It was still dark when Vera woke. She'd turned in her sleep, hand still entwined with CJ's. She was now on her side. During the night, he had also maneuvered, his chest flat against the arms of their chairs. She noted that he lay over his forearm, as though he hadn't wanted to remove his hand from hers. CJ rested his forehead against her, in the crook between her neck and shoulder. She relished in the warmth, sleepiness still covering her like a blanket.
If it hadn't been for her current position, she may have believed that the events of yesterday were a dream. She knew she should have been more alert, but she felt so safe that there was no need. For now, Vera banished any thought of the infected, any thought of them getting into the mall. Right now, all she wanted to focus on, was the man she was tangled up in.
Then, the loud noise of what she soon figured out were the lights turning on, echoed through the mall. She jumped a little, the jarring of her body was enough to knock CJ into consciousness. Bart had jumped up immediately and was pointing his gun any which way. Vera couldn't see his face, but she knew it wore a look of terror. Not that she blamed him.
CJ pushed himself away from the warm cradle of Vera's body and reached forward, to the glass table just behind their armchairs. He picked up his watch and then addressed Bart.
"Hey, dumb-ass." He called nonchalantly.
"Hm?" Bart grunted, still afraid.
"It's the timers. It's eight o'clock."
Bart's body seemed to relax and he dropped the gun, his shoulders drooping.
"Terry." CJ called, turning to the young security guard who was laying face down on the opposite couch. "Go shut 'em off."
Terry turned to face them, eyes half closed.
"It's Bart's turn."
Bart, now less afraid, acted like his usual self.
"You're the trainee, man. Shit rolls downhill."
Vera rolled her eyes and Terry began to pull himself up.
"I liked you better when you were sleeping." She murmured, causing CJ to crack a grin. She stood, stretching, ignoring the looks both he and Bart gave her when her shirt raised a little to reveal a sliver of skin. She crossed to the forgotten cap on the floor and picked it up, handing it back to CJ.
"I wish somebody was working at Hallowed Grounds." Terry complained. Vera nodded.
"Me too."
"How hard is it to make a cup of coffee?" CJ replied, handing Terry the keys and placing his cap on his head.
"I wanted a soy mocha latte with foam." he muttered. Vera cringed. The thought of any coffee with foam was just… disgusting.
"Faggot." Bart called after him.
"You sleep okay?" CJ asked Vera. She nodded.
"I like sleeping with you." she murmured, a light blush on her cheeks. He smirked at her as she closed her eyes and sighed. "You know what I meant."
"I know what I wish you meant." He corrected her. A quick glance to make sure Bart was still turned away, he leant forward and kissed her forehead. Vera wasn't too sure where this sudden change in character had come from, both of them seemed to have taken a large step in their... relationship. 'I suppose there's no better time than the supposed end of the world.' She thought to herself.
CJ turned back to Bart who was currently clipping his utility belt around his waist, over his boxer shorts, minus pants and putting his cap on. "What are you doing?" CJ asked, exasperation clear in his voice. Bart ignored him and walked closer, looking towards the TV's
"What's the news?" he asked.
CJ and Vera stared at the static that only yesterday had been their one link to the rest of the world.
"Bad."
Bart had wandered off to 'check on the trainee' leaving CJ and Vera to themselves.
"What are you going to do about the group downstairs?" Vera asked, playing with her fingers.
"They're not staying." CJ was adamant. Vera sighed, understanding his reasoning.
"I just think they could be helpful. I don't know what the Hell is happening out there, CJ. But it's bad, what you saw on the news, that was controlled, it's so much different for normal people. I don't think any of us can make it without them." She spilled her thoughts to him. His expression remained blank as he looked at her. "Besides." She added. "Would you really kick a pregnant lady out?"
He huffed, avoiding her eyes.
"Exactly, you wouldn't. So maybe we can all sit down and talk about things so this can work. You get what you want, they stay and follow your rules and they get what they want, safety. If they leave, they'll die."
"Would you go with them?" He asked. Vera shook her head. She hadn't even contemplated leaving him.
