Chapter 17:

It's been two days since Gavin first passed out and he was still only getting worse.
Barbara wasn't exactly helping my nerves by telling me he was showing the early signs of the flu. If those were only the early signs, how bad was the rest of the illness gonna get for him?
Barbara was keeping him isolated from the rest of the group. Which meant, I was only allowed to see him a couple times a day.
Everyday I would search up and down the streets for the medicine Gavin needed but I would never have any luck finding it. Ray and George were also pushing the limits trying to find some, which resulted in dangerous activity as well.
Now, I was walking down the a snowy street. The storm had come to a lull so I had a little time to search without being confronted with loads of snow.
I squeezed my pistol at my belt and kept tense. Walking down the middle of street in broad daylight wasn't exactly the safest thing to do, but there was less snow there.
I suddenly heard a crunch. I turned around quickly and held my gun up, scanning the white streets in an attempt to find the source of the noise.
There was nothing.
I gulped and continued walking, keeping my gun in hand. If someone was following me, better to be ready than not.
Another crunch.
I ignored it, thinking it was an animal or the stress getting to me. I clutched my gun and hoped that I was right.
I wasn't.
I heard a bullet wiz past me. I ducked and rolled, holding my gun up. I searched the streets again, until I found the owner of the shot.
It was a woman. A young woman at that. She had light down hair and a sturdy posture. She was holding her own pistol bravely at me.
"Who are you?" She demanded in a thick southern accent. I narrowed my eyes at her and rose, stepping towards her.
"It doesn't matter," I growled back. She squeezed her finger a little harder on the trigger.
"When I ask for your name, you give it to me, ya hear?" She said. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"Look, you can calm down. I'll leave and you can do your little rounds or whatever. I've already searched this entire street. It was clean when I first got here," I told her, loosening up a bit. She noticed and loosened herself up as well.
"Alright, you seem like a reasonable fellow. You do rounds huh? Anything in particular you need?" She asked. I cocked an eyebrow at her, wondering why she was suddenly so helpful.
"Um... Yeah, actually," I breathed, lowering my gun. She smiled and did the same.
"Well, what is it? My father and sisters have a place a little ways from here. We've got food, water, medicine-," I stopped her there.
"What kind of medicine?" I asked, getting giddy with excitement.
"Any medicine you need. My father is a doctor," She told me.
I nearly jumped for joy after that. This is exactly what Gavin needs. Medicine and an actual doctor to take care of him.
"Can I have some?" I asked her. She smirked and looked at my gun.
"Sure, but you gotta make a deal with me," She said slyly. I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.
"O-okay," I stuttered.
"Give me your gun. Then I'll take you to my house and give you the medicine you need," She told me.
I clutched my gun a little tighter. We had been running out of weapons lately and giving up my gun would be giving up another much needed weapon.
But... Gavin's life was on the line. And his life meant much more to me than a gun.
I put the safety on and handed it to her. She smiled and and looked it over before putting it into her belt. I sighed and felt a wave of vulnerableness come over me. I was without defenses now.
"Follow me," She told me.

A half hour later I stood in the driveway of a huge house. I shifted uncomfortably, wondering if she was being serious right now. This place was in the middle of nowhere and very secluded.
"Well, are y'all coming or what?" She called to me. I started walking again to catch up to her and before I knew it, we were in front of the house.
We walked in, locking the door behind us again. I quickly looked around, scanning my surroundings, preparing for an ambush if this was all a trick. When none came immediately, I let my defenses down slightly.
"Calm down, my family is harmless," She told me. She continued to walk through the house, leading me into a study.
"Daddy? Are you busy? I have a visitor who could really use your help," She called through the door.
Seconds later the door was opened. An older man stood there, maybe in his fifties or early sixties. He looked me up and down and raised an eyebrow.
"Who are you?" He asked me. His accent wasn't as thick as his daughters but it still somewhat peeked through.
"I'm... Michael," I told him slowly. He smiled and nodded letting me inside.
"Well, what is it you need? You seem pretty intact," He asked me.
