Seven days. For one incredibly long week, they all stayed at that campsite, listening and watching as the life within Zoe gradually slipped away.
Jolie was at Zoe's side for every moment of it, their new friendship being Zoe's only comfort. That and Frankie.
They had gotten lucky where the little guy was concerned, and Ava had been able to keep him well fed, even if he never seemed to be actually happy during that week. He seemed to sense the upset in the camp, and responded accordingly by being as fussy as everyone else was on edge, unless he was with his mother. Or with Ella, oddly enough. The middle Bloom sister was the only one who seemed to be able to actually quell the baby boy's constant complaining. Ella wasn't comfortable with letting Ava get near Zoe – thus, the truck cab – while one of the girls inside it were dying of the virus, so Ella always brought Frankie from the truck and brought him to Ava herself. Because of this, the smart little guy came to associate both sisters with his meal times, and became very fond of them both, even though Ella was his favorite.
His presence was really the only bright thing in their camp as the days marched steadily towards March third. It was at five o'clock in the morning of that day that Ella climbed out of the driver's side of the truck, where she had elected to sleep that week and crept towards where Rowan sat on his watch shift. Thanks to the eerie silence that had settled over the area – suddenly unhindered by the wracking coughs from Zoe that had become the constant cacophony over the camp – he heard her coming, and the instant that she stepped close enough that her expression was lit by the firelight, he knew. She didn't have to say a word; the look in her eyes said it all.
"Does Jolie know?" he asked softly, hoping not to wake anyone who might be asleep.
Ella shook her head. "She's so exhausted herself this week that when she finally goes to sleep, nothing sans a hurricane will wake her up."
"Good," Rowan murmured.
"What are we going to do with her?" Ella asked, not sounding quite as removed from the situation as Rowan did. "The body, I mean."
"There's a shovel underneath the bench seat of the truck and I have one match left in my jacket pocket," Rowan told her. "We can either bury her or burn the body."
Ella chewed on her lip, considering. For once when he looked at her, she seemed to be not quite capable of holding in all of her emotions, and like they had the first time he had saw her, they were manifesting themselves in her dark blue eyes.
"I know that people don't really like it," she said finally. "But can't we bury her? It seems like she deserves that much."
Rowan nodded, rising to his feet and starting towards the cab of the stolen delivery truck. Ella lagged behind, but only by a step. Rowan opened a back door of the truck, sliding the shovel out from under the bench seat and placing it carefully on the dirt ground so as to not awaken anyone. They never noticed that Ava was already halfway awake, sitting up in the bed of the truck as she nursed Frankie.
"What's going on?" Ava whispered softly, causing both Rowan and Ella to start.
A pause and a look passed between Rowan and Ella before the latter said only, "Zoe."
Ava sighed, a soft sound full of defeat that should have come from someone much older than her fifteen years. She handed Frankie to Ella, who looked momentarily lost as her sister climbed down from the back of the truck. At the same time, Cambria, who had been sleeping beside Ava, woke up and jumped down as well.
"What are you doing?"Ella asked, looking at Ava.
"Helping you bury her," Cambria answered for her. "You need the help and Zoe deserves for more than two people to be there."
"Are you sure?" Ella asked, looking in concern at the youngest Bloom.
"I'll be fine," Ava answered, laying a hand on her sister's arm.
Ella nodded; looking resigned, and shifted the sleeping Frankie in her arms so that she could carry the shovel as well.
"Where are we taking her?" Ava asked,
"Let's take her to the edge of the park;"Ella suggested. "I bet she'd like hearing any kids that might wander by."
Rowan nodded.
They moved carefully, desperate to give Jolie the small mercy of letting her sleep through this, but it was a tricky thing to manage when she was right there asleep in the passenger seat. Rowan took Zoe's shoulders, and Cambria and Ava both took over a leg as they staggered their way towards the edge of the clearing.
"We'll have to be careful," Ella whispered to them. "Lei and Heidi have been sleeping at the edge here to get away from the noise of the sickness."
They moved as quickly as they could while still giving Zoe's body the dignity and respect that they all felt she deserves, wanting to be back by the time that anyone might wake up and find all of them absent.
An hour later, at six am, they crept back into the clearing, their horrible task done. As he broke through the strand of trees, Rowan was disturbed to see Lei sitting alone by the campfire, awake, but with a dull glaze over her eyes. Knowing that none of them would be able to get another moment's sleep after what they had just done, Ella, Ava, and Cambria sat down at various places around the fire.
Rowan settled down beside Lei, but she didn't acknowledge the arrival of any of them until she asked somberly, "She died, didn't she?"
"Yeah," Rowan murmured.
Lei's shoulders sagged in defeat, and Rowan found himself scooting a little closer to her as if to offer her some version of comfort.
She didn't acknowledge that either, but just said in a low voice, "I don't know why I was so freaked out by one little nightmare before; this whole world is a nightmare."
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