Phase 43

Chapter 6 - Finn

I had been sulking in my room for about three hours, watching pointless videos on my phone ever since breakfast the next day.

"We're leaving tonight - 7 o'clock. Pack your things." My dad's head popped into my room. I looked up from my phone, pulling an ear bud out.

"Excuse me what?" I asked, trying to register what he had said. Leaving?

"We got tickets - flying to Europe tomorrow. Haarlem - we're gonna go stay with Aunt Richie," my dad explained. I stared at him.

"Wait what? What about Elliot - are they coming with us?" I asked. We couldn't leave them - not like this. My dad glanced away for a moment.

"They are trying to come with us - but the flights booked. They might have to wait a few days," My dad said. I felt my chest tighten.

"Is this because of what happened at the mall?" I asked quietly. Earlier this week the mall had been attacked by 40 phasers - it had been a bloodbath. We hadn't left the house for days, and we were actually running low on food. It was a terrifying truth. My dad nodded.

"We just don't know what's safe anymore. Europe hasn't had an outbreak yet - none. They're under extreme quarantine. It's safer there." My dad gave me a small smile and walked out. I stared at the spot he had left for a moment. Elliot is going to be fine. They are going to come over right after us - nothing is going to happen. I'll see him in a few days.

I stared out the window for another moment before dragging myself out of bed. I reached for the crutch, pinning it under my arm before heading towards my closet. With a fair amount of difficulty I pulled my suitcase out of the corner, and threw it on the bed.

What do I even pack? We're going to come home right?

I stood there for a moment, realizing that I might not come home. My breathing thinned out.

"Hey,"

I looked up from where I was standing, taking in Elliot's figure in the door. He was wearing his stupid Arts Fund sweatshirt and he looked annoyingly good in it.

"Hey," I mocked back. Elliot grinned for a moment, but then his smile dropped.

"So I heard you're taking off." I looked away, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I noticed Elliot was pinching his necklace. It was just a small arrowhead that his father had carved for him on a simple leather cord, but he never took it off and had a nervous habit of grabbing at it.

"Yeah..." I murmured, turning back to my closet. I started to pull random stuff out, throwing it on my bed.

"We don't know if we can get tickets - most of the flights outta'ere are booked. We're gonna try, heck I'll stay up all night if I can score one, but we just don't know," Elliot spilled. I felt a numb go up my arms. Elliot kept talking. "At least there's still phones, and cell service. We can skype, call - heck even still Snapchat. It'll just be until all this goes away, and then we will come back and write crappy essays on the whole thing," Elliot rambled. I felt anger boiling up for some reason.

"Elliot, shut up," I spat. Elliot's eyes widened, and I immediately felt bad. But that anger didn't go away. It flared and bubbled up. Something snapped in me. I threw down the pair of jeans I had been holding.

"Finn?" Elliot asked quietly. I rubbed my hand over my face.

"What if this is it? What if this is the end of the world? What if tomorrow the zombie apocalypse starts - what if tomorrow we learn that a quarter of the population has been turned into brainless murdering psychos? What if we don't come back - heck! I was almost killed 6 weeks ago! Will is dying in a hospital, turning into a murdering freak! This isn't just some tiny thing Elliot - this is huge!" I erupted, waving my hands as I ranted. Elliot stepped back for a moment, his hand reaching for his necklace again.

"Finn -"

"Don't. Just don't. I'm leaving tomorrow and I don't know if I'll ever see you again. We already said goodbye to Gwen and Carter. All of our friends at school - they're gone because it's not safe to live here anymore. You wanna know something?" I shouted. Elliot's bright blue eyes were wide. I turned away, fuming.

"I texted Gwen. You know, like regular teenagers do. I texted her to see how she was holding up, because you know, her mom was killed. And guess what I get in response?" I bellowed. Elliot reached for me, but he didn't say anything. "I get a text saying - Gwen is in the hospital. She was hit by a car three days ago. She's been declared brain dead," I screamed. Elliot's eyes filled with tears, and his mouth fell open.

"Oh god," he whispered. Suddenly, all of my energy diminished, and I fell to the floor. My knee cracked and popped as I did, but I pushed the pain away. I pressed my face into my hands, trying to hide the sudden melancholy that spread over me. My best girlfriend was dead. Elliot slowly sat down in front of me, his hands on my shoulders. I couldn't help but break into quiet sobs.

"We haven't heard from Carter in weeks, Gwen is dead, who knows what will happen to you - god this has to be some big nightmare," I rambled under my breath, pinching my face in hopes of waking up from this terrible dream. Elliot grabbed my hands.

"Finn, look at me," He said quietly. His high voice was slightly squeaky. I flicked my eyes up for a moment. He was looking at me with the most concern I had seen on his face in a while.

"She's dead El," I whispered. Elliot looked for words, but apparently didn't find them. Instead, he just pulled me into a hug. I tucked my face into his shoulder, blinking angry tears out of my eyes.

"We're gonna get through this Finn,"

"How?" I whispered. "We're leaving tomorrow - what if you get hit by a car too?" My eyes spilled over again.

"I promise I will not get hit by a car," Elliot chuckled with a half smile. I leaned up, stared at him for a moment, then punched him straight in the chest. "Ow! Jesus Finn!" Elliot rubbed the spot on his chest. I let out a tiny smile, wiping my tears quickly.

"I swear if you die I'll bring you back and kill you," I promised. Elliot gave me a knowing smile.

"I'll keep that in mind,"

Cheeky bastard.