Chapter 52 Mother Creeper

Upon seeing Roanie"s mother, a loud howl filled the whole apartment making us all wide-eyed in horror.
"Sh*t, what happened?! Is her mother infected?!" Li exclaimed as the loud howling continued, the woman"s scream of pain made my body shiver in fear.
I shoved Roanie to the wall, not letting her get near her mother or she"ll get the infection even from just a scratch on her mother"s nails. So that explains the scratches on the doors and the mess within this house. But if Jayson had seen her mother, why didn"t they notice she was already infected?
"Jayson! YOU told us she"s just sick! Is that what sickness looks to you?! She"s a fr**cking Creeper!" Li screamed at them, hating that we went here for this. He pulled Mona away from the room where the Creeper, Roanie"s mother, is being tied to her bed and screaming in pain, kicking, trying to release herself from the cloth that tied her against the bed like a possessed person.
I look at her with fear in my eyes. Her skin is already pale, almost greenish in color, and the veins that came visible on her skin look like a dark spider web from her neck up to her face. Her teeth were gnashing together, the noise of the crunching and popping of her teeth seemed painful to my ears, making me wince.
"Mother!"
"Don"t go near her, Roanie! She"s infected!" I hissed at her and she recoiled from my voice and looked at her mother.
"I can"t understand. She was ok before we left her. There was no sign she"s going to turn," Jayson said confusingly, his brows furrowed. He glance at Timothy as if asking if he thinks the same and he nodded, while his face is also filled with terror upon hearing the Creeper"s noise.
"We have to silence her or the other might hear her and gather in this place," I told Jayson anxiously and he quickly took a T-shirt lying on the floor and carefully shoved it on the mouth of the Creeper. It still screamed incessantly and the sound is still terrifying to hear despite that it"s already muffled.
"What are you doing to my mom!" Roanie cried, trembling. She looks upset as she watches her mom squirming and wriggling on the bed, her hair is so messy that it almost covers her face.
"What are we going to do, Harriet? She is beyond saving...;" Jayson whispered to me.
Mona stepped away from Li. Li tried to stop her from getting near the woman but she bravely stepped inside the room and examined her and she glanced at Roanie, shaking her head, feeling sad for her.
"No!"
"I am so sorry, Roanie...;but we can"t help your mother anymore. She"s already infected and before we get the disease, we have to get away from this place.
Mona makes a gesture and Li watches her as he breathes fast, still scared that there is a Creeper just inside the room of this apartment we are in. "S-She said where did your mother go and when did she feel she"s sick?"
My eyes widened. Mona is trying to know where could Roanie"s mother had possibly caught the virus because that means there are also other creepers in this place. "Can you still remember?"
"I-I"m not sure—"
"Guys, we have to get out of this place. We have no idea if others are also infected."
I nodded at Jayson and we all moved, leaving with a heavy heart about Roanie"s mother. I grabbed her hand so we could bring her to a safer place but I was startled when she shoved my hand away from my grip.
"Roanie—"
"I can't go with you."
"What do you mean? You can't stay here." Timothy said to her, his eyes full of worry. "You can't save your mom, Roanie. She's already gone."
I look at Roanie's face and she seems determined to stay in this apartment...; She doesn't want to leave her mother.
"You want to stay with her...;"
She nodded.
I gave her the bat I am holding and she shook her head. She went to their wardrobe and showed us the weapons she is keeping in it.
Li gaped when he saw the long guns, pistols, and a sword. I swallowed seeing the weapons like a course meal that is served for us.
"Oh god, how did you get all of these?!"
"My parents used to have a weapon shop before the raiders came here and attacked this City. Mother helped me hide under the floor of our shop which has a small bunker where we used to hide the money from any robbers that would raid our shop. So when the havoc began, mom and dad hid me there. I stayed for over twenty-four hours inside and then mother just took me out. She was already looking sick though so we just stayed inside. But after an hour, she suddenly acted strangely and made all of this mess so I had to tie her up on her bed so she wouldn"t hurt herself," Roanie explained to us as she took some of the weapons to throw them at Jayson and me.
"I think I can defend myself with these more than just wooden bats," She said and smiled at us.
"But you have no idea when the Creepers will come here. If your mom got infected, there is a possibility that there are creatures like that that already exist here too!" Timothy cried, his face full of worry for the girl but she just cocked her gun and didn"t move from where she was standing.
"I know. But I just can"t leave my mom here. I thought you could help her, though. I"m so sorry I wasted your time going here. I hope these weapons made up for the commotion I did. I"m happy there are still kind people even when the world is going crazy right now."
"Stop it, Roanie. Just go with us and we"ll bring you to a safer place." I grabbed her hand again but she shoved, looking upset.
"Just go, please." Her eyes turned red and tears sprung from her eyes. " I can"t leave my mother here. She will feel so lonely without me."
"But—"
I felt Jayson"s hand on my shoulder, stopping me from urging Roanie to come with us. "Let her stay, Harriet. It"s her decision to be with her mom. We have to respect what she wants." He whispered to me.
"She"ll die!"
"I know. But we can"t force her to leave."
I stared at Roanie"s eyes and she just smiled at me.