Just a dream I had last night. Actually, the same dream, with two different endings, in the same night. I woke up the first time, laid awake for a couple hours, fell back asleep, and had this version before I woke up at the end again.

It began the way it had before. Maura was hiding beneath a table, pulling her boots as close to her thighs as she could while screams echoed around her. A hand appeared and she recoiled, but it kept reaching for her and grasped her ankle. She was dragged out from her hiding place and even as she kicked at the appendage she was hoping it happened quickly. She squeezed her eyes shut so she didn't have to see the face of someone she knew, or know the last thing she would see before becoming one of them was dead eyes and snarling mouths.

A dull thud, something wet splattered across her cheek, and the growling stopped. She peeked through one eye and saw Jane standing, disheveled and protective, in front of her. "C'mon, let's go." She took her hand, grateful and shaky, and scrambled to her feet. They darted through the panicking crowd, ducking around corners when they saw one of the creatures running toward them. Jane held Maura behind her, pressing her into corners and wielding the broken chair leg like a sword. She swung at one's head and a sickening crunch reached their ears as it fell sideways into a window, its head off center and limp.

They ran on, tripping and helping each other as much as they could and saving those who could be. A handful of them piled inside an office and Jane bolted the door before two others began shoving a desk in front of it. "No! Wait a minute." She wouldn't meet their eyes, and the broken leg trembled along with her hand as she wheezed for breath.

She turned to Maura and walked to her, standing off to the side, away from the door and half shadowed. She wouldn't meet her eyes until she ducked down, then cautiously they rose to look into hers. "I remember this...may I...kiss you?" Already, her breath wafted across her lips, and almost before she could nod, they had been caught in a fierce, desperate kiss. A brush of her thumb across her cheek, and Jane turned on her heel, but not before Maura caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes, or the sheen of something feral in them.

Her harsh breathing echoed in the silent room and she stopped at the doorway. "Stay together...stay safe. Everything will be fine...I know it." She dropped the chair leg and jerked the door open and, against their terrified cries, walked into the hallway again. Jane pulled it shut behind herself and held it closed against the pulling on the other side, clutching at her chest desperately for air she couldn't get. "That's what I...get for trying to...be a hero. Ma was right...it would be the death of me."

She coughed wetly and spit blood off to the side, eyes locking on one of them running toward her. "Not today...you bastard. I'm saving them this...time." She could feel the mindlessness threatening to overwhelm her but refused to let it control her completely, baring her teeth and swiping with suddenly sharp nails at the creature. It reared back with a scream and she clawed it again, nearly severing its head from its neck. A snarl and she just ducked under another one's hand, and the battle was on.

They listened to the sounds of fighting just outside their door, holding each other until the sounds died down. A quiet thud and something akin to a sigh and they still didn't move, not until knuckles rapped on the door some time later. "Is there anyone in there? Answer me if you can!" They looked at each other and one man yelled a cautious affirmative. They pushed the desk from in front of the door and he cautiously opened it, broken chair leg at the ready. A man, arms and chest covered in metal plating and rifle in hand, studied him. "You alright?"

"I think so."

One by one, they filed out, until seven people stood huddled just in the hallway. Corpses lay where they fell, heads and limbs missing, and the scent of blood was heavy where they were. "It's the strangest thing, I've never seen one of them killing their own kind." He shook his head and started leading them away, and Maura, lagging at the back of the group, stopped to take in the carnage.

Her breath stuttered to a halt as her eyes fell on Jane, slumped against the wall by the door. Her eyes, previously brown, were now dully red, staring blankly into space. A snarl twisted her lips and revealed sharp teeth, and she was covered in blood. Bites, scratches, and gouges marked her skin, but she still remained herself even after becoming one of them, and Maura felt tears prick in her eyes.

"Thank you." She reached out with a trembling hand and gently closed her eyes before running after their group, and the corpse leaning against the wall became another unneeded casualty instead of a monster to fear.

Jane opened her eyes and rubbed them tiredly, laying with one arm behind her head as she stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. "What the fuck..." She sat up and bent her head as her feet hit the floor, waiting for her mind to catch up with her body as it rebelled and tried to cajole her back to sleep.

She stood and walked into her bathroom, throwing water on her face and watching it drip off her chin as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes, while bloodshot, were still brown, and not wild. Her teeth remained blunt as always, and white, lacking the distinct canines she recalled. Her fingers had nothing but short nails as they gripped the edge of the sink, and Jane rubbed a hand over her face.

"That's the second time tonight I've had that dream." She shuffled out to the living room and sat heavily on the sofa, turning the TV on to a mindless comedy that was running in the middle of the night. She startled when a hand landed on her shoulder and jerked her head up to see Maura looking down at her with concern.

"Jane?"

"Sorry, Maur, did I wake you up? I didn't mean to." Jane put the TV on mute and Maura sat beside her on the couch.

"I felt you leave the bed. Is something wrong? You're never up this late."

"You wouldn't believe the dream I just had..."