Infected 6ft Under
Title
Infected 6ft Under
Creator
Kathleen Gomez
Date
04/17/2023
Text
MIAMI, FLORIDA – MARCH 2120
“Global warming has been at a nonstop rapid increase, the ocean getting significantly warmer in a short amount of time. We have seen a temperature of almost ten times higher than it has been in the past decade. This isn’t normal...” says a climatologist currently being hosted on a local news channel alongside a marine biologist. “I agree. We have been studying the impacts of that warmth on the ocean and it is not looking good. Our biggest concern is the coral reefs. All throughout the coast of Miami, the corals seem to be dying and almost lifeless already, turning a pale shade of white. Coralliilyticus is what we have been studying being released from these corals, being quite toxic to fish and marine life. But regardless, I’m very concerned”, explains the marine biologist. “We’ve warned the government regarding rising sea levels, especially in Miami... So whoever is listening, prepare yourself sooner rather than later” continues the climatologist, this interview mumbling on in the background as Aubree gets ready.
Aubree Martin is a recent Biology graduate from Florida International University, born and raised in the city of Miami. She recently scored a research fellowship with the University of Miami on the effect of climate change on coral reefs. “Okay... Teeth? Brushed. Hair? Done. Clothes? On. Wetsuit? Packed. Snorkeling gear? Packed. Sunscreen? Packed and on. Research binder? Packed. TV? Off,” she begins to talk to herself, grabbing the remote of the television and pressing the off button. Aubree rented herself an apartment near the ocean after graduation, moving out of her mother’s home, having earned enough money from her previous job as a marine data analyst for Miami Seaquarium. Before leaving, she looks at herself one last time in the long mirror to make sure she looks presentable. Standing at 5 feet and 6.5 inches tall, and 125 lbs, Aubree is a dark brown curly-haired, tan female who gets her features mainly from the Puerto Rican and Cuban roots in her blood. Her eyes are an auburn brown, with naturally long lashes and a birthmark right on the left corner of her lip. She triple-checked that she packed everything she needed for the day before heading out. Today, Aubree is heading into the field, needing to gather more data on the current status of the pale/lifeless corals. Her phone begins to vibrate, picking it up. “Hello?” she says, waiting for a response. “Good morning beautiful person! You heading out yet?” George exclaims, always a happy and energized camper in the morning. George Gomez is Aubree’s boyfriend, a 22-year-old, also a recent Biology graduate from the University of Miami. They met two summers ago, both working at Miami Seaquarium. “Hiii! Yup! I’ll be there in around 15 minutes.” Aubree replies, getting into her Toyota Corolla and organizing everything. “Perfect corazón, I’ll see you there. Same spot?” He asks, the sound of a car engine turning on behind his voice. “Si! Besos!” (Yes! Kisses!) She hangs up, driving off towards Miami Beach. George is working on his own research fellowship, but his is more of a lab-based setting as he is working with cancerous cells.
“Wow... Today looks super gloomy. Wonder if it’s going to rain.” Aubree mumbles to herself as she examines the grey and cloudy atmosphere. It only took 15 minutes before she arrived at the beach, particularly the area with the fastest access to the coral reef nearby. After parking, she meets up with George and they begin to walk. Once there, she starts to get into her wetsuit and prepares her snorkeling gear. “You sure you don’t want to join me today?” She asks, Geo taking a seat on the sand and scouting the surrounding area. “Yeah, just want to chill today love. I had an exhausting day yesterday at the lab. But I don’t mind being here with you so do your thing!” He replies, smiling at her with a smile that lights up her heart. Aubree nods softly, bending down and kissing him on the cheek before she begins to head towards the water just to get a feel for the temperature and check out the current/status of the ocean. Strangely, the waves are quite restless this morning, crashing against the shore roughly. The wind is picking up as well, Aubree looks up and realizes it’s probably due to the rain that must be heading their way. “Just have to be careful... Be aware of any rip currents or lighting.” She says to herself as she heads back to grab her gear and head in. “BREE!!” George shouts out of nowhere, startling Aubree. She positions her hands in a W, asking what with her body language. He points behind her, his eyes expressing fear. Her heart feels like it’s beating out of her chest before she begins to turn around, her auburn-colored eyes meeting what looks like 6ft waves crashing on the shore, the water reaching her thighs.
