Her tight grip slackened suddenly, and her eye contact was broken when her lids slid closed, blocking the irises from view like a curtain ending a play. I put my fingers to her wrist, feeling for her pulse and finding it. Her breathing was shallow and faint, her chest barely rising. She was unconscious.

I backed up a few steps, not looking away from her. I glanced at Edward, still lying as he had since arriving at the hospital. I could tell, just by looking at him, that he was close to death.

I could save Edward. There was a way for me to fulfill his mother’s demand. Hadn’t I just been contemplating doing just that earlier? I had needed proper justification, and here it was. He would die otherwise.

I shut my eyes, rubbing my temple with my hand. Even if he was dying, I couldn’t bring myself to accept the finality of it. He would be cursed to live forever as a blood-sucking monster. He would have no say in the matter, no choice.

An hour passed and I still stood there, battling with myself mentally. I had not opened my eyes in the entire space of time, but when I heard Elizabeth’s breathing stop, they shot open. Her chest was not rising, and, as I listened, her heart gave a weak shudder before stopping entirely. She was gone, and her last words had been for me.

I made up my mind, staring at her still form. I would honour her final wish; her son would live through this epidemic.

I picked up her body swiftly, taking care to keep her head from hanging. I shot Edward one last glance before opening the door and setting her on another bed in the hall. I wheeled her to the morgue, shutting the many bodies out of my mind. The death toll was staggering, even when I had been in here countless times. It seemed that this epidemic would take out half the human race before it ceased.

Before I left her alone in the middle of the room full of death, I leaned in close to her pale face, which was still tormented.

“Your Edward is going to live. He will not be following you for a long, long time.”