You Can't Survive Alone

Part 8

The next morning
I wake up again. Jess sits in the chair next to me, looking excited but exhausted at the same time. She looks up quickly at my having woken up, and starts talking almost immediately.
"I've found a way to replicate the cure! So I had this idea when you showed me the note and gave me the syringe of the cure, and I went through all of his stuff again. In the journal there were clues, only clues, of how to replicate the cure! I went to a lab in town and carried as much stuff as I could back to my bedroom here and started working on it, and it actually worked!"
"That's amazing, Jess! So now we have the cure also?"
"Yep. He doesn't hold any power over us anymore."
"Wait you mean... when we left their base... He was still alive?" I thought they had killed him when they had rescued me.
"You mean... you didn't know?" She seems to deflate slightly, but is still very happy. "He fled when we showed up, left through some back exit we didn't notice. We scared all his people off though."
So at least he lost his fanbase. "Well, at least his people left. That should slow him down quite a bit." I decide that I am tired of laying down all the time and people having to bring me stuff, so I get up.
Jess looks like she's about to stop me until I say, "I'm tired of being a drag on the group. I'm going scavenging."
She still looks like she might object until she says, "Fine. Just... don't get injured again. I have enough work anyways."
I grab my bag from beside my bed, strap on my sword, and head out.
Nick stops me as I walk through the hallways. "What are you doing up? I thought you were supposed to rest."
"Jess gave me permission to do something helpful. I'm going scavenging." The whole Jess giving me permission part isn't exactly true, but she didn't order me to get back in bed.
"I was just about to go too. We can go together."
Great, company. Oh, well. At least Nick is a pretty good scavenger. He's the one who got most of the supplies before I arrived.
"Ok, let's go."

About an hour's walk from the base, somewhere in the city
It's about midday now. We stop in front of a Target, and go in. I usually do most of my shopping at Target because they already have everything; why not go to one store instead of fifty?
I grab a shopping basket from the racks and Nick does the same. I head toward the food section while he heads toward the clothing section.
I put all of the non-perishables that I can in the basket and grab one of those large pallets of water. It's heavy, but I've gotten stronger since the apocalypse started.
I stop in front of one of the shelves, and look at the sodas. Everyone would thank me, but they're so heavy. I shrug, and grab a 6 pack of Coke.
Nick meets me back in front of the building, his basket filled with clothes, soap, and other miscellaneous things that we might need.
Shopping complete.

Walking back
As we walk back to the House, we see a few more zombies on the way. I frown, and Nick takes out his gun and shoots them. We're both getting pretty tired of walking, so we stop in one of the buildings along the way for a rest.
It was supposed to be a rest, until a zombie jumped out of a room and attacked me. I started screaming, and Nick was doing all he could to get it off me. He finally got it off, and shot it.
"Are you ok? Did it hurt you?"
I think I'm okay, so I nod my head yes, until I look at my arm.
A row of bite marks circles my right forearm, bleeding slowly.
I start crying. We're only about twenty minutes away from the base, but the zombie virus acts fast. We don't have enough time to get back.
Nick isn't sure whether to comfort me, to shoot me, or to leave.
"Go, get out of here. Take the supplies," I say. I don't know how I can think this clearly. I'm going to die.
"Ash, I can't just leave you here," he starts to protest.
"Just GO. Okay?! I'm going to die, the last thing I want to do is attack you and put you in the situation of having to shoot me." I'm starting to understand my dad's predicament for when he was bit. Terrified that I might die, but not wanting me to leave at the same time. Not wanting me to leave, but needing me to leave. Knowing that if I don't leave, he would be the one to kill me.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry." He sobs once, and turns to leave. I stay crouched on the floor, oblivion crashing down around me.