Epidemic || BFB au

Shattered

Tree's POV:

Bottle was starting to get better... or, at least it seemed like she was. Maybe I was just getting used to seeing her like this... broken, shattered. The shard of her that I'd reattached was placed in her head, not secured by anything. It could fall out at any moment, the only reason it stayed was her lack of movement. After... it happened, she hadn't said a word. She wasn't brain dead or anything- she could function perfectly fine. She was physically capable of moving, talking, living a normal life, but... she didn't. She was too... depressed, maybe? Unmotivated... or maybe she was scared. I didn't know.

All she did was sit against the wall. She didn't eat, although none of us ate much. The only things we had to eat were the scraps Black Hole brought us. I wasn't even sure where he got them from, but... no matter what, it was barely enough.

"Hey, Bottle... how're you feeling?" I asked, knowing very well she wouldn't respond. She only stared off into space with her one good eye. Her other was cloudy and dull, with a crack running through it. I looked at her sympathetically, "If you need anything... let me know, okay? I'm here for you." I rested my hand on hers to try and comfort her, but... it only worried me more. Her hand was as cold as ice, and brought shivers down my spine at it's touch. I had to make sure she was still breathing, since... a living body shouldn't be so cold.

She was breathing. Slowly, to the point of concern, but... she was still alive. She was lucky, I'm not even sure how she survived that. I... really thought she was going to die. But I shouldn't think about that now... all that mattered was she was okay.

Pen didn't talk much anymore, either. He only sat in a corner, tracing the dust on the floor with his fingers. I wanted him to... apologize, or... at least do something. But he never did. He hardly even looked at Bottle at all. I guess I wouldn't blame him... he probably felt guilty. Or, at least, I hoped he was. If he didn't feel bad about his actions... that'd be horrible. He tried to murder her. All of the pain she was in... it was all because of him. It made me angry to think about- our team's whole purpose was to prevent death, and he did the opposite. Attempted to, anyway. Even if he didn't actually kill her, he still did the damage. He still did the opposite of what the team's motto was. And... I wasn't sure if I could trust him after that.

The rest of the team wasn't doing very good, either. Pillow was always shaking, not out of the cold but out of fear. She was claustrophobic... I guess I should've thought of that when we entered this place. Pie didn't really do much... I think she was in a state of depression. Liy and Remote were the only lively ones, along with me and Black Hole. Although, he seemed to be growing more worn out. He must've been tired from being the one to always gather recources- and whatever else he had to do out there. I did feel bad for him, but... he was the only one who could. He was the only one of us who couldn't get the disease... he had to be the one.

I realized I should probably go talk to Pie, since she was getting worse by the day. She didn't even see me approach until I was right beside her. She only turned her head slightly, not uttering a word. Her mouth was hidden underneath her tin, almost resembling an oversized sweater. It would've been cute, if her eyes weren't so full of despair. "...Are you alright, Pie...?" I asked her. She didn't respond, only staring at the wall. I sat down next to her, and did the same as I attempted with Bottle. I held her hand, and she slowly pulled away. That was the first time I'd seen her move in quite a while, but... I wasn't sure if I should be happy about it or not. In the split second I touched her hand, it was warm... almost too warm. The room was moderately cold in comparison. It almost felt like...

A fever.

No... I shouldn't even think that. Her tin probably just kept her warm. I shouldn't jump to conclusions so suddenly.

I looked up, and noticed Liy staring at us from across the room. I got up, and went over to her to see what she wanted to say. Before I could say a word, she whispered harshly, "She's sick."

I furrowed my brow, slightly offended that she would make such an accusation. "What? She cant be... where's your proof?" I asked in the same volume as she'd used. Without warning, she walked over to where Pie was, me following close behind. It wasn't much of a walk, of course... only a few feet.

"Take it off." She demanded. Pie looked up, clearly confused. I looked at Liy as well, not understanding what she meant. "Your tin," She continued, "Take it off. Or, at least pull it down. Show me your face."

Pie waited a few moments, before shaking her head. She held her hands to her face to secure the metal. Liy looked aggravated, and suddenly grabbed Pie's arms. Pie struggled to break free, when Liy suddenly pulled her tin down just below her mouth.

Her face was covered in blue liquid. It looked like her blueberry filling, but... it left stains under her mouth. Had she been coughing...? I spent so much time focused on Bottle that I didn't even notice. She shoved Liy off of her and pulled her tin back up quickly, clearly angry that she'd physically force her like that. I was upset too, but... I was also scared. If she was sick... we could all be sick too. Liy turned to me once again, looking satisfied that she proved her point. "There. Believe me now?" She said confidently. I glared at her, upset that she wasn't worried at all about Pie. She grabbed my arm, and pulled me back to the other side of the room.

"She can't stay here." She whispered.

I hesitated a moment, "Well... we can't just get rid of her."

"You're right, that'd be a huge waste."

"Yeah- wait, what? What do you mean by that...?" I asked. Her word choice really freaked me out.

She scoffed, "We don't have enough food, Tree. As much as you want to believe that everything's perfect, it's not. Black Hole isn't getting enough. At this rate, we're going to starve in here. She's made of food. She hasn't done much else for the team, we might as well put her to use."

"You... can't be serious..." I said, hoping it was all a big joke. I didn't like what she was implying.

"It's either her, or all of us. Isn't it better to prevent seven deaths than zero?"

I glanced over at Pie, who was staring at us with a horrified expression. Because of the small size of the room... she could hear every word we said. Liy kept her eyes on me, not caring anymore who else heard.

"In this challenge, our top priority is survival. If that means... going back to my old ways... that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. You have to make that sacrifice, too. Or else we're all going to die in here. It's your decision."

I didn't want to believe it. There... had to be another way, right? Pie was our teammate, our friend. Was Liy.. really so willing to kill her? And... was I willing to go through with it..? She was right, it would protect us, but was it.. really worth it?

All I wanted was to protect everyone. I didn't want to.. choose which of my friends live or die, I just wanted everyone to be safe. I just.. hoped all this would end soon. I couldn't stand this any longer.

a/n: finally!!! a new chapter after literal months???!?!?