Madness (Completed)

Runners

I walk along the cold tile with Mark holding onto my waist for support. We decide to enter a small door that has props and obvious signs of what the store was. A baby supply store. We search drawers and shelves along the walls. Whenever I find anything that looks in decent shape, no matter what gender it is for, I take it into my bag that lies at my thighs. I look to Mark, he grabs basically the same as I have. Anything that would be useful for our future child, it might be hard to handle them without a little help from stores like these.
"What names do you think we could use?" I ask, once the silence starts to eat at my mind.
"For the baby?" Mark questions for clarification.
"Yeah." I say.
"I think it depends on the gender."
"Well, there isn't a check up I can have to tell me that before they're born. So, I think we should have names for both ready." I explain.
"Yeah, I agree. I've always liked the name Mary for a girl." Mark says happily changing the mood.
"I don't want it to be a basic name, that 5 thousand other people had. I want they're name to be special, and unique. A name that only he or she has. Does that make sense?" Mark nods in response.
"Yeah, it does. And now thinking about it, I agree, it should be unique. What were you thinking?" Mark questions.
"Well, for a girl, I think that Silver would be a good name." I suggest.
"Yeah, in that case Golden would be nice, for either gender."
"Or Aqua for a girl." I suggest with a smile actually coming to my face out of happiness and not just being around Mark.
"Maybe Petal for a girl. And Whistle as a gender neutral one."
"Yeah, those are nice... I can't think of any more right now, but this was good. It's nice to talk about good things in our life instead if surviving or a new shelter." I explain, still having a faint smile placed on my face.
"I'm glad I could make you happy, I know how much all of this really means to you." Mark explains with a soft smile that melts me internally.
"Thanks, I love you Mark." I say kissing his cheek softly.
"I love you too Violet." He reminds me kissing my cheek in return. We have a moment of silence, where we just stand, looking into one another's eyes in a moment of happiness. No worry or fear or any bad emotion in our souls. The moment, however, is a moment and that's all it is. After happiness, you always have to go back and realize, this world doesn't accept that and it will always be back to ruin your happiness. Because this world doesn't forgive and it doesn't forget. I hear footsteps run around the building and loud gunshots echo through the hallways with a sound I know all too well. Mark and I don't even have to ask what happened, it's obvious from the sound of Eaters and gunshots. We get out of the shop we had been in and dash towards the noise. No matter how stupid that sounded, we don't abandon our friends. We don't leave them to deal with a pack of Eaters and have a higher chance of death. We don't leave our Ally's or our friends ever.
"Mark!" I hear someone shout from the noise.
"I'm going to drop you off here, if you see us running get ready to get up. Got it?" Mark tells me.
"I'm going with you, what are you talking about?" I ask, shock and anger filling my voice and emotions.
"I'm keeping you and the child safe. If it's really bad over there, I don't want you to be part of it because I'm not going to let you get hurt." Mark says protectively as he puts me in a sitting position against a wall.
"But Mark, I can-"
"No. You are staying here. I'll be back, you know I will be. Just stay here and be safe. I love you Violet." Mark says as he leans into my lips and gives me a quick, yet passionate kiss. He let's go of me completely, as he begins to sprint away from me towards the noise.
"I love you Mark!" I shout to him. I'm sure he heard me, he hasn't gone too far away. It's when he turns a corner out of my sight that I instantly start to worry. Questions bounce around my head and worries pass me, even though they are unrealistic and dumb for me to think about, they're still there.
"Hey there Violet. What's wrong now?" Kate beckons me inside my mind. I shake my head, knowing that it's unhealthy for me to respond... But I have an urge inside me to commune and doesn't care about my mental health.
"Kate, just shut your trap and leave me alone." I snap at her.
"Oh, so I'm the bad guy now?" Kate chuckles at me.
"You always have been, from day one." I inform her with a sigh.
"Here I thought I was helping you. After all, if it wasn't for me, you would have never been in the asylum and you would never have met Jack. Meaning, you would never have met Mark and you would not be having that baby that you love so much." Kate explains, her voice full of hate and disgust.
"I guess that's true, but you tormented my mind. Does that really justify what you've done?" I ask angrily.
"What have I even done that is so bad? I've never known." Kate explains.
"That's a lie, you've insulted me and told me that every choice I made was the wrong one. You've laughed at my pain and cried at my victories. You are a terrible... Thing and I hate you Kate." I spit out my words full of hate and anger.
