hahaha whaaat oh my goooddd
so, this is awkward. like, i wanted to have an update for 2020, UHM, but then this really crazy thing happened back in march. you might have heard of it? anyway, it didn't feel all that cool or inspiring to write a zombie apocalypse fic in the middle of a real life pandemic. at the time of this writing, it's far from actually being "over", and thus, this is gonna be another sorta chill, slice of lifey esque chapter. but a couple things i wanna note about that:
1. this will be the last chapter like this. Chapter R will find us switching gears from slice of life back to our normal adventures, and then from there, things are gonna uhhhh, ramp up a little. And then a lot. And then you're all gonna hate me. And then we'll be done.
2. Yeah, there's only 9 chapters left to go (we're kinda running out of alphabet here lol). Which is crazy, this is wild, we're finally almost done after ten long stinking years.
3. Which is the other crazy part. This year (april 2021) will be the 10 Year Anniversary of this fic. Wow like, holy shit. If you're reading this, and you've been here since 2011, uhm, im sorry first of all? but thank you? but also i hope you found something better to read in the meantime lmfao. But if you're just joining us here today for the first time, I appreciate you too, and thank you so much for reading.
Okay, this chapter is like, 5.6k words long, the longest chapter yet. Everyone's support and patience is appreciated. Buckle up Mr. Stark, we're in the endgame now.
4(?) months, ? weeks, after first Infection
Much like the town they had come across before, Belton was empty of all life. The buildings still stood, covered in ice and snow, but no infected milled behind grayed windows, nor did they amble down the streets. No bodies littered the ground, or signs of death or decay. Betha didn't ask what had happened, and just assumed instead that the dead had been long put to rest.
"That's our old place," Harmony said, pointing up to a window above a shop front. "You know, before all of this."
"Do you ever go back?" Betha asked.
"Sometimes, if I need something. We're pretty set in the church though," the other woman replied. Harmony stared at the window for a few seconds longer before moving along. Betha quietly trailed after her. She didn't need to ask what it must feel like, having your home ripped away from you and unable to return, despite the fact that it was sitting right fucking there. Betha couldn't even remember the last time she thought about her tiny apartment back in Fairfield.
Had anyone moved in since she left? Looted it of whatever used to be her belongings? Was it a nest for some Infected now? She'd never know, returning there had never been the plan.
The plan right now, at least, was getting inside the hardware store next door. The doors, still intact, opened with a little elbow grease, the two women having to push at it to get the hinges cracked off the ice. It was, of course, dark inside, and cold, but thankfully empty of life. The shelves and its products still sat in their places, pristine aside from a layer of dust.
"It should be right over here," Harmony said, walking over behind the counter. "I know they got a lot of orders and, aha!"
Betha joined her, and grinned at the sight of a computer monitor, hard drive, and printer right there where it was left. Perfect.
"Great, lemme get an extra hand," Betha smiled, and walked back out to the font of the store. She gave a long whistle, and the arrival of her companions were heralded by ragged coughing and an excited bark. Zachary arrived first, leaping down from the rooftops to stand in front of her expectantly. Ryan came wheezing along moments later, his hands stuffed into coat pockets.
"You," she started, pointing at Zach. "I don't trust with this."
The Hunter frowned with a short whine.
"But you," she continued, pointing to Ryan. "I think can handle this without breaking anything. Follow me."
"I'm the reliable one," Ryan bragged as he pushed past the Hunter. Zach huffed unhappily, but remained where he sat. Betha guided Ryan inside back to the counter, Harmony pulling a cable free from the computer monitor. She paused at the sight of them, looking up at the Smoker warily.
"You're sure he can do this?" Harmony asked.
"He won't drop anything," Betha promised. "Unless you want Skippy out there to go bouncing around with it instead."
Harmony made a face, but nodded in agreement. Together, the two of them got all the cables and cords unplugged and wrapped up. Betha handed the printer to Ryan, carefully adjusting his grip on it to ensure its safe journey back to the church.
"Be careful with this, okay?" she said to him sternly.
"Kay," he grunted back at her.
