I finally manage to drag myself off the pavement and back into the house, taking one last look at the two corpses ahead of me. I walk back inside the house and shakily close the door, resting against it and lowering myself to the ground. I haven't been able to stop crying since it happened, but I try to stop myself and to forget everything that happened a few minutes ago.
"Is he gone?" Ruby crawls out from her hiding spot behind the sofa, looking a lot paler than usual. I ignore her and wipe away one last tear from my cheek, looking down at my clothes. There's a large red stain on my shoulder from where the man pulled me towards him. I try to cover it up with my hand so that she doesn't notice it.
"Ruby, I..."
"What? You what?"
"He's dead." She blinks rapidly for a few seconds and sits down next to me.
"Was it the injury?" I close my eyes to stop any more tears from falling, replying to her so quietly that I'm surprised she could hear me at all.
"I killed him." She stands up and backs away from me, tears forming in her eyes.
"What? Why!?" It's difficult to understand her because of how heavily she's hyperventilating, but she always does it when she's scared.
"I had to! He killed Alan and started eating him! He would've killed me next if I hadn't!" I stare down at the floor and sigh heavily.
"Alan is dead too?" Her legs buckle from underneath her and she collapses to the ground. This is too much information to process at once.
"But something was wrong. I stabbed him in the leg, the back, the stomach, and the heart, but he didn't even flinch." My voice trembles as I remember every detail, down to the colour of his skin and the psychotic look in his eyes, my eyes fixated on the bloody knife in my blood-stained hands.
"Nothing happened? What do you mean?"
"I don't know, Ruby. It's like he didn't feel any pain. But he'd definitely lost his mind."
"Oh my god," Ruby returns to my side. She cautiously wraps her arms around me and wipes away a stray tear that'd managed to run down to my neck.
"Hold on a second. What did you say was on the news the other week? You know, that stupid rumour that Abby told you?"
"You mean... the virus?"
"Did it mention anything about people changing? Acting differently at all... eating people?"
"No, just that we could get infected with it and that it might be dangerous."
I release myself from her hug and walk over to the TV, my arms and legs still shaking. I find the remote down the back of the sofa and turn it on, looking for the news channel.
As soon as I select the news channel, a young reporter clears his throat and looks into the camera as the lights brighten in the studio. "Top news story today. It has been confirmed by scientists all over Europe that a deadly virus has been released all over the world, with an unknown origin."
Pictures and videos are shown behind him of people with pieces of flesh missing all over their bodies wandering the streets, each one growling like an animal.
"So far it's unknown how someone is infected with the virus, but with thousands of doctors conducting experiments and tests, we hope that that question will be answered soon. People have been blaming a supposed 'apocalyptic outbreak' for the cause of the virus, but these rumours have been dismissed in the medical and scientific fields. Stay tuned for more information."
I've lost track of how long Ruby and I have been staring at the blank TV screen, both of us too scared to look away and face the truth. It's possible that the man outside was already infected with the virus and that it somehow altered his brain, but that's not an excuse for what I did. Even if it was the virus, there must've been a way to cure him, especially if thousands of scientists are already conducting experiments.
A sharp pain in my right temple distracts me from my train of thought, finally bringing my attention to Ruby. A single tear has rolled down her cheek and is now threatening to fall off her face, but she wipes it away before it does.
"What do we do?" She turns to face me, her face looking surprising calm save for the tear streak. I have no idea how to answer the question. "What if mom and dad can't get back to us?"
"They'll find a way. Don't worry." I know that I'm lying to her, but it's the only thing I can think of to say. "Try not to think about it, okay?"
"Okay." Ruby stands up and walks to the window, taking a quick glance outside.
"No Ruby, wait!" She heaves and vomits on the carpet, unable to take her eyes away from the two dead bodies. I rush over to her and close the blinds, angry at myself that I didn't warn her sooner. We've already been through too much today, she didn't need to see this.
"Alan was nice." She mumbles through her tears. I wrap my arms around her, completely understanding her pain. Ruby has always been an emotional person, so no matter how much I comfort her, I doubt she'll forget that sight anytime soon.
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