Daylight Savings. [Private 1x1]

Hearing the sounds and smelling the air was enough to wake her from her fragile day dreams and hope. Reality had set in and she was not left to confront it. Looking to see that Nate had left and not being able to make out his words she panicked. Quickly though she saw that he was in the frame of a door, waiting for her.


She was in the door in less then a heartbeat. Not bothering to let him move, she shut the door, leaning against it. Letting her eyes hastily adjust to the light she cursed under her breath. Feeling like a trapped animal was not helping her morale in the least and she felt that a fight with these things would be inevitable.


The hallway was silent but she knew it wouldn't be that way for long. Hoping that they would be mislead by the blood on the wardrobe and wander off that way, they could buy a few more seconds to help think of a way out.


"Nate?"


It was the only word she could choke out before she felt a wave of nausea crash over her. Putting her hand to her stomach, and the other on the door, she bent over. The little amount of food she had eaten in the last few days was fighting it's way out of her stomach. Swallowing painfully, she looked up to see a window. However at this point, she had no idea what Nate had in store, if he had anything planned at all.


The sound of the infected, though soft and muffled by the door, rang in her ears like gunshots. Panicking she leaned against the door harder and looked at the silhouette figure of Nate, trying to put her thoughts together effectively. Nothing was coming to mind, however, her eyes kept wandering back to the window.


Skin against carpet. Deteriorating, mutilated, and dead flesh against a dusty and out-dated carpet. The sound stabbed at her ears and it was hard to keep the tears away. The sense of an impending crisis overwhelmed her senses. Trying to keep her breathing even, she looked up at Nate.


"What do we do now?"
 
Moonlight softly illuminated the completely empty, dusty room they took refuge in. To his surprise it was dustier than the room they had slept in. The place had definitely aged, that was for sure.


And remembering how easily the lock had broken on the bedroom door, he figured that the lock in this room wasn’t much better. Maybe worse. Either way, he knew that he did not have much time to work with. Factoring in his blood on the wardrobe, he figured it might draw them a way for a while. But then the noise they were making, would they disregard the blood and go for the main course?


Leaving this thought up in the air, he moved quickly towards the aged window and looked down. Nothing was below. To his left? Nothing. To his right however, he saw a black railing out of the corner of the window and figured that it was a fire escape. His tensed up body relaxed a little and immediately went to work on opening the window up.


“I think I see a fire escape!” He said, groaning as he tried to get the window open. After a few upward tugs however, the window finally gave way to the cool evening air.


The breeze ran through his sweaty hair as he stuck his head out. There was indeed a fire escape, albeit rusty, a few feet away from the window.


“And that’s our ticket out.” He mumbled, more for himself than Ashlyn’s sake. His eyes moved down to the ground and as far as he could see, there was no infected in sight below. Underneath the window he was staring out was a ridge that stuck out of the wall, and figured it was good enough as an aid to get the girl and himself to the fire escape.


Pulling his head back in, he looked at Ashlyn, relief taking over his features. When he started talking, his voice went faster than his mind could keep up. “Okay, there’s a fire escape right next to us, you need to use the wall to get to it. I don’t know what condition it’s in so you have to be careful going down it, and be careful at the end when you have to land-”


BANG. The infected apparently had caught on to where they were at last. They were at the door, and like he figured, the lock sounded like it was about to give even though they only hit the door once.


His heart pounding full force, he raced to his friend's side and pressed his back against the door. The smell of deterioration and decay took hold of his senses, but he tried not to let the powerful feeling of nausea get to him. The infected were so close, he could hear their ragged, heavy breathing. He tried to shut out the scent. He had to shut out the scent.


After a moment of sorting out his twisted up feelings, he turned his head towards Ashlyn. He put every ounce of himself into what he was about to say. “Go, now!"


He tried to sound reassuring and firm at the same time, because it wasn’t about him being the hero and letting the girl go first. She had to go first because she had to live, he needed her to live. Maybe before he met her, he would’ve been selfish and gone first had it been someone else. Or maybe not. But he couldn’t get himself to do it and he wouldn’t. The dire situation they were in made him understand how much he needed her around.


The infected were scratching at the door, like they knew fresh food was on the other side of the woodwork. His eyes moved from the window to the girl in a quick succession, and what he said next came out more desperately than he had intended. "I'll follow, I promise."
 
The sounds coming from the door were were horrifying. Nate seemed dwarfed by the smell of death that leaked in to the room. Tears were streaming and she moved towards the window quickly. Looking down to double check that it was clear, she hesitated. Moments were passing by faster then she could manage, but her heart ached.


Hearing his last words the amount of desperation that coated them stung, the emotions flooded her body, and she knew that she didn't have a choice. Feeling her legs numbly move themselves out the window, and towards the fire escape, she couldn't keep her eyes away from him.


Every inch she moved closer to her physical salvation, yet every inch felt as if she were pulling every ounce of humanity she had in her out to lay across the ground. She knew it was ridiculous, but if he died, well...


The thoughts were cut off, and the sound of another bang hit the door, and she knew that they had no time left. Feeling her way her foot finally met with the metal of the fire escape. It was rusty and old but seemed to be able to hold her weight. Feeling a wave of guilt as she let her other foot find the ladder she leaned over to see Nate through the window.


The moonlight gave just enough light to see the dark purple bags under her dim brown eyes, her hair was not firey but glowing ever so softly, and her eyes were filled with heartbreak and fear. Swallowing everything down, she gave a weak smile.


"If you're not here in the next 30 seconds I'll come back for you princess."


The humor almost made her heart ache worse, knowing that it was soaked with the sound of her choked cries, and fear of losing him. Physically tearing herself away from the window felt impossible but she started her descent down the ladder.


It creaked under her weight but she knew the attention of the infected was else where. About half way down, she looked up, and waited for some sort of sign. Hoping that it was the sign of Nate and not the sound of murder.
 
Nate watched as his friend made her way out the window, his heart beat slowly hammering faster and harder knowing that this door would not hold much longer. But he had to make sure that she was out of harms way before he made a move.


At her comment, a smile spread across his face, which faded away just as fast after she left his line of sight. He felt a stab at his heart, hearing the pain clear in her voice, knowing that if he didn’t make it out of this…


You’re going to make it out of this.


The banging on the door was becoming more frequent and ruthless; there must’ve been a combined effort behind the woodwork, one of the infected wouldn’t have caused his body to jolt from keeping the entrance shut.


It was hell to wait any longer to make a move after Ashlyn spoke. The longer he stood there, the thinner his survival line became. And it was already thin as it was. He began to mentally counted down the seconds before he’d take off for the window.


5...4...3...2-


After a hard, powerful bash against the door that almost knocked him forward, he took it as a sign to go and was off, running like hell towards the moonlight ahead. Not a second later he heard the door’s lock snap, followed by the sound of the door opening with a harsh whoosh sound until it slammed into the wall. He heard the sound of shuffling feet on the filthy wooden floor. The room was a complete blur around him except for the window itself. It was as if he was staring through a telescope, his entire vision focused on nothing but that area of safety.


The dreaded footsteps behind him changed, no longer did he hear the lazy shuffles they normally made. They were pounding on the floor after him, he was positive that they were only three or four feet away from him now. He reached the window, swung his foot over the sill as quickly as he could manage.


Whatever was close behind him ran head-long into his back, causing him to fall sideways out of the window. Everything was a blur of off-white and dark blue as he put his hand out to grab something, anything. Something worse than panic ran through his system like a live wire-


His hand somehow met with the white ledge he spotted earlier and it stopped him from falling to his death below. The impact sent a powerful jolt up his arm which momentarily disorientated him. The sound of something screeching for its life went straight past his ear and all the way down until the sound of bones crunching echoed back up to him.


Hearing this he shuddered and hastily got a better grip on the ledge for himself and swung his other arm around, since he wouldn’t be able to get to the fire escape without the use of both hands. He was pretty sure there were more infected at the window, but he didn’t care. Falling and breaking every bone in his body seemed more of an immediate threat than the predators did. Because then, their feast would've been too easy.


