Chapter 2
711 Words
At dawn, I rushed out of the isolation room.
The gray-white patterns had already spread across half my shoulder.
The air smelled even more strongly of decay.
I could sense the zombies closing in outside; without me as the main combat force, the camp would eventually fall.
Austin's door was slightly ajar.
I pushed it open.
Then I froze.
Austin lay on the narrow field bed, Heather curled up beside him, both covered by the same blanket.
His hand rested on her waist, and she leaned against him, sleeping peacefully.
My mind went blank for three seconds.
Then it exploded.
"Austin!" I roared and rushed in, grabbing Heather by the collar and slapping her across the face.
Heather screamed and fell off the bed, blood instantly gushing from her nose.
Austin woke up. Seeing the scene, his face turned deathly pale. "Evelyn! What are you doing?"
I pointed at Heather, my voice trembling. "What did I do? You f*****g ask me what I'm doing?! Austin, take a good look at what you're doing!"
Heather got up, clutching her face, and hid behind Austin. "I just... last night I suddenly showed symptoms of infection, and I got scared, so I came to talk to the captain about the antidote..."
I let out a laugh of disbelief. "And that required getting into the same bed? Holding someone else's boyfriend?"
Austin stepped in front of Heather, panic in his eyes, but more than that, anger. "Enough, Evelyn! Heather did show early infection symptoms last night. What's wrong with me taking care of a team member as the captain? We didn't do anything!"
I stared at his messy collar. "Austin, do you take me for a fool?"
Austin suddenly raised his voice. "Look at yourself right now! Paranoid, impulsive, violent! Do you even remember you're the deputy leader?!"
I froze.
I remembered that before the apocalypse, in the military academy infirmary, I had a high fever of 102°F after an old injury flared up from intense training. Austin had skipped an entire afternoon of classes, staying by my bedside to change my cold towels and feed me water. In the end, he even fell asleep by my bed.
When he woke up, he said, "Evelyn, if you dare die before me, I'll drag you back from hell just to beat you awake."
Back then, his eyes were filled with heartache and fear of losing me.
And now?
He looked at me with cold eyes. "Today's mission is important. I don't have time to argue with you. Heather, get ready to move out."
Heather immediately nodded and walked out, wiping the blood from her nose. As she passed me, she shot me a provocative glance.
I grabbed Austin's wrist. "You're taking her with you?"
Austin shook me off. "She knows the terrain around Sector West Laboratories."
"Evelyn, with the way you are now, how am I supposed to trust you with the team? Stay in the base. I'll bring the antidote back."
He adjusted his gear and left without looking back.
I stood there, staring at the empty room, at the blanket that still carried the warmth of two bodies.
The force inside my body suddenly surged violently, and the gray-white patterns instantly spread to my chest. My skin felt like it was about to split open, the burning sensation nearly swallowing me whole.
But I held it back.
I clenched my fist, nails digging deep into my palm, blood dripping through my fingers.
'Austin, you chose her again. Then this is the end between us.'
I staggered back to the isolation room and leaned against the wall, gasping for air. I was now certain something was wrong with this infection.
Outside the window, the sound of engines starting echoed out.
I walked over and looked out. Three modified off-road vehicles drove out through the base gate. Austin sat in the front passenger seat of the lead vehicle, with Heather in the back seat behind him.
She turned to talk to him, and Austin smiled—a relaxed, unguarded smile. I hadn't seen that expression on him in a long time.
The convoy disappeared into the ruins.
I closed my eyes.
'Austin, if you can't return before sunset today, you will regret your choice.'
- Writer
