When The Plague Struck England - The Worst Time of My Life

Chapter 2

I woke the next morning feeling fine and then a flood of memories rushed through my mind. I sat on my bed crying until Mother came in.

"What's wrong?" She asks. I sob, trying to hold back my tears and manage:

"William is dead." I could tell she almost missed it. My voice quieter than a whisper.

"How?" I point at the window. She gets up, pulls the curtain aside and looks out side. She utters a soft scream and closes the curtain quickly.

"Why is he here?" She asks, softly. I explain the events of last night and how most nights I've been sneaking out to meet him by the tree line. She holds me while I tell my story, her embrace comforting as a mother's should be. When I finish, she pauses, as if she wasn't sure how to answer and then she speaks, choosing her words carefully.

"Well, I think that we should get your father to move the body out of the city as soon as possible. You can go tell his family now and we can meet outside the walls to bury him." I just nod, not trusting my self to not burst in to tears if I say anything. Mother goes and gets father and tell shine while I slowly walk to William's house.

"Sir, Ma'am, I..i.." I stutter. When Will's parents open the door to find their son's best friend a wreck, crying everywhere and no sign of their son they earned the right to look worried.

"What is it dear?" William's mother asks gently. "Where is William?"

"Wi..Will is gone." I reply.

"Gone? Gone where?" His father asks, voice riding in pitch and volume.

"I'm so sorry. Outside the walls at noon. By the stretch of trees near the woods. We are going to bury him." I manage to say. I run off, leaving William's parents distraught. I feel so bad but there isn't anything I can do.

----------

Will's funeral was a quiet, somber affair. Will's three bothers and two sisters are there, all crying. His mother is wiping tears swag with a handkerchief. His father looks angry though. Furious. I'm afraid he is going to crush Will's mother by how tight he is holding her.

My parents are off to the side with my brother. They didn't know Will too well so they aren't as affected. Everyone is wearing black. Or as close to it as they can get. Black suit, black hat, black dress black shoes. All of it is black. I'm just standing there. Next to the tree he is buried under. Tears streaming freely from my eyes, dropping onto the roots of the tree. I am a whirlwind of emotions right now. Anger, sadness, they feeling that everyone is watching you. I'm also scared. I spent so much time with Will I expect to have the plague within a day.

---------

The next week passes slowly without Will. Everything takes twice as long and is twice as hard. I start getting the rashes and other symptoms I knew were coming. It's really uncomfortable and slows everything down even more. I keep away from everyone else, eat dinner alone, sit in my room alone when I have time. I think about Will and his family a lot.

11 days after the funeral, I'm eating dinner in my room. I am halfway through the soup when I drop the spoon. I can't control my body. I'm starting to writhe. It's the most painful thing ever. More painful than losing Will. I try to scream but I can't. The words won't come out. My throat won't let them. A memory rises. This is the same as...