บท 20: If only that was the case... I'm sorry...

After a short discussion about the markings, we decided to continue with our tasks. We approached the two gated areas linked to each other but we stopped at the nearest one first to scan around.

The main difference between these two gated areas was that the nearest one to us only had two houses built on it. If you enter the gate, you would initially see the windows facing us and then its door which was located on the left side of the house where a small passage was also present. With that said, the passage would lead to the last house after a short walk.

This time, I made Kaley and Jared watch outside while I made Mark and Dong accompany me from behind.

Surprisingly, the first gate of the two wasn't locked. I carefully opened it by lifting the lever and slowly crept to the small gate that was linking the two gated areas together. The small gate was left open so I quietly pulled it back and locked it by using the bolt and adding a small padlock.

Before we even took another step, we heard a man's voice.

"Ivan?! Ivan?! Is that you?! No— Who's there?!"

The group looked at me but I replied to the slightly familiar voice.

"No, this is Sky. I live a few gates back in the large compound."

"Sky? What are you doing here? I thought everyone was at the camps. Have you seen Ivan?"

"We haven't seen Ivan though, sorry. We stayed in our compound and we're patrolling to check on other people. Is this Derek?"

"Yeah, this is Derek. Wait a sec, I'll come down so we could talk much better."

A few moments later, we heard a few locks clicking and the door on the left side opened for us. When Derek laid his eyes on us, he was surprised but he still glanced outside the gate to check for Ivan.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were patrolling, guns and all. Anyway, come in. My family and Ivan's family are the only ones here. We wanted to go to the DDR Camps but we have a baby here, it would be difficult for one to live in cramped spaces."

I was the only one that had stepped foot inside and I saw the rest of Derek's family with another woman that seemed to be Ivan's wife, carrying a baby covered with blankets. They were curiously looking at me but I promptly introduced myself.

I vaguely knew the rest of them but with a few light conversations with Derek in the past, I at least knew their names. Derek's wife, daughter, and son's names were Julia, Demi, and Jun respectively. Derek and Julia seemed to be the same age, Demi was a bit older than Olivia, and Jun was young as young goes.

On the other hand, the other woman was Clara, Ivan's wife. Her baby's name was Angelo but I couldn't make out his features because of the distance and the blankets. I didn't put it to mind and I went back to the topic at hand.

"Do you have any idea where Ivan went though?"

Derek scratched the side of his head before he said, "He went out yesterday afternoon after the broadcast to grab their baby some medicine for fever. He told us not to leave this house and he will be back soon but he never came back."

Clara was listening in to our conversation and she was trying her best to contain her anger from not knowing her husband's whereabouts. However, I was the only one that noticed her glaring at Demi when she tried to carry Angelo for her. Demi was taken aback but she didn't say anything on that matter as she went back to her little brother's side to make him stop making a mess.

"Since yesterday? Could he have come to the DDR Camp?"

"No, he wouldn't, as far as I know. Clara is still here with Angelo. He wouldn't dare to leave them and us alone," Derek replied, taken aback by what I said.

"What I meant was he could've come to that place to get the fever medicine instead. The pharmacies might be full of people so he tried some other way."

"That could be true but he still isn't here. We're worried that he got held up or something… something might've happened."

It seemed that even Julia had the same idea as Derek but I turned to Mark who was still by the door.

"Mark, can you switch with Kaley for a minute? She could check Angelo while we're here."

"You got a doctor with you?! Please! By all means!" Derek exclaimed.

"N-No, she knows a bit but—" I was about to clarify that Kaley had basic training but I was cut off by Clara.

"Please check him! I-I-I don't know what to do! The medicine the doctor prescribed to us won't work and he's been restless since yesterday! I— I tried everything! Feeding him, c-changing him, e-everything! He's just so— Please check on him!"

As Mark was switching with Kaley, I was looking at Clara while she was trying to lull the baby to sleep. She was slowly swaying back and forth but I noticed the baby was covered from head to toe a little too much. I was about to say that doing that would only make the fever worse but I saw the baby's foot leave the covers.

