Regina rolled over into Daniel's chest, letting a groan vibrate through his torso as she sleepily begs for, "Five more minutes."
The damn alarm was blaring, a loud panicked radio host muttering off about something before Daniel reached over to shut it off.
They held each other tightly for those five more minutes, just like they always did. This was their time. Regina could skim her fingertips along the soft skin of his abdomen or she could listen to the muffled heartbeat through the thin material of his t-shirt. He always wore a shirt. And socks. He was practically an ice bucket through the night, even if she was there curled against him, he needed the extra layers to keep him safe from the shivers that would shake him awake.
Their morning continued, as usual, that day. What started off as Daniel's separate shower became a shared one, and later in the kitchen, Daniel made the coffee while she scrambled the eggs. It was beautifully domestic and she loved it. Not just because she knew the very thought of it would rile up her mother to no end but because they built it all by themselves and nothing could touch it, not anymore.
At least that's what she thought.
Sirens sounded through their quiet suburb later that morning without any warning, the sheer sound of it alone startled her heart, forcing its pattern into a fast rhythm. She immediately caught Daniel's eyes and they waited for any other sign of what might have been happening.
"Don't they sound those for severe weather?" Daniel asked, leaving his half-eaten breakfast on the dinner table.
The way his fork clinked against the edge of his plate made her stomach lurch as a sense of fright made its way from her gut into her chest.
Something didn't feel right.
Regina stood with him at the kitchen window, noting that there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, only a bright blue blanket that would never dare merit a sirened warning.
"Maybe it's a mistake?" Regina queried, hoping that the loud noises would cease.
He took her hand and took her outside onto their front lawn, curiosity their guide. Their neighbours had the same idea, families had gathered on their lawn up their street. Many were covering their ears to shield from the loud noises, Regina included because the sirens were making her ears ring painfully.
Her face scrunched up, hoping, yet again, that the loud noises would stop and suddenly Daniel gripped onto her shoulders tightly, pulling her backwards and telling her to, "Get inside."
His tone alone threw her off guard, turning to face a white sheet of terror. He was staring over her shoulder, urging her to look back to catch a glimpse of what had terrified him so.
She tensed immediately at the sight, backing into him, the usual wave of comfort that comes from the warmth of his body not providing the same effect. As more and more people around them started to realise what was moving towards them, commotion picked up.
Families starting racing back inside their homes, panicked questions began to fly around the yards and from every direction put chaos erupted around them. People yelled about things they heard on the news, about a viral outbreak, the undead coming back to life, all things that should have stolen Regina's attention but she couldn't take her eyes away from what was about to change life as she knew it.
A little girl was limping through the middle of the road. She shouldn't have been there. She should have been on her way to school, laughing with her friends on the school bus and comparing lunch boxes. Instead, this small child was drenched in a deep dark red. Her hair on once side was completely matted to the side of her face, her skin pale and lifeless. She had her jaw clenched as she walked on a broken leg as if it were nothing, the bone pierced through the skin, directly in Regina's direction with no intention of stopping.
Regina could have stared for days, but the screaming around her pulled her from her trance. While the little girl made her way up the street, other horrifying beings had been sneaking up around them from their backyards and all directions. They were surrounded by horrifically neutral faces, lifeless skin, cuts, bruises, blood and huge bites with no idea where to run.
xxxxxxxx
Regina wakes up hazy, her vision failing her momentarily and she tries to take in her surroundings. She's laying atop a thick sleeping bag with the forest floor all around her, situated underneath hanging green tarp. She looks down at her body, her blood-stained shirt pulled up and gathering just below her bra. The tightly wound bandaging around her abdomen is fresh and not as hastily thrown together as she remembers from before. Slightly confused, she attempts to sit up but only gets as far as to perch up on her elbows slightly.
The tarp to her left is slowly lifted, allowing the beaming sunlight to shine inside as a man she doesn't know towers.
Instinctually, she reaches for a weapon, turning a tad too quickly for her wound to handle and she yelps in pain.
"Whoa," the man calls out, kneeling quickly by her side. "Relax. You're safe."
Ignoring him, she fights through the pain and rolls away from him slightly, grasping around for anything that could protect her. He tells her that Robin brought her here, that she needed help and she allows her muscles to relax as things start to come back to her.
She remembers Robin. And the undead. And the table. And falling through it.
Rolling back, she looks up at the unfamiliar face, squinting to make out his features. He's tall and traditionally pretty, his features soft and kind considering the state of the world outside.
He's smiling kindly, almost relieved to see her awake. "You gave us a bit of a scare," he tells her before kneeling close to the ground. "Your wound is deep. You're lucky you didn't bleed to death on the way here. I stitched you up as best I could with the supplies I have."
