Chapter 8

Adam thought about their surroundings, but nothing seemed adequate enough. Everything in his surroundings seemed as useless and redundant as his own existence right now, for even their fates were sealed and had become meaningless within these days.

"Why do they want me dead, and what did I do to deserve such a horrible ending? How cruel can the world be to a seventeen-year-old girl like myself? Why must it be me and not someone else? This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, Adam!" She sobbed bitterly and hit her forehead with both hands while the tears never stopped streaming down her face. "Ren, whether you like it or not, you're already infected, and there's nothing any of us can do about it. I'm sorry we couldn't do more." Adamo said, looking away, as he couldn't bear to face Ren as he uttered those words.

Adam grabbed his shirt and pinned him against the seat. "What the fuck did you just say?"

"Calm down, Adam!" Ren told him calmly, tears flowing freely from her brown eyes.

Adamo slapped Adam's hand off his shirt and sat on the seat of the bus, recollecting himself: "We should be more worried about Ayoub; he's been scratched by one of the mutants; he could be infected."

Adamo's gaze immediately wandered off, lost in some unknown abyss, but he came out of it soon afterward and started thinking clearly once more. He suddenly realized how tired, frustrated, and disappointed his mind and body were—how utterly tired of the day his bones felt as if all they wished was to disappear.

"Look outside, guys. See how the skies are much clearer now; there's almost no fog left anymore," said Connor. "If we stay in here, we'll suffocate anyway."

"Let me guess, that's supposed to be encouraging, but then why bother saying that?" Ayoub complained. "Just get out there already if it'll end our misery."

Adam quickly walked up next to him and tried opening the driver's side door, but it wouldn't budge.

"What happened? Open the fucken thing." Adam asked angrily.

"These doors won't open without the ignition switch on, so either one of you's got to figure that out fast or... whatever. I really don't give a shit."

Adamo walked up to the door and began trying to kick it open, while Ren sat there watching the whole situation unfolding with eyes that were bloodshot red from crying.

A few seconds later, the door was open wide enough for Adam to grab the handle and force it further open so that he could escape through the gap without causing any unnecessary damage.

He was suddenly reminded by the terrifying and destructive ability of the mysterious beast about his close encounters with the unknown entity and quickly shut the door immediately.

"Okay." Adam muttered with a small nod to himself. "Alright. We can do this, Adam."

Connor climbed through the door opening and crawled down to the grass below before pushing his foot hard into the earth, stomping along the grassy field like a beast seeking its prey. The rest of the group followed him closely behind, jumping from one spot to the next and eventually landing themselves right beside him, who had fallen into a kneeling position. He used his left arm to lean against the grassy ground below him to steady his balance and lift himself from falling on his face. Instead, he grabbed Ren's extended hand before raising her up on her feet, as he too pulled himself up from lying on his back on the grass. Adam then proceeded to pull the door to close completely, locking both locks firmly before rushing over to Connor's side.

"We should get back to my house; it's the closest to the school." Adamo said, his voice barely above a whisper. His throat hurt as he swallowed air, and his lungs hurt as he breathed, but despite everything, his thoughts were calm and collected.

Connor stood up straight and turned around to face the woods behind them. He put on a pair of dark aviator-style sunglasses before turning his attention back on Adam and asking the question Adam had been dreading since everything started. "You guys gonna be okay?"

"I guess we'll see," replied Adam.

The group began their treacherous journey back to Adamo's house in order to look for supplies to bring back to the base. They stayed together as they walked with heavy hearts toward Adamo's home and slowly made their way through the trees, avoiding the forest path that ran parallel to the dirt road the highway stretched across.

"Why don't we just break into people's homes rather than going all the way back to your house?" Connor asked.

"Because that would be unethical," Adam answered.

"But that would mean their supply runs would be incredibly short and simple compared to what we'd have to deal with by going to yours, man. We should've gotten everything beforehand, dammit! At least my own bag wouldn't feel like it's been gutted by wolves. Why did we wait so long?" Adam grumbled angrily while kicking a rock as they reached a large clearing of grassy fields.

"Adamo, Connor is right; there is no reason for us to go all that way to your house rather than go to some random place; we are in an apocalypse. Ethics no longer matter." Ayoub said. 

