mad woman ⎯ e. williams

YOU'RE INFECTED?

"I know my love should be celebrated, but you tolerate it."

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN
You're Infected

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Robin sat on her couch, placing an alcohol-covered rag over top of one of her wounds. Nothing too major had pierced her skin, but she knew that it was just a lucky attack. The Scars could've done much worse to her and Ollie if they had come more prepared. Usually the cult had many more people and weapons at their disposal, but everything was most likely being put towards preparing for the WLF attack.

The door of the bedroom unlocked, forcing Robin to turn her head to Kam. He stepped out, his body moving slowly across the floor. She looked at him in confusion for a moment as he stopped, staring towards the back door of the house. What was going on inside of his head? Robin could only wonder as he seemed to snap back into reality, his eyes widening a bit. He finally caught gaze of his girlfriend, his eyes sinking back to their normal, unimpressed emotion.

"Hey, are you doing alright?" Robin asked, standing up from the couch. Without an answer, she took a few steps towards Kam. She ignored the slight flinch of his arm when she reached forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hun', what's going on?"

Kam shook his head, stepping back hesitantly. "I- I need to go."

Never in her whole life of knowing Kam did Robin ever hear him stammer against his words. He was confident and brooding, he never made a mistake, even with his speech. Something was really, really wrong, and that was the moment she knew. If Kam was even slightly nervous enough to struggle to get his words across, something darker was looming against his mind. Robin could almost see it in his eyes as he struggled to talk.

"Where?" She asked. "Kam, what the hell is going on?"

He looked torn, his eyes darting back and forth across the floor.

"I got bit last night."

At Kam's reveal, Robin's chest constricted, the breath immediately catching inside of her lungs. The world seemed like it was caving in on her as a headache spotted her vision. She stumbled back, gripping onto her collarbone and trying to breathe evenly. Her head spun, her whole body threatening to faint as she gripped onto one of the apartment walls for stability. The thoughts in her head jumbled until they made no sense anymore.

She stood up straight, looking at Kam with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows. "You're infected?" Robin asked timidly, her lips slightly agape as she finished talking.

"Some Scar pushed me into one..." He trailed off. Robin could tell he was gaining some level of his own sanity, but it was dwindling. "I'm going off with Ollie tonight. I'll tell him, and he'll kill me."

"No- No!" The woman yelled, stumbling a bit as she stood up straight. Her face was red, the oxygen trying to pump itself through her veins as she panicked. "We'll take you, we'll put you somewhere safe and you can live!"

"I will not turn into one of those things!"

"And I will not let you die!"

Robin took a deep breath in, her eyes filled with a mix of sadness and anger. "Show it to me." Kam paused, looking at his girlfriend. "Show it to me!" She demanded, much more aggressively that time.

He hesitantly rolled the sleeve of his shirt up, revealing a deep, bubbling bite on his bicep. It was already scarring, dried blood circling where the mouth had hit him. The ugly blistering and bruising was enough for Robin to truly realize the weight of the situation, and she gasped deeply for air again. His skin was bright pink around it, he was going to turn by dawn tomorrow. If that fuckin' smuggler hadn't run off with the cure all those years ago, they wouldn't be in that situation.

Kam scoffed, cracking Robin out of her thoughts. He shook his head and placed his hand overtop of his mouth, wiping his chin. "Ollie will kill me. If you want to come, that's fine by me!" His breathing was becoming faster and heavier as time went on. "But I am not living only to be a fuckin' zombie!"

Robin gulped deeply, her eyes closing as they watered. "Fuck that. I'm keeping you alive, no matter what." Finally, she stood her ground against his simple toleration for her love. She never usually made a fuss, just sat back and dealt with the things she was given. She thought that was what all couples dealt with. "Ollie can take you wherever the fuck you want to go, Kam, but I think you owe me this." Robin breathed in shakily, trying not to let herself collapse onto the ground.

The man sighed, the knocking of a door breaking them from their trance. "I need to go." He said, taking a few steps towards the front door.

"I need to talk to Ollie, first." Robin countered, brushing her shoulder past him. Her eyelashes were wet with tears, but she didn't pay any mind to it as she opened the door and revealed her friend. She quickly shut it behind her, looking over the older man in the hallway. "You will not- under any circumstances kill him." She demanded harshly, pointing her finger towards the door.

Ollie looked at her, a bewildered look on his face. He hesitantly nodded, not knowing for sure what was going on inside her head. "Okay, okay. Kid, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, but I won't kill Kam." He promised. "Elliot and Julien are going, too. I'll make sure they don't kill him."

She nodded, sighing in relief. Elliot and Julien were Kam's best friends, she had no doubt that they wouldn't kill him, even when he was infected. "Thanks." Robin smiled, immediately frowning as the door behind her opened. Kam stepped out, nodding towards Ollie.

"You ready to go?" The older man asked.

"Yup." Kam shortly replied.

Robin looked at her boyfriend, it would be the last time she would see him as who he really was. "I love you." She spoke softly, trying not to let her voice crack with emotion.

He only nodded, following Ollie down the hallways.

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