From this distance, I could see the foot up to the thigh.

'Fuck...' I muttered to myself.

When Kaley arrived and was about to take a look at Angelo, I placed my hand in front of her.

"Wait."

At this point, Kaley had never looked so confused but my expression had never been so cold. However, she was still behind me and she couldn't see my face.

"W-Why? That baby has had a fever since yesterday!" Kaley retorted as she tried to slap my hand off.

"I said wait," I finally turned to Kaley and she almost took a step back from seeing my expression.

But Clara still tried calling for help.

"PLEASE! WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING?! PLEASE CHECK ON MY BABY! CHECK ON HIM! I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG!"

Derek added, "WHAT'S THE HOLDUP, MAN?! WHAT— DO YOU NEED PAYMENT?! IS THAT IT?! FUCK! IT'S A BABY FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!"

"PLEASE! WE'LL PAY YOU WHAT YOU WANT! JUST CHECK ON HIM! IT'S BEEN—"

Clara was still shouting at the top of her lungs—though her baby wasn't making a sound despite the ruckus—but it was then that I cut her off and looked her dead in the eye as I held Kaley's wrist.

"I don't need payment but you need to remove those covers first."

"I—" Clara's eyes just went wide.

I shook my head as I said, "He's already infected, right?"

A wave of cold air hit the room as I said those words. I never broke eye contact and her face started to lose composure bit by bit. Clara just started sobbing uncontrollably as her knees touched the ground. She was biting her lip until it bled and she started pleading for her son's case.

"P-Please, p-please… I'll do anything! I'LL DO ANYTHING! H-H-Help him! Please! PLEASE! ANYTHING! YOU MUST HAVE SOMETHING FOR HIM! ANYTHING!"

"Remove the—"

"MY SON'S NOT DEAD! HE'S JUST SICK! HE'S NOT BREA— HE CAN STILL MOVE— HE'S NOT DEAD! I JUST WRAPPED HIM UP SO HE WOULDN'T— HE'S NOT DEAD! CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?! HE JUST NEEDS MEDICINE AND HE'LL BE FINE!"

"Wait, w-what?! Clara?!" Julia exclaimed as she took a step back.

"W-What's wrong w-with Angelo, m-mom?" Jun said as he pulled on Julia's skirt, afraid.

Most of them were still confused but everyone was shocked when the blanket covering Angelo came loose.

The little figure on Clara's arms was very discolored and black veins were all over its body. Its body was twitching in different directions as its jaws were moving up and down. Demi screamed her heart out when she saw the figure's state while Jun ran to his mother's back. Julia was speechless the same as Derek but tears were coming out of her eyes.

Clara just sat there holding the baby while profusely asking us to help it.

"PLEASE! HELP HIM! I'LL DO ANYTHING! I'LL DO ANYTHING! WHY AREN'T ANY OF YOU DOING ANYTHING?!"

This was one of the times I wanted to offer my help but the nightmare wasn't over.

I noticed a dark-red mark on her chest as she lifted the little figure towards us. Kaley saw the same thing but we never got to tell everyone. Derek's face was a mess as he immediately pulled his family away from Clara when she tried to approach them. Tears also came out of his eyes but there was more anger compared to his wife's expression.

"HOW LONG?! CLARA, HOW FUCKING LONG?! WE COULD'VE BEEN INFECTED?! DID YOU THINK ABOUT MY KIDS?! MY WIFE?! ME?! IS THAT WHY YOU LOCKED YOURSELF IN YOUR ROOM?! IS THAT WHY IVAN DIDN'T RETURN?! HUH?! YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD US?! FUCKING ANSWER ME!"

"I-I-I'm sorry~! I-I d-didn't k-know— I'm— I— forgive—" Clara couldn't explain herself properly.

