Love Is Kind (Sequel to "Love Is Patient")

Chapter 13 - Sorrow

By design God gave me feelings

And by design they shall not kill

But when the noises overwhelm me

I feel sure that they will

Oh, liberation, comes in whatever form to save me

I am burdened, and then the whisper comes

You whisper in the breeze

Whispers that I'm needing

Quiet words, soothe the hurt, whisperer

"The Whisperer" by David Guetta (feat. Sia)

~~~~

I awake with a jolt, checking my surroundings frantically. I must've cried myself to sleep. I rub my eyes, feeling how puffy they are. They must be red and bloodshot as well. Great.

I get up and stretch, rubbing my stomach. I move toward the car window, looking in on Dale. He's still sleeping. I sigh and quietly open the car door, and bend down to his level. I gently nudge his shoulder, he doesn't move.

"Dale, come on. We need to get going" I softly say.

He doesn't move. Doesn't respond.

"Come on, Da--" I abruptly stop when I feel how cold his hand is. I retract my hand and stare at him, not registering what just happened. I move my fingers to his neck, which is just as cold has his hand.

There is no pulse.

"No, no, no" I check again, nothing. I grab his wrist and check, nothing.

"No!" I shake my head vigorously, "No! No!"

 "Oh, god!" I gasp, "Oh, god! No! Please, Dale!"

I cry out so loudly, not caring who hears me. I cry for Dale, I cry for Makena, Daryl, my family, myself.

"No!" I sob at the top of my lungs, hot and stick tears falling down my already red cheeks.

I gasp for air, pulling at my hair. I know what this means.

And I'm not ready to do it.

"Please, Dale. Don't do this to me! I need you! Please, Dale, I need you! You were supposed to meet my baby, have a relationship with it! Don't leave me when I need you the most" I stuttered, my voice cracking.

I slowly stand up and my shaky hands grab my gun. I cry out again when I feel the cold object meet my hand. I pull it out, it feels like it weighs a ton. My whole body is shaking as I aim the gun at Dale's head.

"I'm sorry" I whisper.

Bang!

My body racks with new sobs as I let the gun fall to the ground.

~~~~

The first person I killed was my best friend. I feel numb.

I've been trudging down this road for what feels like hours after I pried myself away from his body. My throat is on fire from dehydration, my eyes are dry from crying. I haven't found any sign of my missing group members. I see train tracks ahead, and when I reach them I see footprints traveling down them. My heartbeat spikes a little, knowing that someone is close by. I'm not getting my hopes up, though.

I step on the tracks and follow the footprints. After a few minutes of walking, the prints veer off into the woods. I debate on whether or not to follow them, what if they don't belong to anyone in my group? What if they're just walker tracks? They appear to walk in a straight line.

I take the risk and continue to follow them, looking down at them as I walk. They continue to lead farther into the woods, and I become more skeptical. As I'm about to turn around, guns clicking causes me to halt. I slowly look up and see two people, a man and woman. They look almost identical. They have black hair and green eyes.

And each have a gun pointed in my face.