Edwin led the group through the halls. "Most of the facility is powered down." He told them. "Including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy." He came to a stop and turned to the two children who had been following closely behind him. "Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power." He looked to the adults of the group. "The same applies — if you shower, go easy on the hot water." With that said, he left the group.
"Hot water?" Glenn repeated.
T-Dog had a grin on his face. "That's what the man said."
Serafina squeezed her way through the crowd of people and made her way after Edwin who was a couple of paces in front of her in the hallway leading to the computer room. "Have you found your answer?"
Edwin glanced over his shoulder. "Yes." He told her.
"What is it, then?"
He stopped and looked at her, examining her face as though he was looking for something. Instead he found a pair of piercing blue eyes staring back at him expectantly. "We're — we're all infected." There was no shock that lit up in her eyes. No mouth agape. Just a steady gaze and a mouth set in a firm line as she hummed lightly in a thoughtful manner. He let out an airy laugh. "You don't look surprised."
"I am not." She said.
He stared at her for a moment not quite understanding until it dawned on him. "New York?"
"New York." She mumbled.
It was a little while later that Rick had made an appearance in the computer room where he unsurprisingly found Edwin and Serafina. "How's the blood?" He asked.
"No surprises." Edwin told him and he caught the knowing glance Serafina threw him. When Rick did not leave immediately, he looked at Serafina unsurely and then at Rick, waiting to see what else he had to say.
Rick held loosely onto the bottle of wine in his hands and it was obvious that he was a little more than tipsy at this point. "I came to thank you."
"You ... did." Edwin mumbled. Rick stumbled and fell against one of the computers. "You — you all right?"
"You don't know what it's like." He said to Edwin, laughing afterwards. "You don't know what it's like out there. You may think you do, but you don't." He rubbed at his face and a solemn look took over. "We'd have died out there. It was only a matter of time. There's too many of those things." His eyes appeared glassy as he continued. "My — my boy ... my wife ... I never ..." He looked into Edwin's eyes, sparing Serafina a glance. "I never told them what I thought. I ... I never even hinted. I just kept it in and kept us movin', you know."
"It'll all be okay." Edwin told the babbling man. "It'll be okay."
Rick looked as though he didn't believe him and the grave look on the woman's face behind Edwin told him that it was not going to be okay. Edwin peeked over his shoulder at Serafina in what could only be described as an S.O.S. signal and Serafina lurched out of her seat and walked over to the man sitting on the ground.
"Come on. I will make sure you get back to your room." She offered Rick a hand which he took and she heaved him up on his feet making sure he was steady as he swayed just slightly. "I will see you in the morning." She told Edwin. "Have a good night." She took one last look at the clock which was still counting down and realized it wouldn't be long now.
As she led Rick through the halls, his grim mood lifted and he was attempting to make conversation with the quiet blonde.
"Soldier, huh?" He asked. "What made you decide to go into that field?"
"Family," She muttered, "...my father and his father and his father before that and so on..." She gave him a minuscule smile. "I would have been an embarrassment had I not gone into the military."
Rick chuckled. "I know how that is. My dad and granddad were sheriff back in their time, seemed only right that I follow in their footsteps."
"It is a good thing you did." She said. "The uniform fits you."
He looked her up and down, noting her cutoffs and plain tank top. "Don't suppose that's regulation military wear?"
"I wish this had all happened in the winter." She stated. "I am not accustomed to this kind of heat, especially in the South." It was far too hot for her in Georgia having grown up in northern Russia; anything above 10˚ Celsius and she was praying for a cold front.
"This is me." Rick said as he pointed at one of the doors. "Thank you kindly for escorting me to my room."
Serafina smirked. "It was my pleasure." She said and then swiped the bottle of wine from his hands. "I will be taking this. Good night." She left little room for argument as she headed down the hall into the room she had been occupying since the first day.
Setting the bottle of wine down on the desk, she began packing what little belongings she had into her bag. Taking her canteens she filled them up with some water from the sink and then headed into the kitchen to throw whatever food she could into pack as well as a few bottles of water just in case.
She wandered into the rec area, a room where she had only been to on her first walkthrough of the building. Looking at the bookshelf, she began to sort through some of the books, muttering something about missing her Russian books. While she spoke nearly fluent English, reading and writing the language was an entirely different subject. With a shrug, she figured it wouldn't hurt to try the very least and she picked out a few novels to take with her though she didn't know if she'd ever have a chance to actually read them.
She'd settled into her cot soon after that, the alcohol in her system making it so she fell asleep almost instantly though her dreams were plagued by monstrous faces and a mass of flames.
