Chapter 14

~Grant~

       Once we all got to the hospital, we separated into different rooms to spend the night. Josh, Julian, and Noah were with me and Ollie so they could try finding out if they was a way to heal Ollie.

       Shaw really wanted to stay with us too because he couldn't handle leaving Ollie like this but since he was reunited with his kids, it was best for them not to be here.

       Just in case things went wrong.

       Really wrong.

       And I was really afraid something would. Every passing minute, Ollie was getting weaker and weaker, more and more colour draining from his face. It was hard enough for him to stay awake.

       Josh took a sample of Ollie's blood to examine but after what felt like hours, he sighed and looked at me. "It's like nothing I've seen before and to be honest... I don't know if we could find an antidote in time," he said.

       "And... Do you think he really is turning into one of those creatures?" I asked.

       Josh was hesitant for a bit and even though it took him a while to answer, I knew it. Nobody would hesitate before saying some good news.

       "I think so," Josh finally said. "There's some kind of unidentifiable chemical in his blood that's taking over. It won't be long before it takes over Ollie's body."

       I had never felt my heart drop so heavily before. My boyfriend, my sweet and loving boyfriend, was turning into one of those creatures and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

       And when he did turn into it, I didn't know if there was anything anyone could do to turn him back.

       The only solution right now was finding out how to get back to our regular lives and I was tempted to just go out searching right now despite it being dark out and me not having access to any flashlights.

       Ollie suddenly cried out in pain so I rushed to his side, seeing him grabbing his arm. "Are you okay?" I asked.

       He couldn't even answer because he was in so much pain. He was still grabbing his arm so I gently rolled up his sleeve of his hoodie to see something I really didn't want to.

       A patch of his arm looked like burnt skin, and it was slowly growing.

       "It's happening," I said, my voice cracking.

       "We need to get out of the room," Josh said. "All four of us."

       "No," I said. "I'm staying. I'm not leaving him behind."

       "Grant, once he turns into one of those creatures, he won't be able to control himself," Josh said. "We need to leave now."

       "I-I can't," I said.

       "Grant," Ollie said in a very strained voice. "You... Go..."

       "I'm not leaving," I said. "I can't."

       "Go."

       I really didn't want to but Josh grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the hospital room right as the burnt skin started forming on Ollie's neck now. He was still in a lot of pain, even crying out at times.

       It really hurt me having to leave him like this.

       Noah and Julian were the ones who grabbed all of our supplies we brought into the room. Once we were in the hallway and the door was closed behind us, Noah told Josh he should probably go be with Cleo and their kids now and how we would be fine without him.

       I wouldn't be fine with my boyfriend turning into one of the creatures but Josh really should at least be with his wife and kids.

       As Josh went to the hospital room they were in, Julian started looking around. "We need something to keep the door close. And hopefully keep him in there until we figure things out."

       I tried looking around too but I couldn't concentrate because I could hear Ollie struggling so much right now.

       And then it stopped. 

       He was no longer crying out in pain.

       Instead, some low growling replaced it.

       There was a sudden bang on the other side of the door as if it was trying to open. Noah reacted quickly and grabbed the door handle, trying to hold the door close.

       It didn't work.

       The door suddenly burst open and standing there was Ollie, now one of those zombie-like creatures; burnt skin, no face.

       He was growling as he slowly made his way towards us, causing the three of us to back up. "Where's the crowbar?" Noah asked.

       "We weren't one of the groups who took the crowbar," Julian said.

       "Well, we need a crowbar before we get killed," Noah said.

       "What?" I asked.

       "We really need a crowbar or anything," Noah said. 

       Before I could tell Noah that we were not going to hurt Creature Ollie, one of the hospital rooms opened and Shaw walked out, holding a crowbar. He took one look at the creature and not knowing it was Ollie, he was about to swing but I quickly stopped him. 

       Shaw might have been stronger than me but with me unexpectedly grabbing the crowbar, I was able to take it out of his hands and throw it onto the ground.

       "That's Ollie," I said. "We're not killing him."

       "Once we get back to the our lives, everything will go back to normal," Noah said. "All of us."

       "Not Ollie if he gets killed, even in this creature form," I said. "He won't get back to Spruceworth."

       "I hate saying this but it's either all of us or him," Noah said. "Sometimes in zombie apocalypses when someone gets infected and turns into a zombie, sacrifices have to be made. He's going to kill us. All of us."

       "No, he's not," I said, no longer backing up. I just stood still. "All the other creatures would have attacked us by now. He hasn't. He just walks towards us."

       "You two, get inside," Shaw said, gently pushing Julian and Noah into the hospital room he was in before closing the door behind him and staying out in the hallway with me. "Are you sure, Grant? That he won't attack?"

       I looked back at Creature Ollie, who was now standing still with his head tilted to the side.

       This creature was still Ollie. The sweet, caring, lovable person was still inside there. I had to somehow get to him, no matter how unlikely it seemed.

       "Ollie..." I said slowly. He just growled and started making his way towards me again, very slowly. I had to start backing up as well but I wasn't going to give up. "Ollie, it's me. It's Grant. The person who you clashed with on the first day of school."

      Wrong thing to start off with. That just made Creature Ollie growl before walking a bit faster towards me.

       "And a few days later, I found out you had a drinking problem," I continued. "And even though we didn't get along at first, I was always there for you to support you. I even carried around a drunk kit for you."

       He started slowing down a bit.

       "I joined the orchestra for you even though I haven't played the violin since my dad passed away. But I'm really glad I joined because we have a lot of fun in the orchestra. We have a lot of fun together." He slowed down even more. "You make me really happy, Ollie. I've never been so happy before. I need you to come back to me."

       He stopped completely in his tracks, so I did too.

       "I know you're in there. And I know you can snap out of this. Don't let it control you." I took a big risk and carefully stepped towards Creature Ollie. "I love you, Ollie. And I can't lose you. I need you to snap out of this so we can get back to our normal lives with you."

       I took another step towards him but this time, Creature Ollie took a step back, growling loudly and moving as if he was in pain, backing up into a wall. I tried going towards him but Shaw stopped me. 

       The burnt skin on Creature Ollie's leg looked as if it was starting to fade and the more it spread, the more I could tell it really was fading. 

       He was going back to normal.

       He slumped onto the ground, the pain and exhaustion taking over him and he just let it happen. Before I knew it, Ollie was sitting on the ground, completely back to normal.

       I hurried to his side, kneeling down beside him. "Are you okay?"

       Ollie looked as if he was in a daze but he still nodded. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just... Just a bit weak and dizzy."

       I couldn't help but smile softly as I cupped his face in my hands and gave him a lingering kiss. "I'm glad you're back."

       "Back?" Ollie asked. "Where did I go?"

       "You turned into one of the creatures," I said. "But you didn't kill or attack anyone so I knew it didn't completely take over. You're back now and that's all that matters."

       "And the scratch on his leg is gone," Shaw said. "No scar. Like it wasn't there."

       "So that he means he can't turn back at all," I said. "Thank goodness."

       Shaw walked over and helped Ollie stand out. "Come on, let's get you on a bed so you can rest. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

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yay ollie's okay now thanks to my cheesy (and low quality) writing :D

lol

i love grant and ollie so much <3 they're probably tied with sholden for my spruceworth OTP <3 (i'm going to have to write a lot more sholden soon since they're filling the hole in my heart that once belonged to starry)