Anna

By Jo Oram

For ten years, Anna had been the one person Topi could rely on. When those around them died, Anna kept going. Without her, Topi would have been amongst them, fallen, forgotten. But Anna never surrendered.

Until today. She couldn’t fight the poison; by morning, she wouldn’t be Anna anymore. She would turn on him, hurt him, maybe kill him. The others too, if she caught up.

Topi stroked her hair, slipping the metal cuff around her wrist and locking it to the radiator. She barely stirred.

“I’ll come back for you,” he said. “As soon as we find a cure.”