Fragile Hearts [DANGEROUS FELLOWS]

⚠️FIFTY-NINE: RICH GUY ROAD⚠️

You almost couldn't bring yourself to look at him.

His eyes - his tearful, pained eyes - dredged up all sorts of horrifying memories, all of them with those milky, inhuman eyes.

"(Y/n)," he said, taking his hands of off his head to grab the front of your jacket. "Please, (Y/n). I don't wanna turn."

You felt shaken to the core. It was the first time you'd seen such a clear symptom of the virus in Eugene. Your mind blanked, and all you could see were those glossy stares and wet, slimy smiles.

He looked like one of them.

"It burns," he choked. "I can't take it. Just... just kill me, please."

His words were so full of desperation, you knew he thought today would really be the day he died.

"It's okay," you said comfortingly, reaching into your backpack. "It'll be over soon."

"Are you really gonna kill him?" came a voice from behind you, Zion, in the doorway. You couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

"Don't say things like that," you scolded, pulling one of the slender syringes from the front pocket of your bag. It looked similar to the ones in the infirmary, the bad ones used on Eugene, but you could only pray Diana was being honest when she said it would help.

"W-what's that?" Eugene asked warily.

"Diana gave it to me," you explained. "Don't worry, okay? Just relax. It'll make you feel better."

"Does that mean I'm not going to turn?" he asked, giving you a hopeful look.

I hope so. You didn't say what you were thinking. Instead you just nodded reassuringly.

"You know how to work one of those things?" Zion asked, now at your side. He seemed awfully skeptical.

"It's just a needle," you said. But now that you thought of it, you didn't know where exactly you were supposed to inject it. You took Eugene's arm, but then stopped nervously. What if you did the wrong thing?

"Here," you heard Eugene whispered, grabbing your hand to move the syringe in the right place. "Do it here. That's where... the doctor always did it."

You hesitated, looking to Zion for words of encouragement, but all he did was raise an eyebrow as if to say, "what are you waiting for?" With a deep breath you pressed the needle into his skin, slowly pushing the thumb trigger to inject the fluid. As soon as it was all in you pulled out the syringe, dropping it on the floor like it was a bomb.

"Did it hurt?" you asked Eugene worriedly. "Do you feel any better?"

"Feel...? Sleepy," he muttered, eyelids going heavy. You let out a sigh of relief, thanking Diana in your head.

If only there was a way you could pay her back.

"Hey... (Y/n)," Eugene asked suddenly, his words slurred.

"Yes? What is it? Do you hurt?" you replied.

Eugene shook his head. "Did he die?" he muttered.

You reeled back in surprise. "Who?"

"Doctor Johnson," Eugene said. "One early morning he came to my room and... put the usual syringes down on the table next to my bed. I wasn't as drugged up as usual... and he wasn't paying attention... so I grabbed one and I injected him with it. Some of the other doctors took him away and I never saw him after."

A shiver went down your spine. Just the thought of it alone made you want to be sick.

"Who's Doctor Johnson?" Zion asked, and you remembered that he didn't know.

"He was the one who... attacked me and Harry in the staff room," you explained, swallowing hard to try and steady your shaking voice.

"He attacked you?" Eugene said in surprised.

"It's okay," you assured him. "He's... gone now."

Eugene went quiet, and after a minute you realized he'd fallen asleep.

You sighed, feeling overwhelmed by all of the thoughts and memories battling in your head. You'd tried so hard to bury that memory of the staff room, to forget it ever happened, but it seemed like it was always coming back to haunt you.

"Do you wanna... talk about it or something?" Zion asked lightly.

"I just don't want to think about it any more," you replied. "But thanks anyway."

Zion nodded. "Then I'll go get the others. We're all starving." He seemed like he wanted to say a joke, but you could see on his face that he couldn't think of anything. So he just turned around and left, leaving you with a sad, cold feeling.

You looked back to Eugene, who was sleeping peacefully. You wondered if he was feeling any better. Gently you placed your palm on his cheek. He didn't even know anything had gone wrong at the mall.

In a way, you envied him.

"I can't t-take this a-anymore," you heard someone sob, and you turned towards to door to see Hailey enter, a sniffling mess. "I just want everything to g-go back to n-normal!"

You didn't even stop to think about it. You walked up to her, wrapping your arms around her in a tight hug. And for a moment, she stopped crying from sheer surprise.

Hailey wasn't always the most helpful, or the most reasonable, or the most quiet. But at least she was your friend.

After a few seconds you pulled away, to see she still had a shocked look on her face. "(Y/n), I... t-thank you," she managed. All you could do was give her a weak smile.

"So what's the plan from here?" Ethan asked after everyone had come inside the bus, and you took the seat behind Eugene's. "Should we keep going further into the city, or should we stay here?"

"Our best bet is to keep moving," Lawrence said. "There are all sorts of bizarre mutations here. It'll be safer to get out of the city, go somewhere in the hills."

"The hills?" Zion repeated, and you realized he'd already torn open a package of powdered donuts. "You mean the second exit from the interstate?"

Lawrence nodded. "The only thing out there are a few residencies. I was hoping we may find survivors or a place to stay. What makes you ask?"

"Oh, nothing really," Zion replied, chewing on a donut thoughtfully. "It's just, that's where I live."

"You live there?" Harry suddenly piped up in surprise. "Isn't that where all the expensive houses are?"

You expected Zion to agree, to brag about it, maybe even rub it in. But instead he crossed his arms, looking away. "Yeah, so what?" he grumbled.

"What do you think? Do you think your family will still be there?" Lawrence asked.

Zion just shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. I can't exactly say I'm expecting a heartfelt family reunion."

It'd been a while since any of you had talked about your families. Now that you thought of it, hardly anyone had ever brought them up. You glanced at Harry, who seemed lost in his mind, a distant look of homesickness and sadness in his eyes.

"Well, let's all eat for now," Lawrence announced, changing the subject. "After that we can make a route on the map."

You didn't really feel like eating. You found a small chocolate bar in the side pocket of your bag, and grabbed it. It wasn't much, but it would do. You unwrapped it, taking a bite of the sugary confection.

Chocolate had never tasted more bittersweet.