I would apologise, but it has long been established that anyone who puts faith in my release schedule should stop doing so.

Chapter 17: Sunday Morning

"Is there any clear sign yet?"

"No."

Zoey sighed in distraught. Their hands were tied. The situation was dire, but there was little they could do. This boat had been afloat for the last three days, and rations were rapidly running out. That was not their primary worry, though. They were adults, well-built and athletic, and they could handle hunger for quite a bit. It was something else.

"Has there been any progress?" Louis asked the question for about the up tenth time. He no longer held any expectations, for good reasons.

"She's been the same." Zoey shook her head. Ever since their escape from the island, Cindy had not so much as responded to any external influence. The fact that she was still visibly breathing was reassuring, but not nearly enough. "I honestly don't know what to do."

"How's Francis?" Louis adverted his gaze to the biker, who was lying on the armchair opposite the two females.

"He's just tired." At least she'll never have to worry about Francis. The man's already a hell of a problem on his own. "He couldn't sleep last night."

"I don't think we've ever been on edge this long." Louis closed the hatch door behind him. The weather was tolerable enough that the boat was in no immediate need of attention. He was up on the deck for quite a while, so this would be a good time to just sit down and rest. "Food is running out, and we haven't been able to land with the group in this kind of situation."

"I understand." She acknowledged the concerns, but it was already obvious. The Witch was sleeping next to her, if it could be called that. After all of these weeks sailing off Florida, not once did Cindy slept at all. Zoey reached for her hair, and lightly brushed it. The Witch looked scarcely different from the first time they met, but the attitude towards her was no longer the same. "Oh Cindy…"

"Look Zoey…" It was high time that Louis had to say something. This was getting rapidly out of hand, and while it would not be pretty should they had to do this, but he could hardly see a better choice. "It's impossible for us to sustain ourselves like this. We'll have to land soon to search for supplies."

Zoey elected not to reply.

"If Cindy still hadn't woken up by then, we'll still have to dispatch at least two of us to scour the area wherever we dock." The reality of the situation was all too clear to them, but without actually discussing it they would not get anywhere. "I understand you don't want to risk leaving only a single person to watch the boat, but we don't have another choice."

"I know." Zoey was all too aware of this. She did not want to think of it, but it was time she had to decide to take action. While Zoey was important to her, the other two were as well. Risking it was the only way the group could maintain their best chance of survival. "We're moving out tomorrow morning, whatever happens."

"I'm sorry." Said Louis, apologetic.

"It's nobody's fault."

Daylight disappeared, without another word.

…

"…Zoey?"

It was already far past midnight, and Zoey heard someone calling her name. Her arm was feeling a nudge. She was barely conscious, but after a brief moment to gather her bearings, it was obvious who would possess such a feminine voice. Her eyes opened with great haste, only to see those of the one she was lying next to.

"Cindy!" Even under great surprise, she was able to keep her voice down. Others were still sleeping, and it was preferable not to wake them up unless absolutely necessary. "You're finally awake! How do you feel?"

"It hurts." Zoey narrowed her eyes. What was wrong? She followed the Witch's gaze, down towards the claws. Zoey had cleaned her up a few days back, and she did notice the unusual amount of blood in that area. It looked like a wound of sort, which she presumed was contracted through a struggle. Still, it was an inquiry that never had an opportunity to be answered. "My hand…"

"Your hand?" Zoey carefully held them up to eye level, only to notice the scars riddled across these talons. She never really thought about whether they were new or not, but in this case it would be the only thing that made sense. "What about it?"

"Ah!" A shriek was heard as Zoey's finger gently wrapped around those seemingly indelicate claws. She was rather surprised to say the least, and had no choice but to release them. Amazingly, none of the sleepers seemed to have been bothered by these noises, but the teenage girl sure did.

"Does that hurt?"

Cindy nodded sheepishly, almost teary eyed. Zoey, naturally, found this confusing. She had always thought of a Witch's claws the same as fingernails of regular humans. Sure it would not feel great to have your nails pulled out one by one; but touching, or slightly bending, them should be no problem. Of course, no one would have enough experience to confidently declare such a thing. It has all been speculations from the start.

"Did something happen to it?"

Another nod, this time with a bit more composure.

"Was it during the time in the building?"

The Witch hang her head. Her memories were racing back to that day, only half a week or so ago. Her claws suddenly twitched, as she awkwardly tried to cover them. It appeared to be something quite unpleasant.

