Necropolis

Day 8. 8:50 am. Bernard.

“Hey guys, need any help?” Dave got up and walked over to them, hands in his pockets. The remnants of tears lingered on his face, and Jamie looked away.

Dave wasn’t an easy person to look at. He was dishevelled, but not any more than everybody else was. His ginger hair was flattened down over his head, rather than the spikes which had covered it when they first met, but this was the same with all of them. Dave, however, was scruffy on the inside. The last week had played his feelings like a harp, and now his emotions were exhausted.

Now, thought Bernard, is the time to talk.

He smiled. “Not at the moment, Dave. But, would you like to take a walk with me?” Dave met his gaze and Bernard nodded off into the depths of the store. They set off. Bernard was a stranger to psychology, but then so was Dave. They were equal in their ignorance.

Walking over he began, “She was my world...”

Bernard sighed and forced his battered memories of Bethany to surface. They did and the brought back the pain he thought he'd locked away. “Life isn't fair, Dave. It's a cruel master to serve. We can try our best, and still the tragedies happen.”

Looking at him incredoulously he answered, “Yes... so says the boy who had everything he wanted. No, I was orphaned, imprisoned, now the last fucking survivor of a town gone insane. Life is cruel for me! For ya, you had it all!”

He tried not to smile at the preconception. Of course, all doctors were spoilt, rich, super humans! They weren’t bullied as children because they weren’t good at sport! They weren’t the butt of every joke because they were still brought to school by their mums at the age of 13!

Dave knew nothing, but Bernard knew that actors must play their parts.

“And look where it got me, Dave.” Bernard gestured at the surroundings. It was dark, and cold, and there was no one coming to rescue them. “Do you think that any of that can help me here? We’re equal. We’re in this together. And, we need to keep ourselves together.”

Looking around, Dave gasped when he saw Keri by the bins where they had thrown away their underwear. Crying out in pain he gazed mournfully at it. Bernard tapped him on the shoulder bringing him back, “Well, Dave... the cards are on the table...”

“I might have been a father.”

It took a while for him to work out what Dave meant.

Day 8. 9:25. Jamie.

Jamie watched Dave and Bernard talking , and began to wander. Over the past week, it had seemed as though there had always been something that needed doing. He hadn't been able to get a moment to himself.

He walked through the aisles, oblivious as to where he was going. He had been watching Dave all week, afraid that he'd do something stupid, but nothing had happened yet. Maybe nothing will happen. You just need something to worry about so you don't go insane.

Jamie shook his head to rid himself of the thought, and sighed. He thought of his sister, off at some fancy boarding school, and wished that she was with him. He immediately took the thought back. I wouldn't wish this on anybody, even if I do miss her. He wondered if what had happened was on the news, and if she thought he was dead already.

He sat down on the floor, and put his head in his hands. Things were different now, and he couldn't take them back to the way they had been. Still, he felt lost. It was as if he still couldn't comprehend the shift in situation, even as his old life began to seem an eternity ago. It wasn't that long ago, was it? Jamie was horrified to find that he couldn't remember. His memories were already beginning to dull.

Jamie shivered. It was always so cold now. Just another thing that he couldn't control. His own life had been taken out of his hands, and now all he could do was watch.

He continued to think, but after some time, he was distracted by a voice. "Hey, are you all right?"

Jamie looked up to see Bernard standing close to him. "Yeah. I'm all right. I just needed some time to - I don't know. It still doesn't feel real, you know?"

Bernard smiled. "I know. Tell me if there's anything wrong. We need everyone to keep it together now, even more than we did before."

Jamie nodded, and stood. "Okay. I think I'm ready to go back now. I just needed to get away for a bit."

"Good. We need to keep watching Dave, anyway. I'm still worried about him."

The two of them began to walk away, but Jamie couldn't shake thoughts of his helplessness, and how much he missed his old, boring life.

Sorry if this post is a bit messy and short, but we needed one. xD If there's anything I need to fix, just tell me.

Day 8 Dave 9:10 am

"Well --the chance-- the probability, of contraception on only one occasion of intercourse is negligible. I mean, it’s unlikely that it was exactly the right time of the month when Keri was at her most fertile so, logically--"

"What the fuck?! I thought we were talking about pregnancy..."