"I came all this way to find you. I'm not going anywhere without you." She replied, sincerely. "Besides. What would I be without my big, strong security guard?" He rolled his eyes at the obvious sarcasm in her voice.
"Alright, I'll think about it." he conceded just as Terry came running in, Bart on his tail.
"There's a truck!" CJ was up in an instant, grabbing the binoculars off the table and running off. Vera attempted to follow them but bumped into something along the way. Her vision was getting worse, meaning that her contact lenses were almost fully dissolved.
She quickly walked over to one of the stores she knew held glasses. Tugging on the door proved it was locked and she groaned because she knew CJ had the keys. She turned towards the door that lead to the roof and followed the 3 security guard's footsteps.
Vera reached the roof, just as the truck came crashing into the mall sign a little distance away. Despite her lack of proper vision, she could see the infected rushing towards the truck. One jumped at the driver window, only to be shot down.
The door slammed open behind her and she jumped. CJ's instinct caused him to grab her, placing her behind him. He glared at the group.
"CJ!" Michael called.
"How did you get out?" CJ asked, irritation lacing his tone as they walked over to stand in front of the group. Vera glanced at Terry who gave a sheepish look.
"Who gave you permission to loot the goddamn stores?!" Vera looked over, seeing most of them in different, less bloodied, outfits.
"What are we going to do about that truck?" Ana asked, getting straight to the point.
"We're not gonna do anything about that truck." CJ replied. Vera bit her lip, knowing that if they did nothing then the truck was more likely to attract more infected. She looked at the army of them already gathered around the mall and shuddered as she imagined them growing by hundreds.
"There's people in it." Ana pointed out.
"Yeah? And how do you know they're not fucked up like everybody else out there?"
Ana's expression became blank but the irritation was clear in her eyes.
"Well, for one thing they're driving a truck." Some gunshots echoed across the parking lot. "Oh, and shooting guns." She told him sarcastically.
"If we start letting people in here then we're gonna let the wrong ones in." CJ raised his voice a little. Vera tiptoed closer, recognising a fire in his eyes. This could get out of hand very quickly and the last thing they needed right now was an altercation.
"And then I'm dead." CJ continued. "And you know what? I don't want to die."
That was a sentiment that they could all relate to, however, Ana wasn't backing down. Vera and Terry exchanged concerned glances, CJ didn't like to be challenged.
"Who are the wrong ones?"
CJ motioned around. "Nobody here is sick. And I intend on keeping it that way."
"I think…"
CJ pulled out his gun, pointing it directly in her face. "I did not ask for your opinion lady!" He yelled.
"Now if you wanna argue with me, you can argue with this."
Michael raised a hand and spoke calmly.
"Hey, hey, relax."
This time, CJ pointed the gun at him. "Shut your fucking mouth." Then he turned back to Ana.
"Get the gun out of my face." she ordered softly. Nobody said a word as Vera moved closer, just in front of Luda and placed a hand on CJ's wrist, hoping to calm him. His eyes flickered to her.
"You can't just turn them away, CJ, you'll kill them." Terry argued.
"Tough shit, self defence." CJ countered.
"I'm not killing anybody." Terry piped up from Vera's left. She looked at him and shook her head, knowing the only way to save this situation was to calm everyone down.
"CJ-" She started before he turned, lifting his arm from her grip and pointed his gun at Terry.
"You know what? I'll kill you." He stated, unbothered. Terry's face was a picture of fear.
"Stop it, CJ, don't do this." Terry pleaded.
"Shut up." He snapped. He pointed his gun at Andre, Kenneth and then back on Ana. "I'll kill each and every one of you to stay alive. You hear me?"
That's when Vera took a step away. She distanced herself from him, taken aback by the venom in his voice. He noticed of course, but pushed down the guilt he felt upon seeing the disbelief on her face.
"Get the fucking gun out of my face." Ana yelled. She'd had enough.
"Oh, you got quite a mouth on you."
"Somebody should show her how to use it." Bart added. That was enough for the men. Michael pushed Bart's gun away from him, punching him in the face. He tore the gun from his hand and pointed it at the groaning security guard. With CJ distracted, Kenneth hit him and then proceeded to take his gun whilst Terry pulled his own out in case they tried anything.