"Uh, the medicines not for me. It's for a member in my group. He fell ill a couple days ago and he's only been getting worse," I told him. He nodded and looked around in a cabinet.
"What are the symptoms?" He asked me.
"Uh... High fever, dizziness, weakness, chest pain. The person taking care of him said it could be influenza," I told him.
What terrified me was when he turned around and gave me a doubtful look. His eyes filled with a kind of sympathetic look which made my heart go cold for a moment.
"Those don't sound like the symptoms of influenza," He told me, continuing to go through his cabinet, beginning to pull out various bottles.
"Well what are they the symptoms for then?" I asked him, not really wanting to hear the answer in case it was bad.
"If I'm being honest, those sound like the symptoms of pneumonia," He told me, filling a bag with the medicines.
"Is that... Worse?" I asked slowly. He stopped for a moment and turned to me, making his way over to me.
"Much worse. Without antibiotics, Death's already knocking on his door. With antibiotics, he might be able to get by," He told me. "There's no way of knowing until I see the patient for myself."
He handed me the bag of medicines and picked up a coat. My mind swam in confusion. Was he coming with me?
Within the hour I was standing outside our camp with Dr. Oliver Weston and his daughter, Chloe. They both revealed to me their names on the way over, thinking I might as well know them if they were coming back to my group.
I led them inside, hearing some members gasp at the new arrivals. I saw Ryan and Jon tense and stand up, ready to defend the group. I waved them off in a sign that it was okay.
"He's upstairs," I told them, leading the way.
As I made my way up the stairs and down the hall, I felt myself dreading seeing Gavin again. He was gonna be worse, I knew it. He never got better.
When I heard the painful coughing, I sped up the pace and quickly entered the room.
Barbara jumped at my sudden presence and I gave her a sorry smile. Gavin opened his eyes and smiled weakly at me, making my heart hurt even more.
"Who are they?" Barbara asked me, suddenly. The presence of the newcomers startled her and therefore Gavin tensed and began trying to defend himself.
I rushed over to him and pushed him down, hushing him. He immediately relaxed at my comforting tone but he still eyed the newcomers threateningly.
"So, this is Gavin. Nice to meet you," Dr. Weston introduced himself. Gavin looked at me in confusion and started struggling again.
"Gavin, it's okay. He's a doctor. He's gonna help you," I told him soothingly. Gavin's eyes lite up with that and he smiled at Dr. Weston.
"Hello, Dr..." Gavin rasped out.
"Weston. Now, I'd like to examine the patient alone. So if the rest of you could wait in the hallway," Dr. Weston said to us. Instantly warnings flashed through my head to not leave Gavin alone. I leaned down to him and whispered to him so no one could hear me.
"Do you still have the pistol I gave you?" I asked him. Gavin nodded slowly and I slowly got up, leaving him and Dr. Weston alone.
In the hallway I began pacing back and forth. Chloe watched me with little emotion and Barbara stood against the wall, looking just as worried as me.
"Hey, Michael, can I talk to you?" Barbara asked me after a few minutes. I nodded and walked over to her and she stood up straighter and whispered to me.
"So, you know how Gavin's been sleeping a lot more than usual, right?" Barbara asked me. I nodded and gestured for her to continue.
"Well, he kept waking up screaming or crying so I asked him about it and... He told me he's been having reoccurring nightmares," Barbara continued. My heart dropped at that. Poor Gavin. If it wasn't hard enough being a leader and sick, he has to deal with nightmares now.
"And... He told me most were about you... Getting hurt... Or dying," She told me slowly.
"Well, he said they're nightmares. Figments of his imagination," I reminded her.
"Michael, he told me they were extremely vivid. I think you should watch yourself," Barbara told me. I sighed and nodded, brushing off all she just told me.
Suddenly, the door to Gavin's room opened and Dr. Weston stepped out. He gave us a grave look and I felt my heart drop even more.
"He does have pneumonia... And it's not looking good."
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I've never had pneumonia so... Yeah.
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