𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐑 | on hold

CHAPTER 10

The painkillers were beginning to wear off. The pain in my leg was starting to resurface, forcing me into a slow hobble. Ethan noticed my discomfort and wrapped his arm around my waist, helping me along. I hobbled along beside him, our bodies occasionally bumping into each other. He would smile and mutter an apology before continuing on as if nothing had happened. For a brief moment, I just stared at him.

I felt guilty for feeling this way. Why did he have to be so damn attractive, and so nice!

I returned my gaze straight ahead, willing myself to keep my eyes on the path ahead, and on Alyssa's shrinking frame.

Ethan called out to her. 'Alyssa, wait! There could be infected--!'

Before Ethan could finish his sentence, an infected jumped out of nowhere. It hooked it's hand around Alyssa's leg and pulled her down, out of our sights. Ethan cried out, immediately removing his arm from around me, and ran towards the place where Alyssa had been. 

I winced as my foot slammed down, sending pain rocketing through my leg. My vision went white for a moment and I quickly blinked it back. The throbbing turning into immense pain ad I hobbled my way over to where they both had disappeared. Ethan was wrestling an infected, with others slowly surrounding them. Alyssa was fending some off but they were slowly overpowering her.

I drew in a breath. I reached for my bat but quickly realised that I had lost it the wreckage. I jumped down, landing beside Alyssa. 'Haylee.' She breathed, 'You're hurt, you shouldn't be down here!' She hissed. I searched the rocks for a weapon and there, caught in between, was a large piece of metal.

I rushed towards it. It was like the pain had been absorbed by the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I couldn't feel a thing. I grasped the metal rod and pulled it out from its rocky encompass.

I squared off an infected. 'Okay, playtime's over.' I announced. Infected suddenly started coming at me, left and right. 'Let's have some fun.'

I suppressed the my old self, banishing her to the back of my mind. The old Haylee would have run like a coward; she would have let someone else do the work for her.

This Haylee was a survivor; this Haylee was strong.

I swung the metal rod, smashing the infected as they approached. I bashed infected left and right, blood caking my clothes and painting the debris around me a dark crimson. I pulled the rod back and drove it through one infected's skull. It tumbled to the ground, lifeless.

I had never felt more alive in my entire life.

I felt empowered. I felt strong. I was a survivor.

I knew that what I was doing was completely psychotic. Any sane person would think that I was crazy or that I was a complete and utter psycho. I honestly couldn't care less. Those times were over.

The time for weakness was over.

This was the new world, this was our reality. If we wanted to survive, this is what we had to do. It was kill or be killed.

I heard Ethan shouting for me to stop in the background, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. I wouldn't have stopped anyway. Not until every single one of those creatures were dead.

Once I had killed every infected in sight, I turned to them. Ethan was staring at me, eyes wide with horror and subtle awe, all the while, Alyssa was grinning maniacally, arms folded across her chest. I tossed the bloodied metal rod aside, 'And that is how you take care of infected.' I announced. I then turned to Ethan, 'Care to help me up?'

Ethan stared at me blankly, clearly stunned from my outburst. It was only until he shook himself from his daze that he finally motioned towards me. He cross his hands over the other and bent his knees slightly, ready to boost me up. I grabbed onto his shoulders and stepped up. He pushed me upwards, towards the ledge. His hands found my waist, his muscles flexing as he hoisted me up. I grabbed onto the edge and hauled myself up.

Next was Alyssa. He left himself for last. Alyssa scouted the terrain, making sure that we hadn't attracted the attention of any more infected, whilst I moved to help Ethan. I crouched down and extending my hand down to him. He grasped it and I began pulling him up, my muscles straining under his weight.

When his feet were planted firmly on the ground, we began brushing the dust from our clothes, 'Thanks.' He muttered before glancing back at me, 'That was very impressive, what you did back there, I mean. . .' He complimented awkwardly.

I couldn't help but grin, 'Thanks.'

We walked together, Alyssa scouting the front. I eventually turned to Ethan and whispered into his ear, 'There's something important that I need to tell you.'

He leaned in close, 'What's up?' He whispered.

I drew in a nervous breath, 'I was searching through my father's belongings,' I began, 'And I found something.' Ethan's eyes twinkled with curiosity.

'What did you find. . . ?' He asked hesitantly.

'There were a few supplies, but there was also a map, a compass and a letter.' I stopped, angling my body to face Ethan. I slid my bag off my back, and into my hands. I dug around inside until I pulled out the items I had mentioned. 'My father mentioned a quarantine zone north of here.' I pointed to the circled area on the map, 'He said that he was headed there.' I handed Ethan the letter, allowing him to read it through. 'And that there would be people there who could take us to an organisation known as A.V.I.D.'

Once he'd finished reading, he eyed the letter quizzically, his brows tugged downward, 'Do you think that he could really engineer a cure?'

I shrugged, 'It's possible. My father worked as a scientist for this one company. He never mentioned much about his work but from what I've gathered over the years, he's worked on top secret projects with high governing officials, as well as some of the smartest people around the globe. I also believe that he's trained in fields which revolve around this sort of thing. If anyone could do it, it would be him.'

Ethan was silent. I could practically see his mind ticking over, processing everything I had just told him. 'Do you really think this quarantine zone exists?' Ethan finally asked. I gave him a look and he placed his hands up in defence, 'What I meant to say was, it would be extremely difficult to set up such a place this close to the city, especially with all the infected and bandits and such. They would need to have a decent amount of weapons as well as people to man the base, guarding and such. They would also need to have a decent amount food and fresh drinking water, as well as other supplies and necessities.' He concluded. 'I don't know,' He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, 'I just think that it sounds too good to be true.'

'I understand your concerns, but think about it. This could be the one shot we have at establishing some sort of society.' I paused, 'I say that we give it a shot.'

Ethan gazed into my eyes, as if he were looking for the answer. 'Fine,' He eventually sighed. He held a finger up, 'But I think we should discuss this as a group before we make any concrete decisions.'

'Thank you.' I beamed, 'You won't regret this.'

Ethan smiled faintly, 'I sure hope not.'