"Do you think she's alright?" Melissa heard a voice say. She was positive it was Seth.
"She'll be fine Seth," she heard Dean say. She thought he was probably rolling his eyes.
Melissa couldn't tell, but she thought she might be laying on one of the pews. She stared at the darkness of her eyelids, wondering what had happened. She remembered making it into the church, but the rest was a blur. She shifted one of her legs, trying to find a more comfortable position. The pew creaked as she did so, alerting the four men that she was awake.
She opened her eyes to see Seth outlined against the darkness of the rest of the church.
"Are you alright Melissa?" he asked her.
Melissa sat up, blinking at the utter darkness in the church. "What happened?" she asked. "I…" she paused, not sure what to say next.
"You passed out," she heard Randy say bluntly from behind her. "Any reason why?"
Melissa thought back to the scene on the street, how she had killed the zombie. "I…I…I've never…" She started shaking as she spoke. "I've never killed one before."
"What, one of the zombies?" Dean asked.
Melissa nodded, and then realized Dean probably couldn't see her. "Yeah," she murmured.
"You or him," Dean reasoned.
"I know, but it still doesn't change the fact…the fact that I killed him." She choked out the last bit. "I was prepared to do it, but… I didn't want to, not really." She felt weak for admitting that, but she knew it was the truth.
"It would have happened eventually," Randy told her. "Better sooner rather than later."
Melissa shrugged uncomfortably. "How long was I out?"
Seth spoke up from beside her. He had somehow managed to sit down on the pew without making it creak. "Well, we don't exactly have a clock, but I would say no more than an hour."
"And you've all been sitting around in the dark since then?" Melissa queried.
"Light switch doesn't work, remember?" Dean commented caustically.
Melissa rolled her eyes. "I have a few Coleman lanterns on the piano."
"Wouldn't the zombies see the light from the street?" Randy asked.
"They might. The windows are boarded up and have some blankets over them. I haven't really had a problem, because they're usually not over here at night," Melissa told him.
"Well, they're swarming around the place tonight," Randy commented. "So I think we should keep risking bumping around without the lights."
"They are?" Melissa asked with a slight tremor in her voice.
"Yeah. Dozens of them. They must have finally made it over the wall," Dean informed her. "And for once I agree with Randy. It's safer to just leave the lights out for now."
"Wait, I thought that was just an on-screen feud?" Melissa said, finally bringing up the animosity the two had shown towards each other.
"Hang on a minute; you've known the whole time who we are?" Seth asked her.
Melissa blushed, and decided she was glad it was dark. She twirled a strand of her brown curly hair around one finger. "Umm, yeah…"
"And here I was making introductions," Seth muttered. Melissa thought he might be rolling his eyes.
Randy snorted, and a soft chuckle came from where Melissa supposed Roman was sitting.
"I thought it would be awkward or something. And I might have been wrong that it was you," she told him. "And I don't really think celebrity status counts for anything in the apocalypse."
Dean laughed slightly. "She's got a point Seth. I don't think it really matters too much at this point." He then addressed Melissa. "And yes, it was mostly a TV feud. But it's partly based on my…" he paused, as if searching for the right words. "...my and Randy's, ah, feelings for each other."
"In other words, they hate each other's guts," Seth said.
"Oh don't pretend like you're best buddies with me either, Rollins," Randy said. "I'm outta here as soon as it's clear. Less time I have to spend with you three the better."
"Good riddance," Dean muttered.
"What about me?" Melissa joked lightly. In all honesty, she didn't really want someone to just go out by themselves. It felt like a death sentence.
"Melissa, right?" Randy said. "I'm sure you'd be nice enough company, but I'm not too interested in staying in one place too long, and you look like you're planning to hunker down here for a long while. And I don't intend to stay, and I'm sure the Shield feels the same way."
Melissa's heart rate picked up. She hadn't realized it, but she had missed human company. She didn't want anyone to leave; she didn't want to be alone again.
"We're leaving as soon as we figure out what to do about the car situation," Dean confirmed. "In the meantime, I want to sleep."
"Someone should keep watch," Roman suggested.
"We can split it up between all of us," Seth said. "I'll take the first watch. I'll wake Dean up after that. Melissa will be next, after her will be Randy, and Roman will be last. Hey, Roman, do you still have your wristwatch? And does it work if you do?"
A small greenish glow lit up Roman's face as he pressed one of the buttons on the watch to light up the face. "Yeah."
"What time is it now?" Melissa asked curiously. Time had been meaningless to her since the apocalypse began.
"Nine o'clock," Roman answered.
"We can each take two hour shifts and be up at 7," Seth said. "Roman, I'm gonna need the watch. Otherwise, I'm not going to know when to wake Dean up."
"I'm okay with that," Dean said with a small laugh.
"I doubt you'd be if he woke you up early," Melissa pointed out.
"True. Hey Seth, where'd you put the sleeping bags we brought in?"
"Over by the door."
Melissa heard Dean stand up and curse as he bumped into one of the pews. "Does anyone have a light that we can use so we don't break our legs but don't alert the zombies?" he asked.
Suddenly a small light turned on, causing everyone to wince at the small bit of brightness after sitting in the dark.
Melissa looked at Randy, who was holding the light. It came from an iPhone that he held in his hand. "You still have an iPhone?" she asked incredulously.
"Well, it's no good for calling anymore, but the flashlight app works wonders."
"No kidding," she said with a laugh. "We should probably try and get everything done quickly to save the battery."
The Shield was already in motion, moving around the church to get everything situated. Dean started laying down the sleeping bags in front of the rows of pews while Seth got the watch from Roman and picked a spot he liked for keeping watch by the back door.
Randy stood watching impassively before sitting down on a pew.
Melissa looked at him curiously. She had seen him with a backpack earlier, but it didn't look like he had any sort of bedding or sleeping bag. "Are you going to sleep there?" she asked, pointing at the pew. Your back will ache like hell in the morning."
"I don't exactly have anything better," Randy told her caustically.
"I have a spare sleeping bag you could use," Melissa offered.
Randy's eyes narrowed. Melissa thought he might be surprised by her offering it up for nothing in return. "I'll take it if you're not using it."
Melissa nodded and made her way back to the office, wincing as she bumped into the desk. She searched around in the dark, finally locating the sleeping bag. She brought it back to Randy, who nodded in thanks before laying it down on the floor in between the pews.
Melissa murmured a "good night" to everyone and made her way back to the office before lying down on top of her own sleeping bag. She stared at the ceiling for a little before she heard Randy ask, "Everyone good?" After a few moments Randy turned the iPhone light off, plunging the church into darkness.