Disclaimer: I'm a Marshmallow...how could I possibly own the rights to any of these characters?
I'm not sure of the exact date, or day of the week for that matter. My watch still works though, so I know that I was bitten at 7:44 that night. The others don't know…yet. The virus hasn't effected me yet, I think. It's half past eight now, and the only difference I've made out so far is that my nails seemed to have gotten a bit longer…it might just be my imagination though. I don't remember how long they were before.
I stay close to Wally, gunning down any zombies that suddenly come running towards us. Abigail and Hoagie stick together too, while Nigel wanders slightly ahead of the pack, scouting for a safe area with Tommy watching his back.
I think about how carefree we were before, homework on a holiday or the possibility of missing a favorite television show being our only fears. Now, with nothing around us but death and moving, rotten flesh, I both regret my past life and cherish it at the same time.
"There's a safe room up ahead! Let's get to it, quickly!" Nigel calls from up ahead.
"Awrigh-y!" Wally salutes. His accent is something I love about him. It sounds so cute, always bringing a smile to my face, even in situations like this.
Curse my attention span, though. My foot slips on what I think is a rock, but I quickly discover it's not. A calloused, greyish hand grabs hold of my shoe. Before I can let out a cry, hungry teeth bite into my ankle, forcing waves of pain to shoot up my leg. I fire my gun, by mistake or on instinct I don't know, and destroy my attacker.
"Kuki! Are you awright?" Wally rushes to my side, a worried expression on his face. Nervously, I shift my sock around the wound, making sure to hide it from view.
"Y-yeah! I just tripped over this stupid ugly road bump and accidentally pulled the trigger, hehe!" The fake light-hearted tone I give out makes me sick. He believes it though, and replies with a small laugh.
"Troi ta be a bi' more careful, Kooks." He says, holding his hand out for me to grab and taking my other hand, pulling me up close to him. But I misjudge a bit and step down with my freshly wounded leg. A yelp escaped from me, the sudden pain nearly forcing me to fall against his chest for support.
"Oi..didja sprain it?"
Panic forces my heart to pound painfully at the question, instincts warning me not to let him know just yet.
"I-It's just a bit sore. I can still keep up, don't worry!"
He frowns slightly, and I know he doesn't believe me on that one. But he doesn't mention it, and instead helps me stand straight again. "Don't push it."
As I nod I force a smile, thinking about anything and everything except the pain that throbs more and more from me standing. Just standing, at that. It takes even more control to not cry out or limp obviously when we start walking again.
But that was at 7:44. It's 10:09 now. We managed to find some canned food in the safe room, along with messages left by others who had ventured through here. I'm glad they were considerate enough to help out, though they knew nothing about the person wandering through next. They'd left basic materials; a pot for the food, a couple of blankets, some bottled water, lots of first aid kits, ammunition, and some guns that we haven't seen before. I hope we're able to help the next group in such a way.
After we eat, most of the group goes to sleep, Abigail and Tommy sharing one blanket while Wally and I share another. Hoagie and Nigel insist that they don't need one, so Abby takes the opportunity to invite Tommy to share hers, ignoring the puppy-like look from his older brother. It's understandable why she did it, the poor boy was pretty shaken up after the loss of his parents a few days back. I lean against Wally, hoping that his rhythmic and calming breathing will help me fall asleep. It doesn't, and instead I find myself staring into the almost-darkness. A fever creeps up on me at some point, I'm not sure when exactly, but it grows worse. My nails aren't just my imagination, either. They're definitely longer, and sharper. Much, much sharper. My body feels really hot, and I know for a fact that it isn't because of the blanket. How much longer I have left in my human state of mind…? Tears form and slip silently through my eyelashes. Burying my face into Wally's chest, I wrap my arms around his torso and hug him tighter than I've ever been able to hug anything before.
"Nngh…Kooks? Can't sleep?" He's so tired, yet stroking my hair in a comforting manner without knowing what the problem is.
"W-Wah…," my voice cracks, "W-Wally…"
"Kuki what's wrong?"
I have to tell him…I have to. There's no more time to hesitate, I know.
"Kuki..?"
His concerned tone prevents me from speaking. Damnit, why!
"Oi…Kuki...talk ta meh."
I'm not sure what I'm thinking that makes me lift my head and steal a deep kiss from him. Is it fear? Is it the thought of this being the last kiss I could get from him? Regardless of my reason, he pulls me close, placing his hand in the middle of my back. It takes a few long, nearly fulfilling minutes before we part.
"Gonna tell meh what's wrong now?"
A lump forms in my throat again. How do I tell him? I've been bitten? I'm infected? I…
"Wally…that…that was probably our last k-kiss."
"Eh?"
I close my eyes. There's no turning back now, I've already completed part of it.
"You know, even after all this time with you, I still feel like a child in some ways." What was I talking about? "We used to cuddle like this a lot and…and…" What am I doing? My voice is cracking up so much. "And we used to have pretend weddings, remember? We said, we said we'd get married when we grew up."
"Kuki…what'ah you goin on about?"
Tears are streaming like rivers down my cheeks now. At this rate, I'll wake up the others with my growing sobs.
"Kuki! You're scarin' meh!"
"I was bitten, Wally…"
How he hears my voice, I'm not sure. It was even lower than a whisper. I could barely hear myself say it. But he heard me, I can tell by the way his grip on me loosens yet his body goes stiff.
"K-Ku…" He can't finish it. He can't finish saying my name. It's like my heart is being gripped tightly in a vice.
