The Perfect Path To Insanity-Chapter 34: A Coward For A Friend

Eris guided Nyx down onto a flat piece of rubble jutting from the street edge, her hands guiding Nyx’s shoulders to ease her into a seated position.

Nyx drew in ragged breaths, her chest heaving as her vision clouded further, the edges turning hazy while red veins spread across her eyes.

None of them spoke a word about Nyx being the third infected player.

However, their slow pace brought Helena’s attention. She paused up ahead, turning her body halfway back toward them. "Why did you two stop?" she asked.

Letting out a short laugh, Eris waved a hand dismissively. "Haha. Nyx is only having her... period pain, yes. Monthly menstrual thing."

Helena’s eyes widened for a moment, her weight shifting back on her heels, but she shook her head once and stepped closer.

Heidi, on the other hand, was a bit curious. Jabbing Kira’s side, he leaned terribly close to her ear. "Period pain? You never complained about that."

Boink!

Kira knocked his head. "Ow!" he winced. To which Kira scoffed and dragged him away from the group.

Focusing on the two girls, Helena asked:

"Oh! Uhh... Do you need something? Pads or tampons?"

Eris swallowed visibly, and glanced down at Nyx before meeting Helena’s gaze. "Y-yeah. Wait. No. No. We have one. But you um— you got any snacks or food you can spare?"

Helena’s eyes moved from Nyx’s hunched form back to Eris. Nodding without a word, a small container materialized in her open palm. She extended her arm to hand it over.

"Beef soup. I packed it in case of an emergency."

Eris took it with both hands. "Thanks."

"Yeah. Take your time. Take care, Nyx." Helena turned away then, resuming her walk down the ruined street with Heidi and Kira following close behind.

Eris knelt in front of Nyx, cupping her chin gently to lift her face upward. "Nyxie, you’re here, right? Y-you can see me right?"

Raising her fully clouded red eyes, the pupils dilated wide as Nyx nodded.

Trembling, Eris’ own eyes brimmed with tears.

"M-my bad luck wins again, Eris. P-please leave before you get infected too."

"No." Eris stayed put, her knees pressing into the rubble, and instead uncapped the container.

She scooped out a portion of the soup with the built-in spoon and brought it to Nyx’s lips. "Eat."

Nyx swallowed halfway through the feeding. But then snatched the container from Eris’s grasp, tilting it back to gulp the rest down.

"Tie me up," Nyx rasped, her voice rough as she flung the empty container aside.

Eris gripped Nyx’s hands tighter, tears tracking down her cheeks. "...no." She managed to utter.

"Eris, tie me up. Please. You know me..." Swallowing her drool, she continued.

"In the next 1 minute, I’ll turn and I’ll bite your right hand off. So tie me up. Knot it twice so I don’t loose it. Tie it to a metal pole, not a concrete. It’ll break."

Eris released her hold, her movements were wonky as she stood and scanned the nearby debris.

She knew Nyx’s Witness Path let her glimpse sequences of immediate events, so she pulled a length of cord from her pack and wrapped it around Nyx’s wrists, securing the knots twice over before fastening the other end to a rusted metal pole embedded in the ground.

Eris stepped back a pace as Nyx began sweating heavily, beads forming and dripping from her brow, her eyes now completely bloodshot.

Nyx managed to speak through her heavy breaths. "Hah— Eris. Back in the carnival game. Remember how you apologized to me later on?"

"Yeah?"

"Because you thought I was mad at you for not answering my question..."

Eris leaned in close, pressing her forehead against Nyx’s, her voice breaking. "Yeah. I’m still sorry. I was a coward. Still am. I feel so helpless."

With her body shuddering, Nyx let out a brief laugh. "You shouldn’t be. I... wasn’t mad. Yes, I was a bit sad. I tho.. thought you didn’t like me."

"I like you, Nyx. You’re more than a friend to me. My best friend. And you’re not a Jinx. You’re not bad luck. If anything, I am the one with bad luck. You’re Nyx. And I-I won’t let anyone hurt you!"

