The Secret

Part 3

Michael stared at Jeremy with fearful eyes as he watched his best friend writhing on the ground in pain. There was no noise except for the sound of Jeremy's agonized screaming and Michael had the subconscious thought that there was a very good chance if Jeremy didn't shut up soon, worse problems were going to find them.

He couldn't move, however, as he watched his best friend fight against his own body. Carefully, he stretched his hand out towards the boy on the ground, ignoring the still very prominent pain in his leg from where Jeremy had made an attempt to clean the wound.

"Jeremy," he whispered softly, fear evident in his voice, "Jere?" There was, of course, no response beyond the continuation of Jeremy's pained yelling and Michael had the sudden, heart stopping realization that if Jeremy couldn't win this battle, then Michael would have to leave him. And he would be alone.

Michael decided that fear in itself was scarier than the possible fate of becoming a zombie himself as he lunged forward beside his best friend, clueless on how to help.

~Brooke's POV~ 

Brooke was shaking, her hands wrapped around the pistol that she had found a while back. The cold metal helped cool down her very hot hands that had heated up out of pure anxiety and fear. She was in charge of leaving the shelter where Chloe, Jenna, Jake, Christine, and Rich were staying to go scavenge for materials, and also to find Jeremy and Michael. All of them had been taking turns trying to find the best friends, but no one had seen them. Suddenly, she heard yells coming from the other room, not knowing who it was. She cocked the gun, a click coming from it. She took a long inhale of air before shakily walking out, holding the gun up. "GET AWAY!" She yelled, eyes landing on Michael who was hunched over Jeremy. A gasp escaped her lips as she recognized the two boys. "JEREMY! MICHAEL!" She yelled, almost tearing up from happiness but as she got closer she almost immediately noticed the bite mark, causing her to go wide eyed and take a deep breath. She ran over and grabbed Michael's arm, pulling him away from his best friend. "What the hell are you thinking?!" Brooke yelled at the boy who was struggling in her arms. Michael couldn't say anything as tears fell down his cheeks, causing Brooke to feel horrible.

"You need to let me go," Michael demanded, struggling in the girl's arms. "Oh my god, you must be out of your goddamn mind!" Brooke responded, continuing to pull Michael along. "I said let me go!" Michael yelled, giving the girl one last tug and escaping her grasp. Brooke reached out for Michael, but he was already gone. Michael ran straight back to his best friend. Yes, what he did would kick him in the ass later, but he will apologize once he sees Brooke again, if he ever sees her again. Michael, no offence to Brooke, was more focused on getting to his best friend, and all Brooke could do was sit in horror as one of her squad members withered on the floor in pain, and another member ran beside him.

~Third Person POV~ 

Jeremy's vision continued to tunnel in and out, stars coming and going. His vision soon focused on Michael, his best friend, his player one. "Jeremy, please hold in there!" Michael pleaded to god knows who at this point, he just hoped Jeremy could hold in there. "Remember my guide on what to do if you're bitten by a zombie?" Jeremy asked hoarsely, Michael shooting up immediately. "Jere! You're alive!!" He exclaimed, happy tears pricking his eyes. Jeremy coughed and gripped his side, sitting up. "Step one, isolate the victim," Jeremy said, looking at Michael. "You need to isolate me," Jeremy said, sniffing as he did so. Michael's heart broke slightly but nodded, standing up and running to Brooke.

"Brooke? Do you know anywhere we could leave Jeremy to isolate him?" Michael asked quickly, Brooke nodding in response. "Where I was hiding out. It was a single entrance room with no windows and can be locked from the outside," She said, pointing to the room. "The second you're done with Jeremy you need to come back to me," Brooke said, Michael nodding in response. Michael ran to Jeremy and picked him up bridal style, looking down at him. Even though Jeremy was probably infected, he still looked as handsome as ever, his lips still looking as kissable as they have for the past seven years. Michael was snapped out of his trance when Jeremy coughed, his head subconsciously moving away from Michael so he wouldn't infect him. Michael brought Jeremy to that room, placing him against a concrete pole that was at the back of the room. "What next?" Michael asked, holding Jeremy's hands. "Find a safe place and barricade or block off any entrance, but I guess we've done that," Jeremy said, causing them both to chuckle sadly. "The next step is to clean and disinfect the wound," Jeremy said, closing his eyes and leaning back against the pole. Michael nodded again and turned around to leave but was shocked when he saw Brooke there with all the materials he needed, holding them out to Michael. She was also pointing her pistol towards Jeremy's head, having a clear headshot if she needed to shoot him dead. "Thanks, Brooke," Michael said, taking the supplies and beginning to disinfect the wound. To try and brighten the mood, Brooke decided to make a joke. "I bet if Jeremy hadn't been bitten by a zombie, he'd still have that mark," She said, confusing both Jeremy and Michael. "Oh, Jeremy, babes, Michael would've given you a mark that size, possibly even bigger," She said, smirking. Both boys blushed wildly, not saying anything, causing Brooke to laugh. "Okay, you two have to be secret lovers or somethin'. No way y'all are straight," Brooke said, putting her pistol down. Michael rolled his eyes, finishing cleaning the wound and looking at Jeremy.

"Next step?" He asked. Jeremy shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "Tie the victim tightly to something heavy or unmovable," Jeremy said, sniffing and wiping his nose. Michael nodded sadly and slowly, grabbing the sturdy rope and tying Jeremy up tightly, tears forming in his eyes. Once the rope was tight enough to give Jeremy trouble breathing, Michael tied it up, stepping back.

"Anything else?" he asked quietly, wiping his own tears away. "Remember to keep a weapon and something to cut the bindings close to the victim in case you survive," Jeremy said, looking up at Michael. Michael nodded and placed a knife beside his best friend, alongside a gun with a few bullets inside of it and a sledgehammer. "Jeremy, please survive," Michael pleaded quietly, tears forming in his eyes. Jeremy teared up as well, the tears falling from his eyes. "I can't promise anything, but I'll sure as hell try," he said, smiling. Michael nodded and wiped his own tears, trying to hold himself together. "As much as I love y'all," Brooke started, "I do hear noises so Michael, we need to go, and now," Brooke said sternly, grabbing his hand. All Michael could do was nod.

"We'll be back," Michael said, sniffing as he was pulled out. They shut the door and barricaded it with multiple planks of wood and even shelves used to display products. "I-I pray he lives," Michael said, beginning to cry into Brooke's shoulder. Brooke held Michael close and rubbed his back. "We need to go back to the others," she said, causing Michael to look up. "O-Others?" He asked, a bit hopeful. "Yeah, Rich, Jake, Jenna, Christine, and Chloe are all still alive," Brooke said, pulling Michael out slowly. "None of those a-are Jeremy," Michael said, sniffing after. "I know, I know babes. There's not much we can do," Brooke said, grabbing his hand. "C'mon, we need to go," Broke said, leaving the building with Michael, leaving Jeremy Heere in the back room, tied up.