Chapter Seven: i got soul but i'm not a soldier

Is it bad timing? Or is it actually great timing? These are the questions Caroline asks herself when Rebekah opens the bathroom door.

She has a flashlight under her chin so she looks like she's about to tell a ghost story, but the irony is that she looks like she's seen a ghost.

When Nik moves away from Caroline to confront his sister, she stays in the bathroom and leans against the wall. Her heart is going to burst out of her chest and her breathing is sporadic. She doesn't know what came over her. What came over the both of them. God, how could she be so stupid? Now is not the time to even consider any of this. And the fact that she would've gone even further had it not been for Rebekah.

She was so ready. Her body was on fire with desire and her mind was empty save for what it told her body to do. She can't remember the last time she's felt anything besides fear and total isolation. Utter turmoil and confusion, but when she kissed Nik, that's not what she felt at all. No, there was elation and relief and security and relaxation. Feelings that she thought were long gone.

Caroline slips back into her shirt and rubs her face. Whatever. It's too early in the morning to be dealing with emotions right now. Is it even morning? What if it's not even midnight yet? Nik said they would leave at dawn, so how much longer does she have to wait? She's sure that once they get to a certain point, he'll ask her to leave. She can't expect to stay with them forever, can she? So this whole kissing things was just a slip-up. A lapse in judgment that will be forgotten and all will be well.

When she goes back out into the room Rebekah has taken to ignoring any and everything around her. Her lips are curled in disgust at what she's just witnessed and somehow it feels like the ultimate betrayal. Nik isn't trying to defend himself either, because he doesn't care. He's a grown man and he doesn't need his baby sister's approval on who he should go after. She's insane if she thinks so.

Caroline moves to stand beside him and he turns in her direction.

"If I crossed the line in any way," he starts to say, but she shakes her head.

"It's okay," she whispers. "We just can't do it again."

Not again. Right. If that's what she wants.

"I'm going to go outside to get some air," she tells him and she offers a faint smile that is so full of sadness and longing.

He watches her go and he hates how he wishes that his sister had just stayed missing for a few more days.

The air is thick with fog and it's surprisingly cold out. Caroline has to hug her arms to herself to get some warmth. She's not going back inside though. It can be negative twenty and she won't go back in there. She's afraid that she'll take it all back. That she'll say she wants to do it again, and this time she wants to finish it. She's afraid she'll blurt it all out in the open and she won't be able to take it back. God, why is she so hormonal?

She walks to the end of the walkway and takes the stairs down to the ground floor and just walks around the complex. Fresh air is good. It'll help clear her thoughts and take her mind off of making out with Nik and touching Nik and anything to do with Nik, who she knows nothing about other than him being born in Wales. What else is behind those blue eyes? What else that she doesn't know that maybe she should?

While he and Rebekah were talking and she was in the bathroom, she heard something about punishment and how he was already punished. Punished how? And for what? By who? When? Why? So many questions that she wants to ask him, but she won't for fear that he'll shut her out. It's none of her business. It's his past, not hers.

She stops walking once she gets to the edge of the road. It's so desolate and cloudy and dark. She can't imagine coming from either direction. A world of gray and black and red is her reality and she doesn't know why. Is this a reckoning? Is it some sort of Biblical prophecy? Did the Mayans predict this? Could anyone have predicted this? But most importantly, could anyone have stoppedthis?

What went so horribly wrong that this happened? That this was the end result? A complete decimation of the human race? For them to pit themselves against each other just to survive? For them to lose all sense of humanity just to get another days breath? What did they do to deserve this? What has she herself done?

However, before she can think over why, she's suddenly knocked to the ground. Her head hits the pavement hard and all she hears is constant ringing and her vision is filled with blotchy white and grey blocks. She blinks to clear her field of vision, but it's ridiculously slow and tedious. Every little movement she tries to make is a struggle and she swears she feels blood on her head.

What just happened?

She tries to sit up, but her head is spinning yet she can see it clearly. A straggler right at her feet, gnawing away at the thick material of her boots.

At first it doesn't seem real. It didn't just come out of nowhere. They don't do that. She would've seen it. She would've heard it.

She doesn't know whether she should scream or not, because what if there's more around and they hear her? What if a horde comes? Then it'll be all her fault. She kicks at the thing at her feet and tries to scramble away, reaching around for anything she can bash it over the head with. She's too far away from the SUV, too far away from anything she can hold.

So, maybe with heavy regrets, she screams. At the top of her lungs until her throat feels raw, she yells for help.

"NIK!"

If he doesn't hear her then she's done for. She keep screaming his name into the wind, trying to focus her eyes on the motel room that suddenly looks miles away. He won't hear her. He won't hear her and she'll die right here and he won't even know it.

"NIK! HELP!"

The straggler lets go of her feet and she manages to kick it right in the face, warding it off for a few seconds while she scrambles to her feet. She continues to shout for Nik as she runs as fast as her feet will carry her. She reaches back and feels blood soak her hand and she shivers. What if there was something on the pavement? What if it's in her system? Would she feel it already? What does it even feel like?

