Outbreak
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20. The End
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Troy blinked. There was a flicker of familiarity in his face before he dived, teeth-first, at Chad's exposed neck.
Knowing that he would have to act fast in order to save his own life, Chad did the first thing that came to mind. With all the strength he had, he quickly leant upwards off the ground so his forehead crashed into Troy's cheek. His vision darkened and blurred for a moment and then returned to clarity to reveal that his forceful head-butt had managed to knock Troy onto the floor. And, while Troy struggled to regain awareness of his location, Chad seized the opportunity and grabbed his best friend from behind. He pressed his chest to Troy's back and pulled the writhing boys arms backwards despite his physical thrashes and verbal moans of protest. In this position, as uncomfortable and restricted as it was, Chad had managed to limit the amount of movement that Troy would be able to achieve. This bought him a few seconds to contemplate his next move.
Relief made his heart swell joyously as he looked up to see Taylor and Gabriella tentatively entering the room. They had kept at a distance for many reasons, the most obvious being that if Chad failed at his attempts to apprehend Troy, they'd be the next victims. But also, their only way of aiding Chad would be to kill Troy and that was something that neither girls could quite accept.
Now though, they were relatively confident that the situation was under control, and for that reason, they had decided to proceed with the plan of injection. They crept quietly over the wooden floorboards of what they now realised was Gabriella's work room. The syringe was drawn and ready in Taylor's hand and Gabriella was half-prepared to face either failure or success.
Chad nodded to confirm that he was ready. He was more than ready. Although he was sat down, Troy's constant struggling was taking its toll on Chad's energy. Not only was every muscle in his body screaming, he could faintly feel the slow trickle of his blood which seemed to stem from the unhealed scab of his bullet wound; the stitches of which had apparently been torn open. And the whole head-butting thing was suddenly starting to feel like a bad idea as his brain throbbed incessantly. So, he was ready. Ready for this to be over.
It was almost as if Troy sensed what was coming as Taylor stood over him, doubtful of her own homemade, untested potion. He began to shake his head, groaning and spitting, bucking his legs and trying to free his arms of Chad's grip.
"Do it!" Gabriella called from where she stood in the centre of the room. She couldn't bear to see him like this anymore. She knew that the chances of anything happening were slimmer than slim. She knew that she was probably about to witness his death. But it was the waiting that got to her most. Waiting to watch him die. It was unbearable. "Now, Taylor!"
Taylor needed no further encouragement. She crouched by the boys, lifted the syringe and then sent the needle plummeting through the flesh of Troy's thigh. The liquid seeped into him. She retracted the injection and took a step back. They awaited result.
The change was immediate. If Chad had thought Troy's squirming was bad a few moments ago, he certainly wasn't prepared for the fight that came next. Troy's body was both tense and nimble as he manoeuvred his limbs in a crazed manner and threw his weight from left to right and up and down. He was quickly able to free his arms from where Chad held them and did not hesitate to send one of his elbows into Chad's nose.
The force behind that single hit was unimaginable. Not only was Chad knocked backwards, he was sent sliding on his backside, across the varnished floor and into the corner of the room. He wouldn't have stopped either, if it wasn't for the desk he bumped into. And even that wasn't enough. Chad had flown so quickly across the room, hurled with such power that, upon impact with his back, the leg of the desk collapsed, leaving all of Gabriella's hard work- the almost complete radio and all- clattering to the floor.
The brief moment that followed was impossibly more than silent. For just a second, it was as if sound didn't even exist. All was still. Gabriella watched her boyfriend, petrified by his newly developed, superhuman strength. It was as if the cure had done nothing but worsen his flaws. He was no longer an animal, but a monster. Taylor resisted the urge to even glance at Chad. She was too afraid that even the slightest movement of her eye could spark another outburst in Troy. So she refused to blink or breathe or even think too hard, deterred by the possible consequences.
Troy gulped down the excess of saliva in his mouth. He was blinking repeatedly and looking around, almost as if his vision was returning. He parted his lips to let out quiet rasping breaths. "I'm sorry…" He whispered harshly. His head twitched. He rolled onto his hands and knees. His blank eyes found Gabriella. "I'm just too hungry…"
Gabriella thought it was a good sign that he was talking. And the way he was 'looking' at her meant that not only was intelligence returning, so was his sight. However, her happiness was short lived. Insanity flared through every feature of Troy's face. Pushed by pain and starvation, he jumped to his feet and ran at her.
