Day's End

Addiction

       The hallway was wide and dark, much too dark for them to see with their naked eye, which was why all three of them were huddled close together and dependent upon a single torch. The stench and the peculiar crunch of their footsteps made them uncertain if they even wanted to know what was in front of them, but look they certainly did. Books, carts, and chairs were scattered throughout the walkway; books laid open with their pages torn, and carts and chairs were toppled over and broken. The building, a library, in which they walked was completely still and silent.
"This is disgusting," Regan muttered, lifting his foot to avoid stepping on a corpse.
"This was your idea, Regan. You saw the light," Azalia said as she knocked on a locked door.
"I know, I know, but do you really think there are people here? We should've brought Lea with us, just in case. She's pretty good with a gun, right?"
Azalia loudly cleared her throat. "Can I have the flashlight?"
They wordlessly passed it over.
Regan rested a hand on Sidney's shoulder. "Are you alright, Sid? You're not usually this quiet."
They smiled up at him and put their own hand over his. "I'm fine, R. Thanks."
The woman merged back into the group from off to the side. "What exactly did you see, Regan?"
The boy looked around in thought for a moment. "It was a like a flashlight, but it was moving too quickly for me to see anything else."
"Are you sure you're not just going insane? I'm surprised it's taken this long," Sidney chuckled.
"I know what I saw. And what if there are people here? We wouldn't just leave them, would we?"
Azalia sighed. "This is a waste of time."
Sidney stretched their arms and whispered off-to-the-side, "It's not like we have anything better to do."
"What we should be doing is getting the hell out of Indiana," she snapped.
"Why are you in such a rush? What exactly are we all going to do in New York? And-" Sidney suddenly stopped, and a grave expression replaced their amused one.
"Sidney? Is something wrong?" Regan questioned; he had immediately noticed their change in demeanour.
They gently ran their hand over their bite scar before answering, "I'll talk to you about it when we get back to camp."
        Regan didn't know why, but the words they spoke instilled the same fear he felt when the two were separated only a week before. Perhaps it was because he always expected the worst. More specifically, Regan was reminded of the note he left in their tent that morning. Sidney hadn't said anything about it. He hoped that they just hadn't found it; that would be far better than receiving a rejection.
"We should just head back. There's no point in this, and whoever you saw is probably here for a reason," Azalia grumbled.
"But what if they're- I dunno- lost, alone?"
"Maybe they don't want to be found. Maybe they want to be lost and away from the world."
"Deep," Sidney commentated.
"It's not deep, you're just a teenager," the woman corrected.
Sidney frowned and feigned emotional distress before practically jumping on top of Regan and shouting, "F*ck!" at the sound of a bullet hitting the wall behind them.
Regan protectively wrapped his arms around them. "What the hell was that?"
        Azalia wasted no time in wordlessly pulling the two boys behind a bookshelf that had fallen to the ground and split in half. The fact that the stranger could see in this immense darkness worried her. She could hardly see her hands if she held them in front of her face, much less get that close to shooting someone. The worst part was that they only had knives. She shook her head as she realized that Regan was right. They should have asked Lea to come along.
"Who's there?" An unfamiliar voice called out. "And how many of you are there?"
"There are only three of us," Azalia responded.
"Five of us. Names?" They heard a shuffling and footsteps.
"Azalia, Sidney, and Regan," she answered.
The echoes stopped. "Did you say Sidney?"
"I did. Why?" Azalia peeked over the edge of the bookshelf, only to be met with the barrel of a rifle pressed right up against her forehead.
"I think one of you will be delighted to meet someone here." The stranger backed up a few steps. "Stand. All of you."
They did as they were told, but Azalia spoke up, "And who are you?"
"I'm Elizabeth. My friends just call me Eliza. Which one of you is Sidney?"
They bravely stepped out from behind Azalia and wrinkled their nose in annoyance. "I'm Sidney. Why does it matter?"
