No Time To Bleed

Misleading Milligrams

"You know what I don't understand?" William and I walked side by side in the large warehouse.

William had told me this was usually Clarissa's first spot since people usually liked to take refuge in large, stable structures.

But, this building looked anything, but stable. The rotted and dusty holes in the wooden floorboards. Gaping chunks of rude brick missing from the walls as if monsters had taken their mid day snack. Dust and cobwebs moved around the environment.

William's clear blue eyes moved to me, curled blonde strands of hair on his head. "You don't understand what?"

I gripped the bat in my hand. It made me feel secure. "Why do you deal with all that crap with your mom?"

His jaw clenched and lips poked together. "Alex told you about that, huh?"

I nodded, sneakers crunching against the cracked glass on the floor. All the light exposed so much in here.

"Well, it's not that simple. My mom's been through a lot. Did Alex tell you about her losing her job and the day the outbreak came?"

"He didn't tell me any of that stuff."

William sidestepped some glass and he ended up even closer to me. His weapon was the same gun from that day they'd taken me.

“Well, before all of this happened,” He took a long pause as if to show me the building for the first time. “my mom loved her job at this publishing company. Growing up, she always loved books. She even keeps on in the van. About 6 months before all of this, she got laid off.”

I wondered how all of this was connecting to anything, but I'd listen anyway.

“She tried drinking, but Dad stopped her. One night they were screaming at each other, he threw all the bottles out the window, I had to sweep up the glass, and my mom cried herself to sleep on the couch that night.”

Sounded traumatic.

“But, then she got better. She went to some AAA meetings and she was recovering.”

“Well, that’s goo-“

“Then, Dad died.”

Silence followed. I guess I could relate to losing your family or having things change before you were ready. I wondered where my parents were now.

“How’d he die?”

We turned a right past a giant, flaking golden archway.

“I saw him get ripped to pieces the first day the zombies came.” He looked to me more focused now. “That’s why my mom took Alex. She didn’t want the same to happen to him. She didn’t want the same to happen to you.”

I almost snorted. “You’re saying your mom’s that serious about this stuff?”

“She’s been practically out of it since this all has happened. She didn’t even cry when I told her about Dad. That’s what burns me up.”

William stopped now, little sniffling tears choking him. His breaths came out in chortled sputters.

He was crying now, head turned down. “I didn’t even want this. Any of this.”

“None of us did. You can’t change it.”

His eyes turned up, soaked red and wet. “You don’t understand.”

“I do. You might now know it, but I do.”

“How?” His hands were almost trembling now like the gun was some sort of disease he didn’t want.