"Someone get it off me!" I shrieked through the gurgling of blood in my mouth. I could feel the Hunter's sharp, ragged nails digging into my chest. He screamed and snarled as he tore at my flesh. 'If only the others were still alive,' I thought. Louis was left behind when a helicopter rescued us; God knows what happened to him. Francis was constricted by a Smoker, the enormous Horde made it impossible to reach him before it was too late. And Bill… Bill was brutally torn apart by three Tanks.
I felt my eyes start to go blurry. Black began to seep around the corners of my vision. I thought I wasn't going to make it. But then there was a noise. An all too familiar noise. The telltale crying of a Witch. Oh, boy.
Suddenly, the huge weight was lifted off my chest. I inhaled loudly, sucking in as much air as possible, and coughed out blood. Barely conscious, I could hear the Witch screaming and tearing and the Hunter snarling. Then, one last growl and it was dead silent, save the heavy breathing and slight sobbing of the Witch.
I heard quick footsteps, and then saw the pale Witch's face through blurred vision.
"Please… Please don't…" I cried. I didn't want to die. She blinked her glowing yellow eyes slowly. She hesitantly touched the bloody gashes on my belly and chest. I winced and she flinched. "Did you… kill that Hunter?" I uttered. The Witch nodded. "Why?"
She shifted to sit on her knees. There was a short pause. "You were crying…" She looked down at her legs.
I leaned my head up against the brick wall I'd been pinned against. The Witch's bottom lip trembled.
"I'm not mindless…" Her long, bloodied fingers twitched, "At least not entirely. Not like the other infected ones, they're just unconscious killers… If only I were unconscious. Living and knowing you might lose control the next second is like living in hell." She paused to wipe her eyes with her wrist, careful of her sharp nails. "And that's why I cry."
I watched her with sympathetic eyes. During the apocalypse, I'd killed eliminated Witches like swatting flies in the summer. Now, I knew the background of one. I felt guilty.
"Sorry for rambling." She muttered, "Do you have anything I could bandage you with…?"
I blushed a little at her sudden hospitality. "Uh, check what's in this health pack…" I motioned to me shoulder with my head, where the little first aid kit was strapped snugly.
"Um…" She lifted her long, bloody fingers up off the ground.
"It's okay. Just grab it." I shifted my arm towards her. She slowly slipped a finger under the strap and slid it off. Inside were antibiotics, pills, and two long Ace bandages.
"You're going to have to help me here…" The Witch said, grasping a bandage with her nails. I gave a weak smile and moved a little on my side so it would be easier to wrap it around my torso.
She did her work carefully, which surprised me. This was a side of the vicious killer I thought I knew I'd never seen before. When it was all done, I lay back down.
"Thank you…" I looked over at her. She nodded. There was another long pause.
"Here…" She slipped her hands underneath me and slowly picked me up, cradling me in her bony arms. "I know where a safe room is." The Witch stood up and, quickly but cautiously, bounded across the concrete floor.
I watched her face as she carried me through a hallway. Lucky for me, the other infected avoided her, so I didn't get any more hurt than I already was.
I honestly never have thought a Witch would have this kind of a side to her. Normally, they're vicious and kill quickly. I wondered what was holding this one back.
"Almost there, hun." She murmured.
Wow. Another thing I'd never expect from a Witch: using pet terms like "hun".
At the end of the hallway, there was finally that wonderful lifeline of a red door. We entered swiftly, and she set me propped in a corner, then turned and closed the heavy door carefully.
I sighed in relief. Who'd ever think I'd feel safe locked in a small room with a Witch? Like I've been saying this whole time, this was an incredibly new and unexpected experience for me.
The pale, gaunt Witch sat down next to me, looking me over. "I think you'll live." She remarked. I gave a slight smile.
I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something oddly familiar about this Witch. She didn't look familiar; it was just something about the way she spoke, her vibe. It reminded me of someone, but whom?
Before I could protest or even realize it, I felt bony, cold arms around my shoulders. She held my head close to her neck.
I didn't know what overcame me, I felt like whatever I thought about possibly doing, I just did. So I found myself allowing her to hold me close. I curled up in her arms.
The Witch's long, pointed fingers stroked and brushed through my long, dark brown hair. It was comfortable and uncomfortable, warm and also cold, safe but dangerous all at the same time. And it was wonderful.
At long last, she pulled away, but I still leaned against her shoulder, and she continued with the grooming of my head.
I smiled painfully. "Vicki used to do this."
"Who?" Her soft breath was warm on my scalp.
"Oh," I paused, "Victoria, she was, um, my roommate."
"You were close?"
"Very…" It was so hard to talk about, yet I saw no harm in telling her. "When the infection hit, she became sick very fast, and… changed." I tried my hardest not to get emotional, "They came and took her away. I couldn't do anything… And now I've no idea if she was killed, or if… if I killed her." Biting my lip to prevent it from trembling, I looked away so she couldn't see the agony on my face.
She caressed one finger under my chin and turned me around to look at her. Her eyes were wet and sympathetic. I quickly buried my face into her shoulder, but that did not help. I cried anyway.
I felt her hands around my bandaged waist set me carefully in her lap, gently cradling me in her arms.
I could feel her unnaturally hot breath on my ear and neck as she sang.
"Love of mine,
Someday you will die. No blinding light,
But I'll be close behind.
I'll follow you into the dark.
Or tunnels to gates of white.
Just our hands clasped so tight,
Waiting for the hint of a spark."
I clung to her like my life depended on it. I knew this song. It was one Vicki had sung to me many times, whenever I was sad or angry, and it made me feel better almost instantly.
"If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied,
Illuminate the "No"s
On their vacancy signs. If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks,
Then I'll follow you into the dark."
I felt my breathing calm, and my tears lessen. I nuzzled my head into her neck like I'd do to Vicki's.
She hummed the rest of the verse. I knew then how I had recognized her.
I slowly lifted my head to look into her eyes. She smiled.
"I've missed you, baby."
I cried.