The Plan

It took Henry a long time to fully snap out of his stupor as he lied there on the floor, right next to the bed. He had made himself a place to sleep, and Roy took the other side of the bed. They gave the bed up to the kid, and despite the close call of death, he was able to fall asleep again. How the kid was able to remain quiet and not say a single word was both sad and impressive to Henry. 

His trauma was keeping him bottled up inside, and Henry hoped that the kid would get through this. He knew their chances of survival were so fucking low, but he desperately wanted the kid to survive this ordeal. Like Roy said, he wanted to make sure at least someone would make it, and the kid deserved a chance at life. Henry's life wasn't all that special, and only one person would miss him if he died. 

He knew it was selfish to think it wouldn't matter if he died, but it's best if it were him than an innocent soul, a kid that had his whole life ahead of him. He tried not to let it bother him why his sister hadn't called yet, but after that one comment from Roy about this infection happening all over the world…Henry did not want to believe that. Perhaps there was another reason why his sister hadn't answered the phone yet. 

Maybe she had forgotten her phone like all those other times. Sometimes she would go on business trips, and she would end up forgetting her phone. Or she would shut off her phone completely, so that she wouldn't be bothered. It had only been one day since this all started, so maybe everything was alright back home. Henry sat up, no longer wanting to sleep. He couldn't to begin with, so why not stay up? The groans and the wandering footsteps in the hallway were not helping him sleep. 

He looked at the door suite from his position on his made up bed. Roy and Henry had to work together to put something in front of the door, to hold it in place. They had to drag two couches to put in front of the door, and it had to be done quietly. 

The door was completely broken after the dead burst through the doorframe, and he was damn lucky they did not hear him vomit. They were occupied with the elevator the whole time, and they remained there for the rest of the night, as it took one whole hour to drag the couches to the door. Not making any noise honestly is more tiring than Henry thought. By the time they were finished, they were completely exhausted for the day. Even though they had both went to bed, Henry could not get a lick of sleep. 

He heard a stirring on the other side of the bed. Roy had gotten up, and had wandered over to Henry. 

"Can't sleep?," he whispered. 

"No shit."

Roy gestured to the kid with his chin. 

"At least the kid's out again."

"Yeah."

"I've been thinking about some things. Do you think we have a chance of getting the hell out of here? If this is a worldwide thing man, how do we know that the army is coming for us?"

Henry pulled his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through social media again. He was surprised to still not see a text from his sister yet, but he tried not to let that bother him. All he could see was people posting more shit about being trapped in their own buildings, waiting for safety to arrive. Then he checked YouTube for the hell of it, and cursed himself for not checking sooner. 

There were multiple news outlets covering the island's infection, including more reports of two other islands that had gotten the same infection. Roy sat down next to Henry, his eyes wide. 

"Shit. Why didn't we check this sooner? How stupid are we?"

"I was thinking the same thing. But come on man, we're tired and we almost got killed, I think we're off the list of making stupid decisions for the moment."

One news outlet caught both of the men's attention, and they listened intently to the reporter. She was speaking with someone from the CDC.

"Dr. Wright, are you confirming that this virus was spread through a particular type of fish?"

"Why yes. It's quite rare, and it's the first time that the fish has been spotted on any of these islands, or in general among the world. This fish doesn't even have a name yet. We are now calling it The Infected. If anyone were to make contact with this fish in anyway, say, if the fish were to spit on you, and yes, the Infected actually is capable of doing something so human like, you will instantly become infected. This fish has apparently been killing a lot of fish in the water as well."

"Wait, are you suggesting that we could have a possible zombie shark on our hands at some point?," the reporter joked. 

The reporter's face told a completely different story after making that joke, and she appeared to be totally distraught when she asked the doctor this question. 

"That's the odd thing about this fish. Only humans are coming back from the dead as these terrifying creatures, craving human flesh. Only they stop eating you once they know you are going to become one of them. They have a quick bite to eat before going after another person to infect."

"Is the CDC working on any sort of cure right now?"

"We are trying to come up with a cure for this possible infection, but we think only the bitten can be saved before turning. I can't really say what we are doing at the moment, but all I know is that once this possible cure is developed for this infection, I believe the government is going to send the army to collect the survivors from these islands to cure them."

"How long do you think this cure will take?"

"I pray it will finish in a couple of days. Two days at the most."

"Two days? Fuck that," Roy whispered. 

"Is there anything you would like to say to the possible survivors on these islands, Dr. Wright?"

"Please hang in there. Stay where you are, and I promise you that we will come to help you -''

Henry stopped the video. 

