CHAPTER 2

I was still sitting there, my back pressed against the fridge, when my phone buzzed in my hand, jolting me out of my daze. For a second, I didn't even register it—I had stopped expecting anyone to call back. But then I saw the name on the screen: Isla.

My heart lurched.

I hesitated before answering. Isla and I… we weren't close. She was always the bright one, the sunshine girl with her perfect hair, perfect grades, and endless string of friends. Everyone loved Isla. She was light, while I was always the shadow, the moody sister with too much silence and not enough charm. We had grown up in the same house, but our worlds couldn't have been further apart.

I swiped to answer, bringing the phone to my ear with a shaky hand. "Isla?" My voice cracked, barely above a whisper.

"Maya—" her voice came through the speaker, but it was wrong. Raw. Full of panic. She was sobbing, gasping for breath between her words. "Maya, I—I don't know what to do. Oh my God, Maya, she bit me. Mom bit me."

The world tilted. I couldn't breathe. Mom bit her? "What—what are you talking about?" I whispered, already knowing but refusing to believe. "Isla, slow down. What do you mean she bit you?"

"She's… she's gone, Maya. She's not Mom anymore," Isla's voice cracked, and I could hear her breaking down on the other end, the sound of her sobs tearing into me. "It all happened so fast. Dad tried to—he tried to stop her, but… Oh my God, Dad's dead, Maya. He's dead. She—she tore into him like he was nothing, like he didn't matter—"

The words didn't make sense. Mom? Dad?My throat tightened, my pulse roaring in my ears. "Isla, where are you? Tell me where you are!"

"I locked myself in the bathroom," she whispered. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to die, Maya, I don't want to turn into one of those things." Her voice broke again, desperate, lost. "I'm so scared. Please. Please, I don't want to be like them."

My hand clutched the phone so tightly it hurt, the cold plastic biting into my palm. I stared straight ahead, but I couldn't see anything. Dad was dead. Mom was one of them. My family, the people I thought I would call if something like this happened, were gone. And Isla—Isla was next.

"I'm coming," I said, my voice hollow. The words came out on autopilot, even though I had no idea how I was supposed to help her. How was I supposed to save her?

"No," she cried, her voice hysterical now, a frantic edge of hopelessness coloring every word. "No, you can't. It's too late. You don't understand—I'm going to turn. She bit me, Maya. I can feel it. It hurts. Oh God, it hurts so much."

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the image of Isla, trapped in some bathroom, crumpled against the door, holding on to the last pieces of her life.

"Isla," I said, my voice trembling, "you're going to be okay. Just—just hang on, okay? I'll figure something out. I'll find a way—"

"Don't lie to me," she snapped, her voice harsh but shaking. "You can't fix this. You are the last person that can fix this!" She took in a dragged breath as she continued. "I hate it... I hate it when you make promises you can't keep, Maya! I will teach you Archery when you get to highschool! I will show up on your graduation! I will fucking come back home for Christmas! You fucking liar!"she yelled, her words hitting me like a punch to the gut. "You don't even know how to help me."

I couldn't argue.

Didn't dare to argue when she was right.

I didn't know how to help her. I didn't know how to help anyone, not even myself.

"I don't want to die like this," she sobbed again, her voice breaking into raw, jagged pieces. "I don't want to turn into one of those things. I'm so scared, Maya. I'm so scared…"

Her fear reached through the phone, twisting my insides. The thought of her alone, terrified, knowing what was coming but powerless to stop it.

I gripped the phone tighter, my knuckles white. "Isla, listen to me. You are not going to turn into one of them. I won't let it happen."

But even as I said it, I knew it was a lie.

And she probably did too.

If the news headlines were true then there was no cure, no stopping it once it got into your blood.

She let out a chuckled, a low humorless sound, probably amused by my ridiculous lie. "I won't let it happen? Big words coming from a doormat."

I gritted by teeth as I dropped my gaze.

There was an intense silence between us. "I'm sorry... I can't… I just don't know what to do," she choked out. "I don't want to die, Maya. I'm not ready."

Her voice hitched, and the sound of her sobbing filled the silence between us. I pressed the phone to my ear, closing my eyes tight, fighting back tears. Isla.

I had spent my entire life feeling like I didn't measure up to her, like I was somehow less because I didn't glow the way she did. I never knew how to be there for her. And now, in the moment she needed me most, I still didn't know what to do.

My breath caught in my throat as her voice came through again, quieter now, trembling. "I'm scared, Maya."

"I know," I whispered, my chest aching. "I know. I'm sorry."

For everything—for all the years we didn't talk, for all the broken promises, for the times I kept my distance because I thought she had enough people to lean on. For being the sister who wasn't there until it was too late.

"I don't want to be one of them," she whispered, barely audible now. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

My fingers clenched around the phone as I forced myself to breathe, to speak, even though every word was like glass in my throat. "You won't. You won't hurt anyone, Isla. I promise."

There was a long pause, and then, so softly I almost missed it, she said, "I love you, Maya."

My vision blurred as the tears finally spilled over. "I love you too," I said, my voice breaking.

The line went silent.