Aubree runs over to George, unsure of what is going on. “What the-... This is not normal. This water is coming in too fast. What do we do?!” Aubree exclaims in a panic, the water doing exactly as she said and advancing. “Bree... RUN!” He yells, grabbing her hand and tightening it, pulling her to begin running. Aubree attempts to grab her things but before she can, the water crashes against her roughly, sweeping her off her feet and dragging her into the water. George shakes his head, attempting to go after her but before he knows it, he too is in too deep and gets stuck in the rip current. “GEO!” Aubree cries, extending her hand out as she begins to get dragged toward the right and George toward the left. His face of fear says it all. “I’LL FIND YOU! MEET BACK HERE!” He tries to yell before they both are out of sight. Aubree was now alone and trembling as she tried to fight the powerful current that threatened to drag her down into the depths below. Never has she been afraid of the ocean, the one place where she felt free and happiest. But now, it had all changed. “Was this the sea level rising people were talking about?” Her thoughts rush her mind, but the sound of the rushing water was the only thing she could hear as she struggled to keep afloat.
MAY 2120 - 2 MONTHS LATER
The eerie sound of water as it crashes against the sunken buildings fills the air, along with the faint gurgling in the depths. Miami as it used to be, was gone, unrecognizable even. The city full of life was now an underwater graveyard. It’s been 2 months since the sea level rose to an unsustainable limit, wiping out half of the population of humans, and introducing a different population to the area. Aubree, just like most, has adapted to this new way of “life”, it was all she could do. She never made camp in the same place twice, always on the move, searching for what was left of food and water, and alone. However, she made her own decision to say solo, due to witnessing other people turning on one another, killing each other, and becoming those hideous zombie-like things she called the “infected”. Yet, with all this chaos, she has been meticulous and quite observant of the new world around her, specifically how these creatures have similar characteristics to those of corals, especially bleached corals infected with what they used to call “Coralliilyticus”. They have what looks like, from afar, of course, white pale skin that appears to be rough and scaly. While also has a blue/purplish tone, which Aubree assumes is because of the likely cause of death; drowning. So far, no one she has come across has any idea how this happened, how the infection spreads aside from contact with the infected, or if there is any cure to this madness. Having the biologist characteristics within her, Aubree has been attempting to understand this “infection”, especially because if her hypothesis regarding Coralliilyticus is true, then this infection is way more toxic than people think.
“ I need to find Geo... Two months. It’s been two months Aubree! He has to be alive. Everything else can wait. Once I find him, we’ll figure this crap out together.” She whispers to herself, not wanting to bring any attention to herself as she remains on the move, using a kayak as her mode of transport. It’s starting to get dark, and the sun which was once towering over the sky, comes down, creating a beautiful array of orange, yellow, and red. As she looks around, she begins to hear screaming and yelling coming from her right, next to what used to be a Starbucks. “I shouldn’t get involved... I shouldn’t get involved.. I shouldn’t- Oh what the hell.” Aubree repeats quietly, eventually giving up due to the increasing volume of the cries for help. She begins to paddle faster, her eyes meeting the view of a group of about 5 fighting off around 6 infected. “Not good... Sooo not good”. Aubree rushes over and begins to take on one infected that circles her kayak, these creatures have a spectacular ability to swim considering that’s how they stalk their prey. She furrows her brow, taking out a knife she collected early on and aiming for the head of the infected, killing it instantly. As she watches it drown, she circles around and makes sure everyone else is okay. “No!! Help!! Stop it-“, the female cries, looking over at Aubree as if calling for help, but before Aubree is able to do so, she gets flipped over from her paddle boat and into the water, dragged down immediately. “That’s my cue to head out...” Aubree whispers, before meeting the eyes of the rest of the group members whom had successfully killed the rest of the infected. “Hey, you!”, a man shouts, grabbing her attention. “Thank you. You got a name?” He continues, Aubree scanning each and every member up and down but only counting 3 when there used to be 5, well now 4. “Bree?” A distant voice calls, Aubree’s eyes widening as she immediately recognizes it, her head violently turning in that direction.
