2 - The world is in danger

Their new companion, Melissa, sat on the old mattress, distracted with Adam's phone. She was currently addicted to playing games, tapping vigorously with big eyes that were thirsty to win. In a way, this was a good method of distraction. She was less of a worry.

Brie limped impatiently around the silent basement and glanced at her own phone. She needed a distraction herself. It didn't help that her ankle stung and she had a piercing headache. The suspense after seeing the live fight on TV left her speechless. The news hadn't said anything officially but there was a lot of movement on social media.

Many videos were popping up everywhere. People were reporting parents, lovers, and children dead. The world had been thrown into a panic as the population of humans rapidly decreased.

"Adam, it's spreading..." Brie tore her eyes away and managed to set them on Adam, who was playing with a ping-pong ball.

"What do you mean? They said it was local." He threw it off the wall once again and watched as it bounced uncontrollably on the floor and rolled to a stop.

"There are videos from all over the world. They're saying it's a global pandemic." It felt like a rock had climbed down Brie's throat. She felt unbearably sick, but glancing at Melissa, she knew she couldn't show it. Melissa had been so calm throughout the whole night even though her family were possibly dead. Brie hated to think of the worst.

"What's a pandemic again?" Adam flicked at his chin, trying to lighten the mood. He opened his mouth simultaneously and created a crisp pop that made Melissa giggle slightly.

"It's something about an infectious disease, a virus." Brie typed the question into g****e quickly to check and pushed her glasses up her nose. She wasn't in the mood for Adam's jokes. "Yeah." She confirmed.

"Wait..." He frowned. An unbearable awkward silence filled the room.

"So it isn't just crazy people causing riots... it's a virus making people go crazy?"

As much as Brie hated to admit it, he was right. She suddenly felt a wave of fear. What if they caught the virus? She fiddled with her glasses once more, leaning backwards and looking at the ceiling.

"Viruses are really hard to treat." Adam hummed, clearly deep in thought. "Usually, it would go away by itself but if not, a vaccine is going to take years to make if it's as bad as they say."

Another silence pushed it's way into the room and deafened them brutally. Brie grit her teeth together, feeling her eyes burn behind her glasses.

"Time for bed!" Adam suddenly spoke, making both Melissa and Brie jump in unison. Brie sighed and nodded.

"I guess so." She thudded onto the mattress, letting Melissa climb in between the two. She smiled. Melissa was somewhat wholesome, in a way that she kept Brie sane. It was a reminder that not everything innocent in the world had fallen to shambles.

"Goodnight!" Melissa whispered as Adam stretched over and flicked the light off. Engulfed in darkness, Brie let herself snuggle into the safety of her blanket.

__

"Hey! Wake up." A hiss jolted Brie awake, and she looked around into the darkness of the basement. Melissa was shaking her arm urgently.

"What's wrong?" Brie mumbled, thinking back to how long she slept. It couldn't have been more than four hours. She blinked hard, forcing herself awake.

"I need to pee!"

She stood up, pulling Melissa with her. "Come on, I'll wait with you. Us girls have to stick together!" Brie's attempt to lighten the mood worked as Melissa let out a confident giggle. Together, they wobbled up the stairs and made their way to the bathroom.

Brie's ankle was giving her trouble, but the bandage definitely helped. She watched as Melissa skipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Brie noticed quickly that the sun was rising. Since they lived near the coast, there were seagulls making noises as they flew past the house. She was never usually awake at sunrise. She stood at the window, admiring the shades of orange and red splattered across the sky. Glancing down, she recognized her neighbour in the garden beside her house. He was sat angrily pulling at the grass with clenched hands.

Concerned, Brie opened the window to get a better look. She thought back to yesterday when he was laying in the grass.

"Mr Anderson? Have you been out here this whole time?" She let out a small voice. Mr Anderson couldn't be crazy. She'd known him since they lived here. He was a lovely old man with a heart of gold.

Mr Anderson's head snapped towards the sound of her voice, and Brie realized in horror that his face was drenched in blood.

"Oh my god. Are you okay?!" She leaned out more, trying to hear his voice. He seemed to have his mouth open, ready to speak.

Instead, he let out an ear-piercing roar.

Brie's body went cold. His eyes were rolled back. His hair was torn. He looked like he'd been attacked by a pack of wolves.

Mr Anderson began to stumble, then run. Soon enough, he was slamming his fists onto the front door with all his might.

"What's happening?" Melissa returned with wide eyes. "Who is that?"

"Sweetie, can you go wake Adam up for me? Tell him the neighbour is here and he wants to talk." Brie tried with all her might to hold back her shocked tears.

"Okay!" Melissa ran off down the stairs urgently, making her way to the basement. Brie followed, stealing a glance at the living room. A bloody handprint had been left on the window, She gulped.

Mr Anderson was on the other side, banging his fist angrily. She finally got a good look at him and saw chunks of his face were missing and torn. What worried her the most was that the window was making loud cracking noises and he didn't seem to be stopping.