Theo waited until Gray had walked away before he rested his head back against the car behind him. Remy, Cade, and Avi all still hovered by him, and Brandt stood guard nearby, his rifle up as he watched the tree line attentively. Theo loosely rested his hand on top of the gun Remy had given him, and he closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. “I’m so sorry, guys,” he murmured softly.
“Don’t be,” Cade’s voice said from somewhere to his right. “You saved me, Theo.” Her knuckles brushed down his cheek, and he couldn’t help but lean into the touch.
Theo let a small smile grace his lips, and he nodded. “Yeah, I did. Shit was worth it, then.” He swallowed hard and fought back a wave of emotion that threatened to overcome him. “Just … do me a favor, all of you?” he requested.
“Anything, Theo,” Remy said, her own voice cracking.
“Take care of Gray for me,” Theo requested. “He’s not as strong as he likes to pretend he is. I’m all he had left. I don’t think he’ll handle this very well.” Theo opened his eyes and looked at Remy as she squeezed his hand. “Especially you, Remy. You know what it’s like for your whole family to leave you. He’ll need you to help him through this.”
Remy nodded understandingly, and Theo looked to Avi. The blond woman wept openly. “Theo, there has to be something we can do,” she said shakily.
“Yeah, you can do as I’ve asked,” Theo replied. “That’s all you need to do. You know how this shit goes. I’m not the first person to get the Michaluk Virus, and I won’t be the last either.” Theo breathed in deeply and closed his eyes once more, dropping his head back to the car again. “Now get the fuck moving. I don’t want any of you caught out here near me when the gun goes off. You know what the sound does to draw the infected out.” Theo lifted his head to look at the four of them again. They were reluctant to leave him; he could see it in their eyes. But he couldn’t do what he needed to do with them around. He wiped his bloodied hand off on his pants and gave Remy’s hand another squeeze. “Remy, get them out of here,” he begged softly.
Remy stared at Theo for a moment, searching his face, and then she nodded. She stood and pulled her hand free from Theo’s after one last squeeze. “Come on, Cade, Avi,” she said. She tugged at their shoulders to get them to move. Avi seemed to resist, but Brandt came over to give Remy a hand, forcing the blond woman to her feet.
“You’ll be okay, Theo,” Brandt said confidently, pulling Cade to her feet. “Take care of Nikola for us, would you?”
Theo smiled slightly. He liked how Brandt thought of his impending death. It was comforting somehow, and his breath caught in his throat. “Of course,” he finally agreed, his voice hushed.
And then they walked away, and Theo was left alone on a cluttered highway somewhere in Georgia.
Theo blew out a breath and closed his eyes. His head and his arm both throbbed. A thin trail of blood oozed from the wound, trickling from beneath the admittedly sloppy bandage Avi had applied to it. His hands shook as he struggled to relax.
Theo had options. He knew he did. He could avoid the idea of suicide and let himself become like those things that now wandered the earth, like the thing that infected him. He could become one of those that waged war against the remnants of humanity. But Theo didn’t want to live like that. That wasn’t living, not knowing who he was anymore and putting the people he loved in danger. He refused to let himself become an animal.
Theo weighed his choices. He wanted to see a sunset again, but as he looked at his watch, he realized that sunset was simply too far away. He’d be far into the throes of the virus if he waited that long. Theo imagined he could feel it already as it pumped through his veins, slogged thickly through the blood in his body. The thought was almost enough to make him gag.
Theo looked in the direction the others had gone, and he couldn’t see them anymore. They still weren’t far enough away for his comfort, though; he didn’t want any of them to hear this. He dragged himself to his feet and started to slowly walk in the opposite direction, back the way they’d come, trying to put more distance between himself and them.
This wasn’t how Theo thought his life would end. Growing up, he’d naïvely believed he’d be old when he died, that it was impossible for someone as young as he to perish. It was the typical invincibility of youth, and though he was older now and knew better, Theo still thought that twenty-five was too young to die. He hadn’t experienced all the things he wanted to do. He never got to marry, never got to have children, never got to start a life. Nothing normal ever happened to anyone since the Michaluk Virus had hit the scene. It’d robbed him of everything else, and now it was taking his life too.
Theo hoped like hell that the others managed to find out how all this happened before they got to Luckie Street. Because when whoever had caused the massive viral spread was revealed, Theo had every intention of haunting the hell out of them.
Theo found a shady spot on the side of the road and sank to his knees. He looked in the direction he’d come as he slid back to sit against the tree he was under. He couldn’t see his friends now. He couldn’t even see the car he’d walked away from.
Theo was afraid of death, but he was more afraid of living as a victim of the Michaluk Virus. Ultimately, Theo’s death rested in his hands. And he wanted it on his own terms.
Theo nodded slightly as he determined his own path, and he closed his eyes. He took several slow, deep breaths as he tried to relax himself further, tried to keep calm. This was what he had to do, he reminded himself. This was what he had to do to save his brother, to eliminate the risk he posed to those still living.
Theo lifted the gun and pulled the trigger.