The End is Near

Chapter Eighteen

~Keith's POV~

     She smiled. She actually smiled. I can't believe I made her smile. I pull her to me, tighter than before, smiling against her hair.

     "I'm going to make you happy, Cassie, I promise." I whisper, not even sure she heard me.

     "Thank you." 

     "For what?" I ask, looking down at her curiously.

     "For not giving up on me."

     "I will never give up on you, Cassie, I don't think I ever could." I smile down at her, loving the way her blue eyes sparkling with a new light.

     "We better get ready, I'm not letting them see me like this." She pulls away and starts putting her bag back together. I try to ignore the empty feeling in my arms and start packing my own bag.

     "Why won't you let them see you like this? I like this you better than the cold one." She smiles over at me, the sight making the breath catch in my throat.

     "Because they listen to me when I'm cold, they don't question my judgement. And that's not the old one, that one's still there, just not with you." She says quietly, looking down at her bag. I smile, softly, it's a start at least.

     "Do you want me to wake everyone up?" I ask, putting my bag on my shoulders.

     "No, I'll do it." She smiles at me one more time, then her face loses all emotion, her mask is on. I sigh quietly, that was probably the last time I'll see her smile for a while. "All right, everyone up! Time to go!" Everyone stirs at the sound of her voice, groggily sitting up and getting ready. Soon after, everyone is ready and standing around the door, waiting for the plan for the day. "Ok, today is just a day of driving, if we find somewhere we can stay for a while, then we'll stop. But if not, you don't stop for anything, got it?" She announces, her eyes scanning the large group before her. A murmur of 'yeses' and 'got its' arose from the group and she nods, her eyes landing on me. Warmth flickers in her eyes, before they turn cold again. It's enough to make me smile, love warming my heart. "Everyone is with the same groups and cars as before, lets go!" She walks through the door with me behind her and everyone following.

     "Do you want me to drive today?" I ask quietly, walking faster to catch up to her. She looks over at me, a small smile forming on her face as she nods. She hides the smile and turns back to the front.

     "Yeah, sure, I could use the break." I smile, nodding and climb into the drivers seat as she settles into the passenger seat. Karson, Cody, and Jessica climb into the back and we start driving, a long line of cars following.

     "So, Cassie, where are you from?" Cody says from the back, leaning up onto the console in between our seats. I see Cassie tense from the corner of my eye and fight the urge to yell at Cody for making her uncomfortable.

     "No where special," Cassie replies in a tight voice. Everyone quiets at the sound of her voice, knowing that she's not fun to be around when she talks like that. But Cody just presses on. 

     "Someone that had you in it can't not be special, come on, where are you from?" I clench my jaw, trying not to turn and glare at him. Can he not tell that Cassie doesn't want to talk about it?

     "Like I said, it's no where special." Cassie's voice has gotten dangerously quiet. I've only heard her talk in that voice once before, and what happened next wasn't good. She'd exploded, furious at everyone and everything.

     "Come on, Cassie, just tell me." This time I don't stop myself from lashing out at him.

     "Can't you tell she doesn't want to tell you! Just shut up already, no one wants to hear your voice anymore!" I shout back at him, turning briefly to glare at him. Everyone goes silent, staring at me with wide, surprised eyes. I don't say anything, just glare at the road ahead, keeping a tight grip on the steering wheel.

     We drive in silence for hours, until I hear Cassie's angelic voice. "Turn onto this road, I saw a sign a while back that said there was an old hospital down here, I think this is it." I pull the car onto the long, old, dirt road. Several minutes later, I see an old, rundown hospital surrounded by a big fence.

     "No walkers in sight, that's a good sign." Karson says quietly from the back.

     "We're not out of the woods yet, that's a big building and we have no idea what's inside it." I park the car just outside of the fence and climb out as everyone pulls up next to us. I walk around the car, meeting up with Cassie, staring at the hospital. "Ok, Keith, you and I will go in and check things out, Karson will come with us, once we check everything out, if it's safe, we'll get everyone and go in. This looks like a place we could stay for a while." I nod, turning to the group with Cassie.

     "Ok, everyone, Karson, Cassie, and I are going to go in and check things out, if it's safe, we'll get you and go back in." I announce, looking at the large group in front of me. "Stay in your cars until we're back, we don't know what's out here and we don't want anyone getting hurt." Everyone nods, but Cody steps forward.

     "Do you want me to come with you, Cassie, for extra help?" I glare at him and start to tell no, but Cassie beats me.

      "No, Cody, that's ok, we'll be fine, go sit in the truck with Jessica." His face drops, but he nods and turn to the truck. Refraining from smirking, I turn to Cassie.

     "Ready to go?" She nods, and we all turn to the gates. "Lets go then."