Outbreak
4. The Morning After
This was no ordinary headache. No, I'd never felt anything like this before. It was pure agony. Like a million volts of electricity were surging through my brain, frying each cell and bursting each sensitive nerve. Non-stop. Like there was some kind of fiery inferno inside my skull destroying anything and everything it came into contact with. That's how my head felt. This was no ordinary headache.
And, as if it wasn't bad enough, I was dizzy and nauseous. My mouth was dry and my body and mind were exhausted. Every breath I inhaled felt like sandpaper in my throat. Every time I blinked a white shot of pain would burst from my eyes into my head. Every step I took would send an achy throb through my ankle, knee, hip and spine. Every second that passed was torture.
To the left of me, Taylor's rhythm of trudged footsteps faltered as she stumbled yet again. We'd been walking for so long now that we barely bothered to lift our feet off the ground, instead dragging them over the concrete of the pavement. Our shoes had been abandoned hours ago; high heels are impractical when running for your life, even if they did cost a fortune. And so, the soles of our feet were as torn as our tights and filthier than our stained and fraying prom dresses.
The prom. It was the most magical night of my life. In Troy's arms I felt so loved. I felt as though, no matter what the future had in store, as long as we were together it didn't matter. I felt safe. And then, in a second, that changed.
It had been over 14 hours since I had last seen Troy; that final glimpse of him before we were violently dragged apart by the surging crowds. Since then, Taylor and I had rested only once, briefly sleeping in Troy's draughty tree-house, in our tiring destination-less walk through deserted backstreets. It was midday and the merciless sun blazed right above us. If it wasn't for my severe dehydration, I would have been sweating buckets.
"I gotta sit down." I was shocked by the hoarseness of my own voice. My limbs felt triple their usual weight and I knew I couldn't walk much longer.
Taylor acknowledged me with a quick sideways glance but didn't even slow her pace. "Not 'til we're further from the main roads." She said bluntly. She continued to walk, scouring the empty streets ahead with her eyes; still jumpy and vigilant.
I understood her fearful paranoia. What had happened was insane. We'd almost lost our lives and had the scars to prove it. I understood. But we were miles from a main road. In a part of Albuquerque I had never seen before. An area of countryside and forest that I hadn't even known existed. It was private land where the houses weren't within miles of each other and vast properties were gated and enclosed.
"Come on," I begged. In my desperation, I could feel a lump growing in my throat. My eyes were dry but I felt like crying. "I haven't seen anyone for hours."
And it was true. At first, the streets had been swarming with people running around like headless chickens. We were among them also sprinting in no particular direction. But as night had turned into day and we got further from civilisation the number of people diminished until there was no-one around but us. But for our occasional bouts of forced conversation, the world was silent.
A soft breeze blessed us with a moment of cool before humidity reclaimed our senses. Taylor shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. Her fingers despondently stroked the claw-mark gashes on her upper arm which sparkled with spots of fresh, wet blood. "We're not safe." She muttered.
"Why?" I asked, much louder than intended and with undeniable irritation. "We're so far from where it was all happening." I turned my head to look back at the road we'd been travelling on. "And we have no idea where we are. How are we supposed to get back when-?"
"We aren't going back." She interrupted. Her voice never left its harsh monotone. "We can't."
I stopped in my tracks. "What do you mean?" I asked quietly.
Taylor continued to walk ahead but turned around to face me. "Come on." She ordered. She was so stern and frank that I wondered if she'd somehow managed to lose her emotions in all the mess of the night. She seemed unafraid and unsympathetic. Like a robot, she just carried on without flinching. And there I stood; hurt, terrified and confused and with no more motivation to go on.
"No." I answered finally. I saw Taylor tense. She pursed her lips and slowed to a stop.
So I was wrong before. She hadn't lost her emotions. She was exhibiting quite a few now; frustrated, angry and really not in the mood for my objection.
