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--Erica's POV--
"Ashton?" I whisper as he lies down unconscious on a bloodied bed. Reece wipes the tears out of his eyes and shakes his boyfriend's arm. He sees me looking outside and tells me to go and that he will keep an eye on him. I thank him and run out seeing Kyleigh struggling to help Luke and Blake to their feet.
"What's going on?" I ask as Luke moves his hands away from his mouth to reveal blood. My heart drops as I hear Cora calling for her parents as she runs down the street with Thomas, "Why are you out here?" I yell as they stop to see their dads on the floor. Kyleigh and I help Luke to his feet and he looks horrified to see the kids on the streets. Blake groans from the floor as he holds onto his side. My eyes slowly move to his blood coloring his shirt a dark crimson. I bend down and pull it to the side seeing a small slice that had to be made from a knife. I put my hand on his cheek and his nose twitches at the contact. I turn and Kyleigh says she's going to get Luke back to the infirmary. Cora helps her dad as well leaving Thomas teary-eyed behind us.
"Thomas," I whisper handing him my knife, "Get home and lock the door like I said," telling him as Blake coughs while waking up, "GO". I turn back to Blake and see Kyleigh and Reece running out to help me. I tell Reece to make sure Thomas got home safe and he runs off in the direction Thomas just took off in. Kyleigh gives me a nod and I shake my head struggling to get his body off the floor. It takes us longer to get him to a bed since he passed out again and Luke is hanging over his bed with his head in a bucket. Cora looks horrified as she sees her dad vomiting, Ashton passed out without a hand, and Blake hanging off her mom's body.
I take Blake off of Kyleigh's shoulder after clearing a bed and help to lift him up, "Blake....please," I whisper putting my hand on the top of his forehead to see if he still has a fever. Kyleigh turns to Cora and tells her to give her the brown bottle that was pushed onto the floor. She looks around and sees that most of the patients that were in here either died from it or from getting bit. She takes out two full dosages and hands me one to give to Blake.
"Blake come on just take this," I whisper as I tap his cheek to wake him up. It takes a couple moments but his eyes flutter open as he takes a deep breath, "Take this," I tell him putting the medicine into his mouth. Cora hands me a cup of water and I thank her as I tip the cup into his mouth. He groans at the first drink of liquids he has had in hours. When he finishes the water I put my hand on his cheek and he looks at me with pale lips and bloodshot eyes.
"How is he?" I ask seeing Kyleigh doing practically the same thing with Luke. Her eyes are distant as the blonde man is nonresponsive in her arms, "He's going to be okay. Should we double-dose him?" I ask as Reece walks back in. He gives me a nod to tell me that Thomas is okay and I thank him again. He sees Cora and hesitates to say anything but she stands her ground not wanting to leave.
"It's so much worse than we thought," He says as someone runs in with a bleeding side wound. I widen my eyes and Reece jumps up to help him lie down on a table. I turn back to Blake and he just gives a weak smile showing it's okay for me to leave his side. I grab the leftover gauze from the cabinet and run it over seeing Reece pour some alcohol on the cut.
"What is this from?" I ask as the man stares at us working to stop the bleeding. He doesn't say anything so Reece holds my hands to have me stop, "What is this from?" He asks making the man grimace at the flowing blood that is coming from his side.
"He was bit," I whisper moving my hands away from him. The man tries to argue but he untimely starts crying at the thought of what comes next. He starts begging for his life as Reece backs away. He takes the knife in his hands and struggles to bring himself to end the poor man's life. I take it from him and tell him to block Cora's view before saying "I'm sorry" and bringing the blade down on the man's skull. I put the sheet over his body and turn around to shut the curtain around his area. When I walk back out I see Kyleigh's eyes stuck on Luke as his breathing becomes regulated.
"Kyleigh. I know you want to stay with him but you have to go back to the house," I tell her as Cora stands frozen in her spot. Everything has happened so quickly. She doesn't listen to anything anyone is saying until I put my hand on her back. She jumps and looks up at me from her spot on the bed he's laying in, "I'll stay here and look after them. I'll walkie you if anything happens but if you get sick....this place will fall apart," I tell her.
"I'm not gonna leave you in here," She argues. She looks around the room and we see the curtain covering where Jensen and Bailee are still closed. Instead of fighting anymore, she opens it to see Jensen crying over her body as a knife sticks out of the back of her head. It's like the world freezes as Cora runs over and hugs her uncle letting her own tears escape her eyes. It doesn't take long before Jensen realizes she shouldn't be there. He gives her a small smile as they break away from their embrace and he stands up trying to block her view of Bailee.
"Jensen....come on," Kyleigh says as she holds her hand out for Cora. He slowly moves to grab a sheet and puts it over her body before walking with her. Once they are out of earshot Reece and I go and start tending to anyone who is left in the infirmary. By the time we finish that the sun is coming up and other people from our community are gathered outside to check on who is left. I walk to the door and look outside and see people talking in small groups outside the door. I motion to Reece and he comes over to see them.