"Dave," he said, his face creased in the pain he must have felt, "I didn't realise you were so close to her."

"I've known her since I was kid basically. Kids like us are kicked around Orphanages, so we stuck together."

Saying this he remembered these moments, so much had changed. Before fall out they'd first made love after their High School Prom. Some ass hole had tried to hurt her. Ignoring conquences he snapped the bastard hand. It was when she kissed him he knew.

The intensity in Bernard's eyes wavered. "I never had anyone like that. Not one true friend, or a true lover." Bernard sighed. "You're a lucky man, Dave."

This was confusing, how could he had a better life than Bernard. Here was a man who had everything, yet had nothing.

That night he and Keri had let all secrets in friendship loose. He remembered thinking that night, it was as if their bodies been waiting for them to commence the ritual.

"... Had... But what you say, makes it sound like I had better life than ya?"

"I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

A man called Tennyson wrote that 150 years ago. And he's right. You had moments of pure happiness, didn't you?" Bernard didn't speak accusingly or in the tones of a psychologist. He spoke from the heart, and it was impossible for Dave to miss this.

After they'd finished he laid in awes of her splendid form. It wasn't like a first to either of them. Their friendship hadn't ended and Keri had whispered, "Thank you Dave, I love ya... How many times will you save me. My Knight in copper armour, but still completly effective. If not more."

"Certainly he was wise, and I've been remembering. Though our lives so different. I guessed you had it all. I realize I was wrong. Even when I did try to better myself, discrimination affected me greatly. Always the guy who shouldn't even be inside the College. The orphanage. She never stopped believing in me..."

"Dave..." Bernard looked at him in awe. He'd been through so much. "A new world has been born. Everyone is equal in this struggle against these creatures. We're living in a world where the only thing holding us back is our own pre-conceptions of who we are. You should believe in yourself. You still have so much to offer to this world. Now's your chance."

Near the end of it all. Dave had just lay with Keri and she snuggled against him. It wasn't a time to speak. He looked at her lovingly, kissing her gently. She kissed back. The sensation he had was just amazing. Then before he closed his eyes he murmered, "Thank ya Keri, thanks so much."

"I want a favour, I promised to Keri I'd make sure that this wasn't swept under the rug. This crime. All this death. Someone with your stature surely could be an asset."

"Of course, Dave. We'll all pull together to do this. You don't have to be alone in your fight." Bernard smiled. "All you have to do is let us help you. Don't bottle up your feelings. Now, more than ever, we need to form a smooth running team. Will you help us with that?"

He nodded, "I'm going to see if I can work one of these DVD players in here. I was wrong to assume about ya. And thanks..."

"Well, I am the doctor. It's the least I can do." Bernard nodded and walked away.
----------------
Now playing: Jekyll & Hyde The Musical - Confrontation
via FoxyTunes

Day 8. 9:15am. Kevin

Somehow he'd drifted off to sleep. Maybe it was sheer exhaustion. Maybe it was just boredom. But it happened.

He was dealing out a of five card stud to Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde (Clyde got ripped off--Kevin made sure to deal him a garbled mixed suit, mixed number hand). He looked down at his cards and let the hand play out in his mind: Blinky would raise high, a bluff, then Pinky would fold with his pair of twos, while Inky would match Blinky (he had three of a kind--Kings), and Clyde would throw his cards down in disgust. Kevin would sit with his ever-present (but never seen, of late) smirk, his 5-10 straight flush grinning at him from his hand. It would go back and forth between Blinky and Inky, each one upping the ante toout-play the other, with Kevin casually checking each round. Eventually Blinky would call, the cards would be revealed, and Kevin's smirk wouldn't even falter as he reached for the chips--

Kevin caught himself as his hand physically reached out to pull the phantom poker chips toward him.

You're losin' it, Kevster.

He blinked once and gathered the cards back into his hands, shuffling them expertly as he had been trained to do working at the casino those years ago. He felt each card keenly, counting them and sifting each Jack perfectly back into place as he moved to deal out another hand: this time Blinky would get the four of a kind. Kevin would bet low, call early, for Inky and Pinky would both drop out with their awful hands, and Clyde, as always, would marvel at his horrible luck. Kevin's smirk would stay in place even as the cards were revealed and his pair of Aces lost to Blinky's four Jacks--

Kevin flipped Blinky's cards over. Two Jacks, one Queen, one Eight. Mixed suits, all.

