Still breathing | Original story

Chapter Nine: Like in the movies

word count: 2495

"Hey," I said to her, feeling a little awkward as I didn't actually know her name. "I don't know who that guy was and I don't mean to scare you but... you're bit." She didn't move, I had the feeling that she already knew.
"I don't want to die," she whispered and I made it my promise to her that I wouldn't let her die, maybe she wouldn't turn. I didn't exactly know how the bite worked, all I knew was that it had begun to kill Ella but there was no evidence that it brings you back afterwards. I helped her up carefully and led her to the door that led up to the flat. I locked it securely behind me. We made our way up the stairs.
"Woah," I spoke as she began to fall backwards, I managed to catch her before she did and kept a grip on her for the rest of the way. One hand clutched my bat and the other was around her waist. She stumbled through the top door and I dropped her onto the sofa. I rushed around the flat in order to find a couple bandages and painkillers.
"Here," I said and handed her the pills along with a drink of water. She gulped the water down quickly and finished off the bottle, she looked shocked at her own actions. She was about to speak but I put my hand up.
"It's okay, I've got plenty more." She smiled sheepishly at me. I began to bandage her wound the best I could but I was no first aider and the bandages looked messy. Blood seeped through the thick white material almost instantly and she cringed as I tightened it a bit more in hopes of stopping the bleeding.
"You've got a nice place," she said to me as I finished up.
"Not mine," I replied as I got up and went to scour the cupboards for my next meal. "I wasn't meant to stay here for more than five minutes really... that was two days ago." I scoffed.
"Either way, you're lucky. I've been on the streets since this happened two days ago," she told me. That must've been rough. It had bad enough inside, but I guessed being trapped in a shop fully equipped with supplies was a haven compared to out there. "My names Julie by the way." She sat up on the sofa and I turned around to see her roll her shoulder, her face contorting with pain.
"Remi," I replied with a light smile before going back into the cupboard and producing a tin of beans. I placed it on the side and began to rummage around the counters for a tin opener.
"To the left," her voice spoke and I saw a pink opener to the left of me, I smiled and picked it up before digging into the can. Bean juice spilled out of the top. I found two plates and poured them in, wanting to heat them up but being too tired to even try. I walked over to Julie and handed her a bowl. We ate in silence.
Cold beans weren't the nicest thing in the world, they tasted hard, but it was better than nothing. I chewed on the lentils quietly and Julie did the same. I couldn't help let my eyes wander to the bandaged bite mark and hoped to god that the bite didn't make you into one of those things. It was strange that this person was living after the injury, she was pale but nowhere near as pale like Ella had been and I wondered what made her different.

I finished off my beans and put the bowl in the sink, too exhausted to wash up just yet. I lifted the blinds up a bit and looked out, the infected were surrounding the boy.
"Who was he?" I asked Julie. I turned to face her, my hands gripping the counter top.
"My...my boyfriend," Julie stuttered. "Adam had said we'd be in this together, that we would survive. Now he's zombie bait." Her shoulders slumped.
"It's interesting that you call them zombies," I observed.
"Why?" She looked me straight in the eyes. I sighed, I shouldn't have mentioned it, what else would anyone call them?
"If they're zombies then you would've turned by now! Maybe they're something else... Maybe we just need to understand them more," I rationalised.
"Morgan turned," I heard her whisper.
"What?" I questioned her and she tilted her head up.
"Adams little sister turned," she said a little louder. "We didn't even know she got bit, it happened so quickly... what if I turn?" She questioned terrified.
At that moment, I was a little scared of her, of what she could become. I pushed my own fear aside and went over to her. I gripped her hand tightly.
"You won't," I reassured her, she looked me in the eyes and I saw tears spark in hers. "I won't let that happen." Empty promises came from my lips and I tried to make the lie sound less fake. She squeezed her eyes closed but nodded in belief. "You want a drink?" I questioned her but she just shook her head and I left her be.