"Is there a holding cell in there?" Kenneth asked Terry who nodded.
"Yeah, back of the security room." He flicked his gun towards the building. CJ gave him a vicious glare and Kenneth began to lead him towards the door. Vera quickly held her hand out for CJ's gun. Kenneth eyed her for a second and handed it over. She nodded her thanks.
"That's real good. You're gonna get us all killed, dumb-ass." CJ yelled at Terry. The young security guard took hold of Bart's collar from Michael and began to push him after Kenneth.
"Fucking traitor."
Vera ignored them and turned to Andre and Michael.
"I hope you got a good plan." Andre said, glancing at the gun she held.
Michael looked at Ana and then Vera.
"Sorry." She nodded..
"It's okay, he won't admit it, but he's scared, we all are. It could have been handled better but it's too late now."
She started to walk towards the roof exit.
"C'mon, we need to get them inside before they attract more infected." She called over her shoulder.
Michael followed after Kenneth and Terry to grab weapons and Andre walked back to the door they used yesterday to enter the mall. Vera made a quick stop at one of the lower stores which was unlocked. She scurried over to the rack of glasses and quickly found a pair that worked for her. They were simple black glasses and thankfully they didn't fall off of her face. A quick look in one of the mirrors showed a different person. Vera sighed, she'd started using contacts instead of glasses for a reason. She forced a smile in the mirror. 'Oh well. Fake it till you make it.'
When she finally joined Andre he gave her a confused look due to the recent addition to her face.
"I need them." She told him, answering the question on his lips. "I had dissolvable contacts in but they're wearing off. I can't see very well otherwise."
Andre nodded and then noticed she was looking at the gun in her hand, a little confused.
"You know how to use that?" He asked. She looked over at him and shook her head.
"No, CJ was supposed to teach me." Vera told him. He reached his hand forward and pulled back the safety.
"There, now it'll shoot. Aim for the head. You'll get some kickback so to try to relax your arms or you might fuck up your elbows." He coached. She nodded and smiled at him.
"Thanks Andre." They stood in silence.
"So, you and that asshole huh?" Andre mentioned. Vera laughed a little and nodded.
"I don't know. We've known each other a while, he's not always so bad, but I guess with all the shit going on lately, I can't blame him for going a little crazy."
Michael appeared, a handgun with him.
He lowered himself down a little and glanced through the gunshot hole that Kenneth had initially caused. Andre did the same.
"I can't see a damn thing." Michael muttered.
"Me either."
Vera stood behind them, her gun pointed at the door in case of trouble. She made sure to keep her finger off the trigger. Then came the unmistakable beeping of a truck reversing.
The 3 of them exchanged confused looks.
"Why is he backing up?"
"Shit. What the fuck?"
"We gotta go out there." Michael told them. Vera sighed, not wanting to face those things again.
Andre shook his head. "Throw that bullshit right outta your head. That's not part of the plan."
Michael looked at the door and back at Vera and Andre.
"Change of plan. I'll open the door."
"No." Andre and Vera said.
"OK. One, two…" Michael counted down,bracing his hand on the long handle.
"Don't do it man." Andre warned him.
"...three." He pushed against the door and… nothing.
Vera glared at Michael.
"I should put a bullet in you for that. I just had a fucking heart attack." she muttered.
"C'mon man." Andre complained, reaching forward and pulling back the bolt on the lock.
"Thanks." Michael said, casting an apologetic look at Vera.
Then the door was pushed open and the three of them rushed out.
CJ stood in the cell, fuming. He'd let these fuckers in and now he was sat here like a trapped animal. He was angry at Vera. She'd helped convince him. He'd listened to her and now everything was fucked.
He watched the security camera's wanting to see what these assholes were going to fuck up next. One of the camera's showed the truck backing up to one of the back doors. The small door next to the truck delivery doors burst open and CJ watched intently as Andre, Michael and Vera swarmed out.