"No no, I really mean it, do not drop this."
"O-Kaaaay, I won't," Ryan rolled his eye at her, but held on to it tight. She grabbed the hard drive, and Harmony took the monitor, and then the three of them left the store to start heading back. Zachary stuck with them, racing circles around them, simply just excited to be moving again.
Truthfully, they didn't need to bring him along- He had insisted. Betha wasn't quite sure what had gotten into him lately. Ever since they arrived in Belton, he had been awfully clingy with her, always after her like a duckling to its mother. She had a few theories, mainly that he was just incredibly anxious being around so many people again, and he felt the most comfortable with her. But she had also noticed how clingy he had been with Ryan and Toni as well. Pack behavior, perhaps?
She'd be sure to include that in her notes.
x-X-x-X-x
It couldn't have an internet connection, which was fine. It didn't have much of anything, but the Word program was all she needed. It was so weird, putting together a computer again. Connecting everything together, having to do troubleshooting. Things that she did all the time only what, a few months ago? How long had it been again? What even was time? She didn't keep track of it anymore anyway.
"What iiiz it?" Zachary asked again for the zillonth time since she brought the computer into her room. He was up on his feet, leaning over the table to sniff at the monitor.
"It's a thing, don't play with it," she warned him. He hummed in thought, sliding a claw against the top of the monitor. She sternly cleared her throat, and his hands shot into his pockets, and backed away as if to say 'I didn't do anything I never do anything wrong I'm innocent.'
Rolling her eyes, Betha focused back on the empty word document before her, and the journal splayed out on the table beside the keyboard. She had been reading her notes over, cringing inwardly at how sloppy and juvenile her writing seemed. It wasn't much of a helpful guide, and more like the frantic notes of a child trying to write down something their teacher was lecturing on.
'I was an English major,' she thought to herself, flipping through the pages.
This was going to take a while.
Warmth appeared against her back, and she felt Zachary rest his chin atop her head, breathing out through his mouth noisily.
"Can I help you with something?" she asked. "If you need to bother someone, you have plenty of other options."
"Don't like 'em," he complained. "Jus' like you."
"Well can I be your favorite later? I wanna start on this now before lights out."
He made a low rumbling sound that practically vibrated through her skull.
"It's just something nice I can do for these people, since ya know, they've been doing literally everything for us? Don't you wanna thank them in some way?"
"Hmmmm," he mused above her. "Hmm…..No."
"Uuuuugh!" Betha groaned, and started to stand up, pushing off the chair and pushing him away. He grumbled at her indignantly as she stood in front of him now, her arms crossed over her chest. They glared at each other in equal annoyance.
"What's been with you?" she asked. "What do you want?"
"I," he started, his lips moving, trying to formulate the words he was looking for, his hands free from his pockets and gesticulating wildly. "It...Different. I want...Grrrggh."
His jaw tightened up, with his sharp teeth clenched together. His brow was furrowed deeply as he struggled to try and express himself. Betha couldn't help but loosen up.
"Hey," she said softly, uncrossing her arms to gently stop his hands from flailing around. His hands were always so warm, the skin scarred and calloused at this point. His shoulders slumped down, his jaw untightening, and she felt the stiffness fly right out of him.
"I know things are different," Betha continued, running her thumbs over his knuckles. "But it's gonna be okay, this is just temporary. As soon as it gets warm, we'll leave. I know you don't like being here. It's different for me too. I remember what this was like, but you don't. I don't think either of you do."
Zach whined, dipping his head down to rub his forehead into hers.
"Jus' want us," he murmured in a surprisingly composed tone. "You mine. Ryan Mine. Toni mine. I don't-"
He paused, jaw briefly clenching again as he thought.
"Don't want...Different? No change. Jus'...The same. Before...Ehuh...Before…"
"It's okay," she shushed him. "I get it. I know what you want now. I understand I promise."
Zach sighed in what sounded like relief. Betha was honestly super surprised that he was trying so hard to actually talk to her like this. Normally he didn't, usually getting his point across physically. She never would have guessed he could be so insecure, not her bounciest companion out of their whole little "pack".
