Day 10
Sometime after midnight

Without thinking, I had run into the night, only to be dragged back by Jared.

Though all of the rooms on the second floor were still open, half of the rooms have closed on the third floor since Brandon had pushed all of the B buttons.

After a long and heavily heated debate, we finally decided to sleep the night and leave first thing tomorrow. It was too dangerous to venture out into unknown territory when it was pitch-black, though many of us were willing to take our chances out there than in here.

I stare at the TV in the common area, my legs outstretched on top of Brandon's lap, who's heavily asleep with his mouth opened. My body thrums with anxiety, my muscles taut to the wire. There is no way I can sleep knowing the fact that I can escape at any moment, or that this will be my last night in this wretched place. Jared must be thinking exactly that because he's awake, staring at the blank wall ever since everyone had gone to sleep.

We decided to leave the exit door open, knowing that the main threat was indoors and not out. Whoever killed Charlie and Maria have yet to be discovered, and many of us are fearful that the person might strike again.

I sigh, wishing I can sleep easily at a time like this. A TV talk show has taken over the scheduled program to talk about another riot. There's been a massive protest against the lives of the infected in several states including California, resulting in the burning of several stores and people being gassed and arrested. As twisted as their viewpoints were, it was logical. If it had come down to a public vote on whether the infected should be killed or not, I'd choose for them to be killed if only to protect my brother, Mason.

About half an hour of silence passes before Jared's eyes slowly close and his head falls back on the head of the sofa.

It isn't too long after that that my eyes begin to grow heavy. I squeeze my eyes shut and open them again. The clock reads 4:00 am. I can stay awake for three more hours.

Despite my will, however, my eyes begin to grow heavy again. I look around. Everyone is asleep and stretched out on the floor, on the pool table, the sofas, the chairs. There isn't anyone awake besides me.

If a killer was to attack anyone,  surely we would hear even the tiniest sounds of struggle. 

My eyes eventually close, the faint sounds of the TV fading into nothing.

* * *

When I wake up, my head begins to throb, starting off as a faint flash to a consistent squeeze. I check the clock. Only 6:00 am. A few people begin to stir as well, and Brandon is already awake.

"Hey," he acknowledges me when I pick my head up.

"Hmm," I grumble, wincing from the headache. I rub my eyes just as Henry calls Jared's name.

Jared's eyes snap open.

"We should leave now," Henry says. He wakes up the other people asleep without waiting for an answer.

"What's the plan?" Anna asks groggily as she sits up from the floor.

"There's not much of one," Jared admits. "We're just going to find a trail and keep walking. If you want to pack your things, go ahead now. Brush your teeth and all that. We're leaving in half an hour."

Everyone gets up excitedly, Anna ahead of the dispersing group.

I stand up and follow them just as I hear a scream that halts my footsteps.

Jared pushes past the crowd, giving me the space I need to see Anna on her knees, hugging Elijah's limp body close to her chest.

"Oh, no," I breathe.

I push past the crowd and run to her side. Her face is red as she holds in her tears, but within seconds, she erupts into sobs. I embrace her, gently prying her hands off of him and letting him fall back on the floor.

Elijah's eyes are closed and his arms are still and pale at his sides.

No sign of blood.

"Shh, it's okay," I say into her hair. She grips my shoulders tightly. Her chipped nails digs into my skin until the point that it hurts, but I allow her to expel her emotions out on the floor.

My mind goes back to when she spoke excitedly about getting to know him better after this disaster was over. The disaster is over and somehow Elijah didn't make it. It seemed too cruel to be true.

My eyes burn at the rim, but I refuse to cry.

I'll save my tears for another day. 

* * *

After an hour later, we're out of the door and into the woods, though no one is as excited as they were earlier. Instead, everyone is solemn and silent. The remaining six of us walk a small distance away from each other, except for Anna, who's hand is gripped tightly to mine.

Besides her occasional sniffs and small whimpers, it is almost peacefully quiet. The morning air is moist from last night's rain that we had been unaware of, the earth dark and damp. The leaves of the trees release water droplets each time we brush by one. The clouds are gray and the wind is cold, but I welcome it with open arms. The soft brush of natural air against my face feels like a memory.

Anna's hand is still clutched around mine when she abruptly stops and turns back to me. Everyone falters to look at her.

"We shouldn't have left his body like that," she says shakily. Her nose is tinged with red and her eyes are slightly puffy. "We should... we should bury him at least."

I squeeze her hand, my chest constricting from the evident pain  on her face. "Anna, he'll get a proper burial, I promise. We need to get help first. Let's go."

She doesn't move.

"Anna? We can't turn back. We've been walking for more than thirty minutes now. He'd want you to get help."

"How would you know what he'd want?" She snaps. "You don't even know him!"

My mouth opens and closes. Jared is about to say something when she shakes her head at him. "Don't. Just... don't." She turns back towards our destination and keeps walking, her hand still in mine. I lift up the branches getting in the way since I'm taller.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" I ask her after she's been silent for the last ten minutes.