Can't even deal anymore, kiddo.

He dropped the four cards back onto the comforter of his bed and began to reshuffle, but paused. He looked out into the center of Costco, hoping for once to catch a glimpse of someone familiar. Elaina, Joanna, Mev ...someone. But no one passed. They were coming less and less, as time passed. He looked back down at the cards in his hands and then leaned against the pillows he'd placed to keep him propped up.

Kevin let his mind rest.

Just for a second.

And Cameron is dead. Again. And again. Over and over. Every night, night after night.

Warm speckles of blood hit Kevin’s cheek, stinging his right eye and partially blinding him. Before hew can begin to understand the situation, he is hit from his blind side and roughly thrown to the ground. The gravel sinks into his palms like broken glass, drawing blood. He grits his teeth and growls the pain away. He presses his palms against the gravel, trying to push himself to his feet–until a second cop drops him back to the curb with a swift elbow to the back of his neck. Suddenly he is lying flat on his stomach, his chin scraping painfully against the ground. The first cop roughly seizes his wrist and wrenches it behind his back–but Kevin doesn’t feel any of it. His attention is fully captured by the bloody, writhing hand that is rising from the ditch on the side of the road. The nails are broken and bloody. One finger is bent backward at an impossible angle. Even as the cold steel of the cop’s handcuffs tightens around first one wrist, then the other, Kevin’s gaze is focused on the hand as it rises from its impromptu grave, the fingertips gripping lazily at the lip of the ditch.

His own hands securely bound, Kevin is hauled to his feet. He offers no resistance. What is this? All at once, sound ceases to exist. Kevin steals a glance away from the hand, toward the cop pushing him toward the squad car. The man’s face is hardened into a mask of disgust and determination, and his lips wrap around words that any American child born in the ‘90s knows by heart. “–right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney...”

No sound issued from his mouth. Spittle flew after every third word, and his tongue flickered behind yellow teeth, but he spoke no words. Looking beyond the officer as he read him his rights, Kevin sees another man, the cop who had yelled into the bullhorn, talking into the dash mounted radio of his black and white. His voice, however, goes unheard. Even from this distance, Kevin knows he should be able to hear the man’s voice. He looks down at his Adidas. He is dragging his feet, disturbing gravel and sending up small clouds of dust every which way. And yet the sliding gravel, and the rubber soles of his shoes against that gravel, was as soundless as a corpse in a grave. There was no wind, no sounds of idling engines, no crackling of radios. Silence. Utter silence.

And still, the hand continues to rise.

A joint effort between TN and myself. Many thanks for all the help with dialogue, dear xx

Katalyn

Katalyn stared at the words, attempting to absorb them but she'd never been a fan of reading and they were giving her a headache. She sighed loudly and launched the book to the far side of the tent, not caring that it landed half open, the pages instantly creased. She was done with it anyway.

Kat strode out of the tent and wandered aimlessly between the aisles of shelves. She knew she couldn't go too far from the camp and she found she didn't want to. What she really wanted was a reasonable conversation which immediately eliminated half of the group.

“Hey, hey wait... Velna isn't it?” Kat called as she spotted the small girl scrambling across the rafters. Velna paused and peered down. “Hello. How are you?”

Velna looked down at the lady and frowned, "I'm alive," she replied. "That is as good as it gets at the moment."

Kat wasn't sure how to respond. At first, she looked away, her thoughts drawn towards those who weren't alive. Louis. Could I have saved you Louis, if Kev hadn't... but she couldn't face those thoughts. Not yet. "Maybe there's things worse than death though," Kat replied. "And at least we're not alone, right?"

Velna shrugged, "Being alone isn't that bad, you only have yourself to worry about. You lose someone to the zombies?"

Katalyn was astonished by the question and unconsciously wrapped her arms around her body. "Yeah, I... I lost two good friends. Did you lose anyone?”

"Never had anyone to lose." Velna replied bitterly, "Guess I'm lucky that way."

"I don't think that's lucky. It must have been awful living here on your own. What will you do when all this is over?"

