3 Three

It was nearly one in the morning and we were parked on the side of the road a few blocks away from Nevena's house. Nevena had cried herself to sleep, cuddling her sweatshirt while also using it as a pillow. I took this chance to change out of my disgusting shirt into a loose fitting navy blue t-shirt.

I decided to try and call my parents. After a few attempts of my phone going straight to voicemail every time, I realized that there was no service. I furrowed my brows in confusion and grabbed Nevena's phone, only to realize that she had no service either.

What the hell?

I leaned my head back against the headrest, staring out the window. I caught my reflection staring back at me — a face that resembled too much of my mother, with hazel eyes and tan skin. In fact, many people confused my mother for an older sister, or sometimes even a friend. It really boosted her ego and she would drag it on for days. I would always just play along to make her happy.

None of the street lamps were currently on and I could just barely make out the stars. From where I sat, I could see the Big Dipper. Admiring the stars brought a sense of serenity. Exhaustion hit me like a truck and I found it hard to keep my eyes open. I eventually drifted off to sleep.

It was just past six in the morning when I was woken up by Nevena who was coughing harshly. Her body jerked with every wet cough. I scooted away from her, pressing myself against the car door. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stared at her.

"Are you good?" I asked, to which she only shook her head, coughing again. I reached into the back seat, slapping my hand around until it hit a half empty water bottle. Nevena took the bottle and downed it within seconds, something she was never able to do. The coughing fit subsided.

"It felt like I was choking," Nevena croaked, turning to look at me. All the color had drained from her face. There were dark bags under her dark brown eyes. The area around her nose was red and her lips were chapped and pale. She used her sleeve to wipe away the snot that dripped from her nose. Sweat beaded along her forehead. She looked worse now than she did four hours ago.

I stared at her incredulously. "You don't look good." She furrowed her brows curiously and checked herself out in the passenger mirror. "You look like shit, Vena."

"Gee. Thanks a lot Charlie. That makes me feel so much better." She rolled her eyes and closed the mirror. I leaned back in my seat and watched the sunrise ahead of us. It was beautiful. I had always been a morning person, unlike a lot of people I knew. I found that I was more productive during the day than at night.

Nevena reached for the radio, turning it up. All we got was static. We continued to flip through a few channels, finding it strange how it was still all static. Finally, we came across one, but the words were barely audible.

"A deadly airborne virus —" Nevena and I looked at one another "— is sweeping the nation. Its symptoms include: coughs consisting of phlegm, chills, dehydration, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, sweating, nausea, headaches, and shortness of breath."

I turned up the volume. The lady's monotone voice droned on.

"I advise everyone to stay indoors and if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, please seek medical attention right away. Do not exit the safety of your home for any other reason. Emergency services have been shut down for the moment. We will try to keep you all updated when we get further information on this virus."

Silence fell upon us, then the sound of a long beep. There was another bit of silence before the message played again. I decided to turn off the radio, not needing to hear that again. I swallowed and peered over at Nevena who just stared ahead blankly.

She had started to display some of the symptoms already. I reached for the car keys that sat in the cupholder. Nevena threw her hand out and covered them, looking at me with wide eyes. "What're you doing?" I asked, frowning.

I reached out to move her hand, but then she asked me, "What're you doing?"

"Nevena, I'm taking you to the hospital." She shook her head vigorously, only to flinch afterwards. She held her free hand to her forehead and I could tell her head was pounding. "You don't look well. We need to get you some help. It could be more serious than we think it is, and if it's not, then no harm done, right?"

Grabbing the keys, I stuck them in the ignition and revved the engine. Nevena leaned her head against the headrest, squeezing her eyes shut. She looked nauseous, pale, and like she was going to pass out at any moment. I pressed my lips together and exhaled through my nose.

The drive to the hospital took no longer than fifteen minutes. We were on the outskirts of the downtown area and hadn't seen a single sign of life as we drove through the city. The streets were empty, a few pieces of stray trash laying around, and a few vacant cars here and there. Although, one of those cars had their door wide open and the contents of a purse spewed out across the concrete. There was also a thick, dark liquid that appeared almost brown splattered across the rear car door.

I pulled up the edge of the hospital slowly. The scene in front of us was horrible. Car doors were left wide open, belongings were left out for anyone to grab, the lights of the ambulances were still flashing. It was as if everyone had just left in a hurry.

