My Infected Love

two

I know Charlotte still loves me.

How? I'm not even sure myself, but even the 'infected' can feel emotions, can't they?

Surely they can recognise those they used to love.

Surely they can remember... or did the infection eliminate all memories?

I hope not. I'd like to think that even though she is trapped in the body of the creature she didn't choose to be, that when she looks at me with that ravenous gaze, that she remembers what I was to her; her fiancee, her partner in crime, the man she loved.

Surely the strength of the bond we had developed over the years would be engraved in her conscience.

Or would it end in the same way I've seen so frequently since the infection spread?

About a week ago, Charlotte and I met two brothers in their mid-twenties hiding out in an old processing factory down by the docks. The two, Thomas and Logan, seemed nice enough, and welcomed us with open arms; maybe it was because they were glad we were equipped with weapons for when we encountered the infected, when they had nothing to protect themselves. But at the same time, we were pleased they had stashes of food, when we hadn't eaten for days.

My stomach is growling. That food has long since gone.

The next evening, Thomas offered to scour the area to see if there were any other injured survivors that needed help. The three of us made it clear that it was foolish of him to go alone when it was going to get dark at any moment, but he insisted that his 'trusty torch' will guide the way for him.

After leaving, Thomas didn't come back for hours, as it got darker and later into the night. Logan appeared to be anxious about his whereabouts, yet kept mumbling that it was 'another stupid move made on his behalf'.

"Another?" Charlotte questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I regularly wonder how I'm related to that son of a bitch. He's always thinking about doing his heroic duties to make himself look some kind of superman. He's not. He's just some average Joe who likes to think he's a lot greater than he actually is." Logan grumbled.

"So this happens quite often?" Charlotte pressed gently, staring at Logan as if she was assessing his soul; she did that frequently.

"Well, not usually something like this that could get him killed." he replied, this time in a more irritated tone. "You know what? I hope that when he comes back, that he's done something to himself - something that'll kick some sense into that guy."

From that conversation, I gathered the two of them were never close - that they spent most of their lives arguing because of their obvious differences. It upset me that it appeared in Logan's eyes, he felt that he was 'stuck' with his brother due to the circumstances we had all been thrown into.

You would think he would see Thomas as more of a blessing, than a burden.