Influenza Z

11. You're With Me

Chapter Eleven ● You’re With Me

            As soon as Levi’s lungs met the smoke, he began to rethink his decision. He did not know where Cassidy was, he did not know if she was infected—he did not even know if she was alive. Nevertheless, he promised Mrs. Fairchild that he would find her.

            Urgently, Levi removed his shirt and threw it to the floor. The temperature continued to increase, and Levi’s clothes had stuck to him so severely that he feared they would merge with his skin.

            The fire was no longer confined to the walls. It began to overtake the ceiling, and in any minute, charred pieces of plaster would rain from above and singe Levi.

            He knew he had to act fast, but he did not know how to act or where to act. He considered remaining stationary in front of the entrance so that Cassidy would find him and exit with him. Within seconds, he felt uncomfortable with waiting. He needed to go out and find her.

            Levi pressed his body against the floor, which felt warm and grimy to his bare chest. He crawled toward the cafeterias, because that was where he had seen the most Septics.

            As he moved and avoided the few Septics that had not already died, he tried to remember what Cassidy was wearing on her feet. He recalled that morning, which felt like a year ago. He remembered thinking how attractive her body looked in her clothes, but he struggled to remember if she was wearing sneakers or not.

            As another victim screamed, it clicked. He remembered that she was wearing purple sneakers with black accents. He looked for those running shoes as he approached the cafeterias.

            A burning chunk of the ceiling fell and landed an inch away from Levi. At first he thought he was safe, but warmth spread on his legs, and he realized that a fire was developing on his jeans. Being careful to hold the saw, Levi stopped, dropped and rolled. He thought he would never have to do that in his life.

            Once he was sure that the fire was out, he kept moving. He worried that he burned his leg, but so many discomforts were attacking him at once that he chose not to care.

            As the smoke blackened, Levi’s coughs became retches. He was certain he would die. Without sorrow, he accepted this fate. He would not fight death as long as it meant saving Cassidy.

            Occasionally slicing at the ankles of Septics, Levi slithered aimlessly through the hallway. He almost did not recognize that purple Nike sneaker.

            Initially, Levi rejoiced. Despite his happiness, he was surprised that Cassidy was standing. Most of the survivors were now crawling. Levi wondered how oxygen was still circulating within Cassidy.

            Then, a rush of pessimistic thoughts bombarded Levi’s mind. What if this wasn’t Cassidy, just somebody with the same shoe? What if this was Cassidy, but she was a Septic now? What if she somehow died in an upright position? Too many questions swarmed Levi, and it was hard to focus with the incessant blaring of the fire alarms.

            Pushing down on the ground, Levi stood up to see who was before him. His knees wobbled underneath him, and he tried his hardest to suppress his coughing.

            The coughing gave him away, and Cassidy turned around. Levi looked at the figure in front of him.

            She was definitely not dead, and her eyes suggested that she was still healthy, too. Levi exhaled a sigh of relief, which transformed into more coughs.

            However, as Levi examined the situation, he realized that Cassidy had trapped herself behind a table, and a small crowd of Septics stood on the other side of it, only a foot away from where Levi was. He chopped at the ones that attacked him, and the rest dispersed to attack other victims.

            “Cassidy, you’re alive!” Levi shouted, surprisingly without a cough.

            She just stared at him, still standing, knees bent. “I’m aware. I don’t feel like it, though.”

            “What do you mean?” Levi questioned.

            “Some bitch stabbed me in the thigh by accident. I can hardly walk. On top of that, my chainsaw ran out of gas. I trapped myself behind this table so that when this mess was all over, someone could come and pull me out. But it looks like we’re all gonna burn to death. It looks like everything was for nothing.” Cassidy was scowling, but not crying.

            Levi frantically shook his head, but he doubted she could see it. “No. No, no, no. Cassidy, remember what you told me? You said as long as you were with me, I was safe. Well the same goes for you. As long as I’m with you, you’ll be safe.”

            “Yeah, that’s really sweet and all, but this building is on fire, I can’t even see you, and my lungs feel like they’re gonna collapse. We’re gonna die, Levi. It’s okay. Not every story needs a happy ending,” Cassidy repeated.

            “How bad is your leg?” Levi asked, narrowly avoiding another mini comet.

            “How is that relevant?” she countered.

            “I’m gonna lift you out of here. Don’t protest. I promised your mom that I would find you and bring you to her,” Levi explained.

            A short silence followed his sentence, and he feared the worst. Fortunately, Cassidy spoke. “My mom? She’s outside?” she questioned.

            “You didn’t know? Your parents didn’t text you or anything?” Levi wondered aloud.

            “They might’ve. I lost my phone somewhere between now and when I ran—” Cassidy tried to stop herself but Levi knew what she was about to say. He considered asking her why she abandoned him, but he felt that now was not the right time.

            “I’m lifting you out of here,” Levi reiterated. He paused for a second, and then added, “Where are the Septics?”

            “They’re all dead. I avoided about six pieces of ceiling just in this conversation,” she answered.

            Without any more words, Levi pushed the table out of the way. It made a loud groaning sound as it scraped against the floor. This attracted the few Septics that were still alert. However, they could not seem to get through the wall of smoke or past the table. Levi bent down and threw Cassidy’s arm over his shoulder.

            “I need you to hop on your good foot when I stand up, okay?” he told her.

            “Are you wearing a shirt?” Cassidy asked. Levi blushed, but he was glad that she couldn’t see it.

            After counting to three, Levi rose and let Cassidy lean on him as they hobbled down the hallway. The smoke was so thick now that Levi only saw black. He and Cassidy had already been coughing, but he had previously ignored it. Now, they could not even walk and cough at the same time.

        A chunk of the ceiling that was the width of a keyboard fell down and struck Levi’s shirt. He screamed in pain as the flames touched his back. He fell forward, clumsily releasing Cassidy. They both lay on the floor, as items from the second floor began to cascade around them. Levi slowly stopped, dropped and rolled. Right before the flame on his back was completely gone, fatigue overcame him. Levi lost consciousness.