The rain stopped before we got up. I was holding onto Hunter so tightly, that I was sure I was making dents in his skin. When I pulled away, he rubbed his eyes, leaving a smear of blood on his face. I went to wipe it off, but he recoiled from my touch, and shook his head. He slowly rose to his feet, and looked around.
He took a deep breath, and said, "We should keep going. We're not far."
"Are-are you alright?" I asked. Stupid question, of course he wasn't. But he seemed to have recovered quite quickly, though I knew he was just pretending for my sake.
He didn't say anything, and neither did I. We both continued walking, and I stayed a few steps behind him. I told myself it was because he needed space, but in truth, I was kind of scared of him. I tried my hardest not to let it show, but I think I failed in that. I nibbled the skin around my thumb, and froze every time he looked back.
We had to duck into a nearby shop when we heard the voices of people. Standing in silence with him was excruciating, so I thought of something to say.
"What was his last name?" I asked. He looked at me confusedly for a few seconds, and then realised.
"Day. Cyrus Day." Hunter sighed, and then turned his head towards me. "This isn't your fault."
"How do I know that? How I do I know he wouldn't have turned, if I wasn't there?" I said, my voice growing higher pitched.
"It would've happened sooner or later. Please, don't blame yourself."
I opened my mouth, but decided against saying anything. Nothing I could say would help. After a few more minutes, we concluded that it was safe to leave, and resume our journey. It was surreal to think how little time had passed since I joined up with them. It couldn't have been little more than a week, yet it felt like months. It felt like I'd known them for months.
I'd never seen someone die before. All my family and friends were still alive. Maybe. They were probably dead now. I was beginning to wonder what the point of any of this was. Even if I did get rescued, what would be waiting for me? I had nothing, except Hunter.
I finally understood how he felt.
Perhaps I should've told Hunter that I didn't want to leave, that I'd much rather stay with him. He'd tell me that I couldn't do that, that I shouldn't throw away the rest of my life for him. And that Cyrus' death would have been for nothing. I couldn't do that, but maybe Hunter would come with me. I was getting just as delusional as Cyrus had been, of course Hunter couldn't come with me. He'd be shot on sight. No matter what, this wasn't going to end well.
"Rose," Hunter said suddenly, startling me. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?" I asked, and quickened my pace so that I was walking alongside him.
"For dragging you into this. If we'd just left you alone, then maybe you'd be safe by now." He looked down at the floor, and swallowed hard.
I stared at him incredulously. "If you'd left me alone, I'd probably be dead by now."
"And that's worse than this mess?" he asked.
"Yes," I said firmly, and he didn't argue. Ten minutes of silence passed before I said, "How much further away are we?"
He stopped to look around. "We'll be there tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" I repeated.
"If we ran, we'd be there today," he said, sounding so dull lifeless. I hesitated, and then reached out and placed my hand his shoulder. He didn't pull away, or flinch. He didn't even react.
"We'll walk, slowly." So I can spend more time with you, I added silently.
A very short chapter, I know, but next chapter will be final one. I'd intended this story to be a little longer, about twelve chapters, but I cut out a couple of scenes because they felt like filler. And for some reason, every story I've completed has been ten chapters. All two of them.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.