A nice, long ending for you guys. Probably a happier one. I wrote this in Alexis' point of view because. Well because she doesn't die in this one haha. Yeah sorry about that. Oh well I like me some tragedy and this wasn't supposed to be a happy ending, so that's why this one is the alternate ending instead of the main ending!
Anyway that's a wrap for this story. Hope you all enjoyed, sorry it took so long to finish, but better late than never eh? Ha yeah no I do feel really bad but things happened and I was going through some stuff. But now I'm better and I'm back into writing! I'll be posting up more fanfics in the future so stay tuned!
This was how it was going to end.
They'd overwhelmed me, overcome their innate fear. The truce we'd come to was broken and now. . . so was I.
Somehow I'd managed to crawl through the pain and reach Dr. Neville. We were separated by a few inches of glass, but at least I was there with him. At least none of the infected were bothering with me. They had stopped—they were watching their Alpha tear down the barrier.
Robert stared in horror and disbelief as he kept slamming into the glass, wearing it down. Cracking it through and through.
But suddenly, he stopped.
I looked up from where I lay slumped and watched him curiously. I was bleeding from somewhere, I could feel it. If they didn't kill me soon, then that was going to. Why did he stop? Why—
Alpha slammed his hand against the glass and smeared sweat and something else I didn't want to think about over the glass. From the angle, I couldn't see the shape.
Then he looked at me.
My body went taut and I hissed a small warning, but he just narrowed his eyes at me and snarled—no threatening. No. . . no he wanted something.
Something particular.
I listened, breathing hard, and then turned toward Dr. Neville.
"What—what did he draw?" I asked loudly.
He glanced at me, his face confused and terrified. "It—it looks like a butterfly. But that—I don't understand—why is he. . . ?"
My shook with the force, but I shifted myself up and pressed my forehead against the glass. Ah—so that was where I was bleeding from. Even better. But now I knew, and it brought the tiniest of smiles to my faces.
The Alpha snarled again, growing impatient, and slammed a fist against the glass. His snarl turned into a pining keen and I pushed my palm against the glass.
"Robby. . . Robby the girl. Give him the girl."
At first he glanced at Anna, but I shook my head. "No—no. The one you stole."
His eyes went wide and he turned toward the infected woman on the examining table, disbelief written on his features. I watched through the dirty glass as he turned to look at her, then lifted up her head just slightly.
"What?" My voice felt thick and raw in my throat. Consciousness was beginning to slip but I fought back the darkness.
For a second all Robert could do was stare and process the information.
Then, he lifted his hands and made a show of putting down the gun he held. Anna stirred behind him, but I prayed she wouldn't interfere.
With the gun down, Robert turned toward the infected girl and rummaged for a second. I couldn't see from where I was so I heaved myself up, eliciting a few snarls and growls from the other infected, but they didn't dare make a move while the Alpha was standing there, waiting.
I leaned heavily against the plexiglass pane, peering inside. Anna was hissing at Robert, but he paid her no mind as he pulled out the girl's IV. The results were almost instantaneous—her complexion turned mottled, her breathing became more erratic. . . she had almost looked. . . normal.
My eyes widened and a lump formed in my throat.
The cure.
He had done it.
Robert turned to hold on to the front of the cart, his back to the door.
"Open the door please," Robert asked.
Anna's eyes went wide and she cocked her head ever so slightly to one side. Ethan remained in the corner, hidden and terrified. "What are you doing?"
I didn't hear Robert's response, but he turned toward me, gaze curious. He needed the confirmation. I looked back at the small crowd of Infected gathered in that lab basement. They weren't moving, but they were getting restless. Sighing, I turned back to Dr. Neville and nodded my head.
"You'll be alright," I said, trying to smile reassuringly. It probably just looked like a grimace.
He nodded and turned to Anna again.
She looked torn, but strode across the small cage to pick up Dr. Neville's gun, then moved to the door, Ethan up and sliding in behind her, hugging close to her back and trying not to look at the infected outside.
Anna hesitated longer than I would have liked, but eventually she unlocked the door and it slid open just a few inches.
Screeches made me turn sharply. Dizziness threatened to take me to the floor but I held on and readied myself, every muscle tensing so I could leap into action and protect the three inside the cage as the infected surged forward.
But the Alpha snarled a command and they all skidded to a stop, backing up once again. I let go of the breath I had been holding and kept my eyes on them for a while.
Another beat of hesitation, and then Anna slid the doors open. Ethan whimpered against her and she held on to him, trying her best to calm him and shush him. I put my hand over the glass where they were pressed against and said, "It'll be fine. . . I promise, it'll be fine. . . stay in the cage."
