*step step step*
âHurry, honey! Up here!â Diegoâs voice rang out to her through the alleyway. Bethany, heart racing, looked up and saw here sweetheart hanging out from a window, shirt half-torn and desperately trying to reach down. She ran as fast as she could, knowing the walkers were closing in behind her. The entire alley was pitch dark, even the moon was hidden behind a thick layer of clouds. Only Diego and the room behind him was lit up in the sea of darkness, almost literally a beacon of hope.
Sprinting, the only thing Bethany could think about how cold she was. So cold.
âFaster! They are⊠No!â Just as he said it, Bethany felt a cold hand grasping her shoulder. As a jolt and on impulse, she spun around and hit the thing square on the head with the baseball bat. It moaned a low sort of sigh as it fell on the ground. For just an instance, Bethany thought she recognized it. He had looked like Billy the Cameraman. There was no time to think about that though. She quickly made sure the bat was still firmly in her hand and continued running.
âYouâre nearly there! Please, hurry!â
*step step step*
It felt like she was slowing down, time coming to a halt. Every step was a lifetime, every breath she took possibly the last. Every grunt and every growl behind her was pure terror. Just as she thought she could no longer handle it, she came upon the building, Diego above her, just out of reach.
âUse the garbage cans,â he urged on. She did as she was told, narrowly avoiding an outstretched hand and jumping on the bins. She reached up and grasped for her love. A swirl of relief came over her as they connected and he pulled her up. When finally through the window, they hugged and then kissed. Bethany took in all of him as much as he could, smelling his familiar hint of spice, touching his smooth shoulder.
Reluctantly, she pushed away. âWe canât stay here long,â she said, âthey will surround the building within minutes.â
Diego grinned in his usual charming manner, âIâve already taken care of that, babe. Look.â He turned around and gestured at something in the other side of the room. She didnât see it, as something else caught her attention. Something truly horrific. Her stomach dropped, she had never felt such a shock in her life.
There was a large bite mark on Diegoâs lower back.
âDieâŠDiegoâŠâ she stammered, âHoney⊠Youâre bit!â
He turned back towards her and shrugged, as if it was nothing. âI know. Slight accident. Had to capture it, didnât I?â
What was he talking about? Bethanyâs head swirled. Why was he so nonchalant about it? He knew how the infection spread, didnât he? Only then she truly noticed what was grouched down in the corner. A walker, chained to the wall.
And it wasnât just any walker. It was that old woman they had met at the spa. Annabelle. Her eyes were bulging, angry but at the same time un-seeing. A trickle of blood had dried up against her scalp, rot had started to set in.
âBut⊠she was dead. The⊠the girl shot herâŠâ
âNot well enough, apparently,â Diego said conversationally, âshe surprised me too. Bit me. But at least she is are way out.â
âWay out?â Bethanyâs confusion continued to grow and with it, a suspicion began to dawn on her. âDiego? What are you talking about?â
âWell, she bit me. So, I was thinking, the only way for us to stay together is for her to bite you too.â
Bethany stared at him. He must be kidding. But the look in his face told her he wasnât. âHoney, are you insane!â
âJust think about it,â he said soothingly, âwe know Iâm going to turn. And I canât stand to stay away from you. You know that. I love you.â He gently held Bethany by the arm, bringing her to the dead old woman chained to the wall.
âDiego, no⊠pleaseâŠâ she whimpered. She wanted to get away. Get out of the room. But it was Diego. SheâŠ
âIt will be over soon, honey. Come.â
Annabelle looked up at her, hungrily. She snarled and snapped. As if in a trance, Bethany walked towards her. Diego helped her reach out with her hand.
Annabelle bit.
Bethany screamed.
Bethany woke.
--
Gasping for air, Bethany bolted up from their make-shift bed. Diego was standing at the door, and turned to her in surprise.
âAh, youâre awake,â he said pleasantly.
A dream. It was just a dream. Bethany tried to compose herself, but that was more difficult than usual. It had felt so real.
Diego, knowing her so well, instantly noticed something was wrong. âWhat is it, Beth? Didnât sleep well?â
âBad dream,â she admitted. "Remember Billy the Cameraman?"
"Join-In Billy? That would be a bad dream indeed. Little pervert. Wonder what became of him?"
She tried to straighten her hair with her hands. Where was her comb?
As the true gentleman he could be, he sat down next to her and held her in his arms. Then, as if he knew what she had been thinking, he was combing her hair. Others, she would never let them see this side of her. But with him, just him, she allowed herself to relax.
Not for too long though.
âItâs late,â she said. She had noticed that the sun had already risen quite high.