Instantly, she was met with the face of the man she got separated from 2 months ago, the man she loves and knew was alive. “Geo!!!” Aubree cries, paddling over as quickly as she can before bumping into his own kayak and reaching over to hug him tightly. Geo returns the hug, grasping her as if he would never let go. “I knew it. I knew you were alive. I-“Aubree gets interrupted by a sudden intense bump against the bottom of her kayak. She looked around, seeing nothing, until all she saw was water. Within the blink of an eye, the previous female she was unable to help had turned into an infected, successfully throwing her into the water. Geo scrambles to try and get her up, Aubree reaching out for him before feeling a strong claw wipe across her black and drag her down. “Ge-“ She cries before going under once more. Geo takes out his pistol, full of rage, and aims in the dark murky water where the bubbles are coming from. “Aubree!! Where are you?! Swim up!!” He yells, until finally seeing her and the infected, taking one good aim and shooting it right in between the eyes as it was about to bite down on Aubree’s shoulder. Geo drags her out and onto his boat, letting her catch her breath. She was quiet, awfully quiet. He pulls her in tightly for a hug, smiling as this was such a close call. “Phew! Just reunited and instantly you’re in the water. Girl, you seriously love the ocean don’t you!” He jokes, Aubree remaining cold and quiet. “What’s-“he attempts to speak before she turns and shows him her back. His eyes widen, showing the same amount of fear he showed 2 months ago. Aubree was scratched and hard, a large horizontal scratch seeping red blood across her back and through her clothes. Geo shakes his head, turning her around and placing his palm against her forehead, already feeling a fever building. “Aubree... No. No. NO!!” He yells, Aubree, shuts his mouth with her hand. “Geo.. Research lab, maybe it’s still up and they have something. If I’m not wrong, I have about 3 days before I succumb to this crap. So let's try..” She says, watching as Geo says his goodbyes and they begin to head out instantly.
MAY 2120 - 5 HOURS LATER
After paddling for what seems like days, they finally make it to what used to be Aubree’s old research facility. “We’re here,” Geo says as he scans the building for a way in. “Okay.. Let’s try.” Aubree whispers, feeling the fever kick in. After a couple of minutes, they finally find their way inside where they surprisingly find Aubree’s boss, Dr. Paz. “Martin?! Gomez?!” Paz calls out, more than happy to see the two but her smile instantly disappears when noticing what was going on. “Is there anything you can do? Anything we can give? ANY CURE?” Geo cries out desperately. Paz shakes her head softly becoming paddling over and placing her hand on Aubree’s shoulder. “Mart- Aubree... I’m so sorry.” Paz whispers, Aubree’s face saying it all.