It made her wonder just how much he was being affected by being in a large group again. And if he was changing, and could see the change in the others, then maybe-
"Bwuh-" she barely cried out. What felt like suddenly falling was Zachary dragging her along with him onto the bed. They dropped onto the end of it, and taking her hands in turn, Zach pressed them to the top of his head. "Wait, Zach, honey, what are you-"
He forced her hands into his hair, and then she finally understood. She curled her fingers into his locks, and he sighed in appreciation. Betha couldn't help but chuckle, and she started scratching and rubbing his temple. He let her go, and he made another rumbling sound, this one more appreciative. Except it kept going, as he smiled serenely.
"Are...Are you purring?" Betha asked with a disbelieving laugh. He didn't respond, just kept grinning and rumbling. "Okay, okay, just cause it's cheering you up. But I gotta get started on this thing soon, so i'm not gonna sit here with you forever, alright?"
He just kept purring.
x-X-x-X-x
"Soooo," Ryan started up, glancing over at him. "Uhh….Zombie huh? Yeah, I been there, buddy."
The common, that everyone referred to as Jeff, didn't even look up at him. The common had his forehead pressed into the wall, arms dangling, and he was moaning softly. It's all he ever really did when one of the normies weren't around. Just kinda wandered around the small yard aimlessly, clutching at his head, or his stomach. Sometimes he'd bend over and start puking his guts up, which Ryan didn't understand, because as far as he knew, Jeff didn't eat.
But it was always something, alllllways something…
Sometimes, one of the women would stand out here with Jeff. The younger, prettier one. She'd bring Jeff a blanket, or a fresh shirt that she'd wrangle on him. He never attacked her, and only resisted a little, and then that'd be it. She would talk to him, but he wouldn't reply. Ryan sometimes understood what she'd say, and sometimes not. But she spoke soft and sweet, like Divine did to them all the time.
She rarely paid Ryan any mind, though. They'd make eye contact as she'd walk past, but she always looked so…. Scared? Unsure? About him? Not like they were ever gonna have a conversation. Not like Jeff over there was gonna respond to him sometime soon either. But he could hope.
"This sure is the life, huh?" he continued at this lesser companion. The Smoker pulled the blankets tighter around his shoulders. Jeff gurgled and slowly turned, and once again, started a steady march around the small yard. "Yeah keep the blood pumping," Ryan encouraged him. Sighing, Ryan looked away back towards the side yard door, and hoped someone he actually liked would come through it soon.
x-X-x-X-x
Exile was in what, he only assumed, the most annoying form possible of taking refuge in the one place everyone could see him, but not touch him; the church rafters. Heavy but solid wooden beams that criss crossed the top half of the building's sanctuary, the top reaches of the sloping ceilings shrouded in shadow. And that is where Zachary perched, stretched out across a beam, "gazing" down at the small group of survivors as they went about their business.
They seemed to ignore, for the most part. He'd lie so still and be so quiet, they'd simply forget he was there. Until he coughed, or sneezed from the heavy dust, and he could see them practically jump out of their skins. And while he could not see their eyes, he could tell when their heads would turn to look up, sneaking glances at him. Did they wonder if he'd pounce at any moment? Did they recognize that they were on a thin line between life and death at every given moment? He had time to ponder it.
God, had he spent so much time thinking about it.
He thought about how these survivors acted- People in looks and movement, nothing like the lesser brethren that plagued the world. And yet, he could see it on them. He could smell it. The inescapable stench of death and sickness. They had it on them, the disease. Every drop of blood they had in their bodies carried it. Every droplet of spittle that flew from their mouths? It was on those too. They had it. They moved it. They lived with it. They lived it.
But they had not changed. Yet. That was the curious thing about it. The longer he watched them, the more Zachary realized just how shallow it all was. It was just below the surface, waiting to spring into action. As a Hunter, as a predator who had rapidly evolved to seek out the weakness in his prey, he could see the little things they tried to hide from each other.
