Brothers Always Stick Together

October 21st, 2:13 am

Current Location: Bailey, MS

Current Outdoor Temperature: 24 degrees Fahrenheit
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I didn't remember falling asleep last night, but I was sort of glad I did, other than the nightmare. Evelyn was laying on my chest, and I didn't really mind it all that much. She deserved the sleep.

As I laid in the bed, my thoughts drifted back over to the strange dream. I knew for a fact that Van Zandt was dead, since Bryan shot him down in Memphis. Other than that, my mind was a blank. I didn't have any other clue on who it could possibly be. I tried my best not to stress about it more than I should've.

Distant howling of zombies rung in the countryside. Normally I would step outside to make sure that they weren't too close, but I didn't want to freeze my ass off in the cold. I was already trying my best not to start shivering with the blankets over me.

Braxton later came to mind. I then remembered that he had a bad headache last night, and I wanted to get up and check on him. The thing was, I also didn't want to wake Evelyn up in the process.

After a few minutes of trying to fall back asleep, I knew I should at least go take a peek at both him and Dad. I carefully pushed Evelyn's head off of me and crawled out of the bed. Just before I exited the room, a soft voice came from behind me.

"Come back soon, please..."

I stopped and turned my head. She was laying on her side towards me, but her eyes were closed as if she was already asleep.

"I will," I responded.

I made my way to the living room where Dad and Braxton had fallen asleep. They were in the exact same position as before, but something was visibly off about Braxton. He had a slight strain on his face as if he was cringing. I walked over and kneeled down as his face, and sweat was dripping from his forehead, worse than last night. I gently felt his forehead, and my eyes widened. It wasn't just hot, it was burning.

"This isn't good..." I mumbled to myself. Glancing up at Dad, I saw that he was still passed out. I mentally cursed. If only the van hadn't broken down, we could've given Brax some medicine long before it progressed this far.

Standing up, I ran my fingers through my hair. Seeing no other option, I shook Dad awake to tell him the concerning news. His eyes fluttered open, and when he fixed his eyes on me, he became confused.

"What's going on?" he whispered to me. I instantly pointed to Braxton. "He's got a high fever."

Slowly, Dad sat up to where he could reach him. Once he felt his forehead, his face went from confused to fear. "Christ..."

"Should I go get a rag?" I asked, becoming frantic.

"We don't have any water to soak it in," Dad answered, keeping his voice low. "From what I see, we can only hope that his immune system holds together."

I tried not to get mad about the van. We had medicine to treat this, but I knew that if we stayed in the van for much longer, we most likely would've gotten torn up by the zombies.

I sighed and walked towards the main bathroom near where Olivia ended up falling asleep. I checked under the sink for any medical supplies that the family may have left behind. There was a small basket that contained dental floss, a few razors, and a small thermometer. I grabbed the thermometer and rushed back to the living room.

"I found a thermometer," I told Dad who was already almost asleep again. "We should check his temperature."

He nodded and shifted his body to where Braxton was sitting up against his shins. His mouth was already parted open, so I slowly stuck the end of it in his mouth under his tongue. I gently closed his mouth, surprised how he remained asleep through this entire process. After about a minute, the thermometer beeped, and I strained to read it.

My heart sunk. It read 105.5 degreed Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, Braxton's eyes fluttered open, and he looked at me deleriously.

Without warning, he vomited all over the living room floor. I immediately rushed to grab a towel and a spre trash can that they left behind. I cleaned up the vomit while Dad began to strip him of his clothes in an attempt to cool him down. Bryan and Amelia were awakened in the process.

"Is everything okay?" asked Amelia, rushing over to help me with the puke. Bryan stood over us with a concerned face.

Wordlessly, I handed the thermometer to Amelia, and she gasped once she read it. "Oh, no..."

"Braxton, Braxton! Relax!" Dad suddenly exclaimed.

I covered my mouth. He began to tense up as his arm began to violently shake. Braxton also wore a confused look on his face.

"He's convulsing!" exclaimed Bryan, trying to find something to do to help in some way. Tears formed in my eyes as I could helplessly watch.

I heard someone walk into the living room, and it was Evelyn. "What's-"

She froze as Braxton continued to convulse. Evelyn rushed over, already crying. All of us tried our best to stop his convulsing, and it lasted for what seemed like forever before he finally stopped.