Slowly he began making his way along the ledge with his hands, until they met with the cool, rusted bars of the fire escape. When his eyes met with Ashlyn’s below, a smile, albeit exhausted, crossed his lips.
 
Despite the flash of movement and sound that had erupted so suddenly, all she could do was stare at Nate.


Relief was an understatement but it was the closest she could come to describing the warm feeling that exploded inside of her chest. Slowly the world seemed to become a less and less vile place to be, perhaps it was even okay at times. A smile exploded across her face and for a moment she felt alive.


"You're late Princess." It was all she could manage to say, for she feared if she said anything more tears would plague her voice once again. However these tears were filled with joy and a feeling of triumph rather then despair. The ladder shook, sending a pang of fear through her body, and she quickly started moving again.


The infected that were fed and healthy were able to complete normal human tasks. Walking, sloppy running, and basic turning movements. Most of them couldn't get through windows though, the act of moving their joints was to much, or at least that was what her an her father had observed.


Looking up she could make out faces covered with rotted flesh and a feral mouth set in a line of rage and hunger. Pulling her eyes away from the terrifying sight, she looked down to see she was almost to the ground.


Ashlyn opened her mouth to ask what direction they should head, however before the words could form she felt a sickening shake in the ladder. Looking up her eyes came across a sickening sight. Two of the infected had managed to get out of the window, they were laying down, tearing at the ladder with their hands. They really were animals, no longer intelligent enough to figure out the ladder, they simply hit and pulled at it. Climbing down the ladder hastily, trying to ignore her ever present fear of heights, Ashlyn scurried down it.


Dropping to the ground, rather clumsily, she clutched her leg and inhaled sharply. Her ankle screamed at her but she ignored it and immediately put her back to the wall, withdrawing the knife from her jacket pocket. Even with the protection of being out in the open and no longer confined Ashlyn couldn't help the urge to run. However that was out of the question now, Nate had risked everything for her, it was now inevitable. They would be partners as long as she could keep it that way.


She could hear Nate above her, so she knew he was near. Her breathing was heavy and her heartbeat was racing so hard she was afraid it might just beat out of her chest. Looking up and down the alley way she saw nothing. Which wasn't good but it wasn't necessarily bad either.


Suddenly, that all changed, and Ashlyn dropped her knife in surprise.


The smell hit her first and she didn't even need to look, "Nate they're here, and they are getting here fast."


Leaning down towards the ground she was careful not to cut herself on the knife that she trusted with her safety and life at this point. Her voice was urgent but fairly calm, however her eyes and body language no longer spoke of fear but resembled that of someone ready to fight. And for the first time, she was ready to fight, for whatever this life of her's was worth.


They were on the other side of a fence farther down the left of the alley. The chain screamed under the weight of the infected and she knew it wouldn't hold for long. Keeping her eyes glued to it, she waited for the commands of Nate, however she knew that the only way they had to go was right at this point.
 
His arms were quickly getting tired from the physical hardship he was putting them through. Getting a grip on the rail of the creaking fire escape, with a groan he pulled himself up over the rail and swung his legs over. His feet slammed against the metal grating and his heart beat suddenly sped up, knowing that the condition of the fire escape wasn’t any better than the rest of the building itself, but it seemed to hold itself up pretty well after the dreadful pause he gave.


With a sigh of relief followed by a few deep inhales and exhales, he looked over his shoulder at the two infected hanging out the window he just fell out of, clawing in his general direction with drool slowly seeping out of their mouths. Nobody could say that it wasn’t a disgusting sight, but Nate simply glared at them as if they were bullies on the park playground. The sight of them was actually really a pathetic one when obstacles were involved, and this happened to be one of those moments.


Remembering his friend when he heard her feet slam into the concrete below, he quickly made his way down the stairs while trying to keep the escape shaking to a minimum.


He saw Ashlyn below him and climbed down the ladder. Another jolt similar to his arm ran up both his legs when his feet hit solid ground, but that didn’t slow him from reaching his friend’s side. He looked back at the infected, who had failed to take a bite out of him. Bones were sticking out of it’s broken body in various places, something that was cringe-worthy to see but he resisted it. At least he felt safer knowing it wouldn’t rise up and attack them while their back was turned.


The sound of the fierce fence-shaking down the alleyway was what he heard before his friend spoke. Trying to ignore the smell, a scent that he was getting sick - literally - of smelling, his eyes met Ashlyn’s and he said quickly as his eyes traveled to the right, “We run, and if we encounter anything along the way, we cut it down.”


The tone he spoke in was similar to that of a leader, even though he never once considered himself one. But when the world went through the sudden change, it tended to bring out things in people that were considered good traits or bad traits. In order to survive, people needed to know how to act quickly. The people who couldn't figure it out, well, they ended up like the diseased one who unwillingly gave it's life to solid ground.
 
Giving a smirk, she drew her eyes away from Nate.


"I guess the saying stands true, great minds think a like."


For a moment she hesitated, worried that her ankle might put up a fight. She then decided it was either her ankle or her life, and the decision of obvious. Taking off down the alley way she stuck to the walls, running in the direction opposite of where she had first met Nate. Her eyes scanned each corner, just to make sure that no infected were tucked away. Grimacing at the sights of the left over bones, she tore her eyes away and focused on running. Looking up at the night sky, she wished with all of her heart, that the sun was out. If it were she could at least tell which way her house was.


Getting lost in her thoughts, she realized that she was coming up quickly on to the opens street. Looking at each building she tried her best to find anything that looked remotely familiar. Frustration took hold of her eye sight and she peered harder.


"Nate we need to head west, that's where my house is."


She attempted to look back over her shoulder to see if Nate was there but it ended in her tripping over something and hitting the ground. Knocking the wind out of herself, she cussed, pushing her self up. Standing up for a moment she looked down, hoping there was no blood, and as far as she could tell there wasn't. Her ankle hurt though, it was getting worse and becoming stiff. Knowing that if she stood still for much longer her ankle would refuse to go in to motion again she continued running.


The fence crashed in to the ground, even though they had covered a considerable amount of space in the last few minutes, the infected had gotten through. The sound of scraping metal against the concrete made her stomach knot. It was a disgusting sound and she knew that it meant they really needed to get out of the town soon or be left to face only god knows how many infected ones.


Ashlyn's thoughts were racing through her mind and she couldn't help but feel that she was being confined again. Where would they go? How would they get there? How endurant were the infected ones? More endurant than them?


The scream that would have usually escaped Ashlyn's lips was engulfed by the immediate smell of rotting flesh and the even more grotesque sight of it. While turning a corner Ashlyn had ran almost directly in to one. Knowing that she wouldn't have enough time to do anything else, she grabbed for her knife, and cut horizontally at it's throat. Hoping that she had gotten close enough to the vocal chords to silence the creature, she looked back. Perhaps she had gotten farther ahead then Nate did? Or maybe he was busy dealing with his own fight?


Sticky, rotted, foul flesh contacted her face in the form of a slap. The infected was holding it's throat with one hand, black and thick liquid pouring out between the gaps between the fingers. Ashlyn threw up, and spit it out quickly, the feeling of dead and infected flesh crawling on her cheek was enough to empty her stomach. Wiping it off hastily, when she looked back up, the infected was coming at her.


Throwing her knife up again and running at it, she took another stab, this one landing in it's shoulder. Black liquid sprayed out and spattered her already dirty clothes. It stumbled back, feeling triumphant Ashlyn brought the knife up again. It seemed to be running away... That was strange, usually they would keep at it until they were dead...


And then Ashlyn realized it wasn't leaving but backing up a few paces. In the midst of the fight she hadn't realized the small gathering of infected behind the one she was preoccupied with. Dropping her hands for a second, in a motion of exasperation, she cussed. Feeling rather defeated, and wondering where Nate was, she put her hands up defensively as she had been taught in her Karate classes.