"Plus, we don't even know how many more infected people are still wandering these streets. I'm not risking any lives, so we could loot one damn house. There's plenty out here anyway. Why take so many risks? Besides, it won't be long now, and the town is deserted. As far as we know, I'm pretty sure every living soul that still remains in this town is probably dead."

"This makes absolutely no goddam sense. Now look what happened to Ren. Thanks to this world, we might lose her or even die. You stubborn jackass!" Ayoub yelled while he stomped on the ground angrily.

"Well, this is interesting. Have a fight among our own. Right before a critical mission where all our lives are at stake, Ren is slowly turning into one of those things."

"Fuck your house!" Connor screamed out loud. "Fuck your house and all its motherfucking memories; fuck it and fuck its history! Fuck everyone involved with this piece of sh*t we're standing on because nobody gives a fuck!"

"Maybe we should get going." Ren's soft voice echoed throughout the area they were standing in, leaving no doubt whatsoever. Everyone heard it and responded accordingly with silence, yet Connor and Adam ignored her and focused on trying to decide which option was best. "Can't we discuss this in private?"

"Shut it, Ayoub. Can't we just talk about this privately?"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, ALL OF YOU! WE CANNOT WASTE ANYMORE TIME." Connor hollered to gain everyone's attention back before turning on his heel and continuing walking onward.

"Why did I say that? I shouldn't have said anything, that's for sure. He is my brother; I should stick by him and help him regardless of whether it is right or not, even if I'm not completely on board with the whole 'going back home and rummaging through everyone's belongings' thing."

The remaining four members of the group were making their way down the winding driveway and onto the main road. Nobody dared utter a sound for fear of being ridiculed, while simultaneously trying not to make a mistake either.

All five members had taken turns grabbing their bags and sprinting forward, ensuring there was always someone within close range of another member. As it stood, Ayoub and Connor were lagging slightly behind, while Ren and Adam kept pace with each other.

When they reached their destination, a sudden explosion erupted from the distance behind them, and a tremendous cloud of smoke engulfed everything.

As they stood staring in amazement, a swarm of zombies headed towards them at incredible speed.

"Go go go!" Connor yelled out at the top of his voice.

"Ahh"

"What's happening, Ren?"

All five of them scurried into Adamo's house and slammed the door shut. Adamo was still holding the door when Connor reached it first. Ren was the last person to enter the building. Adam looked back and saw her struggle, with one hand clutching her wound. Her hair stuck out like a nest.

"Are you okay?! You were bleeding when we arrived." Adam exclaimed worriedly.

"How bad is it? Ren! Let me see your wounds!" Connor said.

"I think you two need some medical training first." Adam spoke up.

"Come on, we can fix that," Ayoub reassured and pulled Ren away, despite her protests of pain.

Ayoub gently sat her on a table before disappearing inside Adamo's bathroom, taking the small box containing the necessary medical supplies he found earlier. It contained some rubbing alcohol, gauze bandages, a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, and cotton balls. Ayoub grabbed the materials and sat down next to Ren.

Adamo took a quick peek outside to see if there was anything alive out there other than humans, and he quickly closed the curtains.

"That wasn't very reassuring, was it?" Adam asked sarcastically, pointing his thumb towards the windows behind his back. "But let us keep quiet, please."

Ren watched her body shiver uncontrollably when Connor raised her sweater and examined the wounds, which were very deep and exposed muscle and bones.

"It looks like she has deep tissue damage, and the wounds need to be cleaned immediately."

Before they could start cleaning the wounds, Adamo screamed uncontrollably out loud. "FUCKKKKKK MOM, DAD!" His arms fell limp to his sides.

"Those sounds are too fucking eerie."

"What was that about?" Ayoub shouted at Adamo before Adam pushed him off to check what's happening behind.

Ren struggled to make sense of her surroundings but noticed how dark and empty they were, save for the light emanating from the wall lamps and a strong scent permeating the room.

"Hey you, moron! Careful not to push me." Ayoub hissed furiously.

"THEY'RE DEAD! MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!"

Everyone's faces were white, like chalk.

"Is she a zombie now?" Connor asked the obvious question as he gripped his chest tightly while Ren felt her head spinning wildly.

"ADAMO, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"