DAY 14

part 2

Eyes barely opened on the quiet and harsh spin of voices. Legs enclosed like a steel cage, hindering him from any movement. The beating had stopped and he could now breathe easy; rasps to be more precise.

Blood, everything smelt like blood; his own blood.

The talking quickly stopped as the screeching sound of the Infected's cry filled the small room. It stoped.

Silence.

Help, he heard himself say.

"Holy shit, he's just a kid!"

He tried to look up, but was unsuccessful. They began to argue, their voices swirling in and out of his battered ears.

One bent down into his line of vision. "Don't' worry, we'll get you out of here. What's your name?"

Did it really matter now?

Where's Charlie? He attempted to say, the only thing audible: her name.

Bent over, the man took him under the arms and slowly, lifted him off the damp floor.

Blackness.

--

Eyes opened. He blinked, his head lolling to the side as it came to rest on a bony shoulder. His dead weight was hauled on the back of another as someone carried him through a dark and musty alley way.

Others ran along side him and his carrier.

Where are we going? he wondered. Where am I?

"Almost there," a tiered voice said, straining to speak.

Blackness.

--

Eyes attempted to open.

A deep and cold abyss of absolute darkness floated all around him. There was no noise, there was no sound. Just the thick and foreboding fog of nothingness threatening his every move. Pulling him closer to the edge of what seemed like a bottomless pit.

Doom.

His doom. His demise. His death.

And he could feel it; so close now, as if it were touching him. Gently caressing him, skin cold like ice; burning. Could this be... Hell?

He cried out in pain.

The all too familiar sharp and metallic scent of blood wafted in and out of his nostrils, playing with him. His stomach lurched.

Attempting to move, he yelled out again, his back contracting and his arms flailing.

So much pain..! He screamed in his mind.

The throbbing hurt quickly spread over his body like flames, white hot and engulfing him whole.

I feel like my insides are... they're...

"Sleep child," a voice said suddenly, slipping in thought all of the confusion. It was soothing and soft, like the sound of a harp playing off in the distance. Slowly, he relaxed, the pain ebbing only slightly. His eyelids twitched, struggling to open.

"Sleep and get some rest," the voice urged once again.

It was female, a woman's voice.

"Please don't leave me!" he managed to say, his words sounding like nothing but gurgled murmurs.

No, don't go, don't leave me...

"Sleep," she said again, "Sleep."

He resisted, trying with all his might to fight the fast approaching veil of sleep. He tried to sit up. A warm hand fell on his shoulder, pushing him back down.

The stranger seemed to speak to him again, but he only a heard a quiet whisper. He could hold it back no longer.

But I don't... want to... go...

Blackness.

--

Figured didn't it? Just fucking figured.

Jhon, the tall and handsome Scot, swooping in on his fucking little horse and saving poor little Elisa, the beautiful damsel in distress from - from whats that you say?

From her-fucking-self.

Max snorted, eyes hidden under the shadow of his hood. Just watching the two of them over there: crying... made him sick.

Why, if anyone, it should have been he who got the girl, not some playboy doctor with bipolar mood-swings and a long over-due visit to the anger management center.

Max glowered in disgust. He watched as Jhon stroked Elisa's back, calming her down as they both cried into each other's shoulders.

I'm the one who saved our sorry asses in the first place! Every time it was me! Every time!

In an odd and really, well... technical way, Max was indeed right.

It was he who saved the group all those times.

True, it had not been his actions which provoked the group's safety, but was his ideas and his brains. Two weeks spent running around the airport after the Infection break-out, and Max was the first one to find the plane.

After everyone evacuated the aircraft, it was he who entered and he who ushered Jhon into safety. There, he watched Jhon's ego grow to the size of his mommy's fat ass. Max hid and watched as the Scot decided to run around calling people in, thus finding Elisa, but oh-no, not before sweeping her off of her dammed feet and carrying her in!

