When I got up the next morning, the sun was already peeking through the blinds of the room. Sitting-up, my body ached, and when I moved my sleeve, purple bruises polka-dotted my skin. I got up as quickly as possible, careful not to push against the cuts when pulling up my jeans.
The air felt fresh when I took a deep breath on the porch, but something felt off. I couldn't pinpoint what it exactly was, but I felt like how I did the days leading up to the day we visited Noah. The air was holding its breath, and I waited for it to let go.
Then I heard the screams. At first, it was just one, then another, and another. I ran towards the noise, and it led me to the front gate that was now knocked down, and hundreds of the dead were stumbling into the compound. The guards were shooting into the massive crowd, not caring to look at what they were hitting. Their guns brought down a lot of the dead, but some of the stray bullets left their mark in the living as well. It was a mess, and I knew I needed to get out of there as soon as possible. These people weren't going to make it a day outside the gates, and I wasn't going to risk my life for them. Some of the crowd had brought kitchen knives or used sticks to try and fight back, but for the most part, they tried to run while the dead grabbed onto their flesh. I grabbed at my knife in my pocket and changed my course back to the house. The General was bound to have something hidden that I could use.
I ran through the streets and saw the Generals piling into their vans, "What the hell are you doing?" I shouted. "Getting out of here! This place is lost." One of them yelled back. I wasn't surprised that they were packing up and leaving. In this world, it was all about survival now, and they were only protecting themselves. "What about the people?" Some of the guys shook their heads, and a few laughed, "They were never going to make it, and I'm not putting my ass on the line for them." The car drove off and left me standing alone in the street. The words stung my ears with anger when I heard his last sentence, but it also stung my heart because hadn't it been me only a few minutes ago who turned my back on the same people with those very words.
I turned the corner and found Vivian. She was crying and holding her mother in her arms. The two of them sat covered in blood, and her mom's arm hung limply off Vivian's leg. "Viv..." I said, over the echo of groans from the dead, "We need to get out of here." Vivian looked up, and her eyes were red with tears, "No, I can't leave. She needs a doctor. Please, we need to get her to a doctor." Her body began to rock back and forth with grief. "Viv, she's gone, and we need to leave. Come with me, please!" I practically begged her. Looking around, I saw more of the dead begin to appear around the corners, and I needed to get Viv out of here quickly. I grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. We took off running, "Where are the twins?" I shouted as we navigated past mobs of people. "I- uh, they're..." She stopped moving, and it yanked me to a stop as well, "Are they?" She nodded her head, and a fresh flow of tears began pouring down her face, "All of them are gone." I grabbed her hand again and broke back into a run, "It's okay, but we've got to keep moving." We got to my front steps, and I slammed open the front door, the knob hitting the same dent that Derek had made. "Grab cans from the kitchen and anything else we can use," I said, giving the order to Vivian, who quickly grabbed a bag from the hall and threw open the cabinets, stuffing cans into the open pocket. I took off to the bedroom, ripping apart drawers, looking through jacket pockets, and I even grabbed at the floorboards, scuffing my nails to see if one of them was loose.
I heard a car through the window, and it came to a stop outside the house. I got up and ran back to Vivian, "Who is it?" She asked me, her eyes wide with fear. "I don't know." I walked to the window and looked out, the van door flew open, and the General sat in the back holding a large gun. "Norah?!" He shouted. My heart started to beat, and I choked back vomit. This was my chance to get away and start something far away from him, but could I make it without his help? The indecision tugged at my brain, and I tried to think as fast as I could. "Are we going to answer?" Vivian broke my thinking. Maybe I could have made it on my own, but I needed to take care of Vivian, she had no one, and I owed it to her. I hated the part of me that wanted to leave her behind and run but couldn't. "Let's go," I said finally, and we hurried out the front door. "There you are!" He said, reaching out his hand and helping Vivian into the back. He held out his hand again for me, but something held me back. Only a few moments ago, I was sure I couldn't leave Viv behind, but now not so much. "Norah, come one! We don't have all day." The General's tone grew angry, and I saw the dead closing in on us, but that wasn't what changed my mind when I finally decided to get into the car. I turned to look for a way to get through the crowd, positive I was going to run, but then I saw Moses Winters, sitting behind the wheel and staring straight into my eyes. I jumped in, and the doors slammed behind me. The car took off roaring, and we drove through the crowd out past the gates.
The people left standing shouted after the car and tried to catch up, "We should stop." Moses said, but the General shook his head. "It's every man for himself now." I noticed the hurt in Moses's expression, but he kept moving. People I'd known my whole life, laid dead in the street or stumbled along, now one of the crowd. "You said you were going to protect us." I spoke up, "You said you were going to protect them, and now they're dead. You lied to those people and told them they were safe while you watched the dead tear them apart." He turned to look at me, "That place was going to fall, and it was inevitable." I knew my face gave me away because the General smirked, "I can see it in your eyes that you thought it too." I knew he was telling the truth, but couldn't the truth be wrong sometimes?
We drove on in silence for hours, and I stared out the window watching the buildings fly past. So many things had changed in only months. Buildings I'd grown up with were crumbling to nothing. Was that what I looked like inside? Was I just another building built only so that it could fall? "Norah," Vivian whimpered. "What?" I snapped. I knew it wasn't her fault, but I couldn't listen to any whining right now. "I don't feel good. Everything is so hot, and I, um..." Her voice trailed off, and I turned quickly. Her temperature was burning up, and her cheeks flushed red with fever. "We need to stop!" I shouted at Moses. The General woke from his nap confused, and he sat up straight as soon as he saw me kneeling over Vivian. I stroked her hair from her face, "Please stay with me." I whispered. "She has a fever, doesn't she?" The kid in the front asked. I nodded, "Does that mean something?" I asked. He nodded, "I've seen it before. We've got to get rid of her before she turns." He reached to grab his gun. "Stop!" Moses said, pulling the guy's hands away from his belt, "No one is shooting anyone." I nodded gratefully at Moses, and he gave me a sad smile. "Norah, am I going to die?" Vivian tried to choke the words out from her sore throat. "Shh, everything is going to be okay." I tried to muster the most soothing voice I could. She looked up, and I could see all the pain behind her blue eyes, "It's okay, I'm not scared." I felt tears beginning to push at my eyes, "Viv, you can't leave me. You're all I have." Her weak hand laid itself on top of mine, "Don't lose yourself, promise me?" I nodded quickly. Vivian's eyes looked like the sky, and when they closed for the last time, I wasn't sure I could go on any longer.