"Nothing new." She replied sitting on the rafter. "The state will probably find me and put me in a new home. Who knows."

"A new home? Then you must have had one before this... I'm sorry. You'd probably rather not speak about it..."

"I don't care, it was a foster home, what's to talk about it?" She asked, "I've been moved from one house to another my whole life. It's nothing new."

Velna looked down at the lady. She better not try and make things ‘better’. Every adult tried to make things better. They never understood how foster homes really were. Velna had gotten the worst of the worst to and that didn’t help her opinion on people very much.

"Oh. Well I've moved country," Kat responded with a vague smile. "I'm starting to think it wasn't a good idea."

“That isn’t that hard to figure out. I still don’t understand how this happened in the first place. I mean, zombies, those are story tales, not reality.” Velna replied looking around the store. She didn’t know why she was even still talking to this lady. She was bored though and she had nothing better to do.

"I haven't really thought about it," Katalyn admitted. "I never was too good at thinking but I suppose it is very strange. I wonder how far it has spread."

“I doubt it is out of the city, from what I’ve heard said there is no way out alive.” She moved her feet back and forth. “As long as we get out of here I’ll be happy.”

Suddenly, Katalyn began to cry very softly, the tears running freely down her face. Velna looked at her surprised, why was she crying. "There's a barricade," she said. "They shoot anyone who tries to pass."

“That how your friend died?” She asked, she didn’t exactly care though. What happened to others that didn’t affect her didn’t matter to her. She would act a little nice though.

Kat nodded. "Mike thought they wouldn't shoot him if he made it clear he was human..."

“And they shot him.” Velna finished for her. “And you are surprised?” Velna shook her head in disgust, “It’s the government, they have no hearts, they have no brains.”

"It doesn't matter now. What's important is surviving and making sure the others didn't die in vain." Velna raised her eyebrow looking down at the lady.

“What’s important is taking care of yourself and staying alive.” She replied, “Always look out for number one, and you’ll survive.”

Katalyn blinked in surprise. "Do you really mean that," she asked. "If Louis hadn't protected me, I'd not be alive now. And if Kev hadn't... well, I owe Kev too in a way."

“Course I believe that.” Velna replied, “Why worry about other people when they are just going to let you down. The second you start trusting someone and caring is the second their going to take off and leave you, or when their gonna hurt you. Why put yourself through the pain when you can keep from it happening at all.”

"I think you've had some bad experiences with people but it's not like that. If we don't have trust and friendship then we have nothing." Katalyn's voice took on a new strength as she spoke and the tears could not diminish her words.

“Some?” Velna laughed, “The only thing I’ve seen of people is what I’ve described, you can’t trust anyone let alone worry about them more then yourself. If you take care of yourself you always know you don’t have to worry about being stabbed in the back or abandoned.” She glared at the lady a little. She didn’t know anything! She was just like everyone else, tryng to make it better when she knew nothing.

"If you care so little then why tell me this?" Katalyn turned away. "I'm thirsty," she said. "And I don't think you've had breakfast. Why don't you come back with me?"

“Fine.” She replied walked to the poll and slid down. She walked after the lady.

Elaina. Day 8. 09:20.

I'd been spending too much time indoors.

It was a sensation I'd experienced only when I first entered college, when I was spending long hours inside the library in the afternoons and missing out on sunlight and fresh, non-climate controlled air. I felt light-headed and irritable and stiff all over, like I hadn't been moving enough. That wasn't true, though; we'd all kept as busy as we could each day we'd been trapped inside the Costco.

Grumbling to myself, I gave only an irritable wave while passing several of the others, intent on finding Bernard.

He was by himself when I found him, but I didn't wait long enough to determine what he was doing before speaking. "Medico," I said, reverting to Spanish without thinking about it. "Doc," I corrected, then, finally, "Bernard. I need your help."

I stopped in front of him, both hands on my hips. "I'm going crazy being locked up in here. The headaches are worse. Can you do anything?"

He studied my face critically. "You're flushed. Are you feverish?"

"Beats the hell out of me," I said irritably. "You should know. You're the one with the medical degree."

"Drinking water?"

"Ounces and ounces."

"And urinating regularly?"