Any anger he held towards the redhead dissipated and fear filled him as those things ran towards them. His girl was holding a gun. Andre grabbed onto one of the infected as it ran at him, he turned them and shot the thing up through the chin, straight into the brain. The blood spattered onto the truck. Vera raised the gun and shot once at one of the infected. CJ could see that she'd been surprised by the power. Her shot hit the thing in the neck. He began to clench his fingers in the mesh bars of the cell. She raised the gun once more and shot. The bullet ripped through the infected's face.
"Fuck." he whispered. He hoped she was a natural shot and that it wasn't just luck. Nothing would stop him killing those fuckers if anything happened to Vera, not even the cell. Something caught their attention. There were two people on top of the truck. They ran back into the building and the door was shut, the infected left on the outside, slamming against the metal.
CJ let out a breathe he didn't know he was holding and glanced back at Bart who appeared to be taking a nap. He rolled his eyes at the lazy fuck and trained his gaze back on the security camera's looking for any sign of Vera.
Vera walked behind the new group as Andre wheeled a bigger, injured woman in a wheelbarrow. There was a large bite mark on the top of her arm. Her veins were prominent and her skin seemed ashen. It made Vera feel nauseous.
"Thank God. I couldn't stay in that fucking truck anymore." The blonde said as she walked along. She was wearing a top that showed off her midriff, it was covered in blood spatters.
"Anybody who's injured, go to metropolis right away and I'll come and take a look at you." Ana called out. Vera eyed the tall guy in the trucker cap as he limped ahead of her.
"Let me take a look at her." Ana said, getting closer to the injured woman.
"Can you help me? What's your name?" She asked the man in the white shirt.
"Glen." He told her, breathing a little heavily. "Yeah, sure. Just give me a minute to collect myself."
Vera tucked CJ's gun into the back of her jeans and moved forward to help the guy in the trucker cap.
"Here." she said, catching his attention. She moved his arm over her shoulder, allowing him to put less weight on his injured leg.
"I'm Vera." She introduced. He smiled at her.
"Tucker."
"If you wanna go wait for me in there, I'll come take a look at your leg." Ana told him. Vera helped him along and when in the furniture store, she sat him down.
"I'll get you some water." She mentioned, patting him on the knee. She walked back out, towards Michael.
"Hey, you got some water, those guys in there could use some."
He handed her a few bottles and she turned to walk back when a whistle stopped her. She turned, seeing a middle aged guy with short black hair, dressed to the nines in a suit, staring at her.
"Hey, sweetheart. You single?" He asked, winking at her.
She smiled politely. "No." Then she turned back the way she came and walked off.
When she returned to Tucker, the injured woman was now lay on a bed, groaning. Vera handed Tucker the bottle which he took gratefully.
To her left now sat a tall, thin man with two bites on each hand. She contained a wince. In front of him sat a young redhead.
"You two okay?" She asked. They both nodded.
"I'm Frank, this is my daughter Nicole."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Vera. If you just hang on, Ana will come and take a look at those bites." She informed him.
Terry stopped next to the pair and handed them some water. "Hey. You guys need anything?"
Vera noticed Terry's expression of awe when Nicole looked up at him. She smirked.
We're fine, don't worry about us." Frank responded, waving him off.
"He's got a bite on his hand." Nicole told him, wiping at it with a rag. He nodded and made his way over to Ana, missing the lingering gaze of Nicole. Vera saw it though as she stood to join Terry and Ana.
"She's cold." She heard Ana mutter.
"That's good right?" Terry questioned, looking at Vera who shrugged.
Ana used a damp cloth on the woman's forehead to soothe her. "I don't know. It's weird." she looked back at the two of them.
"I've never seen an infection this bad that doesn't come with a fever." Ana was confused, none of this made any sense.
Terry looked back at Frank and Nicole. "That guy's arm looks pretty bad. You should check it out."
"Nicole, the daughter, she's cleaning it up, but the bites look pretty deep, it might cause an infection." Vera informed the nurse.
Ana nodded. "Alright. Stay with her for a minute."
Vera stood at Terry's side as they stared down at the woman whose skin had become a very prominent grey-ish colour.