"Well, aren't you nice? Anyways, it was nice to chat with you Violet, but your boyfriend is coming." I look back into reality and see Jack running down the hallway. I am about to answer Kate with another angry comment when she speaks.
"We both know he is, even if you don't want him to be." Kate whispers with a small giggle. Her comment causes me to think more than I thought I would. Jack and I, sure we have a connection. That tends to happen with someone who was your savior from an asylum and someone who basically was my first boyfriend. So there is a connection, I can't deny that. But does Kate know my thoughts better than me? Does my mind secretly want Jack to myself? Do I really want him as a boyfriend? I mean, at first my answer to that question would be no, I have Mark. But, what if Mark wasn't here? What if I never had to make the choice between them and if I wasn't pregnant with Mark? Would I be with Jack instead, just from a simple difference? These questions bounce in my mind, trying to figure out the answers. Until I am snapped back into reality with Jack shouting to me to get up.
"Mark is coming, but if you want a head start I can help you." Jack says as I begin to stand and lean on the wall for balance.
"No, you still need help. You got hurt worse than me and I would just slow you down." I answer. Jack chuckles and stops in his tracks.
"You wouldn't slow me down, if you want help from me, ever, just ask." Jack explains.
"I know, I just feel bad and I can wait." I answer, the questions still crawling on the back of my mind.
"Alright, but I'll be close. If you see an Eater... You know what to do, but I'll keep an eye out." Jack explains. I nod in response and he begins to continue down the hallway.
"But Jack, wait for a second." I call to him.
"What you need?" He asks sweetly, his face full of care and concern.
"Thank you, for everything you've done." I say with a smile.
"Heh, it's nothing really. But you are very welcome anyways m'lady." Jack chuckles to me. A smile creeps to my face and I allow it to stay for a few seconds. I hear more footsteps run down the hallway, causing my head to turn towards the noise. I see Mark and all the others running towards me and Jack down the hallway. When Mark gets to me, he just wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me onto his back.
"Hold on! We need to get out of here, there are too many and there are some Runners in there too." Mark shouts back to inform me.
"Damn it. I hate those things." I hiss under my breath. Runners are basically fresher zombies. And because they haven't decomposed very long, they can still run. Which sucks and means that we need to get out of here quick. Mark sprints forward, still holding onto me as if I was another life source for him. I hear a few gunshots come from behind me, I look to see Wade running towards us. He shoots a few Runners behind him and that's when he registers me and I see pure fear hit his eyes. Runners pour around the corner making screeching and gurgling noises with their arms stretched out towards us. Wade glances behind him to see the awful sight and sprints forward in a much faster pace. I reach down to Marks waist taking out his pistol.
"What are you doing?" Mark hisses at me in confusion and exhaustion in his voice.
"Helping your best friend!" I shout back at him. I aim the pistol at a few Runners behind Wade and pull the trigger. The power of the gun is a bit surprising. It doesn't look like it would have that much power, but that just makes it a better gun. I repeat the process of shooting Runners until...
"Shit." I hiss when the gun doesn't fire.
"What?" Mark questions.
"Out of ammo." I answer.
"There's some in the bag on my back if you can grab it." Mark informs me. I nod and reach behind him, grabbing a few clips of ammo out. I load it into the gun, throwing the empty clip away. I then aim once more at Runners and shoot them, watching their lifeless corpses fall to the ground. The sight, to some, might be unnerving or make them uncomfortable. But to me, the sight is one that brings actual joy to me, making a small smirk come to my face. I hear a loud noise and I see Jack pound the door with his bat and then kick it down completely. Jack grabs the door and let's Mark and I go by, followed by Maddie and Emmet then Bob and then Wade. Before the Runners can get out, Jack puts the door in the way and kicks it again so it stays.
"Go! It won't hold for long!" Jack shouts as he sprints towards us. Mark nods and continues running with the rest of the the group. I hear Marks heavy breathing in my ear and his pace slowly getting weaker. I let my face rest in the crook of his neck lovingly and lightly kiss his cheek.
"I love you." I whisper in his ear.
"I love you too." Mark responds, sounding a bit out of breath. I nod sleepily and rest my head on his strong arm. I let my fingers find his hand and lightly caress it. I slowly close my eyes, finally relaxing myself and letting the moment make me drift to sleep.