MAY 2120 - 48 HOURS LATER
“It’s been 48 hours and still no symptoms other than a fever? How is that possible.. No no we need to run tests.” Paz begins to ramble while looking over at Aubree who is leaning on Geo’s shoulder quietly accepting her fate while Geo tries to talk to her about their options. “Tests? What tests?” He asks, tightening his grip around Aubree. “Bloodwork... For sure. Do it Dr. Paz.” Aubree states quietly yet firmly, Geo frowning as she moves over to Paz and begins to get her blood taken out. “It’s true, I’m not sure how I haven’t gotten any other symptoms.” She mumbles to him, trying to get him to understand. “Done! This will take about 5 minutes, luckily the lab invented these solar paneled blood machines.” Paz says, the 5 minutes flying by. “Aubree... your white blood cell count is impeccable. Wait, everything looks impeccable. This isn’t possible... Your body is fighting off an infection but yet its perfect,” Paz explains, her eyes widening as she begins to put the pieces together. “Immunity... You’re immune. Whatever this is, you’re immune!” She yells, Aubree and Geo staring blankly back at her and then at each other. “That’s insane. Now what?” Aubree asks, feeling incredibly lucky. “We can try to create a cure! YOU are the cure, Martin! YOU!” Paz cries out in joy. “Jesus... Wow. You’re incredible babe.” Geo says, kissing her on the cheek. “Wait... Cure? Needing my blood? How much?” Aubree asks, looking over back at Paz who’s face yet again says it all. “Every drop huh..” she mumbles, nodding. Of course, Geo instantly fought against the idea, “There is no way in whatever hell exists that Aubree is going to sacrifice herself for the great or good of this forsaken world!”. “Geo... Chill. You know what I have to do.. I love you. Make me proud and survive. You must. You will. For you... For US.” She whispers, kissing him one last time before knocking him out suddenly, laying him down. “Do it Paz, every drop. You create that cure. It has to be the Coralliilyticus, I’ve been so exposed to it that my body created antibodies. Damn... Thank you for everything, save this damn place please and take care of him.” Aubree mumbles before the blood loss begins affecting her body and the world goes dark.
APRIL 2120 - 1 MONTH LATER
After figuring the cure out, Dr. Paz made a cure from Aubree’s complete bloodstream, pouring some into the water and giving others as injections to survivors she found on the way. Geo grieved for weeks but knew he had to accomplish was Aubree wanted from him, and that was to stay alive and help. After the cure was distributed, all that was needed was to kill off the infected which needed the help of everyone. Finally, the world was somewhat normal again, as society rebuilds itself, this time on water, Geo looks over at his right hand which had the matching coral bracelet Aubree made for them. He rubs it softly and mumbles, “We did it corazón... Thanks to you. We did it.”
“Global warming has been at a nonstop rapid increase, the ocean getting significantly warmer in a short amount of time. We have seen a temperature of almost ten times higher than it has been in the past decade. This isn’t normal...” says a climatologist currently being hosted on a local news channel alongside a marine biologist. “I agree. We have been studying the impacts of that warmth on the ocean and it is not looking good. Our biggest concern is the coral reefs. All throughout the coast of Miami, the corals seem to be dying and almost lifeless already, turning a pale shade of white. Coralliilyticus is what we have been studying being released from these corals, being quite toxic to fish and marine life. But regardless, I’m very concerned”, explains the marine biologist. “We’ve warned the government regarding rising sea levels, especially in Miami... So whoever is listening, prepare yourself sooner rather than later” continues the climatologist, this interview mumbling on in the background as Aubree gets ready.
Aubree Martin is a recent Biology graduate from Florida International University, born and raised in the city of Miami. She recently scored a research fellowship with the University of Miami on the effect of climate change on coral reefs. “Okay... Teeth? Brushed. Hair? Done. Clothes? On. Wetsuit? Packed. Snorkeling gear? Packed. Sunscreen? Packed and on. Research binder? Packed. TV? Off,” she begins to talk to herself, grabbing the remote of the television and pressing the off button. Aubree rented herself an apartment near the ocean after graduation, moving out of her mother’s home, having earned enough money from her previous job as a marine data analyst for Miami Seaquarium. Before leaving, she looks at herself one last time in the long mirror to make sure she looks presentable. Standing at 5 feet and 6.5 inches tall, and 125 lbs, Aubree is a dark brown curly-haired, tan female who gets her features mainly from the Puerto Rican and Cuban roots in her blood. Her eyes are an auburn brown, with naturally long lashes and a birthmark right on the left corner of her lip. She triple-checked that she packed everything she needed for the day before heading out. Today, Aubree is heading into the field, needing to gather more data on the current status of the pale/lifeless corals. Her phone begins to vibrate, picking it up. “Hello?” she says, waiting for a response. “Good morning beautiful person! You heading out yet?” George exclaims, always a happy and energized camper in the morning. George Gomez is Aubree’s boyfriend, a 22-year-old, also a recent Biology graduate from the University of Miami. They met two summers ago, both working at Miami Seaquarium. “Hiii! Yup! I’ll be there in around 15 minutes.” Aubree replies, getting into her Toyota Corolla and organizing everything. “Perfect corazón, I’ll see you there. Same spot?” He asks, the sound of a car engine turning on behind his voice. “Si! Besos!” (Yes! Kisses!) She hangs up, driving off towards Miami Beach. George is working on his own research fellowship, but his is more of a lab-based setting as he is working with cancerous cells.