From behind him, he reaches over for a candy bar and bottle of water, placing them carefully next to her before he shuffles his position to sit cross-legged by her side. "I'm David."
"Thank you," Regina croaks, the dryness of her lips and throat making it difficult to speak clearly. David uncaps the bottle at her side, helping her as she drinks thirstily from it. This time, she clearly offers her thanks.
"It was nothing," David says.
"It's better than I could have done," she counters. "You're a doctor?"
"A vet," David corrects. "But I'm the closest you'll get around these parts." He stands up and offers her a hand, "It's important that we get you moving slightly and used to what you are capable of right now."
She's still in pain but it's nowhere near as severe as before, it's more of an uncomfortable, dull ache when David pulls her up from the ground. He allows Regina the chance to catch her own balance and find what's comfortable for her.
"You good?" he asks, his arms hovering around her just in case. Regina nods and tries to take a few steps, and luckily they are easy enough to take. "Why don't we take a walk outside and see how you get on."
They walk around together, carefully and slowly until she isn't hurting as badly. He was right in suggesting that she get used to what her body can handle right now, there have been a few steps here and there that were a bit too much for her.
After rounding the camp once, Regina looks around and takes it all in.
There are three tarps hanging from branches, the sleeping bags underneath. There's an impressive campfire in the centre, rocks set up in a circle with a collection of wood in the centre - it's fresh and ready to light at nightfall. She notices the area is outlined with high wires and cans, one of the traps Robin mentioned before she passed out; it's smart, she thinks, a way to hear anything that wanders near their camp.
David makes himself comfortable on a log by the fire, asking her to join him if she can.
"I'd prefer to stand," she says as she begins to feel slightly awkward. She thought they'd bump into Robin on their walk around the camp. She may not trust Robin fully but she trusts him more than the person she met ten minutes ago.
"He went back to the neighbourhood for supplies," David explains. "Neither of us were expecting you to be awake again today if I'm being honest."
"Oh," she replies, crossing her arms as best as she can. "Well, I am."
"You're uncomfortable," he notices. "I don't blame you, I would be too if I woke up next to someone I didn't know, in fact, I'm almost certain I did a few times in college."
Her lips twitch into an unsuspecting smile, a laugh barely forming in the depths of her chest. It's the first time in a long time she's heard someone talk about the old world with such ease. "I'm sure you weren't the only one," she replies, surprisingly pleased enough to banter with him.
"Does our mystery woman have a sense of humour?" he teases and she allows a fuller laugh this time, telling him not to push it. "Okay, okay," he agrees, "But what's your deal? Where are you from?"
Regina tightens her lips and closes off that slight passage of normal conversation that had been opened for less than a minute.
"Don't worry, Robin told me all about your no name thing, and I can respect that," David utters off, "But I did just save your life. And you're in my camp, so I think it's fair to say we deserve one tiny bit of information about you."
Regina can't put into words what it is about Robin and David, but they both have an ease about them, a sense of safety that is throwing her off-kilter. "You first," she bargains. "How many of you are there?"
"No," he refuses. "You first and then I'll tell you how many are with us at the camp."
"Are you always this annoying?" she grumbles, now pacing carefully back and forth in front of him, testing her mobility.
"If you think I'm annoying, wait until Robin is back," he chuckles, but he stays firm with his question. "Come on, telling me where you are from isn't going to ruin your life."
"California," she says quickly, frustrated at him for pushing but oddly relieved at how easy it was. "Boston originally, but California."
David smiles, smugly proud it seems to weasel information out of her. She's not amused, narrowing her eyes his way. They had a deal.
"Four," he offers immediately, no hesitation. "Robin, me and two young ones, Roland and Henry." Regina looks around the camp, looking for the young faces he speaks of. "Robin took them with him."
"He took children on a run?" she questions.
"They can handle themselves rather well given the circumstances," David explains. "And they were worried about you when I was trying to work on your wound. They needed a distraction."
"And the best distraction he could think of was one that put them in danger?"
David chuckles, a single breathy one. "I think the rule book went out the window when all this started, no?" Regina knows he's right, but she just can't wrap her head around how this group has survived with children. "And look at that," David points over her shoulder, "They get to live another day."
Robin is walking towards them in the distance, in between a small boy barely the height of his legs and another boy that has at least an inch or two on her.
Robin waves her way, the boys beside him seeming to perk up at seeing her up and walking around.
"You'll love them," David says, squeezing her shoulder as he heads out to help them carry whatever they've found.
"That's what I'm worried about," she whispers to herself, exhaling heavily as she dreads meeting anyone else that she may have to suffer to lose.