Robert backed up and I had to give him credit for the courage he was showing. For the trust he was putting in this Alpha—and in me.
Still I held my breath, turning to watch the other infected with a sharp eye, watching for insubordinates that decided to take things into their own hands. I knew they were likely hungry—would all of this have been a trick?
Anna slammed the doors shut once Dr. Neville was completely outside, his back to the Alpha. The Alpha hissed at him, their faces inches from each other, and then he walked around the gurney and looked at the girl on it with—relief? It was hard to tell, but he was definitely happy to see her.
"Lexi—can you get a syringe?" Robert asked me.
I followed his indication toward a drawer surrounded by infected. After taking a breath, I nodded. "An empty one, or. . . ?"
"They'll have something in it. I need to wake her up," he explained, his voice low. He was speaking slowly, as if he was trying to make the infected understand his intentions as well.
For a moment I stood there, unsure, then nodded and pushed off the glass. My legs felt heavy and one of my arms wasn't working the way I wanted it to, but I took a few staggering steps toward the drawer he had indicated to and slipped past the Infected standing there. They inched closer, hissing, mouths wide, and I growled at them.
The Alpha barked once and they flinched, backing away from me and the drawer. I pulled it open, hissing quietly at the ones that remained nearby, and pulled out a syringe with a semi-clear liquid.
"This one?" I asked, lifting it for Dr. Neville to see.
He nodded. "Yes, thank you."
I limped to him and gave him the syringe, then retreated back to the glass and leaned against it, afraid that if I lingered any longer it would make them all nervous.
The Alpha watched, his face grave and stone cold, as Neville took the syringe and slid the needle into the girl's leg. He pushed on the plunger and seconds later, the girl's back arched and she was gasping in a deep breath.
Her eyes opened and she wailed when she spotted the Alpha, lifting her arm and gently caressing his face with her fingertips. He closed his eyes and enjoyed her touch for a moment, and then leaned down. The two nuzzled each other for a moment and I held my breath, waiting for something to happen. The betrayal, the exit, something. . . anything.
Dr. Neville watched on, never fully turning his head but instead from the corner of his eyes. His face showed confusion, regret—he had thought they were animals, I knew that much. This—this was shocking for him.
I'd always suspected, but I'd never spent enough time with the infected. This may or may not have changed everything.
A sound I'd never heard the Alpha make beat against my ears—a cry of relief, a deep wail that tugged at my insides and. . . made me feel happy. He'd been so distraught that she had been taken. . . all of this mess just because Dr. Neville had taken the wrong girl from the pack. . . .
He scooped the girl up in her arms and Dr. Neville leaned in to unfasten the straps holding her down, then backed back against the glass to give them room.
The Alpha held the girl close to his chest, carrying her bridal style. She wrapped an arm around his neck and nuzzled against the side of his neck, heeding no mind to anything else going on around her.
His angry gaze turned on Dr. Neville and I tensed, inching closer to him and standing up just a little bit straighter.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Neville offered, shaking his head.
The Alpha snarled at him and Dr. Neville had the presence of mind to dip his head and drop eye contact. I, however, kept my eyes on the Alpha, sweeping occasionally over the crowd still tightly packed in the lab.
But none attacked. The Alpha never gave that command.
Instead, he gave Dr. Neville and I a long look, then barked a command to retreat. No one moved for a moment, so he did it a little louder and turned his body sharply, indicating toward the exit.
They weren't happy about it, but the rest of the infected turned to leave and I felt my body start to relax. He was true to his word like always.
We shared a brief moment of eye contact and I hissed gently, moving toward Neville again and gripping the sleeve of his shirt with my fingers. It was my own apology, my own vow to keep him better in line in the future.
The Alpha snorted in contempt and then followed his subordinates out.
Our truce was mended.
And then they were gone, back up the stairs and out of the house.
Dr. Neville went slack next to me, sliding down the glass to sit on the ground. I followed suit and leaned heavily against the glass, closing my eyes in relief.
We said nothing, just shared glances and sat in silence.
I smiled slightly and my hand fell from Dr. Neville's shoulder. The adrenaline was gone, the danger had passed, and my wounds consumed me.
The darkness swept in from the sides and I knew nothing for a time.
When I came to, I was lying on a hard surface. I recognized it a few seconds later as the examining table. My limbs felt like they were filled with lead and a fog lay thick over my mind, jumbling my thoughts. Slowly, though, both of those sensations faded away and I blinked away the bleariness from my eyes.