"Does it have to do with… that man?" It has been far too long. Zoey could have sworn she knew his name, but it was all but trivial. "The dead guy that we found."

"Yes." Cindy seemed to be retracting away from contact. Both of them had already sat up fully at this point.

"You said that you killed him." Zoey could see the Witch's eyes avoiding hers. "Did you?"

"Yes." Zoey could feel her chest tightening. Even after Cindy's confession within the tunnels, she did not want to believe that the Witch would do something like that. Now, with the situation as calm as it could be, her head could not be more clouded.

"Why?" A slow, painful question.

"He tried to remove them." It was obvious Cindy was referring to her claws. "It hurt." She started tearing up. "I'm sorry…"

Zoey was silent. From a certain standpoint, if the claws were in fact part of a Witch's hand structure, having them removed would feel about the same as having your own finger cut from the base. It would certainly be reasonable for Cindy to fight back. However, mortally wounding, or outright killing the person, maybe just be a bit too much to forgive. It was clear that the Witch felt guilty about it, judging from her behaviour.

"Zoey…" Her voice cleared the silence, ever so faintly. "I don't want you to hate me."

Zoey had nothing to say. She sighed. She knew fully well that the only reason she was even thinking about this was because of how she was brought up. As far as she knew, the world had ended. There was no more moral high ground, and she could even argue that there never had been. Thinking over the events that had recently transpired, it occurred to her that what Cindy did might not even been that terrible, all things considered.

The thought frightened her.

The well-being of that man Cindy killed had absolutely nothing to do with her or her group. Whether he lived or not was completely irrelevant, and the only reason she felt his being murdered was wrong would be due to her upbringing. However, her upbringing never taught her how to deal with any other this either way, so why did it matter?

How much had she changed?

Would she be risking her humanity by simply brushing such an action by the way side? Is it somehow better for her to simply look at the end result, and accept what happened as unnecessary collateral damage?

"Hm?" Louis was waking up. His body was sore. It wasn't the fairest that Zoey always got the bed, since Cindy slept there, but he managed. That said, it was seeing Cindy awake that caught his attention. "Cindy?"

"Hi…" The Witch acknowledged his call, but her mind was definitely set on something else. Seeing how Zoey was completely lost in thought, it was undoubtedly making her worry. Her greatest fear was, after all, being abandoned. It was a weakness, one that she would do anything not to be exposed to again.

"Do you feel ok?" Louis, having just woken up or for other reasons, didn't pick up on her disinterest in replying. Still, it was not his being annoying; she just had a lot on her mind.

"I'm… ok." She reluctantly answered.

"Louis." Zoey finally said something. Her expression stiffened. "I'm sorry, but could you give us a minute?"

Louis, seeing that Zoey was decently calm, figured that this was simply a matter beyond him. He simply shrugged, then fiddly left for the deck. The two were finally alone.

…

"You're up already?" Francis mumbled. He was getting used to be alone up here on the deck, although it's been half a day at least. The night was clear, but he was too busy sleeping. He had trained himself to remain alert, however, and was quick to notice the presence of his companion. "What time is it?"

"Probably a few hour past midnight at most." Seeing as how Francis was already occupying the lounge chair, Louis had to settle for the plastic one. They used to have a few more, but there was no time to recover lost properties. "Cindy woke up."

"Oh yeah?" Francis was receptive to the good news. "I told ya'; the girl's one tough cookie."

"I'm more worried about Zoey now, more than anything." Both of them paid more mind to the moonlight than anything else. The scene was beautiful, whatever situation they were in. "After what that Dave guy said, I hope she can keep herself up."

"Dude was sick in the head." Francis grunted. It was not an uncommon opinion. "I mean, how can you just shoot your friend like that? I know he's into all this religion stuff but that's just not normal."

"Perhaps…" Louis pondered for a brief moment. "Perhaps he really just wanted what's best."

"Are you trying to justify that shit?" Francis was becoming almost visibly upset.

"Man, no! You know me better than that!" Louis calmed the biker down. A fight, whether physically or verbally, was not something he's interested in. "I'm just saying people believe different things. I'd never do that, even as a Christian man, but he would because he thinks it was right. "

"I am too old for this." Francis settled back down.

"Man you say that as a dude wearing a black leather jacket without a motorcycle." The mood was clearly picking up. "You are literally human scum."

"It's not my fault I got arrested and they had to take it." Louis narrowed his eyes in response. "Alright fine, maybe a bit of it was my fault."

