Disease

Aspen’s POV

I rolled the windows down just a few inches just enough that I’d be able to talk to the man. I can sense everyone in the car is hesitant with what I was to do but we need answers with what is going on around us right now and this guy is the only one who can give it to us.

“Thank god you finally answered.” the man said, “I need to hitch a ride. Will you help the old man?”

“We need to know first what you meant by turning into one of them. Where is everybody?”

“You don’t know?” he said with a furrowed brow, “Where were you all this time? Everything is in chaos in this city. I wouldn’t be surprised if this has already spread to the entire country.”

“This? What this?”

“Look I’ll explain everything but you got to let me in. They’re just around, they might attack me.”

“Who will attack you?”

“Them! The changers. The sickos. The cannibals!”

“What?” Vince answered behind me and that was only then that the man’s eye landed on the rest of us inside. He looked to Vince before moving his gaze to Natasha on the back and his eyes immediately widened when it landed on Theo.

“You have one of them inside!”

“What?” I replied confused, “What one of them?”

“Get rid of him! Get rid of him before he attacks you!”

“What are you talking about? He is our friend, he isn’t one of them, whatever you are talking about.” Natasha said.

“He still isn’t but he will be! Toss him out now and give me a ride!”

“No.” Vince said with vindication, “He is our friend and he stays. If you want to hitch a ride then you have to comply or better yet just leave us alone. We’ll go find someone else to talk to who isn’t insane.”

“I’m insane? You’re insane! Wait ’till that thing attacks you and we both will know which one of us is insane.”

“Fine then we’ll just leave you here.” I said pressing the button about to close the window when he stuck his hand inside.

“Wait! Okay, I’ll join you. I’m sorry.”

Vince and I eyed each other before returning our attention back to the man. He is old and as much as I was annoyed with him and the way he insulted our friend I can’t help but feel a bit of compassion for him. He must be just the same age as my father.

“How long has he been bitten?”

“What?” I asked as everyone in the car became alerted to his question. How did he know that Theo was bitten? We never told him that. He couldn’t just see it from where he is standing because Theo is covered with a blanket.

“Bitten by one of them!”

“Around dawn, 2AM.”

“Good we still have time before he changes.”

“He changes?”

“If he is just bitten he still has 12 hours.”

“What are you talking about?” Vince said his voice laced with anger, “What do you mean my best friend only has 12 hours left.”

“When a person is bitten he changes after 24 hours. By then he becomes a flesh-eating sicko!”

We all looked at each other in the car not believing what the guy was saying.

“You’re just spouting nonsense.” Vince said.

“You have to believe me!”

“Let’s go Aspen.”

I looked at Vince before moving my gaze to Natasha and finally Theo who was shaking. I looked at his complexion and there I saw he is turning as pale as the man who attacked Myla is. There were even black veins starting to get visible in his skin. Why didn’t I notice it earlier?

“Aspen!” Vince called, waking me from my trance, “Let’s go.”

“What? You can’t just leave me here.” the man said, “I’ve already given you the information that you need. Let me in!”

I didn’t say anything and just continued to stare at Theo as I saw Vince at the corner of my eye leaning into my seat and pressing the button so that the windows would shut. The man continued on knocking on the window cursing us for not following through our end of the deal.

“Aspen.” Natasha called, “What are we going to do?”

I bit my lower lip meeting her eyes before moving it to Vince and the man beside me who I heard muffled noises.

“We did make a deal. We have to hold our end of the bargain.”

“What?” Vince said annoyedly, “After he insulted our friend.”

“He can stay in the back of the truck.”

“But—” I just looked at him and he held my stare before finally a few seconds later he sighed, “Fine.”

I just rolled the windows down just as the old man and I locked eyes, “You can sit at the back. But no more complaining about our friend and unnecessary opinions.”

He nodded as I rolled my windows up. I pressed another button so that he could unlock the backdoor. Suddenly I heard a scream as all of us looked at the back. I quickly moved my gaze looking for the old man but I couldn’t see him. The door was already unlocked but he still hasn’t opened it.

“Did you hear that?” Natasha asked.

“Where is he?” Vince added.

“Wait here.” I said and was about to open the door when we heard a loud thud. My eyes widened when I saw the old man again, this time he was all covered in blood. He coughed staining the window before suddenly he was dragged back down.

Natasha screamed as I moved my gaze to Vince, “Guard the car.” and made my way outside to help the old man but once I stepped out my eyes widened with what I saw.

There was a hoard of different people in the same condition with the guy we saw attacking Theo eating him. I covered my mouth with my arm as a foul smell invaded my nose drills. There was blood everywhere as they gobbled up with the remains of the old man. I didn’t know why but I just stood there frozen watching them until I accidentally stepped on a twig making them turn in my direction. When they noticed me, they bared their bloody teeth at me. I widened my eyes and quickly made my way inside the car as they were about to attack me.

I immediately pushed the button to lock the entire car as they began banging on the window trying to get in.

“What the fuck?” Vince shouted, “Who are these people? Why do they look like that? What are they doing? Where is the old man?”

“I think they are the ones the man was referring to. The cannibals.”

Vince’s eyes immediately widened before taking a closer look at the people surrounding our car, “They all look like—”

“Aspen!” Natasha shouted. I can hear her crying with the sound of her voice, “We have to go!”

I turned my head at the back of the car and I saw Theo shaking.

“They’ve surrounded us.” Vince said.

“They’re trying to attack us!”

“But they’re just sick people.”

“Sick people don’t eat fellow people.” I replied as Vince froze.

“What do you mean?” Natasha asked but I didn’t reply immediately as I was still shaken by what I saw earlier, “What happened out there? Why was the old man covered in blood?”

I bit my lower lip, “The sick people attacked him and they were—” I gulped not knowing what the right words to say, “Eating him.”

“What?” Vince asked with disbelief.

“They’re trying to eat us! Aspen saw it himself.” Natasha replied, “We have to go!”

“We can’t just drive over them! That’s murder!”

“But they aren’t human anymore Vince wake up! If we don’t leave now we’ll be just like them! Remember what the old man said? They bite us, we turn into one of them. Just like what will happen to Theo.”

“Don’t say that! Theo won’t be like them!”

They continued arguing as the car started to shake. The sick people surrounded us pounding on the door.

“Enough!” I said making them stop talking. I stepped on the gas and drove us to safety not carrying as the truck shook after bumping into dozens of bodies who threw themselves at the car.

“What are you doing?” Vince shouted, “You’re killing them!”

“If I don’t do this they’ll kill us their selves!”

The cannibals still tried to bang the window running after us as Natasha screamed and Vince continued to curse. I tried to compose myself despite the ringing in my ear and tried to drive us to safety. However, the cannibals still continued to multiply deliberately banging themselves at the truck as it shook running over them. Where were they earlier and how come they only just went out around this time?

“Can this car go any faster? They’re already crowding us.” Natasha said as I changed gears feeling the pull as slowly the cannibals that tried to hang at the truck and tried to break the glass slowly fell down.

A few excruciating minutes later we finally were able to shake them off and we are back on the road to Logan’s family’s property. Everyone was quiet the whole ride. Everybody is trying to absorb everything they just witnessed earlier and what condition we are all in now.

“What now?” Natasha asked. I noticed how she subtly distanced herself to Theo. Even if I were in her position I’d do the same. We’ll never know when our friend will turn into one of them.

“We go back and tell the rest what is happening here outside and from there we plan what we’ll do next.”

Everyone nodded in agreement as we continued our drive back to the forest.