You Can't Survive Alone

Part 7

Later
I'm not sure how long I've been sleeping, but I'm sure I don't want to wake up. I vaguely remember a sense of danger, and then darkness closing around me. I turn on my side and fall back asleep.

Up again
I wake up fully, and this time I can't seem to get back to sleep. I decide I must finally have to get up and face the day, so I open my eyes.
I lie in a hospital bed, an IV in my arm. There is a small table next to me with some bandages on it. The door is made of metal, and there are no windows.
I wince as I sit up, and my head feels like a ton of bricks just landed on it. I probably have a concussion from my fall.
I look at the IV for a minute, then at the pile of bandages next to me. As I try to pull out the IV, I feel something cold rushing into my arm, then everything around me goes black.

My dreams
In my dream, I am like Rapunzel in her tower combined with Sleeping Beauty, never waking. I can't do anything but float above myself and watch what happens around me.
Ethan sits by me and says, "Don't worry Ash, you won't be here much longer. They're coming for you."
I see the White House group facing a sea of zombies, backed into a corner. They're running out of ammo.
I see Nick, sitting next to Jake, planning something. I feel a pang in my chest when I see Jake, but I can't remember why.
I see Aaron holding a pizza, a smile on his face. The last time I saw him genuinely happy.

Later
Someone is next to me, messing with my IV. They're pulling on it, taking it out.
I hear fighting upstairs, humans against humans. Gunshots and feet stomping make dust rain from the ceiling.
"Ash, you need to wake up. We have to go. We can't hold them off for much longer." Zack's voice, next to me. How do I know this isn't just another dream? "Come on, get up!" He shakes my arm, and I can feel it. So I know this isn't a dream.
I try to move my arm, but I can't. I can't move my legs either. What happened while I was asleep?
Zack picks me up and carries me up the stairs. He yells, and the others pull back. Nick asks if I'm ok, but Zack doesn't stop running. I feel cool air on my face; we've gone outside.
I fall asleep to the rhythmic movement of Zack's footsteps.

Awake
I slowly peel my eyes open. Next to me sits Zack, looking worried. Kat is next to him, holding his arm.
I try to sit up, but Zack holds me down. "You're not well enough yet to sit upright. Ash, just rest."
I've done enough resting and I try to tell him that, but my voice comes out as a croak. I continue trying to sit up, but eventually I get tired and give up. The door opens and Aaron walks in. "Is she ok?" he asks, concerned.
"She just kept trying to sit up. I think she's tired now."
I'm thirsty, really thirsty. I say, as clearly as I can, "Can I have water?"
Zack understood me because he holds a glass up to my lips. I drink, and clear my throat.
"Hi," I say.
"Hi," he replies, and smiles.
"I'm bored."
Kat reaches behind her and pulls out her sketchbook. I'm really surprised she does this because she never lets anyone touch her sketchbook, much less draw in it.
She hands it to me, along with a pencil. I smile at her, and say, "Thank you."
She smiles, and turns to leave. Aaron goes behind her, but Zack remains beside me.
He laughs. "'I'm bored'. That's all you have to say? We just saved you from a megalomaniac who started a zombie apocalypse, and that's all you say." He's grinning, laughing, just like he used to before everything started.
"Thank you," I tell him, and lay my head back down to rest.

About a day later
When I wake up again, this time it's Nick sitting in the chair by my bed. He looks up from the book he's reading when he sees my head move.
"Hey," he says. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," I reply, slightly confused. What would Nick want to ask me about?
"What exactly happened when you approached Ethan?"
Oh; so that's what he's wondering about. "So I got to Ethan, just as planned, and acted perfectly normal. I had thought I had convinced him, but apparently I hadn't. When he brought me to the base, he tried to lock me in a room. I attempted to escape, but hit my head and passed out. He kept me in a sort of half-coma the entire time," I answer. I wait a minute, then ask, "What happened on your end?"
Nick thinks for a minute, then says, "A day after you went there, we received another note. It claimed that he had taken you hostage and would give you back if we gave up. We weren't sure if you were actually discovered or not, so we attacked under the cover of night. You turned out to actually be captured, and we rescued you." He paused. "You were there for three days."
I had been there longer than I had thought. What if I had gotten brain damage from whatever they used to put me in a coma? "Three days is a long time."
"Yeah. We weren't quite sure what to do without you, to be honest. You were pretty essential to the group."
I wasn't expecting that. His remark catches me off guard. I'd been here for what, two weeks? Two and a half? But already I'd suffered so much heartbreak and loss with them...
"Well, anyway. You should probably rest. You've still got a concussion from where you hit your head."
"I'm tired of resting. I want to do something good for the group!"
"The best thing you can do for the group right now is rest, so you can help later. Okay?"
"Okay."
Nick gets up, turns the light out, and closes the door.
When did I get so attached to these people that I couldn't even say no to them anymore?
I turn on to my side and head for sleep.