"What if CJ was right?" She asked. He looked at her.
"About what? Letting them die?" He hissed at her.
She narrowed her eyes at his tone. "No. About being careful who we let in. What if these people are sick? You might not understand considering you've been safely tucked inside the mall this whole time. But I've been out there, okay?" She took a breath.
"Those fuckers are lethal, if they get in here, we don't stand a chance. Now I don't know how it spreads but it spreads fast. I don't wanna end up like that and I sure as fuck don't wanna be eaten." That seemed to stick with Terry and he looked away.
"Well, hopefully none of these people are sick." Was all he could say, knowing that she was right.
Their silence was interrupted by the woman's laboured breathing.
"Ma'am, can I get you something, like a glass of water?" Terry asked her.
The woman's mouth fell open and her one good eye rolled into the back of her head.
"Ana, Ana come here!" Terry cried out. But it was too late. The woman had stopped breathing. Ana reached forward, placing two fingers against her neck, checking for a pulse, but it was clear she couldn't find one.
She shared a look with Vera and covered the dead woman with a blanket. She moved past Terry to face the rest of the new group.
"Anyone know her name?"
Silence.
"Died without a name?" Tucker said, pulling his hat from his head. "Damn."
"Guys, do you wanna move into the other room?" Ana asked.
Terry gave a yell from Vera's side. "Holy shit!" Everyone turned to see the recently deceased woman sat up. The sheet fell off and the eyes that wasn't swollen shut blinked open. The whites of her eyes were now a sickly yellow. She turned her head and screamed. Terry ran off. Vera moved back as the woman ran for her.
"Fuck." She yelled as she turned the corner and tripped over an extended chair. She hit the ground face first, her cheekbones smacking into the ground harshly. Despite the pain, she rolled over, pulling the gun from the back of her jeans and pulled the safety. Just as the infected woman was about to reach her; Ana jammed a fire poker into her eye and straight through her brain.
The woman stopped immediately and her weight pulled her to the ground right beside Vera. Putting the safety back on, Vera crawled away quickly and stood, breathing heavily.
"You okay?" Ana asked, stopping by her.
Vera blinked a few times and nodded. Her fear turned into anger and and she exited the store just as Terry, Michael and Kenneth came around the corner.
"Terry, you little fuck!" He cringed.
"I'm sorry." She glared at him and stalked past him, slamming his shoulder with hers.
Around 20 minutes later, they all sat at Hallowed Grounds. Terry had apologised profusely to Vera who had forgiven him when she remembered that he'd never actually been up close with one like that. CJ had taken care of Ben and the janitor in the closet while Terry had stood at a distance.
"I think it's the bites." Ana blurted out. Everyone looked at her and Vera wracked her brain, wondering if she'd seen any bites on Debbie.
"Frank said she was walking on her own when she got in the truck 5 hours ago." Ana explained, looking round at all of them.
"Bites killed her. Bites brought her back." Vera nodded, agreeing with Ana, that would explain why is spread so fast.
"How do you know?" Of course, Andre didn't seem convinced.
"I watched it happen. I felt her pulse. She was gone." Ana said.
"She's right." Vera added.
"Yesterday, I saw the same thing happen to somebody else." Ana's tone seemed different and she looked down. Vera followed her gaze, which landed on the wedding band on her finger. She frowned, feeling sorry for the woman.
"I think that's why it spread so fast."
Vera stood from her stool. "That's probably exactly how it spread so fast." She was sure. "If all it takes it one bite, then it wouldn't matter how extensive the wound was. Most people probably wouldn't have bothered going to the hospital if it wasn't bad."
Ana nodded at her theory. "That's why the hospitals couldn't contain it."
"Alright." Michael sighed. "So who else in the group is bitten?"
"Frank, for sure." Ana sipped her coffee.
"What about the one with the foot?"
"Tucker?"
Vera noticed Andre slip away quietly.
"He say's no, he fell." Ana continued.
"So it's Frank. Tall guy, right?" Vera nodded.
"Right, so we have to quarantine him right away."
"Where exactly do we do that?" Kenneth asked.
