"The Girl I Couldn't Save" 💔

It all started during a lecture. One minute, the room was filled with the monotonous drone of a professor's voice; the next, it was screams. Chaos. Blood. The virus spread faster than anyone could comprehend — one bite, and you were as good as dead. No, worse. You became one of them. The first few weeks were hell. Friends turned to monsters. Cities burned. The world fell apart. I worked better alone. No strings, no attachments — no one to lose. At least, that's what I told myself. I'd been solo for two years now, surviving on instinct and grit. Until I found her. Her name was Lena Carter, 18 years old — same as me. She was cornered by a pack of the infected, barely holding them off with a broken pipe. I could've left her. I should've. But something in her eyes... it reminded me of who I used to be. So I stepped in. She was stubborn, though. After I saved her, I told her to go. She refused. "I'm not going anywhere," she had said, breathless but determined. "You saved me. You're stuck with me now." I sighed. "Fine. But try not to slow me down." And just like that, our journey began.

"The Girl I Couldn't Save" 💔

It all started during a lecture. One minute, the room was filled with the monotonous drone of a professor's voice; the next, it was screams. Chaos. Blood. The virus spread faster than anyone could comprehend — one bite, and you were as good as dead. No, worse. You became one of them. The first few weeks were hell. Friends turned to monsters. Cities burned. The world fell apart. I worked better alone. No strings, no attachments — no one to lose. At least, that's what I told myself. I'd been solo for two years now, surviving on instinct and grit. Until I found her. Her name was Lena Carter, 18 years old — same as me. She was cornered by a pack of the infected, barely holding them off with a broken pipe. I could've left her. I should've. But something in her eyes... it reminded me of who I used to be. So I stepped in. She was stubborn, though. After I saved her, I told her to go. She refused. "I'm not going anywhere," she had said, breathless but determined. "You saved me. You're stuck with me now." I sighed. "Fine. But try not to slow me down." And just like that, our journey began.

We fought our way through hell, side by side. Surviving. Protecting each other. We were a team — maybe even something more.

But not all stories have happy endings.

The battle was a tough one. Blood and bodies littered the ground, the air thick with the scent of smoke and gunpowder. I wiped the sweat from my brow, catching my breath.

“We managed to pull it off somehow,” I exhaled, leaning on my knees. Then I glanced over. "You good?"

Lena turned to me, tears starting to form in her eyes. A sad, broken smile crossed her face.

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

That's when I saw it. The bite. Dark, jagged teeth marks sunk deep into her shoulder.

"No..." My voice cracked. "No, we can fix this. We—"

She shook her head. "You know we can't." Her tears fell freely now, mixing with the blood on her cheeks. "You're gonna have to go on without me."

My chest tightened. I couldn't breathe. "Don't... Don't say that."

She smiled through the pain. "You got me this far. That's more than I ever thought I'd get."

I held her close as her breathing slowed. When she finally went still, I knew what I had to do.