âI let you sleep in.â
âWhy? We had decided to leave today! I need toâŠâ
âShhh, the others agreed with me. Youâve been awake non-stop the last three days, caring for all of us. You must have been exhausted.â
That was true. She had tried to be there for all the others, even though they were complete strangers to her. Especially Jessica had relied so much on her. Bethany didnât really know why, but the grieving mother had decided it was only Bethany she would speak to that first day. Even in amazement to herself, Bethany hadnât minded helping the poor woman out.
âYou know,â Diego joked, âI quite like seeing this nurturing side of you.â
âYeah, well, donât get used to it. Where are the others?â
Diego looked out of the window. âGeorge has already left.â
Of course he has, Bethany thought to herself.
âRafiq, Wayne, Tara and Lisa went to check on the metro entrance to see if it was even doable. They will be back soon.â
âAll four of them? Then who is guarding the place?â
âAlthea. The girl. And⊠JessâŠâ
That surprised her. Jessica hadnât done or said much in the last few days. Not that anybody had really blamed her. On that first day, Bethany had feared the woman might not even recover, having apparently lost all will to live. Thankfully, that had not been the case. Jessica was stronger than she looked. During the meeting last evening, she had only spoken once, but from what she had said, it was clear she had not given up yet. In a short and clear manner, she had expressed her wishes to find the others of their group.
That had brokered no argument from anyone else. Not even Bethany and Diego, who didnât know these others. Bethany had found it very strange that it took the end of the world for her to start caring about other people again, but there it was. For such a long time, it had only been her and Diego. In a weird way, it was nice to be part of something larger. Bethany felt as if she had found something again that she had lost so long ago.
It was a fragile feeling though. One comment, one act, one betrayal, and it could be lost again. Forever.
The two small backpacks were standing in the corner of the room. They had all agreed that they needed to move quickly and thus pack light. It had taken them the better part of the evening the select and distribute the bare essentials, but the exercise had lifted everyoneâs spirit somewhat. It felt good to have something to look forward to.
âYou packed⊠everything?â Bethany asked her lover. She could see him tense just slightly, others would probably not even have noticed. He knew what she was referring to. The cocaine they had taken back from Wayne and Rafiq.
â Beth⊠Yes, you know IâŠâ
âItâs alright. You just need to tell me these things.â
â I know. Iâm sorry.â He kissed her on the forehead. Bethany knew he had used some of it over the last few days and had tried to hide it from her. That fact had bothered her more than the use of the stuff itself, but she also knew that it could help relief his own grief and pain.
Better that then sleeping with the cute Arab boy, she thought. The friendship between Diego and Rafiq had developed quickly and Bethany knew that Diego found him attractive. He had told her so.
Youâre just being paranoid, Beth. Rafiq is not even interested.
Diego stood up and picked up the backpacks, ready to leave the room. âYouâre coming?â
âIn a sec,â she said. Bethany waited until he had left, then left the room as well. She walked through the hallway that was so familiar to her, but not feeling even a hint of sadness that she would have to leave her spa behind for good. Her heart was never really into the place after all.
She opened the door of the room she had purposefully walked to. She had half expected to find Jessica inside, lovingly caressing the face of her son through the linen cloth, but the room was empty save for the two bodies. Bethany knew that the dream had made her come here and that she was being ridiculous.
Annabelle had been laid to rest on one of the massage tables, covered with a cloth, just like Sam was. Annabelleâs Bible had been placed at where the womanâs hands were. It was laid open for a specific passage. One of the women had chosen and marked it, though Bethany did not know who.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
Bethany walked over to where Annabelleâs head was and uncovered it. The dead womanâs face different from how it had been in her dream. The gunshot wound was larger and messier, exposing a large part of her head. The lower part of the face had been torn apart by the boy, who had continued chomping on the poor womanâs face even after Lily had shot her. Annabelle was truly dead. There was no way she was coming back.
It didnât make Bethany feel much better.
She put the cloth back in its place, trying to make it as presentable as possible. Her thoughts lingered on Lily, wondering what they were supposed to do with her. In retrospect, the girl had been right, though the execution of it had still been⊠poorly. Everyone felt uncomfortable around her, not sure how to deal with her. The girl wanted to be treated like an adult, that much was apparent.
As far as Bethany was concerned, Lily could get what she wanted. In terms of survival, it was better if the girl grew up anyway and became responsible for her own actions. The others clearly werenât ready to embrace that idea yet though and Bethany had decided to leave the matter in their hands.
âThere you are,â Diegoâs head popped in from the hallway. âWhat are you doing in here?â
Bethany blinked and looked up at him. She cursed inwardly, as it was so unlike her to get lost in thought like that. She gave Diego a wry smile.
âJust saying goodbye, I suppose. What is it?â
âThe others have come back,â he said and made a face. âAnd it doesnât seem like good news.â
Of course it wasnât.
She followed Diego out of the room, ready to leave this place for good.