Death do us part

Shane

Melody

I woke up to the feeling of my soft hair ticking my nose. Already wide awake, I stood, getting changed into some dark jeans and a long black turtle neck shirt to hide the faint marks on my neck. I went downstairs and walked into the cafeteria, where the rest of the group already were sitting and eating.

Rick did a double take trying to figure out what was different about me and I smiled a bit. It finally clicked and I looked down and forced a laugh.

"I love your hair." He said, trying to swallow his food.

"Thank you." I nodded.

Glenn was on the other side of the table, groaning with his head in his hands and Dale was rubbing his back, laughing.

Breakfast went quickly and it hurt a bit to swallow, thanks to the events from the night before. After breakfast we all went back to our rooms and I went into the rec room looking at books with Lori.

I spotted books that I had read before and some that I hadn't. She kept looking while I went to go get my bag and take some books with me incase this goes downhill. I went into the hallway and saw a tipsy Shane pass me and walk into the rec room.

My room was right around the corner and I paused when I saw Daryl turn the corner right when I was about to.

I braced my self as we collided, taken aback. I shook my head, looking up at him, but he just shrugged past me. I backed up against the wall to let him pass and watched him walk away into the narrow hallway, then disappear into his room.

I regained control of myself and continued to my room, quickly putting everything I had left on the bed the night before into my bag and throwing in anything else I would probably need, like medicine and scissors from the bathroom. Just in case we had to leave quick.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and made my way back to the rec room.

I heard Lori struggling with something and I heard another voice. Lori screamed and everything stopped. An angry Shane walked out almost immediately after while holding his hand to his neck.

I rushed in to see a mortified Lori. I didn't even ask what had happened, but her eyes were wide open and she was sweating, her hands wrapped around her stomach and gripping her shirt. I looked at her with a confused look, then made my way to her and embraced her in a hug.

I felt terrible that I had left, like it was my fault that something happened.

  She sobbed into my shoulder, gripping onto me like she was about to fall through the floor.

Eventually she let go, eyes still wide. She ran her fingers through her hair and made her way to the bathroom to clean herself up.

I didn't say anything, instead I shook the thoughts of what may have happened out of my head and went over to the bookshelf, picking out books that peeked my interest in order to distract myself.

Once Lori cleaned herself up, she quietly went to her room to get changed. I kept picking out books and putting some back until I had about 3 or 4. I threw my bag over my shoulder, not shocked at how heavy it was.

I sat under the air conditioning just to feel some cool air and calm myself down, but flinched when I heard the door open, and my attention turned towards the sound. My body moved up a bit and I watched Lori, Carl, Sofia and Carol walk in. I gave a polite wave and mumbled 'hi' as I closed my eyes and leaned back again.

The kids started playing games and reading, and it seemed perfect. The thought of any of it going south caused me to sit up and open my eyes. My paranoia caused me to want to take advantage of the opportunities that the place had, and I went to go take another shower. As I passed one of the rooms, I saw an open door. Andrea sat inside on her bed, hugging her thin legs. I hesitated, then slowly walked in, knocking lightly on the already wide open door.

  She jumped and wiped a tear from her cheek. I waved a bit and she let go of her legs and sat on the edge of the bed instead.

  "How are you feeling?" I asked gently.

  She mumbled an incoherent word and I sat next to her.

  "Andrea.. I can never say that I know what you're going through, because you had to put down your sister." I said hesitantly, trying not to offend her or say anything wrong. "But, I have lost people." She looked at me with tears filling her eyes. I swallowed the lump in my throat and continued on. "I'm also not going to tell you to get over it, because chances are, you might not. I just want to tell you that you have people that are here for you." I rubbed her back reassuringly and to got up to leave, partially shutting the door behind me.

  After I left, I went back to my room. I took another shower and got dressed again. I then grabbed soap, towels, shampoo, conditioner, and anything else that I could and stuffed it into my bag that was almost full. After clearing the bathroom, I slung my heavy bag around my back and left. I made my way into the rec room and saw Lori checking the air conditioning.

  "What's up?" I asked. She crossed her arms and looked at me with a concerned look.

  "Nothing. It's just... the air turned off." I nodded and she went to go read with Carl. Just then the lights shut off, and the emergency lights flickered on.

  Lori grabbed Carl and Carol did the same with  Sofia. We went into the hallway and found multiple other people walking out to see what had happened. We all walked down to the main room where all the computers were. Mounted on the wall sat a 5 minute countdown.

  Once we were all inside the room the doors shut and locked and immediately, people started shouting.

  "What happens when the clock hits zero?!" Rick shouted.

  "Val. What happens when the clock runs out?" The doctor asked.

  The computerized system started saying a bunch of words that I honestly didn't understand.

  "What does that mean?" I asked once the computer stopped.

  "She sets the air on fire." The doctor said, drinking his vodka.

  My hand flew to my mouth and Carol let out a cry, holding Sofia tight in her arms. My ears went fuzzy and my vision blurred. I started to lose my balance and began hyperventilating. Tears dripped down my cheeks and my throat closed up, showcasing the familiar symptoms of a panic attack. My mind soon went blank. Carol was crying about how her baby didn't deserve to die so cruelly.

  I heard the guys trying to break the doors down as my knees got weak. I fell to the floor and heard Rick shout my name but I couldn't reply.

  My chest became numb, despite my trying to breathe. Instead I was sat on the floor wheezing and taking quick breaths.

  "Help.. h-help." I tried to say, but it came out as a small whimper.

  I shook my head as the numbness spread. I squeezed my eyes shut and tears rolled down my burning face.

  I heard more shouts and felt someone put their arm around my back and I shakily put mine on their shoulders. They picked up my bag and handed it to someone else. My vision became more and more dark and the last thing I heard was the person that was holding me shout, "Let's go!"

***
True story, I actually have panic attacks, except mine have never gotten so bad that I've passed out. So pretty much everything I just described, I know from experience.
Ily

-Kenzie