She was frozen to the spot as if the soles of her feet were super-glued to the floor. She didn't run. Nor scream. Just watched as in a few sprinted strides, he neared. His hands stretched out, claws glinting in the moonlight. He was inches from her. Taylor was screaming. Run Gabriella, move! She saw the sweat trickle down his neck. He was centimetres from her. She could smell the soap with which he had last washed his hands. He was right in front of her. The tips of his talons microscopically near.
Then, he stopped.
He didn't slow down. He just fell. He crumbled onto the floor where he lay in a messy, motionless heap. Face-down. Arms and legs sprawled out like road-kill. Gabriella dared to breathe. He'd been so close. The nail of his index finger had gently grazed her temple. And now he lay at her feet. Dead?
She dropped to her knees beside him, forgetting the hesitance and fear, and rolled him onto his back. His eyes were shut. And, something she'd never forget, he was smiling. It was almost unnoticeable, especially in the dim light, but she saw it. The corners of his mouth were drawn ever so slightly upwards. And it wasn't a smug smile, nor a bitter or sarcastic one. It was a smile of relief. Of peace. Bliss.
"I killed him…" Taylor realised with devastation.
His chest wasn't rising or falling. He wasn't breathing. And she was sure that if she checked she wouldn't find a pulse. Her medicine, her cure, had taken his life. And although she'd considered this outcome as inevitable all along, the shock of it becoming reality was far too much to handle. Her devastated gaze remained on his lifeless body, even as the shapes in front of her clouded with tears.
She watched, silently sobbing, as Gabriella lay down next to her fallen boyfriend. Unaware of Taylor watching and unfazed by the presence of anyone else in the room, Gabriella rested her head and hand over Troy's chest and let her legs twine with his. Her ear was pressed to his heart as she waited for it to beat. She waited for it to beat. But it didn't.
They lay together on the hard floor, a shattering sight of loss and devastation. While miracles failed to suddenly revive Troy, Gabriella stared blankly at the fabric of his shirt as she toyed with it carelessly between her fingers. She'd stay like this forever, she thought. She'd never let him go. As long as she held onto him, she'd have him. She even smiled at the realisation that he was still warm. With hopeless desire, she glanced up at his face, as if expecting his eyes to suddenly be open.
Gabriella had never believed in the clichéd term 'heartbroken' until now. Now, as she looked at the boy she loved, she understood how it felt to have every dream you ever had, every memory of happy moments and everything you ever loved dissolve. Dissolve right in front of her. She didn't cry. Because that wouldn't be enough. She wanted to tear out her hair and rip open her chest with her bare hands and squeeze her aching heart back to life. She wanted to cough out her brain and beat at it until it forgot about Troy and how much she loved him. She wanted t—
Troy's eyes snapped open.
Gabriella sat upright and watched as he blinked at the ceiling. Whimpering and shaking, he looked around with confusion. He shut his eyes again and held his head in his hands. His teeth clenched while a white froth leaked through the small gaps between them and trickled down his chin. His legs bent and flexed as if they had a mind of their own. His chest rose and fell at a pace not natural for a human.
She simply spoke his name. Barely whispered it. But there was so much control and command in her voice that she instantly had his attention. His eyelids raised slowly and he met her gaze at once. His fearsome twitching lessened and breathing slowed. And never did his eyes leave hers. His crystal blue eyes.
When all was finally still, he opened his mouth to speak. Gabriella stopped him by putting a finger to his lips, too pleased that he was awake to register any kind of conversation. Then, running her fingers through his hair, she leant down and replaced the finger that was pressed to his mouth with her lips. She kissed him softly, finally letting her tears run out of her eyes and onto his cheeks. "You're back." She whispered, needing to say the words to believe it. She'd really thought that he was…. "You're back."
He raised a hand, feeling weak but determined, and cupped her cheek in his palm. "I'm back." He assured her, leaning upward to give her a quick peck on the tip of her nose. "And I am so sorry."
