The Symptoms

A Death Sentence

"What?" I figured I must've missed something or didn't hear right, "You said he was just going to jail!"

"I said no such thing," he said with defense, "I said that I had to arrest him, nothing more."

I pushed my hair back to try to relieve the headache that started forming in the front of my head, groaned, and tried to stretch my neck, only making it hurt more. I looked out the window at the limited scenery, weighing my options. Todd stayed silent, but I could sense his growing concern.

"Why? I mean- sorry. Why is he supposed to be executed?" I ask, trying to keep myself from screaming at the top of my lungs.

"I was told that this wasn't his first offense. It must've just happened too many times," He explained, trying to be careful with his words.

"Holy shit..." I breathe out the words in severe disappointment, wincing, "Todd...really? Did you really do this?"

He didn't say a word, and I looked back at him. He avoided eye contact and fidgeted with the ring on his pudgy finger. I knew it was true, but I didn't want to accept it. I wanted the answer from him and him alone.

"Answer me, Todd!" I yelled as my voice started cracking, "Answer me!" My voice pitched up, and I sounded like a child again, begging my mother to let me get help.

Todd nodded and looked away. My heart shattered into billions of different pieces. Tears began rolling down my face without my consent, and I silenced my sobs by closing my mouth, making it sound like I had hiccups. I saw Lucas look over at me with a look of concern on his face.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, there really is no way to sugar-coat it-"

I cut him off, "Blair, my name is Blair. Don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel like I'm older than you," I pause, looking back at Todd, "I know Todd isn't perfect, but I never expected him to rob someone, especially the Upper City...I've known him all of my life." I sniffed, trying not to seem like a three-year-old.

"Okay, Blair. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do," he said with sympathy. I could tell he was starting to feel bad, but just didn't want to seem like it was getting to him, "I really didn't have a choice."

"You always have a choice," I respond, "Sometimes, we choose the right thing at the wrong time. This was definitely one of those times,"

He sighed, his body tensing and then relaxing as if he were stretching. He didn't speak another word. I look up from my moping and notice something running in the rain toward the road. Well, not running, more like scrambling on all fours like a savage beast. But it was human.

"Savage!" I screamed, taking the wheel from his hand and violently jerking the car to the right to avoid it.

"What the hell are you-!" He began. The tires screeched underneath the vehicle as it tried to keep its grip. Thunder cracked, and Lucas's jaw clenched up as if he were trying not to scream. I jerked the car back onto the road and then lost my grip. Lucas immediately gripped the wheel again.

"What the hell were you thinking!? How could you even know that that was a savage? You could have killed us all!" He yelled.

"I wasn't going to let you hit it! Have you ever even seen a savage before?" I spat back.

"Of course I have!" he said. I raised a suspicious eyebrow and then rolled my eyes.

"You learn a thing or two when living in the slums. People get infected daily there. We take them to the cellar to die once the disease spreads far enough. They aren't worth killing. That's how it spreads. If you get a scratch, you're done for," My face darkened, "Don't try to tell me what you don't know. I've seen too many people die to not know what it looks like."

That shut him up.

Todd wasn't saying anything, but his hand gripped the door as if jostled, though I'm not surprised. The rain started picking up, and the wind began throwing layers of rain at us; I squinted to try to see the road in front of us. After 30 minutes passed, Lucas pulled over.

"Why are you pulling over?" I ask.

"It's raining too hard. I can't see a thing," he said, taking his glasses off and rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Even if I could, I would have to go slow. We should wait for the storm to subside."

I nodded in agreement. Lucas slides a tinted glass over the gap separating us from where Todd was held.

"What's the point in that? We're already separated by bars," I asked quizzically.

"To prevent you from talking to him," he said, locking it shut with a code lock, "It's just a precaution, nothing against you,"

For some reason, that didn't upset me. I didn't even want to look at Todd at the moment. It made me furious even to know he was there, but still, he was like a father to me. I sighed and rested my head on the car window, listening to the rain pound and the thunder rumble like a soothing lullaby. Lucas stayed alert, trying to look at the clouds.

I closed my eyes, and darkness surrounded me. The sound of rain slowly faded out. I just wanted to return home, not to that old, moldy apartment. Home, home. Where nothing could bother me except the sound of rain.