To Be A Killer

Chapter 19: Halo

Singer dabs the washcloth onto Joey's forehead, ignoring his jumbled murmurs of nonsense. He's sweating and tossing his head from side to side, making it harder for her to put the cool cloth on him. He's burning with fever, his once sun kissed skin now a sickly pale-paler than even she; Singer hates it.

They tried. They tried their very best to get the correct medications, the correct creams-anything and everything to keep that cut on his arm from getting infected. But it's not enough. They don't know enough-didn't know enough.

So now Joey's just lying here, his arm wrapped up with the cleanest bandaging she and the others could find. The wound keeps festering up and is severely inflamed-the surrounding skin red and swollen. White and green puss is something they have to clean out of the wound three times daily while trying to keep it from bleeding too much.

It's hard, now that all the parents are gone. It's been only three weeks since the apocalypse, and so many people in Singer's group are dead. How many more will die before they find a permanent shelter?

Singer estimates Joey has two more days until he dies. It's a miracle he's lasted this long. Infection can kill someone within three days if not treated properly. Joey's going on his fourth day, but he's getting worse.

He needs penicillin and antibiotics, but every pharmacy or drug store Wesley and Tori have looked through has been fruitless. And it's too risky to go to a clinic or hospital. Those were the first places people went to after being bitten, hoping that there'd be a treatment or cure. There's swarms of zoms there. Trying to get in there would be suicide.

Katelyn sits in the corner of the barn they're all staying in. They weren't able to make it very far from the warehouse were Michelle... ran off. She still hasn't come back. Singer's come to the conclusion that her mother's never coming back. Now she's the sole person responsible for her little sister, and it terrifies her.

She has to keep herself and her sister safe, along with making sure the others don't turn on her since she's the one they blame for the deaths of their loved ones.

"He's... he's not going to make it, is he?" Katelyn mumbles, but Singer doesn't answer. She just continues to dab the wet cloth of Joey's forehead. "Singer. Singer... Ista."

Singer glares at her. "Don't call me that. That's the stupidest nickname ever."

It was a nickname she got when Katelyn was a baby. She couldn't pronounce Singer's name correctly, so she went with 'Ista' instead. Singer hates it. She believes it to be embarrassing. Kate uses the name when she wants to annoy her.

She frowns. "Mom said it was cute."

"Well, Mom is gone." She grits her teeth. God, it hurts so much just to say it. "She's gone and-and she's never coming back. And if she does come back, it'll be her corpse coming back to eat us alive. I... just don't call me that, okay?"

Katelyn flinches, and Singer immediately regrets her words. She knows she could've been-should've been-a bit less harsh.

"She could come back, alive. She could."

Singer sighs. "No, Kate. This isn't a movie where everyone magically turns out to be alive. As much as I wish it was-as much as I wish we could out looking for her, we can't. Right now, staying alive is our main priority. And Joey needs as much help as he can get since we have no penicillin to give to him."

She looks towards the door of the barn. "Hopefully one of the groups will be back soon."

"You don't think they left us here, do you?" Katelyn's eyes are wide with worry, but her older sister shakes her head.