He remembered it all. Every second of it. He remembered the hunger, the heightened senses and the passion for violence. But most of all, he remembered the fear. That of his friends, which he'd witnessed all too often. But also, his own fear. Because he knew what he was doing but couldn't control it. He knew that he loved Gabriella but his urge to taste her overpowered that. And he'd been so afraid of, not only watching her die, but being the one to cause her death. And he was still afraid. His fear now was that they would not accept his apology. He knew that, after everything, he didn't deserve their forgiveness. He just hoped that they'd realise he had no choice.
Gabriella must have sensed his doubt because she leant back down so that her face was level with his and whispered in his ear; "I told you before Wildcat, I'll always love you." She drew back, but not before planting a tender kiss on his earlobe. They smiled at each other, more than pleased at the day's eventual outcome. Everything was back to normal. This was the closest to happily ever after that they'd get.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine." Came Chad's voice suddenly, breaking the blissful couple from their bubble of affection. "Thanks for asking." He responded to the question that no-one had yet asked.
Troy sat up and Gabriella turned around to see Chad being helped to his feet by Taylor. His head was down as he brushed the dust from his boxer shorts so neither of them could tell if the irritation in his voice was genuine or a joke. Troy prayed that it would be the latter, the last thing he wanted was a dispute with his best-friend after all this, but when Chad looked up, his face told a very different and discouraging story.
"Oh…" Troy exhaled, as Chad used the back of his hand to wipe at the blood that oozed heavily from his nose and stained the entire bottom half of his face crimson. It was dribbling into his mouth and tinted his teeth pink. It didn't stop at his chin, working its way down his neck until it reached the collar of his plain, white t-shirt. The first time in eight months that Chad had worn white…
Chad continued to stare at Troy, his facial expression unreadable, as Taylor tucked one hand under his chin and used the other to wordlessly dab at his top lip with her sleeve. He showed neither anger nor humour and his lack of emotion was quickly becoming unnerving. Troy wasn't sure if he was about to lose a best-friend and brother over a ghastly nosebleed.
"Listen-." Troy began to defend himself, only to be cut off a second later with his apology unheard.
Chad shook his head and raised his hands as a sort of barrier against Troy's words. "No." Was all he said. One word and Troy had never felt such dread. The room fell worryingly silent. "No," Chad said again. "Don't apologise." The red mess of his face transformed into a smile. "It's cool. I'm cool. It's over."
Laughing with relief, Troy shared Chad's smiled and nodded with appreciation. He slung his arm around Gabriella, grateful for how things had eventually turned out. They were happy now. Of course, there would be struggles ahead, but they had each other and, cheesy as it sounds, they had love. Their bond of friendship was so tough that it had overcome this. They felt now that they could take on anything and come out the other end stronger than ever.
"But, seriously man," Chad spoke up unexpectedly. "I think you broke my face."
Troy chuckled, even though he knew Chad was only half-joking. What amused him, and apparently Gabriella too as she let out a quiet giggle, was Taylor's unnecessary concern. It was only a nosebleed after all, and yet she hadn't stopped wiping at the blood, despite the fact that her attempts were making little difference. She only stopped when Chad winced and pulled away slightly.
"It's not helping, is it?" She realised finally. She allowed her hands to drop to her sides with defeat.
Chad shook his head. He noticed that Taylor almost seemed guilty for her failure at fixing him and knew exactly what would benefit them both. He'd give her a way to make him feel better, putting her mind at ease, and he'd get the attention and mollycoddling that he so desperately craved. "I know what will help, though."
Still sitting on the floor in the centre of the room, Troy and Gabriella could only watch and feel awkwardly voyeuristic as Chad placed both of his hands on the small of Taylor's back and tugged her towards him so their chests touched.
"Uh-uh." Taylor resisted, pulling away slightly. "No kisses."
Troy sniggered at the childishly rejected look on Chad's face.
Chad ignored his best-friends obvious amusement and pouted. "Why?" he whined, puckering his lips in the process.
Raising an eyebrow, Taylor pointed out the obvious. "You're face is covered in blood Chad." She explained. "I love you but-… that's just nasty."
Chad opened his mouth to protest, maybe even beg, but Taylor's attention was already elsewhere. The faint smile on her face disappeared as she released herself completely from Chad's embrace and she bent down to retrieve what had caught her attention on the floor.