The Pack Leader, of whom the others answered to, had an obvious limp. The limp would never go away. It pained him greatly. Pack Leader would sometimes grab at it, hold it tight, mutter under his breath to Lord-Who-Art-Thou-In-Heaven, hear my prayer and heal me swift. But only Zachary heard the plea, and from his perch, he was in no mood or position to grant such a thing.
The Matriarch, sweet and kind, but busy and loud. She had strong hands, and the power to soothe tensions within the pack when they arose. She reminded him of his Div-ine (or his Betta?) in this way. But he could smell the disease off her, constantly battling with another blood disease she already carried in her system. If she did not evolve, she would die from either or as they fought to dominate her.
The Old One, ever a grouch, and his biggest enemy. Not even the deathstick, always in his hands, was going to save him when he finally coughed up the last bit of blood in his body. He hid handkerchiefs on his person, and would discreetly cough into them to disguise the fact that he was already succumbing. If he died sometime soon, Zachary would most certainly not miss him.
The Mother and her Child perhaps perplexed him the most. Both carried the disease, and yet, showed no other symptoms of it, or anything else alongside it. Despite having the disease, they were the healthiest. They greatly reminded him of Div-ine. But even Div-ine had evolved in small gradual ways, despite being completely healthy when he first met her.
And yet, he found the duo the most annoying, simply because the Child monopolized the most of Antonio's time. Which normally wasn't a bad thing per say, but under current circumstances, Zachary thought it The Worst. Div-ine would exile him from the bedroom (hence his current position in the rafters). Toni was too preoccupied with entertaining the Child to pay Zachary mind, and Ryan was out of his reach. Or rather, being locked away behind a door that was difficult for him to open on his own, Ryan felt like he was impossible to get to. And Zachary had no internet in sitting by the door, waiting for someone to release him, because they were too scared to draw near him without Div-ine by his side.
So like, that was his life, basically.
And as if on cue, as if the universe could feel his displeasure, the out through the back doorway of the sanctuary the Mother, her Child, and Toni came through it. The former two walked through, the Child babbling excitedly as they did. She looked over her shoulder, her mouth still in the middle of speaking, when it closed shut as she realized that her new friend had disappeared.
"Mr. Toni?" the Child squeaked, and Zachary huffed in amusement as his Hunter companion appeared silently in the rafters next to him. Toni arched his pack, the vertebrae snapping loudly, before he settled onto the beam and promptly buried his face into his arms.
"Baby wants you," Zach growled, teasingly.
"Five minutes," Toni mumbled tiredly.
Below them, the Mother quickly distracted her daughter, and they moved along without further incident. He didn't understand it. But for now, he'd enjoy the company while he could.
x-X-X-x
"And then like, all this green-" Harmony shuddered before continuing. "God, I don't even know what to call it? It wasn't puke, it was like, sizzling. But anyway, the bottom half of her face melted off. And she just kept going. It was horrifying."
"That's crazy," Betha muttered, quickly scribbling down Harmony's description. "What happened to her?"
"They shot her, of course," Harmony said. "And when she hit the ground, it all just splashed out around her, and it kept sizzling for another few minutes. I think they took her body and burned it with the rest."
Betha couldn't imagine it. She felt extremely lucky she didn't see any of the Special mutations happen in person. Like, it was somehow more comforting knowing they just appeared when she left her apartment, as opposed to watching normal humans turn into monsters in a matter of seconds.
"Alright, well, I'll definitely keep my eye open for this in the future," Betha noted, snapping the notepad shut. "Thanks for telling me, I really appreciate it."
"I just thought it'd help that guide of yours," Harmony shrugged. "And… I dunno, it feels nice to tell someone. We just haven't really talked about it, everything that happened, in general. I-"
Without warning, she started choking up. Betha reached out to take her hand. They were together on a couch in the living room, illuminated by a crackling fireplace. Her Hunters were curled up in front of it, Noelle having been put to bed already for the night, thus their attentions were solely on each other (for the moment). Thankfully, Harmony had been too busy recounting the Belton outbreak to really comment on it.