"Como un perro."

He almost smiled, and it set me off for no reason other than simple jealousy that he could smile and I couldn't. "I have to get out of here," I hissed, dropping my voice and moving closer. "You don't understand." I jabbed him in the chest with two fingers. "Do something. For God's sake, aren't you the one who's supposed to be able to fix anything?"

Day 8 9:40pm Dave

Winding through the stacks he hunted around for electronic area. The dark didn't exactly help either, but after reading Keri letter he was willing to ignore it. It was amazing how quiet this place was. Then again it was huge and there were only a few of them.

He came to an area selling cameras. Looking around, merely inbuilt instinct rather than fear--as obviously no one was going to catch him.

Quickly he took one down and squinted to see what it was.

Olympus FE-310

It was better than nothing. Not like he wanted a big bulky Nikon camera. The main purpose was to get proof.

Tearing open the packaging he admired it briefly. The rush entered though why he had no clue. It wasn't as if he'd get caught.

A thought struck him. A radio yeh perfect now he just needed to find one.

Looking around, he bit his lip. How on earth he was going to get back... he could try messing with trasformer to get lights back on.

NO! She's dead... and hiding behind selfless acts, won't bring her back

Ignoring his mind he began to hunt for radios. The shiny and sleek models, pretty but not worth bothering with. Then the big ones on Steroes, exellent models but not convenient. Lastly he came to smaller radios.

Not caring, he picked up a random one and shoved in his pockets. Now DVD or trasformer first.

Hmm... what to do... what to do?

----------------
Listening to: Wicked - Wonderful
via FoxyTunes

Day 1. 9:17am. Kevin.

“Kevin.”

His eyes opened slowly. He looked around a moment, searching for his savior from his nightmares. He peered into the his surroundings, but could not find the speaker. His eyebrows narrowed and he opened his mouth to call to them. Before he could say a word, though, Kat spoke again and stepped out from behind a shelf.

“We need to talk, okay?”

Kevin sighed and laid his head back down on the pillow. “What do you want?”

“To talk,” she repeated more firmly. She bit off her sentence and took a breath, then met his gaze. “When we met, and you...”

Kevin blinked. Wonderful. Another sob story. She let out a choked cry and Kevin almost smirked. Of course it was.

“When we met and you killed Louis, what were you thinking?”

Kevin closed his eyes and turned his head, unable to meet her eyes.

“I didn’t kill your boyfriend.”

She took a step forward. “No, you killed my manager and my friend. He could have lived a little longer, he could have been saved...”

Kevin sighed and looked back at her again with renewed annoyance. “Look sweetheart, your ‘friend’ would’ve bitten your face off if he’d gotten close enough. And I sure as hell wouldn’t want your pretty little face to get gnawed on by a–a zombie.”

“He was fighting it!” She said angrily. “He saved my life just a little bit before, and he could’ve pulled through! He could have...you didn’t even care. You just shot him. You even said you didn’t care.”

Kevin knew that before all this started he would have jumped out of bed and been in her face before the words even left her mouth. But he was tired. Tired of playing the sociopath. Tired of the apathy. Tired of the life he had grown to live.

“I...” He looked down at his hands, which clenched almost involuntarily into fists. The anger had become a part of him. Then his features sharpened and he looked back up at her. The familiar, uncaring stare had returned to his face. “You’re right. I don’t.”

She clenched her fists and stormed up to his bedside, her eyes raging. “You’re so selfish. You act is if you're in control of the situation, looking out for everyone but all you really care about is yourself. Oh sure you keep a few of us around, for company, to bait the zombies with while you make your escape but you're just... just a murderer.”

He didn’t even bother to put a sneer on his face, or let the snide drawl crawl into his voice. “Not as bait. I don’t need bait. I can run just fine. I just like to stare at all the tits and ass wandering around here lately.”

Her lip curled in outrage and she pulled her hand back for a slap. Kevin stared up at her, his expression emotionless. Half of him wished she was holding a weapon. Her arm hung motionless for a moment, then she let it fall to her side and she turned away in disgust, her eyes tearing up.

“I hope they bite you. And when they do...here’s one girl who’s not afraid to blow your fucking head off.”

