Godless Domain

I carefully laid Zane down on the bed, making sure to adjust his limp body so he wasn't in any more discomfort than necessary. His face was still pale, his eyes half-lidded, and every so often, his body twitched as if fighting against something invisible. 

I placed a damp washcloth over his forehead, hoping to ease whatever fever had taken hold of him. His breathing was shallow, a constant, erratic rhythm that made my chest tighten with every shallow exhale.

I couldn't think too hard about it. I needed to focus on what I could do, not what I couldn't. The rest of the apartment was cold and lifeless, as if it hadn't been lived in for weeks. But in this moment, it felt like a sanctuary.

I stepped away from the bed, my legs still shaky from the climb, my body drained. I had no idea how long we'd be able to stay here. But at least for now, we were safe and out of sight. That was all I could hope for.

I moved to the front door of the apartment, carefully peeking through the peephole. The hallway outside was eerily quiet. No sounds of the chaos from below. I didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse. Maybe the destruction hadn't reached this far yet, but i had a felling it was only a matter of time.

I hesitated for a moment, my hand lingering on the doorknob before I opened the door and glanced at the door number. 154. I then turned and rushed down the hallway. Zane's apartment was on this floor, number 159. The whole point of this godforsaken journey. I needed to know if his family was safe.

The jog to his apartment was short but felt like an eternity, my footsteps echoing louder than I wanted. But I had to do this. I had to make sure they were safe.

As I arrived i felt half the mission complete I then raised my hand and knocked three times. A soft thud, but loud enough to carry through the silence. There was a long pause, and then I heard a faint shuffle from inside. I heard the sound of a peephole cover sliding open. For a second, I froze. The last thing I wanted was for fate to play another trick on me.

The door creaked open slowly, and there she stood. Zane's mom. Evelyn

Her face lit up when she saw me, the warmth in her eyes unmistakable.

"Kade!" she said, her voice soft and welcoming. "I wasn't expecting you... Is Zane with you?"

I nodded, a lump forming in my throat. "Yeah, he's with me," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "He's... he's not doing too well."

Her smile faded slightly, and she stepped back, opening the door wider. "Come in, come in! Where is he? Is everything okay?"

I followed her inside, feeling the rush of emotions rise in my chest. I couldn't keep this from her.

"He's in bad shape," I said, the words tasting like gravel in my mouth. "We were... we were attacked. Something's happening to him, and I don't know how to help him."

She looked at me with a mix of concern and confusion. "Attacked? What do you mean? What happened?"

"I don't know," I said, running a hand through my hair. "He... He was fine, and then he just started convulsing. Like some kind of seizure. Something's got him, and I don't know what it is. There was a red light that surrounded him before, I think it's got a hold of him. It's like... it's changing him."

She blinked, obviously trying to process what I was saying. "You mean... you think he's... sick?"

I nodded grimly. "I don't know what else to call it. But he's not the same, and I don't know how long we have."

Her eyes filled with concern, and she reached for her phone. "I'm going to call the doctor. We need to get him checked out—"

"No," I said quickly, my voice rising just a little. "We don't have time for that. You don't understand. The streets are crawling with... with things. There's no way we can get to a hospital now. We have to deal with this ourselves."

She stared at me, the fear in her eyes mirrored in my own. She didn't know the full extent of what was happening outside, what we had seen. What we had survived. But she was a mother, and in that moment, all she knew was her son was in trouble.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "I just need your help, Mrs. Fallon. I need to make sure he's stable long enough so we can figure out what's going on with him."

Her face softened. "Of course, he is my son Kade. I'll do anything. Let's go to him."

I led her down the hallway back to the apartment, my heart pounding in my chest. There was no time for explanations. We couldn't sit around waiting for answers. All I could do was trust Zane's mom to help in whatever way she could.

When we entered the bedroom, I could see the concern cross her face immediately. Zane still hadn't moved, his body shivering slightly, his breath coming in shallow bursts. His eyes were open, but they stared off into nothing, disconnected from everything.

She knelt beside him, placing a gentle hand on his forehead. "Zane," she whispered softly. "Honey, can you hear me?"

But he didn't respond. His body gave another violent spasm, and she gasped, her hand trembling as she pulled it away.

"Is this... normal?" she asked, her voice shaking.

I shook my head. "No. No, this isn't normal. I've never seen anything like it."

Nothing about today has been 'normal' and I didn't know what to do. Zane's mom seemed to be holding it together better than I was, but the desperation in her eyes mirrored my own.

"We need to get him to a doctor," she said quietly, glancing back at me, but I could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

"I don't think that's an option right now," I said, the weight of the situation settling on me again. Evelyn still not completely understand the situation we were all in. not yet at least. 

"We'll figure it out. We need to keep him stable. That's all we can do right now."

She nodded, her face pale, and turned back to Zane, her hands trembling as she checked his pulse. But as she did, I couldn't shake the feeling that time was running out. The world outside was collapsing, and all we had was each other.