She sighs. "I can't wrap my head around it. It's probably silly considering that we had only just met, but I really liked him. It fucking sucks."

I nod. "It does."

"Yesterday, we made plans to see each other again. And now..." Her lips trembles for a second before she rubs her eyes. She sighs again but doesn't continue.

I squeeze her hand and we walk on in silence. I can't offer her words to console her, but if holding my hand helps even a little, I can't complain.

The woods eventually breaks into a clearing and we finally find a road. Jared suggests to keep moving, since it's early and finding a car at this time would be difficult.

We walk endlessly until the scorching sun has broken through the clouds and the heels of my foot sends spikes of pain. We hear a car from the distance and turn excitedly towards it. We wave our arms to stop the car... but it zips by us without a glance.

"Dammit," Brandon growls.

I try not to let my disappointment show. Another car passes by without sparing us a second, making us more anxious and thickening the already growing tension. 

My hair and shirt sticks to my neck and chest as sweat trickles down my face. My nose is still suffering from the foul stench of decaying flesh and my headache is still throbbing without remorse, leaving me in an even sour mood than an hour ago.

Most of us decided to leave our clothes back in the facility and only take snacks with us. We didn't want any article of clothing that'll remind us of this horrible building and the events that had occurred in it. Brandon hands me a granola bar from his book bag and I smile at him gratefully. Anna refuses to eat, but she finally lets go of our clammy hands together and I scarf down the snack.

Brandon falls in step with me. "I wish I could go back to the time where my greatest concern was Dasani putting lethal poison in their water."

I frown at him. "That's the time you wish you could go back to?"

He shrugs. "The world's always shitty. There really isn't a good time."

I look back in hopes of seeing a car, but none is in sight. "What're you gonna do when we finally get out of here?" I step on a fallen leaf and hear a soft crunch. The hot air has started heating and drying up the leaves. The sun creates a heat mirage against the pavement, shifting the air low on the ground into an optical illusion. There's more wind to provide any kind of relief. I let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm gonna shut all my windows, lock the doors, put a chair under the knob, and sleep. Just sleep for hours."

"Sounds nice."

"What about you?"

"I don't know," I mutter, trying to distract myself from the ever-growing pain in my heel. My head begins to throb again and I wince. Deep sleep sounds nice, but I doubt I'll be able to experience that in a while. "I'm just worried about my brother and how he's doing alone. Mason is only fourteen." He had assured me that he'd be elated to have me out of the house, but I still couldn't help but worry. What if the government were keeping watch on all of the patients' families? Or am I becoming too paranoid?

"I think he'll be fine. He seems like a good kid."

"He is," I agree. "He's smart and he keeps out of trouble."

"Kids like that are fine on their own. Don't worry so much."

Before I can respond, I hear the low growl of a truck. Without hesitation, Jared moves to stand in the middle of the road.

"Are you crazy?" I yell. The truck beeps it's horn, but makes no moves to slow down.

"Do you want to get out of here or not?" Jared yells back. The rest of us, except Anna and I, follow suit and stand beside him, waving their arms to get the truck's attention.

The eight-wheeler screeches to a halt and the driver presses the horn unrelentingly. He opens his window and stick his head out. "Move out of my damn way!" The driver yells in a thick southern accent.

"We need help!" Jared yells. "Call the police!"

"I don't think you need that kind of help, kid," he retorts.

"Call the fucking police! There's been some murders a few miles that way."

The driver's eyes widen and his eyes moves between us. He slowly picks up his phone from the shotgun and presses the numbers before putting it to his ear, his eyes never leaving our sight. He mumbles something incoherent before giving directions to our location. Anna and I move to stand with the rest of them.

"The police will be here in half an hour or so," the man says after he hangs up. "You kids've been wandering way off."

"Thank you for helping us," Henry says.

"I'll be waiting with you lot. Anyone care to explain what all of you are doing here?"

"It's a long story," I begin. "But basically-"

"We'd rather explain it to the police," Jared cuts in, shooting me a glare before turning back to him. "Thanks anyways."

We move off the road and sit on the hot ground in awkward silence.

After a long time waiting, the sounds of sirens sends us scrambling to our feet. About four police cruisers barrel down the road and halts to a stop.

As soon as they step out of their cars, they raise their guns directly at us. "Hands where I can see 'em!" A female officer yells.

I can hear my pulse thrumming in my ears as I shoot my hands up.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jared growls at the driver. He shrugs unapologetically.

Jared steps forward. "We're volunteer patients at SADE Labs. We were abandoned by the researchers because the virus turned people into..." he trails, seeming to know how ridiculous he sounded.

"You can write a statement at the station," the female officer says with a frown, slapping the cold metal around his wrist. The others move forward as well. My heartbeat races, but this time with newfound excitement.

We're finally free.

At least for now...

A/N: I've got questions, I'm curious: who do you think killed Maria and Elijah?

Do you remember who killed Charlie? Does the fact that she was killed in a closet ring any bells?

Would you volunteer for $10,000 at SADE Labs knowing what you know now?

How'd you find this story?

Don't forget to vote... or you'll be next.