"Bullshit. I've seen too many zombie movies to know where this is headed. There is no cure. I guarantee they are going to send the army to bomb all three islands instead of saving us."

"I agree. This sounds way too sappy. I think we're on our own."

Henry and Roy were both staring at the screen, showing the old doctor paused mid - sentence. 

"Do you have anyone back home?," Henry asked. 

"No. I don't. I used to have a wonderful wife and son. But they were killed in a car accident when I was in my early thirties."

"God. I'm sorry."

Roy shrugged. 

"It is what it is. I was angry at first. So angry at the world for taking away the two things I loved most in the world. But like I said, things happen for a reason. I eventually moved on, been going to church too. I pray for my wife and son all the time, hoping that God is watching over them. I'm sure that He is, they were pure saints, those two. Even though I lost them so early, I cherish those moments I got to spend with them."

Henry gave him a wan smile. 

"I'm glad you had something like that. I…I have a sister. She is the only thing I love in this world right now. We were raised by an asshole rich father who slept with so many women left and right. But he gave me my sister, so I guess that is the only good thing he ever did. We separated ourselves from him, but he still throws money at us all the time. I'm not sure why."

"Maybe in that world of his, he still makes room for the two of you. It might not seem like it, but maybe there is some love hidden somewhere."

Henry laughed softly. 

"If there is, then he has a funny way of showing it."

Henry suddenly paused for a moment. 

"I miss my sister."

"I know. I can't imagine how you're feeling right now, but I promise you, you will see your sister again. And that kid is going to make it too."

Henry nodded. 

"So will you."

Roy offered his hand to Henry. 

"Shake on it. We're all going to get the fuck out of here."

Henry reached out to take his hand, giving it a firm shake. 

"Yes. We will."

Henry and Roy exchanged a smile, and Henry was really glad to have this stranger by his side. Even though he is a loner type, he would have lost his mind if he had been facing this all alone. 

"So…how are we going to get out of here?"

Henry's smile dropped. 

"Uh…I don't really know."

"Huh. Me either."

"You're a zombie expert, right? What would be the first thing you would do in a situation like this?"

"Well, the first rule in a zombie invasion is to trust no one. But groups in numbers can be good. You saved that kid, so that told me you were someone to trust.

"So, you never would have let me in if I didn't have the kid with me?"

"I'm not sure. I wanted to save that other man earlier too. I guess I'm pretty bad at this zombie stuff. My sister was so much better at it than I am. Oh…wait. There is one thing that could help us."

"What?"

Henry bit the inside of his cheek, feeling embarrassed to even say this part out loud. 

"I have seen a lot of zombie movies where people cover themselves in the blood of the dead to stay alive. It does work in the movies, but we have no idea if it could in this case."

"How would you go about testing it?"

"We would need to test it out firsthand. That's the issue. And I don't think any of us would volunteer -''

"I'll do it," Roy chimed in. 

Henry looked at him for what felt like a hundred years. 

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I'm going to do it whether you like it or not, Henry."

"This idea comes from fucking Hollywood. You're putting your trust in a idea, Roy."

Roy pointed to the wall, to indictate he was referring to the things walking out in the hallway. 

"Got any better ideas?"

Henry felt like yanking out bits of his hair. This situation in general was dogshit, but he truly had no clue what else he could pull out of his ass. They were royally fucked in more ways than one. He knew no one was coming to save them. It was all a gimmick to keep the survivors feeling a sense of safety, but they were on their own. They were going to have to accept that, and if they wanted to survive, they needed to take risks. 

It was all they had, and if the army was secretly planning to bomb all the islands in two days, then they had to do whatever it took to survive. He had to do whatever it takes to see his sister again. 

Henry balled his hands into fists, put his face in his hands, and then looked up at Roy, peeking through his fingers at this older man that was now attributing bits of madness within him in Henry's eyes. 

"You are seriously thinking of getting yourself killed over this?"

Roy nodded. 

"And what do I tell the kid if you die on us?"

"I'm actually not sure. But if my wife and kid were here, I would have done the same."

"Fuck. We're actually doing this."

Both men were silent for a moment, listening to the groans coming from the hallway. 

"How are we going to do this?"

Henry gave Roy a long look. 

"We have to grab one of them, kill it, and then spread the blood all over you."

"I see."

The men stood up. They looked at each other. Looked at the door. Looked at the kid. Looked back at the door. Looked at each other. 

"We're doing this."

Henry took a long time before responding. He swallowed, trying his best to control his nervousness, but deep down, he felt like crying. 

"Yeah…I guess we are."

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Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn