---Jack POV---

"Dammit! Shit!"

I cursed so loud that Kevin winced from beside me. 

I got scratched!

After getting my sleeve torn off, I had felt those sharp, jagged nails tear down the skin of my arm. There were two red slices from my elbow to my wrist. It exposed the muscle underneath, and blood poured from the wounds. 

The pain was nothing though. I've gone through far more pain than this, most of it coming from my training. My pain tolerance was actually one of my strong suits. 

It was the fear that got me. The fear of knowing I was infected. I knew that people would turn. It would only take a day or two, and I would become a zombie. 

My breathing was labored, but in this overwhelmingly stressful situation, I became sharp. Pressure forced me to look at every avenue, every route that could get me out of this situation. I may not have looked calm, probably seeming like I was devolving into insanity. But my mind was clearer and faster than ever before. I felt like I could cure cancer with my current intellect. 

I calculated how much time it had been since I was scratched. From the time of the scratch, to me getting pulled back, and then to now. It was around 12 seconds.

"Shit!" I cursed again. Then, I grabbed my knife from my pocket. My left arm was the one that was scratched, so I equipped it with my right. 

My desperation took control of me as I plunged the tip between my shoulder and chest.

"GAAHHH!!!"

I let out a scream as the knife cut into me. I was overwhelmed by pain. I tried to cut down more, creating a large and deep wound in the process. But after tearing through a few inches of muscle, the pain became so bad that I collapsed in a shivering mess. 

I turned to Kevin, my eyes pleading. 

"Take the shovel! Cut off my arm!"

"...Jack-"

"Now! Do it!"

I screamed at him, but he didn't move. And when I tried to cut down with my knife more, he rushed over, pinning my arm down. 

"No! What are you doing?!" I yelled as I was hit with another wave of pain. The slightest movement in my upper body sent agony pulsing through me. I could feel every muscle fiber grace the edge of my blade. It was horrific. 

Kevin looked back at me. He thankfully had gloves on, not risking infection by touching me. Still, he was solemn, almost sorrowful as he looked back at my enraged face. 

"Jack, stop..."

I growled. "No! This fucking apocalypse just started! I'm not dying now! The path is in front of me! I'm going to help rebuild civilization! There are too many things I need to do!"

I jerked my body around, my strength pushing Kevin back. Then, I stood up, blood pouring down my arm and torso. 

I looked down at the knife. I had created a bloody hole on top of my left chest, my sorry attempt at cutting my arm off at the shoulder. I couldn't move my left arm now that muscles and tendons had been severed. 

Kevin reached out for me. "Jack, don't!"

"Shut up!" I screamed back, my voice hoarse. Still, I didn't reach for the knife. 

As more time passed, I could feel my body begin to weaken. I could feel something spread through me. It wasn't fast, but I could tell it was there. It felt like a parasite had entered my bloodstream. 

I was so desperate that I almost wanted to tear my skin off. I wanted to do anything that could get this disease out of me. I should've told my skeleton to cut my arm off the second I was scratched. I regretted not acting faster. Now, it was too late. 

I was truly infected. 

After a minute or so of panicking, I calmed down, something that took all of my remaining sanity. I looked around. 

Kevin was standing near me, but everyone else had backed away. It felt awkward, but I was being ostracized now. Everyone had seen what would become of those who were infected. It had resulted in a Grabber killing a dozen people. 

"Jack..."

Kait suddenly walked over, hesitant about what to say or do. I looked between her and Kevin. I'm sure I seemed like a deranged monster right now.

I shook my head. "Don't. I'm not fucking dying here. Not like this!"

I wracked my mind for answers. I thought of anything that could help me fight this infection. 

Suddenly, I found myself thinking about my immune system. All diseases were fought by the immune system. Anything foreign that entered the body was isolated and expelled from the body. 

Disease, infection, parasites... Whatever the crap that zombies turned people with, it was foreign. I could feel my Energy drain as I was further infected. I knew that my body was beginning to fight. 

"Archive!"

---

{Archive}

[Attributes]

[Abilities]

[Traits]

[Ectoplasm]

---

I suddenly shouted, and saw my Archive appear in my mind. I looked at my stats, and my Ectoplasm. 

Specifically, I looked at Vitality. 

I wasn't sure what this Archive meant by Vitality, but no matter what, increasing it would increase my life's 'strength'. It would increase my Health, which would give me more time. That's what I needed. 

I had gained 21 more Ectoplasm from fighting up until now, putting my total at 27. 

And right now, I needed nothing more than more Vitality.

"Distribute all Ectoplasm into Vitality."

---

{Distributed (x26) [Ectoplasm] into Vitality.}

{Vitality has increased from 17 to 31.}

---

For a moment, I praised myself. My conjecture about costing more points to increase stats the higher they went was correct. 

The next moment though, I was intoxicated by the feeling of my life boiling in excitement. 

My entire body shivered in power. I felt so unbelievably healthy and full of energy. 

I could feel my organs become cleaner, my muscles healing any abnormalities or hidden injuries. My tendons strengthened, and any chronic injuries from running track disappeared. 

My vascular system picked up all the crap that had been released from my body, and although I felt so full of life, I could immediately feel my body's desire to rid itself of all the toxic waste. 

Holding back vomit, I stood and ran off to a restroom sign within the building. Everybody got out of my way, not stopping me as I disappeared around the corner. 

After that... well, the process of expelling waste was better left unsaid. I surely wish I hadn't been the one doing it. 

Regardless, after about 10 minutes of hiding in the restroom, I cleaned myself up and felt the changes in my body. 

I felt... clean. Inside, not outside. My body was brimming with literal vitality. I was warm with my life's energy. 

All the food in my digestive system was either burned for nutrients or expelled, the same with water. So I felt both thirsty and hungry. However, I didn't leave the restroom. 

Although I was burning with life, I could now more distinctly feel the disease within me. It really was some kind of parasite, one that sought to break down my body and take over my mind. It was cold, contrasting the warmth I felt. And it was trying to spread. 

But now, I could feel my body fighting against it. The vitality within me powered my immune system, giving it the strength to fight the parasite. It was killing the cold death spreading through me, bit by bit. 

But the cold still spread. I could feel my body call upon my fat for nutrients and energy, my immune system going into overdrive. I felt even hungrier as my body tingled in discomfort. 

I opened my mouth from within the restroom. "Kevi... Kevin!!"

My call echoed, and I quickly heard footsteps. 

"Jack? Wha- Ugh!"

Kevin recoiled after stepping into the restroom, sealing his nostrils to avoid the horrid stench. 

I didn't care though. My body was quickly weakening, but not directly due to the parasite. 

"I need... food! And water!"

"Food? All right..."

Although he wasn't sure why, he decided to listen to me. After that, I could hear voices outside, though I was too busy cheering on my immune system to care. 

It was only a minute later when Kevin came back. He found me leaning against a wall and handed me three granola bars along with a water bottle.

Although the stench was even worse near me, he disregarded it and looked at me with sorrow.  "Jack..."

I shook my head. "Don't. I'm fighting this. I have a chance. Just give me some time."

"...Alright." He sighed. 

I went to pull myself up, grabbing a nearby sink. I got to my feet, but I felt weak, causing me to stumble. Kevin caught me, steadying my body with his hands. 

Just as he was about to voice more concern, I huffed. "I'm fine. Just help me to the back door. I need to look outside."

"Outside?"

He questioned as we walked. My skeleton was standing outside the restroom, awaiting orders like always. 

It followed as I trudged over to the door in the back of the building. I felt all my energy being poured into my immune system, so I didn't have much for movement. Even when I ate the granola bars, I could feel it digested in mere moments, all the nutrients being sucked out. Water was no different, leaving me hungrier and thirstier than before. 

---

My Health and Energy were going down, but thanks to the food and extra Vitality, I had more time. 

I moved to the back door. Kevin opened it for me, thank god, and I stumbled out. 

I immediately spotted a few zombies lingering around. I pointed after my faithful skeleton followed me out. 

"Kill them."

With that command, the skeleton jumped forward. It slashed through the three zombies outside in mere moments. 

---

{[Skeleton Sentry] has killed [Zombie - Type 1] (x3)}

{You have gained [Ectoplasm - Type 1] (x2)}

---

"Nice."

I nodded, ignoring Kevin's questioning gaze. Maybe he thought I was giving it one last fight before turning. I didn't care either way. 

I needed to move fast. The cold parasite was spreading slowly through my body. 

"Distribute Ectoplasm into Vitality."

---

{(x3) [Ectoplasm] distributed into Vitality.}

{Vitality has increased from 31 to 32.}

---

I walked over after seeing the alerts, turning the corner around the building. I saw more zombies, and pointed.

"Kill them all."

My skeleton heeded its orders, throwing itself into their rotten grasp. Some zombies gave Ectoplasm upon death, some didn't. 

*Splat!*

My skeleton continued to chop with its bone axe. Whenever it got hurt, such as when a zombie swung its arm and bashed at the skeleton's ribcage, it would just absorb some bone from their corpses and repair itself. 

It truly was a killing machine, disregarding all fear and potential injury to carry out its orders. It chopped and kicked at anything in its way. 

It wasn't long before it killed a dozen, and more zombies began to flood over. Thankfully, we were in an alleyway, so the skeleton just had to hold the line. 

And whenever I got enough Ectoplasm, I put it all into my vitality. 

---

{Vitality has increased from 32 to 33.}

{Vitality has increased from 33 to 34.}

{Vitality has increased from 34 to 35.}

{Vitality...}

---

At some point, my skeleton had killed over 30 zombies. Through that, I was able to raise my Vitality to 37.}

My body continued to fight the cold within me, fighting that parasite with everything it had. I had slumped over against a wall as well as my skeleton fought. I just watched it, my body weakening every minute. 

Soon, I realized something as I continued to get worse. 

Although I had more Health, my Energy was finite. I couldn't increase it.

My Vitality, my body, continued to use my remaining Energy to fight the parasite. I didn't have much, especially without food. My Energy dwindled after a short while. 

I watched as it went all the way down. I could feel it as well. My stomach was painfully empty, and I was barely able to keep my standing.

And when it was reduced to a measly three points, I looked back. I saw Kevin and Kait. Surprisingly, I saw Elijah as well. I don't know why he was back here, but I didn't care. 

I mustered up the rest of my energy, opening my mouth. "Help... me in!"

At the same time, my skeleton disappeared, turning to ash and reverting back to the bone rune on my forearm. Zombies began to tumble forward. 

Before they could get me though, Elijah swooped in, grabbing me and pulling me back. We retreated back into the building, closing the door behind us. 

Upon entry, I felt a sharp pain in my body as my Energy hit zero. 

Elijah laid me on a table. The wound was fully exposed, but it had stopped bleeding. I had really cut deep, and it wasn't healing with how busy my body was fighting the parasite. 

Elijah frowned at my sorry image. I smelled retched, and I had blood all over me. 

He spoke softly. "Jack, I can kill you, if you want..."

I froze a bit at his offer, and quickly shook my head. "No... don't... I'm..."

I struggled to speak, but when I realized that they might really kill me since I was infected, I became desperate. 

I looked him dead in the eye, hoping my confidence and fighting spirit was being transmitted to him. "I'm... fighting it! My Vitality..! I used... Ecto...plasm..."

With each word, I got weaker. I watched as my Health started going down in place of my Energy. 

But Elijah seemed to understand, just a bit. Thankfully, people weren't advocating for me to be euthanized, so I was safe for now. 

But I needed energy, anything to get me through this. I could feel how the cold within me had stopped spreading. The warmth, my Vitality was fighting back. I was no longer degrading into a zombie. 

I just needed time, and energy. But I didn't even have the energy to swallow food or drink water. 

In that case...

"Don't... kill me! I'll win!"

I spat out those words, hoping they got my intent across. After that, my consciousness began to fade. My vision blurred, and my last thought was me hoping they wouldn't kill me early. 

................

---Elijah POV---

I watched as Jack passed out. My mind was conflicted. 

My Vitality, he said. When I finally arrived, he had his skeleton killing zombies. 

No doubt, he was trying to increase his Vitality stat. Was it to fight the infection? Could that be done?

Or would it just delay the inevitable?

We could see his breathing, so he wasn't dead. Only, I was still afraid of him turning. How did I know if he really was beating the infection?

Kait walked over to me. Her eyes were red, barely holding back tears. They had not only seen people die, but now Jack was about to turn. 

Jack, Kait, and I were much closer now. Although Coach Todd had been part of our group, we were a bit distant from him since he was an adult. 

But other than him, we three were the first to venture out. We had braved risk together, found survivors, and come up with a plan to build a community. We had been the leaders of our group. Especially Jack, who had inspired us with a vision of hope. A vision of thriving in this apocalypse. 

And now, he was on death's door, about to turn into the monsters we were slaughtering. I found it so unfair that even someone with abilities and the Archive could fall to these pitiful monsters. He had been so ready to push us forward... We didn't want him to go. 

My hope that he'd survive didn't outweigh my fear of him turning. But my fear of him dying so quickly kept me from decapitating him right here and now. 

I stared at his body that got paler and paler. I hesitated for a long while, I could kill him now, end this potential threat. I feared what he could become. 

But... instead, I motioned to Kevin, his friend. 

"Let's move this table into the restroom, and barricade it."

"...Alright."

He nodded, and we picked the table up with Jack's body on it. 

We moved it into the shockingly smelly restroom, setting it down before shutting the door. We barricaded it, then backed away. 

"...Do we wait?"

Kevin looked at me. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do either. Did we wait and see? Or did we continue to the store?

"I'll wait."

I eventually decided, turning to Kait. 

"I'll wait here and see if Jack turns. You take everyone else forward. Coach Todd is waiting up ahead, so group with him and continue to the store."

She looked at me worriedly, something that, if not for the depressing mood, would have given me butterflies. "Can you get back alone?"

"Yes. One man can move better than a whole group. Don't worry about me." I reassured her. With all the mistakes I'd been making, I felt like I needed to remain here out of respect for Jack. I had to respect the hope that he held. 

Kait listened to me, and with the rest of our teammates, she continued on. I actually fought a bit more, cutting a path for them to the next building. But I returned once they'd advanced safely. My Energy was still dwindling, so sitting and waiting was good for me anyway. 

Like that, I grabbed a chair and sat, staring at the restroom where Jack was isolated. I prayed that he'd win his fight. But I also primed my body, ready to fight whatever monstrosity would come of him should he turn.