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Sua thought it’d be harder to get into the infected center.
Supposedly “heavily” guarded; there were massive warning signs across the entire building. Men who wore safety gear all over their bodies, their faces covered by a mask. Tapes upon tapes with the words “one bite = infected” written directly on it. The infected people themselves. It should’ve been harder; it should’ve.
But Sua found it relatively easy. Bypassing distracted guards, hiding in small spaces, wandering empty halls—hell, she saw a guard that was fast asleep in his chair. With the way things were working, you wouldn’t think that the people infected were infected by some kind of zombie disease.
Still, she remained guarded. Any moment now she could get caught, and that’s the last thing she’s willing to risk. Not until she can find her.
Mizi. Oh, Mizi. Sua can barely even think about her without choking up. When she feels the sting in her eyes, she pulls her mask up, pressing her lips together into a tight line as she continues with each step. That day lives vividly in her mind, replaying in her brain over and over again, tearing her apart.
Walking out in the open. That filthy cigarette. The slap. how she still pulled Mizi close, how Mizi ripped herself away from her grasp, how she ran away from her. Him.
She remembers seeing him. Dragging his feet across the floor, dried blood and all. Sua barely even registered his presence, emotions of the interaction still consuming her, thinking about every single thing that went wrong. Every attempt to stay in touch, every visit she’d notice Mizi’s spark dim more and more, watching that sweet innocence vanish right in front of her eyes.
If Sua were quicker to notice, if she had gotten to him first—maybe Mizi wouldn’t be stuck in this dump—maybe Sua could’ve saved her.
But it’s too late to think about these things now. Sua had other things to think about instead of replaying that day again. She takes a deep breath in as she continues to walk around the center, She making past each tape.
Until her eyes catch something pink. A shade of pink that’s so cemented into her brain, she makes her way towards it before truly processing it. She takes one glance at her surroundings, to make sure there’s no one around before continuing her path.
She doesn’t realise her breathing as she takes each step towards the figure. Her whole vision is engulfed by her. those dark pants, the beige shirt, all that she wore that day, with the exception of the green tape that held her to the wall.
“Mizi…” She pulls her mask down, a smile creeps onto her face as she succumbs to her tears. "it’s you.” She crouches down in front of the woman, who doesn’t respond, only shifting her position on the floor.
The groans from the others infected simply become background noise, as Sua reaches her hand out to touch Mizi’s face. Pushing a strand of her pink hair out her face, caressing her cheek that’s stained with dried blood. Sua chokes up, mumbling her name again and again, as if maybe this time, Mizi will be able to muster up a response.
But it never comes.
Sua can taste the saltiness of her own tears as it drips onto her lips. She tries to wipe the tears away with her sleeve, but with each sniffle, more tears threaten to spill out. So, she buries her face into her hands, as both an attempt to halt her cries and to muffle them so as to not alert the guards.
As she slowly manages to take control of her crying, Sua brings herself to look up at Mizi once again. She looks closely at the injury, the blood that dried, the flesh that was already beginning to rot; how it took over part of her shoulder and most of her face, but not her lips. Subconsciously, she traces her thumb over her lips, over towards the injured corner, pulling into it.
Sua stares for what seems like an eternity before, ultimately, getting closer and closer. Crawling towards Mizi, as their faces quickly became inches apart, before closing that distance. Throwing her humanity away with one last sealed kiss. Infecting herself with Mizi, and contaminating herself with what took her away.