Betha actually hadn't expected her to suddenly open up about it, nor pull her aside to say anything about it all. But, being the only two young women of similar age to each other, they had become fast friends themselves in the past week that Betha and her crew had arrived. And she did like taking the time to sit down with her, think about anything else than the guide for the moment.
But she really, really hadn't expected to hear anything new about the infection. That different mutations were popping up in different places… Well, she supposed that should have been a given, she just hadn't thought about it cause she hadn't seen it. The mutations seemed pretty straightforward so far. Hunters, of course. Smokers, obviously. Boomers, the menaces. Witches, phew boy. The Tanks, fuck those guys in paricular.
Women spitting up face-melting-puke had definitely not been on her list of "Completely Fucked Up Things" to see during the zombie apocalypse. She could understand the horror from Harmony's point of view.
"Sorry," Harmony sniffled.
"It's okay," Betha assured her. "Really, it's fine."
"How do you do it?"
"Huh?"
"Well, you said you walked here from all the way from Pennsylvania. And all the things you saw along the way… I don't think I could ever," Harmony shook her head, wiping the tears away from her eyes.
"It wasn't easy, for starters," Betha started. "I mean, I was just there for school. My family's all back in California."
"Are you trying to get to them?" Harmony asked.
"I… I don't really know anymore. I guess I kinda resolved myself to thinking I was never gonna see them again. But what was I supposed to do? Sit in my shitty apartment, and wait to die? Hell no. I got out of there, even if it meant literally risking my neck. And I dunno, I think it worked out okay so far," Betha smiled at the end, casting a quick glance at the puppy pile. "I had the guide, and I had a roving clown car, so it could have been worse."
Harmony stifled a laugh.
"Yeah," the other woman nodded in agreement. "I'm so thankful for the others. I thought, after Jeff got bit, it'd just be me and Noelle after everyone else started moving on after the military… Sometimes I don't even know how to begin explaining any of this to her. She's gonna spend the rest of her life in this, you know?"
"I hope it won't be," Betha sighed.
It was the real unspoken horror about the Infection. Where would it end? Would their lives be like this forever? With how quickly things got out of control, it'd take a miracle to fix any of it. She glanced down at her hand in Harmony's, then to her other hand, with her notepad still clutched tight. She smiled softly, and then held it up in the air and said, "At least she won't have to do it blind?"
"And thank the Lord for that."
x-X-x-X-x
By week two, work on the guide was coming along fairly well, but Betha felt it best to get a little fresh air somewhere in there anyway. Despite being covered in snow, Belton was still a quaint little town, a lot of rustic charm, and had the benefit of not being blown to bits. And today happened to be particularly warmer than days prior, so why not take the boys out for a day?
"You know, you're never getting them back inside after this, right?" Ryan asked, a fresh cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. Up ahead, Zachary was going ballistic, ricocheting from wall to wall, swinging around every lamppost he came across, and skidding across patches of ice. Toni followed, albeit much more slowly, but he seemed to enjoy the stretch all the same.
"Yeah well, am I gonna get you to sit in that side yard again?" Betha shot back.
"I mean, it's pretty cozy now, but fair enough," Ryan agreed. Father Barnes had been kind enough to assist Betha in creating a (temporary) lean-to for Ryan to huddle under, since the poor guy, by nature of his mutation, had to stay outside at all times. Betha tried to visit him often, and it broke her heart every time she went out there, thinking about him sitting around all alone most of the time. Well, sure, Jeff was there, but from what Ryan had told her, he wasn't much of a talker.
"I bet it'd be cozier by the fire," Betha said, taking his hand. "You, me, and the boys, one big dogpile. Bet you'd like that more," and she started swinging their arms back and forth.
"Wow, really rubbing it in" Ryan moaned. "You dick."
She giggled. She missed this. Hiding in her room all day at a computer like a teenager again made her really miss being out on the road with her boys in tow. Okay, she'd admit it too, she was also getting a little antsy from being inside all the time. It just never felt like there was a good time to get out, though. Too cold. Too busy. This reason. That reason. Always a reason. But not to-fucking-day.
Today was just her and her boys.
