Partials

15: Infected

I stared deeply into Sins eyes. Looking for any thoughts he may be having about us not making it out of here alive. The dim light lit the contours of his face. His eyes were exactly like the dread falling on me, just as deep, just as dark. He was as expressionless as a brick wall. I had become numb. So numb I couldn't even feel him next to me. Without warning he twisted around the corner, blade ready, I followed his lead. My eyes took in my surroundings immediately. I was in a big room, about four times the size of the Snack Chamber. There were large hallways breaking off the room, one sloped steeply uphill. It looked impossible to climb. By the light that was flowing down it, I knew that was the way out. Lucky us. The floor was covered in eggs. Thousands and thousands of eggs. They were clear. Inside of them I could see Partials. I gasped. All my life I had believed that Partials came from humans. That just made sense. The hospital was mostly filled with infected people all turning. They were all put down once they had changed. They got infected through wounds, none survived. They all suffered the same, waiting for the inevitable. There were about fifty Partials scattered throughout the large room we were in. I was glued to the spot. Staring at the lightly pulsing eggs. One of the adult Partials saw us. It screeched straight away as if to scream "get the prisoners! don't let them escape!" I stood there watching the Partials charge at me. They moved so fast. I was transfixed watching their movements. They were so human like. The closest one was barely even a metre from me now. A figure jumped in the way stabbing the Partial through the eye. He turned to me

"Raven!" His voice was distant and blurry "what are you doing?" There was a Partial right behind him. Reaching out to him. I lifted up my arm weakly pointing behind him. He spun around and killed it. Why was everything so weird? It must be from the caccoon. That's the only explanation.

"Sin, I think its the spit from the cacoon. Everything is so blurry Sin." He turned to me again, grabbing my shoulders.

"Fight back!" His voice was muffled and his face was in my vision three times. Six concerned eyes dug into me. He spun around killing more Patrials. I could hear the faint thuds and cracks. Why was the poison only working now? What was happening to me? I felt two hands pick me up and sling me over its shoulder. It was Sin. He had killed them all. He was taking me to the exit. I stared at his black back. Black? Reality hit me. A Partial had picked me up. Of course Sin couldn't kill fifty of them. I slammed my fists into the monsters burnt fleshy back. Fight back Raven. Don't let them take you. Shanelle needs you. So does Sins mother. I grabbed the Partials head and yanked. I screamed as the head pulled right out of the socket. The partials body fell lifelessly. I hit the ground hard. I stuttered to my feet just as another Partial reached me. I pushed its head back fiercely and it popped off.

"Sin! Pull their heads back! It's a weakness!" Sin twisted behind a partials and pulled its head back. There was a satisfying pop and Sin was left holding the black head in his hands. He yelled in shock and threw the decapitated head at another Partial knocking it back briefly. I ran dizzily towards Sin. I had to help him. That was the only way we could get out of this. I popped off a Partials head. We slowly pushed out way forward, popping off Partials heads and throwing them at the other Partials knocking them back. I must have briefly lost concentration, because I felt something tear through my shoulder. I yelped in pain. I swung my fist and punched the Partial in the face. It flew backwards. I looked at my shoulder. Blood was pouring down my shoulder freely. Oh god. I was infected.

"Pain is just a weakness." I whispered to myself reciting what my dad had taught me "you must eliminate all weakness from the body." I punched the same Partial in the face again "your weaknesses will kill you." I swung a side kick at the Partial, knocking it to the side awkwardly. I grabbed its head and snapped its head off. I went to throw it at another Partial angrily. There were no more. I looked over at Sin. He was smiling hugely.

"We can go home." He said. I grinned.

"Was that all of them?"

"For this part, lets scram before the others get here." We ran towards the chute and scrambled up it. I slipped a lot on the unstable dirt but after about twenty minutes we had made it to the top. I spun around in the sunlight. There was no sign of civilisation anywhere. I didn't care. I was out of the cave. We could tell everyone what we had been through. They could save everybody. They could save Shanelle. I turned to Sin grinning. His face was grave, making my smile cut short. I followed his gaze. He was looking at my shoulder. I glanced down. It had gone bright red and purple.

I was infected already.

A wave of dizziness hit me again and I passed out.

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