CORONA

Day 5

Day 5

TIANA

The clock reads 1am when I decide to take a walk. My head has been pulsing with a consistent migraine for the past hour, making me unable to sleep.

Everyone's asleep except for me and Henry, who's half-lidded eyes are ten seconds away from dozing off.

Despite the dark hallway, I feel the urge to move. My legs have been folded on the sofa for the past few hours and I need a stretch.

I yawn tirelessly and walk out of the door. Certain lights are on from rooms in the three-way corridor. I choose to go straight.

A closet door is the first in view and I open it out of curiosity. There's cleaning supplies of all sorts, a metal shelf against one wall, and for some reason, a metal rod leaning beside it.

Adrenaline kicks at the sight of it and I pick it up by its end, examining it. Its end is rounded and smooth, not sharp as I had hoped. It'll have to do.

I close the door behind me and keep on walking, letting the rod drag behind me.

The slow sound of metal scratching against the floor interrupts the deafening silence, easing the tension in my shoulders and calming the ever-increasing throb at my temples.

The next room is brightly lit and I peer inside. A figure is underneath the thick blanket, its stomach slowly rising and falling.

I walk further in and stand by the head. It's Charlie, her long lashes fluttering slightly and her lips parted. Her long neck slightly constricts with each breath. She's beautiful, especially when she's asleep. I smile to myself, wondering what it'd feel like to squeeze her throat, feel the softness of her skin while her beautiful eyes bore into mine.

Charlie's brows curve down into a frown and her snore hiccups for a second before continuing. She abruptly turns around, robbing me of her view.

Twenty minutes must've passed before she turns back again, her frown deeper. I tilt my head. She must be dreaming.

The snores stops. Her lips mumble something and her head jerks slightly before she shifts and draws her knees close to her chest.

So restless, though beauty like hers deserve to be at rest.

I reach down to move the blonde curls falling over her face, and her dark eyes snap open.

She lets out a dramatic gasp and scrambles back until her head hits the wall. She grabs her hair and winces before looking back at me.

"What- What are you-"

Her shallow breathing prevents her from speaking directly and I sit on the space she had just vacated. It's still warm.

"Were you dreaming?" I ask softly.

Her large eyes are staring at mine in evident fright.

"Control your breathing. You're gonna need it."

"What?" She sputters.

I shake my head and grin. "Nothing, Charlie." What a tease.

"What are you doing here?" She looks around in confusion.

"Just-" I tap the metal rod against the floor. "Wanted to chat."

"What're you doing with that?" She inches her way out of the bed and starts to come around from the side, her eyes quickly flitting between the doorway and I.

Wrong mistake.

I stop her by ramming the rod into her stomach. She doubles over with a groan and tries to yank the metal away from me.

I don't budge. Instead, I pull it back and swing at her head. She yells out for help, her face morphing into fear.

"Come on," I tease. "I can't let you do that."

I drop the rod on the bed and grab her as she tries to run. I throw her back onto the mattress and pick up the metal, slamming it against her throat.

She croaks out a groan and her hand reaches up to fight me, her nails scratching at my face.

"I told you to save your breath," I remind her in annoyance.

She doesn't respond.

I watch intently as her eyes regard me, narrowed in fright. Her hands repeatedly hit my face, but it's like air slapping water.

Charlie's mouth moves to speak, but I push the rod even tighter. Her hand moves down to the rod and attempts at pushing it back off of her, but she's losing oxygen too fast. Her face pales even more, the blush in her cheeks quickly fading.

Beautiful.

All of a sudden, I fall to the floor and the metal rod clatters to the ground.

"What the fuck! You're good?" I hear. I turn to see Kiana hunched over Charlie.

I grab the rod and hit it on the back of her head. She stumbles back before regaining her balance and turns to me.

"What the hell?"

I swing again but she grabs the metal on either side and tries to push me off balance.

I don't budge. Instead, I yank it towards me and she stumbles forward. I use the opportunity to grab her by the hair and push her up against the wall.

The rod pushes against her brown neck and she chokes out in surprise. My eyes are glued on her, watching with interest as her breathing slows, her eyes losing focus, her hands losing momentum as they try to fight against me. It all gives me a rush of adrenaline and I push even tighter.

A soft laugh escapes my lips. Had I known how much fun this was, how thrilling the look on someone's face would be as they slowly and torturously lose breath, I would've done it a lot sooner. A calm overtakes my body and I close my eyes in delight.

Suddenly, arms wrap around me and pulls me back.

I try to elbow my way out of their grip, but the person is too strong.

"She's infected!" Someone yells. "Kill her!"

Blood rushes past my ears. "Let me go!" I snap.

I pause, realization dawning upon me. I've... got the virus?

Infected, huh?

I smile, a new plan forming inside my head. I begin to scratch my arms viciously, my half-chipped nails doing its job effectively. It doesn't take long before small liquid balls of blood starts to form as I dig in deep.

Red.

Such a beautiful color. 

"Jared, her blood can infect you," I hear Charlie say. "You have to kill her. Now, Jared!"

I scratch faster, more desperate this time. What started as a few spots on my arm starts to run down in a fast stream onto the floor.

I blink again and become disappointed at the sight. No stream. Just a few spots, no more than four. I keep scratching.

"I-I can't!" Jared says from behind me.

I frown. Can't they see what this means? Don't they understand why the scientists did this? It was for our benefit, to allow us to feel what I'm feeling right now.

I've never felt more alive, more free than now. The warmth of a person's neck being squeezed or the fear protruding out of a person's eyes is more satisfying than any drug on the market. It'd be selfish to experience it alone.

The virus isn't a curse. It's a blessing in disguise. It's the reason why millions of people were sleeping peacefully because of it.

Jared's grip loosens, and I take my opportunity.

I run towards Kiana.