He fucking carried her in! True, she was bleeding, but that was besides the point! It was his idea to leave the damn plane! Also at the gass station, Max had found the stupid radio and even fixed it! He was the one to thank for getting everyone here to safety. Max Roberts. Not Jhon the crazy-ass doctor.

Well, he really wasn't surprised. Angry, but not surprised.

Jhon was everything a girl like Elisa could have wanted: rich, good-looking (ha-ha), smart; basically everything that Max wasn't. What would someone like him give to someone like her anyways? What could Matthew Dylan Roberts give to Elisa? A cold plate of Mac and Cheese and two movie tickets to see the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings maybe, but besides that, Max was all black and white. He was attractive sure, a head above the most really - but leave it to Elisa to stereotypically to fall for the tall, gorgeous and oh-so strong;

Jock.

Then there was the kid, Bryce, and his little girlfriend Charlie. They were... all right in Max's eyes. They never gave him much of a problem and even once or twice, had the nerve to back him up.

The two were... cool. But as how everyone had their faults, Bryce could be a bit annoying at times-his teenage mood swings kicking in every now and then. But he did help Max out a few times and he was grateful for that.

Pfft.

Too bad he was dead.

--

With a jolt, Bryce's eyes shot open, the cracked and murderous sound of his screaming voice filling his ears. Jumping, he startled came up into a sitting position. A sharp stab dug into his back and stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

Where am I?

Where was he, was indeed the question. As far back as he could remember, he and the others were running from Infected toward the school when... when... Bryce paused for a moment, his ribs crying out to him.

That's right, he then remembered, but how am I still alive?

He looked around. Even the slightest turn of his head made him cringe

Bryce was in a small room with one metal-post bed and a small side table. A sickening yellow/green wallpaper, darkened to a foul shade vomit over the years covered the walls.

In one corner was a small wooden bench with an empty glass of water and a medical kit sitting on it. Beams of light managed to seep in through the wooden boards nailed to the window, Bryce watched as millions of thick dust particles floated about the room. They made him want to sneeze.

There was also a slight scent that oddly resembled that of a hospital's; like clean sheets made of tissue paper and antibiotics. From what he could tell, it looked like it hadn't been used in months-years even.

"So you're finally awake," a someone said from the doorway.

Bryce's head shot up, ripples of pain falling down his back.

There, stood a tall and lean young man about Bryce's age, leaning against the door frame. He had curly dark brown locks that sat neatly upon his head, shading his brown eyes. He stared at Bryce expressionlessly.

"Who're you?" Bryce finally said, breaking the silence.

His visitor stood straight and brushed the hair out of his eyes. A eyebrow cocked arrogantly. "Someon who saved your bloody ass, is who."

Bryce bit back a retorting comment. Who is this guy?

Sighing, the other boy shook his head and carelessly pushed the few items off the stool. They hit with a small, 'thunk', falling onto the warn wood floor. He pulled it over toward Bryce's bed side.

"I'm Kevin, by the way." He wiped at his nose. "Not that you'd remember anyways."

He sat down, rested his elbows on his knees. "You were half dead when they brought you here."

"They?" Bryce asked. Could he be talking about the Infected? But that was impossible - unless they had dragged him all the way here when he had blacked out... but still...

The young man gave a slight nod. His lips pursed, and he motioned out the door. "Yep," he said simply. "Harry and George. There's about five of us here."

Five people huh?... It reminded Bryce omit of something important, but for some strange reason, he couldn't place his finger on it.

"After nearly beating you to death," the young man continued, "they noticed you weren't Infected and brought you up here-"

"You telling me you're the ones who nearly killed me?!"

The stabbing memories of the beating surged. The blunt force of their weapons, the cracking of his bones, the piercing blows that continuously rained down, over and over, thrusting the air from his lungs and suffocating the very life out of him. He could still feel it.

Bryce felf a rush of boiling anger rushing over him. He was pissed.

