Wither With Me

CHAPTER 8 - TRUST

How many hours had it been? Nora didn't have a working clock or phone with her, so she had no way to measure time accurately. But based on what she could see from the catwalks, it was past noon already. Her clothes had dried. Her tummy was rumbling again. Time flew by. Yet William was still nowhere to be seen.

Her worry was undeniable. However, on the bright side, she had some time to collect her thoughts and process everything that happened the previous day. Specially regarding the shamblers. The world being full of bad people was something she already saw coming, but the usually clumsy zombies turning into rabid monsters with no warning was beyond her. No wonder everyone feared the night, now it made sense. Seriously, what was the deal with them? To think she was already scared of them during the day... She wasn't expecting that twisted turn of events.

William definitely knew about them in full detail though. He knew about the dangers of the night, he night how to react, he knew what to expect. She wondered why he didn't warn her in advance. Perhaps it was a matter of trust, as usual. They were pretty much strangers after all; strangers who met under very sketchy circumstances. And they both had secrets to hide and personal issues, Nora didn't doubt that for a second.

But what is trust to begin with? To put your life in the hands of someone else? To confide in them? To share emotions, experiences...? Such a simple word, but with such an abstract meaning... And to what extent was trust a valid concept in that new world? Could you truly afford trusting others in that harsh environment?

Still, none of that mattered if William never came back. And the waiting was getting Nora on her nerves. She was scared. Did she depend on him that much? Apparently, she did.

...

Nora stared at the door on the other side of the room. The shelving unit they dragged in front of it was still there, blocking it. The entire wall was slightly bent inwards from the force the horde applied upon it from the outside. It was already way past noon, at least a couple of hours. She couldn't wait any longer. She realized that if night fell upon her again, it would be her end. There was no way she'd survive again on her own. She had to move, even if it meant walking towards an untimely death.

She figured that dragging the entire shelving out of the way would make unnecessary noise, so she spent several minutes carefully unloading the boxes and random tools filling the shelves, placing them down on the floor or on nearby furniture, until the unit was mostly empty. Then, she grabbed one corner, and very slowly pulled from it. It moved. Inch by inch, the shelves got out of the way.

The door was free. Would it even open? It was literally bent, but the frame itself looked okay. She gulped. For some reason, she felt a chill down her spine. She reached for the doorknob.

"Don't." a voice startled her from behind.

Nora flinched and let out a brief squeak. She turned around in a hurry. There was a shadowy figure standing on the entrance doorframe, looking at her. It was a man, that's for sure. She felt as if he looked familiar, but the fact that he was standing with his back to the light made it difficult to identify him. Before she could say or do anything, the figure rushed her and put a hand in her mouth. The sudden ambush took her aback so much that she couldn't react in time. She grabbed his arm and started struggling.

"Stay quiet...!" she knew that voice. Her eyes opened wide, and all resistance ceased the moment she finally identified the person holding her.

'William...!' tears of relief pooled on her eyes.

Mocking their reunion, several soft blows resonated against the door Nora was about to open a moment ago. They insisted for several seconds until they eventually gave up. William released her mouth afterwards.