A/N: this chapter was written by Aliniel during EFB's 2019 Secret Santa writing exchange event. thank you Aliniel for your chapter - you've captured the somber energy of the scene so beautifully, and i really couldn't have done better myself!

please check out her writing at u/7783902/Aliniel !


Time seems to have slowed down to a complete stop at this point. The team was still taking refuge in the abandoned house and the morale was slowly depleting. It has been raining for so long that the sound of drops melted with the tense atmosphere to the point where they can't even hear it anymore, or rather, they just ignore it as if it was the static from an old TV.

When they weren't looking through the window they would be lying on a chair waiting, just waiting. For Ara and Add to come back, and for Elesis to heal. Looking through the window would show no signs of activity. No zombies. No survivors. No anything. Just a thick layer of water sliding down the glass. Even the gray light filtering through the storm clouds seemed to be sucking in the color of the house, contributing to the oppressing atmosphere.

The one having a hardest time was most likely Lu, as she could barely hold in the need of action and yet, she was staring at the ground, wondering if dying of boredom was actually possible. The only thing to distract her was her attempts at helping Ain, but that was nowhere close to spend her energy. Ciel, on the other hand, was the only one who seemed mostly fine. His way of standing quietly near the door ready to welcome his fellow partners was almost stoic in their current situation, and at least was one thing less to worry about.

Ain, however, was on the verge of a break down. The paramedic was in pain but he still refused to let out whatever was troubling him, putting up a façade with his smile for his friends. A smile that was fine for most of them, but one that Lu started to see through, realizing the the anxious feelings and the frustration that was slipping through the cracks on that fake smile.

And Rose had her share of trouble as well. She wandered the house until she finally saw Elesis looking through the window. The red headed woman was looking at the outside, seeing nothing but water and lighting, and constantly sighing, thinking about the two that are still out there. Rose decides to join her by the window. She sees the red eyes reflected in the window just before Elesis turns around. They go from a worried and sorrowful gesture to a tender welcome.

"Hi Elesis. How are you doing?"

Rose drags another chair next to Elesis and takes a seat. Elesis just waves her makeshift cane as an answer, wearing an apologetic smile. Since the incident they had a few days ago, Elesis had to rely on it to walk around. She couldn't avoid getting hurt rescuing Rose and unfortunately it meant that she would be fighting any zombies soon. Her routine now consisted of waiting, for her knee to heal, and for her friends to come back.

"I see... ," Rose pauses to stare outside. The raining noise suddenly seems to gain strength as the silence between them stretches, forcing Rose to say something more "Are you worried about Ara?"

"Ara? Not really, she can take care of herself just fine. I'm more worried about Add. That guy's flimsy as hell, and he wouldn't be able to outrun even a legless zombie," Elesis answers, trying to strike an unpreoccupied laugh that slowly turns into an awkward giggle.

The silence comes back. Both of them struggle to break it. Constantly looking into each other to start a conversation but averting their gaze after their eyes met. This uncomfortable situation goes on, interrupted only by Lu's grumbles and her tapping on the ground.

"So, you have been pretty quiet lately. Is there something bothering you?" Rose asks, finally managing to say something. Elesis sits straight, she caresses her knee with care, feeling a stinging pain as she shifted her legs.

"Well, I guess I should say something," Elesis says. She scratches the back of her head, thinking in the best wording for what she's about to say. Ever since she got the team holed up in this house she has been feeling guilty. As their leader, she was supposed to always guide the team to the best situation, and yet now they all were in the worst state possible, and to make things worse she was injured, keeping everyone pinned there "I should apologize for this situation. I should've predicted it, and think about something better, but here we are now, and there's nothing I can really do other than apologize so…"

"Well, I'm not different," Rose started to say "If it weren't by me screwing up you wouldn't have got hurt after all…"

They let out a chuckle after the apologies, but they still don't know what to say after, so the awkward silence comes back. A lighting crackles near, illuminating the room with a white flash and making the ruined house tremble under the sound of thunder. Rose lets out a sigh and faces Elesis again. The redhead returns her gaze, noticing the stern look in Rose's eyes.

"When Lu and I arrived at that apartment we already knew there would be something horrible inside. But I have to say everything was beyond expectations," Rose started to say, earning Elesis's full attention on the matter. "The first thing we noticed was the stench. It smelled like rotten flesh and mold, a horrible scent that I wish I would never had to experience again."

Rose looked at the window, she felt a shiver down her spine as she revived what she saw in that place. All the time during her speech, she felt Elesis staring at her, although she wasn't sure if their leader was concerned, curious or if she simply felt sorry for her experience in the apartment. She continued.

"There was something around the walls. I thought it was simply mold, growing around because of the neglect the flat went through, but on closer inspection I felt like if it was pulsating. Like if the whole place was covered in some horrible flesh monstrosity…" Rose paused for a moment; Elesis remained still until she resumed her tale. "Henir turned his flat into a laboratory. Where there was a kitchen, you would find now glass tubes. Big enough to fit a person inside. Most of them broken, save for one, sealed and containing a strange… amalgam of blood and flesh. Probably a long dead experiment... Most of the house's applications were still intact, mixed with the laboratory clutter. A dusty microscope laying next to half cleaned plates in the sink. Pet food sharing drawer with lab coats. A couch buried in paperwork, in front of a TV covered with other apparatus. It was like someone was in a hurry and just dropped everything a lab needs in the living room. And the worst of it was the bathroom. I'm telling you, it looked like Henir brewed his virus on the bathtub. A dark liquid was there, bubbling and suppurating from the sides. Just seeing it we closed the door immediately, I thought we could turn into zombies just by looking at it."

"But there was a room mostly untouched. It was one of the bedrooms, mostly empty, but there wasn't any lab stuff there, even the repulsive stuff growing on the walls seemed to have let that room alone…"

Rose stops again. Remembering the horrible stuff was enough to make her insides churn. Elesis felt how her friend was struggling and tenderly placed her hand on Rose's. The blonde girl looked through the window, catching a lighting striking somewhere in the town. She took a deep sight to calm her nerves and faced Elesis again.

"Elesis… I'm tired. I'm tired of being in constant danger and fear. Of running around looking for people. And most of all, I'm tired of seeing such horrors. I know I'm going to have nightmares for the rest of my life already but…" Rose leaned closer to Elesis, lowering her voice to a whisper so the others couldn't hear her "I'm sorry to ask this but. Elesis, when we arrive at Sander, I want to head North. I want to go to Elysium, where it's safe. And I want to go with all of you. The snow already started falling, but this cold won't last forever. Soon it'll be hot again and the zombies will become more active."

As Rose is venting, Elesis finally stoods. She has to bit her lip as a jolt of pain shots through her leg. Quickly checking that her leg was still there, she pulled Rose to her feet and hugged her. Rose gasped in surprise, before slowly embracing Elesis back.

"When the winter ends, we'll be safe. I promise, Rose."