"Well yeah-" the young man began, but was cut off.

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Hey! It's not their fault that they thought you were a bloody Infected, mate, and hell, you're lucky they didn't leave your ass there to die." He quieted omit as he spoke.

"You're alive. So be glad for that."

Bryce rolled his eyes and turned his head, his hand coming up to his sore neck. He gritted his teeth as the tips of his fingers ran over the rough dried scabs and bruises that littered his skin. There was no mirror in the room so he couldn't further examine his wounds, and on a second thought, he was almost glad for it.

If only Charlie could see me now...

His eyes shot wide open. Charlie!

"How about the others?" he asked suddenly.

The young man gave him a confused look.

"People, I mean, there were other people with me…running. Did you take them too?"

He saw that spoke so fast, Kevin could hardly keep up wiht him. "Oh," he finally said, "They went and got away on us."

"And they're okay though, right?"

"Ha, yeah. They made it to the that school down the street. Thar refuge something-or-other." Bryce let out a sigh as Kevin continued. "Lucky those Infected didn't get their hands on 'em."

That was a relief. For once since he had woken up, Bryce was actually happy. Even the pain of his injuries seemed to dull. It felt so good to know that the people he cared about were alive and safe.

Bryce didn't know what he would have done if the group had died. Especially if Char-

"So Charlie," Kevin cut through his thoughts, snapping Bryce from his trance.

For a brief moment, Bryce was speechless. He couldn't think of anything to say in response. He felt a puzzled look cross his face. Did he just call me...?

"Charlie. That's your name, right?" An eyebrow cocked. "Every time we tried asking for your name, it's all you'd say: 'Charlie'."

Bryce blinked. An image of the beautiful girl's face popped up in his mind, her giant eyes glowing. Charlie...

While he was in his slight coma, Bryce must have been dreaming for his group and their great escape. His last memories of them, screaming out the girl's name as he was dragged away into darkness. Darkness with these people...

On impulse, he said:

"Yeah, that's my name."

The name, carrying no symbolic meaning, was purely intended as cover for Bryce's real name. True, he cared for Charlie a great deal, but for now, he knew she was safe and was at the moment, concerned for his own well being. But still...there was just something about these people. He barley knew them - how ever many there were, two? Four? Eight? Nine even? This new Kevin guy didn't give out anything about him and that of his group.

In the past two weeks, Bryce learned to trust his gut instinct, and at that very moment it told him something, and that something was very wrong.

"Charlie eh..?" he reached up, his hand stroking his chest just above his heart.

"Huh? What was that mate?"

Bryce looked up sharply and attempted a small smile, his cheeks screaming in protest. "Oh," shit, "nothing," my face, "at all." Shit.

Kevin stood there for a minute, a quizzical look on his face. Bryce only prayed to the holy Lord above that if he was listening right at this very moment and maybe by some amazing stroke of luck - be it pity, even - he'd make the kid across from him drop the subject and shut his mouth.

Bryce's smile only widened, a confused look on Kevin's face. He began to get aggitared, his patience with this new young man so streched that he was on the verge of snapping.

"Huh." Was all he said then shrugged it off, ruffling his hand through his hair once again.

Bryce had to stop himself from letting out a sigh of relief.

"So," he began not knowing exactly what to say, "what are you-"

At that moment, a tall and thin woman barged into the room, hands on her hips and an angry scowl on her perfectly shaped face. She looked to be in her mid thirties and wore a surprisingly clean pair of tight-fitting blue jeans with an equally spotless light pink top. Her long blonde hair was pulled tight up into a high ponytail, its curly waves swaying lightly against her back.

Both boys turned to her, her eyes falling on Kevin.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing in here, eh?" she snapped at him.

From where he sat in his bed, Bryce watched in wonder at the odd argument developing in front of his eyes.

She frowned. "I thought I told you not to bother him.