The one she had been fighting had collapsed in to a pile on the ground, the only sign that it wasn't dead was a strange twitching that plagued it's deteriorated body. Looking back up she saw there were a total of three. Ashlyn knew she only had the energy to effectively fight off maybe one more. Shaking her head she lunged forward as another infected one came at her.


This one was male, much larger, and much stronger. With the simple motion of holding a hand out it had managed to knock her to the ground. Pushing herself backwards with her feet, she tried to find some sort of grip so she could push herself up. The infected one was advancing, the slightest hint of a predator-like smile playing on it's lips. Fear, disgust, anger, guilt, pain, and other various emotions coursed through her veins.


"NATHAN!"


It was the only word that seemed to be able to save her. She hoped, with everything in her, that he was near by. If she were on her feet, she might have had a chance, but on the ground like this she was an easy target. As she moved backwards she struggled to get back up and every time she got close, she would lose the momentum she had. Ashlyn felt like a dying animal, crawling away from it's death. She felt pathetic, worn-out, and terrified of the pain to come.


Please Nate, please come.
 
He wasn’t sure at what point it was that he lost track of where Ashlyn went. He was nearing the open streets when something completely out of the blue came at him from the back door of a building with a screech more prominent than nails on a chalk board. The force of the attack was so powerful it knocked him backward into the building behind him and his head hit the brick with a sharp crack. He yelled out and felt his body slide down the wall, felt his vision popping in and out of the black, and every time it did, the ragged, torn pant legs of the diseased one in front of him got closer and closer…


With a swipe, Nate took the machete out of it’s sheathe and slashed out in front of him. He didn’t take the time to see if it connected, but when his vision momentarily bounced in he noticed that it’s legs were now bloody. He was already on his knees, holding the weapon over his head and jabbed forward. Hearing the sound of a blade cutting through flesh, he drove the monstrosity backwards until it hit the ground with a bloody smack. The scent of it’s liquid had a hard time reaching his senses since all the others were thrown out of whack.


Somehow he managed to get himself to his feet again, and it wasn‘t an easy task in the slightest. His vision was blurred and his head pounded on like drums in agony, all his senses begging him to sit back down and pass out.


At that moment, he felt the infected woman - or he figured it was since the noises she had made sounded rather feminine - loosely try and get a grip on the bottom of his jeans. Reaching for the handle of his weapon, he used his foot to pull it out of her stomach, then stabbed her in the forehead to ensure that she was put to rest this time.


Unfortunately he didn’t have the time to recuperate. More of them were making their way down the alleyway, the same exact way Ashlyn had went, and they were certainly bent on closing the distance. Not hesitating for a second longer, he yanked his weapon back out, used the wall to launch himself into the building where his attacker previously came out of, slammed the door shut and then hastily locked it behind him.


He was in complete darkness again, but this time he could not afford to linger. His friend was still out there in the open, possibly having her own battle with the things, and if he waited a second too long, all he did to help her survive would’ve been for nothing.


And at this point, it was more than his life that he owed her.


Using the walls as a guide much like before, he quickly moved towards the source of light down the hall. On such a hellish evening the moonlight was a blessing, like a small candle lit in the impeding darkness, and with it’s assistance he had found another exit out of the building.


He was out on the open streets now without the slightest clue where Ashlyn had headed. There were multiple directions that she could’ve taken. His head pounded onward and he rested his hands on his knees, his body limits giving him the ultimatum of either taking a breather or blacking out.


During this, it gave him time to think over what she said. Such as any sort of indication as to where her house was. In between deep breaths, he muttered to himself, “West…she said…west.”


He made sure that his grip on his weapon hilt was good and even though his body demanded more time to take the night air in, he ignored the flashing signs and took off running in the general direction his friend spoke of. He prayed that he left the other group of infected behind in smoke, because he was almost positive that his body could not take a five-on-one at this point. But the chances of him taking them all on by himself were slim regardless if he was stable or not.


It was when he heard Ashlyn scream his name that he knew he was on the right path to her. The buildings he passed by became a blur as he sped up, fear for his friend running through his veins. Was she in trouble? Did the infected gang up on her? Were they on top of her already, each taking a large chunk of her throat out in turns?


The newfound adrenaline coursing through his veins temporarily numbed the pain he felt coming from his head. He turned the corner and the scene he had fallen into was what he had anticipated. A tall, muscular man with sores all over his body was looming over his friend, and his posture said that he definitely wasn't among the living. Such an attacker would’ve intimidated anybody, even Nate himself, who’s height of 5'9 could not match the diseased one’s 6'1.


But he had to fight for her, no matter how large and how many of them there were. No matter what condition he was in, he had to try. This was the reason why he stayed on his own for so long and never put effort forth to find anyone else. Why he was so eager and quick to sever ties before. Because once he was caught in the web, he knew that he’d willingly stay wrapped up there until death. It was a god-awful survival tactic, but it's who he was.


And that’s why he didn't hesitate for a second running at the infected one, clutching onto the hilt of his weapon tightly with both of his sweaty hands. He swung the sharp machete over his head and penetrated the monster’s shoulder tendon. Figuring that he wasn’t going to get any deeper after the initial impact, he managed to tug the blade back out of the thing.


Black, thick blood made a trail across the ground as Nate stumbled back a few feet, with his weapon dripping with the stuff. Sweat was trickling down the sides of his head in beads, and the initial adrenaline that was so prominent before had begun to wear off. His head began to pound again with a vengeance, but he wasn’t going to let it deter his focus. After a deep inhale and exhale, ignoring the sickening smell of the blood, he said with as much confidence as he could gather together,


“Hey big boy, the little girl isn’t who you want. You need more of a challenge.”
 
Nate appeared. Not bothering to look at what he was doing she scurried to the closest wall and pushed herself up. Her ankle was throbbing, her head was pounding, and none of it matter because she had two new infected joining the fight.


The stared at Nate was if he were nothing more then an obstacle or perhaps it was a twisted game of "playing with your food" that she saw. Rage flooded her senses and she felt the pavement beneath her feet, the buildings now blurring past her.


These two infected were smaller, closer to her size, so she knew that these would be manageable opponents. Not daring to take her eyes off of them she aimed for the smaller one, cutting across it's throat, and landing a kick to it's chest.


The moments it spent staggering backwards she took to attack the next infected one. Anger stained it's ugly face and a sick sense of amusement rose up inside of Ashlyn along with a new wave of adrenaline. It started to come at her, sloppily and disoriented with hunger, she grabbed her knife and closed the gap. Stabbing at the side of it's neck she landed a kick to it's knee cap, hoping that it would collapse.


As she was in the midst of the fight, she noted that more of the infected were gathering. Panicking for a moment, she saw that the infected she had fought earlier was now dead, and all emotions subsided. Stabbing again at this infected one and making sure to land the blade in it's head, Ashlyn began to move backwards towards Nate and the larger infected.


The second female infected dropped dead and Ashlyn took the few moments of peace to gather her thoughts.


Darting in to the shadows of the building she stayed behind the infected, staring at Nate, trying to think of a way to help. Anything at this point would have been nice but her mind remained blank. Hearing the distant screams and sounds Ashlyn's heart rate increased ten fold.


Waiting for an opening to attack was an anticipation unlike any other and she wasn't sure what was keeping her from attacking now, other then sheer logic. She was smaller then the larger infected, he would knock her down again, and then Nate would really be in a bind. Angrily she tightened her hand in to a fist.


Her brown eyes were now alive with a spark, one that wasn't quite easy to identify.


Maybe it was the will to live, adrenaline, or a mix of the two.


However, Ashlyn's mind was on one thing and one thing only; getting Nate and her out of this alive. She would not leave without him. No matter how much she tried to justify it to herself living without Nate was not an option. Waiting for the fight to begin she scraped at the corner of her minds for any ideas as to how the scenario might go and how she could help.
 