Clenching and unclenching her small fists, she took a deep breath before turning to me fully and taking the few steps back to where I stood. "Listen to me," she said through gritted teeth once she was a couple of feet in front of me. "The city is infected, okay?" I'd never seen her like this. This girl was not my chirpy best-friend. She'd become someone I didn't like at all. "We go back and we'll end up infected too."
I'd barely been listening as I considered why Taylor would be so brash. When her words finally sank in, I found myself facing even more confusion. "What infection?"
Taylor's grim expression softened and she sighed quietly. "They were testing some new drug." She explained. "I don't know what. Something controversial." She shrugged and I detected a resentment in her voice. "But I guess it must have mutated and got loose."
Her words were going right over my head, simply due to my fatigue. Before I could allow any more of it to sink in, I had to rest. I nodded so she'd know I was still listening and then sank to the ground and sat right there in the middle of the road. "How do you know all this?" I asked, not bothering to look up at her, focusing on the ladders that streamed up her tights instead.
"My mom was telling me about it." She answered. She hesitated before sitting cross-legged beside me. I could see out of the corner of my eye that she was still looking frequently to her left and right to see if anyone was around. "She knew a guy that worked at the place they were doing it. Somewhere in California I think."
She seemed to be talking to herself more than she was me. I realised then just why she was so distant. Where I was the type of person who couldn't quite keep their emotions hidden, Taylor McKessie was the complete opposite. Without her telling me, I would never know what was on her mind, even as her best friend. It had only just occurred to me that she was probably hurting just as much as I was. She'd just managed to hide it behind this hard façade.
"But there's a cure, right?" I asked simply to take her mind elsewhere. To hope.
When she didn't answer, I turned to face her only to find that she was no longer looking around vigilantly, but gazing down at her hands. Her eyes glazed with insufferable guilt.
The skin on her palms was tinted pink with the blood she hadn't had a chance to wash off. Her fingertips were red and raw from where she had been rubbing them in vain to get them clean. She turned her hands so they were palm-down and began to pick frantically at the darkened, dry blood under her nails. She was gasping at the desperation with which she was trying to rid her skin of the blood of another.
I could tell she'd been swallowed by the thoughts that I had tried so hard to ignore. "We did what we had to do." I slipped my hand into hers and drew her attention from the awful memories of the night before.
I wasn't sure if she had listened but she definitely heard. She nodded and glanced back up the road in the direction we had been walking. "What are we gonna do, Gabi?" She sniffed softly. "It's not just Albuquerque. There's nowhere for us to go…" She swiped fiercely at the single tear that slowly traced down her cheek.
What was I supposed to say? She'd been the one with the answers. I had no clue. "We'll find somewhere to stay." I decided. The next house we came to would become our new home. "At least, temporarily."
I could feel her shaking at my side and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. She seemed so fragile now and I found myself wishing the angry Taylor back. At least then, she was the strong, fierce girl I knew, even if she was being a bit rude.
"Then what?" She rested her head against my cheek.
"Then…" I thought to myself. The future for us seemed bleak. And we both knew it. "We wait." I added finally. The idea sucked but there was really nothing much else that we could do. Survive or die. Those were our only options. "This won't go on for long." I assured us both. Though, this didn't seem like the type of thing that would blow over any time soon.
"You're right." She agreed, straightening her back and looking ahead. There were traces of doubt in her pensive frown but a glimmer of hope behind her eyes.
"And," I continued. "You know, in a few days, things'll be back to normal."
A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the lack of regular updates. It's not that I'm not writing it, it's just that my internet is so messed up. I've managed to fix it momentarily (but by the time I press 'upload' it will probably die just to spite me!) Anyway, thanks for the reviews and for adding me to alerts and stuff! I know I say this every time but PLEASE review. Even if it's just one short one for the entire story. You don't have to comment on every chapter it's just that getting reviews spurs me on and I need motivation! I'll stop begging now. And I really am appreciative of those who already review!
Just for you guys, my fab readers, I thought I'd do a double update for ya'll! So, two chapters will be up today! Yay!
