"Shawn, come here!" she called softly.
Shawn slunk forward, halting at her side. "What's up?"
She pointed to a hulking building across from where they spend the night. Shadows crept out of the windows, glass lay shattered across the road before it. Dusty letters held certain majesty to the abandon structure. They read Big Bob's Supermarket.
"Absolutely not! The place will be crawlin' with em'!" Shawn crossed his arms.
"Aw come on Shawn, I'm starving." Jasmine whined.
It wasn't even an exaggeration. They were both bone thin, it had to have been two days since they had had a decent meal.
"Fine! But we're in and out as quick as possible," he still didn't like this plan.
"Thanks babe", she pressed her lips against his cheek.
The streets were very sparse with the undead. One was far enough to not notice them; the other was ended with a shot to the head. Shawn made a mental note that they only had three shells left for the handgun, the only weapon they had manage to save over time.
They entered the store with caution. It was dark and eerily silent.
"It's empty…" Jasmine walked in slowly.
Shawn didn't like it, but it was pretty quiet. It should be okay.
"Let's just hurry, follow me" Shawn grumbled.
Jasmine put her hands on her hips "I can handle myself Shawn!"
The last thing they needed was to get in a shouting match and attract trouble. He rolled his eyes, taking off toward the vegetable isle.
He heard the shuffle only moments before the scream. He slid across the linoleum, clearing the distance in moments. He didn't even have to stop to get a direct hit. Two shells left.
"This is why we stick together! This time alright, but what if you had been bit! Come on we gotta leave." He reached out a hand to her.
It was a horrible face, twisted with fear. He only then noticed the scarlet blood leading g from her forearm to the tile floor.
Her eyes brimmed with tears; the dark orbs reflected her fear.
He knelt down, cradling her face. "You're going to be okay"
"H-how long do I have Shawn", he felt water run into his palms.
"We're going to find the cure, you'll be alright!" His voice cracked.
"Shawn…"
"NO! I'm not going to quit on you!" he shouted.
"I love you. Let's just go home and be together. Please Shawn, how long do I have." Her voice was hardly a whisper.
He didn't have the heart to answer. He pulled her in, kissing her neck. He helped her to her feet, and exiting the store.
"Dinner is served, beans and peas" Shawn gave a fake smile.
"Aww yum, thanks babe" she smiled back.
It was all unreal; he just wanted it to end. She was already getting pale. Her eyelids drooped and he could see the beads of sweat on her forehead from across the table. Her normally shiny black hair stuck to her head in damp clumps.
He remembered the way things used to be. A polish dining table, surrounded by smiling faces and food piled so high you couldn't see the person across from you.
This wasn't fair. She deserved her last meal to be gourmet with everyone she cared about surrounding her. Hair white with age. Not dying a slow and painful death, hardly twenty, eating with a boyfriend that never deserved her. Eating fucking beans and peas.
He so badly wanted to scream all of this, but he didn't. He had to give her what little peace she had left.
They were positioned on the flimsy couch in the apartment they were staying in. Her head across his legs. He absently stroked her hair, trying to ignore the searing heat radiating from her temples. She looked up at him, eyes cloudy.
"Shawn" she croaked.
"Yeah honey" he cooed.
"Tell me what things would have been like" tears rolled down her colorless cheeks.
"We would have got married. In a grand chapel. You would have looked so beautiful, and everyone would have cried when they saw you, myself included" he murmured.
She smiled weakly, closing her eyelids softly.
"And we would have so many beautiful babies. They would come out of the woodwork. You always wanted a big family; you would have been the best mom."
Her breathing began to slow.
"And we would be grandparents Jasmine."
She was ablaze.
"And we'd grow old"
She gasped and shuttered.
"And a-and" he trembled, his vision blurring. He held her, sobs crushing his chest.
"This was my fault, I'm so sorry, it's my fault" He could hardly talk. "I love you."
Then it dawned on him. Two. One for each of them….