Out of the corner of his eye Nate saw Ashlyn rushing past him and figured that her intentions were set on taking out the infected duo, which was best for the both of them. It would help even out the playing field. He kept his entire focus on the infected in front of him and found himself drowning everything else around him out completely.


The infected stood tower tall, with an expression so feral and almost sadistic looking, as if the main course at dinner revealed a steak opposed to ham. A breathy chuckle had left Nate’s lips as he began to retreat, luring the hungry-eyed disease away from his friend. Like he wanted, it sluggishly followed suit with what resembled a smile on his twisted, decaying face.


It was a depressing sight to see, because the very same face might’ve belonged to a hard-working family man once. Or a big corporation owner. Every one of these things came with a story, a story that eventually came crashing down to the same end.


After the momentary game of bird chasing the worm, the male showed that he had grown quite tired of the wait. He began to gain ground quicker and quicker, and Nate found himself moving backward less and less. The moment reminded him of a bullfighter in a stadium, and there really wasn’t a big difference between the two when he came to think about it. He stood his ground waiting for just the right time with his heart beat steady, forced himself to ignore the painful throbbing coming from his head, then sidestepped the infected one and managed to make a decent laceration on the thing’s back.


The infected went along as if it wasn’t even affected by the cut which was expected, but what surprised Nate more than anything was the quick rebound. WHAM. He saw the swing of it’s arm coming around before he could react and felt the sharp pain of it‘s palm connecting with his face. Feeling the pain of his body slamming into the concrete and rolling a few times, his insides turned to ice at the sound of metal sliding across the ground, realizing that his weapon had flown out of his hand and now hid somewhere in the darkness. Black dots had obscured his vision to the point where visibility came and went in waves, and the edge of his lip had a bitter taste to it…


He slowly moved his head to the side, his sight returning at the price of more pressure on his brain, and saw the blood-covered machete somehow managing to reflect moonlight just over seven feet away from him. His only hope in this situation besides Ashlyn, who from the sound of it seemed like she was being kept occupied still, was more than out of his hands.


In order to save himself, he had to get it back. He was no match for the infected without it.


His head screamed in protest as he forced himself to close the distance in the form of a speedy crawl. It wasn’t like he didn’t make an attempt or two to get up, but the harsh, rattled breathing that came complimentary with the diseased ones was a giveaway that the monstrosity was right behind him. He was inches from the hilt now. All he had to do was stretch his arm forward and the overwhelming feeling of security would return with it.


When his fingers had barely brushed the weapon, suddenly a hand with long fingers wrapped around his ankle with the grip of a bear trap. Knowing that he would be dragged back to his inevitable death without the blade in hand, he threw his arm out there as a desperate last attempt to grab hold. And he was successful.


His arm swung around with the machete in hand and connected with the side of the monstrosity’s neck. The momentum from the swing caused the blade to go in quite deep, but the head was where Nate had planned to aim. Now it was lodged in the infected male’s neck, and before he could think of another weapon to use, his arm was pinned down to the ground. Fear and panic began to flood his entire body.


The only thing keeping the infected male away from Nate was the use of his knee. He used his free arm to try and push the thing off him but to no avail. Blood spilled as the power-struggle between the two pushed onward. It was obvious that the male on top was the stronger of the two despite being dead. "Get OFF!" He yelled angrily, wasting away quite a bit of strength from trying to kick the thing. He realized that he was coming close to burning out and felt the all too familiar sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, like his world was about to come crashing down.


Ashlyn…


His heart hammered in his chest like it was going to explode. His head couldn’t take anymore of the murder he put it through and his ears began to ring, blocking up all the other noises and sounds around him. He had no clue whatsoever if his friend was nearby, or if she even took notice of his predicament. All he understood was that if Ashlyn did not come to his aid, then this was it no matter how strong his determination was to live all this time.
 
Ashlyn's movements felt slow, painfully sluggish. Nate needed her now and she wasn't there, she needed to be, and with a wave of adrenaline unlike any other she closed the gap. All of the bones in her body screamed, many of her muscles pulled, even her mind was exhausted. Now though none of it mattered because the only thing that did was that the infected planned on taking her only friend off the planet.


Lowering her body forward, she wrapped her arms around the infected's neck, and let her momentum carry them up and off of Nate. For the first few moments everything was a blur and everything seemed distant, like she was watching herself. Rather quickly that feeling was taken away, the weight was tremendous, like a car was sitting on her chest, and her mouth tasted of blood. Looking up, just as disoriented as the infected, she saw that the way they had landed and winced trying to keep the pain away from her mind. Seeing the knee of the infected pressed flat against the left side of her rib cage only made the pain real though and she soon found herself gasping for breath.


Going back and forth Ashlyn stabbed at the monster, wherever and whenever she could. Assuming that eventually it would give up and die. She was terribly wrong, this infected was starving, willing to fight until it was dead, or more dead. Screaming, Ashlyn was surprised at how distant her voice sounded, but thanked that she didn't feel the fear she should have. It landed two hits to her face, causing her nose to bleed, and now it's hunger seem to only be inflamed.


Finally Ashlyn felt a rage burst inside of her. This thing had the audacity to try and kill her, when she had come so far. She wouldn't tolerate it, no one and nothing would take what little of a life she had away from her. Never again.


Quickly pushing every pound of her body up she managed to topple over the infected again. Grabbing at it's head and ripping it upwards before it had a chance to react she slit it's throat. Smiling triumphantly, she turned to find Nate in the dark alley. When she spotted him, she went to speak, but a searing pain unlike any other erupted on to her thigh. Turning around quickly to stab at the infected it was to late, it now lay more dead then it was before, on the ground. Black, sticky, foul blood pouring from the wounds that they had inflicted upon it.


Looking down at her leg she saw that the infected had managed to scratch her and break skin... Meaning she could now possibly be infected, right? What did the news say? Did it matter? Was it over? What was happening, how did it happen, and most importantly; why?


Pushing away at everything she knelt down next to Nate. Her voice was flat, cold, and unlike Ashlyn in every manner. If there were any emotions in Ashlyn they were now laying dead inside of her chest of locked away in to the corners of her mind. She would deal with them later, not now, they had to get out of here.


"We need to go, we have a chance now."


Wrapping her frail hand around his arm, she tugged upwards, hoping to speed up his process of getting him to move.


Ashlyn always imagined this moment, trying to mentally prep herself for the possibility of becoming infected. However she couldn't remember if it was transferable through scratches. Bites were inevitable but no one ever said anything about scratches, or did they? None of it mattered though, Ashlyn felt like a disappointment and withdrew her earlier mental statement.


She was a burden.


Looking down at the bloodied, torn-up, and exhausted Nate her heart twisted itself into a painful knot. He looked so human, so fragile, he didn't deserve any of this. None of it. Tears numbly fell down herself. Though her eyes became slightly red due to the tears her voice remained cold. She wasn't tripping over her words or choking up, because she couldn't feel any of it. Ashlyn felt like she was far away and like her spark to live had been smothered out by cruel fate.


"Nathan, my house is west. We can get there by morning if we hurry."


Trying to interject some emotion in to her words they ended up just falling dead at her feet and she looked down at them as if she might actually see the failed attempt of pretending she was okay. Turning away she looked through her backpack for a shirt she could use as a bandage. Tying her thigh off, where the fairly normal cut lay, as if covering it up would prevent the disease.


Ashlyn knew it wasn't a hundred percent that she would get it, or if she would get it at all, however if she did everything they had done would have been for nothing. She never should have left her house, gone out to venture, and Nate...


Dropping the thoughts, she returned her hand to it's position around Nate's left arm. Looking up, it was still dark, however something inside of her told her that it would be daylight in the next hour or two. Sunrise was coming, and with that, the infected would return to their homes. They may have been strong but the sun sucked their strength away quickly and effectively. It was a nice silver lining in a rather bleak situation however Ashlyn had shut herself away from all hope and joy.


The higher she set her standards the longer she would have to fall.
 