Derek was close to hitting her and Julia immediately dragged her kids outside their house. I told them to stay close to Mark and Jared but she was more busy making her kids stop crying. The two heard everything but all they could do for now was keep them safe.

"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" Derek turned to me, "IS… IS THERE REALLY NOTHING WE COULD DO?!"

I looked at Derek's face for a short moment before I shook my head and drew my blade.

Kaley tried to pull me away, "Oh my— YOU AREN'T?!"

"..."

Derek hung his head low and was unable to do anything. Dong was silent the whole time but his hands were trembling nonstop.

Tears were flowing from Kaley's eyes and I was just wearing a difficult expression. I thought she would stop me but she didn't. We both knew the only way to do it and I was the one tasked with it.

"I'm sorry... this is the only way. Finding a cure or a vaccine now is just impossible. It could take years to develop one. What we could do now is… contain it."

Clara's eyes widened once more, "CONTAIN— NO! PLEASE! HE'S JUST A BABY! HE'S JUST— PLEASE! NO! I CAN'T— I can't…" At this point, Clara never looked so defeated and she just slumped down while Angelo was wriggling in her arms.

I gave a bitter smile as I thought to myself, 'If only that was the case…'

"I'm talking about… both of you... it's only a matter of time," I said with a difficult expression.

"Hold on, wait a damn second! What do you mean?! Both— WHAT?!" Derek was flabbergasted and the only person that knew what I was talking about was Kaley.

"She's i-infected too... when she was breastfeeding h-him, he must've bitten her while— while she was nursing him..." Kaley said bitterly.

Derek didn't know whether to laugh or cry but Clara broke down and looked like she lost sanity. However, what we didn't know was that Julia was right behind us and heard everything. Learning that Angelo was infected was one thing but discovering that Clara was infected too was just too fucking much.

"What?" Julia muttered before turning pale. In a matter of seconds, she lost feeling in her legs before she fell to the ground.

"JULIA!" Derek screamed as he ran outside.

At this point, Clara and Angelo were the only ones inside their house that was supposed to keep them safe. Everyone knew what would happen next but everyone else was waiting for someone to make the hard decision and act on it.

"What do we do now, Boss?" Dong tapped my shoulder as he looked at me and Kaley.

"I'll handle it."

I was wearing a solemn expression as I pushed Kaley out of the house and closed the door in front of me.

As I turned around, Clara was in a fetal position while holding Angelo in her arms. She was crying nonstop and seemed to be speaking to her child in a hushed tone. She was trembling nonstop as the little one was still trying to wriggle out of her arms. She didn't care as I walked closer and closer with my blade in my hand, and she just kept crying while singing a lullaby.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I sunk the blade at Clara's head.

Clara fell to the side as her baby was still in her arms. Tears were on the side of her face as she drew her last breath but I saw a portion of her neck and her chest with the same dark lines.

I pulled my blade out of her head but I still wasn't done.

The little, discolored figure was struggling to get out of her embrace but I just pointed my blade to the side of its ear and pushed a few inches.

The slow flail immediately stopped as I pulled the blade from its head. I felt a familiar sensation, like something leaving your body but it felt heavier. I gave a long and drawn-out sigh as I saw what I did.

'It's the right thing to do… it's the right thing to do...' I thought to myself.

I grabbed a blanket to cover them but I also used it to wipe the blood on the blade before sheathing it.

Derek's family was a mess outside as he was trying to calm and comfort them. It took them a while and even Kaley sat down with Demi and Jun to talk about what happened.

They saw me walk outside and all of them were just looking at me solemnly.

The timing wasn't right but I asked them to move into our compound where it was safer. However, they didn't think too long and immediately agreed. I asked Mark and Dong to help them pack but it was mostly for moving the bodies away from their sight.

Kaley and Jared came with me to the last house at the end of the walkway. No one was making a sound but Kaley placed her hand on my shoulder before I tried to check the door.

"Hey… a-are you okay?" Kaley looked me in the eye while Jared was looking at me solemnly.

I just nodded a few times and we continued to finish our job.