It had always dawned on Tess Dixon that she would end up alone,but being this was the first time that she was actually apart from the group, anxiety and the acceptance of death seemed a lot closer.
Tilting her head back to lean on the tree behind h...
With a handful of firewood within her grasp, Tess slowly approached the chattering group assembled in a circle around the fire. Her attempt of joining the group in silence with minimal disturbance was foiled by the twisting head of a grinning boy clutching the arm of his father beside him.
"Tess!" Carl shouted excitedly, giving her a small excitable wave.
Throwing the logs in a dwindling pile, Tess brushed the dirt on her trousers. "Hey buddy!" she retorted, unable to stop her own smile erupting across her face at the boys jovial greeting. Entering the seated circle, she habitually ruffled the small boy's hair as she past him and he smacked her hand away with flailing arms. Carl let out a small dissatisfied grunt as everyone let out a small chuckle.
Letting out her own small sigh of laughter, Tess ignored the hateful glare of the two blonde sisters as she took a seat beside Glenn, who greeted her with a small smile and extended his hand to offer her a metal, steaming cup. Bumping her shoulder alongside his, Tess gave him a small smile and grabbed the warming cup, thankful for the warmth that enveloped her hands.
"Disorientated," Rick stated, wrapping an arm around Lori beside him, who gave him a small tight-lipped smile. Ignoring the couple, Tess turned her eyes instead to gaze across the fire and amongst the hues of grey tinged smoke she could make out the tense figure of Shane, who was staring unblinking at the small family. Sensing her eyes on his own, Shane's piercing gaze flickered to her.
Tess shifted her head toward Rick again as he continued, "Fear, confusion...all those things. But disorientation comes closest." Heads around the fire nodded in agreement, as that was how the apocalypse had started for everyone.
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Tucking a wisp of loosened hair that had evaded her bun, Tess went back to making notes on the clipboard within her grasp. Using the sleeve of her uniform she wiped a small bead of sweat that started to trickle down her forehead. She rose a small eyebrow at the running doctors that had stampeded worryingly down the corridor, echoing shouts and the sound of wheeling gurneys infiltrated her ears. The hospital was abuzz with activity, odours seemed to emanate from every room and corridor. The smothering smell of sweat and other grotesque bodily fluids poured out into the lifeless air. Cleaning fluids did little to mask the smell, which seemed to imbed itself horribly into every fabric picking at her nostrils uncomfortably. Raising her head, she frowned at the flickering lights in the ceiling. Noting the time on her watch, she nimbly wrote the time shown on another chart in front of her.
Her heartbeat quickened on hearing the tale-tell sound of a monitor. Hastily, she ran to the bedside of the patient, checking and listening intently to their heart rate, she checked the stats on the flashing monitor. Neighbouring nurses shuffled to her side, preparing the necessary equipment and the air around her was filled with a cacophony of the everyday sounds that she regularly would hear. As if she were a machine, her body reacted accordingly.
"We need a doctor in here!" she bellowed, placing a breathing mask on the patient's unresponsive face.
"There are none!" her friend Meredith retorted, preparing the defibrillator beside her, "shocking in 1,2,3!"