"Okay, I think it should be around here," Betha called out, guiding Ryan over to a street sign. The sign was obscured by ice and snow. She kicked the pole, and it all came sliding off. Archer St, perfect! She whistled for the Hunters, and they continued down the road until the buildings finally gave way to a small park. The playground stood motionless under winter's might, devoid of the life it once entertained. But that was an easy fix.
"What the- Coughcough- hell?" Ryan exclaimed.
"You don't remember what a park is?" Betha asked.
"No. Yes? Maybe. I know what it is."
"Tell me what a park is then, Ryan."
"Uh, well, we're at it, for starters."
"Yeah? And?"
"...And it's… A place you go. To… Park things."
"Wow, cool story bro, you didn't even come close. Let me show you."
Ryan sputtered out an intangible set of words as she brought him closer. Snow rained down from one of the playset towers as Zachary landed on top of it. His tongue lolled out from his mouth, and he was panting happily. He looked down at them as Betha started pushing and shoving Ryan onto the set. The metal bars holding the set together echoed low for everytime Ryan smacked a body part onto it.
"Are parks- Ow- Supposed to be painful, cause- Coughcough, this sucks."
"You're just tall. This is fun, I promise! Now move your stupid head!"
"My stupid- Hurk- Head is kinda a part of me so- Ow, uugh!"
Zach's head continued to turn sideways until he was practically falling off the tower, trying to watch without getting closer. A glob of saliva hit a bar directly next to Betha, but she pretended not to see it, and focused on getting Ryan and his smelly, tumoress bulk under the last bar to the slide.
"Alright, sit your ass down and stick your legs out."
"Like this?"
"Lay them down on the slide, dumbass."
"You're really- Wheeze- sucking the fun out of this, I hope you realize."
"Okay, now put your arms up and I'll push you."
"Guuhk!"
She shoved her hands against his back, and he went-
Approximately two inches because his legs were long as fuck, and he barely slid down anyway because his ass got stuck. Which made sense because this was a children's slide. And he was very much not children sized. At the actual bottom, Toni stood, hands in his pockets, with a lopsided grin on his face.
"Wow," Toni said.
"I'm gonna strangle everyone here," Ryan muttered.
"The park!" Betha cried in delight.
There was a loud crash as Zachary finally fell off the tower.
x-X-x-X-x
It was getting warmer. Spring was still some ways off, but the cold snap was ending. The snow wasn't gone, but it was letting up. Betha rushed to finish the guide. In her little corner of the church home, the room was filled with the sound of furious clacking from the keyboard. Everyday was a race to finish more and more before lights out. Her handwriting was a little hard to decipher sometimes, or she'd read some half scribbled note that didn't really go anywhere, and thus she'd have to sit there and try to remember what it meant.
Granted, she was never particularly good at outlining her school essays, so it actually made a lot of sense, and yet none at all.
Betha had her notes pressed into her face as she tried to translate some of the said scribble, when there was a knock at her door. "Come in!" she called, turning the notes sideways before just giving up and plopping them on the desk. The door opened, and much to her surprise, Toni promptly slunk in. Right behind him, Maribelle entered with a basket of laundry in her arms.
"All done!~" Maribelle sang to her as she plopped the basket on the bed. "I gotta say, I've raised a handful of kidelts in my day, but ain't never seen anyone so anxious about- Ooh goodness!"
Maribelle slapped a hand over her chest as Toni hopped onto the bed and promptly started tearing everything out of the basket. Clad in only sweatpants and a thin t-shirt, he had a wild look in his single eye as he sought out his prize. Once found, his still ragged, but now clean hoodie was quickly shoved onto his person.
"Ugh, sorry about that," Betha apologized. "He's really territorial over his stuff."
"I'll say!" Maribelle shook her head. "Think it's the most he's ever really payed attention to me. Made me right nervous, it did. I know he don't mean no harm, and all, but…"
"I warned you," shrugged Betha. "I warned him too, but he's always like this. Really though, thanks again for the laundry, I really appreciate it."
