Breathe in. Breathe out. Nostrils flare with each deep breath. Running beneath the darkened shadows of late afternoon, Kai and I try our hardest to make it back home. Not a single word is exchanged between us. What would we even say? 'Sorry you watched men be executed after they turned into crazed monsters?' 'Sorry your world has been turned upside down, spun around, and dropped kicked into outer space?' I doubt out of all the expressive words in the dictionary, there is one that could accurately describe what and how we are feeling.
Salty sweat dribbles down my forehead and into my eyes. I glance over to Kai trying hard to keep pace beside me. We can't slow down and chance being attacked by someone who has been infected. Trying to watch for infected and patrols has my attention torn. More and more are heard at a distance screaming in agony as their bodies turn against them. Gun shots putting them to rest echo throughout each alleyway we run down.
"Kai, let me just give you a piggyback ride." She opens her mouth to argue, "it will be faster and safer." Really it will just be easier to keep her safe.
"Fine." She grumbles at me out of breath, but I see the hint of relief in her eyes knowing she gets to rest for a bit. Climbing onto my back she wraps her soft arms around my neck. I feel her body press against mine. I can't help it as my heart begins to race for a whole new reason. Quickly my cheeks flush with the embarrassment. We are friends, nothing more.
Shaking my head trying desperately to focus, I try to aim my thoughts towards the virus instead. As a scientist, I am one who needs to think out every situation, big or small, to the finest detail. A problem or question that is rather difficult to understand bounces around within my mind until I can find the best possible solution. With or without my approval. Creating some the worst headaches anyone can experience. Extreme amounts of frustration already has begun to take over as today's events are unfolding. I can't make any sense out of what I have seen. Needless to say my mind is raging a war I might just need to wave my white flag at.
Rounding onto the street we both live on I can finally let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. The overwhelming need to check on my family drives me to push myself for the final sprint to my driveway. Within a minute I reach our side by side driveways. As I let Kai down on her side of the cliché white picket fence we lock eyes. Bracing ourselves for what may or may not be behind those front doors.
"Jax... I don't know that I can do this." One single tear spills over and down her porcelain cheek. "What if..." her voice breaks. I watch as her body slightly begins to tremor, and her little hands form tight fists. Her long nails painted a soft yellow dig into her palms. She's clearly hanging by a tiny thread that is about to let her fall.
"No. No what if's. You can do this. They need you Kai." I reach across placing my hand on her shoulder. As I touch her it feels as if I was only holding a ghost beneath my fingertips. "Meet me in the backyard in ten minutes. Okay?" She shakes my hand off her.
"Okay." I watch her take a deep breath preparing herself. Turning away I feel my feet begin to move towards the big white door. Please Lord let them be okay. Silently praying to myself.
About five years ago Mavek moved us into the three-story Victorian-style home. Only one year prior to the move we had been living in the small two-story corner lot a few blocks down the street, the home my parents had bought. Pure rage was all I felt towards him for quite some time. All because he couldn't get along with the other family living with us. Only two things good came out of moving. I was now next door to Kai, the closest friend I had at the time and the closest friend I still have today. Everyone used to make fun of the two of us. No one could believe a boy and a girl was able to remain just friends. There had to be some kind of hidden romantic connection. Ten years later and we have never crossed that line. Second, I gained the best extra family to live with. Macey and Reagan, are two of the most amazing women. A few years ago it was finally legalized for them to become guardians of two small children. Jordan, two years old, and Bev three years old became orphaned in the exact same way my brother and I did.
Kai's family are some of the lucky few. Her parents inherited the house next door from an elite member of our society who had been in higher standing than most. His status gave him the freedom to choose if he wanted to share his home. As it was his choice to live alone in solitude, which is what he ultimately decided upon. Years of family drama led to her mom not speaking to the estranged older brother. You can imagine the shock her family felt when the call came one morning with news of his death. He had succumbed to a fatal heart attack all alone in his top-floor office at a high-end lawyer firm. Leaving the incredible house to her family in his will. Once they inherited it they no longer were required to share either. I used to be incredibly jealous of them as a child.
About a million times by now I have turned this golden doorknob. However, today the cold sleek shiny metal felt like a foreign object in my shaking hand. All urgency I had a few moments ago vanished. No longer do I ache to see what is in here, but I have no choice. As the oldest brother, a part of me needs to protect Drake. For only being sixteen he has the mindset of a forty-year-old adult, but he still needs someone to look out for him. Our childhood required us to grow up faster than any kid should have to, and I try my hardest to give him the ability to lean into those moments I never got the chance to experience.
Walking into a home that is normally bustling with people is now eerily empty. Utter silence, if you dropped a pin on the plush eggshell white carpet you would hear it make an impact. I feel every ounce of color drain from my face. Only this morning there had been energetic children laughing at a game of peek-a-boo, Nova sitting across from Mavek at the long wooden dinner table scolding him over their hot breakfasts, Drake ran around frantic in his usual late fashion. Not a single one of them appears to be here as the late afternoon sun casts darkening shadows across each room ahead of me. My feet feel frozen to this grand entryway preventing the inevitable. Come on. You need to move. Urging myself forward, my legs break free like shattered glass from my stance.
The first room to check is our shared kitchen. Glancing around the corner, I see one of Nova's favorite light blue dinner plates shattered across the soft grey plank flooring. One of the eight wooden dining chairs had been knocked over onto its side as if someone got up in a haste. The itch that something was off started to make my skin crawl. Moving my way towards the stairs leading up to our living quarters, a fresh wave of terror racks my body. Fresh sweat wets my back as I reach the top of the stairs. A low growl similar to that of an angry dog coming from Nova's room has me frozen once more. Her door is slightly ajar allowing me to see a pair of feet sticking off the end of her queen-size bed. She isn't tall enough to have her feet stick off the end like that.
Taking a second to gather myself I quietly move closer to push her door open the rest of the way. Nova laid there with old fraying rope tying her torso down to the yellow and orange floral printed quilt. Who tied her? Who left her here like this? My mind races with the sight before me. Blood-stained tears created faint pink marks along her ashy grey cheeks. Thrashing against the bindings in back-to-back seizures. White bubbly foam spills from her cracked purple lips. Before I can look away her soulless eyes lock onto mine. She's already too far gone to recognize me. I try to find some sign the loving and nurturing Nova is somewhere inside of this poor withering woman. Tears of my own pain begin to fall. Squeezing my eyes shut, maybe if I can't see her it isn't real. I have lost the ability to stop the agonizing cry that escapes my lips. My legs crumble beneath me in a heap, the weight of the world caving in around me.
Collapsed on her rough tanned carpet I let myself revert to those shameful tantrums only children have. Anger washes over me like a tidal wave. I wasn't able to protect the one woman who took me in when I lost everything. She may have not been my biological mother, but as a child who had his mother taken from him, she was the closest thing to it. My shaking hands swipe away at the burning tears. That is enough. Get yourself together. There isn't anything you can do to fix this, just get up. Get up and focus on finding everyone else. My mind tries desperately to convince me that I can't stay on this floor forever. Without looking at the empty shell of the woman laying in front of me, I stand. False strength helps me turn away from her as I walk out of the cold room. Softly closing her door behind me as I leave. She might not be able to feel anything anymore, but she should at least be able to die in peace behind closed doors. Where is everyone else? I need to find them.
YOU ARE READING
Infectious
Science FictionIn a world that has become grossly overpopulated, the government has decided to take matters into their own hands. A quick and deadly disease is spread amongst those in all sectors. Two young adults, Kai and Jax, must work together to find a way to...
