Rotten ✔️

Chapter 12

We turn away from the burning house at the bottom of the hill and walk towards a path that lead to some houses. I had a limp, but I was trying my hardest to hide it. Garth and I were walking side by side and we were walking slowly. Our muscles tired from the harsh climb to safety. But we weren't safe yet.

                It took us five minutes to reach the houses at the pace we were going. We decided to go into the first one we saw and hope that there were no Rats inside. We don't even know if the Rats had made it up here yet, but it's been a week since it started, so there were low chances of this area being unaffected by the virus.

                The house we picked was a two-story house. By moonlight, the colour of the house looked a light blue. It had a high fence which would be good for protection for a while, but the gate was about chest height and looked flimsy.

                The gate creaked as we opened it. Both of us staying outside the gate in case there were any Rats that wanted to check out the area. When none showed up, we shut the gate behind us and walked towards the house. The door was wide open and there were possessions lying on the ground, like clothes and toys, leading from the front door into the house. It looked like whoever was living here was in a rush to leave. Hopefully no one or nothing else thought this would be a good spot to camp out like us.

                We cautiously entered the house, shutting the front door behind us. We didn't have any weapons to protect ourselves with. I saw Spencer start to walk ahead of me, but I grabbed his wrist and stopped him from leaving me alone. When he looked at me with a confused look, I shook my head and kept my hand grasping his wrist. He moved his hand so that we were holding hands.

                I didn't think anything of the action except for the fact that it would be more comfortable this way instead of me holding his wrist. We slowly checked room after room. Checking behind every door, in every cupboard so that there was nothing waiting to sneak attack us.

                We cleared the first floor. Nothing was down here, but I was starting to get nervous. We still hadn't found anything worthy enough to be a good weapon. There were no sharp knives in the kitchen for us to use. Hopefully there is something upstairs that we can use.

                My hands were getting sweatier and sweatier as we climbed up the stairs. I was starting to feel sorry for Garth having to hold my sweaty hand. But in my defence, being in an empty house, in the dark, when something could come out at you at any moment is scary and very nerve-racking. One of the steps creaked as we stood on it and we both froze. Waiting to hear the not-so-familiar groan of a Rat. When there was nothing to be heard, we kept moving up.

                When we reached the second floor of the house, there were less rooms to check. All the doors were wide open, and they were all bedrooms. We peaked into each one, checking behind the doors, under beds and in wardrobes.

                We were in the last room. The curtains were shut, and we couldn't see a thing. I gripped Garth's hand tighter as we made our way into the room. I put my hand out so that I wouldn't walk into anything. I was slowly walking forward when I tripped over something. My hand slipping out of Garths and I land on the ground with a hard thud.

                "Ouch." I mutter as I hear Garth shuffling around in the room.

                I hear the curtain whizz as they are opened. Moonlight entering the room. I look back at what I tripped over and saw a body of a man.

                Horrified, I shuffled back as quickly as I could, hitting my back against the wall. The body had a puddle of dried blood surrounding its head. The sight of the man made me gag. His skin was pale and his mouth wide open. His dead eyes were open, staring into nothing. By his right hand there was a revolver. There was a bite mark on his neck which also had dried blood around it.

                I sat there frozen. The man had committed suicide because he had been bitten by a Rat. Luckily for us, he wouldn't be coming back to life any time soon. I felt Garths arm slip under my arms as he lifted me up from my position. I couldn't take my eyes off the man's body. There was a frozen look of fear, pain and sadness on his face.

                Garth led me out of the room and gently shut the door behind him. I broke down crying. That was the first time I had seen a dead body. I had lost my house and I had no idea where the rest of my family was. And I broke down. Garth sat with me in the hallway and pull me into him. I cried for a good five minutes before my sobs had calmed down.

                I wiped the tears from my face before looking up at Garth.

                "Sorry I made your shirt wet." I say with a weak voice. Garth lets out a small laugh.

                "It'll dry. Don't worry." He says, "Do you feel better?"

                "Yeah, a bit. At least this house is safe." I say, my voice cracking a bit.

                "I'll go make sure that everything is locked and then I will come back okay?" He says, and I give him a nod. I didn't want to be alone right now, but it had to be done. I had no idea how he was holding it all together. Maybe he was doing it for me? Or maybe it was for himself?

                I heard the creaking of the stairs as he walked down them. Other than that, it was completely silent in the house. I heard a click come from downstairs before more silence and then another click.

                Garth came back up the stairs and helped me up from my position. He lead me into one of the bedrooms and I climbed into the bed. I rested my head against the pillow and I didn't realise how tired I had been. Garth stood up and went to leave the room.

                "Garth?" I ask.

                "Yeah, Spence?" He replies.

                "Can you stay with me?" I didn't want to be alone.

                "Of course." He said as he shut the bedroom door and came back to the bed. It wasn't a big bed, but there was enough room for the both of us. I shuffled over a bit as he climbed in. He spread out his arm under me and I rested my head on his chest.

                "Goodnight Spence." He says quietly.

                "Goodnight Garth." I reply before falling asleep to his heartbeat.

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*** Chapter is dedicated to @trigotto for being the tenth person to vote on my story :D And for also helping me to get to one-hundred reads :D :D ***
(I will dedicate it when I go on my laptop, cause I'm currently not at home at the moment)

A/N: AYYEEEEE WE ON 100 READS AND ALMOST AT 20 VOTES!!! ALL THANKS TO @trigotto!!!!! I AM SO HAPPY WE FINALLY HIT 100 READS!!!! So I guess this means that I am posting an extra chapter on Monday, and @trigotto gets another chapter decided to them because they were my 10th vote :D We also were ranked #589 in Science Fiction!! Whoop whoop!

So, you still don't know who died yet!! You'll find out in a few chapters. I wanted to have a bit more relationship development in this chapter. Also, did anyone spot what Spencer said? Isn't it similar to what Garth said in Chapter 6?? I thought I might want to add that in.

How did you like the chapter? I am extremely tired from exams, I have my last exam on Tuesday next week and then I HAVE FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL FOREVER! ITS SUCH A TERRIFYING THOUGHT! I'M GOING OFF TO UNIVERSITY NEXT YEAR! I'M NOT READY TO BE AN ADULT YET! PLEASE SEND HELP!!!

Anyways, please vote and comment! I love seeing the notifications pop up on my phone. Also, I'm in a weird mood because I'm listening to ABBA. I love ABBA.

Happy reading!

-FlatMatesForLife