I've been hit…But I can't let him kill himself…Its not his fault, its mine…I have to get the gun…I can't feel it yet, but I know I've been hit…The pain is rising…This wound…This could be fatal…Its getting harder to breathe… I must be dying… I taste blood… I'm glad I at least get to die in his arms…what is he saying? I can hardly hear…I have to tell him…But I'm choking…I have to tell him…

…I have to tell him…I love him…

Ellis sat bold upright in bed covered in a cold sweat.

"Owww~ Oh god, tha' really hurts…"

He opened his eyes and saw that it was morning…Sunlight came in through the blinds casting bright bars across the room. Sitting in an uncomfortable looking plastic chair near the window was the young blond girl. Seeing her hurt worse than the pain in his chest.

"Before you tell me to get out, I need to talk to you." Abby said in a serious tone.

"Dun' worry darlin' he's all yours. I'm out of the race." He rubbed his mending bullet hole. "You've won."

"I was never in the race to begin with. The race was over 5 years ago."

"I'm regrettin' this metaphor."

"I haven't had a chance to talk to you, and its important." Abby walked over to his bedside. "You've been in an induced comma for a week and Nick hasn't left your bedside."

Ellis sighed and looked away from her.

"I am his daughter…"

"NICKS DAUGHTER?! THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

"No!" Abby shouted turning red. "I'm the daughter of the man Nick was trying to save. My father was a doctor working on a cure for the virus years before the world even knew it existed."

"H-how is that possible?"

"Years before the actual outbreak doctors and scientists were working on a cure. The virus was a need-to-know only phenomenon. The United Nations kept it under wrap to avoid mass-hysteria." She looked down at her feet. "My father was one of the only people on the team who was immune to it. When society collapsed Oeste found out about him and took my whole family captive. They intended to either ransom my father to the highest bidder, or capitalize on his cure."

Ellis was paying close attention to her now.

"But after all my fathers years of research there was one thing he proved conclusively…there is no cure." She wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"As soon as Oeste found out, they killed him… and I became their…property. I was passed around the gang from member to member…They all had their way with me…I was only 16…"

"I…I'm sorry…" Ellis said sincerely.

"I was 19 by the time I came to Nick. I was 'given' to him by another member. Nick had been working his way through the gang to get to me, and when he finally did he told me he was looking for the cure…He said that even if I didn't have it he would save me. I told him there was no cure, but my fathers notes and research still existed within the gang. After more than a year of searching we finally found them. Oeste intended, once again, to sell them. After no one showed interest they seemed to forget they even had them. They were locked away covered in dust by the time we got our hands on them, but it was worth it."

"He-he really found the cure?

"No. There is no cure. It can't be done. But in their research they had managed to develop a vaccine. Once the virus matures in the body it mutates at an impossible rate. Two thirds of the world's population were susceptible to it, slowly becoming zombies as soon as infected. The other third were carriers, but immune to the deadly effect of it."

"Like me and my friends?"

"Yes. But you still have the virus. At this point the whole world does. As soon as the carriers die the virus take effect and they too become zombies. But as long as you are alive you won't turn. My mom was not immune. Once the virus struck my mother became very sick. By the time Oeste took us she was already on her way to becoming a zombie. I was worried it would happen to me too, but my father somehow knew I would be fine. In his notes we found out why.

"I was one of the first people to receive the vaccine. I was an infant when I was vaccinated. Once the mature virus takes hold the vaccine is useless, it needs time to grow and mature with the human body. But once vaccinated 99.9% of children were immune to all effects and testing showed that their cells did not mutate after death."

"What does that mean?"

"Even if I die, I won't become a zombie. If the vaccine is produced and distributed, in a few decades there will be no more zombies."

Ellis took a moment to let the vast amount of information sink in.

"This is all real neat and stuff, but what does it have to do with me? I'm too old right? I can't be vaccinated. So why are you telling me this?"

"I've slept with Nick. He saved my life. He was the first person I ever slept with of my own free will. And I'm not going to lie to you, I wasn't the only person Nick was with while he was away…But he hasn't been with anyone in almost a whole year. I can say that with certainty because ten months ago, when we escaped Oeste and made our way here, he made it clear that he cared about me but he wasn't in love with me."

"Sure…" Ellis rolled his eyes. "And that means he loves me right?"

Abby said nothing, she walked over to his bedside table and pick up his dogtags.

"These are Nicks rings right?" She asked with a smile. "He has such a gaudy sense of style doesn't he? Figures he'd be bisexual."

"Ey, I'm gay and I've got no sense of style at all. For a long time the only pair o' pants I owned were coveralls tied 'round my waist. And…uh…don't tell anyone but, that was long before the zombie apocalypse so, I have no real excuse…Point is, gay guys aren't the effeminate types most people think…"

"Right, sorry." She chuckled. "But, you kept these because you love him right?"

Ellis closed his eyes. "…yea. Even now, I don't think I could bring myself to let em' go…"

"Nick has a red bandana."

Ellis's eyes snapped open.

"Its covered in blood and sweat stains, but he never goes anywhere without it. Whenever I asked him about it he didn't answer. He even got into a nasty fight with another Oeste member that tried to take it away from him. He broke a rib in that fight…" She looked at him gauging his reaction. "Judging by your face, I'd say I'm right. It belongs to you doesn't it?"

Ellis could only look at her stunned.

"Ellis, as soon as we left Oeste Nick put an end to sex between us. I think leaving Oeste was the first time he allowed himself to believe he was coming back to you…He loves you. You love him too." She let the rings and dog tag gently ring together on their chain.

"C-can you…get him for me?" Ellis asked a single tear running down his cheek to rest on his smiling lips.

"No." Abby said flatly. "He packed his bags last night. He's leaving the compound."

"What?!" Ellis shouted getting out of bed. He winced in pain again. "I have to stop him…"

"I know." Abby reached into her jacket and removed a cylindrical tube. "I brought you this."

"An adrenaline shot…"

"It should give you what you need to go chase him down. But don't over do it ok? If you end up coughing up more blood Nick will kill me."

Ellis threw his arms around her and held her tightly. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you." He said into her shoulder.

Abby closed her eyes and cried softly.

"Nick saved my life. You're all he wants in the world. Make him happy." She pushed him away wiping her cheeks and put the shot in his hand. "You better hurry. He's planning to leave with the noon scavenging crew."