Virus (Narry Zombie AU)

Chapter 31

This took much longer to type than I had planned… I hope it’s up to par! You guys must’ve broken a record for the most comments on a chapter of this story!

Enjoy!

Dedication to: @LeoHowardsFriend (The only one that said green) and @_eddster_, @KingCommenter, and @EverLastingFall

I got a lot of people guessing red, idk why but I like red too!

Thanks for everyone that commented!

Word count: 2,016

Pages on word: 7 pages

---

~Niall~

I ran and ran and ran, eventually only slowing down when my lungs burned so badly that I could no longer take even a wheezing breath without an internal fire. I doubled over, hands on my knees and chest heaving. My sides ached, lungs burned, and my cough returned causing me to get even less oxygen to my brain. I fell to my knees, my arms shaking as I took in big gasps of air. After minutes and minutes of choking I finally got my breath back- it may not have been to normal- but at least I could breathe. I stayed on my knees for a little bit, concentrating on evening out my breaths. Breathe in, and out and in and out and in and out. Eventually my breathing evened out and I stood up, stumbling lightly at the lightheadedness and the black spots that blurred my vision. I stood still, breathing in and out and soon the black spots were gone and I was stable again. I examined my surroundings and found out that I wasn’t too far from the old shop that we had taken refuge in last night. It felt like a lifetime away, but really it was merely hours- but it might as well have been a lifetime away. I know everything is different once again, but I can’t help but feel this time its for the worst. Sure, those four had made me soft and I was willing to do so much to keep them safe but they were to lovable. There isn’t a way you could meet them and not fall in love with them… even if it was just a sibling type of love.

I walked the short distance to the little store, glancing up at the fading paint naming the place: ‘Destiny’. I rolled my eyes at the name, how stupid and uncreative can you get? Walking over the door that was now lying on the floor I examined the area finding one straggler walker shuffling around with no real purpose or destination. Really, I used to be like that after Greg’s murder: free, wandering aimlessly with no destination in my mind as long as that horrid place stayed far behind. I smiled at the gruesome thing: I couldn’t determine if it was a girl or a boy at this point. It turned slightly, revealing its mutilated face and tufts of dirty blonde hair standing up in random places. It was missing a large chuck of its abdomen, right above the hip and looking at its protruding hip bones it seemed this one did a lot of twerking or something to screw its hips up as bad as it did. Looking closer I saw that it did in fact have clothes on, they just happened to be minimal, skin tight, and tan- the color faded but still only barely contrasted with the ghostly gray color of its skin. I realized then that this one was very familiar, the hair being purposely arranged in that fashion. It was the Miley Cirus and if I had a working camera I would love to permanently add this occasion to the record books. Not that I sat around and imagined meeting someone of her status (crazy) but I must say I could have never imagined this in even my wildest of dreams. I chuckled lightly, throwing in a dark and slightly hysterical groan causing the walker to groan back in response and make her way out of the building, hips jumping up and down like they were on a tightly coiled spring. I took in the surroundings, reminiscing on earlier today and this week, about how quickly everything fell to pieces. But I really am not one to complain, they were safe and that was all I could wish for: that they were safe and happy.

I couldn’t help but wonder if they would be admitted only to have one of those crappy shabby little blankets and a pair of sticks: something the militia called a tent, for their housing. Living like that, you would be safer taking your chances outside the gate. That place was a hell, and not just for me. People were treated worse than feces, left to deal with everything on your own. You had to find a way to feed not only yourself, but your remaining family as well- not that you were permitted to leave and re-enter, nor would anyone really want to take the chance. Those on the outer ring depended on the scraps, the bones of an animal or the skin of a vegetable that was thrown away. Sometimes the occasional bite of bread. When I was there, I got to stay in the main building, a place where they do research and plan future survival- like the home base almost. I stayed in a large room, one of the only ones that weren’t completely disgusting. A metal bed sat smack dab in the center, leather bounds where you placed your hands and feet, and even one for the chest. They said it was precaution, that it was to keep me safe and I soon learned it was to keep me there. But nonetheless, I was with the privileged that got to eat from the food that was grown and hunted. On more than one occasion I would sneak a second plate- it wasn’t exactly sneaking, I asked and they gave me it, I was considered a ‘bottomless pit’ but I was ‘the cure’- and then hand off the food to the children or families out on the outer ring. Of course, most of the time I would give it to Greg to distribute, I wasn’t allowed to leave the sight of the guards. Even then, when I was so content saving people they knew I would realize the truth.