Until Dawn

Chapter Sixteen

I followed Larry away from the tent and into the main camp, which was now basically deserted, as it was late and most of the survivors were asleep in their cots in the shelters provided. Soldiers were stationed outside of every tent, and if I squinted, I could see a group of them at the gates, while more were lined up along the wall. There must have been hundreds of soldiers, each holding an automatic weapon, with eagle like eyes staring into the night. One of the men stiffened as we moved towards him in the darkness, but he immediately relaxed when we passed underneath the lights that surrounded one of the small, dilapidated buildings throughout the camp.

"Ma'am," he gave me a grin and a respectful nod as we walked passed him. "Saw your grand entrance earlier, that was some fine work if I do say so myself. Watch out for this one, sir," He then addressed Larry with a wink. "She's a feisty one."

"You have no idea," Larry chuckled in agreement while I just shook my head in response and followed him further into the night, until my ex fiancé finally stopped outside one particularly dark and creepy building, with the door half off its hinges and the handle covered in dried blood.

Honestly, I thought to myself as I studied the building apprehensively, feeling as if I was in some fucked up horror movie; first prison, then zombies, and now this? All I need now is a fucking axe murderer and my life will be the next fucking Friday 13th and I can sell this shit to the highest bidder.

A shiver went down my spine as Larry pushed open the door with a creak that set my nerves on edge and moved to let me pass him inside with my eyes immediately scanning the interior. It turned out to be a large bathroom, which reminded me of a creepy version of the Litchfield bathroom, with its fluorescent lights, toilet stalls and showers with ratty, dirty curtains and what I was sure was a lifetime worth of fungus on the floor. The door closed heavily behind us and I turned to face Larry with my arms crossed over my chest, in a vain attempt to ward off the chill I could feel creeping into my bones.

"So, what's up?" I tried to sound nonchalant, but there was a hint of nervousness in my tone as I watched Larry lean against the wall beside the door, with his bloodshot, dark brown eyes gazing at me. I once again noticed how tired he looked; his face even paler than before and I wondered how long it had been since he last slept. I knew how my own journey had been since leaving Litchfield, but what had it been like for Larry, to be right in the middle of it when the world went to shit?

Awful, if his face and tattered clothing was anything to go by.

"I just wanted to talk to you, away from... everyone else." Away from Alex, the words weren't spoken out loud, but they echoed between us all the same and I nodded in understanding. This talk had been a long time coming, and I was surprised that he'd waited as long as he did before bringing it up.

"Well, here I am," I offered my ex-boyfriend as much of a friendly smile as I could muster, since I wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to talk to me about. It could be one of a million things, and I was sure that I wouldn't want to discuss any of them. But there was a lot that had been left unsaid between us, and I honestly just wanted to get it over with so that we could both move on.

"Here you are," Larry agreed with a smile of his own, though his was almost pained. "It's crazy, because I really thought I'd never see you again, and now you're standing in front of me. It's just so surreal, I guess, but I'm glad that you're here."

"I'm glad that you're here too," I answered honestly, because it was true, even if his presence made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

"I'm glad that Alex is with you," I stared at Larry in shock as he spoke the words, and he smiled ruefully at my obvious confusion. "I bet that sounds weird after everything that's happened, right? But honestly, it all feels like it happened so long ago that I hardly even remember what it felt like. I think about it now, and it all just seems so crazy and ridiculous, I mean, what does it matter if your fiancé screwed her ex-girlfriend in prison when there's zombies trying to eat you, y'know?"

"Are you having an epiphany, Larry?" I couldn't help but laugh, since while it was strange, I completely understood where Larry was coming from. It felt like a lifetime ago that I was at Litchfield, with all the prison drama and the mistakes that I made, and it all seemed like nothing now with the apocalypse upon us.

"Something like that," Larry chuckled, shaking his head as he rubbed his arm. "What I guess I'm trying to say is that I'm happy you've got someone. I know that we've both made a lot of mistakes, Pipes, but I only ever wanted you to be happy and if she's what makes you happy, then so be it."

"Thanks," I murmured, only half hearing the words with my attention focused on Larry as he seemed to sway, even with his body supported by the wall. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead, and I was beginning to get worried as his eyes fluttered closed in exhaustion. "Hey, are you okay?"

I stepped towards him, but Larry held his hand up to stop me, and I froze mid step, glancing between Larry's pale face and his outstretched arm. I hadn't noticed it before, but I could now see blood on the tattered sleeve of Larry's sweater, and I frowned in concern as I took a step closer to my ex-boyfriend. "Larry, you're hurt."

Only a second later, Larry's knees buckled, and I reached out to grab him but with my injuries and Larry's weight, I only managed to slow our descent to the floor. My ex-boyfriend crumpled to his knees, and I ended up crouching on the floor before him, holding his upper body steady as he threatened to topple right over. With careful movements, I managed to manipulate his limbs until he was finally leaning back against the wall, with his legs splayed out before him. My concern skyrocketed through the roof when I realized that Larry had started to silently cry during all this, and I caressed his cheek as he started to sob.

