The Sleepwalkers

Chapter 13: Laid to Rest

 Gavin woke up with Millie’s hand in his palm, and oddly to the sound of a man sobbing quietly. Morning sunlight only just reached over the desks up against the window, the rays landing on the lounge where Caiti lay still, her own hand limp and fragile in Jack’s. He noticed Gavin moving and became stiff and tense, wiping something off his face, “Gavin, I think, I think, I-” Jack mumbled, the tears peeping back out, Gavin’s eyes fell on Caiti’s face, it was pale, eyes closed peacefully and her chest not moving. “Oh Jack, I’m so sorry” Gavin said, feeling the tears accumulate; Jack rested his head on her chest, a single droplet running down his face onto her shirt.

When everyone was awake and found out what had happened to Caiti over night, Geoff decided that she would be buried in the courtyard. There was a small grassy area with stone seats and some shrubs. The girls found shovels in the yard outside by the spot where Caiti will be laid to rest. No one was sure if Caiti’s body was going to turn from the infection or whether she would stay dead. Jack didn’t leave her body for the whole day, no one tried to move him away from it though, just letting him have his last day with Caiti alone. Gavin, Ray, Michael and Geoff went out and made a hole in the ground, thankfully Caiti wasn’t too tall; otherwise they would have been digging until sunset. “How is Jack holding up? Anyone know?” Geoff asked the men digging with him, “He’s sitting the office with her, he still hasn’t moved” Ray answered. “Is she going to turn on him?” Gavin asked with real concern in his voice, no one answered, no one knew the answer. “Well, I’m assuming since her knee was infected, that the toxins are most likely in her blood and brain as we speak” Geoff muttered. As if on cue with their conversation, they heard the scream of a little girl and a loud thump.