A Short chapter this time around. Thanks again, as usual, everyone. Please review!

Ch 5

It's nightfall when Julie returns home. I lay on our bed, staring up at the ceiling, hands under my head. My eyes are as wide and bland as they were when I was Dead. I can feel her standing in the doorway, probably wondering whether to kick me out, or to recede back into the shadows as if she wasn't there at all. I don't make a move. This is her choice. After awhile, I hear soft footfalls coming to the bed and I feel her weight. But she is not curled up next to me, her hair tickling my arm like she always does. From the corner of my eye, I see her on the other side of the bed, her back to me, tucked into a little ball.

I sigh, and a feeling of loneliness, longing, and regret overpowers me. I stare up at the ceiling, the lyrics from Imagine penetrating my thick skull. It's easy if you try. I want to reach out to her, but I restrain myself. I know she wants the best for me, to do what is right, but how can I explain that my life is meaningless without her in it? It's not Beth that cured me. It's her. It would have always been her. I know that now, deep in the cockles of my being. If Beth had been in Julie's place, I just know that I would still be a corpse. That I would have just regarded her as another human. As another meal.

Julie scoots closer to me in the bed, and I feel my hope rising. She hesitates, deciding. In the darkness, I see her staring straight up at the ceiling, and I wonder if she's thinking about those words too. Then, she crawls over to me, and places her head on my chest. She doesn't say anything, but her tears dampen my shirt. I put my hand on her back and we lay there. I stare at what used to be her "hope" wall. I look at the photos of the two of us, of much happier times.

….

The sun rises and with it comes a knock on the door. Julie lifts her head from my chest, and eyes me oddly. "Who could that be?"

I shrug, "I don't know. M wouldn't knock."

"Yeah," Julie laughs, "I'm pretty sure he made a copy of our key." She hops out of bed and walks over to the window to look down at the front door. "It's Rosy!" She says and turns back to me. She bites her bottom lip and slips a robe around her shoulders. I get to my feet and follow her down the stairs.

"What do you think he wants?" I ask her.

She shakes her head, "I don't know." She pulls the front door open, and the colonel stands there, his arm in the air, ready to knock again.

"Good morning, Julie." He says. He takes off his hat, and rotates it in his hands. "Good morning, R." He adds.

"Hi, Rosy." Julie says. "Would you like to come in? I could make some coffee."

Coffee is one of the few indulgences that was salvaged from before the world turned to hell. There are mountains of coffee beans in various storage sheds across the stadium. Julie drinks it by the gallon. I find the stuff rancid.

Rosso waves his hand. "No, I'm sorry, this isn't a social visit. We need you, R, and Nora to get down to base right away."

"What's wrong?" Julie asks.

A feeling of dread is creeping up my spine. By Rosso's body language, I can tell this is bad.

"Two women were found dead just outside the walls of our sister camp." Rosso sighs, "Witnesses say that M was with them."

Julie turns to look at me. Her eyes are large, and she puts her arm around my waist. I shake my head. This doesn't make sense. M had went to visit the corpse camp... and then the light bulb clicked on. Our sister camp was mere miles from there. All M had to do was hop in the car for a pit stop. I frown. M wouldn't pass up the opportunity for a piece of ass.

"Have you found him?" Julie asks.

"No. That's one piece of good news. Perhaps he got away during the attack."

"No," I say, "M wouldn't leave two women to be murdered by the infected."

"In there lies the problem, R." Rosso says. "They weren't attacked by zombies. They were killed by what did you used to call them... Bone-men?"

"Boneys." I say, with a frown.

This is not good. My brain starts working in overdrive. The Boneys have been lying low for a few months... for what? What could they be doing? What prompted them to attack two people outside of a secured camp instead of going in? A sneak attack would have been their best bet. But they didn't attack the compound. They only murdered those two that were with M... If the Boneys killed those two girls, they did it for a reason. To send a message that the fight isn't over. They must have known who M was. And they know who I am. Which means they're coming back.

"Those skeleton things?" Julie asks with disgust. "I thought I was all done with those." She takes in a deep breath, and looks at me before turning to Rosso. "Why do you think it was them?"

"It's the way they were killed," Rosso says. "Their remains aren't savagely destroyed. It's ruthless. Clean, sharp bites. Their clothes left in neat piles. It's like they're taunting us."

I only half hear what Julie and the Colonel are saying. I have to do something. I have to get out of here. If I'm gone, then these people would be safe, wouldn't they? I look at Julie. If the Boneys got her, I would go out of my mind. She's safer without me. I'm the marked target. I'm the one that wanted to change. I'm the one that fell in love with her and spread my virus.

"R," Julie says, and I snap myself out of my monologue.

I focus my eyes on her, and I'm sure she sees the desperation in them. She circles her arm through mine and reaches up to brush my hair out of my eyes. I look around and see that Rosso is nowhere to be found. How long did I zone out?

"Where'd you go?" She asks softly.

"Just thinking," I say to her.

She frowns and places her finger on the crease between my eyes. "Liar."

I cover her hand with my own, and look deep into her eyes. "I don't think it's a coincidence that the Boneys attacked those two that were with M."

Her eyes cloud over with something dark, probably memories of us running from them in the airport. Unseen horrors through her eyes that makes her jaw set in a firm line. "What does this mean?"

"It means they were following M. They know what he was, and what we're doing."

Slow recognition is building within her. Julie is smart, and I know she's figuring out what I'm about to say to her. "No." She says simply, and folds her arms.

I sigh with a shrug, and swallow the large lump that has formed in my throat. I run my hand down her arms and to her face, "They know who M is and they know who I am, Julie."

"I don't care what they know."

"They'll be coming here again. With more vengeance this time."

"I'll get my shot gun."

I sigh again, and avoid her gaze. "I promised I'd keep you safe. And if to do that, I have to leave, then I will."

"What, you're just going to turn yourself over to them?" She says angrily, "I thought long and hard about what happened yesterday. And I decided, I'm not just giving you up. To anyone. So let your wife or these boney bastards try. I'm ready to fight." She grabs me and kisses me long and hard. "We'll get down to base and think of a plan." She turns to the stairs and calls Nora's name.

I can't help but smile at her fiery resilience. It's so easy to love her. But I meant what I said. If the best scenario is for me to be gone to keep her safe, then that is the road I am going to travel.