermo said in a sort of snarky manner. "And you can't make me."
Greg growled as he clenched his fist. "I won't tell you again. Take. The bandage. Off."
"No," Guillermo said as he stuck a middle finger in Greg's face.
Big mistake on Guillermo's part, because at that moment, Greg decided he had enough, and punched Guillermo square in the jaw.
That sent them both into a fit of rage. Everytime a punch connected, blood would fly in each direction. They both started kicking each other straight in the stomach, which caused more blood to be coughed up.
However, Greg had succeeded in his mission to remove the bandage. He ripped it off, and stood dumbstruck, and pissed off.
The bite wound had gotten significantly worse. It started bruising, and the flesh was trying to scar, but it couldn't.
Brandon, Heather and Nat, who had been falling behind from car trouble, had to pull over to check the engine again. They got out and saw what was going on.
Greg pushed him up against the side of the Impala, holding him by his shirt collar. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" He pointed at the wound.
Guillermo stayed silent, turning his head away from the bite. "A knife wound," he said silently.
"A knife wound," Greg said, mocking his tone. "Does that look like a fucking knife wound?!"
Guillermo sighed and looked down. "This is why I didn't say anything."
"What? Because you're infected now? What the hell were you thinking?" Greg sighed as he took his knife out. "How long ago was it?"
Guillermo looked down. "Since we left the hospital... six hours ago."
Greg shook his head. "You dumb fuck... you should've told me. Now what, should I kill you now or wait for you to turn?"
Guillermo sighed. "We're looking for a cure, right? Why don't we just wait and see?"
Greg looked at him. "Even if there is a cure, there's no guarantee that it'll work. Especially now that we have no idea if this doctor is even alive now."
Guillermo nodded. "Well, we're not too far from the facility. At least I think."
Greg nodded slowly. "Well, I guess we won't know for certain until we get there."
After that was said, Brandon and Natalie walked up. They saw the bite wound on Guillermo's arm and sighed. "You didn't tell us about it?" Heather asked.
Guillermo sighed. "Don't lecture me, guys. I already got enough from him." He said as he covered up his arm again. "And don't tell Star. She doesn't need to know right now."
Greg sighed. "Well, I guess for now, let's just get back on the road. Brandon, you guys having car trouble?"
Brandon nodded. "Yeah, engine flooded again."
"Damn. All right, pour some water in the engine. We should be there in a couple of hours, you think you can handle it?" Greg sheathed his knife.
Brandon smirked. "Don't underestimate this truck," he said as he got back in.
After a couple of hours, and a lot of silent driving, they arrive at the facility. They stepped out of their cars, checking the surrounding area. It was clear of zombies, and of psychopaths. Since there were no signs of trouble, they trotted right in.
What they found... it was almost impossible to be true. It was almost like the aftermath of an action scene in a movie. The walls were torn, wiring from inside the walls had been sparking and causing some lights to blink rapidly. By the sight of everything, it seemed like nobody would be here. But, they couldn't be too sure until they checked.
"Split up?" Guillermo asked in a monotone.
"Split up," Greg replied. "Nat and Star, you take the west. Guillermo and Brandon, search the north. Heather and I will search the east."
They all went in their designated directions.
Greg and Heather spent about twenty minutes scavenging the east side, but didn't find the doctor or any research. Which is kind of surprising, since most labs put their research dedication in either the east or west. "So, if it isn't here, then it has to be in the west building," Greg said.
"What makes you so sure?" Heather asked.
"Just a hunch I have," he replied as he looked at her.
Heather sighed. "Gregory, there's something I have to ask you."
"What's up?" Greg stared in concern.
She didn't know how to ask. She was flattered, but at the same time, she didn't feel the same. "Do you like me?" She blurted out.
Greg slightly blushed, and sighed. "I used to. But, given what's happened, and that I've only really known you as a friend, no," he said in a sort of sad manner.
Heather nodded. "You've found someone else," she said with a smile.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Greg said as he looked away. Truth was he knew, but he didn't want to say. It would cause too much drama to go down, and that's the last thing they need. "Let's go, we didn't find anything."
Guillermo and Brandon had searched all through the north building, turned up no results. "Damn," Guillermo whispered.
"No luck. All right, let's head back," Brandon said as he turned around. "Also, Guillermo."
"Yeah?" Guillermo responded.
"Tell your girl that you got bit. She deserves to know," Brandon said in a stern voice.
"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?!" Guillermo responded defensively. "You're not the one who got infected!"
"I also don't want to be the one to put you down if there's no cure!!" Brandon shouted silently. "Either you fucking tell her, or I will."
Natalie and Star took their time searching the west building. They weren't finding anybody, but they did find something alarming. A trail of blood, leading all throughout the hallway. They were following it.
"Where do you think it goes?" Natalie asked.
Star shook her head. "Only one way to find out," she said as they kept following.
Once they got to the end of it, they stopped dead in their tracks. The body of a female doctor, torn in half, all the skin and flesh missing. The only way anybody could tell who it was is because the name badge was still on...
"Doctor Freedman..." Natalie sighed.
What was more alarming was the piece of paper right next to her. It was written on. What was it?
Natalie stepped forward and picked it up. She read the note aloud.
"To Gregory,
If you're reading this, then I'm already dead. I wanted to deliver this news in person, but I'm afraid that fate wasn't so kind to me. I spent the last three months trying to find a cure, just so that maybe the world could return to the way it was. I failed. I tried over and over again with different solutions, and each one bore no fruit. There is no cure for this. The only way to get rid of it, is to sterilize it. Destroy it all. I'm sorry for this.
Goodbye,
Doctor Freedman."
Both Star and Nat froze. They couldn't believe it, all that hope, that possibility, it was ripped away. Just from a single note, it all went away.
Nat reached for her phone and dialed a number. "Greg, can you hear me?" She said in a low voice.
"Yeah, I hear you. Did you find anything?" Greg asked.
"Meet us back in the lobby..." She hung up.
They all met up back in the lobby, hoping for some good news.
"We didn't find anything in the east," Greg said.
"No luck on our side, either," Brandon said.
Star sighed heavily and shed a tear. "We found Doctor Freedman... she's dead."
They all fell silent.
"Well, did you find her research?" Greg asked.
It was then that Natalie handed him the note.
He read it to himself, then froze in shock.
"What does it say?" Guillermo asked.
Greg turned slowly, but couldn't say anything.
Natalie turned and shed a tear. "There's no cure..."