“Wow... Today looks super gloomy. Wonder if it’s going to rain.” Aubree mumbles to herself as she examines the grey and cloudy atmosphere. It only took 15 minutes before she arrived at the beach, particularly the area with the fastest access to the coral reef nearby. After parking, she meets up with George and they begin to walk. Once there, she starts to get into her wetsuit and prepares her snorkeling gear. “You sure you don’t want to join me today?” She asks, Geo taking a seat on the sand and scouting the surrounding area. “Yeah, just want to chill today love. I had an exhausting day yesterday at the lab. But I don’t mind being here with you so do your thing!” He replies, smiling at her with a smile that lights up her heart. Aubree nods softly, bending down and kissing him on the cheek before she begins to head towards the water just to get a feel for the temperature and check out the current/status of the ocean. Strangely, the waves are quite restless this morning, crashing against the shore roughly. The wind is picking up as well, Aubree looks up and realizes it’s probably due to the rain that must be heading their way. “Just have to be careful... Be aware of any rip currents or lighting.” She says to herself as she heads back to grab her gear and head in. “BREE!!” George shouts out of nowhere, startling Aubree. She positions her hands in a W, asking what with her body language. He points behind her, his eyes expressing fear. Her heart feels like it’s beating out of her chest before she begins to turn around, her auburn-colored eyes meeting what looks like 6ft waves crashing on the shore, the water reaching her thighs.
Aubree runs over to George, unsure of what is going on. “What the-... This is not normal. This water is coming in too fast. What do we do?!” Aubree exclaims in a panic, the water doing exactly as she said and advancing. “Bree... RUN!” He yells, grabbing her hand and tightening it, pulling her to begin running. Aubree attempts to grab her things but before she can, the water crashes against her roughly, sweeping her off her feet and dragging her into the water. George shakes his head, attempting to go after her but before he knows it, he too is in too deep and gets stuck in the rip current. “GEO!” Aubree cries, extending her hand out as she begins to get dragged toward the right and George toward the left. His face of fear says it all. “I’LL FIND YOU! MEET BACK HERE!” He tries to yell before they both are out of sight. Aubree was now alone and trembling as she tried to fight the powerful current that threatened to drag her down into the depths below. Never has she been afraid of the ocean, the one place where she felt free and happiest. But now, it had all changed. “Was this the sea level rising people were talking about?” Her thoughts rush her mind, but the sound of the rushing water was the only thing she could hear as she struggled to keep afloat.
MAY 2120 - 2 MONTHS LATER
The eerie sound of water as it crashes against the sunken buildings fills the air, along with the faint gurgling in the depths. Miami as it used to be, was gone, unrecognizable even. The city full of life was now an underwater graveyard. It’s been 2 months since the sea level rose to an unsustainable limit, wiping out half of the population of humans, and introducing a different population to the area. Aubree, just like most, has adapted to this new way of “life”, it was all she could do. She never made camp in the same place twice, always on the move, searching for what was left of food and water, and alone. However, she made her own decision to say solo, due to witnessing other people turning on one another, killing each other, and becoming those hideous zombie-like things she called the “infected”. Yet, with all this chaos, she has been meticulous and quite observant of the new world around her, specifically how these creatures have similar characteristics to those of corals, especially bleached corals infected with what they used to call “Coralliilyticus”. They have what looks like, from afar, of course, white pale skin that appears to be rough and scaly. While also has a blue/purplish tone, which Aubree assumes is because of the likely cause of death; drowning. So far, no one she has come across has any idea how this happened, how the infection spreads aside from contact with the infected, or if there is any cure to this madness. Having the biologist characteristics within her, Aubree has been attempting to understand this “infection”, especially because if her hypothesis regarding Coralliilyticus is true, then this infection is way more toxic than people think.