When the pressure of the infected on top of him was relinquished, the world around him became a roughed blur. He was lying somewhere in a pool of blood, and he wasn’t sure where that was anymore. What was happening? Why did the infected one retreat? Did Ashlyn pull him off? Was she being slowly devoured while he lay there so pathetically? Hearing her scream with his ringing ears only confirmed all of these fears in his mind. He couldn’t see, so he couldn’t know what was happening to her. His head was throbbing from simply trying to process it.


He was leaving her to die after everything that they went through. After everything she did to save the life of a stranger…


Move…


The sound of more struggle reached his ears, followed by the sound of a knife cutting into flesh. The ringing had faded away as he forced himself to turn his body over.


Move!


When he lifted his head up, Ashlyn was standing over him. She was covered in blood, and her expression did not match the girl he had gotten to know. This was someone completely different, and he didn’t like what he was gathering from her. Everything she seemed to say went in one ear and out the other, and when he felt her wrap her arm around his, he felt inclined to blurt out what he needed so desperately to say.


“You’re…you’re okay? Are you hurt?” He came off rather bewildered if anything as to how she sounded. Relief spread through his system like a drug however, because for a split moment he thought that she was surely…


What were they doing? The sky was still black, but from what he could tell it wouldn’t be long before the sun would rise. How long? He wasn’t sure, but the longer they stayed in this alleyway with the night crawlers still about, not to mention all the noise they had made to attract them, the more they were potentially screwing themselves. They got so far together already, too far to stop here. And Nate knew that Ashlyn was thinking the exact same thing.


He grabbed her arm firmly and used it to assist him in getting off the blood-covered concrete. His head was screaming at him in protest, the pain becoming borderline unbearable to ignore. He dizzily stumbled a few times on his feet before finding his footing, then placed his hands on his knees and attempted to blink all the fuzzy parts of his vision away. This only lasted momentarily before he straightened his back, knowing that he had to force himself beyond his limit now.


Taking note of her current expression, a weaker form of a smile crossed his lips. “Hey, stop looking so glum. We’ve got a house to get to, don’t we?” He surprised even himself with how upbeat he sounded despite his exhausted body language, but he knew damn well that they both couldn’t afford to get caught in their emotions at the same time. That was how any partnership worked, really. When one fell, the other one would be there to catch them. And he wouldn’t allow them both to fall, especially with where they were now. And at this point he trusted her more than anything else, maybe even more than himself and his ability. They had to get to her house.
 
Ashlyn couldn't speak. Her throat was closed with icy frustration so all she did was nod. Looking away quickly to avoid his eyes, she started to walk away. The weight of everything was beginning to break her back and she felt as if all was falling apart. Coughing up blood she found her eyesight going fuzzy. Her ribs screamed in a symphony of agony, her ankle was swollen and the joints were sticky with pain, even the marrow in her bones hummed of being sore.


None of it mattered though, everything was numb. She could feel the pain, yet none of it seemed even the slightest bit significant against the overwhelming fact that she could become like them. Everything she hated, she would become. Slowly she realized that she had been running and she hoped that Nate was behind. Also, she wasn't really running as much as sloppily speed walking.


Finally Ashlyn found the salvation of the the main road out and the trees that lined either side of the road. The night sky was no longer black but it was still rather dark however it hinted that daylight was soon to come. Swallowing, she realized that she was out of breath, probably from the exhaustion that was starting to get it's grip on Ashlyn.


Not daring to look back at Nate she kept her eyes ahead and stood in the shade of the trees her back towards the city. One advantage she had over the infected was that she was much quieter then them. They're disoriented movements made it easy to hear them, so she wasn't particularly worried. Ashlyn let her mind wander, the worst decision she had made in the last few nights to say the least.


She contemplated what a burden she had been, the many mistakes she had made, all of the effort and time of Nate's she so easily wasted. Then the cut, it burned on her skin, though she was sure it was purely psychological. However it wasn't a comfort and soon she felt a wave of nausea take hold of her stomach.


Dry heaving painfully, Ashlyn felt the emotions she had tried so hard to lock up leak back in to her system. Feeling the blood dripping from her nose, the coat of dirt she had aquired, and all the pain she had endured she dry heaved again. Purging herself of all the terrible memories and actions that she had made in the last few days.


Straigtening her back carefully she leaned her forhead against the tree and let the rough surface take her thoughts. The smell was nice though, it was natural and alive. Unlike the grotesque smell of undead and decay it soothed Ashlyn's nerves, though only slightly.
 
Nate tried to keep pace with his friend as best he could. His head felt like someone took a butcher knife and stabbed him repeatedly in the same spot he hurt himself, and he began to ponder on whether or not he actually caused some serious damage. But if he was going to pass out from pain anywhere, he wanted it to be on Ashlyn’s doorstep.


Using walls and various objects to help him move along when he felt the occasional dizzy spell, he too came up on the main road. The breeze that blew from further up the street felt cool, but not overbearingly cold. It made his skin tingle and even if it was slight, it helped soothe the pain he was experiencing.


To be perfectly honest, he hated the fact that Ashlyn wasn’t saying anything, but what was there to say? Tell each other good job, give each other a high five and skip off together into the night? Oh, if only the life they lived was that easy, and that campy too.


Taking notice that Ashlyn stopped underneath a tree, he figured that now was as good a time as any to take a breather, because once they took off for shelter, there would be no more stops. He leaned up against a older truck parked next to the side walk while taking a glance up at the no-parking sign right next to it, and stared out at the neighborhoods he could see in the distance. Nothing was lit up ahead which wasn’t a surprise; electricity ceased to exist quite a while back, and people were forced to grow accustomed to flashlights, oil lamps, or the darkness itself.


He took a moment to close his eyes and let himself “float” in the breeze before looking back at Ashlyn. Seeing the condition of her face surprised him, because he wasn't able to see it very well before this. Her nose was bleeding, she looked paler than usual, and to top it all off her expression basically screamed that she wasn’t feeling alright, and Nate felt a pang of guilt. If he hadn’t cracked his head, maybe she wouldn’t have had to step into his fight. A fight that he was meant to protect her from…


But it was too late to dwell on it now. The events that occurred had happened already, and no matter how much he wished to change the events around, he couldn’t. Such as life was. But he did feel angry at himself for leaving her to the situation alone, so he made a mental note that he would apologize to her later once they were both safe.


Wanting to start some form of conversation now that the head pain had calmed down a bit, he said with a curious, optimistic edge to his tone, “So that town down there, is that where you live? How long do you think it’ll take to get there from here?”


It was when the last bit of sentence flew out of his mouth that he noticed the clothing wrapped around her leg, and at once his face became like a cracked mirror; previously emitting a positive energy before, now became something entirely different. His insides turned to ice and his expression followed suit, his emotions thrown into utter turmoil. Anger, fear, guilt, regret, panic…those words could not fully sum up what he was mentally experiencing. If she had gotten bit by the infected and that was the answer to how Ashlyn was acting, then everything that he thought as stable and structured would be thrown out the door.
 
The gentle nature that Ashlyn usually had, had returned to her face when she saw Nate's expression. Tears streamed her face and she looked broken. Everything about her. The nasty limp, bloodied face and hair, bruised limbs, matted hair, but the worst part were the eyes that burned with a fire of self-loathing.


She choked on her words and walked forward closing the gap between them. Stopping when she was just an arm's length away she looked up at him, giving him the most pathetic smile. Letting her emotions take over what her mind failed to do, she spoke, gently and quietly.


"When you were on the ground I took the infected off of you. After a fight I managed to slit it's throat but before it died, if that's what you want to call it, it managed to scratch me pretty deep." Tears streamed down her face, constant never stopping, only adding to her broken look. "We both know that bites are contagious but I don't know about scratches."