"My pleasure darlin', really," the older woman smiled. "My offer still stands for any repairs, if uh, you can get it back off him."
"I'll think about it," Betha chuckled. "Tell Noelle I'll try not to keep her friend here too long."
"Can do, sweetpea. See you for dinner," and with that, Maribelle saw herself out, closing the door behind her. Betha twisted around in her chair to look at Toni, still on the bed, his hood pulled down low to cover his face. The Hunter let out a huge, relieved sigh.
"You know, it would kill you to be nicer to everyone without also threatening them," she said. "Though, I guess you can't help that."
The survivor rose from the chair to start regathering the scattered laundry. She noted that Zachary's distinctive hoodie was not among it, and she figured that Maribelle had been nice enough to let him have it already. Probably because he wasn't practically riding her ass to give it to him. Or maybe he had, and Maribelle didn't mention it.
"I think you guys need to relearn manners," she commented. "Like, I know you can understand them, like, a little at least. Don't pretend that you're not paying attention."
She looked back up at Toni to see he hadn't moved. Way to prove her point. Rolling her eyes, she resumed her task, tossing the clothes back onto the bed. Figuring she was thoroughly disturbed, Betha picked up a shirt and started folding it. After a second shirt, the bed shifted under her hands, and suddenly Toni was up in her face.
"Want," was all he said, clapping his hands in a folding motion. "Photos?"
"Oh! Yeah sure, one sec," Betha nodded. She dropped the shirt and walked over to her bag. She dug around it until she finally found his weathered wallet, and tossed it to him. He caught it and then flopped back into the bed. He brought it up to his face and gave it a long sniff. It was hard to tell just what the motion meant. Betha had seen him do it twice now in the last few months, ever since they had crossed paths with the military troop. It was rare, but sometimes after a bath (or as close to one) he suddenly had the need to hold it. It was more of a comfort item at this point, she suspected.
Sure enough, he opened it up, and let the folded row of photos spill out. He didn't have any pictures of the man he sought out before, so any clues as to his identity were still lost on her. And asking Toni just who "Jorge" was only ever resulted in being told that he was, well, Jorge. So, Betha had learned to just not ask questions anymore.
"Aw man, when did Ryan do this?" Betha whined, holding up a pair of his ginormous pants, of which one of the knees was completely blown out. "He's been on his ass for weeks, ya know? Ugh, maybe it happened at the park the other day and I didn't notice. He was kinda stuck in that slide for a while, haha. Right, man?"
She looked around the pants to see that Toni was frozen in place again. Or rather, the rest of him was in place, but she could see the shaking of arms as he held out the wallet from his face.
"Toni?" she asked. "Antonio?" she continued, gently. The survivor dropped the pants in favor of coming around to the side closest to him, and then sitting down to scoot towards him. He had… An anguished look on his face. He glanced at her, back at the pictures, and then back to her. With still shaking hands, he handed her the wallet. He took a deep breath, and then pointed to a picture- The one that appeared to be the most recent of his daughter.
"J-Josefina?" he asked. Betha blinked in shock, but nodded, yes. Toni took another deep breath, and his finger moved from the photo towards the door. "Josefina?" he asked again. She squinted at him, confused. A sickening feeling landed in her gut as she started to piece it together.
"...Noelle," she finally responded and pointed to the door. "Josefina," she said, pointing to the photo. "Noelle," she repeated, pointing back to the door.
Toni's eye squeezed shut, his jaw quivering. He nodded, slowly. He wrapped his arms around himself and rolled back over, away from her, and curled up into a ball. It was Betha's turn to sit there, frozen, trying to rationalize just what exactly fucking happened.
Carefully, she rose from the bed, and neatly folded the photo roll back into the wallet, then returned the wallet itself back to her bag. Ignoring the clothes, she sat back down at her computer, and started working again.
Later, when Zachary would come around looking for attention again, she'd let him in so he could curl up on the bed with Toni. At least, just until lights out, when Betha had no choice but to stop working and crawl in with them. She'd perhaps skip dinner, fear clawing at her belly instead of hunger.
She desperately needed to finish this guide.