What really grabbed my attention was the body that was lying limp on the sidewalk just barely out of reach of the hospital doors. Blood had pooled around its head, the dark red liquid glistening in the sunlight. Its arm was bent at an odd angle with a large chunk of their forearm missing. Flies flew around it as if it had been sitting there for a while. A few crows came down to scope the scene, pecked at the body, but then eventually left. As I rolled the car forward a few inches, we were able to see that multiple chunks had been taken from their legs as well. In some areas, we could see the bone.

Nevena gagged, slapping her hand over her mouth, but I couldn't look away from the body. Maybe because I was in shock, I don't know. After a few moments, I peeled my eyes away from the horrific scene and looked over at Nevena, who was dry heaving out the window of the car.

I scrunched up my nose and looked away. To distract myself, I turned up the volume of the radio -- static, of course -- and looked at the flashing blue and white lights of the ambulance. That's when something caught my eye. There was movement in the back of the ambulance. There was someone inside.

"Nevena. Nevena, look." I swatted at her, hitting her arm a few times, never taking my eyes off of the person in the ambulance, scared that he might disappear if I do. "I think there's a paramedic in there."

Before she could respond, I hopped out of the car. I left the car running and my door wide open, my mind focused solely on the intent of flagging him down. "Hey!" I called out, walking towards him. I cupped my hands around my mouth, "Excuse me!" The person peered at me through the small window in the door. I couldn't make out their face, they were wearing a black neck gaiter that covered their nose and mouth along with a black cap that only allowed me to see their eyes.

The man hopped out and stared at me for a few moments. They wore a large gray hoodie and baggy denim jeans. A rather small black duffle bag hung across his body, resting on his hip. A roll of bandages hung out the side of it as if he had stuffed it inside in a hurry.

I slowed to a stop once realizing that this man wasn't a paramedic. I was about to make a run for it back to my car when he reached behind his back. Before I could comprehend what was going on, he had pulled a gun from his waistband and aimed it at me. My breath caught in my throat and my heart stopped.

A loud bang rang out. It didn't register in my mind that he had fired his weapon until I saw him bolt. My shaky hands made their way to my chest and I began to feel around for any wounds. Nothing. I stumbled backwards a few steps, stepping on something rather hard. I snapped my attention to the ground. A puddle of blood formed at my feet. Under the heels of my shoes, were someone's hands. I gasped and quickly moved away from the person.

A large man laid face down on the concrete with a large hole at the back of his balding head. Blood gushed from the wound. "HOLY SHIT!" I could've been that man. I could've been the one with a bullet in my head.

I backpedaled to the car. The sounds of low moans caught my attention. I looked up, immediately aware of my surroundings. People started stumbling out from the parking lot. They all looked horrible — and I was being polite. A lot of them looked mangled, covered in blood, with tattered clothing. Some looked worse than others with their skin drained of all color, limbs twisted in odd angles, some were even completely missing parts of their bodies.

"CHARLIE!" Nevena's voice was hoarse, as if she had been screaming. I turned and bolted to the car, practically jumping into the driver's seat. I didn't even bother buckling my seatbelt before speeding off. "A-Are you okay?"

Was I okay? No. I could've died. The only thing that ran through my mind was the incident that just happened. The gun. The flash of light. The loud bang. The dead body. And the blood. Oh, God there was so much blood. Then those people — if they even could be considered that. The way they looked and smelled like death.

I was shaking, my hands were clammy, and I couldn't breathe. I was panicking and I wasn't in the right state of mind to drive, but Nevena didn't seem to notice. I inhaled sharply through my nose and licked my lips, an anxious habit that I had. "I'm fine." My answer was forced and to anyone it was obvious that I wasn't fine, but she didn't push me any further, knowing that I would snap.

Silence fell upon us and I couldn't be more grateful. The monsters hadn't followed us. I made sure of it. I had turned down several streets, making sure I shook them off our trail. Even if I had just continued going straight, there's no way they could've kept up with the speed I was going. I knew this city like the back of my hand, since I've lived here for all seventeen, almost eighteen, years of my life.

In the distance sat a quaint church. I didn't know a lot of the people that attended St. Peters, having only gone during the holidays. My parents weren't too religious, but they still liked to go every now and then.

As we got closer, I noticed a few cars parked around the side of the church where one of the entrances were. There was an old, brown Toyota Corolla, which I recognized as Father George's, along with a two door pickup truck that appeared to be a few decades old and a Honda SUV.

I looked over at Nevena in a questioning manner, wondering if we should risk it and approach St. Peters. Before she could reply she bursted into another bad coughing fit. It sounded worse now than it did earlier. She hunched over, coughing into the crook of her arm, wheezing in between wet coughs. I cringed and made the decision for the both of us.

We cautiously approached the church.