Decimation (Ianthony Apocalypse AU)

day thirty-eight

chompers seen: probably about seven hundred

chompers killed: 0

near-death experiences: 6

human deaths witnessed: 3

friends left behind: 6

camps infiltrated: 1

dead friends: 1

A few mornings after our first day in the Holiday Inn, I awoke to the sound of a piercing, deadly scream.

After sharing a brief, terrified glance with Anthony, who had jolted awake next to me, we darted into the hallway, not feeling the slightest bit of that post-sleep drowsiness. Everyone else had already gathered outside of one room, and after realizing whose it was, my heart dropped.

Anthony raced forward as I froze, shaking my head. Brandon. Something was horribly wrong with Brandon.

My first thought was that there was a chomper in there, and I was about to scream at someone to run in there and save him. But after gaining enough strength to dart forward and push my way into the doorway of his room, everything I'd learned about the apocalypse seemed like a lie.

He was just lying on his bed, his eyes shut and his body flailing all over. Screams tore from his throat, the kind of screams I didn't even know were humanly possible, and everyone else was just standing there watching him suffer.

I stepped forward, not even thinking about it, until Alex grabbed my arm and pulled me back. My eyes found hers', and after noticing the obvious pain, terror, and pure desperation in them, the horrifying reality of what was really happening began to fill my thoughts.

Eventually, after what felt like years of listening to his cries, Alex stepped into the room, slowly inching to his bedside.

She was talking to him, but I couldn't make it out over his cries. He uurned to her as she finally reached the side of his bed, kneeling down, and his eyes were completely wild. I'd never seen another human's eyes that scattered. Not even another animal's. He was looking at her almost as if she were a meal.

His eyes shut again, and he arched his back, letting out the loudest cry yet, sweat pouring down his face. His whole body was trembling and he acted as if chains were holding him to that bed.

Alex looked back and shook her head at all of us, and I knew exactly what was happening. He was a half-zombie.

"Kill me!" Brandon screeched, his eyes shifting back to their normal hazel for the briefest second. "Alex, kill me before I hurt someone!"

She reached for his hands to steady them, but he pushed her away, screaming again. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Henry grab Lizzy and turn her away from the sight. I wished my father were there to do the same.

I knew she didn't want to do it. I knew she'd do anything to not have to kill him. But he was constantly screaming it, over and over, louder and louder each time: "Kill me."

And he was turning quickly. His voice became more and more ravage, and his eyes were completely gone. Any second, Alex knew she would either be the killer or the killed.

So, she reached for the knife next to his bedside table, gripping it tightly in her fist. I just barely heard her say "I'm sorry" before the crunch of knife digging into skin filled the air.

I looked away, squinting my eyes shut. The loudest scream yet, then silence. Complete silence.

~

Breakfast was filled with the same silence. Everyone sat around the lobby, dried tears on our faces and hidden sobs in the back of our throats. Alex was in her room. Nobody had disturbed her since she'd walked right past all of us and into that hotel room.  The rest of us stared at the canned food in front of us, knowing we should eat but not having any sort of appetite.