Driven Too Far

|| Two ||

Once Sophia checked my body for any other damage she gave me a new shirt and started to guide me towards a place I could rest or hopefully, sleep. I noticed that the people in this place didn't like newcomers, especially the ones that just got bit. I tried my hardest to ignore the stares and whispering, but it was starting to get too much. Tears were threatening to spill and I don't believe I would've lasted any longer, but soon enough Sophia had brought me to a small room. Within it was a small mattress, some books scattered on the floor and a dirty pillow. I sighed and smiled at Sophia.
"If that arm starts hurting let me know, and only me." Sophia's voice was low and serious, like a mother trying to scold her child. I nodded my head and Sophia turned away, walking back to her little medical room.

Turning back around I looked at the room given to me. I wondered who had slept here before me if they were still alive or outside as one of those things. I shuttered at the thought. Slowly I crawled onto the mattress, it was more comfortable then I looked like. I welcomed the softness of it as it relaxed my aching body, the darkness I have come to know welcoming me with open arms again.

• ~ •

"Is she dead?"

"I don't think so..."

"Maybe she's already a corpse and is just pretending to be human."

"Adrian that is so dumb-"

"She's waking up!!"

"Run!"

As I rolled over a small groan escaped my lips, I sat up on the mattress and stretched out my stiff muscles. I heard my bones crack a little and sighed.

"I hope they didn't wake you up," I looked up shocked and saw a boy with shaggy blonde hair smiling at me. I think he realised he scared me after a few seconds so he bent down and took my hand gently. "Sorry to scare you."

I looked at him and then at his hand holding mine. I could feel my cheeks heating up and looked into his eyes, he looked down at our hands and smiled softly before speaking again.

"My name is Sebastian but everyone calls me Seb, or hot stuff or perfection, some even call me-"

"Really annoying?" I looked past Sebastian and saw a guy standing behind him. His voice was familiar, I just couldn't put my finger on it until Sebastian said his name.

"Ollie, what's up bro," Sebastian went to stand up and at the same time I spoke. "You're the one that put a gun to my head."

I watched the two boys as they stood silently next to each other. Sebastian looked at Ollie with shock and Ollie moved his hand so it rested on the nape of his neck. His head was bent down as if he was ashamed of his action or the look he was getting from the boy next to him.

"You what!" Sebastian yelled. His voice drew attention from some people around my 'room'. Dear god, please fly over this place and send me into an eternal sleep so I don't have to see everyone's reaction later.

"It was an accident, I thought she was a corpse. Give me a break Seb." Ollie said. He looked at Sebastian and then at me. "Look you won't hear me say this again, so I'm sorry."

With those words, Ollie walked off without another word or glance in my direction. Which left me and Sebastian alone. He stood stunned for a moment, until he realised I was looking at him, waiting for an instruction or some kind of direction to let me know what I should be doing.

• ~ •

"So this is also our clean up zone, Taylor takes her job seriously," I smiled at Sebastian's ranting. He's been showing me around his place, and by that, I mean the whole building that this group looks after like a base camp. "She always says, 'if we're in the middle of a war and your blade isn't sharp enough, a corpse come running at you and it doesn't sink into its head what would you do? Then you'll be begging me to check and fix your weapon.'"

A small laugh escaped my lips. Sebastian is a really funny guy, he's been making me laugh all morning, which has been making my stomach hurt. A thought came to mind once my laughing subsided. "Seb," Sebastian turned his face towards me and hummed as if saying yes. "What's a corpse? How did Ollie and.. um, whoever was with him find me? How did I get here?"

Sebastian stared at me, we had stopped walking. As if walking would distract him from something or if we took another step the ground would crack open and we would fall into an endless void.

"When I first met Oliver he gave me the idea of a corpse, those are the things that chase us," Sebastian stated. I nodded my head in understanding. "But they aren't dead,"

"Might as well be, they go around, slowly decaying. Just to find get a bite out of some poor person that had stumbled into their grounds." It was amazing how plainly Sebastian could state things. Jada always explained things to me with such colour and life, I guess that was before the radiation hit and people started eating other people.

"The people that saved you was indeed Oliver, the girl with him was one of our scavengers; Sarah." I nodded my head as he kept on talking. "Where you were being dined upon was close to our base, those two were doing one of their ground checks and they stumbled upon you, plus another person that was probably dead from the bites or someth-"

"Jada..." a croaked sob ran up my throat and into my words. I had forgotten about Jada all because I had found safety, a bed, and other people. I forgot about my sister, my damn sister! Before I even realised what was happening I was falling to the ground, Sebastian holding onto me. His hands moved over my body, looking for a reason why I just fell out of nowhere.

"Amelia, what's wrong? Can you see me? Open your eyes!" Sebastian's words became faint, everything from the last few days coming back all at once. Everything I pushed away because Jada and I were running, not giving ourselves time to look back and let our minds and hearts heal.

"Oliver! Sophia!" Sebastian's screams grew faint as I shut my eyes.