To survive without them

chapter 7

I run over the concrete car-park, my boots thudding across the ground like an elephant. Where is she, where is my little sis?. Jacob will not tell me what has happened, is she dead? I swear I leave them alone for one day and they always end up screwing something up. Let's just hope this time she has just gotten a beating or something from Bitchon, for I don't know stealing a squirt of perfume, not that Rosie would ever do that as Bitchon's perfume smells like a cross of toilet parer and beef jerky. I have always hated beef jerky, no idea why. It is scary to think that I would only like my sister to be beaten, but some of the other things these people do I would rather not mention. Let's just say we have had ten casualties over the past two weeks and not all of them survived.

I can hear Jacob's boots slap down beside mine on the concrete and someone elses, maybe Chace's.

"How bad is she?" I hiss at Jacob through gritted teeth.

"Why do you think I would come to meet you after work if I didn't think......." he trails off. Oh crap. I push myself to go faster, only increasing my speed by one second, hay though, I am getting pretty good at all this running. In school I was always last in the races, because I might as well face it, I was a bit chubby. Not now though, I can almost count my ribs.

"Where to?" I shout at Jacob, just realising I had no clue what I am doing.

"Dumping pile down the back" he puffs back. My pace slows, why the hell would she be in a dumpster. Even is she had broken her arm or something wouldn't they have the courtesy to let her sleep in her bed? I mean I know the beds are like concrete but for sure that's better than in among the rubbish.

"What...."

"Oh hurry i'll show you"

He darts into a secret little parking lot at the back of the cop station, it has been miss used even before the virus by the look of things. The concrete is all cracked and little green weeds spring from every available place. Long grass is beginning to creep its way onto the concrete as well. Behind the grass is a huge iron fence with barbed wire around the top, probably to stop prisoners getting out, behind the fence, wilderness, it must be a reserve or something. Over in the corner is a rusty old dump bin with overflowing rubbish. Even things like mattresses are piled up into a peak. The late afternoon sun gives the whole place an eerie fake look. Maybe I could be imagining it, am I asleep?

I pinch myself but don't wake up. I am already awake. I sprint towards the bin. Jacob is already there and up inside the bin. Chace is just behind me. Good maybe he could give me a leg up into the bin, I am no where as tall as Jacob and he even struggeled to climb over the rusty brim of the side of the bin.

I run up to the bin and claw at.

"Jacob, Jake..." but he is busy. Already I can hear the amount of pain in Rosie's whimpers and little smoldered cries. I look around behind me, to see Chace just coming up behind me puffing. Still not used to so much exercise.

"Can you..." I squek but don'y get to finish. He hoists me up onto his shoulders and climbs over the brim of the bin. He must have read my thoughts, but I really only wanted a leg up, this makes me look weaker, besides since when has he been super strong.

We fall into a pile of mattresses, dust filling the air in a big huff from sudden movement. I get up and dust myself off, my eyes searching the bin rapidly. My eyes fall on Jacobs big broad shoulders first kneeling over something. I trudge through all of the crap in the bin. Seriously, they have enough mattresses in here for every-ones beds, instead we sleep on concrete, so selfish.

I plough through and peep over Jacobs shoulders and almost lose my breath. Is that her, my little sister? The creature is wearing the same clothes, a little white tunis with a dirty red headband sprawled across the matted hair. That is definately what I dressed her in this morning. The creature wimpers, I push past Jacob and kneel be her side, clutching her hand, well trying to grab it anyway as she keeps moving it.

"Don't touch me, you must survive" she puffs out. Then it hits me, finally. The unmistakable old person skin and face, the rapid aging, the wrinkled old hands and yellow finger nails. It is the virus.

I move my hand away, since when have children been able to catch the virus.

"What happened?" I choke.

" Bitchon made Rosie clean some dead persons room, who died of the virus. Turns out the virus was still active and she um well caught it, they dumped her here to die, weren't even planning on telling us I reckon, I found her here when I came to dump some old gym weights."

This time Jacob is staying strong, not me, like at my mothers death. This is too much. I scamper into a far corner of the bin and curl into a ball. My little sister looks like a sixty year old in a seven year old body. Her beautiful golden hair and pale delicate skin. Her perfect red heart shaped lips all destroyed by some scientists mistake in some lad, somewhere. Chace crawls up beside me and wraps an arm around me, I haven't know him for long but I let him.

"You have to go back there" he whispers in my ear,"show her you are strong, that you still love her and that you will carry on."

I give my head a slight nod. I know that is the right thing to do but I don't think I can look at that old ugly face.

"Do it" he urges.

I crawl over to the crippled old women who used to be my seven year old sister.

"Hey" I force my lips into a little smile.

"Abagail?" an old shaky voice replies.

"Yeah it's me, your okay now, you can rest".

"I'm so tired" she puffs.

"I know, you can rest, now all is done, you can see mum and dad now and big bro. hey won't that be great."

"Wonderful, I will be happy so don't you be sad"

"How can I be happy when your gone little Rose?"

"Please" her eyes meet mine, her beautiful blue eyes have turned to grey but they still have the ever lasting friendliness left in them, "This place is hell and this pain I am going through will result with an everlasting peace and quiet, it will be better"

My little sister is small but she is not dumb, she knows that whatever is up there God will makesure it is better than here.

"Maybe I should come too" I force a bigger smile on my face, I want my sisters last memory of me to be me smiling. Jacob crawls up onto her other side and sits back on his knees.

"We won't give up as long as you promise to take care of us" he whispers. That is it. I can't hold this in any longer, tears start to roll down my face in an endless waterfall. My tears falling onto Rosie's chest with a little splash.

"I will always be rooting for you Jake, even if your not playing football, and I will look after both of you." She croaks through her aging voice.

"Is there anything you want?" I ask getting straight to the point, this is getting near the end now, the part that brings the most pain and the reality of the whole situation. Maybe this is a dream everything is getting darker and my eyes study Rosie with such concentration I can't take in anything else.

"Carry on and stay with me don't forget me, I won't forget you."

I give my head a little nod, I can hold onto my tears for my sisters last wish.

"Always" I croak.

Her little chest rises and falls with an uneven beat. Her little eyes roll into the back of her head.

"Always" I scream, trying to bring her back.

Her chest slows and suddenly stops, whipping every last breath out of her tiny innocent body forever.

"Always, always, always"I continue to scream in the black darkness. Jacob finds an old towel and drapes it over her body. I lunge at him, but strong arms contain me from behind, then wrapping around my body someone lifts me up, I guess it is Chace I have forgotten about him the whole time she was dying.

I scream and kick furiously then start to let the darkness consume me, my body goes limb but my mind is still active. I let Jacob lead the way to our cell and Chace carries me and drops me on the bed.

He scurries out of the room, well I just probably scared away my only friend, he probably thinks I am a physco. Jacob climbs into my bed with me and we cuddle together. Shaking and puffing and fidgeting.

"Always, always" I whisper, as my mind slowly switches off.