Before she could stop herself she let the words spill from her mouth, "The house is yours. There's more water there and my dad's old clothes will fit you pretty well. I have a propane stove and two containers full of propane cans. They're small and meant for camping but you can heat up water to clean yourself off with. Everything's boarded up," she reached in to one of the many pockets in her backpack and withdrew a small key that hung on a silver chain, she handed it to him keeping her eyes on the asphalt below her feet. "This is the key to the door. You have to pick the door up when you twist the key, I broke the hinge a few years ago and I haven't fixed it. Everything you need for a few days should be in the house."


Suddenly there weren't any words left to say. Tears stung her eyes and she wanted nothing more then to be held and told that this was just a nightmare or everything was going to be okay. Pushing the lump in her throat away she managed to let the last few words fall from her mouth.


"I'll take you there and afterwards I'll find somewhere else to go."


She hesitated and finally looked up at Nate, eyes shiny with tears, and finished quietly.


"Just in case."
 
Nate held the key that Ashlyn handed to him limply, as if he didn’t even acknowledge that she handed him anything. When the word scratches reached his ears, a wave of emotion set him back so powerfully he felt like he was about to pass out again.


“Scratch…you said scratch.” He struggled with words in the stupor he was in. “Christ…”


Almost immediately, he went down on one knee while removing his knapsack from his shoulder. He rummaged around until he found his own first aid kit, then placed it on the ground and opened the small, white package to reveal it’s contents. Without permission, he untied the t-shirt to reveal a semi-deep cut and went to work, cleaning it off with an antiseptic.


“Well, good news is that I don’t think you’ll be dying today.” He muttered, placing more antiseptic on a cotton pad and pressing it firmly to her leg. Patting it a few times, he added with a sure tone, “See, scratches aren’t as threatening as actually being bit. Because if they were, I’d be dead already.”


Removing the cotton pad, he rummaged around for a proper bandage in the kit. His head continued to throb, but something else that was more important caught his focus and helped numb away the pain.


“The only way you’ll get infected by a scratch is if that thing had any of it’s liquid on their hands before it cut you. Blood, saliva…” Making eye contact with Ashlyn, Nate realized that he probably said the wrong thing. And what if the infected did have something on it’s hand? Was the infection already coursing through her system as he sat there on his knee, making what now seemed like a desperate attempt at trying to save her?


No, the chances of that happening are so low…almost unheard of.


But his mind was telling him otherwise, the warning signs were flashing. Furrowing his eyebrows, he found the bandage and began wrapping it around her injured leg. He tied the ends together tightly and stood up, staring her straight in the face with a look that could scare. Rolling Ashlyn’s house key in his hand slowly, unable to feel the cool metal anymore, he handed it back to her.


“You’re going to need that.” His voice sounded somewhat cooler as he bent down and put the first aid kit back into his knapsack. Pulling his supplies back over his shoulder, he stood up straight and looked at Ashlyn, trying to find any signs of her turning on him. She looked roughed up, but none of the symptoms of the infected seemed to plague her face. Yet.


No. She’s not infected, so don’t even think about the possibility.


No longer did Nate have the lighthearted air he possessed before. It had been replaced by something a little more cold and stony, not because he was angry with her, but because he was shutting a good part of his mind down. He unknowingly threw himself into denial, refusing to believe that his friend may soon die on him and be the one to attack him from behind.


Wasting no time, he started walking forward, barely taking notice of how numb his legs felt. After he was a few feet away from Ashlyn, he looked back at her and deadpanned, “So are we going now?”
 
The coldness in his voice Ashlyn had mistaken for anger towards her. Suddenly all of her racing thoughts stopped and the only thing that mattered was to gain his forgiveness before whatever happened, happened.


Looking down she stayed quiet as he diligently worked at cleaning her leg, it stung and hurt, but whining would only deepen his anger she feared. The face expression she had become so accustomed to was now gone. Replaced by a flat expression, dark eyes, and tense shoulders. How could she have screwed up the perfect situation? Perhaps she was destined to die, or that's what she was beginning to think.


He was moving so fast, her mind couldn't keep up, and when she heard his question she broke. Everything she had held back dissolved in to pitiful depression and the feeling that she was falling in to a deeper darker place. Quickly she walked up to his back and wrapped her arms around his waist. Burying her face in to the dirty material of his shirt, crying, sobbing a hearbroken cry.


"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen. I know you hate me, I hate me too. I should have been more careful, I'm so sorry. I wish I could take it all back, I wish you never would have met me, had to deal with me."


The words were muffled and barely coherent due to the rate she was speaking, none of it mattered though. She needed Nate more then she needed oxygen, she needed human connection, anything to keep her from turning in to one of them. Wrapping her frail arms around her tighter sent her rib cage in to a spasm of pain but she refused to let go.


Tears stained the material of his shirt and she refused to pull her face away, feeling that if she did she would crumble. Falling in to pieces just as the world had two years ago.


"I just wanted to save you."


The five words came out soaked in many emotions. Ashlyn was trying to justify herself, trying to think of how she could let one of those things screw up everything she had worked for. All she wanted was for Nate to be safe, not make his life harder. However at this point it didn't matter, she needed his forgiveness.


Finally the night sky was giving way to a pale blue-grey sky that mitigated the previous darkness. It was the only silver lining she could find in the midst of everything and she clung to it with her life, maybe it would lighten his anger and he would forgive her.
 
A pair of arms wrapped around his waist and he knew that they were Ashlyn’s. Nate felt the tears soaking into his shoulder through the dirty material and his expression softened. He listened to everything she said, felt her body move against his back every time she went to sob, felt her arms tighten…


His hands slowly moved up to hers and rested them there for a moment, knowing that she took his sudden change of attitude the wrong way. But it didn’t matter, because her feelings were bound to come pouring out eventually, regardless of what happened to cause it.


The girl clinging to his back had gone through so much these past several hours, so much that even he couldn’t even make a list. There were so many reasons for her being the way she was now, with the possibility of infection as the cherry on top of the cake. All this time, Ashlyn firmly believed that she was a burden to him, causing him nothing but hell in a world that was more than that.


And he was going to prove to her that she was wrong in all ways possible.


“You did save me. As cheesy as that sounds.” He turned himself around, staring at Ashlyn face to face now. His expression was much more relaxed now with a hint of a smile, and his hands came to rest on both of her shoulders.


“Look,” He paused for a moment, gathering his feelings together again. “If you didn’t save me, none of this would’ve happened. Hell, I'd be dead. But we can’t focus on what would’ve happened if we did this or that, because the one thing that used to stand true in the world and still does is nobody’s perfect. No matter how you look at it.”


His head gave another painful throb, but Nate refused to take his eyes off the person in front of him for even a second no matter what pain struck him. “I’m beyond grateful that you saved my life. In fact, I don’t know if there will ever be a proper way of paying you back for that. We both did things and got ourselves into trouble tonight, but it isn’t something that either of us can help.”


He cleared his throat and a smile spread across his features. “We’re here now. None of it matters, we have to keep going. The mistakes we made are what make us human, something that’s rare in this world. But if we survive past those mistakes, then there isn’t a need to dwell on them.”


His eyes moved up to the sky and felt his spirits lift considerably at the prospect of sunrise. “Personally, I don’t regret any of this.” Nate’s eyes snapped back down to Ashlyn, and without thinking about it, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. His tone was soothing now, wanting nothing more than to help her calm down and get back on her feet. “No matter what happens, we’re partners in all this. Partners make mistakes, and I wanna make them with you."


The grip he had around Ashlyn suddenly grew tighter, and he tried to keep his tone leveled like it was before. Tried to keep the stronger emotions out of his voice and remain composed. "So don’t you dare die on me.”
 
His body heat was a wave of relief unlike any other. Every limb, muscle, nerve, cell came alive with a soft electricity that made her feel as if things might really be okay. Life was bleak, or at least it had become that way in the past years, but their story was still young. This was just the first major obstacle.


