Chapter 4- Ignorance
The hospital discharged Jack within the hour, ignoring my every attempt to try to get them to comprehend my rage and anxiety. Why would no one listen? They put Jack in my care since all of his family lived out of town.
I sat in the waiting room, tearing up at what was to come. I was going to have to kill my best friend. Jack and I were friends for 3 years. He was the first person I met after moving here and proved to be more of a brother than an actual friend. Not a day could go by without me talking to him, just laughing it up at something together and enjoying life. It was such irony that I, the person who he enjoyed living side by side with the most, was to kill him. Solanum is deadly, literally. Once you have it, your're pronounced dead. There were no current cures…well actually yes, one cure, a bullet to the head, but how could I bring myself to kill my brother?
My insides twisted and tangled on the inside just at the mear thought of the idea. I began to sweat perfusely and clutched onto the armrests in fear that I might get sick.
"Get a hold of yourself!" I shouted in my head. I looked down at my beretta, securely closed in its holster. A tool used for justice, was soon to be a weapon of murder.
"Sir, are you ok?" A nurse called from the desk. I nodded quickly and directed my vision at the floor. I could feel the eyes of everyone there staring at me and it was too much to bear, I need to get out of here. Quickly, I stood up and made a full speed run to the bathroom. I barely got through the door when I was suddenly sick. I purged my stomach acids up through my throat, burning as they passed out. My throat hurt so bad and I coughed in attempt to get the disgusting taste out of my mouth, tears streaming down my red cheeks. I sat on the floor next to the toilet leaning against the stall wall breathing deeply.
"Why is this happening to me?" I whispered softly to myself. "Why is this happening again?" The cold tile floor cooled my feverish body. My muscles were completely tensed and ached like crazy. Suddenly all the lights in the empty bathroom flicked off and were replaced with a single read light. A siren began to roar and the sound of fear filled screams came from outside the door.
"Warning, lock-down," a voice echoed from the intercom, "please, leave the hospital as soon as possible." The voice repeated the order over and over again as the rage outside the door continued. What the hell was going!? I pulled my gun from my belt and slowly walked to the door. It was suddenly deathly silent and my guess was that everyone was gone. I leaned against the wall next to the door and opened it just crack and peered slightly outside. The lobby glowed in a fiery red and was scattered with smashed glass and miscellaneous papers. I gingerly left the bathroom and began a slow steady step towards the stairs and ascended them to the third floor, Jack's floor. The hall was a bloody mess. Puddles of blood on the floor, bloody hand prints and footprints covered the floor and walls. My gun remained outstretched in front of me as I slowly crept forward watching my every step. I moved through an open door and entered desecrated room. I heard a slight, quiet groan come from behind the bed and moved as quietly as I could towards it. A mangled doctor layed on the floor, his jacket stained red, and covered in bites.
"Get out…they're…they're everywhere. They're close."
I knelt down to him. "Who?" I asked gently.
"The…the zombies…." He layed there on the floor, staring off into space. I examined his arm where the bite marks resided. I noticed saliva dripping out, he was infected. I stood up and raised my gun to his head.
"What…what are you doing?"
"I'm sorry," I answered tearing up, "but you're infected."
"What!? No! Please!"
"I'm sorry…"
I quickly pulled the trigger and ended the man's life. His remaining blood spilled to the floor and kept my on going my way. I needed to find Jack.