"Caroline?" Nik runs out of the motel room and without even thinking he hoists himself over the railing and hops down to the ground.

He sees Caroline slowing her paces and clutching the back of her head with a pained expression on her face. He spots the zombie making its way closer and closer to Caroline, its pace not slow nor fast. Moderate. He pulls out the .45 out of waistband and takes the safety off before firing straight at it. Caroline shrieks as the bullet flies right past her and hits its target right in the face, knocking it down.

Nik catches up to Caroline and takes her face in his hands, but she winces.

"My head is bleeding," she pants. "It pushed me and I hit it on the pavement and I don't know if there was something on the concrete, but if it was then it's in me and I'm going to change so Nik just look please just look!"

He turns her around and pushes everything she's said out of his mind. She's not infected that way. No. She won't change on him. He won't let her. She's just paranoid. That's all.

There's a small abrasion on the back of her head. It's a tear, a little deep and a small amount of blood is coming out. Other than that it looks fine, but how would he really be able to tell? He spins her back around and feels up and down her arms, searching for any cuts or bites or anything, but she's telling him that it only got her boots which are completely trashed.

"What were you thinking?"he asks her, squeezing her shoulders so hard she whimpers.

"Let go of me," she says. "You're hurting me!"

His eyes bore into hers, mirroring the horrific close encounter that she just had. If he hadn't heard her... God, she's so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid girl! He lets her go and she exhales breathlessly, clutching at the back of her head.

"Go back inside and apply pressure to it. Tell Rebekah I said to wrap it up for you."

She thinks to protest, to say that she can take care of herself, but after what just happened it's not a pretty strong argument. "And where will you be?"

Nik narrows his eyes down at the girl. "None of your concern. Now go back to the room like I told you."

Caroline grumbles under her breath and tries to keep up the intimidating gaze contest with him, but he never falters. He's dead serious. If she doesn't get a move on, then he'll throw her over his shoulder and lock her in that room with Rebekah until he feels like letting them out. But, sadly, it doesn't have to come to that because Caroline stalks away angrily and tromps up the stairs. A string of curses fall from her lips before the door finally slams shut and suddenly all there is is silence.

Nik stands alone in the motel parking lot holding the .45 in his right hand and surveying the area. He looks down at the, well, dead againzombie only a few feet away and wonders where it came from. Caroline had to have seen it. Or heard it. Something. They just don't teleport.

Looking up and down the road, he sees nothing but a heavy mist. Like the clouds have came down from the sky to settle on the ground. He has no idea where that straggler came from. But regardless, it's only a sign that it's time to leave. If one came so easily, then that means a dozen could come just as quickly.

Maybe he's jinxed himself, however, because on his way back to the room he figures out where it came from. Just beyond the property is a forest. And that's the origin. Where they filter in like droves. Like moths to a flicker of light. For a moment, he's completely paralyzed. It's nothing like the kitchen in the cafeteria back at the high school. It's nothing like the swarm at his siblings' estate. It's bigger. A mass. It's a goddamned army of the dead. And they're so quiet. No breathing, no hissing, no snarling. Nothing. Just moving. Complete silence as if they're in a daze. Children, teenages, adults, elderly; all there with blood stained mouths and clothes. What a waste of humanity.

He exhales and relaxes himself. So this is how it ends, he muses. In this way.

Not a fucking chance.

He goes back to the SUV and pops open the trunk. A big green case sits flat and he opens up the top, marveling at the beautiful sight of a dozen M67 frag grenades lined up in two rows of six. Now this is what you call genuine beauty. He tucks away the .45 in his waistband and takes a frag in each hand. He's never done this before besides in those shitty video games that Kol was always playing. And in reality, Nik isn't a soldier. He isn't in a battalion, but he's armed like he is. Soldiers protect, and what is he doing out here? Risking his life for those two blondes most likely arguing back and forth in that room. So, just this once, he can be a soldier.

He runs at them as fast as he can and pulls a pin off the first one and hurls high above his head and into the horde. Maybe 20 meters. 25 at most. They all stop for one split second and suddenly their attention is drawn to that little green bomb rolling around in the grass. Nik runs to the front of the motel and leans against the wall.

"Three, two..."

It sounds like an explosion.

It sounds like an earthquake.

It sounds like how she always imagined the world would end.

The ground shakes, she can't stand up on her feet, she's ducking underneath the small table, and Rebekah is trying to fit under the bed.

"What the hell is that?" Rebekah screeches. "WHAT IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO NIK?"

But Caroline's head is pounding and she can barely make out Rebekah's words. All she knows is that she won't stop screaming and she herself cannot stop it either. Then, all of a sudden, everything stops shaking.

"D'ya think it was an earthquake?" she hears Rebekah ask, only she's not really asking it. What else could it have been? And to think that things couldn't have gotten any worse.

