Before You

The hospital wasn’t too far. In fact, it was right outside the city limits. You could see the tall buildings and intricate roads from the top of the hill which it was perched but it was mostly secluded, surrounded by wooded area. It had been a nice facility once, the only foreboding sign being the dried blood on the the buildings double glass doors. “When we first found this place, it was full of the dead. We took them out back and burned them. Took us eight days.”

Ian greeted us at the door, and unlocked it, allowing Aiden to push through. Of course the dirty looks continued on Ian’s part. “I see you’re still breathing,” he said with disdain in his voice.

“I see you’re still breathing. Your welcome, by the way.” I wasn’t going to let him think for a second he didn’t owe me shit. They would all be dead right now if it hadn’t been for me. For Elexus.

We walked further in, Aiden showed us where we were going to sleep. There was a room full of hospital beds. May have been where they kept the sick if there were an outbreak. I tossed the small backpack I had been carrying with me since the mall onto the bed. I emptied its contents onto it, and looked at what I had. A few nails, some random spare parts I had no need for, and two boxes of ammo. It wasn’t til then that my stomach growled. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate.

“Don’t worry, we keep this place stocked. I’ll be right back.” When Aiden left the room, Ian stayed, still staring at me like I was a parasite.

I stared right back at him. “Something you wanna say?”

He looked like he was debating on what exactly he was going to let come out of his mouth before actually saying anything. “Taylor is resting, but she looks bad. She’s starting to cough up blood, running a fever and she’s pale.”

Aiden came back in with a bag. He handed it to me, and turned to Ian. “I just saw Taylor, in one of the other rooms.”

I opened the bag. It was full of jerky, a few apples, a bag of chips, some bottles of water and some crackers. Small stuff, like things you’d find in a vending machine.

“You know what we need to do," Aiden said grimly.

Opting for the stick of meat, I tossed the rest to Elexus who had chose a bed on the other side of the room near a window. You could just barely make out the grass and a bush. This part of the hospital seemed to be partially in the ground. I started chewing on my snack of choice, listening to Aiden and Ian discuss Taylor's fate.

“Yeah, I know, but what about Bree? She’d be heart broken,” Ian said, keeping his voice low. Bree was in the room, resting, but she was looking better than she had a few hours earlier. The color returned to her cheeks, her breathing was more normal.

Aiden gave Ian a stern look. “I know, but she’s turning. She won’t be Taylor anymore.”

After a few minutes, Ian seemed to come to an understanding. He nodded his head, clearing the tears from his eyes. “I’ll tell her.”

Ian took a few deep breaths before he walked over to Bree’s bedside. He kneeled down beside her, and held her hand in his. He leaned over, whispering to her. A hoarse cry escaped her lips. It was the most noise I’ve heard her make since being shot. She held onto Ian tightly, hugging him to her hard.

“No, no no no, not Taylor,” she didn’t seem to have the strength to fight, so she cried. She kept repeating those same words, crying into his shoulder hysterically. Kept going til her shrieks were barely a whimper, til her voice rattled course, and raw.

When it seemed she may have fallen asleep, she released Ian, and wiped her eyes. I finally saw her face again, red and splotchy. She looked haggard. Amazing what this news did in only a brief amount of time.

“You are going to do this today?” she asked him. Ian nodded at her, and she let out another hoarse whimper. “I want to read to her.”

Understanding, Ian got up and left the room. Aiden was sitting on his bed in silence, listening to everything unfold. There wasn’t much any of us could do but let her accept the fate of that girl. We couldn’t ignore it, or pretend it wasn’t the issue hanging in the room. We all knew what had to be done.

When Ian returned he had Taylor by the hand. She had a book in her arm, smiling. She seemed alive and healthy, but the blood staining her shirt seemed to be the biggest indicator that anything was wrong. She limped, and supported most of her weight on the other foot, relying heavily on the assistance Ian provided.

“Ian said you were going to read me a story!” she said, as Ian helped her up onto Bree’s bedside.

The girl made no comment on the tears in Bree’s eyes, or seemed phased at all herself. She had witnessed so much death, so many things no child her age should ever see. She took it all in stride.

What a great agent she would have turned out to be.

Bree opened the book and started reading to her. Taylor curled up next to her, snuggling into the nook at her side.

That night, everyone went to bed early. Everyone except Bree. Apparently she wanted to spend as much time with Taylor as she could, watching the little girl as she slept. Whispering to her, brushing her hair out of her face. It was hard to believe that little girl would turn into a snarling, mindless flesh eater.

The next morning, I came up with a plan.