She awoke with a start; gasping as though she had been holding her breath. Raking a hand through her hair, she could feel the dampness that could only be from the cold sweat that had built up in her sleep. Nightmares were nothing new to her. When she came back from her first deployment, after seeing her comrades limbs getting blown off and their faces get so disfigured the only way to identify the remains was through their dental records, she had gone through a long process of mentally recovering. She had been plagued by nightmares that didn't always occur when she was asleep.
The flashbacks would hit her randomly and usually at the most inconvenient of times. A car backfiring would send her to the ground instantly, her arms over her head as she assumed the fetal position and she would shake as tears filled her eyes thinking she was being shot at. A man passing by in the street would bare a remarkable resemblance to one of her fallen comrades and she would fight back the urge to vomit as the image of his mutilated body seared itself into her mind and she could almost smell the burning flesh.
Now, she was worried that all the progress she had made within the last ten years was for naught and she was regressing. It wouldn't be a surprise, though. These were warlike conditions the world was now living in, perhaps even worse than war. Those who managed to survive lived their lives in fear of the walking dead and if they didn't kill you then perhaps other survivors or starvation would first. Simpler days were in the past and there was no end to this apocalypse in sight.
It was a hot shower that brought her mind peace as though the steam had helped clear her clogged head. When she first came here, she had heeded Edwin's warning about not using too much hot water, but seeing as she planned to leave she would indulge in this remaining luxury before she'd be forced to go days without a shower.
When she arrived at the kitchen with her damp hair in a pony tail, she found a handful of the group sitting around one of the tables eating powdered eggs that T-Dog had prepared. He was quick to offer her a plate which she accepted, saying a quick 'thank you' as she joined the rest at the table.
"I'm surprised you're up so early." Dale commented. "You drank nearly half of that bottle of vodka last night."
"There is a reason that the Russian word for water is so closely sounding to vodka." Serafina told him, a slight teasing tone to her voice. She elbowed the half asleep Asian boy who was sitting next to her. "Are you all right?" She just got a groan in response.
"Hello." Rick yawned as he walked into the kitchen.
Dale greeted him cheerfully. "Morning."
Little Carl was quick to ask. "Are you hungover?" Which earned him a stern look from his mother and a chuckle from Serafina who was trying to hide her smile by taking a sip out of her orange juice. "Mom said you'd be."
"Mom is right." Rick told his son as he took a seat.
Lori smiled to herself. "Mom has that annoying habit."
T-Dog came around with another batch of powdered eggs claiming that protein helps with hangovers though Serafina has never found a better cure for a hangover than a greasy hamburger from McDonalds although she wasn't sure if a Russian McDonalds and an American McDonalds made the hamburgers the same way.
There was aspirin on the table for anyone who was suffering from their hangovers, a gift from Edwin. Rick seemed to be having trouble opening the container and Serafina grinned as he asked his wife for help with it. "Childproof?" She mused. He sent her a deadpan look, but it was quick to turn into a smile.
Beside her, Glenn was groaning as Jacqui rubbed his back. "Don't ever ever ever let me drink again."
"You say that now..." Serafina said. "What is that proverb — get back on the horse that bit you?"
Jacqui laughed. "I don't think that applies to this situation."
When Shane came into the kitchen, the large scratch marks down the side of his neck sent off red flags. "What the hell happened to you?" T-Dog asked. "Your neck?"
"Musta done it in my sleep." Shane mumbled as he sat down at the table with his cup of coffee.
"I've never seen you do that before." Rick commented.
"Me neither." Shane agreed. "Not like me at all." He sent an accusing look to Lori who kept her head down as she picked at her plate of food. No one else seemed to have noticed the exchange and if someone did they did not say anything about it.
"Morning." Edwin greeted as he walked in and headed straight to the pot of coffee, two mugs hanging limply in his hands. He received a 'Hey Doc' from Shane and a nod from Serafina as she had her mouth full of eggs.
Dale barely gave the man time to pour his cup of coffee. "Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing—" Edwin didn't even glance back at the man. "But you will anyway."
"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea told him.
Edwin looked around at the group and Serafina was surprised he didn't let out a sigh of exasperation. He walked over to her and handed her one of the mugs he had filled up, keeping with his tradition of pouring her a cup of a coffee in the morning. She sent him an appreciative smile and he gave her a strained one in return.
Hey guys! I've been getting some pretty good feedback on this story and that makes me so happy :) Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and added this story to their story alerts! You guys are awesome!
If you can take the time to leave a review whether it be a long critique or a short little one, I'd forever be appreciative! I like to hear what you guys think of the story and if there's anything you want me to change, add in, etc. Also, as I am not Russian nor do I have anyone I know that is Russian, if you guys notice anything off with anything I have mentioned or may mention in the future that refers to Russia or Russian culture, don't be afraid to correct me! I'm sort of researching things as I go, so I am by no means an expert about anything Russian related.
