2020: The Pandemic - Zombie Edition

7: Promise

Attention: This is a trigger warning for suicide. It will be brief.

Charmaine had cried herself to sleep. After hours of screaming and attempts of escaping, they finally drove in stillness. They managed to drive up the highway without any further complications after the ideal. Thanks to Beau. And were now driving on a flat and long road with no trees nor cities in miles of sight.

"Did you know?" Ace spoke from the shotgun. Arturo was driving after Ace tired.

"Yes, I overheard Beau talking about a bite and I approached him the next day. He told me that he eventually was gonna go and that I should take care of Charmaine until we reached her family." Arturo said while rubbing his shoulder where Charmaine had kicked him.

"You don't seem like the type to trust strangers. Why didn't you just ditch them?"

"The fuck that's supposed to mean?" Arturo snarled in response.

"I mean you don't seem like the guy." Ace said taking his eyes from the map on his lap.

"I owed it to him. He saved me and I hate being in debt." Arturo mumbled and visibly ignored Ace. The sound of a door opening caught both of their attention and they witnessed Charmaine throwing herself outside. They weren't driving fast, to save gas, but the speed wasn't safe to jump out from. Arturo hit the breaks and they ran out. The sound her body had made was unreeling.

"Charmaine!" Ace hollered but stopped in his tracks when he saw what she held in her hands.

"Don't come any closer!" She threatened. She held one of the stolen guns to her head. Arturo retreated back into the car. "What the hell dude?" Ace called after him.

"What do I look like to you pandejo? A shrink? You deal with that shit. I'll wait in the car." Arturo slammed the car door after himself and left Ace to talk to Charmaine. Flabbergasted he turned towards Charmaine and slowly approached her. She was visibly shaking and tears were pouring down her face.

"Would you please let me talk to you?" He carefully questioned and held out a hand.

"N-no." She hiccupped. Her throat felt like it was swollen and she could barely make out words. She had witnessed her brother sacrificing himself. The reality of what was happening around her, finally, crashed down on her. The world was on fire, people were killing each other, she was stuck with two strangers, her parents and sister were across the state and her brother was dead.

"Are you really going to let your brother's sacrifice go down the drain?"

"Don't you dare say that!" Charmaine cried.

"But you are. Think of your sister and your parents." Ace came closer with slow steps. He sat down beside her, still nervous about the gun pointed at her head. Now that he thought of it, why didn't they use guns on the damn zombies? Ace thought.

"How dare you say something like that." Charmaine whispered but his words influenced her. She let him talk instead of just pulling the trigger.

"Because my sister killed herself." He finally spat out. Ace never talked about his deceased sister, but the desperation brought it out of him. Forced it out. Charmaine's eyes widened at his statement. She didn't tell him to continue, her eyes did.

"I don't know much about her. It was before I was born, but my parents are still suffering from it. Look, I can't tell you that the pain will go away. You'll maybe grow used to it. Some days it will be hard, but you can't let your brother's death go in vain. Your family is waiting for you." He took the gun out of her palm and lifted her up by her shoulders. Charmaine's didn't look good due to jumping out of the car. The pain from the injury was creeping in on her, which she hadn't felt before.