It was cold. I shuddered lifting my good arm—one was in a sling—and felt cold water moving about on the table. Had they put me in an ice bath?
"Robby? Rob—Dr. Neville!" I cried, trying to sit up. Something tugged at my arm and I looked over sharply at the IV sitting nearby.
I heard someone stir and looked around—Dr. Neville came down the stairs and he smiled wide at me. "Oh! You're awake. Damn. . . I was hoping I'd be back by the time you woke but this is fine."
"What happened?" I asked, lifting the arm without the sling to rub at my eyes. "Everything hurts."
"You passed out," he explained. Behind him I saw Anna and Ethan poking their head around the corner. Everyone was smiling except for Ethan. I had a feeling it would be a while before that kid smiled again. "They got you good this time. . . we had to patch you up."
Taking a deep breath, I looked around the room. Some of Dr. Neville's computers were in shambles, the tables pushed aside, and several things were broken.
My eyes widened and I tried to get off the table again but the IV tugged at my skin and I muttered an expletive, sitting back down. Dr. Neville put a hand on my shoulder and pat me. "Just calm down, what's wrong?"
"The cure," I rasped, looking around the lab. "I saw—that girl. She was—she was almost cured! You did it! Did—can you still make it? Was the lab—is the lab—"
He gripped my shoulder reassuringly and smiled. A motion that made his whole face come alive. "It's fine. I have plenty. We have a cure, and we're going up to the mountains, where Anna says that community is."
I looked at him, confused, and tilted my head. "I thought you didn't believe that really existed."
"I also thought the infected were a bunch of animals. Mindless, hungry animals with no ounce of human emotion left," he countered, sitting back against a counter. "If I was wrong about that I could be wrong about this."
Made sense to me.
"When are we leaving?"
He pushed off the counter and fastened my IV to a moving mount and motioned toward the stairs. It was at least "You're awake so. . . now."
"How long have I been out?" I asked, standing up on unsteady legs and pushing the IV toward the stairs. My arm was in a sling against my chest and I felt heavy bandages on my forehead, where the big cut had been.
Neville stepped aside and let me take the lead. Anna and Ethan scurried up the stairs. The expression on Anna's face made me think I was missing something.
"Several hours. It's about nine in the morning," he explained, a hand at my lower back as I made my way up the stairs. I leaned against the wall and dragged myself up the stairs while Dr. Neville helped get the IV up.
At the top of the stairs, I started to struggle to pull my hood over my head again, but Dr. Neville stopped me. "That's not necessary."
I looked at him sharply, my eyes wide.
He smiled and nodded his head ever so slightly.
My heart beat against my chest and I looked down at my body for the first time. My hand was shaking, but it was—smooth. The veins had sunk back and I wasn't a mottled color of red and blue anymore. I felt my face—still sunken, but the skin was firm and supple.
And my heart—it was beating fast. . . but it was. . .different somehow.
The light.
The light from upstairs—I didn't have to squint, didn't have to shy away from it. My eyes adjusted to the light and I could see Anna standing at the top.
Tears welled and I fought to get up the stairs faster. Neville gave me a warning, but I didn't hear it. The IV tugged at my arm when he failed to keep up with me, but went slack when he realized I was going to go where I wanted. It all made sense now. The cold water when I'd woken up. It had been ice. . . just like with the girl he had tried to cure.
Had he. . . ?
I took Anna's hand at the top of the stairs and she helped pull me the rest of the way into the living room. She ushered Ethan away and he scampered down the hallway, opening the front door.
My breath caught in my throat when sunlight flooded through the threshold. I swallowed the lump in my throat and pushed onward, limping slightly but still making it through. My hand reached out before me and I felt the warmth of the sun on my skin—hotter than I remembered, but not burning.
Suddenly afraid, I stopped moving and pulled my hand back. A few tears had escaped and fallen down my cheeks, but I turned to Dr. Neville, questioning, testing.
He nodded and urged me on.
A shuddering breath left my lungs and I moved on toward the door. It rose up in front of me and I stood at the edge, staring out at the sunlit world. I could still feel the rays of the sun heating my skin, threatening to burn me if I stayed in it too long. My eyes hurt from years of being in the dark, but it wasn't the same.
It wasn't dangerous.
I just had to get used to it again.
"I made a promise to you," Dr. Neville said, his voice and expression serious. I turned back to look at him and was surprised to see his own tears.
I choked out a sob and stepped outside, lifting my arm and closing my eyes.
"I promised I'd cure you."
For the first time in years, I openly cried.
I was me again.