What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, the cliche statement suddenly hit Ashlyn at home. Not only did it make you stronger it made you appreciate everything that there was. Nate was a blessing, life's way of apologizing for the hell she had been put through. Letting his body heat spread through hers suddenly her bones no longer felt sticky with pain, her mind was free to wander happily, and her tears had ceased.


Pulling her face away from his chest she looked up, he was a full head taller, but if he looked down she could meet his eyes. With inflamed and red eyes, strands of hair stuck to her face, and the to familiar dirt and grime stuck to her face she gave a smile. Showing her teeth and letting her cheeks flush with the emotion of slight embarrassment, she cleared her throat.


"I guess I just misunderstood everything, people aren't really my thing." Her smile grew, now touching her eyes, lighting them up in the remaining darkness that stained their surroundings. Hearing his last words and the effort he put in to not allowing emotion in to them, her heart beat picked up, and she laid her face against his chest to keep her eyes averted. Cheeks burning bright red, and an idiotic smile plastered on her face, she couldn't let him see her like this.


"I won't die on you, but only because I know you like my company so much." The light-hearted humor was heartfelt and finally Ashlyn was starting to figure out why the outbreak had happened. Not the scientific of logical reasoning behind it but it's purpose in the role of life. To teach humans that to be concieted and lose sight of what set them apart from other animals would be their downfall. Every great empire comes to an end and there's had bee the grandest of them all.


Pushing her arms so they were in the space between her chest and his, she carefully slid her ring off her finger. Opening the small clasp on the chain that held her key she ran the chain through the hollow of the ring, letting it slide down where it would stop to rest next to the key. Pushing her arms up to where they were free, she slid the chain around his neck. Pausing for a moment she let her small hands frame his face and then dropped them as quickly as they had stopped.


"That's my promise, princess. As long as you have my ring, I'll stay alive."


Though the sentence was joking, her voice was just barely a whisper. As if this were a secret that only could be shared between them. Something about her facial expressions danced with a spark of something. Life? Happiness? Joy?


Her smile was no longer as alive as it had been but it held hints of playfulness and daring that was absent in the time that they had been together. Perhaps everything wasn't perfect, things never were, but at least there was hope for brighter days. The world wasn't out to get her but she was going to have to prove herself to whatever thought it needed to knock the human race back in to place. With Nate at her side the task didn't seem daunting in the least, only exciting.
 
A smirk was what rose to his lips first, eventually turning into a full-fledged smile as she slid the chain on his neck and spoke. The cool metal of the key and ring came to rest on his bare skin and felt a newfound warmth spreading through his body from the source. Like a piece of humanity that he lost before was returned through the object, and such a feeling was enforced when he felt her warm hands on his face.


Letting his fingers trace the small round object on the chain, a smirk appeared on his lips one more time. “I guess I can hold you to that promise.” Along with the positive feeling of something returned, so did the playful and teasing edge to his voice. He felt the urge to hold onto her again, for all the things his emotions projected when he touched her were almost indescribable, but resisted the temptation and left his hands to rest on her shoulders instead.


Though he was still worried that she would become infected, something that he knew would plague his mind for the next few hours to come, the energy Ashlyn was projecting helped ease the fear away to almost nothing. Nate still couldn’t explain it even now, maybe it was her human-like innocence that intrigued him so? Maybe the fact that she was practically untouched all this time by the apocalypse, a fresh take on this whole situation was what made him feel refreshed whenever she spoke. Surely he wouldn’t have connected to her as easily, had she been apart of this as long as he had.


In the state of things and people, she was almost mind-bendingly different which he knew from the bare beginning and suddenly, it came to surface in his mind that the reason he stuck around had nothing to do with her father abandoning her, or even the state of mind Nate found her in. He realized that he didn't stay because he felt sorry for Ashlyn, but from the minute she had saved him from the sniper, she made a change in him.


He stared up at the sky for a moment, attempting to judge approximately how much longer before the sun would rise, but no matter if it took fifteen more minutes, maybe a half hour from this point, standing out in the open didn’t seem as threatening anymore.


Hearing the moans in the distance, Nate’s eyes met with Ashlyn’s again and he stared deep. It seemed like a struggle was going on behind them, or a confusion as to what he was supposed to feel, but this only lasted for a second and was replaced with a positive gleam.


“Okay Queenie, if we’re all good now, we’d better take off to that castle of yours. Together.” Nate emphasized the last bit as he removed his hands from her shoulders, letting another smile crack through as a way to tell her that no matter what happened to them in between, he made it his full intention to stand by her until the very end.
 
The joking touch in his voice put Ashlyn's mind at ease. Nothing mattered right now, right then the only thing in the world that was evenly remotely important was them. Not him and not her; them. Ashlyn was convinced the first moment she saw him that he would be staying around longer then she would hope. The previous statement was true however she wanted it now. No she did want it, she needed it. He was an anchor in the hurricane, the silver-lining in a world stained with death and pain.


Responding to his comment about the promise with a soft laugh, she couldn't find words. Emotions flooded her systems. Every nerve was alive with an anticipation she couldn't place. What was she expecting? Or perhaps this is what it felt like to be happy? She couldn't remember after being locked away in herself for so long. Trying to keep her tangle of emotions hidden behind her eyes, she met his. Letting Nate stare in to her eyes made her feel dizzy. Everything in the real world became fuzzy and all that mattered was that he had an interest in her. One unlike any other she had ever encountered.


For a moment Ashlyn saw an emotional struggle, just like hers, hidden behind the blue eyes she had come to know. However, it disappeared as quickly as she saw it. Nate couldn't possibly feel as flustered as she could, he was concrete in his thinking... or was he? Nate was just as human as her, who said he wasn't entitled to having an emotional knot like hers. The real question was what were the emotions about? Perhaps it was her possibly becoming infected... but the emotions seemed happy so that couldn't be it.


Once Nate dropped his hands, Ashlyn suddenly felt hollow, however it passed after a few seconds. Maybe he hadn't realized it but when she was in his arms, or even in contact with him, she was indestructible. Nothing could stop her from completing their goal, from being alive and happy. Taking in to account how ridiculous she sounded, she tried pushing the feelings away, only to have it backfire. Emotions unlike any other clouded her thought and she shook her head to try and think clearly.


He had spoken, looking up and blinking blankly, she processed the words slowly.


Her concentrated facial expression broke in to one of relaxed happiness, "Oh fine. If you insist."


Dragging her feet jokingly she let her mouth curl in to a playful smile. Returning to a normal walk, minus the limp, she continued forward without any problems at all. Suddenly she realized the last word in her head, it rang, not painful though. It was exciting.


Together.


Nate really did plan on staying until the end. That could be a few hours, a few days, weeks, months... years even. However the conviction he spoke with was not the type you could lie about. Despite her own doubts he was determined that all would end well. Her fears were not silenced but seeing his hope was most definitely taking the edge off of her fears. So rather then a sharp pain in the back of her mind, it was a dull throbbing.


Everything that they had been through would obviously bring people together, or at least that was the conclusion Ashlyn came too. However, something inside of her had changed after being in his arms. It was like a light switch had turned on but in a room she couldn't see. Looking at him brought butterflies to her stomach and seemed to heal all of her pain. For a moment she hesitated, was this a good idea? Letting her guard down for him? Granted, he had done so much for her... but what was this? Emotions were one thing but what she was feeling was... different. It was intoxicating and spread through her body like wildfire. For the situation they were in it wasn't logical but it seemed like a necessity. Without it, she would crumble in to the ravaged world. Or would she?


The questions plagued Ashlyn's mind, her expression had darkened to one of thinking and concentration. Thinking time was nice and they had plenty of time to kill, maybe she could find an answer to what it was that Nate had done to her. Was it good or bad? Helpful or hurting her? Was he going to be her key to survival or the main catalyst to the fire that would end her?
 
It was strange. The sun had barely risen and yet, he felt happier than he had all evening. Scratch that, he felt happier than he had in quite a while.


