I woke up feeling disoriented, with light in my eyes. The last thing I remembered was crying in Edward's arms last night, and now I was waking up on the cot. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. My eyes quickly focused on the source of light. Edward had opened the door and was leaning against the frame. Judging by the light, it was early morning. Which meant I had slept most of yesterday, seeing as it had only been early afternoon when we came back.

I grabbed a bottle of water, taking a mental note that those were beginning to run low, and joined Edward. "Morning." I said quietly. Alice was still asleep on the cot.

"Morning." Edward said back.

"Does she always sleep so much?" I asked, gesturing behind me.

"She woke up shortly after you fell asleep. We stayed here and then she fell asleep again after we ate."

I nodded. "I'm sorry for losing it yesterday."

"Don't be. Bella, your reaction in the clearing was perfectly normal."

I snorted. "Right. Well, I'll try to remember that threatening people is perfectly normal."

Edward sighed. "You know I stayed in Chicago until it was declared lost, right? Do you know what it took for people to do that? The place was overrun by the dead. It was me and four others when we learned Chicago was a lost cause. There could have been more, we weren't sure. It was just my patrol group. I assume there were more. We had been evacuating for three weeks, and hadn't found anyone alive in two." he took a deep breath. "And I know about people you care about getting infected. Those people were family. And I had to watch as one by one they died. We were very skittish as time went on. Anytime someone disappeared from sight for a second, we assumed the worst." It was silent for a minute. "Trust me, I'll tell you if I get bitten." he suddenly said. "I'll ask you to kill me first."

I shook my head. "I'm not killing anyone human." I took a deep breath to calm myself. "But, when the change is done, I will. But only if you promise the same."

He nodded. "Okay."

I had to shake my head at the absurdity of it all. Here we were, promising to kill each other's zombies if it came to that. "Did you grow up in Chicago, or were you there for school?" I asked.

"Both, actually. I was a pre-med student. And you in Phoenix?"

"High school senior so I obviously lived there." I paused. "Does Alice really not remember anything?" I asked, glancing back at her.

"Her name. Her ninth birthday party, which is why I'm guessing she's around twelve. Other than that, she hasn't said anything helpful."

"Did you ever hear about California?" I asked. He had stayed in civilization longer, maybe he knew if the rumors we had heard were true.

He nodded slowly. "Yes. But I don't know if they're still there. Or how to get there."

"We should go." Alice said. "Not now," she continued as we stared at her, "but soon. We'll know when."

"Okay." Edward said.

"Seriously?" I asked him as she got herself a drink, too.

He nodded. "It was her idea to come here. She said she 'saw' us here with someone. Obviously you."

I chose not to say anything about the possibility of Alice seeing the future. After all, stranger things have happened.