Wither With Me

CHAPTER 26 - DECAY

"Nora, are you sure you're alright!? You're not dizzy, or anything?" Claire was unable to hide her concerns over her friend.

"I'm okay, really. I just feel tired, but I think I'm getting better already." said Nora. She gave Claire a tiny smile. "Thanks for worrying. I appreciate it."

"Fine... But make sure you let me know if you feel anything weird again. You had me really nervous yesterday..."

Claire turned her attention towards the huge vehicle in the middle of the parking lot. Hidden underground, with all entrances locked and secured, Marcus had kept a big military truck on standby. As far as the other survivors knew, he found it abandoned and took it for himself. Of course, that was a blatant lie. He had the truck from the very beginning.

Armored plates on all sides, bulletproof glass, and with a spacious cargo container on the back which allowed it to carry both supplies and people alike. It would be safer than any ordinary vehicle, even in the middle of a shambler horde.

"So... We're riding this thing back to the apartments... I wonder if—"

"...I'm sorry." Nora cuddled her from behind, sinking her head on her back.

"Huh...!?"

"I didn't get a chance to apologize yet... For rushing out the way I did, for putting everyone in danger... I should've thought about things better, more rationally..."

"Hey, hey..." Claire turned around to face Nora, holding her by the shoulders. She was biting her lower lip, frowning in self-disappointment. Her eyes were wet. "You did nothing wrong. You were worried about Lilian, and you were desperate to help her, that's all. Anyone would've freaked out in that situation..."

"Oh god, Lilian... I just want her back...!" she started sobbing. "I know what you're going to say... They won't hurt her, they need her... She'll be okay... Right...? She will, r-right...?" her weeping intensified, hindering her speech. "Please... Please, tell me she'll be okay..."

"Blaming yourself and crying won't help her, will it?" William's voice emerged from underneath the truck.

Claire faced the vehicle. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was crawling somewhere down there. Since he used to be the owner of a fairly busy car repair shop, it wasn't too surprising that he volunteered to give the truck a look and make sure it was ready to go.

"We'll ready ourselves, and we'll somehow find her. That's all you need to focus on right now. Keep your mind on the goal, it'll make everything easier." he said, half-grumbling as he fiddled with some kind of tool underneath the truck.

"Um... William, can I ask you something...?" said Claire.

"Yes...?"

"Yesterday, when Lilian disappeared... You were so hesitant to follow Nora, to go after her... But now, you seem to be okay with this. How come...?"

She hadn't brough up that specific subject so far, but she had definitely noticed a change in William's behavior. Something was different about him, only a fool would be oblivious to it. The day before, his conversation with Marcus had displayed an aggressive obsession towards Lilian, towards the possibility of a "cure." If that compulsive behavior were to turn predatory...

Curing the disease was what the military wanted to achieve. The concept of the greater good, at the expense of a few misfortunate people. But William didn't sound like he cared about saving the world. And if it wasn't that, then what was it?

He kept tinkering with the truck's underbelly for a long time before he gave an answer to her question.

"I did say I wanted to have a talk with you, didn't I? I made up my mind about something. But now isn't the time. Besides, I'm not sure talking would be of much use... I'd rather show you instead."