"Gabriella." She sighed, standing and holding up the radio Gabriella had been working on. Before, it had looked almost complete, but in the scuffle it had been knocked from the table and was in worse condition than when they had found it. Wires were hanging out and most of the outer plastic was cracked.
With an exasperated huff, Gabriella shut her eyes to shield herself from seeing months-worth of work literally shattered. It all felt like a bit of a waste. All that time she'd spent. All the books she'd read. But at the same time, it didn't bother her as much as it could have. Because, when she thought about it, things were already okay for them.
With Troy cured, they could get on with their lives. Obviously they'd still have the struggle of day-to-day life, avoiding future infection and surviving off basic rations of food, but at least they were together. With each others support, they were sure to prosper. And any hurdle ahead could be overcome as a team.
An unusual crackling noise filled the room and all eyes fell on the crumbling radio in Taylor's hands. A light on what had once been the front of the contraption was flashing green.
Gabriella's breath was knocked clean out of her as she realised that her radio had finally come to life. "That's' the first time it-."
"Shh!" Taylor held up a hand and raised the radio to her ear. "Listen." She toggled a few of the switches and knobs, though she had no idea what she was doing and narrowed her eyes while straining her ears to pick up the slightest of sounds. "We're getting a signal."
Shock, relief and doubt were flying around the room as the crackling quietened. All of these emotions suddenly dissolved into a mixture of disbelief and joy as a strangely familiar female voice came floating out of the small black radio.
"…are more survivors." The first words were hard to understand, muffled and unclear, but as she continued, the voice became more and more comprehensible. "I repeat," She spoke pointedly. "If there is anyone out there that has avoided the infection, you are not alone."
Troy, Chad, Taylor and Gabriella shared a bewildered glance at each other, each with the identical uncertain smiles on their faces. This was the sort of thing they only expected from dreams. They'd learnt a long time ago that reality would never offer them such a miracle. But, as the voice continued, it became harder and harder to deny that salvation was on its way.
"There is a camp for survivors which can be found just off route 15."
Chad grabbed a pen off the table beside him and scrawled the words 'route 15' onto his palm. Desperate to hear more, Troy and Gabriella simultaneously got up off the ground and approached Taylor. They leant in towards the radio and waited for further announcement.
"We have fresh food, electricity and clean, warm water."
Taylor grinned from ear to ear as Chad wrapped his arm around her waist. Still holding the radio out with one hand, she snuggled the rest of her body into his and allowed herself to melt into his hold. His presence coupled with this unbelievably fantastic news gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling inside that she never thought she'd experience.
The warm and fuzzy seemed to emit from her into her surrounding friends. On impulse, Troy moved behind Gabriella and enveloped her entire body into his arms. He held her so close that they seemed to become one being. Troy rested his head on her shoulder and she leaned to the side so that their cheeks touched. Their smiles were matched in brilliance and joy.
"Broadcasting on al frequencies from Las Vegas, Nevada..."
It was then that they realised why the woman on the radio sounded so strangely familiar. She wasn't a famous newsreader or an important governmental figure. They hadn't heard her before on TV. She was someone who they thought they'd never hear from again. Someone who'd been right all along. A survivors' camp in Vegas. Clearly not as unlikely as they'd dismissed it to be.
"This is Sharpay Evans."
She concluded proudly. They could almost hear the smug grin on her face. But they couldn't help but laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it all. The past torturous year of their life was about to come to an end. And, for that, they had Sharpay to thank. Sharpay was their angel. Their hope when hope was lost.
It finally dawned on them that their days of fear and danger were over. That constant struggle, that fight to survive, was no more. From now on, they could truly get on with their lives. Rebuild and reshape their previously doomed futures.
Today, life began again.
"And guys, if you're listening…"
The radio crackled unexpectedly, and they knew at once that what was to follow was directed at them.
"I hate to say I told you so."
END
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Ok, so I re-wrote it as quickly as I could but unfortunately I think it's lacking in the quality of the original. This has been so much fun to write! And all your feedback has made it so much more worthwhile. I think this has been my favourite fiction to write, thank you everyone for the reviews. I'm already trying to think up a new story (but I'm kind of stumped as of yet- if you have any ideas dont hesitate to make a suggestion and I'll see what I can do!) I start college on Monday so I probably won't have too much time to write but I know I'll fit it in somehow.
Once again, thanks to all readers and reviewers!
xX M Xx