“ I need to find Geo... Two months. It’s been two months Aubree! He has to be alive. Everything else can wait. Once I find him, we’ll figure this crap out together.” She whispers to herself, not wanting to bring any attention to herself as she remains on the move, using a kayak as her mode of transport. It’s starting to get dark, and the sun which was once towering over the sky, comes down, creating a beautiful array of orange, yellow, and red. As she looks around, she begins to hear screaming and yelling coming from her right, next to what used to be a Starbucks. “I shouldn’t get involved... I shouldn’t get involved.. I shouldn’t- Oh what the hell.” Aubree repeats quietly, eventually giving up due to the increasing volume of the cries for help. She begins to paddle faster, her eyes meeting the view of a group of about 5 fighting off around 6 infected. “Not good... Sooo not good”. Aubree rushes over and begins to take on one infected that circles her kayak, these creatures have a spectacular ability to swim considering that’s how they stalk their prey. She furrows her brow, taking out a knife she collected early on and aiming for the head of the infected, killing it instantly. As she watches it drown, she circles around and makes sure everyone else is okay. “No!! Help!! Stop it-“, the female cries, looking over at Aubree as if calling for help, but before Aubree is able to do so, she gets flipped over from her paddle boat and into the water, dragged down immediately. “That’s my cue to head out...” Aubree whispers, before meeting the eyes of the rest of the group members whom had successfully killed the rest of the infected. “Hey, you!”, a man shouts, grabbing her attention. “Thank you. You got a name?” He continues, Aubree scanning each and every member up and down but only counting 3 when there used to be 5, well now 4. “Bree?” A distant voice calls, Aubree’s eyes widening as she immediately recognizes it, her head violently turning in that direction.
Instantly, she was met with the face of the man she got separated from 2 months ago, the man she loves and knew was alive. “Geo!!!” Aubree cries, paddling over as quickly as she can before bumping into his own kayak and reaching over to hug him tightly. Geo returns the hug, grasping her as if he would never let go. “I knew it. I knew you were alive. I-“Aubree gets interrupted by a sudden intense bump against the bottom of her kayak. She looked around, seeing nothing, until all she saw was water. Within the blink of an eye, the previous female she was unable to help had turned into an infected, successfully throwing her into the water. Geo scrambles to try and get her up, Aubree reaching out for him before feeling a strong claw wipe across her black and drag her down. “Ge-“ She cries before going under once more. Geo takes out his pistol, full of rage, and aims in the dark murky water where the bubbles are coming from. “Aubree!! Where are you?! Swim up!!” He yells, until finally seeing her and the infected, taking one good aim and shooting it right in between the eyes as it was about to bite down on Aubree’s shoulder. Geo drags her out and onto his boat, letting her catch her breath. She was quiet, awfully quiet. He pulls her in tightly for a hug, smiling as this was such a close call. “Phew! Just reunited and instantly you’re in the water. Girl, you seriously love the ocean don’t you!” He jokes, Aubree remaining cold and quiet. “What’s-“he attempts to speak before she turns and shows him her back. His eyes widen, showing the same amount of fear he showed 2 months ago. Aubree was scratched and hard, a large horizontal scratch seeping red blood across her back and through her clothes. Geo shakes his head, turning her around and placing his palm against her forehead, already feeling a fever building. “Aubree... No. No. NO!!” He yells, Aubree, shuts his mouth with her hand. “Geo.. Research lab, maybe it’s still up and they have something. If I’m not wrong, I have about 3 days before I succumb to this crap. So let's try..” She says, watching as Geo says his goodbyes and they begin to head out instantly.