Kevin smirked. “Glad one of you pussies has a backbone.” Pulling a card from the deck of cards he kept nearby at all times, he flicked it at her, snapping his wrist at the end to give the card proper spin an trajectory. It hit her high on her right shoulder and fell to the ground, landing face up on the white tile: The Queen of Diamonds.

He watched her walk away, and eventually closed his eyes once more.

Day 8. 9:22am. Joanna.

Jo had been awake for hours, though she had barely spoken. She was tired of playing leader. The group went through their daily routines almost automatically now, but they still looked to her and Kevin for simple things, like what they should do in their spare time or what they should have for breakfast. “Whatever you feel like eating,” she had growled today. She wasn’t their mother. The suggestion of soup didn’t sound appetizing to her, however, so she opted for her usual bagel. Wasn't toasted, but she didn’t mind. It was food, and it gave her energy.

She walked around, keeping her eye on everyone who was there. She no longer panicked when people left the group; every man for himself. Dave could rarely be found, but she gave him extra slack: while she had never been particularly fond of him, she was not one to belittle loss. Kat had cut down on the primping and preening, but the vanity remained there nonetheless, and Joanna did her best to ignore it. Go ahead, look pretty for your deathbed.

Her rounds brought her over to Kevin’s side of the store. She thought she saw Mev walking away, but she wasn’t sure. He rarely interacted with the group anymore, and she could see how it was affecting Kevin. While the two may not have been best friends, they were nonetheless good companions, and friendship had never been so valuable before now.

Joanna almost looked away when Kev’s bed came into view. She hated seeing what he had become. Bedridden and stripped of power, he no longer barked orders. Mostly, he stared into space, fidgeting with a deck of cards. Sometimes he slept, sometimes he just sat there. He had become a shell, an impenetrable fortress, and had blocked everyone -- including Jo -- out.

As she passed by, she noticed the growing pile of beer bottles by his bed. They had all made an effort to keep the store clean, and she supposed she couldn’t blame him if he couldn’t move, but she was disgusted all the same. Looks like Elaina hasn’t been here recently to clean up after him. Sighing, she figured she had nothing else to do, and she walked over to his bed and began picking up the bottles. Disgusting, she thought. Her father's face appeared in her mind, and she remembered how alcohol had destroyed their family. And here was Kevin, dealing with his problems in the same way -- by drowning them out with the buzz of beer. He'll drink himself to death, she thought bitterly. Just like your father, if he hasn't already been attacked...

She brushed away the thought immediately, refusing to dwell on it. But some part of the fear still lingered in her. Yes, they were in a relative fortress, and hadn't seen any zombies in the past week. But it only took one bite. And if somehow the zombies got inside when they weren't prepared... She found herself staring at a few cards that had dropped off the bed, and she picked them up, putting them back into the deck next to his hand.

Jo watched Kevin in his sleep. His breathing fell into an even rhythm, and she could almost see the little boy in him; the rough edge was smoothed, the gruff lines polished. He shifted slightly, and Jo picked up another bottle, in case he woke up and wondered why she was staring at him. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. As frustrated as she was with him, she owed him her life. He had done more for the group and for her than she had ever expected, and she found that almost excused his behavior now. He can't be strong forever...

He twitched slightly, and she realized he must be dreaming. A small smile came to her lips: she loved watching people dream, loved wondering what was going on in their minds. She had a lot of fun in her psychology class, and now tried to remember what she knew about dreams. Freud's theories-on-crack were rarely given credit anymore, and she knew of others, but couldn't recall specifics. She did know that REM sleep, the time when one dreams, was considered a lighter form of sleep: the brain showed activity similar to wakefulness. She was careful to collect the bottles quietly so she wouldn't disturb him.

He cried out. It was muffled, a sort of strangled cry, but a cry nonetheless, and it got her attention immediately. She slowly set the bottles down, watching him carefully. He cried again, and jerked, and immediately she was right there by him, stroking his hair and telling him it would be okay. He twitched a few more times, then settled down, breathing rapidly, eyes still closed. Leaning over him, Jo kissed his forehead softly, running her fingers lightly down his arms. He shifted in his sleep. She smiled sadly. “Poor thing... never truly able to escape these nightmares. I think they affect you most out of all of us.” Her fingers continued tracing his skin as she thought.