But with earthquakes, there's always an-

"AFTERSHOCK!" they shriek in unison as the floor beneath them begins to shake again.

So this is how it ends. Under a table with a split in the back of her head and a guy she may or may not like outside most likely hurt, or maybe the earth has literally opened up and swallowed him up.

In this way.

Not a fucking chance.

She scrambles up to her feet and latches onto the door handle. Her knees keep knocking together and her head is killing her, but she's going out there. He saved her life, she'll save his. Maybe she's being stupid. Reckless. Whatever. Does it really matter at this point?

There's a lot of smoke in the air. Smoke and clouds of dirt. There's a ringing in Nik's ears, like unpleasant church bells. He creeps back to the side of the building and sees nothing but blown up corpses. The forest is covered in dark gray and he can barely make it past that. Did he seriously wipe out an entire horde with two frags?

Time stills in this moment. It's like he's just won a battle. An entire flock of stragglers decimated by his hand. Yet this is only a small victory in an all out war. There will be more and it will never end. Ever.

"Nik!"

Caroline.

She descends the stairs with as much grace as she hit the pavement with. Her eyes are wild and curious, searching the land for any sign of him and any inclination of what the hell just happened only moments ago.

"Wait for me!" Rebekah calls seconds behind as her feet clunk against the metal. "Nik!"

He steps out in front of stairs and catches Caroline's eyes. She almost visibly relaxes as if she can breathe again. He looks untouched. Okay. Perfect.

Rebekah bounds past Caroline and quite literally flings herself at Nik, nearly knocking him to the ground.

"What were you thinking staying out here by yourself?" she spits, jabbing him hard in the chest. "Have you gone mad? Rotting in that cell knock you off your rocker?"

Nik winces as if she's just slapped him right across the face. She immediately regrets saying it. Some things are just off limits.

Caroline pretends not to notice what she's heard, so she breaks the silence and asks what's happened. Was there an earthquake? Did he get hurt?

Nik says no. No earthquake. Just a couple grenades and a few dozen blown up zombies. He tries to make it sound funny, but she's much too nervous to laugh. No jokes today.

Rotting in that cell...

"Why isn't your head bandaged like I told you?" Nik questions Caroline, bringing her back from her daze.

What was he in a cell for? Like prison? What?

"Uh..."

He accepts this as an answer because he knows she must've heard what Rebekah has said. In all honesty, he's surprised she hasn't figured out more. It isn't like his family past is one big secret, but he'd rather not think about it. It's not something that you just bring up for general conversation. Or any conversation for that matter. If he wanted to explain why he's been in prison for ten years, then he would've said so. It isn't important any longer. Not anymore.

"We need to leave," he states coldly as he moves past her. "Now."

Caroline turns around and watches him until she can't see him past the top of the stairs. She presses her lips together and tries to remember just how she even got into this. Zombies, a cramped bathroom, head injuries, nightmares, and the drama amongst three people. This wasn't how the world was supposed to end. There was supposed to be big explosions and planes falling out of the skies. There were supposed to be random volcanoes coming up from the ground and tidal waves and tsunamis. The ozone layer was supposed to break apart completely and the moon would come hurtling to the earth and push it closer to the sun until it burned up into nothing but space junk to be sucked into a black hole. That was how the world was supposed to end.

"Don't ask him anything," Rebekah suddenly whispers, but her tone isn't bitter. No. It's pretty gentle. And soft. "Some things we just don't say."

"You're the one who started it," Caroline points out.

She narrows her eyes. "Slip of the tongue." She shrugs casually. "Besides, I'm his sister, and you're just..." She grimaces. "A trollop."

"Trollop," Caroline laughs. "Newsflash, sweetie. It's the 21st century, and the only trollop I see is you."

Caroline smirks, feeling proud of herself. She starts up the stairs back to the room to properly wrap up her head. Not the best comeback, but it's a start.

"At least I can keep a man."

Her hand is fire on Rebekah left cheek. It's a sharp slap, a hard connection of skin against skin. Just one word puts the rhythm in Caroline's hand and Rebekah is clutching at her burnt crimson face.

"The next time you want to talk about shit you've only heard about," Caroline hisses, "you better make sure that I'm dead."

She totally means it.

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A/N: Bad news first: I don't know when I'll be updating again. I move in to university on Friday (scared out of my mind lemme tell ya) and this week is just going to be hectic with packing and last minute things and what not. Sigh. I don't want to say hiatus because I'm really going to try to update one more time before Friday. I'd really, really like to do that. Especially since you kind of know what's going on with Nik now, and the rest will be explained in the next chapter.

And this is the part where I realize I have no good news. Awkward. Anyway, thanks a bunch guys for your support. I didn't edit this at all and it's like almost 2 in the morning so like, there are probably mistakes, but I'm too sleepy to look for them. Okay well until we meet again, loves ;)

P.S. "We just can't do it again." Psssh as if.