"You actually never told us whatever happened to the guys you were with." Louis had questions, though he also had doubts. "I'm not sure how much of your story I could believe though."

"Oh, I definitely thought the entire zombie thing was an excuse for binge drinking and inappropriate gun control. We were also carrying a giant jukebox." It was a quick recap of what he'd told everyone. It wasn't the proudest moment he ever had, but it was definitely amusing. "There was this shooting gallery thing that we had going for the first hour or so. Somehow one of the two, Danny I think it was, managed to shoot himself in the foot. The other tried to help, didn't work. I was the only one who got away. I don't even know what happened to the rest."

"Would it be correct to assume you were all drunk at the time?" Slight laughter was heard.

"You're damn right we were, and we needed it too." The biker lightly rubbed the scar on the right side of his neck. "This girl I was with, Becky or something, turned when we were making out."

"That sounds horrifying."

"She puked on my vest, man. You have no idea how long it took to get that off." It was easy to tell the disgust in his tone. "And she managed to take a good bite off my neck too."

"Jesus…" Louis instinctively reached for his left arm. He was bitten when things went crazy in his office. He was scared to death too, but soon enough found out that at least he was going to be alright. "I know how that feel."

"Do ya'?" Francis showed a smile, then threw him a beer. "Maybe we have more in common than I thought."

"Uh huh." Both cans popped at the same time, as the men chugged like it was the last thing they will ever have. The trash promptly went into the water, as being environmental friendly was the last thing they cared about. "Aside from both having gotten ourselves bitten to pieces, what else?"

"Well, we're the only ones on the deck right now. That's good enough for me." Another beer can was thrown, and subsequently caught. "Let those girls have their privacy down there. Tonight, we drink like men!"

"Alright." Louis laughed, and the party went on. "I still hate you though."

"Cheers to that."

…

"Cindy…" Zoey started off slow. She could already see tears forming by the Witch's eye lash, as if preparing for the worst. Such a fear certainly wasn't irrational, for it took Zoey quite a while to decide what she wanted to do.

First things first though, those claws.

"Ah…" Cindy let out a small cry, as Zoey gently grabbed them.

"Does it hurt a lot?" A soft inquiry.

"It stings but…" The Witch held through it. "Not as much as before."

"Do you think they'll heal eventually?" Zoey asked, for one last confirmation.

"I think so." Just like any mild pain, constant exposure increased tolerance by quite a bit.

"That's good." Zoey's hands fully wrap around the slender, sharp fingers of the Witch. "You know I'm not trying to hurt you."

"Yes." Cindy acknowledged, still lost as to what direction this conversation was going.

"In fact, you know that I will do anything in my ability to protect you from harm." Zoey continued.

"I do."

"Human lives aren't like weeds, Cindy. They're precious, every single one of them." Those words cut, deep. The Witch was aware of her mistake, to a lesser degree. It was too late to regret it now, but that did not stop her. "I know this might sound demeaning, but we cannot afford to lose our humanity. It's what separates us from them. It's what separate you from them."

"I know." Cindy's head was completely down. She avoiding eye contact at all cost.

"If I had to choose, though." Closing her eyes, Zoey slowly caresses those rugged claws. "I would choose you every time."

A smile crept up on Zoey's face, in response to Cindy's momentary baffled look. When Cindy finally registered what just happened, she could already feel the blood racing to her face.

"…thank you." The Witch finally managed to speak, albeit barely.

"Oh good. For the moment there I thought I was going to die of embarrassment over here." Zoey hadn't found herself smiling this much in a long time, and she wasn't even aware of it. Pulling Cindy into a deep embrace, she could not contain herself. "Seriously though, I don't think I've ever even said those words to anyone. Never forget that you're special to me, Cindy."

"Yes." The Witch found herself within the teenage girl's arm, where she could not move, nor did she want to. She'd always been fearful every time she wanted to reach for Zoey during the night, for she couldn't sleep, only to let her self-doubt get in the way. She simply felt the urge to rest, even though she had only wake up after three days. "…Zoey?"

"Hm?"

"Can we… stay like this for a little bit?" Cindy heard no answer, but she felt she was pulled even closer to Zoey than before. Her wish was granted, and she was content. She had never told anyone, but she never needed to sleep on a regular basis. She only did when exhausted, or she wanted to. There had always been something keeping her up at night, denying her that simply desire. Whatever it was, it was no longer present. Soon, she felt herself dripping off to unconsciousness, with a smile on her face.

What she missed, however, was Zoey's mortified expression.

End of season 3