Ana took a step back as horrible, heartbreaking sobs racked through the silent night. I turned around to see Cali sobbing desperately.

"No! Not him, not him..."

My own heart was thumping loudly.

"Should we give him the cure?" asked Ana, wildly.

"What about his bullet wound?" I shot back, biting my lip in frustration. "We don't know how it will react to that. We don't even know if the cure freaking works!"

"Why is his leg mottling?" asked Cali through sobs. "I thought it happened after days."

"It does," I said. "But this mottling means a larger amount of zombie toxin through a direct bite, therefore, faster change."

I tried to recall what the other scientists in North Wellsington had told us But my mind was blank.

Zeno had stopped moving and I wasn't even sure if he was breathing.

"I can't lose him," said Cali, her voice cracking. "Not like this. We made it this far."

I didn't know what to do.

I slid out the cure from the bag we'd kept it in and stared at the purple liquid inside.

"Are you sure Axel?" asked Ana softly.

"No." I sighed and tipped a few drops of the cure inside Zeno's mouth.

                                         ***

Ana drove us the next day as Cali was in no condition to do so. She refused to move from Zeno's side and I wouldn't budge from hers because I didn't know if the cure worked.

We barely spoke that day. At night, all of us surrounded Zeno again.

"Why hasn't the cure worked?" asked Ana.

"There could be plenty of reasons," I admitted. "We don't know how many times we have to give it to the affected people or in what quantity. We don't even know if it works."

"I'm pretty surprised none of us thought to hunt for this information as well in those labs," muttered Ana.

"I thought of it," said Cali softly. "But I thought those other scientists at North Wellsington could tell us."

"Should we give him some more?" asked Ana dubiously. "Maybe direct wounds require more dosage."

"No," said Cali, her voice cracking. "We should save it for people who need it. Zeno got shot and then bitten- maybe it isn't meant to be."

I stared at her furiously.

"You can't let yourself think like that!" I snapped. "You're a fighter, Cali. And no, it isn't freaking meant to be because Zeno doesn't deserve it. Maybe he needs more of that cure and we didn't give him enough. But we will not let him simply die like this."

Ana nodded.

"You have to be strong for this Cali."

Cali let out a soft breath and simply nodded, still not convinced entirely.

I took in a deep breath and fetched the little bottle which contained the cure.

"How much?" I asked in a hoarse voice.

"All of it." said both of them.

Steeling my nerves, I tipped back the whole bottle in his mouth.

Ana screamed.

I whirled around and saw that zombies were attacking us again.