        The woman smiled, but it was neither mocking or loving. The only way they could explain it was, perhaps, victorious? She raised her gloved hand, tugged on her navy skarf, and shouted into the darkness, "You can come out now. I don't think they're going to try anything." As soon as those footsteps echoed through the builing, everything seemed to grow still. Sidney held their breath; Azalia stood behind them, alert and ready, and Regan tightly gripped Sidney's shoulders as if they were his lifeline.
        And there she stood; her long, white, and bloodstained lab coat, her dark, firescarred skin, her wide grin, and her bent and broken glasses were only visible by the light of the torch that Azalia held. Ren was unarmed; something that Sidney knew was a good thing. They wouldn't be surprised if she was bitter over what they had done. The doctor bent forward so as to see Sidney's face better. Her smile faded, and all she asked was, "And where's Hailey? I figured he wasn't the type to leave you behind, but what do I know?"
"He's dead," Sidney muttered. "Andre killed him and burned his body."
Ren sneered. "He killed my entire family. I wouldn't give two shits if they crucified him." She straightened her back and cleared her throat. "You don't need to tell me about what happened. I know. I saw. But I do want to know something."
Sidney had to gather what was left of their courage to ask, "And what's that?"
"Where's Lea? She has the bag, doesn't she?"
"You mean the cure?" Azalia interrupted.
Elizabeth's neutral expression quickly morphed into a devastated one. "The what? The cure? What do you mean?"
Ren turned to the woman and sighed. "Just be quiet." She then turned back to the three. "Lea told you what it was?"
"Of course she did," Sidney confidently stated. "You didn't tell your group?"
Dr. Winters turned from them. "Just take me to your camp or whatever you have set up. I think I need to have a little chat with her."
        The three didn't really have much of a choice in the matter; after all, they were being held at gun point the entire time. Sidney couldn't tell if she was hung up on being abandoned or if she just wanted the cure, but they were sure of one thing, knowing Ren and Lea: there would be a fight. The two of them were alike in many ways, so it wouldn't take much imagination to figure out the end of their plight. Even Azalia knew what was happening. From her point of view, her leadership was being threatened, and she wasn't too happy about that.
        Ren called the rest of her group, which were three other women and a man. Sidney recognized the man, and they were sure that the man recognized them. Who could forget the face of his wife's accidental killer? Sidney knew that they would have a 'chat' with Mark similar to the one that was about to ensue. There Lea stood, stepping out from within the group. Her expression remained neutral; although, seeing as she had her weapon drawn, she knew Ren's intentions, but Lea decided to be a big girl and use her words instead. "Ren? It's nice to finally see you again after the fire," Lea began.
Ren strode up to her; her own weapon was held behind her back. "If there's one thing I've learned about you from the time that we spent together, it's that you're a good liar."
"Liar? What did I ever lie to you about?"
"Right before the fire started, you told me that Sidney had the bag. They didn't. You did, and you knew you did. Why?" Ren questioned; this question wasn't to intimidate Lea. She genuinely wanted to know.
"Why not? Wouldn't you?"
Ren tightened her grip on her gun. "Were you planning on just leaving us?"
Lea had remained surprisingly calm or, at least, far more calm than Ren was. "Of course not. I looked for you and the others for as long as I could, but I had to move on eventually."
"Do you know who died in that fire, Lea? Everyone except us that are here now, and you didn't even bother to find us."
"I did look, but I-"
"But you what? How exactly do you explain that you'd rather let us die than spill some measly liquid?"
"Jesus, Ren! I thought you all had died!"
         "You're such a goddamn liar," Ren whispered, raised her weapon, and pulled the trigger. No one moved. Ren's arm fell to her side, and she simply stared at the backpack that was still hung on Lea's shoulders. She didn't stoop to pick it up, nor did she even touch it. She just stared at it. Azalia ripped the rifle out of Eliza's hands and ran forward, and, right before she smashed the end of it onto the back of Ren's head, Ren whispered again, "I'm sorry."

And that's when everything cut out to black.