"He was already awake when I got here," Kevin whined. "Jeeze, Mum."

Mum? Bryce thought, those two don't even look remotely related! Well, besides both being tall and lean, their eyes were the exact same color and shape. Maybe they were...

"That's just fine then." she said sarcastically, taking Kevin by the arm and pulling him up, "but we need to let our new guest here have his rest after what Harry and the boys did to him." She smiled over to Bryce lovingly.

This made Bryce feel, for the first time since that day at the airport so long ago, a strong yearning for his parents. He was amazed that even now, he hadn't thought or even missed them once. With all the action happening around him, he managed to forget about them. His own parents.

But I didn't...forget?

"Fine," the other boy sighed and stood. He tugged his arm from his mother, somewhat embarrassed. He moved off behind her rolling his eyes.

"Good." Her smile grew as she spoke to Bryce. "Now you just lay down there. With all that happened to you-" she walked over to him, gently pushing him down and pulling the bedcovers up tightly, "you'll need as much rest as you can get."

Kevin snorted.

"Kevin," she snapped.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Kevin threw Bryce one last smirk, and exited the room with one small wave.

Kevin's mother sighed. "You'll have to excuse my son. I guess you could say he got a bit excited…seeing as how it's older folks here. Being around someone his own age would do him some good."

She made a show of looking around to see if no one was listening and then leaned in. "Although," she whispered conspiratorially, "living in this house with the same old farts for over two weeks...can make one go a little crazy."

She made a face, clenghing her jaw and widening her eyes.

Bryce had to laugh with her efforts to lighten his spirit; even though they were half-hearted and really not that funny at all, she was trying and he appreciated it.

Giggling, she stood and dragged back the stool to replace it omit. Her giggle turned to a sigh of exasperation, as she bent for the glass and bandages Kevin had lazily discarded on the floor. She wrapped them up in one hand tucking them under her arm.

"I'm, Elizabeth, by the way."

Bending down to him once more, she ajusted his sheets then sighed. "Don't worry love, it'll get better soon. I promise."

She exited the room.

As soon as she left, Bryce closed his eyes taking a deep breath. What was he to do now? He could barley walk on his own as it was.

And the others? Charlie, Jhon, Elisa and Max? What about them? Would he ever see them again-at all?

At first he had found himself dreading the long hours of each day - wondering, waiting, terrified of what would come next - and now? If possible, he would give anything to just experience that once more. With them, his group.

They were people he trusted, people he could rely on. People like Charlie.

He turned onto his side, shaking his head of all thoughts.

Something was coming and it was coming soon. Be it tomorrow, the day after or even a week from now, it would be there and he would find his way back to them. He knew it, he just knew it.

--

AUTHORS NOTE: Holy fack your mommy!! Talk about long enough to put a chapter, jeeze... it took me like what? Two months and a half?! Even I'm angry about that and if I were you, I would be too! But, also very happy because I was nice enough to finally finish this chapter and post it 'cause I've come across some authors on fanfiction and man dose it grind my gears(haha! Family Guy :P) Any-who-I'm rambling -- I am very very mary larry harry sorry and hope(no promises!) that the next few chaps will be comin' out more frequently.

THANK YOU SO AMAZINGLY MUCH - LIKE YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAAAANNND!! JAN LEE, I CAN NOT BEGIN TO EXPRESS HOW FREKIN CRAZY YOU ARE CHILD... OLDER CHILD... You are the best Beta in zee world and I am VERY thankful to have you! XD THANKS !!

- On another note, I'd just like to explain my oddly long absents. You see - well, technically you read(hahaha) - I've got a schedule that could kill this year. I dance monday-thursday 4-10pm no joke. Plus, I have homework and school. Not the best of combinations, but it works and I love it. It was also my birthday on the 26th of September!! Horay, I'm finally 14! XD (randoommmm)

Thanks for reading yallzzzz!!

and don't forget to review!!