"God, Pipes, I'm so sorry," he choked out as he looked up at me with wet, bloodshot brown eyes. "I made a mistake; I'm such a fucking idiot."

"Larry, it's okay," I stroked his short, curly hair in an attempt to comfort him, feeling my heart crack in my chest at his anguish. I figured that he was talking about what happened in Litchfield, and I felt tears well up in my own eyes, because I had loved this man once. He was my best friend, and I had thought that one day I would marry him, and to see him like this was heartbreaking. "It's all going to be okay, honey, it's all in the past and we can talk about it later. But right now you're hurt, so just let me go get some help and-"

"No, you don't understand," Larry cut me off, his fingers reaching out to grab my hand and gripping it so tightly that I could feel the bones cracking as he squeezed. "I really fucked up, Pipes."

I looked down at our joint hands and I once again noticed Larry's arm, and I frowned as I saw the blood that had dried on his skin. With careful fingers, I extracted myself from his bone crushing grip and pulled up his torn sleeve, my eyes widening with horror as I took in the wound on his arm. I had expected maybe a cut from a knife, or at worst a gunshot wound, but definitely not the flayed and tattered ruin that was Larry's skin. The skin of his arm around the wound was raw and swollen, while the wound itself was black and decaying where a whole chunk of his flesh had been ripped right out. It looked as if he had been bitten by a giant dog, but I knew better.

"Oh God," I whispered as I stared at the wound in fear, taking in the ridges left by sharp, hungry teeth. It was days old, and I could see that the infection had spread; the veins in his arm were swollen and dark beneath his skin and I could feel myself begin to panic. "Oh fuck, Larry, what have you done?"

I turned my head to look at my ex fiancé, only to find that his eyes were closed and his face was pale and lifeless. His chest didn't move with the slightly intake of air and I felt a lump form in my throat as I pressed my hand frantically against his face, in a vain attempt to wake him, only to find his skin cold and hard against my fingers. My brain was in overload, and I wasn't sure whether I should call for help or burst into uncontrollable sobs as I stared at the lifeless form of my ex fiancé. I shakily pressed my fingers against his throat, closing my eyes as I searched for a heartbeat and bit my lip so hard that it drew blood when I felt nothing move beneath my fingertips. I took a deep gasping breath before opening my eyes and jolted back in shock when I found Larry looking straight back at me.

But instead of seeing the kind brown eyes that I was familiar with; a pair of cold, pale blue eyes were staring at me with no hint of recognition, only hunger and a deep rage that stopped my heart in my chest.

"Fuck," was all I managed to get out before Larry was launching out of his slumped position and throwing me to the ground. My head slammed back against the tiled floor and I felt the wound on my head seep blood as the stitches ripped open, and Larry growled at the scent, which was even more terrifying than his clawing hands and snapping teeth. Somehow, in my state of complete panic, I realized that I had left all my weapons back in the tent with Alex and that I was practically powerless against this man that had once been my fiancé. I felt the overwhelming strength in his hands as he gripped my arms while he held me down, and I couldn't help but scream as I struggled against Larry's hold, feeling cold fingers bite into my biceps as I attempted to push him away.

I pressed my hands against his chest as I felt his cold breath on my neck and pushed with all my strength, until the zombie was leaning over me on all fours, growling from behind lips pulled back in a feral snarl. I couldn't even recognize Larry in that face; gone was the man I had known, to be replaced with a monster with hard, almost translucent skin, and hungry blue eyes.

Those blue eyes were the last thing I saw before the door slammed open and the grip on my arms and Larry suddenly vanished. I quickly rolled away and sprung into a crouch with my hands in a defensive position, just in time to see Larry's corpse turn it's head towards the door, before a bang echoed horribly in my ears and a bullet was lodged in Larry's forehead. His body thumped heavily onto the tiled floor, with those cold eyes turned towards me, and I felt a shiver trickle down my spine as I stared back into Larry's eyes, his expression frozen forever in an angry grimace.

"Piper?"

My eyes slowly tracked to the doorway, to find Alex looking back at me with a mixture of relief and shock on her pale face. A gun was held lifelessly in her right hand and I realized that she must have followed us from the tent and had burst inside at my scream. I stared hard at the gun that she still held, before I looked up at Alex, surprised to find fear in her wide gray eyes and I wondered why she was scared when the danger was over and I was okay, until it all clicked.

Alex had just killed Larry, without the slightest bit of hesitation. She had killed the man that I had loved and she didn't know how I was going to react and honestly, neither did I.

I think I surprised her with how quickly I stood up and launched myself at her, neither of us sure whether I was going to hug her or hit her, but both feeling overwhelming relief when my arms wrapped around her in a crushing hug. I vaguely heard the sound of her gun hitting the floor before her arms were wrapping around me in response, holding me tightly to her body. It took me a moment to realize that I was crying; my entire body was shaking in Alex's arms as hot tears streamed down my face, from relief and fear and grief all at once. Larry's dead. Larry tried to fucking eat me and Larry is fucking dead on the floor, right behind me.

