Meet Me At The End Of The World

Chapter Twenty-nine

"Where is the helicopter?" Honey demands as we reach the spot we've been heading for. For a brief moment, I expect Andrew and Heather to suddenly pull guns on us and reveal this all to be a trick but I hastily brush that thought away since it wouldn't make any sense. Why would they use all of their supplies on getting us here only to kill us?

Jason Friday gently places Simon down on the ground and takes the digital radio from its place at his belt. He fiddles with its dials and presses the buttons before calling into it several times.

Nothing.

Suddenly, I feel a very strong urge to scream and cry. I have held it all in for so long that I've had enough. I stomp my foot and scream out in upset before bursting into tears. I collapse to my knees beside Simon and he reaches his hand towards me. My scream must have been enough to make him lucid for a few moments.

"Are you alright?" He gasps, his speach weak and slurred.

"Yeah. Sorry." I whisper as I take his hand in mine and squeeze it tightly. He squeezes it back for a second before it falls limp and he's vanished back into his daze.

Simon's trembling has stopped. At first, I was foolish enough to believe that that ment that he was getting better but I realise now that its not a positive response. The fact that he's stopped shaking means that his body is giving up. It means that he's dying.

"You promised that the helicopter would be here!" Honey yells at Heather and Andrew her rage obvious. Val places their hand on her shoulder in attempt to calm her down yet she's completely lost it.

"Honey..." I attempt but it does nothing.

"My best friend is dying and you people forced us to walk all this way for nothing. I should shoot you. All of you." She yells, her golden skin now red with rage. Val wraps their arms around her from behind in order to prevent her from doing anything she'd regret and then rests their head on her shoulder.

"Calm down, love. They don't seem to understand either." They assure her and she huffs with annoyance before relaxing into their grasp.

"Maybe they're held up?" Heather suggest and Andrew nods as he points to the sky. I follow his gaze to find meloncholic storm clouds speeding our way.

"That must be stopping them." He states with a grim expression.

"From the looks of it, that storm is going to hit us within an hour." Val states with a serious expression. Everyone nods in agreement before glancing around in attempt to locate shelter. There isn't any close by.

"We'll have to retreat into the city." Andrew informs us as he picks up his pack and turns back to the city. Heather does the same and Jason Friday glances down at Simon with worry etched into his expression.

"The kid isn't going to survive this." He states sternly. I long to call him out and say that he's wrong but I know for a fact that he isn't. Simon's skin is a ghostly white and his red hair is filled with sweat. Even without the virus eating away at his life, he hasn't managed to eat anything for the past two days and only a few sips of water have stayed down. He doesn't have much longer and we all know it.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" I ask as tears begin to roll down my face.

During school, everyone around me began to date. People would kiss in the hallways, walk to lesson hand in hand and make out behind the drama block. Love was all around me yet I never experienced a single date. Anne was going to change all of that but prom never happened. Instead, I was alone until I met Simon. He was my first male crush and everything about us together feels right. I love him yet the world is going to rip him from me and there is nothing I can do to stop it.

"Danny, we have to go!" Honey yells directly in my ear. I turn to find her staring at me before pointing at the sky. "We're all going to die else." Those words get me moving. I stand and Jason Friday hastily pulls Simon onto his back once more. Reluctantly, we begin to head back to the hell that we've been so desperately attempting to escape.

_________________________________________

Rain lashes down from the sky and thunder rumbles. Despite being shelttered in an old house that Heather broke into, I can still feel the chill from the storm and I shiver.

"How long will the storm go on for?" Honey questions as she sits by the window with her dad and Val.

"There isn't a set time. By the looks of this one, maybe a day." Val suggests grimacing. We all turn to Simon who Jason Friday placed on the sofa. Beside the odd groan of pain, it isn't even possible to tell if he's still alive or not. He looks dead.

"Simon doesn't have a day." Is all I can respond with. We all sit in silence for a moment before Val suddenly stands and removes something their pocket. They walk over to me and place a syringe in my hand, filled with a blood red liquid.

"I took this from Frederick August's lab. It was labelled under possible cure." They inform me as I turn the syringe over in my hand.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" I ask as I glance up at them.

"Because I doubt that it will make anything better and I don't want it to make everything worse." They states as we both glance over at Simon once more. "I don't know if it can get any worse though." They add with a grim expression and I nod before passing the syringe back to them.

"You have more knowledge then me. I'll most likely stab him in the wrong place and he'll bleed to dead." I add a small laugh in hope to lighten up the situation yet no one laughs back. Val only nods their head before kneeling down beside Simon.

"Simon, is it okay if we try this on you?" They ask as they hold the syringe up. For a moment, I believe that Simon is beyond being lucid enough to respond but then he slowly nods his head, his expression pinched in pain as he does.

Val glances back at me and then Honey. We both nod to them and without another moments hesitation, they stick the needle into the side of Simon's neck and press down the plunger before removing it. We wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And then, the screaming starts.