By now, most of the infected were probably crawling into their holes for the day, so the need to be cautious was lowered considerably. The streets ahead were a mess, with scattered cars and trucks along the roadside, abandoned buildings with shattered windows most likely made by people trying to escape at one time, fried up grass that was probably well-catered to once. The list went on with the world’s blatant imperfections, each set piece like a ghost of it’s former self. A ghost of what once was.


And despite all of these thoughts that would bring any normal person down upon a glance, Nate found himself walking onward with a spring in his step. Hell, maybe he wasn’t as normal as he believed he was. But when everything seemed to have fallen apart around him, when everything seemed like it would never change, he had found that silver lining in the dark.


And that was something to be pretty damn happy about.


Occasionally he would look back to make sure that he was heading in the right direction of Ashlyn’s house, even though he knew that she would tell him otherwise if he wasn't. Maybe it was his form of an excuse to look back at her, as if she was his fuel for the growing flame inside. A flame that he was sure had died years ago, one that had nothing to do with his will to live. Was it even the will to live? Or was a certain fear, the animalistic need to survive over joining the ranks of them?


Something burned inside Nate now, something that he was certain about. The will to live was there, and unlike before, he now had something worth living for.


This mindset kept him busy for quite a while, even when the sun finally rose past the horizon and shined in his eyes. After a few hours that went by relatively quickly in his opinion, Nate saw a neighborhood unfold before him.


He raised his forearm up in front of his eyes to get a better look at the houses below. Like the other neighborhoods he came across in the past, this one showed to be no different, housing no human life whatsoever from what he could see. But that was so typical now it didn’t even faze him.


Thankful of the throbbing pain that plagued his head fading into a dull thumping, he looked over at Ashlyn with considerably higher spirits. “Is this it?” He asked, gesturing lightly with his bandaged hand at the set of houses laid out beyond them.
 
Nate was rather quiet during the trip. However she realized he was wrapped up in his thoughts and so was she. Everything that was happening was new but for once it was exciting and brought good things. Rather then bad. It had only been 3 or 4 days since she had met Nate however, he had changed so much about her. A new found confidence showed itself in Ashlyn's body language. Though she was frail her shoulders were set back, chin high, and her eyes held a gleam of something like a competitive sprit.


Looking at him walk was facsinating. You could figure out a lot about a person by the way the moved and reacted to certain things. Soaking up every piece of information she questioned herself. Why did it matter? So, what?


She answered herself fairly quickly.


He matters. He is the only thing keeping me sane. And he makes me... happy.


Admiting it to herself was a strange feeling, like a confession almost. Even though she knew it was true, recognizing it was completely different. Emotions became more tangled and her face flushed red with thoughts of her feelings for Nate.


Thankfully Nate had spoken to break her train of thought. As soon as Nate asked the question Ashlyn was gone.


She was running towards a house that stood out among the rest, it was in the line with all of them however it sat on a noticeably larger plot of land and was much darker in it's paint scheme. Running to the front door she stood in front of it and exhaled heavily. Her lungs screamed at her for the sudden burst of motion however her happiness was unlike anything else.


"Come here Nate!" Her voice cracked, making her child-like tendancies show themselves in full fledge. Ashlyn was practically jumping with excitement. The scent was what got to her first. Faint and deteriorated wisps of her perfume, cleaner, carpet, and the detergent that they had used for so many years.


They.


During a majority of her trip the fact that her father had left her wasn't at the forefront of her mind. Refusing to let the well-known fact bring her down, she looked down the street. Locking her eyes with Nate she gave a smile, one that was all relief. Finally she could be clean again, she would heat up the water in the pan like she always did, over the propane stove. Wash her hair and wipe herself down with a hot towel. The idea was almost making her drool. Squirming impatiently she wanted nothing more then a new pair of clothes and to sit down on her bed. Feel her surroundings become familiar again and return to her own little safe haven.
 
Seeing Ashlyn whiz past him was a surprise, and in two seconds she was quite the distance from him. In those two seconds she left him blinking in bewilderment.


Holy crap, and I thought she was exhausted.


“Hey, hang on!” Shouting after her didn’t seem to alter her speed any, so with a small groan he chased after her. When he was a certain distance from her, Nate slowed his running down to a jog and watched Ashlyn up ahead. He took in her frame, her posture as she ran excitedly ahead, her red hair that practically glowed in the sunlight as it danced behind her.


Nate mentally kicked himself, this time visibly shaking his head with the expression of tasting something terrible etched on his face. At a time like this, his focus should’ve been on warm water to clean himself - because God knows how long ago he actually found the stuff to wash himself with - fresh clothes, and an actual bed to sleep in. Yet, here he was, losing himself at the sight of something completely unrelated…


Is that necessarily a bad thing?


Another forceful kick and he saw Ashlyn up ahead, standing on the porch of her supposed house. Stopping in his tracks to take in what kind of place the girl lived in, he had to give her and her father credit. Even though it was boarded up like every other house in the neighborhood, it didn’t seem to lose that at-home charm that every other home used to possess. Seeing a house in a condition like this, with busted windows and doors ripped off their hinges absent, was a rare sight indeed.


Remembering that he had the house key on him, Nate quickly made his way to Ashlyn’s side. He lifted the chain over his head with two sets of two fingers and handed the key back to it’s rightful owner.


“You know, in the state of things, your house looks nice. Looks like you and your Dad kept each other busy.” Taking a moment to analyze his surroundings, the scent of the house had reached his senses despite everything being closed off inside. It all reminded him of his own home in certain ways, a feeling of nostalgia that both raised his spirits and lowered them considerably, simultaneously splitting him in two.
 
Grabbing the key from him, she slid the key in to the lock. It felt right, like she was just coming home from school, and all was well. Hearing Nate's last statement she flinched. Trying to cover it up with a shaky chuckle she responded. "Yeah he did, we were always finding ways to make the house stronger, better, and better protected."


The door clicked open. Ashlyn pushed the door open and walked in as she had so many times before. Kicking her torn apart, dirtied, bloodied shoes she headed straight towards the kitchen. Her house sat on an open floor plan. Meaning there was no walls. The only thing that segregated each part of the house was the change in flooring. The kitched was directly to their right and all hardwood. To the left, carpet and the living room. In front of them stairs that lead up to a hall way that lay perpindicular to the stairs. To the left, Ashlyn's room, the right, her father's. Everything was decorated with black and white accesories. The only color visible was the few paintings that hung on the walls in the living room.


As she walked towards the cabinets, she called over her shoulder, "Welcome to my kingdom Princess. Lock the door on you're way in please!" Ashlyn found the pot and headed towards the living room. There was a propane stove siting on the only table in the room and Ashlyn wandered to the far wall by the window. Plucking a small propane canister out of one of the plastic bins it was in, she popped it neatly in place in to the stove. Taking a deep breath, she turned the nozzle to ignite the spark and release the propane.


Flame.


Smiling brightly Ashlyn ran to the back of the living room where another door lay. Unbolting it slowly, she opened the door a crack, just to make sure everything was clear. Once she was sure there was nothing she opened it and walked out. There was a small stream that ran through her back yard. Quickly filling the large pot with water she hurried back inside. Sloppily she put the pot on top of the stove, looking down she realized she had spilt about a fifth of the water on herself, but she didn't mind at all.


Throwing her jacket out the door she had came in and rebolting it, she wandered back to the front door, she imagined Nate was still there. Before she could actually see him she spoke, "I've started boiling some water already. I'll grab you a towel so you can clean yourself up. I'll bring shampoo and soap too." Her voice was alive, cheery, as if it were just a normal day. Feeling at home -literally - was a comfort Ashlyn hadn't appreciated when she left to go find a new place. Inhaling deeply, her nose welcoming the scent of her old life. "This really is my kindgom you know." Looking down her eyes had dimmed to satisfaction but the slightest hint of an unspoken sadness touched her eyes. Remembering everything before the outbreak always brought tears to Ashlyn's eye. Wiping at her eyes hastily, she returned to her full vibrancy.
 
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