It felt as if the world had stopped spinning for a moment and everything was just so wrong, and being in Alex's arms was the only thing that was right. I held her to me as tightly as I could, one hand splayed across her back while the other gripped a fistful of her dark hair. I could feel her warm hands running up and down my back in an attempt to comfort me, but they were moving so fast that it felt almost hurried and the tension was practically radiating from her skin.

"Pipes, we need to go," Alex was suddenly pushing me away, much too soon for my liking, and while the horror lingered in her eyes, her face was set with determination. "There's something going on out there, and we're getting on those ships, now."

"W-what?" My mind was still in complete chaos, as my eyes tracked across the grimy floor to where Larry's body still lay, cold and lifeless, his with eyes open and unseeing. Hands gently but firmly gripped the sides of my face and pulled my gaze away from Larry until Alex's gray eyes filled my vision, full of compassion and worry.

"Baby, I'm sorry, but I need you to snap out of this, okay?" Alex's voice was soft as her thumbs gently caressed my cheeks "Don't lose it on me now, Pipes."

As I stared into Alex's eyes, the lingering panic and terror slowly began to recede, until all I could see and smell and feel was Alex. I breathed in her scent until a semblance of calm settled over me and I gave the raven haired woman a short, shaky nod. "Okay, I'm all right."

"Good girl," Alex murmured in response, leaning in to press her warm lips against my forehead before pulling away and reaching down to pick up her gun from the floor. "Come on."

I took Alex's offered hand, taking comfort from its warmth as Alex opened the door and led me back outside, but not without one final look back at Larry. The moment we stepped out of the bathroom and the door closed behind us, it felt as if we were back at Litchfield on the fateful day that we escaped. The entire camp was in turmoil, with men in uniform running passed with rifles while women and children screamed as gun shots were fired and I consciously put aside my thoughts of Larry at this new turn of events. I could distantly hear an alarm blaring as Alex hurriedly pulled me through the camp, back towards our tent where our friends were waiting.

I could see Nicky standing outside, looking frustrated and angry, with a shotgun held tightly in her hands. Her expression brightly when she saw us moving towards her, and she reached out to grip Alex's arm briefly as we stopped outside the tent. "Hey, I was wondering where you two had gotten too."

"What do we know?" Alex asked as she continued to pull me into the tent, which was practically empty besides our little group. Polly stopped speaking to Pete the moment she saw me, and turned to grab my arms as Alex momentarily left my side and made her way over to our bed.

"Where's Larry?" Polly asked with her wide eyes scanning the tent behind me and I felt the lump reform in my throat at the question. Alex killed him, I almost answered, but I just shook my head in response, claiming that I wasn't sure. Now was not the time, I knew, even as my mind replayed the image of Larry's dead body over and over.

"It looks like we've been breached," Nicky was answering Alex, who was picking up our things from our cot and hurriedly packing them into our bags. "Not sure on the details, but it looks like those fuckers outside have found a way in."

"Wait, the zombies have gotten in?" I turned my surprised and horrified eyes on Nicky, who nodded in response. I automatically took my bag from Alex without even thinking about it and shrugged it onto my shoulders as the noise from outside increased, before taking the weapons that Alex was holding out for me and sheathing them. The last hour was pushed away for later consideration as the screams outside got louder and the gunshots more frequent and I watched as my friends checked their weapons and grabbed their bags. We all turned as one as the flap to the tent was pushed open, to find Janae standing there, looking like a walking armory with daggers and ammunition covering every square inch of her body, and an automatic rifle held proudly in her hands.

"You guys ready to get the fuck outta here?" Janae asked as I sheathed my last dagger in my boot and took my double barrel shotguns from Alex. "There's a ship down there with our names on it and I don't want to stay one more fuckin' second in this death trap."

"We've got the worst luck," Morello stated morosely from her place beside Nicky, who laughed loudly at her words.

"Baby, we are the bad luck," Nicky chuckled, patting the dark haired woman on the back affectionately. "Shit was fine until we got here, and then Chapman had to go and piss off all those guys outside and now they're breaking down the gates."

"Hey, you were there too," I shot back as Janae started to lead us from the tent.

"Yeah, but I'm too small to make a meal of. You, on the other hand, all lean and shit, it was you they wanted." Nicky playfully grabbed one of my biceps and squeezed, but the joking was soon over as we stepped back outside, to find that things had gone from bad to worse. People were running around in complete chaos, while soldiers attempted to direct them down to the ships and having little success. I could see a large group of soldiers just down from the gates, firing their guns at what looked like shadows on the wall but it wasn't until one of the shadows dropped and hit the ground with a loud thump that I realized it was a zombie.

From that moment on, everything seemed to happen in slow motion and it was the noise that I heard first, a loud creaking that echoed throughout the camp. My eyes were pulled in the direction of the doors that we'd passed through only hours earlier, which had slowly begun to cave in from the zombies outside as they slammed themselves into it repeatedly, until finally, the gate shattered beneath the weight of their bodies and all Hell broke loose, literally.