"They need someone to tell them what to do. Everyone is scared and then needs you to make them feel better," he says. I look over his shoulder and see Luke fast asleep and know he's right. I tell him to keep everyone safe and open the door getting their immediate attention.
"Is everyone dead?" Someone yells. I stand at the edge of the porch and everyone gathers around. It's obvious to tell the fighters apart from the rest, "I thought this place was safe".
"I know you are scared....," I yell trying to think of what to say, "But we are still doing everything we can to heal the people who are still sick. I know we lost a lot of people last night but look around you....but we can't just run after one thing happens. I need people who aren't ready to give up," I state. Luke should be giving this stupid speech. I drop my head and run a hand through my hair until I hear shoes scuffing along the pavement. I lift my head and see a handful of people step forward. One of the men, Aaron, gives me an assured look telling me to continue, "We need people to help dig graves for the people we have lost. We need a proper burial," I tell them, "We have enough medicine to treat the ones who are still standing but we can't risk more people being infected. Reece and I are going to be taking care of it them," I announce.
"I'll lead the group if you want," Aaron says. I give him a nod and direct anyone who is willing to help in his direction. The rest of the community starts helping in other ways. Once everyone has joined a group I head back inside and see Blake is awake. He gives me a sideways smile as Reece walks in with a bowl of soup.
"Hey," He whispers with a strained voice. I want to kiss him and tell bask in him being okay but I can't and it's killing me.
"Hey," I whisper.
"Why are you in here?" He asks as I force him to eat the soup. He gives me a look and makes a joke about me treating him like Thomas making me laugh, "Where's Ash?" he asks looking around.
"He was bit and we had to amputate his arm....now we have to wait and see if he wakes up," I tell him. His face falls as we fill him in on Bailee and everything else that happened when Luke carried him outside.
"How are you feeling?" I ask as he finishes his soup and sits up a little.
"I feel amazing now that you are here," He says making me roll my eyes. I softly punch his leg and he laughs at my sudden change in bedside manner, "I like having you as my nurse," he says holding my hand in his. I smile at the small contact and tell him I will be back. He frowns as I leave to go check on the other patients. I slowly look into where Ashton is sleeping and see him tossing and turning. I call Reece over and he moves me out of the way and runs over.
"Ashton?" he whispers as I grab painkillers. When I get back in Ashton is throwing his head back in pain as Reece holds him down to stop him from thrashing about. I take out three pills and put them in Ashton's mouth and grab a water bottle for him to drink. I can't imagine the pain he is going through right now. It takes nearly half an hour for the painkillers to take effect and once they do Reece is in his arms thankful he didn't turn.
"Glad to have you back brother," I whisper putting my hand on his shoulders.
After Ashton wakes up I continue my rounds and continue dosing everyone with the correct amount of meds. Reece tells me he is going to get Ashton out of here to protect him from getting sick. He's weak right now and can't risk it. When I walk with them outside my heart swells as I see the community doing the work to put our friends to rest. We have a small plot where we have buried everyone we have lost so far, besides Calum. There are seven new graves as people use the truck to transport the bodies over.
"Get some rest," I tell Ashton as he pulls me in for a hug. I hurry back into the infirmary and grab the walkie to tell Kyleigh and the others Ashton and Reece are at the house. They respond quickly with happy messages and that they will visit when he gets a rest.
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It takes a little over a week for everyone to get through the illness and today is the day that Luke's quarantine, "Ready to see Cora?" I ask outside the door as he gets changed. He opens the curtain and has the color back on his face and he's more energetic than I have ever seen. We both walk out of the doors and he smiles when he sees Cora and Kyleigh walking down the street to meet him halfway.
"Daddy," she screams running towards him. He picks her up and twirls her around before Kyleigh and I catch up to him. He groans when putting her down since he is still weak from not eating or drinking for the past couple of days. Kyleigh pulls the man in for a hug and I smile at the family until I hear my name behind me. I turn and see Blake walking with Thomas and jog to pull them in for a hug.
"Are you coming back home again?" Thomas asks. I nod my head as Blake puts him down for him to say hi to Luke. I laugh hearing him scream Luke's name as he hugs his lower leg. I know we have lost a lot of people but it feels nice to have our family back again. We are stronger together and the whole community could feel that.
"How are you feeling?" I ask putting my hand on his forehead.
"Will you stop worrying?" he asks pulling me in for a kiss. I dodge his lips and pull him in for another hug telling him it's not safe yet. He makes a comment for me to turn around and I see Kyleigh and Luke practically making out as the kids go off and play. I give into him and press a small kiss on his lips before pulling away. He shakes his head and puts his hands on my cheeks pulling me back.
When he pulls away this time he takes my hand and tells us dinner is at our house. I smile and follow him excited to anywhere but the infirmary. We walk inside and I see Jensen helping Reece cook as Ashton rewraps his arm, "Hey," Ashton yells excitedly as he pulls Luke in for a hug. Kyleigh