"You got us through all of this. I don't know how you did it, kid. How you went from being the first-class asshole to taking charge and taking responsibility, how you managed to protect us, how you even made it back here with such a bad injury... How you won my respect." She bit her lip. "My respect and my admiration. You're not a bad guy, Kev."

Still lost in thought, she began examining the various wounds on his arms. He had been cut up, bruised, and scraped, and she wondered if Bernard had any neosporin before remembering where they were. They probably have ten different kinds, she thought. Her fingers moved down his arms to his wrists, and she started to get up to grab some of the ointment when she felt a large wound on his gun hand.

"What now, Kevin?" she groaned, thinking he had been messing around with firearms again. Gently, she turned his wrist over -- and froze.

She stared in confusion, until the memory of what happened in the offices flooded back. A group of zombies inched closer... One grabbed his wrist... But it didn’t bite him! ...Did it? She ran her fingers over the rough wound, examining it closely, her breath quickening.

It could be nothing else: it was a bite.

Jo yelped, bringing her hand to her mouth, and jumped to her feet. No! She couldn't move. They needed him, she needed him! He couldn’t...

We'll find a cure, Bernard will come up with something and he'll be okay and he won't turn and...

She knew it was no use. If he turned, they'd all be dead. His injury wasn't likely to hinder him much. If it didn't while he was alive...

He's still alive, she scolded herself. But why hadn't he turned? That was a week ago... though he had been acting strange lately...

She had to do it. To save them, and to put him out of his misery... there was no choice.

Blinking back tears and swallowing painfully, she carefully removed his pistol from the holster.

He stirred.

She hesitated, biting her lip and letting a couple tears roll down her cheeks. There is no other way... “I-I love you, Kevin,” she whispered, then kissed his lips gently. She pulled the slide back, checking the breach to make sure it was loaded, then eased it back into place. Inhaling sharply, she held her breath and closed her eyes a moment, then leveled the gun at Kevin's head. "I'm sorry..." She squeezed the trigger until the hammer was fully exposed, then let her breath out hopelessly and pulled the trigger flush to the frame.

Click.

She stared at the gun a moment, mortified. Then she looked past it, Kevin's face coming into focus. His eyes were open, his lids heavy.

"Didn't know you cared."

She stammered a moment, unable to find words. “You--You're bitten, Kev,” she whimpered, not taking the gun off him. “On your wrist. I couldn’t... couldn’t let you go through that...”

He held his hand out to her, palm up. She hesitated, and he jerked his fingers impatiently, silently asking for the gun. She handed it to him, barrel first, and he flipped it around proficiently. “Thanks, Princess, I hadn't noticed.” He pulled the slide back, ejecting the cartridge and snatching it out of the air. She frantically wiped away her tears, watching as he turned the bullet over in his fingers, inspecting it carefully. "Guess I'm bulletproof." He tossed the bullet to her and she fumbled it a moment. "Shame." He turned the gun over his hands and held it back out to her, butt first. "Hold on to this for me."

She looked at him in confused disgust. Without taking the gun, she spun on her heels and started walking away. A card flipped past her, landing a few feet ahead, and she glanced at it. The Ace of Hearts.

"Fuck you," she said, and continued walking.

Day 8. 9:25am. Bernard.

Medico, just medico. That would be so much simpler.

"Well?" Elaina persisted in a tone that was difficult to avoid. "Doctor?"

Bernard smiled. A full smile. It grew slowly from the corners of his mouth and spread inwards to reveal perfect teeth. The situation hadn't managed to take away his brace work, thank God. The simple act infuriated Elaina, but Bernard figured a little emotion would do her the world of good.

"You need to get out, huh?" he asked, playing the fool for a moment. That would surely provoke something.

She clasped her head in exasperation. "I did just say that," she said, replacing her hands on her hips, "didn't I?"

Bernard nodded. And now the punchline... "So go get some," he said. Her eyebrow managed to raise almost under her fringe before she realised the simplicity of the solution. The frown came seconds later.

"Are you trying to get me killed?"

"Not at all. You can run, so outrun the zombies. I'll come as well," he said, nodding towards the exit to the streets, "I could do with a run." Elaina's eyes opened wide. Yet still she paused, searching for reasons not to go, but it was too later. The temptation of proper exercise was irresistible.