Eris wrapped her arms around Nyx in a tight embrace, ignoring the drool seeping from Nyx’s mouth and the dampness soaking through her clothes. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ve been such a coward."

She released the hug, hearing the faint voice of her friend.

Now snarling, Nyx lunged forward, her teeth snapping toward Eris’s hand, but the cord yanked her back short, restraining her.

Clattering her teeth, she growled louder, twisting and shaking violently as she tried to free herself.

Standing upright, Eris’ arms hung loose at her sides, staring down at her best friend now fully transformed into a zombie.

She wiped her tears off, turned around and walked away.

****

Ae-rin strained against the ropes binding her wrists and ankles to a metal beam in the corner of the hideout, her body twisting side to side on the dirty floor.

Drool leaked from the edges of the gag stuffed in her mouth, pooling in dark spots on the ground beneath her chin.

"MMMRRRH!!!!"

She thrashed harder, her head whipping back and forth, eyes fully bloodshot with red veins bulging across the whites. Her uniform clung to her sweat-soaked skin, torn at the sleeves from earlier struggles.

Hel stood further away from her with her arms crossed over her chest.

Letting out a long sigh, she paced a short circle around Ae-rin’s form. "It was stupid of her to get infected like that." Her voice carried low to the group nearby.

"The game didn’t provide a cure or a loophole. Now this brat got infected. She needs to go." She stopped pacing and turned her head toward the three men huddled by the food pile.

Lifting her chin, she signalled to them. "You three. Did you get bit?"

The three men shifted backward in unison, their feet shuffling over scattered debris, creating a two-foot gap between them and Hel.

One rubbed his arm where a fresh scratch marked the skin. "Just scratches from her flailing."

Another let out a nervous chuckle, his posture loosening as he glanced at the others. "Man, that was close! Thought she was gonna take a chunk out."

The third joined in with a laugh, bending down to poke at a loose rope end near Ae-rin’s foot with a stick, pulling back quickly when she snarled.

"Scary as hell, right? Haha! I almost shit my pants when she jumped me."

But then Hel swatted the third guy’s hand away. "You’re not a child. Don’t poke her."

"Ehhh?" the guy replied. "Her? Last time, Hel sweetheart. Any zombie is called an ’IT’. Does it change now since this zombie was your friend?"

Just then, footsteps echoed from the entrance as another group of players entered their hideout, carrying sacks over their shoulders.

"Hey! Dude! We got food! Saw them starched near a dead zombie, but we got it!" They nodded to the three men, setting down the loads beside the food pile.

"We could mix it in with yours and share it among us," said one of them from the new group, slapping a hand on a man’s shoulder in greeting.

When they agreed, they divided the portions, ignoring Hel and her other minion completely.

The third girl—her minion— who had tagged along with her and Ae-rin previously, approached Hel from the side.

She was hesitant, stopping a foot away with her hands clasped in front.

Tilting her head down slightly, she asked with a soft voice. "Hel... What should we do with Ae-rin? We still don’t know how she got infected without getting bitten... can we help her?"

Hel shoved her aside.

She ran a hand through her dark hair, and switched to clear Korean. "Min-hae. Do you want to die? Do you think I don’t want to get rid of the current zombie? I just don’t know how that bitch got infected. Every pretty look about her is gone, and she wasn’t even bitten."

Min-hae’s fingers twisted the hem of her shirt, voice trembling as she avoided direct eye contact.

"Hel... What if it spreads through direct fluid contact with food? But... Are you really worried about Ae-rin’s looks and not finding a way to save our friend?"

’Huh?’ Cocking her head to one side, Hel’s green eyes widened. "What friend?"

In a swift moment, her fingers were around Min-hae’s cheeks. She jerked Min-hae’s face closer to hers. " Your friend is dead. Anyone who lacks pretty and delicate human features isn’t human. So don’t you dare get infected."