Those Who Survive

Lucky or Not, Life Goes On

Sorry it's been so long, can't really promise it will be any quicker next time. Thanks for reading.

...

Mark is quick to try and save Nate's life with his blood, only hoping it will work with Nate's current state. Once the blood's injected, he sits in the kitchen with Nate, staring at his friend with worry and grief. After losing so many friends and finding out he's immune, Mark doesn't want to lose any more of his friends to this disease. But this is all he can really do to help, and he's left feeling helpless as Nate stops convulsing, but doesn't seem to be getting any better. He holds out hope that Nate will get better though. 

"Come on, Nate," he whispers, "You've lived through so much shit, don't let this be what takes you down. You're stronger than this, I know it."

He sits in silence, listening to Nate's shallow breathing, the only thing he can do is wait and hope now. Nate has to recover on his own. Mark sniffs and moves to sit against the wall, resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes never leave his friend, at the very least Nate doesn't seem to be getting any worse. He sighs and leans his head back against the wall, It's going to be a long night. As the night goes on, Felix eventually enters the kitchen, "What's going on..?"

Mark looks at him, "You should probably stay in the living room."

Felix rolls his eyes, "If your blood saved me, I shouldn't be able to get sick from being around Nate now."

He moves and sits next to Mark, "So, what's the details?"

"Don't know," Mark sighs, "Guess he got infected like you did, there's no bite on him, if there was he would have told us with how adamant he's been about it from day one.."

Felix frowns lightly, "Yeah, I agree. Out of all of us, he's probably the least likely to hide a bite."

Mark nods, "I gave him some of my blood, too, so.. We just have to wait to see if he gets any better now. Or he'll just die and not turn.. I'm hoping he'll pull through this like he has everything else so far."

"Me, too. We don't get along much, but I don't want him to die or anything." Felix sighs.

"I get it.." Mark glances at him, "Why don't you guys get along though, really?"

Felix shrugs, "I'm a coward, and he hates that. I agree with him, I try to be better, but.. I'm still just a coward. He probably thinks I'll end up getting someone killed, and that's a big fear of mine, too."

"I don't think you're a coward," Mark says softly, "It's okay to be scared, hell I'm scared."

"There's a difference, though," Felix shakes his head, "You still don't leave anyone behind, no matter what, and that day Bob and Wade died, I was the first to run. I didn't care that I left you all, I even told Jack you guys were dead so I could get inside. Nate's right to hate me, even now, I'd probably run at the first chance I got."

"Felix.." Mark frowns, but he doesn't know what to say. Only Felix can change how he views himself. Felix shakes his head again before smiling softly at Mark, "Don't worry about it. This is my problem to fix, not yours. Not Nate's, Jack's, or Ken's, either. It's all mine, and I intend to try and be better for you guys."

Mark smiles lightly back nodding, "I believe you."

"I'm glad." Felix replies softly. 

They sit in silence for awhile longer after that and Mark once again keeps his eyes on Nate. Still, Nate doesn't seem to be improving, at least not that he can see, especially not in the dark as the sun had already set. So they sit in silence, listening to the breathing of each other and their friend lying close by. Felix eventually falls asleep where he sits, but Mark forces himself to stay awake. It was clear Felix was already getting better, so why wasn't Nate? 

His eyes narrow and he stands slowly, stretching his arms over his head. He leaves the kitchen to get his flashlight from his backpack and then he returns to the kitchen, turning the flashlight on. He shines it over Nate, kneeling beside him. He lets out a sigh of relief as he sees the black veins have disappeared. Nate seems to still be fighting a fever, but at the very least he wasn't going to turn. 

"So he is getting better," Mark breathes softly, "That's good. I won't be burying another friend any time soon."

Mark turns the flashlight off and settles back in his spot next to Felix. He doesn't sleep though, instead listening to the softer groans of the dead still roaming the halls outside the apartment, at least they weren't trying to get inside anymore since they've been quiet. Mark resigns to keeping an ear out, his own version of a lookout for the night to ensure his friends safety. Sometime in the morning Mark's awoken by Jack shaking his shoulder. Mark groans and smacks his hand away, wiping his eyes with his other hand, "I'm awake, I'm awake."

He yawns, wondering when he had fallen asleep as his eyes adjust to the morning light shining through the kitchen window. He looks around and stands with a start, "Where's Nate?!"

"Resting," Jack sighs, "He's in the bedroom with the baby. Ken wants us to scout the building, see if the infected have wandered off enough for us to leave."

"Us?" Mark blinks.

"Are you still sleeping?" Jack rolls his eyes, "You and me, sleepyhead."

"Right," Mark yawns, "Where's Felix?"

"Living room with Ken, you're the only one still asleep." Jack replies, turning and leaving the kitchen. Mark looks back to where Nate had been lying last night, It looks like someone tried to clean up the blood he had coughed up. Mark shrugs and follows Jack to the living room. Ken looks up and smiles at him, "Morning."

Mark smiles back softly, "Morning. So, you really think the infected have cleared enough for us to make a move to get out of here?"

"They're not as loud as they were yesterday," Ken admits, "And it sounded like there was a crash in town somewhere, so I'm hoping that's enough distraction to give us an opening."

Mark nods, "Okay, makes sense."

"You two don't go too far, and if it looks bad, come right back, got it?" Ken explains.

Again, Mark nods, "Yeah."

"Yup," Jack agrees, "We can handle a leisurely walk down the hall, right, Markimoo?"

Mark chuckles lightly, "Right."

"Great, get something to eat and then head out. If we can leave today, the more ground we can cover before nightfall, the better." Ken states.

Mark grabs a granola bar from his bag and tears it open, eating it quickly. Jack smiles and Mark returns that smile, both waving to their friends before they open the front door, and head out.