"Wally, I…"
I don't get a chance to finish speaking; he moves away from me a little and shuffles somewhere else. My eyes widen in shock. I can't follow his movements in the dark.
"W-Wally….?"
The few seconds without him holding me next to him scares me. In the darkness, I feel alone. The thought terrifies me. "Wally-"
Suddenly, a bright flame illuminates the room. Wally is kneeling next to it, having set it back up from the firewood and match we used to cook our food earlier. Slowly, he turns to look at me.
And I can see the fear in his deep green eyes as he locks them with mine.
He's speechless, and it hurts. Then again, what am I expecting him to do? I look to the floor as I hear the others stir, slowly waking up from their rest.
"Ehhh why's it so bright all of sudd-" Hoagie drops his sentence and gasps audibly. "..K-K-K-Kuki? W-What's happened to you?"
I can't get my voice to work to answer him.
"She's…she's been bitten." Wally speaks up. I look at him, but his hair is shadowing over his eyes. I can't see his expression.
"Oh no…" Arms wrap around me and I know from past experiences that it's Abby hugging me."It's been too long now hasn't it, gurl?" She asks softly. I just nod in reply.
"How noticeable is it..?" I'm curious after all. If it were just my…claws? Are these claws? Would they have been able to guess so easily just by seeing them?
Abby lets out a laugh; it sounds sad though. "Gurl, your hair is white."
I instinctively tug at my hair, pulling it into view. Sure enough, it's white now. "Ugh! I look like an old woman!"
The statement pulls a small giggle from her and Tommy. But then, always-so-serious Nigel cuts in.
"Kuki, what do you want us to do?"
My gaze falls on him and I swallow down the lump that forms in my throat. I don't want to say it. "I…I guess the only way i-is to.."
"No!"
All attention snaps back to Wally. His fists are clenched, his gaze burning into my own with a mixture of sadness and the protectiveness that he's always had over me.
"What should we do then?" Tommy questions softly. His voice is shaky, and it reminds me of a mouse. There's no helping it, I guess. He's seen too much loss for his age.
"We'll…" Wally sighs. "We'll let he' go."
Confusion grabs me. "Let me go…?"
The pain visibly flashes across his face for a moment. "We'll give you one o' these blankets…and then we'll let you go. Go and hide the best you can, so no one else will find you and you can be safe. Do that for as long as you can, okay?"
Even when I'm like this he wants me to be safe. Tears form at my eyes once again. He's always guarding me, saving me from things that might cause me to get hurt in some way. No matter what it was, he was there…guarding me like a shield both mentally and physically. My lip trembles and I bite it as he comes over and hugs me tightly, brushing my hand with his hands in such a gentle, loving manner.
"It's the only way I'll accept this Kuki…It's the only way you have a chance."
I nod against his shoulder, clinging to him like I used to do with Rainbow Monkeys as a child. "I got it..."
:-:-:
It was 12:20 by the time we finished remembering old times, crying, and laughing. As I stand outside of the safe house, I hug the blanket close to me with a sad smile on my lips. This is it. I've settled myself, and said my goodbyes. Now it was just…time for me to go.
Abby stood with a hand on her hip, smiling. "Well gurl, be careful out there. And don't be tryin' to attack Abby if we see you again, ya got it?" She's trying to act normal, like I was, but I can see her eyes glistening with tears just waiting to be shed. She'll be crying to Hoagie once I'm gone, I can tell already.
Yet I just smile and nod. "Of course I won't, silly!"
"Yeah, and who knows! Maybe we won't make it and we'll wind up on your team again anyway!" Hoagie laughed.
Everyone stared blankly at him. He realized what he said and laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "S-Sorry…"
Nigel just looks at me and nods silently. He never was good with encouragement or anything like that, I knew. Tommy stood off to the side, behind Abby, wiping his eyes with his sleeves. It made me sad to see such a sight, but Abby and Hoagie were at his side, so I know he'll be fine in time.
Wally steps forward, his hands in his pockets. He's always had trouble with things like this, so I take the initiative and lean up to kiss him on the cheek.
"I'll be fine," My voice is reassuring, or as least I reassuring as I could make it. "And when you guys make it, eventually you can find a cure or something and come back for me. How's that sound?"
He forces a smile, and I get the feeling he knows that I was trying to make it a bit easier for him. He always knew how to see through me. "Yeah…" He pulls me into a tight embrace, the last one we'll probably share. Taking in the scent of his hoodie, I close my eyes, wanting the moment to last as long as possible.
"I'll definitely come back for you," He whispers in my ear. "I promise it."
My lips curve into a smile against the orange cloth. "I believe you."
We parted, and I waved with a painfully fake grin before turning my back on my friends and start on my way. The moment my back turned I force myself not to wail, though I can feel it rising up in my chest. My feet speed up my pace on their own, but I'm grateful to run away. Any second longer and I might have ran back to him.
:-:-:
Hours and hours pass. I started feeling really sick a while ago. The virus must have caught up to me completely now. Nausea is making my head spin and I'm due a break by now anyway, so with the blanket over me, I sit down in a bunch of leaves with my back against a tree. Then, all at once, everything hit me. All the memories. I missed Wally! If I missed him so much already and it's only been a few hours, how could I last until he comes back for me? I can't do it! I missed him! I missed my friends, my family! Why couldn't I still be with them? This isn't fair!
Sobs took over my body, causing me to shake. I bury my face into my hands while gasping for air as I weep uncontrollably.
And once I started crying, I couldn't stop.