"What the hell is going on..." Bryan wondered aloud. "I can't have Little Mills like this."

My thoughts drifted back to the day we left the camp. I was walking with Braxton until we found Bryan waving his hands and yelled that name for what seemed like the first time in my mind. I wasn't sure whether or not he had called him that before, but I liked it. Brax didn't seem to have a problem with it either, but he probably didn't know any better than to say anything.

The thing was, Bryan had a point. We couldn't have Little Mills like this, because if we didn't do anything now, he was going to die.

But what could we do? We had no water to cool him down, and we'd already had him stripped to his underwear. There was no medicine to give him since we lost that and everything else in Meridan before the huge fight.

There was nothing.

"Braxton," I mumbled. He slowly turned his head to look at me. His face was very red and flushed. "Please, we need you to hang in there for us, okay?"

Braxton didn't say anything for a few seconds. He grabbed my hand, still looking at me. "I'm s-sorry."

I choked on tears. "F-For what? You haven't done anything wrong, bubba."

He smiled. "For not talking to you all that time. I should've..."

Brax slurred those last two words as if he was drunk. Suddenly, his head rolled back and he fell unconscious.

"Braxton!" Olivia screamed from the other bedroom. She ran up and began to panic instantly. Amelia and Dad tried her best to calm her down while I reset the thermometer and took his temperature again. As I waited, I prayed to whoever was listening. Don't take my brother. I couldn't afford to lose him or anyone else. At least take me, instead.

The thermometer beeped, and when I saw the results, I literally almost fainted.

107.9 degrees Fahrenheit. For a child, it's a miracle that he's still alive.

"Braxton...what the hell happened to you?" I wondered out loud.

"I don't know, this is so sudden," Evelyn said with tear lines on her cheeks. She later mumbled something else that I couldn't understand. I assumed it was words of encouragement for herself, Braxton, or all of us.

Several dreadful minutes passed with nothing happening, but that was changed when Dad felt his forehead once again. "He's so hot..."

Dad showed me his palm, and it was soaked with sweat. He later held him closer to his body.

"Please don't take him. Please don't take my child," he said. "He doesn't deserve this."

Olivia was still crying, asking several questions about her little brother. We tried our best to answer her as calmly as we could, but to no real avail. There was no staying calm in a situation like this.

I didn't remember, but I think I dozed off for a few minutes, still holding Braxton's hand. What woke me back up was a sudden chill. I sat back up and looked over at Braxton, who was suddenly extremely pale. His hand was cold, but it didn't hit me until a few seconds later.

If his hand was cold, then...

I placed my finger under his nose, and my heart stopped.

He wasn't breathing.

"BRAXTON!" I yelled as loudly as possible. "He's not breathing!"

Everyone lost it at that point.

Dad scrambled out of the recliner and moved Braxton on his back flat in the seat. He pressed his chest in a desperate attempt to bring him back to reality. Dad would press his chest a few times, listen, then do it again.

"Please, come back..." I mumbled, beginning to let my emotions get the best of me. "I need you to stay with me!"

Even in the middle of the chest conpressions, Dad was still audibly sobbing. He quieted himself to listen again, then resumed.

A solid two minutes of pressing his chest and listening for a heartbeat later, nothing happened.

Time seemed to speed up at that point. Evelyn was crying into my arms. Bryan was sitting on his knees, staring at nothing in particular. Amelia was holding Olivia tightly in her arms, both of them crying into each other.

Dad was the biggest story. Even though all of the color was lost on his face, he continued to hold Braxton's hand. But the thing was, he wasn't crying.

He was smiling. Not a full on smile, but it was that sad, but relieved kind of smile. It was the exact same smile that I had when I watched Navarez leave the Earth. I couldn't understand it at first, but now, I know why Dad acted the way he did.

He would be with Mom, singing the mocking bird song together like we all used to do back home.

One day, little brother, I'll come see you. But for now, I have stuff to do here. Our father and sister need me to help find someplace to settle down until spring. Then, once this chaos ends, we will see each other again.

I know you're safe in heaven, Braxton. Say hi to Mom for us, won't you?
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