"But, what if anyone in here needs you?" she asked in a last-ditch attempt at rationality.

Bah, thought Bernard, what could possibly happen in Costco while I'm away? Everything looks ok at the moment...

"No-one really needs me here. You wanna clear your head or not?" Bernard delivered the ultimatum and grinned again as Elaina caved in.

"I trust you, medico," she said, the beginnings of a smile balanced on the edge of her lips.

"Thank God someone does."

Day 8. 9:22am. Velna.

Velna slipped way from the other girl and towards where Kev was. She had heard some bickering over there. She listened to the conversation. When Jo left she looked at Kev and stepped out of her hiding place. "That went well." She said crossing her arms and looking at him. He looked over at her and raised his hand his middle finger sticking up lazily. Velna laughed, "You'll burn in hell before I will."

"What do you want, Velna?" He demanded looking at her and letting his hand go back to messing with the cards in his hands.

"Let me think, everyone to die." She smiled a little. "But seriously, something to do. These people are annoying and boring."

He slowly started to shuffle the cards then he looked back up at her. "You play cards, kid?"

"Yup, I haven't played in a while, but I play." She said, "What game?"

"Whatever." He said bluntly, he started to deal the cards out and she sat on the bed across from him watching him deal the out. She picked up the pile in front of her then looked over at him.

"What are we playin?" She asked shuffling the cards in her hands. She wouldn't look at them until she knew what they were playing sense in some games you weren't supposed to look at your cards.

Day 8. 9:35. Jamie.

Jamie stood by Costco's doors, staring at nothing in particular. His shift had started at half past, and already he was bored. It's all right, he told himself. You've only got another... He looked at his watch. One hour and fifty five minutes? Shit.

He passed his time by staring at his watch, and seeing how many seconds passed before he would lose count, and start over again. In his mind, he went over a list of the people he could be talking to. Anne? No. All she seemed to do was stay in her tent lately. And Dave had started to withdraw into himself, even more so than when Keri had first died. He spent much of his time roaming the aisles, his thoughts impenetrable.

Eventually, he heard the sound of footsteps coming towards him. He looked up to see Bernard and Elaina walking towards him, and he grinned. "Hey, guys. Come to talk to me? About time. Is there anything more boring than guard duty?"

"Well, you could try learning the names of every bone in the hand..."

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Right now, that could be a welcome distraction."

Bernard nodded and pointed to his right hand. "Distal phalange, medial phalange, proximal phalange, metacarpal, carpal, radius, ulna!"

After a moment he added, "Now the bones in the arm!"

"Oh, no, never mind! I've had enough fun from that, I think." He shook his head. "You must have had a lot of fun learning that."

"I need it. It's that knowledge that allows me to help people." He glanced at Elaina. "And what this woman needs is some fresh air. I'm going to take her for a run, okay?"

Jamie stared at the two of them. It took a few seconds for what Bernard had said to process. “What? Are you kidding me? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!”

"Look, we won't be long. No-one needs me here at the moment and it's important to get fresh air into the body. You can come too if you like...?"

Jamie shook his head. “No. I’m not going anywhere, and you aren’t either. You’ll get yourselves killed, and then the rest of us’ll be screwed. Someone’ll hurt themselves, and you’ll be dead.”

"Jamie, it's perfectly safe unless you get bitten!" Dammit. He couldn't miss the irony in that statement, could he? "I think you could do with some fresh air too, to clear your head." Bernard nodded and saw the indecision on Jamie's face.

Jamie bit his lip, and stared at the doctor. He's smart. Do you really think he'd go out there if he didn't think he'd be safe? “Well – I don’t know. Shouldn’t we tell someone?”

"We won't be long, what could happen in the time it takes us to stretch our legs?"

Remember the sun? Jamie thought. And the beach. For a few moments, he allowed himself to fantasise about the outside world. “I guess you’re right. We’ll go for five minutes. That's it, okay?”

"No more, no less."

“Then I’ll come.” Jamie didn’t spare another thought to the people inside after he took a glance around to see if anyone was watching. He didn’t see anyone, and so he, Bernard and Elaina walked out the doors.