Vera felt a change in her vision and realised that the contacts were completely gone. She'd have to look around for more at some point. Just in case, because if she lost her glasses, she could become a liability.
"It's too dangerous to keep him here." Vera tuned back into the conversation and frowned. They wanted to kill him?
Ana noticed the meaning as well.
"What are we….Are we talking about killing him?" She seemed shocked.
"You'd rather wait for him to die and then he kills us?"
"Yes. No." She couldn't seem to make up her mind. "You can't kill him, he's got a daughter."
Vera cut in. "Ana, I hate to say it, but that doesn't matter. Not anymore. If we leave him alone then he'll kill everyone, even his daughter. This is better for all of us."
Ana glared at her but there was understanding in her eyes. Her hard gaze softened.
"I'm sorry." Michael apologised as he stood. "There's no other choice." He walked off.
Ana looked round at Vera, Kenneth and Terry, hoping someone would back her up. But Terry avoided her gaze.
"He's right." Was all Kenneth could say.
Ana stood from her stool and rounded the bar.
"Michael, no! What if I'm wrong?" she cried out.
Michael kept walking. "You've seen it happen before."
Ana raced off, no doubt to warn Frank, whilst Michael, Kenneth and Terry followed.
Vera stayed where she was. The drama was becoming a little too much for her. So much had happened today and despite the sleep she'd gotten, she was mentally exhausted. She decided to go and check in on the uninjured newcomers who had settled into another furniture store, to lie down and get some rest.
She pushed open the door, causing heads to turn towards her. She smiled softly at them earning some smiled back.
"Hey, I just thought I'd come and introduce myself. See how all of you are getting on. I'm Vera."
The older woman smiled over at her. "I'm Norma, that's Monica." She pointed at the pretty blonde who waved.
"I'm Glen." He held his hand out to shake hers. Vera blinked at his hand before shaking it. It seemed like such a… normal thing to do after the last few days.
"That's Steve." Monica nodded towards the raven haired man from earlier. He smirked at her.
"Oh we've met. Hi sweetheart." Vera rolled her eyes and ignored him.
"Were any of you bitten by those things out there?" She asked, just to be cautious. All of them shook their head.
"Frank was bitten and the other woman, but none of us." Norma told her. Vera nodded.
"Okay, that's good. Bites spread the infection, at least, we're pretty sure." They all seemed horrified.
"But, what about Frank?" Glen asked softly. She thought for a moment before answering.
"If he's going to turn into one of those things, we'll have to kill him. But I figure they'll quarantine him until he turns. If you have goodbye's to say, best to say them now."
Vera gave them a small wave and exited, making her way back to where Frank and Tucker had been. Terry was walking towards the elevators.
"Terry!" She called. He stopped and turned around. "What's going on with Frank?" She asked.
"Uh, Kenneth is taking him to one of the stores, they're going to wait to see if he turns. He's saying goodbye to his daughter now." He informed her. She nodded.
"I'm going to check on CJ and Bart, you coming?" He asked.
"Yeah, okay." They got into the elevator.
It was quiet for a moment before Terry turned to her. Vera rolled her eyes. "I really am sorry."
"Terry, c'mon. I already said it's okay." She reached forward, pulling off his cap and ruffling his hair. "I know you freaked out. If I'd died, I'd be super pissed, like come-back-from-the-dead-and-eat-you pissed, but I'm good so it's fine." He snatched his cap back and smiled gratefully as the elevator doors hissed open.
"But if you do it again." She said as they began to walk towards the security office. "I'll shoot you." He gulped and nodded.
The complaining started as soon as they walked in.
"Hey, let us out."
"C'mon let us out."
Terry shook his head, checking all the camera's. CJ looked at Vera, hoping to catch her eyes but she deliberately avoided looking at the cell, instead she stood by Terry.
"Would you really shoot me?" Terry asked quietly. Vera looked at him and shrugged.
"Probably not, because then you'd just be a major pain in the ass. I wanna say I'd leave you as payback, but I wouldn't do that either." He frowned.
"Really?"
