After The Fall

Static Voiced Promise

A day later, the group is forced to stop as it becomes evident that Ohm can't continue on. His energy is fading fast and he's starting to cough up blood. He's very sick, and there's nothing Minx nor her friends can do for him. Spotting an old barn up ahead, Minx leads them while Cry and Dave help Ohm make the short journey.

The group gets to the barn, to find it's been abandoned. Cry and Dave lie Ohm on some hay and he grunts softly, but says nothing. Dave looks away, looking around the barn. Cry smiles lightly at Ohm, who smiles lightly back, before he turns to Minx. She's standing at the doorway, looking out. Cry walks over to her and she crosses her arms.

She speaks without looking at him, "There's a house over there. We should scout it while someone stays here with Ohm. There might be supplies left."

"Good idea," Cry replies softly.

She nods, "We'll go now, while it's still light out. Have Signe stay with Ohm."

Cry nods and steps back, turning and walking over to the others. He relays Minx's message and the group prepares to head out. Signe sits beside Ohm, giving him a gentle smile, "I'm gonna keep you company, okay?"

Entoan hands Signe his pistol, "Just in case some unfriendlies get here before we do."

She nods and the rest of the group leave the barn and head towards the house down the path. Ohm lets out a wheezy cough and Signe's eyes soften as she looks back at him.

"When were you bit..?" She asks.

Ohm shakes his head slowly, like it takes a lot of effort just to do that simple motion. He takes a breath, "I.. Wasn't.."

Signe frowns, but doesn't say anything else. There's no good explanation for Ohm's sudden illness, but there's nothing she can do to help him anyway. She just doesn't understand what's happening to him, no one does. She doesn't want to seem insensitive, either because it's obvious he's in a lot of pain.

So she sits quietly and waits for the others to come back, wondering if there is anything she can do to make him more comfortable. Minx walks up to the house and tries the door, surprised and suspicious when the door opens with no problem. She turns to the others, "Keep your guard up. Weapons at the ready."

They all agree wordlessly and Minx faces the door again. She takes a breath and then pushes it open. They all go inside the semi-dark house in silence. The house is fairly empty, with only some old furniture and dead plants around the living room. It definitely doesn't look lived in. It's quiet for the most part, there's a soft sound near the back of the house, like talking.

Without a word, the group splits up. Minx and Cry head towards the sound, while Dave, Dan, and Entoan search the rest of the house for supplies. Minx and Cry get to the room the talking is coming from and she opens the door quickly, knife poised to attack, only to find the room empty. It's a child's bedroom, with ripped, dirty drawings hanging on the walls and littering the floor.

The only little bed in the room has one quilt on it, and that's it. Beyond that, there's a side table with a half empty box of crayons on it and a dresser near the open closet, with only a few jackets hung inside. On the dresser is a little radio with static-filled words spilling out. Minx goes to the closet to check the jacket sizes while Cry walks up to the radio and leans in, listening carefully.

"If anyone can hear this," a man's voice speaks through the static, "this is Sargent Masters with an urgent message. All survivors please report to Shoreham Port for evacuation. Anyone that is still healthy will be allowed travel to our camp in the US, in Florida. It is safe there. I repeat, it is safe there. No infected in the vicinity."

Cry blinks, leaning back, "Holy shit.."

Minx turns to him, already holding all of the jackets from the closet, "What is it?"

"The military. They have an evacuation point," Cry turns to her, smiling, "They'll take us to the US, where there's no infection."

Minx's eyes widen, "Seriously..?"

"Yes!" Cry looks relieved, "I can't believe it, this can finally be over! We can live a normal life again, we can get Signe back to Jack, all our friends over there are okay!"

Minx laughs softly, "Really..? Is it.. Can it really be over?"

She looks like she's going to cry, "After so long.. After.. Everyone we lost.. If we get to the evacuation point.. We won't have to lose anyone else."

Cry moves and hugs her, "It'll all be over.. We just have to get there."

"We just have to get there.." she repeats softly, clinging to him as tears finally fall.

Relief washes over the both of them at the prospect of true safety. That the world they now know, can all be a bad dream. Cry pulls away, suddenly reminded that not all of them will make it there. Ohm is gravely ill, and even if they did manage to drag him all the way there and he survived, there's no way he'll be allowed to leave with them. Minx notices his change and she quickly figures out why.

She sighs, "You don't think Ohm will make it.. Do you?"

Cry sighs, "I wish I could say yes, but with the way he's going.."

Minx frowns, looking away, "Maybe they have medicine there and they can help him. He has to be able to come with us.."

Cry stares at her, a sad look on his face. As much as he hates to admit it, he knows she isn't thinking logically. He knows Ohm won't be able to make it there in time, but he can't bring himself to tell her that. They meet back up with the others and are pleasantly surprised to find their friends were able to find a decent amount of supplies.

Dan's carrying a first aid kit in one hand, Entoan is loading a new pistol, and Dave has a new backpack with canned food filled to the brim. Minx hands Dan and Entoan each a coat and then they all leave the house and head back to the barn. When they get back, Signe stands and smiles softly, handing Entoan his gun back. Or trying to as he shakes his head and pushes it back into her hands while showing her his new one.

She sits back down as Minx hands her a coat, keeping the last one for herself as it won't fit anyone else. Cry walks over and kneels by Ohm, smiling lightly, "How are you feeling, buddy..?"

Ohm smiles weakly back. Cracked, bloodstained lips trembling as his broken whisper of a voice speaks, "I'm not.. Doing.. So hot, man.."

His once vibrant eyes are dull and grayed as he stares up at his best friend, his lightly grayed skin shines with sweat as he shivers. The black veins protrude proudly as they pump the virus through his blood, slowly killing him. Cry takes all this in with dark eyes, threatening to spill with tears. There's no denying it: Ohm won't make it to the evacuation point. They'll be lucky if he even makes it a few more days.