Infected

Chapter 21

Charlie grabs my arm when he hears me gasp when I see the infected and watch it fall to the ground.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
My eyes water up and I point to the body, "that was Erica's boyfriend."
Everyone is silent for a bit.
"She could still be alive, Neyomi. This doesn't mean anything." Charlie tries to reassure me.
I'm so afraid of the possibility that I can't reply so I simply shrug.
"We should stay here for the night." James suggests.
We nod in agreement.
Charlie cuddles up to me on one of the sleeping bags we laid out on the cold dusty floor. I hardly get any sleep. Even though the night goes undisturbed. My mind runs endless possibilities. What if Erica is being chased by infected right this second, starving, freezing, dying... While we sit here healthy as we can be. In no immediate danger. I quietly and as gently as possible, so I don't wake Charlie, get up from the floor and I grab my knife and one of the handguns. She could need me right now.
*Janet's POV*
What if they're all dead?
This question has haunted me about a half hour after they left and hasn't stopped. Kian cries so much, it has made some infected get drawn in. God, please let them make it back safely.
"Auntie." Penny gets my attention as I'm holding Kian standing in the doorway looking out into the woods.
"Yes, what is it?" I answer her.
"They're going to come back. I just know it." She tells me. I nod my head as if I too am sure they will return. I wish I could be that confident.
*Owen's POV*
I was awake already when I heard Neyomi creeping out of the room. James was on watch but he fell asleep. This was the perfect opportunity for me! They're separated! I was going to wait until Neyomi left the building entirely before I would kill Charlie in his sleep, tell Neyomi he got infected so I had to do it. Perfect plan. Only I heard Neyomi fall out in the hallway and I rushed to see if she was okay. She just tripped over a box and got back up. She stood up and brushed herself off.
She mutters, "dammit." I try not to laugh. I know she would be embarrassed if she knew someone saw her. It's not a good idea to let her go by herself. I know she's going to try and find Erica on her own. But then again, this could also be my only chance to kill Charlie and get away with it. It shouldn't take too long...
I guess I've reached a decision.
~
*Charlie's POV*
I wake up when I hear a board creek as someone or something enters the room. I peer through the darkness and it's just Owen.
"Hey man, where have you been?" I asked him stretching. I look to my side and notice Neyomi isn't there.
"I was looking for her. I noticed she was missing. She's just using the bathroom down the hall." He explains cooly.
"Oh." I say with a sigh.
"Do you think we can find her?" I asked Owen. I think I lost hope before we started looking.
"Well, her boyfriend was here, maybe she's not too far from him." He says. But she could have easily left too. We are here searching only in the hopes of her still being here.
"She sure is taking a while to get back," I say with a bit of concern.
"Dude, girls shit too." he says with a laugh. I laugh too. In mid-laughter, Owen lunges at me.
"Man, this isn't the ideal place and time to wrestle." I laugh trying to shove him off of me. He got a full mount on me and when I saw his face, I realized he wasn't messing around. "What are you doing?!" I half yell at him.
"She's mine. Your time is up." He says in a voice that isn't his. He raises his knife above his head, aiming straight for mine.
~
I don't remember killing him. Owen. I just know that one second he was about to kill me, and in the next second he lies next to me, his knife sticking out of his chest in his own puddle of blood. I killed my best friend.
"Was he infected?" James asked quietly. Is he seriously just now waking up? And somehow Dillion and Tommy were still sound asleep.
I shake my head no and I'm enable to speak as I'm choked with a sob. James looks around and noticed Neyomi's absence.
He looks to Owen then back at me, "where is she." He says with a tight voice. I look at Owen and pull the knive out of his chest and "he" starts breathing. As James noticed my hesitation he stabs the infected in the head for me. I nod in my head in thanks.
Now my number one concern is, where's Neyomi?