"Really. I get scared too, Terry. I've spent the last few days in such fucking terror, but I'm not a coward, I couldn't leave someone like that."
Her words seem to hit home. "I won't leave you like that again. I promise."
CJ stared at their back, glaring at Terry, the little fuck. He knew what they were talking about. He'd been watching the security camera's when the fat woman got back up. The pussy ran off and Vera could've died. He knew Terry had a crush on Vera, Bart had outed him after the first time he met her. All this promise bullshit irritated him.
"Terry, come on. Open the door." CJ pleaded.
Terry's jaw clenched. "Shut up."
"Don't tell me to shut up, man. Open the door."
"I got you this job. Come on." Bart joined in.
Terry's eyes were fixed on the security camera that showed Nicole sitting and crying. Vera nudged the young guy. "She could use someone to comfort her." He looked at her and nodded, catching her meaning. He eyed the pair in the cell.
"You gonna be okay in here?" He asked.
"Are you gonna give me the keys?"
He bit his lip and shook his head. "Michael told me not to…" She laughed.
"Then I'm gonna be fine, Terry." He quickly ran off and Vera was left alone. Bart, realising he wasn't getting out of there anytime soon, lay back on the bed, putting his cap over his eyes.
"Why won't they let you have the keys." CJ questioned. He sighed when she refused to turn around.
"I might let you out." Her tone was clipped. He leant his forehead against the cell.
"I know you're mad that I lost my temper, but I was fucking right wasn't I?" Then she turned, eye blazing.
"I never said you were wrong. Not once on that rooftop did I disagree with you." He thought back, she was right. She'd tried to calm him down, but she'd never argued with him. Vera watched as realisation clouded his face.
"Yeah, that's right. I knew we had to do something about that truck because it was attracting more of the infected, but I didn't agree with letting them in. But then you freaked out and shoved a gun in everyone's face." She turned away from him.
He never put the gun in her face so that wasn't what bothered her. 'Oh fuck.'
*"Shut up." He snapped. He pointed the gun at Andre, Kenneth and then back on Ana. "I'll kill each and every single one of you to stay alive. You hear me?"*
"I didn't mean that." He said quietly causing her to scoff.
"Sure sounded like you fucking did."
"I did. I'd kill all of them to keep us alive. The two of us. I never pointed the gun at you, Vera."
Now she looked at him. "We're getting out of here. Together. I promise. I'm not going fucking anywhere without you." Vera looked into his eyes, seeing the sincerity in them, she nodded.
"I don't think you're going anywhere, anyway." She grinned at him.
"I thought we were having a moment?" CJ shook his head, laughing. Vera walked closer, lacing her fingers around the metal mesh. His eyes followed his own hands as they inched closer to hers. He snaked his fingers through the bars and barely caught the edge of her shirt, pulling her closer. His face was close to the bars, his nose jutting out through one of the squares, lips almost pressed through another.
"Now we're having a moment." She whispered. CJ really wanted to kiss her. Just as he was about to press even closer, she backed away. She turned to the camera's which showed Kenneth pointing his gun at Frank. She bent forward, hands on the desk, leaning down to see better.
CJ's eyes wandered down, then he caught sight of something. "Is that my gun?" She turned, her hand reaching back and touching the cool metal. She nodded.
"It's mine until you get it back. I had to use it today."
"I saw." He pointed towards the camera's. "I'm not with you for 5 minutes and you almost die, twice." Vera shrugged.
"What's with the glasses?" He asked, curiously. He'd spotted them earlier. He thought she looked hot, like some kinda sexy librarian. Not that he was ever fucking telling her that.
"I need them, I usually wear contacts. But I don't have any now." She noted that there was no movement from Frank yet. Were they wrong about the bites?
"There's probably some in the health store downstairs." CJ scratched at his beard. Vera frowned.
"I look real stupid, huh?"
"I think you look sexy as fuck." He threw it out there, watching her blush was always fun. A monstrous scream shattered the playful banter between them, followed by a gunshot. Vera jumped. That sound, the screaming. It terrified her.
"Wait… Were you looking at my ass?!"