MAY 2120 - 5 HOURS LATER
After paddling for what seems like days, they finally make it to what used to be Aubree’s old research facility. “We’re here,” Geo says as he scans the building for a way in. “Okay.. Let’s try.” Aubree whispers, feeling the fever kick in. After a couple of minutes, they finally find their way inside where they surprisingly find Aubree’s boss, Dr. Paz. “Martin?! Gomez?!” Paz calls out, more than happy to see the two but her smile instantly disappears when noticing what was going on. “Is there anything you can do? Anything we can give? ANY CURE?” Geo cries out desperately. Paz shakes her head softly becoming paddling over and placing her hand on Aubree’s shoulder. “Mart- Aubree... I’m so sorry.” Paz whispers, Aubree’s face saying it all.
MAY 2120 - 48 HOURS LATER
“It’s been 48 hours and still no symptoms other than a fever? How is that possible.. No no we need to run tests.” Paz begins to ramble while looking over at Aubree who is leaning on Geo’s shoulder quietly accepting her fate while Geo tries to talk to her about their options. “Tests? What tests?” He asks, tightening his grip around Aubree. “Bloodwork... For sure. Do it Dr. Paz.” Aubree states quietly yet firmly, Geo frowning as she moves over to Paz and begins to get her blood taken out. “It’s true, I’m not sure how I haven’t gotten any other symptoms.” She mumbles to him, trying to get him to understand. “Done! This will take about 5 minutes, luckily the lab invented these solar paneled blood machines.” Paz says, the 5 minutes flying by. “Aubree... your white blood cell count is impeccable. Wait, everything looks impeccable. This isn’t possible... Your body is fighting off an infection but yet its perfect,” Paz explains, her eyes widening as she begins to put the pieces together. “Immunity... You’re immune. Whatever this is, you’re immune!” She yells, Aubree and Geo staring blankly back at her and then at each other. “That’s insane. Now what?” Aubree asks, feeling incredibly lucky. “We can try to create a cure! YOU are the cure, Martin! YOU!” Paz cries out in joy. “Jesus... Wow. You’re incredible babe.” Geo says, kissing her on the cheek. “Wait... Cure? Needing my blood? How much?” Aubree asks, looking over back at Paz who’s face yet again says it all. “Every drop huh..” she mumbles, nodding. Of course, Geo instantly fought against the idea, “There is no way in whatever hell exists that Aubree is going to sacrifice herself for the great or good of this forsaken world!”. “Geo... Chill. You know what I have to do.. I love you. Make me proud and survive. You must. You will. For you... For US.” She whispers, kissing him one last time before knocking him out suddenly, laying him down. “Do it Paz, every drop. You create that cure. It has to be the Coralliilyticus, I’ve been so exposed to it that my body created antibodies. Damn... Thank you for everything, save this damn place please and take care of him.” Aubree mumbles before the blood loss begins affecting her body and the world goes dark.
APRIL 2120 - 1 MONTH LATER
After figuring the cure out, Dr. Paz made a cure from Aubree’s complete bloodstream, pouring some into the water and giving others as injections to survivors she found on the way. Geo grieved for weeks but knew he had to accomplish was Aubree wanted from him, and that was to stay alive and help. After the cure was distributed, all that was needed was to kill off the infected which needed the help of everyone. Finally, the world was somewhat normal again, as society rebuilds itself, this time on water, Geo looks over at his right hand which had the matching coral bracelet Aubree made for them. He rubs it softly and mumbles, “We did it corazón... Thanks to you. We did it.”
Collection
Citation
Kathleen Gomez, “Infected 6ft Under,” Everything Speaks To Me , accessed September 18, 2026, https://everythingspeakstome.com/items/show/210.