It was a relatively quiet walk back to the church. There were not many zombies left around town and Charlotte made quick work of any that got too close. Once they were inside, Dennis collapsed into a nearby chair, exhausted. He watched as Charlotte took off the SWAT uniform in front of him. He swore she was making a mild striptease out of it when she kept looking at him, as if to make sure he was watching.

"So," Dennis said cautiously. "Why were you 'undercover'" he said, making air quotes.

"I wanted to keep an eye on my man," she said with a smile,

Dennis cringed. "I'm not your man."

Charlotte put on an overexaggerated hurt face, but didn't reply. Underneath the uniform, she was left wearing her stained white blouse and dark trousers. Her trenchcoat, he noticed, was hanging over a nearby box of supplies. She didn't put it on, choosing to sit down on the floor in front of Dennis. She stared at him, as if expecting something.

"What," he said hesitantly.

"Don't you have something to say to me, sweetie?" her gaze unwavering.

"I..." he stuttered, unsure what to say. "I don't know."

She looked displeased. "Well," she said with a sharp tone. "That's the last time I save you then."

He suddenly felt very guilty. This was the second time now and he was, deep down, thankful. Several layers of distrust kept him from speaking up though, but he managed to give her a quiet work of thanks. She immediately perked up.

"There we go! You're very welcome, sweetie," she sprung to her feet and jumped straight into his lap, straddling him. She held his head in her hands, leaning in as if to kiss him. "You're very dear to me, I won't let anything happen to you as long as you're always nice to me."

Dennis slapped her hands away. "Please don't."

Looking hurt, she instead leaned in and gave him a hug. Dennis was uncomfortable, but she held him so tightly that he couldn't push her off. Instead, he decided to press an issue that was still burning in his head.

"What happened to that cop at the police station?"

He felt her tense up and the hug became more of a crushing. "Nothing you need to worry about, sweetie."

"What did you do?" he insisted.

She pulled away, still sitting on his lap. "I killed her," she replied casually, her tone dark as she stared into his eyes.

Dennis was more surprised than he thought he should have been. Perhaps it was her casualness of admitting to murder that stunned him more.

"Why would you do that?" he said, as he shoved her off onto the floor.

She fell backwards, sprawled over the floor She looked genuinely surprised by his sudden outburst. "I… I needed her uniform," she stammered. "She didn't want to give it to me."

"That's no excuse to kill somebody!" Dennis was shouting now.

Charlotte's face turned cold. "Sweetie, that's enough. I don't like your tone and if you don't play nice then I'll have to punish you!" she scolded.

He was unfazed by her cold, threatening tone. "Fuck you, you psycho bitch! I'm out of here."

He turned to leave out the door to the front of the church. He had taken no more than two steps when Charlotte was on him. She grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled with amazing strength. She tripped him and he fell backwards, hitting the ground hard and knocking the wind out of him. With amazing speed, she was sitting over him, lying with her face just inches from his.

"I'm so disappointed in you, Dennis," she said his name with sharpness like a scolding mother. "I looked after you. I treated you well. Then you go and turn into yet another heartless bastard." She sat up and punched him square in the chest. He would have doubled over if he was able to. "I just want somebody to show me some affection once in a while, you know?" She stroked his face. "I really thought you were the one, sweetie."

"I'm married," he spluttered.

"THEY'RE DEAD!" she screamed, this time punching him win the face with a powerful right hook. "You want to be married to a zombie?"

Dazed, he spat out a mouthful of blood at her face. "She's still better than a freak like you."

"Then let me help you two be together again," she said, her tone suddenly sweet again.

Charlotte leant down, pulling his shirt collar down to expose his neck. Dennis screamed in pain as her teeth sunk deep into his flesh, careful to avoid the jugular. She pulled away, taking a huge chuck of his neck with her. He lay there in horror, screaming as she sat there, chewing the meat in her mouth.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

She swallowed and smiled, wiping the blood from her face. "Here's a little tid-bit for you, sweetie," she pulled down the collar of her own blouse, revealing a clear bite mark similar to what she had just done to him. "I'm immune. I can't become one of them, but..." she leant in closer to whisper in his ear. "I'm still infected."

She punched him again, with a left hook. He was too stunned to do anything by lie there in shock. Charlotte stood and collected her trenchcoat and a bag of supplies. She headed towards the door, her axe slung over her shoulder. She was just about to step out when she turned to look at Dennis still laying on the floor, a small puddle of blood forming from his wound.

"I still love you sweetie. I'm sorry it had to end this way," she genuinely looked upset, but then her eerie smile suddenly returned. "Have fun sweetie!" said said as she stepped out giving him a little wave, leaving the door wide open.

He lay there, groggy, for several minutes. He'd never really taken a beating like that before; she hit hard. He struggled to his feet, just as a female zombie wandered in the open door. He grabbed the rifle and managed to fire just as it lunged at him. It flopped limply to the floor next to him. He dragged himself to his knees and crawled to the door. Slamming it before any more could get through. She really had tried to kill him! He curled up in the corner, nursing his wounded neck.

"It's been an hour. It's been an hour! Must be immune. That's right! No, I have to... I have to be immune."

Dennis sat in the corner, rocking himself. He felt ill, but he put it down to stress.

"Better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry..." he repeated to himself. He couldn't trust anyone, not after what Charlotte had done to him.

A noise caught his attention, a group of voices were coming up the path through the graveyard.

"There's lights on in that church!" he heard a female voice call out.

No, he thought. He couldn't trust them. What if they were infected too? "Better safe than sorry, better safe than sorry..."

There was a bang at the door. "We're cops! Open up!" a gruff male voice called out.

"No! Go away! Better safe than sorry!" he continued to rock.

The female voice shouted back, "You know, we can MAKE YOU open that goddamn door."

Panicked, Dennis jumped up. He wasn't going to let that happen! He grabbed the rope to the church's bell and started screaming. "I'm gonna ring this bell. I'm going to ring this bell! And they'll come! And they'll finish the job. Ding dong! Ding dong! Dinner's served! Come and get it!"

"This guy's nuttier than candy bar shit," he heard a third voice say as the bell rang loudly.

Dennis was pleased when he heard the familiar sound of an approaching hoard. His joy was short lived however, as he suddenly felt violently ill. His body convulsed as he hit the floor, trying to force himself to get up.

"Better safe than..." his voice gave out to a gurgle. "Better safe than... better safe than..."

-The End-