Brandy Creek (Book Two Completed)

Part 1

Mato

I had gone through all the stages of grief in my own head as I white knuckled the steering wheel and drove us to camp. By time we hit the gates I was on acceptance... with a little anger still there. My parents were quiet on most of the ride back, grieving for what I had lost even though they barley knew her. Even though I barley knew her. I didn't bring that up. It seems like everything is going so fast now, trying to scramble to get everything ready in the chance something happens. You build fast relationships when fucked up shits happening around you, trauma bonding I believe its called.

Its dark out when we arrive, we hadn't stopped for anything but very quick bathroom breaks and then we sped off. I couldn't loose anyone else. When I park my family is out of the car in a split second, stretching and thanking God that they were safe now.

When Lex comes jogging out of the dinning room.. I can't help the shudder that racks my body, seeing the bright eyed and happy man look over the crowd of people. He was looking for her, and she wasn't here.

"How'd the trip go?" Its Seb from behind me, I didn't even notice him coming up. I bring my face to my hand so I don't have to see the older version of Lex also look around for what's not here. Rubbing my temples I feel a tentative hand on my shoulder. "Where's Nattie?"

"Where is Nattie?" Lex's voice echo's his brothers louder and slightly more panicked. "Did she leave us?"

"No." My voice breaks as I try to keep my shit together, I shouldn't be so emotional. I am and its because I know they were the most attached to her, if North had come up to me I don't know if I'd have the same reaction.

"Please tell us that she decided to leave and have a Rambo trip." Seb asks, his voice much calmer. The slight tinge of sadness though, that hurts. "Please tell us that she didn't.."

"She saved." I pull my hand from my face to face the brothers, and give my throat one good clear before beginning my sentence again. "She saved my nephew from a infected, but she was bit in the process. She told us to run, to leave and we were still five hours out from camp, I couldn't bring her back to camp without risking my family."

A silence falls over the brothers and I, both have the same expression of shock. Lex is the first to break into what I'd call a sad beaten puppy look, bottom lip sticking out and eyes tearing up. Seb instinctively grabs his brothers shoulders and pulls him into a hug as a sob rips from Lex's throat. Seb looks over his brothers shoulder at me, after a second of his brother crying into his shoulder he asks me. "Did you see her turn?"

The question is a little odd, but I answer him anyway with a shake of my head. "She was gunning down zombies and running when I last saw her."

Seb grabs his brothers head in his hands pulling him away from sobbing in his shirt. "Lex, Bethany, remember?"

A small sobs escapes before his face changes into wide eyes and he says. "Bethany!"

"From Delta team?" I question them. What does she have to do with this?

Lex takes off to the dinning hall, Seb grabs my upper arm to pull me to follow them. "Bethany was bitten the first day they left, she was sick for a few days but now she's fine. Even her blood tests look fine, I'm still researching her.."

I tune him out, because we have someone who was bitten and survived? I hadn't heard of someone surviving, but is it possible that a very small few were immune to this? If anyone else was immune like Bethany, I have a high hope that Natalie would be too. It would be like her to be that hard to kill.